Marilith

Mariliths were the tacticians of Abyssal hordes and queens of the Abyssal realms. They served as the generals and advisors to the demon lords of the Abyss. They sought strategies that brought the most destruction in whatever realm they were in

Basic Information

Anatomy

Mariliths appeared from the waist up as humanoid women with six arms. From the waist down, they appeared to have the body of a giant snake. They were seen as quite beautiful and flaunted it, wearing only jewelry on their nude torsos and arms. Mariliths stood around 9 feet tall and measured 20 feet from head to tip of the tail. They weighed 4,000 pounds

Biological Traits

They are a repto-monotrematic species--an egg-laying species with features of both reptiles and mammals: Mariliths are exothermic ("cold-blooded"), with a body shape that resembles a human/snake hybrid with six arms. They nurse their young.
Mariliths are a single-gender species--they appear and identify as female

Genetics and Reproduction

They reproduce through a form of cross-hybridization with males of other species. They are able to conceive with both endothermic ("warm-blooded") and exothermic males. This is because the process is not strictly conception. Rather than producing zygotes through the joining of ovum and spermatozoa, mariliths absorb the sperm and retain it within their own bodies, where it is metamorphosed into a fertilizing component they can use to impregnate themselves at will at any point in their lifetimes; because their bodies retain the sample permanently, they can repeat this as often as they desire. The resulting offspring are mostly the children of the mother--only approximately 20% of their DNA comes from the father. Mariliths produce up to a dozen eggs in a clutch, and often allow them all to hatch. However, unable to care for them all, they will eat the superfluous young until the clutch reaches a manageable number.

Often, mariliths only choose to engage in sexual activity once in their lifetimes; repeated times are not unheard of, but are usually only done if it is believed that the offspring of their last joining was in some way flawed.


A marilith goes into estrus four times a year, to make another joining possible if needed. Besides their bizarre fertilization techniques, mariliths also are capable of embryonic diapause--that is, the ability to put their unlaid eggs into stasis until the conditions will be favorable for laid eggs to hatch in.

Ecology and Habitats

The Abyss

Dietary Needs and Habits

Mariliths are hunter-scavengers. They hunt prey up to the size of a deer, but can happily and easily survive on carrion. Mariliths in a family group may hunt prey as large as other species of demon or even human beings, but this is unusual and discouraged by the tenets of their society.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Most mariliths choose to live alone, either deep underground or in isolated caves in mountainous regions; it is uncommon to find mariliths in groups, and where such can be found, the groups will always be mother/daughters, or sisters, and they will not be in numbers larger than four. Prefers a desert-like climate, or the Abyss

Average Intelligence

18 (very high)

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Truesight 120ft, Passive Perception 13, Dark Vision

Civilization and Culture

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Telepathy
One curious quirk of the species, especially considering their hermit-like lifestyles, is that they have neither a spoken nor written language of their own. Mariliths learn instead the spoken and written languages common to their localities. They are extremely adept at this; a marilith that chooses to adopt a nomadic or migratory pattern can absorb hundreds of languages--human, demonic and even animal

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Their society, such as it may be called, is a loose alliance of knowing vaguely where the rest of the species is. Mariliths being solitary by nature, they teach their daughters that secrecy is the most valuable asset they can have. They do not interact or interfere with other species and their societies. A marilith that is bothered--either by another marilith or an outsider--can become extremely volatile and highly dangerous.

Historical Figures

Lilith - The original Marilith

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Do not get along with Celestial beings

Most information is taken from the Forgotten Realms Wiki, and the City of Demons Wiki.

Lifespan

500 years

Average Height

9 ft

Average Weight

4000 lb

Average Length

20 ft

Average Physique

Mariliths possess enormous strength and coordination, the result of having to harmonize the movements of six limbs and a prehensile tail. They are also very large creatures, commonly ranging in size from fifteen to twenty-five feet from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, though able to grow up to thirty-five feet in length with consistent, proper nutrition and a large enough living space. (Many mariliths have been shown to experience stunted growth if their development is in a cave or den too small to accommodate a larger height.)