I’d like to think that the Baernoloth are supposed to be the “native” fiendish/demonic race of the Realms/Planescape DnD multiverse. Think about it, the Abyss and it’s demons are alien invaders that are not supposed to be here, and the Devils were not originally fiends either. Both are ultimately unnatural at least in this multiverse. The daemons should have been the only type here, and it was bad enough that they were in the first place…
A baernaloth once felt something very close to regret for completely corrupting an equally ancient celestial. The current Oinoloth claimed the Siege Malicious throne by whispering a secret so terrible that Anthraxus fled. Like the baatezu, each station in yugoloth evolution has a lesson built into it that must be learned before they can advance. Unlike baatezu, there is no skipping a station for exemplary performance. Well, canoloths may very well be a punishment
My newest character is a Warlock with an Arcanaloth patron. She has a vendetta against the Demons and Devils of the Abyss and works alongside her Patron to learn their True Names and overtake both sides of the conflict.
I thought I was knowledgable about the D&D multiverse, the differing cosmologies of a number of settings, as well of those who do not fit in the Great Wheel and the later too, but this stuff makes me think that I probably overestimated my D&D literacy quite a bit. Probably the best researched and most comprehensively put together D&D Lore videos on RU-vid, as far as I'm able to tell.
The new AP set in planescape "Turn of Fortune's Wheel" features that very famous Arcanaloth you mentioned- Shemeshka. It's intriguing that the Arcanaloths are some of the most commonly known Yugaloths, given that they give off the face of being the most civilized. It's likely the daemons like it that way.
I like Yugoloths because they are sort of free between the Devils and Demons, and can mostly do what they want, though a lot of it is simply my love of Arcanaloths. I always like powerful caster monsters, and Arcanaloths fill that role, making me really wish that Baatezu and Tanar'ri had their own equivalent archmages. I will confess that I don't get how most people hire Yugoloths, since money is pointless, but neat nonetheless.
Souls, favors, spellcasting services, sacrifices, information, and magic items seem appropriate to me. Merrenoloths used to accept gemstones and magic items back in D&D 2E. I imagine they’d want half or two thirds of their payment up front. Then they’d reserve the right to either leave if the job is too difficult, complicated, or if someone could buy them off. Classic Neutral Evil bastards lol.
Inspired by the SNES game "7th Saga", I created a returning-from-death antagonist Pison (I stole the name). I adapted him to my campaign. The first fight with him was a one-on-one boss battle... hard but almost a guaranteed win. He was approached by a demon summoned by Pison's employer to return from the dead more powerful to kill his target. He accepted and returned as Red Pison. He was a group fight boss guy, met between locations on the real adventure. Because of Pison's greed and cruelty, a Yugoloth snatched him up and offered him one last chance for revenge. The gamble, kill his enemy and return to Hades as a unique Metal Pison form (a form he will be fighting his enemy and team), or if his enemy lives return as a Hades larvae. Pison accepted. The party killed Metal Pison, but not before he killed his original enemy. For the rest of my campaign, Metal Pison was a reoccurring big-time bad guy... well, until the party figured it out. They had to kill Metal Pison before his afterlife enemy was killed. They got sick of bringing Metal Pison's main target back from the dead and wondered why Metal Pison would put all his focus on only killing him. Metal Pison was like a suped-up version hybrid of the weapon Yugoloths. What was the evil of the Yougoloth who dealt with Pison? They knew that Pison would eventually lose or at least be a big problem for the party that seemed likely to stop their plans. Yugoloth human and underdark allies were dropping like flies thanks to that party.
at around 2:04 you mention "there is at least one famous incident where an unannounced trip into Nessus resulted in an individual being torn to shreds and NOT regenerating back on their home plane of Gehenna." -- what famous incident is this? are there other known incidents where lower planar entities died outside their home plane and were not regenerated?
Heard some stupid demon trayed to enter to mount celestia and fall straight to the big ass ocean of holly water so he instantly vanished No source just remembering hearing it somewhere
The Arcanaloths are what I find most interesting, where I get this idea of reaching one via an unassuming door which opens up to an office like library. The appearance of the arcanaloth, it's domain and behaviour hiding truly fiendish nature. Offering many answers to needs of an adventurer, yet not knowing what the price could be, in terms of direct payment, or what consequences of answers may be. Door ways could be hidden in forbidden tomes slipped into libraries across the world. I also want to know if Yugoloth have their own version of Archfiends, having the power to act as a patron to a Warnock. The Arcanaloth give this impression of Yugoloth perfect for pact of the tome. Yet the mention of finite tautology and a clear hierarchy with a more measured top make it seem hard.
Hey AJ, just subscribed after having watched almost the entire catalogue multiple times over this past month or two; I can't even begin to tell you how awesome these videos are! Thank you so much for this channel! I don't know if you take requests from youtube comments but I would definitely like to see more of your DIY model making skills - but of course your lore videos are legendary - edit: Also, Yay! - you finally said Hades correctly!
Ha ha, thanks, yes I will be doing a lot more crafting in 2018, particularly mid way through the year. And yes, thanks to those who told me I was saying Hades incorrectly :)
No mention of the oignoloth, that multilayered loth, recently known as anthraxus, the decayed? I shall review your most impressive inventory my dear sage, perhaps my huckleberry is in another bush...
I'm still working my own homebrew angle in which Hades is both pantheon Diety and the plane itself, wherein the loth are the sentient free cells of his body, antibodies to pcs and other intrepid that enter the planar body of the God...
This is what I love about doing these vids, the questions like that one! So, Barghests are born to Goblin parents, though they are shapeshifting fiends, this means that their genesis is more like a curse than a possession or cross breeding, so I would say that the soul of a Barghest is a Yugoloth, however it's physical body is not, thus when they return to Gehenna, they regenerate into their true form, as one of the Yugoloth's who were originally pledged in service to Maglubiyet, god of the Goblins, and died in service to him without receiving their payment, this would also explain the motivation of each Barghest to inflict as much fear and tyranny on the goblins it has been raised among, as it can.. it well remembers the debt their god owes it personally.
So that makes it all feel like some sort of quota that they need achieve to be able to join the battlefield of gehenna. Because if I remember correctly (I don't have my Volo guide to monsters available) bargheist were a created by the general to aid Maglubyet in his battles, but since Maglubyet double crossed the general (would love if he had a name) he made it so the bargheist becomes kinda like goblins hunters. (correct me if I'm wrong) So if we add what you just said about them, that would make them goblins at birth, but like Nilbogs, they were "cursed" by the spirit of a yugoloth and depending on how he did at life, it influence what he becomes in his after life. But now the question is, what if a Bargheist devour a niblog, would he trap the spirit of the trickster god inside him and destroy it? *insert thinking emote*
^Now that looks like a huge pile of ideas/questions fused together, in short, a huge mess. Hope you understand what I tried to say Love your videos :^)
The floating city of Nimicri briefly mentioned, & all the natives, is, in fact, 1 gargantuan mimic. If you pick up a native, you'll notice a slimy tendril keeping them connected to the ground
who ends up being slaves to the yugoloths? and do they have a use for those slaves besides torture? and could you have a party of players being those jakel fox critters or would they be too O.P. for a prime material galavant. i really love the theme of scentient carion eating dogs, who are evil for the sake of all the really really wrong magical things you don't want to think about. "wonder and magesty..." 🦄🌈 "unnatural, undying, unbearably agonizing and it will unmistakably happen again..." 🐺🤢
I'm curious about how someone actually hires these things, since in the 5e MM only the arcanaloth has any details on what they want in exchange for being a servant.
I hope that you can make another history video about Yugoloths. You forgot to mention how the original Yugoloth general freed the Yugoloths from the Night Hag coven by using their Command Book to essentially write "Let my people go!" Yugoloths may be truly evil beings, but any one of them would have gladly given their lives under this general, swearing their allegiance as they see him as their liberator - their George Washington.
That is a great analogy, yes, I need to do several more vids on the Yugoloths, plus, they play an important role in so many conflicts across the realms and the outer and inner planes.
@@AJPickett Wait, when did that happen? The hags and the 'loths don't even deal much with the other; the exception being the transformation into altraloth.
Spoilers. The General of Gehenna is in fact: Asmodeus himself. He DOES have ALL of the Yugoloths names..... And as soon as he shows up everyone obeys him? Sounds like Asmo.
Actually Baphomet, the demon lord the French king claimed the Templars worshiped (used as justification for seizing their assets and writing off the debts he owed them).
If you're havin' trouble with the high school head He's givin' you the blues You want to graduate but not in 'is bed Here's what you gotta do Pick up the phone I'm always home Call me any time Just ring 36 24 36 hey I lead a life of crime dirty deeds and their done dirt cheap! Dirty deeds and their done dirt cheap!
Real world history here chaps the word Damon or demon come from a Latin root word that means skilled man to exercise your demons literally means to use your skills the more you know I'm kind of a giant linguistically nerd so my spelling and grammar in English has suffered as a byproduct that being said I can read cuneiform both Arcadian and Sumerian I can also read Elder futhark younger futhark as long as I know which region they're from and I can read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and I know a couple hundred kanji
English is what you end up with when you follow real languages into a dark ally; hit them over the head with a pipe; and rifle through their pockets for loose vocabulary and spare grammar...
Yes, technically, the Blood War was perpetuated by Asmodeus in his quest to gain true divine power. The destruction of Dweomerheart sent the dying Azuth into Asmodeus's domain of Nessus. Although many people believed the archdevil killed Azuth and consumed his divine essence to attain godhood, in fact Asmodeus fused with Azuth, and both gods coexisted since then in the same body. Most of the time Asmodeus overpowered Azuth, using his divine powers while the God of Wizards was in a dormant state. But in a rare few occasions Azuth was able to gain dominion of their shared body, and many denizens of the Nine Hells believed Asmodeus had become mad due to his strange behavior. In 1486 DR, Azuth had regained most of his strength and was able to chose Ilstan Nyaril as his Chosen. Asmodeus and Azuth began to struggle for dominion over their shared body and the hierarchy of the Nine Hells was jeopardized because of that. Ilstan and Farideh, one of the Chosen of Asmodeus, devised a plan to separate both gods and avoid a potential devil invasion to all the multiverse. They contacted the god Enlil through his Chosen, Kepeshkmolik Dumuzi, and Asmodeus agreed to release Azuth from his body and to resurrect the Untherite god Nanna-Sin as a non-god immortal and in exchange Enlil allowed Asmodeus to consume Nanna-Sin's divine spark to become a god unto himself. In a ritual performed in Djerad Thymar amid the First Tymanther-Unther War, on Hammer 10 of 1487 DR, Ilstan sacrificed his life to allow Azuth become an individual god once more, thus Asmodeus could attain worshippers and hold divine portfolios just like any other deity, and in theory, could simply stop tempted mortal souls into breaking divine law, because he has the power he needs to fight the demon hordes of the Abyss without needing the souls of sinners. How this changes the politics of the lower planes is anyone's guess, long term.
Well now that certainly throws a massive wrench into Baotor's system of power, still its got some interesting implications. .Kind of amusing to imagine one misplaced fart from asmodeus could imbue an imp with divine power. Thanks for the lore aj
AJ Pickett But doesn't he enjoy the excuse to torture on unspeakably grand levels. a nice cushy inferno is hardly his style. i am so dissapointed... 😈🙁😢
Reading through the Last Mythal trilogy right now, so I get to see Malkizid's manipulations in action, as well as some nasty yugoloths, demons and devils. Just finished the War of the Spider Queen, featuring the totally awesome wizard Phaeraun Mizzrym. It's cool to hear background information on some of the nasty critters featured in those stories.
I think the new D&D movie focuses on the eye of Vecna. So it seems like Critical Role could have had a small influence on the film. So Vecna appearing in the Forgotten Realms is possible. It could be said that Critical Role may influence what happens in some D&D content.
"Discarding one scheme for another if the new one is more evil and twisted" + picture of a horse headed being sitting there cogitating under a rock = best RU-vid dd explanation
I'd advise any DM who wants to introduce a band of Yugoloth as comic relief to watch the webshow Helluva Boss on youtube. It's set in the Abrahamic Hell and revolves around a trio of imps who from a company of incompetent hitmen, who specialize in hits by the damned taken out on still-living mortals.
I think Daemons in Pathfinder would technically be Baernaloths in D&D given their motivations but all Yugoloths and Baernaloths are Daemons, they just have a different name.
I'm curious has anyone watching this video ever played a witch type character with a backstory which has to do with being a child of a night Hag but fortunately never going through their complete and horrible transformation due to their hag mother being destroyed before she had the chance to come back for them.
I would suggest checking out a video of mine on How to Handle Challenge Ratings (like a boss), I added a link in the description that nicely handles all the raw numbers, and in the video I do some conversions and also create a new critter, just to show how easy it is.
I'm glad they kept the name Yugaloths, the way the term Daemon is used is actually surprisingly benign for the most part. The easiest way to think of it is you are the character in a video game and the Daemon is essentially the player. This is not their first go so they can steer you away from that dangerous situation or that dangerous person and people sometimes report having their lives saved by inexplicable actions or reactions they explain in this way. Of course you can just chalk it up to good old human instinct. However regardless of whether you believe in this sort of thing or you just chalk it up to your instincts being so good on occasion it destroys your own suspension of disbelief in real life I think it's a cool idea. The idea of a higher being basically metagaming your life at important moments sounds like something out of a really mindtrippy star trek episode.
7:02 made me think of Rikuo Nura from the anime: nurarihyon no mago. Only evil and twisted obviously. Also anyone else wonder if the Tonberry from final fantasy have any linkage to the Ultraloths?
@@AJPickett They might have. Given that the tanar'ri and baatezu are respectively obyrith creations and a fallen race of celestials, the obyrith and the ancient baatorians may have been the original larvae tainted by law and chaos that the General of Gehenna booted out.
at night 3Am i woke up and couldnt Wake up and walked to my dad and my dad turned to a demon and i got scared and woke up in my bed and could move and thought it was a dream and its over but it happend 10 times i walked to my dad ect. i got really scared then i passed out in bed. i woke up in a dreame and i got aware that it was a dream and i could controll it and demons folowed me and i got bad feelings and i said to myself If im dreaming Il try ti Fly and i did my stumic tickled super much i tryed pinching my arm and it hurt and i wouldnt Wake up anyone know what this is ?
Perfectly normal, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis Best thing to do is try and maintain regular sleep cycles, turn off electronic devices a good hour or so before you go to sleep, avoid games or activities that cause a shock/fright reaction for a while, eat healthy and don't panic, it's a lot more common than you would think for people to experience things like this. It is just your brain, there are no evil things out to get you :)
i was in a dream in a dream in a dream i always woke i thought i finally wokev up but it was a dream in a dream i woke up in my again in the bed when i walked to my dads room like 10 times in a row when i couldnt move
AJ Pickett I've been waiting for awhile Sir! Make sure you combine normal and Spelljamer uses. Request... Maybe use the same video to talk about Ilithids in Spelljammer.
My favorite fiendish types... In my games, I use the devils to represent tyranny and demons to represent destruction, and the 'loths are the beings of just pure and absolute evil. Summoners attempting to call upon the 'loths end up being taken over and manipulated and used.
While my excitement for the Toitle peepul is absolutely palpable right now... This was a great one. :) looking forward to seeing more on these guys in the future. Was always more familiar with the more Axiomatic lower planar beings. So this was a fascinating subject to listen to.
Thanks so much for tackling these guys! I was wondering why there were so many different types of “-oths” goes to show what a little bit of context and a whole lot of hard work compiling lore does to explain such a creature!
Loving the Lore videos, my man. Keep up the amazing work. Also, love me some Yugoloths. What are some good books to try and grab to get some more background on these evil little buggers?
I am loving all of the videos on the Ecologies and Lore of the Lower Planes. I think I have watched most of them so far, but in a very haphazard order. I am starting up a new 2nd Edition game soon and these are helping out terrifically. Thank you. This new game is going to start with the characters all trying to escape Ravenloft (2nd edition version pre-grand conjunction), bouncing to a De-5th Editioned to 2nd Chult, and ending in Sigil for some Planes Hopping. I am thinking about having Graz'zt play a large role in the second and third part (which is another reason I was so looking forward to your other video). If possible, can you do a video on the plans that Graz'zt has for the Upper Planes, and possibly the Arcanaloths (probably spelled wrong). They seem like they may also be a good fit in my Sigil section. One other comment I have about your videos is, I really love the fact that you have a hard time pronouncing some of the names as well. The only reason I know how to say the main city of the Drow is I heard Salvatore say it in an interview. For years it was just Menzobarablahblahblah. One of my players still calls it Mesothelioma. Hearing someone else struggle with these names, it makes feel like I'm not alone in the pain. Thanks again for all the great work and for helping me make a better game for my players.
making a sometimes helpful, sometimes not npc who's a Baernoloth given the Altraloth transformation and warped by Wild Magic. He's about a CR 24 with some crazy ass magic, and instead of corrupting magics he has True Polymorph and Malicious Polymorph, with Sheild, Mage Armor, M.M., Prismatic Beam, true seeing, Prismatic Sphere, Prismatic Wall, Mind Blank, and Wish, with every strike dealing both magic and poison damage, and an aura that empowers other fiends nearby. Even has the Wild Magic Surges. He's the kind of boss u rlly, rlly hope you don't ever fight lol.
ygolophs look like a cross between the animal-featured deamonds and the horned humanoid devils. That's what the designers were going for, right? Also, they seem like the least evil of the feinds. Just some furrys in the job market, looking for the best "employment at will," opertunity. I know some of the are war-prophoteirs and crime bosses, and they have no avertion to being higered for evil tasks, but they don't seem that evil as a whole, unless there's some info I'm missing.
Animal demons and humanoid devils are entirely a 4e construct. The 3.5e pit fiend looked like a gargoyle, and the gelogons were icy insect things. The reason the 'loths seem less evil is because the're not interested in mortals and far prefer manipulating the other fiends.
The thing about yugoloths is in contrast to a devil, if you make a deal with one they are not bound by their lawful nature to honour said contract and will end a business transaction if such a thing would be beneficial to them. They are not so chaotic that they would do this all the time though, as they are cunning creatures. You make a deal with a yugoloth at your own risk.
The current Oinoloth deposed the previous 1 by whispering a dire secret in his ear. A secret that made Anthraxus flee Khin-Oin , a miles tall tower made from the spine of a dead, forgotten God
I made a Battleloth summoner in 3.5, they make excellent weapons for a sneaky evil conjuration wizard who likes melee and isn't interested in hoarding gold. However, you need to remember they will betray you the moment there's a better option, and the crossbow is not good for stealth attacks, as it will outright ask the victim if they'll pay better telepathically (It comes with infinite ammo, so if you're not hiding your summoning and just want to start shooting, this is fine). The arrows are good for spying, distracting, and setting up sneak attacks, but little else. Your best options are the Axe, because it likes the violence and bloodshed, and you just need to promise it something to hack through (before it loses patience...), although the Picks are easier to appease, since they'll consider getting planted into an enemy's throat to drink them dry a fair payment (And they're far more patient. But the picks will get stuck and won't stay weapons; keep in mind you'll have trouble using them as a weapon for more than one attack). Be prepared for betrayals, it's just a question of when. Avoid being backstabbed at critical moments with intimidation, deception, or persuasion; or else that pick might be gorging itself on your blood instead. Fun summons though, lots of opportunity for roleplaying.
