Baernaloth

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The baernoloths were among the multiverse's biggest enigmas, mythical fiends of the Gray Wastes as devoid of emotion and color as the plane itself. Rumors claimed they spawned not just the yugoloths, but the demons, demodands, and devils, and allegedly knew most about all creatures of the Lower Planes.

Description
Baernaloths were gaunt, gangly fiends that stood feet tall and had long, lanky limbs. Their gray, skin dripped with pus and was tautly pulled over their skeletons. Their oversized heads resembled the horned skulls of cattle or rams, with glassy eyes that leaked a vile yellow fluid and huge mouths consisting of nothing but teeth and a tongue.

Personality
Part of what made baernoloths so mystifying was their complete emotional detachment to the world around them. They brought strife and anguish to others through agonizing torture, foiling plans, spreading devastating rumors regardless of truth or otherwise worsening the world. What was perplexing about their behavior however was that their acts of cruelty seemingly served no goal, whether it be for pragmatic reasons or personal pleasure. They spread misery as if they were machines, going about bringing sorrow with a mechanical methodology free from greater purpose or sadistic desire. Despite their disturbing disinterest in the pain of their victims, they committed their vile deeds without remorse or reluctance

While most baernoloths viewed torturing as an autotelic activity and scoffed at the scheming of other yugoloths their were a select few that possessed an inclination for planning. Known as the Demented, the baernoloths that counted themselves among their ranks suffered from a mysterious madness, characterized not by a disconnect from reality but by an otherwise absent feeling of aspiration. Embracing both law and chaos, Demented baernoloths sought to subjugate various creatures of the Lower Planes in order to bring about the utter annihilation of all reality.

Abilities
A pair of uncanny abilities existed in a baernoloth's repertoire to allow it to further sow discord and suffering. So long as a target was within of a baernoloth and within their sight, any wound caused by the baernoloth's teeth or claws could be instantly and painfully reopened. This could be done three times per day so long as the wound was inflicted within 24 hours. Conversely, the damage caused by their claws could be instantly undone following the same stipulations as when they caused wounds to reopen, disregarding the need for line of sight. They also possessed several spell-like abilities related to mental manipulation, mind reading and supernatural detection.

Combat
Whether magical or mundane, baernoloths refused to use weapons or equipment, instead relying on their natural abilities. They were intelligent enough to lead others if they were compelled to and were smart enough to utilize their healing ability in combat without jeopardizing themselves.

Society
Though they often wandered in solitude, baernoloths occasionally had companions in the form of night hags or nightmares.

History
Due to their absence from the Book of Keeping and the seeming inability for other yugoloths to become baernoloth's, it was long thought that baernoloth's were not truly yugoloths but a more ancient and primal force. While it was purported that the baernoloths created the yugoloths, the most explanative creation myth of the gehreleths also had a baernoloth creator in the form of Apomps. It was said that when Apomps and the other baernaloths were deciding on the shape that their evil creations should take, Apomps went off on his own and ended up shunned for his chaos-tainted creations. Furthering the claims of unified creation by the baernoloths was the existence of immeasurably ancient texts that asserted both the obyriths and an ancient race of Baatorians were made by the yugoloths, although few outside of Gehenna and Hades believed them.