Far beyond the great desert, one will find the troubled land of Umaab. The people of this once proud kingdom are oft beset by demons who serve the dark god Nergal. The characteristics of these demons are described in the holy Tablets of Adad Untash.

Lugul the Elder despised sitting in the opulence of King Asirsz’s palace. The excess and waste of the nobility were too much to bear for a man whose sole purpose in the eyes of Marduk was to provide surcease to the common people of Umaab. Just watching fat Prince Husze gorging himself on a plate of boar-and-oat that would feed a normal family for a week made Lugul’s blood boil. That his companion, Dusz, sought to out eat the prince only made it worse.

“Calm thyself, priest. Your consternation plays across your face like the sun upon black glass,” the enchantress Giszeah whispered beside him. “Dusz only does what he must to secure the king’s attention. Now that he is Champion of Dnaniri he must needs behave a certain way. At least at times.”

“I understand, my friend, but I do not have to like what I see. And believe me when I say that this behavior is not viewed well by the gods.”

“Damn the gods, then,” Dusz bellowed, bits of boar-and-oat spraying from his mouth as he spoke. “Do not think I cannot hear you two, whispering your whispers. Men must eat!”

Prince Husze laughed uproariously at this, his own repast spilling out onto his plate, which was quickly taken away by servants and replaced with a new one, causing Lugul no end of irritation.

“When my father sought to fill the Champion’s place after Ullabas was killed, you know it was I who suggested you, friend Dusz. Your name and deeds spoke for themselves, despite your dubious ac-c-cquaint-an-”

Prince Husze’s voice caught in his throat as he began to choke, a bone caught in his windpipe. Three servants rushed forward to assist the prince, his face rapidly changing from its soft pink tones to a red that bordered on purple.

Even as the men strove to save the prince from his own gluttony, he struck at them and shoved them away, attempting to defend his plate from them as though they were out to steal his food. Lashing out so violently, he drove the men back, while at the same time sealing his fate. In short order, the gluttonous prince lay dead, splayed across the table, face down in the food he cared for more than he did his own people.

Moments later, in the Halls of Dust and Darkness, a new beast was born to one of the Demon Empresses’ handmaidens. Its birth cries sounded oddly like a man choking to death while laboring to protect something he held precious.

Dgaan (Higher Order Demon)
No. Enc.: 1d3 (1d3)
Alignment: Chaotic (evil)
Movement: 120’ (40’)
Armor Class: -1
Hit Dice: 9
Attacks: 4 (2 claws, 1 bite, 1 tail sting)
Damage: 1d12/1d12/3d8/2d4 + poison
Save: F9
Morale: 10
Hoard Class: XX
XP: 4,500

Birthed in the Halls of Dust and Darkness by the handmaidens of Shalma Shalmallah, Dgaan come forth into the world with the body of the lion, the head of the crocodile, and the terrible stinging tail of the scorpion. These demons are as cruel as they are clever and live only to sow chaos in wherever they may be sent by their mothers’ mistress.

Dgaan attack by rending with their claws and biting with their ever-dripping jaws. Further, they strike with the poison-filled barbs atop their their segmented tails. The poison from these creatures is both strong and deadly – saving thrown made against this poison suffer a -3 penalty and a failed save results in instant death, while those whose saves are successful are drained of 1d4 each of Strength and Constitution due to the wasting effects of the poison. Characters who are killed by Dgaan poison may not be resurrected or reincarnated.

In addition to these attacks, Dgaan have the following spell-like abilities, useable at will: Detect Invisible, Hypnotism, Illusion, Invisibility, Levitate, Mind Blank (1/day), Mirror Image, Polymorph Other, Polymorph Self, Read Language, Suggestion, Symbol of Insanity, Vanish, and Ventriloquism.

Additionally, they possess all of the abilities of a typical Higher Order Demon:

• Infravision (90’)
• Half damage from cold-based attacks
• Half damage from electrical-based attacks
• Half damage from fire-based attacks (all)
• Half damage from gas-type attacks
• Telepathy (allows all languages to be understood)
• Teleport without error

Dgaan can only be damaged by +2 or better weapons, though they are susceptible to damage from non-magical weapons made of pure iron. Dgaan may Gate (30% probability of success) 3d6 Lum Anang Kul (25%) or 2d4 Badag Gul (75%).

Dgaan are occasionally found wandering the plains or deserts of Umaab; more frequently, though, they are encountered traveling on a mission for Shalma Shalmallah.

The Tablets of Adad Untash tell the faithful that Dgaan are the souls of nobles who mistreat their servants and wantonly waste resources that could make their people’s lives better.