Evil Deities - Then and Now

published October 16, 2009

Dungeons and Dragons has been under attack from the religious right since its inception. It kind of makes sense, there's plenty magic and sorcery, usually reserved for Jesus and no one else. Everything else is a witch or a warlock in their eyes. There is also a extensive lore and history of the D&D deities. From the depths of the Abyss, to the icy hell of Cania (the 8th Level of the Nine Hells) the deitiy lore is as extensive as any mythology. With evil demigods like Mephistopheles and Baalzebul, it's a wonder why the religious right doesn't freak out a bit more. The only thing is, people are usually trying to kill them, not worship them in real life. Anyways, in the 30 years of D&D, some have gone through major transformations, while some have remained the same. Check out these evil deities, then and now.

Demogorgon - This foul mandrill headed deity is known as the Prince of Demons and has a vast hatred for Orcus, another Demon Lord that aspires to claim that title. The evolution of the Demogorgon was interesting as they split the tentacles in two, placed some barbs on the shoulders and made the heads far more ferocious. The Demogorgon was always one of my favorite evil deities and finally got some credit when he was placed on the cover of the newest 4th edition Monster Manual.

Orcus - The Demogorgon's arch rival started out as a weird fat demon with a dog head and hooves. He has evolved into a machine of destruction with spikes all over the place. His skull rod also got infinitely cooler. Orcus is one of the few demons that started as a mortal, and then after becaming a larva in the Abyss, and eventually rose through the ranks to challenge for the Prince of Demons title. Like the Demogorgon, he also got his own cover on the first 4th edition Monster Manual. Touchè Orcus, Touchè!

Juiblex - Also known as 'The Faceless Lord," Juiblex resides in the biggest pile of garbage in the multiverse located in one of the infinite levels of the Abyss. This Demon Lord is essentially the most disgusting and vile thing you can picture, being the embodiment of slime and disease. In art, he hasn't changed that much, still just being a mass of filth with eyeballs over the place.

Yeenoghu - The Demon Lord of the Gnolls was one of the first demigods introduced by Gary Gygax himself. Not terribly much has changed about him except for the ferocity of his appearance. Instead of having limpwrist, he's flying through the air ready to eat you. The flail he carries is made from the skin and bones of other dead gods. He may not look as tough as some of the other evil deities, but he definitely is.

Asmodeus - Asmodeus is probably modeled after Satan himself and is the Overlord of the Dukes of the Nine Hells. He bleeds under his gown, and each drop of blood produces a powerful devil. Each of the Nine Hells has their own overlord, but Asmodeus is the undisputedly the king of them all. It's quite possible that he is the most powerful of all the evil deities. He has evolved from properly groomed Rasputin look-alike, to a true devil. He still carries that same rod.

Tiamat - The Goddess of Evil Dragons is a deity that people who never even tried D&D may be familiar with. She was prominently featured in the opening intro to the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, but has been a mainstay in the D&D lore ever since. She has the 5 heads of each of the evil chromatic dragons. She truly is and always was one of the best 'end villains' of them all.

Lolth - The vile Spider Queen and matron deity of the evil Drow elves has evolved from an 80's face on a spider body to a complete torso on a wicked looking spider. The popularity of Lolth has probably increased more than any other from the days when she was Signorney Weavers face on a spider.

Graz'zt - The third demon who vies for the title of Prince of Demons is Graz'zt (Orcus and Demogorgon). He holds an advantage over the others, being far more diplomatic and smart, and having many more allies. He is a rare case of a deity that evoled into a less monstrous form. His curved sword remains, and one can imagine that because of all his advantages, he may actually claim the title of Prince of Demons from the hideous Demogorgon.

Mephistopheles - Out of the Nine Hells, Asmodeus is the undisputed ruler. If there ever were a candidate to usurp him, it would be Mephistopheles, ruler of the 8th Level of the Nine Hells. While Asmodeus may be based on a conniving and intuitive version of the devil, Mephistopheles is based on a version of brute strength. In art, he is definitely evolving into a Devil Lord of more and more power as time goes by.

Baphomet - Another Demon Lord of the Abyss, he rules the eternal maze, which makes perfect sense as he is the Patron deity of Minotaurs. He has an intense hatred of the aforementioned Yeenoghu and they have warred for an eternity despite not knowing the origin of their hatred. This deity has evolved from a semi-mean balding looking minotaur, to a an absolute ferocious and monstrous minotaur with flames and blood splatter.

Baalzebul - Rather than go through each of the lord of the Nine Hells, I've chosen arguably the 3 most powerful. After Asmodeus and Mephistopheles, there is Baalzebul, Lord of the 7th Hell. He has gone through the most radical tranformation, going from crazy insect/humanoid devil to a filthy slug. However it is actually explained in the lore, as Asmodeus transformed him into this despicable form. It is rumored that Baalzebul will eventually regain his original insectoid form and make a strong case to become the Overlord of all the Nine Hells.

Apologies to Gruumsh, Kurtulmak, Vecna, Erythnul, Nerull. While they were described early on, actual artwork wasn't really imagined until later on, so unless I am missing something, there is no early artwork of these evil deities.

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