Devils

Overview

Devils are a lawful evil race of fiends that inhabit the Nether Plane, commonly known as the Nine Hells. They are beings of absolute hierarchy, law, and cruelty. Every devil exists within a rigid chain of command where authority is law, and law is power. Once divine champions of order created by the god Eradoras during the Dark Age, devils were forged as holy enforcers meant to uphold rigid order across the planes.

Following their failed rebellion against their creator, they were cast down into the newly formed Nether Plane. There, they reshaped their divine mandate into something colder, crueler, and far more efficient. To this day, devils view themselves not as villains, but as the true judges of order, willing to commit evil acts in the name of stability, law, and control.

History

Champions of Order

During The Dark Age, as Téridax raised armies of dark elves and abominations, Eradoras sought an equal force to oppose the chaos. From his divine will, he created the Champions of Order, perfect soldiers bound to law, obedience, and structure. These champions were led by the brilliant and unyielding general Asmodeus. Under Asmodeus’s command, the champions proved indispensable. They enforced divine law and brought merciless order to the battlefields. Where chaos spread, they imposed structure, often through brutal means.

Asmodeus's Rebellion

After the war, Eradoras continued to use his champions as a divine guard force, sending them to the mortal realm to punish societies that deviated from his rigid doctrine of order. Over time, Asmodeus came to believe that Eradoras was flawed, too distant, too inconsistent, too inefficient to uphold true order. Believing himself more fit to rule, Asmodeus gathered followers among the champions and attempted to overthrow Eradoras in what history would later name Asmodeus’s Rebellion. The uprising failed and as punishment, Eradoras banished Asmodeus and all who sided with him into the newly created Nether Plane, severing them from the Upper Plane forever.

Birth of Baator

In exile, Asmodeus crowned himself King of Hell and claimed one of the deepest layers, Nessus, as his throne. Cut off from divine grace but still bound to law, the fallen champions reshaped their existence. They built a society founded on:

• Absolute hierarchy
• Infernal law
• Contracts and binding oaths
• Ruthless meritocracy

Thus, the Champions of Order became Devils.

It was not long after, the demons of the Abyss began to surge upward through the River Styx, threatening to take over Baator and spill into the mortal plane. The devils retaliated, beginning the eternal conflict known as The Blood War. Though cruel and evil, the devils’ war against the demons has unintentionally become one of the greatest barriers protecting the mortal realms from Abyssal annihilation.

Infernal Hierarchy

Devil society is governed by an uncompromising hierarchy known as the Infernal Chain of Command. Rank defines identity, authority, and worth. Every devil exists to serve those above them and to command those below them. Advancement is the sole measure of success, and demotion is a fate worse than death. Promotion is earned through service to Hell—most often by acquiring souls, enforcing infernal law, commanding armies in the Blood War, or outmaneuvering rivals through lawful means. Betrayal is expected, provided it is executed within the bounds of infernal law.

Lowest Ranks: The Damned

Nupperibo
Mindless, wretched husks of souls stripped of identity and memory. These are the lowest form of infernal existence and serve as living punishment. They perform menial labor or are used as expendable resources.

Lemure
Semi-intelligent masses of infernal flesh formed from stronger or more willful souls. Lemures retain fragments of ambition and are the most common starting point for advancement. A lemure that displays cunning, obedience, or usefulness may be elevated, or destroyed if it proves inconvenient.

Lesser Devils: The Initiated

Imps, Spined Devils, and Similar Forms
Devils promoted from lemures are reshaped into lesser infernal forms. These devils serve as messengers, spies, scribes, enforcers, and contract brokers. Many are attached to mortal cults or assigned to the Fugue Plane to tempt and recruit souls. Failure at this stage often results in demotion back into a lemure or nupperibo.

Greater Devils: The Commanders

Mid-Rank Devils
These devils often serve as Generals in the Blood War, Governors of infernal territories, Overseers of soul forges and infernal industries and Judges/Prosecutors within infernal courts. They command legions and lesser devils and are deeply involved in Hell’s internal politics. Most devils will never rise beyond this rank. Promotion beyond this level requires exceptional ambition, the favor of a superior, or the legal elimination of a rival.

Devil Lords: The Rulers of Layers

Devil Lords rule territories, fortresses, or entire layers within the Nine Hells under the authority of an Overlord. Each Lord embodies a particular expression of infernal law: tyranny, conquest, temptation, punishment, or domination. A Devil Lord:

• Commands vast armies
• Oversees soul economies
• Maintains infernal law within their domain
• Answers directly to an Overlord

Devil Lords are constantly scheming against one another, bound by contracts that prevent open rebellion but encourage indirect warfare through assassinations, political sabotage, and legal maneuvering.

Devil Overlords: Masters of Hell

Devil Overlords are the highest-ranking devils in existence, surpassed only by Asmodeus himself. Each Overlord governs one of the Nine Hells or an equivalent dominion of infernal authority. An Overlord is:

• The supreme authority of their domain
• A living embodiment of infernal law
• Nearly impossible to permanently destroy
• Bound only by Asmodeus and the laws of Hell

Overlords are not appointed lightly. Ascension to Overlordhood requries:

• An overwhelming accumulation of souls
• Absolute control over a layer or domain
• Recognition by Asmodeus
• The lawful downfall or replacement of a previous Overlord.

Devils of this rank are feared even by some gods, for they command not only armies, but laws that shape reality within their domains.

Asmodeus, King of Hell

At the apex of the Infernal Hierarchy stands Asmodeus, First Overlord and King of Hell. From his throne in Nessus, he enforces the Infernal Chain of Command and arbitrates disputes between Overlords.
Asmodeus rules not through chaos or fear alone, but through law. Every contract, promotion, war, and execution ultimately traces back to his authority. Whether he still serves some fragment of Eradoras’s will, or has transcended it entirely, is a matter of endless infernal debate.

Souls & Afterlife

Lawful evil souls are automatically claimed by the Nine Hells, arriving as nupperibos or lemures depending on their strength of will and ambition. Other souls may arrive through: Infernal bargains made in life, Broken oaths or damned bloodlines. Devils are permitted to bargain with souls in the Fugue Plane, offering power, vengeance, or purpose in exchange for eternal servitude. To the devils, this is not corruption, it is lawful recruitment. Souls are the currency of Hell:

• Used to fual war efforts
• Spent to gain favor
• Invested in promotions
• Forged into infernal constructs

Belief & Philosophy

Though they rebelled against Eradoras, many devils still define themselves by his ideals, twisted and perfected. Some secretly resent their creator. Others believe Eradoras failed and that Hell is the ultimate evolution of divine order. Among devils, a dangerous thought sometimes circulates: "We did not betray order. We perfected it."

Geographic Distribution

• Nine Hells