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​

 

[Demetrios1453]

Given how clumsy WotC can be with delicate matters, and the specific moment in time, I'm comfortable with just tossing major dimorphism and single-sex creatures with human-like secondary characteristics. It will empower more than it will dilute, and we can look at where the world is in a decade to see if the lack of dimorphism is still helpful to anyone.

I would always prefer to ADD rather than REPLACE. Expand rather than simplify. Maybe every previous marilith version is equally accurate, and they come in even more varieties than mortal humanoids do. Perhaps some have snakey arms and coils like a centipede, while others look like a bunch of mortals smashed and twisted together like clay figures.

Exactly this.

Heck, the 1e/2e dragon designs remain as valid as the 3e and 5e versions. Invidiuals look different from each other, sometimes startlingly so. And that's even before magic gets involved....

 

[Corinnguard]

This piece is by Justin Gerard, a well know and respected artist that has been in business long before AI was a thing. It would have taken you all of 5 min. to figure this out.

How do you know the Marilith picture in the 2024 M&M was created by this particular artist? curious I was able to find his name among the names of Interior Illustrators on the Credits page. He is the 30th interior illustrator in this book (it appears that over 100 illustrators were involved in illustrating it). If I wanted to know more about these illustrators, I would have to do an extensive online search. It would have taken me more than 5 minutes to find out who they are.

The link to his artstation webpage was nice though. Good artwork.

 

[Nadan]

How do you know the Marilith picture in the 2024 M&M was created by this particular artist? curious I was able to find his name among the names of Interior Illustrators on the Credits page. He is the 30th interior illustrator in this book (it appears that over 100 illustrators were involved in illustrating it). If I wanted to know more about these illustrators, I would have to do an extensive online search. It would have taken me more than 5 minutes to find out who they are.

The link to his artstation webpage was nice though. Good artwork.

Because his name is written right below the art? At least it is in Beyond's page

 

[Corinnguard]

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Because his name is writed right below the art? At least it is in Beyond's page

I didn't know that. I do have a D&D Beyond account, but I visit this website only when I need to use my Bugbear Ranger/Rogue on game night with my friends. When @dave2008 brought up the artist's name, I turned toward the 2024 Monster Manual I had recently bought for the name search and went straight to the Credits page.

 

[dave2008]

I didn't know that. I do have a D&D Beyond account, but I visit this website only when I need to use my Bugbear Ranger/Rogue on game night with my friends. When @dave2008 brought up the artist's name, I turned toward the 2024 Monster Manual I had recently bought for the name search and went straight to the Credits page.

I used Beyond like @Nadan suggested. I do wish they would credit artist in the physical book like they do on Beyond.

 

[Alzrius]

He’s objectively correct though, which is exactly why I say canonicity doesn’t really make sense in the context of an RPG.

Accepting the premise that Perkins' statement is "objectively correct" requires having a defined understanding of not only what "canonicity" is, but why fan communities find the concept to be important. To say nothing of figuring out what the context is in which it's being discussed. I don't think Perkins does a very good job with any of that, which I'd posit is why this issue keeps coming up.

 

[dave2008]

Accepting the premise that Perkins' statement is "objectively correct" requires having a defined understanding of not only what "canonicity" is, but why fan communities find the concept to be important. To say nothing of figuring out what the context is in which it's being discussed. I don't think Perkins does a very good job with any of that, which I'd posit is why this issue keeps coming up.

I know I can't answer the bold part, can you? Maybe @Micah Sweet can? They seem to care about the canon of D&D a lot. I don't really get it so I would appreciate some clarification if possible.

I do want to be clear here, I am not asking about the lore of D&D fiction (novels, video games, etc.), only for the game itself. Why is canon important to fans in the context of playing the game? Some questions I have:

• Is canon more important than what you play at table?
• Does canon change the results of your table games?
• Can your table game results change canon?
• Are you required to follow canon at your table?
• Are you a fan of canon or lore?

I feel I should be up front and state that I am fan of lore, but not canon. I honestly don't understand its function in a TTRG. In fact, I don't think it can function in a TTRPG. So that is my bias, but I am interested to hear what it means to others. Maybe I should start a new thread?!

 

[Alzrius]

Maybe I should start a new thread?!

In all honesty, I think that'd be for the best. There's a lot of questions there, and a lot of discussion that will need to be had, e.g. "only for the game itself" is likely to be a major point of discussion all on its own.

 

[dave2008]

In all honesty, I think that'd be for the best. There's a lot of questions there, and a lot of discussion that will need to be had, e.g. "only for the game itself" is likely to be a major point of discussion all on its own.

Yep, I started to do that and realized I don't have time today to wander into that discussion so I will get back to it later. I am just leaving that post up for the moment so I don't forget what I wrote!

 

[Corinnguard]

Maybe I should start a new thread?!

You probably should as the questions you posed will require quite a number of Insight and History skill checks. As for Canon and Lore, one reality's lore is another reality's canon. We are dealing with the D&D multiverse after all.