Rutterkin

Rutterkins are a warped breed of deformed Tanar'ri and among the weakest of Demons. In a sense, they are true representatives of chaos, for the pathetic mutants are held in utter contempt by all others and completely unbound by masters, societies or causes.

Description

Rutterkins are between 5‒7 ft tall, disfigured Demons that resemble hideous Humans, and are considered ugly even by demonic standards. Their skin is mottled green and blue-violet, and if not completely hairless have only the occasional patch or two of uncomfortable-looking wiry bristles. They have backward-pointing ears on either side of their pointed, elongated skulls, and tiny, red eyes swollen with vicious hatred. Every Rutterkin is deformed in its own unique way, their misshapen limbs and bodies making them universally asymmetrical. Most are hunched and frequently howl in pain as their bodies continue to warp and contort at random. Sometimes (about 10% of the time), they are so badly mangled that an arm would no longer function or their already staggered or limping gait would get even worse.

Combat

Rutterkins lack creativity in combat, rarely using the few abilities at their disposal to interesting effect. When they spot enemies, they gather in overwhelming mobs and descend upon them. Though they have some sense of self-preservation, many feel the only recourse to dealing with their pain was destruction and will kill anything in their path or end their miserable lives trying. Causing them to use any claws, bite and stub they must kill their enemy.

Behaviour

Rutterkins are wild, undisciplined savages, crude, and rough members of the Tanar'rikin that respect only brute force and story anything weaker than themselves with savage delight. The vicious creatures are known for being cruel and bullying whenever the opportunity presents itself. Whether they believe in the superiority they acclaimed over certain other Demons or if they only do so due to an inferiority complex is unclear but irrelevant; they feel trapped in a life of ceaseless pain and are not happy unless they can make someone else suffer. Though they are feral and monstrous creatures, they are not exactly stupid, most having average Human intellect and relatively high cunning, at at least some of them being intelligent enough to understand concepts like treasure, value, and trade.

Society

Even by the standards of the chaotic evil society of the Plane of Demons, the Rutterkin are total outcasts, exiles among the deranged ranks of the Tanar'ri. They are utterly despised by all Demons, regarded as pitiful weaklings, and granted lower status than even the weaker Manes and Dretches. So deeply did the Rutterkins hate their position that they wander the Plane of Demons as loners, rampaging in areas of the Plane of Demons unclaimed by most powerful Demons. There are only a few exceptions to this general rule. Chasmes that try to carve out territories as minor lords take on Rutterkin servants, but even then, the flying Demons only treated them as allies because they found Rutterkins easy to dominate and rule over besides that they otherwise ignore them. Armanties, despite their general hatred of lesser Tanar'ri, infrequently took them on as servants, smithies, groomers, and auxiliary riders. Even in matters of warfare, the Rutterkins are treated as lesser beings. While many demonic armies use the Rutterkin as basic foot soldiers, putting them under the bullying control of Bulezau or Armanite captains.

However, despite hating their kin, the Rutterkin unwittingly end up serving them as guards for their home plane against non-Demons. They are constantly searching the Plane of Demons looking for those that they can prey upon and viciously savaged any unwelcome intruders, and though usually far too weak to stop these beings, they typically try to summon reinforcements, this alerting other Demons of the presence of trespassers. When not gathered into a standing army, the Rutterkin's most often group together in gangs of at least three and at most twelve. By no means did they do this searching for compassion or to offer sympathy; they heckled, belittled, and beat up each other as well. The Rutterkins recognize they are near the bottom of the pecking order, and ganging up allows them to return the favour for their abuse on beings stronger than them such as lone Vrocks or Hezrous. They are only restricting themselves to Manes and Dretches normally out of self-preservation, but any feeble or greatly wounded Tanar'ri they believe could not hurt them back too badly is fair game to them.

Ecology

Rutterkins come into being when the foul, chaotic energies of the Plane of Demons mutate other creatures. They are also known to spontaneously emerge from the corpses of dead Manes. Rutterkins can spread the plague of their cancerous existence by bite, with those who succumb to something known as the Warping Plague. Those infected will go through an excruciating process as their body contorted, until they become Abyssal Wretches, bereft of their former identities, and left to join the rest of their kind following the wake or Rutterkin destruction. Outside of some form of magical intervention, there is a way of Rutterkins to claw their way out of their wretched state. By expressing their anguish through distinguishing brutality and a thirst for destruction that rose above the norm, Rutterkins can tap into the chaotic essence of the Plane of Demons and transform into a new, more powerful kind of Demon. 

Demon Lords can make Rutterkins from raw Manes in a process so unholy and disgusting that blindness can be considered as a positive alternative, doing so with intent to create a slightly more powerful breed of soldier that could be easily kept under control. They also use it against powerful Demons as a method of demotion in situations where killing the subject could be considered merciful. The Obyrith Demonkin known as Sibriexes can channel Abyssal power to create Demons from other creatures, causing them to be able to create entire armies of Rutterkins within a few days, and Nalfeshnees made them from the souls of the evil but incompetent and arrogant to teach them humility through humiliation. Another way of becoming a Rutterkin is to start as a Dretch and then rise above others in the pack. Regardless of how a Rutterkin is made, becoming what it is did not stop the endless pain just because the transformation is complete, for indeed it never truly ended. Their corrupted forms continue to mutate without warning leaving them in constant, shrieking pain. Even if they made to become a different kind of Demon afterwards, one that became a Rutterkin never truly recovered, and will resort to anything to keep their grip on power.

In-Game Stats

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes

Rutterkin CR: 2

Medium fiend (demon), chaotic evil

Armor Class: 12 (Natural Armor)

Hit Points: 37 (5d8 + 15)

Speed: 20 ft

STR

14 +2

DEX

15 +2

CON

17 +3

INT

5 -3

WIS

12 +1

CHA

6 -2

Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire, Lightning

Damage Immunities: Poison

Condition Immunities: Poisoned

Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 11

Languages: Understands Abyssal but can't speak

Challenge Rating: 2

Crippling Fear: When a creature that isn’t a demon starts its turn within 30 feet of three or more rutterkins, it must make a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw. The creature has disadvantage on the save if it’s within 30 feet of six or more rutterkins. On a successful save, the creature is immune to the Crippling Fear of all rutterkins for 24 hours. On a failed save, the creature becomes frightened for 1 minute. While frightened in this way, the creature is restrained. At the end of each of the frightened creature’s turns, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Actions

Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (3d6 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw against disease or become poisoned. At the end of each long rest, the poisoned target can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target is reduced to 0 hit points while poisoned in this way, it dies and instantly transforms into a living abyssal wretch. The transformation of the body can be undone only by a wish spell.

Scientific Name

Tanar'ri Demon

Geographic Distribution

• The Plane of Demons