Alastor are tiny humanoids, covered in scales and tiny spines, with small horns growing from their heads. They are highly intelligent and on their home planes will often serve as advisors to the less intelligent Garun who guard the realms of the Nine Hells. They also often act as intermediaries between various factions of Devils.

Alastor have a number of special magical abilities. They may use each ability only once per day, for up to 1 hour. They can turn invisible, Speak in Tongues (i.e. speak any language), and shape change into a black hound. Additionally, Alastor automatically regenerate 1 hit worth of damage each hour and are able to sense magic with a standard Perception roll at a range of up to 10’.

Their exceptional intelligence and their cunning has led to Alastor often being referred to as “Evil Geniuses” and they are often highly sought after as familiars. They make superior familiars for those of a neutral or evil disposition, but good spell users will be hard pressed to keep them under control. Unless they are engaged in malicious activities on a fairly regular basis, Alastor will cleverly twist the meaning of any command or direction given to them to suit its own twisted little purposes.

Alastor may be used for a number of useful purposes such as delivering messages, spying, and performing minor alchemical processes such as stirring a mixture or fetching ingredients. When aiding in alchemical tasks, the Alastor gives a bonus to his master’s Magecraft: Alchemy roll equal to his level.

Once a month, an Alastor may be commanded to tell his master the given name of any one lesser or greater Devil. The Alastor performs this service gladly in an effort to increase his master’s reliance upon the power of Hades.

The most common type of lesser Demon doesn’t have a specific name like most other Demons, but some refer to the as Goatmen. This is because they appear to a mixture of humanoid and goat, quite often complete with hooves and horns, although this is not always the case.

While there is a lot of variation within their appearance, these creatures are similar in outlook. They are universally considered to be ruthless, savage, and completely untrustworthy. Unless they are forced to swear a solemn oath they will always lie to and mislead those who summon them.

When summoned, these creatures will often require the sacrifice of a small animal to slake their bloodlust. Once a pact has been sealed, the Demon will obey any single command, although complicated orders may be a bit much for its mind to comprehend. Many times, its savagery tends to overwhelm what intelligence it has.

In melee combat, these creatures prefer weapons that slash or maul their foes, such as axes and spiked clubs or maces, but they are not above using ranged weapons and attacking foes from ambush as well. They enjoy making a foe last as long as possible, and will often go for disabling attacks at first rather than killing attacks; all the better to prolong the suffering of their targets.

Goatmen often form the bulk of demonic armies. However, despite their viciousness and lust for battle, Goatmen are often not very brave or disciplined, and they are not considered or treated as any sort of reliable troop. They usually require one or more greater Demons herding and controlling them.

However, as always, there are those who fall outside what is considered the norm for these beings.

Larvae are the most minor of the minor Demons. They are created from the souls of evil humanoids that have been consigned to the Nether Realms for their sins. They exist in endless numbers on the lower planes and are often tormented and preyed upon by other Demons.

Larvae look like fat, slimy worms with human-like faces. It is believed that the face of a Larvae resembles the face it held when it was alive. Their skin is yellowish and covered in mottled reddish brown splotches.

Just viewing a Larvae is enough to make most sick, and their bite has a strong chance of infecting a person with a nasty and fatal disease.

Larvae will attack anything that moves, except other demons. They are slow moving, but they never tire and will follow prey as long as it does not cross running water, as the Larvae cannot swim.

Gremlins rarely reach six inches in height. They are covered in greenish scales, have small bat-like wings, and their tails, back and head are often covered in rows of tiny spikes. These spikes are often black, yellow, blue or a deep blood-red in color.

Gremlins are adept at spotting gates and portals. A surprising number of these creatures use this ability to make their way to the material plane to wreak whatever havoc they can.

A Gremlin’s natural weaponry leaves much to be desired; only doing a tiny amount of damage. Their claws and teeth don’t even get scaling damage that other weapons get. Their tiny spears are covered in a poison that allows them to put others to sleep so that they may have their fun uninterrupted.

Gremlins also make for good familiars, as they are able to communicate with their masters through speech, they can sense magical gates and portals, and they can sense magic by simply touching an object. Additionally, their ability to turn invisible at will allows them to serve as spies.

It is rumored that the Barghest aren’t really a type of Demon, but a breed of wild dog that was long ago tainted and infected by devouring Demon flesh.

These hounds are larger than most breeds, and nearly pitch black in coloring with demonic looking, glowing red eyes. Their sharp fangs are able to pierce the strongest armors. Damage reduction from armor (AR) is halved (rounded up) against all attacks from the Barghest.