Yugoloths
Made with Hero Forge
(from Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix I - 1994 - [credits])
In Sigil, City of Doors, many seek the door to a better life. Among them enterprise, even opportunism, is a cardinal virtue. Their stories offer many examples of the poor hero who, by luck and pluck and a strong sword arm, found his way to riches. If that hero happened to betray a scalawag employer along the way, or perhaps fell away from the restrictive ideals of his early faith, the tales reduce such shortcomings to mere idiosyncrasies; some even promote them as wisdom, as a necessary adjustment to a hard world.
Yet all these tale-spinners, who talk easily of shrewd oathbreakers and lovable roguish backstabbers, draw short and flare their nostrils at the insult that remains, even yet, unforgivable: “not worth a yugoloth.”
Yugoloths are fiends that inhabit the Lower Planes of Acheron, Gehenna, the Gray Waste, and Carceri. They act as mercenaries in the Blood War, but they display a complete lack of loyalty. These cunning creatures turn on their employers for greater payment by another. Those who use yugoloths as mercenaries must have power over them before entering battle.
Yugoloths fall into two categories. Greater yugoloths act as officers, ruling by strength alone. Lesser yugoloths, the rank-and-file, serve diligently for promises of power and wealth. They are divided as follows:
Greater: arcanaloth, nycaloth, ultroloth
Lesser: dergholoth, hydroloth, mezzoloth, piscoloth, yagnoloth. There are also various guardian yugoloths, and the lesser marraenoloths, which are not covered here.
The yugoloths quarrel among themselves. Individually ferocious, they are inefficient formation warriors. The baatezu and tanar’ri use yugoloths in the Blood War only because each fears the other might gain an advantage by using them.
Greedy and avaricious, yugoloths gladly turn on their employers for the right price. Fortunately for the yugoloths, battle reports rarely return to Baator or the Abyss. When they do, the offending yugoloths are hunted and punished with unimaginable torture. This does not deter further betrayals, for the greed of a yugoloth runs deep.
Yugoloths are affected by various attack forms as noted below:
Acid = no damage
Cold = double damage
Electricity (lightning) = full damage
Fire (dragon, magical) = no damage
Gas (poisonous, etc.) = half damage
Iron weapons = no damage*
Magic Missile = full damage
Poison = no damage
Silver weapon = full damage
*If affected by normal weapons, full damage
All yugoloths have the following spell-like powers, usable at will: alter self, animate dead, cause disease (reverse of cure disease), charm person, improved phantasmal force, produce flame, and teleport without error. Yugoloths can also gate in their fellows when necessary. However, this is as much a liability as an asset. Due to their quarreling, bickering nature, gated yugoloths are 25% likely to turn on their summoner and aid the opponent. If the opponent wins, the traitorous yugoloth tries to cadge a reward for its help.
THE BOOK OF KEEPING:
Because yugoloths are servants and mercenaries, they are naturally prone to summonings and conjurations by spellcasters. When a mage summons a lower planar being, he is 40% likely to summon a yugoloth; otherwise he summons a gehreleth.
However, an ancient tome details the processes of summoning yugoloths, both greater and lesser. Penned by some unknown hand, The Book of keeping relates much about the magical summoning and control of yugoloths, and even gives personal names of some greater yugoloths. Of course, any spellcaster foolish enough to utter one of these names needs strong protection, or the creature so named smites the summoner and devours his life force. At least four copies of The Book of Keeping exist, but their locations remain unknown.
The only class that can use one of these tomes is the conjurer specialist wizard. He must be wary, however, for the greater yugoloths are powerful and vengeful. Even a skillful conjurer has trouble binding one, and the yugoloths’ memories are everlasting.
THE GENERAL OF GEHENNA:
Somewhere in the brimstone wastes of Gehenna, there roams an ultroloth so strong that none contests his power: the General of Gehenna, ruler of everything there. Many ultroloths search for this great general in hopes of serving with him. They believe that service with the General of Gehenna grants power and prestige among the lower planar entities.
Whatever the case, no one finds the General unless he desires it. His personal name is unknown, and even The Book of Keeping does not mention this powerful, thoroughly evil entity. Perhaps some secrets are best unrevealed.
(from Planescape Faces of Evil: the Fiends - 1997 - [credits])
"To think like a yugoloth, you first have to empty your heart and mind of all you have learned in the past. You must achieve a state of unity within yourself, fully accepting all that you are today and all that you might be in the future.
"Bid farewell to that self and float. Float in the darkness of your empty spirit. Now open the doors of your spirit and allow thoughts of Evil to filter in. Not "evil," mind you, but Evil. Petty larcenies and mild misdeeds mean nothing to you. You have your eyes on a much grander prize than the price of a mortal life. You want nothing less than the multiverse itself under your heel... yet still you are not the master of your destiny. After all, you have sold yourself to Evil. You are no more than a pawn on a chessboard, and no matter how high you strive to ascend, there will always be something mightier than you.
"Does this then mean that you cease your striving? That recognizing your own insignificance means that you stop all struggle for life? It does not. Any effort you make, no matter how small, adds to the total. If you can tilt the balance with your weight, you seek to do so. And you seek to draw others to do so as well.
"What means do you use to accomplish these ends? Bully works well on the less intelligent and the fearful. Sincere flattery works best on the insecure. Gold and gems win over those disposed towards greed. The offer of knowledge and power lures the would-be tyrants. You use any means at your disposal, always promising more. You draw all into your web, and once your pawns are trapped, you can place them anywhere on the playing field you desire.
"Best of all, once the puppets have been gulled by seeing what they can achieve (remember to give them only a glimpse of that achievement, allowing them to do the actual work themselves), they'll pursue that end to the exclusion of all others. At that point, they're little more than rag dolls in your hands.
"Some, of course, will not succumb to your blandishments. They are the better adversaries, the true challenges. Still, with foresight and planning - and perhaps even a bit of luck - the necessary factors will converge to drive the resistant foes straight into your arms.
"Do you see? Though the yugoloths seek to become ascendant over all the creatures of the multiverse, though they jostle for position among themselves, their very lives are dedicated to the furthering of Evil. If they can add one more spirit to the side of darkness, if they can draw in millions of primes with simple words and sacrifices, they'll do it. They hate to give anything of themselves but they'll do even that, if necessary.
"In short, yugoloths are the worst kind of fanatics, the sort who tenaciously do whatever it takes to realize their goals. They've spent coutnless eons scheming to drag the multiverse toward the pole of Evil, and they've laid their webs in every corner of the planes. They love nothing more than a challenge, and they seek out - an annihilate - any and all challenges to the supremacy of their guiding force.
- The Unnamed
THE LIES OF TRUTH - Enkillo the Sly:
Look alive, berks, I've got loads to say and little time to say it. In my youth I walked from Mechanus to Limbo and every place in between, and folks everywhere always seemed to toss the same chant: The yugoloths are creatures of purest evil, the living representations of the worst the Lower Planes have to offer. They're said to survive by any means possible, drawing power through bluff, trickery, and a level of manipulation that makes the baatezu look like sodding primes.
'Course, all this is simply said. I've found precious little proof that the yugoloths meddle in anything more than the sale of arms and mercenaries to other fiends. And the 'loths sell themselves as much as possible. Their bashers spread across the Lower Planes like scum in a pond, signing up with whoever fronts 'em the most jink. That makes 'em invaluable. Naturally, those same 'loths occasionally follow their own desires instead and turn stag on their employers. That makes 'em hated.
Like I said, speculation's everywhere. Folks can't stop rattling their bone-boxes about the yugoloths, even though the 'lothsd try to quash idle rumors and chitchat wherever possible - that is, unless it serves their purpose to let certain bits of the chant get passed on. See, despite their denials to the contrary, yugoloths are masters of manipulation. They know how to play most any berk they run across, using their top-shelf instincts for reading expressions and sensing intents. The best of 'em can turn a basher into a 'loth mouthpiece without ever letting the fool know what's happened. He'll run around spilling the secrets he's "stolen" without realizing he's spreading chant the 'loths want spread.
The hardest part for the fiends, or so the theory goes, is coordinating their hidden truths and skillfully wovven lies. The yugoloths almost always play down their involvement in any action - unless they're too proud to keep quiet or they get caught red-handed pulling someone's strings. And even then, they shrug it off as a fluke, a rare occurance. Fact is, the canny fiends have a way of denying accusations that makes the questioner doubt [themselves].
Even happens to an old experience planewalker like myself from time to time. For example, here's part of a chat ol' Enkillo had on Gehenna with a golden-furred arcanaloth named Alcain Fem'at:
AF: I'm sorry, but I'm not entirely sure of what it is that people expect of us. Mortals seem to think of us as monsters of blackest evil, manipulative predators that serve as handy scapegoats every time a bariaur sniffles or a slaad sneezes. I'll tell you now, I certainly don't have that kind of control over other people's actions, and I don't know many yugoloths that do. I will admit that a few of our number can't seem to let go of the belief that they must be evil incarnate. After all, we yugoloths are said to be the force that balances the baatezu and the tanar'ri, so we must be as wicked and base as they are, mustn't we?
Take this down, if you would. We are simply merchants, if you feel the need to classify us so simply. We see the possibilities inherent for profit in the Blood War, and we act accordingly. We do the same in conflicts across all planes. To suggest that we control and steer these conflicts is utterly preposterous. If, on occasion, we seize an opportunity to gain ourselves the greatest profit, what of it? Any merchant in Sigil would do the same, yet no one accuses them of manipulating the entire multiverse.
EtS: Really? What about the yugoloth texts that brag about controlling baatezu like marionettes? What about the thousands of times 'loth mercenaries turned stag on signed contracts just so they could steer the Blood War toward greater carnage? And what about the rumor that your race has somehow robbed the tanar'ri and baatezu of their power to teleport around the planes?
AF: As to the first, I'm curious to know how you got access to those texts. But the truth is, we meant for those fictions to be discovered solely to gain a greater edge in our bargains with the baatezu. After all, if a client fears that you know more than he does, he'll often pay through the nose. As to the second, I'm sure the contracts you speak of were broken under the direct orders of our commanders, acting on their own discretion, to further yugoloth profits. And as to the third... well, you know rumors. We've been blamed for the wars on Acheron as well.
EtS: Hold it, berk. If you meant for those sodding books to be discovered, doesn't that imply a strong bit of manipulation - sneaking around behind the scenes?
AF: My boy, that's one small instance, a simple matter of business. The conspiracy theories levelled against us deal with manipulation on a much more cosmic scale. Really, it's ridiculous - even laughable - to think that we could possess such power. Why, if we did, we'd have long since taken over the multiverse, I would think.
Oh dear... I seem to have a prior appointment. You will forgive this intrusion, I trust? I bid you good travels, little tiefling.
That's when a sodding nycaloth hustled me out the door. I couldn't spy who the arcanaloth met with next, and try as I might (a story for another time), I couldn't get back in to see the berk. So that makes me think that Alcain wanted me to believe exactly what I believe now. But that makes me question myself. I know that Alcain was probably a liar, but he knows that I'd think that, but I know that he'd know I was on to him, but he knows that I know that he'd know that I was on to him...
See what I mean about devious games, about wheels within wheels? The 'loths can't be trusted, plain and simple. The only thing to do is pay close attention to every syllable they utter, 'cause there's no telling which word might hold the key to their planes or peels. Better yet, stand back and watch 'em weave their webs from a distance. That's the only way to avoid their snares. Make no mistake. Despite their little smiles and claims of innocence, the yugoloths're born of evil. If they pretend to kind-heartedness, a body can be sure it's just a ruse.
IN THE BEGINNING - Mowatt Ke'Mahn:
Although I am firstly a hunter and a celebrated leader of warriors, I've led enough charges against the yugoloths to say that I know my enemies quite well. Their beginnings have been lost so far back in time that not even their own texts can bear any authority on the matter, but the yugoloths are generally agreed to have been spawned (perhaps by baernaloths) in the glooms of the Gray Waste, near the banks of the River Styx. Rising from the dusty plains of Oinos, the new fiends must have scrabbled toward civilization as so many other races have done throughout time.
However long that may have taken, their history (suspect, of course) tells us that they came to realize their own perfection, seeking to create themselves as the essence of evil, bringing all in the multiverse toward an understanding of their patron force. But upon closer examination, dear Reader, the yugoloths found themselves contaminated with traces of chaos and law and so had to find a way to expunge their psirits of those taints.
Yugoloth histories (most notably the Book of Derelict Magicks, though scholars have recently unearthed others) posit that one ultroloth created a gem called the Heart of Darkness, which it used to "purify" the yugoloths. This magnificent jewel spilled the law and chaos into the forms of the larvae nearby, which were then herded to the Abyss and Baator, where they evolved into the baatezu and tanar'ri. As for the clever ultroloth, he went on to become the legendary figure known as the General of Gehenna, whose wisdom guides the race even today.
Is this tale a true one? Some certainly think it so. But I would be remiss if I failed to mention that current chant - especially talk on my beloeved Upper Planes - brands the yugoloths as hopeless liars. Just yesterday, it seemed as if everyone and his imp were ready to believe that the 'loths were indeed the first and greatest evil planar race, that they did indeed create (directly or otherwise) the baatezu and tanar'ri. Of course, dear Reader, the idea that the yugoloths are less than truthful is hardly news, but regardless, I think I spy on the horizon a backlash against 'loth proclamations of superiority.
Still, the story of the General and his jewel certainly helps to explain why the yugoloths feel as though they can manipulate everything. Even if the tale of the Heart of Darkness is just a fable designed to make the yugoloths feel important, it's a terribly good one.
The Truest Fiends. Of the three primary races of the Lower Planes - baatezu, tanar'ri, and yugoloth - the 'loths are the only fiends that don't arise from petitioners. They draw their strength directly from their planes of power: Gehenna (their new home) and the Gray Waste (their ancient birthplace). Granted, many baatezu and tanar'ri are spawned from their respective planes as well, but they supplement their numbers with fiends raised from petitioners. And the gehreleths derive their essence from their hideous god Apomps, not from the plane of Carceri.
It's easy to see, then, why the yugoloths arrogantly consider themselves the only true planar fiends. Purged of the twin strains of law and chaos, they draw their reinforcements from the essence of the Lower Planes themselves. It's said that as soon as a yugoloth dies, another is reborn, spat out as a mezzoloth near the Wasting Tower on the Gray Waste or near the Tower of the Arcanaloths on Gehenna.
It's easy to see, then, why the yugoloths arrogantly consider themselves the only true planar fiends. Purged of the twin strains of law and chaos, they draw their reinforcements from the essence of the Lower Planes themselves. It's said that as soon as a yugoloth dies, another is reborn, spat out as a mezzoloth near the Wasting Tower on the Gray Waste or near the Tower of the Arcanaloths on Gehenna.
Legends say that these two spires (and perhaps another tower, locked away from mortal knowledge) focus the energies of the Lower Planes, attracting the power of evil and harnassing it for the yugoloths. That implies, dear Reader, that there are always at least a certain number of yugoloths in existence. (I say "at least" because the fiends can also breed naturally, which increases their population.) Supposedly, only the destruction of one of the yugoloth towers can render the 'loths dead for any significant length of time.
True? False? Dear me, who can say? But it is true that the yugoloths claim to have rid themselves of law and chaos, claim to have driven these strains into larvae that would later evolve into the baatezu and tanar'ri. Scholars who believe this claim (what a notion!) have subsequently theorized that the yugoloths destroyed their own living spark when they drained the two ethical extremes from their spirits. That's why, some say, the fiends can't draw new recruits from larvae and why they've been forced to evolve their reinforcements from the planes.
Those who lurk in the underground of fiendish knowledge feel that while the purge may have eliminated the true spirit from the yugoloths, it has ensured that their race is filled with the essence of evil. Now all the yugoloths have to do is keep the popular perceptions of evil from changing. For if those basic notions change, the very stuff of the Lower Planes will change, and that could spell the end of all of the yugoloths' plans.
(from Manual of the Planes - 2001 - [credits])
Possibly the greediest, most selfish beings in the Outer Planes, yugoloths reign supreme among the evil outsiders of Gehenna.
Yugoloths often act as mercenaries for demons, devils, and other planar powers. They are enthusiasticf bodyguards and soldiers because they take such glee in hurting others, but they turn on their masters if the enemy makes them a better offer. They also make good tortuerers, because they delight in misery.
The yugoloths are led by an ultroloth of surpassing power known as the General of Gehenna, who rules with an iron fist - exactly as far as his reach extends. There's no widespread of organized opposition to his rule, but yugoloths outside his immediate sphere of influence have little compunction about acting independently. The General rules from the Crawling City, a great metropolis supported by thousands of grafted-together legs that slowly wanders the volcanic Gehennan landscape.
Whatever their form, yugoloths tend to have the smell of sulfur around them. In their native form, they leave a faint trail of ash unless they consciously choose not to.
Yugoloths speak Abyssal, Draconic, and Infernal.
Combat: In general, yugoloths are focused combatants. They choose one opponent out of a group and attack until it falls, then move on to the next foe. They fight at a frantic page, using their best attacks and spell-like abilities right away, even if they're not sure what they're facing.
Summon Yugoloth (Sp): Yugoloths can summon others of their kind as though casting a summon monster spell, but they have only a limited change of success. Roll d%. On a failure, no yugoloths answer the summons. Summoned creatures remain for 1 hour, then return whence they came. A yugoloth that is itself summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour.
Summoning a yugoloth poses a serious risk. There is a 25% chance that a summoned yugoloth turns on its summoner, attacking immediately (and hoping for a reward from whoever was threatening the first yugoloth).
Yugoloth Qualities:
Immunities (Ex): Yugoloths are immune to poison and acid.
Resistance (Ex): Yugoloths ahve cold, fire, and electricity resistance 20.
Telephathy (Su): Yugoloths can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language.