Devils

Devils were vicious creatures who were capable of attacking and killing others for essentially no reason.[4] However, they hated being the target of misery themselves.[5] This led to another trait of devils, their extreme vindictiveness combined with a lack of ability to accept their mistakes. Devils had an instinct to look for others to blame when they suffered setbacks and had the drive to exact vengeance against whomever they held responsible, even when they were demoted to a weaker station. For example, the grandson or granddaughter of a dead being who was indirectly involved in the demotion of Devil was an eligible target for the demoted Devil, even after it managed to be re-promoted.[6] Devils often delegated their work to others.[7] This did not mean that they were lazy, however, as the primary personality trait for any Devil was ambition. They constantly looked for ways for promotion. The goal behind this behavior was the fulfillment of the Devil's own desires. They tried to rise up the hierarchy to modify rules in ways that suited them. This was the root of their dedication to the cause of lawful evil.[5] These fiends had some tendency to act on emotion, especially when faced with the prospect of vengeance, and with enough provocation, could be made to act in ways that were detrimental to their ultimate goal, up to death in pursuit of such vengeance.

Structure

Hierarchy Banners of the infernal legions. The devils had a number of castes. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the least devils. They were treated badly by all others and the numbers of advancement opportunities were very limited. Above the least were the lesser devils. Generally, they were employed in the soul trade, a field where advancement opportunities were numerous. Above the lesser were the greater devils headed by the pit fiends. They were the ones who held a high degree of authority in the infernal society. However, they were not the top. That position was held by the archdevils who were directly served by unique devils holding the title of duke.[17] Among the Lord of the Nine, Asmodeus, the top of that group, was a class onto himself.[18] As a general rule, as higher a Devil stood as more chances for further advancement existed. However, as higher a Devil stood as more oversight a Devil had to suffer at the hands of its superiors and with it were more exposed to the prospect of punishment and demotion. As a result, high-ranking devils were fearful of demotion and vented their fears on their subordinates in a violent manner. This made said subordinates act in a similar manner towards their subordinates and so on until the literal bottom of the hierarchy was met.[17] When a Devil managed to corrupt a mortal, his or her soul landed in Baator on death. Such souls had a unique mark that could be attributed to the Devil that was then credited with the corruption of the mortal.[15] Accruing these credits was basis for a Devil's promotion.[19] Another form of accruing credits was to provide Baator with material goods. This form of gaining credits was not held as high as providing Baator with souls but devils who were looking for ways to improve their résumé did this nonetheless.[15] Promotion Promotion, meaning transformation from one Devil form to a higher one, was done when a Devil's superior thought that it merited promotion, the superior's superior could reverse the decision any time. However, the promotion within least devil-status was very rarely intervened for it was considered too low a station to be concerned with. Promotion to any of the lesser devil-status required the promoted Devil's greater Devil superior to agree with it, while promotion to greater devil-status required the archdevil the promoted Devil served to agree. When the Devil was somehow not sure which archdevil it was serving, Asmodeus was considered the default lord to report to. Rising to the status of a unique Devil required the agreement of an archdevil, to become a normal duke being a pit Fiend was enough. To become an archdevil, Asmodeus needed to agree to the promotion.[20] The standards a Devil needed to meet to be promoted was to show loyalty to its superior and its performance in its duties. The former was valued higher than the latter. The devils considered someone who was competent enough to do its job but who was at the same time not a danger to its superior's position an ideal subordinate. Due to this reason, high-ranking devils tried to maintain comparatively few subordinates, lest the number would exceed their ability to keep tabs on them to prevent treasonous activities. Combined with the fact that promotion was combined with spending a lot of power harvested from souls, the upper rung of infernal hierarchy was comparatively stable. Normally, promotion was done when there a position became free. This happened when a Devil died or was demoted. Some devils tried to facilitate the former, which was punished with death, and therefore carried a lot of risks. Another valid method for devils was to wait until the latter happened. That said, successful devils promoted more frequently and to new positions they created to fill management positions.[21] Demotion Every Devil was entitled to demote a Devil that was its subordinate. Asmodeus could demote any Devil he wanted, an archdevil was allowed to demote an Devil that could trace a line of authority back to the archdevil that wanted to demote somebody, and a greater or lesser Devil was only allowed to demote those that were under its direct command.[22] That said, demotions were generally not done out of a whim. They were usually a form of punishment. Demotion to nupperibo-status was the most dreaded one. However, there was one reason to demote somebody that was not a form of punishment. As mentioned above, promotion required the expenditure of a lot of energy, demotion freed energy to be used for something else. Devils whose operations did not work as intended, tried to collect additional energy for their work by demoting its subordinates. This prospect of demotion for energy-harvest purposes was a great motivator for devils to work hard.[6] Lateral Demotion A unique form of demotion that existed within infernal society was the one called lateral demotion. There were a few forms within the infernal hierarchy that were technically fairly high in the hierarchy but were not very popular among the devils. These forms came with immense physical but negligible mental capabilities making it difficult for them to advance further. As a general rule, devils wanted to gain positions that allowed them to have a keen mind over physical strength with a dull mind. Being advanced to such a form was called lateral demotion.[6] The reason why lateral demotion was done for various reasons. First, from time to time, there was genuine need for physically strong servants. Second, lateral demotion allowed a superior to effectively put a problematic subordinate temporarily out of the game, as one might imagine, it was often a means used against subordinates who were suspected of treason. It allowed the superior to confirm its suspicions and kill the traitor or confirm that they held no water and revert the promotion, thus allowing the superior the excuse that it never treated its subordinates in any unfair manner. It was a generally accepted excuse, albeit grudgingly.[6] Gaining Credits As mentioned above, devils coveted mortal souls. They consistently tried to change a mortal's ethical and moral outlook into that of a lawful evil person. When the person died in that state, that mortal's soul went to Baator and the Devil who had the biggest hand in the mortal's outlook's change got the credit for it. When a Devil managed to change a mortal's outlook, it often tried to organize the death of that person. The reason for this were twofold. First, that way, the mortal died, his or her soul went to Baator and the Devil got its credit without waiting the mortal's lifespan expired. Second, that way, the Devil also killed the possibility of the mortal's outlook changing again into some other outlook, which would shunt his or her soul into some place that was not Baator, thus depriving the Devil of its credit. However, on macro level devils needed mortals. They were useful to change the outlook of their fellows as well as to pursue other infernal agendas on the Prime for Baator. Therefore, devils needed to acquire permission to kill somebody to send his or her soul to Baator for each and every case.[19] There were various methods to gain credits for a Devil: Hunting Grounds The vast majority of souls that came to Baator did not go there, because a Devil changed the mortals' outlook to that of a lawful evil person but because they had it to begin with. Devils organized Prime territories in so-called "hunting grounds". Every hunting ground had a Devil who was assigned to it. These devils held the title undercontroller or factotum when the hunting ground teemed with lawful evil people, which was a coveted assignment only those favored by the archdevils received. Every soul that went to Baator without another Devil swaying that mortal to lawful evil was accredited to the undercontroller. An undercontroller had two jobs.[23] First, devils had a tendency for infighting when the prize was a particularly lawful evil people rich hunting ground. The undercontroller's job in that regard was to keep the place under the control of its direct superior. When mortals and lesser devils fought each other, the reason was usually two undercontrollers who were assigned the same hunting ground by different superiors over who the say over the turf. This happened when a high-standing Devil wanted to relegate trouble-makers. The idea behind it was that when the trouble-maker died fighting over turf, the trouble-maker was dead, and when the trouble-maker was successful at nailing the hunting ground, then it was a win for the superior for the total number of souls its subordinates gained for Baator increased and with its own standing.[23] The second job of an undercontroller was to secure that a lawful evil society stayed that way[7] or steered into lawful evil directions. They did this by modifying customs and rules of their hunting grounds. When a given society showed traits of one where authority was unconditionally respected, who then enforced a police state where laws were enforced with draconian punishment, where brutally honest records were the norm, while at the same time the ruler was not subject to the same rules was most likely a hunting ground where the responsible Devil did an effective job. Other traits that led to the same conclusion were when the general population believed in a form of collective thinking that led to disadvantaging or hostilities to minorities and the idea that their system was not just superior, but also needed to be enforced on others. Devils had an infinite lifespan, which allowed them for plans to take a very long time until the modification of a society was complete.[24] Undercontrollers were often absentee-lords and did not spend a lot of time on the Prime. They split their assigned territory giving the richest parts to their own subordinates who showed particular loyalty. Territory handed over that way could be broken down into even more parts and given to eve lower ranking devils when it was big enough.[7] Faustian Pacts “ Want status? Riches? Property? Magic? Power? The Devil has the answers. He’ll give you all you want and more. And what does he want in exchange? Just a little thing—a trifle, really. And it won’t affect you in the slightest. All he wants is your soul. You just have to sign your name on the dotted line in your own blood, and you’ll be set for life. But if you ever do it—and you’ll be tempted in our line of work—you let me know. Because I’ll be waiting in line to send your no-good, damned soul straight to your new master—guaranteed. ” — Conner Smithson, Seeker of Virtue[25] Faustian pacts were considered the most effective tool in the devils' arsenal to corrupt mortals. While copies for both parties existed, the Devil gave the mortal's copy only when pressed on the issue. The mortal's blood was used for signature. There were two kinds of contracts that were made with mortals. The devils called them Pact Certain and Pact Insidious, but only among themselves for they were aware that the names sounded too ominous in mortal ears.[26] The Pact Certain was a contract that the devils favored, because it was fast. The mortal immediately handed over his or her soul to Baator on death for some services. Barring proving that the pact was signed under some form of duress like threat of torture, these pacts' terms were impossible to adjudicate.[27] The Pact Insidious was a bit different. Here, a mortal and a Devil agreed upon exchanging services. Namely, the Devil provided the mortal with something and the mortal had to act in some manner that the Devil wanted to. It was possible to make multiple follow-up contracts that gave the receiving mortals more benefits in return of additonal behaviors it had to follow. Failing to act in such manner meant that the mortal lost the contract's benefits. Agreeing to such a Pact Insidious in itself was not an act that shackled one's soul to Baator, but acting in ways that were specified within the contract or contracts meant that one acted in ways that put him or her ever closer to reach Baator on death. Discussing the issue with others was impossible for mortals because a clause that was in every Pact Insidious was that forbade the option of discussing the contract's content with other people.[28] The benefits a Devil gave a mortal were calculated against the likelihood of the mortal reaching Baator on death. A person who was unlikely to do so could actually negotiate the best terms, while somebody who was likely to reach Baator without a deal with a Devil was not really capable of negotiating good terms. This was because devils' resources were ultimately limited. Therefore, devils always calculated how much to give a mortal to gain his or her soul. Apart from unlikelihood to enter Baator, the power held by the mortal to be corrupted was also a measure that increased a mortal's soul's value in the eyes of a Devil. This applied both to political power like that of a member of royalty or individual power like that of an experienced adventurer. Both could gain good terms, a weak beggar could never get.[28] As mentioned above, the benefits a mortal could reap from a contract with a Devil were those that the Devil had to somehow provide. A Devil might have a network of spies that allowed it to provide information to the mortal, raiders under contract to obtain the necessary wealth, or some infernal cultists who could provide the mortal who sold his or her soul with some insider trades to benefit from. Actual magical help from the Devil was possible, but rare and only done when it could not provide the asked service in mundane ways. This could lead to an archdevil be petitioned to cast miracle for the mortal.[28] Devils' claims on a soul could be successfully legally challenged by a mortal. This was possible when either of two conditions were met. These were when the mortal was somehow forced into a contract or when the Devil's end of the bargain was not met. However, this was only possible after the mortal's death, meaning the mortal's soul reaching Baator, and the devils put no effort into clarifying the mortals on their right to challenge their fate. When this right was invoked, a fair trial was called in. The mortal obtained one advocate. This advocate was by default a falxugon or an erinyes, but the mortal had the right to appoint anybody for this role and the devils actually put effort into contacting that person. However, the potential advocate was left alone when it came to figuring out how to go to Baator to do his or her job. Naturally, the mortal's advocate was opposed by one on the Devil's side who tried to make a case for the soul's damnation. A pit Fiend usually served as a judge. In this role, the fiends actually acted in a fair manner. It was entirely possible that a mortal won his or her case, but had to enter Baator anyway, because of his or her moral and ethical outlook.[29] Devil Worship One way for a mortal soul to enter Baator was for the mortal to be a Devil worshiper. Worshiping a Devil was a secure way to enter Baator on death. Usually, Devil worshipers dedicated themselves to a single archdevil or, less frequently, to a greater Devil. These cults were a means for devils to further their agenda on the Material Plane. Such cults fell in to categories, the so-called revealed cults and hidden cults.[30] A revealed cult was not necessarily a cult that acted in open public, but one whose members were fully aware that their object of worship was a Devil, to be more precise and archdevil.[31] A hidden cult was one where only a high-ranking inner circle knew that their object of worship was a Devil. Recruited people were molded bit by bit as they rose through the hierarchy and once they reached membership in the inner circle themselves, saw little reason or some form of obligation to remain with the truth that was revealed to them. These cults were run by erinyes or falxugons when they were small and by greater devils when they were big.[32] Fugue Plane Bargains The usual destination for a dead person's soul was the Fugue Plane. Due to a deal with Kelemvor, devils were allowed to talk with the souls in the time between their arrival to the Fugue Plane and being picked up by their deities' servants to their final destination. The content of these talks was an offer to change the final destination to Baator. Some souls agreed to this because they feared the fate their Gods would give them, went to Baator, got tortured and wrung out of energy, and started their new life as a lemure. It was also possible for such souls to work out additional goods for themselves. For example, a-not-so-egoistic deal was to secure that the bereaved family of the soul was provided for by the Devil, while a more egoistic deal was to secure early promotion from lemure status or promotion right away into some other Devil form.

History

According to one origin story, the devils were originally angels that were created to fight for the cause of law against Demon. The most effective at it was an angel called @zelm. Those angels who followed that one were the future devils.