Where do devils go when they die (on the Prime Material)?

[Ninja-to]

As the subject. I remember in older editions they used to 'puff' go away, unless they were 'gated'... etc.

I remember reading *somewhere* that they now just die. That's it.

If that's so, could someone please point to the source as well? It's driving me crazy.

 

[was]

I remember reading in novels that, if they were summoned and killed they went back to their home plane. However, if they came to the plane voluntarily via a gate (etc) and were killed they died a true death. I dont know where its stated in the RAW though..sorry

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, it isn't stated anywhere in 4e. Demonomicon does provide some information on demon death, but I don't think there's anything much about devils. Really, whatever works for the story is probably good. Asmodeus, as a god, would presumably discorporate unless his 'death condition' was met. It is hard to say with arch-devils, they're immortals, but not gods. Regular devils are basically equivalent to angels. Nothing really says what happens to them either.

 

[Saagael]

Wherever you want them to go!

 

[Pour]

I took a page from RA Salvatore and the Bioware Icewind Dale game and have them return disgraced to their native plane where they must wallow 101 years before returning to the plane of their death (though this wouldn't bar them from seeking their revenge on alternate planes via other, near planes). It kind of adds another dimension to planar travel when the party pisses off some major extraplanar entity who may not be able to attack them directly on their material plane, but could be one hop, skip or jump in the Shadowfell, Feywild or the like. There's also the possibility of this entity hiring or directing trouble the way of its vanquishers.

 

[Ninja-to]

Ok I guess I'll just wing it then.

 

[Unwise]

One thing I have been careful with in my games is to not have enemies reappear too quickly in any state where they can tell their boss what happened. It is really harsh on the PCs to have them foil a plot, kill the bad guys only to have the bad guys instantly reappear at their boss and tell him everything that happened. The enemy should not be able to so easily know where they are, how they fight, what they were doing etc.

I played a game like that and it led to people never killing imps etc that got in their way. They would just lock them up as best they can so as to stop them reporting back. It did not feel very heroic having them avoiding any fights with devils.

 

[S'mon]

I like the 1e MM's idea that dead major devils reincarnate as lemures for 'nine decades of torment' before they can resume their former station.

I think for 4e a reincarnation approach is better than just 'forced back to home plane', since there are no longer astral cords and all the pre-4e stuff; plus it fits with how eg devas are treated. I'd probably treat Arch-devils, Demon Princes and gods as being only able to send expendable Aspects to the mortal world, the real guy remains in Hell, the Abyss or their Astral Domain.

 

[Shemeska]

It wildly varies by edition, and even within a single edition. Some sources have elaborate rules, others completely ignore the issue. 2e had some fun rules, and while initially 3e skirted the issue largely, late 3.x had some awesome stuff in the Fiendish Codex I regarding what happened to fiendish bodies when killed outside of their home plane.

As always though, go with what works best for your game and seems the most evocative for you

 

[Dedekind]

"They don't go to heaven where the angels fly. They go to a lake of fire and fry; won't see 'em again until the fourth of July."


Seriously, though, you might pick up the two 3E books on demons and devils. They were some of the best and they talked about these issues (though I don't remember the answer to your question).