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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Serge" data-source="post: 435429" data-attributes="member: 4049">Here's an excerpt from an essay I've been writing on and off for the past few years.  Below, there are updated (corrected) stats for Dispater and Asmodeus.  I'd love to post these on the web some day, but I want to work on other Cosmic entities first.  Thanks!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Creating a Lord of the NineFor millennia untold, the true nature of Hell' enigmatic rulers, the infamous Lords of the Nine, has been steeped in rumor, buried under myth, and spoken of in hushed tones.  To this very day, the Lords of the Nine remain enigmas, yet none doubt their power, much less their existence.The Lords of the Nine are masters of the nine layers of Hell, the heart of all Lawful Evil in Creation.  Although seemingly a coven of equally ranked members, the Lords of the Nine are all extremely independent, greedy, tyrannical, and evil, among the most debased beings in the Cosmos.  Like Arch-Devils, each of them possess powers well beyond those of the Devils they command, and like Arch-Devils, they are enemies to the powers of goodness and chaos.  However, unlike Arch-Devils, the Lords of the Nine rule not a paltry realm, but an entire layer of the Nine Hells."ords of the Nine"is somewhat of a misnomer when it comes to who to include.  As a group, it would appear that they make up the highest strata of Hell' nobility, commanding the Dukes of the lowest strata, and wielding greater authority and more power than the Arch-Devils of the second strata.  And this is true as far as eight of the Lords go.  The Lords of the First through Eighth are powerful Arch-Devils with the added potency given them by The Lord of the Nine, Asmodeus.  However, the eight all bow (unwillingly) to the power of Asmodeus who ranks as the only member of Hell' royalty.  Unlike Arch-Devils, the Lords of the Nine maintain powers that rival those of the gods while in the layer over which each commands.  While not completely omnipotent, a Lord in his layer is virtually unstoppable, capable of feats beyond that of most beings in the universe.  Additionally, each maintains his own unique powers related to his interests, goals, and the nature of the layer he commands.  Thus, as the ruler of the largest and most "nviting"city in Hell, Arch Duke Dispater is canny, witty, almost friendly fiend with powers to smother weaker minds in order to maintain the law of Dis; on the other hand, the narcissistic Baalzebub, committed to achieving perfection, reveals the weakness and impurity in all lesser creatures, forcing them to wither into nothing with but a touch.Although they hate each other, the Lords of the Nine are well aware of the necessity for treaties and political maneuvering even as each strives to eventually overthrow Asmodeus and rule the Hells.  In the distant past, the Lords composed three distinct political camps.  One, made up by former and now fallen Celestials, included Baalzebub, Belial, Moloch, and Zavebe.  The other camp composed of fiends always thought to have been Devils, including Mephistopheles, Mammon, Geryon, and Dispater.  Asmodeus stood alone.  Each camp claimed that it existed to ensure that the other camp did not attempt to overthrow the Overlord of Hell.  Eventually, the political maneuvering of these camps came to a head and ended in disaster.  Since then, the Lords of the Nine largely work independently of each other, although both Bel and Levistus are greatly hated by the others.  Additionally, the Lords hate Infernals and loath other Arch-Devils, knowing that such creatures are only one step removed from taking a sitting Lord’s place.  Indeed, the only time one Lord is inclined to aid another is if a colleague is being threatened by an Arch-Devil or Infernal.The Arch-Devils that have been Lords of the Nine have changed a number of times.  For example, the rulership of the First, Fifth, and Seventh Hells have changed hands a few times over the past few hundred thousand years, with some Lords being killed, others imprisoned, and still others banished by Asmodeus himself.  The best known restructuring of the Lords occurred during the infamous Reckoning in which Asmodeus eliminated two Lords, Geryon, former Lord of the Fifth, and Moloch, former Lord of the Sixth; the new Lords are Levistus and Lilith respectively.  The former Lord of the First, Zavebe, often confused with the dragon goddess Tiamat, has also been cast aside, imprisoned somewhere on Avernus by the new Lord, a former Pit Fiend, Bel.  Beyond a doubt, there are few beings in existence that wield as much power as the Lords.  Although not true gods, the Lords have god-like might at their disposal, and are always eager to gain more.  They are among the most dangerous beings in existence, capable of cheating even gods.  All creatures, mortal or not, should avoid dealing with these monsters at all costs.</blockquote>

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