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The Nine Hells, Part I
by Ed Greenwood
A devil . . . thought
the adventurer.
Now there is a fitting foe! Moreover, his
lands would not be safe until it was no
more, and so he set about tracking it.
And a little later . . . There are more
where that one came from, he thought to
himself, standing over its smoldering
remains.
"They could well come again," he said aloud.
"Yes," agreed the paladin
who had
fought at his side. "You have joined an
endless battle, my lord. But if you weary
of fighting it here, amid that which you
hold dear, then come with me—I ride on
the hells tomorrow."
Devils && demons
have always been
favorite monsters in AD&D play, particularly
with upper- and mid-level characters.
As a DM, I have been reluctant to
include devils until I had done some
work on the Nine Hells ? for the simple
reason that player characters, once they
are introduced to devils and find out facts
about them, are sure to want to carry the
fight to the enemy's home ground. I am
basically kind and fair (what DM isn't?),
and it goes against the grain not to allow
characters to enter the hells after they?ve
gone to some trouble and expense to
secure the means to do so. Not permitting
them to make the trip, when they deserve
to be given the try, condemns the characters
to endlessly be on the defensive when
fighting devils. Far more so than (for
instance) the chaotic layers of the Abyss,
the environment of the Nine Hells
demands that the DM do considerable
preparation before play moves to that
environment. There are gaps and uncertainties
in available official information
about the Hells. Briefly, this article will
touch on some of these and explain the
reasoning I have adopted; other DMs may
well make different decisions. The treatment
of the Nine Hells offered here leaves
ample room for a DM to make the hells
more as he or she sees them, and/or to
include specific features therein for a particular
adventure.
The very name of the styx devil
(see the
FIEND FOLIO® Tome, pp. 25-26)
implies that the river Styx exists in some
form in the Nine Hells of the AD&D
multiverse,
and we know (from the DEITIES
& DEMIGODS Cyclopedia) that the
sahuagin deity, Sekolah, swims in
the
deepest part of the seas of the Nine Hells.
Sekolah is a giant white shark that
?hunts only the largest and fiercest of
prey.? The illustration in the DDG book
suggests that a giant squid is part of such
prey. Might Sekolah also hunt dragon
turtles, or giant octopi? Or are there
aquatic leviathans unique to the hells?
There are other details a DM must
resolve, too: Gruumsh, Maglubiyet,
Kurtulmak
and some human deities (Set, for
example) named in the DDG book are
placed in the Nine Hells. Gruumsh and
Maglubiyet are locked in unending battle
with the armies they command, and these
armies had best be geographically placed
in relation to hell's nine planes. In issue
#64 of DRAGON® Magazine, Mr. Gygax
moves the first three deities (to Gehenna,
Gehenna, and Acheron respectively), but
it is unclear whether this change applies
officially to the AD&D rules, or
just to the
WORLD OF GREYHAWK campaign
setting. Certainly, from a design standpoint,
these deities are best removed, for if
the archdevils themselves (see
the DDG
book) are merely lesser gods,
how do they
exist amicably with Set, a greater god
who conceivably has the power to (lawful
evil, remember?) rule them.
If any deities are to be allowed in the
hells, the suggestion from here is that
they be confined to the first (uppermost)
plane, which can serve as a universal
?doormat? area for visitors and nondevils,
and a staging area both for any
standing armies or defenders of the hells,
and for foraging parties who are to leave
the hells on various missions.
Most PC invasions of the
hells, too, would arrive on the first plane.
It is, however, necessary for the DM at
invasion time to know something of the
other planes of hell, since from those
planes will come the reactions to any
such invasions. Here we depart from the
official, and move into this writer's
attempts to make the Nine Hells a playable
environment.
The Realms (my campaign world), I
have followed the idea of the shifts specified
by Mr. Gygax in DRAGON #64,
removing all non-devil deities from the
Nine Hells except for Sekolah. In the
campaign pantheon there exists a greater
god of lawful evil alignment (Bane, by
name) who is worshipped by humans.
The problem of how to deal with such a
deity vis-a-vis the archdevils has been
avoided by separating the two (the deity
and the devils) entirely. Bane does not
attempt to hinder or control Asmodeus or
the other devils because they serve his
purposes acting on their own, freeing
Bane to do his work elsewhere. By strictly
avoiding the devils, Bane maintains an
unwitting (?) but steadfast and quite
powerful set of allies without fearing
treachery from them, and without
expending time and effort in the intrigues
of training, organizing, or commanding
infernal armies.
High-level clerics of Bane regard devils
as a group of lawful evil beings who can
be commanded into various services by
the proper means, and who can be
expected to act thus-and-so due to their
lawful evil nature and the social organization
of the hells, but who are selfinterested
and not willing servants of
Bane or of the clerics. This is essentially
no different from the way clerics of other
deities regard the devils; the diabolical are
never dealt with in safety and trust. To
what extent Bane and the archdevils
know of each other, or have contact, can
remain vague ? part of a DM?s ?design
elbow room? ? for now. (Bane is geographically
separated from the Nine
Hells, too ? he is in Acheron.)
Various hints about the nature of the
Nine Hells are found in the rules, such as
the suggestion (by inference from the description
of bone devils, and from the
cold-related powers that Geryon and the
bone devils possess) that Geryon?s plane
is a rather icy place. By gathering the
information contained in the AD&D
rule
books, and embellishing these facts with
information from literature, one can cobble
together a geographical picture of the
Nine Hells.
A vast number of writers have offered
their own religious or primarily fantastic
conceptions of the infernal regions (those
lands of the dead that are linked with evil
spirits and, usually, punishment of the
souls of the dead). The chief sources of
geographically detailed descriptions of
the hells are listed here, for DMs who
want to develop their own versions:
Libraries are the
best sources for the above books.
Also valuable are modern fantasy versions
of the hells drawn from the original
sources, such as Inferno by Larry Niven
and Jerry Pournelle (a 1976 Pocket Books
paperback, still in print). There are many
other such examples in fantasy literature,
and many comparable underworlds (those
in Ursula LeGuin's The Furthest Shore
and H.P. Lovecraft's The
Dream-Quest of Unknown Kaddath leap to mind) also to
be found therein that will yield ideas of
flora, fauna, and physical conditions to a
DM creating his or her own version of the
Nine Hells. What follows is my own
(unofficial) conception.
Before plunging into a plane-by-plane
description, a note regarding servant and
vassal devils: These beings are useful in
that they help to delay any direct intervention
by archdevils in play, stretching
out the fun and providing player characters
with individual, significant foes of
lesser power before bringing the ?big
guns? onstage. To characters (such as
powerful clerics) in the Realms who are
privy to such information, the role and
descriptions of these servant devils is
known to be as follows:
Some devils, even those of sufficient
power to attain archdevil rank, see their
safest position in the present infernal
regime to be that of lieutenant to an
archdevil. Their precise reasons for this
attitude are known only to themselves,
but it is thought that some prefer to
maintain a low profile so that they can
work "behind the scenes," and others
prefer to act in the name of an archdevil,
thereby disclaiming responsibility for
their own actions.
A DM should bear in mind that there is
certainly some degree of silent cooperation
between these servant devils, who
wish to avoid being openly set against
each other (i.e., in combat) or against any
archdevil. This cooperation must be
obvious to the archdevils, who seem to
tolerate it (Baalzebul the least), and some
believe that Asmodeus quietly
aids and
encourages it, for it adds stability to the
present status quo ? in which he is on
top. Fear and/or mindfulness of general
strategy (ahead of short-term tactics) prevent
most open rivalries between devils
from escalating further than exchanges of
nasty words and cruel pranks. A player
character should not be able to play one
devil against another like a Machiavelli
might manipulate his courtiers; bear in
mind that most devils are of reasonably
high intelligence.
| Magic Alterations | Cleric | Druid | Magic-User | Illusionist |
| Magic Item Alterations | Character Ability Alterations | - | - | - |
There is much more to be done before
the Nine Hells are truly playable. As
another step in that direction, the
remainder of this presentation is devoted
to some suggested spell alterations (that
is, differences in the performance of spells
on the Prime Material Plane compared to
the plane in question), primarily for the
plane of Avernus.
(Editor?s note: Frank
Mentzer, one of the resident rule experts
on the AD&D? game at TSR Hobbies,
Inc., responded to our request for additional
help by offering some additions
and suggested corrections to the author?s
spell list. We have used [square brackets]
to set off Frank's remarks from Ed
Greenwood's original material.)
The defensive strategy of the Nine
Hells is to confine all entries to this
plane, so that hostile or unauthorized visitors
can be dealt with on Avernus and
not in the realms of any of the archdevils.
If an attacker is strong, the archdevils
merely send more and more of their
armies (who, given an arch-devil?s
authorization, can move freely about the
hells) to Avernus, into the fray, until the
foe is overwhelmed. If this strategy works,
further details of the rest of the Nine
Hells may never be necessary.
Magic alterations
The Nine Hells are environments very
different from the Prime Material Plane.
The arch-devils have, over a span of time
far beyond man's ken, twisted facets of
the nature of the hells to their own ends,
resulting in magical conditions forbidding
to intruders. As a rule of thumb,
spell casters entering the Nine Hells will
find that they cannot contact or summon
creatures from other planes; cannot control
fauna, flora, or weather; and in particular
they will face many creatures (the
devils) that are immune to the effects of
most mind- and control-related spells.
Clerics and druids cannot regain spells
above 2nd level, once cast, and the effects
of many spells and even magical items are
altered. A protection from devils scroll,
for instance, would be ineffective if read
in the hells. [A scroll of protection from
devils would still have effect, but only
that of a ?normal? protection from evil,
10? radius spell effect. Partial reading
gives the ?2 penalty to attacks of, and the
+2 bonus to the saving throws of the
defenders from, the given type of devil (3,
7, or 10 segments to affect lesser, greater,
or all devils, respectively). However, contact
with any magic-resistant creature
might cause the protection to vanish
(normal MR check applies).]
Suggested spell alterations are given below,
including those for spells published in earlier issues of DRAGON®
Magazine,
either from E. Gary Gygax's column,
From the Sorcerer's Scroll, or
Len Lakofka's column, Leomund's Tiny Hut.
Note that new spells published after
issue #69 of DRAGON Magazine are
unknown to me as of this writing, and
hence are not covered.
These alterations
(and those of magical items and character
abilities, detailed hereafter) are of necessity
incomplete: few are eager to learn
such alterations the hard way, by experimentation
in the hells, and few who do
learn return to tell the tale.
Spells are listed by class, and within
each character class by ascending level,
alphabetically by name within each level.
?X? equals ?ineffective.?
Cleric spells
Command: Ineffective against
greater devils.
Detect evil: Evil is so overwhelming
that this spell can only be used negatively;
i.e., to detect the absence of evil in
a specific object or creature.
[Light and continual light spells have
areas of effect of half normal size and
intensity, and may attract wandering residents
of the plane, if any (1 in 6 chance,
check per turn).]
Protection from evil: X
Protection from good: Effects of double
strength.
[Purify food & drink: X]
Z
Sanctuary: Ineffective versus archdevils;
other creatures attacking caster
gain a +2 bonus on saves vs. spell.
Chant: X
Holy symbol: Ineffective, and any
attempt to cast will draw the nearest devil
to the place of casting, quickly.
Messenger: X
Dust devil: X
Enthrall: X
Prayer: X
[Speak with dead: X]
Abjure/implore: Both forms ineffective
Ceremony, consecrate ground: X
Divination: X
Negative plane protection: X
Protection from evil, 10? radius: X
[Note that a paladin?s radiant protection
effect (and that of any other creature connected
to the Positive Material Plane) is
merely reduced from 10? radius to personal
effect only.]
Protection from good, 10? radius:
effects of double strength.
Atonement: X
Commune: X [Commune, aerial servant,
conjure animals, and other spells
involving direct contact with another
plane might work, depending on the
power of the being contacted and the
actual plane of the Nine Hells on which
the spell is cast. If on the outermost (or
first, or highest, or closest to the Inner
Planes), all such spells will work properly.
A demigod can be contacted on the
second plane ?down?; a lesser god, the
third; and a greater god, five planes
?down.? No contact of any sort can be
made from the 6th-9th planes of the Nine
Hells unless permission is given from the
ruler of the plane.]
Dispel evil: X
Flame strike: X
Insect plague: X
Quest: X
Raise dead: X
Aerial servant: X [See commune.]
Conjure animals: X [See commune.]
Find the path: X
[Word of recall: Will only work from
the 1st-6th planes; the 7th-9th planes are
too far removed.]
[Astral spell: Will only work from the
1st of the Nine Hells.]
Control weather: X
Earthquake: X
Exaction: Ineffective versus devils.
[Gate: Affects deities in limited fashion,
as per commune (see above).]
Henley?s digit of disruption: Ineffective,
but caster will know this upon
thinking of the spell, prior to casting.
Holy word: Ineffective. (Unholy word
will be effective only if caster worships
one of the arch-devils, and then only
against lesser devils.)
Resurrection: X
Predict weather: X
[Purify water: X]
Heat metal: Functions normally, but
note that devils suffer no damage from
the ?hot? version and only half damage
from the cold version.
[Obscurement: Half normal dimensions,
1/8 normal volume (½? cube/level).]
[Call lightning: X]
Plant growth: X
Summon insects: X
Animal summoning I: X
Call woodland beings: X
Hold plant: Plants native to the hells
save vs. the spell at +2.
Animal growth (or reduction): X
Animal summoning II: X
Commune with nature: X
Insect plague: X
Animal summoning III: X
Conjure fire elemental: X [Conjure
elemental (fire or earth) works from
Avernus only.]
[Feeblemind: Treat all devils as
if
human clerics (+1 to save).]
Weather summoning: X
Chariot of Sustarre: This spell is effective
on Avernus, but not when cast on
any of the other hells.
Confusion: Ineffective versus greater
devils; lesser devils save vs. spell at normal,
not at ?2.
Conjure earth elemental: X [But see
conjure fire elemental above.]
Control weather: X
Creeping doom: X
[Finger of death: Ineffective against any
devil.]
[Reincarnation: X]
Magic-user spells
Cantrips ? Bee: X; Bug: X; Change:
ineffective vs. creatures native to the hells;
Gnats: X; Mouse: X; Spider: X; Yawn:
ineffective vs. creatures native to the hells.
Find familiar: Will work only if cast by
a lawful evil or neutral evil magic-user;
only imps can be summoned in the hells.
[Light and continual light: See note
under cleric spells.]
Melt: Ice devils are not affected by this
spell, suffering no damage.
Mount: X
Precipitation: X
Protection from evil: X
Protection from good: Effects will be of
double strength.
Taunt: X
Detect evil: See note under cleric spells.
Forget: Ineffective against all devils.
[Invisibility (all sorts): The DM must
remember to check each devil?s chance of
detecting invisibility (as applicable),
based on intelligence and hit dice (DMG
p. 60). Thus, any form of invisibility is
often ineffective against arch-devils.]
Irritation: ineffective against devils
[Rope trick: The ?extra-dimensional
space? will be on an adjacent level of the
hells, and may invite unexpected visitors
(cf. gate).]
Scare: X
[Shutter: Will not affect a devil?s
talisman.]
Tasha?s uncontrollable hideous laughter:
Ineffective versus greater devils.
Cloudburst: X
Material: X
Monster summoning I: X
Protection from evil 10? radius: X
Protection from good 10? radius: Effects
will be of double strength.
Sepia snake sigil: Will always miss devils
of any sort.
Charm monster: Ineffective versus
greater devils; lesser devils save at +2.
Fear: Ineffective versus undead, devils.
Fire charm: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
Monster summoning II: X
Plant growth: X
[Wall of ice: Duration is but 1 round
per level in most warm areas of the hells.]
Avoidance: Ineffective versus the
apparel or possessions on the person of a
devil.
Conjure elemental: X [See note under
druid spell conjure fire elemental.]
Contact other plane: Effective only to
other planes within the hells. [Ignore the
?elemental? line in the spell description,
calculating all distances as needed.]
Dismissal: Effective in the normal
manner, but its reverse, beckon, will
never succeed in summoning a creature
from any plane but one of the other hells.
Distance distortion: X
Dolor: Ineffective versus devils and
other creatures native to the hells.
Nothing will happen when it is cast; the
target devil will not charm and dominate
the caster.
[Feeblemind: See note under the druid
spell of the same name.]
Leomund?s lamentable belabourment:
Ineffective versus devils.
Leomund?s secret chest: The chest can
be summoned on Avernus, but not on any
of the other hells, and in no case will a
living creature of any sort enter the hells
via such a chest.
Magic jar: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
Monster summoning III: X
[Wall of iron or wall of stone: These
effects have a duration of 1 turn per level
of the caster.]
Control weather: X
[Death spell: Ineffective against any
devil.]
Ensnarement: X
Geas: Ineffective versus devils.
Invisible stalker: X [See note under the
cleric spell commune.]
Monster summoning IV: X
[Reincarnation: X]
Spiritwrack: Only effective versus devils
(demons cannot be contacted from the
hells), and casting it will attract any
greater and arch-devils on the plane of
casting to the location of the caster,
within 1 turn.
Transmute water to dust: The waters of
marshy areas in the upper hells (e.g.,
Minauros) will be affected by this spell,
but the river Lethe and the waters of the
swamp and ocean of Stygia will not.
Banishment: Note that a devil cannot
be forced ?back? to ?its own? other plane
of the hells; this spell can banish other
creatures from the hells, but cannot force
creatures native to the hells from one
level to another.
Cacodemon: X
Charm plants: X [Permits communication
only, not charm.]
Limited wish: Devils are in no
way
affected by a limited wish cast in the
hells. Creatures may leave, but not enter
or be summoned to, the hells by means of
a limited wish. Such a spell cannot be
used to contact a deity or a deity?s servants
except an arch-devil or servants, nor
to gain spells from that deity or servants.
Monster summoning V: X
Teleport without error: This can be
used to enter or leave the hells, but the
chance of error in any case rises by 21%.
Torment: Any unfortunate spell caster
undertaking such a spell will soon learn
that, in the hells, no devil can be bound
in a magic circle, thaumaturgic triangle,
pentagram, or other drawn boundary.
(Protective circles will keep some devils at
bay, however, and physical barriers or
prisons, such as a forcecage, can contain
most devils.)
Truename: It is worth noting with
respect to this spell that no arch-devil?s
true name is known to other devils
(except perhaps Asmodeus; if this were
not so, the devil in question would not
retain his or her position for long), and as
a rule, only arch-devils know the names
of other devils (typically only a few loyal
to them, for they would act quickly to
bring about the downfall of an enemy, by
means not available to casters of this
spell). Devils do not bargain with the true
names of other devils, although they may
bargain for such names. The sending portion
of the spell will work as a means of
delivering willing creatures from the hells
to other, safer planes, or as a means of
transport within the hells.
[Vanish: If the object is of greater bulk
than the given limit, the object is not
replaced by stone, but is instead entirely
unaffected.]
[Antipathy/sympathy: Any devil on its
home plane is unaffected.]
Binding: See torment, above.
Demand: Ineffective versus devils.
Mass charm: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
[Maze: The ?extra-dimensional space?
is 3 planes removed at best, and may
(depending on the level of the hells on
which it is cast) have an effect similar to
rope trick or gate.]
Monster summoning VI: X
Sink: Greater devils are unaffected by
this spell. Other creatures of the hells are
allowed the usual saving throw.
Symbol: Ineffective versus greater
devils.
[Trap the soul: Ineffective against
arch-devils.]
Energy drain: Ineffective in the hells.
When the spell is called to mind (the concentration
just prior to casting begun),
the caster will realize that the spell will
not work ? and if spellcasting is not
undertaken, the spell will not be lost.
Imprisonment: [Ineffective against
arch-devils, but will place any other devil
into temporal stasis until dispelled (and
note that a standard magic-resistance
check applies).] The reverse of the spell
will not cause any creatures to appear.
Monster summoning VII: X
Wish: See limited wish, above; conditions
are identical except that a wish may
affect lesser devils.
Illusionist spells
[Hypnotism: Ineffective against all
devils.]
[Light and continual light: See note
under cleric spells.]
Spook: Ineffective on creatures native
to the hells.
[Wall of fog: Half normal dimensions,
1/8 normal value.]
Fascinate: X
Hypnotic pattern: Ineffective versus all
devils.
[Invisibility (all forms): See note under
magic-user spells.]
[Illusionary script: Ineffective against
greater devils.]
[Paralyzation: Note that a paralyzed
devil can still perform ?at will? abilities,
including teleport.]
Confusion: Ineffective vs. greater devils;
lesser devils save vs. spell at par, not at ?2.
[Emotion: Ineffective against greater
devils.]
[Minor creation: Half normal duration,
or 1/10 normal duration when on the
7th-9th planes of the hells.]
Phantasmal killer: Ineffective
versus
greater devils.
[Shadow monsters: All have half the
given hit points, and inflict half the given
damage against victims who make their
saving throws, due to the remote position
of the hells with respect to the Plane of
Shadow.]
Solid fog: Does not reduce the movement
of creatures native to the hells.
Chaos: X
[Demi-shadow monsters: See shadow
monsters above.]
[Major creation: Half normal duration,
or 1/10 normal duration when on the
7th-9th planes of the hells.]
Maze: [See note under magic-user spell
of the same name.]
[Shadow door: The invisibility is ineffective
against arch-devils.]
[Shadow magic: Victims failing their
saving throws take only half normal
damage.]
[Summon shadow: X]
Conjure animals: X
[Demi-shadow magic: See shadow
magic above.]
[Mass suggestion: Ineffective against
arch-devils.]
[Permanent illusion: Lasts only 3 minutes
after concentration ends.]
[Shades: See shadow monsters above.]
Alter reality: Devils are in no way
affected by an alter reality cast in the
hells; the conditions limiting the spell are
identical to those on the magic-user spell
limited wish (see above).
[Astral spell: See note under cleric spell
of the same name.]
Shadow walk: X
Vision: X [Works normally on the first
of the Nine Hells.]
Weird: Ineffective versus greater devils;
lesser devils save at +3; ineffective versus
undead.
(Note that in this list, the term ?greater
devil? includes arch-devils unless the two
terms are used separately in the same
entry.)
[General note on limited and full
wishes: The ruler of any plane of existence
(including the Nine Hells) has full
and final ?veto power? over any wish cast
within its/his/her territorial jurisdiction.
This power might or might not be exercised
with any given wish, depending on
the nature of the ruler and the wish.
However, the exceedingly lawful nature
of the hells is such that the ruler will
immediately know of any and all such
attempts, and will immediately (in all but
exceptional circumstances) cancel, modify,
or grant the effects, quite possibly
arriving in person (with all appropriate
guards and assistants) to adjudicate the
matter.]
Magic item alterations
Potion of fire resistance:
Effective
against the natural fires of the hells and
those magically produced by creatures
such as nightmares, up to and including
malebranche ? but, the potion seems
ineffective against the fiery magics of pit
fiends and all greater unique devils. (A
ring of fire resistance seems strong
enough to protect against such powerful
magical fires.)
Potion of gaseous form: An adventurer
using such a potion exploded when
struck by a firewind, while fleeing across
the rifts of Nessus. Companions of the
lost one say the firewind appeared drawn
to the gas.
Oil of etherealness: [No effect.] Ethereal
individuals are apparently not invisible
in the hells.
Potion of treasure finding: Apparently
ineffective in palaces and caves of the
Nine Hells.
Ring of djinni summoning: The djinni
will not feel its summons, nor appear, if
such a ring is rubbed when in the hells;
its operation is suspended.
Ring of elemental command: Such a
ring is inoperative in the hells, and none
of its effects or properties (including saving
throw penalties) will be effective.
Ring of fire resistance: See potion of
fire resistance, above.
Ring of human influence: All devils,
even if in human or humanoid form, are
totally unaffected by such a ring.
Ring of multiple wishes: Any wishes
that affect any greater or arch-devil (other
than to free the speaker or a stated creature
from the physical grasp or confinement
of such a being) are beyond the
power of the magic of the item. Requests
involving exit from the hells will be
granted, as will wishes involving travel
from place to place within the hells, but
such travel will not extend to captive devils
or other creatures of lawful evil
alignment, and may not operate to the
precise destination requested.
Ring of three wishes: See ring of multiple
wishes. For limited wish items, see
that spell under the above list of spell
alterations.
Ring of water walking: This item will
operate in the marshes of Minauros and
probably elsewhere in the hells as well,
but demonstrably does not function with
respect to Lethe, the River of Forgetfulnss,
on Nessus.
Rod of beguiling: [Ineffective
against
all residents on their home planes.]
[Rod of lordly might: In the first hell
(Avernus), the battle axe effect is +2, the
spear +1, and other weapon effects are
non-magical. Deductions apply for
planes further removed. All mechanical
effects work normally.]
Rod of resurrection:
This item will not
function properly in the hells. If its
employment is attempted, charges will be
drained in the usual manner, but the rod
will only animate dead ? ?raising? a
mindless, undead zombie which will obey
anyone bearing the rod. The zombie is
subject to the usual damage and continuing
decay while animated, and if removed
from the hells to another plane, will
revert to an inanimate, lifeless corpse.
Rod of rulership: Such
rulership is
ineffective against hellcats and all devils.
[Rod of smiting: Acts as
a +1 weapon
in the first hell, and non-magical on
planes further removed; however, one
charge is still used on a roll of 20, and
triple normal damage is still inflicted
thereby (if the victim can be damaged by
normal weapons).]
Staff of command: Ineffective
in the
hells.
Staff of the magi: Protection
from evil
power ineffective, protection from good
of double strength. Plane travel power is
unaffected, but conjure elemental function
will be ineffective. The retributive
strike power is unaffected, and has operated
most efficiently in the hells! [For
staff of the magi and staff of power, see
notes on spell alterations for light, invisibility,
etc.]
Staff of the serpent:
Hell hounds, hellcats,
and all devils are immune to the
poison of the adder version.
[Staff of striking: Acts
as a +1 weapon
in the first hell, and non-magical on
planes further removed; however, charges
still double or triple normal damage (if
the victim can be damaged by normal
weapons).]
Staff of withering: Ineffective
in the
hells (refer to DMG).
Wand of conjuration:
The monster
summoning function will be ineffective,
but charges will be drained ? and lost ?
in the usual manner when this power is
called upon.
Wand of enemy detection:
Ineffective in
the hells.
Wand of fear: Ineffective in the hells.
Wand of magic detection: Ineffective in
the hells.
Wand of metal
and mineral detection:
Ineffective in the hells.
[Wand of wonder: No effect
if heavy
ruin, summon, or create any creature,
plant, or object (rhino, butterfly, grass, et
al.) is indicated; only certain spell effects
will be produced.]
Arrow of direction: Ineffective; it will
fall in random directions when used in
the hells, although this may not be
immediately evident to the user.
Bag of beans: The soil and
water of the
hells cannot cause such beans to sprout.
They retain, however, their explosive
property.
Bag of devouring: A bag
of devouring
will never be found in the hells, and will
not enter them; it will disappear (along
with any contents) instantaneously if its
bearer enters any of the hells.
Book of exulted deeds:
Cannot be
touched by lesser devils, against whom it
functions as though it were a protection
from evil of 20? radius, and if any such
approach to 10? distant, they take 2-12
electrical damage (no save), and are repulsed.
This applies also to non-diabolic
creatures of the hells. Greater devils take
1-6 damage per contact, and are (save at
+1) confused (75%), slowed (20%), or both
(5%) for 1-4 rounds at every contact with
such a book. Arch-devils take 2-4 points
of damage upon touching such a book,
and their touch destroys it.
Bowl commanding water elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Bowl of watery death: Will function
normally in the hells. A tiny, drowned
magic-user will turn into a lemure of
normal size if still in the hells after 60
turns have elapsed.
Brazier commanding fire elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Brazier of sleep smoke: When a fire is
lit in such a brazier when in the hells,
clouds of billowing smoke will pour
forth, but it has no sleep effects, and no
fire elemental will appear. The smoke
will dissipate, and the fire go out, in 2-6
rounds.
Censer controlling air elementals: Ineffective
in the hells.
Censer of summoning hostile air elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Crystal
ball: If used while in the hells,
the chance of locating a subject within
the Nine Hells is normal; i.e. as given in
the DMG (note that from one level of the
hells to another is to another plane, and
subject to ?25% penalty). Arch-devils will
always (100%) feel the view-presence of a
scrying entity, knowing its direction and
approximate distance after 1-4 rounds of
observation, if on the same plane, and
knowing the plane after 3-12 continuous
rounds of observation if the observer is on
another plane. If a crystal ball is
employed in the hells to observe things
on other planes outside of the hells, there
is a penalty of ?33% on locating a subject
(but only ?24% if the subject is on the
Prime Material Plane).
Crystal hypnosis ball: If a magic-user
should employ a ball controlled by an
arch-devil (and most arch-devils place
four to twelve or so on the Prime Material
Plane to further their own ends and to
observe events) while in the hells, the
suggestion employed immediately will be
to travel to (or move toward) the location
of (or the plane of) the controlling archdevil.
Rarely (and only if the controlled
individual?s party is strong), the devil
may compel the individual ?to undertake a
mission in the hells, typically stealing
from or spying on a rival arch-devil. If a
crystal hypnosis ball controlled by a
being not in the hells is employed by a
magic user in the hells, nothing will
occur; the crystal ball will seem only a
non-magical sphere of glassy crystal,
although it will still radiate a detectable
dweomer.
Deck of many things:
Plaques drawn in
the hells will have normal effects except
for the following: knight will arrive by
means of plane shift in 1-3 rounds,
bewildered but fully armed and armored,
fresh and at full hit points ? and will
immediately recognize the character he
wishes to follow. Flames will cause the
devil (DM?s choice as to identity, but it
will be a devil somewhere in the hells at
the time the card is drawn) to immediately
see the character who has drawn
the card, and know the precise location of
the character at that time. If balance is
drawn and the character?s new alignment
is lawful evil, betrayal of the party in
such a way as to gain the most status for
the newly lawful evil character will be the
ultimate result.
Eyes of charming: Charm
powers are
not effective versus devils or other monsters;
the eyes enable the wearer to charm
person only.
Helm of teleportation:
This item will
function properly in the hells, but there is
a 33% chance that the destination reached
will be slightly different than that
intended ? i.e., a teleport into an infernal
palace might deposit one outside the
gates. Inter-planar travel (i.e. into another
level of the hells) is of course not possible.
This ?shift? phenomenon does not
appear to affect the spell teleport (but
evidence available to date is fragmentary),
and in any case the ?shift? effect is
entirely separate from the vertical-error
risk of teleportation.
Horn of the Tritons:
Ineffective if
winded in the hells.
Horn of Valhalla: Will
be effective if
winded in the hells, and any berserkers
appearing will fight any devils within
view before turning on the horn-blower,
if there is any class or alignment conflict.
The berserkers will vanish in 6 turns
(although few will survive that long if
called into direct combat with devils).
Instrument of the bards: See bards
under character ability alterations, below.
Iron flask: Any devil or rakshasa
released from such a flask will immediately
know where it is and will seek to
summon or attract the attention of infernal
aid to defeat the individual releasing
it and any companions.
Pipes of the sewers: Rats are present in
the hells in only two places: the dungeons
beneath the iron city of Dis, and in the
garbage-choked towers of Malagard. Only
when the pipes are played in these places
will rats appear.
Robe of eyes: The tracking ability of
such a robe is ineffective in the hells, but
otherwise it functions normally.
Scarab of enraging enemies: Greater
devils and arch-devils are immune to the
effects of this item.
Sphere of annihilation: Such phenomena
are never found in the hells, and cannot
be magically plane shifted or otherwise
made to enter the infernal regions.
Stone of controlling earth elementals:
Ineffective in the hells.
Talisman of pure good: In the hells,
this item will not function normally: evil
clerics (or evil creatures of any sort) will
not be swallowed up in a flaming chasm.
Such a talisman has a marked effect on
all vile creatures in the hells (including
devils); the touch of one (?to hit? roll
required) will do any such creature 12-48
points of damage (no saving throw), and
drain 1 charge. If its charges are
exhausted in the hells, such a talisman
will darken, shrivel, and crumble.
Talisman of ultimate evil: Will function
normally in the hells, but will not
lose any charges, regardless of the number
of uses to which it is put. Devils will not
have or know how to use such talismans.
Trident of fish command: Any aquatic
life to be found in the hells (i.e., in the
swamp or ocean of Stygia or the river
Lethe) is unaffected by such a trident.
[General note on magic items: For
items constructed on the Prime Material
Plane, all magic weapon ?plusses? are
dropped by 2 on the first of the Nine
Hells (Avernus), and by 1 more for each
plane further removed.]
Note regarding artifacts and relics: All
such items function normally in the hells.
It is most unlikely that artifacts or relics
of any sort will be found in the hells. If
there are any such, items dedicated to
?good? will not be found among them,
and they will lie within the walls of the
arch-devils? fortresses ? not lost or ?forgotten
? for a character to happen upon.
Combat
Note that a +2 (at least) or better magic
weapon is required to physically hit any
unique devil or arch-devil, including the
nobility of hell and the outcast devils.
DMs should also remember that fire of
any sort has no effect on devils or any
other creature native to the hells.
Archery: Use of this skill (by any character
proficient in it) is impossible on the
plane of Dis, save within Dispater?s
palace itself, or underground (due to the
winds), and also impossible in the central
rifts of Nessus (due to the firewinds). It
can otherwise be exercised normally,
although volcanic activity on Phlegethos,
and fireball formation on Avernus, may
destroy the occasional missile.
Infravision: For elves, half-elves,
spell
casters employing such a spell, and other
creatures while in Phlegethos, Malbolge,
and Maladomini, there is too much background
heat in all surroundings for
infravision to detect anything more than
cold or cool spell effects, objects, etc.,
(and these soon warm from contact with
the surroundings).
Psionics
Psionic processes function with only
minor modifications in the hells. Psionic
combat is unaffected.
Animal telepathy: All creatures
native
to Hell are considered "monsters" as
far as this ability is concerned.
Body equilibrium: Anyone walking
upon the water of the river Lethe (or for
that matter, the rivers of fire in Phlegethos,
or the lake of Cocytus) will be subject
to the natural effects described in the
text of this article. Note that use of this
discipline will not prevent Cocytus from
swallowing a psionic character ? that
action is a physical, attacking action and
not a matter of the ice giving way and
closing over someone who has fallen.
Detection of good/evil: The overwhelming
evil of the hells so pervades
everything a psionic character concentrates
on that good creatures are easier to
distinguish (+33% chance), good objects
slightly so (+10%), and evil creatures or
objects do not betray their potency or
power by their auras, nor their precise
(lawful, chaotic, neutral) evil alignment.
Domination: This ability functions
normally in the hells, but arch-devils and
greater devils are immune.
ESP: The thoughts of devils will be
meaningless unless the psionic recipient
is conversant with Mabrahoring, the language
of the hells. The minds of archdevils
and greater devils are not
?unshielded?; they cannot be ?read? by
this means.
Hypnosis: Devils of all sorts are
immune to this mental power.
Invisibility: Arch-devils have minds of
too great power to be affected by psionic
invisibility, but they will not always
immediately realize that the psionic character
is invisible to others.
Molecular agitation: Devils
are
immune to both heat and fire damage
effects.
Sensitivity to psychic impressions: Any
psionic character foolish enough to exercise
this discipline in the hells will
quickly (within 1 round) be overwhelmed
by the cumulative violent emotions and
horrific visions of the many lemures,
tormented souls, and evil deeds done here.
The effects are as follows: The psionic
must save vs. death magic or be driven
insane (melancholia, megalomania,
mania, manic-depressive, hallucinatory
insanity, homicidal mania, hebephrenia,
suicidal mania, or catatonia; see DMG). A
psionic character who successfully saves
will fall unconscious for 1-2 rounds, and
thereafter be confused for 1-4 rounds.
(Psionic individuals who are evil by
nature save at +2.)
Mass domination: Ineffective versus
arch-devils and greater devils.
Molecular rearrangement: Any metals
contained in diabolical magic items, such
as the fork of Mephistopheles, will not be
affected by this psionic power; nor will its
use affect the powers of such items.
Telepathic projection: Ineffective versus
all devils.
Teleportation: There is a 33% chance
that an intended destination will not be
reached (see helm of teleporation under
Magic item alterations, above). Note that
this is different from mis-teleporting (i.e.
low or high), which can also occur (normal
probabilities and means of psychic
prevention prevail).
Clerics
No cleric, regardless of alignment or
deity, can turn away or command into
service any devil while in the hells.
Undead, etc., will be affected normally.
Druids
The flora, fauna, and weather of the
hells, as mentioned under the list of spell
alterations above, are largely immune
from magical influence and control.
Druid abilities gained at third
and seventh levels (refer to the PH)
are unaffected.
Paladins
The detect evil ability of this class will
prove sensitive enough to distinguish
powerfully evil beings and items from the
surroundings, although all things native
to the hells will display their evil nature
to the paladin. Paladins may not affect
devils while in the hells (see cleric section,
above) although this power versus
undead and the like is unaffected. A warhorse
cannot be called while in the hells,
if it is not taken to the hells with the
paladin; note that such steeds will be
trembling with fear at all times it is in the
infernal regions, and if menaced by devils
and/or not constantly reassured and
commanded to stay close by its master,
will bolt in fear (and likely be lost) when
faced by the diabolic. A paladin?s protection
from evil does not operate in the
hells, except as a white, continual lightlike
radiance enveloping the paladin,
retaining only the +2 saving throw bonus.
Rangers
The tracking ability of rangers is
entirely lost while in the hells.
Thieves
Hiding in shadows is normally impossible
with respect to devils and other creatures
of the hells; for game purposes
assume a base penalty of ?33% to the
chance, further modified by the DM for
circumstances. Climb walls is often modified
in the hells for conditions: smooth
iron walls, such as those of the city of Dis
and Mephistar, subtract 20% from the
ability to successfully climb them; if
heavily rusted, the DM may add another
?15% penalty to simulate the chance of
the entire wall collapsing or breaking
away under the weight of the climber.
The treacherous alpine and glacial ice of
Stygia and Caina subtract 33% from the
thief's chance to climb them successfully.
A spider climb spell employed by a thief
or other character will overcome such
penalties, and have its normal effect.
Assassins
Refer to thief functions, above; assassins
are subject to the same modifications.
A disguise in which the assassin appears
to be a devil will not fool any devil.
Monks
Refer to thief functions, above; monks
are subject to the same modifications. A
quivering palm attack cannot affect any
devil (and remember, creatures only hit
by magical weapons are unaffected).
Bards
Arch-devils and greater devils are
immune to the charming (suggestion)
powers of a bard, even when augmented
by a magical instrument of the bards. All
other properties of bards and bardic
instruments will function normally, with
the following exceptions for abilities that
are ineffective for certain instruments:
Fochlucan Bandore, en tangle; Doss Lute,
hold animal; Cli Lyre, control winds;
Anstruth Harp, weather summoning;
Ollamh Harp, control weather.
Barbarians
The following barbarian skills are
affected while in the hells: tracking (as
with rangers); animal training (ineffective
versus all animals native to the hells);
outdoor crafts; and survival. The DM
should rule carefully on what facets, if
any, of outdoor crafts and survival
become effective after a month?s existence
? which is no small feat ? in the
initially alien environment of the hells
OUT ON A LIMB
Missing monsters
Dear Editor:
I enjoyed your treatise on the Nine Hells
(issues #75-76) very much. However, as I read
through the "Major Inhabitants of the Nine
Hells -- Other Creatures," I saw two new
monsters: the hoardling and the
stench kow.
The hoardling had already previously baffled
me in issue #71. I have managed so far
to live
without these new devils, yet the suspense is
killing me! I think that you should include
these creatures in the magazine soon.
Ivan Ewert
Crystal Lake, Ill.
(Dragon #78)
We should have mentioned in the Nine
Hells presentation that any creatures you
hadn't heard of before that weren't covered in
the magazine can be found in Monster
Manual
II, which has just been released.
The hordling
(that's the correct spelling; sorry about that,
too), the stench kow, and the barghest,
as well
as other "strangers" found on the chart in #75, <link>
can all be found in this latest volume of creature
descriptions. Unfortunately, space restrictions
made it impossible to include this information
in the Nine Hells section -- and critters
like the hordling and the stench kow
weren't as important to the presentation as the
new devils we had to print.
-- KM
(Dragon #78)
THE FORUM
Both
EGG and Ed Greenwood have suggested
that the <Hell> be stripped
of non-devil
deities, which begs the
question of where to put
absolute LE
deities who aren't devils.
Actually, the problem extends
through all the
afterlife planes, inasmuch
as there are far more
pantheons of gods in any
alignment than there
are known planes. If we
discard the basic axiom
of the afterlife astral
planes, however, we can
easily dispose of the problem
and not really affect
the known planes too much
in playability.
As it stands, there is 1
AFTERLIFE <dimension> per
major and/or minor alignment,
with official stats
given for 16 of the 25 possible
alignments. If we
remove this concept and
say that there is (with
exceptions) 1 afterlife
plane per manifestation
of godhead and these planes
have alignments, the
current problems disappear.
In the case of the
<Hell>, those nine <dimensions>
occupy only a part
of what I call the Astral
Space of Absolute LE.
Since the <dimensions>
are determined by the
intersection ov the Good/Evil
and Law/Chaos
axes and are AFTERLIFE <dimensions>,
it can be presumed
that the third dimensional
axis is the Life/Death
line. (Astral continuums
using the Light/Dark
axis?) The plane which orcs
and goblinoids battle
for possession of lies parallel
to the hells, stacked
within the Astral Space
of lawful evil, along with
the planes ruled by other
lawful evil deities.
Removing the one-<dimension>-to-a-customer
rule
makes it easier to make
the astral <dimensions> able to
be consistent with established
mythology. Olym-
pus
can and should be in the same astral space as
either <Paradise>
or the <Heaven>.
The Greeks
and Romans had civilized (lawful)
societies, and their gods
should reflect that.
It might be convenient to
name the 25 spaces,
but caution should be used
to have names which
do NOT reflect any particular
inhabitant of the
space. <Ed> used the
phrase "The
Infernal Regions" in his
article when talking
about the various hells
of
lejend and literature,
and I for one nominate it
for the name of the
Absolute Lawful
Evil space.
S. D. Anderson
Whittier, Calif.
(Dragon #82)
* * * *
