#Azzagrat

[oldschoolfrp]

Into the Abyss -- in Zrintor, the Viper Forest, within Graz'zt's realm of Azzagrat (Tony DiTerlizzi, from AD&D 2e Planescape Campaign Expansion Planes of Chaos: The Travelogue, TSR, 1994)

[lapdogmabari]

😍💌: Baexor!

😍: "What does your OC find irresistible in others?" Intelligence, mostly. But also, honesty is so alien in the Abyss that it's attractive to him too.

💌: "How would they plan a romantic evening for a significant other?" A night in, home-cooked meal, baked desert. If there is a component of going out, it's probably going to see a play.

[catulhu333]

D&D Demon Lords and Warhammer Chaos Gods - Graz'zt and Slaanesh

(Warning, some mature topics are also discussed)

Slaanesh, like other Chaos Gods, takes inspiration (sometimes probably subconsciously) from multiple sources - mythological and religious figures, literary ones, but he/they seems to be among these, particularly inspired by 2 Demon Lords/Princes from Dungeons & Dragons, that predate him/them. Here we discuss one of them - Graz'zt.

Graz'zt was first introduced in 1982's module/adventure "The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth" (and mentioned in 1976 prototype, but solely by name).

He is here already described as the "most handsome of Demon Princes", and one of the most powerful of them (rivaling the 2 top Demon Princes mentioned before in lore, Demogorgon and Orcus). Graz'zt somewhat unique beauty, is similar to Slaanesh who is described as uniquely/most beautiful out of the 4 Chaos Gods. As seen here, he already has a connection to Succubi (as well as Lamias, but that will be important later), and the number 6 (Slaanesh' holy number), having six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

Better quality scan for Graz'zt's illustration (if colored in childhood), by Cullen Burn on Twitter

Further details about him, as shed in the 1987 Manual of Planes: "Graz'zt makes his domain in a great palace that fills an entire layer and dominates the nearby layers of lesser demon lords. Here Graz'zt marshals his army against the forces of Orcus and Demogorgon."

And how Slaanesh's realm is described in 1988's "Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness": GENERAL: Slaanesh is the Lord of Pleasure, the Power of Chaos dedicated to the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures and the overthrow of all codes of decent behaviour. He reigns in a vast and luxuriously appointed palace in the void, where favoured followers litter the floors, indulging themselves in all forms of perverse pleasures of the flesh.

This might be a lesser similarity, but it is curious realms of both are specifically described as "palaces". And as opposed the later lore, the palaces filing the whole realm/dimension in both cases.

Slaanesh, one of his/their's only canon illustrations, exactly from "Realms of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness"

Not 100% canon, but later it's elements (partly) canonized, Graz'zt was connected to Drow in Gord the Rogue series of novels, by Gary Gygax (co-creator of D&D). Specifically, in 1986's "Artifact of Evil", the drow elf priestess Eclavdra converted to serving and worshiping Graz'zt (as did seemingly the drow of Oerth, or at least house of Eilserv, in that continuity), as well as became his lover. And in turn, he helped her to become the queen/ruler of drow. Part of this was canonized since 2nd edition, in 1993's "Iuz the Evil", with Eclavdra being described as worshiping Lolth, but serving both Lolth and Graz'zt. 2006's "Fiendish Codex: Hordes of the Abyss" indeed confirmed Eclavdra converted to worshiping Graz'zt, became his lover (and they even had a son Athux). Seemingly latter serving both Graz'zt and Lolth for a time, before returning to solely worshiping and serving Lolth. Though it makes sense, as Eclavdra was noted in the Gord novels to be certain to betray Graz'zt. This in some ways, makes her similar to the later character of Morathi from Warhammer (Fantasy and Age of Sigmar).

Eclavdra, 5th edition depiction

Graz'zt as presented in 1994's Planes of Chaos

"Iuz the Evil" was also the first appearance of Graz'zt in second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

(Also, in 2E, Tanar'ri was the term used for all Demons, unlike later it being used for one, most common category)

Graz'zt and his Realm (now given a name "Azzagrat") was further developed, and changed a bit in the in 1994 "Planes of Chaos", making him , and making him in many ways more resemble Slaanesh: "The best known of the Triple Realm's towns are actually always connected to one another and to the Plain of Infinite Portals; the connections between the three are murky to any mind less chaotic than a tanar'ri's, and sometimes makes travel here extremely frustrating. The towns themselves are often clean and even beautiful, though the streets are still mazes; the horrors of Azzagrat are hidden better than most of the terrors of the Abyss. Screams from behind closed doors are more common than blood in the streets. If a basher doesn't poke her nose in, she might not learn what she don't want to know."

"Other notorious characters include Maretta, the Lady of the Counting-House (Px/fd (succubus)/S2/CE), who watches over the revenues from Graz'zt's pacts with creatures of the Prime. Maretta rules a haven of pleasure and discipline in the underground core of Samora, a city of vice that pays huge yearly tributes to support the Blood War. Maretta occasionally sends a legion of cambion to the front, but for the most part the city is a haven for those avoiding the war. It's one of the few places in the Abyss built with an eye for excessive ornamentation; some say it's as blinding as Mount Celestia, but gaudier."

"A basher'd be smart to avoid the Argent Palace Graz'zt's abode of 66 ivory towers and a hundred cold, mirrored halls - if at all possible. The palace is a frighteningly clean, echoing place where visitors often lose their guides to the ravenous, mad bodaks and worse creatures that Graz'zt releases from his dungeons occasionally for amusement." Here again visible the connection to the number 6.

Second edition also presented Graz'zt's very ambitious plans - of not only conquering/uniting the Abyss, but all of the Lower (Hellish) Planes, and all species of fiends, and march and defeat the Upper (Heavenly) planes (first being detailed in 1996 "Uncaged: Faces of Sigil"). If first via his servant (and possibly child), the Cambion (half-demon) the Rule-of-Three. But this was developed further in 3rd edition and later, and while it seems like an absurdly ambitious plan, it is suggested to be a real possibility.

The Lamias, who often serve and worship Graz'zt, are also quite interesting, that in "The Ecology (Love Life) of the Lamia" (found in 1993's Dragon #192), it was revealed that while the Lamia Nnobles (serpentine Lamias) have two sexes, the common (leotaurian) Lamias are hermaphrodites, despite their feminine upper bodies. It's also described that only when mating with a human (and possibly demi-human), Lamias have children of their type/caste - two Lamias mating, produces Lamias of a lower caste. Common Lamias mating with humans of either sex, either being impregnated or impregnating them. Two common Lamias mating, creates a bizarre creature - S'air, the horned lion-goat on the article's cover, a being of animalistic intelligence. S'air are named after creatures of the same name - if spelled by modern translators more often as Sayir, found in the Bible. Often translated as satyrs, goats or devils. In general, Sayir seem to be meant to be goat-like demons, possibly related to latter stories of Jinn, and the Demon/Fallen Angel Azazel. Graz'zt having some similarities to Azazel - especially seeing how the angels name is sometimes written as Azzael or Azzazel (compare to the name of Graz'zt realm Azzagrat), Azazel being father and one of the minds (and fathers) behind the conception of the Nephilim in the Book of Enoch), sometimes described as having six fingers and six toes on each hand and foot (II Samuel 21:20, 1 Chronicles 18-21).

Depiction of a (common) Lamia in the original 1977 Monster Manual. Note her/their hind legs are of a goat

This makes also lamias seem a lot like the Late Medieval and Early Modern folklore about Succubi/Incubi, who were sex switching beings, that had to reproduce with humans. This was latter introduced to Succubi properly, but in 4th edition of D&D (though as will be seen bellow, implied since 2nd edition). What is also very interesting, 3rd edition states (in 2006 "Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss") Lamias and Graz'zt are relatives - Lamias being descendants of the Obyrith/Lovecraftian proto-Demoness Pale Night, Graz'zt's mother (as stated since 2nd edition), further showing a close connection between the two.

4E Lamia, partially in her Eladrin/Elven form, from the 2007 Monster Manual

4th Edition, for it's duration, majorly re-imagined Lamias, if still keeping their connections with and worship of Graz'zt. Here they are re-imagined as belonging to the Fey (Fairy) group (along with elves and other faerie creatures). But a truly bizarre example of fairies. Their true form being that of a hive of scarabs, around a Fey (usually elf or eladrin) skeleton, taking the form of an attractive humanoid (most commonly eladrin, elf, drow or human). They devour their victims by first seducing them, by shapeshifting to a look and gender of the target's preference. They also reproduce in a horrific, corruptive, John Carpenter Thing-like fashion, by splitting their scarab mass, devouring a (often first seduced) fey (usually eladrin, elf or drow), aside from their skeleton, and taking their form, along with their memories. Though here being further similar in man ways to Daemons of Slaanesh, and their "relation" to elves and Eldar/Aeldari.

Graz'zt, as depicted in "The Book of Vile Darkness"

3rd edition, starting with 2001's "The Book of Vile Darkness", further emphasized Graz'zt connection to pleasure and desires, as well as started using the using the title "Dark Prince" for him, like Warhammer did for a long time for Slaanesh: "Tales are told among common folk that a dark-skinned fiend sometimes visits witches and sorcerers, granting them both sexual favors and magical powers. Graz’zt is the truth of that legend. A deeply sexual, erotic being, the Dark Prince never goes anywhere without a retinue of female monsters—usually lamias, succubi, or mariliths. He is dangerously charming and seductive, and he speaks with such eloquence and grandeur that one might think him a devil, not a demon."

"Graz’zt loves seduction and guile. Although he is not afraid of war, he would rather trick and charm his opponents than beat them in battle."

"Graz’zt enjoys blood sacrifices made in his name, and sexual rites are important in services dedicated to him as well. His temples are dark, secluded places where orgies are common."

This edition also added to Graz'zt design the fact he has 6 small horns.

Graz'zt as depicted in Dragon Magazine #360, "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Graz'zt"

5th edition, further developed Graz'zt in Out of Abyss making him again even more similar to Slaanesh:

Graz'zt in Out of Abyss' promotional materials

It's also worth to note that Graz'zt, while primarily male, his gender and sex were started to be presented as somewhat fluid (similar to Slaanesh since his debut), starting in Second Edition. In his debut in this edition, in 1993's "Iuz the Evil", he is described: "Graz'zt rules three Abyssal planes and is a powerful tanar'ri Lord. He is proud, and unusually self-controlled and cool for a tanar'ri. His favored form is that of a very tall and heavily-muscled, ebony-skinned man, with glowing green eyes, pointed ears and small fangs. He also has the peculiarity of being six-fingered and six-toed in whatever form he appears in."

This is basically repeated in the above mentioned "Planes of Chaos": "Graz'zt, a powerful tanar'ri lord, rules three Abyssal layers. Also called the Lord of Shadows or the Lord of the Triple Realm, Graz'zt is known for his pride, unusual self-control, and coolness (uncommon for a tanar'ri). He favors the form of a very tall and heavily muscled ebony-skinned man with glowing green eyes, pointed ears, and small fangs. He also has the peculiarity of being six-fingered and six-toed in whatever form he appears in."

These just state he has a propensity to change form...but 3 years latter, in 1997's "Faces of Evil: The Fiends":

"GENDER It's not uncommon for the tanar'ri to take genders as they will. Some days they're male, some days female; some days they're neither, and some days they're both. They tend to stick with one or the other as they grow older, and to all those who think this implies order or stability, why, I argue that it's simply another example of the fiends letting the strongest urge dominate (as they do in all other aspects of their lives)."

Suggesting together Graz'zt probably also assumes female and nonbinary forms, aside from his main form.

This was further suggested in 3rd edition (specifically 3.5E), were Graz'zt was shown, as part of his feud with the Queen of Succubi Malcanthet, transform into/impersonate her, as seen first in lore of the Demon Lord Kostchtchie, in the 2006 article "The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Kostchtchie: Prince of Wrath" in Dragon #345: "The conflict between the Dark Prince Graz'zt and the Queen of Succubi Malcanthet is one of the most notorious in the Abyss. When Graz’zt hit upon an idea that would not only humiliate Malcanthet but might provide him access to the Stoldottir Gate, he put a dangerous plan into motion. Disguised as the Queen of Succubi, Graz'zt managed over the course of hundreds of clandestine meetings to seduce Kostchtchie and gain his trust, convincing him that, as Malcanthet, he wanted to be Kostchtchie’s bride and merge their resources to destroy several other demon lords."

Kostchtchie, thanks to the real Malcanthet's manipulation on her own, discovered the truth, and went into a complete rage. But what is interesting, it's also described as such: "Yet to Kostchtchie, nothing could have been more humiliating. His realization that he had been manipulated by a woman (even if that woman was actually Graz'zt in disguise) fueled his misogyny like never before, and the fact that the other tanar'ri lords (Graz’zt in particular) now viewed Kostchtchie as a besotted fool triggered one of his greatest rages ever."

Stating Kostchtchie considers Graz'zt at least partly a woman, and even the text seems to partly agree. And this even fueled Kostchtchie's misogyny, not homophobia, or any form of queerphobia.

Graz'zt again impersonated/transformed into Malcanthet in 2007's "Expedition into the Demonweb Pit", as part of his plans:

Graz'zt impersonating Malcanthet, circled

And in 5th edition, in "Out of Abyss": "The appearance of the Dark Prince is a warning that not all beautiful things are good. Standing nearly nine feet tall, Graz'zt strikes the perfect figure of untamed desire, every plane and curve of his body, every glance of his burning eyes, promising a mixture of pleasure and pain. A subtle wrongness pervades his beauty, from the cruel cast of his features to the six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Graz'zt can also transform himself at will, appearing in any humanoid form that pleases him, or his onlookers, all equally tempting in their own ways."

In general, these similarities, and possible inspirations are very interesting, especially how it seems Graz'zt and Slaanesh started to mutually influence each other.

[calamari-minecraft-corner]

This is gonna be probably a niche reference but the Las Nevadas in the dnd con au is Azzagrat from the High Rollers Aerois Campaign bc It’s an area filled with sin, pleasure and depravity

And then Cala comes in very confused and pretty nervous since she’s baby and flustered so Quackity sees her and is just “ah yes fresh meat”

Little does he know she’s about to make his life hell by having a good heart

[sonneillonv]

D&D Frustrations. I hate it when my characters are typecast.

In the Tuesday D&D game I'm currently playing in (run by the owner of the shop where I run a Heroes of Dragonsgate game on Sundays) I started out playing Tyrian, a blind cleric dedicated to a god/dess of love and beauty who functions as sort of a sacred prostitute/intimate healer. But opportunities to exercise that philosophy weren't abundant and it turned out the group, which was composed primarily of secondary healers, didn't need a primary healer. So I switched to Za'elindiel, Z for short - a Lore Bard.

Z is a tiefling born to a succubus, raised in a family of Incubi/Succubi in Azzagrat. He's not native to the material plane; he's native to the Abyssal layer of Rauwend where his huge extended family (I headcanon Concubi living in rather massive and complex polycules they refer to as 'covens' and raising their children communally) pursues a wuxia-inspired courtier tradition. Z practices martial arts, swordsmanship, music, archery, calligraphy, and other pursuits necessary to be considered a 'gentleman' in Azzagrat's society. He joined the 116th Ebon Legion and was trained as an intelligence agent. He adventures on the material plane as a cover for intel-gathering, sabotage, and other tradecraft.

Z has spent most of his life dealing with the stereotypes people have about incubi. He's well aware he's expected to seduce everything that moves, which is something he patently has no desire to do. Tyrian was sexually liberal, open, and happy to spread compassion and tenderness and free love across the 'verse. Tyrian passionately believes that people improve when they receive external love and support, so providing that love and support brightens the world. Tyrian thinks every person in the world, even those who seem the most wicked, has something in them worth loving.

Z is not Tyrian.

Z doesn't have the same philosophy, doesn't like people touching him, and REALLY does not like people assuming he's anyone's whore. His Guqin, which is his primary bardic instrument, is literally named 凤仙花 / Fèngxiān Huā - "Touch-Me-Not". His sword is named 抵制 / Dǐ Zhì, "Refusal". He really could not be clearer about how disinterested he is in the 'free love' movement. He and Tyrian are good friends who stay up all night drinking, playing strategy games, and debating the nature of good, evil, and samsara together. They disagree about a great deal, but they respect each other.

My DM is under the impression I'm still playing Tyrian. He's repeatedly made references to Z's perceived sexual availability and recently had him be 'chosen' by the same god/dess of love that Tyrian serves. Z is now carrying around artifacts dedicated to that god/dess, and because he doesn't actually serve that deity, he's living in constant low-grade fear of being smote to ashes for blasphemy, because the god/dess is a good-aligned deity and he is a neutral evil demon.

His stop-gap, currently, is a vow made to that god/dess in prayer that he will ONLY use the artifacts to try to survive the dungeon where he found them. Once he's no longer in a constant life-or-death situation, he will deliver the artifacts to Tyrian's sect so they can be in the hands of true believers. For this service, he hopes the god/dess will forgive him for briefly taking advantage of their powerful magic and NOT, y'know, raze his soul to the ground.

And I'm just picturing the session where he actually does that, and my DM is baffled that anyone would surrender such powerful magic items, and I have to remind him, AGAIN, that

Z.

is.

not.

TYRIAN.

[evilyunia]

OC Ranrys Spend a lot of time and lore reading just to pick one place in the Abyss that is more or less civilized and later decided to put my story into Azzagrat/Zelatar because it fits perfectly Fun fact Ranrys is often mistaken for being good looking cambion or fey'ri but he is neither of those

[elennare]

Some ramblings on the Elenasto twins and their motivations

A long time ago, I took a look at the Aerois party’s motivations and methods through the @sortinghatchats system (link to the post). After the last few episodes, it got me thinking about how Edea might fit into that system; and about whether her and Lucius not getting along, and their different views on wanting justice or revenge for their family, comes from a fundamental difference in what drives them, in where they base their moral systems. Under the cut because it got long!

For a quick reminder of the sortinghatchats system (link to their wordpress which is easier to navigate than tumblr, should you want more detail): Primaries (i.e. motivations): Gryffindor: gut morality and intuition. Ravenclaw: search for truth, constructed moral system. Hufflepuff: value all people, bond to communities. Slytherin: strong individual loyalties, taking care of them and theirs. Secondaries (i.e. methods): Gryffindor: charge, boldness, motivational leadership. Ravenclaw: plan, collect information, strategize. Hufflepuff: toil, reliability, build communities. Slytherin: improvise, adaptable, fit themselves to the situation.

I remain thoroughly convinced Lucius is a Slytherin primary - nothing matters more than his friends (not even himself, worryingly - Lucius my darling boy you are important too please take care of yourself), the loss of his family nearly breaks him, he cares about his crew so much... And there’s that cold hard calmness he goes into mostly when his people are threatened or hurt (most recently when the guard taunted him with his family, but before that when he and Quill were escaping Azzagrat, when Quill died, when Valla was taken... He had it with Herald too which seemed a bit of an outlier, but - partly I think he was afraid for Sentry, and Herald had just tried to kill them all; but also Herald had killed her friend, when Lucius would willingly die for his friends - maybe it was also “how can we trust someone who would do the worst thing imaginable”). I’m still pretty sure he’s a Slytherin secondary too, quick on his feet and adaptable - he has grown into quite a leader, which is listed as more of a Gryffindor secondary trait; but I feel he’s doing it more through adopting a captain “persona” with a Slytherin secondary’s adaptability, and through including his crew in his Slytherin primary’s “my people who I love and prioritize”.

Edea, on the other hand, is very clearly a Ravenclaw secondary; she investigates, she builds magitech, she trains with Nanny, she plans ahead. Look at their exchange over the gauntlet - Slytherin primary Lucius is trying to express “you’re my sister and I love you” by thanking her for it, while Ravenclaw secondary Edea is just going “yes, yes, that’s very nice but that’s not data, I want data”.

But what’s Edea’s primary? Interestingly enough, despite the vengeance/justice argument, despite how driven she currently is by her family’s murder, I don’t think she’s a Slytherin primary! She was Moonstar before then, after all, chasing the wind/cloud barons, seemingly out of an ideal of justice. Mark said, too, that she’d never had that emotional, caring about people side that Lucius has so much of. So I think it’s more likely she’s one of the idealist primaries, either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Which of those two, though... When they were arguing over vengeance or justice for the Elenasto family, she did (however reluctantly) listen when Quill said Lucius deserved a voice in that decision (nice little bit of Ravenclaw primary from Quill there, calling on the external fact of Lucius having as much right as Edea to decide that, rather than a more internal morality argument); she did concede they probably needed to think on it and discuss it further. That could point to a willingness to reassess that looks more Ravenclaw... But it could also be a Gryffindor trying to navigate two clashing moral imperatives of “avenge my family” and “protect my brother”? There’s also that guard whose head she incinerated in the last episode - I can’t explain why, but killing him so horrifically felt more like a Gryffindor’s fury. Finally, this line describing Gryffindor primaries: they “go out and do their damnedest to make a difference”; that sounds very much like Edea becoming Moonstar, deciding the cloud barons must be stopped and turning her skills to vigilante-ism. 

Either way, that idealist primary for Edea versus Lucius’s loyalist Slytherin explains why the twins didn’t get along! As Lucius said while they were arguing, Edea’s always “thought in absolutes”, which would have baffled Lucius for whom his people are the most important thing. And on the opposite side, Edea was probably so frustrated by Lucius just not getting why the ideals that matter to her are so important.

Going back to that guard, too - I can’t help but wonder how committed Lucius really is, deep down, to bringing Democles/whoever else is responsible to justice, rather than killing them? The way he went cold and merciless and just handed the guard over to Edea... Would he do that again with Democles if given the choice? Rewatching their argument over it, a lot of Lucius’s concern seems to be what killing him would actually do to Edea, that it wouldn’t bring her peace - which, again, tracks with a Slytherin primary; the most important thing here is not some abstract concept of justice, but the well-being of his twin.

I’m not at all sure how the eventual showdown with Democles is going to go - will Edea kill him before they can stop her, will she give in to Lucius and take him alive, will Lucius give in and they kill him together? But I’m very much looking forward to it!

[janamensch]

OKAY OKAY, hear me out. I already mentioned in this reblog that it would be really cool if each of the Aerois characters became some sort of ultimate version of themselves. (Sentry for example is already Sentinel Prime, the leader of her people. Nova is friends with one of the three leaders of the Eterna, Tiangong. It has been hinted at that Quill could become as powerful as H'esper, especially when H'esper isn't around anymore. Aila has also been hinted at becoming very powerful; that one vision where all the other remaining First Elves were standing behind her, and also she's talked to most gods out of everyone in the group.)

But I wasn't able to come up with anything for Lucius. BUT THEN! Today I was listening to the podcast episode where they were escaping from Azzagrat, when Lucius cast that really powerful acid spell. And Mark said something really interesting:

"You see the blue and orange energy swirl around Lucius, and his eyes, which are normally blue and orange, for just a brief second, they fracture into prisms of every spectrum of colour. Just for a second."

Now. We've seen this happen once before! When Lucius tried to connect to the Prime Matrix in Root Prime, and he saw Root's past.

So. Lucius is an Arcane Chromat, which allows him to draw magic from the colours around him, and right now, his main focus is on ice and acid magic because of his blue and orange eyes. BUT if he reaches this ultimate version of himself, and his eyes become permanent prisms of colour, will he be able to use any colour, any damage type for his magic? Will the Prismatic Alternator Gauntlet help him with this? How will he unlock these powers? What even are Arcane Chromats? We know they're not just native to Aerois because Root Prime knew other Arcane Chromats.

I really want this theory to be true now, even if it's just for the aesthetic of pretty new eyecolours for Lucius.

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Cursed idea to OM AU: Graz'zt has sent his cultists and demons to Paris to cause the City of Love to be drawn into the Abyss, as he wants to make it the fourth layer of Azzagrat (Azzagrat is the collective name for the three layers of the Abyss over which Graz'zt rules).

Oh

Yeah that’s cursed.

[paperanddice]

Kishi Demon

The kishi demon pulls from real world mythology again, this time going to Angola. Appearing as a normal human except for the hyena face on the back of their head, kishi demons lure in victims to be devoured, often relying upon their charm and attractiveness to do so. This does mean that they, as written, have a tendency to go after women, and so make sure you have established clear boundaries with your players before bringing it into a game. It very heavily leans into assault on women as its playbook, and many people aren’t comfortable with that being an element to their campaign.

The kishi has magic to manipulate or control people to make its hunts easier, but if it is drawn into combat it is no weakling. Its stat block appears very heavily based off of the gladiator from the Monster Manual, but with better defenses and a little magic to help it in battle. And if it manages to kill a foe, it strips a trophy from the body quickly and affixes that to its shield, stealing some of the creature’s essence to boost its defenses even further and warding off other foes with the gruesome display.

Adventurers exploring the Abyss are often desperate for any safe place to rest. No true safety can be found of course, but within Graz’zt’s triple layer of Azzagrat some peace of mind may be purchased. The massive city carries its own dangers however, and many of them bear a friendly seeming face. Kishi demons are common, covering their heads to hide their hyena face and posing as humans who have established themselves. They will run inns or offer places to sleep, and those who are lured in by their cunning words risk being devoured if the host hasn’t fed in a while.

Tobias the Undefeated was a knight who hid a cruel streak behind his famed nobility. He’d lured in many women to their deaths with his wealth and fame, then used both to hide the bodies and avoid suspicion. It wasn’t until he attempted to kill a skilled adventurer that his murders ended, as she fought and killed him instead. Unfortunately, that was not to be the end of him as he was born in hell as a kishi demon and has spent years finding his way back to get his revenge on the woman who killed him and all who celebrated her instead of avenging his “undeserved” death.

The eldest daughter of a nobleman turns up dead, apparently mauled by some dangerous beast. Investigations into her death find a slew of other deaths by similar causes, though few ever received attention as the victims were those who never are missed. It appears the nobleman’s daughter was a slip by the killer, mistaken for another victim that would never be investigated, and now the law and hired adventurers chase him down, revealing a long history of murders that can be tied to dozens of cities over decades.

[lapdogmabari]

🖊 - Another for Baexor because I love him

My love.

FINE.

Baexor, subconciously or not, seeks out warlocks with similar damage as him. People who feel trapped in a life they have no control over, people who think they're not good enough, and people who feel like they don't belong because they're not like the rest of their family, to name a few.

[dagai4556]

The Fellowship of the Blade Game 24 Recap

After taking a ferry down the Styx, our group landed in the Gaping Maw. They were met on the shore by 15 Manes which they made quick work of. Torinn cast speak with plants and discovered there were more enemies South of them. It turned out to be two foul Bulezau. After a short baqttle Melody was diseased by their barbed tails. Torinn cast lesser restoration to remove the wasting ailment and the group continued on. They discovered a cult fanatic who said he was from Azzagrat and had come here by mistake but he would show them the way to Azzagrat. He asked their business there and Despair told him they were just travelling adventurers looking to see the place, a lie of course, and he believed her.They turned northward following the fanatic and soon came across another 25 Manes. Most of the group took out one or two of the horrid demons but Torinn's use of the call lightning spell blasted the remaining contingent to an early grave. Following the path they found the portal to Azzagrat. They found themselves in the capitol city of Zelatar which was thronging with people engaged in various activities including debaucherous acts. Where will their adventure take them next? We will see next week.

[sonneillonv]

Y'all, the Tourist's Guide to Azzagrat is taking real shape. It's 59 pages long. I still have a lot of rewrites and a TON of expansions to do, but shit, this is starting to be a real Product. >.>

[evilyunia]

OC Ranrys Had a vision of this one in my dreams also vibes of Azzagrat (Graz'zt realm) gives me a vibe of more insane version of ancient Rome with slavery, orgies, arena fights to death for amusement and opulent life for aristocraty. 

The outfit is non canon btw but it still was fun to draw it.

[will0wwisp]

Click Download to really see how big it is : http://aukianu.deviantart.com/art/end-of-the-arc-346758282

hint: It's 18"X24" This is a picture to mark the conclusion of my characters story arc in my D&D Campaign. I'm kinda sad, we did so much together! oh how I'm going to miss the abyss )= this picture has like some of the prominent parts of the story, from right to left the segments are

    This one is the sea in the gaping maw, with Abysm coming out of the waters, and Dagon's eerie smile from under the water. This was actually past the middle of the act, we had to go kill Demogorgon Spoiler: (We didn't get to kill him)  we spent a few sessions out at sea and it was an interesting time for our players since they come from a land with no major water sources!

    Enter a generic Azathiel picture! somewhat I used it to portray how much shes changed in this whole campaign but she still has some more changing left to do! She's gotten a familiar now Sinder the fiendish flying fox, as well as her magic now glows an acidic green colour. this was her outfit threw out this whole part of the arc and though it might change soon it is one of my favorites. I could just talk for days and days about her but lets move on

    God I don't think anyone understands how much I love Graz'zt like he da best. gah I don't know what I'm going to do without him being a part of the story anymore! Luckly he's not dead or else idk I'd never see him again! I don't think our party of characters share my enthusiasm though because he has put them threw hell and back literally. He's stolen cheated and manipulated our whole party several times as well as charmed one of PCs to have an unwilling affair. He was the main factor of my whole act and is a major factor in what my character is today!

    Every good plot has to have a conflict, and this was ours. My home town, GreenStalk, was shrouded in a purple mist I originally was going there for answers about my fiendish heritage and it turned out the fiends were out to find me. Azathiel's sister managed to freeze the town in fear of another one of our villains and Azathiel needed to fix this mess. I wish we got to spend more time there but the plane is cracking so we had to move on, plus we spent enough time on me!

    Ah, The ivory palace. the Argent palace of Zelatar. we spent quite a pit of time going to and being in there. I cant say it was for the best but it certainly was fun. I think if we don't go back there before the campaign ends that That's where Azathiel will be going after the campaign like a good little follower. I wish I could say more but I think I'm talking about this way too much.

So this is it I can't say that I will stop drawing Azathiel and Graz'zt but it might be less frequent with school and volunteering and the main focus going to other more deserving players, But I really enjoyed this and things like this is why I'm proud to be my geeky little self and play D&D with really awesume people

[lapdogmabari]

🖊 🖊 🖊 🖊 🖊🖊 - Baexor, Xabi, Draach, Godric, Lucius, and Shiro :)

Amy.

Baexor: He has SO many tattoos. He's got a half-moon near his left collarbone and a rose on his left arm and will probably show them to you if you ask. He also has others that look pretty similar to his warlock's marks :) Also he needs glasses.

J'xabi: He and Thancred got along like oil and water for the LONGEST time- from just a basic incompatibility to both blaming each other for what happened to Minfilia and didn't really start to reconnect until Shadowbringers and the Eden raids.

Draach: He prefers a two-handed stance when he fights and on some level enjoys brute-forcing his way past someone's guard. His least favorite kind of beast to hunt has definitely got to be lycanthropes.

Godric: Godric keeps a pistol up his sleeve when he can after a bad game of cards. He's not very lucky, so you'd think he'd try to gamble less. He does not.

Lucius: Lucius keeps a journal of everything he learns about his friends planes :) He knows he might not ever get to travel beyond Barovia, but he desperately wants to.

Shiro: Shiro died, but you straight up knew that. Between the nightmares and the mortal peril Ezra seems to pull him into, you think he'd be more comfortable with the concept of death but my dude he is CHEST DEEP in existential dread.