Lemure [Baatezu]

A lemure is a mound of molten-looking flesh with a rough torso and head, its face slumped into a permanent mask of anguish. Some keep a faint echo of mortal life, a feature, a twitch, or a scrap of clothing, but these fade over time. Lemures have no minds and cannot communicate.

Unless ordered otherwise, they attack anything that is not a baatezu and never check morale. Each claws for 1d3, but their power lies in waves of dozens that wear foes down or die trying. They are immune to mind-affecting magic like charm person and illusions, yet have no spell-like powers. A lemure regenerates 1 hp per round, and any fragment, even ash, regrows into a whole creature; only holy water, a holy sword, or another holy item ends one for good.

When winning matters more than losses, commanders form a battle drive, a wedge of 1,000 or more lemures that trudges mindlessly forward on command. Cut down by the dozen, the survivors fight on at +2 to hit, and sheer mass usually prevails despite 70 to 90% casualties.

Endlessly tormented and utterly insignificant, lemures roam the first two layers of the Nine Hells in huge hordes, avoiding other devils and assailing intruders. Sages think their numbers are infinite.

Now and then one is picked at random to become a spike devil. For sport, overseers may pick several and force a fight to the death; the winner is promoted or slaughtered depending on how entertaining it was. Some lemures are turned into wraiths or spectres instead.