Bestiary: Oinos

A canoloth looks like an armoured bulldog the size of a human, with two sets of jaws: a vertical set inside a horizontal set. It has no eyes, relying totally on hearing and smell to find intruders. Its most prominent feature is a barbed tongue several inches thick that it can flick out at a target up to 20 feet away.

Dergholoths are treated poorly in yugoloth society. Not nearly as powerful as many of the other types, they receive constant abuse from their betters. This makes the dergholoths mean, which in turn serves the yugoloths well.

Dergholoths make up many of the yugoloth mercenary companies, but despite their stupidity, they are stubborn and difficult to control. They fight only because more powerful yugoloths compel them. They do not understand the Blood War or know of the profits that higher yugoloths make from their fighting.

When not fighting, dergholoths wander the Waste, sometimes in huge, milling groups up to 500 strong. They spend their time either stealing larvae from the night hags or waiting for a fight.

How dergholoths are created is still a mystery. None have ever been properly examined. Some speculate that ultroloths transform erring underlings into dergholoths for a specified time (a millennium, perhaps) as punishment.

Hydroloths prefer to dwell in water, fire, or lava, but can be found anywhere. The yugoloth community respects them for their role in amphibious and underwater warfare, especially in covert and guerrilla attacks.

Hydroloths use their prestige among their betters to gain power and influence, be it extra wealth or a share of the mortal life forces paid for the job they do. Greater yugoloths have the strength to force the hydroloths' obedience, but they wisely appease these creatures' demands.

Yagnoloths who learn these lessons gain the rank of marraenoloth. They learn that power can be had in knowledge; in this case, the knowledge of the Styx and its twists and eddies. they learn of the power of material wealth, and about holding others hostage to their whims. They also lean about the honour of holding to a contract. At this point, they begin to understand the politics of yugoloth society. And once they've mastered these lessons, they can transcend to the status of greater yugoloth.

Mezzoloths are the lowest yugoloths, the rank-and-file warriors of the mercenary armies. Higher yugoloths rule over them by might alone. Due to their lack of intelligence, the mezzoloths have accepted their lot. In fact, the abuse they receive makes them more vicious, toughening them for brutal combat.

Mezzoloths have little motivation when not fighting in a mercenary army. They wander the Lower Planes (particularly the Abyss) in search of creatures to torment, especially lemures.

Sages have never ascertained exactly where mezzoloths are formed. They appear to be yugoloth adaptations of some other evil creature. Mezzoloths appear slightly more plentiful in Gehenna than elsewhere; perhaps ultroloths or arcanaloths originally brought them there from some other plane.

Nycaloths act in a careful and calculating manner to maximize their personal power and safety. These creatures serve as scouts because they can travel the Lower Planes at will, viewing battles between the baatezu and tanar'ri. They report their findings to the arcanaloths, who use the information in negotiating contracts.

Though powerful, nycaloths endure low status because their information goes to profit others, not themselves. Nycaloths are bitter and jealous of the status of the other greater yugoloths. They scheme constantly to increase their status, often bullying lesser yugoloths to get attention. Sometimes they destroy whole companies of mezzoloths and dergholoths in a fit of rage.

Nycaloths act as elite cavalry in yugoloth armies, swooping down onto enemy flanks and tearing up unsuspecting troops. They pride themselves in their ability to strike without warning, then disappear before the enemy has time to launch a reprisal.

A Nycaloth looks like a big gargoyle with powerful bat-wings and thick, green skin. The head is vaguely canine, with small webbed ears and horns.

The fish-tailed, walleyed piscoloth has the red, chitinous body of a lobster, the talons of a bird, and the head of a carrion crawler. The piscoloth's arms, though humanoid, end in a set of crab-like pincers.

Piscoloths maintain order (or a semblance thereof) in the armies of the yugoloths - a task akin to passing a planet through the eye of a needle. They have short life spans, having to answer to their easily angered superiors. Nonetheless, piscoloths enjoy their work, for they are cruel, hateful, and bullying.

Piscoloths are among the few yugoloths that cooperate in groups. They are commonly found in groups of five or six, ruling over one or more companies of mezzoloths. They maintain order through destruction of those who do not obey them. Of course, being few at the head of hordes of their own abused underlings, piscoloths become subject to frequent 'friendly fire'.

Yagnoloths are princes of sorts. Yugoloth territories are divided into regions, each with a governing yagnoloth. Although yagnoloths command less power than other yugoloths, ultroloths (who determined the regions in the first place) enforce their authority.

Yagnoloths frequently order the execution of higher-status yugoloths, to increase their own already lofty status. Needless to say, all yugoloths other than ultroloths despise the yagnoloths and savagely betray them when feasible. Hated so, yagnoloths cannot gate additional yagnoloths into a battle.

These creatures pay little attention to the rest of yugoloth society. They are greedy and gluttonous, and they abuse their power greatly.

Yagnoloths care little for mercenary issues of the Blood War. Consumers in the purest sense, these creatures live by the labors of their fellows and produce nothing of value. No one knows what inspired the ultroloths to place these creatures in command of the provinces of the Lower Planes. Their merits are well hidden.

One can only speculate on the bizarre cross-mutation involved in the creation of the yagnoloths. Perhaps these creatures have giant'ish blood in them. Or perhaps giants have a bit of yagnoloth'ish blood in them...

They are tasked with bringing justice to the heart of Evil on the Lower Planes. If commanded by the power they serve, they can enter any layer of any lower plane without passing through the intermediate layers.

Supply and lithe, devas look like beautiful humans with long, feathery wings, golden skin, and amber eyes.

Their broad shoulders and meaty fists mark hound archons as able combatants. Likewise, their strong legs indicate that fleeing enemies won't get very far.

Lantern archons are very friendly and usually eager to give what assistance they can. However, their bodies are just gaseous globes, and they are much too weak to render any material aid. When provoked, on the other hand, they can be deadly foes, blasting opponents with rays of focused energy.

The bulk of neutral good devas come from the ranks of the monadics.

Monadic devas have dark brown skin, jet hair, and piercing green eyes.

While astral and movanic devas appreciate battle, monadic devas adore it and view combat as a welcome break from their tedious watch. They prefer to charm any elemental foes, and they move in to harry enemies with powerful blows from their maces.

Slender and exceedingly agile, movanic devas have milky white skin and silvery hair and eyes. When at peace among mortals, they prefer to take the form of a humanoid or animal.

Planetars resemble massively muscular humans with smooth emerald skin, white-feathered wings, and hairless heads.

Rumor in the underworld tells that the first Erinyes were angels who fell from their lefty heights because of some temptation or misdeed. Now the skies of the Nine Hells are littered with their descendants. Erinyes serve as scouts, servants and even concubines for powerful devils. Unlike other devils, erinyes appear attractive to humans, resembling very comely women or men. They're not above taking advantage of being mistaken for the celestials that legend says they once were.

After serving without any errors for 1001 years, a gelugon is eligible for transformation to pit fiend status. To do this, they must remain in the Pit of Flame for 1001 days.