Draegloths are my favorite monster in the entirety of D&D’s arsenal of player killing tools. These drow-demons are equal parts terrifying and badass. They are huge and physically powerful, while also being stealthy spellcasters. So what exactly is a draegloth, and how can you use them effectively? Let’s find out.Draegloths are born from unholy rituals. If a high priestess survives this dangerous rite, she births one of these monstrosities. Draegloths are half- drow and half-glabrezu demon. They stand as tall as an ogre, with purplish black skin and white hair. They have two sets of arms; one heavily muscled, the other drow sized. Its face is clearly demonic, with canine features twisted by demon blood.
A draegloth’s birth is seen as a blessing to the house that birthed it. In a society where every house is looking for a chance to stab the other in the back, having a demon on your side is useful. In order to control these demons, the members of the house relegate them to slaves. They repeatedly hammer in the idea that draegloths are meant to serve in hopes that they don’t realize their power. Some do, either running from the house to pursue their own goals, or just slaughtering the house outright.
For something so brutish and large, the draegloth moves with the grace of a drow. This makes them terrifyingly effective at hunting. And they love to hunt. The draegloths relish the chance to use their strength and practice their magic. They enjoy sating their bloodlust. Just make sure you don’t end up in their sights.
Draegloths can make for some pretty scary encounters. Since they are so stealthy and have magic to aid in that stealth, a horror movie like stalking sequence would be good to start. You can give your players hints at what’s coming; a growling elven voice here, a glimpse of the body there. It could lash out under cover of the darkness spell, whittling down members of the party until it feels confident enough to tackle them head on. Remember that although it looks like a brute, the draegloth is a cunning hunter. That’s what makes it so cool, and that’s what make it so scary.
Draegloths have a lot of backstory behind them, so it’s fairly easy to write a game around them. What story will you create? How will you use this monster? Do you have any memorable encounters with draegloths? I’d love to know! What monster would you like to see next? Let me know down below. And as always, keep those dice rolling high!
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