Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Yugoloths: Do They Have an Identity Beyond the Blood War?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 8165814" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Resurrect thread! I thought <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/yugoloths-do-they-have-an-identity-beyond-the-blood-war.641855/page-3#post-7429432" target="_blank">this post by</a> [USER=11697]@Shemeska[/USER] a few pages back was insightful.</p><p></p><p>One exercise I use when trying to understand a monster – or the current iteration of a monster & the designers' perspectives on that monster – is to look at its stat block independent of story writing, and see what sorts of narrative implications are suggested through the stats. I then compare my read with the actual story writing to see if it lines up or if there are discrepancies.</p><p></p><p>I noticed an interesting trend in 5e's stats for the fiends:</p><p></p><p>Yugoloths seem to be defined – mechanically – by creating magical <em>darkness</em> (and secondarily <em>dispelling magic</em>), teleporting, and being able to hurt magical creatures. That's what makes them unique from devils & demons. "Moving through darkness" might be a theme for these fiends, if only there weren't a sight caveat on their teleportation.</p><p></p><p>However, it is devils with Devil's Sight allowing them to see in magical darkness.</p><p></p><p>If the yutholoth's ultimate aim were, for instance, moral turpitude (e.g. "No, that's not evil. That's not evil. And that's not evil either. When nothing is forbidden, all is permitted.") and leading others into spiritual darkness, then it would make sense for yugoloths to be the ones that can see in magical darkness, not devils.</p><p></p><p>That one change would also double down on their identity of being uniquely suited to thwarting other planar beings (dispel magic, being able to hurt magical creatures, and now shutting them down in darkness). Plus it would synergize with their teleportation in a "now you see me, now you don't" way, which works equally well for leading sinful mortals into a trap, or as a mercenary strategy.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 8165814, member: 20323"] Resurrect thread! I thought [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/yugoloths-do-they-have-an-identity-beyond-the-blood-war.641855/page-3#post-7429432']this post by[/URL] [USER=11697]@Shemeska[/USER] a few pages back was insightful. One exercise I use when trying to understand a monster – or the current iteration of a monster & the designers' perspectives on that monster – is to look at its stat block independent of story writing, and see what sorts of narrative implications are suggested through the stats. I then compare my read with the actual story writing to see if it lines up or if there are discrepancies. I noticed an interesting trend in 5e's stats for the fiends: Yugoloths seem to be defined – mechanically – by creating magical [I]darkness[/I] (and secondarily [I]dispelling magic[/I]), teleporting, and being able to hurt magical creatures. That's what makes them unique from devils & demons. "Moving through darkness" might be a theme for these fiends, if only there weren't a sight caveat on their teleportation. However, it is devils with Devil's Sight allowing them to see in magical darkness. If the yutholoth's ultimate aim were, for instance, moral turpitude (e.g. "No, that's not evil. That's not evil. And that's not evil either. When nothing is forbidden, all is permitted.") and leading others into spiritual darkness, then it would make sense for yugoloths to be the ones that can see in magical darkness, not devils. That one change would also double down on their identity of being uniquely suited to thwarting other planar beings (dispel magic, being able to hurt magical creatures, and now shutting them down in darkness). Plus it would synergize with their teleportation in a "now you see me, now you don't" way, which works equally well for leading sinful mortals into a trap, or as a mercenary strategy. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Yugoloths: Do They Have an Identity Beyond the Blood War?
Top