Asmodeus? Balors? Firey Hellspawn?

[Deth Muncher]

Right. So, I'm trying to come up with some backstory for my new Lv.7 Human Sorceror. Thus far, he's got such niftiness as Fiendish Heritage (he doesn't know, although it just manifested itself by helping him against poison, so I figure nows the time for the backstory), and Fiery Burst. The part I need help with though is that I don't know JACK about Asmodeus, or any Big Bad Balors. I was wondering, what is or where can I find backstory for Asmodeus or high level Balors? Also, do they use Fire Minions at all? As in, minions that speak Ignan? The point for this is so that I can explain (somewhat) why he knows Infernal and Ignan, and such like that...

[Quietus]

Well, it doesn't HAVE to be Asmodeus or Balors that produced your sorcerer. It's fun to have "Big bad great7 granddad" in the picture, true, but it's just as amusing to cover things with lower-ranking fiends.

That said, I'd probably run with the Balor idea if you're looking for a fire-based thing. I could see them picking up Ignan as a bonus language (Balors are smart!), and they have the fire tie without actually needing to resort to something else for that.

As for fire-based minions... I'd imagine that a balor would use any minion it can get its fiery claws on. If that minion also happens to be fiery, so be it - perhaps that balor had been summoned to the material plane, and part of the deal was that it would sire a child, who became your ancestor? Then you also get to have a power-hungry great7 grandmother in there, too... either summoning ridiculously strong creatures to impregnate her, or have your family line have been part of that balor's schemes, his payment for whatever service Grandma wanted to have done. I particularly like the latter, as it provides an incredible number of hooks - what'd she want done? Did it get completed as she wanted, or was it twisted? What did the balor itself want to accomplish, since really, if it just wanted to get laid, grabbing the nearest succubus would be a million times easier than getting some mortal women to agree?

Mmm... tasty...

[Deth Muncher]

See, I'm not even going to go as far as to pinpoint exactly WHERE in his heritage it got mixed with Fiends. Long story short, the character at age, oh, 15, is subjected to his ENITE villiage being wiped out by some high and mighty Balor. As my character is about to be killed, the Balor picks him up and says something to the effect of "Hm. You won't be killed yet. You've been marked by those below for something mighty indeed." My character, of course, has NO clue why he can understand the Balor, and passes out.


EDIT: Or maybe it says something like "Can't kill one of my own kind" or something like that.

[Deth Muncher]

Also. The campaign started by all of us PCs having randomly met on the way to a town which needed defending. Long story short? I almost got Ker-powned by a Nazgullesque thing, and it tried to poison me, which was the first instance of Fiendish Heritage coming into play. Also, somewhere well over a 30 an a Feign Death check ROCKS.

[AslanCross]

Asmodeus is basically the Satan of the D&D verse. He's the most powerful archdevil, and is said by some to be much more powerful than he lets on. He always appears as a handsome humanoid devil, but it's said that his true form is an enormous serpent trapped in the very bottom of the Nine Hells, the bottom levels of which were created by his fall from the Heavens. It's also said that if anyone tells this story, he dies a very violent death in the next 24 hours. (So if I don't come back, you can expect that I met a rather otherworldly end.)

More info about him can be found in Manual of the Planes and Fiendish Codex II, I believe. I think someone also assembled a small PDF on the Nine Hells, though I'm pretty sure the content there is mostly copyrighted.

Balors are demons and have little in common with Asmodeus apart from being evil extraplanar entities. Fiendish Codex I might lead you somewhere. The only canon Balor I know of is Errtu, the dude who appears in R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt novels.

There are many other fire-related outsiders who your character can be descended from. I think any powerful Pit Fiend would do, even if you make him up.

[Deth Muncher]

The Pit Fiend idea sounds good...

[Drider]

do you need one written from a specific book? or can your DM let you homebrew? if the latter option, in case of need of a quick balor
1. funky name: a. Khora'Lhu'Arivar b. Khuash'Aman'Ket
you need a long name, preferably with 3 "words" or "parts" as exampled above, this is probably the most important part at the moment, since he's only gonna be a pretty piece of backstory for you.(maybe until later levels, then he can be stated out as normal)
2. Decide how s/he decided to ga-voigan your ancestors ga-voigan example: a. The balor wanted to leave a large number of half fiend children to cause chaos in the world (if male) or b. impregnated a succubus, who went and seduced a human without realizing they're pregnant(somehow, maybe the baby had alot of ranks of hide+move silently+not move) and had the kid with the human, and left it behind(if the balor is male) or c. I have'nt ever seen a female balor i don't think, but maybe...i can't think of any way with a female balor unless you were raised in the planes of hell
3...?
4. PROFIT

[Jack Mann]

Asmodeus, the Wikipedia version.

Balors, the Wikipedia version.

These should help somewhat. For the record, Asmodeus is much cooler than any of the Balors.

[CASTLEMIKE]

Cool as Asmodeus is how about slightly lower on the food chain.

What about Gargauth the Tenth Lord of the Pit?

He was a former Arch-Devil turned Demi-Power banished from the 9 Hells and condemned to roam the prime material plane. He has roamed all the planes except the 9 Hells (and the Upper Planes) freely since his banishment which may have been voluntary. He is on good ties with Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine.

He ascended to divinity by defeating the demon lord Astaroth, appropiating his cult and consuming numerous baatezu.

Your PC could be the result of one of many accidental or purposely created mortal blood line bearers prior to ascension and your PC may have latent powers similar to Godsight from Lost Empires of Faerun or Fiendish Presence and Legacy as per Complete Mage.

Regular Pit Fiends have lots of Fire based powers produce flame, pyrotechnics and firefall.

There could always be a Fire Gensai back in the gene pool somewhere for a dual planar heritage..

[Kellus]

Arch-fiend or slightly lower-ranking fiend, you should totally go with a devil. They're just so much cooler than demons! Of course, yugoloths are better still, but that's another story...

[AslanCross]

What about Gargauth the Tenth Lord of the Pit?

He was a former Arch-Devil turned Demi-Power banished from the 9 Hells and condemned to roam the prime material plane. He has roamed all the planes except the 9 Hells (and the Upper Planes) freely since his banishment which may have been voluntary. He is on good ties with Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine.

o_O I thought Gargauth was banished from the Nine Hells? Still, he's a good idea since he has deity status already.

Caveat: Gargauth is Forgotten Realms-specific.

[Dausuul]

Arch-fiend or slightly lower-ranking fiend, you should totally go with a devil. They're just so much cooler than demons! Of course, yugoloths are better still, but that's another story...

I like demons better. Devils are evil and logical. Demons are evil and crazy. I generally find the latter to be much more fun.

[AslanCross]

Conversely, I prefer devils, who are much less likely to tear apart and devour their own plans in a fit of rage.

[Xefas]

Conversely, I prefer devils, who are much less likely to tear apart and devour their own plans in a fit of rage.

Hear hear.

Although there is the matter of Mephistopholese. He seems a bit nutty to me, more like a demon than a devil, similarly to how Grazz't is more devilish than demonic. Mephisto strikes me as the kind of devil who would set aside a couple hours a week just to randomly teleport into various planes, slap the nearest inhabitant with a salmon, and then disappear, just for giggles.

But, anyway, I digress. I actually only meant to chime in that devils aren't...well...all sane. The mere act in which brings about the creation of a devil sort of insures none of them are altogether right in the noggin, and even the coolest of Pit Fiends could go into a spout of "You've failed me for the last time! *Krack-thoom!*"

[CASTLEMIKE]

o_O I thought Gargauth was banished from the Nine Hells? Still, he's a good idea since he has deity status already.

Caveat: Gargauth is Forgotten Realms-specific.

I was citing some of the text from Powers and Pantheons which did not limit him to FRCS.

[Renegade Paladin]

EDIT: Or maybe it says something like "Can't kill one of my own kind" or something like that.

Demons kill each other all the time. Perhaps the term you're searching for is "pit fiend."

[Talya]

No greater hatred can be found in the lower planes than that between demons and devils.

Do not mistake demons as being unintelligent or crazy (although some of them are.) They are, however, highly chaotic. The "Blood War" between demons and devils is a battle between law and chaos.

Devils were once great "celestial" type beings of law. Whether they were once good or neutral, they were all lawful. They were sent to do battle with the raging Abyss and its demons, to contain the chaos. An eternity of battling with demons has warped them to evil, and they became devils, but they never gave up their great cause, their battle. Hence, the Blood War.

The Nine Hells and its inhabitants are finite, however. However many million devils there are, the Abyss is infinite, and its inhabitants limitless. The only thing that keeps them from overrunning and ruling all of existence is their own perpetual and unlimited infighting, the chaos inherent in their existence prevents them from organizing into a force for conquest. That does not mean there are not limited levels of organization and cooperation within the Abyssal layers. Lords, Ladies, Kings and Queens among demons carve out entire layers for themselves, with servants sometimes as loyal as the most devoted samurai.

[Enzario]

Interesting thought:
your great-great-uncle's-wife's-cousin-twiceremoved is a dretch. Or an imp. VERY fun possibilities.

[Deth Muncher]

Oh. Oh wow. Wait, what are those shape shifty- demons called? Quasids?
Edit: Gramma's dying day- *Bamf* It was ME! I was the demon ALL ALONG!


A turkey to anyone who gets that reference.

[Seffbasilisk]

Invader Zim. 'It was ME, I was the the turkey all along!" -Gir

You might want to make sure you have fire resistance of some sort, nothing inspired thoughts of the underworld like walking through flames untouched.

Also could explain how you survived the otherworldly attack.

[GolemsVoice]

If you are looking for information on the lower planes, the books "Tyrants of the Nine Hells" or "Hordes of the Abyss" are useful. That is, if you want to buy them. Each book takes a closer view on the Nine Hells or The Abyss, it's layers, lords and denizens.

[Dullyanna]

Uhh... Demons speak Abyssal, not Infernal. If you're dead set on having demon blood, you might want to see if you can retcon that little mistake.

Edit: If you can't, I'd suggest making an Erinyes the ancestor. They're pretty damn cool, what with the flaming bows and magical animated ropes and whatnot. Plus, they're basically human in appearance, so that solves any issues of why somebody would sleep with one.

[Deth Muncher]

Yeah. I can fix that. And a Turkey for Seffbas- ::freezes::

[Vonriel]

Mephisto strikes me as the kind of devil who would set aside a couple hours a week just to randomly teleport into various planes, slap the nearest inhabitant with a salmon, and then disappear, just for giggles.

Oh come on, you're telling me if you could teleport into various planes, slap the nearest inhabitant with a salmon, and then disappear, you wouldn't do it? I imagine that's Asmodeus' weekend entertainment.

[Citizen Joe]

Note that devils are basically fallen angels (or at least they were the ancestors of the current devils), demons are evil incarnate (thus not so humanoid). Traditionally, angel do not have genitalia, so it stands to reason that infernal heritage wouldn't be passed down through intercourse. Instead it would be conducted via a metaphysical blasphemous act. That taint would get passed down through the generations more like a curse than anything else.

Demons are quite different. The prime example is the succubus which appears as a seductive woman. Actually, it only appears as whatever is desirable to the victim. I like to imagine that they are creating hosts for their seeds, eventually having a gestated demon spring forth from the host creature. Or they may instead pass on a taint, by corrupting a fetus into a half demon abomination.

[Xefas]

Oh come on, you're telling me if you could teleport into various planes, slap the nearest inhabitant with a salmon, and then disappear, you wouldn't do it? I imagine that's Asmodeus' weekend entertainment.

Of course I'm not saying that O_o! That'd probably be the first on my list of many leisure activities to conduct once gifted with immortal fiendish power, with a couple rounds of fooseball in Dis following closely after.
"Damnit, Dispater! You can't just keep sliding your goalie back and forth really fast across your goal forever! You have to try to shoot!"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?!?!"

Note that devils are basically fallen angels (or at least they were the ancestors of the current devils), demons are evil incarnate (thus not so humanoid). Traditionally, angel do not have genitalia, so it stands to reason that infernal heritage wouldn't be passed down through intercourse. Instead it would be conducted via a metaphysical blasphemous act. That taint would get passed down through the generations more like a curse than anything else.

Or some imp was smart enough to take a couple levels in wizard and research a spell called "Power Word: Genitals". Only a few decades after opening up his first shop, he had an entire multi-planar corporation going, in which devils could pay a small fee to have a gender of their choice summoned onto their equivalent of a crotch for a day or two. I mean, if you're going to be popping over to the Prime Material for the weekend anyway, you might as well keep your options open.

[BardicDuelist]

Note that devils are basically fallen angels (or at least they were the ancestors of the current devils), demons are evil incarnate (thus not so humanoid). Traditionally, angel do not have genitalia, so it stands to reason that infernal heritage wouldn't be passed down through intercourse. Instead it would be conducted via a metaphysical blasphemous act. That taint would get passed down through the generations more like a curse than anything else.

Demons are quite different. The prime example is the succubus which appears as a seductive woman. Actually, it only appears as whatever is desirable to the victim. I like to imagine that they are creating hosts for their seeds, eventually having a gestated demon spring forth from the host creature. Or they may instead pass on a taint, by corrupting a fetus into a half demon abomination.

Just a few points:
In D&D devils can have intercourse and "junk" if one takes FC2 and BoVD as cannon. Not only the art, but the "sexual politics", etc. which are mentioned.
Only eryines and unique devils can reproduce however.

Devils are also evil incarnate, not just demons. It's just that demons are CHAOS incarnate, and evil. Devils are LAW incarnate and evil.

Personally, if you want to go with a demon ancestor, I would go with Graz'zt. He is basically the most sexual demon prince and and cooler than a balor. He is more acid than fire based, but the chaotic nature of the abyss means that it doesn't matter. That and you can make it green fire, which he is very fond of.

Devils really do have more to do with fire though. I would personally go with Mephisto there. SOOO much fire.

[hamlet]

Devils are also evil incarnate, not just demons. It's just that demons are CHAOS incarnate, and evil. Devils are LAW incarnate and evil.

No.

Demons are the personification of personal, individual evil.

Devils are the personification of institutional, organizational evil.

While Yugoloths, on the third hand, are just pure evil.

Chaos on the alignment scale does not mean "I act unpredictably" but that you act according to an individualist ethical point of view (the person over the organization).

Demons will organize and cooperate, but usually only when they see it is in their own personal interests.

Devils will stay within the system, but attempt to use its loopholes to their own benefit.