Abraxas
| Abraxas | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Portfolio: | Magic words, arcane secrets, talismans |
| Home: | Abyss |
| Alignment: | Chaotic evil |
| Gender: | Male |
| Class: | n/a |
| Superior: | None |
| Rules items | |
| Domains: | Chaos, Evil, Knowledge, Magic, Protection (in Armies of the Abyss) |
Abraxas, known as the Unfathomable, is the demon lord of magic words, arcane secrets, and talismans.
Realm
Abraxas dwells on the 17th layer of the Abyss, known as Death's Reward.
Apocrypha
In Armies of the Abyss (2002) by Erik Mona, Abraxas is known as the Supreme Unknown and described as resembling a bare-chested man with the head of a rooster and a lower body made of writhing snakes. His areas of concern are listed as magic, occult lore, and dangerous secrets. In this book, Abraxas is the head of a twisted cult based loosely on historical Gnosticism, teaching that the gods are evil tyrants who have imprisoned souls in mortal bodies, while the true world of pure spirit, the Pleroma, lies beyond. In the world of Armies of the Abyss this is portrayed as a devious lie on the part of Abraxas, whose Abyssal layer is actually a trap for his deluded followers. Souls that come to Abraxas's realm experience ten years of bliss before being annihilated and devoured by the Abyss, fueling Abraxas's power. While Abraxas's cult is deliberately offensive to the gods, they experience little prosecution as they are for the most part blameless ascetics who make their living selling protective charms.
In Lords of Chaos (2010) by James Jacobs, Abraxas is known as the Master of the Final Incantation and described as having the head of a deformed bird and two vipers in place of his legs. His portfolio is given as forbidden lore, magic, and snakes. As in Armies of the Abyss, Abraxas's realm is called the Pleroma here, and it is said to be a superficially pleasant and beautiful realm whose true appearance is masked by illusions. Abraxas rules from the spiral city of Diovengia, which is filled with demons, libraries, and serpents and guarded by mariliths. Instead of the chaste ascetics of Armies of the Abyss, however, his cultists in this book are drow and keepers of forbidden lore who maintain a notorious library and tattoo their greatest secrets on their bodies.
Bibliography
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Jacobs, James. Lords of Chaos. Bellevue, WA: Paizo Publishing, 2010.
- Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.
- Mearls, Mike, Brian R. James, and Steve Townshend. Demonomicon. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2010.
- Mona, Erik. Armies of the Abyss. Green Ronin Publishing, 2002.