[ Layer the Ninth ] [ Bestiary | Addanc | Locations | Stinking Pearl ]
A Bestiary of Burningwater
The brutally acidic seas of Burningwater have forced animal, aberration and fiend alike to adapt or perish. Any creature who dwells on this layer has either evolved stony or glassy-silicate natural armour, or else has an inherent acid immunity or resistance—either natural or magical. This is why Addanc’s crustacean armies pose such a threat to other layers of the Abyss: the acid has culled out the weaklings for him, and anything that cannot survive the water has already been dissolved into fish food for the rest.
While most creatures find the environment of the Ninth unrelentingly hostile, a handful of fiends and other hardy creatures have adapted to make the layer their home.
Chuul
CE aberration; CR 4-7
Chuul are large, hulking aberrations that look like the bastard children of lobsters and mind flayers. While they might appear and act like fiends, they are not in fact from the Lower Planes at all, but aberrations who escaped from their creators the aboleth, fled to Burningwater and adapted. On the Prime, the chuul possess armoured carapaces of thick chitin, but with the help of Addanc, the chuul of Burningwater have evolved silicate shells of translucent glass. Their under‑carriage bristles with jagged pincers and a cluster of writhing, tentacle‑like mouth‑arms that twitch with lives of their own. These tentacles are in fact their most dangerous weapon, for they exude a toxin which can paralyse a victim. The chuul use their ferocious claws to grab, squeeze and crush their vitims, before lashing out with its tentacles and then chomping down on them while they cannot resist. These creatures are patient children of the sea that have learned over centuries that the best hunting technique is the one where your prey does not see you until it is far too late. They lie in wait along the edges of the Mustering Reef or the Vents of Vitriol, letting their see-through carapaces settle into the murk of the shadows, until some careless planewalker or tanar’ri blunders within striking distance. Once their claws lock and they get the scent of blood, the chuul of Burningwater enter a frenzied state where they will kill or be killed.
Stats: [ D&D 3e | 5e | PF 1e | 2e ] Monster Manual I [3e] p36-37; Monster Manual [5e] p40; Bestiary [PF1e] p46; Bestiary [PF2e] p64
Ixitxachitl
Demon ray. CE aberration; CR1-3
The ixitxachitl [iz-it-ZAK-chittul] are cruelly intelligent manta ray whose broad, graceful forms slice through the greenish murk of the Sea of Eosvotti. In Burningwater, rogue fevers (the collective noun for ixitxachitl) of these nasty creatures have adapted to the acid seas, their hides becoming tough enough to endure the constant burn. Their hunting instincts have sharpened by generations of predation on the weak and unwary, and constant conflict with the more powerful chuul have weeded out the weaklings of the race. The result is that the ixitxachitl of the Ninth are some of the toughest and most bad-tempered anywhere in the planes. And they probably have a right to be, too, for the demon rays who make their home in Burningwater are largely exiles, outcasts and runaways from even darker Abyssal seas. The chant among their rivals in the Ninth is that some of these ixitxachitl fevers are exiles from Demogorgon’s realm Gaping Maw, but others contend that they are not refugees at all buy scouts and spies sent to test the waters of Addanc’s domain and report back on the strengths and weaknesses of the Ninth. Other fevers seem to have sworn fealty to the would-be Lord, or at least pay him lip service. Whatever their true loyalty, an ixitxachitl fever is always on alert for danger or a tasty meal. They coordinate their attacks with precision, using numbers, their venomous tail strikes, and the foul spells of their priestly kin to drag unsuspecting berks down into the depths.
Stats: [ D&D 2e | 3e | 5e | PF 1e ] Monstrous Manual [2e] p209; Monster Manual II [3e] p128; Out of the Abyss [5e] p225; Creature Codex [PF1e]
Skulvyn
CE demonic beast; CR4
The skulvyn are aquatic demons that looks like warped, overgrown lizards that’ve been dredged up from some forgotten marsh. Their bodies are slick with briny secretions, their clawed feet are splayed for efficient swimming, and their four whip‑like tails constantly flick in agitation like the limbs of a creature that cannot bear to sit still. Graybeards categorise skulvyn as fiendish beasts rather than tanar’ri, and Addanc typically uses them as expendable footsoldiers. They are stupid, certainly, but they have enough awareness to do what you tell them—if you bully them enough. They are slow on dry land, but capable swimmers. Their real use though is in combat. Skulvyn possess a dangerous aura which warps the perception of time in cutters it affects, dulling their thoughts and slowing their actions temporarily. If this wasn’t bad enough, the quill-spines on their tail cause wounds which bleed persistently. They tend to attack a single victim en masse, then retreat out of reach to watch the berk bleed out. Addanc considers them cheap, expendable, and useful for the sort of work self-aggrandising tanar’ri would be seen doing: guarding the larvae pits, and driving the bloated corpses of the drowned toward the deep ocean.
Stats: [ D&D 3e | 5e | PF 1e ] Fiend Folio [3e] p54; Creature Codex [PF1e]
Tanar’ri, True—Alkilith
Blight demon. CE true tanar’ri; CR11-14
A heaving, semi‑sentient mass of viscous, slime‑like demon, an alkilith’s form constantly shifts and bubbles like a puddle of living acid. From its amorphous bulk extrude whip‑thin tentacles that drip a corrosive ichor that’s capable of eating through flesh, armour, rock, and even the hardened hides of lesser tanar’ri. In the Ninth, these tanar’ri are a rare and unwelcome sight, their slimy forms sliding through the shallows marked only by the slow, hissing as the acidic water fizzes and boils around them. The alkilith’s greatest horror lies not in its tentacles, though—those are simply weapons—but in its ability to create planar rifts and tear holes that lead to other layers of the Abyss, especially Shedaklah, the layer of Juiblex. These wormholes are capable of dragging hapless berks into the deep Abyss, or spitting out their own malignant horrors. Most tanar’ri, even those accustomed to the relentless, self‑consuming war of the Abyss, give alkilith a wide berth. All except Addanc, whose army thrives on the corrosiveness of the sea, is said to covet the alkilith as a weapon he cannot quite command. Perhaps he can point them at his enemies, but he cannot trust them not to burn through its own minions in the process..
Stats: [ D&D 2e | 3e | 5e ] Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II [2e] p106-107; Fiend Folio [3e] p46; Monsters of the Multiverse [5e] p44
Tanar’ri, Greater—Babau
Kalakaigh; Blood demon. CE Greater tanar’ri; CR4-6
The babau is a lean, hunched tanar’ri assassin whose emaciated frame belies its strength and its cruelty. Its body perpetually is slick with a thin, dripping film of caustic bloody acidic slime that sizzles and steams faintly where it contacts stone, metal, or flesh. In the acidic environment of Burningwater, this coating is even more of a weapon, for the sea’s own corrosive nature amplifies the demon’s natural aura of decay. Any blade that bites into a babau risks pitting and weakening, and any armour that blocks its claws begins to etch outward from the point of contact. The babau moves with the fox‑like stealth of a predator that has learned to hunt in the half‑light. It sticks to the shadows in Stinking Pearl, and in the ruined streets of Olhado it slips unseen between the corroded bones of the drowned and the warped hulls of canibalised ships. Addanc employs babau as scouts, murderers, and enforcers—although on other layers of the Abyss the babau are typically recruiters for the Blood War. Perhaps they’re playing the long game in Burningwater, and have their eyes set on Addanc’s crustacean armies.
Stats: [ D&D 2e | 3e | 5e | PF 1e | 2e ] Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I [2e] p95; Monsters of the Multiverse [5e] p52; Bestiary [PF1e] p57; Bestiary 2 [PF2e] p61; Pathfinder #214: The Broken Palace [PF2e] p84
Tanar’ri, Lesser—Derakni
Locust demon. CE lesser tanar’ri; CR10
The derakni are a large, wasp‑like tanar’ri the size of an especially bad-tempered warhorse. Their bodies are armoured in chitinous plates that glisten with the sinister residues of the Abyss, and their hideous faces bear expressions of leering mockery, or predatory hunger. Their forelegs end in clawed, hand‑like appendages that can grip or hurl weapons, and at the end of its abdomen is a long, barbed stinger tail that constantly oozes a caustic ichor. In the Bleached Archipelago, the derakni have found the perfect hunting grounds: they swarm the lower, acid‑laden air above the sea, their armoured shell resistant to the corrosive mists. Their bite and their sting are both poisonous, and their favourite strategy is to quickly fly by their victims in a swarm and attack mid-flight. They then flit away and wait for the posion to take effect. Worse still, these horrid creatures are able to summon insect or even vescavor swarms to do their dirty work for them. Vescavors tend to view darakni with a mixture of awe, terror, and envy—but unlike many Abyssal fiends, tend to do as they’re told.
Stats: [ PF 1e ] The Worldwound [PF1e] p43 â€
Tanar’ri, True—Hezrou
Stench demons. CE true tanar’ri; CR8-11
Hezrous are hulking frog‑like swamp demon whose bloated, wart‑covered bodies squat low in the shallows like tumours on the surface of the sea. Their muscular limbs drag in the acid water, while their wide, predatory maws drool slack‑jawed with the foulness they have filtered from the depths. Contact with their fetid skin turns clear liquids into murky, brackish sludge that reeks of rotten vegetation. In Burningwater, these foul demons are drawn to the more humid islands, where the air is thick and warm. They wallow in corrupted pools, make their lairs in mangrove thickets, and squat in the muck of the Oily Isle, their presence a constant blight on any hope of clean growth or fresh water. The slime and algae that cling to the rocks wherever they loiter shimmer with a sickly green glow, while mutated carnivorous vines and bloodthirty fungus sprout. Other tanar’ri, though no strangers to decay, still regard the hezrou with a wary respect: other fiends might burn, bite, or drown, but the hezrou can turns the ground beneath your feet into something that wants to swallow you alive.
Stats: [ D&D 2e | 3e | 5e | PF 1e ] Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I [2e] p102; Monster Manual [3e] p45; Mordenkainen’s Monsters of the Multiverse [5e]; Bestiary [PF1e] p62
Tanar’ri, Greater—Kazrith
CE greater tanar’ri demon; CR14
Kazrith are powerful, eel‑like tanar’ri who lurk in the depths of Abyssal seas. In the Sea of Eosvotti of the Ninth, they serve Addanc as deepwater lieutenants, prowling the darkest parts of the ocean to bully members of the crawling armies, and destroy any sods who might try and desert. Silent and deadly, kazrith move without sound, and use tremorsenses to detect the tell-tale vibrations in the water of their victims, or their prey. Highly territorial, the kazrith are able to excrete a highly concentrated acidic slime which is able to eat through any kind of rock, and they use this to create vast networks of smooth flooded tunnels beneath the islands of Burningwater. They possess a powerful bite, and if they need to retreat, their skin erupts with a thick acid spray to cover their escape.
Stats: [ D&D 4e ] Monster Manual II [4e] p55-56
Tanar’ri, Greater—Wastrilith
Water Lord. CE greater tanar’ri; CR11-17
Imagine a dreadful cross between an armoured sea cobra and an fiend so terrifying that it intimidates even other tanar’ri. The wastrilith are a caste of tanar’ri who seem to even terrify each other, because they’re almost always encountered alone—fortunately. However, that’s where the good luck runs out, because these so-called Water Lords are nasty-tempered, difficult to control when summoned, and think nothing of sending their minions to do their dirty work for them. Jealous and territorial, wastrilith do not tolerate other powerful creatures encroaching upon their territory, which they typically mark by building themselves a palace. This might be something grand or a simply cave—but the wastrilith will defend it to the death (of all of their minions, they can always summon more). Wastrilith are aquatic fiends that actively corrupt the water around themselves, turning clean liquid into poison that burns gills and eyes alike. These horrid fiends have adapted to be perfectly at home in the acidic seas of Burningwater too, although wastriliths from other Abyssal layers mock them for choosing to live in such a ‘beautiful, warm environment’, calling them ‘softbellies’ or ‘sundrunk’.
Stats: [ D&D 2e | 3e | 5e | PF 1e ] Planescape Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1 [2e] p111; Fiend Folio [3e] p54; Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes [5e] p139; Monsters of the Multiverse [5e]; Creature Chronicle
Vescavor
The Abyssal Chorus. CE demonic vermin; CR5 (swarm); CR9 (queen)
Natives of the Abyss, these swarms infest dark, shrieking jungles and stinking crevices, but often spill out into other planes through rifts. On Burningwater they infest jungle islands in the Bleached Archipelago, and avoid the acidic ocean at all costs. And remember, you never just get one vescavor, cutter. See one, and you know that the rest of the swarm is not far behind—and you have seconds to get out of there, or regret it. Because on its way is a terrifying swarm of demonic insect-fiends resembling acrid green wasps. They’re little more than jagged teeth around glowing green maws. They manifest as ravenous, gibbering swarms numbering in the hundreds—or thousands. Each swarm is led by a grotesque Vescavor Queen, whose bloated abdomen leaks unholy pheromones that enslave her vile progeny to obey her every whim.
More chant on the vescavor here…
Stats: [ PF 1e | 2e ] Bestiary 5 [PF1e] p266-267; Monster Core [PF2e] p338 â€
Source: Jon Winter-Holt