Zuggtmoy
Encyclopedia
In the Dungeons & Dragons
fantasy
role-playing game
, Zuggtmoy (or Tsuggtmoy) is the Demon Queen
of Fungi. Her symbol is a jawless human skull with fungi blooming from within, though some of her false cults use other symbols. For example, her cult in the Temple of Elemental Evil used the symbol of the Elder Elemental Eye.
Zuggtmoy is the "dread and fell ruler of the 222nd ghastly plane of the Abyss
."
Zuggtmoy has always been mentioned in first edition Dungeons and Dragons World of Greyhawk supplements as an ally and perhaps consort/lover to the vile demigod
Iuz
. She was mentioned in passing in the 1st edition Monster Manual 2
. It wasn't until the release of the supermodule T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil
that players got a good look at Zuggtmoy.
Zuggtmoy was featured in third edition in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv column in Dragon
#337 (2007). She also appeared in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
(2006).
Zuggtmoy was detailed in the fourth edition book, Demonomicon (2010).
ine legs. A toadstool shaped head with squashed and vague humanoid-like features resided atop her body. She could extrude pseudopod
s from her bloated body and squash opponents. Canonically, Zuggtmoy can also appear as a feeble old crone
or a ravishingly beautiful human female. When the Temple of Elemental Evil computer game was released in 2003, Zuggtmoy was given an updated image makeover. Instead of the almost comical puffball-mushroom look of T1-4, she was given a more fearsome appearance: resembling a blue-skinned demonic female with long sharp claws and whose lower body consists of strands of fungoid matter. Third edition game publications, such as Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
and Dragon
, have Zuggtmoy retaining this more impressive appearance, whereas her original fungoid form has become an aspect.
and Iuz
, and has also been romantically linked to the latter. She shares her layer of the Abyss
with the demon lord Juiblex
. She has been seen working with the demon lord Haagenti
, the Lord of Alchemy, as well.
over 600 years ago.
Zuggtmoy is served by elemental rukarazylls and vathugu demons, as well as various fungal creatures.
, it is called Mycorji. She shares this layer with Juiblex
, the Faceless Lord. Also called the Slime Pits, Shedaklah is a duo-layer: its surface is overran by fungi and plant creatures while its underground corollary is infested with oozes and slimes. Zuggtmoy claims the surface realm whereas Juiblex is confined to below ground. As a result of her setbacks in the "T" modules, Juiblex has managed to lay claim to parts of the surface realm. It was with the efforts of Zuggtmoy's lieutenant, Yibiyru, the Rancid Lady of Bitter Bile, that Juiblex didn't conquer all of Shedaklah.
Zuggtmoy rules from the center of the layer in a palace that consists of two dozen or so gigantic mushrooms, each connected to each other by shelf-fungi, and each four miles tall. Numerous chambers and corridors has been carved within the mushrooms; it is said not even Zuggtmoy herself knows the full extent of the palace.
. She built the Temple of Elemental Evil along with her ally, Iuz. The forces of good launched a campaign against her, trapping her within the temple's confines. In the current World of Greyhawk Timeline, Zuggtmoy is presumed released from the Temple by Robilar
.
novels, Zuggtmoy is one of the so-called "Monarchs of Demonium." She also has a vile artifact called the Cauldron of Corruption, a small kettle-like object covered with bumps, knobs and other weird protrusions. Upon command, it can grow into a huge cauldron and shoots out jets and sprays of flesh-eating and poisonous slimes and spores.
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Zuggtmoy (or Tsuggtmoy) is the Demon Queen
Demon lord (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demon lords are demons who have gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Each demon lord has a unique appearance and set of abilities. Most control at least one layer of the Abyss...
of Fungi. Her symbol is a jawless human skull with fungi blooming from within, though some of her false cults use other symbols. For example, her cult in the Temple of Elemental Evil used the symbol of the Elder Elemental Eye.
Zuggtmoy is the "dread and fell ruler of the 222nd ghastly plane of the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
."
Publishing history
The demonessDemon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, demons are the most widespread race of fiends. The demons are chaotic evil by nature, and are native to the Abyss...
Zuggtmoy has always been mentioned in first edition Dungeons and Dragons World of Greyhawk supplements as an ally and perhaps consort/lover to the vile demigod
Demigod
The term "demigod" , meaning "half-god", is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids...
Iuz
Iuz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
. She was mentioned in passing in the 1st edition Monster Manual 2
Monster Manual
The Monster Manual is the primary bestiary sourcebook for monsters in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It includes monsters derived from mythology, and folklore, as well as creatures created for D&D specifically...
. It wasn't until the release of the supermodule T1-4 The Temple of Elemental Evil
The Temple of Elemental Evil
The Temple of Elemental Evil is an adventure module for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, set in the game's World of Greyhawk campaign setting. The module was published by TSR, Inc. in 1985 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules...
that players got a good look at Zuggtmoy.
Zuggtmoy was featured in third edition in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv column in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#337 (2007). She also appeared in Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Chapter 1: Demonic Lore:...
(2006).
Zuggtmoy was detailed in the fourth edition book, Demonomicon (2010).
Description
As Lady of Fungi, Zuggtmoy as originally presented resembled a huge puffball fungus on top of four elephantElephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
ine legs. A toadstool shaped head with squashed and vague humanoid-like features resided atop her body. She could extrude pseudopod
Pseudopod
Pseudopods or pseudopodia are temporary projections of eukaryotic cells. Cells that possess this faculty are generally referred to as amoeboids. Pseudopodia extend and contract by the reversible assembly of actin subunits into microfilaments...
s from her bloated body and squash opponents. Canonically, Zuggtmoy can also appear as a feeble old crone
Crone
The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either helpful or obstructing. She is marginalized by her exclusion from the reproductive cycle,...
or a ravishingly beautiful human female. When the Temple of Elemental Evil computer game was released in 2003, Zuggtmoy was given an updated image makeover. Instead of the almost comical puffball-mushroom look of T1-4, she was given a more fearsome appearance: resembling a blue-skinned demonic female with long sharp claws and whose lower body consists of strands of fungoid matter. Third edition game publications, such as Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss is an optional supplemental source book for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.-Chapter 1: Demonic Lore:...
and Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
, have Zuggtmoy retaining this more impressive appearance, whereas her original fungoid form has become an aspect.
Relationships
Zuggtmoy is an ally of IggwilvIggwilv
Iggwilv is a fictional wizard from the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. She was created by Gary Gygax and was named one of the greatest villains in D&D history in the final issue of Dragon....
and Iuz
Iuz
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
, and has also been romantically linked to the latter. She shares her layer of the Abyss
Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Abyss or more fully, the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, is a chaotic evil-aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology, used in the Planescape...
with the demon lord Juiblex
Juiblex
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Juiblex, also called The Faceless Lord, is the demon lord of Slimes and Oozes. Juiblex's lair is on the 222nd layer of the Abyss, which he shares with Zuggtmoy, the Demoness Lady of Fungi. In Gary Gygax's Gord novels, Juiblex is alternately called Szhublox...
. She has been seen working with the demon lord Haagenti
Haagenti
In demonology, Haagenti is a Great President of Hell, ruling thirty-three legions of demons. He makes men wise by instructing them in every subject, transmutes all metals into gold, and changes wine into water and water into wine....
, the Lord of Alchemy, as well.
Vassals and minions
Zuggtmoy is served by her lieutenant, Yibiyru, the Rancid Lady of Bitter Bile. Her most notorious hero-priest was the druid Xhagevoxhab, who once ruled a vast territory in the UnderdarkUnderdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in Dungeons & Dragons role-playing campaigns and Dungeons & Dragons-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore...
over 600 years ago.
Zuggtmoy is served by elemental rukarazylls and vathugu demons, as well as various fungal creatures.
Realm
Zuggtmoy rules the 222nd layer of the Abyss, officially called Shedaklah, although according to her creator Gary GygaxGary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, it is called Mycorji. She shares this layer with Juiblex
Juiblex
In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Juiblex, also called The Faceless Lord, is the demon lord of Slimes and Oozes. Juiblex's lair is on the 222nd layer of the Abyss, which he shares with Zuggtmoy, the Demoness Lady of Fungi. In Gary Gygax's Gord novels, Juiblex is alternately called Szhublox...
, the Faceless Lord. Also called the Slime Pits, Shedaklah is a duo-layer: its surface is overran by fungi and plant creatures while its underground corollary is infested with oozes and slimes. Zuggtmoy claims the surface realm whereas Juiblex is confined to below ground. As a result of her setbacks in the "T" modules, Juiblex has managed to lay claim to parts of the surface realm. It was with the efforts of Zuggtmoy's lieutenant, Yibiyru, the Rancid Lady of Bitter Bile, that Juiblex didn't conquer all of Shedaklah.
Zuggtmoy rules from the center of the layer in a palace that consists of two dozen or so gigantic mushrooms, each connected to each other by shelf-fungi, and each four miles tall. Numerous chambers and corridors has been carved within the mushrooms; it is said not even Zuggtmoy herself knows the full extent of the palace.
History
In the T modules, Zuggtmoy is revealed to be a competitor and enemy of LolthLolth
Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth , the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves...
. She built the Temple of Elemental Evil along with her ally, Iuz. The forces of good launched a campaign against her, trapping her within the temple's confines. In the current World of Greyhawk Timeline, Zuggtmoy is presumed released from the Temple by Robilar
Robilar
In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Robilar is a powerful warrior who serves as commander of Rary's forces in the Empire of the Bright Lands...
.
Zuggtmoy in other media
In Gary Gygax's Gord the RogueGord the Rogue
Gord the Rogue is the protagonist in a series of fantasy novels and short stories written by Gary Gygax. Gygax originally wrote the novels and short stories to promote his World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. After he left TSR, Gygax continued to write...
novels, Zuggtmoy is one of the so-called "Monarchs of Demonium." She also has a vile artifact called the Cauldron of Corruption, a small kettle-like object covered with bumps, knobs and other weird protrusions. Upon command, it can grow into a huge cauldron and shoots out jets and sprays of flesh-eating and poisonous slimes and spores.
Additional reading
- Gygax, Gary. Artifact of Evil. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1986.
- Jacobs, James. "Dragon's Bestiary: Minions of IuzIuzIn the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Iuz is the chaotic evil demigod of Deceit, Evil, Oppression, Pain, and Wickedness. Iuz is variously called "The Old One" and "Old Wicked," among other titles. Unlike most Greyhawk deities, Iuz makes his home on...
." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#270. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000. - Jacobs, James. "Lord of the Scarlet Tide." DungeonDungeonA dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
#85. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2001. - Jacobs, James. "Spawn of Elemental Evil." DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#285 (Paizo Publishing, 2001).