Sunday 2 January 2022

D&D Monsters: Erinyes

The Erinyes originate in Greek myth, where they are goddesses of vengeance cursing kinslayers, oathbreakers, and the like; they are probably better known under their Roman name of "Furies". These original versions appeared as ugly women, typically with snakes entwined in their hair and wrapped around their bodies and limbs. Sometimes they had wings, sometimes not, and later depictions of them are similarly varied.

Some versions of the myths state that there are only three Erinyes, but others are much vaguer about the numbers. Notably, the three named Erinyes stand guard over the City of Dis surrounding the Sixth Circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno. It may be this that inspired their adoption as a type of "devil" in D&D, although they (and Dis) are moved to the Second Circle in the 1E Monster Manual, befitting their status as the weakest of the true devils in that edition. Something of a demotion from their mythic origins, then.

As an aside, the correct singular of the Greek word "Erinyes" is "Erinys", which Pathfinder uses, but D&D does not. By being a category of being rather than a specific title, erinyes also lose the capital letter; the plural in D&D is apparently uninflected (as it is in, say, "deer" or "aircraft").


1E

As originally shown in 1E, erinyes are essentially identical in appearance to human women except for having feathered wings. The other monstrous features of the original myth, such as the snakes, are absent and it's not obvious that she's supposed to be particularly ugly either. In 2E they are specifically stated to be attractive and differ only in that they have pointed, possibly elven, ears. The one in the picture is also dressed in lacy lingerie, reflecting their changed role in that edition as spirits of temptation rather than of vengeance.

Despite the lack of clothing, erinyes in 1E are remarkably hard to injure. This is unlikely to be due to agility so it's presumably something inherent in their physical makeup. In fact, far from being agile, they move very slowly on the ground and it's trivial for an unburdened human to outrun them if they can't take to the air for some reason. Why this should be isn't clear, and it's ditched in 2E; perhaps the idea was that they spend so much time flying that their legs are weak and they can only stumble along when grounded. In other respects, however, they are physically strong, close to the human maximum despite (again for no obvious reason) lacking the ability to exploit their greater strength in combat.

In 1E, erinyes have typical human intelligence, but this increases in 2E, although they remain the least skilled of the "lesser devils" in combat. They have a range of innate magical powers, including invisibility and shapeshifting but rely on magical weapons to fight. From 2E onwards, they prefer to operate alone, but (like the furies of myth) they often act in groups in 1E.

3E

In 3E, the erinyes retain the pointed ears of 2E, but now also have greyish skin and red eyes although they are otherwise said to be physically attractive. The one in the picture wears clothing primarily consisting of leather straps which, in fairness, must make it easier to carry her weapons. These, incidentally, have changed from a poison-dripping dagger to a regular broadsword and a magical bow that shoots flaming arrows - they're still the weakest of the six standard devils in a fight, but less so than they used to be. We're told that they're physically imposing, easily in the top 1% of human women at six feet tall (180 cm). 

Erinyes in this version are significantly more agile than humans, although they still have the same physical resistance to injury that they had before. Their strength is now beyond human levels and, while their intelligence remains as it was in 2E, this is supplemented by an unearthly charisma. However, their role is no longer that of independent temptresses, but instead merely scouts and servants for more powerful beings - a further reduction in their apparent status in the infernal hierarchy. 

5E

It's impossible to tell whether the 5E erinyes has pointed ears or not, but her deathly pale skin no longer has the greyish hue. Other than that, and an oddly shaped carpal joint on the wings (conceivably, it has a skeletal structure closer to bat than bird wings), their appearance is unchanged. What does change, however is that the erinyes now has damage resistance equivalent to a full suit of plate armour not because of her physical composition but because she is, in fact, wearing a full suit of plate armour. She's also ditched the fiery longbow for a regular one, albeit one boosted by her new ability to make any weapon she handles toxic to those hit by it.

The erinyes' stats are toned down from 3E but, allowing for changes in system, they're pretty much equivalent in real terms. Most of their magical powers have gone, but their combat skill has increased enormously as their role changes again, this time to acting as a sort of police force that punishes other devils and comes close to the vengeful spirits of the original myth. Fitting with this, their status in the infernal hierarchy has completely changed - previously the lowest of the "lesser devils", they are now about five ranks higher as mid-ranking "greater devils" and have physical prowess to match.

Although demons and devils are different categories of beings in D&D, they are similar enough that many of the points about demonic anatomy and physiology should apply equally well to devils. In the case of erinyes specifically, their outward appearance is so obviously humanoid that it's even harder to imagine that their internal anatomy doesn't match. 

Nonetheless, there are differences. Unlike demons, devils have no particular resistance to lightning damage in 5E. This may be simply to differentiate the two in rules terms but if we're looking for an in-universe explanation of why it might be so, it could imply that devils use a more organic nervous system than demons. They are also immune to the effects of fire, rather than merely resistant to it, presumably due to the nature of the infernal environment (not that much of it is literally on fire in the usual descriptions, but devils are perhaps more likely to travel to the bits that are than abyssal demons).

1E and 2E both state that erinyes "are female" but can appear as male due to their ability to change their shape. This is a more ambiguous statement than it might at first appear. If erinyes can change their genitalia at will, in what sense are they female? One possibility is that they are intended to be biologically female, which is to say, capable of birthing offspring. The statement in 3E that erinyes are "descended" from fallen angels would fit with this, and tieflings have to come from somewhere, so this is a possibility if we want devils to actually reproduce. 

The alternative is that they simply identify as female, and prefer to keep a female form despite not being biologically constrained to do so. In any event, the issue disappears in 5E, where erinyes lose the ability to change shape but male-looking ones are explicitly stated to exist. 

As to where new erinyes come from, the details vary between editions, but both Tyrants of the Nine Hells (for 3E) and the 5E Monster Manual indicate that, whereas demons are usually spawned directly from chaotic energies, devils are forged from the soul-stuff of the damned after they have been stripped of all traces of their former memories and identities. In 3E, erinyes are an exception to this, since they all either are or are "descended from" fallen angels. 5E implies that this could be true of at least some of them, but they more typically seem to be part of the usual promotion system, gaining a new body when they're transformed from horned devils.

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