Succubus

"I once met a raving drunk who claimed he had wrestled with a succubus — a demonic creature that possesses the form and face of a beautiful woman. He said she cursed him and tore out the heart of his friend before he made a narrow escape! Really, young men are given to such exaggeration these days..."

- Abd Al-Hazir

Succubi are demons in the form of voluptuous female humans with wings and talons.

Lore
"There are legends of women dressed in scarlet, dancing through the forests at night or in the dark alleys of city streets. To see them means that the succubi are hunting their next victim."

- Adria

Succubi are beautiful and seductive demons, and so tempt mortals into evil and to death. The figure of a Succubus is perfect and smooth, with milky skin, coupled with demonic bat wings and a smooth, thorny dress. While capable in combat, Succubi prefer to seduce mortals with subtle machinations, only to kill them and drag their souls into Hell. The separation of the soul is usually carried out through poison, a dagger in the dark, or some other easy betrayal to separate the soul from the flesh.

Succubi possess an incessant craving for blood, especially that of human men. Legends exist of women dressed in scarlet, dancing through forests or stalking alleys at night; a sign that Succubi are on the hunt for their next victim. Before they strike, many Succubi warn their victims of their true nature&mdash;a glimpse of demonic wings, a hint of sharpened teeth, a flash of a forked tongue...anything that will seem dangerous to humans. However, their victims rarely flee, for while lust is a Succubus's weapon, it is the thought of tasting something forbidden that truly ensnares their victims. The allure of pleasures beyond mortal flesh is a sweet honey that drowns out any sense of caution. This allure goes down to the physical level, as wearing bits of a Succubus's wings, teeth, or other body parts as jewelry makes it easier for the wearer to seduce anyone.

In open combat, Succubi take to battle with a passion and a joy not often seen in demons. They are fast and mobile in combat, preferring to weaken their prey from a distance with a diabolical curse. Once their prey is weakened, the Succubi move in for the kill, slashing viciously with their long, curved talons. Gathered in a clutch, a Succubi pack can send nigh inexhaustible streams of destructive magic sufficient to overcome most foes.

Variants
Variants of Succubi exist, including the following:


 * Snow Witches: These Succubi enjoy the chase, and are more given to use Hell-brewed love potions to capture slaves of the opposite sex. When in doubt, a Snow Witch reads a slave's entrails as an augury.


 * Hell Spawn: These Succubi know no other pleasure than the delivery of a screaming soul to Hell. Birthed in pain, Hell Spawn strive to make all others suffer as they do.


 * Soul Burners: These Succubi have mastered the essence of terror and pain.

History
They served as the handmaidens of Andariel, and Adria theorized that she was responsible for their creation, sculpting these demons into their forms. She taught her minions the art of seduction. Later, their use was perfected by Azmodan.

The Succubi were present below the Tristram Cathedral during the Darkening of Tristram. They were thought to have been wiped out in the battle that followed, but two years later, Baal unleashed his personal harem of Succubi during his assault on Mount Arreat. These Succubi were among the most zealous minions of their master. Twenty years later, Succubi were again seen on Sanctuary, among Azmodan's Army of Destruction, and later, during Diablo's assault on the High Heavens.

Diablo I
Succubi appear in Diablo I. Archbishop Lazarus uses Succubi as his personal guards below Tristram. They are then encountered in the later levels of the game.

Succubi attack using the spell Bloodstar, but unlike the spell players can learn, it does not consume their health. The projectile's color corresponds to the different colors of blood. As the succubi have no melee attack, they flee if the player closes in on them, making them infamously troublesome for melee attackers, especially the Warrior. Succubi appear in three other variations: Snow Witches, Hell Spawn, and Soul Burners, whereas Succubus is the regular form.

Unique Succubi

 * Witchfire the Unholy (Succubus) - Level 12
 * Witchmoon (Snow Witch) - Level 13
 * Stareye the Witch (Hell Spawn) - Level 14
 * Bloodlust (Hell Spawn) - Level 15
 * Blackjade (Hell Spawn) - Level 15 Lazarus Chamber
 * Red Vex (Hell Spawn) - Level 15 Lazarus Chamber
 * Webwidow (Hell Spawn) - Unused
 * Fleshdancer (Soul Burner) - Unused

Diablo II
Succubi appear in Diablo II, specifically in. Their appearance has changed slightly, and they actually utilize their wings for flight. They are clothed, and have a stabbing tail.

The Succubus' infamous curse returns, this time under the moniker of "Blood Mana." However, they will only cast it on players that have greater than or equal mana to life. If the opposite is true, Succubi will cast a curse that halves defense.

Besides normal Succubi, there are four other variations: Vile Temptresses, Stygian Harlots, Hell Temptresses, and Blood Temptresses.


 * Succubi can be found in:
 * Crystalline Passage (Nightmare/Hell only),
 * The Ancient's Way (Unique and Normal only)
 * Vile Tempresses can be found in Drifter Cavern (no Unique and Normal only)
 * Stygian Harlots can be found in:
 * Crystalline Passage (no Unique and Normal only),
 * Drifter Cavern (Unique and Normal only),
 * Icy Cellar (no Unique and Normal only)
 * Hell Tempresses can be found in:
 * Halls of Vaught (no Unique on Normal),
 * Icy Cellar (Nightmare/Hell only),
 * The Worldstone Keep 3 (Nightmare/Hell only)
 * Blood Tempresses can be found in:
 * Frozen River (no Unique and Normal only),
 * Frozen Tundra (Nightmare/Hell only),
 * Icy Cellar (Unique and Normal only)

Stats

 * Succubus Diablo II Unused.pngding on the variation, Succubi can be immune to one of the elements in mode.
 * Succubi have a chance of dealing Magic damage.
 * If you have more life than mana, instead of casting Blood Mana, Succubi will cast a curse that halves your Defense. This is raised to 65% in, and 85% in.
 * There are no super unique succubi (besides Hell's Belle, which has been removed from the final version of the game, but is still present in data files).
 * The Hell Tempress was called "Blight Wing" at some point of development.

Development
Succubuses have an unused color palette in the game files.

Diablo Immortal
Succubi appear as enemies in Diablo Immortal. They are found in the Domain of Horror in the Shassar Sea. Sub-types include the Vile Temptress.

Diablo III
Succubi are back in Diablo III as handmaidens and daughters of the Maiden of Lust. They can be found in different areas of Act III and IV, respectively in the Arreat Crater and in most areas of the High Heavens. Their appearance is different from that in the first two games, but like in Diablo I, they literally fight completely unarmored.

As seductive and deadly as usual, the Succubi possess their signature Blood Star attack. Prior to patch 2.2.0, it used to apply a curse on damaging hit, reducing Armor by -35% for 5 seconds. Because of that, the Succubi used to be support attackers, not too deadly by themselves, but they did make it much easier for all other monsters to kill a hero, especially towards classes that rely on Armor instead of all resistances as their major form of protection.

Succubi are fragile, and killing them is only problematic if they are hiding behind their more resilient allies. The damage of a Succubus's attacks is low, but their Blood Star homing projectiles are moving erratically with changing speed, making them rather unpredictable for avoidance, and may make slight changes to trajectory to home at enemies. Avoid large groups of other monsters accompanied by the Succubi, or separate them for easier dispatching. Remember Succubi can fly over the impassable terrain and even have a 'backflip' move that frequently allows them to escape melee combat.

There is a mini-event in Tower of the Cursed involving several Keep Guards mind-controlled by the Succubi as they are being prepared to be sacrificed to Cydaea. Upon the death of their tormentors, these guards join the hero to help with clearing the rest of the tower. Sadly, though, they cannot last long against the monsters in the tower, especially Champion/Rare packs.

Unique Succubi

 * Demonika the Wicked (Tower of the Damned Level 1)
 * Kysindra the Wretched (The Silver Spire Level 1)
 * Lady Victoria (House of Deep Sorrow, Westmarch Commons, Event)
 * Lysa (Lair of the Prophet)
 * Tethrys (Rift Guardian)

Diablo IV
Succubi return as enemies in Diablo IV.

Trivia



 * Despite Succubi often fighting without any armor to cover their upper body in the first and third game (and on artworks), no organization has ever demanded Blizzard Entertainment to make 'censored' versions of these monsters in either of the three games. According to Lylirra, who commented on the issue, all three Diablo games have an M rating (Mature, 17+ on ERSB), which allows nudity and gore.


 * If one looks closely at a Succubus model in Diablo III, their "wings" are actually made from their own hair.


 * A non-combat pet was added in patch 2.4.1: Queen of the Succubi.


 * There are no Incubi (male variant) in the series.


 * Oddly, in the second game, unlike the first and the third, Succubi have bright feathered wings and long, thick, almost lash-like tails. In the first game, they have no tails at all.

Etymology

 * In the Western medieval legend, a Succubus (plural Succubi) is a demon who takes the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men in dreams to have sexual intercourse. They draw energy from the men to sustain themselves, often until the point of exhaustion or death of the victim. Similarly, there are also demons called incubi, the male version of succubi. However there are no apparent incubi in Sanctuary as of yet.


 * The word "succubus" comes from an alteration of the Late Latin succuba meaning "strumpet". The word itself is derived from the Latin prefix "sub-" which means "below, underneath", and the verb "cubo" which means "I lie". So a succubus is someone who lies under another person, whereas an incubi (Latin "in-" in this case stands for "on top") is someone who lies on top of another person.