D&D 5E Looking for suggestions: RP encounters in Hell

[Delazar]

Sending my party to Hell, more specifically Stygia (frozen hell), more specifically Coldsteel Fortress, the lair of Geryon (former ruler of the layer, now out-of-his-luck devil).

I've got the combat encounters sorted out, and I'm looking for inspiration for some RP encounters inside the fortress.

Any ideas?

 

[iserith]

A night hag and former concubine of Geryon, Liabara the Frigid, implores the PCs to take a Stygian version of the ice bucket challenge, a way of raising awareness of the plight of her lover Geryon, who paid a heavy price for his loyalty to Asmodeus. (The ice bucket is huge and contains an array of sword-like icicles. Treat as a cone of cold that inflicts cold and piercing damage, "cast" at a sufficiently high level to threaten your PCs.) This is a good opportunity to reveal some backstory on Geryon, the plane, or other hellish matters of note that may serve the PCs later in the adventure.

Liabara offers the PCs a choice: Offer a reasonable amount of gems, jewelry, or objet d'art as a sacrifice to Geryon or take the ice bucket challenge. In exchange for either the treasure or taking up the challenge, the night hag can help the PCs get to a particular destination faster by allowing them to travel magically through the twisted, hopeless dreams of Stygian petitioners.

If the PCs refuse Liabara's offer or attack her, she withdraws to the Ethereal Plane and plots her revenge. At least one of the PCs will have trouble sleeping during subsequent long rests as the night hag's protracted campaign of nightmare haunting begins.

 

[Sezarious]

Maybe you could give them a chance to speak with some captured mortals there from some of the mortal fortresses nearby, have a chained up lower level devil offer to help them escape if you free him? . I don't know... I know the infernum way better. Recommend tortured souls I guess and the introduction of Essenes as currency/ food for Devils and Demons.

Sorry mate. A little too specific for me to be able to help

 

[Delazar]

A night hag and former concubine of Geryon, Liabara the Frigid, implores the PCs to take a Stygian version of the ice bucket challenge, a way of raising awareness of the plight of her lover Geryon, who paid a heavy price for his loyalty to Asmodeus. (The ice bucket is huge and contains an array of sword-like icicles. Treat as a cone of cold that inflicts cold and piercing damage, "cast" at a sufficiently high level to threaten your PCs.) This is a good opportunity to reveal some backstory on Geryon, the plane, or other hellish matters of note that may serve the PCs later in the adventure.

Liabara offers the PCs a choice: Offer a reasonable amount of gems, jewelry, or objet d'art as a sacrifice to Geryon or take the ice bucket challenge. In exchange for either the treasure or taking up the challenge, the night hag can help the PCs get to a particular destination faster by allowing them to travel magically through the twisted, hopeless dreams of Stygian petitioners.

If the PCs refuse Liabara's offer or attack her, she withdraws to the Ethereal Plane and plots her revenge. At least one of the PCs will have trouble sleeping during subsequent long rests as the night hag's protracted campaign of nightmare haunting begins.

glad to see you here! And thanks!

 

[Delazar]

Maybe you could give them a chance to speak with some captured mortals there from some of the mortal fortresses nearby, have a chained up lower level devil offer to help them escape if you free him? . I don't know... I know the infernum way better. Recommend tortured souls I guess and the introduction of Essenes as currency/ food for Devils and Demons.

Sorry mate. A little too specific for me to be able to help

What's the Infernum? Or Essenes?

 

[Halivar]

Here's an idea: As the last bastion of Geryon's power in Stygia, Citadel Coldsteel now has a burgeoning community built up around it, where Geryon calls to himself Blood War veteran mercenaries to augment his minotaur army. These are the most unsavory of ruffians, but even still, there is a modicum of civilization, ruthlessly enforced by Geryon's minotaur servitors.

One place of interest here is the Coldhearth Tavern, run by Tormora, a down-on-her-luck former pit fiend busted all the way down to erinyes. She's got a mean-streak a mile long, but no love for any duke or archduke of Baator. Just make darned sure you pay your tab. You can find extra-planar beings of all varieties mingling mostly peacefully ("WORK SAFE! IT HAS BEEN [3] DAYS SINCE OUR LAST FATALITY."). Of course, there will be agents of Levistus all around, listening to conversations and performing acts of sabotage, perhaps even framing the PC's.

 

[Sezarious]

I'm pretty sure it was called Essence, from when I played 3.5, a friend of mine leant me a book on the infernum. It gave all the details on how demon society worked, and one of the key things I remember was that demons didn't need to eat, but they needed to pay a daily upkeep in essence to keep their levels./powers from degrading.

Essence itself is in my understanding, the basic makeup of a soul. Souls can be milked daily for their 'essence' over a 1000 year period before the soul was worked down to nothing. There were also 3 'pure' forms that could be extracted under specific circumstances, the name of one was 'agony' and it could be drunk by demons and mortals alike for benefits. Agony I think makes you feel exhilarated and has massive healing and regenerative properties. The catch? It's harvested from the torture of innocent souls .

Essence by itself had some beneficial properties to mortals I THINK, but I can't remember. Now I know that demons ALSO had a unique crafting skill too 'soul crafting' (or something), wherein they could manipulate souls into objects.

In regards to Devils, I believe they do the same thing, with essence and souls but there would be some differences.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Some general hell-based scenes:
- Torture / Disciplining scenes (between Devils or other inhabitants)
- Inhabitants spying on each other and/or possibly the PCs
- Peddlers trying to trade souls
- Underlings being abused/mistreated
- Attempts by various hellish factions or individuals to solicit assistance against each other.
- Non-combat confrontations between hellish factions / individuals that hate each other.

 

[Delazar]

Here's an idea: As the last bastion of Geryon's power in Stygia, Citadel Coldsteel now has a burgeoning community built up around it, where Geryon calls to himself Blood War veteran mercenaries to augment his minotaur army. These are the most unsavory of ruffians, but even still, there is a modicum of civilization, ruthlessly enforced by Geryon's minotaur servitors.

One place of interest here is the Coldhearth Tavern, run by Tormora, a down-on-her-luck former pit fiend busted all the way down to erinyes. She's got a mean-streak a mile long, but no love for any duke or archduke of Baator. Just make darned sure you pay your tab. You can find extra-planar beings of all varieties mingling mostly peacefully ("WORK SAFE! IT HAS BEEN [3] DAYS SINCE OUR LAST FATALITY."). Of course, there will be agents of Levistus all around, listening to conversations and performing acts of sabotage, perhaps even framing the PC's.

good one!

 

[Herobizkit]

Seems to me that the current resident of Coldsteel Fortress might make a nice living off slave-trading, specifically planar-travelling mortals, and may even have a bounty out on such creatures. Perhaps one bounty hunter in particular has made itself famous tracking these mortals down and he resides in the fortress. He could make a powerful ally if he can be convinced to flip on his boss, but what could the PC's offer that the bounty hunter could use?