Demogorgon (Dungeons & Dragons)
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- This article is about the demon prince in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. For other uses of the term, see Demogorgon (disambiguation).
In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Demogorgon is a powerful demon prince. He is known as the Prince of Demons, a self-proclaimed title he holds by virtue of his power and influence. Demogorgon lives on the 88th layer of the Abyss, known as The Abysm, Brine Flats, or Gaping Maw. The hatred between Orcus and Demogorgon is legendary. He is also a dedicated foe of both Graz'zt and Fraz-Urb'luu. In Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series, he is the brother of another demon lord called "Mandrillagon."
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[edit] Description
Demogorgon appears as an eighteen-foot tall, reptilian (or amphibious) hermaphroditic creature with a somewhat humanoid form. Two baboon heads sprout from his twin snake-like necks, and his arms end in long tentacles. Demogorgon's two heads have individual personas, called Aameul and Hedradiah. They strive to dominate each other, but are unable to achieve control because they are aspects of one another. In the 3E sourcebook Book of Vile Darkness, he is depicted as having hyena heads instead of baboon heads, and a furless and serpentine build. According to the book's author, the change to hyena heads is due to an error.
Demogorgon can hypnotize with a gaze or drive enemies insane. His whip-like tail has the ability to drain the life energy right out of a living foe. His tentacles cause living creatures to rot away, as if by some sort of rapid leprosy.
[edit] Cult of Demogorgon
Demogorgon's cult is relatively small compared to "true" deities, but much larger than those of most fiends. He is worshipped not only by evil humans, but also by the intelligent rays known as ixitxachitl.
[edit] Demogorgon in Greyhawk
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting, Demogorgon sometimes goes by the ancient name "Ahmon-Ibor," or "the Sibilant Beast." He is responsible for corrupting the paladin Sir Kargoth and transforming him and thirteen of his fellow Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom into Oerth's first death knights.
[edit] Demogorgon in Baldur's Gate
In the computer role-playing game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, it is possible to make a sacrifice to Demogorgon, thus summoning some demons with no wish to be friendly. In the expansion pack Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, an avatar of Demogorgon appears imprisoned in the dungeon known as Watcher's Keep. The player's standard quest is to seal the dungeon in order to keep Demogorgon imprisoned, but the player can also destroy Demogorgon's avatar, sending him back to the Abyss. Standard players may find Demogorgon very difficult. Power Gamers may find him varying from hard to disappointing, depending on whether they are playing using difficulty-enhancing mods, such as "Tactics" (these may make him stronger, but normally requires that the players be far more powerful just to reach him, making Demogorgon not quite as hard, but still more challenging than the original game), or 'Ascension', which restores Demogorgon to his 'original' difficulty, which was deemed too difficult for more casual players, resulting in his statistics and abilities being reduced.
[edit] References
- Gygax, Gary. Come Endless Darkness (New Infinities, 1988).
- Gygax, Gary. Dance of Demons (New Infinities, 1988).
- Gygax, Gary. Dungeon Master's Guide (TSR, 1979).
- Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977).
- Gygax, Gary, and Brian Blume. Eldritch Wizardry (TSR, 1976).
- Holian, Gary. "The Death Knights of Oerth." Dragon #290 (Paizo Publishing, Dec 2001).
- Holian, Gary. "Demogorgon's Champions: The Death Knights of Oerth, part 2." Dragon #291 (Paizo Publishing, Jan 2002).
- Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Wizards of the Coast, 2006).
- Reynolds, Sean K. "The Lost Temple of Demogorgon." Dungeon #120 (Paizo Publishing, 2005).
- Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology (TSR, 1992).
