D&D 4E Yugoloths in 4E

[SPECTRE666]

Richard Baker also said thatYugoloths are now Demons. So does Worlds and Monsters.

Yeah, Fin, yugoloths are now demons in FR, just like they are in core. That's an example of the kind of rules question that FR needs to follow the core rules on.

My personal theory (still working on this one) is that "yugoloth" is a family or branch of demonkind, like tanar'ri, obyrith, or loumara. I think that each family might have different characteristics or purposes, so it's possible that yugoloths, despite their demonic nature, might retain that mercenary role they've always had. But that's only my personal musings at this point.

As far as I can tell, this change doesn't invalidate the concept of enmity between devils and demons, or the idea that they might have fought/still be fighting a gigantic cosmos-wide war.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fingoldfin
Let's ask a Realms designer.

Rich,

Are yugoloths now demons in Forgotten Realms? If they are demons now does that mean the Blood War never existed? Were Tanar'ri and Baaetzu always friends?

__________________
Rich Baker
Senior Designer
Roleplaying R&D
Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey Spectre!

Perhaps the Yugoloths could be the offspring of Demons & Devils?

Or a sub-race of Demons affected by some form of wasting disease.

It will be interesting to see how how the Demon Princes and Daemon Masters get along or if the latter will just be scrapped?

It might have made more sense to have the Slaad become a demonic sub-race and have the Daemons become Shadowy echoes of other evil, decaying because of the intrinsic negative energy of the plane. Then again the Slaad could become the footsoldiers of the Far Realm I suppose.

Far Realm: Slaad & Inevitables (Inevitables guarding the borders of the Far Realm)
Elemental Planes: Demons & Archons
Astral Plane: Devils & Angels
Shadow Plane: Daemons & ?
Feywild: Fomorians & Eladrin

 

[Dunamin]

It might have made more sense to have the Slaad become a demonic sub-race and have the Daemons become Shadowy echoes of other evil, decaying because of the intrinsic negative energy of the plane. Then again the Slaad could become the footsoldiers of the Far Realm I suppose.

Far Realm: Slaad & Inevitables (Inevitables guarding the borders of the Far Realm)

Huh? How are Slaad or Inevitables remotely related to the Far Realm?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Huh? How are Slaad or Inevitables remotely related to the Far Realm?

I can see the thought process: Slaad live in Limbo, and Limbo is about as close to Far Realms as you got before the Far Realms was invented. By the same token, if you want to guard a place of chaos and madness, you need something as lawful and regimented as possible - hence Inevitables.

Not saying I necessarily agree with the idea, just that I grok where it's coming from.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I don't mind Yugoloths being a kind of 'mercenary demon,' actually. If they're still their own family, I can rock it.

It can even work with the 'inscrutable wills' of the Ultraloths.

I'm a little sad we're loosing a 'middle ground' kind of fiend, but there might be an easy way to reinstate it, and I confess that there's not much mythological oomph behind 'extraplanar mercenaries', and that Devils kind of took the whole 'insctrutable wills' thing for themselves.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Limbo isn't like the Far Realms, it is however exactly like the Elemental Chaos (and Worlds and Monsters clearly states that Limbo and the Abyss both find their new home in the Elemental Chaos

 

[Plane Sailing]

...and the Slaad are found in the elemental chaos. (Not the far realms)

 

[Dunamin]

I can see the thought process: Slaad live in Limbo, and Limbo is about as close to Far Realms as you got before the Far Realms was invented. By the same token, if you want to guard a place of chaos and madness, you need something as lawful and regimented as possible - hence Inevitables.

Not saying I necessarily agree with the idea, just that I grok where it's coming from.

I certainly hope that's not the case.

I thought the point of inevitables was to enforce a law, such as "none shall break a pact" or "none shall live forever". Having a caste of "no Far Realm being shall enter the World" inevitable seems sort of a slim concept to me. If there's going to be guardians for portals/rifts to the Far Realm it certainly makes sense for them to be lawful and disciplined, but inevitables just seems off.

Slaadi I don't see either. They're chaotic, but they don't seem Lovecraftian at all and nothing really seems reminiscent of any aberrations I can think of.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I certainly hope that's not the case.

It's not the case. I think Worlds and Monsters is pretty clear on this.

 

[The Little Raven]

I'm a little sad we're loosing a 'middle ground' kind of fiend, but there might be an easy way to reinstate it, and I confess that there's not much mythological oomph behind 'extraplanar mercenaries', and that Devils kind of took the whole 'insctrutable wills' thing for themselves.

This "need" for "middle ground" fiends/monsters reminds me of the "need" for symmetry in races that gave us a bagillion kinds of elf and dwarf.