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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 4144365" data-attributes="member: 2205">For whatever reason, I've always been a huge fan of employing plots rooted in the machinations of demon lords as one of my primary campaign drivers.  I use that plot device all the time.  Demon lords as Machiavellian schemers trying to gain more power, souls, and/or influence on the Material Plane is a tried and true method, and who doesn't love the chance to thwart something that's so iconic and symbolic of evil itself?  Plus, as an old timer, I have fond memories of the old demon lords, and their role in the game.For those of you, like me, who like to employ this plot device, which are your favorites, and which do you see yourself using in the future?  I've always been a big fan of the old standbyes Orcus and Demogorgon, and although I still have a fond spot for them, I'm usually the first to admit that they suffer from over-exposure.  Graz'zt doesn't seem to have had the same problem, and I'm not sure why.  Maybe because in general he's less straightforward of an antagonist, and fewer people are sure exactly how to use him?  Graz'zt is a favorite of mine, but I like to play up the (obvious, IMO) aspect of him as the "Black Man"; the infamous figure from the folklore of witchcraft who represented the devil himself coming to visit witches and consort with them.Another up and coming demon lord (in my estimation, anyway) is Dagon.  IIRC, he was a throwaway reference in the 1e Monster Manual II, but he wasn't really described in any detail at all until the Fiendish Codex I.  That's surprising to me; as a demonized god of non-Judaic neighbors of the Israelites in the Bible, he comes from the same source material as Pazuzu, Asmodeus, Baalzebul, etc. and therefore seems an obvious compatriot of them.  His more recent prominence due to a couple of Lovecraft's more famous stories fits the role of a D&D demon perfectly as well, and would have given Gary Gygax no less than two vectors—both of which he was obviously familiar with and mined frequently as source material—from which to borrow him.  The fact that he never really did so is somewhat surprising.In any case, the combination of Classic folkloric roots and obvious Lovecraftian influence—especially given my predilection for setting D&D games in ports and including pirates and sailing ships, and whatnot—make Dagon a fast rising up-and-comer in my list of favorite demon lords to use.I'm always on the lookout for good information about more, though, and possibly advancing the "official" timeline of where some of them could be.  I really liked Serpentrous (or whatever his name was) from Elder Evils but I thought the idea of a dead demon lord was much less compelling than a live one—I'd advance him to roughly CR 30 like the other really tough demon lords from Dragon Magazine and run with him that way.  I'd do the same with the Obox-ob stats from Dungeon Magazine 149 and have the entire lower planes in an uproar due to his return.Anyway, enough rambling from me; for those of you who—like me—find the lure of including demonic elements in your D&D game a temptation too great to resist, what are your favorites?</blockquote>

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