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The size of the region begins

to grow, the effects of the

lethal environment expanding

from the original area.

The demon

s likewise begin to roam, and a small

force

capable

of establishing its own incursion might

travel

far.

If enough of these groups splinter off, the

incursion

could spread into a network
of similar sites, each open-

ing its own portal and

drawing in more demons.

Slaying all the demons in an infested

area ends their

direct threat, but the terrain remains twisted
and ac-

cursed, the portal dormant but still in
place. To repel the

incursion at this stage, the defenders

must not only slay

the demons but

also establish a permanent watch over

the portal, to

ensure that it remains unused. Ambitious

cultists, or even a random confluence
of planar energy,

could awaken the portal and start
the infection anew.

APOCALYPSE Now

If
the incursion remains unchecked or grows
strong

enough,
it enters its fourth and final phase
with the en-

trance of a demon lord.
As a portal continues to shunt

demons and abyssal energy into the world,
it begins to

attract the attention of the lords. Two or
more of them

might fight for control of it, or in the worst
case, several

might travel through the portal in rapid
succession.

The visitation of a demon lord to the

Material P lane

is a cataclysmic
event. The lord's presence overwhelms

the minds of other
beings to keep them from resisting,

and the lord's power enables it to
command the other

demons already present in the world.
They form a hor-

rid army that sets about stripping
the world of life and

clearing
the path for the lord's dominance.

At this

point, a besieged world's only hope for

survival

is the

expulsion of the demon lord. The lord's defea

t

leaves the other demons

again leaderless, and they re-

act by warring against

each other, which makes them

susceptible to attacks

from the world's defenders. The

longer a demon lord remains in control of

all the other

fiends, the more the world around it becomes

irrevoca-

bly changed. When

a demonic incursion runs its course,

no vestige remains

of the world that existed before- in

effect, the realm

has become another layer of the Abyss.

CHAOS

INCARNATE

Although sages group demons into types

according

to their power, the

Abyss knows no such categories.

Demons are spawned

from the stuff of the Abyss in a

near-infinite variety

of shapes and abilities. The com-

mon forms that

are familiar to demonologists represent

broad trends, but individual demons

defy those tenden-

cies. For instance, a vrock might

crawl out of a n oil slick

in the Demonweb

Pits with three eyes and vestigial

wings.

A chasme might appear on the layer of Azzag

rat

possessing

the ability to belch forth clouds of flies.

If

a demon survives for centuries, it accumulat

es

changes

to its form due to interaction with

the energies

of the Abyss. These long-lived demons often

become

demon lords, beings of such power that

they can hold

sway over entire re

alms within the Abyss. A few demon

lords have come

to the attention of mortals and a re even

worshiped as gods in some places, but

the vast majority

of demon lords remain unknown to

scholars and sages.

CHAPTER 1 I T H E BLOOD

WAR

25