I have talked about Hell before and some of it's inhabitants and some potential inhabitants. If I follow this logic then devils would be the ultimate foe for the elves. Not that I don't mind this idea at all. But I think I might focus it a bit more. Combine the story of Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost and Lolth's shunning/betrayal and I can paint a pretty detailed idea of what Hell is in my world.
Hell is the ultimate prison for the fallen. Gods, Angels and other powers are cast out and into hell.
Let's start with a couple of Goddess that give me some problems.
Tiamat is a Goddess and Queen of all evil dragons. She has always been listed as having a domain on the first level of Hell. I have never really liked that to be honest. Tiamat is in Babylonian myth primal Chaos. If anything she should be in the Abyss. Using the new 4e cosmology that would place her in the Elemental Chaos, which is really the perfect place for her. In Dragonlance her home was always called "the Abyss". In my games I always called her realm Tehom, which means Abyss in Hebrew and is associated with the mythical Tiamat. So she really has no place in Hell. Who should replace her?
Lolth on the other hand is better fit. Her story is more in line with the casting out of the Angels into Hell. Though I am not sure I want her in Hell proper, maybe more of the Ante-chamber to Hell, near the Underdark. This would be similar to the first level of Hell that Dante claimed the Pagans went too. So I am trading a giant dragon for a giant spider. For a bit of tongue in cheek continuity I would make Tiamat and Lolth allies. They have different goals and motivations, but I see them as felling they have a common history so if it benefits them to share an alliance, then they would. Lolth's realm is still called the Demonweb and she still has a number of demons in her employ.
Devils in my Game
Demons are easy. They are evil, chaotic outsiders bent on destruction of everything. Devils are much more complicated. I say in my game Devils are only Fallen Angels. That means there are a finite number of them and once they are gone, that is it. There are a lot of creatures that are called devils, but most of them are demons pressed into service. Since they have been forced into service by the Devils they have changed, they can evolve into greater forms. Pit Fiends are those fiends that have reason up in ranks. The True Devils still look down on them.
Since I started this post, Dreams of the Lich House posted a bit about using Satan/The Tempter in your games. It is a good read. It also ties in nicely with the Milton/Dante-ish cosmology I want to use for Hell. I would keep the 9 layers. The top most being the "Ante-Chamber of Hell" and the rest each ruled by an Arch Duke. Also each Arch Duke is responsible for one of the Seven Deadly sins.
| Layer | Name | Arch-Duke | Deadly Sin |
| 1 | Avernus | none | na |
| 2 | Dis | Dispater | Envy |
| 3 | Minauros | Mammon | Greed |
| 4 | Phlegethos | Belial | Sloth |
| 5 | Stygia | Geryon | Wrath |
| 6 | Malbolge | Glayssa | Lust |
| 7 | Maladomini | Baalzebul/Beelzebub | Gluttony |
| 8 | Cania | Mephistopheles | Pride |
| 9 | Nessus | Asmodeus | * |
Glayssa was given Lust, Asmodeus' old sin since he is now in charge. His though is the sin of betrayal.
In the 4e cosmology Asmodeus was the angel guarding the prison that Tharizdun was held in. Tharizdûn corrupted him and Asmodues and his angels all fell. I have decided that Tharizdun is still chained, but the greatest deceit is that he is not where all the gods think he is. He is in fact buried deep in Hell where Asmodeus taps his power. This is how he has been elevated to near Godhood. Of course this might be Tharizdun plan to to trap Asmodeus in his thrall even more.
Chances are good that the Dragonslayers will run into the cult of Tharizdun sometime soon. I just need something to do with them.
I am not planning on the Dragonslayers going to Hell anytime soon, so this all might be for nothing.
4 comments:
I'd hate to fight a devil in your game. I do however love the pic from the Dr Who episode. If the Dragonslayers do end up there it'll be fun to read about their fight with the cult of Tharizdun .
Hail Satan! (said in Tenacious D voice).
Cool post. I've done a similar re-imagining of Hell and Devils for my game, although without Lolth, since I just drop Drow altogether. My Hell is much more like Dante's, which is the spirit of what D&D Hell was originally like, before Planescape and all that.
Not that anyone in my game has made it anywhere near a trip to Hell in game yet...
Congrats on reaching 666. Nice to see a picture of Eddie. As for the Doctor Who picture ... that was a great episode. I took pictures of the same thing. Great stuff. And again, congrats for doing a kick-ass job on your blog.
I appologize if you've already mentioned them and I just overlooked it, but where do daemons/yugoloths fit into your cosmology. I don't know if they've even been mentioned in 4E, but I know they were in past editions. I always liked them, myself.
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