Yeenoghu

D&D Deity
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caption=
name=Yeenoghu
title=Demon Prince of Gnolls, The Destroyer, Beast of Butchery, Ruler of Ruin
home=Abyss
power=Demon lord
alignment=Chaotic Evil
portfolio=
domains=
alias=
super=

In the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game, Yeenoghu is a Demon Prince, the Demon Lord of Gnolls, and the bestial embodiment of savage butchery. His personal weapon is his dreaded triple flail, created from the bones and skin of a slain god. [ [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080606a] ] Yeenoghu commands the obedience of ghouls and ghasts (mainly through his subjugation of the entity known as the King of Ghouls).

Publication history

Yeenoghu is one of the first demon lords to appear in the Dungeons and Dragons game, and was created by Gary Gygax. [ [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/drfe/20080606a] ]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

Yeenoghu first appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). [Gygax, Gary. "Monster Manual" (TSR, 1977)]

Yeenoghu's role in the outer planes is detailed in the first edition "Manual of the Planes" (1987). [Grubb, Jeff. "Manual of the Planes" (TSR, 1987)]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

Yeenoghu was detailed as a deity in the book "Monster Mythology" (1992), including details about his priesthood. [Sargent, Carl. "Monster Mythology" (TSR, 1992)]

His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in "On Hallowed Ground" (1996). [McComb, Colin. "On Hallowed Ground" (TSR, 1996)]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

Yeenoghu appeared, again as a demon lord, in the "Book of Vile Darkness" (2002). [Cook, Monte. "Book of Vile Darkness" (Wizards of the Coast, 2002)]

Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)

Yeenoghu's relationship to the King of Ghouls was discussed in "Libris Mortis" (2004). [Collins, Andy and Bruce R Cordell. (Wizards of the Coast, 2004)]

Yeenoghu was featured in the "Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss" (2006). [Jacobs, James, Erik Mona, and Ed Stark. "" (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)]

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)

Yeenoghu is one of the few demon lords mentioned in the 4th edition Monster Manual (2008).

Yeenoghu is fully detailed in the online version of "Dragon", in issue #364 (June 2008) in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" feature. [Schwalb, Robert J. "Demonomicon of Iggwilv." "Dragon #364, June 2008. Available online: [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/364_Demonomicon.pdf] ]

Description

Yeenoghu appears as a 12 foot tall gaunt bipedal hyena. His skin is a pale grey, while his yellow fur is patchy and mangy. His large, protruding eyes are an amber hue. He is often depicted wielding a three-headed flail.

Relationships

Like all demon lords, Yeenoghu has a long list of enemies and rivals, and a short list of allies and compatriots. He was not originally revered by gnolls, but gained their worship by stealing the portfolio of Gorellik, their original patron deity. His greatest enemy is Baphomet, the Demon Lord of Minotaurs and the Prince of Beasts. Their enmity has stretched back so far that both demon lords have forgotten the origins of their feud. Graz'zt manipulates Yeenoghu on occasion into battles of Graz'zt's choice; Yeenoghu does not realize he is being used, but loves battle enough that he would hardly care if he did.

Despite Yeenoghu being the "Demon Lord of Gnolls," he accepts worship from other races, notably humans, as well. The infamous Maure family from the world of Oerth is a prime example. However, thanks to the meddling of the Succubus Queen Malcanthet, the Maures were eventually laid low and Yeenoghu counted Malcanthet as one of his most hated enemies.

Because of his subjugation of the King of Ghouls, Yeenoghu also has also induced the ire of Orcus, the Prince of the Undead. However, the two did seem to have come to a mutual understanding and for a time, the duo managed to imprison Baphomet in Orcus' layer of Thanatos.

A few believe Yeenoghu to be related to Karaan in some way.

Nezrebe is a 9 foot tall albino gnoll who serves Yeenoghu directly, leading armies into the Seeping Wood on Yeenoghu's layer to expand his realm.

Realm

As a demon lord, Yeenoghu rules the 422nd layer of the Abyss, aptly and unimaginatively named "Yeenoghu's Realm". It is a salt-swept wasteland bordering a foul ocean in which lurk gnolls, hyena-like creatures, and various carrion-eating undead. Before Yeenoghu took over the layer, it was known as the "Savage Searing", ruled by the fallen Celestial known as Azael. Even before Azael, the layer was realm to the obyrith Lord of Storms and Tempests, Bechard.

Yeenoghu himself lives in a mansion the size of a city pulled by thousands of slaves, which slowly makes its way across the layer.

Dogma

Yeenoghu embodies killing and butchery. Seeking power over his rivals and the gods themselves, the Beast of Butchery commands his followers to show no mercy over their opponents. Yeenoghu welcomes to his worship any who exult in death and slaughter.

Worshippers

Yeenoghu is revered by both gnolls and ghouls, as well as power-hungry humanoids of other races. He acts as the patron for gnolls, wishing to see a material world where other humanoids are simple slave labor or food. However, with his own conquests in the Abyss requiring direct attention, Yeenoghu also attracts other followers who seek power, often corrupting them into supporting his undead armies.

One such Abyssal conquest was the White Kingdom, a layer devoted to ghouls and other undead. After Yeenoghu subjugated Doresain, King of Ghouls, the hungry dead began revering him as well.

Clergy

The typical ceremonial vestments of Yeenoghu's priesthood are dark brown robes accented by mangy yellow furs. The robes are never cleaned, becoming fouled with blood and reeking of dead flesh over time. Clerics of Yeenoghu have access to the domains of Chaos, Demonic, Evil, and Fury. [cite web
url=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060605a&page=2
title=Demon Lord: Yeenoghu
work=Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
publisher=Wizards.com
accessdate=2006-06-27] According to page 8 of the "Deities and Demigods" suppliment, Erythnul grants Yeenoghu's clerics their spells, with Yeenoghu acting as a go-between and a loyal servant, at least, until the chance for him to achieve godhood himself is within his grasp.

Temples

Yeenoghu has few formal shrines or temples. His unholy sites are rocks in the wilderness smeared with blood and feces and crude paintings. In the Abyss his temples are more elaborate, taking the form of five-sided, six-tiered ziggurats covered in corpses and swarming flies.

Rituals

Followers of Yeenoghu perform living sacrifices in remote wilderness regions beneath the light of the moon, eating the living flesh of their victims raw, sacrificing blood to their master. Cults bring back sacrifices to their lair and mutilate them with sharp knives, collect their blood, and consume it with hallucinogenic herbs. They look for omens in the viscera of their slain enemies. Cultists of Yeenoghu never bathe.

Artifacts

The "Triple Flail" is Yeenoghu's signature weapon, its handle said to be carved from the thighbone of a god Yeenoghu slew and wrapped in that god's flesh. Rusty barbed disks dangle from chains affixed to it.

History

Yeenoghu might have begun his soul's existence as a mortal gnoll, or he may be a demon born who finds the gnollish race to his liking.

Almost a thousand years ago, Yeenoghu and Baphomet orchestrated an invasion of Western Oerik, opening vast portals in the forest of Ravilla. Armies of demons, gnolls, and minotaurs poured into the forests, burning them and slaughtering wood elves by the thousands. An army of elves, allied with Bahamut and his dragons, managed to defeat the demonic alliance after a long war. The portals were sealed shut and cities were built to guard them. Yeenoghu and Baphomet became enemies, each blaming the other for their defeat.

Yeenoghu in other media

*Yeenoghu also appears as a demon lord in the roguelike computer game "NetHack".
*Yeenoghu is a monster that drops the item "yeenoghu flail" in the MMORPG parody "Progress Quest"

References

Additional reading

*Pramas, Chris. "The Empire of Ravilla." "Dragon" #285. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
*"The Gnolls of Naresh." "Dragon" #289. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.