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Post Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:13 pm 
 

I've been looking for information on this guy and his servitor demons, the stagrynax demons and can't find anything. My party is raiding his library soon and would like to have some things cannon set up for them. Any help would be great!

  


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Post Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 4:38 pm 
 

Darkhope wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:I've been looking for information on this guy and his servitor demons, the stagrynax demons and can't find anything. My party is raiding his library soon and would like to have some things cannon set up for them. Any help would be great!


I'm not surprised that you can't find much info, Darkhope: my college DM created Gresil, and I expanded upon him in my own campaigns, and I created the stagrynax demon as his servitors. I mentioned Gresil in one of my LGJ  articles too, I think. I've got some articles on Canonfire too, some of which mention Gresil.

Where did you run across the references---just curious :)


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Post Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:30 pm 
 

Here is some information you probably already have, but I'll post it anyway.

Gresil. A lord of names and secrets of Faith. Aldinae was his consort. Associated with Delepitore.


Delepitore. One of the lilitu, progenitor of the mormo. Seducer of priests. Allied with Gresil?


stagrynax. A race of demons who care for the tomes of Gresil.


Source: http://www.oocities.org/ripvanwormer/abyssallords.html

Being a Catalog of Rumor and Supposition Concerning the denizens of the Abyss, As Known By Learned Sages of the Material Plane. Drawn largely from Randy Dorman's post to the Greytalk list.


He is a demon lord:
These beings are powerful demon nobles that have yet to rule their own layer, each ruling only a realm (or several realms scattered through the Abyss), or just a fortress. Some rule a whole layer under the rulership of a demon prince. Most of these beings are often the right hand to a demon prince. These includes Kostchtchie, Verin, Alrunes, Baltazo, Aldinach, Barbu, Charun, Cabiri, Nergel, and Gresil.


Gresil Rank: Lord
A lord who supposedly tempts through impurity, both physcially and mentally, this vile demon lord, also known as Cresil, appears to the world as a grotesquely fat and oozy-bodied human. Also said to maintain a library of forbidden lore that is second only to those of Astaroth, Gresil is a bitter and twisted demon lord to say the least. It is believed his current form is the result of a curse thrown at him from the Upper Planes. Gresil is greedy and has a developed sense of gluttony that not even Orcus can match, anything of value Gresil touches or worn are rotted away in mere hours, if not minutes.
Self-hating in his own grotesqueness, Gresil hates handsome males and takes great pleasure in disfiguring and/or killing them (suffocating them in his oozy fleshy body is a favorite pastime for him). All such victims often end up as his dinner...he prefers his meals "whole and unspoiled".
Gresil lives in the 19th layer of the Abyss known as Falserapture, a layer reserved for the wicked who mislead the faithful in life.


Source: Lords of the Abyss in Archive Forum

8)


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Post Posted: Sat Aug 03, 2013 8:23 pm 
 

Here Gresil - Greywiki
and
Here http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh ... ology.html

These are the only things I've found. I've started multiple threads on several different forums looking for info. I'm running a 3.5 Forgotten Realms Epic D&D game. My plot is Dagon is manipulating Demogorgon to pull the Far Realm plane closer to the current cosmology so that gates can be opened up allowing the old Obyrinth Demons and "Cthonian Mythos" type things into the world. The way things were progressing I started using the forums and google to look up info for ideas and stuff I didn't know. I ran across the Savage Tide Adventure Path and was amazed at the similarities of my plot and the one already stated out in the magazine. But, I'm sticking to mine. The PC's are going to Gresil's Library to gather information on how to defeat Demogorgon and knowing them it will be a fight not a negotiation. So I wanted some info on stating him and his demons. I have him built as an Infernal from the Epic Level Handbook as of now, with some minor adjustments that would make him a powerful and ancient being. One specific power would be that his spells and effects do not harm the library or its contents. I imagined his servitor demons as a hive mind concept that use mental control and dominate's as main spell-like abilities. Thus causing no damage to the library or its contents. What did you have in mind for them? and Gresil?

Btw, I find it fascinating I stumbled onto a page where the creator of what I'm looking for resides. Kudos to you and your imagination!

  


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Post Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:34 am 
 

Darkhope wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:Btw, I find it fascinating I stumbled onto a page where the creator of what I'm looking for resides. Kudos to you and your imagination!


Thank you, Darkhope, but it's not just my imagination:  Gygax created them name in the MM2, and then my old DM and I both ran with it, as did, apparently, some folks working on the Planescape setting---or at least that's where I assume some of these other names came from:  I created Aldinae and the stagrynax, my old DM created Gresil's concept as the Demon Lord of Demonic Lore; I have no idea who created Delepitore ;)



The second link is my page, actually, and duplicates some of the info available on Canonfire! @ Canonfire! and Greyhawk:  The 666 Layers of the Abyss  At both site, I wrote a series of articles from Iggwilv's Demonomicon, as well as various others, and several include some tidbits about Gresil (including the Abyssal Layers page @ The 666 Layers of The Abyss:  The Planes which briefly describes his court).  The first link is actually the Canonfire! wiki, too, so you'd pretty much found the definitive place to ask already:  Canonfire! is basically the Greyhawk equivalent of the CandleKeep website (the main site for FR lore).

Darkhope wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:I'm running a 3.5 Forgotten Realms Epic D&D game. My plot is Dagon is manipulating Demogorgon to pull the Far Realm plane closer to the current cosmology so that gates can be opened up allowing the old Obyrinth Demons and "Cthonian Mythos" type things into the world.


Since you're playing 3.5 and like Cthonian creatures and Epic-level play, you should also check out Sepulchrave's Story Hour and NPCs/Monsters threads on ENWorld---they're chock full of fabulous demonic inspiration!:   Tales of Wyre

Darkhope wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:The way things were progressing I started using the forums and google to look up info for ideas and stuff I didn't know. I ran across the Savage Tide Adventure Path and was amazed at the similarities of my plot and the one already stated out in the magazine. But, I'm sticking to mine. The PC's are going to Gresil's Library to gather information on how to defeat Demogorgon and knowing them it will be a fight not a negotiation. So I wanted some info on stating him and his demons. I have him built as an Infernal from the Epic Level Handbook as of now, with some minor adjustments that would make him a powerful and ancient being. One specific power would be that his spells and effects do not harm the library or its contents. I imagined his servitor demons as a hive mind concept that use mental control and dominate's as main spell-like abilities. Thus causing no damage to the library or its contents. What did you have in mind for them? and Gresil?


Here's the info I have on both, but remember these are from 1e, and I've boosted the power of "Firstborn" demonic lords considerably, too:  see http://www.greyhawkonline.com/grodog/gh ... html#first



==
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.
==

Looks like you're going to get me to submit a new piece to Canonfire! out of my notes here too:  nicely done :D


Allan Grohe (grodog@gmail.com)
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:51 am 
 

wow, JACKPOT! Thanks Grodog! You are the man! I'll make some minor adjustments to my build on Gresil and do a little 1st edition to 3.5 magic on the demon minions and I'm ready for my game on tuesday! Perfect timing man. Thanks again!

  


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Post Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:33 pm 
 

Darkhope wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:wow, JACKPOT! Thanks Grodog! You are the man! I'll make some minor adjustments to my build on Gresil and do a little 1st edition to 3.5 magic on the demon minions and I'm ready for my game on tuesday! Perfect timing man. Thanks again!


You're welcome, and let us know how the game goes :D


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Post Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 5:19 pm 
 

grodog wrote in Gresil-Demon Lord of Abyssal Lore:You're welcome, and let us know how the game goes :D


Yeah, everyone who contributed to this thread gets a free pdf copy of the adventure!   :wink:


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Post Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:05 pm 
 

Yeah, everyone who contributed to this thread gets a free pdf copy of the adventure!   :wink:


Ohh lord I don't have that much time to type out an adventure like some people do. I run a business and have a demanding woman lol. I'm lucky to play once a week anymore. But I'll let ya know how it all goes in the end!

  
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