Sayaad

For the warlock pet, see Sayaad (warlock minion).

Sayaad
Xia, Queen of Suffering, a succubus in the TCG
Faction/Affiliation	Burning Legion
Character classes	Sorceress, Warlock, Rogue
Racial leader(s)	Sargeras
Homeworld	Twisting Nether
Language(s)	Eredun

The sayaad (pronounced say-ahd) (adjective form sayaadi) are a species of seductive and sadistic demons who look similar to the nathrezim. Many serve the Burning Legion, but others serve only themselves or can be impressed by a warlock master. Only female sayaad are commonly seen, and are known as succubi (singular succubus). The males are named incubi (singular incubus). Sayaad can change their appearance between succubus and incubus form to match their master's preferences.

Succubus

A succubus in World of Warcraft.

Succubi serve as intelligence agents and torturers for the Burning Legion. Exemplifying the subtler side of the Burning Crusade, the cruel sayaadi temptresses revel in causing anguish and pain, and their murderous interrogations are the stuff of nightmares. Creatures of incredible mental powers, they can lull those of weak minds into their servitude. Succubi know much about love and slake their lust with coupling. They are described as devourers of souls, destroyers of hearts, dominators of minds, and tempters of men. Succubi have a tendency to keep detailed logs of their day-to-day activities. Their accounts are often lurid, almost always grotesque, and are typically written onto "paper" made from the skin of an enemy or a captive.

Many warlocks believed themselves strong enough to bind and command a sayaad, only to become the demon's next meal or being those commanded instead. Although they possess martial prowess, it is their illusionary charms that are their most potent weapon, as a single moment of hesitation is enough for the demon to seize the opportunity to enthrall its prey.

Fel succubi are a more powerful variant, with red skin, more elaborate, spiked armor, and wings and whips that drip with fel energy.

Incubus

An incubus.

Incubi are much more rarely seen than succubi, but can be summoned by warlock adventurers. There are several different rumors concerning incubi, all of which are perpetrated by the succubi themselves. A few of the most common rumors are:

• The spell to summon them has been conveniently forgotten by mortal practitioners and Burning Legion agents.
• Incubi are kept as slaves on their home planet, having been rendered incapable of escape or independent movement.
• The succubi consumed the males of their race when they were brought into the Burning Legion. Alternatively, the act of devouring the males is what caught the attention of the Burning Legion.

During her battle against demons in the Dragonblight, Aegwynn encountered a demon who mentioned incubi as part of the Legion's forces.

Notable

•   Blood Steward of Kirtonos
•   Coercitor Nixa
•   Delicia Whipsnaps
•   Bryanda <Foul Temptress>
•   Cattwen <Foul Temptress>
•   Gezzrah <Hareem Helheim's Minion>
•   Glynevere <Foul Temptress>
•   Jhevha <Selenora's Demon>
•   Mistress Nagmara
•   Moora
•   Nimrida <Keyanomir's Minion>
•   Painmistress Gabrissa
•   Painmistress Selora
•   Rakaiah
•   Salia
•   Sensiria
•   Sinstralis of the Pain
•   Sirigna'no <Keelen Sheets's Minion>
•   Syaith <Loaner Demon>

Warcraft III creeps

A succubus in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne.

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

Succubi appeared as creeps in missions and maps with the Outland tileset.

• Succubus
• Vile Tormentor
• Vile Temptress
• Maiden of Pain
• Queen of Suffering

As a warlock minion

Main articles: Sayaad (warlock minion), Incubus (warlock minion), Succubus (warlock minion)

The sayaad is the third demon minion available to warlocks, summoned by the [Summon Sayaad] spell. The spell randomly summons either an incubus or succubus unless the summoner choses to only summon one form or the other by customizing the Sayaad form at the barbershop.

As a companion pet

 [Sultry Grimoire] drops from Mother Shahraz in Black Temple.

In the RPG

Succubus in the Monster Guide.

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

A succubus is a stunningly beautiful woman. Her voluptuous form is squeezed into a tight leather bodice. Large bat wings unfurl from her back, and she lets out a short gasp as she cracks a small whip against her milky thigh. A succubus is pleasure and pain rolled into one deadly package. Like all demons, she enjoys bringing death and misery to the mortal races — but that doesn't mean she can't have fun with them first. Many warlocks choose a succubus as a fellow companion for their ability to manipulate those weak of will. It is not uncommon for a succubus in a mortal's servitude to fall uncontrollably in love with him or her; this occurrence is not always to the master's advantage, though, for a devoted succubus can be prone to fits of extreme jealousy, especially when her master deals with those of the opposite sex. A succubus usually tries to avoid direct confrontation, preferring instead to use her natural (and supernatural) charm to gain a creature's trust, then to lure her victim into a defenseless position. In open combat, a succubus is far from helpless, however. She is surprisingly agile, always attempting to feint or flank an opponent, thus allowing her to backstab with her lash of pain. Most warlocks tend to trust their succubus's natural instincts in combat. This trust comes as much from respect for her abilities as it does from the realization that a succubus may ignore an order she doesn’t agree with anyway. This is especially true when an opponent threatens her master directly, as she may become reckless trying to save him.

Queen of Suffering

Main article: Queen of Suffering#In the RPG

Languages

As members of the Burning Legion, succubi speak Eredun, and most also speak Common. Common is a language known by most races who would summon these beings, those who summon them likely know Eredun as well.

Notes and trivia

• In the Ultimate Visual Guide, the sayaad entry is written as "sayaad (succubus)", paring the two names like nathrezim (dreadlord) and shivarra (shivan). This could imply that the sayaad is the demon term, while the succubus is the Common language term.
• In all of the Kirin Tor's research into succubi and other sayaad, they have come to one conclusion - they are not to be trusted.
• Succubi outfits are actually designed for the temperatures of inferno worlds mostly on fire. Being on a world like Azeroth in such clothes leaves them feeling cold.
• One succubus whip was formed of the plaited flesh of several different creatures, some of them likely humanoid.
• Apparently, even some nathrezim find sayaad attractive: Gorgannon accused his fellow dreadlord Diathorus of using all of their blood ink to write love letters to the Mannoroc Lashers.
• Without being born of the sayaadi species, some people were known to have been transformed into succubi, like Sensiria.
• Ṣayyād (صياد) means "hunter" or "trapper" in Arabic.
• For most of Warcraft's history, only succubi were seen in-game. When incubi were requested as a warlock pet in April 2011, Community Manager Zarhym responded that Blizzard had plans for offering players a choice between male and female versions of all warlock demons, but that they didn't have a time frame for when it might be implemented. 10 years later, in September 2021, Blizzard announced that incubi would be added to the game following patch 9.1.5—both as a glyph option for warlocks and as an addition to places where succubus models appear—as part of ongoing efforts to make the game world feel more inclusive and to offer more ways for players to express themselves. Incubi were added in patch 9.2.0, though not as a glyph; instead, the old [Summon Succubus] spell was replaced by [Summon Sayaad] as the default, with the preference of summoning exclusively an Incubus or Succubus being added as a cosmetic option.

Speculation

This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

In the Warcraft Saga Issue 1, one of the demons that Sargeras is shown fighting before his corruption (see below) resembles a masculine sayaad and may have been intended to be an incubus. However, it bears little resemblance to the incubus model that was later added to World of Warcraft, notably lacking wings and having differently shaped horns. It may simply have been intended as a satyr, though this would mean that its inclusion in the comic was an error since the first satyrs weren't created until the War of the Ancients much later in history.

Gallery

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  Concept art of a "Demoness" that looks similar to the Warcraft III succubus.

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  Original succubus model (pre 1.4.0).

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  Second succubus model (1.4.0 to 7.0.3).

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  A fel succubus.

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  Concept art of an incubus.

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  An unidentified species of demon in the Warcraft Saga resembling an incubus.

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  Unique Starcraft II editor remodeled asset from Warcraft III.

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  Vile Temptress model and concept art for Warcraft III: Reforged.

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  Succubus Kerrigan in Heroes of the Storm.

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  Legion Mistress Kerrigan in Heroes of the Storm.

• Trading Card Game
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  A blood elf warlock and her succubus.

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  Mistress Nagmara

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  Mistress Nesala

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  Selora

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  Rakaiah enjoying torturing Trey Lightforge.

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  Angrida

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  Sarlia

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  Lynxia

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  Karazhan Concubine

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  Sister of Seduction

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  Hateful Seductress

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  Sister of Pleasure

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  Lothros, a nathrezim accompanied by two succubi.

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  Shadow Lord Fel'dan with Moora and Salia.

Patch changes

• Patch 9.2.0 (2022-02-22): Incubi introduced.
  
• Patch 7.0.3 (2016-07-19): Succubus model updated.
  
• Patch 1.4.0 (2005-04-19): Succubus model updated.