Demons

This page serves as a source of information about demons as it is applicable to World 42 roleplaying characters. Everyone is invited to add to this information.

Homeworld
Demons began on a world known as Infernus, also known as Pandemonium and the Infernal Dimensions; a world of jagged rocks and liquid fire. The term "demon" refers not to a single race but to multiple races that originated on Infernus, and the different variaties of demons we have seen are all of different races. The demonic races are among the oldest that came into being, the oldest known race of demons being the Infernals; beings of incredible power that were once the undisputed rulers of the other races and the plane, they ruled over Infernus until they were overthrown by a lesser caste known as the Chthonians. What happened to the Infernals after this is unknown, though some are still thought to survive; hidden in the most secluded reaches of the universe after having been banished from Infernus.

The Chthonians replaced the Infernals as masters of the realm, and took over as slavemasters of the Avernic; a large group containing many species of less powerful demonic races, which were also slaves underneath the Infernals. Despite their chaotic nature, the Chthonians established laws and rules on their homeworld that outlawed open physical conflict between each other, but encouraged political undermining and personal confrontation: those who outwitted and trapped their opponents were able to consume them and absorb their power and knowledge. By contrast to the Chthonians, the Avernic were still a squabbling bunch of tribes, continually engaged in bloody conflicts. There were many different subspecies of Avernic; the largest and strongest being known as Tsutsaroth demons (who continue to exist today, as do all the other known Avernic subspecies). Due to the combustible nature of the Avernic, the Chthonians were not able to consume and absorb them, and so both races continued to coexist amongst another.

This cycle continued on Infernus for aeons; each of the demon races cannibalising one another until eventually the god Zaros came to Infernus, and tricked the greatest of the Chthonian rulers, Hostilius the Autocrat, promising the demons new worlds to travel to and devour rather than continuing to cannibalize themselves. Hostilius granted Zaros the use of several of his Avernic legions, and this was the mark of the demons' arrival to Gielinor; only a few small legions out of the hundreds of Infernus were enough to grant Zaros military might beyond that of any god, but yet more history continued to happen on Infernus. With the defeat of Zaros in the God Wars, Zamorak enlisted the help of the Avernic who wanted rebellion against the Chthonians. It took close to two decades, but with Zamorak's help; the Avernic were able to banish the remaining Chthonians to the Abyss. The Avernic then became the new masters of Infernus.

Gielinor
The God Wars saw the arrival of many monstrous demons of the Avernic race, particularly from Zamorak and Zaros, who could be so strong that they were only remembered as myths or legends. Under Zamorak, demons were a very popular accessory to the military, sometimes even leading entire armies, as exemplified by K'ril Tsutsaroth and later in the Fifth Age, Kal'ger the Warmonger.

A some point during the wars, Uzer, the largest city in the Kharidian Desert, was besieged by Thammaron, an Tsutsaroth demon and chief lieutenant of Zamorak. Despite the Clay Golems' efforts to save the city, they were defeated and Uzer was destroyed. Thammaron, however, was severely wounded by an elite group of Golems, and he was forced to flee to his dimension. Since the demon was physically present on Gielinor instead of making use of a manifestation; the wounds eventually proved fatal.

Over time, hundreds or thousands of demons have been both summoned to and banished from the Gielinorian realm.

Accepted Lore
This section addresses details about demons that are widely accepted throughout the world 42 roleplaying community.

Creation
Demons are not born in the traditional sense, there is no joining of opposite sexes nor any observable courtship behavior (supportable by the apparent lack of feminine creatures in the race). Instead, it has been discovered that demons, at least the Avernic species, are born from the literally burning heart of their homeworld: Infernus. How this process takes place is unknown, it is possible the first demons of a race are randomly birthed from the flames. In any case, it has only been discovered that the Avernic species are born this way, and it is unknown if the other demon races are also born from the fires.

Chthonians, reproductively, are more distinct from other demons. The majority of Chthonians are born from other Chthonians, which use their own essence to form their offspring. Offspring do not inherit knowledge from their parent. It is unknown how the first Chthonians came to be.

Known Races of Demons
This section lists the various races native to the realm of Infernus, which have come to be known as demons.

Infernals
The oldest known and most powerful of all known races of demon Infernus had spawned; the Infernals were the undisputed masters of their homeworld at the height of their reign, and were creatures so powerful that even gods would likely have thought twice before attacking them. Little is known of the variable Infernal demons, as all have either been killed or were banished/fled to other reaches of the universe after the Chthonian uprising. Infernals were known to have fed on the anima of other demons.

The demon Kal'ger the Warmonger and his generals are the only known Infernal demons to still be alive, but some of the Generals seem weak in comparison to the description that Palkeera's memory gives. It is possible the Kal'gerions are of a lower caste of Infernal, like how the Byzroth demons are a lower caste of Avernic. Kal'ger himself, however, is undisputed in his power above his generals.

Chthonians
The Chthonians were the demons to overthrow and replace the Infernals as masters of Infernus, and who ruled for a long time over the plane. The less powerful Avernic demons served as their slaves just as they once served the Infernals. The Chthonian demons were likewise powerful just as their Infernal predecessors were, the greatest of the Chthonian demons made Zaros look like a mouse in comparison. The Chthonians varied in appearance, just as the Avernic do, some were even known to consist of a twisting mass of tentacles. Eventually the Chthonians were overthrown by the combined efforts of the Avernic and Zamorak, once more causing a shift of power in Infernus with the long enslaved Avernic coming out as the new masters of their homeworld. The remaining Chthonians were banished to the Abyss, where they still exist today; the weakened remnants of their once great race forming the many variaties of abyssal demons we know of. Like the Infernals before them, they were known for feeding off the anima of other demons, though it is known that they can feed on the anima of most species, excluding Avernics. Chthonians can feed on the power and knowledge of others indefinitely, and the most powerful Chthonian, which Zaros had tricked into giving him several Avernic legions, was as powerful as a god.

Virii
The Virii demons are a bestial form of Chthonian, which can be comparable to dogs or wolves, and live in a pack structure. One of the packs is owned by Nex and is called blood reavers. They are quadrepedal, as suits their animalistic lifestyle, and would likely make good guard animals or even companions to those who could control them. Virii are shown to be intelligent, but only on the level of what could be considered close to an above average dog, only one Virius, Ocellus, was ever shown to have true intelligence (as he recieved his sentience from Guthix). The singular form of Virii is Virius.

Bloodveld
The bloodveld are a type of Chthonian demon about which little is known. They are shown to be unintelligent and are often treated as pets by those that can tame them. Vampyres favor them as companions.

The Penance
The Penance are the offspring of the Chthonian Duke called Cacus, who became incredibly strong by devouring Infernals during the Chthonian uprising, as well as his own kin. The Chthonian ruler, Hostilius, eventually promoted him to Duke and gave him his own legion of demon soldiers. Duke Cacus's fate eventually turned sour, as the Avernic rebellion came he was banished from Infernus by Zamorak and his soldiers, becoming trapped in the Abyss. Cacus survived on detritus that floated his way until he, through events that are still not entirely clear, came across a young Fremennik woman named Aesa Fellsdottir and ate her soul; using her energy to transport himself to Gielinor. Once there, he adopted the new identity of King, and spawned an army out of his own body. The Fremennik named these beasts the Penance, and have fought them since Cacus first set foot on Gielinor, being the only small, yet effective line that has prevented Cacus from becoming a major threat to all the realm.

The Penance take many forms, as they live in a hive society, and thus have many shapes and roles suited to such a life style. From Cacus spawned the queens, who then spawned the rest of the hive. It is unclear how intelligent Cacus's spawn are, the creatures below the queens seem to only hold thought on a bestial level, and the queens themselves are under scrutiny. It is known, however, that penance can communicate with one another through telepathy, and are able to coordinate attacks. They share this gift of telepathy due to their linked lineage from Cacus, as they are all linked to one another's life forces, having received their lives from Cacus's essence.

Avernic
Since the collapse of Chthonian rule on Infernus, the less powerful Avernic subspecies have been thriving. There are many different kinds of Avernic, each with their own distinct features, and are the demons we are used to seeing and know the most about. One of the most distinctive features of Avernics is their unique nature of not requiring any source of nutrion, outside of their own heat. All Avernics are hot to the touch and feed on this to sustain themselves. Upon death, Avernics release this energy stored within them explosively, causing their bodies to shatter into chunks of flesh in all directions, which disintegrate into ash afterwards.

Tsutsaroth
The Tsutsaroth demons are the largest and strongest of the Avernic, and were the most outspoken when it came to defying the Cthonians and fanning the flames of rebellion with the help of Zamorak. The most noteable Tsutsaroth we know of is K'ril, a general of Zamorak. The Tsutsaroth demons are also known as Elder demons, or Butcher demons.

Alyaroth
The Alyaroth, commonly called greater demons, are very well known and come in at least two variaties; the standard greater demon and the slightly more powerful black demon. All other winged demons that are not Tsutsaroth could likely be classed as Alyaroth. The Alyaroth are subservient to the Tsutsaroth, and serve them loyally, but it is unknown if they are considered as slaves or merely servants.

Byzroth
The Byzroth are among the most commonly known demons, often refered to as lesser demons. Not too much is known about the Byzroth, save for they have no wings and are likewise subservient to the races above them.

Other
Here are other demonic entinties that we know of, but do not know the most about.
 * Impious (/Imps/, implings)
 * Fiends (pyrefiend, Icefiend, etc)
 * Ice
 * Jungle (can likely be classed as an Alyaroth)
 * Ripper (likely an Avernic of some kind)
 * Nechryael (possibly the offspring of Duke Orcus)
 * Miscellaneous demonic beings (hellrats, Mazchna, Arzinian Being of Bordanzan etc)

Abilities
This section discusses the known abilities of the demonic races that are accepted in lore and the W42 roleplaying community.

Magical

 * All demons are capable of stealing the essence and power of those they slay, depending on their race, be they Avernic, Chthonian or Infernal. The Avernic and Infernals are known to drain power from their enemies and steal it for themselves, the victims can still be alive during this process. Chthonians, uniquely, steal not only power from their foes but knowledge as well, and do this by literally devouring their victim. They probably do this to grow.
 * Chthonians can devour just about anything, but are unable to consume the Avernic races. It is suspected that this is due in no small part to the fact that Avernics combust and explode upon death, as their burning energies escape their dying bodies with brutal force. It is thought that if a Chthonian tried to eat an Avernic they would either be unable to capture the quickly fleeing life energies, or would be blown to pieces along with their meal.
 * Avernic demons are born from the eternal burning fire; the heart of their homeworld Infernus, their inner beings are living sparks of this fire. Avernics on Infernus form physical shells over their hearts of fire, which are their true physical forms. In their true forms, demons are very powerful, but should their bodies be killed in their true forms they are permanently killed. This is the reason why the majority of demons create spiritual manifestations, mimics of their true forms, which travel to other worlds through summonings or portals, while their true forms remain safe and secure on their homeworld. These manifestations may be killed, but the demon's consciousness will leave these bodies behind and return to Infernus. Manifestations have an energetic cost and most likely a demon would drain it from one of their kind.
 * It is exceedingly difficult for most demons to send their true forms elsewhere besides Infernus, as their physical forms are bound in the same way other races are to their worlds (needing portals or gods to allow interplanetary travel), but once demons have set foot on a world, they are more than capable of summoning more of their kind there. The trip can leave the demons severely weakened and drained of power. Demons that pass through these flawed portals are more than willing to drain power from their healthier bretheren.
 * Demons can change the shape of their manifestations, an example would be the black demon from the legend's quest. It is thought that manifestations are at their most powerful when they mimic the demon's true form, and fake shapes, such as humans, weaken the manifestation and make it far more vulnerable.
 * Certain magics can lock a demon's manifestation in fake forms, locking the demon away from accessing its more potent abilities. Once this spell is broken, the demon can make its manifestation change shape again whenever it pleases.
 * Along with sending spiritual manifestations to other worlds, demons are also capable of possessing mortal hosts of other races.
 * Several Kal'gerion demons (Infernals) are capable of opening portals between realms.
 * The more powerful demons, such as Agrith-Naar (who is an Alyaroth), are able to influence the world mortals live in through the infernal dimensions without the use of a spiritual manifestation. While a powerful demon is not physically present in mortal realms, their spiritual state can cause harm to other races without actually being there to harm them; examples include natural disasters caused by such mischievous demons, like storms, cave-ins, or structural supports for buildings breaking when they should not. It is understandable that demons such as this can be excedingly dangerous; able to cause harm to others while out of harm's way themselves.
 * The best way to deal with these kinds of demons is to summon one and kill it, either as a manifestation or in it's true form. The processes for these two different summonings are not very well understood, and it is commonly thought that summoning a demon in it's true form is nearly impossible without the demon's consent, or without some special power over the demon (such as it's true name, though some demons are too powerful for their names to bind them anymore).

Physical

 * All demons (besides impious demons) have powerful melee abilities.
 * Only the greatest of demons have been known to attack with weapons instead of their claws and teeth. Demonic Zamorakian generals did this and Mazchna, a slayer master, uses a sword.

Weaknesses

 * Many demons are naturally weak to ranged attacks, possibly due to the fact that they don't usually wear armor (and their large bodies make it difficult to block or dodge projectiles, which can sink fairly well into their fleshy bodies).
 * Depending on the type of magic, demons can be weak to it, particularly the elemental variaties of demons. Before the evolution of combat update, most demons were weak to magic damage rather than range damage.
 * Perhaps due to their aggressive, hot nature, most, if not all demons, lack much defensive ability. Instead, they tend to try to kill the enemy faster and harder than the enemy can kill it. Though that is not to be taken as a crippling weakness, since demons are spiritual creatures their bodies can often take much more punishment than other races.
 * Since demons reform some time later if their spiritual manifestations are killed; this might be a contributer to their beserker attack styles, as they may not care how much their bodies are hurt as long as they kill the enemy, knowing that their bodies will reform at later date if their manifestations are killed. A demon would likely be much more careful in its fighting techniques if forced to fight in their true form, which can be permanently killed.
 * Demons are all weak to Silverlight, Darklight and holy water.

Other

 * Most demons must pass through a portal, especially if entering Gielinor in their true physical forms, often from the Infernal Realm or the Abyss. The Avernic demons are the most common to project manifestions on Gielinor though it is still rare for them. Tsutsaroth have cultural objections against manifestations.
 * Almost all demons are hot-tempered and warlike in nature. Even Mazchna and Achtryn, demons capable of holding a civil conversation, have devoted their life to slaughter for sport. However, the Demon butler is quite civil, even sporting a butler's uniform, and can stand perfectly upright, rather than hunch-backed like most other demons.
 * Most demons appear as large humanoids with obscene, bulging muscles. Most demons have some kind of leathery wings. Their faces, which can be flat or elongated into beak-like mouths, are animalistic with sharp, vicious teeth, and their arms are typically elongated with lengthy claws extending from their fingers for shredding victims. Most demons have either hoofed or clawed feet.
 * Aside from elemental demons (jungle, ice), the Avernic demons typically have thick hide somewhere on the spectrum of red, brown, and black.
 * Impious demons, perhaps due to their physical weakness, are not quite so hot-headed as their stronger kin. Instead, they have a reputation for being mischievous. In some cases, a human might be able to team up with an imp.
 * Greater and lesser demons are all most comfortable in the heat. They often congregate around lava or fire, especially where there is a volcano.
 * Kal'gerion demons are only found in Daemonheim, as they are under military order to stay there.
 * All demons have true names. They do not reveal their true name because "names have powers". Demons that reveal their true names are those so powerful that the name can not bind them anymore.
 * Nearly all known demons are servants of Zamorak or Zaros. Ux is the only known Godless demon.
 * A demon don't need to be aggressive to anyone they meet who is not a demon or their master, especially if they require help for a common goal.
 * Demons of the Avernic species don't eat food, at least none that we can see, they gain energy from either within them or from another source. Because their bodies contain a lot energy, they combust on death. It is also that's why Avernic demons cannot be devoured by Chthonian demons, as no essence remains after the process. Therefore an Avernic demon's skin would likely be very warm. One Mahjarrat even entertained the idea of submerging an Avernic in a water supply to heat it.

Debated Lore
This section addresses details about demons that are still subject to speculation and discussion either because of conflicting information in-game or because use of the detail in roleplay creates an unfair scenario (usually involving overpowering or another common roleplay problem).


 * Demons can be controlled by powerful summoners. (There is evidence for this in-game, but there is no way to tell in-character if a summoner is strong enough to control an unfamiliar demon. Also, it could start issues with powerplaying.)
 * Evidence suggest that powerful demons are be capable of creating their own pocket dimension realm. In this realm, they would be the 'god', and have unrivaled control. It would also serve as a point from which they could be resummoned. Byzroth may not have enough power.
 * This could pose major issues with godmodding and powerplaying, and is not recommended for demon characters. Roleplayers debate that demons follow a 'code of honor' of sorts for those in their realm, and will not kill them directly but will try to kill them indirectly as these 'intruders' attempt to solve a puzzle. This was to keep from demon characters auto-killing their enemies when they enter their realm.


 * Avernic demons could be able to create more individuals similar to themselves, much like the Mahjarrat reproductive process: using divine energy in tandum with the heart of Infernus to bolster their numbers, but this is not confirmed.


 * Tormented demons are able to create fire shields that surround their bodies, creating a heated shell that damages nearbye foes and makes it more difficult to harm them. Some demons can also magically block certain kinds of damage, but can only block one of either melee, magic, or range damage at a time. This could however be an unique perk of the Demonica Abhoris spell and not something every demon has access to
 * Holy water can dissipate the fire shields.


 * It is possible Chthonians can mould and shape their offspring with the essence of other beings (such as humans) to create progeny with traits from said race, though the resulting progeny would not be half-breeds really; they would still be true Chthonians with randomized traits. These traits are not genetic: Chthonians do not absorb any genetic material from their victims, merely life essence such as memory and energy (like non-genetic blueprints of body structures), which helps the "parent" Chthonian pick out and choose what characteristics it wants to pass on to its offspring..
 * A simple explanation is this: the "parent" Chthonian uses the knowledge of a victim race's essence as building instructions, and uses only Chthonian genes to make its offspring have similarities to the victim race, with no genetic material from the victim race in the offspring. The progeny are purely Chthonian; a similar process in nature is the theory of convergent evolution, in which two animals that are completely unrelated share similarities.

Common Mistakes
This section addresses traits that unexperienced roleplayers often bestow their demonic characters but that aren't actually seen in demons on RuneScape.
 * Given the demon races unique method of being "born", they can be grouped with the TzHaar in a very rare category; the inability to reproduce with other races. Since demons are born from the burning heart of their homeworld Infernus, not through physical contact of any kind, half-breed demons have been deemed a lorebreak.
 * If one insists on creating a character that is a moulding of demon and another race, a simple solution exists. While half-breeds are impossible, it is possible for members of another race to become demonic, not a true demon but instead demonized, through extensive exposure to chaotic and evil energies. A good example is Relomia, the emissary of Sliske, who became demonic through her extended exposure to the shadow realm while she was trapped there.
 * Demons fit the descriptions listed above. Creating a character from another plane who looks perfectly human with flesh-toned skin, and a gentle temper is not legitimate. Remember, the entire summoning skill is based around the premise that not everything summoned from another plane is a demon.
 * Only creatures that originate from the demon homeworld, Infernus, can be called actual demons.
 * Demons in Refare not known to have obscure supernatural powers like telepathy or the ability to spontaneously generate forcefields.
 * Most demons who know magic use the standard spellbook. Some may also know the ancient spellbook due to Zaros's use of demons in his army.

Other Information

 * Many demons show a connection to elemental magic or the environments they are found in, such as the ice demons and the jungle demon.
 * More information specific to imps can be found on the associated subpage.
 * Black Demons are simply Greater Demons that have managed to acquire significantly more power than normal.
 * Other races can become demonic through corruption by demons; such as a cat turning into a hellcat or the prime example of the Sliskean Emissary, who turned from a human into a demonic entity due to her prolonged stay in the shadow realm. Should a member of another race become demonic, they would not be true demons because they had not originated as one of the races born from the demonic homeworld.
 * The demonic homeworld of Infernus is home to such a large number of powerful demons, that are for the most part, consisting of a unified militaristic strength. It only took twelve small legions of Avernic demons to give Zaros the greatest army of any current god on Gielinor, and there were hundreds more that Zaros did not recieve. If the full force of the armies of Infernus marched against a world; the other realm would have little hope against the demonic onslaught.