Demon
A demon in GemStone IV is defined as "a being from another dimension." Though demons are not generally evil or malevolent by nature, they are chaotic and, unsurprisingly, prefer not to be relocated from their original plane of existence to do the biding of unknown persons. Summoning demons to our plane usually causes them great agitation or fear, condemning them either to servitude or warfare. Woe is the summoner who fails to maintain control of their beast, death by the demon itself, legal repercussions, or an angry mob is sure to ensue.
Lesser demons (inclusive)
Lesser demons are the lower of the two classifications of demon, being contrasted with Major demons. This class includes creatures with a wide range of attributes and power, from weak, nonsentient animal-like beings to powerful and intelligent beings. The most humble of the lesser demons are referred to as minor demons, which are often seen performing menial tasks in service of sorcerers around Elanthia as a result of Minor Summoning. However, other lesser demons are capable of casting destructive magic and/or possess significant battle prowess, most commonly finding their way to Elanthia by failed Planar Shifts. As there is no specific name for these more powerful lesser demons, lesser demon may also be used to refer exclusively to those demons with power judged to be intermediate between major demons and the minor demons. In conclusion, this semantic overlap requires some specificity in order to achieve clarity when discussing non-major demons.
"Lesser demon" was originally used in The Official History of Elanthia to describe the demons used at the battle of Maelshyve, much as "minor demon" was used several years earlier in The Legend of the Necropolis of Etrevion to slaughter ordinary soldiers. At the time "lesser demonic" were used to classify the power of undead between Level 16 and 25, with "undead of the greater demonic" being those higher than Level 25. While this seems incredibly low by today's standards, it would have been formidable for most adventurers when the story was written. The banshee was one of the most powerful creatures in existence, with most of her horde implicitly being comparable to monsters in The Graveyard.
Lesser demons (exclusive)
These demons are capable of participating in combat and are also categorized as extraplanar beings.
Minor demons
These demons are not capable of participating in combat with the exception of interaction with Balefire (713); they are primarily used for utility. Minor demons are summoned using Minor Summoning (725).