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]

My post above has 21 likes, so clearly this is not a popular piece of art and folks are getting tired of WotC making radical changes to iconic monsters appearances.

You can't assume someone is agreeing with you 100% because of a like. I didn't like your comment, but I have liked comments in the past that I disagree with, but respect the opinion or otherwise support some part of the comment. I to don't particularly like this art, but I didn't click like because I support WotC looking at monster designs and taking a new crack at them, even if I don't agree with the final result.

I really hope WotC gets the message finally that folks are getting tired of the retcons, whether the Purple Dragon Knight or the appearance of Marilith, just stop doing it, period, I don't care why your doing, just stop.

This is not a retcon. It is just different art for the marilith. They are not saying all mariliths look like this or that mariliths have always looked like this. Early in this thread I posted images from mariliths from each edition. They have changed with every edition, were each of those retcons too?!

I certainly hope they don't listen to you as I hope they continue to review and change things in an attempt to make them better.*

* I realize this is subjective and I don't expect anyone to succeed all the time. I appreciate the effort if it is truthfully done with the thought of making an improvement. Whether or not I agree that it is an improvement.

 

[dave2008]

So, are their male Mariliths now as well?

They were never male nor female IMO, they are demons.

 

[TiQuinn]

So, are their male Mariliths now as well?

I don't see why not. Demons often start out as Manes, which are created from mortal souls, so they can be any gender.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

They Don’t want to possibly upset anyone.

So, are their male Mariliths now as well?

There's 2 paragraphs from Fiends: Faces of Evil written in 1997, about the Tanar'ri which probably applies to Obyriths and other types of Demons.

Basically it says they take genders as they will, some days male, some days female or neither or both. But tend to stick with a choice as later on. They can change it (probably referring to sex not gender), but it takes an amount of effort to do do. And taking the effort to switch it though might get in the way of doing demonic things.

 

[Alzrius]

There's 2 paragraphs from Fiends: Faces of Evil written in 1997, about the Tanar'ri which probably applies to Obyriths and other types of Demons.

Basically it says they take genders as they will, some days male, some days female or neither or both. But tend to stick with a choice as later on. They can change it (probably referring to sex not gender), but it takes an amount of effort to do do. And taking the effort to switch it though might get in the way of doing demonic things.

Which is a very colorful bit of lore that fits in well with the nature of demons, but which WotC doesn't consider canon anymore:

D&D General Thread 'WotC: Novels & Non-5E Lore Are Officially Not Canon'

Jul 22, 2021

At a media press briefing last week, WotC's Jeremey Crawford clarified what is and is not canon for D&D.

"For many years, we in the Dungeons & Dragons RPG studio have considered things like D&D novels, D&D video games, D&D comic books, as wonderful expressions of D&D storytelling and D&D lore, but they are not canonical for the D&D roleplaying game."

"If you’re looking for what’s official in the D&D roleplaying game, it’s what appears in the products for the roleplaying game. Basically, our stance is that if it has not appeared in a book since 2014, we don’t...

• Morrus
• Replies: 1,693
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[Micah Sweet]

What does it say in your lore?

We're talking about a published book, not our own tables. Anyone can do whatever they want at their own tables. It's practically an axiom of the hobby.

 

[TiQuinn]

We're talking about a published book, not our own tables. Anyone can do whatever they want at their own tables. It's practically an axiom of the hobby.

Yes, but you asked about the lore. And you just answered anyone can do what they want at their own tables.

Have you not done that?

 

[Micah Sweet]

You can assume someone is agreeing with 100% because of a like. I didn't like your comment, but I have liked comments in the past that I disagree with, but respect the opinion or otherwise support some part of the comment. I to don't particularly like this art, but I didn't click like because I support WotC looking at monster designs and taking a new crack at them, even if I don't agree with the final result.

This is not a retcon. It is just different art for the marilith. They are not saying all mariliths look like this or that mariliths have always looked like this. Early in this thread I posted images from mariliths from each edition. They have changed with every edition, where each of those retcons too?!

I certainly hope they don't listen to you as I hope they continue to review and change things in an attempt to make them better.*

* I realize this is subjective and I don't expect anyone to succeed all the time. I appreciate the effort if it is truthfully done with the thought of making an improvement. Whether or not I agree that it is an improvement.

Do you believe that the 5.5 change is no different than any other change to the marilith? It looks like a bigger change to me, but I'm obviously biased against 5.5 in general.

 

[Maxperson]

Do you mean the Maedar or actual Medusae but male.

Mandarin, which are the male medusae.

 

[Reynard]

This thread reinforces my belief that every demon, devil, angel, etc should be completely unique. there should be A Marilith, and A Pit Fiend. These things in the MM are just examples, and GMs should build or steal other ones at their whim.

THE Marilith might be a naked busty 6 armed snake lady who likes to stab mortals who don't look her in the eye. Or, it might be a monstrousy multi-limbed hairy scaly brute with as much gender identity as a hurricane. Problem solved.