| Ravanna, the greatest rakshasa | Rakshasa Knight | Rakshasa Lord | Ravanna (DDG entry) | Author's Note |
| Bibliography | - | - | - | Editor's Note |
| Dragon magazine | MM | - | Dragon #84 | 1st Edition AD&D |
Of all the monsters in the
mythology of
India,
the rakshasas are probably the most
famous. The origin of these spirit-monsters
is shrouded in mystery and contradiction.
One of many legends tells that rakshasas
are
descendants of the god Brahma (as are all
evil, demon-like beings of Indian myth).
Another lejend says that rakshasas descended
from a wife of Kashyapa, a mythic
folk-being. Yet a
3rd story offers the most
describing rakshasas
sage Pulastya, a
son of
popular explanation,
as the children of
the
Brahma.
In Indian myth, 3 varieties of rakshasas
visit the earth. The 1st is a haunting
spirit that inhabits graveyards, curses
weddings,
and kills little children and infants.
These rakshasas can enter the mouth of
a
human while he eats and drive him insane.
In the myths, they serve as scapegoats
for
human maladies. In addition, they are said
to have minor powers, such as the ability
to
animate the dead. Mustard or fire repels
these rakshasas. They resemble many European
folk-spirits, and are probably the
earliest incarnations of rakshasas in myth.
The second variety of rakshasa is that of
a
monster, an adversary that a hero must
overcome on the road to greatness. (The
word ?rakshasa? translates as the phrase
?to be guarded against.?) Just as a hero
in
Northern European myth kills a troll in
his
youth as a sign of his future greatness,
a
hero in Vedic/Indian myth will kill a rakshasa.
These rakshasas do not provide the
struggle that marks the pinnacle of a hero?s
career, but they are very dangerous foes.
This second variety of rakshasa is known
for
its deviousness, and it is capable of assuming
different forms with which to deceive its
victims.
The usual form is that of the creature
most trusted by the victim. These are the
rakshasas
of the AD&D
Game world.
The third variety of rakshasa is by far
the
most powerful. These rakshasas are similar
to the titans of Greek mythology, or the
Giant Lords of Norse myth; they are the
foes of the gods, capable of battling with
and defeating the most powerful of deities.
By far the most prominent of these
rakshasa-gods is Ravanna, the villain of
the
Sanskrit epic the Ramayana.
Rakshasas are almost exclusively associated
with evil. Whether they tend toward
law or chaos, however, is subject to contradictory
report. In some stories, where the
sanctity of law is the dominant theme,
rakshasas behave in a lawful manner, so
those who disobey the law appear to be
even
worse than a rakshasa. In other tales,
which
emphasize the villainy of these spirits,
rakshasas
demonstrate a more chaotic nature.
But even at their most perfidious, rakshasas
seem to follow a lawful system of rule.
Rakshasas take on no uniform physical
appearance. Lejend usually describes them
as deformed and monstrous-looking. Rakshasa
women (called rakshasi) were considered
particularly hideous, though rakshasas
would undoubtedly object to this description
as mere human propaganda. (Beauty,
after all, is in the eye of the beholder.)
It is said that rakshasas dwell in the underworld,
in a particularly gloomy and
dismal place called Patalam. In the AD&D
Game, this would suggest Acheron as the
most likely plane of origin for these creatures,
and I have placed them there in my
campaign. Some say rakshasas only appear
at night, but it is unclear whether this
restriction
applies only to the 1st variety or
to all of these beings. (Editor's
note: in
AD&D game worlds, rakshasas
may appear
in the day or night without restriction.)
Ravanna, the greatest rakshasa
In Indian mythology, the most powerful
of all rakshasas was Ravanna, the King of
Lanka (Ceylon). Ravanna had ten heads,
and in performance of the pious ritual
known as tapas, he began sacrificing one
head every thousand years. Through tapas,
those who are worthy can gain great favors
from the gods. After ten thousand years,
Ravanna was about to cut off his last head
when Brahma finally appeared and agreed
to grant Ravanna a wish. Ravanna desired
that no god or demonic being should have
the capacity to harm him. Unfortunately,
Brahma could not refuse to grant Ravanna
?s request. Brahma asked Ravanna about
protection from men or beasts, but to this
Ravanna replied: ?Men! I don?t need to
perform a tapas to protect myself from
them!? By his own words, Ravanna had
sealed his doom.
Ravanna used his new invulnerability to
cause great misery. He started many wars
on earth, and SLEW many great warriors. At
every opportunity, he humiliated the gods.
Finally, the deities could tolerate Ravanna's
actions no longer. Vishnu, the
Preserver,
created several avatars
(earthly manifestations;
see the DEITIES & DEMIGODS
Cyclopedia)
of himself to battle the
rakshasa-god -- Ravanna's protection
against harm did not extend to harm cuased
by these mortal representatives of the deity.
The greatest of these avatars was called
Rama.
Ravanna had a sister called Soorpanakha.
She attempted to seduce Rama,
and the angry prince mortally wounded her.
Before her death, Soorpanakha returned to
her brother?s court and demanded that he
avenge her. Ravanna did so by kidnapping
Rama?s beloved wife, Sita. This act incited
a great war between Rama and Ravanna;
their armies included many avatars of
Vishnu and the finest warriors of rakshasadom.
After many grim and bloody battles,
Rama slew Ravanna, and the gods rejoiced.
(The reader is referred to R. K. Narayan?s
Gods, Demons, and Others for a fuller
account of this tale.)
In Indian mythos, Ravanna was the ideal
rakshasa ? the rakshasa king. All other
rakshasas worshiped and obeyed him loyally
as the champion of their race. In my campaign,
Ravanna descended to Acheron after
his Prime Material form was slain by
Rama. There, Ravanna still rules ? but,
shamed by his defeat, he refuses to leave
that plane.
Ravanna supports rakshasas on the
Prime Material Plane through two kinds of
agents: rakshasa knights and rakshasa lords.
Rakshasa knights were the vanguard of
Ravanna’s armies during the war against
Rama, and they continue to provide offensive
support for rakshasa causes. The lords
lead the rakshasa communities and serve as
Ravanna’s priests. Ravanna is accorded
deity status in my campaign, but no human
or other non-rakshasa may worship him.
RAKSHASA KNIGHT
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -6
MOVE: 18”
HIT DICE: 9 + 18
% IN LAIR: 15%
TREASURE TYPE: F
NO. OF ATTACKS: 5
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-7(x4)/7-16(3d4+4)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: Very
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII / 3450 +
14/h.p.
Rakshasa knights are warriors who defend
the causes espoused by rakshasas.
Swift and powerful, they attack 5 times per
round (2 strikes with each claw, 1 bite).
Like ordinary rakshasas, rakshasa knights
have inherent powers of ESP and create
illusion (the latter allows them to assume
any form). In addition, rakshasa knights are
(like ordinary rakshasas) not affected by
spells less powerful than the 8th level. But
unlike their ordinary counterparts, they
cannot cast cleric or magic-user spells. A
rakshasa knight cannot be hit by anything
less than a +2 weapon, and a knight takes
half damage from weapons below +4. A hit
from a blessed crossbow bolt, however, will
kill a rakshasa knight if the bolt was first
blessed by a good cleric of 5th level or
higher. <Ceremony: Consecrate Item?>
Rakshasa knights despise paladins. Their
deity, Ravanna, was defeated by a paladin
(Rama), and they are charged to avenge
this defeat. Rakshasa knights can recognize
paladins on sight, and they attack at +1 to
hit them, also inflicting +2 hit points damage
per attack. Outside his lair, a rakshasa
knight is found only in the company of a
rakshasa lord; a knight within his lair is
usually accompanied (90% chance) by 1-4
female rakshasas.
RAKSHASA LORD
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -5
MOVE: 18”
HIT DICE: 8 + 16
% IN LAIR: 45%
TREASURE TYPE: B,F
NO. OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5/2-5/2-7(+2)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
INTELLIGENCE: High
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII / 2600 +
12/h.p.
Rakshasa lords serve as priests and lead
the rakshasa community on the Prime
Material Plane. Like all other rakshasas,
they are immune to spells below the 8th
level and have the usual create illusion and
ESP abilities. In addition, rakshasa lords
have the spell capabilities of a 5th-level
cleric, a 5th-level magic-user, and a 7thlevel
illusionist. They may generate an
improved phantasmal force at will, once per
round. A +2 weapon is required to harm a
rakshasa lord; magical weapons below +4 do
half damage, but a hit from a crossbow bolt
that was blessed by a good cleric of 8th level
or higher will kill a lord. A rakshasa lord, if
encountered outside his lair, may be accompanied
(70% chance) by 1-3 ordinary male
rakshasas, and perhaps also (55% chance)
by 1 rakshasa knight. If encountered within
his lair, a lord may be accompanied (80%
chance) by 1-4 female rakshasas.
RAVANNA (King of Rakshasas)
Lesser god
ARMOR CLASS: -8
MOVE: 18“ (96 “ with chariot)
HIT POINTS: 366
NO. OF ATTACKS: 10
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-20 (+12
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below
SIZE: Variable, but always L
ALIGNMENT Lawful evil
WORSHIPERS’ ALIGNMENT: Lawful
strength bonus)
evil (rakshasas only)
SYMBOL: n/a
PLANE: Acheron (formerly Prime
Material)
CLERIC/DRUID: 14th level cleric
FIGHTER: 25th level fighter
MAGIC-USER/ILLUSIONIST: 16th level
magic-user/25th level illusionist
THIEF/ASSASSIN: Nil
MONK/BARD: Nil
PSIONIC ABILITY: VI
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
S:24 (+6, +12) I:22 W15 D:25
C:25 Ch:-6 (24 to rakshasas)
Ravanna, the ten-headed rakshasa king,
is the quintessence of rakshasadom. He is
gifted with invulnerability to gods, demons,
and elementals; only non-deities from the
Prime Material Plane can harm him. In
battle, Ravanna wields magic javelins that
each inflict 2-20 points of damage plus his
strength bonus. A +3 weapon — wielded by
an “eligible” adversary — is required to
harm Ravanna, and any weapon below +6
only does half damage. Ravanna is immune
to the special effects of a vorpal weapon or a
sword of sharpness, but a magical crossbow
bolt of +4 or better, if blessed by a High
Priest of Vishnu (or any lawful good deity)
and fired by a mortal being who is native to
the Prime Material Plane, inflicts 1-100 hit
points of damage upon the rakshasa king.
Ravanna is a master of illusionist magic
(called yama) and can create a spectral force
once per round at will. Only those with an
intelligence of 24 or higher are automatically
immune to the effects of this spectral
force. All viewers not immune to Ravanna’s
illusions must save against them at -5. No
magic spell below 9th level will affect
Ravanna. In battle, he uses the Chariot of
Pushka, which moves at 96” and allows its
rider three wishes per day.
Ravanna, remembering the humiliation
of his defeat by Rama, refuses to leave
Acheron. Rakshasa lords are the workers of
his policy on the Prime Material <Dimension>.
The
goals of Ravanna and the lords are: first, to
ensure that the rakshasa race thrives on the
Prime Material Plane, continuing to grow
in population and influence; second, to gain
power over humans and other dominant
races; and third (for the lords), to pay continued
homage to Ravanna. To achieve this
last goal, priests of Ravanna kidnap and
slay women (symbolic of Ravanna?s abduction
of Sita). These kidnappings take place
irregularly, but always on the night of a new
moon, when rakshasas are at their most
powerful. During that night, rakshasas take
-1 per die of damage inflicted upon them,
and the appropriately blessed crossbow bolt
?only? inflicts triple damage instead of
killing them. Ravanna requires his worshipers
to be devious and cunning, but to
act bravely in the face of battle. When he
desires, Ravanna may also send rakshasas
to the Astral Plane to waylay travelers
there, or for other purposes known only to
himself.
* * * *
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Although I was skeptical about the accuracy
of the AD&D game version of rakshasas
when I began my research, I soon found
it is a fairly good adaptation. My only
complaints are that a rakshasa?s magical
ability (immunity to spells) is a trifle high,
and the damage per attack is too low; rakshasas
were renowned as fierce and deadly
warriors. To compensate for those ?flaws,? I
created the elite rakshasa knight to give the
species some firepower in battle.
Many people have another problem with
the AD&D game version: Rakshasas
are
commonly referred to as "demons" in
myth, but the Monster Manual
lists their
alignment as LE, while demons are CE.
However, this complaint is based on a fallacy.
Rakshasas are considered
to be one member of a class of creatures
called asuras, a word that scholars translate
as ?demon.? But in this case, ?demon?
refers to any creature from the lower (evil)
planes, not just those that exhibit chaotic
evil tendencies.
Perhaps the greatest misconception about
rakshasas is the nature of their illusion
powers. While rakshasas are indeed ?masters
of illusion,? the area of effect that an
ordinary rakshasa can alter by using
its power is strictly limited: It can change its
own appearance to assume any form for as
often and as long as it desires, but it
cannot create a phantasmal force at will.
This is not meant to belittle their powers;
rakshasas are exceptionally good at shapechanging,
and the greater the rakshasa, the
greater this ability.
In closing, I must acknowledge a great
debt to Dan Ziolkowski. Without his inspiration
(especially regarding the rakshasa
lord), I couldn?t have written this article. As
Dan?s campaign demonstrated, rakshasas
can be one of humanity?s greatest adversaries
in AD&D gaming.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Robert Bablick, C. A. Jones, and Betty
Radice (Ed.), Hindu Myths, Penguin,
Middlesex, 1975.
Cornelia Dimett and J. A. B. Van-
Buitenen, Classical Hindu Mythology,
Temple University Press, 1978.
R. K. Narayan, Gods, Demons, and
Others, Viking Press, New York, 1967.
Amanda K. Coomaraswamy and Nivedita,
Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists,
George C. Harrap and Co., London, 1926.
Margaret and James Sutley, A Dictionary
of Hinduism, Routledge & Kegan Paul,
London and Henley, 1977.
James M. Ward, Robert J. Kuntz, and
Lawrence Schick (Ed.), The Deities
&
Demigods? Cyclopedia,
TSR Hobbies,
Inc., Lake Geneva, 1980.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Normal rakshasas (the ones described
in
the Monster Manual) can
cast 3rd-level
magic-user spells and 1st-level cleric spells.
To determine the number of spells they can
carry, consider them 6th-level magic-users
and 2nd-level clerics. The effect of their
spells will be the same as for spells cast by a
7th-level caster, since they are 7 HD monsters.
They are considered to be creatures
from an outer plane, just as demons and
devils are. In this article, Acheron is named
as their plane of origin.
Should there be any confusion about their
illusion ability, consider this: The ESP and
create illusion powers of a rakshasa are
inherent abilities ? these creatures can do
these things at will. The illusion is complete,
addressing all five senses, not just
vision. And the illusion only changes the
appearance of the rakshasa; it does not
create an image apart from the creature.
Spell-casting abilities are totally separate
from these inherent abilities. Rakshasas can
exercise their ESP and create illusion abilities
simultaneously but can do neither while
casting a spell.
Other versions of the myths described in
this article do exist; don?t be surprised if, in
a different source, you read something a
little different from the stories above. As an
example, see the artwork at the start of this
article; it was ?drawn? from a source different
from the books the author used for the
story.
APRIL 1984
OUT ON A LIMB
-
Rakshasa ruling
-
Dear Dragon,
I was very pleased with "Never the same thing
twice" in issue #84. However, there is one thing
that troubles me.
When describing a rakshasa knight, the author
said that rakshasa knights despise paladins and
receive a bonus of +1 to hit and +2 hit points of
damage per attack. Later in the article, under the
editor's note, it says that rakshasas are considered
to be creatures of the outer planes just as demons
and devils are. If this is true, how could a rakshasa
knight gain any bonuses to hit or damage a
paladin in combat when paladins radiate a continual
protection from evil? Wouldn't this protection
prevent any contact in the first place?
Owen Seyler
Camp Hill, Pa.
(Dragon #89)
If a rakshasa knight was summoned from the
Outer Planes to attack a paladin, then it would
not be able to do so. However, some rakshasa
knights (like other forms of rakshasas) dwell
naturally upon the Prime Material Plane, and
thus could not be considered summoned or
conjured. Rakshasas are not truly "outer planes"
monsters in the sense that demons are. Also, a
paladin lighting a rakshasa on Acheron (the plane
suggested by the author as the creatures' home
plane) would not get the benefit of his protection
from evil aura, since the innate evilness of the
plane itself would negate it.
-- RM
(Dragon #89)
| Dragon magazine | MM | - | Dragon #84 | 1st Edition AD&D |