Devil

Devils personify tyranny, with a totalitarian society dedicated to the domination of mortal life. The shadow of the Nine Hells of Baator extends far across the multiverse, and Asmodeus, the dark lord of Nessus, strives to subjugate the cosmos to satisfy his thirst for power. To do so, he must continually expand his infernal, armies, sending his servants to the mortal realm to corrupt the souls from which new devils are spawned.
Devils live to conquer, enslave, and oppress. They take perverse delight in exercising authority over the weak, and any creature that defies the authority of a devil faces swift and cruel punishment. Every interaction is an opportunity for a devil to display its power, and all devils have a keen understanding of how to use and abuse their power. Devils understand the failings that plague intelligent mortals, and they use that knowledge to lead mortals into temptation and darkness, turning creatures into slaves to their own corruption. Devils on the Material Plane use their influence to manipulate humanoid rulers, whispering evil thoughts, fomenting paranoia, and eventually driving them to tyrannical actions.
In accordance with their lawful alignment, devils obey even when they envy or dislike their superiors, knowing that their obedience will be rewarded. The hierarchy of the Nine Hells depends on this unswerving loyalty, without which that fiendish plane would become as anarchic as the Abyss. At the same time, it is in the nature of devils to scheme, creating in some a desire to rule that eclipses their contentment to be ruled. This singular ambition is strongest among the archdevils whom Asmodeus appoints to rule the nine layers of the Nine Hells. These high-ranking fiends are the only devils to ever sample true power, which they crave like the sweetest ambrosia.
Devils are confined to the Lower Planes, but they can travel beyond those planes by way of portals or powerful summoning magic. They love to strike bargains with mortals seeking to gain some benefit or prize, but a mortal making such a bargain must be wary. Devils are crafty negotiators and positively ruthless at enforcing the terms of an agreement. Moreover, a contract with even the lowliest devil is enforced by Asmodeus's will. Any mortal creature that breaks such a contract instantly forfeits its soul, which is spirited away to the Nine Hells. To own a creature's soul is to have absolute control over that creature, and most devils accept no other currency in exchange for the fiendish power and boons they can provide. A soul is usually forfeited when a mortal dies naturally, for devils are immortal and can wait years for a contract to play out. If a contract allows a devil to claim a mortal's soul before death, it can instantly return to the Nine Hells with the soul in its possession. Only divine intervention can release a soul after a devil has claimed it.
The Nine Hells has a rigid hierarchy that defines every aspect of its society. Asmodeus is the supreme ruler of all devils, and the only creature in the Nine Hells with the powers of a lesser god. Worshiped as such in the Material Plane, Asmodeus inspires the evil humanoid cults that take his name. In the Nine Hells, he commands scores of pit fiend generals, which in turn command legions of subordinates. A supreme tyrant, a brilliant deceiver, and a master of subtlety, Asmodeus protects his throne by keeping his friends close and his enemies closer. He delegates most matters of rulership to the pit fiends and lesser archdevils that make up the infernal bureaucracy of the Nine Hells, even as he knows that those powerful devils conspire to usurp the Throne of Baator from which he rules. Asmodeus appoints archdevils, and he can strip any member of the infernal hierarchy of rank and status as he likes.
If it dies outside the Nine Hells, a devil disappears in a cloud of ash and smoke, instantly returning to its home layer, where it reforms at full strength. Devils that die in the Nine Hells are destroyed forever, a fate that even Asmodeus fears.
The archdevils include all the current and deposed rulers of the Nine Hells , as well as the dukes and duchesses that make up their courts, attend them as advisers, and hope to supplant them. Every archdevil is a unique being with an appearance that reflects its particular evil nature.
The greater devils include the pit fiends, erinyes, horned devils, and ice devils that command lesser devils and attend the archdevils.
The lesser devils include numerous strains of fiends, including imps, chain devils, spined devils, bearded devils, barbed devils, and bone devils.
The lowest form of devil, lemures are the twisted and tormented souls of evil and corrupted mortals. A lemure killed in the Nine Hells is only permanently destroyed if it is killed with a blessed weapon or if its shapeless corpse is splashed with holy water before it can return to life.
When the soul of an evil mortal sinks into the Nine Hells, it takes on the physical form of a wretched lemure. Archdevils and greater devils have the power to promote lemures to lesser devils. Archdevils can promote lesser devils to greater devils, and Asmodeus alone can promote a greater devil to archdevil status. This diabolic promotion invokes a brief, painful transformation, with the devil's memories passing intact from one form to the next. Low-level promotions are typically based on need, such as when a pit fiend transforms lemures into imps to gain invisible spies under its command. High-level promotions are almost always based on merit, such as when a bone devil that distinguishes itself in battle is transformed into a horned devil by the archdevil it serves. A devil is seldom promoted more than one step at a time in the hierarchy of infernal forms.
Demotion is the customary punishment for failure or disobedience among the devils. Archdevils or greater devils can demote a lesser devil to a lemure, which loses all memory of its prior existence. An archdevil can demote a greater devil to lesser devil status, but the demoted devil retains its memories-and might seek vengeance if the severity of the demotion is excessive. No devil can promote or demote another devil that has not sworn fealty to it, preventing rival archdevils from demoting each other's most powerful servants. Since all devils swear fealty to Asmodeus, he can freely demote any other devil, transforming it into whatever infernal form he desires.
The Nine Hells are a single plane comprising nine separate layers. The first eight layers are each ruled by archdevils that answer to the greatest archdevil of all: Asmodeus, the Archduke of Nessus, the ninth layer. To reach the deepest layer of the Nine Hells, one must descend through all eight of the layers above it, in order. The most expeditious means of doing so is the River Styx, which plunges ever deeper as it flows from one layer to the next. Only the most courageous adventurers can withstand the torment and horror of that journey.
DEVIL TRUE NAMES AND TALISMANS Though devils all have common names, every devil above a lemure in station also has a true name that it keeps secret. A devil can be forced to disclose its true name if charmed and ancient scrolls and tomes are said to exist that list the true names of certain devils. A mortal who learns a devil's true name can use powerful summoning magic to call the devil from the Nine Hells and bind it into service. Binding can also be accomplished with the help of a devil talisman. Each of these ancient relics is inscribed with the true name of a devil it controls, and was bathed in the blood of a worthy sacrifice-typically someone the creator loved-when crafted. However it is summoned, a devil brought to the Material Plane typically resents being pressed into service. However, the devil seizes every opportunity to corrupt its summoner so that the summoner's soul ends up in the Nine Hells. Only imps are truly content to be summoned, and they easily commit to serving a summoner as a familiar, but they still do their utmost to corrupt those who summon them.
Although the basic facts of the Blood War aren't subject to debate, a host of theories exist that attempt to explain why the conflict erupted in the first place. The devils fight as a matter of pride mixed with burning resentment for a cosmic order that refuses to acknowledge their role as overseers of the multiverse.
To the devils' way of thinking, the Nine Hells are the front line in the demons' war against all of creation, and the fate of the cosmos depends on the devils' ability to blunt the invasion and send the demons back to the Abyss. In fact, devils believe that the demons would have long ago swept across the multiverse but for the unflinching rule of law that underlies the actions of the infernal leaders and their armies. If necessary, a general must not hesitate to sacrifice entire legions to stall an enemy advance or punch a hole through an enemy phalanx. Iron discipline combined with a ruthless focus on victory at any cost is what fuels the devils' war machine. Every devil takes a grim pride in its service in the Blood War. Talk to one for a short time, and it will reveal the scars earned during its time in Avernus and tell tales of the great battles it has seen. Talk to one for a little longer, and it will inform you that you are alive only because of the devils' heroic efforts. If there was truly justice in the world, it would tell you, the multiverse would bend its knee to the Nine Hells in thanks for the devils' role in preserving the cosmos.
While the Lords of the Nine set the overall direction of the Hells, it is the rank and file - uncounted numbers of lesser devils - that drive their schemes forward. Denizens of the Material Plane deal primarily with devils from the lower tiers of the hierarchy.
Status is all-important to devils. Every devil knows its place in the hierarchy, and each devil has a unique name to ensure that no cases of mistaken identity occur when a devil is called to account for its actions. A devil's form usually corresponds to its status, but circumstances can allow for variations. A pit fiend, for instance, might take the form of an imp in order to personally infiltrate a kingdom on the Material Plane. The hierarchy of the Nine Hells has thirteen tiers or ranks. A devil of a higher rank can potentially compel those beneath it to obey its orders, but it must still abide by the law when exercising its authority. In most cases, a devil can demand the obedience of another devil only if both are in the hierarchy of the same archdevil. For example, a devil in service to Dispater can't command a lower-ranked devil among the forces of Levistus. Lowest of the Low. At the bottom of the hierarchy are lemures and nupperibos, creatures that qualify as devils only by the most generous of definitions. Although they are individually worthless, they constitute an effective fighting force when gathered into a teeming horde that Roods the battlefield.
Lesser Devils. The next six higher tiers are occupied by the lesser devils: imps (rank 2), spined devils (rank 3), bearded devils and merregons (rank 4), barbed devils (rank 5), chain devils (rank 6), and bone devils (rank 7). These devils are specialists, typically assigned to tasks that best suit their capabilities. Imps are used as spies and messengers rather than combatants , and they are the infernal agents most often encountered on the Material Plane. Lesser devils rarely command other devils, aside from specific, short-term assignments for which they are invested with authority.
Greater Devils. Grouped in the four tiers above the lesser devils are the greater devils: horned devils and orthons (rank 8), erinyes (rank 9), ice devils and narzugons (rank 10), and amnizus and pit fiends (rank 11). Lesser devils deal with these leaders on a daily basis. Ice devils are combat commanders, equivalent to captains and colonels, while pit fiends are the Hells' generals and nobles.
Archdevils. The mightiest devils of all are the unique and uniquely powerful archdevils. Those who don't presently serve as lord of a layer hold the title of Duke or Duchess (rank 12). Atop the hierarchy at rank 13 stand the Lords of the Nine, arrayed from topmost layer to bottommost, with Asmodeus holding sway over all.
Devils are evil schemers by nature, but they must operate within the bounds of the Nine Hells' intricate legal code. A devil's attitude toward the law is in part driven by its personal attitude and situation. For instance, devils that fight in the Blood War rely on military regulations and their officers' directions to dictate their actions. They obey orders without question, and take part in drills when off duty to ensure that they act to the exact parameters of their instructions. Some other devils, particularly those of higher ranks and those tasked with infiltrating the Material Plane, see the law as a puzzle to be decoded or an obstacle to be circumvented. For instance, a devil might be bound by law never to withhold aid from its commander except under rare and specific circumstances. A clever upstart that wants to annihilate its superior could manipulate events to bring about one such circumstance, then look on as the commander succumbs while it cites the law that "prevents" it from offering help.
Rank-and-file devils have three ways of ascending through the ranks. The Nine Hells uses a complex system of rules to quantify and recognize a devil's deeds.
Souls. Each time a devil signs a contract that pledges a mortal's soul to the Nine Hells, that devil receives credit for the achievement. A stronger soul, such as a mighty warrior who leaves mortality behind to become an ice devil, is worth more than a simple peasant likely to be consigned to existence as a lemure.
Glory. All devils are required to fight in the Blood War. Every low-ranking devil spends at least some time on the front lines as part of a legion. Some find combat enticing and volunteer for extra missions. Others are content to do only the minimum needed to fulfill their obligations, but they fight just as furiously when they are engaged. A devil receives credit for each foe it slays based on the worthiness of the opponent and whether the devil scored the kill alone or with the help of others.
Treachery. Just as the law has complex rules for the promotion of devils under normal circumstances, it also includes contingencies for how to fill a sudden vacancy in the upper ranks. Vaulting into the position formerly occupied by one's superior is the fastest means of advancement available to a devil. A devil that successfully arranges for a superior's death can immediately step into the vacant role, as long as the devil is aware of the rules of succession and positions itself as next in line.