Demogorgon: Lame or Awesome?

[Lancelot]

Demogorgon > Orcus

Demogorgon's probably my favorite demon lord, on account of three factors:

1) 1e MM. 200hp? Whoa!

2) Less played out than the other Big Two. Orcus and Graz'zt have appeared in countless modules and supplements each, whereas Demogorgon is really only notable for Savage Tide.

3) Baldur's Gate II ...and not just for the ToB expansion. There's a lost shrine to Demogorgon in the original game, with an old statue... and some inscriptions... and maybe a sacrifice. The beauty is that the statue is immediately recognizable. If it was a statue to Orcus or Graz'zt or Pale Night (yuck) or nearly any other demon lord... then it could be nearly anyone. You'd have to look pretty closely to see Orcus's wand or Graz'zt's six fingered hands. But Demogorgon is instantly recognizable, and creepy.

...but having said all that:

Devils > Demons

 

[James Jacobs]

And the funny thing is that it appeared as a random picture in dungeonscape. The article in question didn't even have anything to do with demogorgon.

I suspect that, since Jason Bulmahn wrote part of Dungeonscape's art order, he threw in a picture of Demogorgon as a nod to Savage Tide, which was pretty much on all of our minds 24-7 at Paizo at the time. I might have even asked him if he could sneak a Demogorgon into the book, although that was YEARS ago and I can't quite be sure...

 

[Evilhalfling]

I'm another big fan of Demogorgon, way back from when I had the coloring book. This puts me solidly behind the Mandrill-headed version.
I also loved reading the end of savage tide, and picked up the last three issues just to see how it turned out.

oh and thanks for the background James, I had wondered where the new demon races came from.

 

[Mercule]

Demogorgon > Orcus

I've never fully gotten the Orcus fetish and have always preferred Demogorgon. I agree that the new picture is mediocre at best...it is too...Wild Kingdom, like the plaid-wearing safari version of a demon prince.

Agreed. Demogorgon is easily my favorite official "power" (really the only one that makes much of an appearance IMC). Orcus always struck me as a kinda lame also-ran. I just don't get the love for Orcus -- actually, I don't get even giving Orcus a second look.

The picture on the MM2 is kinda lame, though.

 

[Drowbane]

I dig Demogorgon. His image might be funny looking on paper, but I don't believe any of us wouldn't piss ourselves if we ran into that in a dark alley.

Since he has been mentioned, I dig Orcus also. Not too into Grazzt though. IMC, Orcus is "twice fallen" (to use Wyrish terminology). He was once one of the Nine.

 

[balard]

Demogorgon > Orcus

Orcus is a loser. Pazuzu, Pale Night and Grazz't are much cooler than he is. And Demogorgon(with long necks) is teh awesome.

And now after this thread I see him chaotically changing forms as he thrashes your party. Like little twig. Than eat your soul. Snapping it in the middle...

 

[D.Shaffer]

I like to entertain the idea that Demogorgon, being a primordial being of chaos, doesnt really have a completely set form. Sure, there's a constant over all form of this lanky humanoid with two heads an tentacle arms, but the exact make up changes from moment to moment, melding into new permutations. So...all those pictures we see of him are what he really looks like, it just depends on when you saw him. It'd explain why he sometimes had hyena heads and sometimes baboon heads too.

 

[fletch137]

Hunh. I happen to really like the MM2 covergirl version of Demogorgon. I won't say it's *better* than any other version I've seen, but it's really nice to see some glimmer of intelligence in his eyes. On the surface, he's immediately recognizable as something that will eat you alive, but that added level of intelligence makes it all the more frightening.

Plus he has clothes on.

 

[HazardCatcher]

This one doesn't have the long necks, but, I think really, it's what a lot of you were looking for, even if you didn't know it yet.

Because Steve Prescott is badass.

BTW I really like the MM2 cover, and think the bright colors make it standout out over the drab MM1 cover.

Even if I minded something looking a little cartoony, which I really don't, I'm just glad it doesn't look computer generated, which is terrible for Dungeons&Dragons art.

 

[Klaus]

This one doesn't have the long necks, but, I think really, it's what a lot of you were looking for, even if you didn't know it yet.

Because Steve Prescott is badass.

BTW I really like the MM2 cover, and think the bright colors make it standout out over the drab MM1 cover.

Even if I minded something looking a little cartoony, which I really don't, I'm just glad it doesn't look computer generated, which is terrible for Dungeons&Dragons art.

That's nice, I'd just like it more if the "composite elements" of Demogorgon's appearance (mandrill heads, scaly tentacles and dinosaur legs) "bled" or "mixed" into each other (add patches of fur to the legs, add scales to the heads, etc).