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Abishai (ˈæbᵻʃaɪ ABi-shy[1]) are a fictional species of devils (baatezu).
Description[]
The abishai are a subgroup of baatezu created through the joint efforts of Tiamat and Pearza of the Dark Eight. They are humanoid creatures that resemble gargoyles or humanoid dragons. There are five kinds, easily distinguishable by color (black, blue, green, red, and white). Most abishai are servitors of the dragon goddess Tiamat. They are the scouts, torturers, and wardens of the first two layers of the Nine Hells (Baator).
Ranked in power, the red abishai are the most powerful, followed by the blue, green, black, and white.
Publication history[]
The abishai were first introduced in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition article "From the Sorcerer's Scroll: New Denizens of Devildom" by Gary Gygax in Dragon #75 (Jul 1983); the article detailed the black, blue, green, red, and white variants as species of lesser devil.[2] The abishai later appeared in the Monster Manual II (1e) (1983).
The black, green, and red abishai were re-categorized as lesser baatezu in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition in the MC8 Monstrous Compendium: Outer Planes Appendix (1991) and next appear in the Monstrous Manual (1993). The same three variants are detailed as lesser baatezu for the Planescape setting in the Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994).
The black, blue, green, red, and white abishai appear in Dungeons & Dragons 3rd editionb for the Forgotten Realms setting in Monsters of Faerûn (2001). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (2006) includes the black, blue, green, red, and white abishai.