Pazuzu
| Pazuzu | |
|---|---|
| |
| (Deity) | |
| Titles | King of the Wind Demons, Demon Lord of the Sky and Winged Creatures |
| Realm | Shibaxet in High M'Vania, the Abyss |
| Alignment | Chaotic evil |
| Areas of Concern | The Sky Temptation Winged creatures |
| Worshipers | Antipaladins, harpies, enemies of Lamashtu, tengus, evil avians |
| Edicts | Tempt others to commit immoral acts, exalt in flight, possess or magically influence others to cause harm |
| Anathema | Ground a flying creature, abuse Pazuzu's name or call on him for aid, help Lamashtu's faithful |
| Cleric Alignments (1E) | |
| Domains (1E) | Air, Chaos, Evil, Trickery |
| Subdomains (1E) | Cloud, Deception, Demon, Wind |
| Cleric Alignments (2E) | |
| Domains (2E) | Air, swarm, trickery, tyranny |
| Favored Weapon | Longsword† |
| Symbol | Image of Pazuzu, right hand raised |
| Sacred Animal | All flying animals |
| Sacred Colors | Brown, red |
| Images of Pazuzu | |
Source: Book of the Damned, pg(s). 86-87 (1E) Gods & Magic, pg(s). 77, 126-127 (2E) | |
| Pazuzu | |
|---|---|
| |
| (Creature) | |
| Type | Outsider (air, chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar) |
| CR | 30 |
| Environment | Any (Abyss) |
| Alignment | |
| Images of Pazuzu | |
Source: Bestiary 4, pg(s). 50 | |
The demon lord Pazuzu (pronounced pah-ZOO-zoo)[1] has claimed for himself the title of King of the Wind Demons and few dare dispute it.
History
Pazuzu's breath is likened to a plague of locusts and many believe his first breath on the Material Plane brought about the entity that would become the demon lord Deskari. Pazuzu is as old as is his power—he ascended to demon lordship at the same time as Lamashtu, Abraxas and Dagon.[2]
In ages long past, Pazuzu and his lover Lamashtu slaughtered hordes of greater demons together to claim a large portion of the Abyss, which they ruled jointly. Lamashtu's ascension to godhood enraged Pazuzu, who betrayed her by stabbing her with a cold iron shard from the heart of a mountain before casting her into an infinitely deep chasm from where she languished for centuries. Ultimately, Lamashtu emerged and wrested control of the plane from Pazuzu. The two have been bitter rivals ever since.[3]
Home
Pazuzu has a 'rookery' called Shibaxet located in his vertical Abyssal realm, High M'Vania.[2]
Appearance
Pazuzu has the body of a thin and wiry man with several monstrous additions. These include having the legs and flesh-rending talons of a predatory bird, two sets of majestic eagle's wings that sprout from his back, a ferociously evil-looking avian head, and a poisonous snake in place of his genitals and a scorpion's stinger as a tail.[4][2][5] He wields the Scepter of Shibaxet, a black, hooked, metal staff.[6]
Relationships
Deskari
The Abyssal mating of Pazuzu with a giant demon resembling an insect resulted in the 'hatching' of Deskari; Pazuzu is thus considered the 'father' of Deskari. Under the protection of his father, Deskari rose in power within the Abyss eventually attaining full demon lord status himself. Deskari admired Pazuzu and they maintained cordial relations with each other. Although Deskari and Pazuzu were similar in levels of power, Deskari maintained a modicum of subservience to his father and Deskari's success brought credit to Pazuzu. Deskari's mother's name is unknown and she clearly was destroyed at some point as Deskari has created his brutal scythe, Riftcarver, from her remains.[7] Deskari was killed in 4718 AR by a band of adventurers at the conclusion of the Fifth Mendevian Crusade.[8]
Lamashtu and Baphomet
Pazuzu is in constant conflict with the more popular, fully-fledged demon goddess Lamashtu. This feud has been going on for eons, since before Lamashtu's ascension to godhood when she was just another demon lord. Pazuzu also covets Lamashtu's position as goddess of beasts, and desperately wishes to usurp her dominion over them.[9] This conflict, and the resources it takes to fight, may have cost Pazuzu greater power, even ascension to god status. In his war against the Mother of Monsters, he recruits allies from Hell and Abaddon.[2] Pazuzu's name is believed to disperse Lamashtu's influence, and amulets with his name or image are worn by pregnant women and newborns to ward her corruption away.[3]
Before they became bitter enemies, Pazuzu and Lamashtu were lovers during the Age of Creation. One of their trysts in what would become the Lost Coast region of Varisia gave birth to a son named Uvaglor, among other spawn. Their cults rebuff this story out of a terrible shame, and have been playing out their patrons' battle in a small way.[10][11][12]
Baphomet's closeness to Lamashtu means that, although he has no personal enmity with Pazuzu himself, Baphomet opposes Pazuzu to maintain his good relationship with the Mother of Monsters.[13]
Ylimancha
Pazuzu also wars endlessly against the agathion empyreal lord Ylimancha for dominion over flying beasts.[14]
Influence
Unlike most other demon lords, who work their evil on the world through cultists and demonic minions, Pazuzu is fond of taking direct action on the Material Plane. His favoured method of influencing the mortal world is through possession. It is said that just saying Pazuzu's name is enough to invite the demon lord's unfriendly attention.[5] Through possession, Pazuzu has shaped many terrible events in the world,[5] from huge calamities, like the formation of the Worldwound, to more minor atrocities, such as the recent Chopper murders in the Varisian town of Sandpoint.[4][2]
Cult and worshipers
Pazuzu has declared himself the King of Wind Demons and patron of all that is evil and flies. While this is a grandiose claim, it is far from unfounded arrogance. Pazuzu is worshiped by a wide variety of evil flying creatures. His most fervent followers are the vrock demons, harpies, and the kuchrima lamia,[4] though these also pay worship to the demon lord Nocticula. While he has no specific doctrine or edict for his followers, Pazuzu's cults are nonetheless present across the world, if only in the shadows.[15]
References
For additional resources, see the Meta page.
- ↑ Erik Mona et al. (2008). Campaign Setting, p. 247. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-112-1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 James Jacobs. (2010). Lords of Chaos, p. 23. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-250-0
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sean K Reynolds et al. (2014). Inner Sea Gods, p. 98. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-60125-597-6
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 James Jacobs. (2009). Demon Lords of Golarion. Descent into Midnight, p. 61. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-131-2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 James Jacobs et al. (2011). The Inner Sea World Guide, p. 232. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-269-2
- ↑ Dennis Baker et al. (2013). Bestiary 4, p. 51. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-575-4
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds. (2014). Deskari. City of Locusts, p. 70–72, 75. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-587-7
- ↑ Tanya DePass, James Jacobs, Lyz Liddell, et al. (2019). World Guide, p. 27. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-172-6
- ↑ Sean K Reynolds. (2008). Lamashtu. Sins of the Saviors, p. 70. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-040-7
- ↑ James Jacobs. (2013). Pathfinder Chronicles. Pathfinder, Volume 1 #6, p. 23. Dynamite Entertainment.
- ↑ James Jacobs. (2018). Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast, p. 88. Paizo Inc. ISBN 978-1-64078-080-4
- ↑ James Jacobs. (2013). Demons Revisited, p. 63. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-552-5
- ↑ Sean K. Reynolds. (2013). Baphomet. Herald of the Ivory Labyrinth, p. 75. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-586-0
- ↑ Adam Daigle and James Jacobs. (2012). Magnimar, City of Monuments, p. 25. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-446-7
- ↑ Sean K Reynolds. (2008). Lamashtu. Sins of the Saviors, p. 70. Paizo Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-1-60125-040-7
External links
- Pazuzu (real-world demon) on Wikipedia
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