Demon, Quasit

Ram horns curl back from the twisted head of this tiny winged demon, and its body is thin and wiry.

The quasit is perhaps the least powerful demon, yet it is not the least respected—even quasits hold themselves above the dretch horde, and true to their natures, dretches lack the courage or drive to prove the quaits wrong.

A quasit’s first role in life is that of a familiar to a spellcasting master, but those quasits who escape from this humiliating servitude become free-willed and much more dangerous.

A typical quasit stands a foot and a half tall, and weighs only 8 pounds. Alone among the demonic horde, quasits do not form from the dead souls of evil mortals.

Instead, they form from living souls—when a spellcaster seeks out a quasit to serve him as a familiar, his soul brushes against the Abyss and it reacts, carving from itself a quasit linked to that spellcaster’s soul and forming a powerful bond between the two.

Newly created quasits are birthed directly into the Material Plane, where they become familiars, and while bonded to their masters’ wills, all quasits hate and loathe their lieges, as they can feel the pulse of their lords’ souls and know that they could have been more. A quasit serves, yet it watches and waits for mistakes that might cost its master’s life, or even better, an error that might let the quasit turn against its master.

When a quasit’s master dies, the quasit can attempt to follow the master’s soul into the Great Beyond by making a DC 15 Will save. This functions as plane shift but affects only the quasit and transports it into the Abyss and places its master’s soul in the quasit’s possession as a writhing larva rather than using the evil master’s soul to create new demonic life. In this manner, a quasit can use its newly captured soul to bargain with more powerful denizens of the lower planes, and perhaps secure a vile transformative “promotion” to a more powerful form of life in the process.

Rarely, a quasit elects to ignore its master’s death and instead remains on the Material Plane to seek other ways to entertain itself—usually settling in an urban area where there are plenty of folk to torment.

Quasit
Tiny outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)
Hit Dice	3d8 (13 hp)
Initiative	+7
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), Fly 50 ft. (perfect)
Armor Class	18 (+2 size, +3 Dexterity, +3 natural), touch 15, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple	+3/-6
Attack	Claw +8 melee (1d3-1 plus poison)
Full Attack	2 claws +8 melee (1d3-1 plus poison) and bite +3 melee (1d4-1)
Space/Reach	2-1/2 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks	Poison, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities	Alternate form, damage reduction 5/cold iron or good, Darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 2, immunity to poison, resistance to fire 10
Saves	Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities	Strength 8, Dexterity 17, Constitution 10, Intelligence 10, Wisdom 12, Charisma 10
Skills	Bluff +6, Diplomacy +2, Disguise +0 (+2 acting), Hide +17, Intimidate +2, Knowledge (any one) +6, Listen +7, Move Silently +9, Search +6, Spellcraft +6, Spot +6
Feats	Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
Environment	A chaotic evil-aligned plane
Organization	Solitary
Challenge Rating	2
Treasure	None
Alignment	Always chaotic evil
Advancement	4-6 HD (Tiny)
Level Adjustment	– (Improved Familiar)

Combat

Although quasits thirst for victory and power as other demons do, they are cowards at heart. They typically attack from ambush, using their alternate form ability and invisibility to get within reach, then try to scuttle away. When retreating, they use their cause fear ability to deter pursuit.

A quasit’s natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned and evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

Poison (Ex): Injury, Fortitude DC 13, initial damage 1d4 Dexterity, secondary damage 2d4 Dexterity. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.

Spell-Like Abilities: At will-detect good, detect magic, and invisibility (self only);

1/day-cause fear (as the spell, except that its area is a 30-foot radius from the quasit, save DC 11).

Caster level 6th.

The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Once per week a quasit can use commune to ask six questions. The ability otherwise works as the spell (caster level 12th).

Alternate Form (Su): A quasit can assume other forms at will as a standard action. This ability functions as a polymorph spell cast on itself (caster level 12th), except that a quasit does not regain hit points for changing form, and any individual quasit can assume only one or two forms no larger than Medium. Common forms include bat, monstrous centipede, toad, and wolf. A quasit in alternate form loses its poison attack.

QUASIT LORE

Originally posted by Eric Cagle

Evandar_TAybara of the Wizards Community forums.

On  this Thread

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (The planes) can learn more about quasits. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the lore from the  lower DCs.

Knowledge (The planes)

DC	Result
13	Quasits are weak but insidious demons who often act as advisors and familiars for powerful mortals.
18	The tail of a quasit possesses a sharp, poisonous stinger.
23	Quasits are armed with weak but useful abilities, including the ability to change shape.
28	Quasits are capable of casting commune to answer questions on behalf of their masters or mortals that summon them for such tasks.