Lore

## The Nine Hells

**The Nine Hells of Baator** is the ultimate plane of law and evil and the epitome of premeditated cruelty. The devils of the Nine Hells are bound to obey the laws of their superiors, but they rebel within their individual castes. Most undertake any plot, no matter how foul, to advance themselves. At the very top of the hierarchy is Asmodeus, who has yet to be bested. If he were to be vanquished, the victor would rule the plane in turn. Such is the law of the Nine Hells.

**Devils.** Devils personify tyranny, with a totalitarian society dedicated to the domination of mortal life. Asmodeus, ruler of the Nine Hells, continually expands his infernal armies, sending his servants to the mortal realm to corrupt the souls from which new devils are spawned.

* **Archdevils.** Current rulers of the Nine Hells.
	+ **Zariel.** Archduchess of the first layer of Hell, Avernus. Zariel supplanted her rival, Bel, who had fallen out of Asmodeus’s favor and is forced to serve as Zariel’s advisor. Tiamat, the Queen of Evil Dragons, is a prisoner of Avernus--she rules her own domain but is confined to the Nine Hells by Asmodeus in accordance with an ancient contract.
	+ **Dispater.** Is the lord of Dis. Rumoured to be a master deceiver, and devilishly handsome, the archduke rules over the Iron City of Dis.
	+ **Mammon.** The archduke of Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells--a stench-ridden bog drenched in acidic rains.
	+ **Belial and Fierna.** Rule in tandem over Phlegethos, the fourth layer of the Nine Hells. Archudke Belial and his daughter, Archduchess Fierna, share an unbreakable alliance.
	+ **Levistus.** Ruler of the frozen Stygia, the fifth layer of the Nine Hells.
	+ **Glasya.** Asmodeus’s daughter, Glasya, rules over Malbolge, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells. A sprawling labyrinth of cells and torture chambers is said to lay beneath her palace.
	+ **Baalzebul.** The archduke of Maladomini, Baalzebul is the Lord of Flies.
	+ **Mephistopheles.** The brilliant and conniving ruler of Cania, the eighth layer of the Nine Hells.
	+ **Asmodeus.** The Dark Lord of Nessus. Supreme ruler of all devils. Commands the pit fiend generals, which in turn command legions of subordinates. He delegates most matters of rulership to the pit fiends and lesser archdevils that make up the infernal bureaucracy of the Nine Hells, even as he knows that those powerful devils conspire to usurp the Throne of Baator from which he rules. Asmodeus appoints archdevils, and he can strip any member of the infernal hierarchy of rank and status as he likes.

**Greater Devils.**

* **Pit Fiends.** The undisputed lords of most other devils, pit fiends attend the archdukes and archduchesses of the Nine Hells and carry out their wishes. These mighty devils are the generals of the Nine Hells, leading its infernal legions into battle.
	+ **Astes.** General to Dispater.
	+ **Halphanox.** General to Mammon.
	+ **Baddya.** General to Belial and Fierna.
	+ **Lecha.** General to Levistus.
	+ **Maelaron.** General to Glasya.
	+ **Akvat.** General to Baalzebul.
	+ **Soyno.** General to Mephistopheles.
	+ **Ephis.** General to Asmodeus.

* **Erinyes.**
	+ **Myazulon.** Note: Myazulon is the only devil to attain the rank of general who was not also a pit fiend. She is considered ineligible to become a full pit fiend, because it is said she was born from a succubus. She serves Zariel in Avernus, attending the front lines of the blood war. Notoriously cunning and ruthless, she has outlasted and outmaneuvered countless others to maintain her position at Zariel’s side.
* **Horned Devils.**
* **Ice Devils.**

**Lesser Devils.**

* **Imps.**
* **Chain Devils.**
* **Spined Devils.**
* **Bearded Devils.**
* **Barbed Devils.**
* **Bone Devils.**
* **Lemures.** The lowest form of devil--a twisted and tormented soul of an evil and corrupted mortal.
* **Succubi/ Incubi.** Though technically fiends, the succubi inhabit all of the lower planes and often serve devil lords.

**Tieflings.** The Tieflings that inhabit the material plane are not technically devils at all. However, because of a pact struck generations ago, they are infused with the essence of Asmodeus--overlord of the Nine Hells. It is said the pact was originally between the former duke of Avernus, Bel, and the human king, Goladir. Goladir sought the power to unite the kingdoms of Forleroth and overcome the necromancer, Eomnach. Bel, disguising himself as an elven sage, granted Goladir the essence of the Nine Hells, hoping to corrupt the material plane and subsume it into Avernus. Asmodeus viewed Bel’s actions as treacherous and demoted the archduke. Goladir, for his part, was able to unite the kingdoms of Forleroth and conquer the necromancer--but his bloodline was forever cursed, and the material plane has suffered greatly for it.