Let's Read: The Dungeons and Dragons 5e Monster Manual!

[SaintRidley]

Honestly, with regards to Demiliches, I still prefer the style of demilich as being a transcendent state for the lich - something the lich achieves on the way to a greater spiritual or magical apotheosis. I'm actually disappointed that the demilich in 5e seems so stripped down - I'm all for keeping lich spellcasting on them when I use them. I also have a homebrew setting where the gods were all killed by a mad demilich who is slowly in the process of merging with magic itself, so that's probably part of my thinking on demiliches more generally (I'm in the process of statting up a version of this goddess with an eye toward CR 30, too).

[GorinichSerpant]

Honestly, with regards to Demiliches, I still prefer the style of demilich as being a transcendent state for the lich - something the lich achieves on the way to a greater spiritual or magical apotheosis. I'm actually disappointed that the demilich in 5e seems so stripped down - I'm all for keeping lich spellcasting on them when I use them. I also have a homebrew setting where the gods were all killed by a mad demilich who is slowly in the process of merging with magic itself, so that's probably part of my thinking on demiliches more generally (I'm in the process of statting up a version of this goddess with an eye toward CR 30, too).

Why not both, what if there is is debate over whether demiliches are transcendent or deterioration? Some lichs could seek it, others try to avoid it. Which could add another interesting layer to liches, demilichdom could be used as a cheat as a shortcut to enlightenment/nirvana/spiritual or magical apotheosis via a single "lifetime" instead of the proper way of many reincarnations. At least some see it that way, others see it as losing themselves to the void, having one's identity crumbled away into dust, having one's desires and goals taken away from them, only to become a hollow shell, like the puppets they broke their backs in study to control.

[Shining Wrath]

The Dretch
The children of the abyss, the dretch dates back to first edition. When chaotic evil people die, they spawn as a manes, and then their first "promotion" is to dretch. As such they are weak (CR 1/4) and not very interesting. Like all the demons they have telepathy, but theirs only works on creatures that speak Abyssal.

Art
Are those ... genitals? Ewwww. As with most of the art in this section, we have no context to compare the dretch to other beings, and no setting. The idea of stupid is conveyed pretty well.

Purpose and Tactics.
Cannon fodder.Their only attack of interest is a one-a-day fart. They have the standard demonic resistences and darkvision. Dretches are described as milling about in mobs and that's how to use them as a DM; throw a few in to adjust the challenge of an encounter with something more memorable.

Fluff
Malicious, unhappy, and dumb. Imagine spending centuries in this form, fighting and hoping to last long enough to be promoted to shadow demon or vrock.

Hooks

There has been activity at the old abandoned temple in the bad part of town ... and loathsome creatures have been seen peering through gaps in the walls.

A dretch vaguely understands that it can become more powerful if it sheds enough blood - and it is willing to serve you if you will give it the chance.

While traveling through the abyss you come upon a lone dretch - and somehow you recognize it as the incarnation of someone you owed a favor to, years ago. Can you redeem the dretch and help it escape its dreadful fate?

[Envyus]

Quick note. Demons are not really promoted. They can grow enough in power that they mutate into a more powerful form. (Which can be random and allows them to make some big jumps.) Or the whims of Demon Lords who can transform the demons who serve them depending on what they want at that moment.

Also a Dretch does not need to have evolved from a manes, the Abyss spawns demons at random at as well.


Dretch kind of have a interesting place with the fiends. While they are stupid and cowardly cannon fodder. They are a bit more interesting then the other fiendish cannon fodder, Manes and Lemures, largely because while they are stupid, they do have enough intelligence to fear things. Manes and Lemures just attack anything that gets near them unless a stronger fiend tells them not to. Dretch fear death and obey stronger Demons or group up with other Dretch to avoid death, this is the only way they will be able to get strong enough to survive, and if they don't obey the stronger Demons will kill them.

[SaintRidley]

Why not both, what if there is is debate over whether demiliches are transcendent or deterioration? Some lichs could seek it, others try to avoid it. Which could add another interesting layer to liches, demilichdom could be used as a cheat as a shortcut to enlightenment/nirvana/spiritual or magical apotheosis via a single "lifetime" instead of the proper way of many reincarnations. At least some see it that way, others see it as losing themselves to the void, having one's identity crumbled away into dust, having one's desires and goals taken away from them, only to become a hollow shell, like the puppets they broke their backs in study to control.

Not a bad idea.

[Shining Wrath]

I meant to include the old-school dretch image:

[smcmike]

I meant to include the old-school dretch image:

Now that is some good art, and way scarier than the strange pig-demon 5e gave us.

[RazDelacroix]

I have to admit, in regards to fiendish artworks, I have been spoiled by Tony DiTerlizzi. A LOT!

[Envyus]

I think the current Dretch looks pretty good.

[ShikomeKidoMi]

I do like the way the current one's face looks like it's melting. I wish it had kept the big round body with spindly limbs design, though. There's a tendency to be kind of samey on body types with humanoid monsters (usually muscular, occasionally deathly skinny, very rarely morbidly obese) that it broke the mold with.

[smcmike]

Yeah, the current one is too muscular. This is a Dretch. It has 11 strength. That thing there looks like it's about to do some sort of beserk act of strength.

I like the 5e art quite a bit, but overall most things look a bit too muscular and sleek and tough. Spindly limbs are scary.

[Envyus]

Yeah, the current one is too muscular. This is a Dretch. It has 11 strength. That thing there looks like it's about to do some sort of beserk act of strength.

I like the 5e art quite a bit, but overall most things look a bit too muscular and sleek and tough. Spindly limbs are scary.

11 Is a bit above average. Added on Dretch are like 4 feet tall.

[Gastronomie]

Spoiler: Other Dretch art

Show

I personally like the 5e Dretch's face, but as for the body, these hunched, disfigured concepts seem more "like it". Dretches are meant not to be powerful and imtimidating foes with bulging muscles, but rather pitiful, wretched creatures that make you plain "disgusted".

When explaining about how demons look to the players as a DM, the "Booklet of Infinite Horrors" from the DM's guild seems pretty damn interesting (I'm not its author BTW! But it's free!) I'm gonna use it for an OotA campaign I'm running soon, and it's gonna help me out a lot with the descriptive details.

I personally love how savage-looking Barlgura seems (and its abilities are actually pretty damn savage too!)
Becoming invisible is also an interesting ability for surprising the players and the characters. Again, I'm gonna use this for OotA.

[MrConsideration]

I love the old school Dretch. They have a sort of cheeky-impish quality.


Glabrezu

The Glabrezu, once known as the ‘Type III Demon’, is a bizarre mix of horns, pincers and giant size. Reflecting the chimeric mix of its form are an odd assortment of abilities which make it an adaptable foe with an awful lot of pincer-y punch. I’ve fought them, but I’ve never DM’d one – the result was a near TPK! (my druid and the party barbarian escaped).

Art
I’m not a fan. The claws look oddly two-dimensional, almost flat, and the vestigial arms just make the whole creature somewhat ridiculous and weirdly insecure – the demonic equivalent of a comb-over. It’s roaring and brandishing its weapons like every other cretin in the ‘D’ section. It manages to be simultaneously naked (with appropriately PG Ken-doll demon crotch) whilst having enormous shoulder armour plates with silly “I’m evil, look!” spikes on them. For someone who is, according the lore, an erudite tempter in the Faustian mold, he looks stupid and animalistic. The only positive, for me, is that it strongly represents the a chaotic, anathema-to-nature vibe. It’s just a shame its an anathema to me too. I prefer the aquatic look of the Pathfinder incarnation or this effort.

Fluff
It’s a sort of fiendish version of a loan-shark. It pops up and seductively offers you power and dominion over all life if you sign on the dotted line – and if you’re smart enough to refuse it just shrugs and tears you to pieces. There’s a lovely demonic logic to that, and I like the idea of demons who are more than smash-and-grab. It gives you an immediate story-hook (and what that nabs genre-savvy players, too!) and is therefore good fluff.

Purpose and Tactics
So, you could easily play the Glabrezu as a low-level boss or commander in some form of demon cult, tempting the local notables into worshipping Mammon in order to crawl up the greasy pole. Unlike most tempters (succubi, cambions…) it has no means of doing any sort of intrigue. It can’t disguise itself or hide or lie – it just presumably sits in a cellar somewhere dispensing orders to the Cult. That’s sort of…..idiotic, but I do love the idea of the idea of your players unravelling an intense web of intrigue and skulduggery only to uncover this enormous lobster squatting somewhere in town that responds to their efforts with a simple, unimpressed “Come at me, bro.”

In combat, this seafood platter is a total cluster****. It seems primarily designed as a boss, but I think it actually works better, like most demons, teamed up with a random grab-bag of complementary demons. It has some four attacks, which is considerable, but the damage output is somewhat weak for its level – more dangerous is its power to disrupt by grappling and then pile on the damage.
As for its spell-casting, it has a weird mix of spells. Confusion can be enormously disruptive to a clustered group, and can generate a lot of laughs at their ineptitude and moments of dread when the party Wizard marches straight into a waiting pincer. Fly gives incredible mobility in open area, allowing it to rapidly attack vulnerable characters and restrain them. The obvious combo of grappling two characters and then soaring into the air could really worry a party, especially if they don’t have any spells prepared like Feather Fall or Fly themselves. Power Word Stun is great as a non-concentration means of taking an enemy out of the combat. Its spammable spells aren’t particularly meaty, but if you’ve used Fly and Confusion dropping a Darkness on yourself and relying on Truesight to imitate the Warlock Darkness/Devil’s Sight combo gives you ample opportunities to squash enemies with advantage. Whilst the Glabrezu is laying down some major disruption with these spells and abilities, it can rely on its own Magic Resistance to hold off the inevitable save-or-suck spell that will be aimed at the boss.

In an enclosed area, opening with Confusion then leaning on other tricks, this creature is a threatening opponent.

Hooks

The only way to uncover the Secret Name of the Dread Sorcerers before he conquers all the world is to summon the demons of the Abyss who he once trafficked with. But what will be offered, granted or threatened when you traffic with such a creature?

The villagers all looks so very tired. The larder looks empty. No animals remain in the street. They look at you helplessly as you pass. They share glances. It must be fed.

[character] has long yearned to reclaim his birthright – the throne stolen from him before he ever drew breath. He has adventured, gathered allies, drew armies. The Glabrezu whisper that he could wear a crown easily if he would but say the words…

Verdict: A kind of demonic Pollock – all randomness thrown at a wall that results in something great.

[Iguanodon]

Art
I’m not a fan. The claws look oddly two-dimensional, almost flat....

I gotta agree with you there. It looks like someone took an ant's wimpy mandibles, enlarged them, and stuck them on the ends of some arms. The arms on this guy look a bit too insectoid compared to the rest of him, but maybe that's what they were going for, something to bridge the gap between the insectoid demons and the mammalian ones.

[georgie_leech]

I gotta agree with you there. It looks like someone took an ant's wimpy mandibles, enlarged them, and stuck them on the ends of some arms. The arms on this guy look a bit too insectoid compared to the rest of him, but maybe that's what they were going for, something to bridge the gap between the insectoid demons and the mammalian ones.

Perhaps. If D&D has taught me anything though, it's that just because you succeeded at what you were attempting, doesn't mean it was a good idea.

[Envyus]

Here is the art for the Glabrezu



As mentioned it's rather interesting that they are tempters despite the fact they have no ability to change what they look like. (A detail that all incarnations have had.) Still unlike Devils Glabezu are chaotic and can force the issue when it comes to tempting, there is also a good chance they have no interest in keeping their end of the bargain. Likely they will just dispose of their pawn once they get what they want from them, even if that is only a laugh.

[SaintRidley]

So, you could easily play the Glabrezu as a low-level boss or commander in some form of demon cult, tempting the local notables into worshipping Mammon in order to crawl up the greasy pole.

I highly doubt you'd ever encounter a Glabrezu trying to win people over to the worship or service of Mammon. Demons and devils don't mix, not with the Blood War going on.

[TripleD]

Here is the art for the Glabrezu

[IMG]Still unlike Devils Glabezu are chaotic and can force the issue when it comes to tempting, there is also a good chance they have no interest in keeping their end of the bargain. Likely they will just dispose of their pawn once they get what they want from them, even if that is only a laugh.

I think that's why it's best to think of them almost like discount Devils. Devils are slick, corporate lawyer kind of evil. They want a return on their investment, and will see that they get it. They have access to a vast network of lawfully minded power brokers who can make just about any mundane request come true.

Glabrezu are like the guys you see in local TV ads yelling about "Payday loans at no interest!". They are shady and have limited means to grant your wishes (mostly boils down to smash and bash) but if you are so desperate that you don't care, and even the Devils won't take your contract, you know who to call...

[GorinichSerpant]

I think that's why it's best to think of them almost like discount Devils. Devils are slick, corporate lawyer kind of evil. They want a return on their investment, and will see that they get it. They have access to a vast network of lawfully minded power brokers who can make just about any mundane request come true.

Glabrezu are like the guys you see in local TV ads yelling about "Payday loans at no interest!". They are shady and have limited means to grant your wishes (mostly boils down to smash and bash) but if you are so desperate that you don't care, and even the Devils won't take your contract, you know who to call...

I'm imagining that among occultists and demonologists it's considered pitiful to have made a deal with Glabrezu, unless you promptly our tricked them.

Is it just me or do the mandibles look like the should be on a model from an early 3D video game, not on a drawing?

[Shining Wrath]

I DM's a glabrezu. Party minotaur-fighter succeeded on a shove attack and pushed him back through the closing portal. The last pincher attack missed the fighter or else he'd have taken a one-way trip to the Abyss.

In retrospect I'd be tempted to rule that if they grapple you with a pincher they can attack you with that pincher by squeezing. They are still death on two feet for people who can't escape a grapple, though; pincher grabs you and then 3 attacks a turn pummel you into mush.

[Gastronomie]

In retrospect I'd be tempted to rule that if they grapple you with a pincher they can attack you with that pincher by squeezing.

That's perfectly fine, and probably rather the right thing to do. Since most MM monsters tend to be boring with their attacks (most of them being basically the same), diversifying their attack options should be something the DM should take care of.

[Envyus]

I DM's a glabrezu. Party minotaur-fighter succeeded on a shove attack and pushed him back through the closing portal. The last pincher attack missed the fighter or else he'd have taken a one-way trip to the Abyss.

In retrospect I'd be tempted to rule that if they grapple you with a pincher they can attack you with that pincher by squeezing. They are still death on two feet for people who can't escape a grapple, though; pincher grabs you and then 3 attacks a turn pummel you into mush.

That is already the default. Nothing is stopping them from squeezing with the pincer.

[Iguanodon]

I looked at that art some more, and it's really not too bad (aside from the claws which I already stated my opinion on). The face certainly looks demonic enough.

The shoulder spikes are a bit weird though. They certainly fit the visual theme, but I was wondering if anyone can propose a practical reason for shoulder spikes on a demon, anyway?

[Shining Wrath]

That is already the default. Nothing is stopping them from squeezing with the pincer.

He didn't last long anyway - only guys he pinched were a LE NPC who had just botched his devil summoning ritual due to the unexpected arrival of the party (Minotaur used the "charge" key on a wooden door ), and the devil he had summoned. I was all set to DM a 3-sided battle between the LE cultists, the CE Glabrezu, and the party when the fighter got clever and disposed of the demon and devil with one good shove.

[Envyus]

I looked at that art some more, and it's really not too bad (aside from the claws which I already stated my opinion on). The face certainly looks demonic enough.

The shoulder spikes are a bit weird though. They certainly fit the visual theme, but I was wondering if anyone can propose a practical reason for shoulder spikes on a demon, anyway?

They have just seemed to have always had. As for why, intimidation is the only thing, Demons don't really need anything practical reason for anything about their bodies given that they are not natural creatures, but beings of Chaos and Evil. These things don't need to eat or sleep and will live forever.

[Mith]

If you change the orientation, I would be curious about using them to mess up someone in a grapple.

[MrConsideration]

Goristo

The Goristo is the premier bruiser of the demonic armies: a huge minotaur which is used as siege weapon. The bull-headed Goristo originates in a Dragon magazine article and thus has a pedigree that is not quite as elevated as the other demons in the entry. But it has consistently made an appearance in almost all editions since, with little elaboration beyond its role as living siege weapons and enormous thug.

Art
Unlike most of the demons, I don’t have beef with this one. It has a naturalistic look which is very different from most demons , and I find the ornamentation and piercings quite evocative – especially meshed with the idea of the Goristo as some prized pet of a decadent demonic lord – somewhere between an Alsatian, the Sarlaac Pit, a battering-ram and the family car . The face has a great expression of malice and indifference. My only real criticism is , as usual with thd MM, there is no comparative sense of scale. Until I read the fluff, I assumed it was similar in size to a human. This thing is enormous: it should have a drawing that indicates the primal terror we feel as a result of a discrepancy in size.


Fluff
There’s less text here than the Glabrezu or Barlgura but every sentence is a pure vein of adventure hooks and inspiration, and evokes a scene – fleeing an unrelenting predator in some Abyssal labyrinth of horrifying scale, greeting some notable as he descends his palanquin, a Goristo hurling legions of men aside as it single-handedly breaches a gate – this is brilliant stuff because I can use it. An open tab on Thesaurus.com/evil is not helpful fluff – gameable uses of a creature is. For me, the Goristo looks like exactly the kind of mount some sort of Kill Six Billion Demons villain would ride upon.

Purpose and tactics

it’s an epic level bruiser with a mountain of hit-points, resistances and nasty attacks. It should smash through Player Characters. As I’ve said before, a static fight where players exchange blows with a ‘fighter’ monster is tedious in the extreme, so what a Goristo fight needs is a context that forces you to engage – unlike the Balor, the Goristo has no charging abilities or ranged attacks to punish creative high-level casters. But if your Goristo is smashing through the gates and trampling foot-soldiers, it forces players to get their hands dirty and engage with it. A siege setting seems the ideal scenario for a Goristo to play a role – and it could easily be the D&D-able centre-point of a large-scale battle that your party could deal with.

Another great use of the Goristo for a high-level party is as a mount to a caster. Inside his palanquin, he has cover from ranged attacks and spells – players will need to scale or slay the Goristo to fight the true master, whilst the beast bull-headedly swats them aside and the masters blasts them with magic from above.

The Minotaur ability Labyrinthine Recall is also tacked on to the Goristo to emphasise the connection. I think playing one as an opponent in a Labyrinth would be excellent – it slowly gains of them and they have a set time to escape before they are caught. This works even better with a party who cannot best the Goristo in open combat, as they will need to rely on puzzling through your labyrinth and its dangers to survive – a House of Leaves-inspired layer of the Abyss where mortals compete for the amusement of Demons in such a labyrinth would make an excellent one-shot adventure.


Hooks
Thousand-Titles-Cannot-Reveal-A-Spark-Of-My-Greatness, an enormously wealthy Efreeti, wishes to promenade around the City of Brass in a manner that will subdue rivals as an obvious assertion of his magnificence. He hears that in the Abyss, a brute of awe-inspiring vastness can be found. Bring him one – no, bring him the largest, finest specimen ever brought forth – and he will grant you whatever Wish your mayfly-mortal heart desires.

They call it a game. No, the game – the ultimate test. Six teams enter a labyrinth – a plane-sized expanse of winding passage – a maze that moves, that breathes – the last creation of an obsessive-compulsive god – and one team leaves. Nothing about the contest is sure, other than the steady sound of hoof on brick and the promise that failure can mean only death. The crowds are waiting. The beast hungers. Are your players the greatest dungeon-delvers in all the planes?

The city of Drakkenfeld has held back the hordes of the Abyss for weeks. A desperate struggle on the walls has kept swarms of fiends a bay. But this morning, your players awake to footsteps that shake the very foundations of the earth….

Verdict: Like the best steak, the Goristo is bloody and rare. This is a bruiser brought alive by well-done fluff.

[smcmike]

Yeah, great art if the thing was about 8-10 feet tall. Definitely does not give the proper sense of scale.

Flavorful heavies are a very good element for action narratives, so long as the DM does the work of making them interesting through context.

[Envyus]

I should point out that the finding the Goristro in a maze plane would not be that hard. Their creator the Demon Prince Baphomet has his domain in the layer of the Abyss known as the Endless Maze (Take a guess why it is called that.)