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The Outer
Plane that best captures the imagination of travellers,
the greed of treasure-seekers,
and the battle-fury of paladins is
the Nine Hells, a plane of evil organized
to further its own malefic <alt: that of Hell, perhaps>
ends. It is dominated by creatures (the
devils)
set into a rigid
caste system, but it is home to large
numbers of other evil creatures.
Each of the nine layers
of Hell are 8infinite8, extending 8forever8
in all directions. The barriers between
layers are always found
at the lowest point of the upper level
and at a very high
point above the surface of the next layer
down. If there is a mountain
|| other high structure at the barrier
region in the lower
plane, then the traveller can climb
down (but beware, for such
convenient areas are very rare and always
guarded). Otherwise,
the exit for the barrier is about a half-mile
above the surface of the
next layer down. Unless the traveller
can {fly}, he will probably suffer
20d6 of damage from the fall as well as
attracting the attention <link: falling damage, WSG>
of the creatures below in a most spectacular
fashion.
Hell is the most typically
infernal of the lower
planes--the unknowing often ascribe the
Hells' environments to
the other Lower Planes as well. The physical
laws && properties
of matter are constant within each layer,
but these change as the
traveller
passes from layer to layer.
The paths into and out
of Hell are many. The Styx runs
through Avernus
and into Stygia; Charon and his charonadaemons
will ferry those foolish enough to travel
within those
lands. The river Lethe runs through Nessus
and is said to link to
certain PMPs in the same fashion as the
Yggdrasil && Mount Olympus.
Whether it does or not is unknown.
Touching || drinking the black
waters of Lethe has the same
effect as the Styx, but Charon and his
servants never appear on its shores.
In Avernus there are
portals to the topmost layers of Acheron,
Gehenna, and to the outer rings of the
plane of Concordant Opposition.
These free-standing portals are
identical--
huge hoops of reddish light.
Tiamat is well aware of the permanent
portals near her realms.
She has them guarded by encampments of
abishai or laced with traps.
There are a
large #number# of conduits leading from Hell
to PMPs. This enables the dukes and arch-dukes
to vie for control over the forces of
evil on a multitude of
alternate planes. This continual squabbling
among the forces of
evil by chicanery and force of arms usu.
spells the doom of evil
plans, for evil always turns upon itself.
Recognition of this fact is
rare among the devilish races. For that
reason, there are
a large #number# of conduits leading
to the PMPs, despite the
fact that these conduits allow ingress
to adventurers who seek to
SLAY the devils who built the conduit.
The most prominent inhabitants
of the Nine Hells are devilkind,
but they share their plane with many other
evil creatures. An
xcellent summary of those creatures, and
their FREQUENCY: on the
individual layers of Hell, <> can be
found in the entry under devil in MM
II.
All creatures native
to the Nine Hells are unaffected by the natural
forces (ice,
fire,
poison,
etc.) that exist on their native layer.
e.g., an ice
devil from Caina is immune to all magical and
natural cold, but only while
in Caina.
This advantage for natives
in their home layer tends to prevent attacks
by devils from other
layers.
Arch-Devils:
The arch-devils are a group of powerful devils
(treat as lesser gods in their home plane)
dedicated to the defeat of good &&
their own supremacy over all the
known planes of existence.
Such a unified force could pose a great
problem, but each arch-devil
is convinced that he (|| she) alone is
the most capable leader
of the diabolic forces. There always comes
a point for every
devil when the desire to rule in Hell
outweighs any advantage to
be gained from defeating the forces of
good
(devils will contest
with Odin, e.g.,
but no devil sees himself
as taking over Odin's position in Gladsheim).
All arch-devils see themselves as contenders
for the position of the Overlord of Hell.
While the battling in the Hells is much
more subtle than the roaring wars in the halls of the Oinodaemon,
there are endless struggles in the pits nonetheless.
Briefly, then, here is a summary of the most powerful devils and their spheres of influence.
* Asmodeus
+
* Mephistopheles
+
* Baalzebul
+
* Moloch
+
* Geryon
+
* Belial
+
* Mammon
+
* Dispater
+
* Tiamat
+
Politically, the arch-devils
are split into three opposing groups.
Asmodeus
commands the unswerving loyalty of Geryon and
Tiamat
(layers: 1, 5, and 9).
Baalzebul
has
Moloch as a stated vassal
and has been recruiting Belial,
whose rivalry with Geryon is
unbounded (layers: 4,
6, and 7). Mephistopheles seeks
to appear
as a force of reason and restraint; he
has Dispater and ever-greedy
Mammon on his side (layers: 2, 3, and
8).
While Asmodeus
may seem to have the weakest faction of the
three, his control over all the devils
as overlord gives him the
advantage. Both Baalzebul
and Mephistopheles seek to
dethrone Asmodeus,
but they cannot depend on the other members
of their faction, who will only defy Asmodeus
when victory is
certain. Arch-devils will quickly TURN
on erstwhile allies if they
can gain additional {realms}
&& responsibilities. Also, the faction
that is not revolting will atuomatically
side w/ Asmodeus, hoping
to curry favor && gain spoils
when the revolt is defeated.
Asmodeus
skillfully plays one faction against the other, never his
supporting dukes know where they stand
in his eyes. This
continual doubt, + the fact that Asmodeus
controls both ends
of Hell (through Tiamat,
who is underrated by her devilish
compatriots as a dumb beast), makes Asmodeus
supreme in
his portions of Hell.
<perhaps, revise the Arch-Devils, to TRADE out some of their powers for powers from the politician class, in Dragon 74?>
The organized realms
of the devils are vast, but the layers of
the Hells are infinite in size.
They are home to other powers besides
those of devilkind.
The true relationship between LE Powers
and the devils is unknown, for neither side
is volunteering
any info. In those planes in which devils
are unknown,
the LE powers mention devils only as useful
servants.
As Takhisis
in the world of Krynn, Tiamat
has never let
her followers know that there are other
arch-devils or that
there is a Hell at all. The esrever is
true as well--worlds
that know of Asmodeus
and not Druaga or
Set will not find
out about Druaga
or Set if Asmodeus has anything to say about it.
The Realms of Hell
| Kurtulmak (1: Avernus) | Set (1: Avernus) | Hecate (4: Phlegethos) | Inanna (4: Phlegethos) | Sekolah (5. Stygia) | No Cha |
An excellent example
of this is Druaga, lesser Deity of the
Babylonian mythos, who is titled (perhaps
self-titled) Ruler of the
Devil World. Druaga has a realm
on the second layer of Hell,
far from the hills that surround Dis's
flat plain. Both he and Dispater
are aware of each other and tolerate each
other's presence in
their layer of Hell. Neither interferes
with the working of the other.
Dispater may provide the devils that Druaga
sends forth, but
the full nature of this relationship is
unrevealed. <MOVE this>
Many lesser devils
are given the names of Deities, such as the
devil Dagon (who is not demon prince
Dagon) and the devil
Nergal (who is not the Babylonian
god
Nergal).
The purpose of such names is threefold:
* to upset the other
Power,
* to catch spell casters
trying to invoke these beings without proper understanding, and
* to further muddle
any discussion of who rules in the lower planes.
(Titivilus
can honestly say, "Nergal? Why Nergal lives in the Hells--outcast, hides
in Avernus. Looks like a toad, poor thing.")
Dragon #243
1. AVERNUS +
2. DIS +
3. MINAUROS +
4. PHLEGETHOS +
5. STYGIA +
6. MALBOLGE + <(The Viceroyalty of Malbolge)>
7. MALADOMINI +
8. CAINA +
9. NESSUS +
(Notes)
| Die Roll | Frequency |
| 2 | Very rare |
| 3 | Very rare |
| 4 | Very rare or rare |
| 5 | Rare |
| 6 | Rare |
| 7 | Uncommon* |
| 8 | Uncommon* |
| 9 | Common** |
| 10 | Common** |
| 11 | Common** |
| 12 | Common** |
| 13 | Common** |
| 14 | Uncommon* |
| 15 | Uncommon* |
| 16 | Rare |
| 17 | Rare |
| 18 | Very rare or rare |
| 19 | Very rare |
| 20 | Very rare |
* Alternately; choice of two very rare creatures.
** Alternately; choice of two rare creatures.
<done: 1, 2, 3, 4>
In Heaven:
The Germans schedule events.
The British greet you.
The French cook. <Francia?>
<Burgundy?>
The Italians entertain.
In Hell:
The Italians schedule events.
The French greet you.
The British cook.
The Germans entertain.
Gary
AVERNUS
each glowing square, 1 in 6 chance that
it bursts into a fireball for 2-7 d6s of damage (1 in 12 chance if no fire
sources: torch, candle, lantern, etc. are readied)
MINAUROS
a barrier to Dis xists only 30 feet above
the roofs of Mammon's palace
there is a 13% chance that a traveller
contracts a disease, first checked when
entering Minauros
STYGIA
Among the peaks of these isles lightning
dances from the jet-black sky and balls of cold fire (inflicting 2d6 points
of damage) dance about the barrier regions to the Upper Hells
(transfer points are surrounded by 2d6
squares)
