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Cambion (Dungeons and Dragons)
| Cambion | |
|---|---|
 Cambions as illustrated by Anne Stokes | |
| Characteristics | |
| Alignment |
Any Evil (Generally) Any Good (Rarely) |
| Type | Outsider |
| Publication history | |
| Source books |
Monster Manual II Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix |
| First appearance | Monster Manual II |
| Mythological origins | Cambion |
For an overall list of Succubus related articles, see Succubus (disambiguation).
For an overall list of Incubus related articles, see Incubus (disambiguation).
Cambion in the fantasy role playing game Dungeons and Dragons generally refers to a male "half-fiend", a cross between a fiend and another creature, often a human. The creature is named for the Cambion.
Description
The word Cambion refers to a male "half-fiend", a cross between a fiend and another creature, often a human. The terms Alu-Fiend or Alu-Demon refer to its female counterpart. In the 3rd Edition, cambions are the offspring of a Tanar'ri father and a Planetouched mother, often a Tiefling.[1]
Iuz the Old of the World of Greyhawk game setting is referred to as a Cambion. He is the son of the witch Iggwilv and the demon Graz'zt. In addition to his human form of an old man, he can appear as a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m), maroon demon with green eyes.
In the 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons, Cambions are the result of devils mating with mortal beings- usually humans. They look much like tieflings, but with the addition of functional wings. The title is also gender-neutral, rather than being divided into male Cambions and female Alu-Fiends.
Physiology
The mothers of true Cambions always die in childbirth, serving to strand the newborn on the Material Plane where it will be orphaned, or in the Abyss where it will be abused by the demons who look down upon such children. Never accepted by either societies, Cambions invariably grow up bitter and twisted but, due to their powers, they often become exceptional assassins. Many though, have been made the ambassadors to the worshipers of various demonic powers, usually Graz'zt, Demogorgon, Orcus and Lolth.
Loners by nature, they like to get lost in the crowds of large cities, especially in places where people don't ask questions. Good-aligned Cambions are rare, but sometimes, if their mother was good or neutral-aligned, they take on her nonevil nature and are subsequently doomed to a life of loneliness as not even their demonic patrons will accept them.
Cambions excel in luring mortals to the Abyss, the only demons better at it are succubi. They then warn demons of the mortals' approach and let them do what they do best so the souls can be turned into larvae or manes.
Cambions are very ambitious and always put as much effort as they can into whatever they try to do, maybe either to prove themselves to a parent or to themselves, but regardless, they make great leaders, information brokers, etc. and are often catalysts for major events.
Cambions breed true with each other, but they often prefer to seek out humanoid mates to create tiefling children.
Publication History
The Cambion was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 1st Edition (1977-1988)
The Cambion first appears under the demon on page 37 entry in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983), including the baron/marquis Cambion (semi-demon) and the major Cambion (semi-demon).[2]
A Cambion named MacDaer appeared in Dungeon #13 (September 1988).
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition (1989-1999)
The cambion appears under the Tanar'ri entry in the Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix (1991), including the baron/marquis Cambion Tanar'ri and the major cambion tanar'ri.[3]
The Cambion Tanar'ri was further detailed in the first Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994),[4] including the same variants from the Outer Planes Appendix.
Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 Edition (2000-2002)
The Cambion did not appear in any official Wizards of the Coast products for third edition.
Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition (2003-2007)
The Cambion appeared again in Necromancer Games's Tome of Horrors Revised PDF (2005).
The Cambion demon returns to official Dungeons & Dragons products in Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (2007),[5] including the baron and marquis Cambion, which also presents the Cambion as a player character race.
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition (2008-)
The Cambion appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), including the Cambion hellsword and the Cambion hellfire magus.[6]
Other Publishers
The Cambion appeared under the "demon" heading in the Tome of Horrors (2002) from Necromancer Games.[7]
Other Media
Two half-elven Cambions, Isair and Madae appear in Icewind Dale II, as leaders of the Legion Of The Chimera.
References
- ↑ Baur, Wolfgang (2007). Expedition to the Demonweb Pits. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983)
- ↑ LaFountain, J. Paul. Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix. (TSR, 1991)
- ↑ Varney, Allen, ed. Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (TSR, 1994)
- ↑ Baur, Wolfgang, and Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel. Expedition to the Demonweb Pits (Wizards of the Coast, 2007)
- ↑ Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
- ↑ Green, Scott (2002). Tome of Horrors, 72–73, Necromancer Games.