Demogorgon (Dungeons & Dragons)

This article is about the demon prince in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. For other uses of the term, see Demogorgon (disambiguation).
Demogorgon
Game background
Title(s) Prince of Demons, Lord of All That Swims in Darkness
Home plane Abyss
Power level Demon lord
Alignment Chaotic Evil
Superior None
Design details

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy 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, which, in turn, is a title acknowledged by both mortals and his fellow demons. Demogorgon was also named as one of the greatest villains in D&D history by the final issue of Dragon.[1]

Creative origins

Demogorgon is based on the invented, supposedly pagan god or demon Demogorgon, which was first spoken of by Christian scholars as a being whose very name is taboo. A creature named Demogorgon is featured in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Lodovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, although the D&D Demogorgon's appearance and history may not be based on any of these sources.[2]

Publication history

Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)

Demogorgon first appeared in the D&D game in Eldritch Wizardry (1976).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition

Demogorgon appeared in the original Monster Manual (1977).[3]

Dungeons & Dragons

Demogorgon appeared in the basic system in the D&D Immortal Rules set (1986).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition

Demogorgon was detailed as a deity in Monster Mythology (1992).[4]

3rd edition

Demogorgon appeared again as a demon lord in Book of Vile Darkness (2002).[5] Demogorgon was the antagonist of the 2002 adventure, Bastion of Broken Souls. He also appeared in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (2006).[6] He was featured in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv column in Dragon #357 (2007).[7]

4th edition

Demogorgon is one of the few demon lords mentioned in the 4th edition Monster Manual (2008). He appears on the cover of the Monster Manual 2 (2009) and is included within.[8]

5th edition

Demogorgon appears as an antagonist in the adventure Out of the Abyss (2015).

Physical description

Demogorgon appears as an 18-foot-tall (5.5 m), reptilian (or amphibious) hermaphroditic tanar'ri with a somewhat humanoid form. Two mandrill heads sprout from his twin snake-like necks, and his arms end in long tentacles. His two heads have individual minds, called Aameul (the left head) and Hethradiah (the right head). One of Demogorgon's best-kept secrets, even from his cultists and minions, is that his two personas strive to dominate (and even kill) each other, but are unable to because they are aspects of one another. Despite this duality, many of Demogorgon's plots revolve around either permanently separating or uniting these two personas. According to kopru legends, Demogorgon has two mothers, which account for his twin personas. His blue-green skin is plated with snake-like scales, his body and legs are those of a giant lizard, and his thick tail is forked. His appearance testifies to his command of cold-blooded things such as serpents, reptiles, and octopi.

In the 3E sourcebook Book of Vile Darkness, he is erroneously described and depicted as having hyena heads instead of mandrill heads.[9]

Demogorgon can charm enemies or drive enemies insane with his gaze, depending on which head's eyes are met; if both heads lock their gazes on a single target simultaneously, Demogorgon can hypnotize foes. 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. Because each head is a separate personality that each controls his body, Demogorgon may act twice as often during combat as he should be able to.

In 4th Edition, the book The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea and the Monster Manual 2 both state that Demogorgon's two heads are the result of a great battle. Eons ago, Demogorgon, Orcus, and the demon lord Rimmon united to enter the Astral Sea and invade the divine dominion of Kalandurren, home of the god Amoth. Amoth slew Rimmon and nearly cut Demogorgon in half before Orcus killed him. The wound resulted in Demogorgon having two heads.

Relationships

His title as Prince of Demons is contested and somewhat misleading in that in the chaos of the Abyss there are no official titles and positions. He holds this title through sheer power and the fact no other demon has been able to prove themselves his superior and wrest the name from him. Demogorgon is also known as Lord of All That Swims in Darkness.

The hatred between Orcus and Demogorgon is legendary. He is also a dedicated foe of both Graz'zt and Fraz-Urb'luu. Some of his allies include the Succubus Queen Malcanthet; the currently imprisoned Shami-Amourae was his former consort. In Gary Gygax's Gord the Rogue series, he is the brother of another demon lord called "Mandrillagon." He is served by the minor demon lord Abraxas that controls the 17th layer (Death's Reward) and was allied with the demon lord Ilsidahur who controls the 90th layer, near Demogorgon's realm.

One of Demogorgon's spawn with Malcanthet is the monstrous Arendagrost. According to WG7 he has a son with a mortal woman, the cambion Drumorg.

Demogorgon and the ancient and powerful obyrith Dagon have a sort of alliance. Demogorgon often travels to the domain of the elder demon lord to speak to him and try to gain knowledge and secrets from him or seek his vast wisdom for counsel. Dagon, in turn, always whispers his secrets to one head at a time (never both at once), thus playing a major role in the tension between Demogorgon's heads.

Realm

Demogorgon lives on the 88th layer of the Abyss, known as Abysm, the Brine Flats, or Gaping Maw. This is a layer consisting of a great sea of briny water broken by tall, sharp, ugly, rocky prominences rising out of the endless murky water into a sky of yellow mist. Demogorgon's palace is two twin towers shaped very roughly like tightly coiled serpents that are covered with sharp, ugly fin-like features and spines, and crowned at the top with skull-shaped minarets. The two towers are linked by a bridge near the top. Beneath the fortress are reefs and caverns where aboleths, kraken and ixitxachitl dwell, constantly warring with each other and worshipping Demogorgon in his palace above. His towers are said to extend so far beneath the sea that they connect to the layer beneath him where he speaks with the obyrith lord Dagon.

Numerous isles dot the layer, but they all resemble Demogorgon's palace: twin rookeries rising straight out of the sea and into the sky. The only significant landmass of the layer is a vast jungle-covered continent. Here, Demogorgon's capital city of Lemoriax is located.

Cult of Demogorgon

Demogorgon's cult is small compared to those of "true" deities, but much larger than those of most fiends. He is worshiped not only by evil humans, but also by the intelligent rays known as ixitxachitl. Cultists of Demogorgon who are not already demons are often among the most mentally disturbed members of their races.

The following beings are some of Demogorgon's most infamous servants:

Demogorgon in various campaign settings

Demogorgon in Dragonlance

Demogorgon made an early appearance in the Dragonlance campaign setting in Dragon #85, in the short story "A Stone's Throw Away" by Roger E Moore. The story describes Tasselhoff Burrfoot inadvertently defeating an evil wizard who had temporarily placed Demogorgon under his power.

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.

Demogorgon in Mystara

Demogorgon is described as female in the 1986 Dungeons & Dragons Immortals Rules.

Demogorgon in other media

Baldur's Gate

In the role-playing video game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, it is possible to make a sacrifice to Demogorgon, thus summoning a number of hostile demons. 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.

The character communicates primarily by forcing the player character to experience visions and emotions and has very little dialogue compared to most other bosses. He speaks only once upon being challenged to battle; his single spoken line is performed by Jim Cummings.

NetHack

In the game NetHack, Demogorgon wields a combination of stunning, poisoning, disease, and damage attacks. However, he does not have a fixed place in the game, and is generally only seen when other major demons summon him (a small probability per turn).

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Bulmahn, Jason; Jacobs, James; Mike McArtor; Mona, Erik; F. Wesley Schneider; Todd Stewart; Jeremy Walker (September 2007). "1d20 Villains: D&D's Most Wanted; Preferably Dead". Dragon (Pazio). 32(4) (359): 54–69.
  2. ↑ DeVarque, Aardy. "Literary Sources of D&D". Archived from the original on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  3. ↑ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
  4. ↑ Sargent, Carl. Monster Mythology (TSR, 1992)
  5. ↑ Cook, Monte. Book of Vile Darkness (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)
  6. ↑ Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)
  7. ↑ Jacobs, James. "Demogorgon: Prince of Demons" Dragon #357 (Paizo Publishing, July 2007)
  8. ↑ "Monster Manual 2". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  9. ↑ Cook, Monte (2002-10-14). "Re: What's so sacred about baboon heads?". Okay... Your Turn. Retrieved 2007-08-15.

References

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