Vrock
A vrock is a type of fictional creature, a demon from the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It resembles a humanoid with the head, claws, and wings of a giant vulture. Vrock typically stand eight feet tall and weigh 800 pounds.
Publication history
The vrock was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.
Dungeons & Dragons (1974-1976)
The type I demon appeared under the demon entry in the Eldritch Wizardry supplement (1976).[1]
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
The type I demon (vrock) appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977).[2]
Dungeons & Dragons (1977-1999)
This edition of the D&D game included its own version of the type I demon, which is known as the screaming demon, first appearing in the Immortal Rules set, in the DM's Guide to Immortals (1986).[3] The screaming lesser fiend appeared in the Wrath of the Immortals set, in "Book One: Codex of the Immortals" (1992).[4]
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
In this edition, demons became known as tanar'ri, and this creature officially became known as the vrock, a "true tanar'ri", appearing first in the Monstrous Compendium Volume Outer Planes Appendix (1991),[5] and then reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).[6]
An ancient vrock known as The Beast appeared in Dungeon #25 (September 1990).
The vrock true tanar'ri also appeared for the Planescape campaign setting in the first Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (1994).[7]
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
The vrock (tanar'ri) appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2000);[8] in this edition, the name demon is restored, and tanar'ri are now considered a sub-type of demon.
Savage Species (2003) presented the vrock as both a race and a playable class.[9]
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 edition (2003-2007)
The vrock appears in the revised Monster Manual for this edition (2003).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
The vrock appears in the Monster Manual for this edition (2008), again under the demon entry.[10]
History
In the 1st edition of the Monster Manual, the name 'vrock' was not used to describe these creatures, and instead a vrock was referred to as a 'Demon Type I'. They were among the weaker demons.
In 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, TSR stopped using the word 'demon' and instead called the vrock and the other demons from the 1st edition of Dungeons & Dragons 'Tanar'ri'.
3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons gave the vrock its demon status back, but for purposes of backwards compatibility with 2nd edition Dungeons & Dragons a sub-classification of demons called Tanar'ri was created, of which the vrock and all of the other demons from the 1st edition Monster Manual were members. In 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons, vrock are most known and feared for the dance of ruin — a power that enables three vrock cavorting in concert to unleash a very damaging blast of energy.
Known vrock
- Arrikk: From Hellbound: War Games, page 65
- The Cuckoo: Standing Stone (presumably referenced again in Heart of Nightfang Spire)
- Grzzlat: I2 Tomb of the Lizard King (on the random encounters table)
- Jaazzpaa: Dungeon #25, "The Standing Stones of Sundown"
- Rhunad: Heart of Nightfang Spire
- Shaakat, Rejik, and Morbaat: The Paladins, book two of the Forgotten Realms Double Diamond Triangle Saga.
- Chaohinon of the Void: From Neverwinter Nights, Chapter One Finale.
Critical reception
The demon (vrock) was ranked third among the ten best mid-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. The authors chose the vrock as "the best example" out of four or five "to represent the evil-outsider-from-the-infernal-realms niche".[11]
Other media
The Vrock appears in the D&D Miniatures: Archfiends set #58 (2004).
Another Vrock appears in the D&D Miniatures: Dungeons of Dread set #20 (2008).
References
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2008) |
- ^ Gygax, Gary; Blume, Brian (1976). "Eldritch Wizardry" (1 ed.). Lake Geneva, WI: TSR.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
- ^ Mentzer, Frank. Dungeons & Dragons Set 5: Immortal Rules (TSR, 1986)
- ^ Allston, Aaron. Wrath of the Immortals (TSR, 1992)
- ^ LaFountain, J. Paul. Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix. (TSR, 1991)
- ^ Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
- ^ Varney, Allen, ed. Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix (TSR, 1994)
- ^ Cook, Monte, Jonathan Tweet, and Skip Williams. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2000)
- ^ Eckelberry, David, Rich Redman, and Jennifer Clarke Wilkes. Savage Species (Wizards of the Coast, 2003)
- ^ Mearls, Mike, Stephen Schubert, and James Wyatt. Monster Manual (Wizards of the Coast, 2008)
- ^ Slavicsek, Bill; Baker, Rich; Grubb, Jeff (2006). Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. For Dummies. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-7645-8459-6. Retrieved 2009-02-12.