Tanar'ri (continued)
Rutter-kin
I will admit that I went into the Rutter-kin with low expectations, thinking them just another a mook race of the Abyss, alongside Dretches and Manes. But there's a few things to work with. They've got a small armory of unique weapon types, from the double-crescent-headed polearms to the 3-armed blade "thrown from a sling-like device", which is kind of cool.
There's also an interesting ancient legend of dubious veracity (isn't there always?) about how rutterkin were originally a cerebral race of humans from a distant corner of the prime material world who began experimenting with "plane and probability travel", ran afoul of the Abyss, and got enslaved and mutated by the Tanar'ri. Which is definitely something you can work with from a plot-oriented standpoint, yeah?
* The PCs have to travel through a layer of the Abyss lousy with Rutter-kin. They're not very dangerous by themselves, but when they start gating in reinforcements among the other least tanar'ri, it could draw a bit too much attention to the PCs.
* There's a recent trend in Sigil's ineffable fashions to have bodyguards and hired muscle proficient, if not outright specialized, in Rutterkin weaponry. It's getting to the point where you can't find work if you're not wielding a snap-tong or saw-toothed flatchet. If you're willing to accept a Rutterkin's tutelage, you could make some spare gold and beyond your usual pay grade. Pretty strong if, though.
* The enlightened race of humans from that distant corner of the world just found out what happened to their long-lost kin, and they're pissed. Did I mention their society perfected the psionic arts in the millennia since? No? How about the fact that they hold all the planes culpable, not just the Abyss? Typical primes, thinking of all the planes as the same place. Who died and made them ALL GLORY TO TO OUR WONDERFUL NEW MASTERS.
Succubus
Interestingly, succubi and incubus are a different race, rather than just one demon type who can swap genders as needed. There's a few comments about how there are fewer incubi because mortal men are far more suspectible to the temptations of beauty than woman, and another comment about how succubi assume demihuman form less often because "humans' fiery nature makes them easier prey." That's right, you thought humanity's gig was versatility and adaptation? Nope, in the eyes of the plans, we're the slutty race.
Actually, the idea of demihuman-appearing succubi is kind of intriguing, because I've never pictured it before. Elf succubi! Dwarf succubi! Thri-kreen succubi! "Phwoar, take a whiff of her pheromones."
Also, a succubi can attempt to gate in a balor once per day with a 40% chance of success. Damn. A balor? That's kind of hardcore. Here you think you're just fighting this simple 6 hit-die demon, and suddenly, boom, the most powerful of all tanar'ri angrily stands before you. Ah, 2nd edition. Before the phrase "level-appropriate encounter" had been coined.
* A thri-kreenish succubi, insect wings replaced with batlike ones, eyes glowing sinisterly, smelling faintly but awkwardly enticingly of honey, approachs the PCs with an interesting offer. She's turned stag on the blood war, and will part with a few very interesting secrets if you can get the chasme off her thorax.
* That nice alu-fiend you've been dating? The one who renounced her evil ways? Yeah, it's time to meet the mother-in-law. And she doesn't approve of you.
* A sage has grown more and more convinced that the explanation given for why there's so few Incubi is a load of hogwash. Men are just as capable of austere temperance as woman are capable of lustful hedonism! No, there must be some sort of secret going on there. Find out what it is, and you'll be rewarded handsomely!
Vrock
Vrocks are one of those iconic tanar'ri, at least to me. The sinister and powerful great vulture-man-demons! The defeaning screech! The dance of ruin! The spore-attack that leaves you covered with thick viny growths after a few rounds! The mass charm at-will ability! I didn't remember all of this stuff the last time I checked them out. That viny-growth spore attack thing in particular is weird.
* The dance of ruin smacks of a ritual, rather than an innate ability. Requiring multiple participants? Organized dance, chanting in ancient languages? It might be you need an avian set of vocal cords to be able to perform it, but still, learn the secrets, and you'll be loaded.
* Locals have been found dead, their body covered in thick, viny growths. Those who fail their knowledge checks probably will suspect some sort of nature spirit or evil druid rather than the truth of an old vrock deserter guarding its secrecy with lethal force.
* Vrocks are one of those rare tanar'ri types which can reproduce naturally (the entry declares them as "powerful fighting machines from birth".) A highly wealthy merchant commissions the PCs to find a Vrock rookery and bring her some of their eggs.
Wastrilith
I have a deep and abiding respect of the scariness of some of the shit that lurks in the depths of our real-world oceans, as anyone who has watched an appropriate documentary on the subject probably knows. The wastrilith basically take that concept and go "Hey, let's make it actually demonic." Diterlizzi's illustration of the fuckers is, as usual, great, but unfortunately a quick google search didn't show it up, so those of you not reading along at home will have to take my word for it.
Wastriliths are very territorial, and often have several denizens of the undersea working for them, not out of magical mind control, but simple "Do what I say or I'll eat you". They're also highly prone to breaking free of summoned bonds, killing their summoners, and rampaging 'until they tire of the plane.' "Hmmm, establishing my grim undersea empire of evil was fun, but the challenge is gone. Bored now!" And then they leave, their marvelous undersea palaces full of treasure simply left and abandoned. Plot hook time!
* A wastrilith who terrorized the shipping lanes, sinking merchant fleets and taking their treasure to its fabulous undersea palace, hasn't been heard from in years. Could it have finally departed the plane? Might all that treasure still be lying down there, guarded only by sharks, water elementals, and ixitachitl? But what if it's not gone? Well, nobody said adventuring was without risk...
* Kuo-toa raids on shoreline communities have increased dramatically. Investigating the cause shows they've been displaced: their old homelands have been declared part of the territory of a recently arrived wastrilith who didn't appreciate neighbors. Dealing with it, well, it might be easier than taking care of all those kuo-toa. Plus, it's obviously a greater evil, if you think in those sort of terms, and there's always at least one PC who does.
* Who knows what secrets lurk in the ancient, briny deeps? The wastrilith do. Specifically, one of the wastrilith of the cold and dark 88th layer of the Abyss, "The Maw of Demogorgon", has the information you need. Good luck!
And we've at last reached the end of the Tanar'ri! A decent set of demons to go off on, but I'll be glad for the change of pace. Stay tuned!
I will admit that I went into the Rutter-kin with low expectations, thinking them just another a mook race of the Abyss, alongside Dretches and Manes. But there's a few things to work with. They've got a small armory of unique weapon types, from the double-crescent-headed polearms to the 3-armed blade "thrown from a sling-like device", which is kind of cool.
There's also an interesting ancient legend of dubious veracity (isn't there always?) about how rutterkin were originally a cerebral race of humans from a distant corner of the prime material world who began experimenting with "plane and probability travel", ran afoul of the Abyss, and got enslaved and mutated by the Tanar'ri. Which is definitely something you can work with from a plot-oriented standpoint, yeah?
* The PCs have to travel through a layer of the Abyss lousy with Rutter-kin. They're not very dangerous by themselves, but when they start gating in reinforcements among the other least tanar'ri, it could draw a bit too much attention to the PCs.
* There's a recent trend in Sigil's ineffable fashions to have bodyguards and hired muscle proficient, if not outright specialized, in Rutterkin weaponry. It's getting to the point where you can't find work if you're not wielding a snap-tong or saw-toothed flatchet. If you're willing to accept a Rutterkin's tutelage, you could make some spare gold and beyond your usual pay grade. Pretty strong if, though.
* The enlightened race of humans from that distant corner of the world just found out what happened to their long-lost kin, and they're pissed. Did I mention their society perfected the psionic arts in the millennia since? No? How about the fact that they hold all the planes culpable, not just the Abyss? Typical primes, thinking of all the planes as the same place. Who died and made them ALL GLORY TO TO OUR WONDERFUL NEW MASTERS.
Succubus
Interestingly, succubi and incubus are a different race, rather than just one demon type who can swap genders as needed. There's a few comments about how there are fewer incubi because mortal men are far more suspectible to the temptations of beauty than woman, and another comment about how succubi assume demihuman form less often because "humans' fiery nature makes them easier prey." That's right, you thought humanity's gig was versatility and adaptation? Nope, in the eyes of the plans, we're the slutty race.
Actually, the idea of demihuman-appearing succubi is kind of intriguing, because I've never pictured it before. Elf succubi! Dwarf succubi! Thri-kreen succubi! "Phwoar, take a whiff of her pheromones."
Also, a succubi can attempt to gate in a balor once per day with a 40% chance of success. Damn. A balor? That's kind of hardcore. Here you think you're just fighting this simple 6 hit-die demon, and suddenly, boom, the most powerful of all tanar'ri angrily stands before you. Ah, 2nd edition. Before the phrase "level-appropriate encounter" had been coined.
* A thri-kreenish succubi, insect wings replaced with batlike ones, eyes glowing sinisterly, smelling faintly but awkwardly enticingly of honey, approachs the PCs with an interesting offer. She's turned stag on the blood war, and will part with a few very interesting secrets if you can get the chasme off her thorax.
* That nice alu-fiend you've been dating? The one who renounced her evil ways? Yeah, it's time to meet the mother-in-law. And she doesn't approve of you.
* A sage has grown more and more convinced that the explanation given for why there's so few Incubi is a load of hogwash. Men are just as capable of austere temperance as woman are capable of lustful hedonism! No, there must be some sort of secret going on there. Find out what it is, and you'll be rewarded handsomely!
Vrock
Vrocks are one of those iconic tanar'ri, at least to me. The sinister and powerful great vulture-man-demons! The defeaning screech! The dance of ruin! The spore-attack that leaves you covered with thick viny growths after a few rounds! The mass charm at-will ability! I didn't remember all of this stuff the last time I checked them out. That viny-growth spore attack thing in particular is weird.
* The dance of ruin smacks of a ritual, rather than an innate ability. Requiring multiple participants? Organized dance, chanting in ancient languages? It might be you need an avian set of vocal cords to be able to perform it, but still, learn the secrets, and you'll be loaded.
* Locals have been found dead, their body covered in thick, viny growths. Those who fail their knowledge checks probably will suspect some sort of nature spirit or evil druid rather than the truth of an old vrock deserter guarding its secrecy with lethal force.
* Vrocks are one of those rare tanar'ri types which can reproduce naturally (the entry declares them as "powerful fighting machines from birth".) A highly wealthy merchant commissions the PCs to find a Vrock rookery and bring her some of their eggs.
Wastrilith
I have a deep and abiding respect of the scariness of some of the shit that lurks in the depths of our real-world oceans, as anyone who has watched an appropriate documentary on the subject probably knows. The wastrilith basically take that concept and go "Hey, let's make it actually demonic." Diterlizzi's illustration of the fuckers is, as usual, great, but unfortunately a quick google search didn't show it up, so those of you not reading along at home will have to take my word for it.
Wastriliths are very territorial, and often have several denizens of the undersea working for them, not out of magical mind control, but simple "Do what I say or I'll eat you". They're also highly prone to breaking free of summoned bonds, killing their summoners, and rampaging 'until they tire of the plane.' "Hmmm, establishing my grim undersea empire of evil was fun, but the challenge is gone. Bored now!" And then they leave, their marvelous undersea palaces full of treasure simply left and abandoned. Plot hook time!
* A wastrilith who terrorized the shipping lanes, sinking merchant fleets and taking their treasure to its fabulous undersea palace, hasn't been heard from in years. Could it have finally departed the plane? Might all that treasure still be lying down there, guarded only by sharks, water elementals, and ixitachitl? But what if it's not gone? Well, nobody said adventuring was without risk...
* Kuo-toa raids on shoreline communities have increased dramatically. Investigating the cause shows they've been displaced: their old homelands have been declared part of the territory of a recently arrived wastrilith who didn't appreciate neighbors. Dealing with it, well, it might be easier than taking care of all those kuo-toa. Plus, it's obviously a greater evil, if you think in those sort of terms, and there's always at least one PC who does.
* Who knows what secrets lurk in the ancient, briny deeps? The wastrilith do. Specifically, one of the wastrilith of the cold and dark 88th layer of the Abyss, "The Maw of Demogorgon", has the information you need. Good luck!
And we've at last reached the end of the Tanar'ri! A decent set of demons to go off on, but I'll be glad for the change of pace. Stay tuned!