Maladomini
Maladomini is the seventh layer of The Nine Hells of Baator. It is an endless labyrinth of ruined and decaying cities and the center for all the bureaucracy of the Nine Hells.
A great marble boulevard lined with grotesque statues known as the Road of Perdition leads from Malbolge to Maladomini, the seventh hell. This layer consists of dozens of vast tunnels that meet and diverge in a maze stretching for hundreds of miles. Maladomini is one of the largest of the hells, and its branching passages link all the lower hells together— in various spots its tunnels reach Malbolge, Cania, and even Nessus.
The tunnels of Maladomini average three to five miles wide, with a ceiling a thousand feet or more overhead. Each tunnel is a long, curving cavern featuring ancient strongholds, crumbling cities, and ruined palaces that climb the tunnel’s steep sides. Rivers of filth and sludge wind through the center of each tunnel. Swarms of biting flies plague all who venture through Maladomini’s polluted ruins. Guttering green flames fed by pitch seep along the river banks and drifting balls of luminous green fire provide a dim, sickly illumination for the layer, but some tunnels lack this natural lighting and brood eternally in foul, cloying darkness.
Many infernal fiefs are located in Maladomini, and the strongholds of many quarrelsome pit fiends and war devils are located here. The ruler of the layer is the archdevil Baalzebul, the Lord of Flies.
History
Maladomini was once a beautiful and fully urbanized realm. However, Baalzebul, who at the time controlled both Maladomini and Malbolge, attempted to overthrow Asmodeus by forging and altering records in an attempt to frame Asmodeus as an incompetent leader. He then organized an attack on Nessus to replace Asmodeus before he could respond. However, a massive offensive by demons from The Blood War upon Avernus occurred as Baalzebul was about to enact his plan. He instructed his legions to stay out of the fight, which caused the invading army to almost reach The Iron City of Dis. Baalzebul, finally, decided to order his legions to join the fight, but his delay caused suspicion from the other archdevils. When his treachery was revealed, Maladomini was ravaged by attacks from the other Lords of the Nine, which ultimately defeated Baalzebul and turned the layer into a devastated wasteland. Asmodeus, knowing that Baalzebul's intellect would be useful to him, did not demote him, but enacted a punishment that included replacing him as ruler of Malbolge with his daughter Glasya and transforming the archdevil into a slug-like monster for one year for each lie he told to a devil, applied retroactively. This caused Baalzebul to remain in slug form for millennia, finally reverting back to his original form in the late 15th century DR.A Maze of Information
Every edict, policy statement, scientific treatise, and other document in The Nine Hells of Baator is recorded, copied, and filed away in Maladomini’s archives. These storehouses are buried deep underground, so that they would remain intact if the layer is ever again hit by the sort of devastation that occurred when Baalzebul was brought to heel. Each document in the archives is important in its own way, and all these sites are heavily guarded by devils and traps. Even if would-be thieves could get around the defenses, they would have figure out how to navigate the complex classification system that marks the precise location of each bit of paperwork stored within.
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Comments