
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

All Creatures
Abilities | Monsters | NPCs
All | Families | Templates
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

PFS StandardMarilith (Pride Demon)

Mariliths are the generals of the Abyss, formed from the souls of proud evil mortals, often warlords and despots. They appear as tall and powerfully built humans from the waist up with snake tails and six arms. Because of Lamashtu’s prominence over other demonic deities, most pride demons encountered by mortals take female form, but they can be of any gender.

Mariliths are among the greatest tacticians in the Abyss, and they have an almost supernatural knack for understanding the ripples of chaos and the unpredictable nature of demonic life. Their ability to command armies rises as much from their commanding presence as it does their ability to read into the potential results of any possible act and a sufficient understanding of the flow of entropy to allow them to predict likely outcomes.

Recall Knowledge - Fiend (Religion): DC 36
Unspecific Lore: DC 34
Specific Lore: DC 31

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

Changes from being Elite are marked in red below.
NOTE: The +2 damage bonus to non-strike offensive abilities (+4 if the ability is limited, such as spells) is NOT factored in.

Elite MarilithCreature 18

Legacy Content

CE Large Demon Fiend 
Source Bestiary pg. 81
Perception +32; darkvision, true seeing
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic; telepathy 100 feet
Skills Acrobatics +35, Deception +32, Diplomacy +32, Intimidation +34, Religion +31, Stealth +31, Warfare Lore +33
Str +8, Dex +6, Con +6, Int +4, Wis +4, Cha +7
Items longsword (6)
AC 42; Fort +33, Ref +31, Will +29; +1 status to all saves vs. magic
HP 400; Weaknesses cold iron 15, good 15
Commander’s Aura (aura, divine, enchantment) 100 feet. Commanded or allied evil creatures in the aura of lower level than the marilith gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls, damage rolls, AC, saves, and skill checks. Failure Vulnerability A marilith’s pride feeds their strength, so the sting of failure wounds them. If the marilith uses a damaging spell or makes a Strike on their turn but doesn’t deal any damage that turn, they take 3d6+10 mental damage at the end of their turn and their commander’s aura deactivates until the end of their next turn. Attack of Opportunity [reaction] A marilith gains 5 extra reactions per round that they can use only to make Attacks of Opportunity. The demon can’t use more than one on the same triggering action, even if a creature leaves several squares in the marilith’s reach, and the marilith must use a different weapon for each Attack of Opportunity.
Speed 40 feet, fly 40 feet (from fly)
Melee [one-action] cold iron silver longsword +37 [+32/+27] (evil, magical, reach 10 feet, versatile P), Damage 3d8+2+16 slashing plus 1d6 evilMelee [one-action] tail +35 [+30/+25] (evil, magical, reach 10 feet), Damage 3d12+2+16 bludgeoning plus 1d6 evil and GrabDivine Innate Spells DC 40 (+4 dmg); 9th blade barrier (x2), weapon storm (x2); 5th dimension door; 4th dimension door (at will); Constant (6th) true seeing; (4th) fly
Divine Rituals DC 40 (+4 dmg); 1st abyssal pact
Bladestorm [two-actions] The marilith makes up to six longsword Strikes, each against a different target. These attacks count toward the marilith’s multiple attack penalty, but the multiple attack penalty doesn’t increase until after all the attacks.Defensive Assault [two-actions] The marilith makes two Strikes, each with a different weapon, and they use the remaining weapons for protection. The demon gains a circumstance bonus to AC for 1 round equal to the number of weapons not used for attacks. If the marilith later uses any of those weapons to attack (including for an Attack of Opportunity), the bonus to AC decreases by 1 for each weapon used.Focused Assault [two-actions] The marilith attacks a single target with all the weapons they wield in their arms, overwhelming the target with multiple attacks and leaving almost nowhere to dodge. The demon makes a longsword Strike. On a successful attack, the marilith deals longsword damage to the target, plus an additional 1d8 damage for every longsword they wield beyond the first (typically 5d8 extra damage). Even on a failed attack, the marilith deals the damage from one longsword to the target, though they still miss completely on a critical failure. This counts toward the marilith’s multiple attack penalty as a number of attacks equal to the number of longswords the pride demon wields.Greater Constrict [one-action] 2d12+13 bludgeoning, DC 41Infuse Weapons (divine, evocation) Any weapon becomes a +2 greater striking weapon made of cold iron and silver while a marilith wields it. The marilith can change its evil damage to chaotic whenever it attacks.

All Monsters in "Demon"

NameLevel
Abrikandilu (Wrecker Demon)4
Babau (Blood Demon)6
Balor (Fire Demon)20
Brimorak (Arson Demon)5
Dretch (Sloth Demon)2
Ghalzarokh (Tyranny Demon)15
Glabrezu (Treachery Demon)13
Hezrou (Toad Demon)11
Invidiak (Shadow Demon)7
Kalavakus (Slaver Demon)10
Katpaskir (Nihilism Demon)18
Kithangian (Beast Demon)9
Marilith (Pride Demon)17
Nabasu (Gluttony Demon)8
Nalfeshnee (Boar Demon)14
Omox (Slime Demon)12
Quasit1
Demon, Roru7
Seraptis (Suicide Demon)15
Shemhazian (Mutilation Demon)16
Succubus (Lust Demon)7
Demon, Urglid13
Vavakia18
Vermlek (Worm Demon)3
Vloriak (Despoiler Demon)5
Vrock (Wrath Demon)9
Vrolikai (Death Demon)19

Demon

Source Bestiary pg. 76
When a sinful mortal soul is judged and sent on to the Abyss, it can become a deadly fiend—a demon. Demons are living incarnations of sin—be they classic sins like wrath or gluttony, or more “specialized” depravities like an obsession with torture or the act of treason or treachery. Once formed, a demon’s driving goals are twofold—the amassing of personal power, and the corruption of mortal souls to cause them to become tainted by sin. In this way demons ensure a never-ending supply of new demons to bolster their ever-growing ranks in the Abyss.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Abyssal Newcomers

Though now the most plentiful fiends of the Abyss, demons are relative newcomers, spawning only as mortal influence—and mortal sin, in particular—began to shape the plane. For eons, demons fought with other longstanding residents of the Abyss for dominance, but eventually their sheer numbers allowed them to become the predominant chaotic fiends.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Conjuring Demons

Conjuring demons is ill-advised, yet the desperate or wicked still do. Rituals like planar ally or planar binding are typical for long-term ends, and summon fiend for combat applications. For planar ally, demons sometimes accept offerings that aren't valuable if gifting them to a demon pushes the ritualist further into sin.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Demonic Deities

The most powerful demons are known as demon lords (the term is gender neutral in this case). Of these divinities, Lamashtu is the most powerful. Countless other demon lords exist, including Abraxas, Cyth-V’sug, Kabriri, and Zura.

Sidebar - Locations Demonic Locations

The sprawling, heaving, changing realm of the Abyss is the planar home of demonic life, but demons can be found anywhere the capacity to sin exists. Evil or foolish conjurers are fond of calling upon demons for advice or darker needs. When the Abyss wears through the boundaries of reality to create wound-like portals into other worlds, demons can spill over to wreak incredible havoc.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Demonic Possession

Some demons specialize in the art of possessing creatures or objects to spread fear and chaos. In such cases a demon gains a powerful disguise with which to work its evils upon the world, a subterfuge that delights the demon.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Demonic Sources

When a sinful mortal soul is consigned to the Abyss, it spends time wallowing in the mire and feeding on filth. If it survives and is not itself eaten, the soul eventually ascends into a demon, as influenced by the nature of its sin, yet most demons are themselves capable of reproduction as well. The fecundity of demonic life is perhaps the greatest—and most threatening—aspect of these dangerous fiends.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Demons and Souls

Demons, like many other fiends, hunger for souls. In their eyes, the primary use for these souls is to spawn new demons, who can serve as soldiers, slaves, pawns, or even currency for their more powerful masters.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Half-Demons

The Abyss can corrupt living creatures through direct congress or supernatural infusion of Abyssal energies, resulting in monstrous hybrids. A half-demon should be a custom creature, but you can quickly generate one by giving an existing creature a few of a demon's abilities along with the demon's sin-related vulnerability. For example, a half-hezrou hill giant would gain purity vulnerability, but perhaps also a bite, swim Speed, and poisonous pustules. When swapping over abilities between creatures of different levels, be sure to adjust the numbers for the new level.

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Demons

The Abyss may be the largest of the Outer Planes, and mortals have an equally large capacity to betray themselves, society, and the natural order of reality. With this limitless source for increasingly specialized sins, the Abyss is constantly generating new types of demons to plague reality. While the vast majority of these are swiftly destroyed and never rise again, enough survive that dozens, if not hundreds, of types of demons are known to exist beyond those listed here. The shadowy invidiak is a demon without a body, born of envious souls. The goat-faced, flame-hooved brimorak rises from the souls of arsonists. Slimy, horned blood demons spawn from assassins, boar demons from the greedy... the list goes on and on.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Sinful Destruction

While they enjoy causing destruction themselves, most demons prefer to trick and tempt mortals into falling to sin of their own volition.

Sidebar - Additional Lore The Nature of Chaos

Some say that the nature of chaos inherently precludes cooperation and subtlety, but demons are proof of the fallacy of this claim.

Sidebar - Additional Lore What Makes a Sin?

Some classify sin into seven categories—envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath. While these sins embody some of the most powerful and numerous demons, far more than seven demons exist. Any act of cruelty or destruction a mortal takes to gratify the self at others’ expense is, in effect, a sin, and any such act can spawn a demon from a soul in the afterlife.