Tell me about Demogorgon

[FitzTheRuke]

1) Yeenoghu is well... he doesn't feel big? He's just not going to be the guy that can bring down a civilization. While what I am proposing for D is a step back, he is also a schemer.

2) His look does fit. Giant monstrous baboon is great for a Skull Island-esque game. Yeenoghu is just a big gnoll. He's not as freaky.

Fair enough, but if I were you, I'd probably make Yeenoghu into a badass, rather than change Demogorgon into a stand-in for him. Still, in your favour, Demo has the name recognition, that's for sure. And the baboon face, yeah.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think part of this is being perhaps a little too literal with the idea of "chaotic". Chaos can mean disorder, but it also means change. Something can have a structure and still be unstable, unpredictable, and given to turnover.

Sure, I get it. As I said one can thread the needle. What I'm saying is just that the whole "Demons are defined by being chaotic aligned, whatever that means" paradigm is not particularly inspiring or compelling to me when I'm wearing by DM loremaster and storyteller hats, and if the someone composing the lore back in the 70s had instead made it that, say, Orcus was the lawful aligned Devil lord of undeath then I could make that make sense too and he would function about the same for most story purposes. Mr. Screaming Baboon Heads and Flailing Tentacle Arms just seems a lot more intrinsically evocative of chaos then some of his demon lord brethren on a basic level.

 

[Lackofname]

Fair enough, but if I were you, I'd probably make Yeenoghu into a badass, rather than change Demogorgon into a stand-in for him.

My players don't know who either are. So what does it matter?

 

[Lackofname]

Sure, I get it. As I said one can thread the needle. What I'm saying is just that the whole "Demons are defined by being chaotic aligned, whatever that means" paradigm is not particularly inspiring or compelling to me when I'm wearing by DM loremaster and storyteller hats,

I got you. The D&D cosmology feels very forced symmetry.

The one that seems particularly awkward to me is NE. Everything I've seen that's come out of that has felt "Well we gotta put something here."

 

[Voadam]

Fiendish Codex 1 from 3.5 does not have that much of use for your purposes unfortunately, they put his areas of concern as simply Demonkind and they say how for non-scaly humanoids generally there are only lone cultists.

Demogorgon is served by all manner of demons, some of which (such as the retriever) were actually created by him. Many powerful and unique demons serve him as well, and he commands armies of evil lizardfolk, scheming yuan-ti, sadistic troglodytes, vampiric ixitxachitl, and countless shoals of Abyssal aquatic predators. His close alliance with the ancient demon lord Dagon has provided him with access to Abyssal secrets that the other demon lords could only guess about. The methods of creating the powerful undead warlords known as death knights represent the least of these secrets, yet they are horrific and potent nevertheless.
Worshipers of Demogorgon are more likely to be scaly things that hide from the light than humans or members of other civilized races. Despite his status in the Abyss, the vast majority of the Material Plane is blissfully ignorant of his existence, yet they know his works, if only indirectly. The troglodytes worship him as Ahmon-Ibor, the Sibilant Beast, and use his teachings to bring vile intelligence and fanaticism to the beasts of the wild. Yuan-ti know him as Siosivash and raise great temples to him in sunken caverns. The unknowable ixitxachitl are his chosen minions on the Material Plane, and even they dare not speak his name aloud. The rare human cults that venerate the Prince of Demons welcome piracy and cannibalism with open arms.
While humanoid cults dedicated to Demogorgon might be rare, individual humanoid worshipers of the Prince of Demons are more likely menaces. These followers often control the societies they live in or have much influence over those who do. They keep their faith secret from society, and use their power to spread evil and misery in his unspoken name.

 

[Voadam]

In 2e's Monster Mythology his twin areas of concern as a patron of Ixixachitl was energy drains and domination.

 

[Voadam]

4e's Monster Manual 2 has some good stuff.

The Prince of Demons is cunning, cruel, envious, and ferocious even for a demon. He sees both sides of every problem and has plenty of attention to spare for his cosmos-spanning cult of sadism and destruction. Demogorgon's worshipers include troglodytes, kuo-toa, and other humanoids that exult in mindless violence and destruction. In times of chaos, humans and others flock to Demogorgon's cult. Demogorgon's priests teach that through savagery, strength, and slaughter, followers thrive and multiply where others fade and die. When war wracks the land-particularly when hordes of monsters sweep over bastions of civilization, leaving them in ruin—Demogorgon's cult grows strong.
Although Demogorgon's cult is small, it leaves a terrible swath of destruction across the land. Demogorgon's cultists organize themselves into crude war bands, relying on battle madness and wrath to overpower their enemies. They wander from town to town, burning and looting everything in their paths. Like miniature aspects of their lord's wrath, they destroy all they see.

Also

Arcana DC 22 : Demogorgon's two heads are named Aameul and Hethradiah. Aameul prefers deception, and Hethradiah favors destruction. Originally, Demogorgon had one head and one mind. A mighty blow from the deity Amoth split him nearly in two before Demogorgon killed Amoth. After he healed, Demogorgon's head remained split. The two heads often disagree with one another but turn disagreement to their mutual advantage. For instance, one head struck an alliance with a powerful lich queen of the deep Shadowfell, and the other killed her to steal her powers.
Arcana DC 32: As comfortable in the seas as on the land, Demogorgon makes his home in a tropical region of the Abyss that is composed of dense jungles, deep oceans, and vast stretches of brine flats. The mightiest of the demon princes, Demogorgon commands creatures from places as as varied as the depths of the Underdark and the decadent palaces of civilization. Troglodytes worship him as a deity, sparking endless battles against their Torog-worshiping kin. Colonies of kuo-toas appeal to him for aid in reclaiming their once-great empire.
Arcana DC 37: Twins born to cultists or kidnapped and indoctrinated at a young age lead Demogorgon's mightiest cults. Each twin serves one of Demogorgon's two personalities. Invariably, such a cult falls to infighting as one high priest turns against the other, hindering many a foul plot.
Arcana DC 39 : Temples to Demogorgon often reflect the dual nature of the Prince of Demons. Builders construct each temple symmetrically: One half is dedicated to Aameul, and the other to Hethradiah. Priests, warriors, petitioners, and other functionaries dwell in whichever side of the temple better fits their personalities. A grand cathedral unites the two halves at the center.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

My players don't know who either are. So what does it matter?

Oh it doesn't, and I change all sorts of details even when I'm running an "established" adventure, so do whatever you like! But if you're looking for details on Demogorgon (like the thread title) the more you find out, the more you might have to change to make him the way you want him. Maybe you should look at Yeenoghu (who seems more like what you want) and then just steal THAT and make it your Demogorgon? Of course, there's probably even less about him out there than there his about Demo, who's more famous.

 

[jasper]

He mad because he is not a full Gorgon. And is shorter than a full gorgon. But does make a decent salary working as a Devil model at Demon's Dungeons at the mall.

 

[Voadam]

In the 3.5 OGL Book of Fiends Demogorgon has domains of Chaos, Evil, Fear, and Pain and despots and dictators are listed as typical worshippers. He is mostly just an entry on a chart there compared to the in-depth descriptions of other demon lords but there is a little bit about his cultist thamaturges:

Demogorgon
Areas of Concern: Despotism
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Fear, Pain
Favored Weapon: Whip
Obedience: Demogorgonite thaumaturges renew their spell complement by spending an hour whipping and berating one or more social inferiors.

And unholy warriors devoted to him get corruption and pain domains.