Abraxas (Dungeons & Dragons)
Encyclopedia
Abraxas, known as the Unfathomable, is the demon lord
of magic words, arcane secrets, and talismans, in the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game.
Abraxas received further details in third edition in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
(2006).
Abraxas received further description in the fourth edition book Demonomicon (2010).
, known as Death's Reward.
, 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.
Demon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
of magic words, arcane secrets, and talismans, in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
roleplaying game.
Publication history
Abraxas was one of many demon lords that was mentioned only by name in a list in the original Monster Manual II (1983).Abraxas received further details in third edition in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Chapter 1: Demonic Lore:...
(2006).
Abraxas received further description in the fourth edition book Demonomicon (2010).
Realm
Abraxas dwells on the 17th layer of the AbyssAbyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
, known as Death's Reward.
Apocrypha
In Armies of the Abyss (2002) by Erik MonaErik Mona
-Career:Erik Mona served as the editor-in-chief of Dragon magazine since 2004 and Dungeon magazine from 2004 to 2006; at the time, both magazines were published by Paizo Publishing, until the license through Wizards of the Coast expired in September 2007...
, 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
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
, 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
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
, 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.