5e:Nine Hells
The Nine Hells is a plane, one of the lower planes.
[1] The Nine Hells of Baator inflame the imaginations of travelers, the greed of treasure seekers, and the battle fury of all moral creatures. It is the ultimate plane of law and evil and the epitome of premeditated cruelty. The devils of the Nine Hells are bound to obey the laws of their superiors, but they rebel within their individual castes. … At the very top of the hierarchy is Asmodeus…
Optional Rule: Pervasive Evil
See DMG5 p.64
The Nine Layers
[1] The Nine Hells has nine layers. The first eight are each ruled by archdevils that answer to Asmodeus, the Archduke of Nessus, the ninth layer.
Layers and Lords of the Nine Hells
| Layer | Layer Name | Archduke or Archduchess | Previous Rulers | Primary Inhabitants[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| l | Avernus | Zariel | Bel, Tiamat | Erinyes, imps, spined devils |
| 2 | Dis | Dispater | — | Bearded devils, erinyes, imps, spined devils |
| 3 | Minauros | Mammon | — | Bearded devils, chain devils, imps, spined devils |
| 4 | Phlegethos | Belial and Fierna | — | Barbed devils, bone devils, imps, spined devils |
| 5 | Stygia | Levistus | Geryon | Bone devils, erinyes, ice devils, imps |
| 6 | Malbolge | Glasya | Malagard, Moloch | Barbed devils, bone devils, horned devils, imps |
| 7 | Maladomini | Baalzebul | — | Barbed devils, bone devils, horned devils, imps |
| 8 | Cania | Mephistopheles | — | Horned devils, ice devils, imps, pit fiends |
| 9 | Nessus | Asmodeus | — | All devils |
Avernus
[1] No planar portals connect directly to the lower layers of the Nine Hells. Avernus is a rocky wasteland with rivers of blood and clouds of biting flies.
The archduchess Zariel rules Avernus supplanting her rival, Bel, who… is forced to serve as Zariel's advisor.
Tiamat, the Queen of Evil Dragons, is a prisoner on this layer, ruling her own domain but confined to the Nine Hells by Asmodeus…
Dis
[1] Dis, the second layer of the Nine Hells, is a labyrinth of canyons wedged between sheer mountains… The second layer takes its name from its current lord, Dispater… His crimson throne stands in the heart of the Iron City of Dis, a hideous metropolis that is the largest in the Nine Hells. Planar travelers come here to conspire with devils and to close deals with night hags, rakshasas, incubi, succubi, and other fiends.
Minauros
[1] The third layer of the Nine Hells is a stench-ridden bog. Acidic rain [falls onto the] thick layers of scum [that] cover its putrid surface, and yawning pits lie… beneath…. Cyclopean cities of… stone rise up from the bog, including the great city of Minauros…
…Mammon [is] the Archduke of Minauros… [His] greed is legendary, and he is one of the few archdevils who will trade favors for gold instead of souls.
Phlegethos
[1] Phlegethos, the fourth layer, is a fiery landscape whose seas of molten magma brew hurricanes of hot wind, choking smoke, and pyroclastic ash. Within the… caldera of [it's] largest volcano rises Abriymoch, a fortress city cast of obsidian and dark glass.
…Two archdevils… rule Phlegethos in tandem: Archduke Belial and Archduchess Fierna, Belial's daughter.
Stygia
[1] The fifth layer of the Nine Hells is a freezing realm of ice within which cold flames burn. A frozen sea surrounds the layer. and its gloomy sky crackles with lightning.
Archduke Levistus once betrayed Asmodeus and is now encased deep in the ice of Stygia as punishment. He rules this layer all the same… Stygia is also home to its previous ruler, the serpentine archdevil Geryon, who was dismissed by Asmodeus…
Malbolge
[1] Malbolge, the sixth layer, has outlasted many rulers, among them Malagard the Hag Countess and the archdevil Moloch.
Malbolge is a seemingly endless slope, like the sides of an impossibly huge mountain. Parts of the layer break off from time to time, creating deadly… avalanches of stone. The inhabitants of Malbolge live in crumbling fortresses and great caves carved into the mountainside.
Malbolge's current archduchess is Asmodeus's daughter, Glasya.
Maladomini
[1] The seventh layer, Maladomini, is ruin-covered wasteland. Dead cities form a desolate urban landscape, and between them lie empty quarries, crumbling roads, slag heaps, the hollow shells of empty fortresses, and swarms of hungry flies.
The Archduke of Maladomini is Baalzebul, the Lord of Flies.
Cania
[3] Cania, the eighth layer of the Nine Hells, is an icy hellscape, whose ice storms can tear flesh from bone. Cities embedded in the ice provide shelter for guests and prisoners of Cania's ruler, the brilliant and conniving archdevil Mephistopheles.
Mephistopheles dwells in the ice citadel of Mephistar…
Nessus
[4] The lowest layer of the Nine Hells, Nessus is a realm of dark pits whose walls are set with fortresses… At the center of the layer stands a vast rift of unknown depth, out of which rises the great citadel-spire of Malsheem, home to Asmodeus and his infernal court.
Sources and Notes
- Wizards RPG Team. Dungeon Master's Guide (5e) (5e 2014) (December 2014). Wizards of the Coast. p. 64. Licensed: © Wizards of the Coast (used under 'fair use' clause). ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8
- Christopher Perkins, et. al.. Monster Manual (5e) (5e 2014) (2014-09-30). Wizards of the Coast. p. 68. Licensed: © Wizards of the Coast (used under 'fair use' clause). ↑
- DMG5 p.65-66. ↑
- DMG5 p.66. ↑
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