Yochlol
Encyclopedia
Yochlols are fictional demonic
creatures in the Dungeons & Dragons
roleplaying game. These lesser tanar'ri are handmaidens of Lolth
, the drow goddess of Spiders, dwelling amongst the outer planes and being regularly summoned by the Queen of Spider's priestesses to witness sacrifices in the name of their dark goddess, Lolth. The summoning process tests the very fiber of the high priestesses dedication. Establishing a mental connection to its summoners, yochlol scour their thoughts and memories to find proof of their loyalty to Lolth. It proves to be a rather unpleasant experience for all who are present, but the yochlols' connection to Lolth also proves to be fairly useful when a family feels they have obtained something to please her.
, Q1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits
(1980), by David C. Sutherland III with Gary Gygax
. The yochlol first appears in the adventure as the player character
s explore Lolth
's spider ship, in the encounter "The Beds of the Yochlol". In this encounter, four yochlol appear in four different rooms, each one assuming a different form to accost the party. Another encounter with yochlol later in the adventure features two yochlol which have been ordered by Lolth to guard a stairway and attack anyone who tries to pass; in another encounter two more yochlol are disguised as beautiful women wearing silken gowns, pretending to be captives of Lolth.
A full description of the monster, including game statistics, appears at the back of the module, which describes the creature as the "Handmaiden of Lolth". This section notes that a yochlol is chaotic evil in alignment
, and is common in the Abyss
. This description notes that a yochlol normally appears as a misty column of gas with no discernable form, noticeable only by its vile odor and a hazy smudge in the air, and has the ability to materialize pseudopods as needed. To attack or use its psionic abilities, a yochlol must fully materialize in one of its forms as an amorphous column with eight pseudopods, or as a giant spider or beautiful human
or elf
.
The creature's description was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983). Here it is noted that yochlols are a type of demon
.
sourcebook, The Drow of the Underdark (1991), by Ed Greenwood
. A two-page description appears in the back of the book, in the "Monsters of the Underdark" section. This book notes that "All known yochlol serve the Queen of Spiders, and appear on the Prime Material Plane
only at her command, when summoned by rituals or worship to her." The "amorphous column" form is described as a "one-eyed column resembling a roper
or a half-burned brown candle, with eight pseudopods." A yochlol is fed by the gases and fires of a summoning ritual, which gives the yochlol a focal presence on another plane, allowing it to fully materialize. A yochlol in human or elven form can cure its own wounds or those of a creature it touches. According to this book, "Yochlol take pleasure in dominating and inflicting cruelty on lesser creatures," and love a good fight. Yochlol share telepathy with each other, and with Lolth when she is on the same plane as the yochlol. A yochlol will seek to escape the creature that summoned it, and wandering at will to work mischief using ploys, subterfuge, murder, and deception to turn evil beings to its ends. On Faerûn
, yochlol have used their human or elven forms to befriend, love, and aid beings on many occasions; the book explains this as part of the creature's capriciousness and need to do something different, and these behaviors may be used to Lolth's benefit.
The yochlol is next described for the Planescape
campaign setting, in Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995). In this book, they are described as lesser tanar'ri
. Regarding Lolth, the book states that "The yochlol are her servants in her home layer and her agents on the Outer Planes. No other type of tanar'ri has such a close relationship with a power that inhabits the Abyss." This book notes that a yochlol's elven form is usually that of a drow. Yochlol do not usually get involved in the usual tanar'ri causes such as the Blood War
, because they exist only to serve Lolth in whatever task she sets before them. According to this book, yochlol usually appear in their amorphous form in the Abyss, and in humanoid or spider shapes while on other planes. Yochlol again have psionic powers in this book. Other tanar'ri do not like Lolth's chosen servants, but they are guaranteed free passage in lands controlled by most Abyssal Lords
out of fear of angering their mistress. The book reveals the method of the creature's creation: "The yochlol are recruited from the numberless ranks of least tanar'ri and subjected to unspeakable ceremonies and torture to win their elevated station."
The yochlol again appears in a Forgotten Realms supplement, the Villains' Lorebook
(1998), receiving another set of statistics and a description. Also described is an incident involving a yochlol during a drow attack on Mithral Hall
; the barbarian
Wulfgar is lost to the yochlol as a result of the attack.
It is possible that they originate as the souls of high priestesses of Lolth who died in the favor of their goddess.
. Such a yochlol uses its various forms as disguises to carry out cunning ploys and evil subterfuges to turn beings to chaos and evil. Unless enemies of Lolth are present, yochlol will not engage in killing sprees or frenzies of mindless violence. Yochlol often hiss, whisper, or scream when in combat, even telling their opponents their names, in case the victim should escape. In that way, the victim knows that a particular Handmaiden somewhere out there will someday return to finish its business with the character.
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
creatures in the Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
roleplaying game. These lesser tanar'ri are handmaidens of Lolth
Lolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
, the drow goddess of Spiders, dwelling amongst the outer planes and being regularly summoned by the Queen of Spider's priestesses to witness sacrifices in the name of their dark goddess, Lolth. The summoning process tests the very fiber of the high priestesses dedication. Establishing a mental connection to its summoners, yochlol scour their thoughts and memories to find proof of their loyalty to Lolth. It proves to be a rather unpleasant experience for all who are present, but the yochlols' connection to Lolth also proves to be fairly useful when a family feels they have obtained something to please her.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The yochlol was introduced in the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game adventure moduleAdventure (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, an adventure or module is a pre-packaged book or box set that helps the Dungeon Master manage the plot or story of a game...
, Q1 - Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits
Queen of the Demonweb Pits is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game written by David Sutherland. The "Q" in the module code represents the first letter in the word "queen." This module is a sequel to the D series of modules...
(1980), by David C. Sutherland III with Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
. The yochlol first appears in the adventure as the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s explore Lolth
Lolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
's spider ship, in the encounter "The Beds of the Yochlol". In this encounter, four yochlol appear in four different rooms, each one assuming a different form to accost the party. Another encounter with yochlol later in the adventure features two yochlol which have been ordered by Lolth to guard a stairway and attack anyone who tries to pass; in another encounter two more yochlol are disguised as beautiful women wearing silken gowns, pretending to be captives of Lolth.
A full description of the monster, including game statistics, appears at the back of the module, which describes the creature as the "Handmaiden of Lolth". This section notes that a yochlol is chaotic evil in alignment
Alignment (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, alignment is a categorization of the ethical and moral perspective of people, creatures and societies....
, and is common in the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
. This description notes that a yochlol normally appears as a misty column of gas with no discernable form, noticeable only by its vile odor and a hazy smudge in the air, and has the ability to materialize pseudopods as needed. To attack or use its psionic abilities, a yochlol must fully materialize in one of its forms as an amorphous column with eight pseudopods, or as a giant spider or beautiful human
Human (Dungeons & Dragons)
Humans are a race available for player characters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. Although short-lived by comparison, humans are the most populous of all Dungeons & Dragons races. They are renowned for their diversity and ambition, and although they lack specializations like...
or elf
Elf (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, elves are a fictional humanoid race that is one of the primary races available for play as player characters. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow...
.
The creature's description was reprinted in the first edition Monster Manual II (1983). Here it is noted that yochlols are a type of demon
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
The yochlol first appeared in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game's second edition in the Forgotten RealmsForgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
sourcebook, The Drow of the Underdark (1991), by Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
. A two-page description appears in the back of the book, in the "Monsters of the Underdark" section. This book notes that "All known yochlol serve the Queen of Spiders, and appear on the Prime Material Plane
Prime Material Plane
The Prime Material Plane is the central plane of existence in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
only at her command, when summoned by rituals or worship to her." The "amorphous column" form is described as a "one-eyed column resembling a roper
Roper (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the roper is a magical beast, resembling a conical structure similar in appearance to rock, wrapped in rope-like tentacles which conceal a mouth...
or a half-burned brown candle, with eight pseudopods." A yochlol is fed by the gases and fires of a summoning ritual, which gives the yochlol a focal presence on another plane, allowing it to fully materialize. A yochlol in human or elven form can cure its own wounds or those of a creature it touches. According to this book, "Yochlol take pleasure in dominating and inflicting cruelty on lesser creatures," and love a good fight. Yochlol share telepathy with each other, and with Lolth when she is on the same plane as the yochlol. A yochlol will seek to escape the creature that summoned it, and wandering at will to work mischief using ploys, subterfuge, murder, and deception to turn evil beings to its ends. On Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...
, yochlol have used their human or elven forms to befriend, love, and aid beings on many occasions; the book explains this as part of the creature's capriciousness and need to do something different, and these behaviors may be used to Lolth's benefit.
The yochlol is next described for the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting, in Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (1995). In this book, they are described as lesser tanar'ri
Demon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
. Regarding Lolth, the book states that "The yochlol are her servants in her home layer and her agents on the Outer Planes. No other type of tanar'ri has such a close relationship with a power that inhabits the Abyss." This book notes that a yochlol's elven form is usually that of a drow. Yochlol do not usually get involved in the usual tanar'ri causes such as the Blood War
Blood War
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the Blood War is an eternal conflict between the fiends of the Lower planes. The Tanar'ri are the demonic forces of the Abyss, an evil plane of chaos. Representing the equally evil but lawful realm of Baator are the Baatezu, the dominant caste of...
, because they exist only to serve Lolth in whatever task she sets before them. According to this book, yochlol usually appear in their amorphous form in the Abyss, and in humanoid or spider shapes while on other planes. Yochlol again have psionic powers in this book. Other tanar'ri do not like Lolth's chosen servants, but they are guaranteed free passage in lands controlled by most Abyssal Lords
Demon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
out of fear of angering their mistress. The book reveals the method of the creature's creation: "The yochlol are recruited from the numberless ranks of least tanar'ri and subjected to unspeakable ceremonies and torture to win their elevated station."
The yochlol again appears in a Forgotten Realms supplement, the Villains' Lorebook
Villains' Lorebook
Villains' Lorebook is an accessory for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1998), receiving another set of statistics and a description. Also described is an incident involving a yochlol during a drow attack on Mithral Hall
Mithral Hall
In the fictional world of Forgotten Realms, Mithral Hall is the fabled dwarven home of Bruenor Battlehammer, an old dwarven city where tunnels were often lined with natural veins of mithral as thick as an arm....
; the barbarian
Barbarian (Dungeons & Dragons)
The barbarian is a playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Creative origins:The barbarian is based on Robert E...
Wulfgar is lost to the yochlol as a result of the attack.
Description
Yochlols appear as tentacled blobs of melted wax and continually emit a foul stench. They also have the power to change their shapes—usually to a comely drow female or to a spider (usually a black widow). They can also change themselves into a gaseous form, allowing their unknowing victims to inhale them, and then suffocating them.It is possible that they originate as the souls of high priestesses of Lolth who died in the favor of their goddess.
Society
Yochlols are chaotic evil creatures, as are all tanar'ri. They take great pleasure in dominating other, lesser creatures. They are cruel and enjoy a good battle, exulting in the rage that fills them whenever beings defy their goddess' will. All yochlol serve Lolth and work surprisingly well together. Never will one betray, endanger, or attack another. All yochlol share a telepathic bond. They take special delight in escaping the control of those who have summoned them (whom they must serve faithfully for one deed, as decreed by Lolth), and wandering free about the Prime Material PlanePrime Material Plane
The Prime Material Plane is the central plane of existence in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
. Such a yochlol uses its various forms as disguises to carry out cunning ploys and evil subterfuges to turn beings to chaos and evil. Unless enemies of Lolth are present, yochlol will not engage in killing sprees or frenzies of mindless violence. Yochlol often hiss, whisper, or scream when in combat, even telling their opponents their names, in case the victim should escape. In that way, the victim knows that a particular Handmaiden somewhere out there will someday return to finish its business with the character.
External links
- Known yochlols at the d20 NPC Wiki