Dominion A very important piece of this is actually part of Asmodeuss rise to power. 4e Baator is the outer plane of Lawful Evil, where devils draw up infernal contracts and torture the souls of mortals. A Web Enhancement for the Book of Vile Darkness, The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Graz'zt, the Dark Prince, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Part of the reason he allowed it, and indeed why he ignored Baalzebul's own intrigues, was because the the two were more focused and openly antagonstic to each other than himself. [181] Furthermore, the exile Gargauth rivaled Asmodeus in posturing and wiliness, and through his stronger sense of humor surpassed him in self-control and strategy, such was his ability that he would prove dangerous competition if he ever desired Asmodeus's throne. She can use her Profession (barrister) skill for Bluff and Diplomacy checks. The form of Asmodeus that youll almost always be encountering is an avatar of the archdevil, not the real thing. He was well aware that if not kept occupied by the Blood War, demons would eventually overrun reality and kill all its occupants before finally self-terminating as a race. [158], Asmodeus would then replace Bel with the fallen angel Zariel. Moloch was convinced by Malagarde (who worked for Geryon and therefore Asmodeus) that if he showed defiance, Asmodeus would respect him and absolve him of all crimes; instead, he was deposed and Malagarde, who'd convinced him to join the fray to begin with, became the archdevil of Malbolge. [63], Asmodeus owned one of the original copies of the Pact Primeval. [138][140] Exactly what Asmodeus ultimately wanted from Glasya, whether to consolidate his rule in Hell or expand his influence in the planes beyond, remained unclear,[102][141] but even she sought his throne and was not above using his name to get away with many of her ploys. [8][162][85][135][137][163], Whatever the case, Geryon eventually returned to Stygia and maintained a war against Levistus for it with the tacit permission of Asmodeus. If Asmodeus takes more than 66 points of damage from a single attack, a pit fiend is summoned in an unoccupied space closest to him. Asmodeus hasnt been a deity since the dawn of time. They gradually came to suspect however that demonkind was infinite and became weary of the conflict, seeking to move on to other projects like the creation of worlds and intelligent beings. [30] 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. The path from this realm leads to an infinite pit of chaos and evil. Some actively rejected infernal politics and others aligned themselves with opposing fiendish factions (enough to lend some weight to the suspicion that they were all fiend worshipers). Clerics are spoiled, but every character has some relationship with gods. [231] According to another recounting of the events, the battle was an everyone-against-Baalzebul-battle, which Baalzebul lost. [104] He admired her passion for warfare and commended her battle prowess, as well as the strength of her convictions, offering her rulership of Avernus and thus a chance to fight directly against demonkind in the Blood War. Evil [189] The existence of the Ashmadai, an active and violent cult of Asmodeus in Neverwinter (where the largest tiefling population was found in North Faern) created an atmosphere of distrust towards all tieflings there. [32] 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. In this version too, arguably before the beginning of all things, there was chaos, and from it came its living manifestations in demonkind. Both he and his vassals had forged dark pacts with various evil gods long ago, such as Bane, Gruumsh, and Vecna. [116], Mammon: Mammon maintained his position as archduke through legendarily shameless sychophancy, humiliating and pathetic antics performed before the King of Hell. [216] All rebel angels were physically distorted[204] and eventually turned into devils[205] while those servants deceived into betraying He Who Was became the first hell knights. Ranged Weapon Attack: +19 to hit, reach 222/666 ft., one target. [32], Asmodeus argued that he'd never done anything wrong for he consistently acted as a lawful creature in accordance with infernal tradition in service to the cause of law and the continued existence of the multiverse. I can offer you power such as you have never known, a realm of possibilities undreamt of. Asmodeus's true form was that of a scaled serpent hundreds of miles long, his acid-black blood, a substance beyond foul, exuding from eons-old wounds. Knowledge of the agesRead thoughtsInvoke duplicityCloak of shadowsOrder's demand [13] Standing above the common devils were Hell's nobility, the archdevils, the highest of which were the archdukes who ruled the first eight layers of Hell. Of course I love my father. [46], In his capacity as a true god, Asmodeus had a very different appeal and sphrere of influence than in his diabolic aspect. [113] Instead, as some sages suspected, the plane was populated by a race of much older, much stranger entities known only as the Ancient Baatorians. He plunged through the nascent layers he had alreay begun shaping (in some versions causing the plane to break and reform into nine layers) and continued to spiral violently even as the earth of Baator itself protested. In the earlier days of the Blood War, he was tasked with retrieving the heart of the Abyss, and though initially successful was stalled after conquering three layers and forced to consolidate his holdings and rethink his strategy. Even so, most cursed him as a traitor and overtly shunned him, for decades not trusting him enough to grant him release and thus his god's power. The other Hint at this is that their HP is ( (2d8)+ (0*2)) which is . [66] By devil law, only Asmodeus could issue letters of safe passage that covered travel not only within, but also between layers, though he never issued such things for Nessus. [167], Graz'zt was once an archdevil under the employ of Asmodeus. Souls sent to the nine hells are tortured until theyve been rung of all remnants of mortal life. Knowledge, Order, Trickery So long as the two worked in concert they were invincible, the mightiest of Law's champions, and despite their difference, they were first and foremost agents of order. On dying in Toril, a mortal's soul was shunted to the Fugue Plane, where it waited until whatever god they worshiped in life cared to take the soul to itself, for a length of time depending on how well the soul adhered to the deity's tenets. [222][223], Considering that not even Zargon remembered his past, it was possible this origin was untrue, but the Ancient Baatorians were real all the same. [29], Each of Asmodeus's avatars held a Ruby Rod of Asmodeus as a badge of office. [60], Having no soul quota of his own,[104] Asmodeus was no stranger to subcontracting cults to other figures and inventing fictional figures for devotion (such as in his schemes to inspire faithlessness)[87] and had an interesting relationship with the cults of his two most powerful rivals. Tieflings are one of D&D's rarer races, the result of an infernal curse placed upon their bloodline. Some things happen which causes Asmodeus to have to intervene and while saving the character's life. [97] The Lords of the Nine derived their power from the fraction of his essence he invested in them,[100] and it was through the Lords (himself included) that all devilkind derived their divine magic. [228], Levistus ambushed Bensozia and tried to get her help in deposing Asmodeus, but she refused, so in a rage[229] Levistus tried to rape Bensozia[135] and when she wouldn't submit he murdered her. Often confused for his master, he did not exert much influence on the Material Plane (though his relatively recent discovery of hellfire helped him escape this somewhat). [99] He was above the archdevils and commoners alike, a category of devil onto himself. Despite being sought after by ambitious dukes for his great personal power, Gargauth never supported any attempt to unseat Asmodeus and any meeting made with that goal in mind inevitably resulted in Asmodeus knowing what happened. [66][206][66], By forming an ouroboros, biting each others' tails and sending their coils out into the endless chaos, the Cosmic Serpents bounded the Outlands, the combined interaction of law, good, chaos, and evil creating a plane of true neutrality. Baalzebul was allowed to keep his position but his body was transformed into a giant slug. His faithful offered reprieve in the afterlife from the uncertain waiting in the Fugue Plane, a devil to keep them company as the fate of their mortal soul was decided. [2][190], Asmodeus also mantained several unconventional mortal casters. This body was kept secret, and while many knew that they only came into contact with avatars of the Reigning Serpent, no one living knew his true location. Regardless of their true heritage, he cursed them to bear his "blood" thus changing them to better resemble him. Consisting of pit fiends and less commonly cornugons, the ranks of this ever-expanding, truly loyal force were kept in reserve in Malsheem. [66] None who shared knowledge of its existence, both of the form itself and where it allegedly came from, lived for more than a day, although it was still recorded in ancient and difficult to reach libraries, such as Demogorgon's citadel of Abysm. [113] He was among the most loyal archdevils,[12] having recognized that he was lucky to remain a lord after the Reckoning when many other rulers were displaced and deformed, and would require incredibly persuasion to attempt treason again. When he found the shard of evil in the abyss, he stole it from the demons that inhabited the area, and they still seek to get their hands on the power that was stolen from them. Furthermore, souls condemned to Baator were conscripted into the infernal army against the Abyss's forces of chaos, thereby protecting the cause of law and good from the forces of chaos and evil, which meant the souls were also used to further and protect the cause of law. [60][27] They were imperious figures whose great personal magnetism made them natural leaders and who already possessed much political power, such as merchants and wealthy nobles. Conference with their clergies revealed that the forces of Asmodeus, and this point called devils, were intentionally corrupting mortals, and a quickly formed divine delegation soon learned that Baator had been transformed into nine tiers of horror, the souls harvested for power and transformed into mindless monsters to build a devil army. Like most proficient figures in D&D, he has an origin that has influenced his rise to power. The King of Hell gave covert aid to the Athar of Sigil,[87] though they were later exiled and his continued level of involvement was not known. Adventurers sent on quests here should plan not to return, for few have. 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. [45], Without any lawful way to stop Asmodeus's host from entering even newly created works in their dominions, the distressed deities decided to focus on the creation of mortals and wonderful worlds to house them. 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. Evil and Unaligned To be specific, it was not mere atheists who he wanted, but those who believed in nothing, no form of divinity, afterlife, or even a reason to continue existing. 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. For now, the brief imagery should at least show you that Baator is not a cozy travel destination. Now, tell me again how you and your ilk are the victims in this eternal struggle? [193][194], Furthermore, in line with his motivations, Asmodeus's church subverted the divine order. So it was that Mephisto waited to see if Asmodeus made some catastrophic mistake exploitable enough to put them at actual odds. However, the standard Tiefling is most commonly associated with the Warlock class, in part because of their bonus racial spellcasting. His serpentine body lay at the bottom of a rift called the Serpent's Coil, but not even the denizens knew this. [33][82] And in this fierce rivalry, Asmodeus's servants spent most of their times fighting each other and not him. According to the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Asmodeus is the god of indulgence. Or, you could end up caught in a battle between the two evil forces, a terrifying event for even the bravest adventurers. The holy symbol of Asmodeus on an amulet after the Spellplague. As for why a night hag was made archduchess at all, many in Hell had come to suspect Asmodeus only raised her up as a vulnerable placeholder until such a time when he and Glasya could come to terms. [83] Furthermore, not even the King of Hell was above the law, as was made clear with the Phlegethos-based Diabolical Court, an independent institution filled with constant plots by various devils to introuce new rules or set favorable precedents. The Asmodean advocate gains an insight . [244] Asmodeus also supplied pacts for warlocks.[245]. [208] Asmodeus had used his magic and influence to erase all knowledge of the name from existence,[205] and so he was only known by titles such as He Who Was or He Who Once Lit Our Way. The judge declared he would only listen to a limited number of angels, not all of them. Though they sometimes took material form, they otherwise manifested merely as the essences of beliefs and so their presence was virtually unknown and practically unknowable. An evil cleric is not just evil themselves, they are advocates and salespeople for Evil. The next rule they spawned was the Rule of Three, which stated the importance of their three aspects, Law, Good, and Evil. [98] He was the default authority all who had reached greater status reported to when uncertain. [168], Gargauth saw Asmodeus as the most capable archdevil, and reported on the loyalties of devils on the Material Plane. [60][27] Furthermore his cult subsumed all others,[187] for technically every diabolic cult was simply a subdivision of his own and every leader of such a group was mandated to acknowledge his power and pledge allegiance to him. 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. For example, he allegedly steered Baalzebul, while still an archon called Triel, onto the path of corruption by appearing to him as a beautiful venomous flower. [3], The Pact Primeval myth was told throughout all worlds in the Material Plane, with countless cultural variants substituting the deities involved. From the yugoloth homeland of Hades, they were driven away to Baator where they then developed into the baatezu, the Lords of the Nine being the yugoloth shepherds empowered by their awe. [171][172] Some sages theorized he became dissatisfied with eternal subservience to Asmodeus and favored the Abyss, which offered greater freedom to the powerful than Baator where only one could claim absolute dominion. Possessions: Asmodeus carries the Ruby Rod of Hell, a +9 lawful power, unholy power morningstar. [190] His blood would spawn many early devils,[97] although the baatezu at large believed they emerged from the plane itself, a not untrue statement at least later on. Alignment If this story was to be believed, the Invincible Tyrant was the father of the ancient baatorians and ruler of Baator in eons past, presiding over a malevolent kingdom of running ooze. [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. 0 * 2 ) ) which is actual odds 's Guide, owned., and reported on the loyalties of devils on the Material plane cleric of asmodeus 5e... With various evil gods long ago, such as Bane, Gruumsh, and Vecna,... Of office ago, such as you have never known, a terrifying for! He and his vassals had forged dark pacts with various evil gods long,... In D & D, he has an origin that has influenced his rise to power a deity the... Deity since the dawn of time made some catastrophic mistake exploitable enough to put them actual! Enough to put them at actual odds [ 29 ], Asmodeus is the god indulgence... 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To bear his `` blood '' thus changing them to better resemble him themselves, are... Leads to an infinite pit of chaos and evil made some catastrophic mistake exploitable enough to put them at odds. ], Graz'zt was once an archdevil under the employ of Asmodeus 's avatars held a Ruby of!

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