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​

 

[Maxperson]

Me, I'm still mulling over the implications of the notion that demons have biology. Does that mean there are vast, infinite farms in the Abyss? What happens to demon armies? They must have MASSIVE supply trains. What happens to a demon that starves to death or gets dehydrated? Isn't that rather an easy out for pretty much every larvae and mane? Why undergo millenia of horrific torture when all you have to do is just not eat. It's not like other demons are going to feed you.

Funny how Descent into Avernus lacked anything even remotely resembling any source of food or water.

It makes it a lot easier when you can just eat the folks you pass by and then the enemy. If human armies just ate everyone else they encountered, they'd need a whole lot less in the way of supply trains.

 

[Maxperson]

Yeah, to me, it's just one artists interpretation. We have dozens more we can use. It's such a shame that so many on the forums are so entrenched in the idea of a singular representation of a single monster.

It's more than that, though. This happened at a time when WotC is shifting its ideology to................something. And that something is kind of odd with male and female now. They made a lot of changes like this, so the lack of female in the art and the deliberate removal of female in the lore has much stronger implications than if they had left everything else alone and just had some odd piece of artwork.

 

[dave2008]

I know that, which is why I said fiend. Fiends are demons, devils, succubi, etc. You still didn't answer the questions, though.

Why would demons have the biology, both male and female, to have babies with mortals, but not each other? What sense does that make?

Personally I don't see demons as having a set biology in that sense. They can however create / modify/ manifest what they need to perform a task. So a Glabrezu has no apparent sex organs, but can manifest either as needed for a given task (most likely whichever is most horrible for the given situation) and can in fact "procreate" without sex organs or even sex as well.

 

[Maxperson]

As to how demons hump…I don’t ask many questions unless I feel something wrapped around my leg and gyrating. “Back type III! I already told you I am not interested!”

 

[dave2008]

It's more than that, though. This happened at a time when WotC is shifting its ideology to................something. And that something is kind of odd with male and female now. They made a lot of changes like this, so the lack of female in the art and the deliberate removal of female in the lore has much stronger implications than if they had left everything else alone and just had some odd piece of artwork.

Of course that could all change with the next marilith image. We just don't really have enough of an idea at this point IMO. Not that I really care, I use what I want regardless.

 

[Maxperson]

Personally I don't see demons as having a set biology in that sense. They can however create / modify/ manifest what they need to perform a task. So a Glabrezu has no apparent sex organs, but can manifest either as needed for a given task (most likely whichever is most horrible for the given situation) and can in fact "procreate" without sex organs or even sex as well.

View attachment 398857

Okay, but then that means that they can manifest to have babies with one another, too. If they can have biology to mate with mortals, then they can mate with each other. It doesn't make sense for it to just be mortals and not other demons.

 

[dave2008]

Okay, but then that means that they can manifest to have babies with one another, too. If they can have biology to mate with mortals, then they can mate with each other. It doesn't make sense for it to just be mortals and not other demons.

Sure, did I suggest otherwise?

Personally I don't see them "mating" with other demons (doesn't serve their purpose). If they want to procreate with another demon they simply combine a piece from each "parent" to create a new demon. I imagine this is a rather violent and gruesome process and not sexual in any sense.

 

[Maxperson]

Sure, did I suggest otherwise?

Personally I don't see them "mating" with other demons (doesn't serve their purpose). If they want to procreate with another demon they simple combine a piece from each "parent" to create a new demon. I imagine this is a rather violent and gruesome process and not sexual in any sense.

No, but others have for reasons unknown to me.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Armanites and Goristoi have explicit references about being able to breed with others of their kind, and that's not including other 2e sources about Tanar'ri Demons in general. I'd still use the 2e sources especially if 5e is generally silent on an issue due to lack of elaboration.

3e sort of implies that Obyrith Demon Lord Pale Night got pregnant from Nyarlathotep and gave birth to Graz'zt as a result.

It's quite clearly stated that Shadow Demons aren't like other Demons. 5e treats them as being unofficially undead with it's lore.

And sure with Armanites being the special case of a Demon type that was once perhaps a biological species, maybe now they're offshoots of some nomadic species from the First World that eventually became Centaurs, Wemics, Bariaur and more.

2e Faces of evil says Demons can’t breed with each other cause female demons are infertile.

Edit: Sorry mixed it up, demons can breed according to that book, devils can’t.

 

[Sulicius]

When there are threads about art, people will express preferences. The reason it matters at all is that the depictions will become the standard depiction we see ostensibly for years.

I don’t like this new art myself. It is fine but I think the old depictions are superior. As I said up thread, I think the juxtaposition of human (e.g face) with demon body is creepier. Likewise a centipede with human hands is unsettling.

If you are going to depart from decades of a certain depiction, it’s incumbent upon creators and directors to do something better.

I feel about this like I do 5.5 generally. It’s a change. It’s “fine.” But why?

(I won’t cry into my pillow about either one…have too many d20s that need rolling).

As to how demons hump…I don’t ask many questions unless I feel something wrapped around my leg and gyrating. “Back type III! I already told you I am not interested!”

It's more than that, though. This happened at a time when WotC is shifting its ideology to................something. And that something is kind of odd with male and female now. They made a lot of changes like this, so the lack of female in the art and the deliberate removal of female in the lore has much stronger implications than if they had left everything else alone and just had some odd piece of artwork.

Ah, I see how this thread became the way it is.