89 replies to this topic

[Archmage Silver]

Yep, those two are interesting enough.

[oralpain]

Archduke Mephistopheles of Cania
Lord of the Eighth
AKA Molikroth

  Mephistopheles is the lord of frigid Cania. His gelugons guard the entrance to Nessus, the domain of the Dark Lord. Despite this prestigious position, Mephistopheles has always been jealous of the other lords. The greatest expresion of this jealousy was, of course, the Reckoning, but Mephistopheles demonstrates the attitude anew everyday.
  Although no one would ever dare to say so to his face, Mephistopheles is much like his archrival Baalzebul. Like the Lord of the Flies, the Lord of the Eighth cannot seem to get enough power or prestige. When Asmodeus rewards a noble for valuable service, Mephistopheles wants to know where his reward is. As other devils around him are promoted, he cannot believe that he is still "only" a Lord of Hell. Martinet of the court of Asmodeus is said to have remarked that were Mephistopheles to become the King of Hell, it would take him less than an hour to start wondering why he wasn't also ruler of Mount Celestia.
  It is no surprise, then, that the court of Mephistopeles is a dangerous place. the nobles who serve him must do justice to thier positions without shininh too brightly. Those who rise too far too fast are considered to be a threat by Mephistopheles, and he quickly arranges their downfall. Although this policy has kept the Lord of the Eighth in power for as long as anyone can remember, it has also robbed him of his ablest nobles. As a consequence, both his political and military schemes have suffered, and his conflict with Baalzebul continues to stalemate.

Mephistopheles: AC -6; MV 15, fly 18; HD 23; hp 188; THAC0 1; #AT 3; Dmg 1d12+11; SA spell use; SD +2 or better weapons to hit; MR 85%; SZ L (9' tall); ML fearless (20); Int supra-genius (20); AL LE; XP 32,000.
  Mephistopheles likes to play up his diabolic image. In addition to his classic wings, claws, and horns appearance, he favors a military fork +3. Each of this weapons' three tines can casue 3d4 points of damage on a melee hit from fire, cold, and electricity respectively (save vs. spells applicable). Only one power can be used per hit, and each type can only be used 3 times a day.
  Once per round Mephistopheles can use the following spell-like powers, in addition to those normally available to baatezu: beguile, detect invisibility, geas, ice storm, light, polymorph self, produce flame, pyrotechnics, raise dead, read magic, restoration, and wall of ice. Once per day Mephistopheles can utter an unholy word and fulfill a wish. His gaze causes fear. Three times per day he can summon 1d3 gelugons with a 90% chance of success.

Edited by oralpain, 15 November 2004 - 10:50 AM.

[Feanor]

Well, in his current state Asmodeus (Ahriman) can't take control of his serpent body which lies on the final layer.

(Archmage Silver quotation)

Does anyone know why Asmodeus can't take control of his serpent body ?

[Torack]

Too many wounds, not enough souls to heal, I suspect.

[oralpain]

Quite simply he was injured to with in an inch of his life during his fall. It's going to take alot for him to heal.

Any way here is Baalzebul

Archduke Baalzebul of Maladomini
Lord of the Seventh
AKA Triel the Fallen, the Slug Archduke

Baalzebul used to be a favorite of Asmodeus. A former archon on Mount Celestia, Baalzebul was thrown down from those lofty hights becasue of his selfishness and his relentless pursuit of perfection. Asmodeus, all too familiar with the long fall into Baator, took the battered ex-archon and made him a baatezu noble. In short order, Baalzebul mastered the art of infernal politics and overthrew the previous Lord of the Seventh, whose name and deeds are now forgotten. It was at this time that Baalzebul earned his sobriquet "the Lord of the Flies". By the time he took over the seventh layer, his net of intrigue was said to be woven so tightly that even a fly could not escape his clutches.
  Baalzebul's greatest flaw has always been not knowing when to stop. His need for complete perfection in all his endevors drives him to acts of extremity. His crowning folly is without a doubt the Reckoning. Had he contented himself with striving to defeat Mephistopheles, Baalzebul may well have succeeded. However, his desire to overthrow Asmodeus colored his decision-making and offended the Dark Lord. While Asmodeus had no problem with the idea of one lord controlling two layers, he would not contenance a lord with an eye on his throne.
  After the defeat of the rebellious lords, Baalzebul was offered his position back by the Dark Lord. However, Asmodeusdestroyed the handsome features of the vain rebel, making him assume a horrid, slug like form. Now known as the Slug Archduke,  Baalzebul dreams of taking his vengance of the Dark Lord who humiliated him. He must deal with practical matters as well, most notably his continuing struggle with Mephistopheles. Both he and the Lord of the Eighth believe that the key to reversing the Reckoning is to defeat the other, so skermishes and outright battles are common between the armies of the two lords.
  Baalzebul, or Triel the Fallen as he is sometimes know, takes out his frustration on his hapless subjects. As mentioned in Chapter 4, Baalzebul builds city after city for himself in Maladomini, but none of them are ever good enough. He can see his perfect city in his mind, but cannot make it reality. The same can be said of his political asperations.

Baalzebul: AC -5; MV 6; HD 18; hp 166; THAC0 1; #AT 2; Dmg 1d10+7; SA withering, spell use; SD +3 or better weapon to hit; MR 85%; SZ H (25' tall); ML fearless (20); Int godlike (21); AL LE; XP 27,000.
  Baalzebul cannot wield weapons in his slug form, so he must attack with his stunted arms. These inflict 1d10+7 damage and have the same aging and withering effects of as a staff of withering. Ageless creatures, such as devils and demons, are not effected by these special abilities.
  Once per round Baalzebul can use the following spell-like powers, in addition to those normally available to baatezu: beguile, detect invisibility, geas, light, polymorph self, produce flame, pyrotechnics, raise dead, read languages, rulership (as per a rod of rulership), and wall of fire. Once per day Baalzebul can create a symbol of pain or insanity, utter an unholy word, and fullfill a wish. His gaze causes fear. Three times per day he can summon 1d4 ernyes, 1d3 barbazu, or 1 cornugon with a 90% chance of success.

[Althernai]

What exactly was this Reckoning? By what you've posted so far, it sounds like some of the Lords were stupid enough to revolt against Asmodeus and got their posteriors handed to them. However, Asmodeus didn't seem to do all that much about it (or did he?).

[oralpain]

The Reckoning

  The politics of the current day were shaped by an event known as the Reckoning of Hell, or sometimes just the Reckoning. This event was the culmination of thousands of years of politicking and backstabbing that recast the landscape of Hell into its current form.
  In the early days of Hell, the lords were much more blatant in the Procecution of their internecine warfare. Armies crossed from layer to layer with alarming regularity, allowing the tanar'ri to rack up some impressive victories in the Blood War. Two main power blocks existed among among the lords. Leading one faction was Mephistopheles, allied with Dispater, Mammon and Geryon. Opposing them was Baalzebul's faction, which included Moloch, Belial, and Zariel. Both Baalzebul and Mephisopheles believed that he needed to eliminate the other to gain enough power to challange Asmodeus himself. With for lord lined up on each side, Asmodeus seemed to stand alone.
  The Reckoning started on Avernus. Zariel had prepared an enormous army, supposedly to lead against the tanar'ri in the Blood War. At the last minute, she this army into Dis instead and laid siege to the city itself. Exactly on cue, Moloch and Belial led armies into Stygia. These attacks took Mephisopheles by surprise, and the war went badly for his faction at first. Stubborn defense and a willingless to lose millions of devils to buy time allowed Mephistopheles to prepare a counterstroke. When all was ready, Mephistopheles led his gelugon legions into Maladomini, while Mammon took his forces to relieve Dis. Zariel retreated to the first layer, while Baalzebul called for reinforcements to help him hold off the rampaging gelugons. The tide had turned.
  At this point, the focus of the conflict shifted to Maladomini. The other offensives were abandoned, and each side poured troops into the seventh layer. Despite the horrendous casualities that had been suffered by both sides, the opposing armies were each millions strong. On a fateful day, the armies of Mephistopheles, Dispater, Mammon, and Geryon faced off agaisnt those of Baalzebul, Moloch, Belial, and Zariel. As the pit fiends whipped the troops into a battle frenzy, the leaders were already thinking about deposing Asmodeus and crowning a new king of Hell. Asmodeus, however, had other plans.
  Unbeknownst to the other lords, Geryon had secretly remained loyal to Asmodeus. Geryon, with the help of the Dark Lord of Nessus, had infiltrated the ranks of both armies. As the two mammoth forces were about to clash, Geryon blew his mighty horn. On his signal the pit fiend generals of all the armies turned on their masters, showing their ultimate loyalty to Asmodeus. All of the warring lords were overthrown by their own troops, and Asmodeus was the undisputed victor of the day.
  Asmodeus proved yet again that he was impossible to second guess when he reinstated most of the rebel lords nearly immediatly. tjose who had expected advancement over the heads of their falled lords were disappointed, but the Dark Lord has his reasons for keeping all the lords in power. To his mind, he had taught them a lesson they would not forget, and he'd rather have enemies he knew about than those he did not. All of the rebellious lords were given their domains back, with the exception of Moloch (who had apparently offended Asmodeus in some other way). In a completely bewildering move, Geryon, the only lord who had remiand loyal, was deposed and replaced with Prince Levistus. Asmodeus always has his reasons, but his throwing down of Geryon has yet to be explained.
  Asmodeus did, however, reward the pit fiend generals who had shown their lotalty to him. To show them favor and take substantial power away from the lords, Asmodeus created the Dark Eight and gave them command over the baatezu armies of the Blood War. While each of the lords retains a personal army, the enormous legions of earlier days are a thing of the past. The Dark Eight are completely loyal to Asmodeus, ensuring him dominion over the vast majority of the baatezu race.

[Andyr]

What sourcebooks does this information on Asmodeus etc come from?

[oralpain]

TSR 11431 "Guide to Hell".

[Althernai]

That answers it pretty well. Thanks.