Vargouille

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, the vargouille (pronounced var-GWEEEL) is a foul, disgusting, vampiric outsider from evil-aligned planes.

Publication history

The vargouille first appeared in first edition in the original Monster Manual II (1983).

The vargouille appeared in second edition for the Al-Qadim setting in City of Delights (1993), and appeared for the Planescape setting in the first Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994).

The vargouille appeared in the third edition Monster Manual (2000), and in the 3.5 revised Monster Manual (2003).

Physical description

A vargouille resembles a human head attached to a small, limbless, tentacled central body. Bat wings grow slightly behind the ears. Vargouilles are usually red in color.

Society

The vargouille is an evil beast which attacks and kills in a number of horrible and sadistic ways. For a start, there is its bite. In addition to being highly painful and often involving the sucking of blood, a vargouille bite is extremely poisonous. Secondly, there is the vargouille screech. After weakening opponents with biting, the vargouille likes to unleash a paralyzing, high-pitched wail. This squeal renders those who hear it paralyzed with fear. Last, and worst of all, there is the vargouille kiss. After paralyzing victims with the screech, the vargouille will often come and give victims a foul, smelly kiss. This kiss gradually causes its victims to become vargouilles themselves. First the hair falls out, then the skin turns red and tentacles sprout, and finally the head separates from the body and grows wings. Daylight disrupts this process, and some disease-curing spells are known to completely reverse the effect.

Vargouilles speak Infernal, and are neutral evil in alignment.

The concept of the vargouille is likely derived from the Malaysian Penanggalan.