Baatezu, Lesser, Abishai
| Black | Green | Red | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Climate/Terrain: | Baator | Baator | Baator |
| Frequency: | Common | Common | Common |
| Organization: | Solitary | Solitary | Solitary |
| Activity Cycle: | Any | Any | Any |
| Diet: | Carnivore | Carnivore | Carnivore |
| Intelligence: | Average (8-10) | Average (8-10) | Average (8-10) |
| Treasure: | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Alignment: | Lawful evil | Lawful evil | Lawful evil |
| No. Appearing: | 2-20 | 2-8 | 1 |
| Armor Class: | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Movement: | 9, Fl 12 (C) | 9, Fl 12 (C) | 9, Fl 12 (C) |
| Hit Dice: | 4+1 | 5+2 | 6+3 |
| THAC0: | 17 | 15 | 13 |
| No. of Attacks: | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Damage/Attack: | 1d4/1d4/1d4+1 | 1d4/1d4/1d4+1 | 1d4/1d4/1d4+1 |
| Special Attacks: | Poison, dive | Poison, dive | Poison, dive |
| Special Defenses: | +1 or better weapons to hit, regeneration | + 1 or better weapons to hit, regeneration | +1 or better weapons to hit, regeneration |
| Magic Resistance: | 30% | 30% | 30% |
| Size: | L (8' tall) | L (7' tall) | M (6' tall) |
| Morale: | Average (8-10) | Average (8-10) | Steady (11-12) |
| XP Value: | 7,000 | 8,000 | 9,000 |
Abishai are common to the first and second layers of Baator. They look like gothic gargoyles, thin and reptilian, with long, prehensile tails and large wings. The three varieties of abishai have different skin colors - in ascending order of station, black, green, and red. All have a vinegary smell and rasping voices. The air seems to warm perceptibly in their presence.
Combat: In battle, the abishai strikes with two claws (1d4 points of damage each) and its flexible tail (1d4 + 1 points of damage and poison; note that the poison is fatal unless a successful save vs. poison is made).
Abishai can fly high into the air and dive at their enemies, striking with both claws. They attack at +2, and a hit does double damage (2d4 points per claw).
In addition to the powers of all baatezu, an abishai can change self, command, produce flame, pyrotechnics, and scare.
Once per day they can attempt to gate in 2 to 12 lemures (60% chance of success) or 1 to 3 abishai (30% chance).
Abishai are susceptible to holy water (2d4 points of damage per vial). They regenerate 1 hit point per round unless the damage is done by holy water or a holy magical weapon.
Habitat/Society: Abishai are voracious and evil. They delight in tormenting those few baatezu lower in station than themselves. Abishai tempt mortals bold enough to travel to Baator by using their change self and charm person abilities to impersonate more powerful baatezu.
Ecology: The abishai make up large, evil armies that fight the tanar'ri and intruders into Baator. In some cases, a red abishai may prove worthy enough to command a force of lemures. If successful, the red abishai may be promoted to a higher form of baatezu.
As part of their efforts to corrupt mortals, abishai like to bestow powerful magic on inexperienced wizards. Usually the low-level spellcaster cannot control these enormous energies, and chaos and destruction result.