[Urbis] On the Nature of Devils

Since the individual devils are not part of the D&D 4E rules, I will have to invent new ones for Urbis - and I'll rewrite the overall cosmology while I am at it as well. This is a first concept sketch for devils. Please tell me what you think!

Basics

Devils are a class of spiritual entities that desire to dominate mortals. In this, their goal is not dominance like mortals understand it. They do not wish to dominate mortals through force of arms, economic influence, or any other way in which mortals usually determine power. Instead, their goal is to dominate the entire existence of individuals through chains of fear, hatred, or utter dependence on the devil, and most devils would rather dominate a single person completely than have a small amount of influence over the lives of many. It is for this reason why devils rarely rule a mortal community openly (though it has happened before), since the sheer amount of dominance a devil requires would quickly cause the community to collapse as everything not revolving around the devil is abandoned. Ultimately, devils are parasites, not predators, and the smarter devils realize that by sponsoring cults within larger communities rather than trying to rule these communities as a whole - a small cult can be more effectively dominated, and furthermore acquire everything it needs from the rest of the community through theft, corruption, and other activities which can themselves become a form of worship.

Lesser Devils

The weakest form of devils are the lesser devils. Most lesser devils can be very intelligent, but they are usually narrowly focused - each specializes in a specific kind of activity (which those knowledgeable in such lore call a "sin") through which it tries to dominate mortals. These "sins" represent transgressions against the cultural norms the mortal victim is familiar with. In the cultural context of the Flannish Cities, the most commonly accepted sins (which have become defined as such through the influence of the church of Thenos) are Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride, and each of these sins has devils associated with them - but there are numerous other possibilities.

The lesser devils are normally unable to influence events on the mortal plane, lacking methods to travel there directly, but they can sometimes sense mortal minds who strongly think about these sins (whether because they have recently committed them or are merely fantasizing them is irrelevant to the devil). They can then enter the minds of mortals while they sleep, and plant suggestions in their mind that encourage them to commit this sin more frequently and in more serious forms. Most devils are very subtle about this, and even mortals who follow this "advice" will usually think of it as nothing more than a strange dream. If the mortal victim no longer actively pursues the sin, the devil will soon loose interest and leave. Actively and sincerely following the rites of one's religion (such as the Thenaran tradition of penance) is also usually sufficient to drive the devil off, though only going through the motions of the rites without truly believing in them isn't.

If the devil is not driven away and the mortal continues to give in to temptation, the devil will become more active and even whisper to the mortal in his waking hours, and push him further towards sinful behavior. The mortal will become aware that he is no longer alone in his mind, but at this stage he is often fully addicted to the sin in question and will not even let the realization that he has attracted a devil stand in his way. To drive the devil off, the mortal either has to seek out arcane or religious warding and banishing powers, or refrain from sinning for so long that the devil becomes convinced that the mortal has lost interest in the sin (which usually means genuine repentance, since the devil can read the surface thoughts of the victim).

If the victim continues on the path of sin despite the presence of the devil, the devil will eventually offer to teach him a ritual with which he can access a small amount of the devil's power. This isn't a full-fledged warlock's pact, since a lesser devil would loose too much of its own power by granting such a pact (but see below), but giving the mortal a single warlock power or something equivalent would be appropriate. In all cases, the granted power will help the mortal pursue the specific sin further. Scholars call mortals who agree to such pacts "acolytes". Lesser demons can only have a single acolyte.

Once the mortal agrees, the devil will lead the mortal further down a path of depravity. Everything the mortal does must ultimately revolve around the sin, and thus, around the devil. Extended interactions with other mortals are only permitted if the acolyte wants to tempt them into sinning as well - this way, the devil can build an entire cult around its worship. If the acolyte wishes to stop being the servant of the devil, the devil has two options: It can leave the acolyte and strip the granted power from him (and the devil will often arrange things that the former acolyte is killed, imprisoned, or otherwise punished in the process), or the devil can possess the acolyte, permanently merging with his body and creating a hybrid being called a devilhost - a creature with mortal appearance and the memories of the acolyte, but with an extended range of infernal powers. A devil can turn an acolyte into a devilhost at any time (which, of course, the devil neglects to mention before the pact is completed), but most prefer not to, as they prefer to control the mind through manipulation than outright possession.

It is possible to bring the full bodily form of a devil into the mortal plane, but this requires a high-level ritual cast on a devilhost (which then consumes the body of the mortal in the process), and thus the support of a high-level ritual caster. This usually only happens with organized cults of greater devils, where the cult leaders tempt their followers to sin, convince them to become acolytes of servants of the patron greater devil, and then turn the resulting devilhosts into incarnate devils as needed. In rare cases, high-level ritual casters desire an infernal companion or subordinate for some reason. In this case, they tempt someone else into sin, convince them to become an acolyte, and then make a deal with the patron devil for cooperation in exchange for summoning him to the physical plane.

Greater Devils

Greater devils have moved beyond a single sin and possess far greater cunning in turning mortals into their servants. They can maintain multiple acolytes at the same time (with the number of acolytes they maintain roughly corresponding to their overall power), and their acolytes tend to gain more and greater powers through pacts, up to and including full warlock pacts. They can incarnate themselves in the mortal plane without the help of rituals, though they are loath to do so - they need to sacrifice all of their acolytes in the process (with their body appearing in place of one of the acolytes), and any such appearance distracts them from the politics and power struggles on the planes of hell. To their minds, it is more effective to whisper into the minds of mortals and act through lesser devil servants than to potentially destroy their entire cult through such rash action.

All greater devils have active cults, which helps maintain their power and establish themselves over lesser devils. Furthermore, all greater devils have numerous lesser devil servants, which it often uses as its agents on the mortal plane.

Devil Lords

Devil Lords are the mightiest of of the devils, deriving their power from dominating other devils instead of mere mortals. Though they have the ability to create acolytes and grant them mighty powers, they rarely do so. While their desire for dominance has, if anything, intensified since they arose from lesser ranks, they now only see dominance over other devils as a worthy goal, and whispering into the mind of a mortal is a waste of their time with any but the most noteworthy of individuals. They spend most of their time plotting the downfall of other devil lords, and direct other devils who have pledged fealty to them to do their bidding.

Still, they do not neglect the mortal plane, since they realize that the strength of lesser and greater devils derives from mortals - and that includes their own subjects. For that reason, they often sponsor cults in which their servants can grow while still remaining control over them. They also readily agree to warlock pacts, demanding a variety of services and sacrifices from the warlocks in return (though the warlocks agreeing to such pacts have greater freedoms than those making a pact with greater devils, since the lords can spare them less attention and are less dependent on their worship). But their wrath, when provoked, can be terrible, as their reach and power far surpasses that of any lesser infernal entity.