Streets of Hope

So, what's the deal with Pazuzu?

Assuming you're referring to the thousands of years prior to The Exorcist really slandering his reputation, you could say ol' Paz would've made Belial proud, in terms of self-reliance.

See, the Babylonians and Assyrians were so petrified at the idea of losing children or of their wives dying in childbirth - a common occurrence before the advent of modern medicine - that they carved a niche for a particular Fallen. Lamashtu was her name, and her glory days are long past. Nowadays, she hangs around Valefor and gets her kicks by tormenting the Damned, especially those involved in the death of a child. Back then, though, she'd prowl through Ur, Lagash and Larsa, sniffing for weak babes to steal away. Of course, all of this was before the Fall, so she probably saw that as a form of justifiable tribute, as heartless as she was.

Then, there's Pazuzu. One of Lucifer's more jovial drinking buddies, he liked to take the idea of having been made just a tad less handsome than the other angels in the Host to the extreme. While Nergal and Ereshkigal are trying their hardest to evoke terrible power, this joker's combining animal features and purposefully trying to look gross - all because he enjoys pushing Lamashtu's buttons, and the old tigress sure did love her aesthetics...

But why would he try and repulse another angel like that, you might ask? Largely because he smelled profit, my friend. Pazuzu instated the world's oldest protection racket - evil against evil, more or less - and ruled as Mesopotamia's pauper prince for generations. Raise an idol in his image, and common knowledge suggested that Lamashtu wouldn't so much as dare to sniff for kiddies through your keyholes. That's a bit on the romantic side, though, which leads a lot of practitioners to believe that Pazuzu is more the type to lay down wards for a price - and a usually inconvenient one. What I do know is that he's no Melmoth, but he's also the first guy I'd ring up if I were a mundane in dire need of some expert-grade warding.

Whatever you do, don't summon him just to toss horror movie memes his way - he loathes the Blatty novel and Friedkin's adaptation.