Page 68 - D&D Bestiary

THE INFERNAL HIERARCHY INFERNAL HIERARCHY
1. lemure ' Greater devils
The Nine Hells has a rigid hierarchy that defines every
8. horned devil
aspect of its society. Asmodeus is the supreme ruler Lesser devils
of all devils, and the only creature in the Nine Hells 2. imp 9. erinyes
with the powers of a lesser god. Worshiped as such 3. spined devil 10. ice devil
in the Material Plane, Asmodeus inspires the evil 4. bearded devil 11. pit fiend
humanoid cults that take his name. In the Nine Hells, 5. barbed devil Archdevils
he commands scores of pit fiend generals, which in turn
6. chain devil 12. duke or duchess
command legions of subordinates.
A supreme tyrant, a brilliant deceiver, and a master 7. bone devil 13. archduke or archduchess
of subtlety, Asmodeus protects his throne by keeping
his friends close and his enemies closer. He delegates Demotion is the customary punishment for failure or
most matters of rulership to the pit fiends and lesser disobedience among the devils. Archdevils or greater
arch devils that make up the infernal bureaucracy of the devils can demote a lesser devil to a lemure, which
loses all memory of its prior existence. An archdevil
Nine Hells, even as he knows that those powerful devils
can demote a greater devil to lesser devil status, but the
conspire to usurp the Throne of Baa tor from which he
demoted devil retains its memories-and might seek
rules. Asmodeus appoints archdevils, and he can strip
vengeance if the severity of the demotion is excessive.
any member of the infernal hierarchy of rank and status
No devil can promote or demote another devil that has
as he likes.
not sworn fealty to it, preventing rival arch devils from
If it dies outside the Nine Hells, a devil disappears
demoting each other's most powerful servants. Since all
in a cloud of sulfurous smoke or dissolves into a pool
devils swear fealty to Asmodeus, he can freely demote
of ichor, instantly returning to its home layer, where it
any other devil, transforming it into whatever infernal
reforms at full strength. Devils that die in the Nine Hells
form he desires.
are destroyed forever- a fate that even Asmodeus fears.
Archdevils. The archdevils include all the current
THE NINE HELLS
and deposed rulers of the Nine Hells (see the Layers
The Nine Hells are a single plane comprising nine
and Lords of the Nine Hells table), as well as the dukes
separate layers (see the Layers and Lords of the Nine
and duchesses that make up their courts, attend them
Hells table). The first eight layers are each ruled by
as advisers, and hope to supplant them. Every archdevil
arch devils that answer to the greatest archdevil of all:
is a unique being with an appearance that reflects its
Asmodeus, the Archduke of Ness us, the ninth layer.
particular evil nature.
To reach the deepest layer of the Nine Hells, one must
Greater Devils. The greater devils include the pit
descend through all eight of the layers above it, in order.
fiends, erinyes, horned devils, and ice devils that
The most expeditious means of doing so is the River
command lesser devils and attend the archdevils.
Styx, which plunges ever deeper as it flows from one
Lesser.Devils. The lesser devils include numerous
layer to the next. Only the most courageous adventurers
strains of fiends, including imps, chain devils, spined can withstand the torment and horror of that journey.
devils, bearded devils, barbed devils, and bone devils.
Lemures. The lowest form of devil, lemures are
the twisted and tormented souls of evil and corrupted DEVIL TRUE NAMES AND TALISMANS
mortals. A lemure killed in the Nine Hells is only Though devils all have common names, every devil above a
permanently destroyed if it is killed with a blessed lemure in station also has a true name that it keeps secret. A
weapon or if its shapeless corpse is splashed with holy devil can be forced to disclose its true name if charmed and
water before it can return to life. ancient scrolls and tomes are said to exist that list the t~ue
Promotion and Demotion. When the soul of an evil names of certain devils.
A mortal who learns a devil's true name can use powerful
mortal sinks into the Nine Hells, it takes on the physical
summoning magic to call the devil from the Nine Hells and
form of a wretched lemure. Archdevils and greater
bind it into service. Binding can also be accomplished with
devils have the power to promote lemures to lesser
the help of a devil talisman. Each of these ancient relics is
devils. Archdevils can promote lesser devils to greater inscribed with the true name of a devil it controls, and was
devils, and Asmodeus alone can promote a greater devil bathed in the blood of a worthy sacrifice-typically someone
to archdevil status. This diabolic promotion invokes a the creator loved-when crafted.
brief, painful transformation, with the devil's memories However it is summoned, a devil brought to the Material
passing intact from one form to the next. Plane typically resents being pressed into service. However,
Low-level promotions are typically based on need, the devil seizes every opportunity to corrupt its summoner
such as when a pit fiend transforms lemures into imps so that the summoner's soul ends up in the Nine Hells.
Only imps are truly content to be summoned, and they easily
to gain invisible spies under its command. High-level
promotions are almost always based on merit, such commit to serving a summoner as a familiar, but they still do
their utmost to corrupt those who summon them.
as when a bone devil that distinguishes itself in battle
is transformed into a horned devil by the archdevil it
serves. A devil is seldom promoted more than one step
at a time in the hierarchy of infernal forms.