What is a Marilith in Pathfinder 2E?
What is a Marilith in Pathfinder 2e? Mariliths are the generals of the Abyss, formed from the souls of proud evil mortals, often warlords and despots. They appear as tall and powerfully built humans from the waist up with snake tails and six arms. Because of Lamashtu’s prominence over other demonic deities, most pride demons encountered by mortals take female form, but they can be of any gender.
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Table of Contents
Tacticians of the Abyss
Mariliths are among the greatest tacticians in the Abyss, and they have an almost supernatural knack for understanding the ripples of chaos and the unpredictable nature of demonic life. Their ability to command armies rises as much from their commanding presence as it does their ability to read into the potential results of any possible act and a sufficient understanding of the flow of entropy to allow them to predict likely outcomes.
Bladestorm
The marilith makes up to six longsword Strikes, each against a different target. These attacks count toward the marilith’s multiple attack penalty, but the multiple attack penalty doesn’t increase until after all the attacks.
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What is a Demon?
When a sinful mortal soul is judged and sent on to the Abyss, it can become a deadly fiend—a demon. Demons are living incarnations of sin—be they classic sins like wrath or gluttony, or more “specialized” depravities like an obsession with torture or the act of treason or treachery. Once formed, a demon’s driving goals are twofold—the amassing of personal power, and the corruption of mortal souls to cause them to become tainted by sin. In this way demons ensure a never-ending supply of new demons to bolster their ever-growing ranks in the Abyss.
Failure Vulnerability and Attacks of Opportunity
A marilith’s pride feeds their strength, so the sting of failure wounds them. If the marilith uses a damaging spell or makes a Strike on their turn but doesn’t deal any damage that turn, they take 3d6+10 mental damage at the end of their turn and their commander’s aura deactivates until the end of their next turn.
A marilith gains 5 extra reactions per round that they can use only to make Attacks of Opportunity. The demon can’t use more than one on the same triggering action, even if a creature leaves several squares in the marilith’s reach, and the marilith must use a different weapon for each Attack of Opportunity.
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Adventure Ideas
The Demon’s Riddle
Hook: A small village is suddenly besieged by riddles and puzzles, with deadly consequences for those who fail to solve them. As the heroes investigate, they discover that the marilith Lysara is behind the bizarre events, testing the villagers’ wits and intellect in a twisted game for her own amusement. To save the village, the heroes must solve Lysara’s deadly riddles, confront the marilith in her lair, and put an end to her twisted games before more lives are lost.
The Abyssal Academy
Hook: A once-reputable academy of arcane knowledge has been infiltrated by a marilith named Azrathys, who has secretly replaced key members of the faculty with demonic impostors. The unsuspecting students are now being trained in the dark arts, with the intention of creating a new generation of powerful spellcasters to serve Azrathys’ sinister ambitions. The heroes must uncover the demonic deception, save the students from their dark fates, and defeat the marilith and her minions before the academy becomes a stronghold of demonic power.
The Abyssal Tournament
Hook: A mysterious invitation arrives for the heroes, beckoning them to participate in a grand tournament where warriors from across the planes are pitted against one another in deadly combat. As the heroes delve deeper into the competition, they discover that the event is orchestrated by a marilith named Kalythra, who seeks to identify the strongest fighters to recruit into her demonic army. To prevent the marilith’s plans from coming to fruition, the heroes must triumph in the tournament and confront Kalythra in a climactic battle.
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About the Author:
Dwight Scull has been playing tabletop role-playing games (starting with Dungeons and Dragons 3.5) back in 2001. He started being a dungeon master around 2005.
He loves to play many different types of TTRPGs, including Pathfinder, GURPS, Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade, Mage: The Ascension (and other White Wolf Games), Nights Black Agents, and others.
Fan of mysteries, light horror, co-op board games, true crime, sci-fi, and fantasy.
