Baatezu

Baatezu were a category of devils inhabiting the Nine Hells of Baator.

Start of a Baatezu Life
A typical baatezu life started as a soul of a dead lawful evil mortal on Baaator. The dozen or so souls that were deemed the best out of about a hundred thousands, baatezu also bought additional souls from night hags, were turned into lemure. The selection standards were how well the larva could fend for itself. This process was as artificial as it sounded. Leaving a soul alone caused it to become a nupperibo, the natural result.

Nupperibos were gathered and turned into lemure. This was sold as a demotion but in truth, the process was a change into something completely different. The reason for this inclusion into baatezu ranks was that the baatezu were cautious to not leave the nupperibo alone so that they had a chance to evolve into something that may be strong but not one of their own.

The third way in which a baatezu could start its life was to spontatneously arise from the plane of Baator. This was very rare.

Baatezu on the Fugue Plane
Some baatezu stayed on the Fugue Plane from the World Tree cosmology, where they tried to convince souls of the newly deceased to join their ranks by becoming lemures. Few took up the offer, but to some the prospect of a chance of advancing in baatezu society was preferable to the fate they expected in afterlife.

Stance towards History
Baatezu made token shows of their reverence towards their supposed history but that was it. They generally did not really care about their race's past. What they cared about was their individual and planar past, isofar as how it would affect them, and the future.

Origins
The orgins of the baatezu were not clear. The baatezu themselves claimed that they were born from Baator itself with clear directives about what kind of baatezu should do what. This version claimed also that the baatezu were the oldest fiends. The version was contested by tanar'ri and yugoloths who both claimed the title "oldest kind of fiend" for themselves.

This version was notable for it was the version that was certainly not the truth. Who or whatever lived on Baator at first, they were not the baatezu. Leaving a soul alone on the lawful evil plane caused it to become anupperibo, a member of the race that lived on Baator before the baatezu came from somewhere else replacing these creatures.

Types of Baatezu

 * Lemure :
 * Among the weakest kinds of devils, lemures looked like semi-molten blobs of flesh with a vaguely humanoid form.


 * Nupperibo :
 * Strange, bloated devils that were even weaker than lemures.


 * Advespa :
 * Advespas were large, wasp-like devils.


 * Amnizu :
 * Powerful, corpulent devils that had jagged teeth and leathery wings. They often held positions of authority.


 * Erinyes :
 * Erinyes were powerful devils that looked like beautiful humans with large feathered wings and glowing red eyes. They were sometimes mistaken for celestials.


 * Pit fiend :
 * Among the most powerful devils, pit fiends were generals in diabolical armies. They had wings, tails, red skin, and fangs.


 * Hamatula :
 * Also called barbed devils, hamatulas were large devils covered in sharp barbs that acted as guards.


 * Barbazu :
 * Also called bearded devils, these were the shock troops of Baator. Barbezus were humanoid, with a tentacle 'beard', tail, scaly hide, and aggressive personality.


 * Osyluth :
 * More commonly called bone devils, osyluths looked like skeletal humanoids with a long, barbed tail and insect-like wings. Osyluths served the archdevils as taskmasters and law enforcement officers.


 * Cornugon :
 * Also called horned devils, cornugons had bat-like wings, tails, large horns, and a humanoid body. They typically acted a defensive troops.


 * Gelugon :
 * Commonly called ice devils, these devils appeared as bipedal, insectile devils and were strategists in Hell's armies.


 * Malebranche :
 * Malebranches, or war devils, were the champions in the baatezu armies and led lesser devils into skirmishes.


 * Spinagon :
 * Spined devils were humanoid devils with large wings and spines that covered their backs.


 * Dogai :
 * More commonly called assassin devils.


 * Falxugon :
 * More commonly called Harvester devils.


 * Merregon :
 * More commonly called Legion devils.


 * Excruciarch :
 * More commonly called pain devils.


 * Brachina :
 * More commonly called pleasure devils.


 * Bueroza :
 * More commonly called steel devils.


 * Ayperobos swarm :
 * Brazen devil :
 * Ghargatula :
 * Gulthir :
 * Kocrachon :
 * Logokron :
 * Narzugon :
 * Orthon :
 * Paeliryon :
 * Remmanon :
 * Xerfilstyx :

Connections
Baatezu