Pazuzu

Pazuzu is a powerful demon lord, called the Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms. He rules the skies above all layers of the Abyss and is also known as Pazrael or Pazuzeus.

One of the oldest and most reprehensible demon lords, Pazuzu is a master manipulator and corruptor of mortal souls. The Dark Angel of the Four Winds takes great delight in offering aid that seems beneficial, but ultimately spells doom on victim in the long run.

Pazuzu's domain is called Torremor, a tangled mass of beams, pinnacles, arches, ladders, and other structures, held together by rope and chain. Torremor is located on the 503rd layer of the Abyss.

Lore
Pazuzu lusts after innocence, purity, and honesty more than anything else, and the mortal world is a perfect breeding ground for this precious fruit. The demon lord takes from his victims all that makes them pure, then fills their hollow souls with bitterness and cruelty. When not scouting the mortal world for his next conquest, Pazuzu can almost always be found on the 1st abyssal layer—the Plain of a Thousand Portals. With his attention focused outward from the chaotic scheming of the Abyss, Pazuzu has not garnered many foes among the other abyssal lords. His only true enemy is Lamashtu, Demon Queen of Monstrous Births, though Pazuzu only barely considers this former consort a threat. Long ago, she betrayed the Winged Prince. As punishment, Pazuzu ate out her eyes and imprisoned her in his former realm of Torremor, the 503rd layer of the Abyss. There, the wretched and deformed hag suffered, eventually gaining the power to seize Torremor as her own. The Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms now watches in amusement as Lamashtu (still bound by his dark magic) scrapes for influence and position from that remote abyssal backwater.

Encounters
Beyond his secret alliance with Asmodeus and the Queen's Conclave, Pazuzu commands the respect and loyalty of all evil creatures that fly in the abyssal skies. Though his rule of Pazunia is unquestioned, it is said that Pazuzu's influence extends in secret to aerial kingdoms throughout the Abyss. Pazuzu seldom travels alone. His personal guard is known as the Six Wings of Pazrael—a formidable troop of balor-led vrocks skilled at reconnaissance and assassination.

Combat
Pazuzu rarely engages in direct combat, though his abilities make the demon lord a formidable opponent. The pique of abyssal locusts that surrounds him keeps melee and ranged attackers at bay while he spreads his pestilence across the battlefield. The demon lord delights in dominating his most powerful foes, forcing them to cut down their own allies in his name.

Secrets
Pazuzu is actually an obyrith, one of the primordial entities that predate the Abyss. Trapped in the crumbling ruins of a universe he and his kind destroyed long ago, it was Pazuzu's idea to create the shard of evil that lured Tharizdun into creating the Abyss. Pazuzu (in his incarnation as Pazrael) was also one of the generals who aided the fallen angel Asmodeus in the battle that claimed the life of his god. Pazuzu saw this as his chance to aid in the greatest corruption of all, the transformation of a faithful servant into an enemy of the gods. His aid was instrumental in Asmodeus' victory, and it remains a secret known only to Asmodeus and the obyrith. Pazuzu's support came at a cost, an as yet unnamed boon still owed by the archdevil. Pazuzu was instrumental throughout the last age in fomenting the Blood War, using his secret alliance with Asmodeus to ensure that devils and demons remained evenly matched in that endless conflict. Both Asmodeus and the Queen's Conclave used the chaos of the Blood War as a cover for the same goal, to locate and harness the eldritch power of the seed of evil at the Abyss's heart.

Cult of Pazuzu
Unlike most other demon lords, Pazuzu is able to manifest freely in the mortal world. Over millennia, he has perfected the craft of seducing mortals to his will without attracting the attention of the gods that protect them. In ancient texts, the names Imdugud, Pazrael, and Typhon are associated with a benevolent entity that protects against pestilence and blesses childbirth. Folk that call on this entity have their prayers consistently answered, remaining blissfully unaware that these benevolent spirits are avatars of Pazuzu. As word of his beneficence spreads, whole communities soon become unwittingly dependent on the demon lord's aid.

Invariably, folk touched by Pazuzu form new cults dedicated to his teachings. These people do not see themselves as evil, even as their search for blessings inevitably leads them to vile acts committed for the sake of their new master. As they spread the power of their dark patron by tempting others to ask for his aid, these thralls of Pazuzu never learn the demon lord's true identity.

Pazuzu is the lord of all evil flying creatures. His worshipers rarely emerge in societies; usually he is worshiped by lone individuals. His worshipers include kenku, harpies, gargoyles, manticores, wyverns, and sometimes evil fey or dragons. His temples lie in areas unreachable by those incapable of flight: in wildernesses, atop cliffs, or on mountain peaks.

Cults of Pazuzu are started when someone in desperate need discovers Pazuzu's name and pleads for his help. When someone utters the name "Pazuzu" three consecutive times, the demon lord is telepathically linked to that person for one minute. During that time, Pazuzu is capable of reading the thoughts of whoever he is linked to, in addition to checking whether they are lawful or good. After confirming that whoever said his name isn't endeavoring to capture him on the Material Plane, Pazuzu appears before the speaker. Pazuzu grants the person aid, usually via his wish spell-like ability, and in reply asks that his name be repeated to others. The mortal's miraculous turn of fortune attracts other desperate souls. Pazuzu continues to grant aid when called upon, each time producing more evil results. Eventually the cultists come to depend on him for their success, at which point he reveals his true nature. Those who try to repent are tortured and sacrificed. After a cult has committed its first sacrifice, Pazuzu abandons it and seeks out other prospects. Eventually the cult is destroyed by lawful and good forces; looters discover Pazuzu's name and the cycle's continuance is assured.

Out of Combat
If a creature utters Pazuzu's name or any of his aliases three times in succession, an unholy link between the speaker and the demon lord is established, working over any distance and across the planes. For a short time, Pazuzu can examine the speaker's thoughts to discern whether the caller seeks aid or is trying to trap him. If he wants to and is able to, Pazuzu can appear in the speaker's location. The demon lord almost always agrees to provide aid, but his assistance comes at a steep price, requiring the creature to swear utter obedience for a week or more, and takes full advantage of this service.

Description
In his true form, Pazuzu is a 2.1m (7') tall well-proportioned humanoid with four wings, this figure's demonic features cannot be ignored. He has a noble brow, a large head which combines the features of a handsome man with a feral hawk, his cruel hooked beak filled with a forest of needlelike teeth, and glowing red eyes. His avian feet have long, sharp talons, which scrape the floor as he approaches. He wields a powerful magic greatsword that grants him great speed, and can breathe swarms of locusts and acidic, poisonous clouds. He also has Low-light vision, and Blindsight. Pazuzu is well versed in Abyssal, Common, and his communication skills also extend to a weaker form of telepathy.

History
Pazuzu is one of the oldest demon lords in the Abyss, as he is one of the few surviving members of the obyrith. While the Queen of Chaos was in power, Pazuzu remained an independent demon lord. This saved him from the tanar'ri revolt against the Queen of Chaos, as he was not affiliated to her. Following the tanar'ri conquest of the Abyss, Pazuzu was quick to adapt with the change. This has manifested in several ways: While most obyriths, having been conceived out of the Abyss's chaotic will itself, have characteristically bizarre physical appearances, Pazuzu appears as human-like as any tanar'ri. Pazuzu's abilities have changed as well: He can now summon tanar'ri, and the obyrith form of madness ability has changed as well. While most obyriths' visages are so chaotic that merely looking at one causes insanity, Pazuzu's newfound appearance has changed his form of madness into an "Aura of Servile Avians." This ability causes all evil flying creatures to feel an affinity towards Pazuzu, making it hard for them to bring themselves to attack the demon lord.

Goals
Pazuzu is viewed by the denizens of the Abyss with resentment and grudging respect. Unlike most demon lords, he is not interested in conquest of the Abyss. His main concern is winning followers on the Prime Material Plane by tempting or deceiving those of good alignment. He aids any good creature who summons him, in order to tempt him or her to evil. In the Monster Manual II, he is said to be on good terms with daemons (now known as yugoloths) and the dukes of Hell.

Relationships
In the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" and "Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss," Graz'zt is listed as Pazuzu's most notable enemy. Graz'zt alone takes umbrage at Pazuzu's claim to dominion over the skies of the Abyss, though the Prince of Tyrants has never taken action against him beyond the occasional insult.

Creative origins
Pazuzu is derived from the Mesopotamian god of the same name.

Pazuzu has appeared in Monster Manual II and the Book of Vile Darkness web enhancement. He is covered in depth in Dragon magazine #329, in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" feature, as well as the supplement Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss.