Graz'zt

Encyclopedia : G : GR : GRA : Graz'zt

Graz'zt is a fictional demon lord in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, and sworn enemy of both Orcus and Demogorgon.

Contents

1 Description
2 Cult of Graz'zt
3 History and Relationships
4 References

Description

Graz'zt appears as a nine-foot tall humanoid with black skin. His eyes are glowing green and slanted, and he has pointed ears. Graz'zt has the distinctive feature of having six digits on each hand and foot, regardless of what form he takes. Considered the comeliest demon in the Abyss, Graz'zt is rumored to be one of the offspring of the elder demoness Pale Night.

Graz'zt is a known patron of seduction and guile. While not shying away from direct combat, he prefers trickery and charm to open warfare. Graz'zt rules over three layers of the Abyss, a realm called Azzagrat. His personal home rests in the center of the city of Zelatar; an enormous abode of sixty-six towers called the Argent Palace. Here he schemes to defeat his enemies, chief of which are Demogorgon and Orcus, and gain more power. He is served by an unusual demon known as Verin (in the Monster Manual II and the later work Faces of Evil: The Fiends), Vuron (in the Gord series), and Ztefano (an alias occasionally used in Faces of Evil).

Cult of Graz'zt

History and Relationships

Graz'zt was invented by Gary Gygax and first appeared in Module S4, "The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth." He appeared more prominently in the original AD&D Monster Manual II.

A former servant of Graz'zt's, Raxivort, stole from Graz'zt's treasure horde, fled to the plane of Pandemonium, and became the divine patron of bats, rats, and his own race, a goblin-like group of creatures known as xvarts.

After Gygax left TSR, Graz'zt was expanded on by other designers. Meanwhile, Gygax continued to use him in his Gord books.

In Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue novels, Graz'zt is also known as the Ebon Lord of the Abat-Dolor, a race of demons who all look more or less like him. He originally ruled over the Abat-Dolor in conjunction with his then queen and consort, Elazalag, until he was seduced by the witch queen Iggwilv and started a "mongrel" empire of his own, forsaking his kin to rule over any demon breeds he could. To this day, Elazalag bears undying enmity toward her former consort.

In 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Graz'zt was considered to have the status of a lesser god. In later editions of the game he was considered to be sub-divine, but was still capable of granting divine spells to favored cultists.

Additionally, in the Forgotten Realms campaign, Graz'zt is one of the chief enemies of Waukeen, goddess of wealth and merchantry. Originally he had agreed to grant her free passage through his realm in exchange for information regarding vast secret stores of treasure. However, he betrayed Waukeen and imprisoned the goddess within his palace. Several times the goddess attempted to escape, each time being foiled by the demon prince, and returned to the Argent Palace. Although he promised her freedom in exchange for more of her knowledge, he never lived up to his promises and instead held profane celebrations in her honor. Lliira, goddess of joy and celebration, held her portfolio during her absence. Her rescue is detailed in the campaign module For Duty or Deity.

Through the demon-summoning witch Iggwilv, Graz'zt is father to the vile cambion demigod Iuz. Besides Iuz, known offspring of Graz'zt include a daughter, Thraxxia, and Athux, another son.

References

Cook, Monte. Book of Vile Darkness (Wizards of the Coast, 2002).

Donovan, Dale. For Duty and Deity (TSR, 1998).

Greer, Stephen S. "Fiend's Embrace." Dungeon #121 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).

Gygax, Gary. Dance of Demons (New Infinities, 1988).
Gygax, Gary. The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (TSR, 1976).
Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II (TSR, 1983).
Gygax, Gary. Sea of Death (New Infinities, 1987).

Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. [[Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss]] (Wizards of the Coast, 2006).

McComb, Colin. [[Faces of Evil: The Fiends]] (Wizards of the Coast, 1997).

Perkins, Chris, and Chris Thomasson. The Shackled City (Paizo Publishing, 2005).

Smith, Lester W, and Wolfgang Baur. Planes of Chaos (TSR, 1994).

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.