The Nine Hells is an essential place for any DM in Dungeons and Dragons to have knowledge of. The home of the Devils in D&D, the Nine Hells are their specific plane of existence. Though some Devils have developed their own pocket dimensions to live and thrive in, the Nine Hells is a guaranteed place to fo find the most powerful devils.
If players are looking to fight or converse with a few devils, the Nine Hells is the place they'll have to go or summon them from. Those adventurers looking to take a trip to the Nine Hells are going to need some knowledge on it and how to stay safe while there. Here are some things a DM or Player will likely want to know about the Nine Hells before going there or dealing with its denizens.
10 Tiamat & Other Lesser Deities Slum It Up In The Nine Hells
Over the long and storied history of the Nine Hells, quite a few other evil deities have been seen in there. Sometimes these gods shack up for the short term in the Nine Hells, a bit like an Evil sabbatical after getting their asses kicked by something or someone. Other times they may have tried to set up their own realm in the area because they like the scene, or are waring with one of the Archdevils.
The Nine Hells is a pretty trendy place for evil up and comers of the Lawful Evil variety. Notable faces seen about the Nine Hells include Tiamat, Set, and Gruumsh.
9 There Are Obviously 9 Layers, But Technically There's A 10th
There are nine layers in the Nine Hells from top to bottom. Baator being a planet means many the realms are housed inside the planet itself. Each realm is different and has its own unique biome, but the tenth layer is just darkness and houses the worst part of the place. It houses the true body of Asmodeus.
This true form is an absolutely massive cosmically huge snake creature. While Asmodeus's avatars do most of his conversing for him, his true form lies even further below the 9th layer where is avatars walk.
8 The Devils Aren't In An Open Power Struggle, But They Politic
Unlike Demons Devils are lawful evil, as a result, they don't fight each other out in the open unless there's a reason. They adhere to their lawful nature and just criticize their boss around the proverbial Devil water cooler. They may be schemers and planners but they will never break any rule that they have agreed to, so the notion of breaking the hell's order is unthinkable.
It should be said though, that Devils plan to off each other quite a bit. They're definitely not above cold-blooded murder or betrayal, it is speculated that's how the current ruler of the 6th hell got their position. Even the Lord of the 8th is planning to murder Asmodeus himself and assume control of the hells.
7 The Devils Have A Chain of Command From The Bottom Up
Devils have a very strict hierarchy. Each of the lords of the hell's is directed by the lord a level below them. In essence, that means the lord of the lowest realm, Asmodeus commands all the others from his fortress in the final layer. They may betray each other at times but this structure of command is the norm due to their lawful nature.
This hierarchy lends well to their military actions against the Demons. It is necessary for their continued war with the abyss, known as the blood war, which has been happening for untold eons. This lawfulness is what separates the Devils from the Demons ultimately.
6 Apparently It 'Used' To Be A Nice Place
The planet Baator which was the original realm in which the Nine Hells now occupy was at one point not a bad place by all accounts. The original inhabitants, the Baatorians built great cities and were not aligned one way or the other in the cosmic wars, or if they were, they were lawful.
The fall of Asmodeus functionally destroyed the majority of the planet and made it less than habitable. The original Baatorians are now lost to time, being thoroughly annihilated by Asmodeus. This event was functionally the genocide of an entire world's populace, which the gods of order gave the go-ahead for.
5 Malbolge The 6th Layer, Is Made Out Of Its Previous Owner
The sixth layer of hell was once ruled by the Hag Countess. Her rule was not exceptional, but her demise certainly was. One day she started having horrific spasms and then soon after her body just... unfolded into the landscape.
The bones of her fingers became high white towers. Her head became a citadel from which her replacement would govern this layer of hell, a rather nasty macabre fortress. Her flesh now pulses through the land, which is very uncomfortable for anyone who is not a Devil. Not a good place for a family vacation.
4 It Came Into Existence After The Gods Made A Pact With Asmodeus
The Nine Hells exist because the gods condoned it. The original war between order and chaos led to the warriors of order that fought the demons becoming reviled by the gods of order. These warriors would eventually become devils as they had become twisted beyond recognition.
Asmodeus who had struck a previous bargain with the gods in relation to mortal souls became a little too loud with his torture of said souls. So the gods asked him to relocate as the noise of the screaming tortured souls was upsetting for others. Asmodeus offered another deal, if the gods gave him Baator, he'd go and torture people there. So the gods became complicit in the genocide of the original inhabitants of Baator to reduce the number of noise complaints in D&D heaven.
3 It Was Not Immune To The Spellplague
The spell plague affected the whole of the D&D universe and the Nine Hells were not excluded from its effects. They changes may have been more benign in the Hells than the other planes though. The Nine Hells were no longer infinite as they had once been, they were reduced in size, which apparently, did not overly bother its inhabitants.
Given the number of pocket dimensions that are tangentially related to the Nine Hells, the spell plague doesn't seem to have had much of a functional effect. However, a difference in size from infinite to finite is still a pretty big shift.
2 The Best Means Of Getting Between Layers Is The River Of Styx
The river of Styx flows through both the Nine Hells and the Abyss. It connects a number of planes together and through it, an individual can pass through all sorts of layers in the Nine Hells. The river is plied by creatures that man boats in their long robes, who if a contract is struck, will transport people wherever they need to go.
Given the fact that portals between different levels of the Nine Hell are not common. Reliable transport by the river is likely a better means of adventurers getting from one layer to the other, with the exception of the bottom two layers, where the river does not flow.
1 It Relies On A Meritocracy, With Just A Hint Of Nepotism
The Nine Hells can see even the lowliest of devils grow from imps, to pit fiends, and then lords of their own layer, an example being Bel. The Archdevil Bel ruled the first plane for a period after betraying his previous lord Zariel. Bel was in fact favored by Asmodeus for a brief time endorsed his rule.
As for the nepotism, Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus took over leadership of the 6th plane of Malbolge after its previous leader became part of the landscape. Nothing like giving your daughter a full plane of existence for her 30,000th birthday.