“Behold D’Hoffryn! Lord of Arashmaharr, he that turns the air to blood and rains death upon… Miss Rosenberg! How lovely to see you again.“

Played by Andy Umberger

First Appearance: Doppelgangland

D’Hoffryn, lord and master of the vengeance demons and ruler of Arashmahar, had long shaped some of the most feared entities in the moral and mortal realms. In 880 A.D., he transformed the scorned Swedish woman Aud into Anyanka, a demon whose name became synonymous with retribution. Before the Crimean War, he created Halfrek, Anyanka’s companion and one of his most trusted aides. When Anyanka lost her powers in 1998 and became Anya Jenkins, D’Hoffryn refused to restore her, insisting that a true vengeance demon would never have lost them. He later offered Willow Rosenberg the chance to join his ranks, though she declined. Despite their complicated history, D’Hoffryn and Halfrek attended Anya’s wedding to Xander Harris, and Xander’s jilting of her convinced D’Hoffryn to return her powers.

His favour, however, was short‑lived. When Anya attempted to undo a vengeance wish, D’Hoffryn punished her by executing Halfrek and stripping Anya of her powers. He sent demons to kill her before withdrawing with a chilling prophecy: her death would come “from beneath you it devours.” For a time, D’Hoffryn receded into the shadows, but the end of magic drew him back into the centre of supernatural politics. He joined the Magic Council formed to confront Severin the Siphon and, alongside the Brahma, was one of only two members to survive the destruction of the Deeper Well and witness the return of magic.

Working with Buffy and the Scoobies to establish new rules for the restored magical order, D’Hoffryn quietly exploited a loophole: each Council member’s powers could be inherited by another if they were killed before a replacement was appointed. One by one, he eliminated the Council and absorbed their abilities, consolidating unprecedented power. At the same time, he created a ghostly copy of Anya to haunt Xander, believing this spectral version represented what she should have become. He also allied himself with a fully restored Jonathan Levinson, whose personal vendetta provided D’Hoffryn with genuine wishes to grant as he refined his campaign.

D’Hoffryn’s ultimate goal was to free vengeance demons from the whims of human wish‑makers, granting them autonomy and absolute power. When Buffy undermined his authority by warning the magical community not to believe in his abilities, he resolved to eliminate her. He stormed her apartment with Jonathan, Anya and two other vengeance demons, berating Xander for breaking Anya’s heart. When Anya used her powers to incinerate Xander — temporarily turning him intangible rather than killing him — D’Hoffryn prepared to strike. But Anya then granted Buffy’s vengeance wish to strip D’Hoffryn of his accumulated Council powers, reversing his advantage.

Enraged, D’Hoffryn burnt Anya to death for betraying him. Jonathan and the remaining vengeance demons abandoned him, leaving their master to face the Scoobies alone. Buffy severed his hand with the Scythe, forcing him to teleport back to Arashmahar to regenerate. The Scoobies pursued him into the dimension’s medical centre using Dawn’s restored Key powers and confronted him at his weakest. D’Hoffryn attempted to bargain, offering each of them a wish, but none were fooled.

Pinned down by Willow and Giles’s magic, D’Hoffryn was finally beheaded by Buffy’s Scythe — the end of a millennia‑old tyrant whose reign had shaped the very nature of vengeance itself.

APPEARANCES

Buffy SEASON 3