The Nine Hells
(https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Nine_Hells)
The Nine Hells of Baator, sometimes shortened to Hell or Hells, and named Baator (bay-AH-tor) in Infernal, was the home of the devils and the plane that embodied lawful evil. It was a plane of sinister wickedness and institutional cruelty, its denizens organized into a strict caste system with a very rigid chain of command. Each of the nine Hells had its own physical laws or properties of matter, but all were inhospitable or deadly to outsiders. Avernus- Zariel
Dis- Dispater
Minauros- Mammon
Phlegethos- Belial and Fierna
Stygia- Levistus
Malbolge- Glasya
Maladomini- Baalzebul
Cania- Mephistopheles
Nessus- Asmodeus
The Great Wheel cosmology model placed the Nine Hells in the Outer Planes between Gehenna and Acheron, with additional connections to Concordant Opposition and the Astral Plane. Each Hell was a different infinite layer interconnected at barriers much like a nine-layered cake—the lowest points of one layer manifested barriers that exited high above the surface of the next lower layer. The river Styx flowed through the first layer, Avernus, and also the fifth layer, Stygia, before crossing over into Gehenna. When the Great Wheel model was overshadowed by the World Tree cosmology model, the river Styx was renamed the River of Blood and it flowed through all the fiendish planes (except for the Supreme Throne and the Demonweb Pits) originating in the Abyss, passing through the Blood Rift—an unusual plane that connected the Abyss with the Nine Hells—bringing the devils even closer to their arch-enemies the demons, resulting in the Blood War. The layers were still described as being infinite but with a central pit of finite size that opened to the next lower layer in a tiered fashion, with a drop of many miles between layers. Cosmologists verified portals between the Nine Hells and the Barrens of Doom and Despair and Clangor and, by agreement with Kelemvor, to the Fugue Plane. The Astral plane connected all of the fiendish planes to the Prime Material Plane, but not directly to each other. After the Spellplague, Asmodeus consumed the essence of the fallen Azuth achieving (some say regaining) greater godhood and ended the Blood War by casting the Abyss to the furthest depths of the Elemental Chaos. The World Axis cosmology model described the Nine Hells as an astral dominion floating in the Astral Sea, no longer of infinite size nor consisting of layers, ruled by Asmodeus and his eight archdevil vassals. Once again the river Styx flowed through the Nine Hells and the Abyss, but then emptied its pollution into the Astral Sea. Inhabitants:
The principal inhabitants of the Nine Hells/Baator were the devils, and their offspring in varieties too numerous to catalogue here. See the main article for descriptions of the myriad devilkind. Unlike the demons of the Abyss, the devils were highly organized in their quest for power and status—scheming and plotting power plays, coups, and assassinations. In addition to the devils, this plane was home to bonespears, gathra, haraknin, hell hounds, imps, night hags, nightmares, and maelephants. Also occasionally encountered were achaierai, barghests, hellcats, mephits, rakshasa, and stench kows.
The Nine Hells of Baator, sometimes shortened to Hell or Hells, and named Baator (bay-AH-tor) in Infernal, was the home of the devils and the plane that embodied lawful evil. It was a plane of sinister wickedness and institutional cruelty, its denizens organized into a strict caste system with a very rigid chain of command. Each of the nine Hells had its own physical laws or properties of matter, but all were inhospitable or deadly to outsiders. Avernus- Zariel
Dis- Dispater
Minauros- Mammon
Phlegethos- Belial and Fierna
Stygia- Levistus
Malbolge- Glasya
Maladomini- Baalzebul
Cania- Mephistopheles
Nessus- Asmodeus
The Great Wheel cosmology model placed the Nine Hells in the Outer Planes between Gehenna and Acheron, with additional connections to Concordant Opposition and the Astral Plane. Each Hell was a different infinite layer interconnected at barriers much like a nine-layered cake—the lowest points of one layer manifested barriers that exited high above the surface of the next lower layer. The river Styx flowed through the first layer, Avernus, and also the fifth layer, Stygia, before crossing over into Gehenna. When the Great Wheel model was overshadowed by the World Tree cosmology model, the river Styx was renamed the River of Blood and it flowed through all the fiendish planes (except for the Supreme Throne and the Demonweb Pits) originating in the Abyss, passing through the Blood Rift—an unusual plane that connected the Abyss with the Nine Hells—bringing the devils even closer to their arch-enemies the demons, resulting in the Blood War. The layers were still described as being infinite but with a central pit of finite size that opened to the next lower layer in a tiered fashion, with a drop of many miles between layers. Cosmologists verified portals between the Nine Hells and the Barrens of Doom and Despair and Clangor and, by agreement with Kelemvor, to the Fugue Plane. The Astral plane connected all of the fiendish planes to the Prime Material Plane, but not directly to each other. After the Spellplague, Asmodeus consumed the essence of the fallen Azuth achieving (some say regaining) greater godhood and ended the Blood War by casting the Abyss to the furthest depths of the Elemental Chaos. The World Axis cosmology model described the Nine Hells as an astral dominion floating in the Astral Sea, no longer of infinite size nor consisting of layers, ruled by Asmodeus and his eight archdevil vassals. Once again the river Styx flowed through the Nine Hells and the Abyss, but then emptied its pollution into the Astral Sea. Inhabitants:
The principal inhabitants of the Nine Hells/Baator were the devils, and their offspring in varieties too numerous to catalogue here. See the main article for descriptions of the myriad devilkind. Unlike the demons of the Abyss, the devils were highly organized in their quest for power and status—scheming and plotting power plays, coups, and assassinations. In addition to the devils, this plane was home to bonespears, gathra, haraknin, hell hounds, imps, night hags, nightmares, and maelephants. Also occasionally encountered were achaierai, barghests, hellcats, mephits, rakshasa, and stench kows.
Geography
Each of the Nine Hells was unique and usually mirrored the malevolent characteristics of its ruler, or perhaps the archdevils were shaped by the domains they schemed to control, no one can be certain. In earlier cosmologies, each Hell was a separate infinite layer rigidly joined to its neighbours by barriers at fixed locations. After the Spellplague, the domains of the archdevils were described as territories (large, but finite) or circles. The relationships between layers and circles are not fully known. What follows are descriptions of the nine Hells reported for different cosmological models that have been collated and summarized.
Natural Resources
Inhabitants of the Nine Hells produced goods exported across the planes, including to the planar City of Doors, Sigil. Green Baator ore and steel smelted from it was mined in Avernus. Another notable export was Baator's own whiskey. It was a pleasantly-smelling steaming-hot drink that resembled boiling goldflow. When consumed, it burned one's stomach with sweet pain. Very few mortals could stomach even a single shot.
Alternative Name(s)
The Nine Layered Hell
Type
Dimensional plane
Location under
Included Locations
Owner/Ruler
Ruling/Owning Rank
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