'Dungeons & Dragons' Brings Back Another Classic Monster in 'Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes'

Dungeons & Dragons is bringing back the horrific devil that graced the cover of the original Player's Handbook.

In the first installment of the new "Mordenkainen's Mayhem" show, which pits monsters from the upcoming Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes publication in battles to the death, Dungeons & Dragons staffers revealed that the classic arch-devil Moloch would be making his return to the popular tabletop game along with the foul sibriex demon. The sibriex resembles a large floating pile of fleshy faces chained together, with bile and acid pouring from various orifaces and first appeared in the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Moloch resembles a classic devil, with large horns and red skin, and dates back all the way to 1983.

Longtime fans of Dungeons & Dragons probably remember the cover of the original Player's Handbook for AD&D, which featured a group of adventurers standing in front of an idol to a hideous looking devil. While not stated outright, the devil bore a notable resemblance to the arch-devil Moloch, which first appeared in the later Monster Manual II book. In a recent Dragon+ podcast, D&D creative franchise director Mike Mearls revealed that the idol on the original Player's Handbook was a representation of Moloch. According to Mearls, the original artist of the cover art, Dave Trampier, nicknamed the idol "Molly." When Monster Manual II came out, Moloch was designed based off Trampier's original artwork of the idol, and was thus retconned (in a way) into become Moloch.

Moloch will be a mighty foe in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, with a Challenge Rating of 21. In addition to having several Legendary Actions and abilities, Moloch also has a fearsome whip with a reach of 30 feet and the ability to do both lightning and slashing damage.

The sibriex demon has a challenge rating of 18 and has access to a huge number of spells thanks to its high charisma, along with assorted vile poison and acid attacks.

In order to balance the fight between Moloch and the sibriex, "Mordenkainen's Mayhem" took away Moloch's Legendary Actions and resistances and gave the sibriex access to foul little leech like demons known as Wretched. (It was unclear whether the Wretched naturally follow sibriex around, or if this was just for the tournament.) Ultimately, it was the Wretched that made all the difference in the battle between Moloch and the sibriex as the Wretched attached themselves to Moloch and hit him with automatic damage that slowly whittled down his HP. Eventually, the sibriex (which was controlled by D&D senior graphic designer Emi Tanji) triumphed over Moloch (who was controlled by D&D story designer Adam Lee).

You can check out the full battle between Moloch and the sibriex in the first installment of Mordenkainen's Mayhem, which can be watched on D&D's Twitch channel. New episodes will air each Monday at 4 PM PT.

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes comes out on May 29 and will cost $49.99.