Asmodeus (æz-mo-DAY-us or æz-MO-dee-us)

Asmodeus is the Athelian deity of indulgence and ruler of all devils. Asmodeus is a patron of oppression and power, the greatest devil, and the Lord of the Ninth and overlord of the Nine Hells as a whole.
Personality Asmodeus is a primal embodiment of lawful evil and a supreme strategist of unparalleled skill. His sinister machinations can take centuries, if not millennia, to come to fruition, and his master plans extend across the entire multiverse. His labyrinthine, insidious intrigues could seem inexplicable to most outside observers, for Asmodeus lets even his own servants stew in fear of his next move. With all the planes as his board, the Lord of Lies maneuvers the forces of evil like chess pieces in his grand designs, slowly and subtly manipulating everyone from deities to, when needed, lowly mortals.
Just as Asmodeus was an unmatched schemer, he was an unrivalled orator, a legendary political master of unquestionable prowess. He was the most well-mannered of the archdevils, soft-spoken and eloquent as he lured others into serving his ends. Even when wracked by constant pain, he managed to appear blithely unbothered, and seemed almost chillingly reasonable. However, though he could seem generous, the quickly offered rewards of the archdevil were given to those willing to sign away their souls, after which they would suffer as a pawn in his dark designs. Despite his charisma, Asmodeus was nonetheless a representative of ultimate evil, revealing his true nature at his will.
In truth, Asmodeus is a tyrant, an authoritarian overlord who seeks complete control over as many subjects as he can obtain and nothing less than absolute dominion over all reality. Torture is his tool to break the wills of others and impose his own, and knowledge of secrets and dealings his desired instrument to claim others as his. The Prince of Evil is confident in his position as one of the multiverse's strongest beings, and genuinely believes his rule is for the best. Under his rule, and only his rule, the multiverse will be pristine and perfect, with everyone in it having a place and a purpose to fulfil.
In Asmodeus's mind, only he has the strength, insight, and charisma needed to guide all to an ideal utopia, or at least the infernal hierarchy that the Archfiend interpretes as such. His rivals are inferior minds lacking the skill to see his vision through. The forces of the Abyss are loathsome opposition, their very existence a threat to his mastery of evil and their armies a direct threat to his supremacy. The forces of good are foolish, sentimental beings too soft and weak to do what had to be done. This arrogance may have led to his destruction if he lacked the competence to back it up, yet Asmodeus has managed to thwart all conspiracies against him and survive Heaven with nothing but his wit.
Law or Evil According to legend, Asmodeus attributes his wicked deeds to necessity and the mandates of law, alluding to the rules of Hell in his defence and arguing that his contracts are never broken. He makes the case that the souls he harvests serve the ultimately noble end of protecting the cosmos, and notes the sanctity of law as what separates him from the demons of the Abyss. Without him and his devils to defend it, he argues, the multiverse would be overrun by demonkind and ultimately destroyed, and in this, Asmodeus might technically be correct.
Although one of the ultimate powers of law, Asmodeus does not uphold the rules out of respect. Despite arguing that his actions are necessary to prevent the rise of chaos and preserve the forces of good, this is mere camouflage to disguise his true intentions. In reality, Asmodeus sees the Abyss as a useful distraction, and when prepared he plans to destroy the Upper Planes and perhaps even use demonkind to accomplish this dark goal. Ironically, in the most extreme scenario, Asmodeus's plan will ultimately be to embrace chaos, to withhold the power of law from the world and let it collapse. With the multiverse broken down and him having survived its fall, he would remake reality as he desired.
To the mind of Asmodeus, the law is merely a tool by which others could be bent to his will. Civilization, as he understood it, is a means of gaining power, the structures and technology created by society instruments to crush his enemies. Chaos makes for easy conquest, and to conquer is to bring others under control. Asmodeus will use tradition as his protection and wording as his weapon, appeal to the letter of the law, and frame his deeds as upholding the natural laws of the cosmos. Even his masterfully crafted plans will obey universal laws, such as the Rule of Threes, and he believes himself the multiverse's chosen protector. More than any of these however, Asmodeus is dedicated to obtaining absolute authority for himself, and if necessary, is willing to break every law in existence to do it.
Despite his cunning and charisma, Asmodeus is not intellectually invincible. Though he is not above pretending otherwise, he is capable of being surprised, feigning foreknowledge and acting as if all was going according to plan either way. Furthermore, even Asmodeus is capable of fury, and if he forgets himself can end up bursting into a rage, his mask of civility slipping to unveil the evil that lurks below.
Worshipers Asmodeus doesn't need mortal worship to either maintain or enhance his power, but rather wants to lure mortals to atheism to receive their souls and heal his wounds. Nevertheless, Asmodeus has a large following, much larger than any other infernal cult combined, such that his is often the first choice for prospective devil-worshipers. Furthermore, every diabolic cult is viewed as a subdivision of Asmodeus's cult and ultimately swears allegiance to him and not the entity it follows. In fact, what boons the other cults can provide is not determined by their archdevils but by Asmodeus.
While Asmodeus maintains cults dedicated to fictional entities, those cults in which he is worshiped as himself fell into a category called a revealed cult. Their followers understand that their object of worship was a devil.
To members of these cults, signing up meant to join a secret mutual-aid society. Members helped each other into positions of influence and affluence. Their prime motivation for joining was greed, and it began by making a pact with Asmodeus that consigned their soul to the Nine Hells on death. Leaders who proved their worth were given the ability to drain vitality from an ally.
The majority of cultists were dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and humans. Asmodeus also tried to make inroads into hobgoblins, and other peoples with a lawful evil outlook.
Tieflings who descended from Asmodeus were were considered the standard of the race. However, "descended" did not necessarily mean that these tieflings could trace back their ancestry to Asmodeus, as around the time of the Spellplague, a ritual was conducted that gave all tieflings of Toril the so-called mark of Asmodeus, which turned them into effective descendants of his.
Asmodeus was also a supplier of pacts for warlocks and a tiefling's or half-fiend's warlock pact was most likely one made with him. Divine Domains Knowledge, Order, Trickery