Asmodeus

Asmodeus or  Asmodei in Infernal, was the Faerûnian deity of indulgence and a patron of oppression and power. The greatest devil and ruler of all devilkind, the Lord of the Ninth was overlord of the Nine Hells as a whole.

"I am known by many names. The Lord of Nessus. The Raging Fiend. But you know me as―"

- Asmodeus

Description
Asmodeus's true form was that of a scaled serpent hundreds of miles long. His form's sheer size made it impossible for him to meet and enter into conversations with others, and so he created humanoid-looking avatars. He never showed himself except through avatars or project image spells, both in humanoid forms.

An avatar of Asmodeus was handsome, charismatic and captivating on the surface, appearing as a slim, red-skinned humanoid over tall with a horned head, glowing red eyes and a perfectly trimmed beard. He wore red and black clothing valuable enough to cover the annual spending of any nation, but underneath these expensive garments his body was wracked with bleeding injuries he was seemingly unconcerned by.

Personality
Asmodeus was a primal embodiment of lawful evil and a supreme strategist of unparalleled skill. His sinister machinations could take centuries, if not millennia, to come to fruition, and his master plans extended across the entire multiverse. His labyrinthine, insidious intrigues could seem inexplicable to most outside observers, for Asmodeus let even his own servants stew in fear of his next move. With all the planes as his board, the Lord of Lies maneuvered the forces of evil like chess pieces in his grand designs, slowly and subtly manipulating everyone from deities to, when needed, lowly mortals.

Just as Asmodeus was an unmatched schemer, he was an unrivaled orator, a legendary political master of unquestionable prowess. He was the most well-mannered of the archdevils, soft-spoken and eloquent as he lured others into serving his ends. Even when wracked by constant pain, he managed to appear blithely unbothered, and seemed almost chillingly reasonable. However, though he could seem generous, the quickly offered rewards of the archdevil were given to those willing to sign away their souls, after which they would suffer as a pawn in his dark designs. Despite his charisma, Asmodeus was nonetheless a representative of ultimate evil, revealing his true nature at his will.

In truth, Asmodeus was a tyrant, an authoritarian overlord who sought complete control over as many subjects as he could obtain and nothing less than absolute dominion over all reality to satiate his need for power. Torture was his tool to break the wills of others and impose his own, and knowledge of secrets and dealings his desired instrument to claim others as his. The Prince of Evil was confident in his position as one of the multiverse's strongest beings, and genuinely believed his rule was for the best. Under his rule, and only his rule, the multiverse would be pristine and perfect, with everyone in it having a place and a purpose to fulfill.

In Asmodeus's mind, only he had the strength, insight, and charisma needed to guide all to an ideal utopia, or at least the infernal hierarchy that the Archfiend interpreted as such. His rivals were inferior minds lacking the skill to see his vision through. The forces of the Abyss were loathsome opposition, their very existence a threat to his mastery of evil and their armies a direct threat to his supremacy. The forces of good were foolish, sentimental beings too soft and weak to do what had to be done. This arrogance would have led to his destruction if he lacked the competence to back it up, yet Asmodeus had managed to thwart all conspiracies against him and survive Heaven with nothing but his wit.

Law or Evil
According to legend, Asmodeus attributed his wicked deeds to necessity and the mandates of law, alluding to the rules of Hell in his defense and arguing that his contracts were never broken. He made the case that the souls he harvested served the ultimately noble end of protecting the cosmos, and noted the sanctity of law as what separated him from the demons of the Abyss. Without him and his devils to defend it, he argued, the multiverse would be overrun by demonkind and ultimately destroyed, and in this, Asmodeus might technically be correct.

Although one of the ultimate powers of law, Asmodeus did not uphold the rules out of respect. Despite arguing that his actions were necessary to prevent the rise of chaos and preserve the forces of good, this was mere camouflage to disguise his true intentions. In reality, Asmodeus saw the Abyss as a useful distraction, and when prepared he planned to destroy the Upper Planes and perhaps even use demonkind to accomplish this dark goal. Ironically, in the most extreme scenario, Asmodeus's plan would ultimately be to embrace chaos, to withhold the power of law from the world and let it collapse. With the multiverse broken down and him having survived its fall, he would remake reality as he desired.

To the mind of Asmodeus, the law was merely a tool by which others could be bent to his will. Civilization, as he understood it, was a means of gaining power, the structures and technology created by society instruments to crush his enemies. Chaos made for easy conquest, and to conquer was to bring others under control. Asmodeus would use tradition as his protection and wording as his weapon, appeal to the letter of the law, and frame his deeds as upholding the natural laws of the cosmos. Even his masterfully crafted plans would obey universal laws, such as the Rule of Threes, and he believed himself the multiverse's chosen protector. More than any of these however, Asmodeus was dedicated to obtaining absolute authority for himself, and if necessary, was willing to break every law in existence to do it.

Despite his cunning and charisma, Asmodeus was not intellectually invincible. Though he was not above pretending otherwise, he was capable of being surprised, feigning foreknowledge and acting as if all was going according to plan either way. Furthermore, even Asmodeus was capable of fury, and if he forgot himself could end up bursting into a rage, his mask of civility slipping to unveil the evil that lurked below.

Divine
Asmodeus was technically a deity, but was exempt from many of the rules regarding divine beings, his actual status a matter of debate that had changed over time. At the very least the strongest archdevil, weaker interpretations cast him as not even a full-fledged god or possessed only of the powers of a lesser god. In others, (particularly more recently) he was believed to be a greater god, and the most dangerous portrayals cast him as a primal embodiment of evil, aspect of some sort of metaphysical serpent concept,  or even an overgod similar in nature to the Lady of Pain.

Asmodeus's strength neither waxed nor waned with the number of his worshipers and he had no ability to grant spells to his followers. While this limitation could be circumvented if the worshiper became a disciple of darkness, spells granted by this method were not done so through his own powers, but by acting as a conduit to channel the divine magic of Baator itself to the mortal cleric.

There were no strictures on how granted power could be used for a disciple, but the mortal's soul was forfeit if his patron was not appeased with sentient sacrifices. This changed after Asmodeus consumed Azuth and thus obtained true godhood, allowing him to grant spells to his followers and remove the vile rituals previously required to access such power.

Another ability Asmodeus shared with greater deities even before his ascension was that he could create up to ten avatars, although his ability to do this was stunted. He could send only one avatar at a time to the Prime Material Plane, and doing this made it impossible for him to maintain any other avatar.

Infernal
Asmodeus had absolute control over the Nine Hells and with his mind he could change not only the landscape of any layer but the forms of his archdevils in any way he wanted whenever he wanted. For example, he changed Baalzebul's formerly (mostly) beautiful form into that of a giant slug. It was unclear if he could kill archevils with a thought; some suspected that he could and did in the case of the Hag Countess's sudden and sudden death, and while seemingly involved, it was unclear how much of a part he played and to what degree one could say she had "died".

Like any other devil of authority, Asmodeus had the ability to demote any officially subservient devil— any devil in his case—at his whim, and was the only devil with the ability to promote a devil to archdevil status. He was also the underlying power of infernal contracts, hence why breaking a contract with even the weakest devil could still consign the oathbreaker's soul to the Nine Hells.

Avatar
Asmodeus's avatar could cast a wide plethora of spells, including: animate dead, blasphemy, charm monster, create greater undead, desecrate, detect magic, devil's ego, discern location, dominate monster, fiendish quickening, geas, greater dispelling, hellfire, hellfire storm, magic circle against good, major image, mass charm, project image, restoration, resurrection, suggestion, symbol of hopelessness, symbol of pain, symbol of persuasion, teleport without error, true seeing, unholy aura, unholy blight, unhallow, wall of ice, and wretched blight as often as he wanted, and any power word spell, symbol spell, meteor swarm, true resurrection, and wish once per day. He had also the spellcasting ability of a master cleric with the Diabolic and Evil domains. This was assuming that the avatar wasn't in Hell, in which case he could cast essentially any spell he wanted by sheer will.

Asmodeus was impossible to harm with spells below a certain level of power, as well as poison, paralysis, petrification, magic dealing with death, illusions, and attempts to influence his mind. Physically, it was impossible to hurt him with anything less than +4 enchanted weapons, and even if injured the wounds immediately heal unless it was holy or otherwise blessed.

Asmodeus's avatar radiated an diameter awe effect that made it incredibly difficult to bring one's self to attack him unless attacked by him first. His mere gaze (within a short range) acted as a combination slow and fear effect that sapped physical strength and reduced combat ability. His voice carried an irresistible suggestion that could make those without incredible willpower subservient to him for ten to a hundred days. Rather than kill his opponents, he preferred using these abilities to force would-be-foes to submit to him, or failing that flee for their lives. Should this not work, he would simply leave and allow his minions to deal with his enemies, as he could summon a pit fiend or two specimens of any kind of devil every hour.

Possessions
Each of Asmodeus's avatars held a Ruby Rod of Asmodeus as a badge of office. It also served as the avatar's main weapon and allowed attacks with elemental forces, forced enemies to cower in fear, or provided the holder with a field of healing and protection. In fact, in the rare events when he was faced with combat, an avatar of Asmodeus primarily relied on the powers of his Ruby Rod instead of his innate powers.

Asmodeus owned one of the original copies of the Pact Primeval. His utmost concern was to prevent anyone from taking it away from Baator, no matter the cost, as it was the basis on which he and the devils were allowed to damn mortals. To make transportation difficult, Asmodeus actually enclosed the document in a giant ruby weighing over.

Asmodeus had a huge store of souls in his personal citadel, and these could be bought from him at an extremely high cost, rumored to be entire kingdoms for one soul.

Divine Realm
"Don't you know you're not allowed here?"

- A gelugon guard of the portal to Nessus.

Asmodeus ruled the entire plane of the Nine Hells of Baator, but his seat of power was Nessus, the ninth layer. His serpentine body lay at the bottom of a rift called the Serpent's Coil, but not even the denizens knew this. By devil law, only Asmodeus could issue letters of safe passage that covered travel not only within, but also between layers, though he never issued such things for Nessus.

His personal palace was Malsheem, a giant fortress so large that it was considered unmappable. Given the priority he placed on his own security and privacy, he usually remained within his fortress of Malsheem, using others to make his will clear, though the other archdevils were annually called to there.

Activities
First and foremost, Asmodeus sought to preserve the status quo of Baator, that being his station as supreme ruler of Hell. Beyond this he sought to expand the power of lawful evil in the multiverse, tipping the cosmic scales in its favor. All this went towards Asmodeus's ultimate goal, to heal the wounds he suffered from his ancient fall from grace (from whatever position he held), regain his full power, and instigate Armageddon. This apocalpytic conflict would, at the very least, be the end of the Great Wheel cosmology, and he could very well be ahead of his ancient schedule.

This all raised the question of how Asmodeus could recover from his eons-old injuries, and the answer laid in souls. Baator ran on a divine energy derived from the souls of the damned, a magical force that could be extracted through the merciless torture, destruction of identity, and overall breakdown of corrupt souls. Much of this work was outsourced, including by Asmodeus himself, to the city of Jangling Hiter in Minauros for later distribution, and Asmodeus used what divine power he could spare to heal from his wounds.

As horrifying and diabolical as it was, Asmodeus had been toiling on his grand design in the depths of Hell since time immemorial and still was not done. He pursued his malevolent agenda on three primary fronts, his true motivations in each obscured to all and glimpsed by a very small few.

The Blood War
The Blood War, the eternal battle between the fiends of the lower planes, was often described as a kind of philosophical war over which form of evil would reign supreme. The origins of the war were lost to time, and contrary to popular opinion Asmodeus did not start it, although he played a significant part in its existence and development. In truth, the Blood War was merely the continuation of an ancient conflict that perhaps predated even Asmodeus's own fall, a war of law and chaos that defined and nearly destroyed the young multiverse in an Age Before Ages.

That war had long faded into ancient history, the greater conflict deescalating into an uneasy truce between opposing philosophies, but peace was not in the nature of all planar beings. As demonic and devilish forces reformed and left their plane to explore the wider multiverse, they inevitably made first contact with each other and broke out into instant battling over their differences. Various acts of retribution gradually gave rise to the modern Blood War, the origins of which were of less concern to either party as the timeless tradition of unending brutality. Asmodeus had only exacerbated this by stealing a sliver of the shard of evil from the Abyss, as the Abyss wanted it back.

Asmodeus came to the conclusion long ago that the Blood War was, from a military standpoint, an utterly senseless and wasteful enterprise that consumed a huge amount of resources and killed millions of fiends, sometimes daily. However, he did have many uses for the conflict, not least of which the fact that it at least seemed important. Others commonly ascribed deeper meanings to it, and it provided an excellent justification for Hell's existence and scapegoat for his evils. Furthermore it gave his own forces something to focus on, keeping his generals occupied, armies active, and soliders grimly proud. With even the Dark Eight honestly convinced he saw value in it, Asmodeus distracted his enemies and allies alike with just a few days a year for prosecution conferences and some easy lies.

Despite his generally dismissive attitude towards the Blood War, Asmodeus, unlike some other lawful deities, recognized that it was not an entirely trivial matter. He was well aware that if not kept occupied by the Blood War, demons would eventually overrun reality and kill all its occupants before finally self-terminating as a race. More to the point, while he viewed them as nothing more than a nuisance, he knew they stood a chance of overwhelming the Hells were they to be united.

Asmodeus also hated the gods of the upper planes for essentially leaving him to run the Blood War, he and his devils alone saddled with the dirty work of keeping them and the multiverse safe from the demons. Once returned to full strength, he intended to sue for peace with demonkind, a cease-fire which only needed to last long enough to twist the Blood War from a battle between different flavors of wickedness to a war between good and evil. Should all go as planned, the celestial realms of the gods who looked down upon the struggle would be ruined and their keepers made to suffer.

This would not be the end of the Blood War however, nor the extent of Asmodeus's plans for demonkind. The Lord of the Ninth would not rest until the entire heart of the Abyss was in his possession, with which he would become strong enough to subjugate the entire demon race and overthrow all other deities. He might very well choose to absorb the power of his aspect of law from the multiverse upon reaching his full power and cause the planes to collapse into cosmic chaos. Once the Blood War was finally won once and for all, he would conquer all that remained of the lawful planes, crowning himself the undeniable sovereign of all reality.

Even while many devils continually damned souls to expand Hell's infernal army, Asmodeus exempted himself from the duty of each archduke to provide soldiers or other aid to fight the Blood War. The Lord of the Ninth kept his own private army called the Nessian Guard, an elite force consisting of devils spawned from his own blood. This army consisted and were truly loyal to him. Consisting of pit fiends and less commonly cornugons, the ranks of this ever-expanding, truly loyal force were kept in reserve in Malsheem. Were Asmodeus ever to heal his wounds, it would be this force that would follow him in his conquest of the cosmos.

Infernal Politics
On the civil front, Asmodeus protected his reign by keeping his friends close and enemies closer, delegating most authority to those he knew sought to replace him. Standing above the common devils were Hell's nobility, the archdevils, the highest of which were the archdukes who ruled the first eight layers of Hell. Below them were their own courts, filled with dukes, princes, counts, and various other nobles the least of which were the pit fiends. These lords created intricate webs of political plots, intrigues, and deceptions, protecting themselves from ambitious minions below while aiming for the spots of those above, conspiring with and betraying one another and other powers of the planes in their quest for power and dominance. And in this fierce rivalry, Asmodeus's servants spent most of their times fighting each other and not him.

This system had several additional benefits, first of which was reinforcing the Blood War. Despite being allowed to serve as generals, most archdukes found the Blood War a dreary necessity not nearly as interesting as corrupting societies or vying for power, and they kept an eye on the Dark Eight to ensure they remained focused on that task. Association with the other archdevils also further obscured Asmodeus's engimatic nature and activities, his greatest pawns acting as a kind of "public face" on which others based their expectations of him.

Asmodeus had spies on every layer of the Nine Hells and plants in each of the courts, with none certain who amongst their ranks were truly loyal to Asmodeus, creating a climate of justified paranoia. He was at least aware of most, if not all plots hatched against him, and had watched the rise and fall of archdevils far craftier than his many contemporaries. Given his access to ten avatars, Asmoeus could station one on each layer of Hell as needed, with a tenth leftover for extraplanar activity.

Asmodeus's avatar was rarely seen on the Material Plane given his restrictions there, so he preferred to influence that plane through others. As important as an influx of spirits was to his purposes, every damned soul in Hell was so condemned under his name and therefore beholden to him. Effectively exempt from the soul quota other devil lords had to meet, he concentrated his corrupting efforts on figures of cosmic significance such as angels or demigods, occassionally managing to lure such beings into contracts to add new unique devils to Hell's roster.

Like with the Blood War however, Asmodeus could not become complacent in his position. A role such as his demanded he remain constantly wary of treachery within his ranks, and not even he knew all that went on in the Hells. Furthermore, not even the King of Hell was above the law, as was made clear with the Phlegethos-based Diabolical Court, an independent institution filled with constant plots by various devils to introuce new rules or set favorable precedents. The court might ultimately answer only to Asmodeus, but its functions and decisions were entirely dependent on the impossibly complex, loophole-ridden legal code of the Nine Hells, and he had to acknowledge both when the law was broken and when, however technical, it was not.

Spreading Disbelief
Asmodeus always hungered for the soul energy of those who had lost faith, particularly those of the powerful. The divine energy he received from the individuality-robbed souls sentenced to Hell could heal his wounds, but that of unbelievers was for whatever reason especially enticing to him. To be specific, it was not mere atheists who he wanted, but those who believed in nothing, no form of divinity, afterlife, or even a reason to continue existing. Souls who died in this state did not become normal petitioners, instead reforming in Nessus regardless of alignment to be excruciatingly consumed by Asmodeus until, fully aware the whole time, every bit of their true essence was obliterated.

It was not clear exactly why these souls were reborn in Nessus, nor did this rule seem to apply in all cases. For example, before souls became proper petitioners in Toril's case, they arrived in Kelemvor's realm, and he took those of the truly faithless and incorporated them into the great wall around his city to undergo a similar painful process of dissolution. It was also thought that the spirits of unbelievers, lacking the will to go on, might simply cease to exist upon the death of their body. Furthermore, Asmodeus did not have to kill a disbelieving soul to feast on their energy, the process taking centuries to finally render the victim non-existent.

Regardless, perpetuating the idea that he merely wanted to bring souls into Hell was arguably Asmodeus's greatest triumph. The ultimate goal of the Lord of the Lies was to remake the multiverse in accordance to his vision, and it was the power of belief that maintained divinity and the configuration of the planes. So it was that unbelief was perhaps Asmodeus's greatest weapon, the means by which he undermined the gods and subverted the very role of Hell itself in the order of all things. Its furtherance was the primary means by which he empowered himself against his foes, with all his other machinations, from his bloody wars against his direct foes without to his battles of intrigue against his enemies within, mere diversions and delaying tactics to mask his true motives.

One of Asmodeus's known favored tactics for the promotion of faithlessness did not involve him doing much at all. The King of Hell gave covert aid to the Athar of Sigil, though they were later exiled and his continued level of involvement was not known. This school of thought (one that came into being without Asmodeus's involvement but was ideal for his purposes regardless) rejected the divinity of gods, if not their existence, positing that they were just powerful beings of a level of strength that anyone could reach under the right circumstances. While not without belief entirely, rejecting divinity was a promising first step.

A more active example of Asmodeus's influence was his propagation of false religions. He would provide cleric spells (for example by having other gods grant spells on his behalf in exchange for aid) to new cults his agents created on the Material Plane. The cult might be overtly diabolic or worship an invented deity tailored to appeal to a specific demographic. Cult leaders were granted divine power until the sect reached the pinnacle of its power, at which point spells were suddenly denied and declined. The more extreme members of the cult, rather than turn to a new religion, might reject the concept altogether, but the greatest success cases for this scheme in Asmodeus's eyes were when they became suicide cults, its members having lost the will to live.

Aside from weakening the faith of mortals, Asmodeus also smeared the perceived greatness of the gods. Mortals often viewed their deities as too omnipotent to be deceived, but Asmodeus knew better. He had also seen firsthand how petty and vengeful gods could be, and had secretly instigated (and planned to instigate) several long-running feuds among the gods by slowly and subtly planting ideas in the heads of chosen divinities over the course of centuries. By provoking gods into fighting each other, preferably using their followers to act as representatives, he graphically illustrated their pettiness and sowed discontent among their followers. Those who rejected their original patrons could then be steered toward the Athar or some other cult of his design.

Even after he became a true god, Asmodeus continued to subvert divinity through his own religion. In the wake of the Spellplague, when many were questioning if the gods were angry or had outright abandoned them, Asmodeus's faithful provided their own answers and a god to give them the absolution they sought. His faithful offered reprieve in the afterlife from the uncertain waiting in the Fugue Plane, a devil to keep them company as the fate of their mortal soul was decided. Shrines and temples were still incredibly rare, but many folks had taken to asking Asmodeus for reprieve and respite in the wait for a response after offending their god, and in the most extreme cases of transgression, for him to hide their sins from their patrons. He was known to provide the latter, and his priests said he would also do the former, if only a price was paid after death.

Deities
Asmodeus's relationship with good-aligned deities was simple, that of opposition and hatred. Despite the circumstances under which it was signed and who exactly did so being lost to ancient history, several primal deities of law signed a deal with Asmodeus known as the Pact Primeval. Through the merciless exploitation of loopholes, the pact granted devils the right to punish lawful evil souls.

More complicated and less obviously hostile were his relations with evil gods. Hell's minions would just as willingly turn a follower of theirs to the infernal path as they would one of good powers (even if the latter would be more enjoyable). Evil gods had made war against Hell innumerable times in the past, rarely with the scope of the Blood War or battles with benevolent forces only because of the mutual threat posed by the latter. Even so, Asmodeus had strategies alliances with several powers of the lower planes, such as Set and Hecate (at least back when he needed assitance to grant spells), and both he and his vassals had forged dark pacts with various evil gods long ago, such as Bane, Gruumsh, and Vecna.

Those deities who called Hell home gave him a great deal of respect for even though their domains were fully outside Asmodeus's control, it was incredibly clear who was in charge of the Hells. Rumors of various deities of Hell allying to wrest Baator from Asmodeus occasionally emerged but never came to fruition. Even if not constrained by their own lawful natures not to upset the established order, they would never be able to decide on who would rule in the Overlord's stead. Either way, neither those gods nor Asmodeus himself wanted an open war in Hell, and indeed the thought of pantheons descending onto his plane and upsetting Hell's delicate power balance filled him with dread.


 * Laduguer:

In duergar legend, their god Laduguer triumphed against Asmodeus himself in his quest to earn their freedom. Asmodeus himself confronted Laduguer after the temptations and attacks of his minions prove fruitless, yet he remained unfazed in the face of even Asmodeus's charm. Nothing Asmodeus could do would change the countenance or demands of Laduguer, who would accept only the original deal, infernal aid in overthrowing the illithids oppressing his people in exchange for assisstance against the demon queen Lolth in the Underdark, and grimly accepted it as nothing but his due when Asmodeus finally relented. Since Laduguer's death (and after his revival), Asmodeus was known to impersonate him, convincing many duergar to swear oaths to the devils in this guise to heighten their desire for vengeance and tyranny.

The couatl deity Jazirian knew something of Asmodeus's true nature, having worked with the fellow being of law in some ancient deed. While fully capable of telling the gods of law and good this information, they preferred to stay quietly in the background, gathering information through their couatl children and personal efforts to decipher his plans. They had several theories, but knew nothing for certain, and while worried for what he might do, hoped he retained enough lawfulness within himself not to try and unmake the cosmos. Should he try however, they were prepared to confront him at their full capacity, believing strongly that the laws of reality were to be upheld rather than recast to suit those in power. On Asmodeus's part, he regarded his cooperation with Jazirian as a mistake not to be repeated.
 * Jazirian:

Devils
Asmodeus was the father of devilkind, at the very least in spirit if not entirely literally. By some legends it was from his blood that the first baatezu were birthed, while in others he led those who would become the first devils down the dark path into Hell.

Every devil within Hell's hierarchy served Asmodeus, either directly or via a line of authority tracing back to him. He was the default authority all who had reached greater status reported to when uncertain. He was above the archdevils and commoners alike, a category of devil onto himself. and the source (along with the other archdevils) they called upon to cast divine magic.

The archdevils of Hell all sought Asmodeus's throne, but none had the courage to move openly against him. Asmodeus made his superiority publicly clear in an event called the Reckoning of Hell, where he demonstrated he could foil them all and emerge entirely unscathed. He annually called the archdevils to his court in Malsheem, a summons that none ever refused. When the position of an archduke needed to be filled, it was his right to choose who would do so, always selecting one of the unique devils in Hell's ranks. The archdevils of note who directly served Asmodeus were as follows:
 * Lords of the Nine:

Zariel: Asmodeus welcomed Zariel in open arms after her defeated form was brought to him from beneath the giant hill of corpses she created in her crusade against Avernus. He admired her passion for warfare and commended her battle prowess, as well as the strength of her convictions, offering her rulership of Avernus and thus a chance to fight directly against demonkind in the Blood War. She accepted his terms, and through doing so became, in a sense, a jewel in Asmodeus's crown.

"Zariel has proven to be a prized possession."

- Asmodeus

Even so she was not spared his manipulations, for it was theorized that he secretly masterminded her defeat at the hands of Bel and the Dark Eight, later providing her covert aid in her struggle against Bel's draining torture before reinstating her after Bel proved inadequate at driving the demons from Avernus. According to one tale, he may very well have been responsible for inflaming her already potent rage before her descent, setting the groundwork for her eventual fall. Many whispered Zariel's true agenda in the Hells was vengeance against Asmodeus and to drive him from the Pit entirely.

Dispater: According to the commonly accepted Pact Primeval origin myth, Dispater was a member of Asmodeus's company before even his descent into Baator. He was among the most loyal archdevils, having recognized that he was lucky to remain a lord after the Reckoning when many other rulers were displaced and deformed, and would require incredibly persuasion to attempt treason again. Only Asmodeus's direct call could remove him from the safety of his iron tower, and he returned as soon as possible whenever ordered to leave.

The insidious words of his advisor Titivilus had inflamed Dispater's paranoia, convincing him that Asmodeus himself conspired to remove him from power. Perhaps the only thing that could prompt him to act against any other archduke was the possibility of discovering something great enough to tip the scales in his favor.

Mammon: Mammon maintained his position as archduke through legendarily shameless sychophancy, humiliating and pathetic antics performed before the King of Hell. The moment Asmodeus proved victorious in the Reckoning Mammon immediately groveled before him, betraying his co-conspirators without a moment's hesitation. Asmodeus changed Mammon's form after this either as a punishment he decided or because Mammon suggested it as a way to signify he would change his ways and remain loyal. Regardless, he hated the transformation and dreamed of the day he could cast off the curse and ascend to rule Hell with a certain someone at his feet, namely Asmodeus's daughter Glasya.

It was unclear how exactly the relationship started, whether Asmodeus was using the unsavory Mammon to punish his daughter or if Glasya was using him to annoy her father (or even if there was some degree of twisted, genuine passion and romance), but at one point Glasya was the consort of Mammon. Asmodeus forcibly forbade the relationship with little resistance from Mammon after the Reckoning, though it was unclear if it had restarted once Glasya removed herself from Asmodeus's watchful eye.

Belial and Fierna: Belial was an old devil who had long ruled Phlegethos, and was responsible for overseeing the Diabolical Court even if all its judges answered only to Asmodeus. After the Reckoning he formally stepped down from office in an attempt to escape Asmodeus's wrath. Although Asmodeus killed his consort Naome (though even this might have been Glasya's doing) he accepted Belial placing his daughter Fierna on the throne.

Belial's plans for covert conquest of other layers were continually stalled when Asmodeus elevated her daughter to archduchess of Malbolge, for he feared both retaliation from Asmodeus for attacking his daughter and from his own daughter for attacking against her "best friend". After a period of uncertainty during which it wasn't clear who was really in charge of Phlegethos waived the normal principle regarding sharing archdukedom and dubbed both of them the rulers of the 4 Hell.

Levistus: Levistus was rumored to be of similar age to ancient Dispater, having been granted Stygia back at Hell's founding for his charm and competence, and he was the first devil to attempt to betray the King of Hell. In his traitorous quest to usurp Asmodeus he performed acts so heinous that his punishment, being sealed in a giant block of ice, almost seemed like a mercy, and while later returned archdukedom he was not released from his tomb. Having once prized himself on his mobility, Levistus held a special spite in his heart for Asmodeus and no gratitude for his reinstatement, blinded as he was by his need for vengeance and likely to undermine all Hell just to get it. He remained brazenly arrogant, troublesome, and provocatory towards the King of Hell, behavior which was confusingly tolerated with seeming indifference.

For Asmodeus's part, Levistus was in poor standing with him. Asmodeus freed him annually only so he could sulk through the meetings with the other archdevils, and it was said his soft laughter could be heard whenever Levistus's tomb moved in an unwanted direction. He further punished Levistus by mandating he become a patron of survival, offering escape to those in danger. It was speculated that his return was part of an ingenious diversion by Asmodeus, a theory Levistus came to accept despite hating its implications. It would mean that not only were his own schemes used to cloak Asmodeus's designs, but that he would need to watch his behavior going forward. Some speculated his later struggle against Geryon was orchestrated by Asmodeus to either make them overcome their worst impulses or lay the foundation for a superior lord.

Glasya: Glasya was the daughter of Asmodeus, and regardless of speculation that he merely adopted her as his own, was treated as such. The terms "father" and "daughter" might have been insufficient to describe the relationships between immortal beings of lawful evil, but the two shared a similar view of the world. His daughter generally remained continually supportive and Asmodeus was, at least by infernal standards, a doting father. "Of course I love my father. Without him, whom would I have to strive against?"

- Glasya

Even so, their history was long and riddled with conflict, as Glasya remained willfully defiant and disatisfied by his attempts to bring her under control and she brought him no small amount of grief before they came to an understanding. Eventually he made her archduchess, although how much this was meant as a punishment, reward, and a pragmatic matter of keeping her ambitions in check was in question. Exactly what Asmodeus ultimately wanted from Glasya, whether to consolidate his rule in Hell or expand his influence in the planes beyond, remained unclear, but even she sought his throne and was not above using his name to get away with many of her ploys.

Baalzebul: Baalzebul was originally an archon of Mount Celestia named Triel before his relentless and selfish pursuit of perfection got him thrown into the Nine Hells. A persistent but unsubstantiated rumor claimed Triel had been one Asmodeus's personal projects, his spiritual fall engineered in the form of a lovely but venemous flower, whilst other reports claimed Asmodeus could empathize with Baalzebul's fall from grace. Regardless of the reason, the soon-to-be-renamed Baalzebul became a favorite of Asmodeus, perhaps the closest thing he had to a true friend, quickly promoted to devilhood before swiftly ascending to rule the seventh hell. However, the conspriatorial politics of Hell put the two at greater odds over time, culminating in the Reckoning when his move to overthrow Asmodeus offended the Dark Lord and saw him suffer a series of cruel and unusual punishments, the worst being his transformation into a hideous, degenerate slug.

Having fallen from Asmodeus's favor, Baalzebul sought to prove again his usefulness and return to Asmodeus's good graces, primarily by making all his rivals look worse by comparison. Yet the slug archduke still burned with undying ambition for Asmodeus's throne just as he did with undying anger towards Asmodeus himself. He had a special hatred for Asmodeus, for his curse was not simply an impediment, but an intolerable humiliation. Though he did manage to return to a more desirable appearance, there was one thing he had sought even more than that during his transformation, and that was vengeance against Asmodeus for his defeat and shaming. And yet, for reasons no archduke could fathom, Asmodeus occasionally showed favor to his fallen foe.

Mephistopheles: Like Dispater, Mephistopheles was said to be one of Asmodeus's companions before they descended into Hell and was his greatest ally. The Dark Lord seemed to trust his counsel when offered, and he was something of a godfather to Glasya. That said, he was also Asmodeus's greatest enemy, his chief, most dangerous rival, and more than any of the other archdukes he was honest about this intention. While willing to fawn if he had to, he had openly and directly told Asmodeus of his ambition to usurp him with complete confidence.

For some reason Asmodeus usually tolerated this brazen and arrogant covetousness, seemingly content to let Mephistopheles make his claims. Part of the reason he allowed it, and indeed why he ignored Baalzebul's own intrigues, was because the the two were more focused and openly antagonstic to each other than himself. Mephistopheles meanwhile maintained the gall to expect rewards from Asmodeus when others received them, exuding jealous towards his peers despite his pre-eminent position. In his mind, being King of Hell was his destiny, although even he realized he could not depose Asmodeus as things were. So it was that Mephisto waited to see if Asmodeus made some catastrophic mistake exploitable enough to put them at actual odds.


 * Other Archdevils:

Bel: Bel was a military genius widely regarded as one of the greatest success stories in the Hells, his most legendary claim to fame being a deceptive maneuver known as the Four-Cross where he appeared to betray Asmodeus for the Abyss twice only so he could cripple the demons for a decade. Eventually he seized control of all of Hell's armies and usurped the previous Lord of Avernus, but where he expected immediate assaults, Asmodeus supported him.

Delighted that his treachery found favor with Asmodeus, he gladly accepted the terms laid out by his intermediary, support in exchange for continued Blood War prosecution. Only then did he realize he was an outcast amongst infernal nobility and had little time for anything but the Blood War. In fact, Asmodeus may very well have planned out Bel's rebellion, informally replacing Zariel through the Dark Eight and raising up Bel as a puppet ruler beholden to their will. It was commonly said Asmodeus permitted the coup so as to take a useful but conniving tactician and leave him too harried to scheme against his patron.

With no allies in the hierarchy, Bel adopted the policy of supporting Asmodeus in the hopes of further advancement, feeding him information on the other lords through his spy network, efforts appreciated by Asmodeus if not always of actual use. Asmodeus would decree that the other archdukes were required to fund his military endeavor on their behalf with souls and soldiers, and he eventually had such resources at his command that he could likely march against any other archduke with some success. Yet at that point, in the wake of the temporary cooling of the Blood War at large, Bel was belived to have no desire to do such a thing, to have come to like his appointed position as sentry of the Hells and become loyal to Asmodeus first and himself later.

Asmodeus would then replace Bel with the fallen angel Zariel. He managed to imprison her for a time before Asmodeus reinstated her again, declaring Bel's defensive tactics inadequate for fending off demonkind. He mandated Bel advise Zariel, and while Bel would not try to depose her since she seemed to have his favor, he would undermine her and encourage unwise behavior in the hopes his mutually hated rival seemed inept. He awaited the chance to permanently rid himself of her and retake his role as Warlord of Avernus.

Tiamat: Tiamat held a special enmity for Asmoedeus, for she had been contractually bound to Avernus on terms known only by her and the archdevils. At one point Asmodeus had granted her rulership over the layer, but she was so ineffective at keeping outcast devils from attempting regime-threatening coups that she was demoted, only going unpunished because Asmodeus's mind-probing revealed no actual disloyalty. Furthermore, she was focusing on building her own power and kingdom, which Asmodeus reasoned would lead her to fight outcasts and intruders more effectively then if given the task. He left her the formal duty of guarding the best-known passage way between Avernus and Dis, done by stationing an aspect there dedicated to guarding the way, but left her the notion she could return to rule with a satisfactory performance.

While Tiamat's "true" self was in Avernus, another aspect maintained and shifted domains elsewhere, but during the Spellplague fell into the hands of an empowered Bane. Tiamat wisely decided not to directly confront the god of tyranny but serve him faithfully while learning and accurately relaying his secrets to Asmodeus, which greatly pleased him. Eventually she found her moment to strike and steal a great portion of Bane's divine power, passing any she didn't need to heal her enslaved form and link it with her other body to Asmodeus. Delighted by the gift, Asmodeus extended the offer of leadership to her once more, whereupon even he was surprised when Tiamat refused on the basis that she neither desired nor would suit such a position.

Tiamat willingly offered to become Asmodeus's champion on Avernus and slay all who she knew plotted against him, suggesting Bel would prove a superior lord and one not to be spurned and made a foe. Touched by this, Asmodeus held a great ceremony formally titling Tiamat “Guardian to the Gate of the Second Layer", yet he betrayed her all the same. Turning his suboordinates against each other, Asmodeus privately urged Tiamat to provide covert magical aid to an imprisoned Zariel while at the same time preparing Bel to mentally dominate her, imprisoning her in her Avernus kingdom in the name of keeping down any personal ambitions. Secretly enraged, Tiamat believed Asmodeus and the others saw her as a "mere monster" to be duped and exploited, and became determined to obtain some level of freedom from the King of Hell.

Geryon: According to the Codex of Betrayal, Geryon was originally a celestial being who joined forces with Asmodeus because he promised to heal the mental wounds he suffered from a failed attempt to heal his broken body with the essence of his fallen comrades. He served as a trusted aide in matters of war and espionage, and was rewarded by having his fractured mind more fully merged. He continued to act as Asmodeus's assisstant, slowly commiting acts of evil more out of malice than rage or obedience, and was eventually made the Lord of Stygia to replace Levistus. Surprisingly for a Lord of Hell he desired no such authority, disliking the burdens of leaership, although he came to enjoy intrigue and maintained a stable if unremarkable reign up until the Reckoning.

"Join with me and mine, for I would welcome such power and such hatred. I can offer you power such as you have never known, a realm of possibilities undreamt of. You shall sit at my right hand, that none might gainsay you... I offer to make you whole."

- Asmodeus to Geryon in the Codex of Betrayal.

Geryon served as a spy for Asmodeus during the Reckoning, seemingly siding with Mephistopheles only to blow his horn before the climatic clash and signal all the commanders to betray their leaders. Then, in a move that surprised everyone, Asmodeus punished his only loyal lord with exile, raising entombed Levistus back to the rank of archduke. It was unclear where Geryon went or why Asmodeus forsook him. Theories ranged from the idea it was a punishment or perhaps Asmodeus's interpretation of a reward, a scheme of utility to manipulate him or other archdevils, a way of sending a secret message, or even just to feast on his despair.

Whatever the case, Geryon eventually returned to Stygia and maintained a war against Levistus for it with the tacit permission of Asmodeus. Though he hated Asmodeus for stripping him of his power, secretly raging and swearing vengeance against him, he was not certain of the why himself and not necessarily unwilling to comply depending on the reason.

Moloch: Moloch was once Hell's greatest warrior, an archdevil granted rulership over Malbolge by Asmodeus eons ago as a reward for his constant service and unyielding hatred of Asmodeus's enemies. Technically he was not an archduke however, instead ruling Malbolge as viceroy of Baalzebul whom was also granted dominion over it. As was his habit, Asmodeus promoted Moloch not simply because he deserved it, but because his animosity towards the other archdevils, especially as he and Baalzebul conspired against each other for control, would keep the two well occupied.

In the aftermath of the Reckoning, Moloch stood defiant against Asmodeus, convinced Lord of the Ninth would respect his strength as the others begged. Unbeknownst to him, this advice was fed to him as part of a vast conspiracy to dethrone him, and his refusal to bow before his king got him angrily demoted and banished by Asmodeus for his impertinence. Moloch would later come to resent the ascension of Glasya to archduchess of his former realm, a clear act of favoritism by her father.

Malagard: Malagard was the night hag consort of Moloch who prompted the previous Lord of the Sixth to rebuke Asmodeus, her poisoned words cementing his fall before elevating her to archduchess. Having witnessed Asmodeus's power herself she had no desire to interfere with him or participate in Hell's politics, instead focusing on attaining divinity. Her defeat was at least partially by Asmodeus's will, for she fell out of his favor and was struck down in a fit of pique, her ritual to attain godhood failed for reasons not clear. As for why a night hag was made archduchess at all, many in Hell had come to suspect Asmodeus only raised her up as a vulnerable placeholder until such a time when he and Glasya could come to terms.

Gargauth:

Graz'zt: Graz'zt was an archdevil employed by Asmodeus as an advisor. However, after conquering three layers of the Abyss, he broke away and became a demon lord. Whether he had severed all ties with Asmodeus's and if he had, whether it would remain such was not known.

Vassals
The following beings were among the most notable subjects of Asmodeus on Nessus. The forces at their disposal are listed, where appropriate:
 * Adramalech: Chancellor of Hell, Keeper of Records
 * Alastor the Grim: pit fiend and Executioner of Nessus.
 * Baalberith: pit fiend and major domo of Asmodeus's palace.
 * Bensozia: Consort of Asmodeus, Queen of Hell (deceased).
 * Buer: commander of fifteen companies of pit fiends.
 * Bune: commander of thirty companies of cornugons.
 * Glasya: daughter of Asmodeus and Bensozia, former Mistress of the Erinyes, later Lady of the Sixth.
 * Martinet: pit fiend and Constable of Nessus.
 * Morax: commander of nine companies of pit fiends.
 * Phongor: Inquisitor of Hell.
 * Rimmon: commander of five companies of gelugons.
 * The Spark Hunters: Lord Asmodeus's personal guard of thirteen hamatula rangers/mortal hunters who captured and/or slew mortals who draw their master's ire.
 * Zagum: commander of thirty companies of hamatula.

Worshipers
"Merciless lord of the Ninth Hell, keeper of all things forbidden and unknown, master of all you encounter, Asmodeus, I call on your dread name."

- Gilliard DeRosan

Asmodeus didn't need mortal worship to maintain or enhance his power, but rather wanted to lure mortals to atheism to receive their souls and heal his wounds. Nevertheless, Asmodeus had a large following, much larger than any other infernal cult combined, such that his was often the first choice for prospective devil-worshipers. Furthermore, every diabolic cult was viewed as a subdivision of Asmodeus's cult and ultimately swore allegiance to him and not the entity it followed. In fact, what boons the other cults could provide was ultimately determined by Asmodeus rather than the archdevil themselves.

While Asmodeus maintained cults dedicated to fictional entities, those cults in which he was worshiped as himself fell into a category called a revealed cult. Their followers understood that their object of worship was a devil.

To members of these cults, signing up meant to join a secret mutual-aid society. Members helped each other into positions of influence and affluence. Their prime motivation for joining was greed, and it began by making a pact with Asmodeus that consigned their soul to the Nine Hells on death. Leaders who proved their worth were given the ability to drain vitality from an ally.

The majority of cultists were dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and humans. Asmodeus also tried to make inroads into hobgoblins, and other peoples with a lawful evil outlook.

Tieflings who descended from Asmodeus were considered the standard of the race. However, "descended" did not necessarily mean that these tieflings could trace back their ancestry to Asmodeus, as around the time of the Spellplague, a ritual was conducted that gave all tieflings of Toril the so-called mark of Asmodeus, which turned them into effective descendants of his.

Asmodeus was also a supplier of pacts for warlocks and a tiefling's or half-fiend's warlock pact was most likely one made with him.

History
The origins of Asmodeus were not very clear. Various stories existed that even disagreed on what kind of lifeform Asmodeus actually was.

Asmodeus took advantage of his aforementioned lack of true divinity to obscure his true nature, powers and agenda. While evidently operating under different rules than other powers, his status as a "lord of evil" was all that was clear to others.

The location of Asmodeus's body was kept secret from everyone, including other devils and everyone who learnt of the truth about his body was killed within a day.

Origin Story: Serpent of Law
This story positioned Asmodeus's origins at the very dawn of time. Called Ahriman at the time, he arose from the primordial chaos as the mightiest of the lawful gods, with Jazirian the only one who could rival him. These two were both serpent-form gods and they set their minds on ordering the multiverse in a lawful way.

Towards that end, the two serpent gods bit each others' tails, forming a circle that defined the borders of a new plane. Born from the soup of chaos through the interaction of the two most powerful entities of law, one evil and the other good, formed the neutral plane of the Outlands. The other Outer Planes arrayed themselves around its circular border, forming the Great Wheel cosmology, and the concept of the Unity of Rings was created. The next law the two created was the Rule of Three in honor of their three aspects: evil, good, and law. However, when they had to decide a center for the multiverse, they disagreed. The Outlands were the ideal place but lawful good Jazirian wanted Celestia to be the center, while lawful evil Ahriman wanted Baator to be it. They tugged each other and bit each others' tail tips off. Unlike Jazirian, Ahriman was a scaled serpent without wings and therefore fell into the Nine Hells. He crashed into Nessus and created the deep fissure called the Serpent's Coil before his fall halted. There, his serpentine body lay bleeding, and from the blood arose the first baatezu.

Having failed to choose a center for the multiverse, the two lawful entities had effectively honored chaos by making every plane infinitely big and therefore every place being the center. The two serpents had spent so much power in creating rules for the multiverse and in their struggle that they were unable to prevent other, newer gods from taking over positions of importance. Ahriman later took the name Asmodeus for himself.

Origin Story: Pact Primeval
This origin story had Asmodeus fool the gods into signing the Pact Primeval, a contract between Asmodeus and gods that effectively allowed devils to legally take mortal souls to Baator by corrupting them and draw energy from them. This story was accepted by sages across the multiverse, but was held to be myth rather than an exact account, while the existence of other stories was acknowledged. This story was mostly told by devils, of course.

In this version too, the multiverse started as a soup of chaos, where demons fought each other. As a reaction to chaos, the concept of law arose to counter it, and with it deities of law who fought the demons. But eventually the deities wearied of fighting infinite demons and wanted to do something else. So they created angels to fight the demons for them. The best specimen of this new species in every regard was Asmodeus.

As far as killing demons was concerned, Asmodeus was the most successful of the angels. But he and his fellows took on some fiendish aspects to increase their effectiveness at fighting demons, and for this they were put on trial. Asmodeus's argument was that war was a dirty business and that they had done the deity's dirty work for them, yet upheld their laws, and that he and his people had done nothing wrong. The gods realized Asmodeus had a better grasp of law than they did and could find no counter to his arguments. Over time, the gods tried to bar Asmodeus and his people from accessing various privileges and rights, but Asmodeus managed to secure them through his legal knowledge by suing the gods and pulling forth arguments they could not counter.

Once the Prime Material Plane was populated and made more-or-less safe from demons, the gods noticed that mortals had a tendency to disregard divine law and overstep boundaries. The gods had a problem with this for it invited chaos and allowed demons access to mortals. They had free will, and could chose not to follow law. To counter this, Asmodeus invented the concept of punishment. The gods accepted it and Asmodeus's and his fellows' (including Mephistopheles and Dispater) duties now included punishing those who transgressed divine law, meaning torturing the souls of transgressors.

While the gods understood the necessity of punishment, they had a problem with souls being punished within their lands. So Asmodeus was again put on trial. He argued again that he simply followed divine law and did his duties, and again, the gods could not counter him, but they couldn't abide souls being punished in a place where they could see the cruelty. Therefore, Asmodeus proposed to shift the site of torture to what would be Baator, so the gods did not need to look at it anymore. However, if Asmodeus and his angels moved their workplace to Baator, they would be unable to draw power from the gods to conduct their duties. Therefore, Asmodeus proposed that he and his fellows be given the right to wring divine energy out of the souls they tortured as a substitute. The gods agreed and the Pact Primeval was signed.

Asmodeus and his fellows started work in the Nine Hells as torturers and actively started seducing mortals towards evil so that they would end up in Baator instead of the gods' divine realms on dying. Once the gods found this out, they confronted Asmodeus, who merely pointed them to the contract's fine print.

This version made it appear as though Asmodeus's and the lawful gods went different ways by relatively peaceful means. However, the parting was not peaceful—the deities threw Asmodeus out of the Upper Planes and he fell and fell through Baator, either through the nine layers or breaking it into the nine layers. Thereafter, Asmodeus carried serious wounds from his fall.

Origin Story: He Who Was
In this version, Asmodeus was an exarch in the service of an unknown god, but after retrieving a shard of evil, he killed that god. Asmodeus put much effort in wiping out this god's name, so he was known only as He Who Was. According to one legend, this god was a control freak who supervised every single aspect of every single person living in his realm. The all-encompassing supervision and control force on Asmodeus suffered was the start of his need to rise up against his god. He was again the greatest warrior and general of that god's army in the Dawn War, but applied brutal methods that at one point caused innocent casualties. As Asmodeus did not want to see the errors of his ways, the lawful good god condemned and fired Asmodeus.

Afterward, Asmodeus worked as a watchman over Tharizdun's prison. During this time, Pazuzu, a demon lord of the obyrith, came to him and they had a conversation. The demon's flattery caused Asmodeus to develop a sense of pride that became arrogance and the desire to rise up against He Who Was. Asmodeus maintained a stable secret alliance with Pazuzu, who served as his general and was vital in eventually killing He Who Was. A side effect of Asmodeus's corruption was that he began to hear the location of the shards of evil. He retrieved one by going down to the bottom of the Abyss through the Blood Rift, created his Ruby Rod with the shard, and killed his god with it when it looked bad for the deities during the Dawn War. The corrupting influence of the shard turned Asmodeus and the members of his army into the first devils. He Who Was had cursed Asmodeus and since then Asmodeus could not leave Baator. He Who Was's curse also affected Asmodeus's angelic army, which was stationed in Phlegethos, the site of which later became known as the Lake of Fire. Afterward, Asmodeus managed to lay the groundwork for emerging stronger from the Dawn War, while all other participants were weakened.

Publicly, the other gods condemned Asmodeus's actions, but privately some started making deals with the future lord of devils, because He Who Was had been infamous for his incompetence, which would have caused the gods' defeat in the Dawn War and with it their end. Asmodeus made deals with both the gods and covertly the primordials, but in the end decided to take the divine side. One of these bargains gave him the eternal right to use souls to maintain Baator.

With this right, Baator became a divine realm of material affluence, while all other realms had a poverty problem. This was due to Asmodeus's great management skills, and a very dark touch. Among others, this was done by turning Baator into a giant torture chamber where magical energy was tortured out of souls. He modified the Nine Hells so that as many souls as possible could enter the astral dominion. For example, because of the damage done by the Dawn War, the system of souls being transferred to the realms of their deities did not properly function. Souls that appeared outside of the proper divine realm could not enter any realm except the Nine Hells and a lot of souls made use of this unique aspect of the Nine Hells.

After the Fall
Asmodeus was acknowledged as the oldest devil in existence, but not everyone believed him to be the first ruler of Baator, and they were correct. Contrary to how the Pact Primeval legend presented Baator, Baator had not been an empty wasteland, but had been inhabited by another race. The nupperibo, the result of leaving a soul in Baator alone to evolve without the torturous process of the baatezu to turn it into a lemure, were assumed to be members of this race. They were the baatorians and their ruler was Zargon. When Asmodeus came to Hell, he and his devils purged the baatorians, enslaving them and slaying their lords, with Asmodeus killing many himself. However, when fighting Zargon, Asmodeus could not kill him because the creature constantly regenerated around his indestructible horn. Thus Asmodeus ripped off the horn and threw it into the Prime Material plane, falling onto some world, to the spot where eventually the city of Cynidicea arose.

However, over the centuries Zargon regenerated around the horn and terrorized the people of Cynidicea, who worshiped him and appeased him by sacrificing sentient beings. Depopulating their own people, they began to take their victims from other lands. This attracted the rage of a barbarian nation who attacked them, but Zargon killed their hero, and then a few of their gods. But Asmodeus stepped in and defeated Zargon once more, not because he cared for the dead gods, but because he did not want the original ruler of Baator free. To ensure that Zargon stayed sealed away, Asmodeus encased the elder evil in stone and buried Zargon's worshipers alive.

The Trial of Asmodeus
According to the The Trial of Asmodeus, a play based on real events according to its author, disgusted angels condemned Asmodeus for tempting mortals to evil and harvesting their souls. The Archfiend protested and the angels agreed to have a hearing with Asmodeus after accepting his proposal to ask Primus of the modrons to be an impartial judge.

Asmodeus argued that he'd never done anything wrong for he consistently acted as a lawful creature in accordance with infernal tradition in service to the cause of law and the continued existence of the multiverse. According to him, mortals always had the choice whether to accept an infernal bargain, devils always held up their end of a bargain, and a mortal who nullified a contract by finding a loophole was respected. Furthermore, souls condemned to Baator were conscripted into the infernal army against the Abyss's forces of chaos, thereby protecting the cause of law and good from the forces of chaos and evil, which meant the souls were also used to further and protect the cause of law.

The angels presented their cases one by one, but with so many and for so long that Primus's patience ran out. The judge declared he would only listen to a limited number of angels, not all of them. After this pronouncement, Zariel, at that time still an angel, started a brawl to get to the front row to get her case heard. This degenerated into a massive punch-up among the angels. Primus scolded the angels for their lack of restraint and refused to give a final verdict, and Asmodeus suffered no punishment. However, two matters were decided. First, Asmodeus was effectively given the right to sway mortals to evil and harvest their souls. Second, a decree was made that Asmodeus must always carry his Ruby Rod of Asmodeus, both as a symbol of the devils' right and as a punishment device against devils who did not uphold their end of a bargain made with mortals.

In Hell
His position secured, Asmodeus ruled as overlord of Baator, with the goal of healing his wounds from his fall by receiving atheists' souls. He created a bureaucratic system based in Grenpoli on Maladomini.

Asmodeus was also the inventor of the Infernal language.

It was believed that Asmodeus, at some point, financed a project to create the yugoloths. He paid night hags to create them so he would have an army not tied to Baator. This plan, if true, ultimately failed, because the tool to control the yugoloths, the four Books of Keeping, got lost over time.

His intra-Baator politics revolved around keeping his position. He was successful at it and over the years observed the coming and going of many archdevils. He also recruited new ones. For example, he allegedly steered Baalzebul, while still an archon called Triel, onto the path of corruption by appearing to him as a beautiful venomous flower. Baalzebul later became a powerful devil and one of Asmodeus's favorites.

According to one theory, Stygia was not one of the original layers of Baator but a world whose denizens handed over their souls to Asmodeus to save themselves. The alleged method by which Asmodeus saved them was to transport the doomed world to Baator as its newest layer.

At some point, Asmodeus took Bensozia as his consort and had a daughter with her called Glasya. Levistus ambushed Bensozia and tried to get her help in deposing Asmodeus, but she refused, so in a rage Levistus tried to rape Bensozia and when she wouldn't submit he murdered her. After Levistus succeeded in taking over Stygia from Geryon, an angry Asmodeus encased Levistus in an ice block where he lay unconscious. Geryon took over the position of archdevil of Stygia. Asmodeus's relationship with his daughter was a weird one. On one hand, Asmodeus was acknowledged as a caring father&mdash;at least by devil standards &mdash;and on the other, Glasya was most easily described as a ne'er-do-well and troublemaker towards her father and other archdevils.

Another archdevil who either fled or left Baator was Gargauth. The exact circumstances were not known, but Asmodeus played a crucial role. Gargauth left either because he tried and failed to oust Asmodeus and had to flee or because Asmodeus killed Beherit, Gargauth's closest ally, which prompted the Outcast to leave.

Graz'zt was once an archdevil under the employ of Asmodeus. He was charged with fighting the Blood War, invading the Abyss, and getting the shard of evil for him. However, after conquering three AByssal layers, he could not advance further because of the resistance he faced from Demogorgon and Orcus. Instead, he broke away and became a demon lord himself. Whether he'd truly severed all ties with Asmodeus and whether he would remain a demon lord was unknown.

Another was Malkizid, an exiled former solar under the employment of Corellon. He was cast out for siding with Lolth and fell into Baator, where he gained influence. At some point in history, he angered Asmodeus and was banished.

Zariel started off as an observer of the Blood War under celestial orders. But she wanted to fight in it too and eventually ran off to do that. Her beaten body was found by Asmodeus's people, she was brought to Nessus, nursed back to health, and installed as the archdevil of Avernus.

The Reckoning of Hell
The Reckoning was an event in which the archdevils revolted against Asmodeus, and he survived without harm. The key catalyst was Baalzebul's ambitions increasingly clashing with Asmodeus's. He tried to smear Asmodeus's reputation as a competent leader and to circumvent the infernal bureaucracy. To save his amassed military strength, he even withheld his armies in the face of an abyssal invasion until he had to admit that not entering the fray would cause Baator to be ruined.

At the time, the archdevils acted in a fairly obvious manner to achieve their goals and, at the culmination of their scheming, two factions crystallized: that of Baalzebul with Belial, Moloch, and Zariel under him; and that of Mephistopheles with Dispater, Geryon, and Mammon under him. After Baalzebul's machinations were uncovered in an investigation, their armies clashed in Maladomini to determine who should inherit Asmodeus's crown. But it was all for naught, as Asmodeus had secured the loyalty of Geryon and infiltrated the eight armies up to the highest level. On Geryon's signal, the pit fiend commanders turned on their archdevils and their armies were destroyed while Asmodeus escaped unscathed. According to another recounting of the events, the battle was an everyone-against-Baalzebul-battle, which Baalzebul lost.

Afterward, Asmodeus instituted the Dark Eight, giving an effective promotion to the pit fiends loyal to him. He generally left the archdevils with their realms: Zariel, Dispater, and Mephistopheles were allowed to keep their layers; Mammon embarrassed himself begging Asmodeus for forgiveness, who did by allowing him to keep his layer but forbade him to keep his relationship with his daughter; and Belial went into the background to evade responsibility and managed to hold power by accepting Asmodeus's condition that he hold power jointly with his daughter, Fierna. However, Geryon was deposed despite his loyalty and Levistus was restored to consciousness and elevated to archdevil of Stygia. Moloch was convinced by Malagarde (who worked for Geryon and therefore Asmodeus) that if he showed defiance, Asmodeus would respect him and absolve him of all crimes; instead, he was deposed and Malagarde, who'd convinced him to join the fray to begin with, became the archdevil of Malbolge. Baalzebul was allowed to keep his position but his body was transformed into a giant slug. In summary, all archdevils were forced to accept Asmodeus as their superior and he became sure of potential usurpers' capabilities while also dramatically reminding them of their position.

Why Asmodeus deposed Geryon was a mystery. At least three possible explanations were accepted by scholars. The first was that it spurred increased loyalty in Geryon and he would work even harder for Asmodeus in the hope of being restored to power. The second was that it was a kind of reward by Asmodeus, even if Geryon did not think of it that way. The third was Asmodeus's hunger for faithless people: at least for a moment, Geryon believed life was pointless and became food for Asmodeus.

Actions on Toril
On Toril in the, a warlock coven known as the Toril thirteen performed a ritual that cursed most tiefling lineages—those of demons, devils, hags, and rakshasas, among others—with the "blood of Asmodeus", changing their original lineage to that of the archdevil himself. This was done in an attempt to make Asmodeus a "racial god", ensuring him enough followers to attain godly powers.

After the Reckoning in Hell
Even after the Reckoning, the archdevils continued to experience upheavals. Bel gained the trust of Zariel and abused it to depose her, rising to the rank of archdevil. Asmodeus approved this under the condition that Bel would concentrate on the Blood War with the Dark Eight. Bel agreed and so much of his time was consumed by the Blood War that he didn't have sufficient time to plot against his superiors.

The second was caused by the sudden bloating and death of Malagarde around 1372 DR. Malbolge was reformed and Glasya became an archdevil. Asmodeus managed to reign in his unruly daughter by scolding her and instilling in her that she had to take on some responsibility in order to retain her privileges. After throwing a fit, Glasya agreed and was tasked with organizing the erinyes' work. He also gave her Geryon's powers as an archdevil to make her strong enough to fill the position, and made it clear that Malagarde had just been a placeholder for his daughter. Third, to provide her with a good staff, he allowed her to recruit competent devils even to the detriment of her fellow archdevils—a privilege Glasya made full use of, much to the chagrin of her fellows. However, Glasya also ran a criminal organization that created false money, by turning lead temporarily into gold, minting it into coins and using them before they turned back. She escaped punishment through the legal loophole that no law in existence regulated the state of coins after leaving the mint, only the composition of the raw material out of which the coins were minted. One reason for Asmodeus to elevate Glasya was to tie her to one layer with a lot of responsibility, thereby preventing her ambitions going too far.

Post-Spellplague Era
When Dweomerheart collapsed in the wake of the Spellplague of 1385 DR, Azuth fell into the Hells where Asmodeus, sensing his opportunity, devoured the lesser deity and became a god himself. He then ended the Blood War by forcing the Abyss underneath the Elemental Chaos. But he knew the war could restart at any time and with a united demonic front, if he did anything like invading the Abyss. Therefore, he organized his strength so that when the war restarted it would do so under circumstances favorable to him.

It turned out that Asmodeus had had some divine influence on Toril that had waned, but his ascension restored it and his cult was on the rise in the 15 century DR. It began to be practiced overtly when Asmodeus's worshipers presented their god as someone from whom absolution from all kinds of sins could be gained, as mortals had thought of the Blue Fire of the Spellplague as some form of divine punishment.

Although many believed Asmodeus killed Azuth when he consumed his divine essence, in fact Asmodeus had fused with Azuth, and both gods coexisted in the same body. Most of the time, Asmodeus overpowered Azuth, using his divine powers while the God of Wizards was in a dormant state. But on a rare few occasions, Azuth was able to gain control of their shared body, and because of his strange behavior many denizens of the Nine Hells believed Asmodeus had grown mad.

After the Spellplague, Asmodeus re-instituted Belial as an archdevil, which presumably meant that he'd demoted Fierna from that position.

When Asmodeus became a god, the magic of the ritual performed by the Toril thirteen took effect across Toril. Afterwards, most tieflings living in the 15 century DR were of the Asmodean lineage, all having a similar devilish appearance.

Post-Second Sundering
In 1486 DR, Azuth had regained most of his strength and was able to choose Ilstan Nyaril as his Chosen. Asmodeus and Azuth began to struggle for control of their shared body and as a result the hierarchy of the Nine Hells was jeopardized. Ilstan and Farideh, one of the Chosen of Asmodeus, devised a plan to separate both gods and avoid a potential devil invasion of all the multiverse. They contacted the god Enlil through his Chosen, Kepeshkmolik Dumuzi, and Asmodeus agreed to release Azuth from his body and resurrect the Untherite god Nanna-Sin as a non-god immortal and in exchange Enlil allowed Asmodeus to consume Nanna-Sin's divine spark to become a god unto himself. In a ritual performed in Djerad Thymar amid the First Tymanther-Unther War, on Hammer 10 of 1487 DR, Ilstan sacrificed his life to allow Azuth to become an individual god once more.

At some point after the Second Sundering, Asmodeus demoted Bel and re-elevated Zariel to the position of archdevil of Avernus. Another archdevil he restored to the position was Fierna. This was a unique ruling that made Belial and Fierna equals in a system that otherwise mandated that every layer-ruling post had to be filled with only one person.

On Toril, Asmodeus's worshipers comprised two groups: those who wanted to have some form of independence from gods, and those who had no intention of dealing with devils, only wanting fun and/or clemency from Asmodeus. On dying in Toril, a mortal's soul was shunted to the Fugue Plane, where it waited until whatever god they worshiped in life cared to take the soul to itself, for a length of time depending on how well the soul adhered to the deity's tenets. In that time, it could be approached by devils offering a new life as a devil. The first group hoped they would be specifically approached by a devil on dying. The second group would be offered a reprieve from the wait. Asmodeus also supplied pacts for warlocks.

Chosen of Asmodeus

 * Farideh
 * Havilar
 * Bryseis Kakistos
 * Valraun, a blue dragon

Background
Asmodeus is named for the Judeo-Christian demon Asmodai or Asmodeus originating from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit and appearing in various legends and medieval demonology. A fallen angel of the same name also appears in John Milton's Paradise Lost.

Development
The non-canonical article "The Politics of Hell" in The Dragon #28 by Alexander von Thorn details the history and politics of Hell, giving a different history to that detailed above and connecting closely to real-world myth and history. It discusses older kings of Hell such as Lucifer or Satan whom Asmodeus deposed. This idea was never considered canonical, but an allusion to it resurfaced in a vague reference decades later in the Book of Vile Darkness, where it is stated that while Asmodeus is the oldest devil in the Nine Hells, he may not be the original ruler. However, Elder Evils later made the original ruler Zargon instead.

In 2 edition's Guide to Hell, it is stated that Asmodeus was a Lawful Evil or corrupted Lawful Neutral serpentine entity who, along with his Lawful Good counterpart serpent Jazirian, was responsible for the current ring-shaped structure of the Outer Planes. Asmodeus fell as they struggled over the proper role of Law, eventually plummeting all the way to the Serpent's Coil in Baator. Guide to Hell claimed that his wish was to destroy all creation by making all sentient beings atheists, thus negating the belief energy holding the Outer Planes together, so that he might fill the void and create it entirely in his own image, without the help of any other deity. Few of these theories have appeared in subsequent books, or possessed a foundation in prior material, though the theme of Asmodeus as a fallen being of Law has remained.

Again in 2 edition, Hellbound: The Blood War and Faces of Evil: The Fiends present another version of Baator and Asmodeus's history and origins. They state that the baatezu only supplanted the original natives of the plane, the Ancient Baatorians, and were themselves first created as the lawful spawn of the General of Gehenna's purification of the early yugoloths. The chronology of the Blood War in Hellbound also states that Baator's Lords of the Nine only appeared in their positions around or slightly after the Blood War began, but also before the existence of deities. Asmodeus himself is left intentionally dark and largely undefined, though his power is made clear, with more detail devoted to the history of his race and their conquered plane.

Harkening back to 2 edition, Manual of the Planes 3rd edition mentions "brutally repressed rumors" that the form of Asmodeus seen by the other archdukes and visitors was merely a specter or aspect, and that his true form, that of a titanic, serpent-like devil, hundreds of miles long, resided at the bottom of the canyon known as Serpent's Coil, so named for the outline he made when he hit the surface of Nessus, still wounded from his fall out of the upper planes. No one who tells the story of the true form of Asmodeus survives more than 24 hours after the telling.

However, the origin myth which appears in v.3.5's Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells contradicts this, where Asmodeus is a fallen angel and the original founder of the current, baatezu-dominated Nine Hells during the signing of the Pact Primeval. However, this story is presented as mythology, and the Codex itself admits that it does not tell the whole truth. The names of the gods involved (deities of Oerth in the Greyhawk setting) seem unlikely, as they contradict their own histories. It instead implies that Serpent's Coil is shaped for the spiraling path Asmodeus fell, and that Malsheem sits at the bottom of that canyon.

In the 4-edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide, Asmodeus is established as an ancient deity who was relegated to the position of archdevil and toiled for untold millenia to regain his divinity.