Gothmog¶
Lord of Fire and Shadow, King of Balrogs
Gothmog is a demon of the highest order below the archdemons, "a powerful greater demonlord" who "once commanded the legions of Balrogs in the Demon Wars" (S434, S372). He was too powerful for the Abyss to hold, was imprisoned on the material plane instead, and escaped. Where he is now is not known.
In the Demon Wars¶
Gothmog led the Balrogs in the Demon Wars, the ancient war against the demon hordes that ended when the demons were bound to the Abyss. His host did not escape that binding: "Though his army of Balrogs are imprisoned in the Abyss, Gothmog was too powerful to be confined there and instead had to be imprisoned on the material plane" (S434). He shares that fate with Orcus, "too powerful to be imprisoned in the weakened Abyss," and with the archdemons whose mortal forms the Light of Kalar keeps imprisoned (S372).
Escape¶
"He escaped his earthly prison several hundred years ago and has not been seen since. The Light of Kalar believe he is hiding in the deep underdark" (S434, S372). The archive's present is late in the Age of Magic, so the escape falls within that age.
Rank and kind¶
The demon classifications rank demons by power, from the seven archdemons down to demonlings, and place Gothmog with Orcus in the second rank, the Demon Princes, above the greater demon lords; the Balrog he once commanded is ranked as a greater demon (S114, S518, S512). The demi-god lists set him among the lesser demi-gods, beings "immortal and nearly indestructible" whose power is local rather than regional (S434, S372). Rank and form are separate among demons: a demon of any power may be a Hellspawn, Fiend, Fel Spirit or Vile, and the sources do not say which Gothmog is. See Demonic Forms and Archdemons.1
Gap
No source describes Gothmog's appearance, where or by whom he was imprisoned on the material plane, how he escaped, or what he has done since. No Fourth or Fifth Age document mentions him.