Moloch

* Artwork
* Symbol

Moloch, known also as the Maw of Undoing, was a pit fiend and former Archdevil exiled from the Nine Hells by the Lord of Nessus.

Hungry for power and allies to reclaim his lost position, he found himself allied with Hadar, becoming one of his Harbingers.

## History

Formerly a fearsome warrior in the eternal Blood War, Moloch grew in fame by doing as most martially-minded devils do - slaughtering demons in their droves. Upon ascension to the position of a pitfiend, Moloch had the blacksmiths and forgemasters of Cania combine his flesh and blood with infernal iron, transforming his form into a fiendish monstrosity of metal and muscle, laden with enchantments. Likewise elevated to rulership of Malbolge, his ambition grew further still until, at the behest of an entity called Kindred, he sought to topple even the Lord of Nessus themselves.

Though the schemes were appropriately devilish in their complexity and effectiveness, it proved for folly - and with it Moloch was forced into flight. Enraged at the entity that had stoked his ambition, he brought an army of his loyal supporters with him to the Feywild, burning and ravaging the domain so greatly that it remains scarred to this day still, a valley of devastation known as the Mar-o'-the-Maw.

Subsequently, Moloch found himself seduced by the power promised by the reconstituted vestige of the Darkbringer that had become the Cinder Star Hadar. After Hadar was repelled by means currently unknown, Moloch was sequestered away behind one of the Great Seals of Ahlus, but later broken free by his few lingering loyalists. Seeking the coinage to hire an army of yugoloths, he sought to slay the Ancient Gold Dragon Xelzintarth, only to find himself captured once more via use of the *Imprisonment* spell.

## Description

When encountered within the arcane prison created by Xelzintarth, Moloch used an illusion to make himself seem chained and incapacitated, before unleashing a series of fireballs from a hidden ambush spot.

*"The hall, a facsimile of a noble design with high-vaulted roof, trailing stairways of polished metal, a through walkway of ornate design - jade and gold - now decried in intense heat that bubbles the molten mineral stone that once formed a simple floor. A draconic heat, twisted infernal, sweat now festers upon brow, collar and wrist, eyes reduced to tears. Through blurry eyes, the form of a great armoured devil, bound in hand and feet by thick chains of black steel hangs, helmed head slumped low."*

## Death

After it was established that banishing the Wood Weald back to the Domain of Dread known as the Dirgevale would require a metal base potent and effective against fey creatures, it was speculated that the enchanted iron laced through Moloch's form would serve this purpose.

A group of adventurers, following discussion with Xelzintarth, were transported into the *Imprisonment* created for Moloch, where he was subsequently slain after a short battle. The kobold Draelfus Dreadwyrm proved the final folly for the devil, severing first his arm and then bisecting his armoured neck and maw. His spine was cut free before his body turned to ash - where Moloch has now been reborn, surrounded by his enemies and thus assumed to be definitively slain.