The Nine Hells
Nine layers of embodied evil - great realms of tyranny, hatred, and destruction - comprise the Nine Hells. In stark contrast to the Abyss, this plane is a place of fierce regimentation in which the resident devils' carry out well ordered lives and take pains to conceal their endless schemes of betrayal and assassination.
Though the plane has nine layers, travelers always enter through the top layer, Avernus, unless they use a portal that links to some other specific layer. Avernus abuts Blood Rift and is therefore is the staging point for all of the devils' campaigns against their demonic enemies in the Blood War.
Nine Hells Traits
The Nine Hells has the following traits.
- Alterable morphic.
- No elemental or energy traits. Elemental and energy influences are balanced, except on the layer of Phlegethod, which has the fire-dominant trait. The layer of Cania is bitterly cold and has a special cold-dominant trait. A creature there takes 3d10 points of cold damage each round that it lacks shelter of some kind.
- Mildly law-aligned and mildly evil-aligned.
Nine Hells Links
Portals to the Barrens of Doom and Despair are all too common within the Nine Hells. Both Maglubiyet and Kurtulmak maintains planes that connect Clangor with the Nine Hells. The plane is also coterminous with Blood Rift, an arrangement that allows the legions of Avernus to march into eternal battle with their demonic foes. The River of Blood flows through Avernus, and both offshoots and tributaries of that foul stream appear on all nine layers of this plane.
Nine Hells Inhabitants
The most numerous inhabitants of the Nine Hells are devils, but the place is also home to hell hounds, night hags, nightmares, hellwasp swarms, and creatures unknown to the sages of Faerûn - such as giant maggotlike fiends, strange creatures with many mouths, eyes, and limbs, and even more bizarre and horrible monsters.
Other inhabitants: Bonespear, gathra, haraknin (canomorph), hellfire golem, imps (all), maelephant
Nine Hells Petitioners: The only petitioners found on the Nine Hells are those stolen or lured there by devils doing their work on the Fuguue Plane. Souls brought to the Nine Hells become lemures, which appear as revolting blobs of molten flesh with vaguely humanoid torsos and heads. Lemures are despised by all other devils, though a few might be destined for promotion into some other form of devil. Lemures are mindless, though they are sensitive to telepathic messages from other devils. They obey the mental commands of the strongest devil in closest proximity to them. Lemures have the following special qualities.
Additional Immunities: Fire, poison.
Resistances: Acid 10, cold 10.
Other Special Qualities: Mindless, damage reduction 5/silver or good, spell resistance 5, no planar commitment.
Mindless (Ex): Lemures are immune to all mind-influencing effects. Unless commanded, they behave as if under the influence of a feeblemind spell.
No Planar Commitment (Ex): Unlike most other petitioners, lemures can leave their home plane.
Features Of The Nine Hells
The nine layers of this plane are detailed in Planar Handbook. The Nine Hells encompasses no divine realms, and no deities make their homes here. However, each layer is ruled by an archdevil, and a few of these creatures certainly rival minor deities in power.