Lamashtu

Archfiend

Lamashtu
Title:	She Who Erases Demon Queen of Monstrous Births
Home plane:	Abyss
Power level:	Demon lord
Gender:	Female
Class:	n/a
Alignment:	Chaotic evil
Portfolio:	monstrous birth and deformity
Superior:	None

Lamashtu is the demon queen of monstrous births, currently imprisoned by her former lover Pazuzu.

Description

She is described as a wretched and deformed hag, well known for her bottomless hunger for the bones of pregnant mothers and newborn babes.

Relationships

Dragon #329 (2005) and Demonomicon (2010), list Pazuzu as Lamashtu's most notable enemy. She was once his consort, but she betrayed him by abusing her knowledge of his true name. In retribution, Pazuzu put out her eyes and banished her to the Abyssal layer of Torremor, in the sprawling construction known as Onstrakker's Nest.

Realm

Onstrakker's Nest is built on a towering spire from timber, bones, earth, and stone pillars, is hundreds of miles in diameter. Lamashtu is impaled on a gleaming spire.

In Demonomicon (2010), Lamashtu has recently gained control of Torremor, taking it from Pazuzu, though she has yet to escape from her prison. Despite her theft of his Abyssal layer, Pazuzu still only barely considers her a threat. He rarely visited Torremor regardless, preferring the skies above Pazunia.

Creative origins

Lamashtu is named for a demon goddess in Mesopotamian mythology. Pazuzu was her rival, and frequently invoked to protect people from her predations. The historical Lamashtu is described as posessing a hairy body, a lioness' head with donkey's teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of a bird with sharp talons.

Publishing history

Lamashtu first appears in D&D in Dragon #329, and is also mentioned in Fiendish Codex I (2006) and Demonomicon (2010).

Lamashtu appears as a major goddess of the Pathfinder campaign setting. There, she is described as resembling a heavily pregnant human woman with the head of a three-eyed jackal, a raven’s wings, a snake’s tail, and a vulture’s feet. She is given credit for the creation of any number of monstrous races, including gnolls, minotaurs, and many more, often in myth mating with some beast to create bestial humanoid offspring.

References

Bibliography

• Jacobs, James. "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Pazuzu." Dragon #329. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2005.

———. Lords of Chaos. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2010.

• Mearls, Mike, Brian R. James, and Steve Townshend. Demonomicon. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2010.

• Stark, Ed, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.

External links

Disclaimer:Any lore presented through the following links does not necessarily adhere to established officially published content, and the views expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of this wiki.

• Lamashtu on Wikipedia
• Lamashtu on the Pathfinder wiki

  Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

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