Asmodeus (æz-mo-DAY-us or æz-MO-dee-us)
Asmodeus was the Faerûnian deity of indulgence and ruler of all devils. Asmodeus was a patron of oppression and power, the greatest devil, and the Lord of the Ninth and overlord of the Nine Hells as a whole.
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 was a tyrant, an authoritarian overlord who sought complete control over as many subjects as he could obtain and nothing less than absolute dominion over all reality. Torture was 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 was confident in his position as one of the multiverse's strongest beings, and genuinely believed his rule was for the best. Under his rule, and only his rule, the multiverse would be pristine and perfect, with everyone in it having a place and a purpose to fulfil.
In Asmodeus's mind, only he had the strength, insight, and charisma needed to guide all to an ideal utopia, or at least the infernal hierarchy that the Archfiend interpreted as such. His rivals were inferior minds lacking the skill to see his vision through. The forces of the Abyss were 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 were foolish, sentimental beings too soft and weak to do what had to be done. This arrogance would have led to his destruction if he lacked the competence to back it up, yet Asmodeus had managed to thwart all conspiracies against him and survive Heaven with nothing but his wit.
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, and when prepared he planned to destroy the Upper Planes and perhaps even use demonkind to accomplish this dark goal. 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. 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. Even his masterfully crafted plans would obey universal laws, such as the Rule of Threes, and he believed himself the multiverse's chosen protector. 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.
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. 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.
While Asmodeus maintained cults dedicated to fictional entities, those cults in which he was worshiped as himself fell into a category called a revealed cult. Their followers understood 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.
Personality
Asmodeus was a primal embodiment of lawful evil and a supreme strategist of unparalleled skill. His sinister machinations could take centuries, if not millennia, to come to fruition, and his master plans extended across the entire multiverse. His labyrinthine, insidious intrigues could seem inexplicable to most outside observers, for Asmodeus let even his own servants stew in fear of his next move. With all the planes as his board, the Lord of Lies maneuvered 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 was a tyrant, an authoritarian overlord who sought complete control over as many subjects as he could obtain and nothing less than absolute dominion over all reality. Torture was 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 was confident in his position as one of the multiverse's strongest beings, and genuinely believed his rule was for the best. Under his rule, and only his rule, the multiverse would be pristine and perfect, with everyone in it having a place and a purpose to fulfil.
In Asmodeus's mind, only he had the strength, insight, and charisma needed to guide all to an ideal utopia, or at least the infernal hierarchy that the Archfiend interpreted as such. His rivals were inferior minds lacking the skill to see his vision through. The forces of the Abyss were 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 were foolish, sentimental beings too soft and weak to do what had to be done. This arrogance would have led to his destruction if he lacked the competence to back it up, yet Asmodeus had managed to thwart all conspiracies against him and survive Heaven with nothing but his wit.
Law or Evil
According to legend, Asmodeus attributed his wicked deeds to necessity and the mandates of law, alluding to the rules of Hell in his defence 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. 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, and when prepared he planned to destroy the Upper Planes and perhaps even use demonkind to accomplish this dark goal. 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. 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. Even his masterfully crafted plans would obey universal laws, such as the Rule of Threes, and he believed himself the multiverse's chosen protector. 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.
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. 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.
Worshipers
Asmodeus didn't need mortal worship to either maintain or enhance his power, but rather wanted to lure mortals to atheism to receive their souls and heal his wounds. Nevertheless, Asmodeus had a large following, much larger than any other infernal cult combined, such that his was often the first choice for prospective devil-worshipers. Furthermore, every diabolic cult was viewed as a subdivision of Asmodeus's cult and ultimately swore allegiance to him and not the entity it followed. In fact, what boons the other cults could provide was not determined by their archdevils but by Asmodeus.While Asmodeus maintained cults dedicated to fictional entities, those cults in which he was worshiped as himself fell into a category called a revealed cult. Their followers understood 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
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Physical Description
Special abilities
Asmodeus was a greater deity. However, he was older than the concept of faith and the power of deities like him neither waxed nor waned with the number of worshipers and, beyond himself, he had no ability to grant spells to his followers. However, there was one way for mortals to gain spells from him, by becoming a disciple of darkness. On the mortal side, this agreement meant that the archdevil could take the life of the mortal at any time he wanted if he was not appeased with sacrifices. The mortal generally did not need to meet any strictures like a dogma or the like and could cast divine magic with impunity. The method through which Asmodeus granted spells was not through his own powers but through using himself as a channel for the divine magic of Baator itself to the mortal cleric. After eating Azuth, he could grant spells by himself to his followers and sentient sacrifices stopped being a necessary part of his worship.
However, like any other greater deity, he could create up to ten avatars. He deployed one on each layer of Baator to keep tabs on the layers while keeping one spare avatar. His ability to send avatars to the Prime Material plane was stunted. He could send only one avatar at a time to the Prime and doing this made it impossible for him to maintain all other avatars. This was the reason why Asmodeus's avatar was rarely seen on the Prime and he preferred to work through other people.
Everyone within 120 feet (37 meters) of Asmodeus's avatar was under the effect of an awe effect that made it impossible for people to attack him when they were not attacked first by the avatar.
He could cast animate dead, blasphemy, charm monster, create greater undead, desecrate, detect magic, devil's ego, discern location, dominate monster, fiendish quickening, geas, greater dispelling, hellfire, hellfire storm, magic circle against good, major image, mass charm, project image, restoration, resurrection, suggestion, symbol of hopelessness, symbol of pain, symbol of persuasion, teleport without error, true seeing, unholy aura, unholy blight, unhallow, wall of ice, and wretched blight as often as he wanted, and any power word, any symbol spell, meteor swarm, true resurrection, and wish once per day. He had also the spellcasting ability of a master cleric with the Diabolic and Evil domains. Limited to when he was in Baator, he could cast practically any spell he wanted as an exercise of will. He had absolute control over the Nine Hells and with his mind he could change the landscape of any layer in any way he wanted when he wanted. This control over form extended to the archdevils too, being able to change their forms any way he wanted. For example, he changed Baalzebul's formerly beautiful form into that of a giant slug. People were not sure whether he could kill an archdevil with a mere thought. Some suspected that he could do so and was responsible for Hag Countess's sudden and weird death this way. Those people were correct; Asmodeus could, and did, kill the Hag Countess.
His protective abilities were impressive. It was impossible to harm him with spells below a certain level of complexity, as well as poison, paralysis, petrification, magic dealing with death, illusions, and attempts to influence his mind. Physically, it was impossible to hurt him with even enchanted weapons that were not at least +4. However, even when hurt by such a weapon, if the weapon was not holy or otherwise blessed, the wounds immediately healed.
However, like any other greater deity, he could create up to ten avatars. He deployed one on each layer of Baator to keep tabs on the layers while keeping one spare avatar. His ability to send avatars to the Prime Material plane was stunted. He could send only one avatar at a time to the Prime and doing this made it impossible for him to maintain all other avatars. This was the reason why Asmodeus's avatar was rarely seen on the Prime and he preferred to work through other people.
Everyone within 120 feet (37 meters) of Asmodeus's avatar was under the effect of an awe effect that made it impossible for people to attack him when they were not attacked first by the avatar.
He could cast animate dead, blasphemy, charm monster, create greater undead, desecrate, detect magic, devil's ego, discern location, dominate monster, fiendish quickening, geas, greater dispelling, hellfire, hellfire storm, magic circle against good, major image, mass charm, project image, restoration, resurrection, suggestion, symbol of hopelessness, symbol of pain, symbol of persuasion, teleport without error, true seeing, unholy aura, unholy blight, unhallow, wall of ice, and wretched blight as often as he wanted, and any power word, any symbol spell, meteor swarm, true resurrection, and wish once per day. He had also the spellcasting ability of a master cleric with the Diabolic and Evil domains. Limited to when he was in Baator, he could cast practically any spell he wanted as an exercise of will. He had absolute control over the Nine Hells and with his mind he could change the landscape of any layer in any way he wanted when he wanted. This control over form extended to the archdevils too, being able to change their forms any way he wanted. For example, he changed Baalzebul's formerly beautiful form into that of a giant slug. People were not sure whether he could kill an archdevil with a mere thought. Some suspected that he could do so and was responsible for Hag Countess's sudden and weird death this way. Those people were correct; Asmodeus could, and did, kill the Hag Countess.
His protective abilities were impressive. It was impossible to harm him with spells below a certain level of complexity, as well as poison, paralysis, petrification, magic dealing with death, illusions, and attempts to influence his mind. Physically, it was impossible to hurt him with even enchanted weapons that were not at least +4. However, even when hurt by such a weapon, if the weapon was not holy or otherwise blessed, the wounds immediately healed.
Specialized Equipment
Each of Asmodeus's avatars held a Ruby Rod of Asmodeus as a badge of office. It also served as the avatar's main weapon and allowed attacks with elemental forces, forced enemies to cower in fear, or provided the holder with a field of healing and protection. In fact, when facing combat, an avatar of Asmodeus primarily fought using the powers of his Ruby Rod instead of its innate powers.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The origins of Asmodeus were not very clear. Various stories existed that even disagreed on what kind of lifeform Asmodeus actually was.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Asmodeus had working relationships with evil deities who supplied his followers with spells, for he could not do it himself, in return for his aid in their endeavours. Baatorian deities were quite respectful around him.
The lawful deities and Asmodeus had an ancient agreement called the Pact Primeval that, among other things, allowed his devils to corrupt mortals and wring divine magic from their souls. From time to time, rumours about various lawful deities allying to take over Baator from Asmodeus popped up, but never amounted to anything. Lawful deities were not really capable of changing the status quo and, even if they were, the ability to agree on who was to take control of the Nine Hells was beyond them. Like the gods, Asmodeus did not want an open war either.
Asmodeus kept Tiamat's influence small. Among other things, he took away control of Avernus from her. In fact, she was contractually imprisoned by Asmodeus.
Among the duergar deities, Asmodeus had a special contract with Laduguer: the Archfiend would provide aid for duergar so they could free themselves from the mind flayers, while the Taskmaster promised that the freed slaves would be a force antagonistic to Lolth and other forces of the Abyss. According to a duergar legend, when the two made this deal, Asmodeus tried to make Laduguer show emotion with jokes and the like, but the Taskmaster never laughed, even when he got the deal he wanted. The duergar were also victims of impersonation by Asmodeus. He pretended to be one of their gods in order to stir up their desire for vengeance and tyranny.
The lawful deities and Asmodeus had an ancient agreement called the Pact Primeval that, among other things, allowed his devils to corrupt mortals and wring divine magic from their souls. From time to time, rumours about various lawful deities allying to take over Baator from Asmodeus popped up, but never amounted to anything. Lawful deities were not really capable of changing the status quo and, even if they were, the ability to agree on who was to take control of the Nine Hells was beyond them. Like the gods, Asmodeus did not want an open war either.
Asmodeus kept Tiamat's influence small. Among other things, he took away control of Avernus from her. In fact, she was contractually imprisoned by Asmodeus.
Among the duergar deities, Asmodeus had a special contract with Laduguer: the Archfiend would provide aid for duergar so they could free themselves from the mind flayers, while the Taskmaster promised that the freed slaves would be a force antagonistic to Lolth and other forces of the Abyss. According to a duergar legend, when the two made this deal, Asmodeus tried to make Laduguer show emotion with jokes and the like, but the Taskmaster never laughed, even when he got the deal he wanted. The duergar were also victims of impersonation by Asmodeus. He pretended to be one of their gods in order to stir up their desire for vengeance and tyranny.
Religions
Alignment
Lawful evil
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Supreme Master of the Nine Hells
Lord of Nessus
The Lord of the Ninth
The Lord of the Ruby Rod
Lord of Lies
Prince of Evil
The Cloven
Old Hoof and Horn
The Archfiend
The Raging Fiend
Lord of Nessus
The Lord of the Ninth
The Lord of the Ruby Rod
Lord of Lies
Prince of Evil
The Cloven
Old Hoof and Horn
The Archfiend
The Raging Fiend
Children
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