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​

 

[Parmandur]

But having Demons differ in appearance depending on which Demon Lord they serve is interesting, and even then the demonic horde looks properly chaotic.

I appreciate that 1E emphasizednthet to the point of having random tables for Demons: the 7 types had some consistency in combat stats, but the 1E DMG encouraged making the individual Demon bizarre and random.

 

[SkidAce]

Although I admit that Warhammer's Chaos Daemons, and Moorcock's Chaos Princes have always been far more fascinating to me that what D&D has ever offered, but that's personal taste.

Quoted for Truth.

 

[Voadam]

Is the 24 marilith missing an arm on the lower left? I see the sixth sword in the back, behind the stabbed guy and the two other arms, but nothing where I would expect the last arm to come out on the torso.

 

[Charlaquin]

3e:
View attachment 397738

Ooh, I like this one a lot!

I know a lot of folks bemoan 3e’s visual design but it really works for me.

 

[Charlaquin]

Somebody out there is still gonna say "WOULD" even tho the 2025 Marilith isn't a hottie anymore.

Excuse you, she’s gorgeous!

 

[Sorinth]

Somebody out there is still gonna say "WOULD" even tho the 2025 Marilith isn't a hottie anymore.

Granted, you can always depeict this as one kind of Marilith. IIRC, one of the more recent Keith Baker Eberron 3PP books depicted a Marilith that was showcasing some Raksasha traits in its appearance.

It's not universal but a common part of a Tiefling's lore is that one of your ancestors DID, so demons and devils being F-able is at least somewhat important lore wise.

 

[Azzy]

No sir, not a fan of what WotC landed on with this piece of art. Part of it is making the marilith less human-looking and then there's the execution with the face, the globular musculature (that reminds me of some of Jeff Easley's work—which I almost universally dislike). I don't think I'd like it even if it weren't a marilith.

 

[Reynard]

There is very little lore in the marilith entry,

I am actually (pleasantly) surprised at how little lore is in the MM.

 

[dave2008]

Is the 24 marilith missing an arm on the lower left? I see the sixth sword in the back, behind the stabbed guy and the two other arms, but nothing where I would expect the last arm to come out on the torso.

There are 6 weapons, so I am guess the sixth arm is just hidden by the stabbed guy

 

[dave2008]

I'm not sure it really looks more demonic. It looks more like a behir abomination.

Demons frequently are jumbled, chimeric humanoids.

That is of course a matter of opinion, but there is clearly still sexualized art in the MM: succubi, medusae, and vampires at a minimum. So it seems rather odd they would just change the marilith for that reason.