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]

Maybe they changed the marilith because it looked like Kali. I mean, they cut all the real world pantheons.

But it still looks like Kali, so that doesn't make sense.

 

[Charlaquin]

I'll be the one to say it, I hate the new art. Previous design was not only iconic but peak.

How brave of you, to stand up and say the exact same thing half the people in the thread are saying

 

[Voadam]

4e had male medusas, but with different stats and mechanics than female medusas. They did not turn people to stone but had a venomous gaze and no snake hair.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Don’t we know it.
A couple of them even saw a copy of the book.

All you have to do is see the art to determine if you like the art (or not). Not the whole book.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But it still looks like Kali, so that doesn't make sense.

Not my mental image of Kali, but YMMV.

 

[Corinnguard]

All you have to do is see the art to determine if you like the art (or not). Not the whole book.

There are going to be good pics, bad pics and mediocre pics in any book. Especially in this one.

 

[Echohawk]

This is somewhat tangential to the thread, but I found that getting early access to the Monster Manual on D&D Beyond resulted in the printed book being a slight disappointment. Don't get me wrong, it is still a gorgeous book, but I first saw all of the monster art on my PC screen—large, bright and generally not cropped. Perhaps because of the big stat blocks, the artwork in the printed book ends up feeling cramped in comparison.

 

[Sacrosanct]

While I like the lore and information in LevelUp or @Sacrosanct's monster book (the name escapes me at the moment), the fact is, for me, it is mostly wasted space that I never use.

I started doing that in Twilight Fables, but have been doing it for subsequent books as well. I would have said "universal support for that lore inclusion", but apparently not

 

[MonsterEnvy]

They existed in 2e as well.

Do you mean the Maedar or actual Medusae but male.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Go back and look at the snake woman from Sinbad. She also had an Indian vibe going on, so maybe they borrowed from Kali. The 1e Marilith looks like that snake woman with two extra arms so Gygax wouldn't be sued. I don't see why he would need to go borrow for Kali for anything past what the snake woman showed, especially since Kali was already in 1e in the Deities & Demigods.

It's possible Kali was an influence, but without something more solid than Kali also looks kinda like the snake woman, therefore Gygax must have used both, I'm not going to accept that theory as definitive or even strong.

The Kali influence is clearly with the six armed sword fighting style. The Snake woman was not a warrior like the Kali statue. Like Kali the goddess is not the influence as much as that statue and how it fought.