#maw demon

On the left is the combination of a drake with an insect from Hell! The kruthik is a pack hunting terror.  6 feet (1.8 meters) long, with Hive lords being twice as big. This burrowing creature is covered in spines and is the size of a horse, with the intelligence of your average lizardfolk. The Hive lords are as smart as your average human or goblin! You ever read Sand Kings by George R R Martin? This is kinda like a sand king, but less loyal and not telepathic.

Image © Wizards of the Coast, by Thomas Baxa.

[The abyssal maw is one of those monsters that was first created for the Chainmail Miniatures game in the 2e/3e transition period, and has managed to hang on since then. I have a fondness for this little creep because I have a mini of it, and it works splendidly as any manner of gross, strange monster.

The reason I’ve waited until now to convert it, as opposed to covering it in various D&D 3.x or 4.0 themed blocks, is that it finally has a special ability that’s actually fun at the table. The original could “rend fallen”, which did bonus damage to prone opponents. Since the abyssal maw had no way to trip enemies, this meant that the logical way to use it was to have it attack fallen characters, which would almost certainly take them from disabled to dead real fast. Not fun at the table. Whereas the “rampage” ability in 5e rewards them for moving away from fallen enemies, giving the rest of the party a chance to save an injured ally. Which is much better game design for keeping low level characters engaged but alive.

I also very much like the idea, introduced in Volo’s Guide to Monsters, that they actually serve as conduits to the Abyss. In that book, the “maw demons” open straight into Yeenoghu’s stomach, but I moved them away from being tied to a specific demon lord. After all, the Abyss is renowned for being grossly biological; what brings in all the raw materials? I was teaching matter cycles in freshman Bio before winter break, which may have influenced my thinking here.]

Abyssal Maw CR 1 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This squat creature has six limbs, all of which seem capable of serving equally well as arms or legs. It has mismatched eyes surrounding a gaping maw splitting its body in half, packed with a forest of teeth.

Abyssal maws are demon-like creatures that are perpetually, ravenously hungry. Their name truly describes them, as they are the maws of the Abyss itself—anything eaten by an Abyssal maw travels between planes and is deposited somewhere in the many profane corners of the Abyss. It is Abyssal maws that keep seas of blood and ichor, swamps of feces and meat, and deposits of fouler, less identifiable organic material pouring into the Abyss in such volume. An Abyssal maw will eat anything alive or dead, animal or plant, but their favorite food is anything still screaming and struggling when they get to it.

Abyssal maws are stupid creatures, and their tactics rarely advance beyond “attack the nearest, juiciest looking target”. Once they have felled an enemy, they get distracted and move onto the next one, although once the battle has calmed down they will return to and devour anyone or anything unconscious or dead on the battlefield. They do not coordinate attacks with each other, and may be baited into attacking each other by clever foes. An Abyssal maw instinctively will not attack a true demon or qlippoth (although they will scavenge from their corpses).

Most Abyssal maws roam the Abyss itself, eating weaker things that they come across, but some are found on other planes as conduits between worlds. Material Planes are their ultimate destination, and demons often transport or invite Abyssal maws across planar borders. On the Material Plane, if a powerful demon of greed or gluttony (such as a nabasu or nalfeshnee) dies, Abyssal maws disgorge themselves from its corpse and roam forth. Thus, even killing a demon might not fully stop its depredations, and Abyssal maws can be found wandering in almost any habitat. An Abyssal maw is unharmed if in an area that blocks planar travel (such as the area of a dimensional lock spell), but they grow increasingly frantic and uncomfortable, vomiting up almost all that they eat.

Abyssal maws can understand Abyssal and even attempt to speak it, but their mismatched teeth and lolling tongues render their speech unintelligible even to demons.

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