Crusaders!
Only 2 weeks are left until you embark on an epic journey into the lands conquered by demons. We simply couldn't let you go unprepared! So we sent our scouts into the Worldwound region, and now we can share with you some important intel on who you will have to fight.
Watch the new dev diary where Filipp Kovalev, our Senior Level Designer and a 5-star Pathfinder Organized Play GM, will tell you all about the spawn of the Abyss.
Demons are one of the youngest types of outsiders, which originated when the souls of mortals touched the essence of the Abyss. When a soul is sentenced to the Abyss by Pharasma’s court, upon arrival it manifests as a larva — a disgusting worm-like creature with a human face, covered in chitin. Those larvae that survive in the Abyss long enough (and avoid becoming food for demons or other larvae) — undergo a transformation into a demon.
The majority of demons, except the most lesser types, possess the teleportation ability (albeit between the places known to them), however, they can’t move between the planes. This ability makes the Worldwound so dangerous for Golarion — this interplanar rift allows demons to travel to Golarion and then spread like a plague. That’s why the creation of Wardstones — a protective barrier that prevents the demons from teleporting outside of the Worldwound region - was such an important event, which halted the demonic invasion.
Demons' bodies are made up of the essence of the Abyss itself rather than flesh and blood. So ordinary weapons are not effective against them. You'll need specialized weapons forged from cold iron. And if you're dealing with powerful demons, you won't have much luck without enchanted weapons that deal holy damage. Demons’ resistance to various types of energy damage and immunity to electricity is widely known.
Let's take a closer look at some of the demons.
Dretch or Sloth Demon
Dretches appear from the souls of lazy and evil people, and to create a dretch, one fragment of a soul is enough. So a soul of a single mortal can create a small army of these disgusting creatures!
Dretches look like small thickset creatures. It’s the weakest demon in the Abyssal hierarchy, and dretches often become victims of stronger demons, however, their thick skin and the ability to produce clouds of nauseating gas can make them a formidable enemy for inexperienced adventurers.
To defeat a dretch you won’t need much — just a cold iron weapon and protection from poison.
Brimorak
Brimoraks are born from the souls of arsonists and pyromaniacs.
Brimoraks look like muscular red-eyed creatures with flaming hooves and goat heads. Their weapons and hooves emit unbearable heat, and their magical abilities elevate them among the rest of low-rank demons. A group of brimoraks can be a bane for an unprepared party, especially if some formidable and cunning demon manages to intimidate brimoraks into acting in a more organised way, instead of simply setting on fire everything they see.
When dealing with a brimorak, the most important thing to have is protection from fire!
Babau
Babaus are born from the souls of sadists, maniacs, and serial killers.
Babaus look like horned skeleton-thin humanoid entities, covered in red slime. This slime is extremely dangerous to loyal animal companions and heroes who prefer unarmed combat — it can eat away the flesh like acid.
Elite killers, babaus prefer stealthy attacks to open confrontations and can spend months (or even years!) lying in wait, demonstrating patience uncommon for other types of demons. Babaus are excellent both with their spears and in an unarmed fight, can easily suppress protective magic, surround their victim, and tear them apart.
The best advice for an adventuring party on how not to fall victim to babaus is to separate them and prevent them from focusing on a single target.
Nabasu or Death demon
Nabasus are born from the souls of gluttons, cannibals, those who consume carrion and drink blood.
Nabasus look like a humanlike entity and a bat with leathery wings, sharp fangs, and claws. A unique feature of nabasus is their life cycle: they are born directly into the material plane, where they feed on the life essence of mortals to eventually return to the Abyss, survive, if they are lucky, a painful transformation and turn into a dreadful demon vrolikai.
Nabasu’s distinct ability is its Death-Stealing Gaze. It can suck the life out of the surrounding living beings, empowering the demon. Those who die under this gaze instantly turn into undead and serve the nabasu who created them. This demon’s magical abilities are impressive and make it a formidable enemy even for experienced adventurers. However, spells such as Freedom of Movement and Death Ward can even the odds.
Vrock or Wrath Demon
Vrocks are created from the souls of especially malicious and wrathful mortals, such as inveterate criminals and hired killers.
Appearing as a blend of a vulture and a human, vrocks are constantly surrounded by a cloud of feathers and demonic spores which sprout upon contact with the skin, inflicting excruciating pain. You can only get rid of this affliction with a Bless spell or Remove Sickness.
Ghastly champions of the Abyss, Vroks are death machines with razor-sharp claws. Upon joining the combat, they usually emit a terrible scream, which can stun and paralyze any mortal that hears it. Several vrocks, joined in a special ‘vrock-and-vroll’ dance, can bring about an electrical storm that could level a small town.
Marilith or a Pride Demon
Mariliths are born from the souls of powerful mortals, who were consumed by their pride and arrogance.
Mariliths have a snakelike body with a female torso, a female head, and six arms, and they are one of the most dangerous types of demons. Mariliths serve as advisors, generals, concubines, and bodyguards to the demon lords themselves. As a rule, the marilith holds a bladed weapon in each of its six arms, and its skill with these weapons is honed by hundreds or even thousands of years of practice. Only the most outstanding fighter can survive under the attacks of a marilith.
Balor
Balors are born of the most cruel souls. Usually, it takes multiple souls of the most powerful villains to coalesce and form this terrible demon.
Balor is a winged monster, engulfed by fire and armed with a flaming blade and a whip.
Balors are one of the most powerful and devastating demons and only bow before the demon lords. Some balors rule over their own dominions, and sometimes even grant divine powers to their mortal servants. The balors that serve the demon lords are often granted the highest positions in the demonic armies and command legions of lesser demons.
Few are those who can boast surviving a confrontation with a balor, and even fewer are those who could tell that in the moment of death a balor explodes in a cloud of fire, dangerous to both allies and foes.
Demon Lords
Demon lords stand apart from the rest — mighty demigods, ruling over vast Abyssal dominions and granting their followers blessings in exchange for a terrible price. Even the most prepared party will not survive a confrontation with such an enemy… at least, not under normal circumstances.
Your group, however, will be far from a common adventuring party. The mythic powers you attain as you progress through the game will help even the odds against some of the demon lords - even making it possible for you to challenge them.
To arms!