Nice!
Personally, I'm still a bit bummed that Dagon got left out.
Personally, I'm still a bit bummed that Dagon got left out.
The Demon Lords of Out of the Abyss
Nice! Personally, I'm still a bit bummed that Dagon got left out.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
[Promoted thread] As we know Rage of Demons is coming in a few months, along with the Adventure Out of the Abyss. Demons and their rulers are always been iconic villains in D&D. So I have decided to give a description of all the known Demon Lords that will appear in Out of the Abyss.
Starting it off with
Juiblex the Faceless Lord
Juiblex is a slime like demon and possibly the progenitor of all Ooze creatures. He rules the Slime pits the underground half of Layer 222 of the Abyss which he shares with the Demon Zuggtmoy.
Juiblex is possibly the simplest demon, wanting nothing more then to exist and destroy all things he can find. He hates all things other then oozes, and most Demons hate the wretched Faceless lord in turn. However Juiblex is left alone as he is seen only as a threat to those that get in his path and other then occasionally surfacing with his oozes to attack Zuggtmoy's territory he is content to stay put and wallow around in his caves.
While powerful Juiblex is one of the weakest Demon Lords and is mocked by other Demon Lords as being the Lord of Nothing. Juiblex does not care about what is said about him, just as he does not care enough to increase his standing in the material plane. He cares nothing for worshipers and of the few that do venerate him, he ether does not know of them or does not care about them, and so gives them nothing for their service.
Overall Juiblex is a disgusting wretched thing, that for a demon is shockingly unambitious.
Baphomet Prince of Beasts
Baphomet is the Horned king, and the creator of Minotaurs. He rules Layer 600 of the Abyss, The Endless Maze.
Baphomet is the patron of savagery, despising civilization and culture and so encourages his followers to embrace brutal animal savagery and beast-hood. Despite brutal nature and beliefs, the Prince of Beasts has an intelligent mind, that searches for a way to perfect savagery and brutality in creatures. When he is not out rampaging and destorying, he spends his time in his Tower of Science creating new forms of savage beasts and monstrous Demons. His two most famous Demonic creations being the Bulezau, lanky demons that resemble men with the head of a Ram. Notorious for their tempers and the fact that unless they have a strong leader to control them they will kill each other in a rage, and the Goristro, Demons that resemble massive Demonic versions of his previous creations the Minotaurs. Notorious for being living siege engines and powerful beasts of burden, but not being the brightest bulbs in the tree. Many Demon lords keep them as pets.
The other trait Baphomet is known for is his hatred of Yeenoghu the Demon Prince of Gnolls. A trait that has been passed down to their creations the Gnolls and Minotaurs. Despite a good deal of his time being devoted to his war with Yeenoghu, Baphomet has long forgotten what started their feud in the first place.
Overall a brutal monster that hides a great mind behind his monstrous exterior.
Yeenoghu the Prince of Gnolls
View attachment 69274
Yeenoghu is the Lord of Savagery and also known by the title the Beast of Butchery. He is the creator of Gnolls and ruler of Layer 422 of the Abyss known as Death Dells a place were all things must hunt and consume the flesh and blood of others to survive.
Yeenoghu is simple in his desires he wants to hunt, kill and slaughter all he can while his followers fight over the scraps. He wants his followers and creations the Gnolls to be the same. His ideal future is a place were all but the gnolls have died while he watches and waits as they fight and kill over the small remaining amounts of food to offer it to him. Yeenoghu also has dominion over the Ghouls. Who's king Yeenoghu forced into becoming his vassal.
Yeenoghu despise Baphomet and has his gnolls attack Baphomets Minotaurs when ever possible. Like Baphomet he too has forgotten the reason for their hatred.
Overall a savage creature who has a large focus on his followers.
Zuggtmoy the Lady of Fungi
Zuggtmoy is the lady of fungi and rot. She rules over Shedaklah the top half of Layer 222 of the Abyss which she shares with Juiblex.
Zuggtmoy is purely interested in power and obtaining it and so focuses a lot on the material plane and gaining worshipers. However she knows her Fungi are not the most appealing thing for gathering worshipers. As a result she uses false symbols and cover cults to gain worshipers, her most famous grouping of followers being the Temple of Elemental Evil.
She hates Lolth and Juiblex, but other then that their is not much more to say about her.
Fraz-Urb'luu the Prince of Deception
Fraz-Urb'luu is the prince of deception. A massive and powerful demon with a hatred for humanity. He rules Layer 176 of the Abyss known as Hallow's Heart.
All Demon Lords despise Fraz-Urb'luu more then almost any other demon. For most demons have the ability to summon others of their kind, but Fraz-Urb'luu has mastered the ability and can forcibly summon other Demon Lords, while giving off a signal that makes it appear that a foolish mortal is summoning them. Fraz-Urb'luu used this power to humiliate many demons. Who eventually aided the Arch mage Zagyg in trap that resulted in Fraz-Urb'luu being imprisoned in Castle Greyhawk for 200 years. Fraz-Urb'luu was eventually freed by two random adventurers but he has held a grudge to this day, hating Zagyg and eventully throwing this hatred to all of humanity for being of the same race as Zagyg.
Fraz-Urb'luu enjoys tormenting creatures particularly humans. His favored method is for him or his followers to trick a hapless person into doing something horrible and revealing the deception after the fact.
Overall a hated demon that relies on guile despite being an 18 ft tall hulk of a demon.
Graz'zt the Dark Prince
Graz'zt is the Dark Prince. A handsome and scheming demon that rules layers 45, 46, and 47 of the abyss collectively called the triple realm of Azzagrat.
Graz'zt is one of the three most notable and powerful demon lords, along with his rivals Orcus and Demogorgon. Graz'zt is known for being more subtle then most demons preferring scheming, words and complicated plans to gain his goals. His scheming and deceitful nature has caused him to get on the bad side of many demon lords. Though he maintains alliances with many as well, like Zuggtmoy and his loyal demon lord Majordomo Verin. Despite his guile nature Graz'zt is quick to hold grudges over slights and is known to dislike Demon Lords that also rely on guile unless they have sworn fealty to him like Verin. Loth and Malcanthet are the ones he dislikes the most of this list, for having rejected his advances and refused to go along with his plans. He also hates Demogorgon above all other Demons for holding the title prince of demons. A title he believes belongs with him alone.
The dark prince is an erotic seducer, with a preference for female minions and servants, that are both vile and beautiful. As as a result of this interest he has many Cambion Children through out the multiverse. The Lamia's are the most consistent of his worshipers and Graz'zt brings many to his realm to serve him.
Overall a cunning and resourceful Demon that holds the largest realm in the abyss.
Orcus Demon Prince of Undeath
Orcus is the Blood Lord and Master of the undead. He rules Thanatos, Layer 113 of the Abyss.
Orcus is a powerful and nihilistic demon that hates all and cares for nothing but himself and focus on spreading misery and evil. He even hates his undead servants and worshipers, but the living are an even worse anathema to Orcus and so he would rather have all undead and serving him then living and serving him, as he is capable of being pragmatic. Orcus is best known for his personal artifact the Wand of Orcus a powerful object that grants it's wield mighty powers over death and life.
Orcus was originally a mortal, a random evil soul that found itself in the Abyss after death turned into a vile Manes. A demon who slowly crawled his way up the Abyssal ranks until he became the great Demon Lord he is currently with no connection to his past life.
Orcus hates all other Demon Lords who hate him in turn. He hates Graz'zt and Demogorgon in particular, viewing them as the ones who can challenge him in power, combined with the fact that he covets Demogorgon's title. Despite his lack of allies in the abyss and hatred of all things, he is the demon closest to godhood of all in the Abyss. Having much more worshipers then any other demon lord due to his portfolio of the undead.
Overall a hateful and nihilistic demon lord who rules the dead.
Demogorgon Prince of Demons
Demogorgon is the Prince of Demons, the sibilant beast and currently the most powerful Demon in the Abyss. He rules layer 88 of the Abyss known as the Gaping Maw.
All Demons know and fear Demogorgon, almost all of them wish to kill him and take his title, but most view this as wishful thinking. His power and title have allowed him to gain many allies among the Demon lords, though not nearly as many as those that hate him and wish to claim his title. He is also the creator of the original 12 Death Knights and is served by the first Death Knight Saint Kargath.
Demogorgon's greatest point of interest is his duel nature. Both of his heads possess their own personality and goals, they are called Aameul (the left head) and Hethradiah (the right head). Aameul prefers to dominate, while Hethradiah prefers to destroy. Demogorgon's best kept secret is that his heads seek to dominate or kill the other, but can't as the two heads are aspects of one another. As a result many of Demogorgons plots are devoted to separating or uniting his heads.
Despite Demogorgon's title and influence in the Abyss. He has a small following on the material plane and tends to only be worshiped by Troglodytes and monstrous creatures of the deep sea. Demogorgon does not appear to care enough to try and increase his worship.
Overall The most powerful demon only held back by the conflict of his duel minds.
Starting it off with
Juiblex the Faceless Lord
Juiblex is a slime like demon and possibly the progenitor of all Ooze creatures. He rules the Slime pits the underground half of Layer 222 of the Abyss which he shares with the Demon Zuggtmoy.
Juiblex is possibly the simplest demon, wanting nothing more then to exist and destroy all things he can find. He hates all things other then oozes, and most Demons hate the wretched Faceless lord in turn. However Juiblex is left alone as he is seen only as a threat to those that get in his path and other then occasionally surfacing with his oozes to attack Zuggtmoy's territory he is content to stay put and wallow around in his caves.
While powerful Juiblex is one of the weakest Demon Lords and is mocked by other Demon Lords as being the Lord of Nothing. Juiblex does not care about what is said about him, just as he does not care enough to increase his standing in the material plane. He cares nothing for worshipers and of the few that do venerate him, he ether does not know of them or does not care about them, and so gives them nothing for their service.
Overall Juiblex is a disgusting wretched thing, that for a demon is shockingly unambitious.
Baphomet Prince of Beasts
Baphomet is the Horned king, and the creator of Minotaurs. He rules Layer 600 of the Abyss, The Endless Maze.
Baphomet is the patron of savagery, despising civilization and culture and so encourages his followers to embrace brutal animal savagery and beast-hood. Despite brutal nature and beliefs, the Prince of Beasts has an intelligent mind, that searches for a way to perfect savagery and brutality in creatures. When he is not out rampaging and destorying, he spends his time in his Tower of Science creating new forms of savage beasts and monstrous Demons. His two most famous Demonic creations being the Bulezau, lanky demons that resemble men with the head of a Ram. Notorious for their tempers and the fact that unless they have a strong leader to control them they will kill each other in a rage, and the Goristro, Demons that resemble massive Demonic versions of his previous creations the Minotaurs. Notorious for being living siege engines and powerful beasts of burden, but not being the brightest bulbs in the tree. Many Demon lords keep them as pets.
The other trait Baphomet is known for is his hatred of Yeenoghu the Demon Prince of Gnolls. A trait that has been passed down to their creations the Gnolls and Minotaurs. Despite a good deal of his time being devoted to his war with Yeenoghu, Baphomet has long forgotten what started their feud in the first place.
Overall a brutal monster that hides a great mind behind his monstrous exterior.
Yeenoghu the Prince of Gnolls
View attachment 69274
Yeenoghu is the Lord of Savagery and also known by the title the Beast of Butchery. He is the creator of Gnolls and ruler of Layer 422 of the Abyss known as Death Dells a place were all things must hunt and consume the flesh and blood of others to survive.
Yeenoghu is simple in his desires he wants to hunt, kill and slaughter all he can while his followers fight over the scraps. He wants his followers and creations the Gnolls to be the same. His ideal future is a place were all but the gnolls have died while he watches and waits as they fight and kill over the small remaining amounts of food to offer it to him. Yeenoghu also has dominion over the Ghouls. Who's king Yeenoghu forced into becoming his vassal.
Yeenoghu despise Baphomet and has his gnolls attack Baphomets Minotaurs when ever possible. Like Baphomet he too has forgotten the reason for their hatred.
Overall a savage creature who has a large focus on his followers.
Zuggtmoy the Lady of Fungi
Zuggtmoy is the lady of fungi and rot. She rules over Shedaklah the top half of Layer 222 of the Abyss which she shares with Juiblex.
Zuggtmoy is purely interested in power and obtaining it and so focuses a lot on the material plane and gaining worshipers. However she knows her Fungi are not the most appealing thing for gathering worshipers. As a result she uses false symbols and cover cults to gain worshipers, her most famous grouping of followers being the Temple of Elemental Evil.
She hates Lolth and Juiblex, but other then that their is not much more to say about her.
Fraz-Urb'luu the Prince of Deception
Fraz-Urb'luu is the prince of deception. A massive and powerful demon with a hatred for humanity. He rules Layer 176 of the Abyss known as Hallow's Heart.
All Demon Lords despise Fraz-Urb'luu more then almost any other demon. For most demons have the ability to summon others of their kind, but Fraz-Urb'luu has mastered the ability and can forcibly summon other Demon Lords, while giving off a signal that makes it appear that a foolish mortal is summoning them. Fraz-Urb'luu used this power to humiliate many demons. Who eventually aided the Arch mage Zagyg in trap that resulted in Fraz-Urb'luu being imprisoned in Castle Greyhawk for 200 years. Fraz-Urb'luu was eventually freed by two random adventurers but he has held a grudge to this day, hating Zagyg and eventully throwing this hatred to all of humanity for being of the same race as Zagyg.
Fraz-Urb'luu enjoys tormenting creatures particularly humans. His favored method is for him or his followers to trick a hapless person into doing something horrible and revealing the deception after the fact.
Overall a hated demon that relies on guile despite being an 18 ft tall hulk of a demon.
Graz'zt the Dark Prince
Graz'zt is the Dark Prince. A handsome and scheming demon that rules layers 45, 46, and 47 of the abyss collectively called the triple realm of Azzagrat.
Graz'zt is one of the three most notable and powerful demon lords, along with his rivals Orcus and Demogorgon. Graz'zt is known for being more subtle then most demons preferring scheming, words and complicated plans to gain his goals. His scheming and deceitful nature has caused him to get on the bad side of many demon lords. Though he maintains alliances with many as well, like Zuggtmoy and his loyal demon lord Majordomo Verin. Despite his guile nature Graz'zt is quick to hold grudges over slights and is known to dislike Demon Lords that also rely on guile unless they have sworn fealty to him like Verin. Loth and Malcanthet are the ones he dislikes the most of this list, for having rejected his advances and refused to go along with his plans. He also hates Demogorgon above all other Demons for holding the title prince of demons. A title he believes belongs with him alone.
The dark prince is an erotic seducer, with a preference for female minions and servants, that are both vile and beautiful. As as a result of this interest he has many Cambion Children through out the multiverse. The Lamia's are the most consistent of his worshipers and Graz'zt brings many to his realm to serve him.
Overall a cunning and resourceful Demon that holds the largest realm in the abyss.
Orcus Demon Prince of Undeath
Orcus is the Blood Lord and Master of the undead. He rules Thanatos, Layer 113 of the Abyss.
Orcus is a powerful and nihilistic demon that hates all and cares for nothing but himself and focus on spreading misery and evil. He even hates his undead servants and worshipers, but the living are an even worse anathema to Orcus and so he would rather have all undead and serving him then living and serving him, as he is capable of being pragmatic. Orcus is best known for his personal artifact the Wand of Orcus a powerful object that grants it's wield mighty powers over death and life.
Orcus was originally a mortal, a random evil soul that found itself in the Abyss after death turned into a vile Manes. A demon who slowly crawled his way up the Abyssal ranks until he became the great Demon Lord he is currently with no connection to his past life.
Orcus hates all other Demon Lords who hate him in turn. He hates Graz'zt and Demogorgon in particular, viewing them as the ones who can challenge him in power, combined with the fact that he covets Demogorgon's title. Despite his lack of allies in the abyss and hatred of all things, he is the demon closest to godhood of all in the Abyss. Having much more worshipers then any other demon lord due to his portfolio of the undead.
Overall a hateful and nihilistic demon lord who rules the dead.
Demogorgon Prince of Demons
Demogorgon is the Prince of Demons, the sibilant beast and currently the most powerful Demon in the Abyss. He rules layer 88 of the Abyss known as the Gaping Maw.
All Demons know and fear Demogorgon, almost all of them wish to kill him and take his title, but most view this as wishful thinking. His power and title have allowed him to gain many allies among the Demon lords, though not nearly as many as those that hate him and wish to claim his title. He is also the creator of the original 12 Death Knights and is served by the first Death Knight Saint Kargath.
Demogorgon's greatest point of interest is his duel nature. Both of his heads possess their own personality and goals, they are called Aameul (the left head) and Hethradiah (the right head). Aameul prefers to dominate, while Hethradiah prefers to destroy. Demogorgon's best kept secret is that his heads seek to dominate or kill the other, but can't as the two heads are aspects of one another. As a result many of Demogorgons plots are devoted to separating or uniting his heads.
Despite Demogorgon's title and influence in the Abyss. He has a small following on the material plane and tends to only be worshiped by Troglodytes and monstrous creatures of the deep sea. Demogorgon does not appear to care enough to try and increase his worship.
Overall The most powerful demon only held back by the conflict of his duel minds.
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Queer Venger
Dungeon Master is my Daddy
Dagon is listed in Fifth Edition Foes, by Necromancer Games, (which gives 5e stats for it). Im super excited for this new storyline, nothing says epic like mixing demons with the Underdark. In preparation I've been perusing my hardcover of Menzoberranzan, which is system agnostic and blessedly free of 4e stat blocks.
My favorite illustration has to be Orcus, Reynolds did an amazing job illustrating this baddie.
As many of you know, Im partial to Graz'zt, after all, Im his chibi ;-)
My favorite illustration has to be Orcus, Reynolds did an amazing job illustrating this baddie.
As many of you know, Im partial to Graz'zt, after all, Im his chibi ;-)
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MonsterEnvy
Legend
All entries are now complete.
MonkeezOnFire
Adventurer
Great post! I'm still quite new to the D&D cosmology having played mostly pathfinder before 5e. But the section on demons was probably my favourite in the monster manual and I'm really looking forward to Out of the Abyss.
Has there been any confirmation that all of the demon lords you went over will be a part of the adventure or did you just choose to go over the most prominent ones? The exclusion of Lolth seems odd as the adventure takes place in the Underdark where Lolth's followers, the drow, play an active role.
Has there been any confirmation that all of the demon lords you went over will be a part of the adventure or did you just choose to go over the most prominent ones? The exclusion of Lolth seems odd as the adventure takes place in the Underdark where Lolth's followers, the drow, play an active role.
MonsterEnvy
Legend
Just going over the ones confirmed to be in the Adventure. Lolth may show up but it has not been confirmed yet while these guys have been. From their concept art and stated inclusion.
View attachment 69273
1. Yeenoghu, 2. Graz'zt, 3. Orcus, 4. Zuggtmoy, 5. Baphomet, 6. Juiblex, 7. Fraz-Urb'luu, 8. Demogorgon, 9. Random human for scale.
James Jacobs
Adventurer
YAY! Demons!!!
MonsterEnvy
Legend
Ah I still loved your articles on them in Dragon. They were always one of the things I looked forward to.
It would be really cool if your creation Obox-Ob showed up in this adventure though I doubt he will.
James Jacobs
Adventurer
Thanks! Those articles were among the things I'm most proud of having done for D&D, as it turns out, and it really tickles me to see some of the things I made up are still a thing in D&D today. The opportunity to add to the growing canon and lore of D&D's demons remains a career highlight for me; I was very inspired by what Gygax, Kuntz, Mentzer, and others did with demons in 1st edition, after all, and being able to give back a little of that inspiration and see it continue forward into the current game's canon is really cool.
It'd be fun to see Obox-ob show up, but I'd also love to see Malcanthet get some screen time as well—she was originally created by Rob Kuntz for his Maure Castle levels, but beyond her name and some initial stuff I did the bulk of her development myself. Maybe she and Obox-ob can team up and fight some devils!!!!
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