Lords of the Nine

These are the bloods who watch over the Nine Hells, the rulers of the layers of Baator. They make pit fiends look like crippled lemures, and it's said they're the very embodiments of their respective lands. Each layer reflects the personality of the lord, and each lord reflects the personality of his layer. The two act on eachother in ways strange and mysterious, and lower-planar scholars believe they'll eventually achieve union in some brilliant flash of evil.

Seven of the nine lords are known and named:

• Archduke Dispater, lord of the Second (Dis)
• Viscount Mammon, of the Third (Minauros)
• Fierna, Lady of the Fourth (Phlegethos)
• Prince Levistus, of the Fifth (Stygia)
• Glasya, the Archduchess of the Sixth (Malbolge)
• Triel the Fallen Archon, Archduke of the Seventh (Maladomini)
• Molikroth, Baron of the Eighth (Cania)

The true Lord of the First is said to have been imprisoned by her warlord, the pit fiend Bel, who now rules Avernus in her place. And as for the Lord of the Ninth - well, he's still a mystery, just like most of Nessus itself. Chant is he predates the other lords and carries a ruby rod to signify his rulership over the conclave of the Nine.

It's no dark that the current lords aren't the same ones who came to mortal knowledge long ago. The noble baatezu serving below the original lords learned the politics of their masters well and eventually overthrew the domineering berks. No doubt they were overthrown by their servants in turn. Fact is, it's probably happened dozens of times over the eons.

What happened to the original lords - the ones known to ancient mortals? Most're long since meat, probably consigned to the larva pits of Avernus. If they were reborn into lesser forms, they've certainly not shown the aptitude for brilliance they once had. But two of the original pack have survived intact: Dispater, Lord of the Second; and Tiamat, queen of evil dragonkind. 'Course, she's been relegated to a watchdog position at the entrance to Dis - hardly the same as commanding an entire layer. Besides, chant today says she never was a lord, contrary to popular belief.

Do the baatezu servants of the current lords still seek to overthrow their masters? Better believe it, berk. But on the surface, they're loyal. They seek to elevate themselves by embarassing or humiliating their lord's rivals. Naturally, the lords encourage this sort of interplay among their inferiors, for it increases the evil that permeates the plane.

The hierarchy of noble fiends below the lords is devilishly complicated and convoluted. The baatezu keep it that way on purpose, so only the nobles know exactly who stands where. Lesser fiends (and mortals) might be helping a noble when they think they're working against him. In the web of politics of Baator, a body has to understand the game before he can learn to play it.

'Course, the high-ups don't leave all the fun to their servants. It's said the Lords of the Nine hate each other, and they constantly scheme to dethrone one another and grab more power for themselves. They form temporary, shifting alliances and betray each other just as readily. They know the ins and outs of legal trickery better than any blood in the multiverse, and they're not averse to using these traps on each other.

Chant is the Lords of the Nine could even give the rope to the true powers of the plane - but they choose not to, out of deference. If it's true, the lords are remarkably tolerant. If it's a peel, they've got a remarkably good propaganda machine, because Baator's deities show no inkling of challenging the lords.

Perhaps the lords are worshipped by some of the baatezu of the plane - it's no dark they're feared and respected. And some say that the Lords of the Nine are true gods, not near-powers. In any case, for ages beyond reckoning, the lords'ze been studied and catalogued, their existences debated and fought over, mortal priesthoods established with no abilities forthcoming and staggering powers granted to others.

If there's a lesson to be learned, it's this: Whatever they are, the lords want the truth of their natures kept dark. They try to destroy all scraps of evidence, but they're not fast enough to squelch all the rumors flying around the planes.

LORD OF THE FIRST: BEL

The center of the Bronze Citadel holds the personal fortress of Bel, a pit fiend of great power who controls Avernus; in addition to being Lord of the First. Bel is also a general in the Blood War, though not one of the Dark Eight. Bel betrayed the former Lord of the First, Zariel, for his current position. It is whispered by his subordinates that Bel still keeps Zariel prisoner somewhere deep in the Bronze Citadel so that he can siphon her hellish power into himself, increasing his own abilities while slowly reducing her to just another soul shell. While Bel has succeeded where many failed before him, his climb to power seems to be stalled now, since he does not enjoy the support of other Lords of the Nine, except for possibly Asmodeus.

LORD OF THE SECOND: DISPATER THE ARCHDUKE

Unlike with Bel, it is difficult to class Dispater as a specific “type” of devil or recall his origin, other than to say he is an archdevil. Like the other Lords of the Nine, he is an elite devil whose powers are waxing, and even pit fiends fall before his onslaught. He usually appears as a humanoid of supernatural height, dark hair, tiny horns, and resplendent garb. He always holds his badge of office, a rod of singular power. Dispater never takes risks and rarely leaves his Iron Tower. Only Asmodeus's call brings him forth. In the politics of The Nine Hells, Dispater and Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth, are allies, usually scheming against Baalzebul, Lord of the Seventh.

LORD OF THE THIRD: MAMMON THE VISCOUNT

Mammon is an archdevil and so possesses almost deity-level power. In form, he resembles a 30-foot-long serpent with a human torso, head, and arms. He wields a harpoon-like spear, though its magic is the least of Mammon's impressive abilities. He rules from the center of the city of Minauros, inhabiting a mausoleum like structure of similarly massive proportions. Mammon is a turncoat's turncoat. Though he once allied with Dispater and Mephistopheles against Asmodeus, he was the first to abase himself before the Lord of the Ninth when Asmodeus finally proved victorious at the close of a failed rebellion called the Reckoning. Few of the other Lords would ever trust Mammon again, making him least likely to be involved in the next internal revolt.

LORDS OF THE FOURTH: LADY FIERNA AND ARCHDUKE BELIAL

Belial and Fierna are archdevils who take the form of slightly devilish-looking humanoids. Fierna fights with a blade of fire she summons at will, and Belial battles with a powerful ranseur. Fierna is Belial's daughter; he lets her wear the mantle of leadership in public, but really the two rule the layer of Phlegethos together.

LORD OF THE FIFTH: PRINCE LEVISTUS

No one knows what Levistus looks like, because the prince is frozen deep within an iceberg. From the exterior, the prince looks like a great dark clot blearily realized through the ice. Asmodeus originally imprisoned Levistus in ice for a past betrayal. Though he allows the prince control over Phlegethos via mental contact with other devils, Asmodeus will not free Levistus. Despite his imprisonment, the plots of Levistus run deep. Should Levistus break free, his vengeance on the other lords of the Nine Hells, especially Asmodeus, would undoubtedly follow.

LORD OF THE SIXTH: GLASYA, THE PRINCESS OF HELL

Glasya, the newly appointed Archduchess of Malbolge, has a long and twisted history with her father, Asmodeus. Often openly defiant of him, she has for centuries resisted his efforts to bring her under his control. Now it appears that their past acrimony has been conclusively laid to rest, and she has been rewarded with her own layer of Baator. Moloch once ruled this layer, but was cast down when he defied Asmodeus during the general rebellion that ripped through the Nine Hells some time past. Prior to Glasya taking the seat, the Hag Countess ruled briefly over the sixth. Most authorities acknowledge that the Hag, one of Moloch's most trusted advisors, counseled Moloch to rebel. Of course, the rebellion failed, and during the Reckoning the Hag was set in Moloch's place. Moloch fled, and wherever he is hiding, it is certain that this archdevil bears a terrible grudge. Asmodeus’s curious decision to place a night hag in control of Malbolge finally makes sense—the Hag Countess was a vulnerable placeholder who could keep the throne warm while father and daughter came to an understanding. Glasya’s elevation in status was accompanied by a similar boost in personal power, so she now possesses magical and combat prowess on a par with her competitors. What exactly Asmodeus’s plans are for his daughter after she cements her hold on the still-changing terrain of Malbolge remain to be seen.

LORD OF THE SEVENTH: BAALZEBUL THE ARCHDUKE

Once, Baalzebul was an archon of Celestia called Triel, but he was cast down into the Nine Hells. Asmodeus quickly promoted Triel to devilhood in a dread ritual. Baalzebul's relentless drive for perfection served him well as climbed the ranks of devilry, culminating in Baalzebul's ascension to the lord of the Seventh. And Baalzebul didn't just attain his lordship—he deposed the earlier lord and expunged all mention of that entity. Leaving behind his former name with his former allegiance, Baalzebul is also called the Lord of Flies because not even a fly can escape his net of intrigues. Like virtually every other lord, Baalzebul once plotted against Asmodeus during the failed rebellion and purge known as the Reckoning. To punish Baalzebul, Asmodeus transformed his formerly angelic body into a melted, sluglike form. Now, Baalzebul openly plots against only Mephistopheles, Lord of the Eighth. But his undying anger yet burns for Asmodeus, as does his undying ambition for the throne of the King of the Nine Hells.

LORD OF THE EIGHTH: MEPHISTOPHELES

Mephistopheles once engineered his own coup, when he was replaced by Baron Molikroth. However, Molikroth was secretly Mephistopheles, and that duplicity has now ended (as have the lives of “Molikroth's” co-conspirators. The Lord of the Eighth appears as a 9-foot-tall humanoid with hell-red skin, horns, wings. He grips a magic ranseur that burns eternally. He prefers to drape himself in dramatic capes as black as the deepest void. Like the other archdukes of the Nine Hells, Mephistopheles failed to unseat Asmodeus's rulership over the Nine Hells. And like many other archdukes, he retained his position when the Reckoning was over. His biggest rival is Baalzebul, and his court is thick with plots against the Lord of the Flies.

LORD OF THE NINTH: ASMODEUS, LORD OF THE NINE HELLS

Asmodeus is at the very least an archdevil, but he could possess the power of a true deity. He resides in Malsheem but is rarely seen. Only when the elite of the Nine Hells gather in anyone of a hundred audience chambers does Asmodeus make his presence known, usually in the form of an unprepossessing humanoid with black hair, a black goatee, and eyes of flame. Asmodeus has been challenged many times, most recently during the Hells-wide rebellion called the Reckoning, but he has never been defeated.