Demon



Demons are evil creatures that inspire dread and fear in mortals. Almost all demons are members of the Burning Legion, a group with phenomenal power, that roams the cosmos preying on worlds. All demons are evil.

Most demons were once mortal creatures found on the worlds conquered by the Burning Legion, but have been transformed by their conversion into demonic beings. This change includes a powerful command of arcane energy. They define and control this arcane power with the force of their will, much as sorcerers and wizards do.

The demonic usage of magic will deploy fel magic, which uses the blood of demons to create the most corrupt and ultimate type of arcane magic. This type of magic exists naturally in demonic blood. As a result, "fel" and "demonic" is often considered the same, and the trait of being affected by "fel" is one of the most distinctive attributes of the demonic. Fel magic used by other creatures (often acquired by drinking demon blood) will grant demonic powers and, if enough is applied, even transform them into demons.

There are many types (see below) and races of demons, most of whom typically serve either their own agenda or that of the Legion (they are often the same). For a description of the most important/famous demons visit the race pages or the Legion page.

Not all demons are aligned with the Burning Legion. Other demons have chosen to "abandon" the Burning Legion and yield their allegiance to others, such as the demons that pertain to Illidan's forces. Several demons are furthermore used as servants and companions by magicans, most notably by warlocks.

Characteristics in World of Warcraft

 * Cannot be skinned except for felhounds, darkhounds and their variants, and helboars.
 * Medium Level (24 upwards) demons can drop Silk Cloth.
 * Higher level demons in the 50-60 range can drop Felcloth.
 * Enchanters can enchant weapons with Demonslaying which gives the player bonus attack power against demons and also causes their weapon to become engulfed in flames.
 * Some can be banished or enslaved by warlocks
 * Can be feared by a Paladin's Turn Evil
 * Warlocks in metamorphosis form are considered demons and can be affected by abilities such as Turn Evil.
 * According to Altruis, knowing the true name of a demon will grant a certain amount of power over that demon.
 * Apparently, demons are somehow able to know the names of random individuals they encounter. It is unknown if this is related to the power concerning their own names.

Notable demonic races

 * Mo'arg
 * Gan'arg — The main engineers of the legion.
 * Felguard — The main infantry of the Legion. They are lethal but inexperienced, and are often treated poorly by greater demons. These humanoid-like creatures were originally residents of conquered worlds who were changed by the evil of the demonic eredar into a demonic form.
 * Annihilan
 * Pit lords — Gigantic generals who lead the armies of the Legion, the pit lords are surpassed in power only by the demonic eredar.
 * Nathrezim (aka dreadlords) — Usually commanding a small troop of felguards, the dreadlords do not always engage in combat, and are more likely to meddle behind the scenes.
 * Tothrezim — Distant cousin race of the nathrezim, laborers and researchers of the Burning Legion, responsible for the creation of the infernals.
 * Ered'ruin
 * Doomguard — These ironfisted demons serve as the Burning Legion’s captains and generals.
 * Doomlord — The most powerful Doomguard can turn important high comanders of the Legion troops.
 * Fiend (Terrorguard, Fear Fiend, Terrorfiend) — Shock troops and supervisors of the Legion, found on the front lines of the Burning Crusade in areas like Outland.
 * Void terror — Large, two-headed demons with vast magical powers.
 * Infernal — Great burning stone demons that are infamous for falling from the sky like burning meteors.
 * Sayaad
 * Succubus — Female demons that can be summoned by warlocks of some power.
 * Incubi (presumed)
 * Voidwalker — Ethereal minions utilized by warlocks as companions.
 * Imp — Small, horned spellcaster demons, often seen accompanying warlocks.
 * Nightmare
 * Felsteed — Demonic steeds that can be summoned by experienced warlocks.
 * Dreadsteed — Great demonic steeds from the dreadlord world of Xoroth. They only respond to the call of the most powerful warlocks in the land.
 * Shivarra — The fanatical shivarra are the religious commanders of the legion. They are totally devoted to Sargeras as their god, and inspire the troops — as well as being front line commanders.
 * Abyssal — infernal-like creature made of jagged stone.
 * Floating eye (aka beholders) — Many-eyed demons of unknown origin.
 * Demonic hound — Two-headed hounds made of molten fel energies.

Demonically corrupted races

 * Corrupted Ancient - A ancient corrupted by the burning legion,
 * (Eredar warlocks) — The uppermost rank of the Burning Legion. Some, like (Kil'jaeden and Archimonde), were turned into demons by the dark titan Sargeras.
 * Wrathguard
 * Fel stalker — The felbeasts were originally creatures of conquered worlds who were changed by the evil of the eredar into a demonic form.
 * — Fel orcs are orcs who have been changed by the Blood of Mannoroth and of Magtheridon, changing there skin and making them a blood-thirsty race.
 * — Felblood elves are elves changed by siphoning fel energy from Suspended Terrorguards.
 * Satyr — Satyrs are night elves who have been corrupted by demonic powers either as a reward or as punishment by Sargeras, other races may also have been transformed later.
 * Helboar — Helboars are boars corrupted by the resident demons in Outland.
 * Darkhound — These vile creatures are canines having somehow been twisted by demonic energy.
 * Warp stalker - These beings were corrupted by the Burning Legion and are sometimes used as mounts.

Redemption
With the coming of Cataclysm, it has been found that some demons can be redeemed from their demonic forms into who they originally were. There are suspected ways of doing such, such as the blessings of the Light which would be outwardly painful. But one has succeeded, the satyr Avrus Illwhisper was redeemed from his demonic shell by Elune's blessing after he assisted the player in curing a sick girl in Astranaar as a toll. He became Avrus the Redeemed, so it seems possible that someone can regain mortality.

Demon or dae'mon?
There is some question as to the origin of the name "demon" in Azeroth. In Christie Golden's Rise of the Horde, it is insinuated that the word "demon" came from the Orcish word "dae'mon", meaning a soul that was evil, twisted, not right...much the same as the eredar word "man'ari". However, in the War of the Ancients Trilogy, the night elves refer to them as demons at the first coming of the Burning Legion — thousands of years before Rise of the Horde. Additionally, "daemon" without the apostrophe is a term used by both Horde and Alliance in varying sources, such as Warcraft I, Warcraft II and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, including documents predating the First War. No matter the origin of the word, the meaning is still the same.

Demonic traits
"If I have wings, why am I always walking?" - Dreadlord in Warcraft III

"Wings, horns, hooves...what are we saying, is this Diablo?" - Illidan Stormrage in Warcraft III

Usually demons have one or more of a set of demonic physical traits.


 * Only one eredar, Kil'jaeden, has been seen with wings (it is unknown if this is part of his illusions or if he has become greatly mutated). Eredar also display a variety of skin tones, including but not limited to demonic red.
 * Gul'dan saw Sargeras in the Tomb of Sargeras and had wings, however, he is shown without them in the artworks.
 * Not all pit lords have been observed to possess flames. Mannoroth is an example of one characterized by flames.
 * Illidan's flames are a result of his triggered immolation ability and not a result of anatomy, though his arcane tattoos have been known to smolder on occasion, as do his hoofprints (they also bubble when in or on water)
 * Imp Lord Pinprik is an example of an imp with wings. As this seems to be rather rare, it is possible that it is simply a result of heavy influence by fel which can give additional demonic traits (such as how Illidan got wings, horns and hooves).

Dungeons & Dragons
In Monster Manual there is a distinct breed of demons which use the "demonic" subtype. This kind of demons are described in Manual of Monsters Appendix Three and as told before the description doesn't match the demons described in the Warcraft Universe. Throughout the Manual fo Monsters the term "demon" refers to the minions of the Burning Legion, but in the section of "demons" of the Appendix Three they refer to the demons of D&D. However, the validity of the Appendix Three is disputed.