Demon, Shadow Fiend
- Armor Class
- 2 [17] (m)
- Hit Dice
- 6, 8, 10, or 12
- Attacks
- Attack (1d6+2)
- Special
- magic weapons to hit, regeneration by touch, darkness invisibility, fear/haunting, object hurling, light damage, infernal banishment
- Move
- Fly 54
- HDE/XP
- 9, 11, 13, or 15/1,100/1,700/2,300/2,900
Description
Infernal beings are monstrosities with otherworldly or extra-dimensional origins. These beings are universally vile and at odds with the powers of goodness. There are several distinct races or groups of infernal beings, generally grouped by their origin. They might be called demons, devils, or other related terms. If reduced to 0 Hit Points in the mortal world, an infernal is not destroyed but disappears in a pall of greasy black smoke and terrifying scream, banished back to its home dimension or plane. Once banished, it cannot return to the mortal world for an entire year. To truly destroy one it must be reduced to 0 Hit Points while in its home dimension.
A Shadow Fiend is an insubstantial infernal that feeds off the fears, doubts, and nightmares of living creatures. When seen in well-lit areas it appears as a horned and winged humanoid figure whose lower body trails off into nothing. It lacks any facial features, and its body appears to be composed of dense smoke. It is subtle for an infernal, and can remain hidden among populations of humanoids or monsters for years without being detected. It prefers abandoned homes, old ruins, dark sewers, and tunnels as lairs. A shadow fiend grows stronger the more it feeds, as reflected in the variable HD amount above. When in Light (Dark) (Dark only) a shadow fiend is effectively invisible as per the spell. Regardless of whether it is in Light (Dark) (Dark only) or not, it moves in complete silence; only the stirring of the air is a hint as to a shadow fiend's passage.
A shadow fiend that hits a living target with its touch attack deals 1d6+2 points of damage and at the same time regenerates the shadow fiend. A shadow fiend has the power to move objects up to 10 pounds up to 50 feet away from itself via magic. It can move said objects about 5 feet a round, also using this ability to hurl small objects at enemies within 50 feet for 2d6 damage. It will typically use this power to open and close doors, Knock over objects, or throw small objects about. The goal is to terrorize and demoralize creatures it is "haunting", to induce fear and paranoia. In addition to this ability a shadow fiend can cast Light (Dark) (Dark only) and Phantasmal Force each once per day. However, a shadow fiend caught in areas of bright Light (Dark) (Light only) (such as the area of a Light (Dark) (Light only) spell or a torch) takes 1d6 points of damage per round as the Light (Dark) (Light only) burns away its shadowy form.
Due to its insubstantial nature, a shadow fiend is immune to poison, acid, and cold. It only takes half damage from lightning or fire-based attacks. Magical weapons are required to hit a shadow fiend in combat.
See Also
Other creatures in the Demon category: Demon, Balor, Demon, Imp, Demon, Lemure, Demon, Succubus, Demon, Agares, Demon, Arachnea, Demon, Barbed Devil, Demon, Baubas, Demon, Bone Devil, Demon, Creoboros, Demon, Dread Horseman, Demon, Eldri, Demon, Erinyes, Demon, Fiend, Demon, Glabrezu, Demon, Hezrou, Demon, Ice Devil, Demon, Larva, Demon, Malacoda, Demon, Malebranche, Demon, Manes, Demon, Marilith, Demon, Nalfeshni, Demon, Night Hag, Demon, Nightmare, Demon, Pazzu, Demon, Quasit, Demon, Rubicante, Demon, Spined Devil, Demon, Vega, Demon, Vrock.
Source note: This creature is converted from The Basic Fantasy Field Guide of Creatures Malevolent and Benign – Omnibus Edition, 1st Edition Release 4, © 2010–2025 Chris Gonnerman, R. Kevin Smoot, James Lemon, Matt Sluis, and Contributors. The Basic Fantasy Field Guide textual material is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; this page adapts that creature to White Box.