Succubus

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This article or section is about Monstergirls (or a monster that is frequently depicted as a Monstergirl), something that /tg/ widely considers to be the purest form of awesome. Expect PROMOTIONS! and /d/elight in equal measure, often with drawfaggotry or writefaggotry to match.

"Hello, dinner--er, lover."

This article is about the creature. For the Dark Eldar unit, see Succubi.

Succubi are one of the oldest forms of monstergirls in Western culture, being that they are naughty she-demons who visit people in the middle of the night to have sex with them. They began in medieval Christian tradition as an explanation for morning wood, wet dreams and, most of all, incovenient pregnancies (courtesy of their male equivalents, incubi - said in some lore to actually be succubi shapeshifted into male forms after they harvested semen by having sex with some man), and have developed from there.

Common attributes; really horny and/or very good at sex (or just psychopathically faking it to manipulate victims, depending on the particular lore and/or GM you're working with), and shapeshifting. Many modern portrayals portray them as able to weaken or even kill people with a touch/by kissing them/by having sex with them, since they're supposed to be scary demons and "sexy woman who willingly jumps your bones in the middle of the night" isn't as scary now as it was back then, what with whole "sex is sinful" stuff relegated to the few fundie nutjobs. Of course the fear likely comes from the fact succubi are supposedly horribly fugly, wrinkly crone-things. Succubi are also the go-to "demonic monstergirls" of the modern era; since they're supposed to be all about sexing people anyway, it's not that big of a jump, and succubi are probably, due to the fuckhueg cockmongling degeneracy of humanity these days (as opposed to when the raeping of an upstanding man by an infernally hot demon chick was considered a curse), the most likely candidates you'll see for "good" demon type characters (for example, lawful good succubus paladin Eludecia or Fall-From-Grace).

Daemonettes are one of the more fucked-up incarnations of succubi in modern culture, being not only sex-crazed she-demons, but also soul-eating monsters AND sadomasochistic psychopathic killers, so they love to mix sex and violence in ways that they really, really shouldn't be mixed.

For the male equivalent of the species, see Incubus.

Succubi in D&D

Naturally, in Dungeons & Dragons, succubi have been around since the beginning.

Originally, they were classified as Demons, on their basis of being all about tempting mortals into sins of passion. Since these were the days of alignment-based grid-filling, naturally, they got a Devil counterpart, the Erinyes. They also had a half-fiend offspring unique to them; the female Alu-Fiends, who served as contrast to the always-male, tanari'ri-fathered cambions, though after 2e "cambion" became a more general term for a half-fiend in general.

In 4e, Demons and Devils were separated from their former alignment-based nature. Demons became elemental forces of destruction and madness, whilst Devils became corruptors and soul-harvesting manipulators. For this reason, the succubus moved over to the Devil side, since "seduces mortals into giving up their souls" is closer to the devils' schtick than it is the demons' "destroy everything, drive people insane, let the multiverse burn!" The Erinyes remained in this edition, and was still a devil, but became a ruthlessly disciplined warrior-bitch instead of a seductress, which is fitting since their name comes from the Greek spirits called the Furies who were divine punishment for particularly nasty shit. A dedicated "Ecology of the Succubus" article in Dragon Magazine #417, prefaced "Fallen Angels", explained that the World Axis version of the succubus originated as Angels of Love. These Angels were damned by a combination of reverence for Asmodeus and a deep yearning to be free to spread love as they saw fit, rather than coaxing and manipulating love and passion only as the gods themselves commanded, and when their well-intentioned revolt was punished, their feelings of desire were corrupted into a deep, yawning void in their underwear souls - hence the infamous draining succ kiss of the succubus.

In 5e, succubi got separated from the Demon/Devil divide entirely. They're now a Neutral Evil race of soul-harvesting hedonists who can be found throughout the Lower Planes, happily living alongside demons, devils, yugoloths, rakshasas or whatever so long as they get to keep getting their rocks off; they are not demons anymore, they are not devils anymore, they are simply non-specific Fiends. Given their alignment-free nature they've become something of a counterpart to the angels employed by various Good deities. Eirenyes remain Devil warrior-bitches, which as mentioned above is more in line with their mythological basis.

Whether or not their classic male counterparts the Incubus were a thing varies from edition to edition, and even sourcebook to sourcebook. Incubi have variously been described as either "exactly like succubi, but male instead of female", "there are no incubi, there are just succubi who prefer to wear male bodies", or "they're an entirely separate species of demon/devil/whatever".

For example, in 3.5 and Pathfinder, succubi who had male identities and preferred male forms existed, but there were also "true" incubi, who were a separate species and described as basically psycho-rapists, since "of course" a fiendish incarnation of male sexuality will be all about forcing itself on others.

In 4th edition, incubi are succubi who followed Graz'zt to the Abyss and were corrupted into demons; they're still charmers and manipulators, and in fact this is the one incubus in D&D that isn't about straight up rape, but instead charms and manipulates a victim before killing them, just like a common succubus. 4e incubi are master shapeshifters, capable of becoming a humanoid, a beast, or a self-aware dream as they see fit. They use their dream-form to infiltrate the minds of slumbering victims, tempting and manipulating them, coaxing them into the arms of their humanoid forms, all the while assuming beast form to hunt, terrorize and slaughter freely elsewhere. They serve Graz'zt as scouts, assassins and other agents of disrupting, building clusters of broken-souled, lust-addled victims who will do anything for their master's Wand of Wonder embrace... and are ultimately consumed when the incubus' hunger for China blood and souls is piqued by their corruption.

In 5e, succubi and incubi are exactly the same, being simply different names for two sexes of the same fiendish race, due to their shape shifting nature making a given one able to shift between the two as they please. They're also neither demon nor devil, instead being non-specific fiends who can be found throughout the lower planes.

In 3.5, there is a specialized species of "upgraded" succubi called the lilitu, and they have their own Demon Queen, Malcanthet. The distinguishing feature of lilitu is that their wings are replaced by four stinger-tipped tentacles.

Playing Succubi?

Although many DMs consider succubi to be amongst the most inherently redeemable of fiends - in an age of Monstergirls and growing up on stories where love redeems, it's not hard to imagine a succubus who doesn't want to hurt her lovers - actually playing them tends to be a no-no. After all, in addition to the long litany of standard powers & resistances that come from being fiends, succubi have powerful level draining and enchantment abilities. Nothing honks a DM off more than a player having an unlimited supply of charm persons. Nonetheless, this did not stop Savage Species from turning them into a goddamn playable monster class, nor did it stop 3.5e from giving them a level adjustment of +6 for easy conversion into a playable race, and of course Planescape: Torment allowed a succubus party member.

Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil, Tanar’ri)

Hit Dice: 6d8

Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 50 ft. (average)

Natural armor: +9

Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+7

Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d6+1)

Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d6+1)

Special Attacks: Energy drain, spell-like abilities, summon tanar’ri

Spell-Like Abilities: At-will: charm monster (DC 22), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 20), ethereal jaunt (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), polymorph (humanoid form only, no limit on duration), suggestion (DC 21), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). Caster level 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.

Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity and poison, resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft., tongues

Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +7

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 26

Skills:

Bluff +19 (9 levels, +8 cha bonus, +2 from Persuasive)

Concentration +10 (9 levels, +1 con bonus)

Diplomacy +12 (4 levels, +8 cha bonus)

Disguise +17 (9 levels, +8 cha bonus)

Escape Artist +10 (9 levels, +1 dex bonus)

Hide +10 (9 levels, +1 dex bonus)

Intimidate +19 (9 levels, +8 cha bonus, +2 from Persuasive)

Knowledge (any one) +12 (9 levels, +3 int bonus)

Listen +19 (9 levels, +2 wis bonus, +8 racial bonus)

Move Silently +10 (9 levels, +1 dex bonus)

Search +12 (9 levels, +3 int bonus)

Spot +19 (9 levels, +2 wis bonus, +8 racial bonus)

Survival +2 (0 levels, +2 wis bonus) (+4 if following tracks due to having 5 or more levels in Search)

Use Rope +1 (0 levels, +1 dex bonus) (+3 if binding someone due to having 5 or more levels in Escape Artist)

Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Persuasive

Level Adjustment: +6

If a starting ECL of 12 plus class levels is too high for you, then you can play a refluffed tiefling or a Counts as tiefling, taking the bard or enchanter class to emphasize your innate mind-whammying mojo and excusing the discrepancy as "you lost most of your fiendish powers when you chose to rise from the pit".

In fairness, that's actually really viable in 5e; tieflings have a +2 to Charisma anyway, and the racial alternative feature "Devil's Tongue" lets you swap out your fiery SLAs for enchantment ones. Pick up the SCAG for the Winged Tiefling variant, and you're good to go.

That said, if one of your players actually asks to play a succubus then it may be worth doing a background check on them first...

Gallery

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  Original D&D

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  AD&D Monster Card

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  2e

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  2e, from Planescape.

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  TWINS THEY WERE (4e)

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  5e

Pathfinder

Succubi have been made noticeably beefier in a straight fight. Rather than a 30% chance of summoning a Vrock, they have a 50% chance of summoning a Babau. They also got a powerful new ability known as Profane Gift, which can gift a willing humanoid a +2 profane bonus to any ability score and permanent telepathy between the Succubus and gifted, but causing 2d6 charisma drain if the Succubus revokes it. Their SLAs have been nerfed a bit, trading for at-will dominate monster for once a day dominate person. Pathfinder also has succubus-like erodaemons, which in their true form have horns, pale blue skin, and third eyes.

As of 2nd Edition, Succubi do not take rejection well. Literally. They take 2d6 mental damage if their seduction attempts fail, and can take further damage if the one who spurned them continues to drive home how uninterested they are.

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Playing Succubi

Dreamscarred Press's Monster Class update introduced a Succubus class in Pinnacle and Pit.

Gallery

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  She's technically a Kyton, but, come on, you can see the appeal to the BDSM crowd, right?

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  How to avoid getting raped in your sleep by a succubus.

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  The succubi of Exalted are... different.

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  A succubus who knows how to get attention.

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  Genuine threat or typical elvish haughtiness? YOU decide!

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  Ditto.

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MGE

Given that the entire premise of the Monster Girl Encyclopedia is that it's a world where a succubus became the god-queen of all monsterdom and decided to turn all her subjects into monstergirls to share her love for human boytoys, you better believe that the succubus is well and truly represented. The succubus profile has undergone six different revisions so far, and there's a whopping twenty-one different monstergirls considered to be part of the succubus family, not all of which are Demon typed.

• Alice: A loli succubus native to Wonderland, whose mind is clouded to keep her perpetually innocent of what sex is.
• Alp: A gay man who was exposed to monster magic, transforming him into a tomboyish reverse-trap succubus.
• Amazoness: A tribe of human barbarians now turned into musclegirl warrior-women succubi.
• Banshee: A constantly crying monstergirl whose tears have the ability to bring back the recently deceased as an undead.
• Dark Elf: A brown-skinned elf who has fully embraced corruption, becoming an incestuous BDSM-freak.
• Dark Priest: A succubus cleric who tries to tempt people into embracing her philosophy of endless sexual pleasure by becoming either monsters or the spouses of monsters.
• Demon: A more manipulative and domineering breed of succubus, marked by her bluish-purple skin. Be wary of a contract with her actually being a marriage contract.
• Dhampir: A "half-vampire", born of the union between a vampire and a non-corrupted human man. They lack the arrogant tsundere attitude of their vampire mothers, and find it offensive, seeking to prick their egos wherever possible, and will often aim to bully vampires until they drop the haughty arrogance and treat their husbands better.
• Dwarf: Once a demihuman race, now converted almost entirely into toddler-like loli succubi.
• Elf: A demihuman race trying to resist being converted into their own strain of succubi.
• Fairy: Small, winged elves who have been corrupted into a succubus-like mentality.
• Kejourou: A Zipangu succubus strain distinguished by its masses of long, luscious, prehensile hair. Based upon an actual yokai.
• Kunoichi: A clan of succubi Ninjas from Zipangu. Smaller, hidable wings. No horns.
• Leanan Sidhe: Fairy subspecies. A fairy artist that inspires great artistic talents in those she takes a liking to. When corrupted, becomes very lewd and fixated on creating lewd artistic endeavors.
• Lesser Succubi: Human women who have succumbed to demonic corruption and became a weaker version of the succubus, once they've taken in enough spirit-energy (semen), they will transform into full-fledged succubi.
• Lilim: Succubi who are the biological daughters of the demon-lord herself. Extremely powerful even among succubi, and considering how high-powered succubi are in the setting, Lilim are almost (and often are) Mary Sues when it comes to their power level. Lilim are essentially monstergirl royalty and often serve as such. All of them share their mother's white hair, white horns, white tail, pale skin, and red eyes.
• Nereid: Sea Nymphs that have essentially become an aquatic succubus strain.
• Night Gaunt: A succubus inspired by the faceless winged demon made by H.P. Lovecraft. Covered in a latex-like goo that she controls. Their husbands can turn into a winged demon-like creature that then attaches to her back, serving as her wings and molesting her at his leisure.
• Titania: The "queen of all fairies", a majestic and magical elf-like being who has become as corrupt as her underlings.
• Vampire: Arrogant, blood-drinking undead succubi.

True Succubi Mamono

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  The standard Succubus.

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  What happens to women who fall victim to the attentions of succubi.

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  Uber-tier succubus.

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  The Japanese-obligatory loli succubus.

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  The reverse-trap succubus.

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  The amazon musclegirl succubus.

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  A succubus cleric.

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  A more aggressive breed of succubus.

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  A succubus ninja

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  An aquatic succubus.

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  It's hard to get a good look at, but the wings, tail and tentacles belong to her husband.

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  Vampires in the MGE World are basically succubi with a bloodplay kink.

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  Dhampirs are the half-human daughters of vampires who think their moms really need to get over themseves.

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  The enigmatic, seductive kejourou uses her prehensile hair in many surprising and perversely useful ways.

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  A crying succubus whose sobbing literally wakes the dead.

Succubus-Corrupted Mamono

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  Succubized dwarves look like toddlers. Damn you Japan!

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  Succubized elves struggle to retain control of themselves.

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  Elves who embrace their succubization end up becoming scarily sexual.

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  Fairies are so innocent, they don't even realize what they've become.

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  Fairy muses fail to realize the meaning behind their new obsession with erotic artwork.

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  Even the fairy queens aren't untouched by the corruptive power of the succubi.