Baphomet (pronounced: /bɑːˈfoʊmɛt/ ba-FOM-et[11] 
listen or: /ˈbɑːfʌmɛt/ BAF-u-met[11] listen or: /ˈbɑːfoʊmɛt/ BAF-oh-met[12]) was a demon lord who ruled a layer of the Abyss called the Endless Maze. He was the Prince of Beasts, an embodiment of savagery and an insidious force that wormed its way into the heart of his followers to deceive them into embracing brutality.[13][1][3]
Description
Baphomet appeared as a great, 20‑foot-tall (6.1‑meter) black-furred minotaur with six iron horns. A fiendish light burned in his red eyes.[4][5]
Powers
Baphomet could spit out gouts of unholy water.[13]
Possessions
He wielded a giant bardiche called Heartcleaver.[4]
Realm
Baphomet's realm was the Endless Maze, the 600th layer of the Abyss, supposedly infinite in size. Here, Baphomet dwelt in his palace, the Lyktion,[4] and spent his time creating various new demonic breeds in his infamous Tower of Science. Some of his more successful creations were the goristroi, the bulezaus, the ghours, and the feral ankashars.[15]
Relationships
Baphomet, the Horned King.
Baphomet hated Yeenoghu, and the two were bitter enemies. They'd warred against each other[13][16][6] for as long as they could remember, and both had forgotten the origin of their feud. Baphomet's other enemies included the demon lord Orcus who imprisoned him,[16] and the Demon Queen of Harpies, Ardat.[17]
Baphomet had an unusual relationship (for a tanar'ri) with Pale Night, who shared his lair. The two were neighbors with what amounted to an unofficial noninterference pact, as Pale Night's influence did not really extend much further than the edges of her plateau. Though they never joined forces to accomplish a goal, it was possible that any attempt to lay siege to the holdings of one might provoke the other.[2]
Worshipers
Cultists of Baphomet rampaging.
Baphomet had a multitude of minotaur and humanoid followers and minions. He was also served by bulezau and by ghour demons, a race of demons resembling burly, hairless minotaurs that commanded troops of these mortal minions. He sought to use them to further his schemes, notably to gain the upper hand in his battles against Yeenoghu. A multitude of other twisted creatures revered Baphomet as well, some becoming his thralls, and if they pleased their bestial patron, they would be granted rulership of a portion of the Endless Maze. Those who failed Baphomet were devoured, naturally.[19][20][21]
Baphomet granted spells as a lesser deity[7] and had as his symbol a twisted circular maze awash in blood.[2]
History
Baphomet began his existence as a mortal creature, though it was unknown, even by Baphomet himself, whether he was a beast that lived as a man or a man who lived as a beast. It was also suggested that he was cursed by the gods for daring to treat them like cattle, and thus banished to the Abyss. In any case, Baphomet reveled in his power, seeing the curse more as a blessing.[1]
By the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR, Baphomet had been captured by an alliance between Yeenoghu and Orcus and resided as prisoner in Orcus' layer.[16][22][note 3]
Appendix
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See Also
Background
The D&D demon lord Baphomet is based on the entity Baphomet, whom the Knights Templar were later accused of worshiping and later adopted in Western occultism. His appearance is similarly based on the goat-like figure depicted by occultist Eliphas Lévi. Baphomet first appeared in D&D in the 1st-edition adventure Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (1982).
Notes
- ↑ Baphomet is CR 20 in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss, but that is not a Forgotten Realms manual; it's a "default setting" manual, which in 3e meant Greyhawk. In Faiths and Pantheons he is stated to be a Lesser Deity, and deities don't usually have a CR. This is speculation, but CR 20 might refer to Baphomet as a demon lord in other cosmologies (as implied in Manual of the Planes 3rd edition page 62 D&D 3e had all settings in separate cosmologies, opposed to ADnD; and as stated in Faiths and Pantheons page 4, local aspects of deities were considered intependent from their other selves in other "worlds").
- ↑ Baphomet had vengeance and minotaurs as his portfolio according to the Realms source Giantcraft. According to the Core and Planescape sources Monster Mythology and On Hallowed Ground, it was battle and minotaurs instead.
- ↑ The year 1357 DR was derived from the event of King Virdin's death which is mentioned as a past event in The Throne of Bloodstone on page 3.
Gallery
Appearances
- Adventures
- The Throne of Bloodstone • Out of the Abyss • Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus
- Novels
- Referenced only
- Archmage
Sources & Further Reading
- Gary Gygax (August 1983). Monster Manual II 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 36. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
- Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 81. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- Ray Winninger (September 1995). Giantcraft. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0163-2.
- Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- Monte Cook (October 2002). Book of Vile Darkness. Edited by David Noonan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-3136-1.
- James Jacobs (March 2006). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet: Prince of Beasts”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #341 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 21–24.
- Ed Stark, James Jacobs, Erik Mona (June 13, 2006). Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 58–50. ISBN 0-7869-3919-2.
- Eric L. Boyd and Ed Greenwood (May 2007). “Volo's Guide: Demon Cults of the Realms”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #355 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 70–73.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Robert J. Schwalb (November 2008). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #369 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 18–22.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 James Jacobs (March 2006). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet: Prince of Beasts”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #341 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Ed Stark, James Jacobs, Erik Mona (June 13, 2006). Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 58–59. ISBN 0-7869-3919-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Robert J. Schwalb (November 2008). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #369 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 19–22.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 142–143. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Christopher Perkins, Adam Lee, Richard Whitters (September 1, 2015). Out of the Abyss. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 234–235. ISBN 978-0-7869-6581-6.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 James Jacobs (March 2006). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet: Prince of Beasts”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #341 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 221. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- ↑ Ray Winninger (September 1995). Giantcraft. Edited by Karen S. Boomgarden. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 56–67. ISBN 0-7869-0163-2.
- ↑ Carl Sargent (May 1992). Monster Mythology. (TSR, Inc), p. 81. ISBN 1-5607-6362-0.
- ↑ Colin McComb (October 1996). On Hallowed Ground. Edited by Ray Vallese. (TSR, Inc.), p. 176. ISBN 0-7869-0430-5.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Frank Mentzer (January 1985). “Ay pronunseeAYshun gyd”. In Kim Mohan ed. Dragon #93 (TSR, Inc.), p. 25.
- ↑ Adam Lee, et al. (September 2019). Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Edited by Michele Carter, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7869-6687-5.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Gary Gygax (August 1983). Monster Manual II 1st edition. (TSR, Inc), p. 36. ISBN 0-88038-031-4.
- ↑ Robert J. Schwalb (November 2008). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #369 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 26.
- ↑ James Jacobs (March 2006). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet: Prince of Beasts”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #341 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 24–25.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson (1988). The Throne of Bloodstone. (TSR, Inc), p. 64. ISBN 0-8803-8560-X.
- ↑ James Jacobs (September 2007). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Apocrypha”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #359 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 57.
- ↑ Robert J. Schwalb (November 2008). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #369 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 27.
- ↑ Ed Stark, James Jacobs, Erik Mona (June 13, 2006). Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 152–154. ISBN 0-7869-3919-2.
- ↑ Robert J. Schwalb (November 2008). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts”. In Chris Youngs ed. Dragon #369 (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 25–29.
- ↑ James Jacobs (March 2006). “The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet: Prince of Beasts”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #341 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), pp. 27–28.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 142. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.