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
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 TH-cam, 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.
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.
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 :)
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!
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
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.
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.
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
"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 TH-cam dd explanation
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.
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?
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.
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.
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...
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.
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?
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 :^)
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.
AJ. Love your show. I would love for more pantheon videos. It may be overplayed but would love hear your take on the Drow pantheon among others. Ideally individually, but as a whole would work, too.
im very intrigued by the relations, political and personal between hags and yogoloths. sometimes I imagine a sort of i recombinant interbeing transience between them, both claiming genesis of the other in a see-saw war of lore. the arcaneoloth and higher tiers might even be both, flipping between the two forms at will. while a single ultroloth is formed in the shared cauldron of thee hags, who combine to manifest a baernoloth.... "who are you???" asked the caterpillar, a long roll of smoke flittering up from his hooka.
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.
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.
@AJPickett thank you so much I love and appreciate your lore content you don't leave any information out Avangions are exclusively from Dark Sun setting Sadly we didn't get Dark Sun in 5E So you might need to reach back to 2E , 3E , 3.5E , 4E
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.
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!
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... 😈🙁😢
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
I always wondered how fiends replenish numbers, like can they breed with each other or something else like that? I know that they can use souls to reproduce if I’m not mistaken
@@AJPickett perhaps you could make a video on that, do your research and see what’s up, I’m sure many people wonder about this all the time, I do believe you would be the first to make a video on it, not saying you have to, it’s just a thought. Great video btw, love learning all about these, helps me role play them better for my players. 👏
very few immortal beings can reproduce others of their own species (succubi and erynies can breed). though this restriction doesnt seem to apply to breeding with mortals. for the most part they gota turn mortals into one of their own.
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.
@@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
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.
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.
Very interested in this genealogy so to speak. As my main pc whom I’m going to be writing about spends a few centuries with the yugoloths becoming a merc of sorts. No worries he is no “bastion of good that overcame ultimate evil” but these ecologies will help flesh out everything so thank you!!
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 saw yugoloth as négative beast. Their plan is opposed to the land of the land of the beast and most of them are beast-like creature with animal faces, like corrupted nature
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…
If Starcream from Transformers was a type of fiend.
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
I like how the 9 Hells are a massive bureaucracy. Anyone who's been in the military knows the hell of working with a bureaucracy.
In the army, they find a way to make doing nothing as unpleasant as possible.
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 TH-cam, as far as I'm able to tell.
That deep sigh at 9:35 when trying to pronounce names is just the best thing.
Every time I'm looking for lore on anything dnd, AJ's got a video. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, will do!
@@AJPickett good man!
Legit do as well. Preparing some Yugoloth tie-ins to a 9 Hells Campaign.
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.
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.
Never fails to make a good evening doing DND research with some AJ. Good job man.
Helps me sleep too tbh dream up campaigns
Don't forget: It's your channel and you do what you want!!
Love to listen to your videos, whatever you do.
Yes! Thank you :)
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!
same
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 :)
I've been looking for a concise and extensive summary of yugoloth lore and this video finally granted it to me. Subbed!
Thank you for all of these wonderful videos. This is my favorite TH-cam channel by far.
Thanks Austin!
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!
Would love to play a Yugoloth-based Tiefling who becomes embroiled in the Blood War. Perhaps courted by both sides for some reason.
Tieling just means outsider so technically yes you can call this idea a tiefling
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
I love your baernoloth stat block, definitely my new favourite monster!
Can you point me toward that stat block? I've been looking for a 5e stat block for a while
Just type in "dnd beyond baernoloth themightygluestick" should work
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.
I think they buy them with larvae or devil soul coins
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.
Gold is gold though
Coins have value to 'loths for the very reason it has value to mortals. Even the devils use wealth to seduce mortals so why not 'loths?
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.
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.
Yugoloths can absolutely make fiendish pacts with Warlocks, a subject I would like to cover later.
Imagine an army of mezzoloths swarming over a kingdom
Is the follow up video out on the varieties of Daemons?
I've been enjoying these, A.J. Thanks for doing them.
Great vid AJ
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?
Yes please we need all the information about this as possible
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
"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 TH-cam dd explanation
I was wondering if you could do a relicoligy video on the book of vile darkness
Lots of requests for artefact lore vids today, good suggestion, thanks Kiara :)
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.
Oh my, even names of loths and things around them are super-evil. They can't be even pronounced!
This video was a nightmare for my poor kiwi accent to handle. I know it drives people crazy when I struggle to get the names right :(
You should make a video talking about the Kython.
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?
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.
Nice! I was hoping you'd do a video on these guys
How about a video on the deck of many things? Where does it come from? Who created it? That would be an amazing video 😁
That is an excellent question! I wonder if I can find out?
Acheron will you talk about the place plane and how old is it and how does the blood war demons and devils fight against each other on Acheron?
Highly unlikely as long as WotC still owns D&D.
Awesome! Thanks again A.J.!
I dont care how evil they are, arcanoloths are cute. Theyre lil magical demon puppies :>
Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap.
Could you do a video on the planes of positive and negative energy?
Yes I can :)
Ah thx so much! I only remember reading a few article's bout them.
Yeah, though they get almost no mention these days, they are still there, in the cosmology.
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.
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...
Check out the video on the Baenoloth and the videos on Hades and Hordlings
I have got a lot more to cover on Hades, including the Night Hags
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...
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.
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?
Fiends: faces of evil 2nd edition planescape book is real good
Since the bargheists were created by the general of gehenna, can we consider it a yugoloth or it's a completly seperated type of fiend?
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 :^)
Need to make sure we talk about Anthraxus. Probably the most powerful Khin-Oin.
Indeed we do!
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.
Arcanaloth need their own video
in all likelihood, the dark eight are a bunch of polymorphed (or otherwise disguised) ultraloths.
hey can you do me a favor no one is not talking about the Dragon Disciple why is that
AJ. Love your show. I would love for more pantheon videos. It may be overplayed but would love hear your take on the Drow pantheon among others. Ideally individually, but as a whole would work, too.
im very intrigued by the relations, political and personal between hags and yogoloths. sometimes I imagine a sort of i recombinant interbeing transience between them, both claiming genesis of the other in a see-saw war of lore. the arcaneoloth and higher tiers might even be both, flipping between the two forms at will. while a single ultroloth is formed in the shared cauldron of thee hags, who combine to manifest a baernoloth.... "who are you???" asked the caterpillar, a long roll of smoke flittering up from his hooka.
yessssssssss great vid also more on the mezzoloth and arcanaloth please and thank you
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.
would it be possible to do a video on the yochlol?
lindus jones absolutely!
wow! thank you!!!
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.
can you cover avangions and aasimars?
Sure, they need an update
@AJPickett thank you so much
I love and appreciate your lore content you don't leave any information out
Avangions are exclusively from Dark Sun setting
Sadly we didn't get Dark Sun in 5E
So you might need to reach back to 2E , 3E , 3.5E , 4E
Squirrel peoples, when you get a chance, please do one on the multiple intelligent squirrel like races of D&D. And have a great solstice.
Happy Yuletide! Yes, I have the Rattatosk on my list :)
They are not the only squirrel like rase.
Do me a solid and give me a list of Squirrel-like races to cover for you, it would save me a lot of time.
How and when did the Blood War end? I've not had much luck in my Google searches across the various wikis.
It paused, its started up again.
They went on a lunch break before came back for more
What are they planning now since the Blood War has ended?
That, is the subject of another video.. but I can say this much, it is bad news for the upper planes.
HYPE
Hey have you heard about Paramount approving a fully funded Forgotten Realms D&D film?
I have heard something about it, I am (I think justifiably) wary, but still excited.
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.
Sounding an awful lot like the elves deserved it in the weeping war.
"Hey assault our city for us!"
"HOW DARE YOU ASSAULT OUR CITY!"
If memory serves me right the realm Arcanaloths are from is Chamada.
In this video you say the blood war is officially over. Anyone have a source for when and why this was the case?
It was temporarily over... it started up again.
I think it only ended because of the spell plague and now that that’s all over its back
Dirty deeds, NOT dirt cheap! Lol
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!
Unless your a mezzoloth, then the price is basically the fact he gets to kill the target
Possible remastered video candidate
Wait the Blood War is over?
yeah that caught me off guard too, what's up with that?
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... 😈🙁😢
I think you mean "all manor of suffering" in the video description
Could you do a video on how to convert non d&d monsters into d&d terms of power
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.
Very interesting creatures, bad to the bone but still they are fascinating bunch of individuals.
I think you should talk about night hags if you have can I will watch your video.
I appreciate the pictures of me....though both got my bad side. I should pole from the other side more often
also, I'm writing a book... it happens t be an RPG system... and I need help balancing it...
What could they even need gold for? And awesome tortles are something im rather interested in
The greed of other beings, and the things they are willing to do for it, is the root of all evil, this is why they love money.
Please do a tayling creature d&d video one born ugly one born pretty
The second layer is named after a Pokémon? Charmander?
5:40 is that the beastmen from Warhammer??
John Phlips it is
Yep, you will have to forgive me, I frequently pop images in from other games and such, and I am a fan of Warhammer.
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.
Whatever happened to Wee Jas?
Greyhawk, still doing well there as far as I know.
@AJPickett Gehenna local we hear almost nothing about as far as I can recall, hence curiosity 😉
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.
Im gonna make a tiefling that got Yugoloth ancestors, but I really don't know from who. Eaither a altraloth of some kind, or just a Arcanaloth
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..." 🐺🤢
In Pathfinder, Daemons are their own race, separate from Yugoloths
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.
Anybody else kind of reminded of the ferengi?
Oh, you wait until you hear about the Neogi!
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.
coincidentally, I just acquired pretty much all of the Spelljammer game books, so, I have a lot of material to research.
I always wondered how fiends replenish numbers, like can they breed with each other or something else like that? I know that they can use souls to reproduce if I’m not mistaken
It varies, mostly it's new souls
@@AJPickett perhaps you could make a video on that, do your research and see what’s up, I’m sure many people wonder about this all the time, I do believe you would be the first to make a video on it, not saying you have to, it’s just a thought. Great video btw, love learning all about these, helps me role play them better for my players. 👏
@@AureliusDux99 I'll give it a look 😉
@@AJPickett you’d be an absolute legend, a true god among men 🙏
very few immortal beings can reproduce others of their own species (succubi and erynies can breed). though this restriction doesnt seem to apply to breeding with mortals. for the most part they gota turn mortals into one of their own.
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.
So the big ass serpent is behind all evils of the multiverse like always
Got it
I feel that the Baernaloths didn't make the Obyrith just I feel that takes away from the Demons unique origins. Just my opinion but love your video.
They didn't make the Obyrith.
@@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.
Are oinoloths a retcon to general of gehenna?
Nope
They are basically a special kind of Yugoloth
Theyre more of a creation of Anthraxus (the Archfiend of Hades)
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 ?
Your not asleep, your high.
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
Yeah, I got it the first time. It was a freaky experience, but you are OK.
mephits?
On the way, I may get distracted, but the list never goes away.
Your audio is weirdly quiet here.
Same settings I normally use.. I am mystified.
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.
Names are hard ? :)
So a Night Hag is just a politician?
You are right. We had one as a Kanzler in Germany.
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.
Very interested in this genealogy so to speak. As my main pc whom I’m going to be writing about spends a few centuries with the yugoloths becoming a merc of sorts. No worries he is no “bastion of good that overcame ultimate evil” but these ecologies will help flesh out everything so thank you!!
I miss this format...
Id like to give yugoloths no emotions, like baenoloths
Do Troglodytes
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 saw yugoloth as négative beast. Their plan is opposed to the land of the land of the beast and most of them are beast-like creature with animal faces, like corrupted nature