Demon

A demon is a malicious spirit from the Fade that feeds on the darker parts of the mortal psyche like rage, hunger, and desire. The more complex the emotions, the more intelligent and powerful the demon who feeds on it. Rage is the simplest emotion to feed from so Rage Demons are often much lower on the power scale. Sloth Demons are above Rage Demons, and are known as masters of disguise. Desire Demons are higher still, and have the power to manipulate people without their ever knowing. Most powerful of all are Pride Demons. They are fearsome creatures, known for their intelligence.

Demons do not have genders. Within the Fade, they are able to shapeshift and take the form of their choosing. As creatures from an alternate and malleable reality, a demon’s natural mindset can appear insane to a mortal.

There are few demons within dwarven lands. This may be due to the inability of demons to inhabit dwarven bodies, which would make such lands less than appealing, or it may be connected to the natural deposits of lyrium found throughout dwarven territories. There are however examples of demons within the Deep Roads below Orzammar

Demons often cannot distinguish between a living being and a dead one and will readily take control of either. This is thought to be the cause for the Chantry's custom of burning the dead.

Demonic Possession


Like most spirits, it is difficult for demons to survive in the mortal world without possessing a host. The only known way to force a demon from its host is to enter the Fade and confront it directly, but this only works when the host has become such willingly. If the host is killed, the demon returns to the Fade unscathed. Mages, due to their ability to tap into the Fade, are always in the most danger of being possessed, but any creature that dreams might become the victim of demonic possession.

Abominations are the horrifying result of demon possessing a mage. However, demons do not only possess the living. When a pride demon takes control of the corpse of a mage, an Arcane Horror is born, possessing all the spellcasting abilities of a living mage, as well as possessing the ability to heal and even command other animated corpses. Another powerful possessed corpse is a Revenant, these are usually possessed by a demon of pride or of desire.

For weaker demons corpses make tempting targets, as the demon cannot sense any resistance. When a sloth demon takes possession of a dead body a shambling corpse is the result. Devouring Corpses are held by hunger demons and feed upon the living.

The longer dead also fall prey to possession. A fanged skeleton is a skeleton possessed by a hunger demon. Driven by hunger, these skeletons attempt to consume whatever life they can find and often possess the ability to drain life energy and mana from their victims. Shambling skeletons are possessed by a sloth demon, they are able to use entropic powers against their opponents.

Despite the numerous examples of demonic possession shades prove that demons do not have to possess in order to cross over. They are demons in their true form. In time, such a demon will learn to drain energy from the psyche of those it encounters, just as they did in the Fade. Once it has drained enough, it has the power to manifest. Such creatures do not seek to possess a host and instead exist as a shadow, feeding off the minds of those it encounters.