
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


The Abyss is the infinite chaotic evil plane of Dungeons & Dragons — home to demon lords, the Blood War, and 50 years of D&D lore that has grown weirder with every edition. In this episode we map out the essential reading list (from 1977's Monster Manual through 2006's Fiendish Codex I to 2018's Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes), explain the demon hierarchy from larvae and dretches up to balors and demon lords, and break down what demons actually want — which turns out to be less "conquest" and more "metaphysical infection." We tour iconic layers including Pazunia and its iron fortresses, Demogorgon's Gaping Maw, Baphomet's shifting Endless Maze, Orcus's frozen palace city of Naratyr on Thanatos, Graz'zt's deceptively hospitable Azzagrat, and the corpse-cathedrals of Zionyn where the obyrith Obox-ob broods over losing his title as the original Prince of Demons. Plus: the Blood War, the obyrith backstory, and why the Abyss can never have a real king.
Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, DnD, The Abyss, demon lords, Demogorgon, Orcus, Graz'zt, Baphomet, Obox-ob, Blood War, Planescape, Fiendish Codex, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, Out of the Abyss, D&D lore, tabletop RPG, TTRPG, D&D cosmology, planes of existence
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By Sean McDonnell4.8
2424 ratings
The Abyss is the infinite chaotic evil plane of Dungeons & Dragons — home to demon lords, the Blood War, and 50 years of D&D lore that has grown weirder with every edition. In this episode we map out the essential reading list (from 1977's Monster Manual through 2006's Fiendish Codex I to 2018's Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes), explain the demon hierarchy from larvae and dretches up to balors and demon lords, and break down what demons actually want — which turns out to be less "conquest" and more "metaphysical infection." We tour iconic layers including Pazunia and its iron fortresses, Demogorgon's Gaping Maw, Baphomet's shifting Endless Maze, Orcus's frozen palace city of Naratyr on Thanatos, Graz'zt's deceptively hospitable Azzagrat, and the corpse-cathedrals of Zionyn where the obyrith Obox-ob broods over losing his title as the original Prince of Demons. Plus: the Blood War, the obyrith backstory, and why the Abyss can never have a real king.
Dungeons and Dragons, D&D, DnD, The Abyss, demon lords, Demogorgon, Orcus, Graz'zt, Baphomet, Obox-ob, Blood War, Planescape, Fiendish Codex, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, Out of the Abyss, D&D lore, tabletop RPG, TTRPG, D&D cosmology, planes of existence
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

63,974 Listeners

1,232 Listeners

4,569 Listeners

176 Listeners

10,233 Listeners

10,628 Listeners

1,369 Listeners

14,385 Listeners

114 Listeners

3,383 Listeners

2,310 Listeners

914 Listeners

7 Listeners

631 Listeners

96 Listeners