CNichols wrote:
Hmm... So, Aldinach was originally just Golarion's demon lord of sand and scorpions, but sometime after she stole the Sea of Whispering Sands from Areshkagal, she decided to expand her areas of interest to include transformation. In this new aspect, she established her presence on the plain of Pazunia and has been expanding her influence into other worlds since then, transforming herself into a different form on each world.
Does that sound about right?
Hi guys -- thought I'd chime in on the discussion you all are having regarding Aldinach. I did a history of Aldinach that incorporated the major elements of all three versions of her, including the male version listed in Gary Gygax’s Necropolis. Even though this is a longer post, I thought I’d post the basics of her history here.
Originally, Aldinach appeared pretty much as she is described in Fiendish Codex I: “A lithe humanoid woman…mahogany skin, alabaster mask…et. al.”
For a time, Aldinach was captured on the Materal Plane, and forced to serve as a vassal to an archpriest-sorcerer named Rahotep. (This incorporates the elements of Aldinach that are found in Gary Gygax’s Necropolis).
Aldinach’s true visage was hidden as the result of this curse placed on her by Rahotep, an act which secured with it the demon’s undying enmity toward the archpriest, given that she was powerless to prevent it. The curse not only hid Aldinach’s true form, but forced Aldinach to comply with Rahotep’s wishes. During this time, Aldinach’s form was changed (as a result of the curse) to that of a 16-foot tall male humanoid with jet black skin marked in blood-red arcane and demonic patterns, glowing eyes, and dripping fangs (using the separate stat block provided in Necropolis text). Her powers were also lessened during this time, though she/he was still a formidable opponent.
Eventually, mortal adventurers were able to overcome Rahotep, and the curse upon Aldinach was lifted. Since that time, Aldinach has been known as the Lady of Change, not simply for the experiments that she conducts upon those that fall prey to her cultists, but also in reference to the humiliation that was forced upon her. Aldinach herself does not take kindly to remarks about her imprisonment, and those pass comment about it in her presence are quickly destroyed.
Even after securing her freedom from Rahotep, Aldinach maintained a strong link to the desert region where she was imprisoned. This bond was exploited by her sister Areshkagal, who used this connection to pull the entire desert kingdom into the Abyss, thereby transforming into the Sea of Whispering Sands, an entirely new layer.
Ironically, the magics involved in bringing this layer to the Abyss transformed Aldinach again, this time changing her appearance to that of an enormous desert-dwelling scorpion the size of a house (matching her current description in Pathfinder 18). Aldinach’s power and influence have increased greatly as a result of her link to this plane, and she soon was able to seize control of the layer back from her sister, forcing her into exile in the Blood Clefts, a neighboring abyssal layer. Aldinach maintains a portal to the Sea of Whispering Sands inside her fortress on Pazunia known as Aldinach’s Egg.
With Aldinach’s most recent transformation, many more of her cults on the Material Plane are starting to spring up in arid and desert kingdoms, as she is now known as a demon princess of sand and scorpions. Due to her fortress on the Abyss’ first layer, her name has become well-known within the mortal realms, and her cult members have been known to frequent the major trade roads and slave routes that connect the various desert cities. Aldinach constantly seeks new ways to expand her power, and she is just as likely to ply her dark experiments on her cult members as she is her enemies.
Aldinach is served actively by gharros demons, as well as by a host of half-fiends and other abominations that dwell around her fortress of Aldinach’s Egg on Pazunia. Within the Sea of Whispering Sands, she is served by hippodilemons, demoncrocs, flying scorpions, lamias of khemit, saks, scorpion snakes, and unseelie sphinxes, (see Gary Gygax’s Necropolis), plus other desert creatures that survived the absorbtion of their territory into the Abyss. Uncounted scorpions now make their home within the vast desert of ruined cities that now dot her plane. In Golarian, she is also served actively by the monstrous double scorpions known as sandwalkers.