Yugoloth

Yugoloths, which were also often called daemons or nicknamed loths, ) were neutral evil fiends native to the Blood Rift. They were neutral in the affairs of the other fiendish races, interfering only when they saw a situation that might be profitable or a potential for the advancement of their own schemes. The yugoloths were manipulative, secretive, and mercenary by nature, often acting as soldiers for deities in their own private wars, or even at times aiding both sides of the Blood War.

"Fear the baatezu: They are cold and cunning disciplinarians. Fear the tanar’ri: They are brutal, bloodthirsty killers.

But most of all, fear the yugoloths: They are masks of mystery, and no matter how many layers of skin you peel away, you will never know how many still lie between you and the true, face."

- The Unnamed

Description
Many mortals suspected that the yugoloth race as a whole had undergone some form of cross-breeding or otherworldly mutation simply because of the utterly bizarre nature of their appearances at times. The variation between castes was unpredictable; the form above and below a yugoloth could be completely alien to their present form and possibly not even seem alive. One common factor between the different types was that they usually smelt of brimstone and, in their natural forms, left faint ash trails unless making a conscious effort not to. Another shared trait was that the daemons combined some physical features of both demons and devils.

Society
The yugoloths presented themselves as simply greedy mercenaries, willing to sell their services to both sides, while behind that public face, the members of their highest castes viewed the entire course of the conflict as their own thing to control and manipulate until they decided to end it, unify the Fiendish Planes, and turn their attention to the planes of Good.

"Do you honestly think we believe ourselves evil? My friend, we seek only good. It's just that our definitions don't quite match."

- Ailanreanter the Arcanaloth

Like the tanar'ri and baatezu, the yugoloths had their rulers: the baernaloths, who were believed to be their progenitors. Below the baernaloths was the ruler of Khin-Oin, who is given the title of Oinoloth.

Yugoloths craving more power sometimes made a pact with night hags who would transform them into unique and powerful creatures, the altraloths. The most prominent altraloths were the former Oinoloth Anthraxus, and Charon, the boatman of the River of Blood, who ferries souls down the river for a steep price.

Lesser Yugoloths

 * Mezzoloth: Mezzoloths were the most common kind of yugoloth. They resembled bipedal insects with chitinous armor and four arms tipped with razor-sharp claws.
 * Dhergoloth: Large, strong fiends that had a bizarre appearance featuring five arms and three legs, dhergoloths (also known as Dergholoths) were stupid, but also capable of confusing opponents with the strange clacking of their insectile jaws.
 * Piscoloth: Intelligent yugoloths that often acted as sergeants in mercenary companies, yugoloths greatly resembled chuuls, with lobster-like bodies, a fish tail, birdlike talons, and tentacles that carried a paralytic poison.
 * Hydroloth: Hydroloths inhabited the River Styx, and looked like large frog-like creatures (sometimes compared to slaadi or hezrous in appearance) but had wing-like flaps connecting their arms to their legs. Hydroloths could swim in lava, as well as in the River Styx without losing their memories.
 * Yagnoloth: Yagnoloths were large, misshapen fiends that could exhale acidic gas. They had one oversized, muscular arm and one smaller arm capable of wielding a weapon.
 * Merrenoloth: The boatmen of the River Styx, merrenoloths (also called marraenoloths or charonaloths) were considered followers of the altraloth Charon, but were actually free agents.



Greater Yugoloths

 * Nycaloth: These green-skinned, bat-winged yugoloths acted as the highly-mobile, elite 'cavalry' of the yugoloth troops. They were typically arrogant, sometimes wielding large axes but just as often relying on their own claws. Like the mezzoloths, nycaloths had four arms that ended with claws.
 * Arcanaloth: These jackal or dog-headed fiends were the intelligent, civilized record keepers of the yugoloths. Powerful wielders of arcane magic, they also crafted contracts with mortals and other fiends alike, and endlessly studied the intricacies of abstract evil.
 * Ultroloth: Powerful, enigmatic yugoloths that appeared as faceless, gray-skinned humanoids with enlarged eyes. They had a reputation for cruelty but rarely entered combat.
 * Altraloth: A yugoloth of any type that was transformed into a powerful, unique yugoloth by night hags.

Battleloths
A subgroup of yugoloths known as battleloths, they were creatures that took the shapes of various weapons.
 * Arrow Battleloth: The weakest of the battleloths, they often served as spies.
 * Axe Battleloth: Recklessly brave combatants.
 * Crossbow Battleloth: The most sought-after battleloths due to their versatility.
 * Pick Battleloth: Vicious, predatory yugoloths that fed on the blood of living creatures.
 * Spiked Chain Battleloth: Aggressive hunters that hunted down other battleloths for sport.
 * Sword Battleloth: Independent, wily, and hard bargainers, they demanded conquests, glory, and loot.

Altraloths and Other Yugoloth Lords

 * Anthraxus. The Oinoloth, briefly usurped by Mydianchlarus.
 * Charon. The ruler of the marraenoloths, ferryman of the River of Blood.
 * Bubonix. A former arcanaloth, later the master of the Tower of Incarnate Pain.
 * Inthracis. An ultroloth necromancer master of Corpsehaven.
 * Kexxon. The Oinoloth, the Archgeneral of the Blood Rift.
 * Malkizid: Formerly a solar serving the Seldarine, Malkizid was later both an exiled archdevil and a lord of yugoloths.
 * Mydianchlarus was briefly the Oinoloth, ruler of the Wasting Tower of Khin-Oin.
 * Taba. One of the greatest spies and thieves in the Fiendish Planes, Taba could appear as any sort of fiend. She used her abilities primarily to acquire wealth.
 * Typhus. Resembling a hunch-backed mezzoloth, Typhus was a powerful general who commanded an army known as the Infernal Front.
 * Tyranthraxus: This bodiless spirit of possession and flame was called a daemon in Curse of the Azure Bonds. This was also the 1st edition name for yugoloths.
 * Xengahra: An outcast yugoloth who became a living personification of hopelessness. He superficially resembleed a solar.



Other Creatures

 * Baernoloth: Sometimes classified as greater yugoloths, baernoloths were actually the primal champions of evil who created the yugoloth and demodand races
 * Canoloth: When a yugoloth angered its superiors, whether through acts of betrayal or desertion, it was punished in a way so terrifying that prospect of such a fate kept most yugoloths in line. Criminals were transformed into canoloths, the blind war hounds of the yugoloth armies. Forever wracked with pain, the canoloths sensed their surroundings by means of a long, thorny tongue. They hated all things and relished the chance to maim and destroy.
 * Echinoloth: Rear echelons of the yugoloth armies, these fiends combined features of a starfish and squid into an unlovely whole.
 * Gacholoth: Ebony-skinned, four-legged infiltrators and saboteurs.
 * Skeroloth: Skeroloths are formed from demoted mezzoloths, who make up the chaff and fodder for yugoloth armies, acting as spies, thieves, and interlopers. They serve because they must, fawning over the nearest powerful yugoloth and betraying former masters whenever given a glimpse of richer rewards.
 * Corruptor of Fate: Stealthy and cunning manipulators of luck, they often became assassins.
 * Guardian daemons: These creatures were created by the yugoloths as lesser servants for their mortal allies, and to serve in their stead when powerful wizards call upon them for favors. They were found in least, lesser, and greater varieties.
 * Raavasta: Fox-headed planar humanoids descended from arcanaloths, now scattered throughout the planes.


 * Voor: Tentacled, hulking brutes used as guardians, protectors, bodyguards, and enforcers. Greater versions are known as dreadful lashers.

History
"The Blood War is but a game, its armies merely our pieces."

- Ailanreanter the Arcanaloth

The Weeping War
In, a group of Netherese arcanists summoned a trio of nycaloths (Aulmpiter, Gaulguth, and Malimshaer) to test the defenses of the elven realm of Cormanthyr. The nycaloths, who served Malkizid and became known as the Khovanilessa (which meant the "Trio Nefarious"), caused a great deal of damage before Cormanthyr's high mages succeeded in imprisoning them with epic magic.

Unfortunately for Cormanthyr, the prison did not hold forever. In 708 DR, the flight of the elven-raised red dragon Garnetallisar over the realm inadvertently fulfilled one of the conditions of their release, weakening the magical barrier enough that a gnoll shaman could summon them. The Trio quickly moved to exact vengeance on the elves, raising the Army of Darkness and invading northern Cormanthyr in 711 DR, sparking the Weeping War. The next year, the Army of Darkness crushed a force of Harpers at Twilight. Garnetallisar struck back, causing some damage but vanishing in the midst of the fight.

The war raged on. In 713 DR, Cormanthyran forces killed Gaulguth and Malimshaer, but the Army continued to advance on Myth Drannor; its citizens began to evacuate. Taking advantage of the war, drow forces attacked and recaptured the Twisted Tower.

The war ended in disaster for the elves in 714 DR, when Myth Drannor fell. The only good that came out of this came when Captain Fflar Starbrow Melruth slew Aulmpiter, the final member of the Trio Nefarious. The seat of power in Cormanthyr returned to the Elven Court, and the nation was barred to non-elves.

War of the Spider Queen
The ultroloth Inthracis mustered the majority of his army at the behest of Vhaeraun to kill Lolth's Yor'thae, thus preventing her elevation to greater power. He and his army failed in their task, and Inthracis himself was killed by Pharaun Mizzrym but was resurrected using one of his Stasis clones that he kept on the Blood Rift.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Faces of Evil: The Fiends
 * It's All in the Blood
 * Curse of Strahd
 * Novels
 * Resurrection
 * Computer Games
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds
 * Computer Games
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds
 * Curse of the Azure Bonds

Connections
Yugoloth