Merrenoloth

Merrenoloths, also known as marraenoloths, charonadaemons, and the in-between were the highest ranking of the lesser yugoloths and in charge of piloting the boats that sailed the River Styx. The skeletal servitors of Charon were the most specialized among the daemons, loyal only to their boats and the incredible amounts of money needed to afford their services.
==Description==
Merrenoloths appeared as pale, nearly skeletal humanoids that stood tall and wore rotted, hooded robes and burial wraps. Their eyes glowed red, especially when they became angered.
==Personality==
Charonadaemons were grim and pitiless, possessing more cunning and malice than Charon himself. Merrenoloths held a mercenary mentality and a neutral outlook in their dealings, possibly more than any other yugoloth. Despite being able to speak all languages they were taciturn in demeanor, preferring to focus on their skiffs rather than engage in needless chatter. They realized their inability to function without a ship and always attempted to stay near the one they had attached themselves to.
==Abilities==
Merrenoloths did not excel in combat, as they were limited to trying to bite at foes with their bony fangs or smack them with their oars. They did, however, possess supernatural control of any ship they were hired to captain, being able to command them by simply naming their destination. They could manipulate the winds around their ships, not only to speed up travel and prevent others from boarding them but also to increase the level of comfort of paying passengers. The ship would not sink if the hull was breached, were often immune to most kinds of spells, and could be magically restored by the merrenoloth. Their crafts could be piloted not only in fiendish waters but also in the Ethereal and Astral planes if they so chose.
They could innately cause the effects of the charm person, control water, control weather, darkness, detect magic, dispel magic, and gust of wind spells. They could also exercise water breathing and water walking at will. When angered, their gaze could cause intense fear in their opponents. After this they normally summoned a small group of hydroloths or less commonly a second merrenoloth, to fight for them. All merrenoloths were in constant telepathic contact with at least one other member of their kind, and when in conversation used telepathy to communicate.
==Combat==
Although not weak, merrenoloths tried to avoid combat whenever possible, only caring about the safety of their ship. Their contracts normally went out of their way to specify that they had no obligation to do battle. They did not police their passengers however, and so long as they and their ships were undamaged, anyone aboard could do as they pleased, including fight in a small, open boat. 
If attacked or robbed, merrenoloths typically capsized their own ships, leveraging robust swimming abilities, magic, and their immunity to the Styx to negate any consequences of doing so. After recovering the lost pay and righting their ships, they would simply leave the offenders to whatever fate awaited them wherever they ended up. 
==Society==
Merrenoloths possessed an innate understanding of the River Styx and all of its twists, bends, and channels, and so could not get lost within it. Although able to enter the Material Plane, doing so might force them to leave their skiffs behind, rendering them lost and practically powerless. As such, this was only done when they were summoned or sent to transport others between the Material and Lower Planes using a specialized version of plane shift. Those who took on contracts to ferry ships bonded with the vessels allowing them to control it like their own skiffs.
Because all merrenoloths were in constant telepathic contact with one another they were instantly aware of those who cheated or harmed another member of their kind. Although apathetic to each other's plight, transgressors of the merrenoloths' rules were duly noted and their services would be suspended for the violators. This was not a matter of holding grudges, and so long as the price was paid, even a former foe could be a passenger. But the only way to return to the favor of the merrenoloths, and therefore call upon their services without rejection or almost inevitable treachery, was to make a suitable sacrifice to their race. Such a tribute often included the offering of rare gemstones, unique magical items, or the sacrifice of intelligent good-aligned beings, normally in a desecrated temple of good and presented with ceremony and repentance.
When sent to the Material Plane it was sometimes in service to the Oinoloth, Charon, or another powerful evil entity to retrieve someone. As the defender of all charonadaemons, Charon could be called upon to rescue an endangered merrenoloth, although his prices were so exorbitant that most of his followers would choose death first.
===Rules of the Ferry===
Merrenoloths demanded payment for their service worth 100 gold pieces charging either 10 platinum pieces, two gems worth at least 50 gold pieces each, or a magic item worth at least 100 gold pieces, per passenger, in advance. Unless paid up front, they would prevent passengers from entering the boat and attempt to teleport away. They also refused to accept cargo, although they would take large animals; however, since such creatures took up extra space and often had to be blindfolded and forced to lie down, triple the fare was charged for such creatures. 
Although it was practically impossible for them to get lost on the treacherous course of the river they were occasionally known to lead their passengers to traps laid out by a higher paying third party. It was advisable to increase the payment to a merrenoloth to avoid such an inconvenience. In order to secure a safe passage free of betrayal the sum paid had to be four times greater than normal.
One inflexible rule every merrenoloth followed was that they would never force a paying passenger out of their boat unless attacked. If they were summoned while already ferrying someone and had no more room, the would-be customers would need to find another, as their business would be abysmal if they were known to evict passengers to make room for others. Even merrenoloths plotting to betray their passengers did not simply dump them in the wrong location. They remained docked until the passengers either left or, if they refused to exist without attacking, eventually moved on. A merrenoloth might continue taking them to wrong destinations or dangerous places if they seemed weak, but if they proved too strong to overcome would take them to the proper place.
===Politics===
Merrenoloths existed only to obtain the fare for their ferrying service and tried to steer clear of Blood War politics, although they would still ferry fiendish armies across the planes. It was only by maintaining their neutrality to the dealings of others that they could truly accomplish their purpose. Unlike most fiends, they could move throughout the Lower Planes without attracting suspicion due to their impartial status.
If they were to subvert this purpose and act as spies for powerful entities they would no longer be able to move freely throughout the Styx and therefore be practically worthless. Although many tanar'ri and baatezu would like to subjugate them, and some powerful fiends occasionally forced them to obey their demands, most recognized the value in their services and so tolerated their unbiased behavior. Despite not outright controlling them for this reason, other powerful evil entities tried to subtly manipulate them in ways that acted in their favor.
Certain codes of conduct applied to how devils treated merrenoloths. Only those above greater status would dare approach or attack them and their passengers, and if they did the merrenoloth would fight to defend itself and use the Styx to plane shift away. Outside the skiff this was different however, and lesser devils often tailed such vehicles waiting for the passengers to get off, or would attack someone currently dealing with a merrenoloth only from great range. Furthermore, greater devils usually only attacked passengers fleeing with treasures stolen from a similarly important devil. Both sides maintained total neutrality in these situations. So long as the devils did not upset the skiff, they would not stop the devils from ripping apart the passengers, but nor would they waste time, attract undue attention, or stop taking the passengers wherever they were paid to go. 
Devils themselves generally did not make use of merrenoloths. This was not because of their lawful bent; indeed, the boatmasters would take any lawful evil creatures if paid, extraplanar or otherwise, including achaierai, barghests, hell cats, hell hounds, mephits, and rakshasas. Rather, it was because only the styx devils could pass out of the Lower Planes using the powers of the Styx.
===Promotion===
After being promoted from yagnoloths, merrenoloths quickly learned to trade the power of ownership and command, with that of material wealth and information. They absorbed the knowledge of the labyrinthine River Styx and saw its twisting patterns reflected in both the multiverse and the minds of the greater yugoloths. They also gained a further understanding of the benefits of making, holding to, and breaking contracts, as well as how to hold others to their whims and the politics of their society.
Merrenoloths were sometimes called the in-between, as they represented a middle ground between the lesser and greater castes of the yugoloths. Only by learning the depths of their political system and mastering them could the normally apolitical merrenoloths be promoted into greater yugoloths in the form of nycaloths.
==History==
Long ago, when under unyielding attacks by the demodands under the command of Apomps, the merrenoloths were forced to make a difficult decision. With the prices for calling upon the ultroloths for aid too high they were ask for the assistance of the night hags. In return for a altraloth defender the night hags would be given free ferrying across the Styx forever. With nowhere left to turn, the merrenoloths agreed and had one among them transformed into the altraloth known as Charon.
==Appendix==
===References===
===Connections===
Category:Omnivorous creatures
Category:Creatures found on the River Styx