The Plane of Demons
The Plane of Demons is a dark plane of demons and evil. Known by the other races as the Abyss, this plane is made up of uncountable layers that are poorly connected by powerful and ancient magic that spirit and sometimes overlap each other. The plane is a violent, maleficent place where the strongest of creatures survive and control the scale of power in the plane. Alliances have never lasted long between the power-hungry creatures that live in the Plane of Demons, and those who are not able to challenge even the lowest rank of demon, do not survive very long in the Plane of Demons. The very plane has a hatred for life, trying to kill by all means even the most powerful of Demon Lords. Every day is a about survival, as the structure of the plane is based off power and keeping it. It is well known that rising inhabits of the plane are some of the deadliest, as until they reach Demon Lord status, they will kill anyone who even looks in their path, in hopes that it will stop anyone from thinking of taking their power.
Despite the inhospitable of the plane and the danger of those inhabitant it, there are some places resemble society from the Material Plane. On some layers of the Plane of Demons, the Demon Lords that ruler them have decided to make their domains into cities and trading outposts, in the endless struggle to gain more power through the means of trade, wealth, resources, people or even having more strongholds. These cities often have very few rules, as chaos and lawlessness are the nature of the creatures that live in them. The only things that keep them in order is the pure might of the Demon Lord or one of his powerful subordinates, and the need of the corrupted mortals to have a safer stable land to protect themselves against the danger of the plane. Traders are one of the most important parts of one of this city's survival, as they are the ones who can bring food, resources, wealth and magic items flowing into the cities markets and majority of the time into the hands of those in power. Being trader though is a risky life as everything is out to get what you are selling, including rival Demon Lords, this causes many traders to only deal with one Demon Lord and have a bodyguard of powerful Demons handpicked by that Demon Lord. Though sometimes the Demon Lord a trader as being dealing with betrays them as the way of the plane goes, and takes what they needed from the trader, leaving them to survive down with the lowest of mortals. The idea that a long-term agreement can be kept between two creatures in the Plane of Demons is a false one, as sudden emotions and passions can overwhelm even the strongest willed, and the ideals of betrayal corrupt even the most noble of beings.
Spellcasters are, by and large, mistrusted by Demons and the other inhabitants. Those who practice magic often lack in a powerful appearance, leading many Demons to assume that spellcasters are weaklings, just waiting to be subjugated under a powerful creature. This normally causes any spellcaster who uses their magic to have a watchful eye on where they do it and whose domain, they do it in. Spell can immediately attract the attention of Demon Lords of powerful creatures, who have left powerful runes to notify them of any spells being casted in their domain. Some types of spells are more likely to anger a Demon Lord while others may be completely ignored, it all depends on who it affected and how. Though spellcasters are believed to be nothing more than slaves or tools for more powerful creatures, it is not unheard-of Demon Lords having the ability to use their own form of magic that have caused them to gain the rank they have today.
To the Gnolls, the Plane of Demons is something to be both feared and admired. To their beliefs, the Hyena God, Yeenoghu comes from this plane and is both a Demon Lord and God. It is said to be where all Gnolls originated from, with all Gnolls at birth knowing the cruel language known as Abyssal that is the main language of the plane. Though this does not mean Gnolls are allied with Demons, many Shamans have rituals and knowledge on how to banish Demons back to their home, as they know that no Demon can be trusted. Many packs though using demonic symbols or names in honour of their Gods homeland instead of their allegiance to Demons. There are even some packs who are known for their use of Demons in battle, or those who have turned towards the chaotic evil lifestyle that give Gnolls a bad name in the Material Plane. With the Great Corruption slowly spreading and destroying their species, few packs have even been heard of turning their backs on the Hyaena God who they believe have forsaken them, and turning their allegiance towards other powerful Demon Lords in hope that they will protect their pack and species from the Great Corruption.
History
The history of the Plane of Demon is full of chaos, with any written history of the plane being destroyed in the many wars and overthrows in its long history. The most well-known even in the Plane of Demons history is the Blood War. A war between the Demons and Devils, the two most powerful Lower Planes races. It is unknown if the war has ended or is endless going, as even the Demon Lords of the plane never know.Culture
Though the idea of the Plane of Demons having culture is false, the idea of strength and power has formed a baseline version of culture. Much of the plane's culture is based of survival of the fittest, though with large number of mortals living in the plane, many have brought small parts of their own culture into the plane. This has caused many different cities to have different types of mortals all who have devoted their lives ether to different Demon Lords or ways of life. Even Demons between each species has different ways of thinking, with many of the same species forming into a hierarchy that fits the needs of the Demon Lords.Hierarchy
The Hierarchy of the Plane of Demons is very simple, Demon Lords are the top dogs, ruling large domains or even layers with other Demon Lords acting as Generals or Lords. The next are the Demons, spilt into hundreds of roles, the more powerful a Demon, the higher in the hierarchy of the Demon Lord. At the bottom of the billions of mortals who are nothing more than slaves or food for the Demons.Known Demon Lords
- Pazuzu, Demon Lord of the 1st Layer: Pazuzu is powerful Demon Lord and one of the eldest and most reprehensible of them. He is also called the Dark Angel of the Four Winds and the Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms. He holds sway over all evil flying creatures, even among the different layers of the Abyss. He is ruler of the 1st Layer of the Plane of Demons, known as Pazunia or The Plain of Infinite Portals.
- Yeenoghu, Demon Lord of the 422nd Layer: Yeenoghu is a Demon Lord and Father of all Gnolls. Dedicated only to destruction, the Ruler of Ruin sought the collapse of civilization, and he would brutally butcher all that stood between him and his rabid slaughter. He is ruler of the 422nd Layer of the Plane of Demons, knowns as the Seeping Woods or Death Dells.
Language
The demonic language that is spoken in the Plane of Demons is known as Abyssal after the common name of the plane, the Abyss. It is a brutal language that to many is as chaotic as the plane. Many different layers of the plane have different versions, with some planes having entirely different form of Abyssal, though the Gnolls of the Material Plane have produced a base understanding of Abyssal, forming a branch of the language known as Gnoll Abyssal.Geography
The Plane of Demons does not have a stranded geography, each layer is different. Each layer had its own characteristics, which were as varied as the Demons themselves. All types of terrain, atmosphere, weather, gravity, and material composition were represented in the myriad layers. What might appear at first glance as a normal field of grass could easily become a field of carnivorous plants that feed on flesh, bones, and blood. Despite the six hundred plus known layers of this plane, only about a fifth of the layers can support life for a mortal. Most layers have their own source of light, it could be harsh red light from a burning sun high above, the ground might emit greenish light that casts shadows high onto the clouds above, or the light could come from good-aligned creatures who shine like beacons. While other planes are pitch black, with even the normal ability to see in the dark, not being able to penetrate the void or a vacuum, feeding off the light and extinguishing it before you can see the world around you. The Gnoll Shamans have made a point to make a rule that states: if it is possible then the Plane of Demons has it. Though something that is a unified feature of the plane is that no fruits or crops grow on the plane. If the inhabitants want food, they must kill something, eat it and hope it doesn't kill them.Known Layers
1st Layer (Pazunia)
Pazunia or The Plain of Infinite Portals is the 1st Layer of the Plane of Demons. This is barren, dusty, and baking under a large, red, hot sun. It has a stone fortress that very few enter and survive. It is home to the River of Blood that pours into many of the holes and caverns of the dusty land. This river connects many of the layers of the plane but burns any that swim through. Portals (some labelled correctly, even more labelled incorrectly, and most unlabeled) out of this plain are often guarded by Demons, that use the portals to recruit new soldiers or travel to other layers of the plane. Sometimes theses Demons are persuaded with goods such as shiny things, magic items or jewels, though this normally endless with both the Demon and person to be punished by the Demon Lords of this plane. The name Pazunia comes from the ruling Demon Lord Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms who has taken domain of the 1st Layer and rules with an iron fist, causing all other Demon Lords of the layer to ether submit to him or die.422nd Layer (Seeping Woods)
Yeenoghu's Realm or the Seeping Woods, the Death Dells is the 422nd Layer of the Plane of Demons. It consists of an endless hunting ground of barren hills and ravines, with a few structures and scattered signs of civilization. It was populated by Gnolls, Ghouls, and Hyenas, and was ruled by Yeenoghu, the Gnoll Lord, who travels his domain endlessly hunting Demons and Mortals for fun.Ecosystem
Fauna
The Plane of Demon is home to some of the deadliest creatures in the cosmos. With every day being about survival and power, each creature that lives in the plane has adapted to gain as much power as possible or use their weaknesses to gain protection from powerful creatures.- Demons: Demons are chaotic evil fiend's native to the plane, ever-evolving engines of destruction spawned in its infinite depths to act as living instruments of oblivion. There are countless billions of Demons, with hundreds of species. Though most are spilt into three groups, the Obyrith (oldest of the Demon species), Tanar'ri (most numerous of the Demon species), and Loumara (youngest of the Demon Species).
- Demon Lords: Demon Lords, are Demons or powerful creatures who gained great power and established a position of preeminence among demonkind. Over millennia, these demons had amassed tremendous power and authority over their domain.
- Astral Creatures: The Plane of Demons is surrounded by a plane like the Plane of Ghosts, were creatures that inhabit that plane sometimes cross the barrier between the two and entre the Plane of Demons.
- Undead: Many Demon Lords and powerful creatures use Undead for their many wars between each other, this has caused the Undead scourge to spread across the plane and many that have been left behind by the Demon Lords now just wonder, finding their next target.
- Devils: Devils have inhabited the Plane of Demons ever since they were able to make deals with Demon Lords. Though the Blood War has caused Devils to be stuck on the Plane of Demons, causing them to move towards the more barbaric way of life, even some becoming Demon Lords themselves.
- Corrupted Mortals: Mortals who have been corrupted by evil are sent to the Plane of Demons to worship their dark overlords, they are the second most common creature in the plane, with hundreds of thousands used as cattle for the more higher rank Demons of the plane.
Effects of the Plane
The Plane of Demons has been studied by Gnoll Shamans for thousands of years, allowing them to gain some understanding on the affects that the plane has on time, magic and foundation of the Material Plane.Time
Time in the Plane of Demons runs different compared to the Material Plane. It is believed that many layers run differently to other layers but with the Gnoll knowledge only being on the 1st Layer, the time dilation of the plane is based on the first layer. This being an average day on plane being 1 month and 2 days in the Material Plane.
Alternative Name(s)
The Abyss, The Demonholde
Type
Plane of Existence
Included Locations
Ruling/Owning Rank
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