1E
The text indicates that a succubus in its natural form would be indistinguishable from a human woman were it not for the bat-like wings sprouting from behind her shoulder blades. The picture, however, shows that she also has moderately-sized curved horns, which would be hard to miss and it's possible that her eyes are intended to be unnaturally dark. The wings are, as is common among such creatures, not entirely like those of a real bat, with no evident joints other than the wrist and shoulder - the 'forearm', for example, is a curved rod with no indication of an elbow. Of course, since the succubus is not literally related to bats, this needn't be a problem, especially since its flight would have to be magically boosted anyway. Another oddity is that there appear to be feathers at the base of the wing, further indicating that this is not a product of natural evolution.
The succubus is listed as a demon in the 1E Monster Manual, and its the only one to be given a name, rather than a "type" number (unless you count the manes, which is really a damned soul rather than a demon). Its magic resistance, which advances in a fairly regular manner among the numbered demons, places it between the type IV and V demons, and its immunity to non-magical weapons would support that ranking as a "greater" demon. Physically, however, it is much weaker than this would suggest, being a couple of ranks below even the type I in terms of damage resilience and combat skill, roughly equal in terms of its ability to avoid injury (through magical means, presumably, unless its insanely agile) and extremely low in its ability to deal out damage to others. This is offset by the fact that it is more intelligent even than the most powerful of the regular demons - the supposed ruling elite of the type VIs - and has stronger psychic powers to boot.
So, while they are certainly intended to be greater demons, unlike the others in the book, much of their power comes from their smarts and seduction ability, rather than their raw physical power. Quite how effective that would be in a horde of creatures entirely devoted to chaos and evil is debatable, but that's clearly the intent.
2E, however, provides some minor changes to their abilities and ranks them as lesser demons, well below the vrock in whatever passes for the abyssal hierarchy, reflected in a greatly reduced resistance to magic. Physically, they have lost the horns and the feathers, and gained joints in the bones of their wings. The digits also extend way beyond the edge of the wing membrane, something it's hard to see a biological function for... but again, they're not really biological. Their eyes are dead white and faintly glowing, in what may be a variation of the 1E look. For the first time, we are told that male succubi exist, and that they are distinct beings, not just regular succubi gender-swapping through their shapeshifting powers, as they were in the original myth.
If one were being picky, one could also point out that we're told succubi generally only shapeshift into the form of women with 'milky' skin. Which implies a certain geographical limitation on their activity in the material plane...
3E
The wings are larger in 3E than in earlier editions and are closer in appearance to those of a typical bat, although the digits are not spread out more evenly across the membrane, and the thumb-claw would be unusually long for a real bat. The horns remain missing, but the dead-white eyes remain and the succubus has now sprouted a long, red, tail with a spear-like tip. The picture shows her with her hair billowing upwards, although the drape of the little clothing she is wearing suggests she's not standing in an updraft. The succubi shown in the 4E Monster Manual both have similar hair (although no visible tail) so this is likely intended as an actual feature, perhaps involving some particularly effective supernatural hairspray.
The average succubus is stronger, faster, and fitter than a regular human, but not to an extraordinary degree. Her intelligence remains the same as in 1E, but that of every other demon has increased, often significantly, meaning that's now actually less bright than most her fellows. Although terms such as 'greater' and 'lesser' demon aren't used in the core rulebook, this demotion seems to cement her position near the bottom of the abyssal hierarchy, rather than the comparatively exhalted version of the first edition. Even her charisma, which is way off the charts by human standards, is equalled by that of the balor, and only a little better than a marilith.
The text implies that all succubi are female, although they're no longer so hung up on having pale skin. Indeed, while in 2E they could shapeshift into only a limited range of races, which admittedly included halflings and dwarves, now any small or medium humanoid will do, including such things as orcs and lizardfolk.
5E
In 5E, the succubus regains her horns, although these are very small compared with those of the first edition, and also has the red-skinned tail, although here not quite so long as in 3E and with a more arrow-shaped tip. The wings have changed rather less from the previous two editions, although the arm bone seem to have a more irregular outline. Her eyes are not, so far as one can tell, obviously non-human in appearance, although they might have red irises.
Most significantly, however, succubi are no longer demons in 5E. They are classified as "fiends", which is the broader category to which demons and other malevolent supernatural beings belong, but are otherwise their own thing. This implies a different relationship with the society of the lower planes and, indeed, we're told that succubi are as welcome in Hell as in the Abyss, which they very much would not have been previously. One effect of this is that succubi are no longer chaotic evil, forces of unrestrained horror, but instead 'neutral evil' implying a more measured and less impulsive form of malevolence - which, in fairness, fits with the way their behaviour is described.
The 5E succubus is remarkably agile, and this is now the primary reason she's difficult to injure. However, she's physically weaker than the average human and her intelligence remains at roughly the same level relative to regular demons as it did in 3E. Her charisma has dropped, although this is a likely a reflection of changes in the game system, since so have those of other fiends... even so, it has dipped further than that of mariliths and balors have, so she no longer holds the crown in that regard.
In this edition, we're told that, as in the original myths, succubi can switch between female and male even when in their natural forms; succubi and their male counterparts, the incubi, are explicitly the same beings.
In most editions, succubi are demons, with all that that implies. In 5E, they lose their demonic status, although, since they are still fiends, anything that's true of both demons and devils is probably true of them too, unless there's good reason to suppose otherwise. One stated difference, for instance, is that, while true demons and devils cannot be poisoned, succubi can be. Poison does have less of an effect on them than it does on most other creatures, but that it works at all implies some degree of physiological similarity that isn't shared with demons and devils.
This similarity may help to explain where cambions come from, since these are said to be the offspring of succubi and regular humanoids. (Actually, the terminology varies between editions, but we'll use the 5E term). This clearly would be difficult if the succubus's cellular makeup were completely bizarre and the susceptibility to poison may be a side-effect of that. Indeed, demons and devils are typically stated to be sterile, creating more of their kind through magical rituals rather than biological reproduction.
For what it's worth, though, when we're looking at the sex-changing forms of earlier editions, it's at least possible that cambions are created the same way they are in myth. In Christian mythology, demons, including succubi, cannot reproduce, but they can still create changelings - which is where the word 'cambion' comes from, although it's only used in this sense from about the 19th century. What happens here is that, after mating with a male human, the succubus stores and preserves his semen, while modifying it by exposing it to her infernal energies. Then she shape-changes into an incubus and impregnates a human woman with the modified semen so that she becomes pregnant with the changeling/cambion.This won't work in 2E. where succubi/incubi seem to be stuck with one sex and it's not the simplest or most likely explanation in the other editions either - but it's an option.
This brings us to the succubus's signature power. What this does changes significantly between editions. Initially, it's an energy drain similar to that employed by some undead, while, by 5E, it's a psychic attack like that of a mind flayer. What remains the same in most editions is that it's delivered by a kiss.
Which sounds straightforward, but still manages to raise a few questions. It clearly isn't skin contact alone that initiates the attack, and it's also something that's voluntary and that the succubus can turn off at will. This implies that the attack has to be delivered using the mouth and requires close contact (unlike a mind flayer's blast). It could be mediated by something in the saliva, but it seems more likely that the succubus is draining soul-stuff from the victim, and pulls this into her body through the most appropriate opening.
Since the victim is not cooperating in this, and it seems hard to believe that soul-stuff can only be sucked out of somebody through their mouth (unlike the succubus, they aren't created specifically to do this sort of thing) it follows that the kiss can be on any part of the body and the victim does not have to reciprocate the affection. She has to use her mouth; her partner does not have to use his. Having said that, it probably has to last at least a little while - a peck on the cheek surely isn't going to be sufficient and would seem a waste of the creature's seductive powers.
I will leave it to the reader to think of ways this might be achieved without requiring the victim to use their mouth.
Mind you, it's also legitimate to ask whether 'kiss' might be intended as a euphemism. Especially given the mythology, this is a possible interpretation of the brief 1E description, but much less so from 3E onwards. 2E stands out in this regard, describing the 'kiss' as engaging in 'activities of passion', a phrase that could be taken to imply more than a quick snog... but doesn't have to be.
It's also in 2E that we're told the 'kiss' is sufficiently pleasurable that the victim is unlikely to even notice he has suffered anything bad until after the fact - a far cry from the extremely painful process mentioned in 5E. But even 2E does use the word 'kiss' to describe what's happening and the later ones seem quite clear that that's what's intended; mating with humans is part of a succubus's modus operandi, but it's not how they attack.
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