Since the publication of "The Nine
Hells" in issues #75 and #76 of DRAGON®
Magazine, many readers have asked spe-
cific, thoughtful questions about the devils
and their infernal realms. I thank you all for
your enthusiasm and interest, and I?ve tried
to answer all queries, either in the accompa-
nying article or in this question-and-answer
format.
 

The perennial question is: Why did I not
include Satan/Lucifer/the BIG DEVIL of
Christian mythology and religious lore?
Simply, I did not because Mr. Gygax has
not, and I tried to adhere to official AD&D®
game rules wherever possible. His reasons
for excluding Satan are best given by him;
my own objections, from a game designer?s
point of view, boil down to the simple judg-
ment that there is no room in the AD&D
game system for a devil more powerful than
Asmodeus. The few (in number) forces of
good have enough to worry about without
tipping the balance any further on the side
of the diabolic. For those DMs who wish a
devil in their campaigns directly involved in
Prime Material Plane affairs, I direct you to
Gorgoth, described in the accompanying
article.

A number of readers asked for specific
maps or geographical descriptions of the
Nine Hells, with encounter tables. None are
given, for two reasons ? to allow a DM to
detail the hells as he or she sees fit, and to
make it truly ?unknown territory? for
players and their characters. (I haven?t the
time, nor does DRAGON Magazine have
the space, to do justice to the hells in such a
way, either ? remember that each of the
Nine Hells could well be as big as the Prime
Material Plane, of which our Earth is just
one example!)
 

A number of readers have also asked
about player characters slaying devils: Yes,
it can be done, with experience points
awarded as given in the DMG. Most dukes
are worth 8000 +18/hp if a pit fiend, and up
to 10,000 +20/hp if stronger; ten times the
given amount is awarded for actually slay-
ing a devil on its plane of origin. But note,
though, that devils  know  they are forever
destroyed if slain on their home plane, and
will always seek to fight elsewhere. If an
archdevil is forever slain, another devil will
take its place ? after all vie for it!

Lawful evil player characters (or, for that
matter, those of any alignment) who slay
devils are  not  transformed or promoted into
their places, and no player character(s) will
ever be strong enough to wipe out all of the
devils of the hells; not even gods can accom-
plish that, or it would have been done long
ago. On the other hand, a party of adven-
turers who try to stay hidden and avoid
archdevils are simply not important (dan-
gerous) enough to call out the entire de-
fenses of the hells for ? so one need not
fear that Amduscias and 29 companies of
abishai will be drawn up in full battle gear
waiting to welcome all visitors to Avernus.

A few mistakes creep into every article
(when I get one perfect, I?ll probably re-
tire!): I changed Sekolah from male to
female and forgot all about doing so (see
"Out on a Limb" in issue #77), managed to
hash the 2nd-level magic-user spell  irrita-
tion  into "invitation" in the "Spells in the
hells" section of issue #76, and somehow
the word "ice" got dropped from the type
of devils that Baalphegor can  summon.
<done>

Another inconsistency problem: Mr.
Gygax's original article (see issue #75) gave
Baftis as Baalzebul's consort, and so did I.
(Editor's note: Ed was given an advance
look at Mr. Gygax's manuscript during the
preparation of his own original article, to
ensure that the two pieces of writing would
be as compatible as possible.)  However,
Monster Manual II does not mention Baftis
at all, and gives (poor overworked!) Benso-
zia as consort to both Asmodeus and
Baalzebul. Hmmm . . . perhaps some-
thing has happened to Baftis, but I prefer to
go with Mr. Gygax?s original article in this
case, based on my assumption (held also by
several readers who asked about this) that
Asmodeus would not share his consort with
anyone -- even if it would give him an ally/
spy in Baalzebul's camp; the Overlord
could not be sure that Baalzebul would not
use her thus against him. (I await any offi-
cial word on this, but for purists  (sigh),
Monster Manual II must take precedence as
an official source. I guess Baftis is no
more. . . .)

Many readers also posed searching ques-
tions concerning the hells, which I have
attempted to answer in the same spirit here:

1. How large is a company of devils?
How is one organized?

A company of devils is the ?standard?
military unit in the hells, and consists of 333
devils of the specific type in question, orga-
nized such that each 10 devils report to a
dominant ?sergeant? type, or ?kohora? as
he is called (seldom officially) in the hells,
and every 10 of these report in turn to an
?akkrabar.? These in turn report to the
duke or unique devil in charge of the com-
pany (in some cases by means of messenger
mephits and spined devils, but usually in
person, so as to minimize treachery and
deception).

There are thus 300 ?line troops,? 30
kohoras, and 3 akkrabars, plus a com-
mander, in the average company. Weap-
onry, tactics, and actual effectiveness of the
diabolic companies varies according to the
type of devils, and their commander. The
actual combat strengths of companies also
vary, and are usually well under the nomi-
nal totals, but all companies have additional
reserves and training cadres. In battle, all
kohoras are of equal rank (a ?line troop?
devil will obey the last order given by any
kohora, unless an akkrabar or his com-
mander overrule it, or give another com-
mand), and in like manner, all akkrabars
are of equal rank, working together to cover
for each other and reporting to their com-
mander as necessary ? usually one repre-
sentative reporting from each company, for
a commander usually has many companies
under him.

A few companies (the pit fiends under
Hutijin, for example) do not follow this
system of ranks, but rather consist of equals
(the ?companies? of pit fiends under Huti-
jin are only a tenth as big as those described
above, with 33 nobles in each, and it is also
thought that Baalzebul?s companies of
malebranche are of a third normal strength
? that is, with 111 malebranche in each).
Some sages believe that the ?least? devils
(nupperibo and spined) must be gathered
666 strong to form a company.

Any number of companies is an ?army,?
any collection of forces belonging to more
than one archdevil is a ?host.? The capital-
ized term ?The Hosts of the Hells? refers
collectively to the entire organized fighting
might of the devils, and is a literary or
hypothetical term; the devils would  never  be
gathered all together in this fashion.

2. The devils Titivilus and Malphas
are described as having strange abilities
to confuse the meanings of words, and to
deceive listeners, employing mind-
reading talents to do so. How can a DM
handle this in the game?

Titivilus is like a contract lawyer, or a
DM adjudicating the wording of a  wish
spell ? he always looks for all possible
interpretations or holes in promises made
and things said. Like many politicians, he
rarely gives a definite answer or position,
but always  appears  to do so by using such
words as ?inoperative,? ?determinism,?
?authority,? ?conclusive,? and ?appar-
ently,? and such phrases as ?under consid-
eration? and ?at this time.? He will use
jargon and archaic phrases ? a DM can
invent or re-use catch-phrases or industrial
terminology and give them new meanings
when playing the role of Titivilus; what
Titivilus says usually doesn?t mean what
one thinks it does.

Titivilus delights in punning, circular
arguments, philosophical debates, and other
means of verbally bewildering others, and
also enjoys being cryptic. He may well
polymorph  himself into the form of a sage
or mystic of some sort, protecting his deceit
with  misdirection,  and spout meaningless or
false prophecies (or even impersonate a
deity, if an unsuccessful  commune  spell is
cast nearby).

Malphas, on the other hand, tries to
appear honest. In his human or bird form,
he will use his  tongues  ability to converse
with intruders, employing  ESP  to learn
from them, anticipate their questions, and
answer in accordance with their thoughts
and fears to make them think he is what he
wishes to appear to them as. Malphas does
not have horns, a tail, talons, or other such
physical diabolic attributes, and can readily
pass for an unusual human with strikingly
handsome features; only his ruby-red pupils
betray his origin.

All devils can communicate with any
creature due to a limited ?speech pattern
translation? telepathy. Malphas, and sev-
eral other unique devils, can use  tongues  to
be fluent enough in a particular language to
deceive a creature into thinking it is the
devil?s native tongue. Malphas can use his
ESP  in conjunction with this to appear, for
instance, as a fellow member of a guild or
society, or a ?friend of a friend.? He can
ascertain passwords or other secret signs he
is asked about by ?reading? them from the
questioner?s mind at the same time the
latter phrases the question.

The deceptions of both devils are thus a
matter of cunning behavior and use of
relevant powers, not a matter of magical or
psionic manipulations of the minds of oth-
ers. Both will attempt deceit when it profits
them (to gain information from, or the aid
of, a creature), but will often not bother;
they have no need to play tricks on a half-
dozen adventurers, for instance, once they
have determined all of interest that these
individuals know and possess.

3. Is Arioch, Dispater?s servant, the
same Arioch mentioned in Michael
Moorcock?s well-known fantasy novels?
If so, why is Arioch such a minor devil,
of so little power? If not, why do they
have the same name?

Arioch, the avenger of Dispater (de-
scribed in DRAGON issue #75 and men-
tioned in Monster Manual II), and Arioch,
the Knight of the Swords and Lord of Hell
(from Michael Moorcock's Eternal Cham-
pion series, particularly  The Knight of the
Swords  and the Elric books), are two quite
different beings.

4. What prevents certain archdevils
from simply attacking each other to take
over other planes of the Nine Hells?
In a word, fear. No archdevil is suff-
ciently powerful to attack another without
himself suffering; all of them fear being
destroyed or defeated and exiled or de-
moted. Asmodeus has stated that he will
destroy any devil who fosters war in the
hells for any reason not satisfactory to the
Overlord ? and he is able to carry through
on this threat, for he knows the truenames
of all greater devils.

Furthermore, each archdevil lives with an
aspect of uncertainty, not knowing precisely
how many other beings know his truename,
or which (and how many) of his servants
will prove, in any open conflict, to be more
loyal to another archdevil.

Also, the archdevils are fairly evenly
matched; no one archdevil is certain of
being able to decisively defeat or destroy
another, and no one of them commands
sufficient military strength to expand (by
spreading their troops over more planes)
without possibly endangering their hold on
their own plane. For instance, Baalzebul
has his hands full just keeping Malbolge
and Maladomini, an activity requiring
much of his time and powers; he is too busy,
and too prudent (see below), to launch an
open assault on any weaker archdevil.

Battles of this sort, when they do occur,
are by tradition conducted on Avernus, or
wherever is convenient on Gehenna, Hades,
and/or Acheron. This is one of the rules of
the present regime that all archdevils are
loath to break ? and it is only through
obedience to these laws that the strong can
continue to rule their weaker fellows (the
vastly greater numbers of devils below the
rank of archdevil); if one breaks the rules,
all archdevils are threatened, so all will act
against the transgressor. Devils can move
freely about the hells, but this does not
mean that the archdevils continually hurl
diabolic armies at each other: the Nine
Hells is a place of authority and intrigue;
open battle is between lesser devils, or
against intruders or lemures. Archdevils
avoid being drawn into direct conflict with
one another; they prefer their present posi-
tions to death or greater subservience.

5. How many hit dice does an arch-
devil have, for attacking and spell-use
determination? Only total hit points are
given in the descriptions.

To find the hit dice of any archdevil (or
any other creature described in this man-
ner), divide the given number of hit points
by 4.5 (the average number of hit points per
8-sided die) and round all fractions down to
arrive at the whole-number result. As a rule
of thumb, most members of the hierarchy of
the hells have 13 or more hit dice (pit
fiends, who form the bulk of the dukes,
have 13); a few unique devils may employ
certain spell-like powers in a manner equiv-
alent to a spellcaster of a slightly different
level than they have hit dice, at the DM?s
option. Examination of many of the specific
devil descriptions in "The Nine Hells" will
show many examples of this.

For example, Phongor (issue #76) has 129
hit points, which translates into 28 hit dice;
his shocking  grasp  attack does 29-37 (1d8
+28) points of damage. Baalphegor (issue
#76) has 82 hit points, the equivalent of 18
hit dice, so her  chain lightning  attack does
18d6 damage to its primary target.

6. In "Spells in the hells" (issue #76),
the magic-user spell  rope trick  is said to
reach an adjacent plane of the hells as its
-- extra-dimensional space.? Does it reach
a higher level, or a lower one? Can it be
used to leave the hells when cast on
Avernus or Nessus? Can player characters
travel between the planes of the Nine
Hells by means of this spell?

When a  rope trick  is employed in the
hells, it actually creates (at the upper end of
the rope) a  gate  that usually opens either
upward or downward. On all the planes but
Avernus and Nessus, there is a 40% chance
that it opens into the next lower level, and a
60% chance that it opens upward into the
next higher level; this result is  not  under the
control of the spellcaster. When cast in
Avernus, a  rope trick  will always open
downward into Dis, and when cast in Nes-
sus, it will always provide a  gate upward
into Caina.

Such  gates  last only for the spell duration
? or until dispelled by any devil who has
the power to do so ? and even if cast re-
peatedly at the same location on one plane
of the hells, will not always open at the
same place on the adjacent plane it connects
with. For instance, one cannot, based on a
previous journey, go to a certain cave on
Avernus, cast a  rope trick,  and arrive in
Dispater?s chambers in his palace in the
Iron City; instead, such a  gate  will open in
a different spot on Dis each time the spell is
used.

When cast in the hells, this spell  always
consumes the rope ? it is a one-way trip ?
and any number of beings can pass up it, or
climb it at once. Flying creatures can only
pass through the  gate  if they touch the rope
at its top; if they merely fly above the rope,
they will miss the  gate  entirely. Devils can
pass freely through the  gate  created by a
rope trick  spell, in either or both directions,
and can exercise their spell-like powers
through the opening.

Player characters can use this spell to
travel between adjacent planes of the hells,
but not (under any circumstances except the
simultaneous casting of a  rope trick  and
limited wish)  to enter or leave the hells from
other planes. (This exception may not al-
ways work, either; it is up to the DM to
judge, given the specific circumstances and
the precise wording of the  limited wish.)
The ?place of safety where no creature can
find them? statement in the spell descrip-
tion does not, of course, apply in the hells.

7. What, precisely, are the limitations
of a devil's ability to teleport without
error?

This ability allows a devil to move from
any point on any plane of the hells to any
other point on the same plane, with pin-
point precision ? and thus no possibility of
arriving high or low, with resulting dam-
age. If another living creature occupies the
precise location desired, the devil will arrive
as close as possible adjacent to it.

Prior visitation or detailed visualization
of the location is not necessary for a devil
within the hells ? but this is necessary on
(or when traveling to) Acheron, Hades, or
Gehenna. A devil can combine its teleporta-
tion ability with its natural plane-shifting
power (within the Nine Hells, Acheron,
Gehenna, and Hades) to move anywhere
within those planes ? but dares not do so
without authorization. (Archdevils are
allowed to travel freely, but rarely do so;
they are not allowed to bring sizable body-
guards with them, and are loath to arrive
unannounced in a rival archdevil?s realm all
alone.)

A devil cannot teleport into mid-air, even
if it is winged or has the ability to magically
fly,  but must appear on a horizontal surface
(floor or ground) and move from there. A
devil can  teleport  (and  plane shift)  objects
and creatures it is actually touching, up to
the standard limit of 2500 gp plus 1500 gp
weight per hit die (or level of magic use,
whichever is higher). Anything over its
weight limit (DM?s choice, not a player?s
nor the devil?s, as to which item, if multiple
items are involved) will simply be left be-
hind, entirely unaffected. A devil cannot
?throw? beings elsewhere by use of its
teleport  or  plane shift  powers without ac-
companying them (remember, physical
contact is required), and a devil summoned
to the Prime Material Plane cannot  plane
shift  except to return to its ?home? plane
on the hells either as soon as possible, or at
the expiration of the  summoning  spell, or
when it wishes to (depending on the circum-
stances, the powers of the devil, and the
DM?s decision), and can (as described
above) take creatures and/or objects back to
its home plane with it.

Perhaps it should be stressed here that
with a few exceptions  (symbols, unholy
words,  and  power words),  no devil ?casts
spells,? using verbal, somatic, and material
components; and thus, magical  silence,
physical grappling or engagement, etc., will
not stop a devil from being able to use its
magical powers. Ongoing psionic combat
usually will (see DRAGON issue #78 for
details of psionic combat), but the DM
must judge this carefully. A devil can and
will use its powers to disengage from com-
bat, and flee the field, whenever it feels
threatened ? either psionically, or when
reduced to only a few hit points through
physical combat. A devil will not stay in the
face of certain death just because of the
orders of its superiors or out of pride; its
thinking in the former case follows the credo
that ?one death is imminent, and the other
negotiable.?

8. In issue #76, page 34, mention is
made of Alastor, "the greatest pit fiend of
all," and yet he is not personally de-
scribed. What are his statistics?

Alastor was not described because he is
just that -- a pit fiend. None of the pit
fiends in the hierarchy (each is marked with
an asterisk in the listing given in Monster
Manual II) were described individually in
the earlier magazine article because they
would have almost  doubled  the overall
length of that article, with seemingly endless
repetitions of the pit fiend entry that ap-
pears in the Monster Manual. However,
here are some facts and figures that can be
used in an adventure that involves ?the
greatest pit fiend of all?:

Alastor the Grim (sometimes called Alas-
tor the Silent) is a pit fiend having maxi-
mum hit points (13 HD, 114 hp),  genius
intelligence, and the strength of a storm
giant (ability score of 24, +6 to hit, +12 on
damage). He fights with all weapons, and
usually executes beings with a great black
double-bladed  +4 battleaxe  (12? long, 2- 12
+4 damage, plus Alastor?s strength bonus,
vs. opponents of all sizes) or a giant scythe
(non-magical, 9? blade and 13? handle,
damage 1 - 10 plus Alastor?s bonus vs. all
opponents). He never wears armor, is cov-
ered with the gouges and twisted flesh of
gruesome, poorly healed wounds, and has
broken, tattered wings (he can fly, but only
6" per round). He is thought to be the
closest friend and confidant of Asmodeus,
and is unswervingly loyal to the present
Overlord. Alastor is grey-skinned, with
wings of a sooty black appearance. He is
otherwise a ?normal? pit fiend (see the
Monster Manual entry).
 

LETTERS

No room for more
-
Dear Dragon: 
In issue #91 in "Eight devilish questions" by
Ed Greenwood, it states that he did not include
Satan because there is no room in the AD&D
game system for a devil more powerful than
Asmodeus. But there must be room for Satan as
he is listed in the Best of DRAGON Vol. II "The
Politics of Hell," which states that Satan was the
supreme ruler of the hells until forced out by
Beelzebub, who became the new ruler, and other
devils. So is this a contradiction? Or didn't Mr.
Greenwood know about this article?

Chris Moore
Burbank, Calif.
(Dragon #93)
 

To begin with, here is an answer from Ed
Greenwood to a question that had to be trimmed
from the manuscript he turned in for "Eight 
devilish questions" for lack of space.  It addresses 
the reason why the information from "The 
Politics of Hell" was not carried through into our 
more recently published material on devils and 
the Nine Hells:

“Many longtime DRAGON readers, myself
among them, consider Alexander von Thorn’s
‘The Politics of Hell’ to be one of the best, if not
THE best, article that appeared in the magazine’s
first 50 issues, and when writing my manuscript I
tried to follow it as closely as possible without
contradicting official material.

“Specifically; I find Satan too powerful for the
AD&D game, and Belial — or any single ‘commander
of Hell’s armies,’ as Alexander envisioned
him — would become the key individual
in the hells; the armies loyal to him would make
any archdevil he supported the triumphant ruler
of the hells, and thus all archdevils would try to
befriend Belial. He could then play one off
against another and emerge as overall ruler of the
hells — a position that both Alexander and Mr.
Gygax see Asmodeus as firmly in control of I
enjoyed the story of Baalzebul’s overthrow told in
‘The Politics of Hell,” but I leave the question of
whether it actually happened or not, and indeed
much of the past history of the hells, nebulous —
part of every DM’s elbow room, leaving him the
freedom to design things as he sees fit.”

One of the key phrases in Ed’s answer is “without
contradicting official material.” When he 
composed his original article on the Nine Hells 
that appeared in issues #75 and #76, Ed was 
careful not to go against any of the existing 
official system; the same ground rule was followed 
when he put together "8 devilish questions."  In contrast, 
Alexander von Thorn's article -- excellent 
though it was -- did not attempt to stay within 
the confines of the rule system. It was more of a
theoretical article, describing a series of events
that might have occurred to bring about the
present state of affairs in the hells. As Ed suggests
In his answer, “The politics of Hell” might be
excellent source material for a certain campaign
purposely shaped to conform to what the article
sets forth. 

— KM
(Dragon #93)