I will eventually be talking a lot in the section, I am sure. Demons are second to Undead for me, but a very close second. I spared you all my musings on the many-faceted aspects of the undead world, but you will have to endure it for demons because I get to write the full entries. Mwahahaha! Welcome to Thulyet and Drailur!
This first entry is just a small sample idea for one of the simplest of demons: the Imp.
IMP - THE MALICIOUS LIAR
The imp would be SC 2 or 3, but with great potential. Imps are not the slavering, hulking, terrifying beasts that one often sees when encountering demons in the Realms, but they exemplify part of what makes a demon a demon: intent. A dozen imps may not be hard for an adventuring party to kill, but that same dozen may be able to avoid death and ruin the future of that party regardless of location. They will laugh and mock a party when the sprained ankles turn to fractured legs and the healing food is revealed to be toxic ash. They will dance as the party opens a door to answer the princess's pleas for help to find it issuing from the depthless mouth of a screaming Sharzul chaos worm, then lap up the blood afterward of whoever loses the fight. In short, this is the kind of monster that makes a setting more than just a series of themed encounters and gives the andventures something to really hate in the way a single beastie never can.
Imps are one of the servile demons created by the original Vraaj race. They are tiny, gangly humanoids between three and four inches in height. They have dark red, translucent skin and disproportionately large yellow eyes. They have smooth prehensile tails a full hand-span in length – longer than their bodies are tall. Dull black horns protrude from their foreheads just above the eyes. They are naked and hairless.
Above all things, imps enjoy the suffering of others. They are capricious, deceitful and fairly stupid. Among the Drailur, “imp tongued” is an insult meaning a brainless liar. Shortsighted and whimsical, they will make up lies that will lead to others getting hurt or otherwise into trouble without long term plans. They will set up poorly made traps, make noise to lure danger, trick others to eat and drink poisons, conceal obstacles, keep the exhausted awake, and otherwise make life an annoying and dangerous affair for those who catch one's eye.
They are too small and physically weak to damage an opponent on their own, but they do have mastery over the small amount of illusion magics they control, their barbed tongues, and the propensity to tactfully retreat the second they feel in danger.
Illusionist: Can make a very fast action to change one minor characteristic of an event or object such as its color, exact shape, sound, smell, texture, wording, light level, etc. Effect incurs no feedback, but on imp can only change one characteristic at a time. Resist with Autonomy 12.
Deceitful: Even with their reputation known, Imps are skilled liars. +3 Deceive.
Small as a Mouse: +3 to sneak, +3 to Dodge. Can press itself to fit in small cracks underneath poorly fit doors.
Scent of Misfortune: Imps seem to be able to instinctively know when someone is vulnerable or reactive. They seem to appear in such circumstances and torment a person as long as the game continues to be fun, or the target of ridicule dies.