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Lilitu (Dungeons and Dragons)
| Lilitu | |
|---|---|
 Representative art of a Lilitu in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss | |
| Characteristics | |
| Alignment | Always Chaotic Evil |
| Type | Outsider (Tanar’ri) |
| Stats | Open Game License stats |
| Publication history | |
| Source books | Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss |
| First appearance | Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss |
| Mythological origins | Lilitu |
| Based on | Succubus |
For an overall list of Succubus related articles, see Succubus (disambiguation).
Lilitu, in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role playing game, are a type of Tanar’ri who are similar in appearance, goals and actions to that of Succubi. Unlike the Succubi, Lilitu are not solely focused on the sin of lust but rather act as a temptation to mortals to commit sins and thus fall under the control or influence of the Lilitu.
Description
Lilitu demons are subversive and hidden horrors, demons who work much more subtlety in their constant quest to destroy and devastate. Whereas most demons prefer to rend and destroy, the lilitu is more akin to the succubus—she labors in humanoid guise to infect society from within with sin. Known to some as temptation demons, lilitus enjoy little more than leading mortals into all matter of sinful acts, in the hopes that when the mortal perishes, that soul will fuel the Abyss. Despite some superficial similarities to succubi, lilitus are not solely concerned with the sin of lust. The exact nature of sin that a lilitu tempts a mortal into committing varies, for these demons are adept at reading mortal desires and secrets, quickly discerning which sinful acts a specific target can be convinced to perform.
Lilitus have numerous tools at their disposal for the encouragement of promoting sin, but they much prefer their humanoid victims to commit sins of their own free will. As such, lilitus generally use their abilities to deceive and beguile mortals rather than forcing them to execute these heinous acts. A son convinced to kill for his mother (the disguised lilitu) to rectify a grave injustice done to her produces more delight than simply mind-controlling a humanoid into doing such a deed.
Lilitus subsist on the profane joys of corrupting priesthoods and twisting the worship of the faithful to that of a particular demon lord. Their natures shield them from most forms of magical detection, and their ability to pose as powerful clerics goes a long way toward allowing them to gain an impressionable town’s gratitude.
Physical Appearance
| “ | While this seductive woman has goat horns, goat hooves, and a serpentine tail, her eyeless face is her most disturbing feature. | ” |
Lilitu typically stand 6 feet tall and weigh 130 pounds. In one form, a lilitu appears as an eyeless, horned, sometimes snake-tailed—but otherwise beautiful—human woman. Another form that Lilitu are more commonly encountered is a lithe and graceful figure destined to inflame desire in those around her. A closer look, reveals sharp talons, vacant white eyes, and cloven feet, distorting and perverting that beauty into something far more disturbing. Despite their lack of eyes, a lilitu can see with supernatural ease. Four writhing, ten-foot-long, sting-tipped tails extend from her back and burnt and broken fragments of wings appear as well. Lilitu lose their wings in the transformation from succubi to lilitu, but retain the burnt and ragged tatters of their wings. Lilitus can be encountered anywhere on the Abyss and on the Material Plane, though they prefer urban regions where they can blend into crowds to more easily work their corruption on religious society.
Lilitus who serve the seven demon lords of sin are unique in appearance, reflecting their sins more physically than others of their kind. A lilitu of the demon lord of fungi might appear to be made of slime, for example. The lilitu are masters of mocking the divine, they infiltrate temples, corrupt priests, and slowly convert their victims to the worship of the demon lords.
A lilitu spends much of her time in an assumed form, usually that of a specific attractive humanoid who plays an increasingly important role in the local religious scene. Once she has corrupted a particular temple and its faithful to the worship of a demon lord, they leave the temple in the able hands of a dominated minion and moves on to their next target. Overtime a lilitu creates a vast network of interconnected cults, outwardly worshiping different deities but in actuality paying homage to one of the rulers of the Abyss. Eventually her minions succumb to her influence so completely that when they learn the truth about their faith, they accept it gladly.
Ecology
A lilitu is normally born from the ashes of a slain succubus, though they can also be formed from the soul of a mortal who lured others of its kind to commit sins. The ritual of transformation and ascension to lilitu form is different for each succubus but always involves a decadent and shocking ritual that culminates in the sacrifice of an entire congregation of faithful worshipers who believe they are worshiping a benign deity. The succubus must be able to cast divine spells and must lead the ritual, usually disguised to resemble a harvest ritual, to its climax. This being the burning of the church and its faithful in a fire set from a portal opened to one of the deepest furnaces of the Abyss via a gate opened by the succubus. The succubus’s body is consumed in a blast of supernaturally hot fire, then she is reborn from the ashes as a lilitu.
Society
Lilitus regard other lilitus as competition even if they are working for the same demon lord. A lilitu that learns of another’s proximity turns all her resources to that interloper’s destruction. Lilitus treat succubi with similar disdain, since any succubus can become a lilitu, given time. Most focus on removing the threat to them in any means possible, some lilitus have even been known to hire adventurers to hunt down and destroy succubi. Lilitus who have proven their worth on the Material Plane often serve demon lords as favored diplomats, messengers, spies, and assassins.
Statistics
Lilitu (Official Statistics)
| Name | Lilitu |
| Type | Always CE Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extra planar, tanar’ri) |
| Alignment | Always Chaotic Evil |
| CR | 12 |
| Init | +8 |
| Languages | Abyssal, Common; telepathy 100 ft. |
| AC | 26, touch 18, flat-footed 18 (+8 Dex, +8 natural) |
| hp | 119 (14 HD) DR 10/cold iron or good Immune electricity, poison Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10 SR 23 |
| Saves | Fort +13, Ref +17, Will +14 |
| Weakness | divine magic |
| Speed | 40 ft. (8 squares) |
| Melee | 4 stingers +22 (1d4+3 plus poison) and 2 claws +20 (1d6+1) |
| Space | 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with stingers) |
| Base Attack | +14 |
| Group Attack | +17 |
| Special Actions | Combat Reflexes, lilitu’s gift |
| Abilities | Str 17, Dex 26, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 20, Cha 30 |
| Special Qualities | item use, mock divinity, shroud alignment, tanar’ri traits |
| Feats | Combat Reflexes, Dark Speech, Persuasive, Quicken |
| Spell-Like Ability | Suggestion, Weapon Finesse |
| Skills | Bluff +29, Concentration +21, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +27 (+29 acting), Forgery +21, Heal +22, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (religion) +21, Listen +22, Perform (any one) +27, Sense Motive +22, Spot +22 |
| Advancement | By character class Favored Class cleric |
| 5th | lesser planar binding, mass cure light wounds, planeshift (DC 25), raise dead |
| 4th | confusion (DC 24), cure critical wounds (2), freedom of movement, imbue with spell ability |
| 3rd | bestow curse (DC 23), cure serious wounds (3), dispel magic, nondetection (DC 23) |
| 2nd | cure moderate wounds (4), demoncall, enthral (DC 22), hold person (DC 22), silence (DC 22) |
| 1st | command (DC 21), cure light wounds (4), demonflesh, divine favor, shield of faith |
| 0 | cure minor wounds (4), detect magic, mending |
| At will | charm monster (DC 24), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 22), disguise self (DC 21, no limit on duration), fly, suggestion (DC 23), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), sending, tongues |
| 1/day | dominate person (DC 25), quickened suggestion (DC 23), symbol of persuasion (DC 26) |
- Item Use (Ex): A lilitu can use any magic item as though she had successfully used the Use Magic Device skill.
- Lilitu’s Gift (Su): Once per day, a lilitu can embrace a willing or helpless living creature as a standard action and grant it a +2 profane bonus to Charisma and a +2 profane bonus on saving throws. The effect persists for 24 hours or until the target creature is affected by a dispel chaos. Until the gift expires or is removed, the affected creature radiates chaos as if his alignment were chaotic. Moreover, its natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction.
- As long as the character possesses the gift, the liltu’s name (written in Abyssal) appears as a tattoo somewhere on the character’s body. Most lilitu take pains to place this mark somewhere that’s easily hidden. The recipient of a lilitu’s gift cannot see his own tattoo. As long as the gift remains active, the lilitu can monitor the character’s condition and location as if she had placed a status spell on that character. She can communicate telepathically with the character at all times, despite any intervening distance (even across planes), and by concentrating can observe the world around the character as if she were there in his place. Lilitus often use this ability to influence and trick a character into performing chaotic or evil acts. Accepting a lilt’s gift is a chaotic act and could have repercussions on the recipient’s alignment.
- A creature can resist gaining a lilitu’s gift by making a DC 27 Will save. The save DC is Charisma-based.
- Mock Divinity (Ex): A lilitu casts spells as a 9th-level cleric, except that she uses her Charisma score to determine bonus spells per day and spell saving throw DCs. She has access to the spheres of Demonic and Trickery. She cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells, nor can she turn or rebuke undead.
- Poison (Su) Stinger: Injury, Fortitude DC 21, 2d6 Wis/1d4 negative levels. The save DC is Constitution-based.
- Shroud Alignment (Ex): Spells and spell-like abilities that have the good descriptor treat a lilitu as if her alignment was good. Magic items are similarly fooled.
- Vulnerable to Divine Magic (Ex): A lilitu’s heretical nature renders her particularly susceptible to divine magic. She makes all saving throws against divine magic at a –2 penalty, and checks to overcome her spell resistance with a divine spell gain a +4 sacred bonus.
Lilitu - Temptation Demon (Alternative Statistics)
| Name | Lilitu (Temptation Demon) |
| Type | CE Medium outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar) |
| Alignment | Chaotic Evil |
| CR | 17 |
| XP | 102,400 |
| Init | +9 |
| Senses | Darkvision 60 ft., true seeing Perception +34 |
| AC | 34, touch 24, flat-footed 28 (+4 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural, +4 profane) |
| hp | 263 (17d10+170) |
| Defence | Fort +19, Ref +23, Will +20 |
| Defensive Abilities | evasion, profane grace DR 10/cold iron and good Immune electricity, poison Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10 SR 28 |
| Speed | 60 ft., fly 60 ft. (good) |
| Melee | 4 claws +25 (2d8+8/19–20), tail slap +20 touch (1d6+4 plus branding) |
| Special Attacks | Create Husk, Husk Link, Profane Pact, Swift Claws |
| Saves | Str 27, Dex 20, Con 30, Int 21, Wis 23, Cha 26 |
| Base Atk | +17; CMB +25 CMD 49 |
| Feats | Critical Focus, Deceitful, Dodge, Improved Critical (claws), Mobility, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (charm monster), Spring Attack, Staggering Critical |
| Skills | Acrobatics +25, Bluff +40, Diplomacy +28, Disguise +29, Fly +37, Intimidate +25, Knowledge (local) +25, Knowledge (nobility) +25, Knowledge (religion) +22, Perception +34, Sense Motive +26 Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +8 Perception |
| Languages | Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic; telepathy 100 ft. |
| Special Qualities | change shape (alter self, Small or Medium humanoid), profane wishcraft |
| Environment | Any (Abyss) |
| Organization | Solitary or Cult (1 lilitu and 6–12 succubi) |
| Treasure | Double |
| Constant | fly, tongues, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 26) |
| At will | charm monster (DC 22), detect thoughts (DC 20), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), suggestion (DC 21), telekinesis |
| 3/day | quickened charm monster (DC 22), persistent image (DC 23), seeming (DC 23) |
| 1/day | demand (DC 26), dominate monster (DC 27), project image (DC 25) |
| 1/week | binding (DC 26), wish (granted to a mortal humanoid only) |
- Branding (Su): Each time a lilitu damages a living creature with her tail slap, the wound leaves an angry and permanent red brand. In addition, the creature struck becomes staggered for 1 round from the pain. A successful DC 26 Will save negates the staggered condition and reduces the duration of the brand from permanent to 1 hour. The save DC is Charisma-based. Removing brands is difficult—each casting of restoration, dispel chaos, or dispel evil removes 1 brand. Heal removes 1d4+4 brands. Greater restoration removes a number of brands equal to the spell's caster level. Miracle and wish can remove all brands at once. The number of brands a creature gains in this manner has a cumulative series of effects, as summarized below:
| Number of Brands |
Effect |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | The lilitu can affect the branded creature with its create husk, husk link, and profane pact abilities |
| 4–6 | The branded creature takes a –2 penalty on all Will saves made against a lilitu's spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities The branded creature's aura now radiates chaos and evil |
| 7–9 | The branded creature's Wisdom score is reduced by 4 A chaotic evil creature is immune to this effect |
| 10+ | The penalties to the creature's Will saves and Wisdom score listed above double In addition, the branded creature automatically fails all Will saves made against a lilitu's spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities A chaotic evil creature is immune to this effect |
- Create Husk (Su): Once per day as a swift action, when a lilitu deals enough damage with a weapon, spell, or spell-like ability to kill a humanoid within 30 feet, she can instead opt to transform that slain humanoid into a husk. A successful DC 26 Fortitude save negates this effect, allowing the victim to die normally. A humanoid transformed into a husk withers away into an immobile and desiccated corpse, but does not actually die—in this state, the creature remains aware of its surroundings but can take no actions at all. A husk is essentially treated as an object with hardness 15 and 60 hit points. If a husk is destroyed, the effect ends and the body dies. This is a curse effect— removing this curse restores the victim to life at a number of negative hit points equal to the creature's Constitution –1; a husk restored to life in this way has 1 round to stabilize or be saved before it dies. A lilitu can maintain a number of husks simultaneously equal to her Charisma modifier (8 husks for the typical lilitu); if she creates one too many husks, a previously created husk is released and immediately dies. Lilitus hide their husk collections in very safe places. The save DC is Charisma-based.
- Husk Link (Su): By spending a minute in blasphemous contact with a husk she created, a lilitu can establish a supernatural link to that husk. As long as she and that husk remain on the same plane, divination spells reveal the linked husk's alignment to be the same as the lilitu's alignment (chaotic evil). The husk link allows a lilitu to use her change self ability to assume a husk's original form—when she does, she gains a +20 bonus on Disguise checks made to impersonate that person. If a lilitu with an active husk link ever takes enough damage to be slain, the husk takes the killing-blow's damage instead and is destroyed, instantly severing the active husk link; if the lilitu is disguised in the husk's original form, she instantly reverts to her true form.
- Profane Grace (Su): A lilitu gains a +4 profane bonus to AC and on Initiative checks and Reflex saves.
- Profane Pact (Su): Once per day as a full-round action, a lilitu may forge a profane pact with a willing humanoid creature bearing at least one lilitu brand by touching the creature for 1 full round. A single creature may have no more than one profane pact from a lilitu at one time. This functions identically to a succubus's profane gift ability, save that it grants a +4 profane bonus to an ability score of the humanoid's choice, and it does not grant a telepathic link to the target.
- Profane Wishcraft (Su): A creature that accepts a wish from a lilitu immediately becomes chaotic evil unless it makes a successful DC 26 Will save. A creature that becomes chaotic evil in this way gains the benefits of a good hope spell for 24 hours, followed by the effects of crushing despair for 1d6 days (these spell effects function at CL 17th). The save DC is Charisma-based.
- Swift Claws (Ex): When a lilitu makes a full-round attack action, she can attack twice with each of her claws, for a total of four attacks a round.
Lilitu (Alternative Statistics)
| Name | Lilitu |
| Type | Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Tanar'ri) |
| Alignment | Always Chaotic Evil |
| Hit Dice | 14d8 (119 hp) |
| Initiative | +8 (Dex) |
| Speed | 40 ft. |
| AC | 26 (+8 Dex, +8 natural), touch 18, flat-footed 18 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +14/+17 |
| Attack | 4 stingers +22 melee and claws +20 melee |
| Full Attack | V |
| Damage | Stingers 1d4+3 plus poison, claws 1d6+1 |
| Space | 5 ft./5 ft. (10 ft. with stingers) |
| Special Qualities | Darkvision 60 ft., telepathy 100 ft. DR 10/cold iron or good SR 23 immune to electricity, poison resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10 Tanar'ri traits, item use, mock divinity, shroud alignment, weakness divine magic |
| Special Attacks | Spells, spell-like abilities, Lilitu's gift |
| Saves | Fort +13, Ref +17, Will +14 |
| Abilities | Str 17, Dex 26, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 20, Cha 30 |
| Skills | Bluff +29, Concentration +21, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +27 (+29 acting), Forgery +21, Heal +22, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (religion) +21, Listen +22, Perform (any one) +27, Sense Motive +22, Spot +22 |
| Feats | Combat Reflexes, Dark Speech, Persuasive, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (suggestion), Weapon Finesse |
| Climate/Terrain | Any land and underground |
| Organization | Solitary |
| Challenge Rating | 12 |
| Treasure | Standard |
| Advancement | By character class |
Lilitu Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (the planes) can learn more about lilitus. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs:
| DC | Result |
|---|---|
| 24 | A lilitu takes great delight in corrupting priests into unknowing worshipers of demon lords |
| 29 | Lilitus have poisonous stingers that cloud the senses and leech away life energy |
| 34 | A lilitu can grant a boon to a mortal creature that augments beauty, eloquence, and personal magnetism while also increasing health, refl exes, and willpower |
| 39 | Lilitus are masters of trickery and can pose as clerics with such skill that even magic cannot reveal their deception |
Advanced Lilitus
All lilitu clerics worship one of the demon lords, most worshipping either Graz'zt or Malcanthet. Lilitus are excellent bards and sorcerers and those that reach a level that grants access to 2nd-level arcane spells often start taking levels in mystic theurge.
A special group of Advanced Lilitu Bards are the Radiant Sisters who serve the Queen of Succubi Malcanthet. They are a group of thirteen devoted minions who hold a favored status with Malcanthet and their devotion is total and unwavering. The term Radiant Sister is a title which is passed from one Lilitu to another upon their passing which means there are always the same number of Radiant Sisters. Though the individuals change over time, their names by which they are known never do.
See Also
References
- Stark, Ed, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006. Page 43-45.
- Jacobs, James, Jonathan Keith, Jason Nelson, Todd Stewart, and Tanith Tyrr. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound, Paizo Publishing, 2013.