Asmodeus

Supreme Master of the Nine Hells

Divine Domains

Knowledge, Order, Trickery

Artifacts

Ruby Rod of Asmodeus

Divine Goals & Aspirations

First and foremost, Asmodeus sought to preserve the status quo of Baator, that being his station as supreme ruler of Hell. Beyond this he sought to expand the power of lawful evil in the multiverse, tipping the cosmic scales in its favor. All this went towards Asmodeus's ultimate goal, to heal the wounds he suffered from his ancient fall from grace (from whatever position he held), regain his full power, and instigate Armageddon. This apocalpytic conflict would, at the very least, be the end of the Great Wheel cosmology, and he could very well be ahead of his ancient schedule. This all raised the question of how Asmodeus could recover from his eons-old injuries, and the answer laid in souls. Baator ran on a divine energy derived from the souls of the damned, a magical force that could be extracted through the merciless torture, destruction of identity, and overall breakdown of corrupt souls. Much of this work was outsourced, including by Asmodeus himself, to the city of Jangling Hiter in Minauros for later distribution, and Asmodeus used what divine power he could spare to heal from his wounds.
As horrifying and diabolical as it was, Asmodeus had been toiling on his grand design in the depths of Hell since time immemorial and still was not done. He pursued his malevolent agenda on three primary fronts, his true motivations in each obscured to all and glimpsed by a very small few.

Physical Description

Special abilities

Divine Asmodeus was technically a deity, but was exempt from many of the rules regarding divine beings, his actual status a matter of debate that had changed over time. At the very least the strongest archdevil,[21][45] weaker interpretations cast him as not even a full-fledged god[33][46] or possessed only of the powers of a lesser god. In others, (particularly more recently) he was believed to be a greater god,[46][38][47] and the most dangerous portrayals cast him as a primal embodiment of evil, aspect of some sort of metaphysical serpent concept,[33][48][49] or even an overgod similar in nature to the Lady of Pain.[50][51]
Asmodeus's strength neither waxed nor waned with the number of his worshipers and he had no ability to grant spells to his followers.[33] While this limitation could be circumvented if the worshiper became a disciple of darkness,[52] spells granted by this method were not done so through his own powers, but by acting as a conduit to channel the divine magic of Baator itself to the mortal cleric.[52]
There were no strictures on how granted power could be used for a disciple, but the mortal's soul was forfeit if his patron was not appeased with sentient sacrifices.[53] This changed after Asmodeus consumed Azuth and thus obtained true godhood, allowing him to grant spells to his followers and remove the vile rituals previously required to access such power.[46]
Another ability Asmodeus shared with greater deities even before his ascension was that he could create up to ten avatars, although his ability to do this was stunted. He could send only one avatar at a time to the Prime Material Plane, and doing this made it impossible for him to maintain any other avatar.[28][5][29]
Infernal Asmodeus had absolute control over the Nine Hells and with his mind he could change not only the landscape of any layer but the forms of his archdevils in any way he wanted whenever he wanted. For example, he changed Baalzebul's formerly (mostly) beautiful form into that of a giant slug. It was unclear if he could kill archevils with a thought; some suspected that he could and did in the case of the Hag Countess's sudden and sudden death, and while seemingly involved, it was unclear how much of a part he played and to what degree one could say she had "died".[11][54][55][56][57]
Like any other devil of authority, Asmodeus had the ability to demote any officially subservient devil— any devil in his case—at his whim,[58] and was the only devil with the ability to promote a devil to archdevil status.[12] He was also the underlying power of infernal contracts, hence why breaking a contract with even the weakest devil could still consign the oathbreaker's soul to the Nine Hells.[59]

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Law or Evil

“I have heard it said evil is nothing more than good’s absence, as if evil was the darkness to good's light. A comforting thought, I imagine, for those seeking redemption, but, I tell you, put such thoughts from your mind. You need only peer into a demon’s eyes to know evil is not some vacuum waiting for virtue to come and fill its emptiness. Evil is a force. It is an influence in the cosmos, an agency equal to or perhaps even greater than its antithesis. There are two sides in this eternal struggle, one light and the other dark. You might find evil’s works reprehensible, yet to those whose hearts belong to corruption, good deeds are equally deplorable. Understand, there is no redemption, only treason against the side you were born to serve.” — Asmodeus

According to legend, Asmodeus attributed his wicked deeds to necessity and the mandates of law, alluding to the rules of Hell in his defense and arguing that his contracts were never broken. He made the case that the souls he harvested served the ultimately noble end of protecting the cosmos, and noted the sanctity of law as what separated him from the demons of the Abyss.[31] Without him and his devils to defend it, he argued, 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 did not uphold the rules out of respect. Despite arguing that his actions were necessary to prevent the rise of chaos and preserve the forces of good, this was mere camouflage to disguise his true intentions. In reality, Asmodeus saw the Abyss as a useful distraction,[31][3] and when prepared he planned to destroy the Upper Planes and perhaps even use demonkind to accomplish this dark goal.[29] Ironically, in the most extreme scenario, Asmodeus's plan would 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 was merely a tool by which others could be bent to his will. Civilization, as he understood it, was a means of gaining power, the structures and technology created by society instruments to crush his enemies. Chaos made for easy conquest, and to conquer was to bring others under control.[43] Asmodeus would 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.[31] Even his masterfully crafted plans would obey universal laws, such as the Rule of Threes,[3] and he believed himself the multiverse's chosen protector.[31] More than any of these however, Asmodeus was dedicated to obtaining absolute authority for himself, and if necessary, was willing to break every law in existence to do it.[32]
Despite his cunning and charisma, Asmodeus was not intellectually invincible. Though he was not above pretending otherwise, he was capable of being surprised, feigning foreknowledge and acting as if all was going according to plan either way.[29] Furthermore, even Asmodeus was capable of fury, and if he forgot himself could end up bursting into a rage, his mask of civility slipping to unveil the evil that lurked below.[11]

Religions

• Cult of Asmodeus

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Realm

Nessus

Church/Cult

Cult of Asmodeus

Current Residence

Nessus

Presentation

He wore red and black clothing valuable enough to cover the annual spending of any nation, but underneath these expensive garments his body was wracked with bleeding injuries he was seemingly unconcerned by.

Eyes

Glowing Red

Hair

Perfectly trimmed beard

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Red Skin, Horned Head

Height

13ft

Aligned Organization

Cult of Asmodeus