Devils¶
"Devils (the name given to Demons following Asmodeus)." — The Nature of Magic (S208)
Devils are not a separate race of fiend. They are demons who follow the archdemon Asmodeus, the Daemiveus of the Hollowing, and the name belongs to the Fifth Age: it was given when Asmodeus took the Mithis Plane, warped it into the Hollows, and let only his own through. "Most Hollows are controlled by Devils (Demons under the influence of Asmodeus), but some have been taken over by rebel Demons (known as Ravager Hollows)" (S325). Where devils and demons meet they fight; the war between them is the shape of the Hollowing wherever it touched the land. This page describes the devils as creatures and as a faction of the Abyss; the Hollows themselves are Cosmology's, and the Hollowlords who have names are Figures'.
Also called: Daemagus in the scholarly tongue, for those devils who work Hollow magic (S325); Diabolus in the Sancturi word-lists (S132); the devils and their mortal worshippers together are Malumarcs (S132).
Asmodeus and his host¶
When Asmodeus took "complete control of the Mithis Plane and warped it creating The Hollow," he "tightened down the Mithis plane since coming into control of it. Only demons (devils) allied to his cause are allowed passage, and these devils are confined within the Hollow. This serves two purposes: it motivates Devils to work hard to expand the boundaries of the hollow and allows Asmodeus to capture most of the Ethereal energy harvested within the Hollow" (S132). The devils' god is no longer a Ravager, "a demon whose prime motivation is consuming ethereal energy for power. Too much of his power is tied up in Terrun to want to see its complete destruction. His focus has turned to dismantling the old pantheons and consolidating his power" (S132). Against him stood the greater part of demonkind: "most demons reject Asmodeus's path away from true demonic influences. They see Asmodeus as the true threat and make up a majority of demons in the abyss (Asmodeus has proven he has no intention of sharing and has in fact made it harder for normal demons to cross to the material)" (S132). Powerful witches could smuggle ordinary demons through, "but this incurs the wrath of any Devils associated to the Hollow" (S132). The war of the devils against the Sancturi and the Riven gods is the Hellgate War, a History page (Sancturi Period).
The magical races suffered most. "High Elves, Dark Elves and some kinds of Draconians which had high concentrations of Mithis in their blood became pawns of the Devils (the name given to Demons following Asmodeus) or were destroyed outright" (S208). Devils "frequently wield objects made from" tainted Mithis, "as it strengthens their connection to the Abyss, increasing their strength, regeneration and magic" (S132).
Hollowlords¶
"Every Hollow is commanded by a single Hollowlord, which is the most powerful Devil. The Hollowlord may have many lieutenants (other Devils) guarding over Mithis sources inside the Hollow" (S146). The Hollowlord is "devil/guardian/owner/warden" at once, and "defeating the Hollowlord and its lieutenants is generally required to gain access to the Mithis object(s) which are sustaining the Hollow" (S146). "Powerful Devils are commanded to remain inside the boundaries of the Hollow, where they are granted significant magical casting abilities from the Mithis energy and act as guardians of the Hollow. They use puppets to search out and consolidate magical objects and lure or capture victims to be returned to the Hollow" (S146). "Hollows that merge will result in a battle between Hollowlords and the defeated Hollowlord will either become subservient or replaced by a minion of the victor. This results in hierarchy of Devils for large Hollows with multiple Mithis sources. Hollowlords of very large hollows are very powerful" (S146). In a Hollow of the third class or greater, devils "manifest in physical form inside the Hollow without possession. Killing Devils and Demons from these Hollows is a temporary victory as the Hollow can re-manifest these creatures by using some of it's available somatic energy. This is normally at the discretion of the Hollowlord (who holds the strings to direct the Hollow's energies)" (S325). A Hollowlord "has access to unlimited MP in his Hollow. Also, while in his hollow, he can slowly shape its reality" (S138). Some Hollows are "notoriously difficult to get rid of and just keep coming back after being destroyed. This is usually due to an unusually clever Devil and/or assistance from a Hollowlock" (S325).
The named Hollowlords of the Sancturi campaign are Figures' pages: Hal'Gamesh, "Horned Brown Devil," master of the Icy Hollow that swallowed Harwith, "a towering humanoid … with dark brown leathery skin, a gaunt face with 2 sets of thin ebony horns," goat-legged, black-winged, "a master of Cold and Ice magic and natural denizen of the abyssal black tundra" (S138); Hez'Vandros, "a 6 foot tall, scrawny brown-skinned humanoid" with four thick horns forming a crown, "a green ball of flame" swirling above his head and a white beard, who had "been kind of a loner for most of the last several thousand years" and bound his captives to a pact totem, "you belong to ME now. Body and Soul" (S145); and Zul'Ruggamesh, whose spy wore the body of a tailor (S151). In western Dalmar, Arkuun Hollow "attracts hollowlocks and witches from across the kingdoms to trade and share their crafts" under the Archdevil Agroth'Arkuun, and Thullozil Hollow is ruled by the Archdevil Thullozil, "notorious for involving himself in the local politics" (S319); Shalak was the devil of the Tomb of Paragons (S177). A Hollowlord need not be a devil: in Alghert a witch of the royal coven "manages the Hollow and is proxy Hollowlord" (S181), and the Kilmarn Hollowlord Urk'maggo was "Giant Sluglike Demon" (S163). Hollowlords expand their domains by hollowed effigies and totems: one village "is absorbing … using totems" and "the Hollowing of the village occurs overnight" (S202).
Devils and the Daemagus¶
The scholars of the Hollow distinguish by art. "Devils - (common), Daemagus (scholarly) - they use the power of Malum in the same way as Hollowlocks without the concern for taint. Technically not all devils are Daemagus, especially those with animal level intelligence" (S132). Witches come in two kinds: "Daemiveus witches (these work with the Devils that control the Hollow). Abyssal witches (these kill the Devils and work with Demons)" (S132). Both may hold the Sight, which "works in both places," the Material and the Hollow; "Devils and Demons may also have the sight" (S208). Witches trade with either: Aphotic contract magic "makes a deal with a demon/devil" for spells (S218). The practices are on Witchcraft and Hollowcasting.
Devils and goblins¶
The goblins took to the devils as no other race did. "Goblins are an underdark race that have done surprisingly well. They adapt easily and can handle miserable conditions better than most. They have taken up witchcraft wholeheartedly and built a mutually beneficial relationship with Devils and their Hollows. Goblins are now seen by most other races as agents of the Hollow" (S327). The Silek, goblins bred by Bhaal, "became known by most other races as Goblin-Devils which evolved into Guhvils … despite technically not being Devils (which were composed only of those demons loyal to Asmodeus)" (S025). In the Underdark of the Fifth Age, Asmodean orcs and duergar held Hollows of their own, and "Bhelphegor Hollow and his Infernal Machines" controlled several dwarfholds with "Infernal Goblins" (S199).
The war of devils and demons¶
Wherever a Hollow stood near a demon's holding, the two kinds fought. Amarin was "overwhelmed by demons pouring from abyssal rifts" when the Valnyr Wardens fell in the Age of the Dark Sun, and "with the Hollowing, the area has become a battleground between Devils and Demons" (S324). The Alghert mega-hollow, "not controlled by Asmodeus," became "the site of a Demon vs Devil war" when the fungal demonlord Adramycos, a servant of Bhaal, moved in, while a servant of Asmodeus in disguise set wards to keep the capital safe (S181). "War rages in the ?? Hollow between demons and devils. The conflict has made the nearby town into a battleground" (S202). The devils had their own errands beyond the Hollows: Asmodeus' "devils have been collecting her bones," the bones of the dragon goddess Pravustiratel, only a quarter of the skeleton being needed (S143), and Asmodeus sought "corrupted and possessed Eldritch … uber powerful minions with astral connections" (S141), the Eldritch Horrors. Kings made pacts with them: the royal house of one small kingdom "have made pacts with dark creatures to keep their country safe and prosperous. Refugees and Devils play a role" (S127).
Those who hunt devils are the Witch Slayers, "a general term used to describe those who kill Witches and Devils and destroy Hollows," the licensed Seekers, and the Dae'Venari, "an order of Sancturi Clerics devoted to Devil & Hollow destruction," called in "as the last resort, due to their numbers being few, their scorched earth tactics and expense" (S325).
After the Hollows¶
The Redemption "destroyed all Hollows and removed Mithis from the world," and the archdemons, "especially Asmodeus," were "re-imprisoned in the Abyss," though "the Mithis Plane is still a bridge between Material and Abyss (but much more distant). Asmodeus still has a lot of control here" (S112). The sources do not use the word devil for the demons of the Divine period or of the Fourth Age.
Gap
No source says what became of the devils when their Hollows were destroyed, whether they returned to the Abyss with Asmodeus, or whether any still answer to him.
Earlier accounts¶
The demonologies that preceded the Hollowing used Devil for something else: the higher variant of the Hellspawn, a demon's first and most controlled form (S518), and the Barbed Devil as a Legion Demon (S114); see Demonic Lifecycle. The Bone Devil Ir'Gonuz who animated the abyssal dead of the Kilmarn necropolis (S163) is named by that older convention.
In Play¶
A devil is met inside its Hollow, where it cannot truly be killed, or through the puppets it sends out. Hez'Vandros' manner is the type: garrulous, bored, cruel, holding his captives' weapons "just to keep you from hurting yourselves, of course!" and promising "if you are looking for your sharp pointy objects, I am holding on to those for the moment" (S145). The way to beat a devil is to find the Mithis sources that sustain its Hollow, and the way to survive one is to be useful: "I want loyal minions that can leave the Hollow and do some devilish work for me" (S145).