lords of hell & their respective courts [Archive] - Wizards Community

lords of hell & their respective courts [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sliced_Mustard
04-24-07, 09:53 AM Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of Hell. its a great book with excellent detail about the lords and their respective layers, but it barely mentions the other baatezu nobility.

for one thing, it mentions unique devils and dukes. sometimes it seems like they are one-in-the-same and at others it seems like two different classifications.

dictionary.com defines duke as "the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state," and "a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis."

is there a heirarchy of unique devils below the status of duke? what kind of politics goes on in hell? what is an archdevil's court like? personally, I think needed another chapter to clarify this kind of information more than it needed statistics (yet again) for the highest tier of devilkind.
Witch
04-24-07, 10:16 AM Below dukes, you'll find barons and marquises, most of which are likely of pit fiend (advanced or with class levels) status. The kind of politics that go on in Hell are bureaucratic, filled with hate yet obsessed with order and selfishness.

I believe Kain Darkwind suggested that Dukes are vassals of the Archdukes, each ruling a duchy of about the size of eight large countries of our world, alltogether holding about seven billion devils.

If players come into contact with nobles of Hell, these nobles will likely be below Duke status, as well. But note that all of them will be coveting that status, trying to supplace their superiors by personal power, political power, intrigue, etcetera.
Sliced_Mustard
04-24-07, 10:40 AM has there ever been a sourcebook (any edition) giving any kind of information about the lower end devil nobility? or do all of them start at the top (archdevils) and leave the rest to the player/dm imagination?
The Serge7
04-24-07, 11:52 AM "Official" material of diabolical nobles is available in old DRAGON Magaziness, namely 76 and 77. There were also lists in 1ed MM 2 and in the recent FCII. Other than that, you won't find much "official" material.

In Chapter Six of Dicefreaks' The Gates of Hell does offer 18 Dukes of Hell, some based upon D&D dukes and others that are based upon real-world demons. In the Chapter Nine appendix, we also elaborate on the nobility system below the Dukes of Hell, describing knights, barons, counts, and marquises that fall below the Dukes of Hell. You may acquire information through the link below.
Witch
04-24-07, 12:32 PM In Chapter Six of Dicefreaks' The Gates of Hell does offer 18 Dukes of Hell, some based upon D&D dukes and others that are based upon real-world demons.
Chapter Seven, actually :)
Sliced_Mustard
04-24-07, 02:10 PM the Dragon Magazines are a bit out of date, and so hard to get ahold of. anyhow I don't necessarily mean stats of the various dukes or anything, but even just mention of them and how they fit into the overall scheme of things in their respective layer of hell. after all, stats I could make for myself if I had some inkling as to what an individual was about... but from a name and vague mention that it merely belongs to so&so's court does little to spur the imagination.
Witch
04-24-07, 02:18 PM (The book Serge mentioned doesn't only list stats, it has flavor as well - if you don't like the stats, they can always be altered :) Thing is, aside from those Dragon Magazines, there's little official material dealing with them.)
Sliced_Mustard
04-24-07, 02:32 PM that's what I was afraid of. :(
ripvanwormer
04-24-07, 03:54 PM Baatezu nobles (http://planewalker.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia.php?intEntryID=980)
Kain Darkwind
04-24-07, 09:46 PM the Dragon Magazines are a bit out of date, and so hard to get ahold of. anyhow I don't necessarily mean stats of the various dukes or anything, but even just mention of them and how they fit into the overall scheme of things in their respective layer of hell. after all, stats I could make for myself if I had some inkling as to what an individual was about... but from a name and vague mention that it merely belongs to so&so's court does little to spur the imagination.

I found both Dragon magazines on ebay for relatively cheap, under $3 plus shipping.

Rip's link is also top notch for summarizing the material.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sliced_Mustard 04-24-07, 09:53 AM	Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of Hell. its a great book with excellent detail about the lords and their respective layers, but it barely mentions the other baatezu nobility. for one thing, it mentions unique devils and dukes. sometimes it seems like they are one-in-the-same and at others it seems like two different classifications. dictionary.com defines duke as "the male ruler of a duchy; the sovereign of a small state," and "a British nobleman holding the highest hereditary title outside the royal family, ranking immediately below a prince and above a marquis." is there a heirarchy of unique devils below the status of duke? what kind of politics goes on in hell? what is an archdevil's court like? personally, I think needed another chapter to clarify this kind of information more than it needed statistics (yet again) for the highest tier of devilkind.
Witch 04-24-07, 10:16 AM	Below dukes, you'll find barons and marquises, most of which are likely of pit fiend (advanced or with class levels) status. The kind of politics that go on in Hell are bureaucratic, filled with hate yet obsessed with order and selfishness. I believe Kain Darkwind suggested that Dukes are vassals of the Archdukes, each ruling a duchy of about the size of eight large countries of our world, alltogether holding about seven billion devils. If players come into contact with nobles of Hell, these nobles will likely be below Duke status, as well. But note that all of them will be coveting that status, trying to supplace their superiors by personal power, political power, intrigue, etcetera.
Sliced_Mustard 04-24-07, 10:40 AM	has there ever been a sourcebook (any edition) giving any kind of information about the lower end devil nobility? or do all of them start at the top (archdevils) and leave the rest to the player/dm imagination?
The Serge7 04-24-07, 11:52 AM	"Official" material of diabolical nobles is available in old DRAGON Magaziness, namely 76 and 77. There were also lists in 1ed MM 2 and in the recent FCII. Other than that, you won't find much "official" material. In Chapter Six of Dicefreaks' The Gates of Hell does offer 18 Dukes of Hell, some based upon D&D dukes and others that are based upon real-world demons. In the Chapter Nine appendix, we also elaborate on the nobility system below the Dukes of Hell, describing knights, barons, counts, and marquises that fall below the Dukes of Hell. You may acquire information through the link below.
Witch 04-24-07, 12:32 PM	In Chapter Six of Dicefreaks' The Gates of Hell does offer 18 Dukes of Hell, some based upon D&D dukes and others that are based upon real-world demons. Chapter Seven, actually :)
Sliced_Mustard 04-24-07, 02:10 PM	the Dragon Magazines are a bit out of date, and so hard to get ahold of. anyhow I don't necessarily mean stats of the various dukes or anything, but even just mention of them and how they fit into the overall scheme of things in their respective layer of hell. after all, stats I could make for myself if I had some inkling as to what an individual was about... but from a name and vague mention that it merely belongs to so&so's court does little to spur the imagination.
Witch 04-24-07, 02:18 PM	(The book Serge mentioned doesn't only list stats, it has flavor as well - if you don't like the stats, they can always be altered :) Thing is, aside from those Dragon Magazines, there's little official material dealing with them.)
Sliced_Mustard 04-24-07, 02:32 PM	that's what I was afraid of. :(
ripvanwormer 04-24-07, 03:54 PM	Baatezu nobles (http://planewalker.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia.php?intEntryID=980)
Kain Darkwind 04-24-07, 09:46 PM	the Dragon Magazines are a bit out of date, and so hard to get ahold of. anyhow I don't necessarily mean stats of the various dukes or anything, but even just mention of them and how they fit into the overall scheme of things in their respective layer of hell. after all, stats I could make for myself if I had some inkling as to what an individual was about... but from a name and vague mention that it merely belongs to so&so's court does little to spur the imagination. I found both Dragon magazines on ebay for relatively cheap, under $3 plus shipping. Rip's link is also top notch for summarizing the material.