Mezzoloth

D&D 2024 monster: Mezzoloth. Source: Monster Manual (2014). challenge rating 5, creature type Fiend (Yugoloth), Medium size, speed 40 ft. The bulk of the yugoloth population is made up of mezzoloths, which are human-sized insect creatures covered in dense chitinous plates. Mezzoloths serve as foot soldiers in yugoloth armies, their wide-set eyes glowing red as the mezzoloths bear down on their foes. Violence and reward are the fundamental drives of a mezzoloth, and powerful beings that promise one or the other can easily attract them into service. Although it has lethal claws on its four arms, a mezzoloth typically wields a trident in two of them. If surrounded by enemies, a mezzoloth exhales toxic fumes that can choke and kill whole groups of creatures. Yugoloths Yugoloths are fickle fiends that inhabit the planes of Acheron, Gehenna, Hades, and Carceri. They act as mercenaries and are notorious for their shifting loyalties. They are the embodiments of avarice. Before serving under anyone's banner, a yugoloth asks the only question on its mind: What's in it for me? Spawn of Gehenna The first yugoloths were created by a sisterhood of night hags on Gehenna. It is widely believed that Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells, commissioned the work, in the hope of creating an army of fiends that were not bound to the Nine Hells. In the course of making this new army, the hags crafted four magic tomes and recorded the true names of every yugoloth they created, save one, the General of Gehenna. These tomes were called the Books of Keeping. Since knowing a fiend's true name grants power over it, the hags used the books to ensure the yugoloths' loyalty. They also used the books to capture the true names of other fiends that crossed them. It is rumored that the Books of Keeping contain the true names of a few demon lords and archdevils as well. Petty jealousies and endless bickering caused the sisterhood to dissolve, and in the ensuing power grab, the Books of Keeping were lost...