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​

 

[Bae'zel]

Let’s not mince words: is all this because the new Marilith is no longer sexy?

 

[TiQuinn]

Let’s not mince words: is all this because the new Marilith is no longer f—-able?

Yes.

 

[Bae'zel]

Yes.

I mean, I love cheesecake as much as the next guy but my kids look at these books. I’m fine with keeping my sassy fantasy art and my public school library art separate, ya know?

At worst, print out the entry for Marilith in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia and tape it over the 2024 MM art.

 

[Scribe]

Let’s not mince words: is all this because the new Marilith is no longer <filter dodging gets us in trouble>?

No.

 

[Corinnguard]

Let’s not mince words: is all this because the new Marilith is no longer f—-able?

No. This is because WoTC decided to reinvent their looks for reasons known only to them. We're just doing Insight checks again.

 

[TiQuinn]

I mean, I love cheesecake as much as the next guy but my kids look at these books. I’m fine with keeping my sassy fantasy art and my public school library art separate, ya know?

At worst, print out the entry for Marilith in the Monster Girl Encyclopedia and tape it over the 2024 MM art.

Oh I’m not making a judgement. But I’m finding the endless arguments are designed to skirt the precise point you made. It’s about the implied sexiness.

 

[Bae'zel]

No. This is because WoTC decided to reinvent their looks for reasons known only to them. We're just doing Insight checks again.

I don’t know if my insight check failed, but my result was “WotC is trying to move away from specifically female-gendered monsters as they have origins mired in kind of sexist or misogynistic tropes from olden times” and “WotC wanted to make devils and demons more scary looking as less human or relatable”.

Because I haven’t seen anyone complain that WotC hasn’t been consistent and showed a male Marilith too, in fact, I’ve seen a general objection to the inclusion of male monsters in traditionally female-only ones, making me wonder if it really is about: “I want pretty female only monsters” and/or “it’s tradition”, neither of which wins me over.

 

[Corinnguard]

Because I haven’t seen anyone complain that WotC hasn’t been consistent and showed a male Marilith too, i

Toward the beginning of this thread, I received two sad emojis just for saying:

Since 5.5e now has Male Dryads and Male Hags, perhaps this Marilith is a male of its' kind?

There was no follow-up quote from either poster as to why they were saddened at the possibility of the Marilith being a male of its kind. So, I am equally bemused as you are.

I don’t know if my insight check failed, but my result was “WotC is trying to move away from specifically female-gendered monsters as they have origins mired in kind of sexist or misogynistic tropes from olden times” and “WotC wanted to make devils and demons more scary looking as less human or relatable”.

There have been a number of posts that mentioned other female-gendered monsters in the new Monster Manual. And none of them have received as much attention as the Marilith. So, that leaves the question of why the Marilith is being singled out

 

[Incenjucar]

Let’s not mince words: is all this because the new Marilith is no longer sexy?

No. I'm sure one can find people for whom this is relevant, but the actual composition of the demon is the issue. For a good chunk of the folks complaining, their first marilith is from 2E's monstrous manual, and she looks like if Cruella benched 400 and lived on the beach.

Armor them up and hide their figure and the deadly powerful genius woman monster is still compelling and unsettling.

 

[Maxperson]

I love how some people think this is about the marilith being sexy. The marilith has never been sexy. Ever. There's nothing sexy about the lower torso of a snake, six arms, or a bunch of swords to slice you up, and at least two pictures that I've seen are downright ugly.