Demon Death, Dismissal and the Worldwound


Wrath of the Righteous

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I may have missed this but when the players "kill" demons in the Worldwound are the demons truly dead or just sent back to their masters plane on the Abyss? Also, can they be dismissed in the Worldwound?

Scarab Sages

Looking at the demon stats as given (Eustoyriax, Skulgrym, the grimslakes, Jerribeth), they're still Extraplanar so Dismissal still works.

As for if they truly 'die' they're all considered called so yes.

What does this mean for your players? If you Dismiss a major enemy, don't be surprised if they show up in later books, or even teleporting back in within minutes. (There's a live rift you close in book 4. If they end up back in the Abyss, teleport to near the rift, enter, teleport back to you.)


Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

In Pathfinder, if you kill a demon anywhere they are DEAD. The only time an Outsider that is killed is not DEAD is if you use a spell to summon an outsider, since the physical being isn't there. This only works for Summon Monster/Nature's Ally I-XI. If you use Plannar Ally/Binding or Gate then the Outsider IS physically called to the location so it can be permenantly killed. As far as Dismissal, yes it works, but as Lochar said, there is nothing keeping them from coming back through the Worldwound.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I did wonder what happened to the old "if you kill an outsider, it only is banished for X years" adage from prior editions.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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The "If you kill an outsider it is only banished for X years" hasn't been a part of the game for a long time. Since 2nd edition, perhaps, maybe even since 1st. In any event... It's never been a part of Pathfinder.

And yes... demons who are killed are dead. That goes for ALL outsiders. The one exception is if they're summoned via a spell like summon monster; those who are killed simply vanish into nothingness, since they were more or less summoned into being from nothingness and don't really exist before or after being summoned. Demons who are called, such as by planar binding or planar ally, are really hear and are slain normally if they die, leaving behind their body.

Dismissal and similar spells work fine on demons in the Worldwound. They also work fine on PCs on the Abyss.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Awesome, thanks for the clarification guys!


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

What can I say, I was thinking of the old Drizzt novels with Errtu, the Balor. :)


I'm curious how how James and others portray there demons death. I know, odd asking a dev for something un-rule related lmao. Just curious how things are run at those conventions and devs own tables.

I don't know why but I've always portrayed outsiders as melting, dissipating into smoke, exploding, and other dramatic ways not leaving a body behind. I don't know why I've always done this. I guess I just imagine an outsiders physical form is a result of the concentrated moral energy derived from souls. Once that soul is destroyed the essence that manifested is no longer there to bring it into existence and it fades from reality. Just curious if anyone else runs outsiders like this.


I was go say that Paizo messed up their own fluff but...:
Academy of Secrets, page 25, first column, Cleanup and Aftermath

In the aftermath, however, the staff and students of the Acadamae (and perhaps the PCs as well) are astonished to see that the bodies of the various devils do not disappear, indicating that these were not summoned fiends, but rather actually present on the Material Plane.

Okay, seems that I've always misread that part. So... more support for James Jacob's answer! Straight from a module.


magnuskn wrote:
What can I say, I was thinking of the old Drizzt novels with Errtu, the Balor. :)

The Crystal Shard was 1e AD&D compliant - Errtu was a Type VI demon (he's in the Type VI demons list in the 1e DMG ca 1978!). In 1e AD&D a greater demon killed on the Prime is banished for 100 years.


So, the demons should be leaving bodies behind?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Yes, dead non-summoned demons (any outsider) leave bodies behind

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