Page 26 - Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes

The size of the region begins to grow, the effects of the At this point, a besieged world's only hope for survival
lethal environment expanding from the original area. is the expulsion of the demon lord. The lord's defeat
The demons likewise begin to roam, and a small force leaves the other demons again leaderless, and they re-
capable of establishing its own incursion might travel act by warring against each other, which makes them
far. If enough of these groups splinter off, the incursion susceptible to attacks from the world's defenders. The
could spread into a network of similar sites, each open- longer a demon lord remains in control of all the other
ing its own portal and drawing in more demons. fiends, the more the world around it becomes irrevoca-
Slaying all the demons in an infested area ends their bly changed. When a demonic incursion runs its course,
direct threat, but the terrain remains twisted and ac- no vestige remains of the world that existed before- in
cursed, the portal dormant but still in place. To repel the effect, the realm has become another layer of the Abyss.
incursion at this stage, the defenders must not only slay
the demons but also establish a permanent watch over CHAOS I NCARNATE
the portal, to ensure that it remains unused. Ambitious
Although sages group demons into types according
cultists, or even a random confluence of planar energy,
to their power, the Abyss knows no such categories.
could awaken the portal and start the infection anew.
Demons are spawned from the stuff of the Abyss in a
APOCALYPSE Now near-infinite variety of shapes and abilities. The com-
mon forms that are familiar to demonologists represent
If the incursion remains unchecked or grows strong
broad trends, but individual demons defy those tenden-
enough, it enters its fourth and final phase with the en-
cies. For instance, a vrock might crawl out of an oil slick
trance of a demon lord. As a portal continues to shunt
in the Demonweb Pits with three eyes and vestigial
demons and abyssal energy into the world, it begins to
wings. A chasme might appear on the layer of Azzagrat
attract the attention of the lords. Two or more of them
possessing the ability to belch forth clouds of flies.
might fight for control of it, or in the worst case, several
If a demon survives for centuries, it accumulates
might travel through the portal in rapid succession.
changes to its form due to interaction with the energies
The visitation of a demon lord to the Material Plane
of the Abyss. These long-lived demons often become
is a cataclysmic event. The lord's presence overwhelms
demon lords, beings of such power that they can hold
the minds of other beings to keep them from resisting,
sway over entire realms within the Abyss. A few demon
and the lord's power enables it to command the other
lords have come to the attention of mortals and are even
demons already present in the world. They form a hor-
worshiped as gods in some places, but the vast majority
rid army that sets about stripping the world of life and
of demon lords remain unknown to scholars and sages.
clearing the path for the lord's dominance.
CHAPTER 1 I T H E BLOOD WAR
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