Yeenoghu

Yeenoghu is a demon lord and the chief being worshiped by gnolls. Dedicated only to destruction, the Ruler of Ruin seeks the collapse of civilization and he brutally butchers all that stand between him and his rabid slaughter.

Description

Yeenoghu appeared as a gnoll-like creature, 12‒14 ft (3.7‒4.3 m) tall with a grinning skull-like face and a leering pair of burning emerald or amber eyes atop his seemingly emaciated form. A mangy, yellow crest of fur reached from his head to mid-back, with the only hair on his body being small scabby patches. The rest of his body was pale and gray, his leathery hide contrasting with his taut mane and a crest of blackened spines within it. His canine chest was armored with a patchwork of discarded shields and breastplates held together with weighty chains, and decorated with the flayed skin of his enemies. He wielded a three-headed flail in his paws.

Personality

Yeenoghu's desires are savage in nature, wanting slaughter and destruction above all else. He takes great pleasure in inflicting terror and sorrow before his victims' deaths, destroying treasured possessions and crushing their hopes. He despises civilization and if he were to conquer other realms, abyssal or otherwise, he would not attempt to rebuild their former structures.

To the Beast of Butchery, the gnolls are both his instruments and children, whom he seeks to use to bring his ideal world to fruition. Such a world would be one of endless combat and brutality, where gnolls rule supreme and all other creatures are either slaves or food. Ultimately when the mortal world possesses one final champion he will challenge them to battle, slay them, and preside victoriously in his version of paradise; a wasteland of decaying corpses, in an absolutely ruined world.

Despite his savage nature, Yeenoghu is not stupid, being capable of subtlety and trickery, but merely choosing not to use it in most circumstances. He actively encourages the arrival of new races into his followers, recognizing the lack of his people's unity. Counting among the Lord of Savagery's favorite demons are barlguras, dretches, hezrous, manes, and especially maw demons and Shoosuvas, all appreciated for their bestial natures. With any entity that does not serve him he will not waste any time on discourse, leaping boldly into battle unless he becomes bored.

Divine Realm

Yeenoghu refers to his layer of the Abyss simply as his realm, but to others it is known as the Seeping Woods or Death Dells. The plane is covered in barren hills, great ravines, wide savannas with poisonous and parasite-filled waters, and sickly yellow forests. It serves as his own personal hunting grounds, where he plays with mortals in cruel hunting games. There are nearly no structures in his realm, it is entirely devoid of civilization.

Six miles from Yeenoghu's lair all predators become wasteful and savage, killing far more than required and leaving it to rot in careless displays of wastefulness. Within a mile of Yeenoghu's personal lair is a dangerous region influenced by his dark powers. Iron spikes grow out from the ground and stone, which Yeenoghu uses to impale his victims, and intelligent beings that spend an hour within this region might grow increasingly deranged. The longer sentient beings remain in this region the more gnoll-like they become with mental changes including increased rage, aching blood-lust, hatred of civilization, the need to collect trophies from bodies, and a fondness for the flesh of intelligent beings.

Within the smoke-filled halls of his lair he sits upon a throne of dismembered limbs of those who've angered him. His lair is populated with gnolls, hyenas, and ghouls. It is a place of blood and death from which he can exert a certain level of control. He can cause iron spikes to rise from the ground and impale those underneath them, as well as fill gnolls and hyenas with a bloodthirsty rage. The lair itself is a giant mobile fortress-city, pulled by legions of slaves and demonic creatures on hundreds of stone wheels. If Yeenoghu were to perish, the effects of his power on the local region would eventually fade in less than ten days.

Yeenoghu once takes over the layer above his own, known by most as the White Kingdom. After conquering it, however, he does not possess the resources required to hold dominion over it, forcing him to retreat back to his home layer. Despite leaving it, he still technically rules it through his vassal Doresain, the King of Ghouls.

Activities

The Gnoll Lord spends most of his time either guiding his gnoll children to victory through his mysterious omens, tormenting and hunting lesser demons and mortals for his amusement, and plotting against upcoming abyssal powers to prevent them from gaining influence. He also plans for future invasions of other layers of the Abyss, targeting weaker entities to conquer.

Worshippers

Yeenoghu's worshipers mostly consisted of gnolls, although he accepted servants from all races, known as Fangs. Yeenoghu possessed a personal honor guard of sixty-six gnolls that he could summon onto the battlefield to aid him, although this small legion was primarily for show. The Claws of Fury were his elite combat force, comprised of extremely capable gnoll warriors. He was also capable of calling upon various demons to serve his goals including the shoosuva and leucrotta creatures completely loyal to his wishes. Yeenoghu also had ghoul worshipers in part because of the consumption of intelligent beings was part of his doctrine and also because of his subjugation of the Ghoul King.

Rituals

It was the duty of Yeenoghu's faithful to oppose the hordes of Gorellik and the entities of giant pantheons. His servants were commanded to conduct live sacrifices in wilderness regions upon stone altars. Dress code of his shamans involved dark brown robes with manged yellow fur outlines. These clothes were not allowed to be cleaned, resulting in an incredible stench hanging off his worshipers. Yeenoghu implanted a constant nagging need for intelligent flesh in the minds of his creations and devoted, as only through its consumption could he find complacency for his hunger. Thus, the devouring of human flesh was also an important ritual within his cults. Many gnolls also participated in other rituals involving self-mutilation and various acts of depravity.

Relationships

Yeenoghu was the patron of all gnolls, having earlier displaced Gorellik, and commanded the servitude of ghouls through the subjugation of the demonic King of Ghouls, Doresain, a former ally of Orcus, who failed to strike back at Yeenoghu for the acquisition of one of his subjects. Yeenoghu was also the master of a massive mudskipper-like demon known as Crokek'toeck. The unique demon's near bottomless gullet and immunity to the mind-altering effects of the Styx made it Yeenoghu's go-to pet for transporting himself and other demons across the Blood River. Despite disliking the gods of the giant pantheon and forbidding gnoll and giant interaction, he admired their immense strength and power.

Yeenoghu had a continuous feud with Baphomet, and both demons pulled no punches when dealing with one another. The feud had lasted so long that neither demon lord could remember what originally started the battle. Along with Baphomet, Yeenoghu loathed Malcanthet, the queen of the succubi, because the Queen destroyed a number of Yeenoghu's material plane cultists, the Maure Family.

Yeenoghu

Demon Lord

Basic Information

Titles

Prince of Gnolls
Gnoll Lord
Lord of Savagery
Beast of Butchery
Ruler of Ruin
Destroyer

Pantheons

Archfiend

Attributes

Alignment

Chaotic Evil

Symbol

Triple-headed flail

Realm

Infinite Layers of the Abyss/422nd Layer

Portfolio

-

Favored Weapon

The Butcher (triple-headed Flail)

Following

Worshippers

Gnolls

Alignments

CE

Domains

Destruction (Catastrophe)
Evil (Demon)