Page 30 - Mordenkainen's Tome Of Foes

detached, thoughtful demeanor, channeling his frustra- with grief after the death of his child might seek Orcus's
tion at being distracted from pleasurable pursuits into intervention in returning his child to the world after the
the actions of a cool, efficient killer. gods cruelly snatched her away.
Cultists. Graz'zt attracts most of his followers from All who would become cultists of Orcus must be
the ranks of those who seek pleasure above all else. willing to become undead. Those who commit to the
He promises dark delights and forbidden ecstasies, in cause are admitted to the cult. Those who have second
return for total submission to him. His cult gathers new thoughts and attempt to decline are destroyed, their
members by circulating tracts, poems, and other works souls condemned to the Outer Planes while their bodies
of art that depict encounters with him. Upstanding folk are animated as skeletons and zombies.
regard these works as vulgar, wretched, and obscene,
but the delights they depict or describe sometimes lure a YEENOGHU
curious soul into learning more about the demon lord.
Also known as the Beast of Butchery, Yeenoghu inspires
When a cult beseeches him during the induction of
his followers to devour any creatures they meet. In his
new members, Graz'zt sends an emissary or an avatar
mind, the cosmos is made up only of predators and prey.
to preside over the proceedings, which conclude with
To sate his blood lust, Yeenoghu often rampages
the new followers being treated to a night of debauchery.
across the Abyss, killing everything in his path. Only
those demons that join him in wreaking carnage can
jUIBLEX
avoid his wrath. Yeenoghu's wanderings across the
The Faceless Lord is a truly alien creature, said to be re- Abyss are like the meanderings of a storm. He and his
sponsible for spawning the oozes found throughout the cultists pass through an area like a monstrous hurri-
world. Those who study such topics theorize that every cane whose course can never be predicted.
such creature has a connection to Juiblex, and the de- Of all the demon lords, Yeenoghu has made the great-
mon lord sees and knows all that its minions encounter. est mark on the Material Plane. During his rampage
Wherever Juiblex wanders, it leaves trailings in its across the world eons ago, the race of gnolls sprang up
wake that coalesce into new slimes and oozes. Most in his wake. Every gnoll is a miniature embodiment of
sages believe that ifJuiblex and its spawn were given Yeenoghu's rage and hunger. They mimic their creator,
free rein, they would one day overrun the universe, turn- killing any creatures that cross them and respecting
ing every realm into an ooze-infested wasteland. only those that can withstand their fury.
Cultists. Juiblex has few cultists, and most of them are Cultists. Y eenoghu rarely acquires cultists other than
incurably disturbed or delusional. His mortal cultists gnolls, leucrottas, and the other creatures spawned by
preach of the glorious day to come, when a tide of slimes his incursions across the planes. The few humanoids
and oozes will swallow the world. These wretched fol- that take up his worship are disaffected loners, many of
lowers believe that by aligning with Juiblex, they can them outcasts driven away from civilization. A cult of
avoid the fate that awaits all other living creatures. Yeenoghu operates like a pack of gnolls, regardless of
The lord's followers dwell underground, where they what creatures make it up. Yeenoghu infuses them with
maintain a stable of oozes and slimes that help to pro- a cannibalistic hunger, and they know that each victim
tect their gathering place. They use traps to capture they claim draws them closer to his presence.
sentient creatures, then feed them to the oozes in a sim-
ulation of what awaits all who don't reverejuiblex. ZUGGTMOY
The Demon Queen of Fungi has many traits similar to
0RCUS
those ofJuiblex. Some sages believe she is the origi-
The bloated Demon Prince of the Undead seeks to end nator of all fungi and molds, from the mushrooms that
all life in the cosmos, replacing the living with immortal, grow in the forest to the deadliest forms of yellow mold.
undead creatures that answer only to him. In this grim Those who study demons argue that Zuggtmoy isn't
future. the many suns of the Material Plane are extin- merely a patron of fungi, and that her ultimate goal is
guished, and all hope has faded away. All that remains is to meld all living creatures into one great organism, an
the eternally static realm of the living dead. entity that she will then join with and rule over.
Orcus is the universe's staunchest advocate of stag- Cultists. Most of Zuggtmoy's cultists are hapless mor-
nation. He sees the activity of life as noisy, crude, and tals that have been infested with the demonic spores she
maddening. It rakes at his senses like the claws of a rat cultivates in the fungi she created. The spores slowly de-
scratch across a hard floor. In his view, the universe can vour these creatures' brains, leaving them with enough
know peace only when life's incessant hum is replaced functionality to spread malevolent fungi but robbing
with the peace and quiet of the world of the dead. them of the will to turn against their master.
Cultists. Worshipers of Orcus are heretics and blas- A few mortals freely enter her service. Most are dru-
phemers who see the gods of the multiverse as cruel, ids who want to exterminate civilization and replace it
unjust creatures. They resent that mortals must suffer with wild plants and fungus, or deluded, power-hungry
and die at the whims of these entities. In Orcus, they see individuals who believe that they would retain their iden-
the promise of release from pain without the demand of tities while they bring others under Zuggtmoy's thrall.
obedience. In the state of undeath that Orcus offers, they Zuggtmoy allows these zealots to retain their existing
will be free from hunger, fear, and worry. forms if doing so furthers her aims and helps to spread
People who have lost a loved one to a tragic death are her children far and wide, but they are destined for the
especially susceptible to his appeal. A father stricken same fate as all the others.

CHAPTER 1 I T li E BLOOD WAR
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