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 Cthonians. 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 Cthonians replaced the Infernals as masters of the realm, and took over as slavemasters of the Avernic; the lesser demonic race that were also slaves underneath the Infernals. Despite their chaotic nature, the Cthonians 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 Cthonians, 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 Avernic subspecies). Through reasons unkown, the Cthonians were not able to consume and absorb the Avernic, 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 made a deal with the greatest of the Cthonian rulers, promissing the demons new worlds to travel to and devour rather than continue cannibalising themselves. The Cthonian ruler 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 godwars, Zamorak enlisted the help of the Avernic who wanted rebellion against the Cthonians. It took close to two decades, but with Zamorak's help; the Avernic were able to banish the remaining Cthonians 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 Kal'Ger the Warmonger.

A some point during the wars, Uzer, the largest city in the Kharidian Desert, was besieged by Thammaron, an Elder 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 the dimension. 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.

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

Infernals
The oldest and most powerful race of demons 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 Infernus demons, as all have either been killed or were banished/fled to other reaches of the universe after the Cthonian uprising.

The Demon Kal'Ger the Warmonger and his Generals are the only known Infernal demons to still be alive.

Cthonians
The Cthonians 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 Avernic demons were likewise powerful just as the Infernals were, the greatest of the Cthonian demons made Zaros look like a mouse in comparison. The Cthonians varied in appearance, just as the Avernic do, some were even known to consist of a twisting mass of tentacles. Eventually the Cthonians 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 Cthonians were banished to the Abyss, where they exist today known as Abyssal Demons.

Avernic
Since the collapse of Cthonian 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.

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.

Alyaroth
The Alyaroth, commonly called greater demons, are very well known. and come in at least two variaties; the standard greater demon. Greater demons that reach exceptional levels of power are also known as black demons. All other winged demons that are not Tsutsaroth could likely be classed as Alyaroth. The Alyaroth are subservient to the Tsutsaroth, and serve them loyaly, 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)
 * Virius (which include Blood Reavers)
 * Ripper
 * Abyssal
 * Miscellaneous demonic beings (hellrats, nechryael, bloodveld, 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 devouring the essence, power, and knowledge of those they slay, but we know little of this process. It is considered similar to eating, and is likely just that. It is common practice for demons to cannibalise their own race.
 * For reasons unknown; Cthonian demons were unable to absorb/devour the power and knowledge of Avenric demons. It is likely that the ancient Infernals were able to devour all, but this is unknown.
 * Demons are, essentially, immortal. As spirits, if their physical bodies are destroyed, they return to their home in the Infernal Dimensions in spiritual form and are able to eventually re-form their physical essence. The exact amount of time it takes to do so is unknown, but is believed that the more powerful the demon is: the longer it will take it to reform. The only permanent death for a demon would likely be if another demon devoured it, but it is unknown if demons are able to recover from this and eventually reform in a much less powerful form (seeing as how their knowledge and power were stolen during the process of being eaten).
 * Imps are shown to be able to reconstitute themselves very quickly, able to be killed and revived in very short periods of time, up to only a few minutes.
 * Since demons have this trick at hand, the only surefire way to keep them away for good is to banish them, which often involves holy rights and items. Killing a demon is often thought of as banishment, since they must reform.
 * It is thought that spreading a demon's ashes makes it furtherly difficult for them to reconstitute their physical forms.
 * Very powerful demons, such as Agrith-Naar, are able to influence the world mortals live in through the infernal dimensions. 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 the one causing the problems at hand and banish them through brute force, basically killing them and forcing them into their wounded spiritual state; in which they cannot do harm unto others while they must recover.
 * Several Kal'Gerion demons are capable of opening portals between realms. It is uknown if other Tsutsaroth demons are capable of doing the same, but it likely just depends on the individual.

Phsyical

 * 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

 * All demons are naturally weak to magic, even if they are powerful enough to use it.
 * 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.
 * Demons are all weak to Silverlight, Darklight, and holy water.

Other

 * Powerful demons must be summoned to the plane or pass through a portal, often from the Infernal Realm or the Abyss. Only Avernic demons are known to actually live on Gielinor.
 * 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, but aside from implings and Kal'Ger, none are known to fly. Their flat faces are animalistic with sharp, vicious teeth, and their arms are typically elongated with lengthy claws extending from their fingers for shredding victims.
 * 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.
 * 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 need not be aggressive to anyone they meet who is not a demon or their master, especially if they require help for a common goal.

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. It is unclear if Greater Demons would also have such an ability, and Lesser Demons 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.
 * It is not known how demons reproduce, seeing as how they are spirits.
 * Due to their spiritual nature, it is likely they are created by the energies of more powerful demons, and this serves as a form of reproduction.

Common Mistakes
This section addresses traits that unexperienced roleplayers often bestow their demonic characters but that aren't actually seen in demons on RuneScape.
 * 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.
 * It's highly unlikely that any demon would be willing to mate with a human. As a result, please avoid half-demons without reason.
 * Demons in RuneScape are 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.
 * When a demon is banished; their bodies often explode and then disintegrate into ash.
 * 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.