Nycaloth

D&D 2024 monster: Nycaloth. Source: Monster Manual (2014). challenge rating 9, creature type Fiend (Yugoloth), Large size, speed 40 ft., fly 60 ft. The elite airborne shock troops of the yugoloths, nycaloths look like muscular gargoyles. Powerful bat wings bear them swiftly aloft in battle, and the razor-sharp claws of their hands and feet cut through flesh and bone with ease. A nightmarish foe, a nycaloth strikes hard and fast without warning, then teleports away. It uses its innate magic to turn invisible or create illusory doubles of itself, further confounding its enemies. Nycaloths are the most loyal of the yugoloths. When they find an evil master that treats them well, they are unlikely to break their agreement unless the reward for doing so is extreme. 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...