Barghest (Dungeons & Dragons)

Infobox D&D creature
name=Barghest
alignment=lawful evil
type=Outsider
subtype=
source=
first=
mythical=Barghest
based=
wizards_image_URL=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG22b.jpg
OGL_stats_URL=http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/monstersBtoC.html#barghest

"'Barghest"

The Barghest is a type of monster found in the Dungeons and Dragons game. The name, Barghest, clearly ties the inspiration of the fictitious monster to the black dog, the devil dog, or the monstrous hound found in the folklore of Yorkshire.

As a game-monster, it was created by Gary Gygax and appeared in Dragon Magazine #26 in 1979. It would later be included in the Monster Manual II, published in 1983 and the Planescape Campaign Setting from 1994.

As described in the Monster Manual II (1983) the monster is a sort of otherworldly creature dwelling in a 'plane' or another dimension or reality termed "Gehenna" by the game designers. There, it is described as a sort of unholy lord.

The Barghest is described as, occasionally, spawning a litter of 6 which must be sent to the world of men, also known as the Prime Material Plane, to feed upon mankind until they grow large enough to return to their homes in Gehenna. Monster Manual II describes them as being able to take on the form of a dog, which seems more similar to the folklore upon which they are based.

There ability to take on the form of a goblin, however, is implied by the game designers to make them subjects of worship from goblins when they are found on the material plane. Otherwise described as loners who avoid even their own kind, it seems that the game designers had originally intended for the Barghest to be a 'boss' type monster leading a lesser band of goblins. That is, the monster seems suited to a climatic final encounter for a crew of heroes who have invaded the lair of treacherous goblins.

The version of the monster found in Monster Manual II is describe as advancing in power for slaying and devouring the remains of humans. Any human would do, but more powerful and heroic souls (like adventurers with class levels) would be a quicker way to ascend in power.

In this version, the Barghest had certain magical powers usable at will. Changing their shape from dog to goblin, levitating from the ground, concealing their own alignment or ethics from magical detection, and projecting an illusion of themselves. Once in any day, they could attempt to mesmerize a being, make a short distance teleport, or manipulate the emotions of those around them.

Of particular interest in this version of the monster was the possibility of the beast being thrown back to their home plane if assaulted by magical fire if in their canine forms at the time. The Barghests were completely immune to being harmed by magical fire, but as this would send the immature Barghest back to their home plane and the monster had no means to dimension travel on its own back to the Material Plane, it must be assumed this would not be a happy turn of fate for the creature. It would, logically, be trapped in Gehenna as an immature Barghest unable to secure the human victims it needs to mature to adulthood.

The Barghest undergoes some changes, however, when updated to the System Resource Document for Dungeons and Dragon's Version 3.0 and 3.5. No longer is it immune to fire. Nor it it sent back to its home plane by fire. Its magical abilities remain similar to the version that appeared in Monster Manual II, but with some minor changes. It's canine form is no longer that of a dog but a wolf. (The similarities to the monster of Yorkshire folklore being even more diluted in the process.)

It still retains the need to feed upon humans, which increases its toughness and strength. Furthermore, the monster must continue to find more powerful human souls to consumed, which is represented by the 'level' of their victim. As they become more powerful, it requires a more powerful human corpse to grow larger.

It is not, however, described as automatically returning to its home plane upon maturation. Instead, at maturation, it becomes a "Greater Barghest" and picks up some new magical abilities. Specifically, magical abilities to increase its strength and size as well as the ability to turn invisible.

The barghest is an outsider in the "Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy role-playing game that comes from the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna.

A barghest is always lawful evil. They must leave their home plane of Gehenna to the Material Plane, where it can feed on the corpse of a humanoid in a way that makes the victim almost impossible to resurrect. Eating any person with sufficient skill and experience, of body and mind, will increase the barghest's own size and powers, until they are capable of 'maturing' and returning to their own planeOr|date=March 2008.

It is based on the Barghest of Yorkshire folkloreFact|date=March 2008.

Physical description

A barghest can take the form of a wolf or a goblin, though its natural form is a hybrid of bothOr|date=March 2008.

References

*Cook, David "Zeb". "Planescape Campaign Setting" (TSR, 1994).

*Gygax, Gary. "Dragon's Bestiary." "Dragon" #26 (TSR, 1979).
**Gygax, Gary. "Monster Manual II" (TSR, 1983).

*Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook. "Monster Manual" (Wizards of the Coast, 2000).

* The barghest is depicted as a shapeshifting beast in "Sojourn", written by R.A. Salvatore.

External links

* [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/barghest.htm Barghest SRD entry.]
* [http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG22b.jpgBarghest image.]