D&D 4E Yugoloths in 4E

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy Dausuul!

When you see crawling reptilian horrors in a diseased jungle, you know you're dealing with Demogorgon. When you see an endless horde of undead warriors shambling across a desolate wasteland, that's Orcus. And the Abyss contains every imaginable type of terrain. Jungle, arctic tundra, desert, swamp, mountains--it's all there, along with all kinds of bizarre places that have no real-world analogues.

Part of the problem stems from the rigid hierarchy of the Hells; when every one of the Dukes has pretty much the same array of minions, it's hard to tell them apart. Furthermore, the constant rise and fall of archdevils means that the leadership of each layer is constantly changing, so it's hard to develop a strong association between a given layer and its reigning Duke.

Which is, oddly enough something that would change if they tied each Arch-devil to a particular sin. That would work to better define its servants, minions and the setting itself giving each Arch-devil something unique - which is something the Demon Princes/Lords already have built in to their make-up.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Mourn!

Daemons are demons, now. Ice Devils are demons "on loan" to the devils.

I know, after I posted that last night I went back and re-read the preview page here on ENWorld and realised as such.

 

[Dunamin]

Well who says Dispater is in 4E, who says there are 9 Hells in 4E...other than Dante that is...

As for Dispater's 'sin' given that he rarely if ever ventures from his Iron Tower, sloth could be a good fit.

Worlds & Monsters makes it clear that there are still 9 Hells.

Dispater would be a poor choice for sloth, since he constantly toils on spying and working against those who might betray him - which in Dispater's mind is pretty much everyone!

As I understand it, the constant shifting street layout in the City of Dis is his doing, to ensure that no forces can invade Dis and reach the Iron Tower. I definitely would not call Dispater lazy, even if he could use some fresh air.

 

[Dausuul]

Which is, oddly enough something that would change if they tied each Arch-devil to a particular sin. That would work to better define its servants, minions and the setting itself giving each Arch-devil something unique - which is something the Demon Princes/Lords already have built in to their make-up.

True. But then you get into the danger of excessive metaphysics written into the rules. Possibly the best solution would be to design the archdevils with particular sins in mind (though likely not the classical seven), but not make the link explicit. Leave it to individual DMs to decide whether they want to develop that, or take the Hells down a different road.