Baatezu ((sing & pl[1][2]; pronounced: /beɪˈɑːtɛzuː/ bay-AT-eh-zoo[3][4] or: /ˈbɑːtɛzʌ/ BAH-teh-zu[5]))
Baatezu were the dominant race of devils in the Nine Hells, once evil mortals whose souls, due to diabolical deed or infernal contract, were condemned to Baator. Stripped of individuality through vile torture and remade from the divine energy harvested from the collective corrupted, the baatezu institutionalized suffering, ascending to tyranny on the backs of the damned.[6][7]
“Sparked by envy, greed, and hate, the baatezu scheme and plan their whole long lives, looking to rise through the ranks at the expense of others. What they can't use to climb to a higher status, they tear down, just so it then can’t be used against them... Fiends who excel at treachery and backstabbing rise high, and quickly at that. Such qualities are exactly the sort prized by their superiors, for they’re the ideals that advance the baatezu race.”
— Rezzik Tam, a half-orc with a strong hatred of the baatezu.[8]
Baatezu changed their physical form when they were promoted or demoted, and with the physical change came a psychological one. Some believed that a baatezu lost its memories whenever they were changed, but in truth they almost always retained their minds. With an increase in power came usually also an increase in intelligence, and with it the ability to tap into their memories, possibly centuries-worth for each station in their lives. It was often the case that the sheer amount of their memories exceeded their capacity to sort through it meaning they would need a long time to remember particularly unimportant pieces of knowledge. If one were to remain out of their mind for long enough, causing them to be classified as insignificant, one could use the time frame it took the baatezu to remember them to make their move.[11]
Even so, baatezu were universally vindictive creatures, forcing the culprit to be constantly watch their backs if they crossed one.[11][11] Despite holding lawful evil outlooks, low-ranking baatezu still held some shred of chaos inside them, which could cause them to behave disobediently.[12]
It was difficult to psychologically best baatezu, especially high-ranking ones, but one way to get the better of them, or at least throw the lawful creatures into confusion, was to act on superficially chaotic reflexes. However, instinctive movements weren't truly chaotic, and intelligent baatezu could see the systematics of these supposedly random behaviors, rendering this tactic only usable against the dumb and/or low-ranking.[13] It was also possible, if difficult, to outwit a baatezu by somehow convincing them that their way of life was wrong. This would be a tricky tactic since baatezu were indoctrinated into their belief system, and if the attempt was a trick, they wouldn't fall for the same one twice, no matter who tried it.[13]
Sometimes, baatezu had regenerative capabilities. One way to circumvent this was to eat the baatezu. This was the normal method by which demons solved this problem of combating them.[15]
It was dangerous to try and cast detect thoughts on a baatezu. Their minds worked in ways that mortals could not handle. Reading a baatezu's mind rendered a person insane or at best in a mental state that was similar to that created by a feeblemind spell. The latter was not just temporary, but was the product of the mind-reader having success at processing some information.[16]
Usually, baatezu had an array of innate (inborn and usable without training) spells and spell-like abilities. These abilities were so ingrained in the baatezu that using them required less mental effort than a human using limbs. These abilities usually included some form of teleportation, which allowed them to disengage combat and re-enter it in a favorable position. Something they often did. Another ability a baatezu usually had was the ability to call their brethren for aid. This ability meant that any formerly numerically even fight could quickly devolve into a mauling due to the quickly created numerical superiority of the baatezu.[17]
Nupperibos were gathered and turned into lemures. This was sold as a demotion but in truth, the process was a change into something completely different. The reason for this inclusion into baatezu ranks was that the baatezu were cautious to not leave the nupperibo alone so that they had a chance to evolve into something that may be strong but not one of their own.[18]
The third way in which a baatezu could start its life was to spontaneously arise from the plane of Baator. This was very rare.[11]
The ways by which a baatezu could be promoted were twofold. First was promotion by chance (this was a method only open to lemures). The second one is intentional promotion. The latter was a bureaucratic process. The baatezu had ministries that observed every single baatezu and kept records about them to be absolutely certain whom to promote and whom not. On an individual level baatezu wanted to rise to a position where they would not be pushed around (the motivation of low-raking baatezu), on macro level to improve the lot of their entire race (the motivation of high-ranking baatezu). The baatezu did this because their survival hinged on it. For example, fighting the Blood War was only possible for the numerically disadvantaged devils because they had competent commanders.[20]
The criteria that the Ministry of Promotion evaluated were time served and performance. Baatezu had a minimum time they had to serve in a particular role that could only grow depending on their performance. What baatezu called "good performance" required some explanation. It did not necessarily mean that a baatezu put out a lot of good performances but that a baatezu did not commit any mistakes while the actual result may be mediocre. Bribing officials and otherwise manipulating the records to influence the promotion of a particular fiend was punishable for both a manipulating official and for a fiend that wanted a promotion. However, this did not mean that it did not happen and the possibility for punishment was viewed as an encouragement to be subtle and good at behind-the-scene-activities.[21]
The exact method by which a baatezu was promoted was undergoing torture. Every form of a baatezu had a different form of torture to attain it. However, there were a few commonalities. First, these torture method were immediate and several baatezu worked in concert to modify or torture the body of the promoted baatezu into its new form, which was always that of a full adult version of the species they were promoted to.[22]
Demotion had also the potential to be dangerous for the demoted. This was especially the case when it ended up among the ranks of its direct subordinates. As mentioned above, baatezu were vindictive and were likely to live this trait theirs out by killing their superior for some wrongs it did while it was their superior. To evade this, some demoted baatezu actually went rogue.[24]
There were four kinds of baatezu-wizards. First, the so-called normal ones, these were baatezu with additional learned magic. Second, the so-called distorted ones, these lost their innate ability to resist magic, because it hampered their learnt spellcasting. Third, the so-called unenlightened ones, these were baatezu users of learnt magic that used the circuits normally reserved for innate spellcasting for its learnt magic, these effectively lost a number of innate abilities in exchange for learnt magic. Fourth, the so-called augmented ones, these were the true geniuses among the baatezu where spellcasting was concerned. They lost nothing to cast their learnt magic and gained the ability to exchange their innate ability with weaker ability but similar abilities, increasing their versatility.[17]
The institutions of the baatezu were present in every city of theirs and had also emergency protocol that determined how to proceed if one of their ministries got destroyed by the tanar'ri.[25] Resting Baatezu hated having to rest, for it prevented them from working to advance further. Therefore, they tried to keep their resting time at a minimum. Furthermore, as mentioned above, baatezu could hold off their need to rest, high-ranking ones for literal centuries, at the cost of increased time for rest when they could not keep their needs at bay anymore. These extended resting times represented a serious danger for a baatezu for it was at its most vulnerable. Therefore, baatezu kept secret resting places that were not just hidden but also warded. The level of which grew with increased station of a given baatezu.[27]
Baatezu who broke these rules fell in one of the following categories. Those for whom breaking the rules meant that they could depose the superiors responsible for their punishment, those who were certain that they could deliver such great results with the act that it would absolve their breaking of the rules, those of chaotic and/or good outlook, or idiots.[28]
The second way to summon a baatezu was to not incorporate a specific name into the magic. Casting summoning magic to summon a baatezu caused the creation of a so-called spell crystal in Baator. The spots where these crystals most likely appeared were known by the Minister of Mortal Relations. Baatezu were sent to these places to let themselves be plucked out of Baator. They were given jobs of what to do once they arrived at the caster's place. Usually, these jobs included an agenda but the summoned baatezu was left to its own devices when it came to how to pursue said agenda. Baatezu who were summoned in this way were considered to be the public face of Baator. In other words, when they did something that sullied Baator's reputation, they were punished by torture.[29]
The shops that existed on Baator catered to travelers. Baatezu demand and supply was met in the following way: low-ranking baatezu were provided what they needed from the higher-ranking, while the latter took whatever they wanted from the former.[34]
As mentioned above, only male baatezu were fertile. Because their women were infertile, baatezu offspring were always made with female members of other races. This was done out of two reasons. First, there was simple lust. Second and the more prevalent one, baatezu society encouraged spreading baatezu influence through increasing the number of people who had a baatezu in their ancestry, baatezu had real zeal to leave many children.[32]
Regarding food, in order of preference, a baatezu liked meat from a sentient creature, meat from a good sentient creature, and meat from creature for whom goodness was part of its being like it was case with devas or solars. Eating allowed a baatezu to add the life force of the eaten creature to itself. What a baatezu rarely did was eating a soul while the owner was still alive. They did this only, when the soul changed into a physical form after its owner's death, for example, when it turned into a larva. The reason for this was that baatezu viewed souls as a potential resource that would become available to them, if they managed its corruption. Therefore, eating it before the owner's death was viewed as a wasteful thing to do.[38]
When baatezu drank, they did this from rivers and lakes of Baator that held fluids that were basically worthless for mortals. Baatezu could gain the effect of drinking not only through oral means, but also through taking in moisture from the air.[27]
The only group of devil that never ate or drank were the nupperibos.[27]
During these rests, baatezu dreamt. These dreams had the expressed purpose to motivate the baatezu to work hard during its next active cycle. An odd thing about their dreaming was that baatezu could share their dreams with others. They basically uploaded their individual dreams to a collective baatezu dream and downloaded dreams from said collective. This instilled a sense of order in the dreaming baatezu. Drawing from the collective had the effect on the dreaming baatezu that it experienced a mental change due to the collective dream's influence, but allowed it to influence others with its own dreams.[27]
There were two types of these modifications, those that were species specific and those that could be applied to any species of the baatezu. In the latter category fell:[40]
The former claims were considered for all purposes the truth. The latter was not entirely the truth. When a baatezu died on Baator, it was dead. When a baatezu died somewhere else, it depended on whether it had a say in being there or not. For example, a baatezu who was outside of Baator because of a superior's order, was considered to be there out of its free will and if it was killed there, it was dead. When they were somewhere else because of somebody, like another baatezu, summoned them, they reincarnated as a nupperibo on Baator.[101]
Baatezu feared real death, because they had no clue what it meant. A dead mortal received some form of afterlife, but what a dead baatezu received, if anything, was not clear and that frightened them to no end.[13]
Baatezu, at least in high positions, gave others details-rich descriptions of themselves as nupperibos, so they could be found by their subordinates when they die and turned into nupperibos. On being found, they were turned into lemures and promoted back to their old position from there. However, this method had some problems. First, it was seriously thought that distinguishing one specific nupperibo from others was very hard for the baatezu themselves. Second, the process of re-promotion was not always done and a baatezu did not regain its memories as a high-ranking fiend until it was promoted to its former form and regaining the position without special treatment could take a lot of time. Third, it happened that the subordinates simply did not care about following the order to find their former superiors as nupperibos, leaving them to fend for themselves back to their positions. Despite these problems, baatezu found it more desirable than death.[101]
— Nomoto Sinh, mortal mage and Compiler-in-Chief[102]
Baatezu made token shows of their reverence towards their supposed history but that was it. They generally did not really care about their race's past. What they cared about was their individual and planar past, isofar as how it would affect them, and the future.[103]
This version was notable for it was the version that was certainly not the truth. Who or whatever lived on Baator at first, they were not the baatezu. Leaving a soul alone on the lawful evil plane caused it to become a nupperibo, a member of the race that lived on Baator before the baatezu came from somewhere else replacing these creatures.[103]
“Sparked by envy, greed, and hate, the baatezu scheme and plan their whole long lives, looking to rise through the ranks at the expense of others. What they can't use to climb to a higher status, they tear down, just so it then can’t be used against them... Fiends who excel at treachery and backstabbing rise high, and quickly at that. Such qualities are exactly the sort prized by their superiors, for they’re the ideals that advance the baatezu race.”
— Rezzik Tam, a half-orc with a strong hatred of the baatezu.[8]
Personality
The primary goal of most baatezu was to advance up the infernal hierarchy, their motivation being the potential to take part in shaping the multiverse. Those that followed their ideals of lawful evil advanced earlier than those who did not,[9] preferred qualities including the capacity for betrayal and deceit.[10] According to one theory, the baatezu who excelled at these endeavors were also those who suffered the most, because they lacked them at some point. The observation was that friendships most often developed among lower-ranking baatezu and the circle grew smaller and smaller as they advanced. It also occurred that higher-ranking baatezu acted like mentors to lower-ranking ones by subtly urging the mentored's associates towards betrayal, thus teaching the betrayed the virtue of self-reliance.[10]Baatezu changed their physical form when they were promoted or demoted, and with the physical change came a psychological one. Some believed that a baatezu lost its memories whenever they were changed, but in truth they almost always retained their minds. With an increase in power came usually also an increase in intelligence, and with it the ability to tap into their memories, possibly centuries-worth for each station in their lives. It was often the case that the sheer amount of their memories exceeded their capacity to sort through it meaning they would need a long time to remember particularly unimportant pieces of knowledge. If one were to remain out of their mind for long enough, causing them to be classified as insignificant, one could use the time frame it took the baatezu to remember them to make their move.[11]
Even so, baatezu were universally vindictive creatures, forcing the culprit to be constantly watch their backs if they crossed one.[11][11] Despite holding lawful evil outlooks, low-ranking baatezu still held some shred of chaos inside them, which could cause them to behave disobediently.[12]
It was difficult to psychologically best baatezu, especially high-ranking ones, but one way to get the better of them, or at least throw the lawful creatures into confusion, was to act on superficially chaotic reflexes. However, instinctive movements weren't truly chaotic, and intelligent baatezu could see the systematics of these supposedly random behaviors, rendering this tactic only usable against the dumb and/or low-ranking.[13] It was also possible, if difficult, to outwit a baatezu by somehow convincing them that their way of life was wrong. This would be a tricky tactic since baatezu were indoctrinated into their belief system, and if the attempt was a trick, they wouldn't fall for the same one twice, no matter who tried it.[13]
Rogue Baatezu
On occasion, baatezu were known to go rogue, rejecting Hell's hierarchy and turning towards some other way of life. Rogues were not merely hated by other baatezu, but hunted to death by them. A subgroup of rogues were known as the risen, the antithesis of fallen angels, who took up nobler ideals of good. Since it was difficult to tell a fellow risen baatezu apart from a baatezu assassin who was merely pretending, the already rare creatures normally stayed away from one another.[14]Abilities
Baatezu were completely immune to fire and poison. They had also a tolerance against acid, low temperatures[1] and gases. One way to combat them was with silver weaponry, but this was not as effective as fighting with a holy weapon or with electricity. Holy water was also effective against the baatezu.[15]Sometimes, baatezu had regenerative capabilities. One way to circumvent this was to eat the baatezu. This was the normal method by which demons solved this problem of combating them.[15]
It was dangerous to try and cast detect thoughts on a baatezu. Their minds worked in ways that mortals could not handle. Reading a baatezu's mind rendered a person insane or at best in a mental state that was similar to that created by a feeblemind spell. The latter was not just temporary, but was the product of the mind-reader having success at processing some information.[16]
Usually, baatezu had an array of innate (inborn and usable without training) spells and spell-like abilities. These abilities were so ingrained in the baatezu that using them required less mental effort than a human using limbs. These abilities usually included some form of teleportation, which allowed them to disengage combat and re-enter it in a favorable position. Something they often did. Another ability a baatezu usually had was the ability to call their brethren for aid. This ability meant that any formerly numerically even fight could quickly devolve into a mauling due to the quickly created numerical superiority of the baatezu.[17]
Society
Start of a Baatezu Life
A typical baatezu life started as a soul of a dead lawful evil mortal on Baator. The dozen or so souls that were deemed the best out of about a hundred thousand were turned into lemures. Baatezu also bought additional souls from night hags. The selection standards were how well the larva could fend for itself. This process was as artificial as it sounded. Leaving a soul alone caused it to become a nupperibo, the natural result.[18]Nupperibos were gathered and turned into lemures. This was sold as a demotion but in truth, the process was a change into something completely different. The reason for this inclusion into baatezu ranks was that the baatezu were cautious to not leave the nupperibo alone so that they had a chance to evolve into something that may be strong but not one of their own.[18]
The third way in which a baatezu could start its life was to spontaneously arise from the plane of Baator. This was very rare.[11]
Promotion
Baatezu fell in three categories: least, lesser, and greater baatezu. Baatezu had the option to be promoted when they learned the one lesson that their current form tried to teach them about the nature of lawful evil. Lemures and nupperibos were an exception.[19]The ways by which a baatezu could be promoted were twofold. First was promotion by chance (this was a method only open to lemures). The second one is intentional promotion. The latter was a bureaucratic process. The baatezu had ministries that observed every single baatezu and kept records about them to be absolutely certain whom to promote and whom not. On an individual level baatezu wanted to rise to a position where they would not be pushed around (the motivation of low-raking baatezu), on macro level to improve the lot of their entire race (the motivation of high-ranking baatezu). The baatezu did this because their survival hinged on it. For example, fighting the Blood War was only possible for the numerically disadvantaged devils because they had competent commanders.[20]
The criteria that the Ministry of Promotion evaluated were time served and performance. Baatezu had a minimum time they had to serve in a particular role that could only grow depending on their performance. What baatezu called "good performance" required some explanation. It did not necessarily mean that a baatezu put out a lot of good performances but that a baatezu did not commit any mistakes while the actual result may be mediocre. Bribing officials and otherwise manipulating the records to influence the promotion of a particular fiend was punishable for both a manipulating official and for a fiend that wanted a promotion. However, this did not mean that it did not happen and the possibility for punishment was viewed as an encouragement to be subtle and good at behind-the-scene-activities.[21]
The exact method by which a baatezu was promoted was undergoing torture. Every form of a baatezu had a different form of torture to attain it. However, there were a few commonalities. First, these torture method were immediate and several baatezu worked in concert to modify or torture the body of the promoted baatezu into its new form, which was always that of a full adult version of the species they were promoted to.[22]
Punishment
Demotion
In baatezu society, demotion was taken seriously. A baatezu could be demoted for bad performance and for transgressions. How far a given offender was demoted depended on the severity and frequency and could lead to demotion to a lemure.[23]Demotion had also the potential to be dangerous for the demoted. This was especially the case when it ended up among the ranks of its direct subordinates. As mentioned above, baatezu were vindictive and were likely to live this trait theirs out by killing their superior for some wrongs it did while it was their superior. To evade this, some demoted baatezu actually went rogue.[24]
Pit of Flame
The punishment that was most dreaded by the baatezu was to being put into the Pit of Flame.[24]Military
Military service was a hard thing. The military was strictly organized and a place where a high position did not represent a measure of security from being sent to the front line. Furthermore, being part of the military did not mean more or less respect. A baatezu of a given station, meaning form, who held a military rank was held in as high regards as one who had a civilian job. However, for all its harshness, military service was not ungrateful. Baatezu veterans could look forward to fast promotion and had a comparatively realistic chance, meaning any, to enter the baatezu nobility. Civilians needed truly exceptional track records to have a chance to enter nobility.[25]Magic
Baatezu did not come up with learning magic like a wizard by themselves. What they knew about arcane magic was of mortal origin and not of their own. There were not many baatezu with the willingness to devote learning magic in addition to what they owned innately. When they did, it was observed that baatezu who learnt wizardry's potential had a hard limit. Only the pit fiends' potential was without a ceiling, theoretically, they could grow infinitely strong as wizards. However, learning magic from a certain point onwards, could, but not have to, force a baatezu to forego physical training making them weaker than their non-wizard brethren.[17]There were four kinds of baatezu-wizards. First, the so-called normal ones, these were baatezu with additional learned magic. Second, the so-called distorted ones, these lost their innate ability to resist magic, because it hampered their learnt spellcasting. Third, the so-called unenlightened ones, these were baatezu users of learnt magic that used the circuits normally reserved for innate spellcasting for its learnt magic, these effectively lost a number of innate abilities in exchange for learnt magic. Fourth, the so-called augmented ones, these were the true geniuses among the baatezu where spellcasting was concerned. They lost nothing to cast their learnt magic and gained the ability to exchange their innate ability with weaker ability but similar abilities, increasing their versatility.[17]
Religion
It was rare for a baatezu to be religious and even then the "faith" consisted more of a pact between the deity and the baatezu to gain power and where piety had no place.[25] They were always specialty priests of lawful evil deities. However, being a priest was not well-seen in baatezu society and as higher a baatezu rose in the hierarchy, as more the baatezu had to give up an relationships with its god. Therefore, no baatezu above cornugon-status were priests.[26]Government
The baatezu were governed by two groups. First, there were the noble baatezu. Second, there were the Dark Eight. The distinction between these two groups was where their competence lay. Day-to-day-life, education, and matters of the Blood War were part of the ministries that were run by the Dark Eight. Matters that were about governance of the entire plane of Baator and the individual layers of it were done by the nobles.[25]The institutions of the baatezu were present in every city of theirs and had also emergency protocol that determined how to proceed if one of their ministries got destroyed by the tanar'ri.[25] Resting Baatezu hated having to rest, for it prevented them from working to advance further. Therefore, they tried to keep their resting time at a minimum. Furthermore, as mentioned above, baatezu could hold off their need to rest, high-ranking ones for literal centuries, at the cost of increased time for rest when they could not keep their needs at bay anymore. These extended resting times represented a serious danger for a baatezu for it was at its most vulnerable. Therefore, baatezu kept secret resting places that were not just hidden but also warded. The level of which grew with increased station of a given baatezu.[27]
Travel
Common rumour held that baatezu could not leave Baator on their own for the Prime Material plane or any of the Upper planes. The reason for this was that high-ranking baatezu forged contracts with clauses that make baatezu stay and/or not enter certain areas and the vast majority of baatezu adhered to these pacts and did not trespass to areas they were contractually forbidden to. A group of baatezu that was always kept out of these contracts were the erinyes who were therefore free to go anywhere they wanted to.[28]Baatezu who broke these rules fell in one of the following categories. Those for whom breaking the rules meant that they could depose the superiors responsible for their punishment, those who were certain that they could deliver such great results with the act that it would absolve their breaking of the rules, those of chaotic and/or good outlook, or idiots.[28]
Summoning Baatezu
Baatezu could be summoned from Baator. There were two ways to summon a baatezu. First, there was a way to summon a certain one. This was done by incorporating the name of the baatezu into the summoning magic. This created a pull for the named baatezu who was than called to the caster. Baatezu did not like being summoned in this way. The reason for this were either or both of the following. Being plucked out from Baator while they were working to fulfill some superior's orders meant they were eligible for punishment for shirking duties and they hated it. Being plucked out from Baator while they were working to fulfill one of their scheme thus preventing it from going to fruition, which was considered the gravest of insults by the baatezu, something they hated too. Baatezu who gave off the impression that they were not angry were lying for whatever reason.[29]The second way to summon a baatezu was to not incorporate a specific name into the magic. Casting summoning magic to summon a baatezu caused the creation of a so-called spell crystal in Baator. The spots where these crystals most likely appeared were known by the Minister of Mortal Relations. Baatezu were sent to these places to let themselves be plucked out of Baator. They were given jobs of what to do once they arrived at the caster's place. Usually, these jobs included an agenda but the summoned baatezu was left to its own devices when it came to how to pursue said agenda. Baatezu who were summoned in this way were considered to be the public face of Baator. In other words, when they did something that sullied Baator's reputation, they were punished by torture.[29]
Relationships with Mortals
As a general rule, baatezu saw no intrinsic value in mortals. However, they saw a value in exploiting them for their purposes. The one group of mortals that were, at least to some degrees, those with magical power. To keep tabs on every interaction between baatezu and mortals, the baatezu founded the ministry of mortal relations.[30]When summoned
Preventing a summoned baatezu from acting in a physically violent manner was possible with a proper magic circle in a reliable manner. Protecting one from its manipulation was hard. Baatezu tried to further their race's cause and if one summoned one because they wanted something from it, a baatezu always tried to bargain for it to further said cause. When a baatezu made such bargains, they tried to exploit any loopholes. When a given baatezu was one that was summoned multiple times, it put efforts in not exploiting small loopholes, but tried to accrue multiple small ones and went at some point all out to exploit multiple small loopholes against its summoner. One way for a mortal to protect oneself from such bargains was to know that such bargains were not strictly necessary and make simple demands instead. However, when it saw no way to further its cause, a baatezu followed any order to the letter in very frustrating ways.[31]Relationship with Deities
Baatezu did not worship deities in the way mortals did. Normally, they did not worship deities at all. Their object of respect were the Dark Eight, the noble baatezu, and the Lord of the Nine. The rare cases who did, did so to gain power from a given deity, but never out of piety and even took steps to hide the fact that they were in a relationship with a deity.[25]Gender Politics
Baatezu society was fully egalitarian with no proverbial "glass ceiling" and where an individual's capabilities and willingness to take command were determining factors in one's success.[32]Baatezu on the Fugue Plane
Some baatezu stayed on the Fugue Plane from the World Tree cosmology, where they tried to convince souls of the newly deceased to join their ranks by becoming lemures. Few took up the offer, but to some the prospect of a chance of advancing in baatezu society was preferable to the fate they expected in afterlife.[33]Economy
Baatezu economy worked differently from mortal ones. First, the most valued currency was not money. While it was viewed as a useful tool to tempt mortals into acting in evil ways but monetary wealth was not the normal measure by which a baatezu gained respect from its peers. The valued commodities/currency of the baatezu were larvae, magic, knowledge, and favors.[34]The shops that existed on Baator catered to travelers. Baatezu demand and supply was met in the following way: low-ranking baatezu were provided what they needed from the higher-ranking, while the latter took whatever they wanted from the former.[34]
Culture
Architecture
Baatezu architecture was designed to indicate a baatezu's degree of importance. It had spikes, protrusions, and blades as visual elements. Their cities' design was fairly uniform, as more important a building was as more to the city's center, as less important a building was as more it was built at the city's fringe.[34]Art
Baatezu were not among the greatest of artists. This did not mean that they had no understanding of aesthetics or lacked inspiration. Their need to form patterns affected their artwork in detrimental ways. For example, when they composed a piece of music, it might start off as an inspirational piece. However, due to their aforementioned need to build in a pattern, the work of art was predictable, provided the listener could discern the underlying pattern. Few among the lower baatezu were allowed to engage in artistic endeavors.[34]Language
The baatezu spoke a lot of languages and could also communicate via telepathy.[35] When they spoke among themselves, they used their own language, which was very complicated. For example, every station had its own language that was based on the same and the level of complexity of the language, as well as its ability to convey abstract concepts, increased with increased station. A baatezu generally knew its own station's language and those of the stations below it. Knowing the language of higher-ranking ones was a punishable offense.[36]Biology
Anatomy
Dissecting a baatezu revealed that baatezu bodies had internal organs. These occupied positions that were quite similar to the positioning of corresponding human organs. However, there were a few differences between human and baatezu organs. For example, a baatezu gained heightened attunement towards planar matters through their highly developed pineal glands, increased combat abilities but also an aggressive personality from a big—up to triple the human's size—adrenal gland, greater endurance through longer muscles, extremely high short-term strength through an increased transmitting capability of fluids such as blood in the shorter muscles, and an increased ability to withstand and recover from physical blows through scaled internal organs. Baatezu blood's coloration changed depending on the atmosphere they were at the moment, its default color was black. One mystery about baatezu anatomy was their bones. These slightly metallic bones gave other people the impression that they were not grown but carved and gave people the idea that a baatezu's body was constructed.[37]Sex
A baatezu did not necessarily have sex organs. Exactly a third of a given species of baatezu had male organs, another exact third female, and the last exact third no sexual organs. Out of the two-third that had such organs, only the male ones were functional in the sense of being capable of producing offspring. There were only three exceptions, the lemures and nupperibos who were universally sexless and the Erinyes who were universally female. The sex of a given baatezu was chosen for it by its superior. The superior's choice depended on the promoted baatezu's performance record. When the superior got the impression that a given baatezu had to learn something about one or the other sex then it was turned into it on promotion. Therefore, it happened that a baatezu changed its sex or became sexless multiple times in its life. The one exception to this rule were the pit fiends who were allowed to make their own choice on being promoted to one and could change it on a whim. However, higher ranking devils lost this ability to change sex.[32]As mentioned above, only male baatezu were fertile. Because their women were infertile, baatezu offspring were always made with female members of other races. This was done out of two reasons. First, there was simple lust. Second and the more prevalent one, baatezu society encouraged spreading baatezu influence through increasing the number of people who had a baatezu in their ancestry, baatezu had real zeal to leave many children.[32]
Diet
Baatezu had no need for sustenance. However, that did not mean that they did not eat or drink, it was something of a hobby of theirs and not a necessity.[38]Regarding food, in order of preference, a baatezu liked meat from a sentient creature, meat from a good sentient creature, and meat from creature for whom goodness was part of its being like it was case with devas or solars. Eating allowed a baatezu to add the life force of the eaten creature to itself. What a baatezu rarely did was eating a soul while the owner was still alive. They did this only, when the soul changed into a physical form after its owner's death, for example, when it turned into a larva. The reason for this was that baatezu viewed souls as a potential resource that would become available to them, if they managed its corruption. Therefore, eating it before the owner's death was viewed as a wasteful thing to do.[38]
When baatezu drank, they did this from rivers and lakes of Baator that held fluids that were basically worthless for mortals. Baatezu could gain the effect of drinking not only through oral means, but also through taking in moisture from the air.[27]
The only group of devil that never ate or drank were the nupperibos.[27]
Sleep
Baatezu needed, if not to sleep, at least to rest. As a tendency, lower-ranking one required more frequent but shorter rests, while higher-ranking ones required fewer but longer rests. Higher-ranking baatezu could push themselves to operate without rest, this waking time could amount to entire centuries, but as more a baatezu pushed itself, as longer the required rest became when it could not hold off the need for rest anymore. As a rule of thumb, lower-ranking baatezu needed to dedicate a tenth of their time to rest.[27]During these rests, baatezu dreamt. These dreams had the expressed purpose to motivate the baatezu to work hard during its next active cycle. An odd thing about their dreaming was that baatezu could share their dreams with others. They basically uploaded their individual dreams to a collective baatezu dream and downloaded dreams from said collective. This instilled a sense of order in the dreaming baatezu. Drawing from the collective had the effect on the dreaming baatezu that it experienced a mental change due to the collective dream's influence, but allowed it to influence others with its own dreams.[27]
Modifications
Baatezu changed their bodies through promotion. There existed two currents inside baatezu society regarding this process, those who wanted to tinker with it for to find out methods for improvement and conservatives who wanted to stick to proven methods. The former was a growing movement by the 14th century DR, while the latter had a lot of high-ranking baatezu. Modifications that caused some changes gave the promoted baatezu new abilities but also slightly modified bodies, the differences were not big enough to be perceived by the untrained.[39]There were two types of these modifications, those that were species specific and those that could be applied to any species of the baatezu. In the latter category fell:[40]
Assassins
This type was developed because baatezu had a big problem with casualties caused by demonic, to be more precise cambion, assassins and the baatezu wanted to wreak the same kind of havoc among their enemies. Prospective assassin-baatezu were any kind of lesser or greater baatezu and they were considered part of the elite. They were promised extra promotion for good performance as assassins, an offer most baatezu found irresistible.[41] Assassin-types gained the ability to turn invisible and the ability to sneak in mundane ways at the cost of one ability their current station would normally give. They were thinner than normal specimen.[41]Blind Fiends
Blind fiends were one of those modifications that were considered failures. The idea was to create fiends that could consistently cast magic missile. The result were fiends who could shoot magic missile from their eyes as long as they kept their eyes open, meaning they had to be blindfolded while out of combat. Furthermore, even when they had their eyes open, they could not see anything. They required somebody as guide to be effective and their guides guided the blind fiends to attack their own forces to settle personal scores. Overall, they were considered such a failure that the project to promote fiends to blind fiends was called off and by the 14th century DR, they were not newly created and existing ones became fewer and fewer due to promoting out of blind fiend or simply dying.[41]Illusionists
Illusionists were fiends who could create powerful illusions that were so believable that they caused physical harm, albeit at the cost of their life force. Illusionist-fiends could do so only a limited time in their lives and on depleting their uses, they died and lost all chances for future promotions. Those who were such fiends' superiors were advised to be physically elusive to evade vengeance at the hands of the illusionists.[41] These fiends looked physically frail and were actually sickly.[41]Types of Baatezu
An amnizu brandishing an axe and a malebranche with a trident supported by a swarm of advespas.Abishai
Commonly known as scaly devils, abishai were draconic baatezu that served as the prison guards of Hell and the chosen of Tiamat, she herself being bound to Baator. The goddess put the souls of non-dragon followers she deemed worthy in life through a token period of terrible torture to become abishai.[42][43][44]Advespa
Advespas were large, wasp-like baatezu that served as the aerial reconnaissance of Hell, patrolling the skies for those to descend upon, sting, and capture. They were an all-female race of devils able to easily coordinate, their swarms led by officers of their kind distinguished by colorful abdomen markings.[45][46]Amnizu
Commonly known as Styx devils, amnizus served as the customs officers of Hell, overseeing traffic in and out, especially for the River Styx, and ensuring intruders never escaped. They were famously treacherous politicians and bureaucrats, trusted chancellors of the traitorous Levistus, and like the Styx, could induce amnesia.[46][47][48]Ayperobos
Ayperoboses were swarming, mosquito-like baatezu sometimes used as part of traps for the unwary. Imagined by Baalzebul and made from lemures, they were vengeful towards the larger devils that treated them as delicacies, and joined as one to make others know how it felt being at the whim of a stronger creature.[49][50]Barbazu
Commonly known as bearded devils, barbazu were barbaric baatezu that served as the shock troops of Hell, killing with relish in the glorious battle the berserkers were bred for. Perhaps the most wild and chaotic of their kind, the savage devils fought with saw-toothed glaives and their venemous, beard-like tendrils.[51][52]Brachina
Commonly known as pleasure devils, brachinas were seductive baatezu that served as the tempters of virtuous divine agents, no matter their sex, unraveling their devotion before binding their souls through pacts of lust. Created from chosen erinyes gifted greater beauty and power, the souls they harvested were all the sweeter for their fall.[53]Bueroza
Commonly known as steel devils, bueroza were warrior baatezu that served as the front-line soldiers of Hell, steadfast fighters bound by duty to do evil. They existed only for war and specialized in killing magic-using creatures, compensating for their lack of brute strength with keen intelligence, deadly skill, and team cohesion.[54][55]Cornugon
Commonly known as horned devils, cornugons were fearsome baatezu that served as the elite warriors of Hell, the flying infantry of its legions and personal protectors of its most powerful leaders. Ferocious and direct combatants, they were daunting even to most devils, their sweeping horns marking their intimidating presence.[56][57][58]Dogai
Commonly known as assassin devils, dogai were shadowy baatezu that served as the hitmen of Hell, trained killers that, due to Baator's arcane laws, could slay any being without official consequence. Untrusted outcasts for their skill, the first of them were merely shadows of vague malice that Asmodeus had melted in a pit of fire and remade.[59]Erinyes
Erinyes were female baatezu that served several roles in Hell, including that of the alluring temptress, aerial scout, infernal avenger, and advocate of the damned. Descendants of angels that fell to Baator, the beautiful devils were capable leaders and competent servitors, the elite of Hell's special exceptions.[60][61][62]Excruciarch
Commonly known as pain devils, excruciarchs were sadistic baatezu that served as the torturers of Hell, tasked with bringing terrible suffering to the condemned, whether they were a new soul or diabolical devil. The mercenary fiends were masters of pain, able to cause great amounts of agony with minimal effort.[63]Falxugon
Commonly known as harvester devils, falxugons were insidious baatezu that served as the soul harvesters of Hell, the legendary deceivers whose persuasive powers, tempting contracts, and iconic Faustian bargains reaped bounties for Baator. Those of their coveted rank scoured mortal lands seeking to subvert ideals and corrupt its residents.[64]Gelugon
Commonly known as ice devils, gelugons were cold baatezu that served as the commanders of Hell, ambitious tacticians and vicious yet methodical warriors. Originally made by Mephistopheles from a mercenary fiendish race, they coveted the ultimate power of the pit fiends, always acting to advance while avoiding any mistakes.[65][66][67][68]Ghargatula
Gharagtulas were saurian baatezu that served as the monstrous guardians of Hell, protecting important palaces and cathedrals when not wandering the warmer wastes killing all (even devils) they encountered. Lacking magic, they were terrors of tremendous strength and fearsome ferocity, able to engulf whole persons in their jagged maws.[69]Gulthir
Gulthirs were wretched baatezu that served as the commissars and living punishments of Hell. Pariahs among their kind, the unclean devils were made from those that displeased their masters, and would be stuck as gulthirs until they regained their superior's confidence. By swallowing other fiends, they could warp them into gulthirs too.[70]Hamatula
Commonly known as barbed devils, hamatulas were prickly baatezu that served as the watchmen of Hell, protectors of its stronger residents, and their vaults, caches, prisons, and other important property. They ensured no one slipped past Hell's higher circles while keeping their greedy eyes open on that which they could claim for themselves.[67][71][72]Jerul
Commonly known as death devils or Tormentors of the Faithless and False, Jerul were reaper-like baatezu that served as both the torturers of Hell, and of the Fugue Plane. Not exactly dead or alive, they had permission from the god of death (first Jergal then Myrkul then Cyric and finally Kelemvor) to punish the Faithless and False.[73]Kocrachon
Kocrachons were beetle-like baatezu that served as the torturers of those not from Hell, extracting information with precise pain. Having studied the bodies and minds of mortals and immortals at the School of Pain, they were said to instill sadistic aspiration in fresh souls, and were lauded for reducing stalwart celestials to shivering wrecks.[74][75]Lemure
Lemures were shapeless baatezu that served as the cannon fodder of Hell and the lowliest of their kind. After suffering unimaginable agony, the broken souls were left without identity, memory, or personality aside from the innate desire to hurt and advance, the formless nightmares now ready to be molded in the image of their masters.[76][77]Logokron
Logokrons were silver-tongued baatezu that served as the true name experts of Hell, scholarly schemers that specialized in the discipline and twisted the tongue to their advantage. The malicious creatures patiently enacted their long-term plans to learn the true names of powerful fiends and heroes so as to bend such creatures to their will.[78]Malebranche
Commonly known as war devils, malebranche were brutish baatezu that served as the raw "muscle" of Hell, unsubtle but dimly cunning enforcers, bodyguards, champions, and warmasters. Massive titans of monolithic tyranny, they suffered immediate abuse to make them tough and servile, and they in turn bullied the small and weak.[79][80]Merregon
Commonly known as legion devils, merregons were military baatezu that served as the faceless foot soldiers of Hell, its weakest warriors that battled as one in its endless armies. Created from the souls of bodyguards, mercenaries, and soldiers who unreservedly served evil, they continued their absolute service as Baator's legionnaires.[81][82][83]Narzugon
Commonly known as Hell knights, narzugons were honorable baatezu that served as the fell riders of Hell, acting as twisted knights errant and elite cavalry. Blind obedience to evil laws and unintentional treason against their gods sealed their damnation. They were angry and self-loathing, for they knew they were beyond forgiveness.[84][85]Nupperibo
Nupperibos were bloated baatezu that, like lemures, served as the fodder of Hell, blind, deaf, and mute beings whose ready obedience performed to lessen torment was awarded with technically higher rank. They lacked the malice and ambition as mortals to become even lowly lemures, their damnation the result of negligence and sloth.[86][87][88]Orthon
Orthons were patriotic baatezu, that served as the bounty hunters and anti-demon specialists of Hell, fighting alone or in small formations to slay the hated scourge of demonkind. Though they lived in constant, pain-wracked misery, they believed it was an honor to die for the glory of Hell and fought with relish.[89][90] An osyluth and a pit fiend.Osyluth
Commonly known as bone devils, osyluths were skeletal baatezu that served as the police force of Hell, acting as taskmasters, disciplinarians, interrogators, and inquisitors that promoted infernal morality. Driven by hateful rage and bitter envy, they delighted in demoting the defiant and bitterly resented their superiors.[91][92][93]Paeliryon
Commonly known as corruption devils, paeliryons were conspiratorial baatezu that served as the political elites of Hell, spymasters and grafters that sought illicit information to personally abuse. They used sleaze and vice to craft webs of intrigue, exploiting secrets to manipulate and corrupt whole societies, including their own.[94][95]Pit fiend
Pit fiends were supreme baatezu that served as the ruling tyrants of Hell, second only to the archdevils in might, intellect, and authority. Purged of chaotic impurity in the terrible Pit of Flame, the undisputed overlords of Baator uniquely comprehended their diabolical nature, and sought the perfect understanding found in absolute power.[96][97]Spinagon
Commonly known as spined devils, spinagons were minor, quill-covered baatezu that served as the scouts, spies, messengers, and errand-runners of Hell. Craven and common, they were just above lemures and infested Baator like vermin, thus making the busy devils the eyes and ears of their home, lurking around each crevasse and corner.[96][98]Xerfilstyx
Xerfilstyx were slug-like devils that, like the amnizu, served as Hell's wardens of the Styx. Rendered mad by constant exposure to the river, they took pleasure from the memories within even as their minds dissolved. Though insane and unpredictable, their madness had a method, and they were among the most knowledgeable devils.[99][100]Death
Baatezu claimed two things about their mortality. First, barring violent death, they could not die. Second, if they died, they were reincarnated back on Baator.[13]The former claims were considered for all purposes the truth. The latter was not entirely the truth. When a baatezu died on Baator, it was dead. When a baatezu died somewhere else, it depended on whether it had a say in being there or not. For example, a baatezu who was outside of Baator because of a superior's order, was considered to be there out of its free will and if it was killed there, it was dead. When they were somewhere else because of somebody, like another baatezu, summoned them, they reincarnated as a nupperibo on Baator.[101]
Baatezu feared real death, because they had no clue what it meant. A dead mortal received some form of afterlife, but what a dead baatezu received, if anything, was not clear and that frightened them to no end.[13]
Reincarnation
As mentioned above, a baatezu that died on a plane other than Baator while being there not out of its will, was reincarnated on Baator as a nupperibo. "Not being outside of Baator out of its own will" also included being somewhere because it was summoned there and said summoning was instructed to be conducted by the summoned baatezu.[101]Baatezu, at least in high positions, gave others details-rich descriptions of themselves as nupperibos, so they could be found by their subordinates when they die and turned into nupperibos. On being found, they were turned into lemures and promoted back to their old position from there. However, this method had some problems. First, it was seriously thought that distinguishing one specific nupperibo from others was very hard for the baatezu themselves. Second, the process of re-promotion was not always done and a baatezu did not regain its memories as a high-ranking fiend until it was promoted to its former form and regaining the position without special treatment could take a lot of time. Third, it happened that the subordinates simply did not care about following the order to find their former superiors as nupperibos, leaving them to fend for themselves back to their positions. Despite these problems, baatezu found it more desirable than death.[101]
History
Stance towards History
“...The lives of the baatezu are governed by the known principles of the multiverse, in ways that've been rearranged for their convenience. Certainly, it’s no easy task to sum up the race, and perhaps no one will ever manage it. But we believe the answers are there. We must keep trying.”— Nomoto Sinh, mortal mage and Compiler-in-Chief[102]
Baatezu made token shows of their reverence towards their supposed history but that was it. They generally did not really care about their race's past. What they cared about was their individual and planar past, isofar as how it would affect them, and the future.[103]
Origins
The orgins of the baatezu were not clear. The baatezu themselves claimed that they were born from Baator itself with clear directives about what kind of baatezu should do what. This version claimed also that the baatezu were the oldest fiends. The version was contested by tanar'ri and yugoloths who both claimed the title "oldest kind of fiend" for themselves.[103]This version was notable for it was the version that was certainly not the truth. Who or whatever lived on Baator at first, they were not the baatezu. Leaving a soul alone on the lawful evil plane caused it to become a nupperibo, a member of the race that lived on Baator before the baatezu came from somewhere else replacing these creatures.[103]
Appendix
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- Template:Cite web/Know Your Enemy Part 14
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- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0786965614.
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- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 68. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Eric Cagle (2007-02-06). Devilishly Difficult Opponents (Part 1). Tactics and Tips. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2013-05-31. Retrieved on 2021-01-30.
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- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford (May 29, 2018). Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. Edited by Kim Mohan, Michele Carter. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 166. ISBN 978-0786966240.
- Mike Mearls, Stephen Schubert, James Wyatt (June 2008). Monster Manual 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-0-7869-4852-9.
- Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
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- Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), p. 26. ISBN 978-1560768623.
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- Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 128–130. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 68. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Colin McComb (September 1997). Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Edited by Ray Vallese. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 14–16. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), p. 27. ISBN 978-1560768623.
- Mike Mearls, Greg Bilsland and Robert J. Schwalb (June 15, 2010). Monster Manual 3 4th edition. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 52–56. ISBN 0786954902.
- Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 130–132. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Christopher Perkins (2014-09-30). Monster Manual 5th edition. Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 69. ISBN 978-0786965614.
- Colin McComb (September 1997). Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Edited by Ray Vallese. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 16–17. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- Allen Varney, ed. (June 1994). Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. (TSR, Inc.), p. 29. ISBN 978-1560768623.
- Robin D. Laws, Robert J. Schwalb (December 2006). Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Edited by Chris Thomasson, Gary Sarli, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-7869-3940-4.
- Eric Cagle, Jesse Decker, James Jacobs, Erik Mona, Matthew Sernett, Chris Thomasson, and James Wyatt (April 2003). Fiend Folio. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 59–61. ISBN 0-7869-2780-1.
- Colin McComb (September 1997). Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Edited by Ray Vallese. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- Colin McComb (September 1997). Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Edited by Ray Vallese. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 10. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
- Colin McComb (September 1997). Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Edited by Ray Vallese. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 12. ISBN 0-7869-3430-1.
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