The Nine Hells

The Celestial Plane of Lawful Evil

The Nine Hells of Baator, also known as Hell or the Hells, or simply Baator in Infernal, is a lawful-evil aligned plane of existence adjacent to Ashra in the Astral Sea. It is the home of devils and is a place of sinister, calculated evil and institutional cruelty. Unlike the chaotic, madness-inflicted demons of The Abyss who brutally fight each other for dominance, the Nine Hells are organized by a strict caste system with a rigid chain of command. Each and every devil knows its place, and if one should seek to elevate itself, it would do so by scheming and plotting rather than waging outright war. Power plays, coups and assassinations are commonplace. After the inadvertent creation of Cynos and the emergence of life, death and mortal beings, the Nine Hells became the final destination for the souls of lawful-evil individuals. Unfortunately for them, mortal souls rank near the very bottom of the power ladder with very little hope of ever climbing higher. Each of the Nine Hells is inhospitable and deadly, giving many the impression that Baator was designed as a place of punishment for wrong-doers. Some go so far as to assert that Ashra is morally biased and favours the good over the evil, presenting the Hells as evidence for their case. This is incorrect, of course; the Nine Hells have existed as an aspect of Ashra since long before the birth of Cynos, and much like the concept of mortality itself, the fact that the astral currents would deliver lawful-evil souls to Baator was unforeseen. Upon arrival in Baator, the soul of the mortal would spawn as a pathetic nupperibo. The exceptionally brilliant or cruel may instead spawn as a lemure. Both kinds of devils rank at or near the very bottom of the infernal hierarchy, and of the two, only lemures have any real chance at promotion—though it is still very slim. Many lawful-evil mortals pursue means of extending their own lives indefinitely so as to avoid the miserable afterlife that would await them should they perish.

The Nine Circles of Hell

Each of the nine Hells is unique, but all are terrible places for outsiders to be. Each is ruled by an Archdevil, and the characteristics of the ruler seem to be reflected in the circle of Hell that they command. Whether this is the Archdevil's own influence on the circle, vice versa, or merely a coincidence, is unknown.

The First Circle: Avernus

Avernus is a desolate wasteland. The terrain is rocky and dry, what little vegetation that grows is twisted and sparse, and the landscape is riddled with volcanoes and rivers of magma. Caves, warrens and pits of snakes are common. The sky is a smokey dark red, illuminated by great balls of flammable gas that explode from time to time. Being the first level of Baator, Avernus is littered with the remains of brutal wars fought over the course of eternity, most notably the Blood War against the demons of the Abyss. Corpses, gore and weapons decorate the otherwise bleak fields of rock. Avernus is ruled by Archduchess Zariel, who appeared as a hellish angel with fiery wings, horns atop her head, goat-like legs and skin that resembled cooling lava.

The Second Circle: Dis

Most of Dis is barren, the only notable feature being stagnant black rivers that run for thousands of kilometers. Following these rivers would eventually lead you to the Iron City of Dis, the only structure built in this level of Hell. The buildings and roads glow the dull red of hot iron, and any skin contact longer than an instant results in severe burns. The city houses prisoners of war, underlings, criminals and kidnap victims, and the dungeons are built in such a way that their tortured screams travel up through vents and be heard by those above. From the center of the city rises the Iron Tower, where Dispater, the Iron Duke and Lord of the Second, resides.

The Third Circle: Minauros

Minauros is described as an endless bog, a disgusting, marshy swamp full of rotting vegetation, bubbling geysers and decaying bodies. Oily black water drips down from the Second Circle above, contributing a dark mud to the cesspool. The bone-strewn, disease-ridden swamplands are allegedly home to vile creatures that even the devils feared. There are two cities in the Third Circle, the first of which is also called Minauros. Built of black stone, it is held afloat in the bog only by the ceaseless effort of thousands of slaves and minions. Archduke Mammon, the Lord of the Third, lives there. The other city, Jangling Hiter, is held aloft above the swamplands by great, black chains that stretch up into the dark clouds. It is populated entirely by kytons, or chain devils.

The Fourth Circle: Phlegethos

The apocalyptic landscape of Phlegethos best fits the modern stereotype that the word "hell" calls to mind. Active volcanoes, rivers of liquid fire, heavy ash clouds, and unbearable heat are the norm, and earthquakes and ground tremors are commonplace. The seat of power is Abriymoch, a city build of hardened magma, obsidian and crystal in the caldera of an extinct volcano. From there, daughter and father Lady Fierna and Archduke Belial rule together, the former the official face of leadership, the latter making the decisions.

The Fifth Circle: Stygia

The polar opposite of Phlegethos, Stygia is a frigid, bottomless ocean, peppered with icebergs and frozen over entirely in some places. A few floating islands are the only points of land in this Circle, their icy peaks often struck by lightning from the stormy, black sky, creating a strange phenomenon called cold fire. The great city Tantlin was built on one of these islands, and from there Prince Levistus rules the Fifth Circle, albeit in an unorthodox manner—as a punishment for past treason against Asmodeus, Levistus is eternally frozen in an iceberg and must command his underlings via telepathy.

The Sixth Circle: Malboge

The Sixth Layer of the Hells is a colossal mountain of black rocks, some small, others the size of cities. The oddly-tilted and ill-fitting blocks are honeycombed with tunnels, and avalanches are common. A red vapour drifts up at all times from the depths below, leading some to believe that the blocks rest on a sea of lava. The Lord of the Sixth is the beautiful, copper-skinned Archduchess Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus.

The Seventh Circle: Maladomini

Maladomini's sky is red and cloudy like Malborge's, but the terrain is solid, dry and arid. Geysers shoot black ichor into the air randomly and swarms of black flies are ever-present. Ruins of old cities and used-up, abandoned mines and quarries pepper the landscape; the Lord of the Seventh, Baalzebul the Slug Archduke, has yet to be satisfied by a capitol, so he continues to abandon and and rebuild city after city. The grandest of them so far is Malagard, a sprawling metropolis with myriad black towers connected by walkways.

The Eighth Circle: Cania

The solid ice mountains, titanic glaciers and continuous snowfall in Cania make Stygia seem temperate by comparison. With regular temperatures as low as -51ºC, the outside air alone is fatal to most mortals. Atop a glacier called Nargus sits the ice citadel Mephistar, where Archduke Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth, surveys his domain from a heated and comfortable interior.

The Ninth Circle: Nessus

The ninth and deepest Circle of Hell is a place of extremes: Volcanoes as ferocious as Phlegethos, regions as cold as Cania, a flaming forest, sheer cliffs, a lake of ice, and an enormous mountain fortress called Malsheem, the Citadel of Hell. From there rules Asmodeus, Lord of the Ninth and King of all the Nine Hells.

Inhabitants

The Nine Hells are home to all manner of devils; too many to count. In addition, hell hounds, imps, night hags and nightmares can be found on most layers of Baator.