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Beholder

2020-08-02T03:07:07Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Gallery */

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
[[File:Beholder 4e.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A beholder doing what they do best: wrecking your shit.]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* [[Elder Orb]]: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* [[Beholder mage]]: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* [[Beholder Priestess]]: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* [[Doomsphere]]: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* [[Death Tyrant]]: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* [[Kasharin]]: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* [[Evil Eyes]]: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most, that's all they do.

* [[Gauth]] - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays, and exhaustion rays, and immobilize with its central eye.
* [[Bloodkiss]] - Another carry-over and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* [[Eye of Shadow]] - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* [[Eye of Flame]] - not to be confused with [[Eye of Fear and Flame]]. A beholder that specializes in burninating shit. The central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* [[Eye of Frost]] - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilize those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* [[Beholder Spawn]] - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* [[Death Tyrant]] - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. The choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* [[Ghost Beholder]] - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* [[Eye Tyrant]] - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* [[Eye of Chaos]] - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* [[Ultimate Tyrant]] - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* [[Eternal Tyrant]] - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* [[Death Tyrant]]: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* [[Spectator]]: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* [[Beholder Zombie]]: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* [[Death's Kiss]]: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* [[Gauth]]: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* [[Gazer]]: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* [[Mindwitness]]: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* [[Gas Spore]]: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* [[Thagar]]: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* [[Deep spawn]]: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* [[Gibbering Orb]]: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* [[Lurking strangler]]: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* [[Fihyr]]: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
<center>{{NeedsImages}}There are still a lot of beholder images missing.</center>
<center>
<gallery>
File:Beholder Greyhawk.png|The beholder's first appearance on the [[Greyhawk]] supplement cover.
File:Beholder 1e.jpg|1e
File:Beholder lineup 2e.jpg|Several beholderkin in 2e
File:Beholder 3e.jpg|3e
File:Beholder 5e.jpg|5e
File:Beholder_balloon.jpg|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal
File:Awesome Beholder.png
File:The-bard-and-the-beholder.jpg
File:Gazer_D&D.png
</gallery>
</center>

RuneScape

2020-08-01T23:43:18Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7:

{{/vg/}}
{{Delete|Even WoW at least had some tiny connections to /tg/, this is just pointless}}

'''RuneScape''' is a MMORPG owned by a company called Jagex. The game began in 2001, just before [[World of Warcraft]]. The game is updated regularly, with new updates coming out every week or two. Besides being super old school, one reason for runescape’s longevity is that it was a free browser-based game, opening up its player base to people with even the crappiest computers and stingiest of wallets. The game no longer is browser-based and requires a client download but can still run on most computers including Linux. Recently the game has also become available to play on mobile devices. In 2004, a entirely new version of the game called RuneScape 2 was released, with the old version of the game being renamed RuneScape Classic. Although RuneScape Classic no longer received regular updates it continued to run until it was permanently shut down in 2018. In 2013 Jagex released Old School RuneScape, a new version of the game based on a backup of the game from 2007, by the demand of players who didn't like some of the [[Skub|controversial changes to the game in the recent years]] (mainly a poorly received overhaul of the game's combat system and adding microtransactions to the game). The same year RuneScape 2 was upgraded to RuneScape 3. Both games receive regular updates to this day and have loyal fanbases. Although Jagex has made some [[Derp|dumb mistakes]] that alienated players over the years, they actually care very much about their fans and treat them far better than [[Games Workshop|some other]] [[Blizzard|game companies]]. With Jagex's approval, some fans recreated a huge amount of the game in a [[Neverwinter Nights]] 2 mod called Molior RS.

==History of the world of RuneScape==
The Universe is destroyed and recreated in cycles by 6 beings known as the elder gods. In the beginning of the current cycle, something went wrong with Mah's rebirth and the other elder gods abandoned her, thinking that she was stillborn. Mah actually survived but lost all her memories and was rendered severely retarded and also slowly dying. While the other elder gods continued the cycle of creating planets without her, Mah created two young gods named Seren and Zaros to keep her company. Seren and Zaros eventually got sick of taking care of their retarded mother and left to explore the universe going their separate ways, so Mah created a new race called the Mahjarrat to be her toys. Seren eventually landed on the homeworld of the elves and became their goddess. While the elder gods were creating the new universe, they were confronted by survivors from the previous cycle of the universe called the Dragonkin, who demanded that the elder gods stop destroying the universe. Jas responded by putting a curse on the Dragonkin which forced them to act as guardians of the Stone of Jas, which was one of several artifacts the elder gods used to create planets, but also has the ability to grant godhood to mortals that used them. The elder gods later created a perfect world called Gielinor, and went to sleep there. While they were sleeping, many intelligent races evolved on the planets they made and several of them rose to godhood using the artifacts the elder gods left behind. These many gods battled with each other for control of the universe. On one planet, an entire race was completely wiped out by the war between the gods, except for one mortal named Guthix who rose to godhood by killing one of the gods that had destroyed his world. Guthix then wandered through the universe until he found Gielinor. There he met with Seren, and they decided to create a paradise where mortals could live away from the wars between the gods. Seren brought the elves to Gielinor and Guthix brought in many other races from across the universe, including humans. Guthix then went to sleep, while Seren peacefully ruled over the elves. But other gods started arriving on Gielinor. Zaros was one of those gods. He conquered much of the planet and built a great empire. Ictharin, the demigod of the dead, brought the Mahjarrat race to Gielinor to fight against Zaros, but the Mahjarrat ended up switching sides to Zaros, and most of them were wiped out when the god Tumeken sacrificed himself to wipe out Zaros's army. A Mahjarrat named Zamorak later betrayed Zaros and attempted to assassinated Zaros to steal his power. Zaros survived in a severely weakened and incorporeal state, and Zamorak rose to godhood. Zamorak started a massive war between the gods that lasted for thousands of years. The war finally ended when Zamorak unsuccessfully tried to use the Stone of Jas to kill the other gods, and the resulting explosion woke up Guthix. Guthix was enraged by what he saw and banished most of the other gods from Gielinor. The only gods he spared were those of demigod rank or below, plus Brassica Prime who was only allowed to stay because of him being good for the health of the planet and also being too crazy for most people to worship. He demanded that Seren go to sleep with him, but instead she chose to shatter herself into pieces so she could remain with her elves in a weakened form. Guthix created the Edicts of Guthix, which forbade any gods from entering Gielinor and also forbade mortals from waging large scale wars. He then went to sleep. The game takes place on Gielinor, over two thousand years later. You are a human adventurer, and there is a whole world for you to explore. Adventures you can have include freeing several imprisoned Mahjarrat just in time for a ritual where one is sacrificed to extend the lives of the others, saving a city from a zombie invasion, attempting to recover the Stone of Jas and learning about the danger of the Dragonkin, helping a resistance movement free a nation from its vampyre [sic] rulers, uncovering a conspiracy of evil elves planning to sacrifice half of a city to awaken a mysterious Dark Lord, discovering the resting place of Guthix which has huge consequences for the world, stopping an invasion of communist penguins, going on a series of wacky pirate adventures inspired the Monkey Island games, and many more adventures varying in tone from Grimdark to quite silly.

==Gods==
The gods of RuneScape are ranked from 1 to 7, with the elder gods elder gods at rank 1, and young gods ranked from 2 to 7.
===Elder Gods===
The Elder Gods are six extremely powerful being whose origin is unknown. They have the power to create planets and are impossible to kill under normal circumstances. The known elder gods are Jas, the goddess of sand and the most powerful of them, Ful, the goddess of fire, Wen, the goddess of Ice, Bik, the goddess of forests, and Mah, the goddess of light and darkness. The sixth elder god is unknown, and is implied to be more abstract than the others. They fill the universe with planets until they manage to create a perfect world, after this they go to sleep for hundreds of thousands of years before they wake up and are reborn. After this they destroy all the planets they created except for the perfect world, which turns into a [[Death World]], and then start the cycle all over again.
===Young Gods===
Most of the young gods are former mortals who ascended to godhood using the power of the twelve artifacts that the elder gods left behind, especially the Stone of Jas. It is also possible for a mortal to ascend to godhood by killing a god and taking their power, or by a god giving some of their power to a mortal. Only Zaros and Seren are the direct creations of an elder god.

====Saradomin====
Saradomin is the rank 4 god of order. Saradomin is an ascended human and looks and old man with blue skin. His church resembles Catholicism. He is bitter rivals with Zamorak because of their opposing philosophies. In the distance past he was a horrible tyrant who demanded all bow down to him but has come to regret his actions and wishes to redeem himself. His symbol is a four pointed star.

====Guthix====
Guthix is the rank 2 god of balance. He is the last survivor of a race called the Naragi. Guthix's followers believe a philosophy of balance between good and evil and order and chaos. Guthix actually hates being worshiped because he despises most of the other gods. He is responsible for banishing most of the other gods from Gielinor at the end of the 3rd Age. His symbol is a wavy vertical line that thickens at the bottom, representing an upside-down snake.

====Zamorak====
Zamorak is the rank 4 god of chaos. He was a Mahjarrat and one of Zaros's generals before he betrayed Zaros and stole his power. He teaches his followers a philosophy of survival of the fittest. His symbol is a pair of horns, or an upside-down lowercase omega (not the [[Ultramarines]] symbol, that is an uppercase omega).

====Zaros====
Zaros is the rank 2 god of control. He is the son of the elder god Mah, and brother to Seren. Zaros is emotionless and pragmatic, although he does believe in the value of mortal life, and wants to keep the elder gods from destroying the universe. He once ruled over a massive empire resembling the Roman Empire before he was betrayed and nearly killed by Zamorak. He was left an incorporeal spirit by the attempted assassination and remained that way until he is restored back to a physical form with the help of the player. Most of his followers were wiped out and the survivors were either imprisoned or went into hiding. Anyone who is around Zaros for a prolonged time will become loyal to him, although the effect is not permanent and he can't turn this ability off. Zaros is an eight-eyed humanoid made of purple crystal, although his body is always concealed by his clothing. His symbol resembles a Celtic cross with the inside of the circle rotated 45 degrees.

====Seren====
Seren is the rank 2 goddess of harmony. She is the daughter of the elder god Mah and sister to Zaros. Seren is opposite of her brother, being passionate and kind. She is worshiped by the elves. She once attempted to grant immortality to the elves, but only succeeded in extending their lifespans at the cost of making them addicted to her presence. When Guthix forced most of the other powerful gods to leave Gielinor before going to sleep, he demanded that Seren go to sleep with him, but she could not do it due to the elves' dependency on her and so shattered herself into pieces so she could stay with them in a weakened form. The elven capital city was built out of her remains. She eventually is reformed with the help of the player character. Anyone who is around Seren for a prolonged period will gain feelings of adoration for her, although the effect is not permanent and she can't turn this ability off. Seren is an eight-eyed humanoid made of cyan crystal. Seren and Zaros avoid each other because of their different philosophies and because they are not immune to each other's powers and don't want to become charmed to each other again. Her symbol is a diamond.

====Bandos====
Bandos is the rank 3 god of war. Probably inspired by [[Gruumsh]]. He looks like an armored rhinoceros man with three eyes and one missing eye. He is worshiped mainly by goblins and ogres and other races from Yu'biusk, although goblins never say his name and simply call him The Big High War God. He commands that his followers be violent and stupid. He ascended to godhood by killing the previous god of his world, which resulted in the extinction of his race because said god was the only thing keeping the planet from being destroyed by meteors, and he knew this would happen and didn't care. After his ascension, he conquered the planet of Yu'biusk, and brought its races to Gielinor. During the God Wars he frequently changed sides just to prolong the war, and after he was banished he had all of his followers on Yu'biusk turn on each other, which eventually killed all life on the planet and left it a polluted and blackened dead world. He attempted to return to Gielinor by transforming a goblin into an avatar for himself in order to circumvent the Edicts of Guthix blocking him from entering personally, but his plan was stopped by the player character. The destruction of his avatar downgraded him to a rank 4 god. His symbol is a stylized kyzaj, a fictional axe like weapon.

====Armadyl====
Armadyl is the rank 4 god of justice. His is a member of a race of bird people and one of the nicest of the major gods, as he wants to protect mortals rather than rule over them. He abandoned Gielinor in the 3rd age when he thought that his race has been wiped out. He despises Bandos for being the god of war. And he also hates Zamorak for causing the death of his [[Gay|second husband]]. His symbol is a pair of wings.

====Ictharlin====
Ictharin is the rank 6 god of the dead. He is part of a family of eight gods worshiped by the people of the Kharidian Desert. He is based of the Egyptian god Anubis. He was the one responsible for bringing the Mahjarrat race to Gielinor during a war with Zaros, which backfired on him spectacularly as they ended up switching sides and forced his father Tumeken to sacrifice himself to wipe most of them out. As a rank 6 god, he was spared from being banished by Guthix. He protects souls in the afterlife from his insane sister Amascut, who seeks to devour the souls of the dead. His symbol resembles an ankh.

====Brassica Prime====
Brassica Prime is the rank 5 god of deliciousness. Brassica Prime is a giant cabbage and is also a complete lunatic. Jagex originally created Brassica Prime as an April Fool's Day joke but later made him a canon character. It still has not been explained how a cabbage became a god. Brassica Prime is the only god ranked above 6 that Guthix allowed to remain active on Gielinor after the God Wars, due to him being good for the health of the planet, and because very few people bother to worship him because of his insanity. Zamorak is actually afraid of him because all forms of plant life on Gielinor are his spies and servants and suspects that Brassica Prime is only pretending to be insane. His symbol is a cabbage.

====Marinbo====
Marimbo is the rank 5 goddess of hedonism. She was originally a non-sapient gorilla who accidentally ascended to godhood by beating a god in a drinking contest and stealing their power. After her ascension she shared her new intelligence with the rest of monkey and ape kind. Although she is one of the nicest gods and isn't interested in fighting, her monkey and ape followers are very xenophobic and militaristic. Her symbol is a diamond with a line at the bottom corner and the top corner cut off.

====V====
V is the rank 5 god of heroes, worshiped by the Fremennik tribes. He is the inventor of the art of runecrafting, which enables mortals to create the rune stones that make casting spells easy for anyone. His real name is unknown, though often goes by an alias starting with the letter V. His symbol is a stylized V.

====Xau-Tak====
Xau-Tak is a god of unknown rank of oceans and undeath. He seems to be RuneScape's version of Cthulhu, only instead of looking like a squid dragon thing, what we have seen of his so far has been nothing but hands made of black stone. He is slowly spreading his corruption through the world of Gielinor. His symbol is unknown.

==Races==

===Humans===
Humans are the most populous race in the world of Gielinor. They originated on a planet called Teragard but were brought to Gielinor by Guthix. On the main continent, humans control three kingdoms called Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin (average medieval European fantasy kindoms), as well as the Khardidian Desert region (based on the Middle East, but mostly Egypt), and the Fremennik Province (Vikings). Humans are also found on many islands including the primitive tribes of Karamja, as well the people of the far away eastern lands (Asians). On the main continent the most popular gods worshiped by humans are Saradomin, Guthix, and Zamorak.

===Dwarves===
Originated on an unknown world and were brought to Gielinor by Guthix. Most dwarves are not religious, but do respect Guthix. Dwarves cannot uses magic due to a curse put on them by Zamorak that causes them to turn into chaos dwarves if they use magic. Dwarves can be found scattered about the human kingdoms, but they also have their own underground city called Keldagrim. Keldagrim is ruled over by an organization called the Consortium, which is made up of the eight largest dwarven companies. In recent years many dwarves have become unsatisfied with the Consortium and want to return to being a monarchy.

===Elves===
Standard fantasy elves. Were brought to Gielinor from a planet called Taridad by Seren. Elves mostly live in an isolated region called Tirannwn to the west of Kandarin, separated by a mountain range. Their capital is the crystal city of Prifddinas. Most players who aren’t at least mid-level will never see an elf, as getting to them requires completing a long-ass quest series that requires you to 1) break into a plague-ridden City, 2) traverse a gigantic cave system teaming with insane cultists, and 3) navigate the maze-like forest that the elvish country resides in.

At one time the elves had been far more common throughout Gielinor, with a couple of ruins scattered about, but they’ve since fallen into obscurity due to hiding out in their homelands since the God Wars. Because of a failed attempt by Seren to make them immortal, elves are firmly devoted to Seren to the point of needing to be in her presence to survive; they do this through the use of crystals that they shape to use for whatever tool they need. Later, a civil war between clans; the ruling Iowerth clan became fanatically loyal to the “Dark Lord,” an aspect of Seren that thrives off of Death energy, with the smaller rebel population still loyal to the original Seren. Said death cultists are also the de facto rulers of West Ardougne, with King Lathas as their puppet.

===Gnomes===
Gnomes are a race of small humanoids that prefer to live in trees. During the God Wars they fled underground to escape the war. Gnomes are talented at invention and can fly all over Gielinor using gliders. There are two gnome settlements located in the kingdom of Kandarin, but are independed from it and each have their own king. There also is an underground city of evil gnomes called Arposandra located somewhere beneath the mountain range that divides Kandarin from the elven lands. The pollution from this city is poisoning the swamps in the south of the elven lands.
===Races of Yu'biusk===
The races of Yu'biusk include many of the typical stupid bad guy fantasy races, including goblins, trolls, ogres, hobgoblins, orks, and cyclopes. They were brought to Gielinor from a planet called Yu'biusk by the god Bandos. Almost all of them are fanatically loyal to Bandos, and follow his commandments to be violent and stupid.
====Goblins====
Most goblins are ugly big nosed creatures who are too weak to be a threat to anyone and spend most of their time fighting each other. Goblins almost never say the name of Bandos, and simply call him The Big High War God, because they think that he can hear them if they say his name. One tribe of goblins rejected Bandos during the God Wars when he ordered them to go on a suicide mission and fled underground where they evolved into cave goblins, who have big eyes instead of big noses, and invented electricity and lightbulbs to light their underground city. The cave goblin city is called Dorgesh-kaan and is located underneath Misthalin. After they were rediscovered, a railway was built connecting them to the Dwarven city of Keldagrim.

====Trolls====
Trolls come in several breeds. The most commonly seen type are mountain trolls, who are large brutes with rock-like skin who love to eat humans. Trolls are less religious than most of the other races of Yu'biusk. Mountain trolls rule over a region called Trollheim located north of Asgarnia, from which they are currently at war with the city of Burthorpe. Other types of trolls include ice trolls, sea trolls, and river trolls.

====Ogres====
Ogres all look like ugly fat giants. They are mainly found in a region called Feldip Hills, located to the south of Kandarin. Male and female ogres live segregated from each other in separate cities, meeting only to mate. Females are stronger than males and are not as violent. Aside from common ogres, there are also two subspecies. Jogres are green-skinned ogres that live in the jungles of Karamja and Mogres are ogres that live underwater.

===Vampyres===
It is always spelled with a "y". Unlike most settings, vampyres are not a form of undead, but are a race of blood drinking bat monsters with shapeshifting abilities. They also do not transform humans into more vampyres by biting them. Instead they have a factory where they convert humans soaking them in vampyre blood and exposing them to a strange mineral. The few natural born vampyres are the nobility. They originated on a planet called Vampyrium, and were brought to Gielinor by Zaros. Vampyres rule over a nation known as Morytania, where humans are kept as livestock to feed their thirst for blood. Vampyres are uncommon outside of Morytania because Morytania is surrounded by a magical barrier that vampyres can't cross. A group of human rebels called the Myreque seeks to overthrow the vampyres. In recent years, the vampyres have begun to have problems because too many new vampyres are being made and there aren't enough humans to feed them all, and the king of vampyres hasn't been seen for many years.

===Dragonkin===
A race of humanoid dragons. They are survivors from the previous universe who were cursed by Jas to guard the Stone of Jas. Anytime somebody other than Jas uses the stone, the Dragonkin are driven mad with rage. Some succumbed to their rage and go around destroying stuff whenever the stone is used, while others turned into mad scientists who seek a either a cure for the curse, or a way to get revenge on Jas. The various species of dragons in the world are the result of failed attempts to create a new race without the curse.

===Tzhaar===
A race of people made of living volcanic rock with four arms. They were originally spawned from an artifact of the elder gods called The Kiln. The elder god Ful used them as workers for helping to form Gielinor. Newborn Tzhaar inherit their parent's memories. They turn into black coins when they die. Though they love violence, no Tzhaar has ever committed a crime in their entire history.
===Mahjarrat===
The Mahjarrat are a race of grey skinned humanoids with gems in their heads. As they age and grow weaker, they turn into skeletons. Because they were directly created the elder god Mah, they can be considered low-tier gods. They were first brought to Gielinor by Icthlarin. Once every 500 years, one of them is sacrificed to restore the youth of the others. Some are loyal to Zaros, and some to Zamorak, who is a Mahjarrat who achived full godhood. They are now close to extinction, and the only remaining female isn't interested in breeding. In the present day, many of the surviving Mahjarrat, especially those aligned with Zaros, are imprisoned or dormant, and several of the game's quests involve the player discovering and freeing or reviving a Mahjarrat.

===Demon races===
Demon refers to any creature native to the planet Infernus, including unintelligent animals. The demon races were first brought to Gielinor by Zaros. Most demons are evil, but not all of them. The most commonly seen demons are known as Avernic demons, who mostly look like huge red skinned beasts with hooves and horns that explode when they die. Less commonly seen are Chthonian demons, who come in a wide variety of horrifying Lovecraftian forms and have the ability to absorb the traits of what they eat. Most Avernic demons are loyal to Zamorak because he freed them from being enslaved by the Chthonians.

RuneScape

2020-08-01T23:40:52Z

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{{/vg/}}
{{Delete|Even WoW at least had some tiny connections to /tg/, this is just pointless}}

'''RuneScape''' is a MMORPG owned by a company called Jagex. The game began in 2001, just before [[World of Warcraft]]. The game is updated regularly, with new updates coming out every week or two. Besides being super old school, one reason for runescape’s longevity is that it was a free browser-based game, opening up its player base to people with even the crappiest computers and stingiest of wallets. The game no longer is browser-based and requires a client download but can still run on most computers including Linux. Recently the game has also become available to play on mobile devices. In 2004, a entirely new version of the game called RuneScape 2 was released, with the old version of the game being renamed RuneScape Classic. Although RuneScape Classic no longer received regular updates it continued to run until it was permanently shut down in 2018. In 2013 Jagex released Old School RuneScape, a new version of the game based on a backup of the game from 2007, by the demand of players who didn't like some of the [[Skub|controversial changes to the game in the recent years]] (mainly a poorly received overhaul of the game's combat system and adding microtransactions to the game). The same year RuneScape 2 was upgraded to RuneScape 3. Both games receive regular updates to this day and have loyal fanbases. Although Jagex has made some [[Derp|dumb mistakes]] that alienated players over the years, they actually care very much about their fans and treat them far better than [[Games Workshop|some other]] [[Blizzard|game companies]]. With Jagex's approval, some fans recreated a huge amount of the game in a [[Neverwinter Nights]] 2 mod called MoliorRS.

==History of the world of RuneScape==
The Universe is destroyed and recreated in cycles by 6 beings known as the elder gods. In the beginning of the current cycle, something went wrong with Mah's rebirth and the other elder gods abandoned her, thinking that she was stillborn. Mah actually survived but lost all her memories and was rendered severely retarded and also slowly dying. While the other elder gods continued the cycle of creating planets without her, Mah created two young gods named Seren and Zaros to keep her company. Seren and Zaros eventually got sick of taking care of their retarded mother and left to explore the universe going their separate ways, so Mah created a new race called the Mahjarrat to be her toys. Seren eventually landed on the homeworld of the elves and became their goddess. While the elder gods were creating the new universe, they were confronted by survivors from the previous cycle of the universe called the Dragonkin, who demanded that the elder gods stop destroying the universe. Jas responded by putting a curse on the Dragonkin which forced them to act as guardians of the Stone of Jas, which was one of several artifacts the elder gods used to create planets, but also has the ability to grant godhood to mortals that used them. The elder gods later created a perfect world called Gielinor, and went to sleep there. While they were sleeping, many intelligent races evolved on the planets they made and several of them rose to godhood using the artifacts the elder gods left behind. These many gods battled with each other for control of the universe. On one planet, an entire race was completely wiped out by the war between the gods, except for one mortal named Guthix who rose to godhood by killing one of the gods that had destroyed his world. Guthix then wandered through the universe until he found Gielinor. There he met with Seren, and they decided to create a paradise where mortals could live away from the wars between the gods. Seren brought the elves to Gielinor and Guthix brought in many other races from across the universe, including humans. Guthix then went to sleep, while Seren peacefully ruled over the elves. But other gods started arriving on Gielinor. Zaros was one of those gods. He conquered much of the planet and built a great empire. Ictharin, the demigod of the dead, brought the Mahjarrat race to Gielinor to fight against Zaros, but the Mahjarrat ended up switching sides to Zaros, and most of them were wiped out when the god Tumeken sacrificed himself to wipe out Zaros's army. A Mahjarrat named Zamorak later betrayed Zaros and attempted to assassinated Zaros to steal his power. Zaros survived in a severely weakened and incorporeal state, and Zamorak rose to godhood. Zamorak started a massive war between the gods that lasted for thousands of years. The war finally ended when Zamorak unsuccessfully tried to use the Stone of Jas to kill the other gods, and the resulting explosion woke up Guthix. Guthix was enraged by what he saw and banished most of the other gods from Gielinor. The only gods he spared were those of demigod rank or below, plus Brassica Prime who was only allowed to stay because of him being good for the health of the planet and also being too crazy for most people to worship. He demanded that Seren go to sleep with him, but instead she chose to shatter herself into pieces so she could remain with her elves in a weakened form. Guthix created the Edicts of Guthix, which forbade any gods from entering Gielinor and also forbade mortals from waging large scale wars. He then went to sleep. The game takes place on Gielinor, over two thousand years later. You are a human adventurer, and there is a whole world for you to explore. Adventures you can have include freeing several imprisoned Mahjarrat just in time for a ritual where one is sacrificed to extend the lives of the others, saving a city from a zombie invasion, attempting to recover the Stone of Jas and learning about the danger of the Dragonkin, helping a resistance movement free a nation from its vampyre [sic] rulers, uncovering a conspiracy of evil elves planning to sacrifice half of a city to awaken a mysterious Dark Lord, discovering the resting place of Guthix which has huge consequences for the world, stopping an invasion of communist penguins, going on a series of wacky pirate adventures inspired the Monkey Island games, and many more adventures varying in tone from Grimdark to quite silly.

==Gods==
The gods of RuneScape are ranked from 1 to 7, with the elder gods elder gods at rank 1, and young gods ranked from 2 to 7.
===Elder Gods===
The Elder Gods are six extremely powerful being whose origin is unknown. They have the power to create planets and are impossible to kill under normal circumstances. The known elder gods are Jas, the goddess of sand and the most powerful of them, Ful, the goddess of fire, Wen, the goddess of Ice, Bik, the goddess of forests, and Mah, the goddess of light and darkness. The sixth elder god is unknown, and is implied to be more abstract than the others. They fill the universe with planets until they manage to create a perfect world, after this they go to sleep for hundreds of thousands of years before they wake up and are reborn. After this they destroy all the planets they created except for the perfect world, which turns into a [[Death World]], and then start the cycle all over again.
===Young Gods===
Most of the young gods are former mortals who ascended to godhood using the power of the twelve artifacts that the elder gods left behind, especially the Stone of Jas. It is also possible for a mortal to ascend to godhood by killing a god and taking their power, or by a god giving some of their power to a mortal. Only Zaros and Seren are the direct creations of an elder god.

====Saradomin====
Saradomin is the rank 4 god of order. Saradomin is an ascended human and looks and old man with blue skin. His church resembles Catholicism. He is bitter rivals with Zamorak because of their opposing philosophies. In the distance past he was a horrible tyrant who demanded all bow down to him but has come to regret his actions and wishes to redeem himself. His symbol is a four pointed star.

====Guthix====
Guthix is the rank 2 god of balance. He is the last survivor of a race called the Naragi. Guthix's followers believe a philosophy of balance between good and evil and order and chaos. Guthix actually hates being worshiped because he despises most of the other gods. He is responsible for banishing most of the other gods from Gielinor at the end of the 3rd Age. His symbol is a wavy vertical line that thickens at the bottom, representing an upside-down snake.

====Zamorak====
Zamorak is the rank 4 god of chaos. He was a Mahjarrat and one of Zaros's generals before he betrayed Zaros and stole his power. He teaches his followers a philosophy of survival of the fittest. His symbol is a pair of horns, or an upside-down lowercase omega (not the [[Ultramarines]] symbol, that is an uppercase omega).

====Zaros====
Zaros is the rank 2 god of control. He is the son of the elder god Mah, and brother to Seren. Zaros is emotionless and pragmatic, although he does believe in the value of mortal life, and wants to keep the elder gods from destroying the universe. He once ruled over a massive empire resembling the Roman Empire before he was betrayed and nearly killed by Zamorak. He was left an incorporeal spirit by the attempted assassination and remained that way until he is restored back to a physical form with the help of the player. Most of his followers were wiped out and the survivors were either imprisoned or went into hiding. Anyone who is around Zaros for a prolonged time will become loyal to him, although the effect is not permanent and he can't turn this ability off. Zaros is an eight-eyed humanoid made of purple crystal, although his body is always concealed by his clothing. His symbol resembles a Celtic cross with the inside of the circle rotated 45 degrees.

====Seren====
Seren is the rank 2 goddess of harmony. She is the daughter of the elder god Mah and sister to Zaros. Seren is opposite of her brother, being passionate and kind. She is worshiped by the elves. She once attempted to grant immortality to the elves, but only succeeded in extending their lifespans at the cost of making them addicted to her presence. When Guthix forced most of the other powerful gods to leave Gielinor before going to sleep, he demanded that Seren go to sleep with him, but she could not do it due to the elves' dependency on her and so shattered herself into pieces so she could stay with them in a weakened form. The elven capital city was built out of her remains. She eventually is reformed with the help of the player character. Anyone who is around Seren for a prolonged period will gain feelings of adoration for her, although the effect is not permanent and she can't turn this ability off. Seren is an eight-eyed humanoid made of cyan crystal. Seren and Zaros avoid each other because of their different philosophies and because they are not immune to each other's powers and don't want to become charmed to each other again. Her symbol is a diamond.

====Bandos====
Bandos is the rank 3 god of war. Probably inspired by [[Gruumsh]]. He looks like an armored rhinoceros man with three eyes and one missing eye. He is worshiped mainly by goblins and ogres and other races from Yu'biusk, although goblins never say his name and simply call him The Big High War God. He commands that his followers be violent and stupid. He ascended to godhood by killing the previous god of his world, which resulted in the extinction of his race because said god was the only thing keeping the planet from being destroyed by meteors, and he knew this would happen and didn't care. After his ascension, he conquered the planet of Yu'biusk, and brought its races to Gielinor. During the God Wars he frequently changed sides just to prolong the war, and after he was banished he had all of his followers on Yu'biusk turn on each other, which eventually killed all life on the planet and left it a polluted and blackened dead world. He attempted to return to Gielinor by transforming a goblin into an avatar for himself in order to circumvent the Edicts of Guthix blocking him from entering personally, but his plan was stopped by the player character. The destruction of his avatar downgraded him to a rank 4 god. His symbol is a stylized kyzaj, a fictional axe like weapon.

====Armadyl====
Armadyl is the rank 4 god of justice. His is a member of a race of bird people and one of the nicest of the major gods, as he wants to protect mortals rather than rule over them. He abandoned Gielinor in the 3rd age when he thought that his race has been wiped out. He despises Bandos for being the god of war. And he also hates Zamorak for causing the death of his [[Gay|second husband]]. His symbol is a pair of wings.

====Ictharlin====
Ictharin is the rank 6 god of the dead. He is part of a family of eight gods worshiped by the people of the Kharidian Desert. He is based of the Egyptian god Anubis. He was the one responsible for bringing the Mahjarrat race to Gielinor during a war with Zaros, which backfired on him spectacularly as they ended up switching sides and forced his father Tumeken to sacrifice himself to wipe most of them out. As a rank 6 god, he was spared from being banished by Guthix. He protects souls in the afterlife from his insane sister Amascut, who seeks to devour the souls of the dead. His symbol resembles an ankh.

====Brassica Prime====
Brassica Prime is the rank 5 god of deliciousness. Brassica Prime is a giant cabbage and is also a complete lunatic. Jagex originally created Brassica Prime as an April Fool's Day joke but later made him a canon character. It still has not been explained how a cabbage became a god. Brassica Prime is the only god ranked above 6 that Guthix allowed to remain active on Gielinor after the God Wars, due to him being good for the health of the planet, and because very few people bother to worship him because of his insanity. Zamorak is actually afraid of him because all forms of plant life on Gielinor are his spies and servants and suspects that Brassica Prime is only pretending to be insane. His symbol is a cabbage.

====Marinbo====
Marimbo is the rank 5 goddess of hedonism. She was originally a non-sapient gorilla who accidentally ascended to godhood by beating a god in a drinking contest and stealing their power. After her ascension she shared her new intelligence with the rest of monkey and ape kind. Although she is one of the nicest gods and isn't interested in fighting, her monkey and ape followers are very xenophobic and militaristic. Her symbol is a diamond with a line at the bottom corner and the top corner cut off.

====V====
V is the rank 5 god of heroes, worshiped by the Fremennik tribes. He is the inventor of the art of runecrafting, which enables mortals to create the rune stones that make casting spells easy for anyone. His real name is unknown, though often goes by an alias starting with the letter V. His symbol is a stylized V.

====Xau-Tak====
Xau-Tak is a god of unknown rank of oceans and undeath. He seems to be RuneScape's version of Cthulhu, only instead of looking like a squid dragon thing, what we have seen of his so far has been nothing but hands made of black stone. He is slowly spreading his corruption through the world of Gielinor. His symbol is unknown.

==Races==

===Humans===
Humans are the most populous race in the world of Gielinor. They originated on a planet called Teragard but were brought to Gielinor by Guthix. On the main continent, humans control three kingdoms called Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin (average medieval European fantasy kindoms), as well as the Khardidian Desert region (based on the Middle East, but mostly Egypt), and the Fremennik Province (Vikings). Humans are also found on many islands including the primitive tribes of Karamja, as well the people of the far away eastern lands (Asians). On the main continent the most popular gods worshiped by humans are Saradomin, Guthix, and Zamorak.

===Dwarves===
Originated on an unknown world and were brought to Gielinor by Guthix. Most dwarves are not religious, but do respect Guthix. Dwarves cannot uses magic due to a curse put on them by Zamorak that causes them to turn into chaos dwarves if they use magic. Dwarves can be found scattered about the human kingdoms, but they also have their own underground city called Keldagrim. Keldagrim is ruled over by an organization called the Consortium, which is made up of the eight largest dwarven companies. In recent years many dwarves have become unsatisfied with the Consortium and want to return to being a monarchy.

===Elves===
Standard fantasy elves. Were brought to Gielinor from a planet called Taridad by Seren. Elves mostly live in an isolated region called Tirannwn to the west of Kandarin, separated by a mountain range. Their capital is the crystal city of Prifddinas. Most players who aren’t at least mid-level will never see an elf, as getting to them requires completing a long-ass quest series that requires you to 1) break into a plague-ridden City, 2) traverse a gigantic cave system teaming with insane cultists, and 3) navigate the maze-like forest that the elvish country resides in.

At one time the elves had been far more common throughout Gielinor, with a couple of ruins scattered about, but they’ve since fallen into obscurity due to hiding out in their homelands since the God Wars. Because of a failed attempt by Seren to make them immortal, elves are firmly devoted to Seren to the point of needing to be in her presence to survive; they do this through the use of crystals that they shape to use for whatever tool they need. Later, a civil war between clans; the ruling Iowerth clan became fanatically loyal to the “Dark Lord,” an aspect of Seren that thrives off of Death energy, with the smaller rebel population still loyal to the original Seren. Said death cultists are also the de facto rulers of West Ardougne, with King Lathas as their puppet.

===Gnomes===
Gnomes are a race of small humanoids that prefer to live in trees. During the God Wars they fled underground to escape the war. Gnomes are talented at invention and can fly all over Gielinor using gliders. There are two gnome settlements located in the kingdom of Kandarin, but are independed from it and each have their own king. There also is an underground city of evil gnomes called Arposandra located somewhere beneath the mountain range that divides Kandarin from the elven lands. The pollution from this city is poisoning the swamps in the south of the elven lands.
===Races of Yu'biusk===
The races of Yu'biusk include many of the typical stupid bad guy fantasy races, including goblins, trolls, ogres, hobgoblins, orks, and cyclopes. They were brought to Gielinor from a planet called Yu'biusk by the god Bandos. Almost all of them are fanatically loyal to Bandos, and follow his commandments to be violent and stupid.
====Goblins====
Most goblins are ugly big nosed creatures who are too weak to be a threat to anyone and spend most of their time fighting each other. Goblins almost never say the name of Bandos, and simply call him The Big High War God, because they think that he can hear them if they say his name. One tribe of goblins rejected Bandos during the God Wars when he ordered them to go on a suicide mission and fled underground where they evolved into cave goblins, who have big eyes instead of big noses, and invented electricity and lightbulbs to light their underground city. The cave goblin city is called Dorgesh-kaan and is located underneath Misthalin. After they were rediscovered, a railway was built connecting them to the Dwarven city of Keldagrim.

====Trolls====
Trolls come in several breeds. The most commonly seen type are mountain trolls, who are large brutes with rock-like skin who love to eat humans. Trolls are less religious than most of the other races of Yu'biusk. Mountain trolls rule over a region called Trollheim located north of Asgarnia, from which they are currently at war with the city of Burthorpe. Other types of trolls include ice trolls, sea trolls, and river trolls.

====Ogres====
Ogres all look like ugly fat giants. They are mainly found in a region called Feldip Hills, located to the south of Kandarin. Male and female ogres live segregated from each other in separate cities, meeting only to mate. Females are stronger than males and are not as violent. Aside from common ogres, there are also two subspecies. Jogres are green-skinned ogres that live in the jungles of Karamja and Mogres are ogres that live underwater.

===Vampyres===
It is always spelled with a "y". Unlike most settings, vampyres are not a form of undead, but are a race of blood drinking bat monsters with shapeshifting abilities. They also do not transform humans into more vampyres by biting them. Instead they have a factory where they convert humans soaking them in vampyre blood and exposing them to a strange mineral. The few natural born vampyres are the nobility. They originated on a planet called Vampyrium, and were brought to Gielinor by Zaros. Vampyres rule over a nation known as Morytania, where humans are kept as livestock to feed their thirst for blood. Vampyres are uncommon outside of Morytania because Morytania is surrounded by a magical barrier that vampyres can't cross. A group of human rebels called the Myreque seeks to overthrow the vampyres. In recent years, the vampyres have begun to have problems because too many new vampyres are being made and there aren't enough humans to feed them all, and the king of vampyres hasn't been seen for many years.

===Dragonkin===
A race of humanoid dragons. They are survivors from the previous universe who were cursed by Jas to guard the Stone of Jas. Anytime somebody other than Jas uses the stone, the Dragonkin are driven mad with rage. Some succumbed to their rage and go around destroying stuff whenever the stone is used, while others turned into mad scientists who seek a either a cure for the curse, or a way to get revenge on Jas. The various species of dragons in the world are the result of failed attempts to create a new race without the curse.

===Tzhaar===
A race of people made of living volcanic rock with four arms. They were originally spawned from an artifact of the elder gods called The Kiln. The elder god Ful used them as workers for helping to form Gielinor. Newborn Tzhaar inherit their parent's memories. They turn into black coins when they die. Though they love violence, no Tzhaar has ever committed a crime in their entire history.
===Mahjarrat===
The Mahjarrat are a race of grey skinned humanoids with gems in their heads. As they age and grow weaker, they turn into skeletons. Because they were directly created the elder god Mah, they can be considered low-tier gods. They were first brought to Gielinor by Icthlarin. Once every 500 years, one of them is sacrificed to restore the youth of the others. Some are loyal to Zaros, and some to Zamorak, who is a Mahjarrat who achived full godhood. They are now close to extinction, and the only remaining female isn't interested in breeding. In the present day, many of the surviving Mahjarrat, especially those aligned with Zaros, are imprisoned or dormant, and several of the game's quests involve the player discovering and freeing or reviving a Mahjarrat.

===Demon races===
Demon refers to any creature native to the planet Infernus, including unintelligent animals. The demon races were first brought to Gielinor by Zaros. Most demons are evil, but not all of them. The most commonly seen demons are known as Avernic demons, who mostly look like huge red skinned beasts with hooves and horns that explode when they die. Less commonly seen are Chthonian demons, who come in a wide variety of horrifying Lovecraftian forms and have the ability to absorb the traits of what they eat. Most Avernic demons are loyal to Zamorak because he freed them from being enslaved by the Chthonians.

Beholder

2020-08-01T04:21:43Z

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[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
<center>{{NeedsImages}}There are still a lot of beholder images missing.</center>
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File:Beholder 1e.jpg|1e
File:Beholder lineup 2e.jpg
File:Beholder Greyhawk.png|Greyhawk supplement.
File:Beholder 3e.jpg|3e
File:Beholder 5e.jpg|5e
File:Awesome Beholder.png
File:The-bard-and-the-beholder.jpg
File:Gazer_D&D.png
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Beholder

2020-08-01T03:45:56Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7:

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
<center>{{NeedsImages}}Where are the official images?</center>
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
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<gallery>
File:Awesome Beholder.png
File:The-bard-and-the-beholder.jpg
File:Gazer_D&D.png
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</center>

Order of the Stick

2020-08-01T03:21:07Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Team Evil */

{{/co/}}
[[Image:PostersTogetherBig.jpg|center|500px]]

{{Topquote|Holy shit, this is still ongoing?!|Every anon, at some point}}

'''Order of the Stick''' (also known as '''WORDSWORDSWORDS'''), written and drawn by Rich Burlew, is by far one of the most popular /tg/-related [[webcomic]]s in existence. Essentially, it's about a party of classic [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style adventurers on an epic, high fantasy adventure, except they are well aware they're actually in a game (which isn't to say that they break the fourth wall, but rather they casually discuss things like saving throws and to-hit bonuses as though they were common knowledge). However, it quickly grew from a very funny parody of D&D to serious pastiche of fantasy in general (a lesser form of the condition what TVTropes calls as [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome Cerebus Syndrome]), gaining a complicated-yet-interesting plot, a host of characters from all sides of the [[Alignment]] table, while retaining the humourous tone the comic is known for.

This has caused OotS to devolve into a [[skub]] topic, at least on /tg/. Half of /tg/ thinks the comic has shit pacing, poor jokes, and an army of sycophants who refuse to see that everything has gone wrong, whereas the other half of /tg/ believes that the comic is just as funny as it always was, and with better plotlines than most fantasy novels to boot. Many fa/tg/uys also complain that the comic is "too simplistic" art-wise, given it has a strict stick-figure aesthetic. Burlew has proven his drawing chops on many occasions and notes in the FAQ that the stick-figures "bring the right air of humor to the strip," not to mention the fact that the style, for better or worse, has become the comic's hallmark and can't be changed now. Also, compared to [[Servants of the Imperium]], the later OotS strips are pure gold. That being said, Burlew is a fan of the "wall of text" method of comic design, and frequently seems like he'd be much happier just writing a book.

In other words, standard skub stuff, and has given rise to the fa/tg/uy project [[thog edits]], redos of the comic to eliminate the words and in the process twist the dialogue into something dirty.

[[Image:Miko_ready_to_smite.png|thumb|Spared no expense on the art budget for this climax]]

Rich Burlew's only other claim to fame is coming in second place (or, as he likes to call it, "first loser") in [[Wizards of the Coast]]'s "design a campaign setting" contest. He lost to Keith Baker's [[Eberron]]. This is either a great thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you feel about Eberron. Unfortunately, WotC kept all rights to the setting and put the designers under NDA, so we'll never actually see his entry, as it seems they locked it in a darkened room and forgot about it.

The comic has been put into a number of printed volumes, with the latest volumes funded via [[Kickstarter]].

==The Cast==
Of course a D&D story would be nothing without [[PC]]s, [[BBEG]]s and a supporting cast of [[NPC]]s. They are on all sides of the spectrum between [[skub]] tier and god tier.

{{spoilers}}

===The Party===
The titular Order of the Stick, named first for the artstyle, then retconned into a nearby object. All of their builds are purposely terrible (on Burlew's part) to both A) make the fight scenes last longer than two panels, and to B) emphasize reliance on clever tactics and teamwork to win. The exception, impossibly enough, being Elan.

* Roy Greenhilt, the party's [[fighter]] and leader. Despite avoiding the whole "INT is a fighter's [[dump stat]]" thing, he still spends most of his time hitting things with his green-hilted (get it?) greatsword, putting up with the party's bullshit and, for a good chunk of the comic, being dead. Comes up with the plans and gives out the orders too, if they'd transitioned to 4e he'd be a [[warlord]]. Or a tactician archetype in [[Pathfinder]]. Or a battle-master in [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition|5e]]. Or... let's just say that subsequent editions were much kinder to his character concept than the one he's playing in. There was a gag about him not going for [[warblade]], a class he'd probably excel at, because his bitter old wizard father didn't want to shell out for a ''doctorate'' from Fighter College.
* Haley Starshine, the party's [[rogue]] and second in command. [[Blood Ravens|Will steal everything that isn't bolted down, then steal the bolts, followed by stealing the thing that was bolted down.]] Has an actual reason to do so: to pay off her father's life-sentence in prison. Then, when she met him he wanted nothing to do with her because she was snackin' on the rapier of the son of the man who put him there. Welp. Wields a bow and is comfortable with fighting as dirty as possible to win. Despite her greed and cynicism she is a loyal party member, and manages to stay "[[Chaotic Good]]-ish." Dating Elan after a messy incident involving her being unable to speak for about a hundred comics and him meeting a Final Fantasy character.
* Elan, the party's [[bard]]. He is the living embodiment of every derpy character you ever rolled up just to screw with your friends. He's as thick as a loaf of fine [[meatbread]], sucks at barding duties (often resulting in "wacky" hijinks) and has a [[prestige class]] that forces him to make bad puns as he fights. As the story goes on, he starts to suck less, and it helps that he's the ONLY member of the team with an optimized build. (Maxed CHA for everything bard-related, plus that prestige class adds it to his attack and damage, meaning that he doesn't suffer from [[MAD]] as much as a typical bard.) Apparently, if Haley can be trusted, that maxed CHA is worth a good deal "under the hood." As a bard consciously aware that he exists in a fantasy story, Elan is the character most, "narratively equipped," to deal with the environment and is often able to use rules of traditional storytelling to predict, even manipulate events. In other words, he's a metagamer.
* Durkon Thundershield, the [[dwarf]]en [[cleric]] of [[Thor]]. Gruff, dutiful and honorable, as all good dwarves should be. Pretty stereotypical and solid in his support of the team. Has an accent so thick that it affects the way his dialouge is spelled, despite no other dwarf family in the comic talking like him. His clan had a vision that his return would herald a great cataclysm, so they sent him away and told him they'd tell him when he could come back and never did, because no one in fantasy stories has ever read a fantasy story. Was turned into a [[vampire]] for 200 strips until he got staked, died, got resurrected, died ''again'' 30 seconds later after an ill-advised marriage proposal, then got resurrected for real. Received a hell of a plot dump from Thor while dead, and was tasked with convincing Redcloak and his dark god to betray Xykon, lend their aid, and save the world(s). Also now wields a powerful lightning hammer which Thor told him where to find.
* Belkar Bitterleaf, the chaotic evil [[halfling]] [[multiclassing|multiclassed]] [[ranger]]-[[barbarian]]. A hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-fucking killing machine, Belkar is one of the best characters in the comic. [[Murderhobo|He kills what he can't fuck and he fucks what he can't kill, sometimes fucking things before he kills them]] (but not the other way around, ew). His style of fighting involves stabbing as many dudes as possible with as many knives as possible. Despite being able to steamroll regular enemies, his low Will means that any spellcasters he faces will kick his ass, and his effed-up build (barbarian-ranger is an unhappy marriage where XP is concerned, his low STR means he mostly has to kill minions with tricky maneuvering, and his low WIS makes him useless at casting Ranger spells) means that bigger people (like Roy) can still kick his ass. Still, he is murderously awesome and the PC with the biggest body count thus far (or would be if it wasn't for the time a powered up Vaarsuvius cast an evil epic spell that unintentionally caused a far bigger genocide than they intended). Has a pet cat called Mr. Scruffy, hurting him will cause Belkar to rip you inside out and feed them to you, and vice versa. Also has a motherfucking allosaurus (currently polymorphed into a small lizard).
* Vaarsuvius, the [[elven]] [[wizard]]. V's undescribed gender is something of a running joke - emphasis on "something"- in the series, which makes you wonder what their voice must sound like for it to be of no help in the matter. They have a spouse at home who is also of unknown gender, and it isn't even clear if they are the same or different sexes; both are likely a play on elven androgyny. V's primary M.O. is "use fireball", [[Meme|and if that doesn't work, "use more fireball"]] (fitting, given their name). They also like to prank people with the Explosive Runes spell, and other forms of blaster magic may or may not be prominent. The fact that this is probably the worst way to play a wizard in no way diminishes the fact that V is easily the most powerful member of the Order by a country-mile, able to turn the tide of entire battles unless some convenient dramatic device takes them out of the action for a while, which it often has. While they used to possess an ego befitting both an elf and a wizard, V was recently taken down a notch when they were forced to sell their soul to a [[Tanar'ri|demon]], [[Baatezu|devil]] and [[Yugoloth|daemon]] (all at the same time) to save their spouse and (adopted) children from a black [[dragon]]. They eventually [[RAGE|flipped the fuck out]] and [[powergamer|killed up to a quarter of all black dragons in existence through a nasty 'Familicide' custom spell]] alongside their direct non-blood related (read: non-dragon) families in order to posthumously spite said dragon. They are horrified when they realized the unintended consequences of this caused the deaths of countless innocent people with black dragon ancestry or even with no dragon ancestry who had relations to those people.
* Minrah Elle Shaleshoe: A female Dwarf Cleric/Fighter multiclass who joins the party much later in the story. She first joins with them to stop an attack on the dwarven lands by vampires lead by vampire Durkon, but at the end of that arc decides to join up with them permanently after learning about the threat of the Snarl while she and Durkon were both dead. Hasn't had as much of a chance to show off her stuff as everyone else, but she's apparently Durkon's cohort and a fighter/cleric multiclass.

===Antagonists===
====The Snarl====
Backstory time. In the beginning of the universe, four pantheons of gods came together to create a world, but they had disagreements with each other over what the world should be like and the threads of creation became tangled together and created a god killing monster that attacked and completely wiped out one of the pantheons. The remaining gods created a new world to act a prison for the snarl, but the prison was flawed and rifts in space time began to open leading to the snarl. A group of heroes sealed the rifts away with magical gates. But then, a goblinoid known as the Dark One ascended to godhood and was outraged when he learned that goblins and been created just to be a source of exp for low level characters and came up with a plan to take control of the snarl using the gates. That is Team Evil's goal.
====Team Evil====
* Xykon the formerly human [[lich]]. An [[epic]] level [[sorcerer]], Xykon is bored out of his skull and as such toys around with holes in reality that serve as gates to [[Warp|a dimension containing a world-eating snarl]]. Used to be Redcloak's pawn and henchman as the magical equivalent of a stupid brute, until the intelligence and wisdom boosts from being lich-i-fied gave him the brains to snap any kind of controls his former master could put on him, (or at least thinks that he has). Doesn't like [[wizard]]s because they were condescending to him during his life, and likes beating the shit out of them with his ability to cast spells over and over again (like Energy Drain). He is wholly and unapologetically evil, and [[Eldrad|kind of a dick]], but he's still kind of funny because his charisma is through the fucking roof. In fact, the author purposefully avoided giving him a sympathetic backstory in the prequel book so that readers wouldn't see him as any less evil, unlike Redcloak who does a sympathetic motivation for evil.
* Redcloak the [[goblin]] [[cleric]] and high priest of the Dark One. Xykon's main henchgoblin and ruler of a major goblin tribe and later also the leader of a much larger hobgoblin army, Redcloak is the guy who's told to "get it done". And hoo boy, does he get it done. He murders the resistance to his people's occupation of a major city, has another of Xykon's servants eaten by her own wights and reveals that he was using Xykon from the beginning for the good of his people, all in the span of a half dozen pages. Has a lot of backstory in the prequel comic, but you have to pay for it so f*#$ that noise. ''During'' the comic, he grows out of his racism towards hobgoblins, and is generally the cool, logical, rules-nerd left brain to his boss's impulsive, screwball right brain. He gets his name from the crimson mantle he wears, which is an artifact created by the Dark One that grants the goblin that wears it knowledge of the plan to take control of the Snarl, as well as an extended lifespan. He has never revealed his original name because Xykon hates long names.
* The Monster in the Darkness is a creature of many mysteries and few truths. All we know that it has two yellow eyes and acts even stupider than Elan. It also is stupidly powerful: it can punch people so far they are launched into the sky; it stomping on the ground is powerful enough to cause localized earthquakes; and it can teleport people with but a word and a thought. Has the personality of a child (a non-evil one). After extended contact with O-Chul, has begun to think for himself, discovering, to his own surprise, that he is actually ''extremely'' intelligent and doesn't ''want'' Team Evil to win, and so has begun subtly undermining their efforts from within, something that has been enormously successful because none of his teammates see it coming or expect him to do ''anything'' smart. [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488773-Summon-MitD-IX-Roll-on-Section-3a If you think you've got the brains, feel free to jump on the ride that never ends and try to follow the breadcrumbs and figure out what he is.] We'll wait. [[Troll| Remember to only pick ones with Trenchant Political Analysis as a listed special attack!]]
* Tsukiko, a mystic theurge. A necrophile necromancer with a crush on Xykon and also a parody of the [[Mary Sue]] archetype. She was in charge of the wight brigade until she discovered Redcloak's plan to double-cross Xykon, which got her eaten by her own wights for her troubles.

====The Linear Guild====
* Started out as evil counterparts of the PCs (which was deliberately done by their leader, Elan's twin brother Nale (get it? Nale is Elan backwards!)). The Guild consists of three core members plus two other slots that keep having replacements due to death or quitting:
** Nale, a Fighter-Rogue-Sorcerer multiclass specializing in enchantment, which is, if you didn't notice, basically a [[bard]] only [[Tzeentch|more complicated]] and capable of being Lawful Evil. This tells you a great deal about Nale's personality. Is permanently dead; he was stabbed by his father and was subsequently disintegrated for murdering Malack and rejecting his father's attempt to reconcile.
** Sabine, a [[succubus]] and Nale's lover with whom she shares a deep and fulfilling relationship based on human sacrifice. Is currently stuck somewhere in the Lower Planes, trying to get revenge on her boyfriend's murderer, and since Thog is also probably dead she the last member not to die or quit.
** Thog, a [[Half-Orc]] [[barbarian]] who's part of the Dumbass Triumvirate alongside Elan and the Monster in the Darkness. He talks like the Incredible Hulk. Although unconfirmed, he likely is dead after Roy tricked him into collapsing a ceiling on himself, burying him under a ton of rubble.
* On the four different occasions the teams have clashed the Linear Guild employed a subset of the following people:
* '''First Encounter'''
** Zz'Dtri, the [[drow]] wizard. An obvious copy of [[Drizzt]], he was hauled off by the lawyers of [[Wizards of the Coast]] for being an obvious [[Drizzt]] copy. [[Wat|Yes, that happened]]. Later returned ([[Wat|because he was a parody, not a copy, protected speech bitches!]]) and clashed with V using all the interim levels to tailor his build just to fighting the wizard. This did him no good against Durkon, the party cleric, particularly with that vampire strength boost. Currently dead
** Hilgya Firehelm, a dwarven cleric of [[Troll|Loki]] who fucked, fought and fled from Durkon during the Guild's first encounter with the Order, in that approximate order. Reappeared after over 1000 strips to save the party from a vampire horde in the nick of time. Has a self-serving memory, believing everyone around her is selfish when she's one of the most selfish beings on the planet. Brought Durkon's baby into the battle [[Dwarf_Fortress|like a true dorf]].
** Yikyik the [[kobold]] ranger. Was beheaded by Belkar and turned into a [[hat]]. Currently dead.
* '''Second Encounter'''
** Pompey the [[half-elf]] wizard (get it? Pompey and Vaarsuvius are named after Pompeii and Vesuvius! We're clever). Had a crush on Roy's sister and teamed up with the Linear Guild so that he could have her, but he was defeated, imprisoned, and then escaped, signing on with Leeky. Has not been seen since.
** Leeky Windstaff the [[gnome]] [[druid]]. Turned into a giant monster and rampaged through a city (get it? [[CoDzilla]]!) before being defeated by Durkon and escaping alongside Pompey.
** Yokyok, son of Yikyik. A parody of [[The Princess Bride|Inigo Montoya]] who attacked Belkar for... oh do I even have to say it? Belkar was under a curse preventing him from killing, so he set a tavern full of [[adventurer]]s loose on Yokyok, then turned his head into a nacho repository. Currently dead.
* '''Third Encounter'''
** Yukyuk. Yet another kobold: this one was dominated (the status effect, mind you) by V and got used as a litter box ([[Sick| without being decapitate first!]]) and living trap-springer before dying in a horrific accident protecting a [[cat]].
* '''Fourth Encounter'''
* The fourth encounter with the Linear Guild included Tarquin and Malack (as below). It also involved Chancellor Kilkil (Urd, a Kobold variant... with wings! Its in the 2nd ed MM), who is more a clerk and personal assistant than a combatant, though he is a hyper-competent bureaucrat and a flying calculator.
** General Tarquin, a human [[warlord]], general of the Empress of Blood and de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood. Despite the suggestion of him being aligned to [[Khorne]] this is far from the truth: he is a friendly and cheerful person like his son Elan, but at the same time is outright ruthless and has the evil smarts like his other son, Nale. He is the ultimate in [[Alignment|Lawful Evil]]: he understands that his rule is not eternal, but his legacy can be. As such he is forging an entire continent into his empire: even when he is defeated (which he holds as being inevitable) he gets to be a legend. Though he's not very keen on the "being stabbed by a hero" part, it would mean he gets to live like a god for who-knows-how-long, and only the last few minutes sucked. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0763.html The man himself explains it best.] On the other hand, given his Lawful obsession with forcing the messy chaos of reality to conform to the outline of a neat little story, refusing to conform to the character archetype he expects you to fill (e.g. playing a [[bard]] when he thinks you're the protagonist) causes him to quickly fly into a fit of [[butthurt]] rage to put [[That Guy]] to shame and start [[railroading]]. On joining the Linear Guild he disguised himself as Thog.
** Minister Malack is a lizardfolk (possibly yuan-ti) cleric of Nergal and serves as adviser to the Empress of Blood and Tarquin. Is actually a [[vampire]] and has just turned Durkon into one. Like his former adventuring companion Tarquin, Malack is an affable and well-spoken person and is the heir to the Empire of Blood after Tarquin's death. When he does become the next Emperor he plans to [[Emperor|sacrifice a thousand people to his god per day]] [[grimdark|in rooms that serve as gas chambers/abattoirs, the sacrifices generated by a continent's worth of people living and dying for the glory of Nergal]] (although the writer later stated he means meat packing rooms as he plans to use the thousand sacrifices to feed to himself and his vampiric spawn, who'll be running the empire). Like I said, real nice guy. Has a beef with Nale for killing three of his "children", but set aside his grudge at Tarquin's behest. Even then he is a honorable person: when he promises not to kill someone despite it serving his goals, he does so. A very different sort of Lawful Evil, but still fits. Perma-dead, having been killed by Nale with sunlight, which has a disintegration effect on vampires.

===Other Characters===
* Eugene Greenhilt, Roy's deceased father who occasionally visits him as a ghost and the one who originally sent Roy on the quest to kill Xykon. Although his alignment supposedly is lawful good, he is extremely arrogant and an emotionally abusive jerk. He is very proud of being a wizard and resents his son for not also becoming a wizard. When he was younger, he swore a blood oath to kill Xykon for the murder of his master, but eventually got tired of this quest and decided to raise a family. His former wife describes him as a man who is very passionate about his interests, but doesn't stay interested in things forever. He was a good father and husband for a while but eventually got tired of it. Because he gave up on fulfilling his blood oath, he is banned from entering Celestia until one of his descendants fulfils the oath for him, and he is very frustrated with having to rely on his non-wizard son for this. Roy eventually gets so sick of Eugene's behavior that he makes Eugene agree to never contact any member of his family again once he is allowed into Celestia.
* Miko Miyazaki, an absolutely and fanatically [[Lawful Stupid]] [[Paladin]]. None of the other paladins like her so they send her on far away missions as much as possible. She is sent to capture the Order of the Stick after they destroy one of the gates containing the Snarl and though Roy initially is attracted to her he later realizes that she really is a horrible unlikeable person. She is so convinced that she is a good person who does everything right due to being a servant of the gods that she becomes increasingly detached from reality as the evidences stacks up that she is doing wrong. After losing her paladin powers, she tries to redeem herself by sacrificing herself to save the day, but [[Fail|the only thing she accomplished was making the situation worse]].
* O-Chul. The Lawful [[Awesome]] Paladin. He is everything that a paladin should be and everything that Miko isn't. He is reasonable and a nice guy. While captured by Team Evil, he is put through all kinds of tortures both for Xykon's amusement and Redcloak trying to get information and survives all of them, never giving up defying them. During his time as a prisoner he manages to befriend The Monster in the Darkness and convince him that Xykon and Redcloak are not his friends. He is another poorly optimized character. He used to be a normal Fighter so his charisma score is terrible, and thus is bad at casting his paladin spells, but has an insanely high constitution that lets him tank godly amounts of damage (he has a hit point total on par with ''young adult dragons'').

==Before You Get Butthurt About Battle Strategies...==
{{topquote|Here's the thing: No matter what I draw in any battle scene, within ten minutes of posting it someone chimes in about how the characters are stupid for not executing this, that, or the other tactic. Never mind that said tactic would likely end the fight in one panel when it is my job to provide you with an entertaining battle scene. Never mind that said tactic may result in the person winning whom the plot does not need to win. Never mind that the fight may not be over yet. No, all that matters is that these characters are not living up to someone's imagined D&D tactical mastery. Well, I don't give a damn anymore. The characters fight the way they fight to make an interesting page. They may make subpar decisions, I don't care. I don't spend enough time with the D&D rules anymore to eke out all of these Ultimate Killer Strategies anyway, so we're really running up against the limits of my knowledge and ability. The characters can't be better strategists than I am, and I care more about other aspects. Such strategies are usually boring to read and visually bland to look at anyway. There aren't going to be a lot of invisible save-or-die effects thrown around, because there are only so many ways I can draw characters succeeding at Fortitude saves (and then I still have to verbally explain what just happened). You should stop expecting them, because I'm not going to use them. My job is to entertain, not to showcase perfect D&D tactics. If you can't be entertained by anything BUT perfect D&D tactics, that's on you.|A quote from Burlew on the matter}}

It helps that Burlew has never revealed what anyone's level is, specifically so he can fudge the rules. To pull a random example, Vaar snags 13 people in Mass Enlarge Person, implying they're level 13, only to immediately use four Wiz6 spells (Mass Bull's Strength, Mass Bear's Endurance, two Disintegrates) in less than two minutes -- level 13 Wizards should only be able use two Wiz6 spells per day.

In spite of this, however, fans have [[Get shit done|speculated extensively on the levels, abilities, and feats of various characters]], and have managed to create a [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545476-Class-and-Level-Geekery-XV-What-s-the-Damage-of-a-Thrown-Pineapple fairly comprehensive list] of these, usually accurate to 1-2 levels.

== Links ==
* [[Skub]]
* [http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html The website]
* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick The article on] [[TVTropes]] where you can see all the clichés Burlew uses/makes fun of.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Webcomics]]

Order of the Stick

2020-08-01T03:20:22Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Team Evil */

{{/co/}}
[[Image:PostersTogetherBig.jpg|center|500px]]

{{Topquote|Holy shit, this is still ongoing?!|Every anon, at some point}}

'''Order of the Stick''' (also known as '''WORDSWORDSWORDS'''), written and drawn by Rich Burlew, is by far one of the most popular /tg/-related [[webcomic]]s in existence. Essentially, it's about a party of classic [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style adventurers on an epic, high fantasy adventure, except they are well aware they're actually in a game (which isn't to say that they break the fourth wall, but rather they casually discuss things like saving throws and to-hit bonuses as though they were common knowledge). However, it quickly grew from a very funny parody of D&D to serious pastiche of fantasy in general (a lesser form of the condition what TVTropes calls as [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome Cerebus Syndrome]), gaining a complicated-yet-interesting plot, a host of characters from all sides of the [[Alignment]] table, while retaining the humourous tone the comic is known for.

This has caused OotS to devolve into a [[skub]] topic, at least on /tg/. Half of /tg/ thinks the comic has shit pacing, poor jokes, and an army of sycophants who refuse to see that everything has gone wrong, whereas the other half of /tg/ believes that the comic is just as funny as it always was, and with better plotlines than most fantasy novels to boot. Many fa/tg/uys also complain that the comic is "too simplistic" art-wise, given it has a strict stick-figure aesthetic. Burlew has proven his drawing chops on many occasions and notes in the FAQ that the stick-figures "bring the right air of humor to the strip," not to mention the fact that the style, for better or worse, has become the comic's hallmark and can't be changed now. Also, compared to [[Servants of the Imperium]], the later OotS strips are pure gold. That being said, Burlew is a fan of the "wall of text" method of comic design, and frequently seems like he'd be much happier just writing a book.

In other words, standard skub stuff, and has given rise to the fa/tg/uy project [[thog edits]], redos of the comic to eliminate the words and in the process twist the dialogue into something dirty.

[[Image:Miko_ready_to_smite.png|thumb|Spared no expense on the art budget for this climax]]

Rich Burlew's only other claim to fame is coming in second place (or, as he likes to call it, "first loser") in [[Wizards of the Coast]]'s "design a campaign setting" contest. He lost to Keith Baker's [[Eberron]]. This is either a great thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you feel about Eberron. Unfortunately, WotC kept all rights to the setting and put the designers under NDA, so we'll never actually see his entry, as it seems they locked it in a darkened room and forgot about it.

The comic has been put into a number of printed volumes, with the latest volumes funded via [[Kickstarter]].

==The Cast==
Of course a D&D story would be nothing without [[PC]]s, [[BBEG]]s and a supporting cast of [[NPC]]s. They are on all sides of the spectrum between [[skub]] tier and god tier.

{{spoilers}}

===The Party===
The titular Order of the Stick, named first for the artstyle, then retconned into a nearby object. All of their builds are purposely terrible (on Burlew's part) to both A) make the fight scenes last longer than two panels, and to B) emphasize reliance on clever tactics and teamwork to win. The exception, impossibly enough, being Elan.

* Roy Greenhilt, the party's [[fighter]] and leader. Despite avoiding the whole "INT is a fighter's [[dump stat]]" thing, he still spends most of his time hitting things with his green-hilted (get it?) greatsword, putting up with the party's bullshit and, for a good chunk of the comic, being dead. Comes up with the plans and gives out the orders too, if they'd transitioned to 4e he'd be a [[warlord]]. Or a tactician archetype in [[Pathfinder]]. Or a battle-master in [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition|5e]]. Or... let's just say that subsequent editions were much kinder to his character concept than the one he's playing in. There was a gag about him not going for [[warblade]], a class he'd probably excel at, because his bitter old wizard father didn't want to shell out for a ''doctorate'' from Fighter College.
* Haley Starshine, the party's [[rogue]] and second in command. [[Blood Ravens|Will steal everything that isn't bolted down, then steal the bolts, followed by stealing the thing that was bolted down.]] Has an actual reason to do so: to pay off her father's life-sentence in prison. Then, when she met him he wanted nothing to do with her because she was snackin' on the rapier of the son of the man who put him there. Welp. Wields a bow and is comfortable with fighting as dirty as possible to win. Despite her greed and cynicism she is a loyal party member, and manages to stay "[[Chaotic Good]]-ish." Dating Elan after a messy incident involving her being unable to speak for about a hundred comics and him meeting a Final Fantasy character.
* Elan, the party's [[bard]]. He is the living embodiment of every derpy character you ever rolled up just to screw with your friends. He's as thick as a loaf of fine [[meatbread]], sucks at barding duties (often resulting in "wacky" hijinks) and has a [[prestige class]] that forces him to make bad puns as he fights. As the story goes on, he starts to suck less, and it helps that he's the ONLY member of the team with an optimized build. (Maxed CHA for everything bard-related, plus that prestige class adds it to his attack and damage, meaning that he doesn't suffer from [[MAD]] as much as a typical bard.) Apparently, if Haley can be trusted, that maxed CHA is worth a good deal "under the hood." As a bard consciously aware that he exists in a fantasy story, Elan is the character most, "narratively equipped," to deal with the environment and is often able to use rules of traditional storytelling to predict, even manipulate events. In other words, he's a metagamer.
* Durkon Thundershield, the [[dwarf]]en [[cleric]] of [[Thor]]. Gruff, dutiful and honorable, as all good dwarves should be. Pretty stereotypical and solid in his support of the team. Has an accent so thick that it affects the way his dialouge is spelled, despite no other dwarf family in the comic talking like him. His clan had a vision that his return would herald a great cataclysm, so they sent him away and told him they'd tell him when he could come back and never did, because no one in fantasy stories has ever read a fantasy story. Was turned into a [[vampire]] for 200 strips until he got staked, died, got resurrected, died ''again'' 30 seconds later after an ill-advised marriage proposal, then got resurrected for real. Received a hell of a plot dump from Thor while dead, and was tasked with convincing Redcloak and his dark god to betray Xykon, lend their aid, and save the world(s). Also now wields a powerful lightning hammer which Thor told him where to find.
* Belkar Bitterleaf, the chaotic evil [[halfling]] [[multiclassing|multiclassed]] [[ranger]]-[[barbarian]]. A hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-fucking killing machine, Belkar is one of the best characters in the comic. [[Murderhobo|He kills what he can't fuck and he fucks what he can't kill, sometimes fucking things before he kills them]] (but not the other way around, ew). His style of fighting involves stabbing as many dudes as possible with as many knives as possible. Despite being able to steamroll regular enemies, his low Will means that any spellcasters he faces will kick his ass, and his effed-up build (barbarian-ranger is an unhappy marriage where XP is concerned, his low STR means he mostly has to kill minions with tricky maneuvering, and his low WIS makes him useless at casting Ranger spells) means that bigger people (like Roy) can still kick his ass. Still, he is murderously awesome and the PC with the biggest body count thus far (or would be if it wasn't for the time a powered up Vaarsuvius cast an evil epic spell that unintentionally caused a far bigger genocide than they intended). Has a pet cat called Mr. Scruffy, hurting him will cause Belkar to rip you inside out and feed them to you, and vice versa. Also has a motherfucking allosaurus (currently polymorphed into a small lizard).
* Vaarsuvius, the [[elven]] [[wizard]]. V's undescribed gender is something of a running joke - emphasis on "something"- in the series, which makes you wonder what their voice must sound like for it to be of no help in the matter. They have a spouse at home who is also of unknown gender, and it isn't even clear if they are the same or different sexes; both are likely a play on elven androgyny. V's primary M.O. is "use fireball", [[Meme|and if that doesn't work, "use more fireball"]] (fitting, given their name). They also like to prank people with the Explosive Runes spell, and other forms of blaster magic may or may not be prominent. The fact that this is probably the worst way to play a wizard in no way diminishes the fact that V is easily the most powerful member of the Order by a country-mile, able to turn the tide of entire battles unless some convenient dramatic device takes them out of the action for a while, which it often has. While they used to possess an ego befitting both an elf and a wizard, V was recently taken down a notch when they were forced to sell their soul to a [[Tanar'ri|demon]], [[Baatezu|devil]] and [[Yugoloth|daemon]] (all at the same time) to save their spouse and (adopted) children from a black [[dragon]]. They eventually [[RAGE|flipped the fuck out]] and [[powergamer|killed up to a quarter of all black dragons in existence through a nasty 'Familicide' custom spell]] alongside their direct non-blood related (read: non-dragon) families in order to posthumously spite said dragon. They are horrified when they realized the unintended consequences of this caused the deaths of countless innocent people with black dragon ancestry or even with no dragon ancestry who had relations to those people.
* Minrah Elle Shaleshoe: A female Dwarf Cleric/Fighter multiclass who joins the party much later in the story. She first joins with them to stop an attack on the dwarven lands by vampires lead by vampire Durkon, but at the end of that arc decides to join up with them permanently after learning about the threat of the Snarl while she and Durkon were both dead. Hasn't had as much of a chance to show off her stuff as everyone else, but she's apparently Durkon's cohort and a fighter/cleric multiclass.

===Antagonists===
====The Snarl====
Backstory time. In the beginning of the universe, four pantheons of gods came together to create a world, but they had disagreements with each other over what the world should be like and the threads of creation became tangled together and created a god killing monster that attacked and completely wiped out one of the pantheons. The remaining gods created a new world to act a prison for the snarl, but the prison was flawed and rifts in space time began to open leading to the snarl. A group of heroes sealed the rifts away with magical gates. But then, a goblinoid known as the Dark One ascended to godhood and was outraged when he learned that goblins and been created just to be a source of exp for low level characters and came up with a plan to take control of the snarl using the gates. That is Team Evil's goal.
====Team Evil====
* Xykon the formerly human [[lich]]. An [[epic]] level [[sorcerer]], Xykon is bored out of his skull and as such toys around with holes in reality that serve as gates to [[Warp|a dimension containing a world-eating snarl]]. Used to be Redcloak's pawn and henchman as the magical equivalent of a stupid brute, until the intelligence and wisdom boosts from being lich-i-fied gave him the brains to snap any kind of controls his former master could put on him, (or at least thinks that he has). Doesn't like [[wizard]]s because they were condescending to him during his life, and likes beating the shit out of them with his ability to cast spells over and over again (like Energy Drain). He is wholly and unapologetically evil, and [[Eldrad|kind of a dick]], but he's still kind of funny because his charisma is through the fucking roof. In fact, the author purposefully avoided giving him a sympathetic backstory in the prequel book so that readers wouldn't see him as any less evil, unlike Redcloak who does a sympathetic motivation for evil.
* Redcloak the [[goblin]] [[cleric]] and high priest of the Dark One. Xykon's main henchgoblin and ruler of a major goblin tribe and later also the leader of a much larger hobgoblin army, Redcloak is the guy who's told to "get it done". And hoo boy, does he get it done. He murders the resistance to his people's occupation of a major city, has another of Xykon's servants eaten by her own wights and reveals that he was using Xykon from the beginning for the good of his people, all in the span of a half dozen pages. Has a lot of backstory in the prequel comic, but you have to pay for it so f*#$ that noise. ''During'' the comic, he grows out of his racism towards hobgoblins, and is generally the cool, logical, rules-nerd left brain to his boss's impulsive, screwball right brain. He gets his name from the crimson mantle he wears, which is an artifact created by the dark one that grants the goblin that wears it knowledge of the plan to take control of the Snarl, as well as an extended lifespan. He has never revealed his original name because Xykon hates long names.
* The Monster in the Darkness is a creature of many mysteries and few truths. All we know that it has two yellow eyes and acts even stupider than Elan. It also is stupidly powerful: it can punch people so far they are launched into the sky; it stomping on the ground is powerful enough to cause localized earthquakes; and it can teleport people with but a word and a thought. Has the personality of a child (a non-evil one). After extended contact with O-Chul, has begun to think for himself, discovering, to his own surprise, that he is actually ''extremely'' intelligent and doesn't ''want'' Team Evil to win, and so has begun subtly undermining their efforts from within, something that has been enormously successful because none of his teammates see it coming or expect him to do ''anything'' smart. [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488773-Summon-MitD-IX-Roll-on-Section-3a If you think you've got the brains, feel free to jump on the ride that never ends and try to follow the breadcrumbs and figure out what he is.] We'll wait. [[Troll| Remember to only pick ones with Trenchant Political Analysis as a listed special attack!]]
* Tsukiko, a mystic theurge. A necrophile necromancer with a crush on Xykon and also a parody of the [[Mary Sue]] archetype. She was in charge of the wight brigade until she discovered Redcloak's plan to double-cross Xykon, which got her eaten by her own wights for her troubles.

====The Linear Guild====
* Started out as evil counterparts of the PCs (which was deliberately done by their leader, Elan's twin brother Nale (get it? Nale is Elan backwards!)). The Guild consists of three core members plus two other slots that keep having replacements due to death or quitting:
** Nale, a Fighter-Rogue-Sorcerer multiclass specializing in enchantment, which is, if you didn't notice, basically a [[bard]] only [[Tzeentch|more complicated]] and capable of being Lawful Evil. This tells you a great deal about Nale's personality. Is permanently dead; he was stabbed by his father and was subsequently disintegrated for murdering Malack and rejecting his father's attempt to reconcile.
** Sabine, a [[succubus]] and Nale's lover with whom she shares a deep and fulfilling relationship based on human sacrifice. Is currently stuck somewhere in the Lower Planes, trying to get revenge on her boyfriend's murderer, and since Thog is also probably dead she the last member not to die or quit.
** Thog, a [[Half-Orc]] [[barbarian]] who's part of the Dumbass Triumvirate alongside Elan and the Monster in the Darkness. He talks like the Incredible Hulk. Although unconfirmed, he likely is dead after Roy tricked him into collapsing a ceiling on himself, burying him under a ton of rubble.
* On the four different occasions the teams have clashed the Linear Guild employed a subset of the following people:
* '''First Encounter'''
** Zz'Dtri, the [[drow]] wizard. An obvious copy of [[Drizzt]], he was hauled off by the lawyers of [[Wizards of the Coast]] for being an obvious [[Drizzt]] copy. [[Wat|Yes, that happened]]. Later returned ([[Wat|because he was a parody, not a copy, protected speech bitches!]]) and clashed with V using all the interim levels to tailor his build just to fighting the wizard. This did him no good against Durkon, the party cleric, particularly with that vampire strength boost. Currently dead
** Hilgya Firehelm, a dwarven cleric of [[Troll|Loki]] who fucked, fought and fled from Durkon during the Guild's first encounter with the Order, in that approximate order. Reappeared after over 1000 strips to save the party from a vampire horde in the nick of time. Has a self-serving memory, believing everyone around her is selfish when she's one of the most selfish beings on the planet. Brought Durkon's baby into the battle [[Dwarf_Fortress|like a true dorf]].
** Yikyik the [[kobold]] ranger. Was beheaded by Belkar and turned into a [[hat]]. Currently dead.
* '''Second Encounter'''
** Pompey the [[half-elf]] wizard (get it? Pompey and Vaarsuvius are named after Pompeii and Vesuvius! We're clever). Had a crush on Roy's sister and teamed up with the Linear Guild so that he could have her, but he was defeated, imprisoned, and then escaped, signing on with Leeky. Has not been seen since.
** Leeky Windstaff the [[gnome]] [[druid]]. Turned into a giant monster and rampaged through a city (get it? [[CoDzilla]]!) before being defeated by Durkon and escaping alongside Pompey.
** Yokyok, son of Yikyik. A parody of [[The Princess Bride|Inigo Montoya]] who attacked Belkar for... oh do I even have to say it? Belkar was under a curse preventing him from killing, so he set a tavern full of [[adventurer]]s loose on Yokyok, then turned his head into a nacho repository. Currently dead.
* '''Third Encounter'''
** Yukyuk. Yet another kobold: this one was dominated (the status effect, mind you) by V and got used as a litter box ([[Sick| without being decapitate first!]]) and living trap-springer before dying in a horrific accident protecting a [[cat]].
* '''Fourth Encounter'''
* The fourth encounter with the Linear Guild included Tarquin and Malack (as below). It also involved Chancellor Kilkil (Urd, a Kobold variant... with wings! Its in the 2nd ed MM), who is more a clerk and personal assistant than a combatant, though he is a hyper-competent bureaucrat and a flying calculator.
** General Tarquin, a human [[warlord]], general of the Empress of Blood and de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood. Despite the suggestion of him being aligned to [[Khorne]] this is far from the truth: he is a friendly and cheerful person like his son Elan, but at the same time is outright ruthless and has the evil smarts like his other son, Nale. He is the ultimate in [[Alignment|Lawful Evil]]: he understands that his rule is not eternal, but his legacy can be. As such he is forging an entire continent into his empire: even when he is defeated (which he holds as being inevitable) he gets to be a legend. Though he's not very keen on the "being stabbed by a hero" part, it would mean he gets to live like a god for who-knows-how-long, and only the last few minutes sucked. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0763.html The man himself explains it best.] On the other hand, given his Lawful obsession with forcing the messy chaos of reality to conform to the outline of a neat little story, refusing to conform to the character archetype he expects you to fill (e.g. playing a [[bard]] when he thinks you're the protagonist) causes him to quickly fly into a fit of [[butthurt]] rage to put [[That Guy]] to shame and start [[railroading]]. On joining the Linear Guild he disguised himself as Thog.
** Minister Malack is a lizardfolk (possibly yuan-ti) cleric of Nergal and serves as adviser to the Empress of Blood and Tarquin. Is actually a [[vampire]] and has just turned Durkon into one. Like his former adventuring companion Tarquin, Malack is an affable and well-spoken person and is the heir to the Empire of Blood after Tarquin's death. When he does become the next Emperor he plans to [[Emperor|sacrifice a thousand people to his god per day]] [[grimdark|in rooms that serve as gas chambers/abattoirs, the sacrifices generated by a continent's worth of people living and dying for the glory of Nergal]] (although the writer later stated he means meat packing rooms as he plans to use the thousand sacrifices to feed to himself and his vampiric spawn, who'll be running the empire). Like I said, real nice guy. Has a beef with Nale for killing three of his "children", but set aside his grudge at Tarquin's behest. Even then he is a honorable person: when he promises not to kill someone despite it serving his goals, he does so. A very different sort of Lawful Evil, but still fits. Perma-dead, having been killed by Nale with sunlight, which has a disintegration effect on vampires.

===Other Characters===
* Eugene Greenhilt, Roy's deceased father who occasionally visits him as a ghost and the one who originally sent Roy on the quest to kill Xykon. Although his alignment supposedly is lawful good, he is extremely arrogant and an emotionally abusive jerk. He is very proud of being a wizard and resents his son for not also becoming a wizard. When he was younger, he swore a blood oath to kill Xykon for the murder of his master, but eventually got tired of this quest and decided to raise a family. His former wife describes him as a man who is very passionate about his interests, but doesn't stay interested in things forever. He was a good father and husband for a while but eventually got tired of it. Because he gave up on fulfilling his blood oath, he is banned from entering Celestia until one of his descendants fulfils the oath for him, and he is very frustrated with having to rely on his non-wizard son for this. Roy eventually gets so sick of Eugene's behavior that he makes Eugene agree to never contact any member of his family again once he is allowed into Celestia.
* Miko Miyazaki, an absolutely and fanatically [[Lawful Stupid]] [[Paladin]]. None of the other paladins like her so they send her on far away missions as much as possible. She is sent to capture the Order of the Stick after they destroy one of the gates containing the Snarl and though Roy initially is attracted to her he later realizes that she really is a horrible unlikeable person. She is so convinced that she is a good person who does everything right due to being a servant of the gods that she becomes increasingly detached from reality as the evidences stacks up that she is doing wrong. After losing her paladin powers, she tries to redeem herself by sacrificing herself to save the day, but [[Fail|the only thing she accomplished was making the situation worse]].
* O-Chul. The Lawful [[Awesome]] Paladin. He is everything that a paladin should be and everything that Miko isn't. He is reasonable and a nice guy. While captured by Team Evil, he is put through all kinds of tortures both for Xykon's amusement and Redcloak trying to get information and survives all of them, never giving up defying them. During his time as a prisoner he manages to befriend The Monster in the Darkness and convince him that Xykon and Redcloak are not his friends. He is another poorly optimized character. He used to be a normal Fighter so his charisma score is terrible, and thus is bad at casting his paladin spells, but has an insanely high constitution that lets him tank godly amounts of damage (he has a hit point total on par with ''young adult dragons'').

==Before You Get Butthurt About Battle Strategies...==
{{topquote|Here's the thing: No matter what I draw in any battle scene, within ten minutes of posting it someone chimes in about how the characters are stupid for not executing this, that, or the other tactic. Never mind that said tactic would likely end the fight in one panel when it is my job to provide you with an entertaining battle scene. Never mind that said tactic may result in the person winning whom the plot does not need to win. Never mind that the fight may not be over yet. No, all that matters is that these characters are not living up to someone's imagined D&D tactical mastery. Well, I don't give a damn anymore. The characters fight the way they fight to make an interesting page. They may make subpar decisions, I don't care. I don't spend enough time with the D&D rules anymore to eke out all of these Ultimate Killer Strategies anyway, so we're really running up against the limits of my knowledge and ability. The characters can't be better strategists than I am, and I care more about other aspects. Such strategies are usually boring to read and visually bland to look at anyway. There aren't going to be a lot of invisible save-or-die effects thrown around, because there are only so many ways I can draw characters succeeding at Fortitude saves (and then I still have to verbally explain what just happened). You should stop expecting them, because I'm not going to use them. My job is to entertain, not to showcase perfect D&D tactics. If you can't be entertained by anything BUT perfect D&D tactics, that's on you.|A quote from Burlew on the matter}}

It helps that Burlew has never revealed what anyone's level is, specifically so he can fudge the rules. To pull a random example, Vaar snags 13 people in Mass Enlarge Person, implying they're level 13, only to immediately use four Wiz6 spells (Mass Bull's Strength, Mass Bear's Endurance, two Disintegrates) in less than two minutes -- level 13 Wizards should only be able use two Wiz6 spells per day.

In spite of this, however, fans have [[Get shit done|speculated extensively on the levels, abilities, and feats of various characters]], and have managed to create a [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545476-Class-and-Level-Geekery-XV-What-s-the-Damage-of-a-Thrown-Pineapple fairly comprehensive list] of these, usually accurate to 1-2 levels.

== Links ==
* [[Skub]]
* [http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html The website]
* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick The article on] [[TVTropes]] where you can see all the clichés Burlew uses/makes fun of.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Webcomics]]

Order of the Stick

2020-08-01T03:09:14Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Team Evil */

{{/co/}}
[[Image:PostersTogetherBig.jpg|center|500px]]

{{Topquote|Holy shit, this is still ongoing?!|Every anon, at some point}}

'''Order of the Stick''' (also known as '''WORDSWORDSWORDS'''), written and drawn by Rich Burlew, is by far one of the most popular /tg/-related [[webcomic]]s in existence. Essentially, it's about a party of classic [[Dungeons & Dragons]]-style adventurers on an epic, high fantasy adventure, except they are well aware they're actually in a game (which isn't to say that they break the fourth wall, but rather they casually discuss things like saving throws and to-hit bonuses as though they were common knowledge). However, it quickly grew from a very funny parody of D&D to serious pastiche of fantasy in general (a lesser form of the condition what TVTropes calls as [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CerebusSyndrome Cerebus Syndrome]), gaining a complicated-yet-interesting plot, a host of characters from all sides of the [[Alignment]] table, while retaining the humourous tone the comic is known for.

This has caused OotS to devolve into a [[skub]] topic, at least on /tg/. Half of /tg/ thinks the comic has shit pacing, poor jokes, and an army of sycophants who refuse to see that everything has gone wrong, whereas the other half of /tg/ believes that the comic is just as funny as it always was, and with better plotlines than most fantasy novels to boot. Many fa/tg/uys also complain that the comic is "too simplistic" art-wise, given it has a strict stick-figure aesthetic. Burlew has proven his drawing chops on many occasions and notes in the FAQ that the stick-figures "bring the right air of humor to the strip," not to mention the fact that the style, for better or worse, has become the comic's hallmark and can't be changed now. Also, compared to [[Servants of the Imperium]], the later OotS strips are pure gold. That being said, Burlew is a fan of the "wall of text" method of comic design, and frequently seems like he'd be much happier just writing a book.

In other words, standard skub stuff, and has given rise to the fa/tg/uy project [[thog edits]], redos of the comic to eliminate the words and in the process twist the dialogue into something dirty.

[[Image:Miko_ready_to_smite.png|thumb|Spared no expense on the art budget for this climax]]

Rich Burlew's only other claim to fame is coming in second place (or, as he likes to call it, "first loser") in [[Wizards of the Coast]]'s "design a campaign setting" contest. He lost to Keith Baker's [[Eberron]]. This is either a great thing or a terrible thing, depending on how you feel about Eberron. Unfortunately, WotC kept all rights to the setting and put the designers under NDA, so we'll never actually see his entry, as it seems they locked it in a darkened room and forgot about it.

The comic has been put into a number of printed volumes, with the latest volumes funded via [[Kickstarter]].

==The Cast==
Of course a D&D story would be nothing without [[PC]]s, [[BBEG]]s and a supporting cast of [[NPC]]s. They are on all sides of the spectrum between [[skub]] tier and god tier.

{{spoilers}}

===The Party===
The titular Order of the Stick, named first for the artstyle, then retconned into a nearby object. All of their builds are purposely terrible (on Burlew's part) to both A) make the fight scenes last longer than two panels, and to B) emphasize reliance on clever tactics and teamwork to win. The exception, impossibly enough, being Elan.

* Roy Greenhilt, the party's [[fighter]] and leader. Despite avoiding the whole "INT is a fighter's [[dump stat]]" thing, he still spends most of his time hitting things with his green-hilted (get it?) greatsword, putting up with the party's bullshit and, for a good chunk of the comic, being dead. Comes up with the plans and gives out the orders too, if they'd transitioned to 4e he'd be a [[warlord]]. Or a tactician archetype in [[Pathfinder]]. Or a battle-master in [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition|5e]]. Or... let's just say that subsequent editions were much kinder to his character concept than the one he's playing in. There was a gag about him not going for [[warblade]], a class he'd probably excel at, because his bitter old wizard father didn't want to shell out for a ''doctorate'' from Fighter College.
* Haley Starshine, the party's [[rogue]] and second in command. [[Blood Ravens|Will steal everything that isn't bolted down, then steal the bolts, followed by stealing the thing that was bolted down.]] Has an actual reason to do so: to pay off her father's life-sentence in prison. Then, when she met him he wanted nothing to do with her because she was snackin' on the rapier of the son of the man who put him there. Welp. Wields a bow and is comfortable with fighting as dirty as possible to win. Despite her greed and cynicism she is a loyal party member, and manages to stay "[[Chaotic Good]]-ish." Dating Elan after a messy incident involving her being unable to speak for about a hundred comics and him meeting a Final Fantasy character.
* Elan, the party's [[bard]]. He is the living embodiment of every derpy character you ever rolled up just to screw with your friends. He's as thick as a loaf of fine [[meatbread]], sucks at barding duties (often resulting in "wacky" hijinks) and has a [[prestige class]] that forces him to make bad puns as he fights. As the story goes on, he starts to suck less, and it helps that he's the ONLY member of the team with an optimized build. (Maxed CHA for everything bard-related, plus that prestige class adds it to his attack and damage, meaning that he doesn't suffer from [[MAD]] as much as a typical bard.) Apparently, if Haley can be trusted, that maxed CHA is worth a good deal "under the hood." As a bard consciously aware that he exists in a fantasy story, Elan is the character most, "narratively equipped," to deal with the environment and is often able to use rules of traditional storytelling to predict, even manipulate events. In other words, he's a metagamer.
* Durkon Thundershield, the [[dwarf]]en [[cleric]] of [[Thor]]. Gruff, dutiful and honorable, as all good dwarves should be. Pretty stereotypical and solid in his support of the team. Has an accent so thick that it affects the way his dialouge is spelled, despite no other dwarf family in the comic talking like him. His clan had a vision that his return would herald a great cataclysm, so they sent him away and told him they'd tell him when he could come back and never did, because no one in fantasy stories has ever read a fantasy story. Was turned into a [[vampire]] for 200 strips until he got staked, died, got resurrected, died ''again'' 30 seconds later after an ill-advised marriage proposal, then got resurrected for real. Received a hell of a plot dump from Thor while dead, and was tasked with convincing Redcloak and his dark god to betray Xykon, lend their aid, and save the world(s). Also now wields a powerful lightning hammer which Thor told him where to find.
* Belkar Bitterleaf, the chaotic evil [[halfling]] [[multiclassing|multiclassed]] [[ranger]]-[[barbarian]]. A hard-drinking, hard-fighting, hard-fucking killing machine, Belkar is one of the best characters in the comic. [[Murderhobo|He kills what he can't fuck and he fucks what he can't kill, sometimes fucking things before he kills them]] (but not the other way around, ew). His style of fighting involves stabbing as many dudes as possible with as many knives as possible. Despite being able to steamroll regular enemies, his low Will means that any spellcasters he faces will kick his ass, and his effed-up build (barbarian-ranger is an unhappy marriage where XP is concerned, his low STR means he mostly has to kill minions with tricky maneuvering, and his low WIS makes him useless at casting Ranger spells) means that bigger people (like Roy) can still kick his ass. Still, he is murderously awesome and the PC with the biggest body count thus far (or would be if it wasn't for the time a powered up Vaarsuvius cast an evil epic spell that unintentionally caused a far bigger genocide than they intended). Has a pet cat called Mr. Scruffy, hurting him will cause Belkar to rip you inside out and feed them to you, and vice versa. Also has a motherfucking allosaurus (currently polymorphed into a small lizard).
* Vaarsuvius, the [[elven]] [[wizard]]. V's undescribed gender is something of a running joke - emphasis on "something"- in the series, which makes you wonder what their voice must sound like for it to be of no help in the matter. They have a spouse at home who is also of unknown gender, and it isn't even clear if they are the same or different sexes; both are likely a play on elven androgyny. V's primary M.O. is "use fireball", [[Meme|and if that doesn't work, "use more fireball"]] (fitting, given their name). They also like to prank people with the Explosive Runes spell, and other forms of blaster magic may or may not be prominent. The fact that this is probably the worst way to play a wizard in no way diminishes the fact that V is easily the most powerful member of the Order by a country-mile, able to turn the tide of entire battles unless some convenient dramatic device takes them out of the action for a while, which it often has. While they used to possess an ego befitting both an elf and a wizard, V was recently taken down a notch when they were forced to sell their soul to a [[Tanar'ri|demon]], [[Baatezu|devil]] and [[Yugoloth|daemon]] (all at the same time) to save their spouse and (adopted) children from a black [[dragon]]. They eventually [[RAGE|flipped the fuck out]] and [[powergamer|killed up to a quarter of all black dragons in existence through a nasty 'Familicide' custom spell]] alongside their direct non-blood related (read: non-dragon) families in order to posthumously spite said dragon. They are horrified when they realized the unintended consequences of this caused the deaths of countless innocent people with black dragon ancestry or even with no dragon ancestry who had relations to those people.
* Minrah Elle Shaleshoe: A female Dwarf Cleric/Fighter multiclass who joins the party much later in the story. She first joins with them to stop an attack on the dwarven lands by vampires lead by vampire Durkon, but at the end of that arc decides to join up with them permanently after learning about the threat of the Snarl while she and Durkon were both dead. Hasn't had as much of a chance to show off her stuff as everyone else, but she's apparently Durkon's cohort and a fighter/cleric multiclass.

===Antagonists===
====The Snarl====
Backstory time. In the beginning of the universe, four pantheons of gods came together to create a world, but they had disagreements with each other over what the world should be like and the threads of creation became tangled together and created a god killing monster that attacked and completely wiped out one of the pantheons. The remaining gods created a new world to act a prison for the snarl, but the prison was flawed and rifts in space time began to open leading to the snarl. A group of heroes sealed the rifts away with magical gates. But then, a goblinoid known as the Dark One ascended to godhood and was outraged when he learned that goblins and been created just to be a source of exp for low level characters and came up with a plan to take control of the snarl using the gates. That is Team Evil's goal.
====Team Evil====
* Xykon the formerly human [[lich]]. An [[epic]] level [[sorcerer]], Xykon is bored out of his skull and as such toys around with holes in reality that serve as gates to [[Warp|a dimension containing a world-eating snarl]]. Used to be Redcloak's pawn and henchman as the magical equivalent of a stupid brute, until the intelligence and wisdom boosts from being lich-i-fied gave him the brains to snap any kind of controls his former master could put on him, (or at least thinks that he has). Doesn't like [[wizard]]s because they were condescending to him during his life, and likes beating the shit out of them with his ability to cast spells over and over again (like Energy Drain). He is wholly and unapologetically evil, and [[Eldrad|kind of a dick]], but he's still kind of funny because his charisma is through the fucking roof. In fact, the author purposefully avoided giving him a sympathetic backstory in the prequel book so that readers wouldn't see him as any less evil, unlike Redcloak who does a sympathetic motivation for evil.
* Redcloak the [[goblin]] [[cleric]] and high priest of the Dark One. Xykon's main henchgoblin and ruler of a major goblin tribe and later also the leader of a much larger hobgoblin army, Redcloak is the guy who's told to "get it done". And hoo boy, does he get it done. He murders the resistance to his people's occupation of a major city, has another of Xykon's servants eaten by her own wights and reveals that he was using Xykon from the beginning for the good of his people, all in the span of a half dozen pages. Has a lot of backstory in the prequel comic, but you have to pay for it so f*#$ that noise. ''During'' the comic, he grows out of his racism towards hobgoblins, and is generally the cool, logical, rules-nerd left brain to his boss's impulsive, screwball right brain. Redcloak is not his actual name. He has never revealed it in the comic because Xykon hates long names. He took the nickname Redcloak based on the crimson mantle he wears, which is a powerful artifact created by the Dark One, which gives the goblin that wears it knowledge of the plan to take control of the snarl, as well as extending their lifespan.
* The Monster in the Darkness is a creature of many mysteries and few truths. All we know that it has two yellow eyes and acts even stupider than Elan. It also is stupidly powerful: it can punch people so far they are launched into the sky; it stomping on the ground is powerful enough to cause localized earthquakes; and it can teleport people with but a word and a thought. Has the personality of a child (a non-evil one). After extended contact with O-Chul, has begun to think for himself, discovering, to his own surprise, that he is actually ''extremely'' intelligent and doesn't ''want'' Team Evil to win, and so has begun subtly undermining their efforts from within, something that has been enormously successful because none of his teammates see it coming or expect him to do ''anything'' smart. [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?488773-Summon-MitD-IX-Roll-on-Section-3a If you think you've got the brains, feel free to jump on the ride that never ends and try to follow the breadcrumbs and figure out what he is.] We'll wait. [[Troll| Remember to only pick ones with Trenchant Political Analysis as a listed special attack!]]
* Tsukiko, a mystic theurge. A necrophile necromancer with a crush on Xykon and also a parody of the [[Mary Sue]] archetype. She was in charge of the wight brigade until she discovered Redcloak's plan to double-cross Xykon, which got her eaten by her own wights for her troubles.

====The Linear Guild====
* Started out as evil counterparts of the PCs (which was deliberately done by their leader, Elan's twin brother Nale (get it? Nale is Elan backwards!)). The Guild consists of three core members plus two other slots that keep having replacements due to death or quitting:
** Nale, a Fighter-Rogue-Sorcerer multiclass specializing in enchantment, which is, if you didn't notice, basically a [[bard]] only [[Tzeentch|more complicated]] and capable of being Lawful Evil. This tells you a great deal about Nale's personality. Is permanently dead; he was stabbed by his father and was subsequently disintegrated for murdering Malack and rejecting his father's attempt to reconcile.
** Sabine, a [[succubus]] and Nale's lover with whom she shares a deep and fulfilling relationship based on human sacrifice. Is currently stuck somewhere in the Lower Planes, trying to get revenge on her boyfriend's murderer, and since Thog is also probably dead she the last member not to die or quit.
** Thog, a [[Half-Orc]] [[barbarian]] who's part of the Dumbass Triumvirate alongside Elan and the Monster in the Darkness. He talks like the Incredible Hulk. Although unconfirmed, he likely is dead after Roy tricked him into collapsing a ceiling on himself, burying him under a ton of rubble.
* On the four different occasions the teams have clashed the Linear Guild employed a subset of the following people:
* '''First Encounter'''
** Zz'Dtri, the [[drow]] wizard. An obvious copy of [[Drizzt]], he was hauled off by the lawyers of [[Wizards of the Coast]] for being an obvious [[Drizzt]] copy. [[Wat|Yes, that happened]]. Later returned ([[Wat|because he was a parody, not a copy, protected speech bitches!]]) and clashed with V using all the interim levels to tailor his build just to fighting the wizard. This did him no good against Durkon, the party cleric, particularly with that vampire strength boost. Currently dead
** Hilgya Firehelm, a dwarven cleric of [[Troll|Loki]] who fucked, fought and fled from Durkon during the Guild's first encounter with the Order, in that approximate order. Reappeared after over 1000 strips to save the party from a vampire horde in the nick of time. Has a self-serving memory, believing everyone around her is selfish when she's one of the most selfish beings on the planet. Brought Durkon's baby into the battle [[Dwarf_Fortress|like a true dorf]].
** Yikyik the [[kobold]] ranger. Was beheaded by Belkar and turned into a [[hat]]. Currently dead.
* '''Second Encounter'''
** Pompey the [[half-elf]] wizard (get it? Pompey and Vaarsuvius are named after Pompeii and Vesuvius! We're clever). Had a crush on Roy's sister and teamed up with the Linear Guild so that he could have her, but he was defeated, imprisoned, and then escaped, signing on with Leeky. Has not been seen since.
** Leeky Windstaff the [[gnome]] [[druid]]. Turned into a giant monster and rampaged through a city (get it? [[CoDzilla]]!) before being defeated by Durkon and escaping alongside Pompey.
** Yokyok, son of Yikyik. A parody of [[The Princess Bride|Inigo Montoya]] who attacked Belkar for... oh do I even have to say it? Belkar was under a curse preventing him from killing, so he set a tavern full of [[adventurer]]s loose on Yokyok, then turned his head into a nacho repository. Currently dead.
* '''Third Encounter'''
** Yukyuk. Yet another kobold: this one was dominated (the status effect, mind you) by V and got used as a litter box ([[Sick| without being decapitate first!]]) and living trap-springer before dying in a horrific accident protecting a [[cat]].
* '''Fourth Encounter'''
* The fourth encounter with the Linear Guild included Tarquin and Malack (as below). It also involved Chancellor Kilkil (Urd, a Kobold variant... with wings! Its in the 2nd ed MM), who is more a clerk and personal assistant than a combatant, though he is a hyper-competent bureaucrat and a flying calculator.
** General Tarquin, a human [[warlord]], general of the Empress of Blood and de facto ruler of the Empire of Blood. Despite the suggestion of him being aligned to [[Khorne]] this is far from the truth: he is a friendly and cheerful person like his son Elan, but at the same time is outright ruthless and has the evil smarts like his other son, Nale. He is the ultimate in [[Alignment|Lawful Evil]]: he understands that his rule is not eternal, but his legacy can be. As such he is forging an entire continent into his empire: even when he is defeated (which he holds as being inevitable) he gets to be a legend. Though he's not very keen on the "being stabbed by a hero" part, it would mean he gets to live like a god for who-knows-how-long, and only the last few minutes sucked. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0763.html The man himself explains it best.] On the other hand, given his Lawful obsession with forcing the messy chaos of reality to conform to the outline of a neat little story, refusing to conform to the character archetype he expects you to fill (e.g. playing a [[bard]] when he thinks you're the protagonist) causes him to quickly fly into a fit of [[butthurt]] rage to put [[That Guy]] to shame and start [[railroading]]. On joining the Linear Guild he disguised himself as Thog.
** Minister Malack is a lizardfolk (possibly yuan-ti) cleric of Nergal and serves as adviser to the Empress of Blood and Tarquin. Is actually a [[vampire]] and has just turned Durkon into one. Like his former adventuring companion Tarquin, Malack is an affable and well-spoken person and is the heir to the Empire of Blood after Tarquin's death. When he does become the next Emperor he plans to [[Emperor|sacrifice a thousand people to his god per day]] [[grimdark|in rooms that serve as gas chambers/abattoirs, the sacrifices generated by a continent's worth of people living and dying for the glory of Nergal]] (although the writer later stated he means meat packing rooms as he plans to use the thousand sacrifices to feed to himself and his vampiric spawn, who'll be running the empire). Like I said, real nice guy. Has a beef with Nale for killing three of his "children", but set aside his grudge at Tarquin's behest. Even then he is a honorable person: when he promises not to kill someone despite it serving his goals, he does so. A very different sort of Lawful Evil, but still fits. Perma-dead, having been killed by Nale with sunlight, which has a disintegration effect on vampires.

===Other Characters===
* Eugene Greenhilt, Roy's deceased father who occasionally visits him as a ghost and the one who originally sent Roy on the quest to kill Xykon. Although his alignment supposedly is lawful good, he is extremely arrogant and an emotionally abusive jerk. He is very proud of being a wizard and resents his son for not also becoming a wizard. When he was younger, he swore a blood oath to kill Xykon for the murder of his master, but eventually got tired of this quest and decided to raise a family. His former wife describes him as a man who is very passionate about his interests, but doesn't stay interested in things forever. He was a good father and husband for a while but eventually got tired of it. Because he gave up on fulfilling his blood oath, he is banned from entering Celestia until one of his descendants fulfils the oath for him, and he is very frustrated with having to rely on his non-wizard son for this. Roy eventually gets so sick of Eugene's behavior that he makes Eugene agree to never contact any member of his family again once he is allowed into Celestia.
* Miko Miyazaki, an absolutely and fanatically [[Lawful Stupid]] [[Paladin]]. None of the other paladins like her so they send her on far away missions as much as possible. She is sent to capture the Order of the Stick after they destroy one of the gates containing the Snarl and though Roy initially is attracted to her he later realizes that she really is a horrible unlikeable person. She is so convinced that she is a good person who does everything right due to being a servant of the gods that she becomes increasingly detached from reality as the evidences stacks up that she is doing wrong. After losing her paladin powers, she tries to redeem herself by sacrificing herself to save the day, but [[Fail|the only thing she accomplished was making the situation worse]].
* O-Chul. The Lawful [[Awesome]] Paladin. He is everything that a paladin should be and everything that Miko isn't. He is reasonable and a nice guy. While captured by Team Evil, he is put through all kinds of tortures both for Xykon's amusement and Redcloak trying to get information and survives all of them, never giving up defying them. During his time as a prisoner he manages to befriend The Monster in the Darkness and convince him that Xykon and Redcloak are not his friends. He is another poorly optimized character. He used to be a normal Fighter so his charisma score is terrible, and thus is bad at casting his paladin spells, but has an insanely high constitution that lets him tank godly amounts of damage (he has a hit point total on par with ''young adult dragons'').

==Before You Get Butthurt About Battle Strategies...==
{{topquote|Here's the thing: No matter what I draw in any battle scene, within ten minutes of posting it someone chimes in about how the characters are stupid for not executing this, that, or the other tactic. Never mind that said tactic would likely end the fight in one panel when it is my job to provide you with an entertaining battle scene. Never mind that said tactic may result in the person winning whom the plot does not need to win. Never mind that the fight may not be over yet. No, all that matters is that these characters are not living up to someone's imagined D&D tactical mastery. Well, I don't give a damn anymore. The characters fight the way they fight to make an interesting page. They may make subpar decisions, I don't care. I don't spend enough time with the D&D rules anymore to eke out all of these Ultimate Killer Strategies anyway, so we're really running up against the limits of my knowledge and ability. The characters can't be better strategists than I am, and I care more about other aspects. Such strategies are usually boring to read and visually bland to look at anyway. There aren't going to be a lot of invisible save-or-die effects thrown around, because there are only so many ways I can draw characters succeeding at Fortitude saves (and then I still have to verbally explain what just happened). You should stop expecting them, because I'm not going to use them. My job is to entertain, not to showcase perfect D&D tactics. If you can't be entertained by anything BUT perfect D&D tactics, that's on you.|A quote from Burlew on the matter}}

It helps that Burlew has never revealed what anyone's level is, specifically so he can fudge the rules. To pull a random example, Vaar snags 13 people in Mass Enlarge Person, implying they're level 13, only to immediately use four Wiz6 spells (Mass Bull's Strength, Mass Bear's Endurance, two Disintegrates) in less than two minutes -- level 13 Wizards should only be able use two Wiz6 spells per day.

In spite of this, however, fans have [[Get shit done|speculated extensively on the levels, abilities, and feats of various characters]], and have managed to create a [http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?545476-Class-and-Level-Geekery-XV-What-s-the-Damage-of-a-Thrown-Pineapple fairly comprehensive list] of these, usually accurate to 1-2 levels.

== Links ==
* [[Skub]]
* [http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html The website]
* [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebComic/TheOrderOfTheStick The article on] [[TVTropes]] where you can see all the clichés Burlew uses/makes fun of.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Webcomics]]

Beholder

2020-08-01T02:48:15Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7:

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
{{NeedsImages}}
<center>Where are the official images?</center>
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
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Beholder

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[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
{{NeedsImages}}
Where are the official images?
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
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Beholder

2020-08-01T02:47:09Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: This page doesn't have any official images, and there are so many kinds of beholders and beholderkin. Somebody fix this.

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
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[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
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Beholder

2020-08-01T02:45:53Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: This page doesn't have any official images, and there are so man

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]]
{{needsimages}}
[[Image:Beholder_balloon.jpg|thumb|right|Drow clowns make a different kind of balloon animal]]

A '''beholder''' is a giant lumpy... thing that looks like a floating octopus with a giant eye in the middle. The tentacles also have eyes at the end of them. Yuck.

Beholders, like [[Illithid|Mind Flayer]]s, are considered "intellectual property" of <s>TSR</s> Wizards of the Coast, so they aren't allowed to be used in third party D&D supplements or in [[Pathfinder]] as they were not covered under the [[OGL|Open Gaming License]]. This naturally doesn't stop [[ChapterHouse Studios|weirdly]] [[Original character, do not steal|similar]] creatures from appearing in various [[weeaboo]] JRPGs and related works, where they're usually called "gazers" or similar. Yes, this includes [[Monstergirls]]. Of course one game even used the name beholder, but we all excuse it, because this game is [[Heroes of Might and Magic|THE GAME. THE LEGEND.]]

The Beholder first appeared on the cover of the [[Greyhawk]] supplement for the Original Dungeons and Dragons. The creation of [[Spelljammer]] where beholders play an major role resulted in the creation of many varieties of beholders. Much information about their biology and culture was revealed in the book [[Lords of Madness]]. They also got an entire book to themselves in second edition called ''I, Tyrant''.

==Personality and Characteristics==

Beholders are selfish bastards who love to manipulate and enslave any races considered beneath themselves (i.e. every other species). They are extremely [[Imperium|xenophobic]] even going so far as to kill other individuals of their species that look even ''slightly'' different from themselves, though they always go after the more extreme divergences first; two beholders will gang up on the "freak" with scales and fiery eyes before trying to kill each other over the differences in their numbers of teeth. Soooo basically the D&D equivalent of a [[Doctor Who|Dalek]]. Even if two beholders look identical to each other they will struggle to cooperate with each other due to their extreme paranoia. Large groups of beholders can only work together while under the mind control of a beholder hive mother or an overseer.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the beholder race has a lot of genetic variety (as evidenced by the number of Beholder variants, all of whom hate each other, as listed below). They are greedy, often living in dungeons stuffed with valuables. They can cast magic from their eyes and often rule over unwilling souls through domination. One even runs the Thieves' Guild of Skullport, the most recent of several beholders to have done so.

Beholders worship the [[Great Mother]] and due to their massive egos, each beholder is convinced that not only does the Great Mother look exactly like itself, but also that it's ''literally'' their mother (false memories are funny like that). Beholders would be shocked and possibly driven mad (or madder than they already are) if they found out that the Great Mother, despite possessing vast knowledge, is completely insane and acts mainly on instinct instead of logic, unlike her children. Beholders also have another god named [[Gzemnid]] who is associated with gases and deception. Worshipers of Gzemnid are considered [[Heresy|heretics]] by other beholders because they believe that the Great Mother is actually constantly changing in appearance and creates different breeds of beholders every time she reproduces so there is no master race of beholder.

Part of the reason why beholders are so egotistical and paranoid is because they actually possess two minds. They do most of their thinking with their rational mind, but they also possess an intuitive mind which can censor the beholder from experiencing anything that might threaten their ego. This causes the beholder's rational mind to have no memory of times when they failed at anything, and to try to explain the missing memories with conspiracy theories.

Like [[Aboleth]]s, when a beholder is born, they inherent memories from their parent, though not a complete set of memories. This is why trying to raise a baby beholder to be good is a terrible idea, as their xenophobic beliefs are one of the things they inherent.

While good beholder technically are possible, they are extremely rare because turning good requires a beholder to give up on everything they have ever believed since birth, which by beholder standards would make them insane even compared to other insane beholders. Even beholders that are tolerant enough of non-beholders to work with them are usually still evil and tend to become crime bosses.

A standard beholder has a roughly spherical body with no distinction between their head and torso. Their skin comes in a wide variety of colors and textures. They have large mouth full of sharp teeth and a single central eye that constantly projects an anti-magic cone when it is open. At the top of their head are ten stalks tipped with smaller eyes. In some beholder breeds the eye stalks resemble tentacles while in others they are jointed. Each of theses eyes can fire a magical ray at will, with each eye having a different ray. Theses rays are: Charm Person, Charm Monster, Sleep, Telekinesis, Flesh to Stone, Disintegrate, Fear, Slow, Cause Serious Wounds, and Death. They have no other appendages besides these eye stalks. A beholder can levitate and fly. This ability is not magical in nature as it isn't affected by anti-magic fields or else beholders would knock each other out of the air by looking at one another. Beholders with significant deviations from this form are known as Beholderkin. Beholderkin may be born randomly from beholders, and are usually killed at birth, or may be intentionally birthed by beholder Hive Mothers. Beholders posses both male and female reproductive organs inside of their mouth, but they usually reproduce by self-fertilization since most beholders hate each other too much to willingly mate with each other. In 5th edition this is retconned and beholders now spontaneously create new beholders and beholderkin by altering reality while dreaming.

==Notable Variants==
===2nd & 3rd Edition===
====True Beholders====
* Beholder: Your basic beholder. A central eye that projects an anti-magic cone and ten smaller eyes that each fire a different ray, such as charm person, disintegrate, and flesh to stone.
* Elder Orb: A larger beholder with a much longer than normal lifespan. Always has at least 6 levels of sorcerer.
* Hive Mother/[[Hive Tyrant]]: The highest ranked of all beholders and beholderkin. Basically a bigger meaner beholder that holds beholders and beholderkin under its sway. It has the ability to control other beholders and beholderkin, and has the ability spawn new kinds of beholderkin specialized for different tasks. Beholder hives are almost always ruled by a Hive Mother, which keeps the different kinds of beholders and kin from killing each other, and when Hive Mothers belonging to the same breed come together, they can form beholder cities. In 2nd edition, Hive Mothers have their smaller eyes set in a ring around their head instead of being on the ends of stalks, making them less maneuverable but also less vulnerable to being cut off, while in 3rd edition they are just extra large beholders.

====Beholderkin====
* Gauth: Basically, babby's first beholder, with only 6 eyestalks of doom and a reduced ability to disintegrate everyone and eats magic. Looks like a smaller beholder with a ring of useless extra eyes around the central eye and four of its ten stalks don't have eyes on the end.
* Eyeball: Tiny beholder, best used as a familiar. Pretty damn adorable for a beholder, still Neutral Evil. They have four eye stalks with ray of frost, cause fear, daze, and mage hand and can only use one of them at a time. The central eye doesn't do anything.
* Death Kiss: instead of dispensing death-beams from its eyestalks, they use them to suck your blood. Their only eye has no powers, but they release electric shocks when they are injured.
* Astereater: giant space-faring asteroid beholderkin with no eyestalks that eats your ship. For some reason it likes to enslave [[Giff]] to use as soldiers. [[Spelljammer]] was weird. Beholders and other beholderkin insist that they have no relation to them.
* Examiner: Four eyestalks, four limbs, and no central eye. Their limbs let them use tools and weapons, and they can create magic items. They also regenerate 1 hit point every round.
* Observer: A powerful psionic beholder with a hard shell, six eye-stalks, three large eyes spaced evenly around its middle, and three mouths on the ends of long retractable stalks that suck blood similar to a death kiss. It uses its psionic abilities to brainwash other monsters into its loyal servants. Less evil than other beholders.
* Lensman: Beholder infantry. The lowest of all beholderkin, or at least until the Eyeball was introduced. Imagine a starfish, then add a giant eye and mouth in the middle of its body, then replace four of its five arms with the arms and legs of an ape. The eye may have one of six different powers. They do not levitate but their limbs allow them to use weapons and tools.
* Watcher: the second lowest of beholderkin. Has three normal eyes around its body and a large compound eye on the top surrounded by six eyespots, and a single tentacle on the bottom which can inflict electric shocks. Its three regular eyes each have two different powers, and the compound eye can use three of those powers. Can cast the message and tongues spells. They are cowardly and mainly act as scouts for their more powerful cousins.
* Spectator: true neutral beholderkin. It's actually pretty swell, as far as beholders go. Remember that one beholder in Baldur's Gate? They can be summoned with a ritual using four beholder's eyestalks. They make excellent guards since they are content to spend very long periods of time in deep contemplation and don't need to be fed since they can magically create their own food. Has only four eye-stalks and the central eye reflects magic instead.
* Overseer: a beholderkin that looks like a giant fleshy tree trunk with thirteen eyestalk branches, tentacles for roots, no central eye, and several mouths at the base. Yes, I realize that it looks nothing like a beholder, but the book says it is so fuck it, let's call it a beholder. Like the hive mother, it also has the ability to dominate other beholders and beholderkin. In large beholder cities, the Hive Mother dominates the Overseers, who then dominated other beholders and kin for her, thus greatly increasing the number of a beholders a Hive Mother can control at one time.
* Eye of the Deep: it's like a beholder BUT UNDERWATER! And it tastes oddly of shrimp. Also, it's got little arms with crab-pincers. Only has two eye stalks and the central eye can flash blinding light. Also can cast the spell persistent image, which it uses to create [[Trap|illusions of mermaids]] and other things to lure victims closer. Rarely interacts with other kinds of beholders due to them living in different environments.
* Director: beholder cavalry. A beholderkin with six eyestalks and three tentacles on the bottom that it uses to bond with and ride vermin, usually giant centipedes. Because haven't we all wanted to ride a giant centipede like a pony up and down the streets... SHUT UP, I DON'T JUDGE YOU! Has six eye stalks and its central eye generates a protective forcefield around itself and its mount.
* Gouger: A beholderkin created to fight beholders. In the [[Forgotten Realms]] setting, they were created by [[Phaerimm]]s. Larger than regular beholders and has four small useless legs hanging off of its body. It has the same number of eyes as a standard beholder but does not have any eye powers other than the central antimagic eye. It attacks with a 15 foot long barbed tongue which it uses to disable other beholder's eyes.
* Gorbel: Six eye stalks without any eye powers, no central eye, rubbery flesh that causes blunt weapons to harmlessly bounce off, and a pair of claws. They are stupid and try to eat anything that moves. Its claws are so strong that once it has grabbed a creature it is impossible to shake off until it is dead and its body is filled with gas that explodes on contact with air so do your best to kill them before they grab you or figure out a way to kill it without rupturing it.
* Orbus: An albino dwarf beholder with no eyes other than the anti-magic central eye but is a powerful spellcaster. They are only seen in the [[Spelljammer]] setting on beholder ships, which they are bred to power and navigate.

====Other====
* Beholder mage: when the DM wants the entire party to die horrible deaths but doesn't feel like using rocks. This is a special character class that only true beholders can take, which requires them to remove their anti-magic eye, and whenever they gain a the ability to cast a new level of spells must sacrifice one of their eye powers to turn that eyestalk into a spellstalk which casts spells of that level. At level 10, it's empty eye socket can absorb spells to heal it. All the cheese of a wizard with more spells per day, the ability to blast 10 spells at once at you as free actions, and fucking spontaneous casting. Even munchkins shit their pants in fear when they hear of these things. One of the unholy trinity of fuck off broken PCs that you can technically enter, the others being tainted scholars and Illithid Savants. And that's before you start optimizing the bastard because the fucker can still take ten more levels before becoming epic.
* Beholder Priestess: Sometimes when a beholder city is endangered the Hive Mother will called for help from The Great Mother and will be temporarily granted abilities similar to a cleric. On rare occasions this can also happen to a standard beholder, which will cause it to mutated into a Hive Mother.
* Doomsphere: The ghost of a beholder killed in by a magical explosion that haunts the area where it died. If doomsphere is defeated it will respawn in one day unless the area is exorcised.
* Death Tyrant: Basically, a Beholder lich. Yeah, you're probably fucked.
* Kasharin: A death tyrant beholder that also carries a rotting disease similar to mummy rot.
* Evil Eyes: A beholder that possesses non-standard eye powers and so is especially hated by other beholders.

===4th edition===
4e made use of quite a few different kinds of beholder, though almost all of them were pretty rapetastic, being made for higher levels. Most kinds of beholders had a Telekinesis Ray that they could use to slide enemies about, though for most that's all they do.

* Gauth - Pretty much the same as old editions, this is the pitiful little baby of the beholder family in 4e, and something you can toss at low-level parties to scare them without killing them. Level 5 Elites that can shoot fire, sleeping rays and exhaustion rays, and immobilise with its central eye.
* Bloodkiss - Another carry-over, and the second-weakest beholder statted, this one got the Undead subtype for some reason (guess they didn't read up and thought it was "just" a beholder vampire). Level 9 Solo Controller that relies on its blood-sucking tentacles to rip up anything in reach, though it also packs a psychic + dazing effect Death Scream attack and can hit people a lot of times.
* Eye of Shadow - Beholders who spent too long in the shadowfell, dissolving into a blot of darkness and hate. Fairly puny (level 12 Elite), but seriously trolling, with blinding rays, thundering rays, freezing rays, and the ability to pull off a "teleport 20 squares and then be invisible" trick.
* Eye of Flame - A beholder that specialises in burninating shit. Central eye gives vulnerability to fire and causes fire attacks to do ongoing, eyestalks blast foes with fire and fear effects. A low-Paragon tier (level 13 Elite) foe.
* Eye of Frost - We got a burn-your-ass beholder, so evidently we need a freezinating beholder. Slightly tougher (1 level higher) than its counterpart. Central eye means cold damage can immobilise those it looks at... weirdly, its got two kinds of freezing rays; one that does a lot of cold damage, one that does less cold damage but freezes your ass solid.
* Beholder Spawn - Baby beholders wanna eat your face, too. Level 15 Minions that can bite or do elemental damage with their eye-rays.
* Death Tyrant - Zombie Eye Tyrants, pretty much. Way weaker than their older namesakes (level 15 Solo). Central eye can strip away necrotic resistance (guess what kind of damage it does most) and slow you, and eyebeams focused on kill-you-dead. Choice is whether it just necrotic damages you to death, petrifies you, makes you die, or makes you die and then come back as a ghoul. Oh, and it has a fear ray too.
* Ghost Beholder - Dead Eye Tyrant who came back as a ghost. A level weaker and only an Elite, but still pretty nasty. Freezing eye rays and the ability to possess and mind control your dudes: not a lot of fun if your Will is shitty.
* Eye Tyrant - Your basic beholder for this edition, and pretty damn nasty (level 19 Solo). Can daze you with its central eye, or use its eyestalks to cause radiant and necrotic damage, put you to sleep, paralyze you, confuse you, terrify you, petrify you, disintegrate you or kill you outright.
* Eye of Chaos - Now we're getting into the big guns. Beholders that have been warped by the abyss, changing their alignment to chaotic evil and making them more similar to demons in their behavior. Level 25 Elites that will drive you almost as crazy as themselves, with the ability to lock you down to at-will powers only with their central eye and hit you with rays of force, blinding, confounding, madness, fear or teleportation.
* Ultimate Tyrant - They ain't fucking kidding when they named this bastard. Level 29 Solo - there are ancient dragons that aren't this nasty! Central eye locks you down, other eyes can drive you mad, unravel you, dissolve you, burn you, freeze you, drag you around, petrify you, disintegrate you, pull you closer or hurl you away.
* Eternal Tyrant - Because even the Ultimate Tyrant isn't ultimate enough. This bastard is an undead version of the Ultimate Tyrant that comes in a pair of linked entities; the Shell, a beholder [[golem]] (Level 31 Elite Brute) and the Essence, a hyper-powerful beholder [[ghost]] (level 33 Elite Artillery). These assholes are literally god-tier monsters - you had damn well better know what you're doing when you fight an Eternal Tyrant!

===5th Edition===
5e's first Monster Manual provides three forms of beholder; common beholder (or Eye Tyrant), Death Tyrant, and Spectator. The first two variants are what 5e calls Legendary creatures, meaning they have extra powers in their lairs that they can trigger on Initiative Count 20, certain specific effects mark the regions in which they lair, and they have special Legendary Actions that they can perform outside of the normal turn sequence. Their legendary ego has been given up a serious boost; now, beholders mutate at random just by accidentally thinking too hard, their ego is that overpowering. This is also how they reproduce now: by sleeping and dreaming of other beholders, bending reality in that way.

* Beholder: You know it, you hate it. Challenge level 13. Has its old antimagic cone central eye back, a bite attack for piercing damage, and ten eye rays, of which it can use three each round, rolling randomly to determine which three it has. Charm ray, paralyzing ray, fear ray, slowing ray, enervation ray, telekinetic ray, sleep ray, petrification ray, disintegration ray and death ray. It can burn one of its three legendary actions at the end of another creature's turn to blast somebody with a random eye ray. Its lair effects consist of three options; change a 50ft square up to 120ft distant into slimy difficult terrain, make any walls within 120ft sprout flailing appendages that'll grapple anyone within 10ft who can't beat a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, or cause an eye to pop up on any solid surface within 60ft that can then shoot a random eye ray at any enemy within its sight. For region effects, they're all fluffy; creatures within 1 mile sometimes feel they're being watched, or minor reality warps that affect inanimate objects (markings changing on a wall, slime coating a statue, etc) pop up whilst the beholder is sleeping. Volo's Guide to Monsters introduced a table of potential alternate eye rays, in case your party was feeling complacent.
* Death Tyrant: A beholder who dreamed of living forever. So it died in its sleep and became an undead beholder skull with ghostly eyes. It trades the antimagic cone for a negative energy cone (creatures can't regain hitpoints, humanoids that die in its area of effect become zombies under the death tyrant's command on the next turn). It has the same eye rays and legendary actions as the beholder. Its lair actions are variants of the beholder's - its grabbing walls are DC 17 and reach into the Ethereal Plane, it creates a 50ft cube of lightly obscured difficult terrain, and it can create a spectral eye at any point within 50ft, which can also target foes on the Ethereal Plane. It has one crunchy regional effect; a creature that is both hostile to the death tyrant and aware of its existence must roll a D20 if it finishes a long rest within 1 mile of the death tyrant's lair. On a 10 or less, it gets zapped with a random eye ray.
* Spectator: A lesser beholder variant with only four eye stalks, conjured from another plane of existence via a ritual that requires four beholder eyestalks as material components. It's only Challenge level 3 and it's Lawful Neutral, rather than the Lawful Evil of the others. It has a Confusion Ray, a Paralyzing Ray, a Fear Ray and a Wounding Ray, and it can magically create all the food and water it needs to sustain itself each day. It's a fool's gambit to attack it with spells thanks to its Spell Reflection reaction, which lets it retarget a spell that missed the spectator, or which forced a save that the spectator passed, against another creature within the spectator's line of sight and that is at least 30 feet from the spectator.
* Beholder Zombie: Much weaker than a living beholder. Loses most of its eye rays and its anti-magic cone.
* Death's Kiss: A Beholder who had nightmares about bleeding out spawns a vampiric tentacle monster, using toothy mouth-stalks to voraciously suck the blood from other creatures. It also bleeds lightning, for some reason. Not as smart as a normal beholder, but for this reason not as egotistical or paranoid. Added in Volo's Guide to Monsters.
* Gauth: A smaller beholder who sometimes shows up if you screw up the ritual to summon a spectator; it's got six eyestalks, four tentacles, and smaller eyes all around its central eye, so it's hard to understand how wizards can get confused when it lies and claims to be the real deal. The issue is that Gauths are magic eaters, sucking the juice from magical items to sustain themselves, so you can see why that makes them pretty piss-poor guards for a wizard's lair. They're weaker than true beholders and also less xenophobic. Also, they explode when you kill them.
* Gazer: A ridiculously adorable and weak little beholder (only Challenge 1/2 - that is, a ''twenty-sixth'' of the strength of a true beholder) that is sometimes dreamed into being. They're so amusingly pathetic that even pure beholders often keep them as pets, and they have the same sadistic ego of a full beholder in miniature. Have caused a lot of argument over whether the sidebar on gazer familiars is intended for PCs as well or just for mage NPCs, and if so if house rules should be used to slot them in as Chain Pact warlock familiars, let them take the action to fire their eye-rays, etc.
* Mindwitness: A beholder converted into an [[illithid]]-like creature via ceremorphosis. Now that those of you who aren't currently running from your computers in terror have stopped screaming, the end result is less "terrifying perfect marriage of beholder eye-rays with illithid mind rape and the combined egotism of both" and more "quasi-lobotomized docile [[Adeptus Astra Telepathica#Astropaths|glorified psionic email server]]," though still smarter than the average human. Notably, if the illithids and elder brains they serve are slaughtered and they survive, mindwitnesses tend to drift around looking for other psionic creatures to serve, taking on the alignments and worldviews of those they meet, be they kindly [[flumph]]s or evil [[demon]]s. Four of their eyestalks become tentacles, but they have six kinds of eyerays: fear, telekinetic, and slowing rays like those of their normal cousins, but also aversion rays that cause disadvantage on attack rolls, stunning rays that stun creatures, and a psychic ray that just causes a pile of psychic damage.

==Similar Monsters==
Beholders are not the only monsters that look like floating orbs with eyes.
* Gas Spore: Not a true beholder or beholderkin, but a [[fungus]] that resembles a beholder. May have been created by a beholder mage, or may be a fungus that took on the form of the beholder that it fed on, or maybe it's just mundane evolutionary mimicry. Beholders sometimes cultivate them in their cities for defense.
* Thagar: Also known as the Beholdereater, it is a predator that eats beholders. Is a giant orb covered in eyes with several mouths on the ends of stalks. It does not have any eye powers, but it is immune to mind affecting magic and highly resistant to it's body being physically affected by magic, so there isn't much a beholder can do against it.
* Deep spawn: An orb with six large tentacles and several retractable eye stalk. Three of it's tentacles end in mouths, and the other three can wield weapons. It has the ability to give birth to loyal clones of creatures it has previously eaten, making them useful for villains who want to populate their dungeons with a variety of monsters. Relation to beholders unknown.
* Gibbering Orb: An epic version of the [[Gibbering Mouther]]. An amorphous orb covered in mouths and eyes, which have eye rays similar to a beholder. Possibly is the common ancestor of beholders and gibbering mouthers, though this would conflict with the belief that the Great Mother created beholders. Fourth edition also introduced the Gibbering Abomination, a middle ground between the mouther and the orb which also eye rays.
* Lurking strangler: These creatures are to beholders what monkeys are to humans. A tiny aberration that looks like a pair of flying eyeballs connected by a cord of muscle. It likes to strangling sleeping enemies to death, and it can put enemies to sleep with one of its two eye rays. Beholders sometimes keep these things as pets.
* Fihyr: A living manifestation of nightmares that forms when a large number of people in an area all have nightmares in one night. It has a roughly spherical body covered in eyes, mouths, and tentacles. No relation to beholders.
* [[Astral Dreadnought]]: A huge predator that lives in the [[Astral Plane]] that has a single eye with anti-magic abilities similar to a beholder's central eye. Relation to beholders unknown.

==Notable Beholders==
*Large Luigi, a relatively friendly beholder who works as a barkeep in the [[Spelljammer]] setting.
*That beholder head of the thieves' guild who was the first major boss in [[Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance]]
*Another beholder head of another thieves' guild who was the final boss of the first Eye of the Beholder game.
*That funny spectator you kept running into and quasi-befriended in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That blind death tyrant boss you had to get a special god-killing magic wand to kill in [[Baldur's Gate|Baldur's Gate II]]
*That beholder in [[Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes]]
*That beholder in Futurama who's there for no apparent reason (was meant to be guarding some passage in the Central Bureaucracy but fell asleep on the job)
*Xanathar, the writer of "Xanathar's guide to everything" and head of Skullport's Thieves' Guild, which includes new options for classes and backgrounds, along with his snide comments running throughout. Apparently he's only one of many beholders to have used the title since the first one seized power. Notable for being one of the few beholders to remotely care for a being other than itself, he really loves his pet goldfish. It is kind of adorable. What he doesn't know is that his beloved goldfish has been replaced several times by the Thieves' Guild since goldfish don't live very long and he would [[RAGE|not be happy if he ever found out]].

==Beholders as Monstergirls==
[[File:Gazer.jpg|200px|thumb|right|No, you're not dreaming, this is a Beholder in monstergirl form.]]{{Monstergirls}}

[[rule 34|The proof that nothing, ab-so-lu-te-ly nothing is sacred,]] even Beholders got anthropomorphised into a sexy almost-human female by [[/d/|those irremediably insane weebs]]. Goddamit, Japan!

Gazers (as they are typically known due to copyright) are often depicted as arrogant, selfish beings that do not hesitate to use their eye ray powers to get what they want. Of course, fitting for a [[monstergirl]]s setting, their powers are [[PROMOTIONS|less destructive]] than that of a D&D Beholder, going more toward charm, hypnotism and mind control.

Still, beholder-girls are a rarity, simply because there's something rather counter-intuitive about turning a floating head full of teeth and eyes into a monstergirl. Perhaps the most well known example of them on /tg/ is the Gazer of the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]], whose smug grin currently adorns this section of the page. Described as spiteful and full of themselves, their deepest secret is that this is mostly bluster to cover up feelings of insecurity about their looks. They specialize in hypnotic spells, mostly to brainwash men into falling in love with them.

==Gallery==
<center>
<gallery>
File:Awesome Beholder.png
File:The-bard-and-the-beholder.jpg
File:Gazer_D&D.png
</gallery>
</center>

Setting:Planescape Improvement Project

2020-07-30T00:41:39Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Slaads */

[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
[[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
This is a fan rework of the [[Planescape]], intended to fix problems with the setting. The director of this project is [[User:BalanceIsDumb]]. Feel free to make suggestions

=Goal=
I want to expand and rewrite the setting to fix the things that people criticize about it. See [[Planescape#Critique]]

Every plane of existence in Planescape must be interesting, adventure friendly, and properly and fully represent the niche they are meant to fill. The same goes for the races that populate the planes.

=Material Planes=

==Prime Material==
No changes needed.

==Shadowfell==
undecided

==Feywild==
undecided

=Inner Planes=
I actually haven't read a lot of the lore about the inner planes, so for now I won't be focusing on them because I may change my mind about my changes when I read the lore and possibly realize my changes are unnecessary.

The negative and positive planes are to be removed, as they are not adventure friendly at all. Creatures that are native to them shall either be removed or moved to other planes. The closest equivalents to them shall be the [[#Middle Planes]]).

All of the elemental planes are now arranged in a rough sphere surrounding the material planes. The planes of fire, water, air, and earth are spaced apart from each other like the corners of a tetrahedron so that all of them are equally distant from each other. All of the other elemental planes exist between them.

==Primary Elemental Planes==

===Fire===
The plane of fire is the most problematic of the primary elemental planes. How can a place be made of fire, but also be adventure friendly? One possibility is that it is made of fire, but fire here isn't necessarily hot there. Or maybe ways of protecting yourself from fire are easily accessible.

===Water===
I like the idea of the plane of water being an infinite ocean with no surface or bottom, broken up only by giant bubbles of air with islands in them, but that would not be very adventure friendly because you would then only be able to travel by submarine, and submarines are not as fun as ships, and harder to get.

===Air===

===Earth===

==Secondary and Tertiary Elemental Planes==
I have not yet decided what they should be. Secondary planes exist in between two primary planes, and tertiary planes exist between three. Ice should no longer be the plane between Water and Air. It does not make sense. Ice should just be a region of the plane of water.

=Middle Planes=
The middle planes exist in between the inner and outer planes. They are not quite spiritual planes and are not quite elemental planes either, but have traits of both. They are not strongly tied to any alignment, but people can end up in them as their afterlife. They have few outsiders or elementals native to them. Currently the only two middle planes I am certainly including are the plane of bone, and the plane of wood.

==Bone/Death==
Imagine the negative energy plane, Hueco Mundo from Bleach, the Shinigami world from Death Note, the Soul Cairn from TES, and every other world of the undead you can think of rolled into one.

An entire plane made of bones and the ruins of destroyed civilizations. Unlike the negative energy plane, which this plane is the replacement of, it is not instantly deadly to the living, but it is very hostile to them. Undead creatures are the dominant form of "life" here. Every kind of undead creature is found here, as well as some scavenging animals, and decomposing fungi. The undead form whole ecosystems here with stronger undead monsters preying on the weak. The majority of undead creatures here are of the corporeal kind, but ghosts and other incorporeal undead are common as well. Vampires and other blood dependent undead can survive here, as there is a vast river of fresh blood that flows across the plane. The plane of bone is not all wilderness and ruins. There are many large cities of undead here, and a few of them are tolerant enough of the living to be nice places to visit. But many powerful villains also make their homes here. The infinite supply of bones and naturally occurring undead makes it a perfect place to raise an undead army. Several powerful fiends have tried to conquer the plane, but have always been repelled, both by rebellious undead not wanting to lose their territory, and by living heroes. This plane may have some connection with the [[Elder Evil]] Atropus. Maybe he was once a part of this plane, or perhaps he is imprisoned in the plane's core, or he acts as the plane's moon when he isn't out destroying worlds.

===Traits===
* The atmosphere is hard to breath
* Plants (except undead ones) struggle to grow here because it is never daytime and there is little water
* Casting certain spells, particularly healing and resurrection and some spells that affect plants, attract the attention of nearby undead creatures and have a chance of failing. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Most necromancy spells and some spells that harm the living are strengthened and easier to cast. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Soulless undead creature that survive here long enough can eventually awaken and develop a new soul. They tend to copy the alignment of the people they have been around. Attempting to resurrect an undead creature that is inhabited by a soul that isn't the original has unpredictable and possibly dangerous result.
* Undead creatures can also over time transform into other kinds of undead. A simple skeleton may eventually become a lich, although without a phylactery. Non-corporeal undead can also slowly form bodies for themselves out of the bones and rotting flesh of the plane.
* Souls that end up on this plane first appear as weak ghosts.
* Living things that die here immediately come back as undead, usually as a zombie. Corporeal undead with souls, and living things whose bodies are destroyed, come back as incorporeal undead.
* Incorporeal undead cannot move on to their proper afterlife unless they leave the plane.
* It is always night time and the full moon is always in the middle of the sky no matter where you are on the plane. This full moon strangely does not trigger the transformation of lycanthropes. Occasionally, the moon turns red, and bad things happen.

==Wood/Life==
Partially a replacement for the positive energy plane. Also known as the world tree. The whole plane is one giant tree with many other trees and plants growing on it. The roots and branches of this tree are spread out across all of the planes, where they appear as ordinary trees until you climb them just the right way. You can find most any kind of plant monster here. The dead can also find there afterlife on this plane, but all become plants, plant spirits, and plant monsters. But the plane of wood is not a paradise. Many of the plant monsters are very hostile to non-plant creatures, seeing them as prey or threats to the world tree. The plane is also populated by many animals, but mostly herbivores and insects. It is also the home of many powerful nature gods.

Because the world tree is connected to all the other planes, it is very useful as a trade route, and so many roads have been built on it by planar travelers, and many settlements can be found along the roads. The traits of the plane also make farming easier, and so some people live their whole lives here.

===Traits===
* When you are standing on any large enough branch of the tree, gravity will always be towards the branch.
* It is always daytime. The sun is always moving in circles above the tree.
* Healing spells, and some spells that affect plants are stronger and easier to cast. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* Some necromancy spells and other spells harmful to the living attract the attention of the tree's guardians and have a chance of failing. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* It is more difficult to start fires and fire and lightning magic are weakened.
* Dead things rot away much more quickly than normal and if left undisturbed will sink into the wood of the tree in an hour. This include undead beings, corporeal or not.
* Souls that end up here reincarnate as intelligent plants, and retain memories of their previous life. Souls that die here are trapped and reincarnate as plants in one month.
* Living things grow more quickly and also live longer.

==Under consideration==
I think that there should be six middle planes total, but I haven't decided what the other four should be. One possibility I am considering is to change the Shadowfell and Feywild to make them part of the middle planes.

=Outer Planes=
The structure of the outer planes is unchanged.

==Outlands==
The environment of the outlands needs no changes.

The outlands need more native races to represent causes that are neutral other than balance and neutrality itself, which is covered by the Rilmani.

===Rilmani===
The Rilmani's are to be expanded upon and will have a much bigger role in the setting. They work to preserve the balance of all of the planes. They can played as both regular neutral, and [[Stupid Neutral]]. Most of Rilmani believe that if one of the planes were to become too powerful, or if one of the major planes got completely destroyed or absorbed by another, it would cause the multiverse to break apart and either fall into the Far Realm, or be forced to restructure itself into something unrecognizable. They try to police the balance of the outer planes, but also the middle and inner planes. There efforts to keep the universe in balance this way has made them many enemies across all of the planes.

There are some extremist Rilmani who interpret the cause of neutrality very differently. These heretic Rilmani want to force neutrality upon all of the planes and make the outlands the only outer plane.

Over the last few thousand years, a new idea has started catching on with the Rilmani. There is a theory that aberrations represent a 5th force of alignment outside of good, evil, law, and chaos, that does not have an opposite and is slowly tainting the multiverse as aberrations die and their souls go to the outer planes. The addition of an unbalanced 3rd dimension to the alignment chart thus threatens the balance of the multiverse, and if not stopped will eventually cause the outer planes to be consumed by the Far Realm, followed by the rest of the planes. Rilmani who believe in this theory have formed alliances with representatives of races from every outer plane to work together to wipe out all aberrations on the planes and remove all aberration souls from the outer planes. The Tanar'ri who have joined this alliance don't really care and are just using it as an opportunity to finally wipe out the last of the Obyriths. The theory may or may not actually be true.

===Unnamed new races===
All names are currently placeholders.

====(The Punishers)====
This new race of the Outlands are formed from the souls of mortals who were obsessed with revenge in their life but were not evil enough for the lower planes, and not lawful or chaotic enough for anything else. While the Punishers have no or very little memories of their previous lives, they continue with their obsession with balancing all wrongs according to their morals. They will hunt down and punish anybody regardless of alignment if they believe that person has done something to wrong another person and escaped from justice. While their targets are usually evil people who have committed great acts of evil, they cannot be called lawful or good because they are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, and willing to ignore all other rules that would hinder them. They only restraint that they do have is that they won't commit a greater act of evil than the one they are trying to punish against somebody other than the target who isn't actively hindering them. Anybody, both good and evil, who is seeking revenge or justice against someone else can approach them and request help, and the punishers will judge if the crime is worthy of their attention. They may simply hunt down and kill the target, or they may instead use complex schemes to ruin the target's life.

====(The Beasts)====

==Sigil==
I need to read up on Sigil's lore a bit more before I make any decisions.

==Celestia==
No changes needed.

==Bytopia==
Needs a unique native race. Undecided about environmental changes.

==Elysium==
I am thinking about moving the Guardinals to the beast lands and replacing them with something else for Elysium.

==Beastlands==
Maybe bring the Guardinals here.

==Arborea==
Come back to this later.

==Ysgard==
Needs a unique race, maybe two, but mostly should be unchanged. I am considering taking the [[Asura]]s and rewriting them and putting them here.

==Limbo==
(Going to work on this section next.)

The Slaad badly need more development. I feel that they do not properly represent pure chaos the way they currently are.

The environment of limbo could use some small changes to make it more adventure friendly. I would like to also expand on the people other than Slaads and Githzerai that live there. Chaotic alligned people with strong wills could create whole worlds in limbo for players to explore.

I may also add a second native race to limbo to represent aspects of chaos that the Slaadi are lacking in.

===Slaads===
The slaads are not evil. They are destructive and dangerous, but they are not motivated by malice. The stable and unchanging universe offends them, so they seek to spread change wherever they go.

While slaads are able to reproduce by transforming other creatures into slaads, or impregnating other creatures to make slaads xenomorph style, their goal is not to make slaads the dominate form of life in the multiverse because that would actually be too orderly. This is also the reason why the slaad lords coded the rule that no slaad can make more of the same kind of slaad, as one kind of slaad becoming dominant would also be too orderly. So slaads do not reproduce indiscriminately.

Slaads generally fall into two group in terms of their behavior. Those that religiously work to spread the cause of chaos on a large scale, and those who cause chaos just because of their nature, but it can often be hard to tell the two apart, as they both hate all things orderly. The main difference is that the former have the goal of making the whole multiverse more like limbo and restrain their impulses if it means causing more chaos in the long run, while the latter just go around doing what amuses them, which usually is also causing chaos.

Slaads steal things for fun, destroy stuff for fun, start fights for fun, work to break up empires, tear down oppressive governments (which to slaads is nearly all of them), play jokes on people who are too serious, set prisoners free, and anything else that goes against an orderly world. But remember, slaads are not stupid. They do in fact take time to think about the consequences of their actions.

I am currently working on a slaad family tree. I may completely change all this later. Every type of slaad can reproduce but should all use very different methods and can't produce their own color slaad.

Blue slaads can create red slaads and green slaads by infecting other creatures.

Red slaads can create blue slaads and green slaads by implanting tadpoles into other creatures.

Green slaads can give birth to brown slaads or to grey slaads if they consume the flesh of a powerful creature.

Grey slaads can give birth to brown or white slaads. Grey slaads that gain the favor of Ygorl are promoted into death slaads.

Brown slaads are a weaker form of slaad. A large number of brown slaads can choose to merge together to form a black slaad.

Black slaads can create purple slaads.

Purple slaads can create red slaads.

White Slaads can create blue slaads.

Prismatic slaads can form when a group of slaads of at least 3 colors fight with each other and become fused into one. Prismatic slaads can only

There is such thing as half-slaads. Half slaads grow up looking like their non-slaad parent, but if their alignment is chaotic, they will mutate into a slaad of a different color than their slaad parent when they reach adulthood.

==Pandemonium==
Needs a unique native race. It also needs some changes to make it more adventure friendly. Probably add more cities to it.

==Abyss==
No changes needed.

==Carceri==
Demodands badly need developement. I also am thinking about changing the structure of the plane because it seems too lawful the way it currently is or maybe its position should be switched with Gehenna.

==Hades==
The Yugoloths really badly need more development, and need to have their character rewritten to make them better represent neutral evil. I may also add some new native creatures to hades. I have a few ideas.

==Gehenna==
Badly needs a unique race. And the structure of the plane doesn't seem very lawful. I have thought of designs for a new fiendish race that could work here but I don't know what they should be called.

==Baator==
No changes needed.

==Acheron==
Needs a unique native race, and should be made easier to explore to be more adventure friendly.

==Mechanus==
I would like to make some small changes to the Modrons and other existing natives, but the environment is fine.

==Arcadia==
Needs a unique native race.

=Other Planes=
==Astral Plane==
==Etherial Plane==
==Far Realm==
Creatures that die in the far realm do not go to the outer planes on death because it is outside of the multiverse. Their souls wander as disembodies spirits until they either get eaten by some far realm monster, or get reincarnated as an aberration. The far realm is extremely dangerous even for high level players unless they find a way to disguise themselves as far realm natives convincingly. This includes disguising not just their bodies but also their souls, as souls from the multiverse are distinct from those in the far realm and will attract curious monsters that can detect them.

Setting:Planescape Improvement Project

2020-07-30T00:35:16Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Unnamed new neutral race (The Punishers) */

[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
[[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
This is a fan rework of the [[Planescape]], intended to fix problems with the setting. The director of this project is [[User:BalanceIsDumb]]. Feel free to make suggestions

=Goal=
I want to expand and rewrite the setting to fix the things that people criticize about it. See [[Planescape#Critique]]

Every plane of existence in Planescape must be interesting, adventure friendly, and properly and fully represent the niche they are meant to fill. The same goes for the races that populate the planes.

=Material Planes=

==Prime Material==
No changes needed.

==Shadowfell==
undecided

==Feywild==
undecided

=Inner Planes=
I actually haven't read a lot of the lore about the inner planes, so for now I won't be focusing on them because I may change my mind about my changes when I read the lore and possibly realize my changes are unnecessary.

The negative and positive planes are to be removed, as they are not adventure friendly at all. Creatures that are native to them shall either be removed or moved to other planes. The closest equivalents to them shall be the [[#Middle Planes]]).

All of the elemental planes are now arranged in a rough sphere surrounding the material planes. The planes of fire, water, air, and earth are spaced apart from each other like the corners of a tetrahedron so that all of them are equally distant from each other. All of the other elemental planes exist between them.

==Primary Elemental Planes==

===Fire===
The plane of fire is the most problematic of the primary elemental planes. How can a place be made of fire, but also be adventure friendly? One possibility is that it is made of fire, but fire here isn't necessarily hot there. Or maybe ways of protecting yourself from fire are easily accessible.

===Water===
I like the idea of the plane of water being an infinite ocean with no surface or bottom, broken up only by giant bubbles of air with islands in them, but that would not be very adventure friendly because you would then only be able to travel by submarine, and submarines are not as fun as ships, and harder to get.

===Air===

===Earth===

==Secondary and Tertiary Elemental Planes==
I have not yet decided what they should be. Secondary planes exist in between two primary planes, and tertiary planes exist between three. Ice should no longer be the plane between Water and Air. It does not make sense. Ice should just be a region of the plane of water.

=Middle Planes=
The middle planes exist in between the inner and outer planes. They are not quite spiritual planes and are not quite elemental planes either, but have traits of both. They are not strongly tied to any alignment, but people can end up in them as their afterlife. They have few outsiders or elementals native to them. Currently the only two middle planes I am certainly including are the plane of bone, and the plane of wood.

==Bone/Death==
Imagine the negative energy plane, Hueco Mundo from Bleach, the Shinigami world from Death Note, the Soul Cairn from TES, and every other world of the undead you can think of rolled into one.

An entire plane made of bones and the ruins of destroyed civilizations. Unlike the negative energy plane, which this plane is the replacement of, it is not instantly deadly to the living, but it is very hostile to them. Undead creatures are the dominant form of "life" here. Every kind of undead creature is found here, as well as some scavenging animals, and decomposing fungi. The undead form whole ecosystems here with stronger undead monsters preying on the weak. The majority of undead creatures here are of the corporeal kind, but ghosts and other incorporeal undead are common as well. Vampires and other blood dependent undead can survive here, as there is a vast river of fresh blood that flows across the plane. The plane of bone is not all wilderness and ruins. There are many large cities of undead here, and a few of them are tolerant enough of the living to be nice places to visit. But many powerful villains also make their homes here. The infinite supply of bones and naturally occurring undead makes it a perfect place to raise an undead army. Several powerful fiends have tried to conquer the plane, but have always been repelled, both by rebellious undead not wanting to lose their territory, and by living heroes. This plane may have some connection with the [[Elder Evil]] Atropus. Maybe he was once a part of this plane, or perhaps he is imprisoned in the plane's core, or he acts as the plane's moon when he isn't out destroying worlds.

===Traits===
* The atmosphere is hard to breath
* Plants (except undead ones) struggle to grow here because it is never daytime and there is little water
* Casting certain spells, particularly healing and resurrection and some spells that affect plants, attract the attention of nearby undead creatures and have a chance of failing. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Most necromancy spells and some spells that harm the living are strengthened and easier to cast. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Soulless undead creature that survive here long enough can eventually awaken and develop a new soul. They tend to copy the alignment of the people they have been around. Attempting to resurrect an undead creature that is inhabited by a soul that isn't the original has unpredictable and possibly dangerous result.
* Undead creatures can also over time transform into other kinds of undead. A simple skeleton may eventually become a lich, although without a phylactery. Non-corporeal undead can also slowly form bodies for themselves out of the bones and rotting flesh of the plane.
* Souls that end up on this plane first appear as weak ghosts.
* Living things that die here immediately come back as undead, usually as a zombie. Corporeal undead with souls, and living things whose bodies are destroyed, come back as incorporeal undead.
* Incorporeal undead cannot move on to their proper afterlife unless they leave the plane.
* It is always night time and the full moon is always in the middle of the sky no matter where you are on the plane. This full moon strangely does not trigger the transformation of lycanthropes. Occasionally, the moon turns red, and bad things happen.

==Wood/Life==
Partially a replacement for the positive energy plane. Also known as the world tree. The whole plane is one giant tree with many other trees and plants growing on it. The roots and branches of this tree are spread out across all of the planes, where they appear as ordinary trees until you climb them just the right way. You can find most any kind of plant monster here. The dead can also find there afterlife on this plane, but all become plants, plant spirits, and plant monsters. But the plane of wood is not a paradise. Many of the plant monsters are very hostile to non-plant creatures, seeing them as prey or threats to the world tree. The plane is also populated by many animals, but mostly herbivores and insects. It is also the home of many powerful nature gods.

Because the world tree is connected to all the other planes, it is very useful as a trade route, and so many roads have been built on it by planar travelers, and many settlements can be found along the roads. The traits of the plane also make farming easier, and so some people live their whole lives here.

===Traits===
* When you are standing on any large enough branch of the tree, gravity will always be towards the branch.
* It is always daytime. The sun is always moving in circles above the tree.
* Healing spells, and some spells that affect plants are stronger and easier to cast. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* Some necromancy spells and other spells harmful to the living attract the attention of the tree's guardians and have a chance of failing. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* It is more difficult to start fires and fire and lightning magic are weakened.
* Dead things rot away much more quickly than normal and if left undisturbed will sink into the wood of the tree in an hour. This include undead beings, corporeal or not.
* Souls that end up here reincarnate as intelligent plants, and retain memories of their previous life. Souls that die here are trapped and reincarnate as plants in one month.
* Living things grow more quickly and also live longer.

==Under consideration==
I think that there should be six middle planes total, but I haven't decided what the other four should be. One possibility I am considering is to change the Shadowfell and Feywild to make them part of the middle planes.

=Outer Planes=
The structure of the outer planes is unchanged.

==Outlands==
The environment of the outlands needs no changes.

The outlands need more native races to represent causes that are neutral other than balance and neutrality itself, which is covered by the Rilmani.

===Rilmani===
The Rilmani's are to be expanded upon and will have a much bigger role in the setting. They work to preserve the balance of all of the planes. They can played as both regular neutral, and [[Stupid Neutral]]. Most of Rilmani believe that if one of the planes were to become too powerful, or if one of the major planes got completely destroyed or absorbed by another, it would cause the multiverse to break apart and either fall into the Far Realm, or be forced to restructure itself into something unrecognizable. They try to police the balance of the outer planes, but also the middle and inner planes. There efforts to keep the universe in balance this way has made them many enemies across all of the planes.

There are some extremist Rilmani who interpret the cause of neutrality very differently. These heretic Rilmani want to force neutrality upon all of the planes and make the outlands the only outer plane.

Over the last few thousand years, a new idea has started catching on with the Rilmani. There is a theory that aberrations represent a 5th force of alignment outside of good, evil, law, and chaos, that does not have an opposite and is slowly tainting the multiverse as aberrations die and their souls go to the outer planes. The addition of an unbalanced 3rd dimension to the alignment chart thus threatens the balance of the multiverse, and if not stopped will eventually cause the outer planes to be consumed by the Far Realm, followed by the rest of the planes. Rilmani who believe in this theory have formed alliances with representatives of races from every outer plane to work together to wipe out all aberrations on the planes and remove all aberration souls from the outer planes. The Tanar'ri who have joined this alliance don't really care and are just using it as an opportunity to finally wipe out the last of the Obyriths. The theory may or may not actually be true.

===Unnamed new races===
All names are currently placeholders.

====(The Punishers)====
This new race of the Outlands are formed from the souls of mortals who were obsessed with revenge in their life but were not evil enough for the lower planes, and not lawful or chaotic enough for anything else. While the Punishers have no or very little memories of their previous lives, they continue with their obsession with balancing all wrongs according to their morals. They will hunt down and punish anybody regardless of alignment if they believe that person has done something to wrong another person and escaped from justice. While their targets are usually evil people who have committed great acts of evil, they cannot be called lawful or good because they are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, and willing to ignore all other rules that would hinder them. They only restraint that they do have is that they won't commit a greater act of evil than the one they are trying to punish against somebody other than the target who isn't actively hindering them. Anybody, both good and evil, who is seeking revenge or justice against someone else can approach them and request help, and the punishers will judge if the crime is worthy of their attention. They may simply hunt down and kill the target, or they may instead use complex schemes to ruin the target's life.

====(The Beasts)====

==Sigil==
I need to read up on Sigil's lore a bit more before I make any decisions.

==Celestia==
No changes needed.

==Bytopia==
Needs a unique native race. Undecided about environmental changes.

==Elysium==
I am thinking about moving the Guardinals to the beast lands and replacing them with something else for Elysium.

==Beastlands==
Maybe bring the Guardinals here.

==Arborea==
Come back to this later.

==Ysgard==
Needs a unique race, maybe two, but mostly should be unchanged. I am considering taking the [[Asura]]s and rewriting them and putting them here.

==Limbo==
(Going to work on this section next.)

The Slaad badly need more development. I feel that they do not properly represent pure chaos the way they currently are.

The environment of limbo could use some small changes to make it more adventure friendly. I would like to also expand on the people other than Slaads and Githzerai that live there. Chaotic alligned people with strong wills could create whole worlds in limbo for players to explore.

I may also add a second native race to limbo to represent aspects of chaos that the Slaadi are lacking in.

===Slaads===
The slaads are not evil. They are destructive and dangerous, but they are not motivated by malice. The stable and unchanging universe offends them, so they seek to spread change wherever they go.

While slaads are able to reproduce by transforming other creatures into slaads, or impregnating other creatures to make slaads xenomorph style, their goal is not to make slaads the dominate form of life in the multiverse because that would actually be too orderly. This is also the reason why the slaad lords coded the rule that no slaad can make more of the same kind of slaad, as one kind of slaad becoming dominant would also be too orderly. So slaads do not reproduce indiscriminately.

Slaads generally fall into two group in terms of their behavior. Those that religiously work to spread the cause of chaos on a large scale, and those who cause chaos just because of their nature, but it can often be hard to tell the two apart, as they both hate all things orderly. The main difference is that the former have the goal of making the whole multiverse more like limbo and restrain their impulses if it means causing more chaos in the long run, while the latter just go around doing what amuses them, which usually is also causing chaos.

Slaads steal things for fun, destroy stuff for fun, start fights for fur, work to break up empires, tear down oppressive governments (which to slaads is nearly all of them), play jokes on people who are too serious, set prisoners free, and anything else that goes against an orderly world. But remember, slaads are not stupid. They do in fact take time to think about the consequences of their actions.

I am currently working on a slaad family tree. I may completely change all this later. Every type of slaad can reproduce but should all use very different methods and can't produce their own color slaad.

Blue slaads can create red slaads and green slaads by infecting other creatures.

Red slaads can create blue slaads and green slaads by implanting tadpoles into other creatures.

Green slaads can give birth to brown slaads or to grey slaads if they consume the flesh of a powerful creature.

Grey slaads can give birth to brown or white slaads. Grey slaads that gain the favor of Ygorl are promoted into death slaads.

Brown slaads are a weaker form of slaad. A large number of brown slaads can choose to merge together to form a black slaad.

Black slaads can create purple slaads.

Purple slaads can create red slaads.

White Slaads can create blue slaads.

Prismatic slaads can form when a group of slaads of at least 3 colors fight with each other and become fused into one. Prismatic slaads can only

There is such thing as half-slaads. Half slaads grow up looking like their non-slaad parent, but if their alignment is chaotic, they will mutate into a slaad of a different color than their slaad parent when they reach adulthood.

==Pandemonium==
Needs a unique native race. It also needs some changes to make it more adventure friendly. Probably add more cities to it.

==Abyss==
No changes needed.

==Carceri==
Demodands badly need developement. I also am thinking about changing the structure of the plane because it seems too lawful the way it currently is or maybe its position should be switched with Gehenna.

==Hades==
The Yugoloths really badly need more development, and need to have their character rewritten to make them better represent neutral evil. I may also add some new native creatures to hades. I have a few ideas.

==Gehenna==
Badly needs a unique race. And the structure of the plane doesn't seem very lawful. I have thought of designs for a new fiendish race that could work here but I don't know what they should be called.

==Baator==
No changes needed.

==Acheron==
Needs a unique native race, and should be made easier to explore to be more adventure friendly.

==Mechanus==
I would like to make some small changes to the Modrons and other existing natives, but the environment is fine.

==Arcadia==
Needs a unique native race.

=Other Planes=
==Astral Plane==
==Etherial Plane==
==Far Realm==
Creatures that die in the far realm do not go to the outer planes on death because it is outside of the multiverse. Their souls wander as disembodies spirits until they either get eaten by some far realm monster, or get reincarnated as an aberration. The far realm is extremely dangerous even for high level players unless they find a way to disguise themselves as far realm natives convincingly. This includes disguising not just their bodies but also their souls, as souls from the multiverse are distinct from those in the far realm and will attract curious monsters that can detect them.

Setting:Planescape Improvement Project

2020-07-30T00:24:40Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Rilmani */

[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
[[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
This is a fan rework of the [[Planescape]], intended to fix problems with the setting. The director of this project is [[User:BalanceIsDumb]]. Feel free to make suggestions

=Goal=
I want to expand and rewrite the setting to fix the things that people criticize about it. See [[Planescape#Critique]]

Every plane of existence in Planescape must be interesting, adventure friendly, and properly and fully represent the niche they are meant to fill. The same goes for the races that populate the planes.

=Material Planes=

==Prime Material==
No changes needed.

==Shadowfell==
undecided

==Feywild==
undecided

=Inner Planes=
I actually haven't read a lot of the lore about the inner planes, so for now I won't be focusing on them because I may change my mind about my changes when I read the lore and possibly realize my changes are unnecessary.

The negative and positive planes are to be removed, as they are not adventure friendly at all. Creatures that are native to them shall either be removed or moved to other planes. The closest equivalents to them shall be the [[#Middle Planes]]).

All of the elemental planes are now arranged in a rough sphere surrounding the material planes. The planes of fire, water, air, and earth are spaced apart from each other like the corners of a tetrahedron so that all of them are equally distant from each other. All of the other elemental planes exist between them.

==Primary Elemental Planes==

===Fire===
The plane of fire is the most problematic of the primary elemental planes. How can a place be made of fire, but also be adventure friendly? One possibility is that it is made of fire, but fire here isn't necessarily hot there. Or maybe ways of protecting yourself from fire are easily accessible.

===Water===
I like the idea of the plane of water being an infinite ocean with no surface or bottom, broken up only by giant bubbles of air with islands in them, but that would not be very adventure friendly because you would then only be able to travel by submarine, and submarines are not as fun as ships, and harder to get.

===Air===

===Earth===

==Secondary and Tertiary Elemental Planes==
I have not yet decided what they should be. Secondary planes exist in between two primary planes, and tertiary planes exist between three. Ice should no longer be the plane between Water and Air. It does not make sense. Ice should just be a region of the plane of water.

=Middle Planes=
The middle planes exist in between the inner and outer planes. They are not quite spiritual planes and are not quite elemental planes either, but have traits of both. They are not strongly tied to any alignment, but people can end up in them as their afterlife. They have few outsiders or elementals native to them. Currently the only two middle planes I am certainly including are the plane of bone, and the plane of wood.

==Bone/Death==
Imagine the negative energy plane, Hueco Mundo from Bleach, the Shinigami world from Death Note, the Soul Cairn from TES, and every other world of the undead you can think of rolled into one.

An entire plane made of bones and the ruins of destroyed civilizations. Unlike the negative energy plane, which this plane is the replacement of, it is not instantly deadly to the living, but it is very hostile to them. Undead creatures are the dominant form of "life" here. Every kind of undead creature is found here, as well as some scavenging animals, and decomposing fungi. The undead form whole ecosystems here with stronger undead monsters preying on the weak. The majority of undead creatures here are of the corporeal kind, but ghosts and other incorporeal undead are common as well. Vampires and other blood dependent undead can survive here, as there is a vast river of fresh blood that flows across the plane. The plane of bone is not all wilderness and ruins. There are many large cities of undead here, and a few of them are tolerant enough of the living to be nice places to visit. But many powerful villains also make their homes here. The infinite supply of bones and naturally occurring undead makes it a perfect place to raise an undead army. Several powerful fiends have tried to conquer the plane, but have always been repelled, both by rebellious undead not wanting to lose their territory, and by living heroes. This plane may have some connection with the [[Elder Evil]] Atropus. Maybe he was once a part of this plane, or perhaps he is imprisoned in the plane's core, or he acts as the plane's moon when he isn't out destroying worlds.

===Traits===
* The atmosphere is hard to breath
* Plants (except undead ones) struggle to grow here because it is never daytime and there is little water
* Casting certain spells, particularly healing and resurrection and some spells that affect plants, attract the attention of nearby undead creatures and have a chance of failing. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Most necromancy spells and some spells that harm the living are strengthened and easier to cast. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Soulless undead creature that survive here long enough can eventually awaken and develop a new soul. They tend to copy the alignment of the people they have been around. Attempting to resurrect an undead creature that is inhabited by a soul that isn't the original has unpredictable and possibly dangerous result.
* Undead creatures can also over time transform into other kinds of undead. A simple skeleton may eventually become a lich, although without a phylactery. Non-corporeal undead can also slowly form bodies for themselves out of the bones and rotting flesh of the plane.
* Souls that end up on this plane first appear as weak ghosts.
* Living things that die here immediately come back as undead, usually as a zombie. Corporeal undead with souls, and living things whose bodies are destroyed, come back as incorporeal undead.
* Incorporeal undead cannot move on to their proper afterlife unless they leave the plane.
* It is always night time and the full moon is always in the middle of the sky no matter where you are on the plane. This full moon strangely does not trigger the transformation of lycanthropes. Occasionally, the moon turns red, and bad things happen.

==Wood/Life==
Partially a replacement for the positive energy plane. Also known as the world tree. The whole plane is one giant tree with many other trees and plants growing on it. The roots and branches of this tree are spread out across all of the planes, where they appear as ordinary trees until you climb them just the right way. You can find most any kind of plant monster here. The dead can also find there afterlife on this plane, but all become plants, plant spirits, and plant monsters. But the plane of wood is not a paradise. Many of the plant monsters are very hostile to non-plant creatures, seeing them as prey or threats to the world tree. The plane is also populated by many animals, but mostly herbivores and insects. It is also the home of many powerful nature gods.

Because the world tree is connected to all the other planes, it is very useful as a trade route, and so many roads have been built on it by planar travelers, and many settlements can be found along the roads. The traits of the plane also make farming easier, and so some people live their whole lives here.

===Traits===
* When you are standing on any large enough branch of the tree, gravity will always be towards the branch.
* It is always daytime. The sun is always moving in circles above the tree.
* Healing spells, and some spells that affect plants are stronger and easier to cast. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* Some necromancy spells and other spells harmful to the living attract the attention of the tree's guardians and have a chance of failing. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* It is more difficult to start fires and fire and lightning magic are weakened.
* Dead things rot away much more quickly than normal and if left undisturbed will sink into the wood of the tree in an hour. This include undead beings, corporeal or not.
* Souls that end up here reincarnate as intelligent plants, and retain memories of their previous life. Souls that die here are trapped and reincarnate as plants in one month.
* Living things grow more quickly and also live longer.

==Under consideration==
I think that there should be six middle planes total, but I haven't decided what the other four should be. One possibility I am considering is to change the Shadowfell and Feywild to make them part of the middle planes.

=Outer Planes=
The structure of the outer planes is unchanged.

==Outlands==
The environment of the outlands needs no changes.

The outlands need more native races to represent causes that are neutral other than balance and neutrality itself, which is covered by the Rilmani.

===Rilmani===
The Rilmani's are to be expanded upon and will have a much bigger role in the setting. They work to preserve the balance of all of the planes. They can played as both regular neutral, and [[Stupid Neutral]]. Most of Rilmani believe that if one of the planes were to become too powerful, or if one of the major planes got completely destroyed or absorbed by another, it would cause the multiverse to break apart and either fall into the Far Realm, or be forced to restructure itself into something unrecognizable. They try to police the balance of the outer planes, but also the middle and inner planes. There efforts to keep the universe in balance this way has made them many enemies across all of the planes.

There are some extremist Rilmani who interpret the cause of neutrality very differently. These heretic Rilmani want to force neutrality upon all of the planes and make the outlands the only outer plane.

Over the last few thousand years, a new idea has started catching on with the Rilmani. There is a theory that aberrations represent a 5th force of alignment outside of good, evil, law, and chaos, that does not have an opposite and is slowly tainting the multiverse as aberrations die and their souls go to the outer planes. The addition of an unbalanced 3rd dimension to the alignment chart thus threatens the balance of the multiverse, and if not stopped will eventually cause the outer planes to be consumed by the Far Realm, followed by the rest of the planes. Rilmani who believe in this theory have formed alliances with representatives of races from every outer plane to work together to wipe out all aberrations on the planes and remove all aberration souls from the outer planes. The Tanar'ri who have joined this alliance don't really care and are just using it as an opportunity to finally wipe out the last of the Obyriths. The theory may or may not actually be true.

===Unnamed new neutral race (The Punishers)===
This new race of the Outlands are formed from the souls of mortals who were obsessed with revenge in their life but were not evil enough for the lower planes, and not lawful or chaotic enough for anything else. While the Punishers have no or very little memories of their previous lives, they continue with their obsession with balancing all wrongs according to their morals. They will hunt down and punish anybody regardless of alignment if they believe that person has done something to wrong another person and escaped from justice. While their targets are usually evil people who have committed great acts of evil, they cannot be called lawful or good because they are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, and willing to ignore all other rules that would hinder them. They only restraint that they do have is that they won't commit a greater act of evil than the one they are trying to punish against somebody other than the target who isn't actively hindering them. Anybody, both good and evil, who is seeking revenge or justice against someone else can approach them and request help, and the punishers will judge if the crime is worthy of their attention. They may simply hunt down and kill the target, or they may instead use complex schemes to ruin the target's life.

==Sigil==
I need to read up on Sigil's lore a bit more before I make any decisions.

==Celestia==
No changes needed.

==Bytopia==
Needs a unique native race. Undecided about environmental changes.

==Elysium==
I am thinking about moving the Guardinals to the beast lands and replacing them with something else for Elysium.

==Beastlands==
Maybe bring the Guardinals here.

==Arborea==
Come back to this later.

==Ysgard==
Needs a unique race, maybe two, but mostly should be unchanged. I am considering taking the [[Asura]]s and rewriting them and putting them here.

==Limbo==
(Going to work on this section next.)

The Slaad badly need more development. I feel that they do not properly represent pure chaos the way they currently are.

The environment of limbo could use some small changes to make it more adventure friendly. I would like to also expand on the people other than Slaads and Githzerai that live there. Chaotic alligned people with strong wills could create whole worlds in limbo for players to explore.

I may also add a second native race to limbo to represent aspects of chaos that the Slaadi are lacking in.

===Slaads===
The slaads are not evil. They are destructive and dangerous, but they are not motivated by malice. The stable and unchanging universe offends them, so they seek to spread change wherever they go.

While slaads are able to reproduce by transforming other creatures into slaads, or impregnating other creatures to make slaads xenomorph style, their goal is not to make slaads the dominate form of life in the multiverse because that would actually be too orderly. This is also the reason why the slaad lords coded the rule that no slaad can make more of the same kind of slaad, as one kind of slaad becoming dominant would also be too orderly. So slaads do not reproduce indiscriminately.

Slaads generally fall into two group in terms of their behavior. Those that religiously work to spread the cause of chaos on a large scale, and those who cause chaos just because of their nature, but it can often be hard to tell the two apart, as they both hate all things orderly. The main difference is that the former have the goal of making the whole multiverse more like limbo and restrain their impulses if it means causing more chaos in the long run, while the latter just go around doing what amuses them, which usually is also causing chaos.

Slaads steal things for fun, destroy stuff for fun, start fights for fur, work to break up empires, tear down oppressive governments (which to slaads is nearly all of them), play jokes on people who are too serious, set prisoners free, and anything else that goes against an orderly world. But remember, slaads are not stupid. They do in fact take time to think about the consequences of their actions.

I am currently working on a slaad family tree. I may completely change all this later. Every type of slaad can reproduce but should all use very different methods and can't produce their own color slaad.

Blue slaads can create red slaads and green slaads by infecting other creatures.

Red slaads can create blue slaads and green slaads by implanting tadpoles into other creatures.

Green slaads can give birth to brown slaads or to grey slaads if they consume the flesh of a powerful creature.

Grey slaads can give birth to brown or white slaads. Grey slaads that gain the favor of Ygorl are promoted into death slaads.

Brown slaads are a weaker form of slaad. A large number of brown slaads can choose to merge together to form a black slaad.

Black slaads can create purple slaads.

Purple slaads can create red slaads.

White Slaads can create blue slaads.

Prismatic slaads can form when a group of slaads of at least 3 colors fight with each other and become fused into one. Prismatic slaads can only

There is such thing as half-slaads. Half slaads grow up looking like their non-slaad parent, but if their alignment is chaotic, they will mutate into a slaad of a different color than their slaad parent when they reach adulthood.

==Pandemonium==
Needs a unique native race. It also needs some changes to make it more adventure friendly. Probably add more cities to it.

==Abyss==
No changes needed.

==Carceri==
Demodands badly need developement. I also am thinking about changing the structure of the plane because it seems too lawful the way it currently is or maybe its position should be switched with Gehenna.

==Hades==
The Yugoloths really badly need more development, and need to have their character rewritten to make them better represent neutral evil. I may also add some new native creatures to hades. I have a few ideas.

==Gehenna==
Badly needs a unique race. And the structure of the plane doesn't seem very lawful. I have thought of designs for a new fiendish race that could work here but I don't know what they should be called.

==Baator==
No changes needed.

==Acheron==
Needs a unique native race, and should be made easier to explore to be more adventure friendly.

==Mechanus==
I would like to make some small changes to the Modrons and other existing natives, but the environment is fine.

==Arcadia==
Needs a unique native race.

=Other Planes=
==Astral Plane==
==Etherial Plane==
==Far Realm==
Creatures that die in the far realm do not go to the outer planes on death because it is outside of the multiverse. Their souls wander as disembodies spirits until they either get eaten by some far realm monster, or get reincarnated as an aberration. The far realm is extremely dangerous even for high level players unless they find a way to disguise themselves as far realm natives convincingly. This includes disguising not just their bodies but also their souls, as souls from the multiverse are distinct from those in the far realm and will attract curious monsters that can detect them.

Setting:Planescape Improvement Project

2020-07-30T00:22:41Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Outlands */

[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
[[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
This is a fan rework of the [[Planescape]], intended to fix problems with the setting. The director of this project is [[User:BalanceIsDumb]]. Feel free to make suggestions

=Goal=
I want to expand and rewrite the setting to fix the things that people criticize about it. See [[Planescape#Critique]]

Every plane of existence in Planescape must be interesting, adventure friendly, and properly and fully represent the niche they are meant to fill. The same goes for the races that populate the planes.

=Material Planes=

==Prime Material==
No changes needed.

==Shadowfell==
undecided

==Feywild==
undecided

=Inner Planes=
I actually haven't read a lot of the lore about the inner planes, so for now I won't be focusing on them because I may change my mind about my changes when I read the lore and possibly realize my changes are unnecessary.

The negative and positive planes are to be removed, as they are not adventure friendly at all. Creatures that are native to them shall either be removed or moved to other planes. The closest equivalents to them shall be the [[#Middle Planes]]).

All of the elemental planes are now arranged in a rough sphere surrounding the material planes. The planes of fire, water, air, and earth are spaced apart from each other like the corners of a tetrahedron so that all of them are equally distant from each other. All of the other elemental planes exist between them.

==Primary Elemental Planes==

===Fire===
The plane of fire is the most problematic of the primary elemental planes. How can a place be made of fire, but also be adventure friendly? One possibility is that it is made of fire, but fire here isn't necessarily hot there. Or maybe ways of protecting yourself from fire are easily accessible.

===Water===
I like the idea of the plane of water being an infinite ocean with no surface or bottom, broken up only by giant bubbles of air with islands in them, but that would not be very adventure friendly because you would then only be able to travel by submarine, and submarines are not as fun as ships, and harder to get.

===Air===

===Earth===

==Secondary and Tertiary Elemental Planes==
I have not yet decided what they should be. Secondary planes exist in between two primary planes, and tertiary planes exist between three. Ice should no longer be the plane between Water and Air. It does not make sense. Ice should just be a region of the plane of water.

=Middle Planes=
The middle planes exist in between the inner and outer planes. They are not quite spiritual planes and are not quite elemental planes either, but have traits of both. They are not strongly tied to any alignment, but people can end up in them as their afterlife. They have few outsiders or elementals native to them. Currently the only two middle planes I am certainly including are the plane of bone, and the plane of wood.

==Bone/Death==
Imagine the negative energy plane, Hueco Mundo from Bleach, the Shinigami world from Death Note, the Soul Cairn from TES, and every other world of the undead you can think of rolled into one.

An entire plane made of bones and the ruins of destroyed civilizations. Unlike the negative energy plane, which this plane is the replacement of, it is not instantly deadly to the living, but it is very hostile to them. Undead creatures are the dominant form of "life" here. Every kind of undead creature is found here, as well as some scavenging animals, and decomposing fungi. The undead form whole ecosystems here with stronger undead monsters preying on the weak. The majority of undead creatures here are of the corporeal kind, but ghosts and other incorporeal undead are common as well. Vampires and other blood dependent undead can survive here, as there is a vast river of fresh blood that flows across the plane. The plane of bone is not all wilderness and ruins. There are many large cities of undead here, and a few of them are tolerant enough of the living to be nice places to visit. But many powerful villains also make their homes here. The infinite supply of bones and naturally occurring undead makes it a perfect place to raise an undead army. Several powerful fiends have tried to conquer the plane, but have always been repelled, both by rebellious undead not wanting to lose their territory, and by living heroes. This plane may have some connection with the [[Elder Evil]] Atropus. Maybe he was once a part of this plane, or perhaps he is imprisoned in the plane's core, or he acts as the plane's moon when he isn't out destroying worlds.

===Traits===
* The atmosphere is hard to breath
* Plants (except undead ones) struggle to grow here because it is never daytime and there is little water
* Casting certain spells, particularly healing and resurrection and some spells that affect plants, attract the attention of nearby undead creatures and have a chance of failing. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Most necromancy spells and some spells that harm the living are strengthened and easier to cast. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Soulless undead creature that survive here long enough can eventually awaken and develop a new soul. They tend to copy the alignment of the people they have been around. Attempting to resurrect an undead creature that is inhabited by a soul that isn't the original has unpredictable and possibly dangerous result.
* Undead creatures can also over time transform into other kinds of undead. A simple skeleton may eventually become a lich, although without a phylactery. Non-corporeal undead can also slowly form bodies for themselves out of the bones and rotting flesh of the plane.
* Souls that end up on this plane first appear as weak ghosts.
* Living things that die here immediately come back as undead, usually as a zombie. Corporeal undead with souls, and living things whose bodies are destroyed, come back as incorporeal undead.
* Incorporeal undead cannot move on to their proper afterlife unless they leave the plane.
* It is always night time and the full moon is always in the middle of the sky no matter where you are on the plane. This full moon strangely does not trigger the transformation of lycanthropes. Occasionally, the moon turns red, and bad things happen.

==Wood/Life==
Partially a replacement for the positive energy plane. Also known as the world tree. The whole plane is one giant tree with many other trees and plants growing on it. The roots and branches of this tree are spread out across all of the planes, where they appear as ordinary trees until you climb them just the right way. You can find most any kind of plant monster here. The dead can also find there afterlife on this plane, but all become plants, plant spirits, and plant monsters. But the plane of wood is not a paradise. Many of the plant monsters are very hostile to non-plant creatures, seeing them as prey or threats to the world tree. The plane is also populated by many animals, but mostly herbivores and insects. It is also the home of many powerful nature gods.

Because the world tree is connected to all the other planes, it is very useful as a trade route, and so many roads have been built on it by planar travelers, and many settlements can be found along the roads. The traits of the plane also make farming easier, and so some people live their whole lives here.

===Traits===
* When you are standing on any large enough branch of the tree, gravity will always be towards the branch.
* It is always daytime. The sun is always moving in circles above the tree.
* Healing spells, and some spells that affect plants are stronger and easier to cast. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* Some necromancy spells and other spells harmful to the living attract the attention of the tree's guardians and have a chance of failing. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* It is more difficult to start fires and fire and lightning magic are weakened.
* Dead things rot away much more quickly than normal and if left undisturbed will sink into the wood of the tree in an hour. This include undead beings, corporeal or not.
* Souls that end up here reincarnate as intelligent plants, and retain memories of their previous life. Souls that die here are trapped and reincarnate as plants in one month.
* Living things grow more quickly and also live longer.

==Under consideration==
I think that there should be six middle planes total, but I haven't decided what the other four should be. One possibility I am considering is to change the Shadowfell and Feywild to make them part of the middle planes.

=Outer Planes=
The structure of the outer planes is unchanged.

==Outlands==
The environment of the outlands needs no changes.

The outlands need more native races to represent causes that are neutral other than balance and neutrality itself, which is covered by the Rilmani.

===Rilmani===
The Rilmani's are to be expanded upon and will have a much bigger role in the setting. They work to preserve the balance of all of the planes. They can played as both regular neutral, and [[Stupid Neutral]]. Most of Rilmani believe that if one of the planes were to become too powerful, or if one of the major planes got completely absorbed destroyed or absorbed by another, it would cause the multiverse to break apart and either fall into the Far Realm, or be forced to restructure itself into something unrecognizable. They try to police the balance of the outer planes, but also the middle and inner planes. There efforts to keep the universe in balance this way has made them many enemies across all of the planes.

There are some extremist Rilmani who interpret the cause of neutrality very differently. These heretic Rilmani want to force neutrality upon all of the planes and make the outlands the only outer plane.

Over the last few thousand years, a new idea has started catching on with the Rilmani. There is a theory that aberrations represent a 5th force of alignment outside of good, evil, law, and chaos, that does not have an opposite and is slowly tainting the multiverse as aberrations die and their souls go to the outer planes. The addition of an unbalanced 3rd dimension to the alignment chart thus threatens the balance of the multiverse, and if not stopped will eventually cause the outer planes to be consumed by the Far Realm, followed by the rest of the planes. Rilmani who believe in this theory have formed alliances with representatives of races from every outer plane to work together to wipe out all aberrations on the planes and remove all aberration souls from the outer planes. The Tanar'ri who have joined this alliance don't really care and are just using it as an opportunity to finally wipe out the last of the Obyriths. The theory may or may not actually be true.

===Unnamed new neutral race (The Punishers)===
This new race of the Outlands are formed from the souls of mortals who were obsessed with revenge in their life but were not evil enough for the lower planes, and not lawful or chaotic enough for anything else. While the Punishers have no or very little memories of their previous lives, they continue with their obsession with balancing all wrongs according to their morals. They will hunt down and punish anybody regardless of alignment if they believe that person has done something to wrong another person and escaped from justice. While their targets are usually evil people who have committed great acts of evil, they cannot be called lawful or good because they are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, and willing to ignore all other rules that would hinder them. They only restraint that they do have is that they won't commit a greater act of evil than the one they are trying to punish against somebody other than the target who isn't actively hindering them. Anybody, both good and evil, who is seeking revenge or justice against someone else can approach them and request help, and the punishers will judge if the crime is worthy of their attention. They may simply hunt down and kill the target, or they may instead use complex schemes to ruin the target's life.

==Sigil==
I need to read up on Sigil's lore a bit more before I make any decisions.

==Celestia==
No changes needed.

==Bytopia==
Needs a unique native race. Undecided about environmental changes.

==Elysium==
I am thinking about moving the Guardinals to the beast lands and replacing them with something else for Elysium.

==Beastlands==
Maybe bring the Guardinals here.

==Arborea==
Come back to this later.

==Ysgard==
Needs a unique race, maybe two, but mostly should be unchanged. I am considering taking the [[Asura]]s and rewriting them and putting them here.

==Limbo==
(Going to work on this section next.)

The Slaad badly need more development. I feel that they do not properly represent pure chaos the way they currently are.

The environment of limbo could use some small changes to make it more adventure friendly. I would like to also expand on the people other than Slaads and Githzerai that live there. Chaotic alligned people with strong wills could create whole worlds in limbo for players to explore.

I may also add a second native race to limbo to represent aspects of chaos that the Slaadi are lacking in.

===Slaads===
The slaads are not evil. They are destructive and dangerous, but they are not motivated by malice. The stable and unchanging universe offends them, so they seek to spread change wherever they go.

While slaads are able to reproduce by transforming other creatures into slaads, or impregnating other creatures to make slaads xenomorph style, their goal is not to make slaads the dominate form of life in the multiverse because that would actually be too orderly. This is also the reason why the slaad lords coded the rule that no slaad can make more of the same kind of slaad, as one kind of slaad becoming dominant would also be too orderly. So slaads do not reproduce indiscriminately.

Slaads generally fall into two group in terms of their behavior. Those that religiously work to spread the cause of chaos on a large scale, and those who cause chaos just because of their nature, but it can often be hard to tell the two apart, as they both hate all things orderly. The main difference is that the former have the goal of making the whole multiverse more like limbo and restrain their impulses if it means causing more chaos in the long run, while the latter just go around doing what amuses them, which usually is also causing chaos.

Slaads steal things for fun, destroy stuff for fun, start fights for fur, work to break up empires, tear down oppressive governments (which to slaads is nearly all of them), play jokes on people who are too serious, set prisoners free, and anything else that goes against an orderly world. But remember, slaads are not stupid. They do in fact take time to think about the consequences of their actions.

I am currently working on a slaad family tree. I may completely change all this later. Every type of slaad can reproduce but should all use very different methods and can't produce their own color slaad.

Blue slaads can create red slaads and green slaads by infecting other creatures.

Red slaads can create blue slaads and green slaads by implanting tadpoles into other creatures.

Green slaads can give birth to brown slaads or to grey slaads if they consume the flesh of a powerful creature.

Grey slaads can give birth to brown or white slaads. Grey slaads that gain the favor of Ygorl are promoted into death slaads.

Brown slaads are a weaker form of slaad. A large number of brown slaads can choose to merge together to form a black slaad.

Black slaads can create purple slaads.

Purple slaads can create red slaads.

White Slaads can create blue slaads.

Prismatic slaads can form when a group of slaads of at least 3 colors fight with each other and become fused into one. Prismatic slaads can only

There is such thing as half-slaads. Half slaads grow up looking like their non-slaad parent, but if their alignment is chaotic, they will mutate into a slaad of a different color than their slaad parent when they reach adulthood.

==Pandemonium==
Needs a unique native race. It also needs some changes to make it more adventure friendly. Probably add more cities to it.

==Abyss==
No changes needed.

==Carceri==
Demodands badly need developement. I also am thinking about changing the structure of the plane because it seems too lawful the way it currently is or maybe its position should be switched with Gehenna.

==Hades==
The Yugoloths really badly need more development, and need to have their character rewritten to make them better represent neutral evil. I may also add some new native creatures to hades. I have a few ideas.

==Gehenna==
Badly needs a unique race. And the structure of the plane doesn't seem very lawful. I have thought of designs for a new fiendish race that could work here but I don't know what they should be called.

==Baator==
No changes needed.

==Acheron==
Needs a unique native race, and should be made easier to explore to be more adventure friendly.

==Mechanus==
I would like to make some small changes to the Modrons and other existing natives, but the environment is fine.

==Arcadia==
Needs a unique native race.

=Other Planes=
==Astral Plane==
==Etherial Plane==
==Far Realm==
Creatures that die in the far realm do not go to the outer planes on death because it is outside of the multiverse. Their souls wander as disembodies spirits until they either get eaten by some far realm monster, or get reincarnated as an aberration. The far realm is extremely dangerous even for high level players unless they find a way to disguise themselves as far realm natives convincingly. This includes disguising not just their bodies but also their souls, as souls from the multiverse are distinct from those in the far realm and will attract curious monsters that can detect them.

Setting:Planescape Improvement Project

2020-07-30T00:22:14Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Outlands */

[[Category:Planescape]]
[[Category:Under Development]]
[[Category:Roleplaying]]
[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]]
[[Category:Homebrew Settings]]
This is a fan rework of the [[Planescape]], intended to fix problems with the setting. The director of this project is [[User:BalanceIsDumb]]. Feel free to make suggestions

=Goal=
I want to expand and rewrite the setting to fix the things that people criticize about it. See [[Planescape#Critique]]

Every plane of existence in Planescape must be interesting, adventure friendly, and properly and fully represent the niche they are meant to fill. The same goes for the races that populate the planes.

=Material Planes=

==Prime Material==
No changes needed.

==Shadowfell==
undecided

==Feywild==
undecided

=Inner Planes=
I actually haven't read a lot of the lore about the inner planes, so for now I won't be focusing on them because I may change my mind about my changes when I read the lore and possibly realize my changes are unnecessary.

The negative and positive planes are to be removed, as they are not adventure friendly at all. Creatures that are native to them shall either be removed or moved to other planes. The closest equivalents to them shall be the [[#Middle Planes]]).

All of the elemental planes are now arranged in a rough sphere surrounding the material planes. The planes of fire, water, air, and earth are spaced apart from each other like the corners of a tetrahedron so that all of them are equally distant from each other. All of the other elemental planes exist between them.

==Primary Elemental Planes==

===Fire===
The plane of fire is the most problematic of the primary elemental planes. How can a place be made of fire, but also be adventure friendly? One possibility is that it is made of fire, but fire here isn't necessarily hot there. Or maybe ways of protecting yourself from fire are easily accessible.

===Water===
I like the idea of the plane of water being an infinite ocean with no surface or bottom, broken up only by giant bubbles of air with islands in them, but that would not be very adventure friendly because you would then only be able to travel by submarine, and submarines are not as fun as ships, and harder to get.

===Air===

===Earth===

==Secondary and Tertiary Elemental Planes==
I have not yet decided what they should be. Secondary planes exist in between two primary planes, and tertiary planes exist between three. Ice should no longer be the plane between Water and Air. It does not make sense. Ice should just be a region of the plane of water.

=Middle Planes=
The middle planes exist in between the inner and outer planes. They are not quite spiritual planes and are not quite elemental planes either, but have traits of both. They are not strongly tied to any alignment, but people can end up in them as their afterlife. They have few outsiders or elementals native to them. Currently the only two middle planes I am certainly including are the plane of bone, and the plane of wood.

==Bone/Death==
Imagine the negative energy plane, Hueco Mundo from Bleach, the Shinigami world from Death Note, the Soul Cairn from TES, and every other world of the undead you can think of rolled into one.

An entire plane made of bones and the ruins of destroyed civilizations. Unlike the negative energy plane, which this plane is the replacement of, it is not instantly deadly to the living, but it is very hostile to them. Undead creatures are the dominant form of "life" here. Every kind of undead creature is found here, as well as some scavenging animals, and decomposing fungi. The undead form whole ecosystems here with stronger undead monsters preying on the weak. The majority of undead creatures here are of the corporeal kind, but ghosts and other incorporeal undead are common as well. Vampires and other blood dependent undead can survive here, as there is a vast river of fresh blood that flows across the plane. The plane of bone is not all wilderness and ruins. There are many large cities of undead here, and a few of them are tolerant enough of the living to be nice places to visit. But many powerful villains also make their homes here. The infinite supply of bones and naturally occurring undead makes it a perfect place to raise an undead army. Several powerful fiends have tried to conquer the plane, but have always been repelled, both by rebellious undead not wanting to lose their territory, and by living heroes. This plane may have some connection with the [[Elder Evil]] Atropus. Maybe he was once a part of this plane, or perhaps he is imprisoned in the plane's core, or he acts as the plane's moon when he isn't out destroying worlds.

===Traits===
* The atmosphere is hard to breath
* Plants (except undead ones) struggle to grow here because it is never daytime and there is little water
* Casting certain spells, particularly healing and resurrection and some spells that affect plants, attract the attention of nearby undead creatures and have a chance of failing. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Most necromancy spells and some spells that harm the living are strengthened and easier to cast. This effect gets stronger while underground.
* Soulless undead creature that survive here long enough can eventually awaken and develop a new soul. They tend to copy the alignment of the people they have been around. Attempting to resurrect an undead creature that is inhabited by a soul that isn't the original has unpredictable and possibly dangerous result.
* Undead creatures can also over time transform into other kinds of undead. A simple skeleton may eventually become a lich, although without a phylactery. Non-corporeal undead can also slowly form bodies for themselves out of the bones and rotting flesh of the plane.
* Souls that end up on this plane first appear as weak ghosts.
* Living things that die here immediately come back as undead, usually as a zombie. Corporeal undead with souls, and living things whose bodies are destroyed, come back as incorporeal undead.
* Incorporeal undead cannot move on to their proper afterlife unless they leave the plane.
* It is always night time and the full moon is always in the middle of the sky no matter where you are on the plane. This full moon strangely does not trigger the transformation of lycanthropes. Occasionally, the moon turns red, and bad things happen.

==Wood/Life==
Partially a replacement for the positive energy plane. Also known as the world tree. The whole plane is one giant tree with many other trees and plants growing on it. The roots and branches of this tree are spread out across all of the planes, where they appear as ordinary trees until you climb them just the right way. You can find most any kind of plant monster here. The dead can also find there afterlife on this plane, but all become plants, plant spirits, and plant monsters. But the plane of wood is not a paradise. Many of the plant monsters are very hostile to non-plant creatures, seeing them as prey or threats to the world tree. The plane is also populated by many animals, but mostly herbivores and insects. It is also the home of many powerful nature gods.

Because the world tree is connected to all the other planes, it is very useful as a trade route, and so many roads have been built on it by planar travelers, and many settlements can be found along the roads. The traits of the plane also make farming easier, and so some people live their whole lives here.

===Traits===
* When you are standing on any large enough branch of the tree, gravity will always be towards the branch.
* It is always daytime. The sun is always moving in circles above the tree.
* Healing spells, and some spells that affect plants are stronger and easier to cast. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* Some necromancy spells and other spells harmful to the living attract the attention of the tree's guardians and have a chance of failing. This effect is stronger inside of the tree.
* It is more difficult to start fires and fire and lightning magic are weakened.
* Dead things rot away much more quickly than normal and if left undisturbed will sink into the wood of the tree in an hour. This include undead beings, corporeal or not.
* Souls that end up here reincarnate as intelligent plants, and retain memories of their previous life. Souls that die here are trapped and reincarnate as plants in one month.
* Living things grow more quickly and also live longer.

==Under consideration==
I think that there should be six middle planes total, but I haven't decided what the other four should be. One possibility I am considering is to change the Shadowfell and Feywild to make them part of the middle planes.

=Outer Planes=
The structure of the outer planes is unchanged.

==Outlands==
The environment of the outlands needs no changes.

The outlands need another native race or to represent causes that are neutral other than balance and neutrality itself, which is covered by the Rilmani.

===Rilmani===
The Rilmani's are to be expanded upon and will have a much bigger role in the setting. They work to preserve the balance of all of the planes. They can played as both regular neutral, and [[Stupid Neutral]]. Most of Rilmani believe that if one of the planes were to become too powerful, or if one of the major planes got completely absorbed destroyed or absorbed by another, it would cause the multiverse to break apart and either fall into the Far Realm, or be forced to restructure itself into something unrecognizable. They try to police the balance of the outer planes, but also the middle and inner planes. There efforts to keep the universe in balance this way has made them many enemies across all of the planes.

There are some extremist Rilmani who interpret the cause of neutrality very differently. These heretic Rilmani want to force neutrality upon all of the planes and make the outlands the only outer plane.

Over the last few thousand years, a new idea has started catching on with the Rilmani. There is a theory that aberrations represent a 5th force of alignment outside of good, evil, law, and chaos, that does not have an opposite and is slowly tainting the multiverse as aberrations die and their souls go to the outer planes. The addition of an unbalanced 3rd dimension to the alignment chart thus threatens the balance of the multiverse, and if not stopped will eventually cause the outer planes to be consumed by the Far Realm, followed by the rest of the planes. Rilmani who believe in this theory have formed alliances with representatives of races from every outer plane to work together to wipe out all aberrations on the planes and remove all aberration souls from the outer planes. The Tanar'ri who have joined this alliance don't really care and are just using it as an opportunity to finally wipe out the last of the Obyriths. The theory may or may not actually be true.

===Unnamed new neutral race (The Punishers)===
This new race of the Outlands are formed from the souls of mortals who were obsessed with revenge in their life but were not evil enough for the lower planes, and not lawful or chaotic enough for anything else. While the Punishers have no or very little memories of their previous lives, they continue with their obsession with balancing all wrongs according to their morals. They will hunt down and punish anybody regardless of alignment if they believe that person has done something to wrong another person and escaped from justice. While their targets are usually evil people who have committed great acts of evil, they cannot be called lawful or good because they are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, and willing to ignore all other rules that would hinder them. They only restraint that they do have is that they won't commit a greater act of evil than the one they are trying to punish against somebody other than the target who isn't actively hindering them. Anybody, both good and evil, who is seeking revenge or justice against someone else can approach them and request help, and the punishers will judge if the crime is worthy of their attention. They may simply hunt down and kill the target, or they may instead use complex schemes to ruin the target's life.

==Sigil==
I need to read up on Sigil's lore a bit more before I make any decisions.

==Celestia==
No changes needed.

==Bytopia==
Needs a unique native race. Undecided about environmental changes.

==Elysium==
I am thinking about moving the Guardinals to the beast lands and replacing them with something else for Elysium.

==Beastlands==
Maybe bring the Guardinals here.

==Arborea==
Come back to this later.

==Ysgard==
Needs a unique race, maybe two, but mostly should be unchanged. I am considering taking the [[Asura]]s and rewriting them and putting them here.

==Limbo==
(Going to work on this section next.)

The Slaad badly need more development. I feel that they do not properly represent pure chaos the way they currently are.

The environment of limbo could use some small changes to make it more adventure friendly. I would like to also expand on the people other than Slaads and Githzerai that live there. Chaotic alligned people with strong wills could create whole worlds in limbo for players to explore.

I may also add a second native race to limbo to represent aspects of chaos that the Slaadi are lacking in.

===Slaads===
The slaads are not evil. They are destructive and dangerous, but they are not motivated by malice. The stable and unchanging universe offends them, so they seek to spread change wherever they go.

While slaads are able to reproduce by transforming other creatures into slaads, or impregnating other creatures to make slaads xenomorph style, their goal is not to make slaads the dominate form of life in the multiverse because that would actually be too orderly. This is also the reason why the slaad lords coded the rule that no slaad can make more of the same kind of slaad, as one kind of slaad becoming dominant would also be too orderly. So slaads do not reproduce indiscriminately.

Slaads generally fall into two group in terms of their behavior. Those that religiously work to spread the cause of chaos on a large scale, and those who cause chaos just because of their nature, but it can often be hard to tell the two apart, as they both hate all things orderly. The main difference is that the former have the goal of making the whole multiverse more like limbo and restrain their impulses if it means causing more chaos in the long run, while the latter just go around doing what amuses them, which usually is also causing chaos.

Slaads steal things for fun, destroy stuff for fun, start fights for fur, work to break up empires, tear down oppressive governments (which to slaads is nearly all of them), play jokes on people who are too serious, set prisoners free, and anything else that goes against an orderly world. But remember, slaads are not stupid. They do in fact take time to think about the consequences of their actions.

I am currently working on a slaad family tree. I may completely change all this later. Every type of slaad can reproduce but should all use very different methods and can't produce their own color slaad.

Blue slaads can create red slaads and green slaads by infecting other creatures.

Red slaads can create blue slaads and green slaads by implanting tadpoles into other creatures.

Green slaads can give birth to brown slaads or to grey slaads if they consume the flesh of a powerful creature.

Grey slaads can give birth to brown or white slaads. Grey slaads that gain the favor of Ygorl are promoted into death slaads.

Brown slaads are a weaker form of slaad. A large number of brown slaads can choose to merge together to form a black slaad.

Black slaads can create purple slaads.

Purple slaads can create red slaads.

White Slaads can create blue slaads.

Prismatic slaads can form when a group of slaads of at least 3 colors fight with each other and become fused into one. Prismatic slaads can only

There is such thing as half-slaads. Half slaads grow up looking like their non-slaad parent, but if their alignment is chaotic, they will mutate into a slaad of a different color than their slaad parent when they reach adulthood.

==Pandemonium==
Needs a unique native race. It also needs some changes to make it more adventure friendly. Probably add more cities to it.

==Abyss==
No changes needed.

==Carceri==
Demodands badly need developement. I also am thinking about changing the structure of the plane because it seems too lawful the way it currently is or maybe its position should be switched with Gehenna.

==Hades==
The Yugoloths really badly need more development, and need to have their character rewritten to make them better represent neutral evil. I may also add some new native creatures to hades. I have a few ideas.

==Gehenna==
Badly needs a unique race. And the structure of the plane doesn't seem very lawful. I have thought of designs for a new fiendish race that could work here but I don't know what they should be called.

==Baator==
No changes needed.

==Acheron==
Needs a unique native race, and should be made easier to explore to be more adventure friendly.

==Mechanus==
I would like to make some small changes to the Modrons and other existing natives, but the environment is fine.

==Arcadia==
Needs a unique native race.

=Other Planes=
==Astral Plane==
==Etherial Plane==
==Far Realm==
Creatures that die in the far realm do not go to the outer planes on death because it is outside of the multiverse. Their souls wander as disembodies spirits until they either get eaten by some far realm monster, or get reincarnated as an aberration. The far realm is extremely dangerous even for high level players unless they find a way to disguise themselves as far realm natives convincingly. This includes disguising not just their bodies but also their souls, as souls from the multiverse are distinct from those in the far realm and will attract curious monsters that can detect them.

Noblebright

2020-07-28T04:40:15Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* More examples of works and their ranking */ There is no grey lantern corp.

{{topquote|Why does the third of the three brothers, who shares his food with the old woman in the wood, go on to become king of the country? Why does James Bond manage to disarm the nuclear bomb a few seconds before it goes off rather than, as it were, a few seconds afterwards? Because a universe where that did not happen would be a dark and hostile place. Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain.|Sir Terry Pratchett, “Let There Be Dragons” (A Slip of the Keyboard)}}

'''NobleBright''' is an adjective derived from the term often used to describe Warhammer 40k: [[Grimdark|Grimdark]]. Just as every hero has a "mirror opposite" version that is evil, it's supposed that there must be a mirror opposite version of the heroes of WH40k where everything goes RIGHT. It can also be used to describe artwork that has a noble/bright feel, even if the setting itself would not normally be considered noble or bright.

Where the GrimDark tag usually describes a setting in a slow, painful decline, the NobleBright tag usually describes a setting emerging from a dark age and either returning to or in the midst of a golden age.

== Example: WarHammer vs. BrightHammer ==

''"We do not need a Warmaster in this age. A Warmaster would fail us. We need a DADDY."'' - [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Custodes showing their appreciation to Captain-General Kitten]]

This alternate universe setting, [[BrightHammer40k]], comes with the tagline ''"In the Noble Brightness of the far future, there is only HIGH ADVENTURE!"'' This is as opposed to the original tagline of Warhammer 40k, which stated, "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." BrightHammer40k's setting has strong 1920s-1940s pulp fiction themes, crossed with an "age of myth" bronze age culture.

Differences between WarHammer 40k and BrightHammer 40k include:
* The setting is loosely divided into city-states united by race, religion, philosophy or just simple common sense, rather than singular empires defined by paranoia.
* There is a wide variety in the type of characters, nations, flora and fauna, and major characters in the setting.
* Speaking of wide varieties of characters/nations, relations between different groups, whether cultural, political, racial, etc. are usually positive. Conflicts are either out of just cause or have the option of being resolved peacefully. (Unlike Grimdark, in which "conflict resolution" is usually [[Exterminatus|genocide]])
* There is an overall "pulp fiction" feel. Just like real life.
* The universe is old, in the process of rediscovering a forgotten golden age.
* Low level conflicts such as raiding are considered common, but war is not. Just like Mongolia.
* When a Noblebright universe has a war, it's usually for a well defined, just cause. Wars are usually fought with "smart" technology, and massive, endless slaughters are rare. (Grimdark usually devolves technology in some form, then throws in massive slaughters for the fun of it)
* Technology is wildly inconsistent. Just like Alaska.
* Villains are over the top, campy, and rarely played seriously. Very much like North Korea.
* Leaders are usually diplomats or wise "philosopher-kings" like in North Korea.
* Heroes do most of the heavy lifting in society, and there are heroes, great and minor, at every level of society.
* There is a strong emphasis on individual strength. (Grimdark focuses on the massed collective. Individual strength is insignificant in the enormous Grimdarkian Machine)
* Good guys can be jerks, but are still good guys.
* Over-the-top heroism usually carries the day.
* Obvious, thinly disguised Secret Agents everywhere.
* The setting is entering a technological renaissance.
* Everything is bright or vividly colored.
* As seen on TV!

Compared to Warhammer40k, Brighthammer40k is generally brighter and a nicer place to live, but is by no means peaceful, always in a low level state of conflict, internal and external, never quite turning into war. The skull motif is replaced by wings, and colors are often brighter.

==[[MidHammer 40,000]]==
Strikes a balance between Noblebright and Grimdark. Basically, you don't matter much, but if mankind can put their back into it hard enough, it'll turn out okay in the end:
*Big E is alive, and regenerating.

*Primarchs still exist

*There is hope for a better future. Even if you don't live to see it, your children may well.

*While the AdMech got buttfucked twice, it's slowly getting it back together.

==8chan Explanation of the Grim/Noble and Dark/Bright Spectrum (by anons)==
[[File:Alignments.jpg|300px|thumb|An [[alignment]] chart.]]
Grim/Noble asks whether there are heroes that exist, may appear to change the world for good or ill.
* A noble setting isn't one where everyone is good, more like one where people are active. The actions of a single hero can change the world, and a single big villain can ruin it: there are important people, who are so either by birth, rank or sheer willpower, and every single one of these people MATTER.
* In a grim world, no matter what you do, an individual can't secure more than an individual victory, if even that, because the rest of the world is too big/scared/powerless/selfish to act upon his impulse.
Something like Morrowind or Berserk is noble (bright and dark, respectively) because it is about one man forcing destiny's hand and changing the world.
* Now, a bright world is one full of opportunity, of wondrous sights to behold. It doesn't mean that it has to be MLP, it can be dangerous, but your first instinct when looking at a new location should be awe and wonder: people may adventure to save the world, but they leave town with a smile upon their face, eager to see what comes next. The shadow of Risk is largely erased by the glint of Adventure. In a bright world, it's quite possible for people to go on adventure just for the hell of it, since the journey is its own reward. Resurrection, or at least means to heal grave injuries, is usually accessible, to counterbalance the fact that the risks out there are real.
* A dark world is one where life sucks, and something or someone is poised to kill everybody else in the story - whether it be demon overlords, 'nids, or even the lack of water, if this threat has its way everyone dies and they die for good. If you lose an arm, you play a cripple. In the extreme cases, even when you win a fight, your career is over (i.e. gangrene). This means that, even though people may be ready to help (noble), they'll need a damn good reason to do so, since stepping out of line is so dangerous (dark).
Given is an example of each type of setting to show how the combinations of noble/grim and bright/dark work;
*40k is (grim)dark because, no matter where you go, there is only war, and heroism's only reward is usually a notch on a gun or a corpse in a trench. No matter who you are, most of the galaxy probably wants you dead, and staying home today is the best choice you can make. Even if you make it to the end, you may have to sacrifice everything to save everyone, if you haven't already done so.
* Berserk is (noble)dark because, while there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, it takes men and women of insane willpower to get there: no matter whether you are big or small, even when you have nothing, the only thing that may save the world is the will within you screaming, "Go on!" And if hope was to fail, you're getting a book-long bloodbath-orgy, and all its consequences.
* Morrowind is (noble)bright because, even though the world is fraught with dangers, you can fix everything. The reason it isn't dark is because there is so much to see, so many interesting people to meet, so many cool things to experience that, at the end of the road, you'd do it all over again if given the chance to see it once again with virgin eyes.
* Sandman is (grim)bright because the incredible vistas and interesting people are all that can distract Dream from the dullness of his existence. He will tire of them all, but even he has to admit that he saw some cool shit. Also, notice how the relative freedom from consequences (people can get somewhat rezzed/healed/characters don't die much), a bright trait, reinforces the futility of the struggle in a grim world.

In short, grimdark and noblebright worlds both exist, and both are interesting to play in. So do grimbright (perhaps these are the most narratively counterintuitive and hardest to pull off, but simultaneously they can be the most interesting worlds to run in) and nobledark (seems to be enjoying a big surge in popularity these days - people like the aesthetics and adult nature of dark worlds, but not the crushing nihilism; in nobledark, most things suck, those rare moments of genuine nobility and decent change are all the more poignant, even if they come at great cost). Every type allows for evil and struggles to exist, and for stories to be told. Evil can even triumph: it's less of a matter of who wins, and more of a matter of tone. In a bright world, the BBEG can win, but he won't skullfuck to death everyone the PCs know in front of a crowd without the mood turning to dark.

I'll leave you with some examples:

Grimdark : WHFB, W40K, Game of Thrones, Oedipus, E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy, Gears of War 1-3, Killzone 2-3.

Grimbright : Sandman, The Sims, most Tycoon games, Mass Effect series, The Commonwealth Saga, Eclipse Phase, The Culture novels, Deltarune, most of Zeus' flings with mortals (from the gods' perspective).

Nobledark : Berserk, LotR, Starcraft, Dark Sun, Terminator, Fallout, the Iliad. Also arguably WH40k in the more recent editions.

Noblebright : Morrowind, D&D/PF (usually), Magi, Warcraft, Star wars, Trine, the Odyssey, and of course, Star Trek.

== More examples of works and their ranking ==

Please be aware that the following list is a product of many different [[Fa/tg/uys|Fa/tg/uys]] personal [[Skub|opinions]].
[[Image:Helghan Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|Noblebright struggles have heroic sacrifices, copious amounts of bravery, and a just cause to fight for.]] [[Image:Grimdarkery.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark wars are usually directionless, brutal, and the reasons for fighting are very obscure (When there is one, it's usually thrown away in the face of reality).]]

<center>
{|border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|- align=left
! NobleBright
! ...and GrimDark
|-
| [[Brighthammer_40,000_(2nd_edition)|BrightHammer 40k]] OR [[Age of Sigmar]] || [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]]
|-
| [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]] 8th ED, but more like Nobledark || [[Xeelee Sequence|Xeelee universe]] OR Age of Sigmar 2nd Edition (sorta. Could be considered approaching Noblebright->Dark)
|-
| [[Exalted]] (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade|Vampire:tM]], [[Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse|Werewolf:tA]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
| [[Changeling:_The_Dreaming|Changeling:tD]] ([[oWoD]]) || [[Changeling:_The_Lost|Changeling:tL]] ([[nWoD]])
|-
|[[Geist: The Sin-Eaters]] ([[nWoD]]) ||[[ Wraith: The Oblivion]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
|[[D20_Modern|D20 Modern]] || [[Call_of_Cthulhu|Call of Cthulhu]]
|-
| Steven Spielberg||Quentin Tarantino
|-
| The West Wing || House of Cards
|-
| Special Unit 2 || [[Delta Green]]
|-
| [[Star Trek]] (in general) || Babylon 5 (closer to Nobledark)
|-
|[[Star Trek]] (in general) || [[Star Trek]] Picard (or even Discovery)
|-
| Star Trek: Voyager || [[Red Dwarf]]
|-
| Andromeda Ascendant || Farscape
|-
| Stargate SG-1 || The First Wave
|-
| Firefly (maybe not, see Discussion) || Blake's 7
|-
| Battlestar Galactica (1978) || Battlestar Galactica (2004)
|-
| Temeraire Series || [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Game of Thrones]]
|-
| Robocop || Judge Dredd
|-
| ReBoot || .hack
|-
| .hack || Sword Art Online
|-
| Previous season of Sword Art Online || Next season of Sword Art Online
|-
| [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Rogue Trader]] || [[Dark Heresy]]
|-
| Osamu Tezuka || Go Nagai
|-
| The Wizard of Oz || Soul Eater
|-
| MACROSS (Robotech) || Mobile Suit Gundam
|-
| Mobile Suit Gundam || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neon Genesis Evangelion || Bokurano
|-
| [[7th Sea]] || [[Poison'd]]
|-
| Zoids || Gundam
|-
| [[Spirit of the Century]] || [[Don't Rest Your Head]]
|-
| [[Traveller]] || [[Eclipse Phase]]
|-
| [[Dragonlance]] || [[Dark Sun]]
|-
| [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Avatar]] (not [[Avatar|Cameron's furfic)]] || Kaze no Stigma
|-
| [[Warcraft]] || [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]
|-
| [[Magic the gathering|Alara]], [[Theros]], [[Lorwyn]] || [[Innistrad]], [[Phyrexia|New Phyrexia]], [[Shadowmoor]]
|-
| [[Neverwinter Nights]] || Dragon Age
|-
| [[The Elder Scrolls]] (Well, somewhat, if you ignore Kirkbride's EU-thing) || Gothic
|-
| Final Fantasy || Megami Tensei
|-
| Persona || Shin Megami Tensei
|-
| Guin Saga || Berserk (more Nobledark)
|-
| Forts || REDCON
|-
| Persona 4 & 5 || Persona 3
|-
| Red Alert 3 || Red Alert 2
|-
| Red Alert 2 || Red Alert
|-
| Wolfenstein || MachineGames Wolfenstein games
|-
| [[Command and Conquer]]: Red Alert series || [[Command and Conquer]]: Tiberium series
|-
| Animorphs || Terraformars
|-
| Fate/Stay Night || Fate/Zero
|-
| [[Starcraft]] II || [[Starcraft|Starcraft: Brood War]]
|-
| [[Diablo]] III || [[Diablo]] I & II
|-
| Grand Theft Auto 1 || Saints Row 1
|-
| Saints Row 3 || Grand Theft Auto 4
|-
| Fable III || Dark Souls
|-
| Cowboy Bebop|| Black Lagoon
|-
| Undertale || LISA
|-
| Kid Icarus || God of War
|-
| God of War 2018 || pre-2018 God of War
|-
| Mass Effect 1 || Mass Effect 3
|-
| Mass Effect universe || [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]]
|-
| [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]] || Dead Space universe
|-
| Dead Space Trilogy || Halo: Forerunner Trilogy
|-
| Spore || Darkspore
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Getter Robo Armageddon
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Kill la Kill
|-
| Rebuild of Evangelion (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neo-Hunter Casshern || Casshern Sins
|-
| Dragon Ball || Hunter X Hunter
|-
| Mai-Otome || Mai-Hime (last 10 episodes at least)
|-
| Cardcaptor Sakura || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica || Magical Girl Site
|-
| Power Rangers in General || Power Rangers RPM
|-
| Super Sentai || Kamen Rider (especially the Showa Era ones)
|-
| Kamen Rider (most Heisei Era ones) || GARO
|-
| Batman: the Brave & the Bold || Batman: TAS (first two seasons only)
|-
| [[Star Wars RPG|Star Wars Episode I, IV, VI, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie and Season 1, and a decent portion of the Expanded Universe]] || [[Star Wars D20|Star Wars Episode II, III, V, VII, Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Season 2 onwards, and the other half the Expanded Universe, especially The New Jedi Order and Legacy]]
|-
| Little House on the Prairie || Deadwood
|-
| Full House || Married With Children
|-
| The Green Zone || The Hurt Locker
|-
| The Sarah Jane Adventures || [[Doctor Who|Torchwood]]
|-
| ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' || ''Black sails''
|-
| ''Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag'' || ''Risen 2: Dark Waters''
|-
| Justice League || Watchmen
|-
| Twilight Saga || Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
|-
| ''Lois and Clark'' or the 80's Superman Movies || ''Man of Steel''
|-
| ''Planetary'' || ''The Authority''
|-
| Cyanide and Happiness || [http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=132 pictures for sad children]
|-
| The Silver Age of Comic Books || The Dark Age of Comic Books
|-
| [[Steampunk|Steampunk Genre]] || [[Cyberpunk|Cyberpunk Genre]]
|-
| Raspberry Pi || OpenPandora
|-
| South Korea || <s>North</s> BEST Korea
|-
| [[Discworld]] || [[A Song of Ice and Fire]]
|-
| A Wizard of Earthsea || The Tombs of Atuan
|-
| Guilty Gear || BlazBlue
|-
| Mega Man (Classic, Legends, Battle Network, ZX, Star Forces 1 and 2)|| Mega Man (X, Zero, Star Force 3,), The Protomen
|-
| The Chronicles of Narnia|| His Dark Materials
|-
| Anthem || Halo
|-
| Halo || Half-Life 2
|-
| Half-Life 2 || Resistance
|-
| Resistance || Gears of War (The first game especially)
|-
| Gears of War || Killzone
|-
| Just Cause 2 || Spec Ops: The Line
|-
| Plants VS Zombies || The Last of Us
|-
| The Last of Us || The Last of Us Part 2 (10% Grimdark, 90% [[Grimderp]])
|-
| Mirror's Edge || Assassin's Creed
|-
| Iron Kingdoms MKii || Iron Kingdoms MKi
|-
| Marvel Comics films || [[Grimdark#Grimderp|DC Universe films]]
|-
| DC comics || Marvel comics
|-
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer || Hellsing (any medium)
|-
| Hellsing (2001 series) || Hellsing (manga and OVA)
|-
| Marvel comics || Watchmen comics
|-
| Watchmen comics || Wanted comics
|-
| Warehouse 13 || The [[SCP Foundation]]
|-
| [[Eberron]] || [[Dragonmech]]
|-
| [[Planescape]] || [[Ravenloft]]
|-
| [[Wilderlands of High Fantasy]]|| | [[Forgotten Realms]]
|-
| InFamous || Prototype
|-
| Harry Potter 1-3 || Harry Potter 4-7 (ESPECIALLY 7th)
|-
| Deus Ex 1-2 || System Shock 1-2
|-
| RoboCop || Terminator
|-
| Homeworld 1 and 2 || Homeworld: Cataclysm (when the Beast make their first appearance)
|-
| [[Fist of the North Star]] || Violence Jack
|-
| The Simpsons || South Park
|-
| The Glaive || Conan the Barbarian
|-
| The Hobbit || The Children of Hurin
|-
| American Revolution || Vietnam War
|-
| [[Mordheim]] || [[Malifaux]]
|-
| Civilization:Beyond Earth || [[Alpha Centauri]]
|-
| [[The New Testament]] || [[The Old Testament]]
|-
| Overwatch || [[Team Fortress 2]] (Especially Mann vs. Machine)
|-
| [[Team Fortress 2]] || Team Fortress Classic
|-
| Ghostbusters films and Real Ghostbusters || | Extreme Ghostbusters
|-
| Metal Gear (in general) || | Metal Gear Solid V
|-
| Girls und Panzer || Panzerfraulein Alteseisen
|-
| Far Cry 1 || | Far Cry 2 and 3
|-
| Overstrike || | Fuse
|-
| Pokemon Franchise || | Digimon Franchise
|-
| Digimon Adventure || | Digimon Tamers
|-
| Digimon Tamers || Shadow Star Narutaru
|-
| Bakugan || Kiba
|-
| [[Fallout]] series || | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
|-
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series || | Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light
|-
| Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light || | Metro 2033 (novel), Metro 2034 (novel), and Metro 2035 (novel)
|-
|[[Approved anime|Slayers]] || | Bastard!!
|-
| Fast And Furious || | Death Race
|-
| Death Race || | Mad Max
|-
| Twilight || | Underworld
|-
| Y:the last man || | Children of men
|-
| Battlefield Bad Company || | Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy
|-
| Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy || | Call of Duty Black Ops III
|-
| Dead Rising series || | Left 4 Dead series
|-
| Left 4 Dead series || | Dead Island series
|-
| Dead Island series || | World War Z movie
|-
| World War Z Movie || | World War Z novel
|-
| World War Z Novel || | The Walking Dead comics
|-
| Super Robot anime|| | Real Robot anime
|-
| Real Robot anime|| | WAT Robot anime
|-
| The Go-Betweens|| | The Birthday Party/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|-
| League of Legends|| | Dota 2
|-
| Rome: Total War|| | Total War: Attila
|-
| Freespace || | Freespace 2
|-
| Street Fighter franchise || | Mortal Kombat franchise
|-
| Star Wars Jedi: Outcast duology || | Star Wars: Battlefront 1 & 2 (2000's)
|-
| Minecraft || | 7 Days to Die
|-
| Blood Diamond || | Lord of War
|-
| Naoki Urusawa's Monster || ERASED
|-
| Casa de mi Padre || | Sicario
|-
| GammaWorld || | The Mutant Epoch
|-
| Konosuba || Re:Zero
|-
| Log Horizon || Overlord
|-
| Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? || [[Goblin Slayer]]
|-
| This Means War || Savages
|-
| Brave New World (more like GrimBright, really) || [[1984]]
|-
| Sailor Moon (old censored american dub) || Sailor Moon (original version)
|-
| Sailor Moon (original version) || Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
|-
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon || Revolutionary Girl Utena
|-
| Revolutionary Girl Utena || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Egan's Diaspora || | Dukaj's Perfect Imperfection
|-
| Touhou Project || Crimzon Clover
|-
| Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and White Lantern Corps || Red, Orange, Yellow, Black, and Ultraviolet Lantern Corps
|-
| Pod Save America || Chapo Trap House
|-
| Jimmy Neutron, Back to the Future || Rick and Morty
|-
| World War II: Western Front || World War II: Eastern Front
|-
| World War II: Eastern Front || World War II: Pacific Theatre
|-
| World War II: Pacific Theatre || World War I: Western Front
|-
| World War II: French Resistance || World War II: Polish Resistance
|-
| Pork Chop Hill || Tae-Guk-Gi
|-
| [[Death Korps of Krieg]] || [[Xeelee_Sequence#Interim_Coalition_of_Governance|Interim Coalition of Governance]]
|-
| Parasyte || Devilman
|-
| Disney Channel || Cartoon Network
|-
| Cartoon Network || Toonami
|-
| E.T. || IT
|-
| Homo faber || Lolita
|-
| Maple Story || Made in Abyss
|-
| Ready Player One || 20th Century Boys
|-
| My Hero Academia || ONE PUNCH MAN (more like Grimbright, really)
|-
| Grand Theft Auto || Mafia
|-
| [[Superman | Metropolis]] || [[Batman | Gotham City]]
|-
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. || Jak 2 and later
|-
| Axis Powers Hetalia || Polandball
|-
| Soren Kierkegaard || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| John Stuart Mill || David Benatar
|-
| Noam Chomsky || Michel Foucault
|-
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau || Thomas Hobbes
|-
| Thomas Hobbes || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche (before Thus Spoke Zarathustra) || Friedrich Nietzsche (after Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche || Mark Twain (Best example being the Mysterious Stranger)
|-
| The American Revolution || The French Revolution
|-
| The French Revolution || The Russian Revolution
|-
| The Settlers || Civilization
|-
| Civilization || Tropico (Can be Grimbright if you are a "benevolent" dictator)
|-
| Sgt. Frog || Invader Zim
|-
| Adventure Time || Tigtone
|-
| [[Furry|Zootopia]] || [[Furry|Beastars]] (actually closer to Nobledark)
|-
| [[Furry|Beastars]] || [[Furry|Kevin and Kell]] (The setting is Grimdark, but the story is not due to [[Plot Armor]] and being comedy focused)
|}

</center>

[[Category:Gamer Slang]]

Noblebright

2020-07-28T04:12:45Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* More examples of works and their ranking */

{{topquote|Why does the third of the three brothers, who shares his food with the old woman in the wood, go on to become king of the country? Why does James Bond manage to disarm the nuclear bomb a few seconds before it goes off rather than, as it were, a few seconds afterwards? Because a universe where that did not happen would be a dark and hostile place. Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain.|Sir Terry Pratchett, “Let There Be Dragons” (A Slip of the Keyboard)}}

'''NobleBright''' is an adjective derived from the term often used to describe Warhammer 40k: [[Grimdark|Grimdark]]. Just as every hero has a "mirror opposite" version that is evil, it's supposed that there must be a mirror opposite version of the heroes of WH40k where everything goes RIGHT. It can also be used to describe artwork that has a noble/bright feel, even if the setting itself would not normally be considered noble or bright.

Where the GrimDark tag usually describes a setting in a slow, painful decline, the NobleBright tag usually describes a setting emerging from a dark age and either returning to or in the midst of a golden age.

== Example: WarHammer vs. BrightHammer ==

''"We do not need a Warmaster in this age. A Warmaster would fail us. We need a DADDY."'' - [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Custodes showing their appreciation to Captain-General Kitten]]

This alternate universe setting, [[BrightHammer40k]], comes with the tagline ''"In the Noble Brightness of the far future, there is only HIGH ADVENTURE!"'' This is as opposed to the original tagline of Warhammer 40k, which stated, "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." BrightHammer40k's setting has strong 1920s-1940s pulp fiction themes, crossed with an "age of myth" bronze age culture.

Differences between WarHammer 40k and BrightHammer 40k include:
* The setting is loosely divided into city-states united by race, religion, philosophy or just simple common sense, rather than singular empires defined by paranoia.
* There is a wide variety in the type of characters, nations, flora and fauna, and major characters in the setting.
* Speaking of wide varieties of characters/nations, relations between different groups, whether cultural, political, racial, etc. are usually positive. Conflicts are either out of just cause or have the option of being resolved peacefully. (Unlike Grimdark, in which "conflict resolution" is usually [[Exterminatus|genocide]])
* There is an overall "pulp fiction" feel. Just like real life.
* The universe is old, in the process of rediscovering a forgotten golden age.
* Low level conflicts such as raiding are considered common, but war is not. Just like Mongolia.
* When a Noblebright universe has a war, it's usually for a well defined, just cause. Wars are usually fought with "smart" technology, and massive, endless slaughters are rare. (Grimdark usually devolves technology in some form, then throws in massive slaughters for the fun of it)
* Technology is wildly inconsistent. Just like Alaska.
* Villains are over the top, campy, and rarely played seriously. Very much like North Korea.
* Leaders are usually diplomats or wise "philosopher-kings" like in North Korea.
* Heroes do most of the heavy lifting in society, and there are heroes, great and minor, at every level of society.
* There is a strong emphasis on individual strength. (Grimdark focuses on the massed collective. Individual strength is insignificant in the enormous Grimdarkian Machine)
* Good guys can be jerks, but are still good guys.
* Over-the-top heroism usually carries the day.
* Obvious, thinly disguised Secret Agents everywhere.
* The setting is entering a technological renaissance.
* Everything is bright or vividly colored.
* As seen on TV!

Compared to Warhammer40k, Brighthammer40k is generally brighter and a nicer place to live, but is by no means peaceful, always in a low level state of conflict, internal and external, never quite turning into war. The skull motif is replaced by wings, and colors are often brighter.

==[[MidHammer 40,000]]==
Strikes a balance between Noblebright and Grimdark. Basically, you don't matter much, but if mankind can put their back into it hard enough, it'll turn out okay in the end:
*Big E is alive, and regenerating.

*Primarchs still exist

*There is hope for a better future. Even if you don't live to see it, your children may well.

*While the AdMech got buttfucked twice, it's slowly getting it back together.

==8chan Explanation of the Grim/Noble and Dark/Bright Spectrum (by anons)==
[[File:Alignments.jpg|300px|thumb|An [[alignment]] chart.]]
Grim/Noble asks whether there are heroes that exist, may appear to change the world for good or ill.
* A noble setting isn't one where everyone is good, more like one where people are active. The actions of a single hero can change the world, and a single big villain can ruin it: there are important people, who are so either by birth, rank or sheer willpower, and every single one of these people MATTER.
* In a grim world, no matter what you do, an individual can't secure more than an individual victory, if even that, because the rest of the world is too big/scared/powerless/selfish to act upon his impulse.
Something like Morrowind or Berserk is noble (bright and dark, respectively) because it is about one man forcing destiny's hand and changing the world.
* Now, a bright world is one full of opportunity, of wondrous sights to behold. It doesn't mean that it has to be MLP, it can be dangerous, but your first instinct when looking at a new location should be awe and wonder: people may adventure to save the world, but they leave town with a smile upon their face, eager to see what comes next. The shadow of Risk is largely erased by the glint of Adventure. In a bright world, it's quite possible for people to go on adventure just for the hell of it, since the journey is its own reward. Resurrection, or at least means to heal grave injuries, is usually accessible, to counterbalance the fact that the risks out there are real.
* A dark world is one where life sucks, and something or someone is poised to kill everybody else in the story - whether it be demon overlords, 'nids, or even the lack of water, if this threat has its way everyone dies and they die for good. If you lose an arm, you play a cripple. In the extreme cases, even when you win a fight, your career is over (i.e. gangrene). This means that, even though people may be ready to help (noble), they'll need a damn good reason to do so, since stepping out of line is so dangerous (dark).
Given is an example of each type of setting to show how the combinations of noble/grim and bright/dark work;
*40k is (grim)dark because, no matter where you go, there is only war, and heroism's only reward is usually a notch on a gun or a corpse in a trench. No matter who you are, most of the galaxy probably wants you dead, and staying home today is the best choice you can make. Even if you make it to the end, you may have to sacrifice everything to save everyone, if you haven't already done so.
* Berserk is (noble)dark because, while there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, it takes men and women of insane willpower to get there: no matter whether you are big or small, even when you have nothing, the only thing that may save the world is the will within you screaming, "Go on!" And if hope was to fail, you're getting a book-long bloodbath-orgy, and all its consequences.
* Morrowind is (noble)bright because, even though the world is fraught with dangers, you can fix everything. The reason it isn't dark is because there is so much to see, so many interesting people to meet, so many cool things to experience that, at the end of the road, you'd do it all over again if given the chance to see it once again with virgin eyes.
* Sandman is (grim)bright because the incredible vistas and interesting people are all that can distract Dream from the dullness of his existence. He will tire of them all, but even he has to admit that he saw some cool shit. Also, notice how the relative freedom from consequences (people can get somewhat rezzed/healed/characters don't die much), a bright trait, reinforces the futility of the struggle in a grim world.

In short, grimdark and noblebright worlds both exist, and both are interesting to play in. So do grimbright (perhaps these are the most narratively counterintuitive and hardest to pull off, but simultaneously they can be the most interesting worlds to run in) and nobledark (seems to be enjoying a big surge in popularity these days - people like the aesthetics and adult nature of dark worlds, but not the crushing nihilism; in nobledark, most things suck, those rare moments of genuine nobility and decent change are all the more poignant, even if they come at great cost). Every type allows for evil and struggles to exist, and for stories to be told. Evil can even triumph: it's less of a matter of who wins, and more of a matter of tone. In a bright world, the BBEG can win, but he won't skullfuck to death everyone the PCs know in front of a crowd without the mood turning to dark.

I'll leave you with some examples:

Grimdark : WHFB, W40K, Game of Thrones, Oedipus, E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy, Gears of War 1-3, Killzone 2-3.

Grimbright : Sandman, The Sims, most Tycoon games, Mass Effect series, The Commonwealth Saga, Eclipse Phase, The Culture novels, Deltarune, most of Zeus' flings with mortals (from the gods' perspective).

Nobledark : Berserk, LotR, Starcraft, Dark Sun, Terminator, Fallout, the Iliad. Also arguably WH40k in the more recent editions.

Noblebright : Morrowind, D&D/PF (usually), Magi, Warcraft, Star wars, Trine, the Odyssey, and of course, Star Trek.

== More examples of works and their ranking ==

Please be aware that the following list is a product of many different [[Fa/tg/uys|Fa/tg/uys]] personal [[Skub|opinions]].
[[Image:Helghan Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|Noblebright struggles have heroic sacrifices, copious amounts of bravery, and a just cause to fight for.]] [[Image:Grimdarkery.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark wars are usually directionless, brutal, and the reasons for fighting are very obscure (When there is one, it's usually thrown away in the face of reality).]]

<center>
{|border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|- align=left
! NobleBright
! ...and GrimDark
|-
| [[Brighthammer_40,000_(2nd_edition)|BrightHammer 40k]] OR [[Age of Sigmar]] || [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]]
|-
| [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]] 8th ED, but more like Nobledark || [[Xeelee Sequence|Xeelee universe]] OR Age of Sigmar 2nd Edition (sorta. Could be considered approaching Noblebright->Dark)
|-
| [[Exalted]] (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade|Vampire:tM]], [[Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse|Werewolf:tA]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
| [[Changeling:_The_Dreaming|Changeling:tD]] ([[oWoD]]) || [[Changeling:_The_Lost|Changeling:tL]] ([[nWoD]])
|-
|[[Geist: The Sin-Eaters]] ([[nWoD]]) ||[[ Wraith: The Oblivion]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
|[[D20_Modern|D20 Modern]] || [[Call_of_Cthulhu|Call of Cthulhu]]
|-
| Steven Spielberg||Quentin Tarantino
|-
| The West Wing || House of Cards
|-
| Special Unit 2 || [[Delta Green]]
|-
| [[Star Trek]] (in general) || Babylon 5 (closer to Nobledark)
|-
|[[Star Trek]] (in general) || [[Star Trek]] Picard (or even Discovery)
|-
| Star Trek: Voyager || [[Red Dwarf]]
|-
| Andromeda Ascendant || Farscape
|-
| Stargate SG-1 || The First Wave
|-
| Firefly (maybe not, see Discussion) || Blake's 7
|-
| Battlestar Galactica (1978) || Battlestar Galactica (2004)
|-
| Temeraire Series || [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Game of Thrones]]
|-
| Robocop || Judge Dredd
|-
| ReBoot || .hack
|-
| .hack || Sword Art Online
|-
| Previous season of Sword Art Online || Next season of Sword Art Online
|-
| [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Rogue Trader]] || [[Dark Heresy]]
|-
| Osamu Tezuka || Go Nagai
|-
| The Wizard of Oz || Soul Eater
|-
| MACROSS (Robotech) || Mobile Suit Gundam
|-
| Mobile Suit Gundam || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neon Genesis Evangelion || Bokurano
|-
| [[7th Sea]] || [[Poison'd]]
|-
| Zoids || Gundam
|-
| [[Spirit of the Century]] || [[Don't Rest Your Head]]
|-
| [[Traveller]] || [[Eclipse Phase]]
|-
| [[Dragonlance]] || [[Dark Sun]]
|-
| [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Avatar]] (not [[Avatar|Cameron's furfic)]] || Kaze no Stigma
|-
| [[Warcraft]] || [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]
|-
| [[Magic the gathering|Alara]], [[Theros]], [[Lorwyn]] || [[Innistrad]], [[Phyrexia|New Phyrexia]], [[Shadowmoor]]
|-
| [[Neverwinter Nights]] || Dragon Age
|-
| [[The Elder Scrolls]] (Well, somewhat, if you ignore Kirkbride's EU-thing) || Gothic
|-
| Final Fantasy || Megami Tensei
|-
| Persona || Shin Megami Tensei
|-
| Guin Saga || Berserk (more Nobledark)
|-
| Forts || REDCON
|-
| Persona 4 & 5 || Persona 3
|-
| Red Alert 3 || Red Alert 2
|-
| Red Alert 2 || Red Alert
|-
| Wolfenstein || MachineGames Wolfenstein games
|-
| [[Command and Conquer]]: Red Alert series || [[Command and Conquer]]: Tiberium series
|-
| Animorphs || Terraformars
|-
| Fate/Stay Night || Fate/Zero
|-
| [[Starcraft]] II || [[Starcraft|Starcraft: Brood War]]
|-
| [[Diablo]] III || [[Diablo]] I & II
|-
| Grand Theft Auto 1 || Saints Row 1
|-
| Saints Row 3 || Grand Theft Auto 4
|-
| Fable III || Dark Souls
|-
| Cowboy Bebop|| Black Lagoon
|-
| Undertale || LISA
|-
| Kid Icarus || God of War
|-
| God of War 2018 || pre-2018 God of War
|-
| Mass Effect 1 || Mass Effect 3
|-
| Mass Effect universe || [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]]
|-
| [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]] || Dead Space universe
|-
| Dead Space Trilogy || Halo: Forerunner Trilogy
|-
| Spore || Darkspore
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Getter Robo Armageddon
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Kill la Kill
|-
| Rebuild of Evangelion (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neo-Hunter Casshern || Casshern Sins
|-
| Dragon Ball || Hunter X Hunter
|-
| Mai-Otome || Mai-Hime (last 10 episodes at least)
|-
| Cardcaptor Sakura || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica || Magical Girl Site
|-
| Power Rangers in General || Power Rangers RPM
|-
| Super Sentai || Kamen Rider (especially the Showa Era ones)
|-
| Kamen Rider (most Heisei Era ones) || GARO
|-
| Batman: the Brave & the Bold || Batman: TAS (first two seasons only)
|-
| [[Star Wars RPG|Star Wars Episode I, IV, VI, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie and Season 1, and a decent portion of the Expanded Universe]] || [[Star Wars D20|Star Wars Episode II, III, V, VII, Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Season 2 onwards, and the other half the Expanded Universe, especially The New Jedi Order and Legacy]]
|-
| Little House on the Prairie || Deadwood
|-
| Full House || Married With Children
|-
| The Green Zone || The Hurt Locker
|-
| The Sarah Jane Adventures || [[Doctor Who|Torchwood]]
|-
| ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' || ''Black sails''
|-
| ''Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag'' || ''Risen 2: Dark Waters''
|-
| Justice League || Watchmen
|-
| Twilight Saga || Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
|-
| ''Lois and Clark'' or the 80's Superman Movies || ''Man of Steel''
|-
| ''Planetary'' || ''The Authority''
|-
| Cyanide and Happiness || [http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=132 pictures for sad children]
|-
| The Silver Age of Comic Books || The Dark Age of Comic Books
|-
| [[Steampunk|Steampunk Genre]] || [[Cyberpunk|Cyberpunk Genre]]
|-
| Raspberry Pi || OpenPandora
|-
| South Korea || <s>North</s> BEST Korea
|-
| [[Discworld]] || [[A Song of Ice and Fire]]
|-
| A Wizard of Earthsea || The Tombs of Atuan
|-
| Guilty Gear || BlazBlue
|-
| Mega Man (Classic, Legends, Battle Network, ZX, Star Forces 1 and 2)|| Mega Man (X, Zero, Star Force 3,), The Protomen
|-
| The Chronicles of Narnia|| His Dark Materials
|-
| Anthem || Halo
|-
| Halo || Half-Life 2
|-
| Half-Life 2 || Resistance
|-
| Resistance || Gears of War (The first game especially)
|-
| Gears of War || Killzone
|-
| Just Cause 2 || Spec Ops: The Line
|-
| Plants VS Zombies || The Last of Us
|-
| The Last of Us || The Last of Us Part 2 (10% Grimdark, 90% [[Grimderp]])
|-
| Mirror's Edge || Assassin's Creed
|-
| Iron Kingdoms MKii || Iron Kingdoms MKi
|-
| Marvel Comics films || [[Grimdark#Grimderp|DC Universe films]]
|-
| DC comics || Marvel comics
|-
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer || Hellsing (any medium)
|-
| Hellsing (2001 series) || Hellsing (manga and OVA)
|-
| Marvel comics || Watchmen comics
|-
| Watchmen comics || Wanted comics
|-
| Warehouse 13 || The [[SCP Foundation]]
|-
| [[Eberron]] || [[Dragonmech]]
|-
| [[Planescape]] || [[Ravenloft]]
|-
| [[Wilderlands of High Fantasy]]|| | [[Forgotten Realms]]
|-
| InFamous || Prototype
|-
| Harry Potter 1-3 || Harry Potter 4-7 (ESPECIALLY 7th)
|-
| Deus Ex 1-2 || System Shock 1-2
|-
| RoboCop || Terminator
|-
| Homeworld 1 and 2 || Homeworld: Cataclysm (when the Beast make their first appearance)
|-
| [[Fist of the North Star]] || Violence Jack
|-
| The Simpsons || South Park
|-
| The Glaive || Conan the Barbarian
|-
| The Hobbit || The Children of Hurin
|-
| American Revolution || Vietnam War
|-
| [[Mordheim]] || [[Malifaux]]
|-
| Civilization:Beyond Earth || [[Alpha Centauri]]
|-
| [[The New Testament]] || [[The Old Testament]]
|-
| Overwatch || [[Team Fortress 2]] (Especially Mann vs. Machine)
|-
| [[Team Fortress 2]] || Team Fortress Classic
|-
| Ghostbusters films and Real Ghostbusters || | Extreme Ghostbusters
|-
| Metal Gear (in general) || | Metal Gear Solid V
|-
| Girls und Panzer || Panzerfraulein Alteseisen
|-
| Far Cry 1 || | Far Cry 2 and 3
|-
| Overstrike || | Fuse
|-
| Pokemon Franchise || | Digimon Franchise
|-
| Digimon Adventure || | Digimon Tamers
|-
| Digimon Tamers || Shadow Star Narutaru
|-
| Bakugan || Kiba
|-
| [[Fallout]] series || | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
|-
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series || | Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light
|-
| Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light || | Metro 2033 (novel), Metro 2034 (novel), and Metro 2035 (novel)
|-
|[[Approved anime|Slayers]] || | Bastard!!
|-
| Fast And Furious || | Death Race
|-
| Death Race || | Mad Max
|-
| Twilight || | Underworld
|-
| Y:the last man || | Children of men
|-
| Battlefield Bad Company || | Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy
|-
| Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy || | Call of Duty Black Ops III
|-
| Dead Rising series || | Left 4 Dead series
|-
| Left 4 Dead series || | Dead Island series
|-
| Dead Island series || | World War Z movie
|-
| World War Z Movie || | World War Z novel
|-
| World War Z Novel || | The Walking Dead comics
|-
| Super Robot anime|| | Real Robot anime
|-
| Real Robot anime|| | WAT Robot anime
|-
| The Go-Betweens|| | The Birthday Party/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|-
| League of Legends|| | Dota 2
|-
| Rome: Total War|| | Total War: Attila
|-
| Freespace || | Freespace 2
|-
| Street Fighter franchise || | Mortal Kombat franchise
|-
| Star Wars Jedi: Outcast duology || | Star Wars: Battlefront 1 & 2 (2000's)
|-
| Minecraft || | 7 Days to Die
|-
| Blood Diamond || | Lord of War
|-
| Naoki Urusawa's Monster || ERASED
|-
| Casa de mi Padre || | Sicario
|-
| GammaWorld || | The Mutant Epoch
|-
| Konosuba || Re:Zero
|-
| Log Horizon || Overlord
|-
| Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? || [[Goblin Slayer]]
|-
| This Means War || Savages
|-
| Brave New World (more like GrimBright, really) || [[1984]]
|-
| Sailor Moon (old censored american dub) || Sailor Moon (original version)
|-
| Sailor Moon (original version) || Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
|-
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon || Revolutionary Girl Utena
|-
| Revolutionary Girl Utena || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Egan's Diaspora || | Dukaj's Perfect Imperfection
|-
| Touhou Project || Crimzon Clover
|-
| Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and White Lantern Corps || Red, Orange, Yellow, Black, and Grey Lantern Corps
|-
| Pod Save America || Chapo Trap House
|-
| Jimmy Neutron, Back to the Future || Rick and Morty
|-
| World War II: Western Front || World War II: Eastern Front
|-
| World War II: Eastern Front || World War II: Pacific Theatre
|-
| World War II: Pacific Theatre || World War I: Western Front
|-
| World War II: French Resistance || World War II: Polish Resistance
|-
| Pork Chop Hill || Tae-Guk-Gi
|-
| [[Death Korps of Krieg]] || [[Xeelee_Sequence#Interim_Coalition_of_Governance|Interim Coalition of Governance]]
|-
| Parasyte || Devilman
|-
| Disney Channel || Cartoon Network
|-
| Cartoon Network || Toonami
|-
| E.T. || IT
|-
| Homo faber || Lolita
|-
| Maple Story || Made in Abyss
|-
| Ready Player One || 20th Century Boys
|-
| My Hero Academia || ONE PUNCH MAN (more like Grimbright, really)
|-
| Grand Theft Auto || Mafia
|-
| [[Superman | Metropolis]] || [[Batman | Gotham City]]
|-
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. || Jak 2 and later
|-
| Axis Powers Hetalia || Polandball
|-
| Soren Kierkegaard || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| John Stuart Mill || David Benatar
|-
| Noam Chomsky || Michel Foucault
|-
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau || Thomas Hobbes
|-
| Thomas Hobbes || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche (before Thus Spoke Zarathustra) || Friedrich Nietzsche (after Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche || Mark Twain (Best example being the Mysterious Stranger)
|-
| The American Revolution || The French Revolution
|-
| The French Revolution || The Russian Revolution
|-
| The Settlers || Civilization
|-
| Civilization || Tropico (Can be Grimbright if you are a "benevolent" dictator)
|-
| Sgt. Frog || Invader Zim
|-
| Adventure Time || Tigtone
|-
| [[Furry|Zootopia]] || [[Furry|Beastars]] (actually closer to Nobledark)
|-
| [[Furry|Beastars]] || [[Furry|Kevin and Kell]] (The setting is Grimdark, but the story is not due to [[Plot Armor]] and being comedy focused)
|}

</center>

[[Category:Gamer Slang]]

Noblebright

2020-07-28T03:54:34Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* More examples of works and their ranking */

{{topquote|Why does the third of the three brothers, who shares his food with the old woman in the wood, go on to become king of the country? Why does James Bond manage to disarm the nuclear bomb a few seconds before it goes off rather than, as it were, a few seconds afterwards? Because a universe where that did not happen would be a dark and hostile place. Let there be goblin hordes, let there be terrible environmental threats, let there be giant mutated slugs if you really must, but let there also be hope. It may be a grim, thin hope, an Arthurian sword at sunset, but let us know that we do not live in vain.|Sir Terry Pratchett, “Let There Be Dragons” (A Slip of the Keyboard)}}

'''NobleBright''' is an adjective derived from the term often used to describe Warhammer 40k: [[Grimdark|Grimdark]]. Just as every hero has a "mirror opposite" version that is evil, it's supposed that there must be a mirror opposite version of the heroes of WH40k where everything goes RIGHT. It can also be used to describe artwork that has a noble/bright feel, even if the setting itself would not normally be considered noble or bright.

Where the GrimDark tag usually describes a setting in a slow, painful decline, the NobleBright tag usually describes a setting emerging from a dark age and either returning to or in the midst of a golden age.

== Example: WarHammer vs. BrightHammer ==

''"We do not need a Warmaster in this age. A Warmaster would fail us. We need a DADDY."'' - [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|Custodes showing their appreciation to Captain-General Kitten]]

This alternate universe setting, [[BrightHammer40k]], comes with the tagline ''"In the Noble Brightness of the far future, there is only HIGH ADVENTURE!"'' This is as opposed to the original tagline of Warhammer 40k, which stated, "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war." BrightHammer40k's setting has strong 1920s-1940s pulp fiction themes, crossed with an "age of myth" bronze age culture.

Differences between WarHammer 40k and BrightHammer 40k include:
* The setting is loosely divided into city-states united by race, religion, philosophy or just simple common sense, rather than singular empires defined by paranoia.
* There is a wide variety in the type of characters, nations, flora and fauna, and major characters in the setting.
* Speaking of wide varieties of characters/nations, relations between different groups, whether cultural, political, racial, etc. are usually positive. Conflicts are either out of just cause or have the option of being resolved peacefully. (Unlike Grimdark, in which "conflict resolution" is usually [[Exterminatus|genocide]])
* There is an overall "pulp fiction" feel. Just like real life.
* The universe is old, in the process of rediscovering a forgotten golden age.
* Low level conflicts such as raiding are considered common, but war is not. Just like Mongolia.
* When a Noblebright universe has a war, it's usually for a well defined, just cause. Wars are usually fought with "smart" technology, and massive, endless slaughters are rare. (Grimdark usually devolves technology in some form, then throws in massive slaughters for the fun of it)
* Technology is wildly inconsistent. Just like Alaska.
* Villains are over the top, campy, and rarely played seriously. Very much like North Korea.
* Leaders are usually diplomats or wise "philosopher-kings" like in North Korea.
* Heroes do most of the heavy lifting in society, and there are heroes, great and minor, at every level of society.
* There is a strong emphasis on individual strength. (Grimdark focuses on the massed collective. Individual strength is insignificant in the enormous Grimdarkian Machine)
* Good guys can be jerks, but are still good guys.
* Over-the-top heroism usually carries the day.
* Obvious, thinly disguised Secret Agents everywhere.
* The setting is entering a technological renaissance.
* Everything is bright or vividly colored.
* As seen on TV!

Compared to Warhammer40k, Brighthammer40k is generally brighter and a nicer place to live, but is by no means peaceful, always in a low level state of conflict, internal and external, never quite turning into war. The skull motif is replaced by wings, and colors are often brighter.

==[[MidHammer 40,000]]==
Strikes a balance between Noblebright and Grimdark. Basically, you don't matter much, but if mankind can put their back into it hard enough, it'll turn out okay in the end:
*Big E is alive, and regenerating.

*Primarchs still exist

*There is hope for a better future. Even if you don't live to see it, your children may well.

*While the AdMech got buttfucked twice, it's slowly getting it back together.

==8chan Explanation of the Grim/Noble and Dark/Bright Spectrum (by anons)==
[[File:Alignments.jpg|300px|thumb|An [[alignment]] chart.]]
Grim/Noble asks whether there are heroes that exist, may appear to change the world for good or ill.
* A noble setting isn't one where everyone is good, more like one where people are active. The actions of a single hero can change the world, and a single big villain can ruin it: there are important people, who are so either by birth, rank or sheer willpower, and every single one of these people MATTER.
* In a grim world, no matter what you do, an individual can't secure more than an individual victory, if even that, because the rest of the world is too big/scared/powerless/selfish to act upon his impulse.
Something like Morrowind or Berserk is noble (bright and dark, respectively) because it is about one man forcing destiny's hand and changing the world.
* Now, a bright world is one full of opportunity, of wondrous sights to behold. It doesn't mean that it has to be MLP, it can be dangerous, but your first instinct when looking at a new location should be awe and wonder: people may adventure to save the world, but they leave town with a smile upon their face, eager to see what comes next. The shadow of Risk is largely erased by the glint of Adventure. In a bright world, it's quite possible for people to go on adventure just for the hell of it, since the journey is its own reward. Resurrection, or at least means to heal grave injuries, is usually accessible, to counterbalance the fact that the risks out there are real.
* A dark world is one where life sucks, and something or someone is poised to kill everybody else in the story - whether it be demon overlords, 'nids, or even the lack of water, if this threat has its way everyone dies and they die for good. If you lose an arm, you play a cripple. In the extreme cases, even when you win a fight, your career is over (i.e. gangrene). This means that, even though people may be ready to help (noble), they'll need a damn good reason to do so, since stepping out of line is so dangerous (dark).
Given is an example of each type of setting to show how the combinations of noble/grim and bright/dark work;
*40k is (grim)dark because, no matter where you go, there is only war, and heroism's only reward is usually a notch on a gun or a corpse in a trench. No matter who you are, most of the galaxy probably wants you dead, and staying home today is the best choice you can make. Even if you make it to the end, you may have to sacrifice everything to save everyone, if you haven't already done so.
* Berserk is (noble)dark because, while there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel, it takes men and women of insane willpower to get there: no matter whether you are big or small, even when you have nothing, the only thing that may save the world is the will within you screaming, "Go on!" And if hope was to fail, you're getting a book-long bloodbath-orgy, and all its consequences.
* Morrowind is (noble)bright because, even though the world is fraught with dangers, you can fix everything. The reason it isn't dark is because there is so much to see, so many interesting people to meet, so many cool things to experience that, at the end of the road, you'd do it all over again if given the chance to see it once again with virgin eyes.
* Sandman is (grim)bright because the incredible vistas and interesting people are all that can distract Dream from the dullness of his existence. He will tire of them all, but even he has to admit that he saw some cool shit. Also, notice how the relative freedom from consequences (people can get somewhat rezzed/healed/characters don't die much), a bright trait, reinforces the futility of the struggle in a grim world.

In short, grimdark and noblebright worlds both exist, and both are interesting to play in. So do grimbright (perhaps these are the most narratively counterintuitive and hardest to pull off, but simultaneously they can be the most interesting worlds to run in) and nobledark (seems to be enjoying a big surge in popularity these days - people like the aesthetics and adult nature of dark worlds, but not the crushing nihilism; in nobledark, most things suck, those rare moments of genuine nobility and decent change are all the more poignant, even if they come at great cost). Every type allows for evil and struggles to exist, and for stories to be told. Evil can even triumph: it's less of a matter of who wins, and more of a matter of tone. In a bright world, the BBEG can win, but he won't skullfuck to death everyone the PCs know in front of a crowd without the mood turning to dark.

I'll leave you with some examples:

Grimdark : WHFB, W40K, Game of Thrones, Oedipus, E.Y.E Divine Cybermancy, Gears of War 1-3, Killzone 2-3.

Grimbright : Sandman, The Sims, most Tycoon games, Mass Effect series, The Commonwealth Saga, Eclipse Phase, The Culture novels, Deltarune, most of Zeus' flings with mortals (from the gods' perspective).

Nobledark : Berserk, LotR, Starcraft, Dark Sun, Terminator, Fallout, the Iliad. Also arguably WH40k in the more recent editions.

Noblebright : Morrowind, D&D/PF (usually), Magi, Warcraft, Star wars, Trine, the Odyssey, and of course, Star Trek.

== More examples of works and their ranking ==

Please be aware that the following list is a product of many different [[Fa/tg/uys|Fa/tg/uys]] personal [[Skub|opinions]].
[[Image:Helghan Revolution.jpg|thumb|right|Noblebright struggles have heroic sacrifices, copious amounts of bravery, and a just cause to fight for.]] [[Image:Grimdarkery.jpg|thumb|right|Grimdark wars are usually directionless, brutal, and the reasons for fighting are very obscure (When there is one, it's usually thrown away in the face of reality).]]

<center>
{|border=1 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0
|- align=left
! NobleBright
! ...and GrimDark
|-
| [[Brighthammer_40,000_(2nd_edition)|BrightHammer 40k]] OR [[Age of Sigmar]] || [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]]
|-
| [[Warhammer_40,000|WarHammer 40k]] 8th ED, but more like Nobledark || [[Xeelee Sequence|Xeelee universe]] OR Age of Sigmar 2nd Edition (sorta. Could be considered approaching Noblebright->Dark)
|-
| [[Exalted]] (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || [[Vampire:_The_Masquerade|Vampire:tM]], [[Werewolf:_The_Apocalypse|Werewolf:tA]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
| [[Changeling:_The_Dreaming|Changeling:tD]] ([[oWoD]]) || [[Changeling:_The_Lost|Changeling:tL]] ([[nWoD]])
|-
|[[Geist: The Sin-Eaters]] ([[nWoD]]) ||[[ Wraith: The Oblivion]] ([[oWoD]])
|-
|[[D20_Modern|D20 Modern]] || [[Call_of_Cthulhu|Call of Cthulhu]]
|-
| Steven Spielberg||Quentin Tarantino
|-
| The West Wing || House of Cards
|-
| Special Unit 2 || [[Delta Green]]
|-
| [[Star Trek]] (in general) || Babylon 5 (closer to Nobledark)
|-
|[[Star Trek]] (in general) || [[Star Trek]] Picard (or even Discovery)
|-
| Star Trek: Voyager || Red Dwarf
|-
| Andromeda Ascendant || Farscape
|-
| Stargate SG-1 || The First Wave
|-
| Firefly (maybe not, see Discussion) || Blake's 7
|-
| Battlestar Galactica (1978) || Battlestar Galactica (2004)
|-
| Temeraire Series || [[A Song of Ice and Fire|Game of Thrones]]
|-
| Robocop || Judge Dredd
|-
| ReBoot || .hack
|-
| .hack || Sword Art Online
|-
| Previous season of Sword Art Online || Next season of Sword Art Online
|-
| [[Rogue Trader (RPG)|Rogue Trader]] || [[Dark Heresy]]
|-
| Osamu Tezuka || Go Nagai
|-
| The Wizard of Oz || Soul Eater
|-
| MACROSS (Robotech) || Mobile Suit Gundam
|-
| Mobile Suit Gundam || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neon Genesis Evangelion || Bokurano
|-
| [[7th Sea]] || [[Poison'd]]
|-
| Zoids || Gundam
|-
| [[Spirit of the Century]] || [[Don't Rest Your Head]]
|-
| [[Traveller]] || [[Eclipse Phase]]
|-
| [[Dragonlance]] || [[Dark Sun]]
|-
| [[Avatar: The Last Airbender|Avatar]] (not [[Avatar|Cameron's furfic)]] || Kaze no Stigma
|-
| [[Warcraft]] || [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]
|-
| [[Magic the gathering|Alara]], [[Theros]], [[Lorwyn]] || [[Innistrad]], [[Phyrexia|New Phyrexia]], [[Shadowmoor]]
|-
| [[Neverwinter Nights]] || Dragon Age
|-
| [[The Elder Scrolls]] (Well, somewhat, if you ignore Kirkbride's EU-thing) || Gothic
|-
| Final Fantasy || Megami Tensei
|-
| Persona || Shin Megami Tensei
|-
| Guin Saga || Berserk (more Nobledark)
|-
| Forts || REDCON
|-
| Persona 4 & 5 || Persona 3
|-
| Red Alert 3 || Red Alert 2
|-
| Red Alert 2 || Red Alert
|-
| Wolfenstein || MachineGames Wolfenstein games
|-
| [[Command and Conquer]]: Red Alert series || [[Command and Conquer]]: Tiberium series
|-
| Animorphs || Terraformars
|-
| Fate/Stay Night || Fate/Zero
|-
| [[Starcraft]] II || [[Starcraft|Starcraft: Brood War]]
|-
| [[Diablo]] III || [[Diablo]] I & II
|-
| Grand Theft Auto 1 || Saints Row 1
|-
| Saints Row 3 || Grand Theft Auto 4
|-
| Fable III || Dark Souls
|-
| Cowboy Bebop|| Black Lagoon
|-
| Undertale || LISA
|-
| Kid Icarus || God of War
|-
| God of War 2018 || pre-2018 God of War
|-
| Mass Effect 1 || Mass Effect 3
|-
| Mass Effect universe || [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]]
|-
| [[Setting:Halo|Halo universe]] || Dead Space universe
|-
| Dead Space Trilogy || Halo: Forerunner Trilogy
|-
| Spore || Darkspore
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Getter Robo Armageddon
|-
| Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann || Kill la Kill
|-
| Rebuild of Evangelion (Well, Zig-zags between the two) || Neon Genesis Evangelion
|-
| Neo-Hunter Casshern || Casshern Sins
|-
| Dragon Ball || Hunter X Hunter
|-
| Mai-Otome || Mai-Hime (last 10 episodes at least)
|-
| Cardcaptor Sakura || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica || Magical Girl Site
|-
| Power Rangers in General || Power Rangers RPM
|-
| Super Sentai || Kamen Rider (especially the Showa Era ones)
|-
| Kamen Rider (most Heisei Era ones) || GARO
|-
| Batman: the Brave & the Bold || Batman: TAS (first two seasons only)
|-
| [[Star Wars RPG|Star Wars Episode I, IV, VI, Star Wars: The Clone Wars Movie and Season 1, and a decent portion of the Expanded Universe]] || [[Star Wars D20|Star Wars Episode II, III, V, VII, Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Season 2 onwards, and the other half the Expanded Universe, especially The New Jedi Order and Legacy]]
|-
| Little House on the Prairie || Deadwood
|-
| Full House || Married With Children
|-
| The Green Zone || The Hurt Locker
|-
| The Sarah Jane Adventures || [[Doctor Who|Torchwood]]
|-
| ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' || ''Black sails''
|-
| ''Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag'' || ''Risen 2: Dark Waters''
|-
| Justice League || Watchmen
|-
| Twilight Saga || Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
|-
| ''Lois and Clark'' or the 80's Superman Movies || ''Man of Steel''
|-
| ''Planetary'' || ''The Authority''
|-
| Cyanide and Happiness || [http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=132 pictures for sad children]
|-
| The Silver Age of Comic Books || The Dark Age of Comic Books
|-
| [[Steampunk|Steampunk Genre]] || [[Cyberpunk|Cyberpunk Genre]]
|-
| Raspberry Pi || OpenPandora
|-
| South Korea || <s>North</s> BEST Korea
|-
| [[Discworld]] || [[A Song of Ice and Fire]]
|-
| A Wizard of Earthsea || The Tombs of Atuan
|-
| Guilty Gear || BlazBlue
|-
| Mega Man (Classic, Legends, Battle Network, ZX, Star Forces 1 and 2)|| Mega Man (X, Zero, Star Force 3,), The Protomen
|-
| The Chronicles of Narnia|| His Dark Materials
|-
| Anthem || Halo
|-
| Halo || Half-Life 2
|-
| Half-Life 2 || Resistance
|-
| Resistance || Gears of War (The first game especially)
|-
| Gears of War || Killzone
|-
| Just Cause 2 || Spec Ops: The Line
|-
| Plants VS Zombies || The Last of Us
|-
| The Last of Us || The Last of Us Part 2 (10% Grimdark, 90% [[Grimderp]])
|-
| Mirror's Edge || Assassin's Creed
|-
| Iron Kingdoms MKii || Iron Kingdoms MKi
|-
| Marvel Comics films || [[Grimdark#Grimderp|DC Universe films]]
|-
| DC comics || Marvel comics
|-
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer || Hellsing (any medium)
|-
| Hellsing (2001 series) || Hellsing (manga and OVA)
|-
| Marvel comics || Watchmen comics
|-
| Watchmen comics || Wanted comics
|-
| Warehouse 13 || The [[SCP Foundation]]
|-
| [[Eberron]] || [[Dragonmech]]
|-
| [[Planescape]] || [[Ravenloft]]
|-
| [[Wilderlands of High Fantasy]]|| | [[Forgotten Realms]]
|-
| InFamous || Prototype
|-
| Harry Potter 1-3 || Harry Potter 4-7 (ESPECIALLY 7th)
|-
| Deus Ex 1-2 || System Shock 1-2
|-
| RoboCop || Terminator
|-
| Homeworld 1 and 2 || Homeworld: Cataclysm (when the Beast make their first appearance)
|-
| [[Fist of the North Star]] || Violence Jack
|-
| The Simpsons || South Park
|-
| The Glaive || Conan the Barbarian
|-
| The Hobbit || The Children of Hurin
|-
| American Revolution || Vietnam War
|-
| [[Mordheim]] || [[Malifaux]]
|-
| Civilization:Beyond Earth || [[Alpha Centauri]]
|-
| [[The New Testament]] || [[The Old Testament]]
|-
| Overwatch || [[Team Fortress 2]] (Especially Mann vs. Machine)
|-
| [[Team Fortress 2]] || Team Fortress Classic
|-
| Ghostbusters films and Real Ghostbusters || | Extreme Ghostbusters
|-
| Metal Gear (in general) || | Metal Gear Solid V
|-
| Girls und Panzer || Panzerfraulein Alteseisen
|-
| Far Cry 1 || | Far Cry 2 and 3
|-
| Overstrike || | Fuse
|-
| Pokemon Franchise || | Digimon Franchise
|-
| Digimon Adventure || | Digimon Tamers
|-
| Digimon Tamers || Shadow Star Narutaru
|-
| Bakugan || Kiba
|-
| [[Fallout]] series || | S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
|-
| S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series || | Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light
|-
| Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light || | Metro 2033 (novel), Metro 2034 (novel), and Metro 2035 (novel)
|-
|[[Approved anime|Slayers]] || | Bastard!!
|-
| Fast And Furious || | Death Race
|-
| Death Race || | Mad Max
|-
| Twilight || | Underworld
|-
| Y:the last man || | Children of men
|-
| Battlefield Bad Company || | Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy
|-
| Call of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy || | Call of Duty Black Ops III
|-
| Dead Rising series || | Left 4 Dead series
|-
| Left 4 Dead series || | Dead Island series
|-
| Dead Island series || | World War Z movie
|-
| World War Z Movie || | World War Z novel
|-
| World War Z Novel || | The Walking Dead comics
|-
| Super Robot anime|| | Real Robot anime
|-
| Real Robot anime|| | WAT Robot anime
|-
| The Go-Betweens|| | The Birthday Party/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
|-
| League of Legends|| | Dota 2
|-
| Rome: Total War|| | Total War: Attila
|-
| Freespace || | Freespace 2
|-
| Street Fighter franchise || | Mortal Kombat franchise
|-
| Star Wars Jedi: Outcast duology || | Star Wars: Battlefront 1 & 2 (2000's)
|-
| Minecraft || | 7 Days to Die
|-
| Blood Diamond || | Lord of War
|-
| Naoki Urusawa's Monster || ERASED
|-
| Casa de mi Padre || | Sicario
|-
| GammaWorld || | The Mutant Epoch
|-
| Konosuba || Re:Zero
|-
| Log Horizon || Overlord
|-
| Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? || [[Goblin Slayer]]
|-
| This Means War || Savages
|-
| Brave New World (more like GrimBright, really) || [[1984]]
|-
| Sailor Moon (old censored american dub) || Sailor Moon (original version)
|-
| Sailor Moon (original version) || Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
|-
| Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon || Revolutionary Girl Utena
|-
| Revolutionary Girl Utena || Puella Magi Madoka Magica
|-
| Egan's Diaspora || | Dukaj's Perfect Imperfection
|-
| Touhou Project || Crimzon Clover
|-
| Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and White Lantern Corps || Red, Orange, Yellow, Black, and Grey Lantern Corps
|-
| Pod Save America || Chapo Trap House
|-
| Jimmy Neutron, Back to the Future || Rick and Morty
|-
| World War II: Western Front || World War II: Eastern Front
|-
| World War II: Eastern Front || World War II: Pacific Theatre
|-
| World War II: Pacific Theatre || World War I: Western Front
|-
| World War II: French Resistance || World War II: Polish Resistance
|-
| Pork Chop Hill || Tae-Guk-Gi
|-
| [[Death Korps of Krieg]] || [[Xeelee_Sequence#Interim_Coalition_of_Governance|Interim Coalition of Governance]]
|-
| Parasyte || Devilman
|-
| Disney Channel || Cartoon Network
|-
| Cartoon Network || Toonami
|-
| E.T. || IT
|-
| Homo faber || Lolita
|-
| Maple Story || Made in Abyss
|-
| Ready Player One || 20th Century Boys
|-
| My Hero Academia || ONE PUNCH MAN (more like Grimbright, really)
|-
| Grand Theft Auto || Mafia
|-
| [[Superman | Metropolis]] || [[Batman | Gotham City]]
|-
| Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. || Jak 2 and later
|-
| Axis Powers Hetalia || Polandball
|-
| Soren Kierkegaard || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| John Stuart Mill || David Benatar
|-
| Noam Chomsky || Michel Foucault
|-
| Jean-Jacques Rousseau || Thomas Hobbes
|-
| Thomas Hobbes || Friedrich Nietzsche
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche (before Thus Spoke Zarathustra) || Friedrich Nietzsche (after Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
|-
| Friedrich Nietzsche || Mark Twain (Best example being the Mysterious Stranger)
|-
| The American Revolution || The French Revolution
|-
| The French Revolution || The Russian Revolution
|-
| The Settlers || Civilization
|-
| Civilization || Tropico (Can be Grimbright if you are a "benevolent" dictator)
|-
| Sgt. Frog || Invader Zim
|-
| Adventure Time || Tigtone
|-
| [[Furry|Zootopia]] || [[Furry|Beastars]] (actually closer to Nobledark)
|-
| [[Furry|Beastars]] || [[Furry|Kevin and Kell]] (The setting is Grimdark, but the story is not due to [[Plot Armor]] and being comedy focused)
|}

</center>

[[Category:Gamer Slang]]

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T23:11:17Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* True Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Gadacro]]''': A small sneaky demon that likes to blind enemies.
For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.
*'''[[Solemith]]''': A large obese demon with a transparent stomach filled with the faces of the other demons and petitioners it has eaten. Their flesh is explosive, and they fight by tearing off pieces of their flesh and throwing them like bombs.
*'''[[Uridezu]]''': Cowardly rat people with a paralyzing bite, command over rats, and the ability to teleport between planes, but not during combat. They enjoy serving under a master, but because other demons abuse them they often are found serving mortal masters on the material plane.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.
*'''[[Adaru]]''': A millipede with a man's face that is able to charm other tanar'ri and constantly produces a cloud around itself that is poisonous to non-evil creatures and strengthens evil creatures

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]]. Not sure why they are listed as true tanar'ri, as they are actually weaker than several of the demons in both the lesser and greater classes.
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T23:06:58Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Lesser Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Gadacro]]''': A small sneaky demon that likes to blind enemies.
For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.
*'''[[Solemith]]''': A large obese demon with a transparent stomach filled with the faces of the other demons and petitioners it has eaten. Their flesh is explosive, and they fight by tearing off pieces of their flesh and throwing them like bombs.
*'''[[Uridezu]]''': Cowardly rat people with a paralyzing bite, command over rats, and the ability to teleport between planes, but not during combat. They enjoy serving under a master, but because other demons abuse them they often are found serving mortal masters on the material plane.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.
*'''[[Adaru]]''': A millipede with a man's face that is able to charm other tanar'ri and constantly produces a cloud around itself that is poisonous to non-evil creatures and strengthens evil creatures

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:53:29Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Lesser Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Gadacro]]''': A small sneaky demon that likes to blind enemies.
For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.
*'''[[Solemith]]''': A large obese demon with a transparent stomach filled with the faces of the other demons and petitioners it has eaten. Their flesh is explosive, and they fight by tearing off pieces of their flesh and throwing them like bombs.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.
*'''[[Adaru]]''': A millipede with a man's face that is able to charm other tanar'ri and constantly produces a cloud around itself that is poisonous to non-evil creatures and strengthens evil creatures

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:44:27Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Least Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Gadacro]]''': A small sneaky demon that likes to blind enemies.
For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.
*'''[[Adaru]]''': A millipede with a man's face that is able to charm other tanar'ri and constantly produces a cloud around itself that is poisonous to non-evil creatures and strengthens evil creatures

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:34:57Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.
*'''[[Adaru]]''': A millipede with a man's face that is able to charm other tanar'ri and constantly produces a cloud around itself that is poisonous to non-evil creatures and strengthens evil creatures

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Slime

2020-07-26T22:28:46Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Pre-3rd Edition */

[[File:The gelatinous green cube by shockbolt.jpg|500px|thumbnail|right|[[Halfling]] [[Rogue]] rolled a 1 to Intelligence...or should it be Wisdom? Or maybe both?]]

{{topquote|A slime draws near!|Every Dragon Quest game ever}}

The '''Slime''', also known as the '''Ooze''', the '''Gel''', the '''Jelly''', or the '''Goo''', is a humble form of monster that pops up in absolutely ''every'' frigging fantasy setting you can imagine, and even a few science-fiction settings. It is most famous in tabletop games for its many diffuse forms in [[Dungeons & Dragons]] and in videogames for [[/v/|Dragon Quest]] (in which it serves as the mascot and also has a fucking huge array of possible slime-forms), but, like we said, you can find a slime just about everywhere if you look.

Slimes are usually low to middle tier threat levels; they are mindless masses of animate sludge, and some higher-level variants may be made of elemental matter, such as water, "liquid ice", magma, molten steel, etc. They have no culture or higher purposes, they just ooze around eating anything organic they touch and growing bigger until they have to divide. Hardly likely to outwit most adventurers, but many games make them fairly resistant to certain kinds of attack, especially physical ones, so just assuming they're harmless is a good way to get dissolved. One prominent commenter described fighting a slime as "playing a terrifying game of 'guess the immunity'," referencing to the fact that unless you have your appropriate Monster Manuals memorised, you can rarely predict what will kill a slime variety outright. And guessing wrong can sometimes be worse than not trying, because using the ''wrong'' damage type can cause the slime in question to get stronger or divide into more slimes. And what they are or are not vulnerable to isn't always consistent between editions. A lot of them are also [[Gotcha Monster]]s because of their use of camouflage or near invisibility. This is often enforced by their slow speed that ensure an unsupported ooze can simply be fled from. Their lack of biological needs aside from hunger (solved by dropping scraps to them) means they are often used as part of mundane traps, like an ooze at the bottom of a pit trap.

==Slimes in Dungeons and Dragons==
===Pre-3rd Edition===
* Gelatinous Cube: Perhaps the most notorious slime to come out of the tabletop game field is the gelatinous cube, a D&D monstrosity that takes the form of a huge cube-shaped mass of near-translucent gray or green jelly, perfectly sized for oozing through the typical dungeon corridor as a living, insurmountable barrier. It was originally created by Gary Gygax as a joke, being the exact size of one grid square. Like the [[Rust Monster]] and [[Owlbear]], it's one of those absurdities that everyone pokes fun at, but which has too much nostalgic fondness from the fanbase for anyone to seriously consider getting rid of it. Later, fortunately, it ''did'' come with a half-assed explanation: wizards breed them as living janitorial services to clean the garbage out of the perfectly-square corridors of their evil dungeons. As it's also mostly-transparent, save for the dissolving bits of armor floating in it like fruit in a jello dessert, walking straight into it only to be engulfed is an occupational hazard for dungeon-delvers. It has a paralyzing touch. Its weaknesses vary depending on the edition.

* Black Pudding / Deadly Puddings: Has nothing to do with the food called black pudding - this one has come to take Sam Tarly. Comes in other colors besides black, depending on what environment they are found in. All of the different colors are called Deadly Puddings. Can split if hit by weapons or lightning. Black puddings can dissolve organic material and metal. White puddings look identical to ice and snow and can instantly dissolve organic matter. Dun puddings live in deserts and can instantly dissolve leather, and can also eat metal. Brown puddings live in marshes and can instantly dissolve leather and wood. Stone puddings, grey puddings, and dense puddings all live underground. Stone puddings are slow moving and attack by dropping on prey from the ceiling, but can only dissolve flesh. Grey puddings can dissolve leather, wood, and metal, including magical armor, but they also are vulnerable to certain spells. Dense puddings are smarter than other puddings and infect people they attack with a debilitating disease, but are slower and not well camouflaged because of their blue color but they can only dissolve living flesh.

* Grey Ooze: Can rapidly corrode non magical metal similarly to a Rust Monster, but cannot dissolve stone. Is immune to cold and fire. Can camouflage itself as a puddle of water. In 5th edition they can sometimes develop the ability to use psychic attacks. Grey oozes are completely different in 4th edition. They have a foul smell that give an attack penalty and their acid attack can melt your bones.

* Green Slime: Green slimes are mostly immobile and are more similar to plants. Their only attack that they have is dropping on people who walk under them. Anybody who touches one will turn into one if they are not cured quickly. They are vulnerable only to fire, cold, and cure disease spells. They can eat through both metal and wood. The Green Slime returned in 4th edition but heavily changed. It is no longer immobile or able to infect people with a touch, but still prefers to surprise enemies by dropping on them. It is weak against fire and light. Green Slime returns again in 5th edition, but is now classified as a dungeon hazard instead of a monster and so doesn't have stats, though its traits are similar to how it behaved in early editions. It destroys metal and organic material on contact and can be destroyed by sunlight, anything that cures disease, or anything that does fire, cold, or radiant damage.

* Ochre Jelly: Similar to a black pudding but somewhat weaker. Only dissolves flesh. Can split if hit by weapons or lightning.

* Crystal Ooze: Native to the caverns of the Plane of Earth, these crystalline slimes usually subsist on the minerals found in rocks with the oldest being fuck hueg. While they're content to just leech what they need from their surroundings, Crystal Oozes will attack any living creature for the minerals in them and they're no push-overs either. Their slam attacks deal piercing and slashing damage and can crit on rolls of 18-20. They also give off a Subsonic Hum that can stun an opponent while the Ooze slithers over and engulfs them at their leisure. If the victim fails their Fortitude save, they become petrified and a new Crystal Ooze pops out in 1d4 hours. They're immune to the cold and electricity and resist fire; however, their bodies can shatter and split from bludgeoning and sonic attacks. Crystal oozes are completely different in second edition D&D. Instead, they are a variant of grey ooze that lives underwater and corrodes organic material, but not metal. Weapons can only deal 1 point of damage to a crystal oozes.

* Slithering Tracker: An intelligent slime that is nearly transparent. It paralyzes victims and slowly drains them of plasma. They are said to be created from humanoids who willingly gave up their forms to get revenge on somebody they hated.

* Mustard Jelly: What happens when an idiot wizard tries to polymorph into an Ochre Jelly. It produces poisonous fumes that smell like mustard and slow down those who breathe them in. It is intelligent and can split in two at will, instead of splitting when hit with weapons. It cannot climb up walls or squeeze through tight spaces like ochre jellies can. It is immune to normal weapons, takes half damage from cold and the magic missile spell heals it, and it can eat through wood.

* Olive Slime: A plant like slime similar to the green slime, but even more dangerous. Like the green slime it is immobile and attacks by dropping on people that walk under it, and it produces a venom that causes numbness so the victim may not even notice the attack. It possesses the victims it infects and slowly eats them from the inside out, turning them into plant like zombies that melt into olive slime when they die, and can spread the infection. It is immune to everything except acid, fire, cold, and cure disease spells, and spells that affect plants. The zombies are the same except they are weak to magic missile instead of cure disease. If a olive slime meets a green slime then one of them will destroy the other.

* Stunjelly: Similar to a gelatinous cube. It disguises itself as a stone wall, although remains semi transparent. It has most of the same weaknesses as a gelatinous cube, except that cold affects it normally.

* Aballin: Also known as "living water", aballins are a type of slime that resembles a pool of stagnant water, strangely devoid of life and full of metals like coins and armor. Despite looking like water, Aballins are composed of a weak acid, which it uses to digest their victims after wrapping around their heads and drowning them (which means water breathing is pointless). Due to their semi-liquid bodies, they prefer to live in water but slither like slugs (up to a 30 degree slope). Unlike most other slimes, its roughly as smart as a wild animal and can learn to hunt its prey. Legend has it that the first was a druid polymorphed by an archwizard's curse. They are immune to fire, cold, and electricity, but are vulnerable to spells that affect water, and when they are pretending to be a pool of water they cannot be harmed by anything that wouldn't affect a pool of water. They also cannot be damaged by piercing and slashing weapons, and if you try there is a chance you will hit the person the aballin is trying to drown instead.

* Lava Ooze: An ooze made of lava. They are immune to fire and vulnerable to cold. In third edition, it consumes metal and stone, but cannot digest gems, which become stuck its body until it is killed.

* Ghaunadan: An shapechanger that serves the god [[Ghaunadaur]] whose true form resembles an ooze but also can transform into a either a male human or a female [[Drow]] (So yes, this means that [[#Monstergirls|slimegirls]] are totally canon in D&D). In humanoid form they have a charming gaze and in ooze form their attacks cause paralysis. They are resistant to blunt weapons and while in ooze form can disarm enemies by trapping their weapons in its body.

* Flareater: A slime that likes to drop on prey from the ceiling. They are mobile unlike green slimes. While they can eat flesh, their favorite foods are light sources. They can increase their hitpoints by consuming both magical and non-magical light sources, and split when they reach enough hitpoints. They are immune to damage from light, heat, and fire, although long term sun exposer will kill them, and they are paralyzed by cold damage.

* Symbiotic Jelly: An intelligent slime that lives in a cave where it charms a carnivorous monster and uses illusions to make the monster appear as something less dangerous and add fake treasure to the cave to act as bait. When the monster it has charmed feeds on meat it somehow remotely feeds the slime as well.

* Acid Blob: A smaller slime that moves by bouncing around and likes to hunt in packs. They can corrode metal.

* Alkilith: A [[Tanar'ri]] with the form of an ooze. They exist to spread corruption and pollution, and by infesting a door or a window they can transform it into a portal to the [[Abyss]].

===3rd/3.5 Edition===

* Bone Ooze: A massive ooze that feeds by sucking people's bones out. Its insides are filled with sharp bone shards and they're stupidly deadly. They came back in 4th edition, renamed to bone collector, and classified as an undead ooze.

* Flesh Jelly: A blob of flesh covered in a layer of skin. It grows by absorbing living creatures. Touching one can infect you with a disease called filth fever. [[Luke|It also has an overwhelmingly foul smell]].

* Reason Stealer: An unintelligent ooze with a craving for intelligence. When it delivers a killing blow it steal the victim's mind, gaining their stats, feats, skills, and prepared arcane spells for 24 hours, after which it becomes mindless again.

* Teratomorph: A reality warping slime. Although it is neutral aligned like most slimes it has a lot of chaotic abilities. Its touch can, at random, weaken your stats, polymorph you, make it stick to you, or, if you are really unlucky, instantly absorb you. It randomly opens portals to other planes in the area around it. It also warps the environment around it, making attacks and dexterity checks more difficult, and has a chance of hitting everything around it with two random spells. It has the ability to detect law. It is immune to chaotic spells, lightning, and acid. Weapons have a chance of completely missing due to the section of its body you are attacking suddenly shifting to another dimension before you hit it unless it is affect by a dimensional anchor.

* Arcane Ooze: Is immune to spells and can steal spells from arcane spellcasters to give themselves temporary hitpoints. Magical acid attacks heal them, and magical lightning attacks speed them up.

* [[Living Spells|Living Spell]] (Template): One of the newer additions to the family. Originating in ''Eberron'''s Mournlands, one of many results of the Day of Mourning, but since adapted to "generic" D&D Living spell is a template that is applied to one or more spells instead of a creature to make a creature based on that spell or spells. It is always typed as an ooze. Enemies that are slammed or engulfed by the living spell are affected as though they were hit by the spell or spells it is based on. Living spells are also very resistant to magic. In 5th edition they are classified as constructs instead of oozes.

* Snowflake Ooze: A snow like ooze that live in cold climates and inflicts cold damage. It is immune to cold and vulnerable to fire, piercing attack have a chance of harmlessly passing through it, and bludgeoning attacks cause it to split.

* Summoning Ooze: A inteligent living summoning circle created by a summoning ritual gone wrong. It has the ability to cast summon monster spells. Immune to acid and fire.

* Bloodfire Ooze: An evil ooze made out of burning hot blood. It is created through ritually mixing the blood of 100 good or neutral humanoids with a demon's ichor. Is immune to fire and resistant to acid and electricity, and vulnerable to cold. It attacks with fire, and can empower fire spells cast within 60 feet of it.

* Corrupture: An amphibious ooze made of acidic liquid flesh that appears in areas where nature has been defiled by magic or pollution and attacks by spraying acid.

* Conflagration Ooze: An intelligent ooze that attacks with a poison that causes your insides to burst into flame. Is immune to fire and vulnerable to cold. Some of them also explode when they die.

* Graveyard Sludge: A slime made of necrotic energies and powered by the souls of the dead.When powerful necromancy is used around the dead, usually at graveyards during rituals or a [[Lich]] accending (though a really strong spell will do), the slime is formed and begins to hunt down any corpses to feed on the spiritual energy. The energy is used to defend itself but Liches like to use them as a means to bolster themselves. Graveyard Sludges can also cast 5th level or lower spells if they've fed on enough spellcasters. Their abilities are somewhat different in third edition. Creatures that die within 20 feet of graveyard sludge come back as zombies with an acid attack. They can cause fear, and strengthen undead creatures. They are immune to acid, and they are both alive and dead, so they are healed both by heal and inflict spells.

* Bloodbloater: A tiny aquatic ooze that drinks blood and attacks in swarms. Looks like an oversized cell. Because they are a swarm, they are immune to weapons and single target spells.

* Flotsam Ooze: An aquatic ooze with a very sticky body which collects debris.

* Reekmurk: A huge black aquatic ooze that lives in the depths of the ocean or in underground lakes. They can dissolve wood and have a powerful stench. They are immune to cold, but have a vulnerability to sunlight and spells that act like sunlight.

* Ethereal Ooze: An incorporeal ooze from the ethereal plane.

* Bloodrot: Not actually a true slime, but is really a form of undead made from the remains of somebody who died by being completely dissolved in acid. Infects people with a magical disease called blood fever that causes the victim to melt into a puddle when they die which the blood rot eats. They can hide inside of the bloodstream of anyone who is infected with blood fever. They can also sense the location of anybody who is infected with blood fever within several miles, so if you escape from a battle with one but are infected then more will be attracted to you. Like many true oozes, it can split apart if hit by slashing or piercing damage. It came back again in 4th edition, now classified as an undead ooze, but lost its unique mechanics.

* Brine Ooze: An ooze that lives in deserts. It either hides in salt lakes or pretends to be a pool of water. It has the ability to rapidly desiccate whatever it slams into and is immune to desiccation itself. Slashing and piercing damage causes it to split.

* Cesspit Ooze: An ooze found in impoverished urban areas that feeds on fear and misery. They form spontaneously from the corpses of people who decayed in sewage or refuse in places near strong sources of magic. Its acid can dissolve organic and metallic materials but not stone. Those who are damaged by its acid may be driven into an uncontrollable rage. They have an overwhelming stink that sickens those that get too close to it. When they die, they explode and splatter acid around them. Slashing and piercing damage makes it split. They are immune to acid and resistant to electricity and fire, but have a weakness against positive energy similar to undead creatures. It is also more intelligent that other kinds of oozes, and are considered to be chaotic evil instead of neutral unlike other oozes.

* Sentry Ooze (Template): An ooze that has been modified with magic to make it stronger and more intelligent so it can act a guardian for a dungeon.

* Welp of Zargon: Those infected by [[Zargon]]'s slime may transform into humanoid slime creatures. They deal acid damage and can also infect people with Zargon's slime. Creatures that get too close to one may be stunned by its horrific resemblance to its former self.

* Venom Ooze: A more dangerous glowing variant of the Ochre Jelly that was engineered by the [[drow]]. They are immune to cold, acid, and electricity, and have the ability to poison large bodies of water.

* Blood Amniote: ''Another'' monster made of blood. It is classified as an undead but has all the traits of an ooze. It is a huge mass of blood with the faces of people it has killed that makes people it touches expel their blood through their skin and it splits in two when it drains enough blood. They also came back in 4th edition as an undead ooze.

===4th Edition===
* Slime Devil: A devil specializing in interrogation that is also an ooze. It engulfs people and asks them questions, inflicting psychic damage if they lie.

* Abolethic [[Skum]]: Sometimes when an [[Aboleth]] enslaves someone, the process goes wrong and turns them into an ooze. Abolethic Skums are invisible while in water and have an aura that makes enemies vulnerable to psychic attacks. It is a minion type enemy so it dies in one hit.

* Spirit Ooze: An ooze formed from bits of insubstantial undead. They can hover and after hitting an enemy with their main attack become harder to damage and can shift by one square for one turn.

===5th Edition===
* [[Oblex]]: Has the ability to create exact copies of anyone it has eaten except for the cord of slime attaching the copies to the oblex.

===Pathfinder===
* Deathtrap Ooze: Reversing the ooze used as part of a trap gimmick, a deathtrap ooze ''is'' the trap. Able to transform into any trap with one or fewer moving part, a deathtrap ooze can pretend to be disabled and attack adventurers from the rear or attack the poor sap attempting to disable it outright, and that's assuming it's even found.
* Gunpowder Ooze: An ooze, made of gunpowder. Continuing the "guess the weakness" game above, it has vulnerability to fire but explodes and splits upon taking fire damage. It also coats people it attacks in gunpowder, making ''them'' liable to blowing up. The split and auto-combustion mean that this CR14 monster can be killed by nothing but two vials of alchemist fire creating a chain reaction of the split oozes blowing each other up. This means they're more living traps than anything.
* Hungry Flesh: An artifical ooze made of a huge pile of flesh. Thankfully they have very high nutritional needs (their own 3000 pound weight in food daily) so they'll quickly starve without support.
* Sapphire Ooze: A sapient, extraplanar, good aligned ooze that can talk?! This ooze can transform into living armor for a creature and buff things with saves against fear. Being the rare sapient ooze, they actually have a personality: [[Leeroy Jenkins|Overeager adventure seekers that often get into trouble themselves.]]
* Carnivorous Blob: Have you ever wanted to run a campaign based on the 80s version of “The Blob”? Use this, and accept no substitutes!
* Sewer Ooze: A low level ooze made of sewage that lives in the sewers under large cities.
* Slime Demon (Omox): A demon made of sewage that delights in desecrating bodies of water.

===Slime Deities===

* [[Juiblex]]: The demon lord of slimes and oozes.

* [[Ghaunadaur]]: The god of slimes and oozes, who may or may not be the same being as Juiblex.

* [[Zargon]]: An [[Elder Evils|Elder Evil]] associated with slimes.

* [[Bwimb]]: The [[Archomental]] of ooze. Got killed by [[Orcus|Tenebrous]] and replaced by his daughter Bwimb II.

==Slimes in Dragon Quest==
The slime is the mascot of the Dragon Quest video game series. Basic slimes are blue raindrop shaped creatures with cute faces. They come in a wide number of variants. One such variant are metal slimes, which give huge rewards for defeating them but are ridiculously difficult to beat due to their defensive abilities and tendency to run away before you can do any significant damage. Due to how iconic they are, [[TVTropes]] uses Metal Slime as the trope name for rare enemies in games that are tough to beat but give huge rewards. Not all slimes in the Dragon Quest are enemies. Good slimes usually introduce themselves by saying "I'm not a bad slime!"

==That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime==
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is an [[Isekai]] light novel and [[anime]], about a normal Japanese man who dies and ends up in the body of a slime in a world resembling the Dragon Quest games. Slimes in this world are normaly unintelligent and weak monsters, but this slime happens to have the most broken ability in the world: the ability to copy the skills and form of whatever they eat. They befriend a powerful dragon and become the chief of a [[Goblin]] village, which they expand into a new nation. It is actually surprisingly good by isekai standards.

==[[Monstergirl]]s==
{{Monstergirls}}
Surprisingly, slimes have long been given the [[monstergirls]] treatment: Slime Girls (also known as Goo Girls) are typically not very smart, but very affectionate and horny, and their gelatinous bodies have a ''lot'' of kinky shit they can do in the bedroom. In the more restrained versions a slime will engulf a guy while milking him dry, giving him a full body hug. This frequently results in cum floating around in the slime's body, often going towards a the slime's "heart", a core of a color that contrasts the body that is said to hold the slime's soul. It is often an erogenous zone [[/d/|because of course it is]]. In more extreme cases the slime will also penetrate the guy, engaging in stuff like sounding, or fucking him in the ass while he fucks her in the... well, [[Dark Eldar|everywhere is a hole for a Slime]]. There are also a few cases where [[vore]] starts to be involved, which would be a bit more true to nature for the slimes of D&D fame.

===MGE Slimes===
The Slime is one of the most profuse species in the [[Monster Girl Encyclopedia]] so far, second only to the [[Succubus]] family in terms of diverse members. The slimes of the MGE were heavily influenced by the slimes of the popular fantasy gaming series "Dragon Quest", with the Slime Queen and Slime Carrier in particular being derived from members of that series' vast array of slimes.

Your standard Slime in the MGE world is a dim-witted, happy-go-lucky aimless drifter that just squiggles around looking for a guy to sex. These stand out mostly via their blue coloration.

The Red Slime, in comparison, is smarter and more aggressive.

The green Bubble Slime has a unique chemical composition that causes her to constantly secrete bubbles of noxious-smelling gas. As a side-effect, she's no longer as sticky and cohesive as other slimes, making her grapples easier to escape. However, her substance is a powerful and addictive aphrodisiac, which eventually leaves her victim dependent upon regular ingestions of her drug-like mass. She was one of the first of the [[grimdark]] mamono.

The purple Dark Slime is an extremely powerful succubus/slime hybrid native to Demon Realms. The only slime-girl in the MGE with a core (thus far), they're also smart and predatory; they have the unique ability to corrupt human women, transforming them into new Dark Slimes, via a process that basically involves enveloping the women in their body, orgasmically digesting her alive, and then reforming her as a new slime.

Slime Queens are sometimes mistaken for normal slimes due to their being the same blue color. These slimes suffer a mutation that renders them incapable of physically dividing to reproduce like a normal slime; instead, they swell to massive proportions, and can manifest multiple slimegirl "bodies" from their central mass as they see fit, all of which are, of course, extensions of the slime's singular mind. The bigger she grows, the smarter she becomes. Kenkou Cross has asserted that there are actually Slime Queen variants for all of the standard slimes.

Sea Slimes are jellyfish-girls who live in the ocean, and so lack the shapeshifting prowess of their standard cousins.

Nureonagos are a Zipangu breed of slime whose name comes from a yokai that manifested as a soaking wet girl who comes wandering around on rainy nights. The Nureonago mamono is a slime with especially advanced mimicry abilities, allowing her to take the form of a solid human girl in clothes - but she can't deny her nature, and so always looks soaking wet.

Likewise, the Shoggoth is a slime-girl maid who specializes in shapeshifting, specifically in extruding pseudopods and shaping them into tools to help her do her various chores.

The Parasite Slime is a slime that can't take on a slime-girl form of its own, instead attacking human women and raping them until their mind breaks before using them as lures to attract human men to be their partners, turning them into the mindless fuck-puppets called "Slime Carriers". This is one of the two slimes that compete for the title of "most fucked-up mamono in the MGE".

The Humpty Egg is the ''other'' slime contender. See, in the region of the MGE world known as "Wonderland", there's a super-horny, busty and fluffy [[harpy]] species caled the Jubjub Bird. These harpies lay eggs, and if a man gets too close to an unhatched egg, there is a good chance that the unborn chick inside will become aware of his spiritual energies and react by ''bursting out of her shell as a horny [[loli]] slime-girl made of egg-guts'', essentially aborting herself to have sex faster. Consisting of a [[loli]] made up of goopy, semi-solid egg-yolk and surrounded by a malleable mass of egg-white they use to form the traditional slime pseudopods. These slimes actually lay eggs when they get pregnant, which usually hatch into new Jubjubs, but are more likely than "normal" Jubjub eggs to turn into Humpty Eggs. This species was met with considerable outcry when it was released, with even many [[loli]] fans going "seriously, dude, this is going too far!" (Was this supposed to be Rule 34 of Sanrio's Gudetama? If it is then it may be even more sick. Poor Gudetama! He doesn't deserve this.)

===Gallery===
<center>
<gallery>
File:MGE Slime.jpg|A normal slime.
File:MGE Red Slime.jpg|A red slime.
File:MGE Bubble Slime.jpg|A bubble slime.
File:MGE Dark Slime.jpg|A dark slime.
File:MGE Slime Queen.jpg|A Slime Queen.
File:MGE Shoggoth.jpg|A [[Shoggoth]].
File:MGE Nureonago.jpg|A Nurenago.
</gallery>
</center>

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category: Monsters]]

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:22:51Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: Undo revision 676799 by 2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7 (talk)

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:21:56Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Types of Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-26T22:19:33Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.
*'''[[Cerebrilith]]''': A large hunchbacked demon with an oversized protruding spine which its brain visibly extends into. They have psionic abilities.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T20:55:01Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Inside the Hierarchy */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon Narzugon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Legion Devil''', or Merregon, are the weakest footsoldiers of hell who all look identical to each other. They are sharp-toothed red-skinned humanoids whose left arms are bloated, covered in metal, and end in a useless vestigial hand. They wear armor and carry a sword in their right hand. They have several abilities that make them more dangerous when they are in large groups. For example, legion devils in a group all share hit points with each other such that it is not possible to down just one of them, but when the group runs out of hit points they all drop dead at the same time. And if you target a single legion devil with a mind affecting spell, all of the legion devils around it also get a saving throw, and the spell fails if just one of the succeeds, but if none of them succeed it will affect all of them instead of just one.
* An '''Advespa''', are low class devils resembling giant black wasps with a woman's face. The more yellow strips on their body the higher their rank. They can quickly regenerate from damage except for acid and holy damage.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Narzugons''' or Hell Kights are the cavalry of hell, who ride on flaming horses called Nightmares. They are humanoids wearing spiky armor. Narzugons hate everything including themselves but are surprisingly honorable and obedient, as they are formed from the souls of former paladins who fell into evil as a result of following the letter instead of the spirit of the law, and so are filled with [[RAGE]] from learning that their actions in life were wrong.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T20:36:40Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Inside the Hierarchy */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon Narzugon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Legion Devil''', or Merregon, are the weakest footsoldiers of hell who all look identical to each other. They are sharp-toothed red-skinned humanoids whose left arms are bloated, covered in metal, and end in a useless vestigial hand. They wear armor and carry a sword in their right hand. They have several abilities that make them more dangerous when they are in large groups. For example, legion devils in a group all share hit points with each other such that it is not possible to down just one of them, but when the group runs out of hit points they all drop dead at the same time. And if you target a single legion devil with a mind affecting spell, all of the legion devils around it also get a saving throw, and the spell fails if just one of the succeeds, but if none of them succeed it will affect all of them instead of just one.
* An '''Advespa''', are low class devils resembling giant black wasps with a woman's face. The more yellow strips on their body the higher their rank. They can quickly regenerate from damage except for acid and holy damage.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Narzugons''' or Hell Kights are the cavalry of hell, who ride on flaming horses called Nightmares. They are humanoids wearing spiky armor. Narzugons hate everything including themselves but are surprisingly honorable and obedient, as they are formed from the souls of former paladins who fell into evil as a result of following the letter instead of the spirit of the law and fell, and so are filled with [[RAGE]] from learning that their actions in life were wrong.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T20:23:30Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* The Hierarchy of Hell */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon Narzugon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Legion Devil''', or Merregon, are the weakest footsoldiers of hell who all look identical to each other. They are sharp-toothed red-skinned humanoids whose left arms are bloated, covered in metal, and end in a useless vestigial hand. They wear armor and carry a sword in their right hand. They have several abilities that make them more dangerous when they are in large groups. For example, legion devils in a group all share hit points with each other such that it is not possible to down just one of them, but when the group runs out of hit points they all drop dead at the same time. And if you target a single legion devil with a mind affecting spell, all of the legion devils around it also get a saving throw, and the spell fails if just one of the succeeds, but if none of them succeed it will affect all of them instead of just one.
* An '''Advespa''', are low class devils resembling giant black wasps with a woman's face. The more yellow strips on their body the higher their rank. They can quickly regenerate from damage except for acid and holy damage.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T19:27:52Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* The Hierarchy of Hell */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T19:27:17Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* The Hierarchy of Hell */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil
Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Baatezu

2020-07-26T19:26:53Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* The Hierarchy of Hell */

[[Image:Baatezu Army.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No, not that kind of [[PROMOTIONS|Promotion]], at least, [[Monstergirl|probably not.]]]]
The [[Alignment|lawful evil]] badguys from another dimension, in [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called ''The Nine Hells''. This change was because of one-time CEO of [[TSR]] [[Lorraine Williams]], due to the events of the [[Satanic Panic]]. The term ''Baatezu'' is a [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|trademark of Wizards Of The Coast]], so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor [[Pathfinder]]. Their home is now called "[[Baator]]", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the [[Blood War]] against the [[Tanar'ri]] at behest of [[Asmodeus]], the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an [[Grimdark|extensive period of torture]] to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

==The Hierarchy of Hell==
Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Punishment || Fallen Angels || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure
|-
| || 2 || Legion Devil, Advespa|| Nupperibo || || White Abishai
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil || || || Black Abishai
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 4 || Bearded Devil || || || Green Abishai
|-
| || 5 || Imp || || || Blue Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Steel Devil || || || Red Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Chain Devil
|-
| || 8 || Harvester Devil Pain Devil || || Erinyes
|-
| || 9 || Amnizu
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 10 || Bone Devil Orthon || Malebranche
|-
| || 11 || Barbed Devil
|-
| || 12 || Ice Devil || Xerfilstyx
|-
| || 13 || Horned Devil || || Pleasure Devil
|-
| || 14 || Assassin Devil
|-
| || 15 || Paeliryon
|-
| || 16 || Pit Fiend
|}

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progrssion and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to [[Tiamat]], who lives on the first layer of Baator.

==The Devils' Many Forms==
As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

===Inside the Hierarchy===
* A '''Lemure''' is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all [[Lower Planes]] take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.
* A '''Spined Devil''', also known as the Spinagon is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.
* '''Barbazu''' ([[Neckbeard|Bearded Devils]]) are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging [[Barbarian]] would.
* '''Imps''' are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
** The 3rd edition [[Fiend Folio]] details three variant imps. Bloodbag imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.
* '''Steel Devils''' are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell: either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting: a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.
* '''Chain Devils''' resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain. They can swing these around in deadly fashion, tearing at their prey in horrible ways. They can take control of chains in their range and have them attack anyone at will, and while it is possible to break a Kyton's control of a chain they will not let anyone just do this whenever they want. Chain Devils can also change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off and are adept at metalworking. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.
* '''Harvester Devils''' are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil ''starts'' the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by [[Plot Armor|powerful magic]] that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.
* '''Pain Devils''' are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.
* The '''Amnizus''' are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu are particularly ambitious and try their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their [[Derp|intelligence-damaging]] touch.
* '''Bone Devils''' police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth, as they are sometimes called, are freakishly thin and have large stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.
* '''Orthons''' are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and [[World Eaters|only battle takes their mind off of this]]. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters.
* '''Barbed Devils''' serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure.
* '''Ice Devils''', also called Gelugons, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.
* '''Horned Devils''' are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.
* '''Assassin Devils''' are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the [[assassin]] [[prestige class]].
* A '''Corruption Devil''' is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Corruption Devil, also known as a Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.
* The '''Pit Fiends''' are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them ''also'' almost the same thing as a [[Bloodthirster]].

===Other Promotions within the Hierarchy===
* '''Nupperibo''' are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
**At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungnry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabiants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of [[Baator|Stygia]].
***Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.
* The form of the '''Malebranche''' are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force.
* '''Xerfilstyx''' are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.
* Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the '''Erinyes''' originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.
* A '''Pleasure Devil''' is an improved form of the Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than their previous forms, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.
* '''Abishai''' are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves [[Bullshit|far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants]], including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel, [[Skub|hate everyone not of their own kind]]. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai.

==[[Archdevil|The Archdukes of Hell]]==
The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as [[Archdevil]]s seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

== Dungeons & Dragons 4E ==
As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of [[Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition]] have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the [[Satanic Panic]] died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses [[alignment]] as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as [[angel]]s in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; [[Asmodeus]] was once an [[Archangel]] serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of [[Pazuzu]], maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created [[Abyss]] and achieved something that even the [[Demon Prince]]s had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the [[obyrith]]s' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the [[Blood War]] is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even ''more'' and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of [[Baator]]. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that was they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be ''pissed'' with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like [[Zarus]], but not evil.

* '''Imp''' level 3 lurker
* '''Legion Devils''' compose Hell's armies, level 6-21 minions
* '''Spined Devil''' or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
* '''[[Succubus]]''' are devils in 4E not demons, level 9 controller
* '''Chain Devil''' or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
* '''Bearded Devil''' or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
* '''Bone Devil''' or Osyluth, level 17 controller/leader
* '''Ice Devil''' or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
* '''War Devil''' or Malebranche, level 22 brute/leader
* '''Pit Fiend''' level 26 elite soldier/leader

== Dungeons & Dragons 5E ==
{|border=0 align=right cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 style="margin: 1em; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! Category || Rank || Form || Abishai
|-
| '''Least Devils''' || 1 || Lemure Nupperibo
|-
| '''Lesser Devils''' || 2 || Imp
|-
| || 3 || Spined Devil
|-
| || 4 || Bearded Devil Merregon
|-
| || 5 || Barbed Devil || White Abishai
|-
| || 6 || Chain Devil || Black Abishai
|-
| || 7 || Bone Devil
|-
| '''Greater Devils''' || 8 || Horned Devil Orthon
|-
| || 9 || Erinyes ||
|-
| || 10 || Ice Devil Narzugon || Green Abishai Blue Abishai
|-
| || 11 || Pit Fiend Amnizu || Red Abishai
|-
| '''Archdevils''' || 12 || Duke or Duchess
|-
| || 13 || Archduke or Archduchess
|}
In 5e the Hierarchy changed for the Devils.

==Pathfinder==
In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the [[Open Gaming License]]. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been [[Kyton| given its own subspecies]], because... well, bluntly, because ''someone'' over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you ''seen'' [[Zon-Kuthon]]?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight [[Archdevil]]s of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

{{Pathfinder-Fiends}}
{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Giant

2020-07-25T06:01:56Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Giants in D&D */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
{{Topquote|I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!|Edmond Rostand, ''Cyrano de Begerac''}}

In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides [[Neckbeard|obesity]] and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals.

Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns (mostly because that sort of height is caused by pituitary gland tumors leading to the overproduction of growth hormones, but also because it puts more strain on the heart and skeleton than they can handle- more height means more weight for the bones to hold up and more pressure needed to pump blood throughout the body), which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Humans more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes or crutches, and the tallest person who ever lived (at about 2.7 meters) ended up dying at the age of 22 and required leg braces just to stand up.

This is ultimately due to the effects of the square-cube law- when you make an object bigger by a given proportion, its surface area increases by the square of that proportion but its volume is increased by the cube of that proportion. As a result, a 60-foot tall giant with a humanlike anatomy would have 100 times the muscle cross section of a 6-foot tall human but 1000 times that human's mass; every square inch of giant bone would be forced to support ten times as much weight as a human bone despite it not being adapted in itself to handle the additional weight. Such a giant wouldn't have the relative muscle strength needed to support its own weight and would shatter every bone in its legs whenever it tried to take a step, assuming it could even stand up in the first place. (And that's before we even get into the significantly increased need for food and oxygen, or the greater vulnerability to overheating- heat production scales with the cube of an animal's height, and since the surface area through which said heat can dissipate increases with the square of its height it'll generate more heat than it can transfer out.) Aquatic animals like whales get around some of these effects by virtue of buoyancy offsetting gravity somewhat, but even they can only grow so big before those problems begin to reappear.

Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine and mathematics were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Jotunheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extent (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Their lore is roughly the same in Age of Sigmar, with two notable differences; they are now called Gargants instead of Giants, and they all are descendants of a massive god-beast called Behemat. Yes, that means the species was fucked out of civilization twice over.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Warhammer 40000===
There are giants native to [[Fenris]]. The Space Wolf Throth Half-Head is said to have slain Ur-Bolg, the father of giants, with a plasma blade.

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[Bog Giant]], a smaller variety of giant with a frog-like appearance found in wetlands.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Craa'ghoran Giant]]: Evil stone giants that have been twisted by elemental earth energy. Their body are covered in asymmetrical stone spikes and they have several earth related powers.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Death Giant]]: Descendants of a giant race that traded their souls for power. They have black skin, yellow eyes, yellow clawed fingers, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and stand 15 feet tall. They are constantly surrounded by the enslaved souls of those they have killed.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Eldritch Giant]]: 25 foot tall purple-skinned giants who are very interested in arcane magic. They hate storm giants.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff. In 5e they have been changed to just being cloud giants that lost their status in cloud giant society due to losing their wealth and so are desperate to claim as much wealth as they can to get it back.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: Depending on the setting
** One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
** In other settings, forest giants are basically giant [[Wood Elves]].
* [[Geriviar]]: Huge xenophobic reptilian giants with four arms and spiky grey skin. Their bodies grow nodules they can pull off and use like grenades. It is theorized that they may have been engineered to be living siege engines, as they love destroying buildings so much that they sometimes overcome their xenophobia and willingly join armies of other creatures just so they can destroy buildings.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Ocean Giant]]: Basically giant [[Merfolk]]. They normally have a fish body but can change it into legs if they need to.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society. Their hair is prized as the best rope that exists.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Sand Giant]]: Lawful neutral desert dwelling giants that are 12 feet tall and have dark skin. They wield scimitars and exotic weapons called sand blasters.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: There are two completely different monsters called Shadow Giants.
** Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
** In other settings, Shadow Giants are a race feared and hated by other giants due to their reputation for being murderers and assassins. They are the only type of giant that likes to be sneaky. They are sensitive to sunlight and have several darkness related abilities.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Sun Giant]]: Nomadic giants found in deserts. They are immune to fire and vulnerable to cold
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

Lore-wise, Giants are found all over the world, but their biggest effect was in Varisia, where giants of all kinds were enslaved by the ancient Thassilonian Empire.

* Marsh Giant: Degenerate descendants of swamp-dwelling Hill Giant tribes. And they worship [[Dagon]], of all things.
* River Giant: 10-foot-tall river dwellers. Generally Chaotic Alignment, but as with Cloud Giants, they're half-Good, half-Evil.
* Rune Giant: These cross-breeds of Fire and Taiga Giants were bred and altered by Thassalonian mages to control their Giant slaves. Resembling even bigger Taiga Giants with burning runes all over their bodies, Rune Giants can magically command giants(and other creatures), walk on air, and shoot firey sparks from the runes on their bodies.
* Taiga Giant: Grey-Skinned, Red-haired nomads. The unwilling ancestors of Rune Giants, these shamanistic people would much rather you leave them the hell alone.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Giant

2020-07-24T04:47:30Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Giants in D&D */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
{{Topquote|I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!|Edmond Rostand, ''Cyrano de Begerac''}}

In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides [[Neckbeard|obesity]] and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals.

Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns (mostly because that sort of height is caused by pituitary gland tumors leading to the overproduction of growth hormones, but also because it puts more strain on the heart and skeleton than they can handle- more height means more weight for the bones to hold up and more pressure needed to pump blood throughout the body), which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Humans more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes or crutches, and the tallest person who ever lived (at about 2.7 meters) ended up dying at the age of 22 and required leg braces just to stand up.

This is ultimately due to the effects of the square-cube law- when you make an object bigger by a given proportion, its surface area increases by the square of that proportion but its volume is increased by the cube of that proportion. As a result, a 60-foot tall giant with a humanlike anatomy would have 100 times the muscle cross section of a 6-foot tall human but 1000 times that human's mass; every square inch of giant bone would be forced to support ten times as much weight as a human bone despite it not being adapted in itself to handle the additional weight. Such a giant wouldn't have the relative muscle strength needed to support its own weight and would shatter every bone in its legs whenever it tried to take a step, assuming it could even stand up in the first place. (And that's before we even get into the significantly increased need for food and oxygen, or the greater vulnerability to overheating- heat production scales with the cube of an animal's height, and since the surface area through which said heat can dissipate increases with the square of its height it'll generate more heat than it can transfer out.) Aquatic animals like whales get around some of these effects by virtue of buoyancy offsetting gravity somewhat, but even they can only grow so big before those problems begin to reappear.

Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine and mathematics were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Jotunheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extent (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Their lore is roughly the same in Age of Sigmar, with two notable differences; they are now called Gargants instead of Giants, and they all are descendants of a massive god-beast called Behemat. Yes, that means the species was fucked out of civilization twice over.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Warhammer 40000===
There are giants native to [[Fenris]]. The Space Wolf Throth Half-Head is said to have slain Ur-Bolg, the father of giants, with a plasma blade.

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[Bog Giant]], a smaller variety of giant with a frog-like appearance found in wetlands.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Death Giant]]: Descendants of a giant race that traded their souls for power. They have black skin, yellow eyes, yellow clawed fingers, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and stand 15 feet tall. They are constantly surrounded by the enslaved souls of those they have killed.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Eldritch Giant]]: 25 foot tall purple-skinned giants who are very interested in arcane magic. They hate storm giants.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff. In 5e they have been changed to just being cloud giants that lost their status in cloud giant society due to losing their wealth and so are desperate to claim as much wealth as they can to get it back.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: Depending on the setting
** One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
** In other settings, forest giants are basically giant [[Wood Elves]].
* [[Geriviar]]: Huge xenophobic reptilian giants with four arms and spiky grey skin. Their bodies grow nodules they can pull off and use like grenades. It is theorized that they may have been engineered to be living siege engines, as they love destroying buildings so much that they sometimes overcome their xenophobia and willingly join armies of other creatures just so they can destroy buildings.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Ocean Giant]]: Basically giant [[Merfolk]]. They normally have a fish body but can change it into legs if they need to.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society. Their hair is prized as the best rope that exists.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Sand Giant]]: Lawful neutral desert dwelling giants that are 12 feet tall and have dark skin. They wield scimitars and exotic weapons called sand blasters.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: There are two completely different monsters called Shadow Giants.
** Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
** In other settings, Shadow Giants are a race feared and hated by other giants due to their reputation for being murderers and assassins. They are the only type of giant that likes to be sneaky. They are sensitive to sunlight and have several darkness related abilities.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Sun Giant]]: Nomadic giants found in deserts. They are immune to fire and vulnerable to cold
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

Lore-wise, Giants are found all over the world, but their biggest effect was in Varisia, where giants of all kinds were enslaved by the ancient Thassilonian Empire.

* Marsh Giant: Degenerate descendants of swamp-dwelling Hill Giant tribes. And they worship [[Dagon]], of all things.
* River Giant: 10-foot-tall river dwellers. Generally Chaotic Alignment, but as with Cloud Giants, they're half-Good, half-Evil.
* Rune Giant: These cross-breeds of Fire and Taiga Giants were bred and altered by Thassalonian mages to control their Giant slaves. Resembling even bigger Taiga Giants with burning runes all over their bodies, Rune Giants can magically command giants(and other creatures), walk on air, and shoot firey sparks from the runes on their bodies.
* Taiga Giant: Grey-Skinned, Red-haired nomads. The unwilling ancestors of Rune Giants, these shamanistic people would much rather you leave them the hell alone.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T04:13:12Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */ Also not tanar'ri

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T04:12:31Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Least Tanar'ri */ Not tanar'ri

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Giant

2020-07-24T02:15:27Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Giants in D&D */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
{{Topquote|I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!|Edmond Rostand, ''Cyrano de Begerac''}}

In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides [[Neckbeard|obesity]] and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals.

Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns (mostly because that sort of height is caused by pituitary gland tumors leading to the overproduction of growth hormones, but also because it puts more strain on the heart and skeleton than they can handle- more height means more weight for the bones to hold up and more pressure needed to pump blood throughout the body), which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Humans more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes or crutches, and the tallest person who ever lived (at about 2.7 meters) ended up dying at the age of 22 and required leg braces just to stand up.

This is ultimately due to the effects of the square-cube law- when you make an object bigger by a given proportion, its surface area increases by the square of that proportion but its volume is increased by the cube of that proportion. As a result, a 60-foot tall giant with a humanlike anatomy would have 100 times the muscle cross section of a 6-foot tall human but 1000 times that human's mass; every square inch of giant bone would be forced to support ten times as much weight as a human bone despite it not being adapted in itself to handle the additional weight. Such a giant wouldn't have the relative muscle strength needed to support its own weight and would shatter every bone in its legs whenever it tried to take a step, assuming it could even stand up in the first place. (And that's before we even get into the significantly increased need for food and oxygen, or the greater vulnerability to overheating- heat production scales with the cube of an animal's height, and since the surface area through which said heat can dissipate increases with the square of its height it'll generate more heat than it can transfer out.) Aquatic animals like whales get around some of these effects by virtue of buoyancy offsetting gravity somewhat, but even they can only grow so big before those problems begin to reappear.

Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine and mathematics were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Jotunheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extent (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Their lore is roughly the same in Age of Sigmar, with two notable differences; they are now called Gargants instead of Giants, and they all are descendants of a massive god-beast called Behemat. Yes, that means the species was fucked out of civilization twice over.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Warhammer 40000===
There are giants native to [[Fenris]]. The Space Wolf Throth Half-Head is said to have slain Ur-Bolg, the father of giants, with a plasma blade.

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[Bog Giant]], a smaller variety of giant with a frog-like appearance found in wetlands.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Death Giant]]: Descendants of a giant race that traded their souls for power. They have black skin, yellow eyes, yellow clawed fingers, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and stand 15 feet tall. They are constantly surrounded by the enslaved souls of those they have killed.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Eldritch Giant]]: 25 foot tall purple-skinned giants who are very interested in arcane magic. They hate storm giants.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff. In 5e they have been changed to just being cloud giants that lost their status in cloud giant society due to losing their wealth and so are desperate to claim as much wealth as they can to get it back.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
* [[Geriviar]]: Huge xenophobic reptilian giants with four arms and spiky grey skin. Their bodies grow nodules they can pull off and use like grenades. It is theorized that they may have been engineered to be living siege engines, as they love destroying buildings so much that they sometimes overcome their xenophobia and willingly join armies of other creatures just so they can destroy buildings.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society. Their hair is prized as the best rope that exists.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Sand Giant]]: Lawful neutral desert dwelling giants that are 12 feet tall and have dark skin. They wield scimitars and exotic weapons called sand blasters.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: There are two completely different monsters called Shadow Giants.
** Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
** In other settings, Shadow Giants are a race feared and hated by other giants due to their reputation for being murderers and assassins. They are the only type of giant that likes to be sneaky. They are sensitive to sunlight and have several darkness related abilities.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

Lore-wise, Giants are found all over the world, but their biggest effect was in Varisia, where giants of all kinds were enslaved by the ancient Thassilonian Empire.

* Marsh Giant: Degenerate descendants of swamp-dwelling Hill Giant tribes. And they worship [[Dagon]], of all things.
* River Giant: 10-foot-tall river dwellers. Generally Chaotic Alignment, but as with Cloud Giants, they're half-Good, half-Evil.
* Rune Giant: These cross-breeds of Fire and Taiga Giants were bred and altered by Thassalonian mages to control their Giant slaves. Resembling even bigger Taiga Giants with burning runes all over their bodies, Rune Giants can magically command giants(and other creatures), walk on air, and shoot firey sparks from the runes on their bodies.
* Taiga Giant: Grey-Skinned, Red-haired nomads. The unwilling ancestors of Rune Giants, these shamanistic people would much rather you leave them the hell alone.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Giant

2020-07-24T02:05:10Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Giants in D&D */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
{{Topquote|I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!|Edmond Rostand, ''Cyrano de Begerac''}}

In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides [[Neckbeard|obesity]] and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals.

Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns (mostly because that sort of height is caused by pituitary gland tumors leading to the overproduction of growth hormones, but also because it puts more strain on the heart and skeleton than they can handle- more height means more weight for the bones to hold up and more pressure needed to pump blood throughout the body), which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Humans more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes or crutches, and the tallest person who ever lived (at about 2.7 meters) ended up dying at the age of 22 and required leg braces just to stand up.

This is ultimately due to the effects of the square-cube law- when you make an object bigger by a given proportion, its surface area increases by the square of that proportion but its volume is increased by the cube of that proportion. As a result, a 60-foot tall giant with a humanlike anatomy would have 100 times the muscle cross section of a 6-foot tall human but 1000 times that human's mass; every square inch of giant bone would be forced to support ten times as much weight as a human bone despite it not being adapted in itself to handle the additional weight. Such a giant wouldn't have the relative muscle strength needed to support its own weight and would shatter every bone in its legs whenever it tried to take a step, assuming it could even stand up in the first place. (And that's before we even get into the significantly increased need for food and oxygen, or the greater vulnerability to overheating- heat production scales with the cube of an animal's height, and since the surface area through which said heat can dissipate increases with the square of its height it'll generate more heat than it can transfer out.) Aquatic animals like whales get around some of these effects by virtue of buoyancy offsetting gravity somewhat, but even they can only grow so big before those problems begin to reappear.

Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine and mathematics were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Jotunheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extent (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Their lore is roughly the same in Age of Sigmar, with two notable differences; they are now called Gargants instead of Giants, and they all are descendants of a massive god-beast called Behemat. Yes, that means the species was fucked out of civilization twice over.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Warhammer 40000===
There are giants native to [[Fenris]]. The Space Wolf Throth Half-Head is said to have slain Ur-Bolg, the father of giants, with a plasma blade.

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[Bog Giant]], a smaller variety of giant with a frog-like appearance found in wetlands.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Death Giant]]: Descendants of a giant race that traded their souls for power. They have black skin, yellow eyes, yellow clawed fingers, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and stand 15 feet tall. They are constantly surrounded by the enslaved souls of those they have killed.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Eldritch Giant]]: 25 foot tall purple-skinned giants who are very interested in arcane magic. They hate storm giants.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff. In 5e they have been changed to just being cloud giants that lost their status in cloud giant society due to losing their wealth and so are desperate to claim as much wealth as they can to get it back.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society. Their hair is prized as the best rope that exists.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Sand Giant]]: Lawful neutral desert dwelling giants that are 12 feet tall and have dark skin. They wield scimitars and exotic weapons called sand blasters.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: There are two completely different monsters called Shadow Giants.
** Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
** In other settings, Shadow Giants are a race feared and hated by other giants due to their reputation for being murderers and assassins. They are the only type of giant that likes to be sneaky. They are sensitive to sunlight and have several darkness related abilities.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

Lore-wise, Giants are found all over the world, but their biggest effect was in Varisia, where giants of all kinds were enslaved by the ancient Thassilonian Empire.

* Marsh Giant: Degenerate descendants of swamp-dwelling Hill Giant tribes. And they worship [[Dagon]], of all things.
* River Giant: 10-foot-tall river dwellers. Generally Chaotic Alignment, but as with Cloud Giants, they're half-Good, half-Evil.
* Rune Giant: These cross-breeds of Fire and Taiga Giants were bred and altered by Thassalonian mages to control their Giant slaves. Resembling even bigger Taiga Giants with burning runes all over their bodies, Rune Giants can magically command giants(and other creatures), walk on air, and shoot firey sparks from the runes on their bodies.
* Taiga Giant: Grey-Skinned, Red-haired nomads. The unwilling ancestors of Rune Giants, these shamanistic people would much rather you leave them the hell alone.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Giant

2020-07-24T02:02:23Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Giants in D&D */

[[Image:Paladin_x_Giant.png|thumb|right]]
{{Topquote|I-I am going to be a storm-a flame-
I need to fight whole armies alone;
I have ten hearts; I have a hundred arms;
I feel too strong to war with mortals-
BRING ME GIANTS!|Edmond Rostand, ''Cyrano de Begerac''}}

In general a guy who is somewhat larger than average by means besides [[Neckbeard|obesity]] and is stronger than a normal sized human and more dangerous in a scrap, either unarmed or armed with melee weapons. On the same note larger animals are more dangerous individually than smaller animals.

Really tall humans that are more than 2 meters tall usually have major health concerns (mostly because that sort of height is caused by pituitary gland tumors leading to the overproduction of growth hormones, but also because it puts more strain on the heart and skeleton than they can handle- more height means more weight for the bones to hold up and more pressure needed to pump blood throughout the body), which get more and more pronounced as height increases. Humans more than 2.3 meters tall often have to walk with canes or crutches, and the tallest person who ever lived (at about 2.7 meters) ended up dying at the age of 22 and required leg braces just to stand up.

This is ultimately due to the effects of the square-cube law- when you make an object bigger by a given proportion, its surface area increases by the square of that proportion but its volume is increased by the cube of that proportion. As a result, a 60-foot tall giant with a humanlike anatomy would have 100 times the muscle cross section of a 6-foot tall human but 1000 times that human's mass; every square inch of giant bone would be forced to support ten times as much weight as a human bone despite it not being adapted in itself to handle the additional weight. Such a giant wouldn't have the relative muscle strength needed to support its own weight and would shatter every bone in its legs whenever it tried to take a step, assuming it could even stand up in the first place. (And that's before we even get into the significantly increased need for food and oxygen, or the greater vulnerability to overheating- heat production scales with the cube of an animal's height, and since the surface area through which said heat can dissipate increases with the square of its height it'll generate more heat than it can transfer out.) Aquatic animals like whales get around some of these effects by virtue of buoyancy offsetting gravity somewhat, but even they can only grow so big before those problems begin to reappear.

Nevertheless, these fine details of medicine and mathematics were not well known in the Bronze Age and people loved to embellish and embellish on embellishments in storytelling. As such it is little surprise that '''Giants''', people who are of a much greater scale than normal Humans, are so common in mythology.

==Mythological Giants==
Aside from the [[cyclops|cyclopes]], who're the most famous but also have their own page, Greek mythology featured the Gigantes, a race of giants created by Gaia to try to overthrow the gods, just as the gods had once overthrown the titans. They did pretty well at it for a while, not least because Hera had foreseen that they could only be offed by a mortal and a god each doing a killing blow simultaneously, but Herakles eventually rolled up and helped finish them all off.

Norse giants, meanwhile, are the embodiments of powerful elemental forces. From the frost giants of Jotunheim, to the fire giants of Muspelheim, the giants fought, slept with, and occasionally married the Norse pantheon as part of the endless struggle of civilization against nature. Notably, Loki, the trickster, was a giant sworn as Odin's brother and ally. And, of course, all creation ultimately ends in a final mighty battle between giants and gods, Ragnarok, in which the fire giant king Surtr ultimately emerges triumphant and burns all of Yggdrasil to a cinder.

Finally, there are the giants of Medieval Europe. Some were stupid, savage brutes, threats to knightly adventurers because of their incredible strength, while others were sophisticated beings that lived in the clouds, though no less evil. Both liked their human flesh, though the smarter ones cooked it first. These giants also apparently would use human bones to grind their bread.

==Giants in modern fantasy==

===Giants in Warhammer Fantasy/Age of Sigmar===
Giants are featured as twenty-meter tall monsters that are utilized by [[Chaos]], [[Greenskin|Greenskins]], [[Ogre Kingdoms|Ogres]] and some mercenaries as huge beasts of war. The Giants were once a prosperous and enlightened, though hermetic, race known as the Skytitans who kept herds of mammoth and lived in fortress-like peaks located in what is now known as the Ancient Giant Lands. After being invaded and thoroughly ''fucked up'' by Ogres during the War in the Sky, they were reduced to inbred, half-minded simpletons with little desire other than to battle and eat. They can be reasoned with to some extent (usually when alcohol is involved), but they are unpredictable and destructive, so most civilizations drive them back to the mountains and deep forests.

Their lore is roughly the same in Age of Sigmar, with two notable differences; they are now called Gargants instead of Giants, and they all are descendants of a massive god-beast called Behemat. Yes, that means the species was fucked out of civilization twice over.

Ingame, they serve as cheap one-model monstrous units for a host of army lists. It may not survive for long due its low armor, but at least it's a servicable [[DISTRACTION CARNIFEX|distraction]].

===Giants in Warhammer 40000===
There are giants native to [[Fenris]]. The Space Wolf Throth Half-Head is said to have slain Ur-Bolg, the father of giants, with a plasma blade.

===Giants in Game of Thrones===
In [[A Song of Ice and Fire]] and its TV-adaptation, giants are huge, hairy dim-witted hominids about three to four meters tall that live north of the wall. Even then, that's peanuts by the standards of most giants. Notable for actually being biologically feasable, what with their stocky elephantine legs.

===Giants in D&D===
In [[Dungeons and Dragons]] "giant" can designate a subtype of monsters going from [[troll]]s, [[ogre]]s, [[cyclops| cyclopes]] and various [[Oni]] all the way up to the "true" giants. They draw from all of the mythologies above, by designating various types of (Whatever) Giant to split them based on habitat. Certain types of giants live in certain areas or have special abilties. For example, the Forest, Frost, Hill, Jungle, Mountain and Ocean Giants all live from where you expect them to. In some cases this is less clear (Fog, Stone and Sun Giants) or almost impossible to tell (Death and Eldritch Giants). Between the books there are often dozens of different giants available, with 3.5e having a staggering 22 different types of "true" giants and a host of others with the creature type.

The six "classic" flavors of giant (the most common ones, the way there're five "classic" colors of chromatic and metallic dragon each) are, arranged according to size:

* [[Hill Giant]]s; savage, stupid monsters who attack other races to sate their immense appetites. They look like [[Luke|big, fat, filthy humanoids, and wear half-rotten animal skins like cavepeople]]. Basically bigger ogres.
* [[Fire Giants]]; militaristic, heavily-armored soldiers who act kind of like big, evil [[dwarves]], with their mastery of smithwork and penchant for slavery. They tend to have dark skin on a coffee-to-ashen-purple spectrum and (naturally) bright red hair. Completing the dwarf comparison, expect lots of beards, braids, and long, wild haircuts. They tend to wear heavy armor as both military dress and formal wear, again, like dwarves, and fight in well-armed, well-organized armies.
* [[Stone Giant]]s; master artisans who live underground quietly keeping to themselves, and are much faster than they look. They look like they're made out of living stone, and their tough skin gives them natural armor on top of their speed, and many can also catch projectiles out of the air. Despite being somewhat peaceable, they are also rather isolationist, and resent intrusions onto their territory.
* [[Frost Giant]]s; blue-skinned and white-haired Norse-inspired raiders who live in the frozen north, taming huge monsters to accompany them on their quest for plunder. They look like blue-skinned vikings and dress like it too. The most famous frost giant in the ''Forgotten Realms'' is the adventurer known as [[Harshnag the Grim]], who recently enjoyed an extended appearance in ''Storm King's Thunder''.
* [[Cloud Giant]]s; who live in sky-castles, have magical powers, and tend to be witty sophisticates fond of games and art. Notable for their ideological split between those who're neutral good-aligned and those who're neutral evil-aligned. The least visually well-defined of the giants here, while they tend to have pale skin and blue hair, their skin might be blue, might be lavender, might just be white, and they might or might not have fangs. They also generally dress and live well, though, again, there's less cultural unity here than elsewhere.
* [[Storm Giant]]s; benevolent but distant sages who are experts at seeing into the future, and have not only even moar magical powers but the ability to chuck ''bolts of fucking lightning'' at things that annoy them. They can also breathe underwater. Dark blue, purple, or brown-skinned with white hair, might or might not wear armor.

Giants tend to be in the mid to high range of monsters, starting as early as CR 7 for the Hill Giant all the way up to 26 for the Mountain Giant, and that's pre-[[class]] levels. As a general rule, the larger a giant is, the more powerful it is. The exceptions are the fire giants, who are barely smaller than stone giants but right below cloud giants on the heirarchy. Giants are very much a mixed bag, being anywhere on the range from bullies to militant assholes to dicks sitting in the clouds and doing nothing. This can make them decent enemies, aloof sages, or a nice way to make players feel like they're hot shit before delivering the smackdown. Like [[dragon]]s, each of their subraces tends to have a "racial alignment" to them.

They are often of the Large or Huge size categories and are all experts at the art of throwing boulders, which do a shitload of damage thanks to their immense size. Hilariously, this is true even for the otherwise well-armed giants who're masters of fabricating quality weapons, like fire giants. Most settings have them as remnants of an ancient giant empire that has since slipped into sad decline, and they tend to be bitter rivals of dragons. Notably, even when they have ideological/alignment-based disagreements, giants tend to get along ''among themselves'', with bigger giants looking after smaller ones and smaller ones in turn mostly doing what bigger ones say - the [[Forgotten Realms]] codified this into an in-universe code of culture established by said fallen giant empire (here called Ostoria), which was handed down by their divine creator, [[Annam]]. It's called the [[Ordning]], and 5e made it canon to all giants in all settings.

A 5e module, ''Storm King's Thunder'', is heavily giant-centric, and has put them into the spotlight after years in the margins. And, yes, there are examples of [[monstergirls|sexy lady giants]] in all the flavors above. Except maybe Hill. Unless you're into that whole fat-stupid-and-unwashed thing. We're not here to judge.

Whilst the six above get all the press, D&D's origins as a war-game that relied heavily on monster races existing to be different levels of challenge, plus its amalgamation of various real-world mythological lore, has led to "Giant" traditionally being considered its own creature type - akin to [[Undead]], [[Fey]] or [[Goblinoid]]. As such, a ridiculously huge array of giants exist in D&D. Indeed, there was even a short-lived term, "[[Giant-kin]]", which was used for the "closer to human-sized" giants, like [[ogre]]s and [[troll]]s.
* [[Athach]]: Obscure giants originating from the [[Mystara]] setting; resemble deformed hill-giants with tusks, mismatched ears (one huge, one tiny) and a third arm sprouting from the center of their chest.
* [[Beasthead Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the smallest of the Athasian giants, but make up for it with powerful [[psionics]] - the only Athasian giant that can use such powers. Evil in nature, they look like giant humans with the head of one of several animals, some of which bestow unique powers; eagle, goat, wolf, id fiend, kirre, or braxat.
* [[Bog Giant]], a smaller variety of giant with a frog-like appearance found in wetlands.
* [[B’rohg]]: Four-armed, primitive but neutrally aligned giant-kin indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting.
* [[Crag Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these benevolent giants are only found on the Lonely Butte, near the Last Sea. Presumably descended from [[Storm Giant]]s, they are good by nature, but yearn for revenge upon the Mind Lords who have driven them to a slow, prolonged extinction.
* [[Cyclops]]: One-eyed giant which comes in two varieties; the small, [[ogre]]-like Cyclopskin (7 1/2ft tall) and the enormous (20ft tall) "true" Cyclops.
* [[Death Giant]]: Descendants of a giant race that traded their souls for power. They have black skin, yellow eyes, yellow clawed fingers, pointed ears, and sharp teeth, and stand 15 feet tall. They are constantly surrounded by the enslaved souls of those they have killed.
* [[Desert Giant]]: Can refer to either of two species. The Athasian Desert Giant is one of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting; these are the evil giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. The "Common" Desert Giant is native to the lands of [[Al-Qadim]], and is the surviving descendants of a fallen giant empire; cursed to ultimately transform into stone, they now exist as oversized tribes of nomadic herdsmen in the deserts of Zakhara.
* [[Dusk Giant]]: Bestial giants whose size and magical abilities change depending on how much flesh they have recently eaten. They get more benefit from eating the flesh of sentient beings. Well fed dusk giants can grow to a maximum of 20 feet tall and starving ones shrink down to minimum of just over 6 feet. They are always surrounded by an aura that darkens bright lights and causes feelings of despair in enemies.
* [[Eldritch Giant]]: 25 foot tall purple-skinned giants who are very interested in arcane magic. They hate storm giants.
* [[Ettin]]: A two-headed variant of the hill giant, renowned for being ugly, vicious and stupid even by hill giant standards.
* Fhoimorien: A weird, malevolent, mystical giant breed native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. They have an affinity for [[elemental]] magics of earth and air, and can even turn into banks of living mist. Supposedly a Cerillian equivalent to the [[Fomorian]].
* [[Firbolg]]: Giant-kin who resemble oversized [[viking]]s.
* [[Fog Giant]]: A more primal (but not stupid) relative of the Cloud Giant, which favors temperate swamps, marshes, boggy forests, and coastal regions. Distinguishable by its pale, milky-white skin and hair, and their cultural love of wrestling and sports based on throwing stuff.
* [[Fomorian]]: Cave-dwelling, grotesquely ugly giants with a pronounced vicious streak and a love of torture.
* [[Forest Giant]]: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Their elemental affinities for wood give these giants wood-like skin, leaflike hair, and root-like digits, making them easily confused for oversized [[treant]]s at a casual glance. Naturally, they seek to protect primeval forests from depredations.
* [[Hephaeston Giant]]: A [[Mystara]]n giant species characterized by its skin of living iron and its natural affinity for blacksmithing. Regarding weaponsmithing as a holy art, they constantly seek out deposits of iron and coal, especially because they must literally smith infants of their race from the purest iron.
* Ice Giant: One of the breeds of giant native to the world of Cerilia, the home of the [[Birthright]] setting. Essentially a bigger and nastier version of the standard [[Frost Giant]], one distinguished by a thick body sheath of rime and jagged ice shards. More magically adept than frost giants, ice giants have the power to hurl iceballs (a cold-damage counterpart to the famous [[Fireball]]), and possess several potent spell-like abilities.
* [[Jungle Giant]]: A species of carnivorous, voraciously predatory green-skinned [[amazon]] giants native to the tropical jungles of [[Al-Qadim]].
* [[Mountain Giant]]: An even bigger, but somewhat less stupid, variant of the hill giant. Roughly 3/4s of all mountain giants are male, which contributes to their small population.
* [[Plains Giant]]: One of four giant species indigenous to the [[Dark Sun]] setting, these are the benevolent giants indigenous to the Sea of Silt. Smarter and less malevolent, they are more likely to integrate themselves into mainstream Athasian society. Their hair is prized as the best rope that exists.
* [[Reef Giant]]: Sea-dwelling, isolationist giants native to the [[Al-Qadim]] setting.
* [[Sand Giant]]: Lawful neutral desert dwelling giants that are 12 feet tall and have dark skin. They wield scimitars and exotic weapons called sand blasters.
* [[Shadow Giant]]: There are two completely different monsters called Shadow Giants.
** Undead giants trapped in the Black, one of the [[plane]]s of [[Dark Sun]]. Can drain life with a touch, but are incredibly vulnerable to pure magical energy, to the point that a wizard can literally hurt them with a touch.
** In other settings, Shadow Giants are a race feared and hated by other giants due to their reputation for being murderers and assassins. They are the only type of giant that likes to be sneaky. They are sensitive to sunlight and have several darkness related abilities.
* [[Spacesea Giant]]: Also known as Rover Giants, these are a variant strain of [[Stone Giant]] descended from giants taken prisoner by the [[Neogi]], but who escaped. More intelligent and adept at arcane magic, they are nomadic merchants and explorers who use vessels of magically shaped stone to travel through the crystal spheres.
* [[Verbeeg]]: A giant-kin race who often use their superior brains to enslave and command the bigger but dumber ogres and hill giants.
* [[Voadkyn]]: Also known as Wood Giants, a forest-dwelling giant-kin race who resemble oversized elves.

=== Giants in Pathfinder ===
Giants, being OGL content, are largely the same as their 3.5 counterpart in [[Pathfinder]]. Mechanically however giants have undergone a big change in that they're no longer their own creature type, instead being a subtype of [[humanoid]] and (for [[Oni]]) [[Outsider]]. This means they aren't automatically proficient with all martial weapons (they normally use Pathfinder's increased feat rate to wield them instead) and, more importantly, makes them vulnerable to spells that effect Humanoids. Their low will save and the potency of these spells makes them much weaker against spellcasters that are ready for them.

Lore-wise, Giants are found all over the world, but their biggest effect was in Varisia, where giants of all kinds were enslaved by the ancient Thassilonian Empire.

* Marsh Giant: Degenerate descendants of swamp-dwelling Hill Giant tribes. And they worship [[Dagon]], of all things.
* River Giant: 10-foot-tall river dwellers. Generally Chaotic Alignment, but as with Cloud Giants, they're half-Good, half-Evil.
* Rune Giant: These cross-breeds of Fire and Taiga Giants were bred and altered by Thassalonian mages to control their Giant slaves. Resembling even bigger Taiga Giants with burning runes all over their bodies, Rune Giants can magically command giants(and other creatures), walk on air, and shoot firey sparks from the runes on their bodies.
* Taiga Giant: Grey-Skinned, Red-haired nomads. The unwilling ancestors of Rune Giants, these shamanistic people would much rather you leave them the hell alone.

===The Zentraedi===
A race featured in the anime ''Macross'', and its American, ehem, "adaptation" ''Robotech'', the name is also transliterated as Zentradi, Zjentohlauedy, T'sentrati, or Zentrady (the original Japanese rendering is ゼントラーディ人, or ''Zentorādi-jin''). Serving as a sort of Sci-fi reconstruction of the giant idiom, Zentraedi are a militaristic race of alien humanoid giants created through genetic cloning. In both series, an advanced alien humanoid race creates the Zentraedi to serve as super-soldiers against their enemies. They inevitably rebel and went their own way, as warrior races do. A peculiarity of their genome allows them, with the aid of special equipment, to shrink down to human size and pass as the same species, which for all other intents and [[Heterosexual Sex in the Missionary Position|purposes]], they are.

=== Monster Hunter International ===
Giants are among the monsters considered extinct in modern days. One was seen in the assault on Severny Island and was only humanoid in the vaguest sense of having two legs, two arms and something resembling a head. It took a [[T-72M]] to take down, but may have actually been protecting the island from culists that want to free the ancient evil instead of kill it and not one of the ancient evil's minions. The second RPG also states that frost and fire giants are a problem in the Norse countries. How these two claims reconcile is unknown.

==Monstergirls==
{{Monstergirls}}
Giants as [[monstergirls]] are an established thing, but not from the monster perspective. Macrophilia is a decades old fetish, with films like ''Attack of the 50 Foot Woman'' dating back to 1958. There are no animal parts involved here: all that matters is the largeness, like an inverse [[shortstack]]. [[Amazon]]ian sizes are too small: you're looking at 10' as a bare minimum but can go up to much larger sizes to even ludicrous dimensions. What happens from there differs per subfetish: some of the macrophiles are content with touching and cuddling the bigness while others prefer crushing, vore or more nasty fetishes still. Given their rather niche appeal giants never received much of a unified view like the more human-sized fantasy races; as such they apprear in many different throughout fiction.

==See Also==
*[[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition races]]

[[Category:Dungeons & Dragons]][[Category:Monsters]][[Category:Greek Mythology]][[Category:Giants]]

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T01:37:15Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* True Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.
*'''[[Sorrowsworn]]''': Demons that appear in places where many people have suffered loss. They have an aura that causes feelings of loss in those around them. They read the minds of their enemies and use that to determine the best way to torment them by reminding them of things that cause them to feel more loss. A sorrowsworn demon is a large but skinny grey-skinned humanoid with black wings and a constantly frowning face.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T01:24:47Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]''': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T01:24:35Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].
*'''[[Arrow Demon]]'': A grey skinned humanoid with four arms that can wield two longbows at the same time.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T01:00:49Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can heal themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T01:00:31Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s. Probably were originally created by [[Orcus]].

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T00:59:49Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Greater Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T00:59:09Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Lesser Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}

Tanar'ri

2020-07-24T00:55:06Z

2601:203:480:4C60:E073:949:4FE0:23C7: /* Lesser Tanar'ri */

'''Tanar'ri''' are the [[Alignment|chaotic evil]] supernatural badguys, in [[2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons]]. After TSR got their new CEO [[Lorraine Williams]] and [[Gary Gygax]] left in disgust, Williams said "no more demons, or any of that junk". In [[3e]] they wisely decided to use "demon" again, but kept the term "tanar'ri" as a subtype of demon. Since TSR bothered to register "tanar'ri" [[Open_Gaming_License#Parts_of_D.26D_that_are_not_Open_Game_Content|as a trademark]], you will not find this demon subtype in [[Open Gaming License]] materials like the D20SRD.

They are the archetypical chaotic evil outsiders, seeking to destroy all order and plunge creation into mad, violent chaos in different ways. They are one of the two major factions in the ideological [[Blood War]], the other being their lawful evil counterparts, the [[baatezu]], or devils.

''Fiendish Codex II - Tyrants Of The Nine Hells'' states that Devils call all demons Tanar'ri for short, which is strange considering that in the same book it says that in the devils' language "only one correct way exists to construct any given statement in Infernal." and "Devils, except when in disguise, they find the urge to correct errors in spoken or written Infernal nearly impossible to resist." This may be a hint as to the origin of Lorraine Williams, since she also insisted on using the term "tanar'ri" instead of "demon."

==Types of Tanar'ri==
There are many types of Tanar'ri, one more terrible than the next. There is something of a degree of power that seperates the various demons, but this is not absolute. There are five categories that divide them however, and each group is more powerful than the ones below it.

Tanar'ri can ascend to a new form if they believe they have what it takes to do so (mainly based on how deadly it is) and can prove this to those around them. While ascending step by step though the ranks is the most common way to do this, particularly powerful or intelligent Tanar'ri can skip one or more forms.

===Least Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Mane]]s''': The lowest of the Tanar'ri and barely worth the name, Manes are a source of food and cannon fodder, herded at the enemy to tire them before the main forces strike. This is what a mortal beomes if they end up in the Abyss when they die, or depending on edition, the first form they take upon being promoted from Maggots, which are the forms that all petitioners take in the [[Lower Planes]].
*'''[[Dretch]]es''': Barely above the Manes, the Dretches are real Tanar'ri, albeit the lowest in rank. They suck up to the more powerful members of their race (pretty much all of them), and are treated as such in reply.
*'''[[Rutterkin]]''': Vicious and despised by all other Tanar'ri, the Rutterkin are the preferred targets of higher-ranking demons for harassment, torture and murder. In return a Rutterkin will attack anything that they think can kill without much risk to them.
*'''[[Skulvyn]]''': An aquatic demon that looks like a 4 tailed lizard with webbed feet. They have an aura that causes other creatures around them to move sluggishly.

For some weird reason [[Quasit]]s, which are the chaotic equivalent of the [[Imp]] are not classified as Tanar'ri. They are demons but not part of any of the demon races.

===Lesser Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Alu-fiend]]s''': The female child of a Succubus and a mortal, Alu-fiends can only be born into their rank. They are not physically powerful but they are powerful spellcasters and physically attractive, which makes them useful to the high-ups in the Abyss.
*'''[[Cambion]]s''': The opposite of their Alu-fiend sisters, Cambions are the children of a Tanar'ri and a female mortal. A major Cambion is born when the father is a Lesser or Greater Tanar'ri, while a True Tanar'ri sires a Baron or Marquise Cambion, who are significanlty more powerful than their lesser kin.
*'''[[Armanite]]s''': The [[centaur]]s and [[bariaur]]s of the Abyss. They band together as mercenary groups and hire themselves out to whoever pays the most.
*'''[[Maurezhi]]''': These Tanar'ri have the strange ability to gain the memories and experiences of whoever they eat. They can only be created by Abyssal Lords for specific missions, but can grow to new forms as usual.
*'''[[Succubus]]''': You know them, you love them.
*'''[[Yochlol]]''': The handmaidens of [[Lolth]], the Yochlol are shapeshifters who can freely change between their [[drow]] form, a spider form or that of [[slime|a great mass of yellow ooze with a single staring eye]]. They enjoy Lolth's protection from other demons and act like it, but they'll get brutally murdered if another demon thinks it can get away with it.
*'''[[Bar-lgura]]''': Gorilla-like Tanar'ri trained in guerilla warfare, they are brutish, dumb, slow of mind and can casually rip your arm off. They get very annoyed when you call them "bar-igura", so please don't refer to them with sans-serif font.
*'''[[Bulezau]]''': Rocking a traditional Satan-esque look, the Bulezau are powerful, elite soldiers who want nothing less than murder all their enemies within sight.
*'''[[Jovoc]]''': A small black humanoid with red three-fingered claws. Whenever one of them is damaged, non-Tanar'ri creatures within 30 feet also take damage, and they also heal from their injuries very quickly.
*'''[[Palrethee]]''': Demons who attempted to become balors and failed become palrethees as punishiment. To further the humiliation, they often end up as subordinates to balors. They are emaciated humanoids with bony wings whose bodies are constantly on fire.
*'''[[Zovvut]]''': Muscular pale-skinned three-eyed humanoids with feathery wings and massive barbed claws. They can themselves by draining energy from victims with their gaze, and victims who are killed by their gaze rise as [[wight]]s.

===Greater Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Nabassu]]''': Gargoyle-shaped things serving as the heralds of the Abyss, seducing humanoids to the service of the Abyss.
*'''[[Chasme]]''': Huge fly-like things that seek out deserters of the [[Blood War]]. They mostly stay out of the affairs of others to carry out their duties.
*'''[[Babau]]''': The recruiters for the [[Blood War]]. Or rather than recruiting they press-gang other demons to fight. If they don't meet their quotas however they have to fight themselves.
*'''[[Goristroi]]''': 20' [[Minotaur|bullmen]] that serve as living siege engines to topple walls and crush enemies below their feet. Mentioned in the second Monster Manual which forgot to write them up, so they had to be written up in ''Dragon'' instead.
*'''[[Wastrilith]]''': Great serpent-like monsters who stick to the waters of the Abyss, mainly the waters of the Styx which they can navigate unharmed. They serve as the guardians for the waterways of the Abyss, eager to devour anything that gets near.

===True Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Vrock]]''': Humanoid vultures that serve as elite soldiers in the [[Blood War]].
*'''[[Hezrou]]''': Frog-shaped Tanar'ri possess a cool, sharp intellect that allows them to perform their duties in the [[Blood War]] with precision and dedication.
*'''[[Glabrezu]]''': The primary summoning material, they are skilled at tempting their summoners and giving them plenty of gifts of power, only to withdraw said power at the worst possible moment to get them killed and pulled into the Abyss.
*'''[[Alkilith]]''': The Type III.5 Demon, if you will. Oozes that can corrupt anything and anyone with a mere touch. They don't fight in the Blood War, mainly for practical reasons on account of them being oozes.
*'''[[Nalfeshnee]]''': The pig-ape judges of the Abyss. All petitioners that enter the Abyss pass by a Nalfeshnee who judges them based on their lives and appoints them a new form. At least sometimes: other times they hand out forms at random. They also determine who gets to be in charge of the armies and who gets to be promoted, demoted or removed from (as in: destroyed) its ranks.
*'''[[Marilith]]''': [[Lamia|Attractive women with the lower body of a snake]] and six arms, they are the tacticians of the Abyss. They have keen minds, anticipate what the forces of Law are going to do and act upon it, much to the rage of the Baatezu who cannot understand the plots of the Marilith.
*'''[[Balor]]''': The dreaded kings of the Abyss, Balors are the most powerful of the Tanar'ri aside from [[Demon Prince]]s and the rarely seen Klurichirs and Myrmyxicuses, serving as lords, generals and leaders, inspiring and threatening others into fighting for the cause. A mix of passion and reason, they are as intelligent and sharp as they are evil and chaotic. These are ''exactly'' the same as the [[Bloodthirster]] of Warhammer, right down to the flaming whips and being literally made evil and chaos (or [[Chaos]]) with the sole difference being that they use swords instead of axes. They like to eat doggies and beat up Pit Fiends in their spare time.
*'''[[Klurichir]]''': The most powerful type of Tanar'ri besides [[Demon Prince]]s. All other tanar'ri including balors are terrified of them. They have skin the color of a frostbitten corpse, four arms, black spines covering their neck and back, red wings, a face like a cross between a orc and a mule, and a giant second mouth with a huge pair of extremely sharp mandibles on their abdomen. They are the elite generals of the most powerful [[Demon Prince]]s and they usually only appear when their master wants to be absolutely sure that an important mission will be completed.
*'''[[Myrmyxicus]]''': Another Tanar'ri that beats the Balor in power. They rule over the oceans of the Abyss. It looks like an giant eel with a reptile skull for a face, six goat horns, four arms, six tentacles around its waist, and a lamprey-mouth on the end of its tail.
*'''[[Jarilith]]''': Demonic lions that like to hunt other demons.
*'''[[Kelvezu]]''': The infiltrators and assassins of the abyss. Aside from the pink skin and poisonous fingernails, they appear almost exactly like a short human.

===Guardian Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Molydeus]]''': The only Tanar'ri within this rank, a Molydeus stands outside of the ranks of the other Tanar'ri, making sure that their kind stays true to the ideals of the Blood War. While they report to the Balors, a Molydeus will not hesitate to turn on their leader if they are not showing sufficient zeal. So in essence they are axe-wielding, dog-faced [[Commissar]]s with a snake growing out of the back of their heads.

===Ex Tanar'ri===
*'''[[Shadow Fiend]]''': The [[Fiend Folio]] Shadow Demon was summarily taken off the Tanar'ri list because "shadow tanar'ri" just sounded too gay. It slunk back by way of Ravenloft, MC Appendix; then Planescape of course. It was still Chaotic Evil, and still hung out at the Abyss.
*'''[[Blood Fiend]]''': A demon that became a vampire like undead.

==Demon Lords==
The first amongst the demons, the lords of the Tanar'ri (more commonly known as Demon Lords) are some of the most powerful, dangerous, cunning and deadly beings in existence. They attained their position by strength of arms and cleverness (mostly the former) to rule over their servants. Those who wish to challenge their lords are quickly struck down as an example and to keep the other minions in line.

{{D&D-Outsiders}}