Mragh’Koth

Mragh’Koth

“I was on patrol. They made me, they made me do it. I hate patrol. They were going to demote me. It was all a conspiracy by one of my underlings! Now I had to patrol like some lowly hamatula. All there is around here is rocks! Rocks and boulders. Now, if I was in command, all I’d have to do is build a hold over there, and have patrols across that line over there and… But that’s gone now, all consumed. The seeds of chaos bloomed in Baator! The plane of true and ultimate law! They swarmed out from under the rocks. Hidden there for Asmodeus knows how long. I didn’t know the Tanar’ri ever managed to invade here!

The cornugon came out, with all his troops — the stupid, dead sod. He sealed his own death. He should have stayed in the fortress. They would’ve had a fighting chance then, but no. No one ever listens to old Ghro’stak. And they all paid for it! Paid with their petty little souls! Ha!!! It was thanks to their attack though, that I was saved. 

The Mragh’Koth swarmed against them, more and more coming out of the hidden places among the rocks. I was lucky enough to have found shelter in the ruins, and none of the Mragh’Koth came near me. Would they have noticed me, I would’ve been torn limb from limb and eaten alive by that cursed horde. Hell. I’d rather sell me soul to Lord Bel than to face a horde of them.”

—The words of Ghro’stak the Osyluth, on his 7th anniversary of his moving into the Gatehouse 

The Mragh’Koth, also known as the “Seeds of Chaos” are the project of the tanar’ri which preceded the “Ship of Chaos”. Created on Twelvetrees, the 13th layer of the Abyss, the Mragh’Koth are a deadly combination of demonic black magic and the tormented souls of mortals. The Mragh’Koth appear as dark skinned reptilian creatures, with thick hide of either a dark reddish black colour, or a dark greenish blue. They move fast, and can run easily on practically any surface, due to strong claws on their hands and feet. 

Every once in a while, they swarm out from wherever they lie, and attack any living thing in site, this includes both Baatezu and anyone else who was unfortunate enough to be around.

COMBAT: Whenever they emerge to attack the baatezu, the Mragh’Koth storm out in numbers ranging from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. They may be relatively weak in comparison to the baatezu, but in large numbers it’s hard even for the fiends to stand against them.

Mragh’Koth attack with both claws, or with a bite, trying to tear at their victim’s arms and legs off. In any case, they always leave the head for last, as they seem to find pleasure in their victim’s tortured cries. They have only one tactic: attack en mass. As many as possible on each victim. 

The saliva of the Mragh’Koth acts as acid when in contact with baatezu flesh, causing 3d4+8 additional damage per bite, although it affects no other creatures thus. Any non-baatezu suffering from a bite of the Mragh’Koth only suffers minor acidic damage of 1d2 in addition to the bite damage.

HABITAT/SOCIETY: The Mragh’Koth are born and die on Baator, and cannot exist anywhere else. The essence of lawful evil is what nourishes them during their dormant stages when they develop. They have no society or organisation save three things: One, they all lie dormant growing from their “pellets” deep under the soil of Baator. Two, they all emerge together in any given area (always at random and different in assorted areas) to swarm the baatezu. Three, they all have no existence other than to feast on Baatezu and then return to the ground (where their body decomposes into several breeding “pellets”). 

The tanar’ri have since abandoned their creations since they couldn’t control their attacks or predict when they’d next emerge from their slumber to storm the baatezu.

ECOLOGY: The Mragh’Koth are utterly unnatural beings created by the dark magic of the tanar’ri. The tanar’ri would, on the rare occasions their strike forces managed to penetrate Baator herself, “plant” the dull-gray pellets (which are almost identical to rocks), from which the Mragh’Koth would grow after several months of feeding on the plane’s essence. The pellets sink into the ground as if it was mud, often to great depths, but they always rise again as fully grown Mragh’Koth when it is time to rage across Baator. 

Since Mragh’Koth require ground to lay under as they develop, the seeds of chaos cannot grow on layers such as Stygia and Cania where the soil is too hard or cold; these layers kill the chaos seeds and are safe from their predation. 

It is strange, but the Mragh’Koth have actually contributed to the local ecology of Baator. Wherever the Mragh’Koth storm, there are always plenty of fiend blood and bodily remains, which attract many plants and local creatures, enriching the local ecological system. Planewalkers generally appreciate the fact that during a storm the baatezu, masters of Baator, become pretty scarce, for they fear and despise the “seeds of chaos”.

Source: David ‘Draegarius’ Alexander