D&D (2024) D&D Marilith Is Far More Bestial In 2025

The new 2025 Monster Manual has all-new art, and one major change is the depiction of the marilith. Up until now, the marilith has been depicted as a six-armed humanish female from the waist up; while in the 2025 book, the picture is far more bestial in nature.

Not only is the imagery more demonic, it also features the creature in action, simultaneously beheading, stabbing, and entwining its foes with its six arms and snake-like tail.

Left 2025 Marilith / Right 2014 Marilith​

 

[dave2008]

I loved the 2e Planescape art (just not the Type III).

Not me, but I know a lot of people did / do.

 

[Corinnguard]

Not me, but I know a lot of people did / do.

I was more into the lore of 2e Planescape than its' art. The description of each plane and its' inhabitants, the City of Doors and its' factions.

 

[dave2008]

Just want to clarify that I am only discussing art.

Less bright, less twee, less 'clean', more flesh and blood, more muscle, more grit, more dirt, and for the love of Asmodeus, less change from what is a decades old standard. Darker. More like BG3, less like Witchlight.



Pretty much everything post-Tashas, from art, presentation, tone, and style? Revert to 5.0 Release.

Have you really paid attention to the art in the 2024 core books? What you describe is only a fraction of what is present. 2024 5e has no more than what was present in 3e-3.5e (from my experience) and definitely less than what was in 4e (which has the height of bright, clean, and shinny art in D&D IMO). There is a lot flesh, blood and grit in 2024 art.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

They don't have to be topless? The 2014 version wears a cuirass.

That’s why I put the “mostly” in my post. The 5e depiction was a break with tradition by having them be clothed

 

[dave2008]

Yeah, some of the art in the MM was good, shame about a lot of other small changes here or there, I really didnt expect it to be the book that would annoy me the most.

It is the most annoying for me too, but it also my favorite of the core books. It annoys me more because it is the one I care about the most. However, the art is definitely not what annoys me even if I don't like all of the pieces.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

Out of curiosity, is there anything in the 5E materials (either 2014 or 2024) to suggest that this is the case? That is, does the text give any indication that chaotic creatures (or at least, chaotic planar creatures) have greater diversity of form than other beings?

There is a small line in the 2014 lore section on Demons that says some demons are wholly unique and unlike others, which fall into categories which are mostly identical (the devil section doesn’t have an equivalent, so I don’t think this is referring to the Archfiends). So, not how I like to represent demons, but a hint of it.

I wasn’t saying that’s how Demons and Devils are made visually distinct in D&D 5e. But I think Demons and Devils could use some visual distinction to make it more easy to tell them apart, and was explaining my thoughts on it.

 

[dave2008]

I was more into the lore of 2e Planescape than its' art. The description of each plane and its' inhabitants, the City of Doors and its' factions.

The art kept me away from the setting in general and then when I learned about the Blood War I assumed it was all going to be such a terrible retcon (IMO), so I never really invested. As I have matured with the passing of time, @Micah Sweet and others have convinced me I need to look deeper into the lore I missed out on.

Any suggestions on where to start, preferably something not related to the Blood War.

 

[Reynard]

Also, like why were Mariliths (mostly) topless women from the waist up before? What purpose did it serve? They weren’t even sexualized in a way that makes sense for demons, like Slaanesh’s Daemonettes in Warhammer.

I know it is shocking, but sometimes artists include nudity for no other purpose than to include nudity. It isn't necessarily about sexuality (although it often is).

Art that explicitly embraces sexuality -- often in fetish form -- requires more justification for its existence IMO. Drow in dominatrix getup, the tendency toward bondage in pulp inspired art. Those things can be provocative in their own right, but are harder to explain a game aimed at a general audience than just some bewbs (which only Americans seem to get all up in arms about).

It absolutely will not happen, but I wish WotC has an inherently R rated setting in its repertoire.

But not Dark Sun, because, well, Dark Sun kind of sucks.

 

[Corinnguard]

The art kept me aware from the setting in general and then when I learned about the Blood War I assumed it was all going to such a terrible retcon (IMO), so I never really invested. As I have matured with the passing of time, @Micah Sweet and others have convinced me I need to look deeper into the lore I missed out on.

Any suggestions on where to start, preferably something not related to the Blood War.

This is a topic for another forum thread. But I think I would start in the one place where the Blood War can't touch. Sigil, the City of Doors.

 

[dave2008]

Just for fun, here are my favorite fiends from the 2024 MM:

Devils

Demons

Yugoloths
None of these really sing for me