Fiendish grafts were body parts of fiends that were attached to the bodies of other corporeal creatures or people.[1]
Description[]
These grafts were inherently malevolent, and having one would twist a person's the personality as well as their appearance.[3] Recipients of such grafts found themselves either tempted toward committing evil acts or being driven mad if such urges conflicted with their goodly nature.[1] These changes made them noticeably less trustworthy to nonevil beings.[3] Despite this, fiendish grafts were technically not magical, nor did they have sentience. They could not generally be salvaged from the creatures to whom they were attached.[4]
Creation[]
Only fiends possessed the knowledge of how to create and attach such grafts,[2] and they were generally bestowed onto a creature at the climax of a dark ritual.[1] In general, melding fiends' body parts onto another creature required familiarity with medicine, specialized knowledge of how to graft flesh, and often access to one or more relevant spells.[2][4] Two known exceptions to these rules inluded fiends of corruption—who had the power to freely bestow grafts as rewards or temptations for mortals whom they were trying to corrupt or tempt into infernal contracts[1][5]—and sibriexes—who could conjure grafts from Abyssal chaos and instantly meld one onto a willing recipient or even force one onto a helpless victim.[6]
There were also said to exist magical devices that a creature could fit inside and which would remove and replace limbs in exceedingly painful—and potentially fatal—procedures.[1]
Notable Fiendish Grafts[]
Arms[]
- Clawed arm
- A muscled and sinewy arm with a large, clawed hand.[3]
- Flexible arm
- A long, strong, and tentacle-like arm that ended in a clawed hand with three fingers.[7]
- Grappling tentacle
- A long, strong, and tentacle-like arm that ended in a barbed hook ideal for grabbing onto enemies.[7]
- Long arm
- A thin and wiry arm that was obviously too long for the recipient and thus extended their reach.[7]
Face[]
- Charming eye
- A goatlike, golden eye that allowed the recipient to see perfectly in even magical darkness and to charm other creatures.[3]
- Fearsome eye
- A bright red eye with a black iris that allowed the recipient to see invisibility and to paralyze other creatures with fear.[3]
- Fiendish ear
- A fan-shaped ear (looking like spikes connected by membranous skin) that granted the recipient keen hearing, except on rare occasions when all they heard was the chaos of Pandemonium.[3]
- Fiendish jaw
- A heavy, tusked jawbone covered in scaled skin and full of sharp, crooked teeth. The recipient of this graft could use the heavy tusks to gore their enemies.[3]
Legs[]
- Fast leg
- A long and agile leg that made the recipient faster.[3]
- Springing leg
- An extremely long leg with a pronounced bend at the knee (which could be bent either forwards or backwards) that allowed the recipient to jump further and higher. The leg was awkward enough that the recipient had difficulty walking.[7]
- Strong leg
- A large and muscular leg that enhanced the recipient's endurance.[7]
- Trampling leg
- A short, thick, elephantlike leg that could be used to stomp on enemies.[7]
Tails[]
- Sting tail
- A large, scorpionlike tail that ended in a poisonous stinger that could be used to attack foes.[7]
- Whip tail
- A long, whiplike tail that seemed to have a mind of its own and could lash out at the recipient's enemies. Injuries from the tail burned with paralyzing pain.[7]
Wings[]
- Feathered wings
- Large, birdlike wings tipped with claws—similar to those of an erinyes or vrock—enabled the recipient to fly.[3]
- Membranous wing
- Batlike wings—similar to those of a pit fiend or succubus—enabled the recipient to fly.[7]
Other[]
- Fiendish skin
- Grafts of thick skin that provided permanent natural armor.[3]
Notable Owners[]
- Rauthan Zarass, a Zhentarim slaver and underling of Manshoon who had a clawed arm. He was slain by Storm Silverhand.[8]
- Warduke, an infamous evil adventurer from Oerth, who possessed a glowing fearsome eye.[9]
Appendix[]
See Also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 209. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 210–212. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 210. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 207–208. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 204. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ Ed Stark, James Jacobs, Erik Mona (June 13, 2006). Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 53. ISBN 0-7869-3919-2.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 211. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (2004-07-28). Storm Silverhand's Quieter Days IV: On the Boil, Part 2. Realmslore. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2009-05-02. Retrieved on 2009-05-02.
- ↑ The Dungeon Staff (December 2003). “Critical Threats: Warduke”. In Erik Mona ed. Dungeon #105 (Paizo Publishing, LLC) (105)., pp. 70–71.