Shax

Shax

(Deity)

Titles

The Blood Marquis,
Demon Lord of Lies and Murder

Realm

Charnelhome, Outer Rifts

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Areas of Concern

Envy
Lies
Murder

Worshipers

Babaus, chokers, deros, drow, apathetic young nobles, evil nobles, psychopaths (such as insane surgeons and serial killers), torturers

Edicts

Plot and commit murders, lie, torture

Anathema

Sleep in a home with fewer than five rooms, allow a victim to escape due to gloating

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Nobility✝

Subdomains (1E)

Demon, Leadership, Martyr, Rage

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Ambition, death, pain, trickery

Favored Weapon

Dagger

Symbol

White bloody feather

Sacred Animal

Stork

Sacred Colors

Red, white

Images of Shax

Source: Book of the Damned, pg(s). 88–89 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 77, 126–127 (2E)

Shax

(Creature)

Type

Outsider
(chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)

CR

28

Environment

Charnelhome, Outer Rifts

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Source: Sword of Valor, pg(s). 84–85

The demon lord Shax (pronounced SHAX) revels in acts of sadistic torture, cruelty, and bloody murder.

Background

Religious symbol

Shax's religious symbol features a pool of blood with a curved white feather in it.

Home

Shax is said to dwell in the Abyssal realm of Charnelhome, which appears as a series of endless rooms each filled with horrific torture implements.

Appearance

Shax has a statuesque human torso and is always bedecked with knives, razors, and other bloody implements of torture. Shax's most abnormal feature is the dove's head that sits atop his muscular neck. Shax has the unnervingly dark emotionless eyes of a psychopath and has a blood-covered beak that he uses to eat the eyes of his still-living victims: a particularly favourite activity. Shax's legs are also bird-like, giving him a strange hybrid appearance.

Cult and worshipers

Shax has no organised church thanks to the deranged nature of most of his worshipers: his cultists are generally lone, deranged killers or warmongers seeking luck and glory in their deeds. Some of these monstrous sadists are not insane loners, but the corrupted scions of decadent noble houses led through hedonism and cruelty to kidnap the poor and unfortunate and exact Shax's bloody will upon them. Notable cultists of Shax include the Marquis and Marquess Cosymnos, minor Taldan nobles.

In addition to lone, surface-dwelling psychopaths, Shax is also worshiped by the drow of House Vexidyre in the depths of the Darklands who serve as deadly controllers of Zirnakaynin's markets. He is also worshiped there by chokers and deros. The marilith Varmirhias, who dwells within Zirnakaynin, is known as the "Daughter of Shax", but it is not clear if she is actually related to the demon lord.

Shax is worshiped by his creations, the babau demons, whom he still creates. Shax makes particularly powerful ones by flaying still living victims before the final Abyssal transformation. He is also venerated by some shadow demons, and is served on Golarion by a band of them that controls a tribe of Kellid barbarians in Frostmire's Sabertooth Vale in the Worldwound.

Some mohrgs that revel in torturing still-living victims choose to worship Shax instead of Urgathoa.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

External links

• Shax (real-world demon) on Wikipedia