The following pages detail three unique Fiends designed to be recurring adversaries for your campaign. Each entry includes a description and details about the Fiend's background, suggestions for ways to use this adversary in your campaign, and its stat block. In addition, each Fiend is accompanied by new rules elements that you can use on their own or in tandem with the Fiend.
A character who draws the Flames card from a Deck of Many Things attracts the ire of a powerful Fiend. The three malevolent beings described in this chapter can each fill that role, but you can incorporate these fearsome foes into your campaign in other ways. Characters might stumble across evidence of heinous deeds performed by one of these monsters or its servants, or you could make opposing one of these Fiends the backbone of an entire campaign. Although these creatures span a wide level range and should be usable in most campaigns, you can always adjust these stat blocks to make the Fiends more suitable challenges for your characters. The possibilities are as endless as the layers of the Abyss.
Aurnozci, the Caged Worm
The demon lord Aurnozci is a wormlike horror of fiery flesh and toxic seepage. In its present form, Aurnozci can't leave Xulregg, the Abyssal layer that's both its fiefdom and its prison. It lairs within a grotesque hive dangling from a mountain-size tree of tar and flame called Gorewood.
Aurnozci relies on demonic proxies and mortal worshipers to enact its will beyond the Abyss. The exact nature of the curse that binds Aurnozci to Xulregg is its cult's most closely guarded secret, fully known only to the faith's enigmatic leader, a masked archmage called the Eye of Aurnozci.
Aurnozci's followers believe the demon lord's imprisonment is coming to an end, and soon the Caged Worm will shed its current form and transform into an even more powerful shape. Once it attains this new form, Aurnozci can escape Xulregg and wreak havoc across the multiverse. To accelerate this terrible transformation, cultists hunt down mortal souls for violent ritual sacrifice to their god.
Using Aurnozci in a Game
Aurnozci's cult targets mortals to use as sacrifices for the demon lord. The cult's hordes of minions travel throughout the Material Plane to bedevil and capture less powerful creatures and enemies of the cult. Lower-level characters could earn the cult's ire by stepping on the wrong toes during their early adventures, such as by attacking a sect of the cult.
The cult's leader, the Eye of Aurnozci, focuses on powerful mortals or enemies of the cult. High-level characters with a record of heroic deeds can easily fall into this category. The Eye of Aurnozci might also take interest in a mortal who draws the Flames card from a Deck of Many Things—a tantalizing opportunity for the cult to make good on the card's dire prophecy.
Once a character is targeted by the cult of Aurnozci, fiendish assassins assail the party. If the Caged Worm and its followers are the primary antagonists in your campaign, these attacks could happen as frequently as every session; otherwise, space them out every few sessions. At first, the foes might be lesser demons like manes or dretches, or Humanoid cultists of Aurnozci. As the characters level up, the enemies gradually increase in strength. Between fights, the characters can slowly unravel details of the cult pursuing them. By the time the characters learn they must travel to the Abyss to stop the cult's aggression, they might be regularly encountering throngs of glabrezus, nalfeshnees, or other powerful demons.
The party's journey to Xulregg and infiltration of Gorewood are adventures in themselves. A map of Gorewood and an overview of the locations within this Abyssal realm appear later in this chapter.
Depending on your players' actions, the characters might resolve their final confrontation with Aurnozci's cult by diplomacy or by force. The safest way to escape the cult is to confront the Eye of Aurnozci and persuade this shadowy villain to call off the attacks. Alternatively, a strong enough party might take the fight to Aurnozci in its hive and attempt to slay the demon lord once and for all.
Cultists of Aurnozci
Aurnozci grants its cultists the following trait:
Roleplaying Aurnozci
Aurnozci is a being of mindless destruction, and the Caged Worm has few dealings with mortals that don't end in consumption. Periodically, the Eye of Aurnozci communes with their horrifying master or leads a ceremony of propitiation in the Firehive. In combat, Aurnozci screeches horribly and attacks any intruders in sight with reckless abandon.
Xulregg
The Abyssal layer of Xulregg is a sweltering forest of massive trees, rotting undergrowth, and boiling marshes.
Locations in Xulregg
The following locations are keyed to map 20.1.
Gorewood
The center of Xulregg is Gorewood, a massive gum tree in an eternal state of smoldering decay. Gorewood's trunk is as large as any mountain on the Material Plane, and its winding branches are as broad and meandering as river deltas. Thousands of chambers, tunnels, and halls—all claimed by the cult of Aurnozci—riddle the tree's rotten interior.
Huge sections of the tree crackle and glow with ancient embers, though Gorewood grows faster than any fire can destroy it. Wet, sticky tar seeps from Gorewood's bark, fueling the tree's eon-spanning burn but also keeping the fire in check.
Firehive
Aurnozci's nest hangs from one of Gorewood's strongest, knobbiest branches, secured by a hundred-foot-thick cord of Aurnozci's iron-hard silk. The nest itself, called the Firehive, resembles a gargantuan wasp nest with an open top. Aurnozci's power causes the Firehive to throb like a beating heart, and the nest's surface is hot to the touch.
Halfway up the Firehive, a ramshackle platform of regurgitated bones encircles the nest. From here, demonic pilgrims and priests of Aurnozci peer through cracks in the nest's wall to gaze upon their dread lord. A broken Gorewood limb overlooks the opening at the top of the nest. Aurnozci's servants throw sacrifices to it from this overlook, and the Eye of Aurnozci conducts profane rituals atop a dais on the tree limb's edge.
Scabbery
When Aurnozci's minions are destroyed on the Material Plane, their souls slip through cracks in the multiverse and drip to Xulregg to feed Gorewood's thirsty roots. After a time, Gorewood rebirths the recycled demons, excreting each into its own chrysalis-like pod made from the tree's fleshy inner wood. The massive hollow chamber in Gorewood from which these chrysalises develop, bulge, and pop is called the Scabbery. Not simply a disgusting moniker, the Scabbery's name is also a reference to the way that demons reborn here emerge harder, stronger, and crueler than before.
Warrens of Rot
The endless miles of sodden tunnels and caves beneath Gorewood are called the Warrens of Rot. Each passage was once a tentacular root that at some point caught fire, burned away, and became a hollow charcoal tube. Intruders caught in Aurnozci's realm are held in the Warrens of Rot as future sacrifices to the Caged Worm. Strange, fiendish beasts lurk in the Warrens' unexplored corners, so even powerful demons don't linger in these tunnels.
Whitemarsh
Vile offal drips from the bottom of the Firehive and collects on the ground below. This boggy wetland has become a fertile breeding ground called Whitemarsh: a primordial soup that gives rise to all manner of monsters. The weakest specimens are gobbled up by hungry demons fresh from the Scabbery. Sometimes, powerful behemoths with freakish powers emerge from Whitemarsh. Most such beings flee Xulregg or are captured and sacrificed to Aurnozci, though a few have been allowed to live and serve the Caged Worm as honored guardians.
Hulgaz the Tempter
Hulgaz is a devil who hails from the stinking swamps of Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells. The self-styled Tempter corrupts mortals' souls by offering them tantalizing but ruinous boons. To do so, she directs her entourage of loyal succubi and incubi to the Material Plane in search of vulnerable mortals. When they find a particularly pitiful soul, Hulgaz might visit herself, offering even greater "gifts" to her victims.
As befits a duchess from boggy Minauros, Hulgaz appears regal yet perpetually sodden, her matted hair tangled with her soggy garments. For all her majesty, Hulgaz's fiendish nature is apparent in her monstrous features: bestial claws, glossy black eyes, and a snakelike tail tipped with a poisonous spike. On the rare occasion when her social graces fail to achieve the desired result, Hulgaz turns her natural weapons on her victims.
Using Hulgaz in a Game
Hulgaz is a compelling antagonist for groups that enjoy roleplaying and social encounters, especially if they might enjoy the prospect of making a deal with a devil.
Though her stat block is provided in the case of a fight, Hulgaz is best used as a recurring villain in roleplaying encounters. Her primary means of corrupting mortals is by offering them tantalizing boons called infernal blessings.
When a character attracts the attention of Hulgaz, she or her servants confront the character and offer a boon. But any boon on offer is fated to make the recipient miserable. Even those who choose to not take part in Hulgaz's schemes eventually suffer at her hands.
Examples of infernal blessings Hulgaz can offer characters are provided below, followed by sample encounters that feature Hulgaz or her minions.
Roleplaying Hulgaz
Hulgaz is witty, garrulous, and patient all at once. She speaks calmly in a low voice, and her movements are graceful and purposeful. Each shrug of her shoulders or waggle of her finger is a well-rehearsed ploy, a gesture she has weaponized to put her targets off guard.
Hulgaz is a charmer in both the common and magical sense. She effortlessly ingratiates herself, instinctively deducing the most effective tack to take in any conversation. This might mean lending a sympathetic ear to a weepy-eyed supplicant one moment, then seconds later offering hearty laughter to a jokester's poor jape.
Whatever her outward demeanor, any perceived kindness Hulgaz offers is strictly a means to her wicked agenda: the corruption of mortal souls. If she has a tell, it is her long, snakelike tail. In the midst of a conversation with an especially tantalizing victim-to-be, Hulgaz can't help but whip her tail back and forth with excitement.
Selfless heroes and true martyrs pique Hulgaz's interest because she loves the challenge of twisting and defiling the souls of such noble beings. She responds to unwavering do-gooders by redoubling her efforts to corrupt them.
Infernal Blessings
Here are several blessings Hulgaz can bestow on willing Humanoids. Other Fiends, particularly archdevils, might bestow such blessings as well, and you can create additional blessings Hulgaz might bestow. Unlike most blessings, infernal blessings impose both desirable and detrimental effects on the user. Casting the Remove Curse spell on the subject of an infernal blessing ends the blessing's effects, including its consequences.
The description of each blessing addresses its user. Each blessing's detrimental effect should be a surprise to the blessing's user when it is revealed some time after the infernal blessing is gained.
- Blessing of Bloody Might
- Blessing of Lonely Genius
- Blessing of Unearned Riches
Encounters with Hulgaz
Hulgaz makes a good adversary for players who especially enjoy roleplaying. If your players prefer to talk to enemies they encounter rather than fight them, consider using Hulgaz in your campaign.
You can run the following encounters to introduce Hulgaz to the party. These encounters are designed to occur in the order presented over the course of several game sessions, as Hulgaz first probes the characters to test their virtue, then tries to tempt them, and finally confronts them. At the end of each encounter, Hulgaz offers the characters one or more infernal blessings. Most encounters with Hulgaz are roleplaying-focused, and the level of the characters isn't especially important, but a final confrontation with the Tempter should wait until your heroes are 11th or 12th level (depending on how many characters are in your group).
Deceptive Knight
While traveling through a remote area, the party comes across a knight beset by three bandits. The knight appears wounded. In fact, the knight and the bandits are four succubi in magical disguise, testing the party's integrity on behalf of Hulgaz. The knight cries out for help, apparently assailed by the bandits.
How the succubi interact with the characters depends on how the characters react to this situation:
In every case, a member of the party is offered a choice between two infernal blessings. The succubi hint that this gift is on behalf of their mistress, Hulgaz, but they don't divulge any further details. Whether or not a character accepts the offer, the succubi depart once the exchange is over.
Time of Need
During an especially harrowing fight, Hulgaz appears to the party. She teleports to the most hard-pressed character and casually offers to help in the battle. All she asks in return is for the character to accept an infernal blessing from her. If the character rejects her offer, Hulgaz "tsks" in disappointment, then summons two succubi to attack the party before teleporting away.
Crossroads Confrontation
Hulgaz makes her final appearance to the party long after their previous meeting. This encounter takes place at a suitably dramatic location, such as a deserted rural crossroads, when the characters believe themselves to be free of Hulgaz.
Hulgaz offers them one last deal. She produces a handful of baubles that represent her infernal blessings, one for each member of the party. Hulgaz offers the characters these gifts as tokens of her esteem. To emphasize her respect for the party, she has tailored the charms to suit each character's stated goals or aspirations.
As before, the charms are designed to bring the characters fortune and woe in equal measure. This time, Hulgaz doesn't take no for an answer. If the characters refuse to take the infernal charms, Hulgaz shakes her head ruefully. She says that if she can't convince the characters to accept the Nine Hells' invitations, she'll have to send them there herself. Hulgaz then launches into a frenzied assault, attacking with reckless abandon.
Malaxxix the Shackler
Legends describe the dread being Malaxxix as the child of one of the night hags who created the first yugoloths. Malaxxix is often lumped in with such Fiends, perhaps because it too has a grand intellect and self-centered agenda.
Malaxxix's machinations are many, but it is most infamous for crafting cursed armaments and distributing them throughout the multiverse in the hope that they'll be found by mortals who are desperate for power and ripe for corruption.
Malaxxix seeks the Books of Keeping: ancient tomes that contain the true names of all yugoloths. To this end, it patrols the vilest swaths of the multiverse from atop its unholy vehicle, the Unborn Palanquin. This shambling collective is made up of thousands of mezzoloths devoted to their liege, who roams the Lower Planes as a tyrannical marauder.
Using Malaxxix in a Game
Malaxxix is a powerful and violent brute, an ideal enemy for a deadly high-level combat encounter anywhere in the multiverse. The best way to presage such a confrontation is to present the party with one or more of Malaxxix's custom-made cursed items, exposing characters to the curse of Malaxxix. 19 and rules for the 19 are included below.
Malaxxix's creations appear at fortuitous times. A character might find one days after some great misfortune, such as after wronging a powerful hag or drawing the Flames card from a Deck of Many Things. Of course, you can also place such a cursed item in your next dungeon or among an otherwise unremarkable treasure hoard.
Once a character attunes to one of Malaxxix's cursed items, that character becomes afflicted with the yugoloth's curse. Malaxxix can spy upon any creature so afflicted and can teleport to a cursed creature at will. Malaxxix typically reserves this attention for creatures it believes might advance its goal of locating the Books of Keeping.
It could be some time before Malaxxix presents itself to the party. Beforehand, Malaxxix is likely to craft additional cursed items for the party to find on their adventures, then watch in delight as the characters squirm under the weight of their unholy armaments. Only once Malaxxix has tired of the characters does it teleport to the characters' location, attempt to slay the buffoonish mortals, and reclaim the treasures.
Curse of Malaxxix
A creature that attunes to one of Malaxxix's cursed items becomes afflicted with the curse of Malaxxix. The curse enables Malaxxix to interact with the cursed creature in special ways:
Scrying
Malaxxix can cast the Scrying spell on the cursed creature without material components or a spell slot. Malaxxix doesn't need to be on the same plane of existence as the creature to use this ability, and the creature automatically fails the saving throw against the spell.
Teleport
As an action, Malaxxix can teleport, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, to an unoccupied space within 60 feet of the cursed creature, regardless of the creature's location in the multiverse.
The curse of Malaxxix lasts until ended with a Remove Curse spell, a Greater Restoration spell, or similar magic.