Betrayers' Rise

Depiction of Bazzoxan, with the Betrayers' Rise set against the mountainside in the background, by Kent Davis from Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep.

## Location Information

### **Region**

Xhorhas

The **Betrayers' Rise** is a temple to the Betrayer Gods and, in the time of the Calamity, was the seat of the Demon Princes of the Abyss. The temple was once called "the Bazzoxan" but Bazzoxan later came to refer to the entire settlement built around its ruins.

## **Description**

    A gargantuan double door called the Umbra Gates marks the main entrance to the Betrayers' Rise. The doors are made of onyx inlaid with silver and copper, with carved imagery of demons. Much of the bottom section of one door had its imagery chiseled away at one point, but what remained was an image of the massive bestial body of Baphomet walking along a broken land, an army of malformed creatures swarming around him, and the border of the door depicted a snakelike creature with one arm.

There are multiple barricades set up throughout the exterior and interior of the various tunnels of Bazzoxan, but evil creatures still manage to creep past, and the soldiers kill them and try to fill the gaps. There is one side entrance to the right of the Umbra Gates through which the Aurora Watch attempts to funnel the creatures.

Lianos, a soldier of the Aurora Watch who had not gone far into the temple, said that there was a large central chamber within Betrayers' Rise from which extended a great many tunnels. But the interior of the temple rearranges itself so that different groups experience different configurations.

Immediately behind the Umbra Gates, one party of adventurers came upon a bridge ending at a door with a symbol of Avandra that some creature(s) had failed to scratch away; the door glowed and opened readily when the Jewel of Three Prayers was close. The hallway beyond had reliefs of a battle involving celestials, mortals, and fiends, and depicting Alyxian accompanied by Avandra and another of the Prime Deities, Sehanine. Various chambers were dedicated to different Betrayer Gods, and one stained-glass window featured the symbols of eight Betrayer Gods active in the Calamity plus the symbol of Vecna. Several of these nine deities, like Asmodeus, are not associated with the Abyss.

An altar to Avandra remains deep in the heart of the temple, surrounded by a large mass of bright crystal.

## **History**

The Betrayers' Rise was the historical seat of power on the Prime Material Plane for the Demon Princes of the Abyss, in Xhorhas. For a brief period of time during the Calamity, there was unity between the demonic Princes for the purposes of fighting the Prime Deities.

The known Demon Princes of the Abyss include:

* Baphomet ("The Horned King"): Demon Prince of Beasts
* Demogorgon ("The Sibilant Beast", self-proclaimed "Prince of Demons"): Demon Prince of Madness
* Graz'zt the Seductive ("The Prince of Pleasure"): Demon Prince of Indulgence
* Juiblex ("The Oozing Hunger"): Demon Prince of Formlessness
* Orcus ("The Blood Lord"): Demon Prince of Undeath
* Yeenoghu ("The Beast of Butchery"): Demon Prince of Savagery

    After the fall of Ghor Dranas, the hero Alyxian and an army marched on Bazzoxan and fought their way into the temple at great cost. Alyxian prayed to Avandra for her blessing to aid in his fight against the demons there, and Torog taunted them in the darkness.

Following the Calamity, settlers from Rosohna wandered north and began renovating the ruins of Bazzoxan, but eventually dungeoneers found the dormant gateway to the Abyss within the temple, went mad from the demonic influence, and accidentally reactivated the gateway. There is some contradictory evidence in the canon about when the gateway to the Abyss was reactivated. As of 836 PD, the gateway was said to have been reactivated "about forty years ago", although one soldier claimed that year that the Aurora Watch in Bazzoxan had been holding off whatever creatures escape the temple for the better part of a century.

### ***Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep***

    In this adventure, two parties of adventurers delve into the Betrayers' Rise in search of the place where Alyxian prayed for Avandra's blessing during the final siege of the evil temple in the Calamity. Agents of the Cobalt Soul, Allegiance of Allsight, and Consortium of the Vermilion Dream are also investigating related matters.

### ***The Tales of Exandria: The Bright Queen***

At some point presumably in the 840s PD, Leylas Kryn, Dryca, Roshan, and some Aurora Watch soldiers delved into Betrayers' Rise, on a mission to use an artifact called the Stormlord's Heart to enter Lolth's domain, the Dreadnest, to rescue Quana Kryn and retrieve a Luxon beacon. Quana, using the Stormlord's Heart, returned to Bazzoxan with the beacon, which turned out to have been corrupted.

## **Trivia**

* If the Demon Princes of the Abyss are the same as in the Forgotten Realms canon of Dungeons & Dragons, given the infinite nature of the Abyss, it is entirely possible there are other Demon Princes beyond those listed here.

## **References**

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 See *Call of the Netherdeep*, p. 62.
2. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:11:54.
3. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:14:37.
4. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:11:54.
5. ↑ See *Call of the Netherdeep*, p. 47.
6. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:12:07.
7. ↑ See "Causatum" (2x70) at 1:11:05.
8. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:22:11.
9. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 3:09:01.
10. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 3:09:28.
11. ↑ See *Call of the Netherdeep*, p. 63.
12. ↑ See *Call of the Netherdeep*, pp. 63–65.
13. ↑ See *Call of the Netherdeep*, pp. 68–69. Besides Vecna, the other eight Betrayer Gods are those who created the Arms of the Betrayers.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 See *Call of the Netherdeep*, pp. 72–73.
15. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, p. 134.
16. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:14:41.
17. ↑ See *Explorer's Guide to Wildemount*, pp. 134–135.
18. ↑ See "Beneath Bazzoxan" (2x66) at 2:12:43.

**Art:**

1. ↑ Depiction of Bazzoxan, with the Betrayers' Rise set against the mountainside in the background, by Kent Davis from *Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep*. Used with permission. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.
2. ↑ Fan art of the Umbra Gates leading into the Betrayers' Rise, by Miloš Radojkić (source). Used with permission.
3. ↑ Fan art of a battle at the Umbra Gates, by Vanessa Schiefer (source). Used with permission.
4. ↑ Depiction of the site within the Betrayers' Rise where Alyxian prayed to Avandra and received her blessing, by Kent Davis from *Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep*, p. 74. Used with permission. This page contains unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.