Page 64 - Dungeon Master's Guide

THE NINE HELLS rich with iron ore. Iron roads span and wend through
the canyons, watched over by the garrisons of iron
The Nine Hells of Baa tor inflame the imaginations of
fortresses perched atop jagged pinnacles.
travelers, the greed of treasure seekers, and the battle
The second layer takes its name from its current lord.
fury of all moral creatures. It is the ultimate plane of
Dispater. A manipulator and deceiver, the archduke is
law and evil and the epitome of premeditated cruelty.
devilishly handsome, bearing only small horns, a tail,
The devils of the Nine Hells are bound to obey the laws
and a cloven left hoof to distinguish him from a human.
of their superiors, but they rebel within their individual
His crimson throne stands in the heart of the Iron City
castes. Most undertake any plot, no matter how foul,
of Dis, a hideous metropolis that is the largest in the
to advance themselves. At the very top of the hierarchy
Nine Hells. Planar travelers come here to conspire with
is Asmodeus, who has yet to be bested. If he were to
devils and to close deals with night hags, rakshasas,
be vanquished, the victor would rule the plane in turn. incubi, succubi, and other fiends. Dispater collects a
Such is the law of the Nine Hells.
piece of every deal through special provisions that are
added to contracts signed on his layer of the Nine Hells.
OPTIONAL RULE: PERVASIVE EVIL
Dispater is one of Asmodeus's most loyal and
Evil pervades the Nine Hells, and visitors to this plane
resourceful vassals, and few beings in the multiverse
feel its influence. At the end of each long rest taken on
can outwit him. He is more obsessed than most devils
this plane, a visitor that isn't evil must make a DC 10
with striking deals with mortals in exchange for their
Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature's
souls, and his emissaries work tirelessly to foster evil
alignment changes to lawful evil. The change becomes
schemes in the Material Plane.
permanent if the creature doesn't leave the plane within
Minauros. The third layer of the Nine Hells is a
ld4 days. Otherwise, the creature's alignment reverts
stench-ridden bog. Acidic rain spills from the layer's
to normal after one day spent on a plane other than the
brown skies, thick layers of scum cover its putrid
Nine Hells. Casting the dispel evil and good spell on the
surface, and yawning pits lie in wait beneath the murk to
creature also restores its original alignment.
engulf careless wanderers. Cyclopean cities of ornately
THE NINE LAYERS carved stone rise up from the bog, including the great
The Nine Hells has nine layers. The first eight are city of Minauros for which the layer is named.
each ruled by archdevils that answer to Asmodeus, The slimy walls of the city rise hundreds of feet into
the Archduke of Nessus, the ninth layer. To reach the the air, protecting the flooded halls of Mammon. The
Archduke of Minauros resembles a massive serpent
deepest layer of the Nine Hells, one must descend
with the upper torso and head of a hairless, horned
through all eight of the layers above it, in order. The
humanoid. Mammon's greed is legendary, and he is
most expeditious means of doing so is the River Styx,
one of the few arch devils who will trade favors for gold
which plunges ever deeper as it flows from one layer
to the next. Only the most courageous adventurers can instead of souls. His lair is piled high with treasures
withstand the torment and horror of that journey. left behind by those who tried-and failed-to best him
in a deal.
Avernus. No planar portals connect directly to the
Phlegethos. Phlegethos, the fourth layer, is a
lower layers of the Nine Hells, by Asmodeus's orders.
fiery landscape whose seas of molten magma brew
As such, the first layer of Avernus is the arrival point
for visitors to the plane. A vern us is a rocky wasteland hurricanes of hot wind, choking smoke, and pyroclastic
with rivers of blood and clouds of biting flies. Fiery ash. Within the fire-filled caldera of Phlegethos's largest
comets occasionally fall from the darkened sky and volcano rises Abriymoch, a fortress city cast of obsidian
leave fuming impact craters behind. Empty battlefields and dark glass. With rivers of molten lava pouring
are littered with weapons and bones, showing where the down its outer walls, the city resembles the sculpted
legions of the Nine Hells met enemies on their native centerpiece of a gigantic, hellish fountain.
soil and prevailed. Abriymoch is the seat of power for the two archdevils
The archduchess Zariel rules Avernus, supplanting who rule Phlegethos in tandem: Archduke Belial and
her rival, Bel, who has fallen out of Asmodeus's favor Archduchess Fierna, Belial's daughter. Belial is a
and is forced to serve as Zariel's advisor. Tiamat, the handsome, powerfully built devil who exudes civility,
Queen of Evil Dragons, is a prisoner on this layer, even as his words carry an undercurrent of threat. His
ruling her own domain but confined to the Nine Hells daughter is a statuesque devil whose beauty encases the
by Asmodeus in accordance with some ancient contract blackest heart in the ine Hells. The alliance of Belial
(the terms of which are known only to Tiamat and the and Fierna is unbreakable, for both are aware that their
Lords of the Nine). mutual survival hinges on it.
Zariel's seat of power is a soaring basalt citadel Stygia. The fifth layer of the Nine Hells is a freezing
realm of ice within which cold flames burn. A frozen sea
festooned with the partially incinerated corpses of
surrounds the layer. and its gloomy sky crackles with
guests who failed to earn the archduchess's favor. Zariel
appears as an angel whose once-beautiful skin and lightning.
Archduke Levistus once betrayed Asmodeus and is
wings have been ruined by fire. Her eyes burn with a
now encased deep in the ice of Stygia as punishment.
furious white light that can cause creatures looking
upon her to burst into flame. He rules this layer all the same, communicating
telepathically with hi followers and servants, both in
Dis. Dis, the second layer of the Nine Hells, is a
the Nine Hells and on the Material Plane.
labyrinth of canyons wedged between sheer mountains
CHAPTER 2 I CREATING A MULTIVERSE