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Fiends are a curious creature type inDungeons & Dragonsdue to their absurd variety in appearance and behavior, but what keeps them all together is their alignment: Evil. They’re all evil not only because of the harsh environment they live in, but because evil as an essence is the primal material to create a fiend.
You can consider most creatures born in the Lower Planes a fiend, such as the Abyss or the Nine Hells, to more unknown places like Gehenna. While some subsets of fiends are more popular or easier to recognize, like Devils and Demons, some are not as easy to notice by looks, like the Rakshasa.
What Is A Fiend?
Born From Evil
In D&D, there are many planes of existence. Among this multitude of Planes, we have the Outer Planes, which are divided based on alignment.The Lower Planes is where evil creatures, the Fiends, come from.
Evil is more than a concept in the Lower Planes; instead, it’s the essence that created it in the first place. That makesevery creature born on this Plane have the essence of evilin it, which is why a good Demon can’t be born, for example — unless your DM chooses to alter that.
Good-aligned creatures will feel discomfort in any of the Lower Planes, and too much exposure to its evil essence can corrupt a good creature.Staying in the Lower Planes for too long can even turn you into a Fiend. It’s not a nice place to visit.
Devils
The Lawful Evil
One of the most famous fiends in D&D are the Devils, who are surprisingly the nicest ones, but you have to be smart when dealing with them.
Their ordeal revolves aroundthe Blood War, a war they have against Demons (also fiends), andDevils tend to make pacts for mortal souls to increase their numbers in the war.
Other uses for a soul involvedturning it into an energy source. Or, they just wanted to enslave people, as they’re still not nice people, after all.
Because of that, having conversations with them without necessarily escalating into a fight is possible. Devils are also a common choice for Warlock patrons —the Fiend pact is even a default Warlock choice in character creation— as the deal with a Devil is the most classic Warlock trope, where you have to do your best to break the pact.
Most Devils, whether from Hell or mortals turned into Fiends through contract or other methods,start their life as a Lemure, a pretty weak Devil— their challenge rating is a whopping zero.
They can be promoted and transformed into other types untilthey eventually become powerful creatures, like Cambions or Orthons.
Other powerful beings can take hold of a layer of Hell and become a Devil,like the former angel Zariel. The supreme leader ofthe Nine Hells,however, is Asmodeus, and every Devil submits to him.
Demons
The Chaotic Evil
Demons are less ‘creatures’ and more ‘forces of nature.‘While they are sentient beings with personalities and desires, their goals are primarily animalistic and straightforward, where they wish to kill or control everything in their path.
Because of said behavior, they’re actually easier to predict and sometimes even control. While Devils can hide their intentions and be mischievous, aDemon will chargewith everything they have to get what they want.
You canuse a Demon’s basic behavior and patterns against them, luring them into traps and such, or even beat them into submission, as Demon Lords do to their soldiers — they mightbetray you when they see an opportunity, though.
They’re usually dangerous due to their large numbers,enough to even give Devils a run for their money in the Blood War. Powerful Demons (or other beings) who conquer a part of the Abyss will turn into a Demon Lord.
These beings are so powerful thatsome are even seen as evil gods in the world, with one of the most famous examples being Lolth.
Yugoloth
The Neutral Evil
Nothing good comes from mixing Devils and Hags. The Yugoloth are fiends from Gehenna, and, as their alignment implies,they’re a nice in-between Devils and Demons.
They areself-centered and in it for themselves like Demons, but they knowhow to manipulate like Devils, even going as far as deceiving other fiends.
Unlike the previous two, however,the Yugoloth cared little about mortals and didn’t kill them unnecessarily— not out of kindness, though, but instead because it seemed pointless or a waste of resources.
A Yugoloth’s main agenda is itself.They are highly greedy beings who will do whatever is best for them. That can make them helpful, as some work as mercenaries and are incredibly efficient at their jobs.
Still, they couldforsake your proposition to a higher bidder or do something else entirely,simply because it was more beneficial to them.
What they crave is also up to the creature or the DM. A curious example isthe Arcanaloth, powerful spellcasters who are greedy about knowledge and information, collecting as much as they can and using it to manipulate others, getting more knowledge out of it, or magical items that can be later traded with others for more knowledge.
Their appearances can change a lot,with some resembling animals, like bugs or jackals, while others could be mistaken for Demons or Devils. The most powerful Yugoloth is known as the General of Gehenna, who is quite the enigmatic figure.
Fiends, regardless of the type,can be controlled if you know their True Name, something most of them don’t even know.
Powerful Fiends will do everything they can to learn their True Nameand make sure no one else will, ensuring they’ll have complete control over themselves.
Buteven a random commoner could bend a strong Devil to their biddingby having this type of information.
Other Cases
From Outsiders Becoming Fiends To Specific Creatures
Not every Fiend will follow these categories. As mentioned in the beginning,a Fiend is nothing more than a creature of pure evil essence turned sentient.Whatever creature you have or create in your world that embodies evil could be classified as a Fiend.
For instance, take the aforementioned example of Zariel. She was an angel whose job was to oversee the Blood War. By getting too close and wanting to settle the war rather than simply spectate,she entered the fray and corrupted herself in the process.
Even a simple mortal could eventually become a powerful Devil,for instance, by selling their soul, becoming a Lemure, and climbing through the ranks of Hell — talk about a nice BBEG backstory.
There are alsoofficial Fiends that don’t fit any category, like the Rakshasa, who are based on malevolent spirits from Hindu mythology and have a simple backstory (Devil’s creations) just to justify their presence here.
Eventhe mighty Tiamatis a Fiend,and she’s no Devil, Demon, or Yugoloth, but instead an evil goddess. The only constant they have isbeing evil by nature.
