Demons

"Demon" is the collective name for all the beings who have been rejected by the Mortal Plane and thus take up residence in the Abyss. Demons are mostly former mortals, but eternals such as elementals and lucians can become demons as well. Demons are widely varying in nature, attitude, and appearance, but share some common features.

Common features

Demons are all infested with jotnar but have avoided being consumed by them (which differentiates them from the undead). Instead, they find some way of feeding the jotnar, usually in the form of other living souls or other demons. The greater demons may have many trapped souls inside of them, harnessing the power of both the bound souls and the jotnar; lesser demons must find their food by hunting in Shadow (mainly in the Waste), leaching off of cultist sacrifices, or devouring other demons.

Demons cannot exist for long in the Mortal realm without a host. This host may either be an anima construct (the result of a summoning spell) or a living host (creating a daemonhost)); some have found ways to embed themselves in physical objects. "Bare" demons are ejected back to the Abyss by nature itself after a period that depends on the power of the demon. Stronger demons are ejected more rapidly, while weak demons may last months or years.

Demons corrupt the world around them. The jotnar that sustain their existence drain the life out of their surroundings as well as impose abyss-aspects. Areas frequented by demons (usually as a result of summoning) end up blasted wastelands where life struggles and is warped (the Great Waste surrounding Mt. Fearg in the Great Eastern Dustlands is a prime example). Shadow in such areas becomes the Waste, where the barriers to the Abyss are weakened and demons roam, consuming and infecting the spirits of the dead. Those who die in these areas frequently daemonize themselves if they are not consumed by demons first.

Demons hunger. Life in the Abyss requires a constant influx of energy; the jotnar and the nature of the plane itself demand it. As such, they constantly scheme and seek for new sources of power.

Organization

Demons are not exactly organized. Many of them have flocked to the banners of the Demon Princes, the most powerful of their kind. Others act on their own.