Demons

Demons embody the destructive nature of chaos. Whereas most scholars believe that devils were once fallen angels (or the souls of mortals corrupted by them) demons arise spontaneously from the formless havoc of the Abyss. Most demons are little more than mindless monsters, and even the shrewdest demon lord is gripped by a madness that mortals can’t fathom. Distracted by neither compassion nor logic, the gnashing hordes of the Abyss are an unrelenting engine of destruction.

Never-Ending Chaos. Like the plane from which they spring, demons seem to be infinite in number. While a particularly crazed or evil mortal might transform into a demon upon their death, far more often it is the Abyss itself that spawns these foul creatures. The process never ceases and—judging from the billions of demons that currently exist—has been occurring since the dawn of time. To make matters worse, a demon killed on the Material Plane re-forms in the Abyss eager to resume its campaign of destruction. The only way to destroy a demon permanently is to slay it in the Abyss. But for every demon that falls, a thousand others clamor to take its place.

Existential Threat. The threat demons pose to the multiverse is so profound that even angels and devils may join forces to oppose them. Though brilliant tacticians, devils understand the hordes of the Abyss outnumber them and have turned occasionally to the armies of Heaven to bolster their ranks. Angels, for their part, grudgingly recognize that Hell’s willingness to fight unfettered by morals has proven effective, even if they refuse to break those shackles themselves. Though never entered into happily, both angels and devils agree such alliances are preferable to complete annihilation.

Abyssal Incursions. As with other extraplanar creatures, mortals can use magic to summon individual demons to the Material Plane. Even the mightiest wizard, however, lacks the power to call an entire horde of demons from the Abyss. Instead, demons invade the mortal world through tears in the fabric of reality itself. Such rifts allow an unending stream of demons to pour through and wreak destruction like a plague. Even after the rift is sealed, the surrounding landscape remains blighted for generations afterward.

Cults of Madness. Demon lords care nothing for the mortals who worship them, yet this does not stop some crazed individuals from venerating them as gods. When these troubled souls find each other, cults will form, especially if one of its members proves to be a charismatic leader. Demon cultists are often bound together by the mistaken belief that their activities will earn them favor with the demon lord they serve. Just as often, however, they are twisted sadists or simply nihilistic, eager to throw away their lives if doing hastens the destruction of the world.