Devils!
Probably my most popular video is the one I made about the Nine Hells.
I spoke a lot about the devil rulers of each layer of hell, but let’s discover more about
devils themselves.
Devils are lawful evil creatures, bound by contracts and hierarchy.
Many devils are torturers for all the souls that wind up in the Nine Hells.
They are ruled by the Arch Devils and must follow their orders.
Devils live to conquer, enslave, and oppress.
They take delight in exercising authority over creatures weaker than themselves.
Devils on the material plane tempt mortals into the darkness.
They manipulate humanoid rulers by whispering evil thoughts leading them to evil actions.The
more souls that arrive in Baator, the Nine Hells, the more expansive Asmodeus’ kingdom
becomes.
It’s the nature of a devil to lawfully trick and influence humanoid creatures of Faerun
to evil deeds.
Devils, due to their lawful nature, must obey their superiors even when they are full of
envy or dislike for them.
They realize that their obedience will be rewarded.
The hierarchy of the Nine Hells depends on this loyalty.
It’s every devil's hope that one day through servitude they will rise up and perhaps become
an Archdevil themselves.
Devils are confined to the lower planes but can travel beyond those through portals or
powerful summoning magic.
If summoned they will want to strike bargains with humanoids.
Devils are powerful negotiators and are ruthless at enforcing the terms of an agreement.
Any contract with any devil should be carefully considered.
A wizard might be stronger than the imp he’s made a contract with but that contract is
enforced by the will of Asmodeus himself.
Any creature that breaks a contract instantly forfeits its soul which is taken to the Nine
Hells for torture.
Only some divine intervention can release a soul after a devil has claimed it.
Devils are tied to the nine hells, if they die outside of the fiendish plane they disappear
in a cloud of sulfuric smoke, or dissolve into a pool of ichor.
It then returns instantly to its home plane.
However if the devil dies on its home plane it’s is gone forever, a fate that Asmodeus
himself fears
Archdevils include the rulers of the nine hells as well as dukes and duchesses that
make up the courts.
Their advisers etc.
Greater devils are below them and include pit fiends, horned devils, and ice devils
that command the lesser devils that attend archdevils.
Lesser devils are imps, spined devils, barbed devils, bone devils, etc. pretty much the
rest devil kind are considered lesser devils.
The lowest of the lown in the Nine Hells are the Lemures.
They are twisted tormented souls of evil and corrupted mortals.
So not really devils but an imp needs someone underneath him to control and torture.
Greater devils have the power to promote a Lemure to lesser devils, and archdevils
can promote lesser ones to greater devils.
Archdevils can do all of that but Asmodeus alone can promote a greater devil to archdevil
status.
These promotions are typically based on need.
A Greater devil would only make more lesser devils if he needed them to perform a specific
task.
However higher level promotions can be made based on merit.
Let’s talk about true names and talismans.
Devils all have common names but everyone also has a true name.
It keeps this name secret because to know it gives you power over that devil.
A devil can be forced to disclose its true name if charmed.
This has led to devil names being written on ancient scrolls or carved into talismans.
A binding talisman can be created if you know a devil’s true name.
After summoning a devil a wizard can bind it to its service, this can be better accomplished
with a talisman.
The talisman has the true name inscribed on it and was then bathed in the blood of a worthy
sacrifice.
These items make it safer to summon devils to your service, they’ll be under complete
control but that won't sway them from tempting you or trying to get you killed by accident.
Devils maybe loyal to their master but they are still tricky and evil.
Most devils hate being summoned with the exception of imps who easily commit to serving a summoner
as a familiar.
Devils are abstractions given a semblance of flesh.
Though they might appear to be biological creatures composed of flesh, bone, blood etc
they are in fact magical expressions of particular universal concept.
Devils obtain their sustenance from the ambient energy of tormented souls.
They do not need to eat or drink to survive.
That doesn’t mean they won’t eat, and in fact will devour mortal creatures more
as a show of power and fear than the actual pleasure of eating.
Although devils do not reproduce sexually they can mix with mortal races.
This created the tiefling subrace in D&D.
Every tiefling can trace their ancestry back to a distant devil relative.
Devils do not die of old age, so it is very possible that that tieflings great great devil
grandfather is still kicking around in the Nine Hells waiting for a summoning ritual
to bring it back to the mortal plane.
5th edition has the spell Planar Ally and Planar Binding to summon and bind devils to
your work.
Planar Ally is interesting because there is payment involved in the aid the devil will
bring to you.