Archdemons¶
Contested
This page is named in the open question Seven Hells or Nine Layers. It follows the 2026 Cosmology Revision's Seven Hells; the 2023 Nine Layers are kept under Earlier accounts.
"Widely regarded as some of the most powerful beings ever to walk on Terrun." — the Terrun Compendium
The Archdemons, also called the Demon Princes, are the seven most powerful demons: Asmodeus, Bhaal, Mephistus, Belphegor, Mammon, Leviathus and Luciferon. Each is the strongest of one of the seven kinds of demon, each took one of the Seven Hells for his own when the Einar wardens of the Abyss fell, and each answers to no one. Mortals treat them as gods, and the sources do too: the Compendium files them under the Demi-Gods, the 2023 notes make them Astral Shard holders, and in the Sancturi Age Asmodeus built a pantheon of his own with mortal worshippers. The demons as a kind are Demons; the Hells they hold are the Abyss. This page is the archdemons as objects of fear and worship.
The seven¶
"Each Archdemon is the most powerful of one of the seven types of demons."
| Archdemon | Kind | Associated with | Status in the Fifth Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asmodeus (Asmodean) | Horned-Demon | lust and revenge | holds three Hells; betrayed the others during the Hollowing; re-imprisoned in the Abyss after the Redemption |
| Bhaal | Bone-Demon | gluttony, "lord of flies, feeding upon others" | holds two Hells; imprisoned on the material |
| Mephistus | Shade-Demon | wrath | holds two Hells; escaped before the Dark Sun |
| Belphegor | Frost-Demon | sloth and infernal devices | holds one Hell |
| Mammon | Blade-Demon | greed | holds one Hell |
| Leviathus | Sea-Demon | envy | destroyed, or sleeping and hiding |
| Luciferon | Fire-Demon | pride | destroyed, or sleeping and hiding |
The Abyss "is now ruled by the remaining five archdemons: Asmodeus (holds 3 shards), Bhaal, Mephistus, Belphegor and Mammon. Their conflict has been even more intense since the betrayal of Asmodeus (during the Hollowing Period). Two other archdemons have either been destroyed or are sleeping/hiding (Leviathon and Luciferon)." The archdemons "have also managed to claim additional astral shards once owned by the dead gods, making them stronger than ever". Ages of competing with one another, together with "soul drought and raging inter-demon conflicts", have left far fewer demons than there were in the Demon Wars.
Holders of the Hells¶
The Abyss "was created by the Gods during the Demonic Wars as a set of prison planes to hold Demons and other outcasts. The Seven Hells were originally Astral Shards repurposed as prisons." An additional barrier plane, the Mithis Plane, was built to keep powerful beings from leaving. "Each shard (one of the seven hells) was initially governed by an Einar Warden, but eventually each fell to the Demons, and the Seven Archdemons claimed one shard each." Since the Mithis Plane was destroyed "there is no real distinction between the Astral Plane and the Abyss; both exist in extradimensional space and both are made up of sovereign matter". An archdemon is therefore an Astral Shard holder in exactly the sense a god is, which is why the Fifth Age notes rank them among the Astral Demigods, "powerful demons or a holder of an Astral fragment or artifact" (see Astral Shards and Demigods).
How a demon becomes an archdemon is not known even to demons. The highest stratum of demonic essence is the Arch, and the step from Demon King to Archdemon is "Unknown, research seems to indicate it is related to the souls or death of the archwizards". The scholars of the 2015 Compendium thought the archdemons might be something else again: "Many scholars believe that the Arch-demons are actually Dead Gods who have managed to regain a physical form."
Rank among demons is not the same as form. "Form and power are orthogonal (unrelated)... at least one of the seven archdemons is known to be a Vile", the most degraded of the demonic forms. The archdemons reserve to themselves the power of energy death in the Abyss, the only permanent death a demon can suffer there: it "is strictly outlawed by the Archdemons, who reserve its use as a form of capital punishment. However, in the history of the Abyss there have been many wars between Archdemons that have led to mass energy deaths and the complete destruction of many demons."
Imprisonment on the material¶
Three archdemons have at one time or another escaped the Abyss. "Mephistus and Asmodean escaped during the early Demon wars" (the 2015 Compendium adds Belphegor). An escaped archdemon cannot simply be banished back: "Their souls are now reborn into mortal forms after each death. It is therefore necessary to keep these mortal forms imprisoned, and alive for as long as possible." The only method is possession by a willing host, "since they are too powerful to banish back there, and far too dangerous in their natural forms", and the host "will need a lot of outside assistance to maintain control and will be capable of containing the Demon for only a short period"; the hosts "volunteer to keep them controlled for several years at a time". The Light of Kalar, "also known as Valnyr Rangers", "is also responsible for managing the imprisonment of the three arch-demons", and the Druids of Nyx keep Bhaal (see Light of Kalar and Druids). Kalar gave his piece of the Mithis Heartstone to the Valnyr "to help contain the archdemons", and when the archdemons' prisons fell the last Valnyr fled with half of it; "this heartstone, in principle, could be used to imprison an archdemon" (see Mithis Heartstone).
Archdemons rise as well as fall. In the First Rift War the orc summoner Thu'karam widened his rift and let through "two arch-demons, Mephistus and Asmodean", who were slain seventy years later at the battle of Arne-Athosia; in the Second Rift War an archdemon gathered an army, laid waste to north-western Numenia, and was slain by King Turic of Dunmir (the 2015 Compendium names him Belphegor, the 2020 History Asmodean). In the 2019 Sancturi Age summary Asmodean was "partially free, imprisoned by the Light of Kalar on the material", Mephistus likewise "imprisoned by the Light of Kalar on the material", and Belphegor and Bhaal "in the Abyss".
Worship¶
Mortals worship archdemons as they worship gods, and the archdemons accept it. The Silek, Bhaal's bred people, have "a singular religion: Belos (Bhaal)" (see Bhaal). Asmodeus "has amassed mortal worshippers as well as many hosts of demons (devils) to his side". The demons beneath the archdemons form hierarchies of masters and minions, and the worship of a demon prince, a demonlord or a hollowlord by mortals is the ordinary shape of a demon cult; the Fifth Age's warlocks are "effectively a minion of the demon, providing it with demonic sacrifices in return for their power" (see Demonic Magic).
Daemiveus¶
In the Sancturi Age Asmodeus "has effectively formed a pantheon of his own". Its members are Daemiveus (Asmodeus, "Master of All, The Archfather"), Dexinas (Mephistus, "The Right Hand, Voidbringer") and Causinis (Bhaal, "The Left Hand, Plaguebearer"). "Known by adversaries as 'Daemiveus, Gods of the Hollow, Father of Demons, The Devil(s)'. Minions and worshippers are also known as Malumarcs, Devils or Devil worshippers." Its objectives: "consolidate power, spread the Hollow/Malum, unify the Demons (win the war in the Abyss), finish off the Kalari/Rakkari and take their power (easy pickings), defeat Necatus and the other remaining Dark Gods." The Sancturi destroy Daemiveus worshippers outright. The same notes call Asmodeus's Daemiveus the taint on all Mithis, now "known as 'Malum'", and give the pantheon's name to one of the two kinds of witch, "Daemiveus witches (these work with the Devils that control the Hollow)". The Hellgate War that these notes describe, "divine war between 3 Pantheons and forces of the Abyss", is History's: Sancturi Period.
Whether Mephistus and Bhaal are willing members is doubtful: "most demons reject Asmodeus's path away from true demonic influences ... Despite 4 of the Archdemons having lost a great deal of their power (now basically greater demonlords & ur-viles), their burning hatred for Asmodeus and their sheer numerical advantage are not to be underestimated."
Belphegor¶
A frost demon "associated with sloth and infernal devices", in the Abyss. In the 2019 note he "helps people make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich." He holds Acheron and a tenth of the demons of the Hells, "though all of them very powerful". In the Sancturi Age underdark his Hollow and his Infernal Machines controlled several dwarfholds, Rhum'Balar, Turu'Golir and Kher'Daghor, and the dark elven Tal'Morovix, and bred Infernal Goblins. The host of Belphegor, by the Void Origin Theory of demons, "arrived from a world known as Oestar after having completely consuming all energy there". The 2015 Compendium has Belphegor, not Asmodean, slain by King Turic in the Second Rift War.
Mammon¶
A blade demon "associated with greed", holding Plutoph and a fifth of the demons of the Hells. Nothing more is recorded of him.
Leviathus¶
A sea demon "associated with envy", "previous owner of Asphodel (Limbo)". He is one of the two archdemons "either destroyed or sleeping/hiding", and in the 2023 notes "rumored" to have been destroyed by Asmodeus. The Spawn of Leviathus are "a group of Demonic outcasts which went their own way instead of bowing to one of the other Archdemons" (see Archdemons under Creatures). The 2026 revision spells him Leviathon.
Luciferon¶
A fire demon "associated with pride", "previous owner of Phlegethon (Violence)", destroyed or hiding; the 2023 notes have Asmodeus destroy him and take his layer. Nothing else is recorded.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2023 Notable Demons gives the Abyss nine layers instead of seven, and names them after the sins they punish: Asphodel (Limbo), Minos (Lust), Acheron (Gluttony), Plutoph (Greed), Styx (Wrath), Lethe (Heresy), Phlegethon (Violence), Malebolge (Fraud) and Cocytus (Treachery). In that scheme Asmodean holds Minos, Phlegethon and Asphodel "and 25% of all the demons in Hell"; Bhaal Styx and Cocytus and "the most numerous (30%) and most powerful demons"; Mephistus Malebolge and Lethe and 15 per cent, "all of them fanatically loyal"; Belphegor Acheron and 10 per cent; Mammon Plutoph and 20 per cent. The Dreams of Inwe likewise call Asmodeus "one of the lesser of the nine". The 2026 revision and the 2022 Cosmology before it count seven; the 2018 Sancturi notes say Asmodeus "has defeated 1 of the other archdemons and subjugated the other 5", while the 2023 notes have him destroy two.
The 2014 and 2015 lists of the seven kinds of demon do not quite match the forms later documents describe (Horned, Bone, Blade, Blood, Night and Sea among the Hellspawn; Fire, Frost, Shadow and others among the Fiends). The sources do not reconcile them.
Gap
The seven Hells are nowhere matched one to one with the seven archdemons under the seven-Hell scheme; only the nine-layer scheme assigns them. Belphegor, Mammon, Leviathus and Luciferon have no described forms, cults or histories beyond what is recorded above. No source names the Einar wardens who first held the Hells.