D&D 5E A Banquet In The Nine Hells

[77IM]

This is brilliant.

My advice: let the players, if they are even moderately clever, figure out how to get one over on Dispater. Like maybe he dictates his contracts aloud to a scribe, and the PCs get leverage over the scribe to arrange for them to make a "mistake" in the fine print.

Outwitting a archdevil is the kind of epic win your players will talk about for years!

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Note that Dispater is very Paranoid and never leaves his Tower if he can or meets with people other then his most trusted Advisers. So at the Banquet Dispater would not show up in Person. He would likely send an aspect of himself so he is in no danger. Despite his Paranoia he apparently does not give any signs about it.

The Lord of the Second affects a calm, controlled demeanor at all times. He makes an effort to remain gentlemanly and sophisticated even when committing acts of ferocious cruelty.

Mephistopheles is a close ally of Dispater so maybe he and or some of his court would come to the Banquet.

For other guests here are the most notable members of Dispater's court.

Several unique devils, including Lilis (Dispater’s consort), Arioch the Iron Avenger, Biffant (Provost of the Iron City), and Titivilus (Nuncio of Dispater), are members of Dispater’s court. The armies of Dis are commanded by pit fiends and a few unique devils, including Alocer, Bitru, and Merodach.

Titivilus, Dispater's Viceroy and Ambassador is probably the most notable and has the most details of the devils of Dispater's court.

For whatever reason, Dispater places great trust in Titivilus. The Lord of the Second allows his viceroy to represent his interests in nearly every matter, so often some believe either that Titivilus is in fact Dispater or that the viceroy has destroyed his master and conceals his treachery behind his smiling mask of gentility.
Given his role in Dispater’s court, Titivilus has enormous power and influence, able to send pit fiends fleeing and rouse the armies of Dis with a word. While most fear the viceroy, many despise him, resenting him for his closeness to Dispater. Even though these ruthless rivals would leap at the chance to take Titivilus down a notch or two, they are terrified by the guaranteed reprisals they would face should they fail.
The only member of Dispater’s court who shows no fear of Titivilus is Arioch the Iron Avenger. This powerful duke serves the Lord of the Second as his enforcer, sweeping over the city on his great black wings and descending on any he suspects of treachery against his master. Titivilus regards Arioch as his peer and treats him as such, though make no mistake: there is not love lost between these two and either would destroy the other if given the chance.

“Part of Titivilus’s prominence in the Hells stems from whom he serves. All know Dispater to be a paranoid lord, sequestering himself away behind endless iron corridors, nasty traps, and terrifying minions. He rarely, if ever, leaves his tower, and when he does, it’s to descend into his city, Dis. Instead, he relies heavily on Titivilus to see to his interests. This grants this ambitious fiend uncanny responsibility, putting him in charge of far worthier dukes such as Arioch the Avenger and even Dispater’s consort Lilis. He is the gatekeeper and those who would treat with the Lord of the Second must deal with Titivilus.
—The Book of Fire

 

[Fralex]

I was going to suggest Dispater trick them into believing they have outwitted him. Just to put them in a false sense of security.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I expect it would be endless. Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins after all. Somehow, you want to represent all of the sins at your banquet.

- So the food is eaten but instantly replenishes on the table, but never satisfies the belly.

- The banquet is served by male and female beings of perfect form and beauty, nearly nude, hinting, teasing, and remaining tantilizingly out of reach.

- The denizens never leave their seats though they grow thicker and fatter despite never being satisfied.

- Some get caught up and gobble at an ever-increasing pace.

- Dinner conversation is an unending stream of self-indulgent one-upsmanship.

- The most powerful, endowed, or desirous is found murdered in a dark corner.

- Fights periodically break out across the table over some choice bit of sweetmeat, or over the favors if a server or guest.

And so on ...

 

[MonsterEnvy]

- Fights periodically break out across the table over some choice bit of sweetmeat, or over the favors if a server or guest.

Devils are Lawful they would never allow random fights. Thats more of a demon party as a whole as well.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

Traditional, formal one-on-one combat to the death over the last morsel of honey cake according to the strictest standards of the Infernal Code Duelo, on the other hand make for a common popular form of mid-course entertainment in the Nine Hells...[3D][/3D]

 

[Derren]

I expect it would be endless. Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins after all. Somehow, you want to represent all of the sins at your banquet.

I second that, even if some of your examples are in my opinion a bit too direct.
The idea of the 9 hells in D&D are pretty much copied directly from Dantes Inferno, so I think is is most immersive to stay with the theme and make the hell a realm of sin, seduction and ironic punishment instead of brimstone and violence.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I second that, even if some of your examples are in my opinion a bit too direct.
The idea of the 9 hells in D&D are pretty much copied directly from Dantes Inferno, so I think is is most immersive to stay with the theme and make the hell a realm of sin, seduction and ironic punishment instead of brimstone and violence.

Dis does not really fit any of those. While other layers do Dis is a place that just feels oppressive. Here on some details on the city.

In keeping with Baator’s lawful nature, the realms within its boundaries sometimes appear impossibly large. This situation is not the case in Dis—perhaps because the city embodies a paradox. Although it contains potentially unlimited space, those who travel within it always feel hemmed in, trapped, and oppressed. In fact, one can walk its scalding streets forever and never get anywhere.
The approach to Dis presages its spatial peculiarities. The traveler moves on a punishing slant from a ring of spiny mountains. A road of broken skulls winds toward the black walls of the distant city, and one can reach it only by following this macabre track. Eventually, the skulls transform into spurs of hot iron.
No matter how long it takes to reach Dis, the entrance always comes as a sudden break in reality. The walls loom larger and larger, then suddenly the traveler has moved past them and is surrounded by ominously looming structures amid maze like streets. No two maps of Dis are the same because its configuration invariably changes by the time the cartographer finishes his sketch.
Building crews of least devils sweat and toil, tearing down old structures and erecting new ones with impressive speed. However, the improvements they make are never discernible, because the cityscape alters faster than any laborers could ever arrange. Supposedly, both the mundane and the magical alterations reflect the inner workings of Dispater’s mind. His paranoia can be seen in the increasingly cramped, warrenlike nature of the city’s new streets. Scrying devices have recently become omnipresent, so the walls of Dis have ears. Iron statues of Dispater follow passersby with red, paranoid eyes.

Almost all the structures in Dis are made of Burning Iron. This does not bother devils but mortals that come to Dis can be burned by touching a wall, door or pretty much anything.

Because I enjoy this more details on Dis.

The changes in the rest of the city seem gradual next to those experienced by Dispater’s fortress, which is located in the very center of Dis. This structure is always black, ugly, and surrounded by a wreath of dark smoke, but all its other physical features are subject to rapid change. The Iron Tower might be a squat dome one minute and a stabbing fist of iron the next. Regardless of its form, it remains visible from every point in the city except the Garden of Delights, and it always seems to be one block away. Devil instinctively understand how to overcome this spatial oddity and approach the structure, but other creatures trying to reach the fortress without the guidance of devils simply wander forever, remaining tantalizingly close to their goal without ever reaching it.
The interior of the tower looks like rest of the city, except that only Dispater and his servitors live there. His throne room lies in a vast, square vault, which always seems to be one corridor away to those who do not know the secret of moving directly into it. In fact, only Dispater’s most trusted chancellors know how to access his throne room unbidden. Rumor holds that a creature entering this inner sanctum finds itself inside an even larger city, even farther from Dispater than before, though the truth of such claims is unknown.

The fearsome prison known as Mentiri is hidden deep in the heart of Dis, at the terminus of a confusing labyrinth. Run by bone devils and staffed by Bearded Devils and Spined Devils, it serves a dual purpose.
One wing, the Bastille of Flesh, houses mortals captured in Baator. Here virtuous paladins languish together with heartless mercenaries and chaotic evil intruders. Mentiri’s jailers subject all their prisoners to hideous deprivations so that they must compete with one another to survive. Many prisoners, stripped of all decency and hope, are quickly corrupted. They either stoop to acts of evil, or begin shamelessly toadying to the guards. Either option eventually turns them to lawful evil alignment. Once prisoners become lawful evil and thereby grant their souls to Dispater, they are taken out and executed. Moments later, they reappear as soul shells on the Shelves of Despond on the first layer.
Mentiri’s other wing, the Bastille of Souls, warehouses the soul shells of individuals who were not lawful evil when they died but somehow ended up in Baator anyway. Some were captured on raiding parties to other planes; others are the souls of mortals slain in Baator and somehow trapped there. Because they do not rightfully belong to him, Dispater can’t turn them into lemures or wring divine energy from them, but he can and does hold them for ransom or exchange. Regardless of the reasons for their presence, mortals whose souls are trapped in Baator cannot be raised or resurrected.
Devils approach the still-living comrades and families of the individuals slain in Baator and try to convince them to sign Faustian pacts in exchange for their loved ones’ release. Released souls return to their destination planes as determined by alignment. Souls captured in raids are returned to their rightful planes in trade for misdirected lawful evil souls, or for goods, information, or services. Such negotiations are conducted by amnizus in Dispater’s employ.

 

[Leatherhead]

I would imagine it to resemble the Players Ball.

 

[MortalPlague]

Have a few legendary musicians providing entertainment. Sure they're damned, but at the moment they look sleek and well taken care of.
If you really want the players to consider taking the bargain, then let them negotiate an escape clause. E.g. if they win, then they can reclaim their souls by doing Dispater a favor sometime in a fixed term... or the contract is void if Dispater fails to fulfil a future service (which the party might think they can trick him out of doing).

Legendary musicians could be very good, especially ones who died or vanished tragically young and are considered lost. My elven noble is a bard, so it would resonate with her if there were elves there, I think. As for the contract addendum or condition, that could be devilish fun, negotiating clauses. We'll see how negotiatory my players feel.

This is a brilliant idea. If it were me, I'd include lots of persons from their past attending or possibly serving: people they've killed, family members, vanquished villains, etc.

I do have a PC who was banished to the Abyss, I may have him put in an appearance in the entourage of a prominent devil who rescued him from the demons. Or maybe he rescued the devil and got taken in as a reward. Either way, he'll be a fun NPC to present.

I can't think of any suitable villains to really bring into play.

Dispater is godlike in terms of personal power in Dis, and if he's throwing the PCs a banquet, ask yourself what he intends to get from it that he couldn't get simply be killing them and taking their souls by brute imposition of his will? Perhaps he could do just that, and perhaps he could imply that as well. But you know, that wouldn't be polite and proper for an entity of his stature and sublime grace. The other Lords of the 9 might be so crass, but he's better than that, wouldn't you agree?

The banquet should be all about showing off Dispater's power and a monument to what sort of being he is. Given that the PCs are mortal, he'll probably dispense with overt bloodshed and stereotypical hellish scenery, because that would be cliche. He'll want to keep the PCs unbalanced a touch, just to make them entirely uncertain how to react to him and thus allow him the opportunity to ensure that they react to him rather than him to them. He's a devil and so it's all about control, and the entire event should be used to show just how much in control he is of events, even if it's not real in any particular event, even if it's based on lies, even if the chains are imagined rather than physical.

This is exactly what I hoped to get out of this thread, thanks Shemeska!

Dispater's motivations are simple (and informed by the adventure itself, actually); he wants Tiamat not to escape Avernus, and to continue to be a nuisance to Zariel, the ruler of the first level of hell. Therefore he has agreed to commit a legion of devils to the conflict. Any of his devils slain will merely reappear in the nine hells. And, I suspect, he enjoys the thought that no mortal can deny that he saved them. That they owe a great deal of praise to Dispater for their victory.

I have a few ideas for how Dispater could show his control. I plan to have him (or his Viceroy, if he's absent) to command a pit fiend to battle the PCs to the death. A cruel fate for the devil, and a display for his guests of the prowess of these mortals (who will dance for him, slaying a pit fiend who has displeased him). It will also let me throw in some combat without doing some hackneyed ambush in the middle of the dinner.

In addition, I plan for Dispater (or his Viceroy) to offer the PCs some liquor distilled from souls. "That's an aged Cain Devonbrook of Cormyr, blond and bearded with a light hint of valor and strong undercurrents of justice. Notice how the devotion breaks on the tongue, giving the sweet taste of despair at the end?" Purely a display of opulence and wealth, and a step towards corrupting any mortal who dines with him.

Note that Dispater is very Paranoid and never leaves his Tower...

Sir, this information is invaluable. Thank you for such wonderful, detailed information, both on Dispater and his court, and on the city itself. I had only read the snippets from the 5th Edition DMG, which is more of an overview than a detailed character study. Where is this information from? I may have to look this book up, particularly if I plan to bring in Mephistopholes (which would, admittedly, be tremendous fun).

I'm on the fence now about whether I want Dispater to show his face or not. If he does, however, it will likely be in close company and not at the party at large. Playing up the hatred of the Viceroy by the guests could provide a nice undercurrent of intrigue to the party.

I expect it would be endless.
...
- The banquet is served by male and female beings of perfect form and beauty, nearly nude, hinting, teasing, and remaining tantilizingly out of reach.
...
- Dinner conversation is an unending stream of self-indulgent one-upsmanship.

Perception of time is definitely something I want to play with. It feels fitting that time would be altered in this place, that a banquet would stretch on for what feels like days, while mere hours have played out. And snide one-upsmanship and self-indulgent discussion would certainly be fun to play. Especially directed at the PCs.

As for the help, they will certainly be slaves of peerless beauty, once again, to show off Dispater's opulence and wealth.