Arrow demon

Arrow demons were valued tanar'ri made specifically to fight in the armies of the Abyss. Although dangerous on their own, their true power came into play when working with others, whether demons or otherwise.^[1]

Description

Emaciated, but possessing unnatural strength for its frame, arrow demons stood about 6.5 ft (2 m) tall and weighed 150 lb (68 kg). An arrow demon's body was also completely hairless, with gray skin that felt like cured leather, but it also had a strange wetness to the touch.^[1]

Otherwise humanoid, an arrow demon's remarkable feature was its four arms, with which it could simultaneously wield two large longbows with deadly expertise. Despite being not much taller than an above average human, their legs were long and wiry with four-jointed toes that clenched onto the area which they stood.^[1]

Personality

Possibly more than any other demons, arrow demons understood the virtue of teamwork. Individuals were easily outranked by a variety of other demons, and as such were forced to follow their commands. However, when in large enough numbers, arrow demons knew that they were instrumental enough to their masters plans that they could challenge demons normally above their station.^[1]

Because of their existence as warriors and dependency on group status to survive, arrow demons clearly understood that making themselves useful was their best road to longevity. This understanding of group survival was not to be mistaken for altruistic behavior, as they were still thoroughly demonic. Arrow demons were cruel, cold-hearted, creatures that spat upon concepts like hope and goodness.^[1]

Abilities

Arrow demons were masters with a bow, as one might expect, capable of firing weapons too big for creatures of their size to normally wield and easily making close-up shots. Not only did they wield two bows in perfect unison but they also possessed a short-range teleportation ability. If lacking in help, they could attempt to summon a small pack of dretches to act as meat shields or a second arrow demon to assist them.^[1]

Combat

Arrow demons were fielded by their commanders in large units where they did what they did best and rained huge numbers of large arrows down on their foes. They were often shielded from melee combat by masses of demonic fodder, allowing them to concentrate on firing off as many shots as they could. When in smaller groups, arrow demons made extensive use of their ability to cast dimension door to maximize their damage potential while minimizing the wounds they suffered.^[1]

More often than not, arrow demons carried quivers of arrows set with heads made from alchemical silver, adamantine, and/or cold iron to overcome the resistances of their most commonly-encountered otherworldly enemies.^[1]

Society

Perhaps due to their purpose as a warrior race, arrow demons preferred to fight in orderly legions with several hundreds of their kind. The Abyssal archers, once exclusively serving as warriors, were later given missions outside of outright warfare by their masters.^[1]

Summoning

Higher caliber demonic summoners could conjure arrow demons by sacrificing their ability to call the recruiters known as babaus, sacrificing a ruthless spy for a battlefield dominating archer.^[1]

History

Though originally found only in the Abyss, Avernus, and the Blood Rift—where the Blood War was most commonly fought—they later spread to the rest of the Lower planes, crossing planar borders when the Blood Rift moved close enough to bridge them. This meant that these demons could be found in the Barrens of Doom and Despair, the Dismal Caverns, the Demonweb Pits, Fury's Heart, Hammergrim, Nishrek, and the Supreme Throne. Conjurers were also to blame for bringing arrow demons to Faerûn with summoning spells.^[1]