Main / OP-NineHells

Other Planes - Outer Planes

Nine Hells

Pandemonium is an underground realm, a great mass of matter pierced by innumerable tunnels carved by the howling winds of the plane. It is the plane of chaos tinged by evil, in many ways the opposite of Gladsheim. Whereas the realm of the Norse powers consists of great spaces of air spanned by huge earthen rivers, the lands of Pandemonium are huge dark caverns filled with continual wind. Gravity is always away from the center of the cave, so the traveler can walk on the walls, floors, and ceiling of a cavern with equal ease. Rivers flow along the cave floor or straight down the middle of the cavern through the air. Three words describe the four layers of Pandemonium: windy, noisy, and dark.

The Nine Hells are a place that best captures the imagination of travelers, the greed of treasure-seekers, and the battle-fury of paladins Is the Nine Hells, a plane of evil organized to further Its own malefic ends. It is dominated by creatures (the devils) set Into a rigid caste system, but it is home to large numbers of other evil crea- tures.

Each of the nine layers of the Heiis are infinite, extending for- ever in all directions. The barriers between layers are always found at the lowest point of the upper level and at a very high point above the surface of the next layer down. If there is a moun- tain or other high structure at the barrier region in the lower plane, then the traveler can climb down (but beware, for such convenient areas are very rare and always guarded). Otherwise, the exit for the barrier is about a haif-mlle above the surface of the next layer down. Unless the traveler can fly, ho will probably suf- fer 20d6 of damage from the fail as wall as attracting the attention of creatures below in a most spectacular fashion.

The Nine Hells are the most typically infernal of the lower planes— the unknowing often ascribe the Hells' environments to the other lower planes as well. The physical laws and properties of matter are constant within each layer, but these change as the traveler passes from layer to layer,

Avernus is the topmost layer of the Nine Hells, often referred to in devilish circles as "the front parlor." Its sky is a dark red and starless. It Is a rocky wasteland; the few plants are stunted and twisted. The atmosphere of Avernus is filled with flammable vapor gathered into innumerable glowing spheres that radiate a dim light. There is a 1 in 6 chance per turn that a glowing region bursts Into a fireball (as the spell) for 2-7 d6s of damage. (This is reduced to a 1 in 1 2 chance per turn if the traveler refrains from using open flame— torches, candles, etc.) Many of the devils within this layer are out of favor deeper in the Hells, but not in so much trouble that they must flee to Gehenna or Hades, Some of the great rocky crags of this layer are actually secret shelters for greater devils who are astrally projecting. The watchdog of the Hells' front parlor Is Tiamat.

DIs, the second layer of the Hells, is dominated by the city of the same name. This massive edifice rises from the low hills and stagnant rivers (black and poisonous) to several miles In height and hundreds of miles across. Several barriers from Avernus lead to the upper citadels of this fell city, though none lead Into the stone and lead inner sanctum of DIs himself, who rules this realm. Beyond the walls of the Iron City, the land is flat and bar- ren, rising some thousands of miles away into low, rolling hills. All the lands are capped by a heavily overcast sky of dull greens lit by flickers of lightning.

MInauros Is the layer of the avaricious, and ruled by Mammon, who has despoiled massive regions of his realm to build the sink- ing city of MInauros, his capital. The ground of the third layer Is marshy and wet, and continual rains, hall, and sleet pass over the land. The only solid ground is the hard volcanic ridges that undu- late across the landscape like great serpents frozen into the ground. The city MInauros Is built of black stone not found In the plane and Is continually settling Into the swamps. Mammon and his servants are constantly occupied with gathering more materi- al to support the city. A barrier to DIs exists only 30 feel above the roofs of Mammon's palace. It Is guarded very carefully. The land surrounding this decaying city Is wet and filled with rot and decay-

ing bodies; movement rates over this ground are halved. The plane is the most disease ridden of the lower planes— there is a 1 3% chance per visit that an extraplanar traveler contracts a dis- ease while in this realm.

Phlegethos is the most Infernal (in the classic sense) of the Nine Hells. It Is a nightmare region of volcanos and rivers of tire. These rivers are not magma or lava, but liquefied fire. Those who enter a fire river suffer the effects of entering the plane of elemen- tal Fire. It Is a violent land that is often disrupted by tremors and eruptions. Its ruler is Belial, who rules from the city of Abriymoch in a hollowed-out extinct volcano,

Stygia is the fifth of the Nine Hells and the only one of the lower hells are connected to the Styx, which runs through Avernus and from there connects to the other lower planes. Stygia Is a great frozen sea through which the Styx cuts a clear channel. The river loses Its memory-robbing powers in this layer because of dilution. Atop the thick Ice, small plants and mosses have taken root. Eons of decay of these plants has produced a cold swamp that exists on top of an ice pack (up to three miles in thickness) that floats on an ocean of limitless depth. Floating Islands provide the solid ground in this layer. Among the peaks of these Isles lightning dances from the jet-black sky and balls of cold fire (Inflicting 2d6 points of damage) dance about the barrier regions to the upper Hells. One such Island holds the great city Tantlin, which Is ruled by Geryon.

Malboige, the sixth Hell, Is set upon a huge rockfall, as If the great building blocks of the outer planes were suddenly knocked into a great pile. Most of the plane is made of city-sized angular black stones that cover the entire realm. These force travelers into continual climbs and descents while moving across its sur- face and create huge passages and twisting, angular realms beneath the surface where dark powers can confer. The sky is alight with clouds of blood-red steam, and the odor of burning permeates the air as stinking vapors rise from the regions below. (Malboige may rest upon an infinite sea of lava. The layer of black stones, hundreds of miles in thickness; prevents those on the surface from being totally immolated.) Malboige Is dotted with copper-shod fortresses, the homes of Moloch, who rules this plane as the viceroy of Baalzebul.

Maladomlnl, the seventh layer. Is the home of Baalzebul, Lord of Flies and Lies. This layer is similar to Malboige in its sky and stinking vapors. Maladomlnl, however, has a solid surface, though it is twisted and deformed by the continual building and rebuilding of the domains in the layer. Great quarries scar the countryside, stone-walled aqueducts and canals carry lava across the lifeless plains, and malebranche fortresses and the ruins of cities dot the landscape. The only Inhabited city of the realm is Malagard, a palace that stretches for a thousand miles and contains a million rooms. Beneath this edifice lies a dungeon complex so vast that the devils themselves are unaware of its full dimensions.

Calna outdoes Stygia in Its heartless cold nature, for it is a lay- er of ice. Travelers entering this area suffer the effects of -60 degree weather (see the WSG) for as long as they remain in the realm. Calna Is a region of huge glaciers moving past mountains of slower-moving Ice. Snow and sleet are continual companions in this layer. The devilish ruler of this layer is Mephlstopheles.

Nessus Is the final level of the Nine Hells. It contains a series of vast rifts, each leading lower until the grand palace of Hell's Overlord, Asmodeus, is reached. This huge citadel dwarfs even the Khin-Oin of Hades, home of the Oinodaemon. It rests on the banks of a great lake; <rf foe th^aWfts continually to catch those unwary enough to satempt a crosatng. The river Lethe feeds this icy lake. Nessus is a land of extremes: the coldest regions, the hottest volcanos, the steepest and smoothest cliffs. Waves of fire sweep the region as triple strength walls of fire, moving 26" per round and turning everything in their path to ash. Nessus is a rec- ommended stop only in the most dire of needs.

The paths into and out of the Hells are many. The Styx runs through Avernus and into Stygia; Charon and his charona- daemons will ferry those foolish enough to travel within those lands. The river Lethe runs through Nessus and is said to link to certain Prime Material planes in the same fashion as the Yggdra- sil and Mount Olympus. Whether it does or not is unknown. Touching or drinking the black waters of Lethe has the same effect as the Styx, but Charon and his servants never appear on its shores.

In Avernus there are portals to the topmost layers of Acheron, Gehenna, and to the outer rings of the plane of Concordant Opposition. These free-standing portals are identical— huge hoops of reddish light. Tiamat is well aware of the permanent por- tals near her realhis. She has them guarded by encampments of abishai or laced with traps.

There are a large number of conduits leading from the Nine Hells to Prime Material planes. This enables the dukes and arch- liuKes to vie for control over the forces of evil on a multitude of alternate planes. Thts continual squabbling among the forces of evilbychicanery and forceof arms usually spells the doom of evil ^lans, for evil always turns upon itself. Recognition oi this fact is rare among the devilish races. For that reason, there are a large

number of conduits leading to Prime Material planes, despite the fact that these conduits allow ingress to adventurers who seek to slay the devils who built the conduits!

There is one conduit rumored to exist in the heart of Asmo- deus's mighty palace. It allegedly was here long before the cur- rent overlord or any overlord before him first set foot in the Hells. This conduit is said to destroy all evil that touches It, even the mightiest arch-devil or demon prince. Where it leads Is unknown, but it is the foundation for stories that say the best method of escaping the Hells is to journey to the lowest layer.

Features of the Nine Hells

The most prominent inhabitants of the Nine Hells are devilkind, but they share their plane with many other evil creatures. An excellent summary of those creatures, and their frequency on the individual layers of the Hells, can be found in the entry under dev- il in Monster Manual II.

All creatures native to the Nine Hells are unaffected by the nat- ural forces (ice, fire, poison, etc.) that exist on their native layer. For example, an ice devil from Caina is immune to all magical and natural cold, but onfy while in Caina. This advantage for natives in their home layer tends to prevent attacks by devils from other layers.

The arch-devils are a group of powerful devils (treat as lesser gods in their home plane) dedicated to the defeat of good and their own supremacy over all the known planes of existence. Such a unified force could pose a great problem, but each arch- devil is convincKJ ttial he (or she) alone is the meet capable lead- er of the diabolic forces. There always comes a point for every devil when the desire to rule In Hell outweighs any advantage to be gained from defeating tiie forces of good (deviis wili contest witfi Odin, for example, but no devil sees tiimself as taking over Odin's position in Gladstieim), Ali arch-deviis see ttiemseives as contenders for the position of the Overlord of Heii. While the bat- tling in the Hells is much more sabtle than the roaring wars in the halls of the Oinodaemon, there are endless struggles in the pits nonetheless.

Briefly, then, here is a summary of the most powerful deviis and their spheres of Influence.

• AsmodeuB is the current overlord of the dukes of Hell. He rules from a great palace located in the lowest rift of Nessus, the ninth circle of the plane. The disposition of his household and staff is not fully described, which Is to Asmodeus's liking.

• Mephistopheies makes his domain in the iron citadel of Mephistar, overlooking the great glacier called Nargus. His chief duke and sen/ant is Hutijin.

• Baaizebui, reportedly the second-most powerful of the arch- deviis, makes his home in the seventh ring, Maiadomini, in the great fortress l^alagard. This fortress is a maze of towers and waits and dungeons, jammed with ail manner of treasures as well as eons' worth of debris that has never been thrown ou\.

• Moloch, vassal to Baaizebui, rules the rookfaii layer of l^alboige for his lord. The Lord of the Flies denies Moloch a per- manent home, so Moloch moves from location to location in the layer.

• Geryon's castle, Tantlin, rises from the ice of the frozen land of Stygia. His chief assistant is Amon.

• Belial rules from a basalt palace in the cone of a dead volca- no, one of the few permanently stable pieces of ground in his lay- er. This palace is called Abriymoch, the Mount of Leaping Flames. Its tunnels and deep delvings are far larger than appears possible from the outside.

• f^ammon rules from the stinking and sinking city of Minauros, in the layer of the same name. He is served by Baei, his chief commander, and Giasya, his chief consort (who is also one of the more powerful distaff members of the Hells).

• Dispater's abode is in the heart of the city of Dis— a huge tower of stone rising from the Iron City itself. In its highest towers he gathers information from his erinyes and dictates his wishes to Titivilus, his trusted messenger.

• Tiamat has a cavernous iair in Avernus, the uppermost lay- er. Her lair is filled with abishai and ail manner of evil dragons and their spirits. These she sends to lay low those who challenge or displease her.

Politicaiiy, the arch-deviis are split into three opposing groups. Asrnodeus commands the unswerving loyalty of Geryon and Tiamat (layers: 1 ,5, and 9). Baaizebui has Moiooh as a stated vas- sal and has been recruiting Belial, whose rivalry with Geryon is unbounded (layers: 4,6, and 7). Mephistopheies seeks to appear as a force of reason and restraint; he has Dispater and the ever- greedy Mammon on his side (layers: 2,3, and 8).

While Asrnodeus may seem to have the weakest faction of the three, his control over ali the devils as overlord gives him the advantage. Both Baaizebui and Mephistopheies seek to dethrone Asrnodeus, but they cannot depend on the other mem- bers of their faction, who wili only defy Asmodeus when victory is certain. Arch-deviis will quickly turn on the erstwhile allies if they can gain additional realms and responsibilities. Also, the faction that is not revolting will automatically side with Asmodeus, hop- ing to curry favor and gain spoils when the revolt is defeated.

Asmodeus skillfully plays one faction against the other, never let- ting his supporting dukes know where they stand in his eyes. This continual doubt, plus the fact that Asmodeus controls both ends of the Nine Hells (through Tiamat, who is underrated by her devil- ish compatriots as a dumb beast), makes Asmodeus supreme in his portions of the Nine Hells.

The organized realms of the devils are vast, but the layers of the Hells are infinite in size. They are home to other powers besides those of deviikind. The true relationship between lawful evil Powers and the deviis is unknown, for neither side is volun- teering any information. In those planes in which deviis are unknown, the lawful evil Powers mention devils only as very use- ful sen/ants. As Takhisis in the world of Krynn, Tiamat has never let her followers know that there are other arch-deviis or that there is a Nine Hells at ail. The reverse is true as well— worlds worlds that know of Asmodeus and not Druaga or Set will not find out about Druaga or Set if Asmodeus has anything to say about it.

An excellent example of this is Druaga, a lesser Power of the Babylonian mythos, who is titled (perhaps self-tilled) Ruler of the Devil Worid. Druaga has a realm on the second layer of the Hells, far from the hills that surround Dis's fiat plain. Both he and Dispa- ter are aware of each other and tolerate each other's presence in their layer of Heii. Neither interferes with the workings of the oth- er. Dispater may provide the deviis that Druaga sends forth, but the full nature of this relationship is unrevealed.

A very different relationship exits with Set, the Greater Power of the Egyptians, whose single-minded pursuit of vengeance against Osiris, Horus, and the rest of his pantheon exceeds even the hatred of Loki for the inhabitants of Gladsheim. Set can accept no equals, only subsen/ient minions. While a united deviikind is too powerful to defeat, they are not powerful or uni- fied enough to launch a war and drive Set from "their" hells. For this reason Set controls a large swath of the first layer of Avernus. which under his command is lit by a blazing sun and is as bone- dry as the desert. Set makes his home in a great palace of white stone. Captives are set to work erecting a massive pyramid that he hopes will fill his layer and create his own set of planes between the Nine Hells and Acheron, if you are looking for a good example of a mad god. Set comes dangerously close.

Hecate of the Greeks and Inanna of the Sumerians have adja- cent realms in Phiegethos, the fourth layer, with suitable conduits to reach those worlds where they are venerated. Hecate tends to be more lawful than evil, sending her quota of devils out in an organized fashion to punish particular misdeeds. Inanna is the reverse, more evil than lawful. She delights in the fickle nature that sending too many (or not enough) evil servants into battle may bring. The two goddesses' relationships with Belial are unknown, though the arch-devil has been known to call on both their courts. Both are indifferent to their organized neighbors unless they are dragged into the fray— something that Asmodeus would rather cut off a limb than see happen. (Asmodeus dreads the thought of the Greek and Sumerian pantheons descending on his plane and upsetting his delicate balance of power.) The other devils tend to keep arrangements with these Powers very quiet lest they incur Asmodeus's wrath.

Sekolah, the great white shark venerated by the Sahaguin, makes its abode in the deep oceans of Stygia, far beneath the ice pack. There it dines on ali manner of gigantic sea-beasts, both other predators (such as squid and killer whales) and prey (great whales). Sekolah is a crafty, evil beast, and has been known to surface to converse with (and often devour) Geryon's ambassadors to the monarch of the deep. Geryon does not fear Sekolah since he has the weight of a full island plus several miies of ice between the great white shark and himself.

Kurtulmak of the koboids lives in the caverns of the first layer of the Heils. He is careful to stay out of the way of more powerful beings. While no great threat to the safety of the Hells, various arch-dukes curry his favor as one more ally In the continual power struggle between factions. Kurtuimak smiles graciously, takes any and all aid, and proceeds to rob the arch-devils blind while maintaining his front as an aiiy against other Powers. Kurtuimak rarely admits to his followers that his Nine Hells have any other major Inhabitants. When forced to admit his true situation in the Heiis, he admonishes his followers to heed his example when dealing with forces beyond their control.

Finally, No Cha of the Chinese mythos Is a deml-god with no set address In the Hells, like Ratri in the glooms of Hades Like

Ratri, No Cha Is a Power invoked by thieves and robbers for luck in their nocturnal businesses. He is always on the move, stealing from one devil or power group, then seeking sanctuary with another power group. No Cha Is smart enough not to steal any thing that someone might start a war to recover (Asmodeus's rod of office, for example), but picks up lesser bits and pieces in the plane.

Many lesser devils are given the names ol Powers, such as the devil Dagon (who Is not the demon prince Dagon) and the devil Nergai (who is not the Babylonian god Nergal). The purpose of such names is threefold; to upset the other Power, lo catch spell casters trying to invoke these beings without proper understand- ing, and to further muddle any discussion ol who rules in the lower planes. (Titivilus can honestly say, ''Nergal? Why Nergal lives in the Hells— outcast, hides in Avernus. Looks like a toad.