Demogorgon

Demogorgon, also known as the Prince of Demons, was a powerful demon lord and lesser deity. The self-proclaimed title "Prince of Demons" was one that was held by virtue of power and influence and was acknowledged by both mortals and his fellow demons.

Description
The demon towered a full eighteen feet in height, his body at once sinuous like that of a snake and powerful like that of a great ape. Two baleful baboon heads (with blue and red faces ) leered from atop his lumbering shoulders, from which writhed two long tentacles. His lower torso was saurian, like some great reptile with blue-green, scaly skin. He had an immense forked tail.

Personality
Each of Demogorgon's head had its own name and personality. One was named Aameul while the other was named Hethradiah. The two heads warred with each other. Aameul relished deception, while Hethradiah relished destruction.

Combat
Demogorgon preferred to avoid direct conflict, instead using magic to help his servants. Demogorgon could hypnotize with a gaze or drive creatures around him to terror and insanity just from the sight of him. His whip-like tail had the ability to drain the life energy right out of a living foe. His tentacles caused living creatures to rot away, as if by some sort of rapid leprosy. He was extremely resistant to magic.

Demogorgon was comfortable underwater.

Realm
Demogorgon lived on the 88th layer of the Abyss, known as the Gaping Maw. This was a layer consisting of a great sea of briny water broken by tall, sharp, ugly, rocky prominences. Demogorgon's palace, called Abysm, consisted of two twin towers roughly shaped like tightly-coiled serpents, crowned at the top with skull-shaped minarets. The two towers were linked by a bridge near the top. Beneath the towers and underwater was most of the fortress. The reefs and caverns near the fortress were home to aboleth, kraken, and ixitxachitls dwelt, constantly warring with each other and worshiping Demogorgon in his palace above.

Demogorgon also kept a fortress in the bog of the Gaping Maw called Ungorth Reddik. This is where he housed his armies of hezrous, aboleths, scrags, skum, and ichythoid creatures. The fortress was guarded by unusual retrievers, golems, and other evil constructs.

The only significant landmass of the layer was a vast continent covered in tropical jungles. Here, Demogorgon's capital city of Lemoriax was located.

Demogorgon was served throughout the Realms by abyssal marauders.

Cult of Demogorgon
Demogorgon's cult was relatively small compared to "true" deities, but much larger than those of most fiends. He was worshiped by the intelligent manta ray race known as ixitxachitls. Demogorgon's other worshipers included troglodytes, kuo-toa, and other humanoids, particularly evil humans. His cult prospered in times of chaos and caused great destruction wherever it was found. Temples to Demogorgon were split in half, with one side representing Aameul and the other representing Hethradiah.

Demogorgon's domains were Chaos, Corruption, Demonic, and Evil. His symbol was that of a forked tail, often wrapped around a skull or sword.

Aspects of Demogorgon
Mortals could not summon Demogorgon himself, but the most pious could use sacrifice to summon a temporary aspect of Demogorgon. The aspect was smaller and not as powerful as Demogorgon. An aspect of Demogorgon was always unbalanced, taking after one head more than the other.

Relationships
The hatred between Orcus and Demogorgon was legendary. He was also a dedicated foe of Graz'zt, and Fraz-Urb'luu. He hated Sekolah and encouraged his followers to kill Sahuagin.

Demogorgon was allied with the obyrith lord Dagon, who often advised the heads of Aameul and Hethradiah separately. Dagon served as the side of intellect, while Demogorgon provided brute strength.

Some of his other allies included the Succubus Queen Malcanthet. The currently imprisoned Shami-Amourae was his former consort. He was the brother of another demon lord called Mandrillagon.

History
Demogorgon once had a single head until a blow from Amoth split it into two. Soon after that battle, Demogorgon defeated the stone primordial Storralk. He kept Storralk beneath his throne, torturing him for eternity.

On Nightal 15, 1486 DR, archmage Gromph Baenre weakened the barriers of Faerzress, inadvertently "summoning" Demogorgon and allowing him to pass from the Abyss to the Prime Material Plane. He arrived at the tower of Sorcere in Menzoberranzan and cut a swath of destruction as he exited the cavern. Gromph was able to weaken Faerzress due to his study of psionics and the psychic conveyance of a plan devised by the goddess Lolth.

Appearances

 * Computer games:
 * Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn: It is possible to make a sacrifice to Demogorgon, thus summoning some demons with no desire to be friendly.
 * Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal: Demogorgon appears imprisoned in the dungeon known as Watcher's Keep. The player's standard quest is to seal the dungeon in order to keep Demogorgon imprisoned, but the player can also destroy him, sending him back to the Abyss.


 * Novels:
 * The Glass Prison
 * Depths of Madness
 * Archmage: Demogorgon is inadvertently "summoned" by Gromph Baenre, the Archmage of Menzoberranzan, when he weakens the barriers of Faerzress.


 * Magazines:
 * "Setting saintly standards" in Dragon #79
 * "Lost Temple of Demogorgon" in Dungeon #120
 * "The ecology of the ixitxachitl" in Dragon #85