Canonfire! - Excerpts from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Gresil, TheDemon Lord of Demonic Lore

Gresil, Firstborn Demon Lord of Demonic Lore, and his servitor librarian demons, the Stagrynax.

Gresil (Lord of Demon Lore)

Gresil, Lord of demon-lore, Keeper of the books of the Abyss, and Sage of the Demons, holds a peculiar place among his Ken.

Gresil is tall and graceful. He is a humanoid with brownish, withered skin, with the head of an insect, complete with large, faceted, bulbous eyes. Framed by very long grey hair and large human-like ears. Huge antlers similar to a deer's sprout from his head, and he has a barbed tail and gossamer insect wings.

Gresil is old, and an ancient aura pervades him. He favours a long, off-white robe with no jewelry or opulent displays.

Gresil is beset with many powers. At will he can radiate either intense heat or frigid cold for 8 rounds. This does 1d6 each round, cumulative (save vs. magic each round for 1/2 damage). At will, once/round, he can disenchant a magic item or hypnotize a being. He may use a symbol of insanity 2x/day. Gresil may also, 1x/day, gate in any demon lord or Prince (50%). They all owe him favours....

Gresil is said to be the most wise and sagacious of all demonKind. He runs and owns a vast library of lore from all over the multiverse. Beings of all sorts and alignments often seek him out for advice.

Gresil at first doesn't seem evil. He is, however, amoral, and regards the existence of all others to be expendable if he deems it so---some of his knowledge has been earned in ways that are best not talked about....

Gresil is respected amoung the demons, and he has no great enemies. Even devils, humans, and once even Primus come to him for sage advice.

Gresil resides in his library, which spans the 267th to 269th layers of the Abyss. Each plane is filled with rows upon rows of books---in stone shelves, with paved flagstone floors and walls, ceilings that just go up and up and.... His librarian demons know who should be there and who shouldn't. This plane is neutral ground, at least temporarily, since no demon is willing to risk Gresil's wrath if they distrub his tomes of lore.

The above is (c) 1987, 2013 by Allen B. Ruch and Allan T Grohe Jr, and is used with permission.

Stagrynax, , Assistant Librarians to Gresil (major demon)

Frequency: Very rare (very rare in the Abyss as well)
No. Appearing: 1 (1-2 rarely)
Armor Class: 4
Move: 18"
Hit Dice: 7+6
% in Lair: 100% and 5% (see below)
Treasure Type: see below
No. of Attacks: 3 (c/c/b)
Damage/Attack: 1-4/1-4/1-10
Special Attacks: For all claw attacks: on 5 or more above 'to hit' number, or 18-20 in any event, victim is gored by antlers for 6-15 (3d4+3) points of damage; Surprise 1-3
Special Defenses: +2 or better weapon to hit; regeneration (1 point/round); immune to charms and maze
Magic Resistance: 47%
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Intelligence: Highly
Size: M (7' tall)
Psionic Ability: VI (100% reflection)
Level/XP Value: VIII/4105+10/hp

Stagrynax demons, also called "knowledge demons" or "library demons", are servants of Gresil in his demonic library; they retrieve texts, maintain the stacks, copy and illuminate manuscripts, catalogue the texts, etc. All have legend lore (as 10th Bard).

Stagrynax appear as tall, robed humanoids, with the skull-like head of a stag, out of which grow 2-4' long antlers. Their eyes are lit by baleful red, blue, or yellow flames; they have fangs (2"-6" long), and long, black tongues (1-2' long, like a giraffe). Their robes are black and dusty with no ornamentation---their armsare typically concealed (Str 17), as are their feet (hooved if examined, though silent as they move).

Stagrynax never use weapons, although some (35%) wield magical rods, staves, or wands of up to average power (typcially, at best, rod of smiting, staff of striking, wand of illumination, wand of whips; no fire items, in any event), which they acquired in dealings with mages and visitors to the library.

Spell-like powers: Compehend Languages/Confuse Languages, Levitate, Read Magic/Unreadable Magic, Affect Normal Fires (to douse/reduce only), Fear, ESP, Darkness (1" radius), Detect Magic/Good/Evil/Illusion, Erase, Glyph of Warding (no energy drain), Sepia Snake Sigil (rune form only, 1/day), Preserve, Symbol (any, 1/week), Encrypt, True Seeing (2/week), Gate (1/day; 100%: 1 stagrynax 75% or Gresil 25%), Find Text, Maze (2/week, only usable if within the confines of the Library). They also have all standard powers for a major demon.

All stagrynax have individual names and are often sent by Gresil to mages, et al, who seek his guidance; they also do a bit of work on the side---buying, selling, and trading rare books; each unique, rare, etc. acquisition they make enhances their prestige and status in the library.

Stagrynax demons are (c) 1987, 2013 by Allan T. Grohe Jr, and used with permission.