Ygorl
| Ygorl | |
|---|---|
 Ygorl on Shkiv, as depicted in Dragon #221 (1995). Art by Terry Dykstra. | |
| Names and titles | |
| Title(s): | Lord of Entropy |
| General information | |
| Portfolio: | Entropy |
| Home: | Limbo |
| Alignment: | Chaotic neutral |
| Gender: | Unknown |
| Class: | n/a |
| Superior: | None |
| Rules items | |
| Divine rank: | Slaad lord |
Ygorl is the slaad Lord of Entropy.
Description
Ygorl appears as a blackened, bat-winged, skeletal hulk, wielding a large scythe. He rides a great wyrm brass dragon named Shkiv. As one of the exemplars of the chaotic neutral alignment, Ygorl is not truly evil, but still very dangerous, unpredictable, and self-serving. He believes in bringing death, decay, and disorganization to the multiverse, and thinks this is best done by the slaadi, the truest agents of Chaos.
Relationships
Ygorl considers the slaadi to be his living pawns. They do not serve him in any organized fashion, but most will obey his orders rather than allow him to devour them. Besides Shkiv, Ygorl is allied with Sorel, his lieutenant, who he is grooming to become the Lord of Anarchy. Skirnex is the Voice of Ygorl, a misshapen void slaad with a stunted third arm, and an almost palpable aura of wrongness; Skirnex serves both as Ygorl's intermediary and something like a priest.
Ygorl ignores Ssendam and fears Rennbuu. He enjoys the company of Chourst, at least at times. Ygorl banished the despised slaad lord Wartle to the plane of Mount Celestia, where he hoped his rival would be destroyed.
The "entropic reapers" from Libris Mortis are said to arise in Limbo to "enforce the twisted edicts of chaotic beings that decree the death of lawful creatures." They are not explicitly connected to Ygorl, but they are connected to the force of entropy and the plane of Limbo.
Realm
Ygorl's fortress in Limbo constantly changes appearance; it can be a rough cavern, a shattered marbled temple, or (as the first edition Manual of the Planes describes it) a series of interlaced carved spheres that whirl through Limbo's layers.
History
Ygorl is the second oldest slaad lord, after Ssendam, and is considered the de-facto ruler of Outer Plane of Limbo. He is said to have created the Spawning Stone that is the focus of the slaad race, forcing them to take froglike forms rather than their original, purely chaotic shapes.
The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos suggests that Ygorl actually sprang into being the moment the multiverse finally died and has been perceiving time backwards ever since, so that the past is the future to him, and his "death" will be some time in the distant past. He is thus patient in his attempts to spread entropy, because he remembers the time when entropy claims everything, and regards it as inevitable.
Publishing history
Ygorl was created by Charles Stross for the Fiend Folio (1981). Ygorl had small parts in the anthologies Tales of the Outer Planes (1988) and Tales From the Infinite Staircase (1998). Ygorl was given full d20 game statistics in The Tome of Horrors (2002) and full fourth edition game statistics in The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos (2009).
Ygorl in other media
Ygorl appeared as the final boss in the video game Demon Stone where he was voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan. In the game, he was depicted as humanoid in appearance but was covered in tough chitinous armor and had many claw-like mandibles extending from the back of his head.
Ygorl's brass dragon companion Shkiv is a character in the comic strip Downer by Kyle Stanley Hunter, which originally appeared in the pages of Dungeon magazine.
Gallery
Bibliography
- Bonny, Edward. "The Dragon's Bestiary: Lords of Chaos." Dragon #221. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995.
- Christian, Deborah, et al. Tales of the Outer Planes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1988.
- Collins, Andy, and Bruce R. Cordell. Libris Mortis. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2004.
- Cook, Monte. Tales From the Infinite Staircase. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Greene, Scott. The Tome of Horrors. Necromancer Games, 2002.
- Grubb, Jeff. Manual of the Planes. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1987.
- Grubb, Jeff, Bruce R. Cordell, and David Noonan. Manual of the Planes. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.
- Marmell, Ari, Bruce R. Cordell, and Luke Johnson. The Plane Below: Secrets of the Elemental Chaos. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2009.
- Turnbull, Don, ed. Fiend Folio. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1981.
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | Deities & Demigods (1st & 2nd printing), AD&D 1e | 105 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | Deities & Demigods (3rd+ printing), AD&D 1e | 90 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | Fiend Folio, AD&D 1e | 82-83 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | Legends & Lore, AD&D 1e | 90 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | Manual of the Planes, AD&D 1e | 65, 99 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | On Hallowed Ground | 52, 192 | |
| Ygorl {Lord of Entropy} (Slaad Lord) | Deity | OP1 Tales of the Outer Planes, AD&D 1e | 49 |