Baatezu

No, not that kind of Promotion, at least, probably not.

The lawful evil badguys from another dimension, in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition. Formerly known as devils in the earlier editions, living in what was once called The Nine Hells. This change was because of one-time CEO of TSR Lorraine Williams, due to the events of the Satanic Panic. The term Baatezu is a trademark of Wizards Of The Coast, so you won't find them mentioned in any Open License products like the d20 SRD nor Pathfinder. Their home is now called "Baator", but each of the nine levels still has the same names from Dante's Inferno.

Baatezu represent the lawful side of evil: the concept that cruelty and malice should be distributed in an orderly and efficient fashion. Backstabbers, vicious politicians and cruel warlords can opt to become petitioners in the "nine hells". They fight the Blood War against the Tanar'ri at behest of Asmodeus, the ruler of Baator.

Baatezu are not born as mortals are. While only the most powerful of devils can breed at all, most opt not to do so because a child is a dangerous rival and a potent tool for their enemies. Instead new devils are made from the tortured souls of the damned, who are reprocessed after an extensive period of torture to strip them of their individuality. These soul shells are then reprocessed and turned into Lemures, starting their new existence as Baatezu. Lemures who please their dark lords enough - through a combination of gathering corrupted souls, guile, defeating their enemies and their master's enemies - may be promoted to a Spinagon, a grotesque, spiny gargoyle-esque monster. From stage to stage, devils begin looking more and more like their horrible masters, with the process being detailed more just below.

The use of the term Baatezu has been dropped in 4th and 5th edition, so there is no longer any distinction between Baatezu and non-Baatezu devils (which included Imps, Kytons, and a few other less known devils).

The Hierarchy of Hell

Baatezu are Lawful to a fault. They are masters of forming contracts that give themselves as many loopholes to exploit as possible, while bringing those for the other party down to zero. If a devil turns out to be clever, powerful, deceitful, lucky and sycophantic enough they may be promoted in an agonising ritual that grows a miniature fetal version of the new form inside of the devil, eventually bursting out in a grotesque and agonizing display. If a subject however fails its master, is betrayed in some way or if the master needs the energy that is released when doing so, a baatezu can be demoted back into a lesser form - which is a great humilitation for a devil.

All the various forms are part of a ranked hierarchy: the higher up the more powerful a devil is. Devils can only be promoted and demoted by their direct superiors, so it is not possible for rival devils to demote all of their rivals' servants or promote themselves to increase in power. As mentioned before, there is only so much power around to promote devils, gathered from souls. If a "drought" of sorts were to befall an area, high-ranking devils would be more stringent with their promotions or even demote their followers to reallocate resources: the latter is a powerful motivator for all devils to keep corrupting souls.

A few of the forms in the hierarchy are not part of the regular advancement. The wretched Nupperibo is the result of a demotion of a higher-ranking devil (from 3.5 onwards at least, see below), though it still outranks the lowly Lemures. However, it is skipped in the regular progression and is a form used as punishment, as are the Malebranche and the Xerfilstyx.

The Erinyes are an unusual group. Instead of being created from soul shells they are either fallen angels turned into their current form or born from another Erinyes. The most powerful of the Erinyes can be promoted to the rank of Brachina, or Pleasure Devil. These creatures are alluring seductresses and are ruthless in their searches for advancing to the highest ranks of devilkind. But because the step between Erinyes and Brachina is so big, only the most accomplished of Erinyes can be promoted to this rank.

Finally there are the Abishai. They are beholden to Tiamat, who lives on the first layer of Baator.

Note that some of the rankings in the lists below may be incorrect and are only guesses based on comparing their challenge ratings because not all of the various devils have been officially placed in the hierarchy (and can be shuffled around through editons).

Hierarchy of 3.5 Edition
Category	Rank	Form	Punishment	Fallen Angels	Abishai
Least Devils	1	Lemure, Ayperobos Kalabon
	2	Legion Devil, Advespa	Nupperibo		White Abishai
	3	Spined Devil			Black Abishai
Lesser Devils	4	Bearded Devil, Narzugon			Green Abishai
	5	Imp			Blue Abishai
	6	Steel Devil	Gulthir		Red Abishai
	7	Chain Devil, Kocrachon, Desert Devil
	8	Harvester Devil, Pain Devil, Hellcat		Erinyes
	9	Amnizu
Greater Devils	10	Bone Devil, Orthon	Malebranche
	11	Barbed Devil
	12	Ice Devil	Xerfilstyx
	13	Logokron, Remmanon, Horned Devil, Ghargatula		Pleasure Devil
	14	Assassin Devil
	15	Paeliryon
	16	Pit Fiend
Archdevils	17	(unique forms)
	Archduke	(unique forms)
	King	Asmodeus

Hierarchy of 5th Edition
Category	Rank	Form	Abishai
Least Devils	1	Lemure Nupperibo
Lesser Devils	2	Imp
	3	Spined Devil
	4	Bearded Devil Merregon
	5	Barbed Devil	White Abishai
	6	Chain Devil	Black Abishai
	7	Bone Devil
Greater Devils	8	Orthon Horned Devil
	9	Erinyes
	10	Narzugon Ice Devil	Green Abishai Blue Abishai
	11	Amnizu Pit Fiend	Red Abishai
Archdevils	12	Duke or Duchess
	13	Archduke or Archduchess

The Devils' Many Forms

As they progress through the ranks Baatezu change into new forms: stronger, cleverer, more magical and so on. While some details might differ a higher ranking Devil is always more dangerous than its last form in some way or shape. Baatezu is the name the devils use for themselves: to make it more confusing it is also a creature subtype. All Baatezu devils have the following abilities: immunity to fire, immunity to poison, cold resist 20, acid resist 20, can see in total darkness including magical darkness, telepathic communication 100ft.

Inside the Hierarchy

• A Lemure is a small, pitiable creature standing at a mere 5' tall. Whenever a devil of any authority needs cannon fodder, they gather up some Maggots (the form that the petitioners of all Lower Planes take) and promote them into Lemures. Lemures are mindless and cannot speak, though they can understand telepathic commands. They are cruel and try to claw apart whatever they can as a way to get revenge on the multiverse. Promotions from Lemures are often made as a matter of convenience for a higher ranking fiend: they promote a batch of them into forms like Imps if they need spies or Bearded Devils if they need more shock troops for their armies.

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• Ayperobos an extremely small and weak devil that attacks in swarms. They swarm over enemies and burrow into their flesh to take control over them.

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• Merregons or Legion Devils are the weakest footsoldiers of hell who all look identical to each other. What they actually look like and what their abilities are though is completely different depending on what edition you are playing.
  • In 3rd edition, they are sharp-toothed red-skinned humanoids whose left arms are bloated, covered in metal, and end in a useless vestigial hand. They wear armor and carry a sword in their right hand. They have several abilities that make them more dangerous when they are in large groups. For example, legion devils in a group all share hit points with each other such that it is not possible to down just one of them, but when the group runs out of hit points they all drop dead at the same time. And if you target a single legion devil with a mind affecting spell, all of the legion devils around it also get a saving throw, and the spell fails if just one of the succeeds, but if none of them succeed it will affect all of them instead of just one.
  • in 5th, they became less aggressive in looks and roles, being faceless with only masks to distinguish where and who do they serve. Created from the souls of men of arms that never gave a rat's ass about the morality of their employment, fittingly turned into the most loyal of devils. Merregons serve as bodyguards for higher ranking devils, they are loyal to the end, a rarity in the lower planes. They have Magic Resistance, fight harder when near a stronger fiend (CR6+) and selflessly takes hits for it's fiendish allies.

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• Advespas are low class devils resembling giant black wasps with a woman's face. The more yellow stripes on their body the higher their rank. They can quickly regenerate from damage except for acid and holy damage.

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• A Spinagon or Spined Devil is a small gargoyle-like creature covered in spines. They are sometimes used as spies by high-ranking devils, but because of their low intelligence their reports are not always dependable and tend to miss the finer nuances of what they had observed. They are cruel beings, but because of their low standing a single Spinagon is only a threat to Lemures and Nupperibos, on whom they vent their frustration and cruelty.

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• Barbazu or Bearded Devils are often employed as shock troops for powerful fiends. Bearded Devils are aggressive and revel in fighting, where they swing their powerful glaives with skill. So much in fact that if they land a hit the wound will fester until attended to by either a skilled healer or a powerful healing spell is used, and even then the wound is difficult to treat. A Barbazu's beard can inflict a powerful disease upon a foe, infecting them with Devil Chills which saps away their strength. The disease has a short incubation period and lasts a lifetime when untreated, however short or long that may be. Bearded Devils can also burst into fits of frenzy, cutting through enemies in a way much like a raging Barbarian would.

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  Half-troll Barbazu

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• Narzugons or Hell Knights are the cavalry of hell, who ride on flaming horses called Nightmares. They are humanoids wearing spiky armor. Narzugons hate everything including themselves but are surprisingly honorable and obedient, as they are formed from the souls of former paladins who fell into evil as a result of following the letter instead of the spirit of the law, and so are filled with RAGE from learning that their actions in life were wrong. 4 and 5E Realised how silly it was for a soul of a Paladin (one of the most precious of souls to claim) would produce something lower in the food chain than an imp. Being a lot higher up in Greater devil with the same tier as Ice Devils but definitely not still as nearly as strong as its Demonic counterpart, the Death Knight.

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• Imps are not actually Baatezu for some reason but are still part of the hierarchy of hell. They are small and weak so instead of fighting they prefer to try and tempt people into evil, laying claim to their souls if they manage to do so. Imps are cowardly and stay away from fights but they are willing to sting with their tails if the opportunity to do so arises.
  • The 3rd edition Fiend Folio details three variant imps. Bloodbag Imps have blood that heals people that drink it, making them the medics of hell, and they can also cast a curse that worsens bleeding from wounds. Euphoric Imps are living drug dispensers with venom that causes hallucinations, which they like to use on themselves. Filth Imps are outcasts from hell due to their horrible smell and often find work on the material plane using their talent for languages and codes.

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• Bueroza or Steel Devils are powerful warriors, fighting on the front lines of the wars of Hell either in the Blood Wars or against the armies of fellow devils. These Bueroza take the shapes of humanoids in heavy steel armor, covered in cobwebs and dust. While they can strike with enough force to send an enemy reeling, their strength comes from them gaining bonuses from fighting in ranks with their fellow Bueroza, becoming swifter and more durable as they fight. Their most potent ability is their chanting, a horrible shrieking that debilitates enemy casters and makes it more difficult for them to cast spells, making them easy prey for the Steel Devils.

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• Kytons or Chain Devils are another member of the hierarchy that are considered to be devils but not Baatezu in 3rd edition. They resemble tall humanoids dressed in nothing but chain, which they can swing around in deadly fashion to tear at their prey in horrible ways. They are adept at metalworking and can magically control chains in their range, causing them to attack anyone at will. While it is possible to break a Kyton's control of an animated chain, they will not let go without a fight. Chain Devils can change their visage to resemble that of someone's loved ones or hated enemies, stunning a target. They can also regenerate parts of their bodies that were cut off. Chain Devils are sometimes charged with torture, something they relish. This has caused them to grow a rivalry with the Pain Devils.

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• Kocrachons are insectoid devils who specialize in torture.

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• Aratons or Desert Devils are a non-Baatezu devil. They look like an undead humanoid wielding scimitars and surounded by a constant whirlwind of sand that is constantly tearing at their regenerating flesh.

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• Bezekiras or Hellcats are a non-Baatezu devil. They are large evil cats who are invisible while in light and can only been seen in the dark.

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• Falxugons or Harvester Devils are often found in the material planes where they offer mortals contracts of power, wealth and other such things in exchange for their souls. They lurk in sewers, at crossroads at midnight, in back rooms of corrupt businesses or serving as courtiers to nobility. Any who approach them can ask for an infernal pact: anything they want for the price of their undying soul. They are not powerful combatants; while they carry blades that will instill a curse upon anyone that forces them to strike a good creature. Instead they will try to escape when entering combat, trying to find someone else to tempt with their contracts. But they cannot be killed unless the devil starts the fight: for some strange reason the Falxugon are protected by powerful magic that remains in place unless they strike someone first. They look like mostly humanoid beings but with horns, tails and hooves, and tend to go dressed in expensive clothing.

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• Excruciarchs or Pain Devils are masters of torture. Because they are hated by all other Baatezu and will be destroyed when not beholden to a lord they offer themselves to the service of powerful devils as torturers. They are very good at this, inflicting untold pain upon anyone unfortunate enough to fall into their hands. They torture the soul shells entering Hell and whoever has failed their masters, making for a powerful motivation to not fail. The Excruciarchs carry great spiked chains which they can imbue with powerful agonizing energy or swing around to hit all standing close to them. They can also inflict wounds upon non-Baatezu by just standing nearby, gain more power from inflicting wounds and can study an enemy to negate any damage reduction it might have.

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• The Amnizus or Styx Devils are the bureaucrats of hell. They record the soul shells that enter Baator, stand guard at the portals to and from the plane and record all who go through, often extorting them out of their valuables. Amnizu is particularly ambitious and tries their best to improve their lot in life, working their way up the ranks through politics, intrigue, and assassination. They are also tasked with hunting down fugitives, something they take much pleasure in. When facing an enemy that they cannot defeat on their own without any significant risk to them they will send their minions to deal with the target. When they can fight, an Amnizu prefers to take wing and strike targets with their intelligence-damaging touch. The 5e reshuffle bounced this pencel pusher from High Lesser devil up to the same rank as Pit fiends. They now possess many mind-dominating powers, able to poisons enemies' minds to also blind them, and Memory whip stun attack that makes you forget the past 5 hours if your stunned by it for the full duration (don't call it a Styx Devil for nothing). Also got an additional job of Overseeing the influx of lemures and teach them obedience (the devil way).

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• Osyluths or Bone Devils police the Nine Hells, observing the activities of other Baatezu and reporting on them. They are tall and strong and possess some magical ability. The Osyluth are freakishly thin and have large scorpionn stingers with which they can inject targets with potent poisons. They will ruthlessly attack anyone who opposes them.

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• Orthons are powerful soldiers in the front lines of the Blood War, specialized in killing demons. They use a combination of their bladed spears that are usable in both long and short range and magical crossbows that shoot powerful blasts of energy. Orthon are large, covered in metal plates bolted directly onto their bodies, possesses large tusks and has a pained look on its face. Orthons are skilled in fighting in formation, increasing their power and durability. They also possess the ability to stop all interdimensional movement in a 20' radius. When an Orhton is slain maggots burst from its body, who try to devour anything near the slain host before expiring themselves. Because of the nature of their armor Orthons are in constant pain, and only battle takes their mind off of this. They are very loyal though, and will not plot against their masters. 5th change them up to be relentless hunters of Nine Hells that live for the sport. they are more heavily armed, having an Invisibility Field and Crossbow fires Trick bolts.

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• Hamatula or Barbed Devils serve as the guards and bodyguards of Hell, and very Covetous. They are tall and covered in spikes, hitting all that come too close to them. Fighting a Hamatula in close range will always result in the devil using its many spikes to stab or even impale an enemy that comes too close to them. They possess some magical ability, being able to cast Hold Person so they can use their impale attacks at their leisure. 5e, Merregons filled the loyal guards, while Hamatula is upgraded security for powerful devil or vault safe.

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• • A Stony Devil is an upgraded form of a Hamatula. They gain more abilities and their bodies are now stone-like.

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• Jeruls or Death Devils are the Tormenters of the Faithless and False of the Fugue Plane of Faerun. They have several traits of undead creatures and are detected as though they are undead. They also are capable of rebuking undead like an evil cleric and their attacks are able to normally affect incorporeal undead.

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• Gelugons or Ice Devils, are commanders of the armed forces of hell. They prefer to avoid direct battle if possible. They are quite tall and look something like white devilish ants, often carrying large spears. Striking with its spear will cause a powerful numbing effect on a target, making it an easy prey for either the Ice Devil itself or one of its servants. They can cast several spells as well, most of which are ice-based.

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• Ghargatulas are huge devils resembling a dinosaur with a stinger tail and a massive mouth on their belly. They are unintelligent and have no magical abilities other than a weak chance of summoning a Cornugon. They are used as guardians, although some just wander around eating everything they encounter including other devils.

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• Logokrons are devils that wield Truenamer magic, which would be a lot scarier if the Truenamer wasn't the worst class in the game. A Logokron is a four-armed devil that wears armor and wields two halberds at once, and has a long tongue with symbols tattooed on it which are painful to look at.

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• Remmanons are devils who love to spread conflict and are masters of manipulation and seduction. A Remmanon looks like a floating naked hairless horned man with barbed and hooked wires and other peircings hanging off its body which small pieces of paper with the names of mortals it has made deals with attached to them. A Remmanon has a telepathic aura that causes enemies around it to become confused and attack each other while making itself and its allies stronger against enemies affected by it.

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• Cornugon or Malebranche (depending on the edition) or Horned Devils are powerful creatures, serving as the elite soldiers of Baator. It is a large scaled fiend with huge wings, often carrying spiked chains. They can use these weapons to deliver blows powerful enough to stun a target, and they can use their tails to cause dangerous persistent wounds. The Cornugon also possess magical abilities and can regenerate.

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• Dogai or Assassin Devils are widely feared and distrusted. They are vaguely humanoid with featureless faces aside from their mouths, lined with sharp teeth. They can meld into shadows with ease and cast clouds of fog to hide themselves, striking when they feel the time is right. The original Assassin Devils were natives to Baator, melted down and reformed into the Dogai. The most experienced of the bunch often have levels in the assassin Prestige Class.

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• A Paeliryon or Corruption Devil is an information broker, trading knowledge for hefty sums of money, souls or other information. They are putrid creatures who dwell in comfort, opulence and excess, often bathing in disgusting pools and eating the finest of foods. They are some of the most powerful creatures in Baator, and not just because of its personal power. A Paeliryon or That Fucking Guy, has a lot of information about a vast number of beings and can use this information to manipulate or blackmail them in a way that is profitable for themselves. These devils are very vain, and will use their claws to disfigure their opponents in combat and belittle them as they do battle. Also, they look like obese drag queens with too many teeth.

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• The Pit Fiends are the nobility of hell. They are immensely powerful, can use many kinds of magic, have teeth that transmit Devil Chills, poisoned claws, can strangle enemies to death with their bare hands and are pretty big. At this level the intrigues of hell are the most dangerous and cutthroat, with enemies on all sides trying to get the upper hand over any given devil. From this position Pit Fiends can be promoted to the rank of duke. From there one can be promoted to an unique devil with their own gender, powers and personalities, but this is seldom done because of the huge threat such a being poses to the Archdukes of hell. If this sounds familiar, good job. The highest ranking demon, called the Balor, is almost exactly the same thing - giant humanoid winged infernal monsters at the almost-top-except-uniques part of their hierarchy. The main difference, aside from the Law/Chaos thing, is that Pit Fiends are usually shown to be a bit more reptilian and don't get giant flaming whips. This makes them also almost the same thing as a Bloodthirster.

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Punishment Ranks

• Nupperibo are bloated, ugly creatures used as base servitors in Hell. Used as a punishment for low-ranking devils, Nupperibo are slow, blind, deaf, and unthreatening compared to other devils and fight without any kind of finesse. Yet they are used for frontline warfare in the Blood War, as cannon fodder. As such they are rarely promoted back to their former form because of the high mortality rate. Nupperibo are possibly more useful to the rivals of their superiors than to their superiors themselves. By stealing one of these fiends from its master and changing it back the devil might have important information about its master, and might even help its new master get revenge on the old one.
  • At least, that's what they are from 3.5 onwards. Prior to that, they weren't even Baatezu. See normally, a Maggot just stays a Maggot until some devil either needs a Lemure or gets hungry. But sometimes, one of them would randomly evolve into a Nupperibo. The Baatezu would herd these things and demote them back into Maggots so as to immediately promote them into Lemures, since in those editions nupperibos were the Lemure-equivalent rank of entities called "True Baatorans," which were the inhabitants of Baator before Asmodeus came to power. The idea of these things returning scares the piss out of every last baatezu. Some sources said that the baatezu were so thorough that no nupperibo ever evolved further, but other sources said there were tales of a scant few being lucky enough to do so, taking on strange forms resembling ones imprisoned in the ice of Stygia.
    • Reconned again in 5th edition. Now they are simply formed from the souls of people who were too lazy in their mortal life to be worthy of promotion to a higher form.

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  A nupperibo transforming into a mature Baatorian

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• The Gulthir is another punishment only rank. A gulthir is a large size creature resembling a giant inside-out zombie that can swallow anything smaller than itself whole. The slime that fills its stomach allows it to control the minds of creatures it swallows, so it can spit them out as temporary minions until they make their save or their eyes are washed with holy water. And if the creature it swallows is another evil outsider, it can instantly digest them to strengthen itself temporarily, or it can instead slowly digest the victim to convert them into another Gulthir. These abilities make gulthirs very useful as enforcers as other devils are terrified of being digested by or turned into a gulthir as punishment, and gulthirs hate their form and are desperate to get promoted again, making them very loyal to whatever master they serve.

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• The form of the Malebranche or War Devil are used to punish fiends, yet allow them to keep fighting for their masters. They are deadly in combat and use their massive ranseurs to strike with great force. In some editions a Malebranche and a Horned Devil are the same thing.

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• Xerfilstyx are some of the most pitiable creatures in Hell. Shaped like bloated slug-devils they live in the depths of the river Styx, stripping them of all their memories. The constant exposure to the Styx has driven them insane, with the creatures finding only some solace in the memories of the lost that gather at the bottom of the river. It is nearly impossible for a Xerfilstyx to be promoted back to a higher rank because of its insanity and it being bound to the Styx.

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Irregular Ranks

• Based on the Furies of Greek myth, the Erinyes originate from the angels that left heaven alongside Asmodeus when Baator was being established. Others joined their ranks in later eons, all of them fallen angels. While most of them are female in form there are a few males amongst their number, with no difference being made between them. The gorgeous Erinyes stand apart from their fellow devils, their corrupted angelic arrogance making them see the souls of the damned as being beneath them. In turn the other Baatezu see the Erinyes as stuck up pretenders and usurpers of the title of devil. Still they are respected for their strength, cruelty and intelligence. Unique to the Erinyes, their promoted forms and unique female devils they are capable of becoming pregnant. Their children will always be Erinyes, and are raised in secret and well-guarded compounds. Because of their arrogance Erinyes often forego promotion to higher forms, instead opting to stay in their current, less powerful form.

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• A Brachina or Pleasure Devil is an improved form of the Erinyes or, depending on edition, a crossbreed of a Succubus and an Erinyes. Even more beautiful, seductive and powerful than either Succubi or Erinyes, the Pleasure Devils do intend to advance to the rank of Pit Fiend. They are conniving and plotting as the other devils of their ranks, and will use their considerable skills to advance themselves. Brachina as they are sometimes called are sent to tempt those of particular virtue and goodness to the side of evil, using their wiles, bodies and spellcasting to get their way. Because of their unearthly beauty they are popular playthings amongst the highest ranking devils, discarded as quickly as selected. Because of this and the ambition of the Brachina they tend to spend a lot of time on the material plane so that they are in command, and not some other fiend.

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• Abishai or Scaly Devils are the cruel servants of Tiamat. They are arrogant, even for draconic creatures; they consider themselves far above the rank of Tiamat's other servants, including full-blooded dragons and the dragonspawn. They exist in several colors are very cruel and hate everyone not of their own kind. Souls that enter the Nine Hells under her control still become Lemures, but after that become Abishai, dragon-looking devils who tempt mortals to enter pacts with them, only to torture the mortal to the limit of their suffering. After the rank of Red Abishai they can continue to promote as normal, starting with becoming a Chain Devil, but almost all Abishai stop advancing at the rank of the Red Abishai. 5th gave them a major buff in power probably because it seemed odd that the goddess of evil dragon's closest servants would be so much weaker that a dragon so now a Red Abishai is nearly as strong as a Pit Fiend.

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  White, the Fearless Brute

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  Black, the assassin

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  Green, the Silver tounge

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  Blue, the Mage

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  Red, Tiamat’s authority

• Hellforged Devils are devils that once were Golem-like constructs designed to act as prisons for souls but changed over time into living beings. They come in six different forms: Coal, Glass, Lead, Obsidian, Sand, and Spiked. They continue to rigidly obey their original programming, which makes them useful as police and enforcers of Hell's hierarchy.

Outside the Hierarchy

• Kalabons are a non-Baatezu Devil spawned from the flesh of the Hag Countess who once ruled over the layer of Malbolge when she was overthrown and became the layer. They are in constant pain and are always trying to reform themselves into the Hag Countess again. Groups of them can merge together to form a larger Kalabon which can also split apart into smaller ones.

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• Stitched Devils are created by Night Hags out of assorted pieces of dead devils stitched together. Normally this should be impossible since normally when a devil dies, they are absorbed back into Baator, but some greedy devils are willing to preserve the parts of other devils and sell them to Night Hags. Most devils consider the creation of a Stitched Devil to be an abomination. Despite the agonizing pain of their existence they do not hate the night hags that created them and are treated as pets.

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The Archdukes of Hell

The various layers of hell are ruled by a group of unique devils of immense power; whether or not these Archdukes are the same thing as Archdevils seems to vary depending on which sourcebook you have access to. In some versions, Archedevils include both the Archdukes, and the lesser Dukes and other unique devils. Each of them is a force to be reckoned with, commanding vast resources and armies of Baator. They all carry the blessing of Asmodeus in some way, which is very important: Asmodeus can withdraw his support at will and without explanation, as poor Moloch can attest. While the various lords have to deal with the machinations of their servants like all devils do, their greatest foes are their fellow lords, plotting and scheming against one another. In their high positions there are only two ways to gain a promotion: either by defeating one of their rivals and usurping their territories or overthrowing the Overlord of Hell himself, Asmodeus. Hence why Asmodeus never leaves the place that instantly kills anyone he doesn't want to be there, ignoring all defenses.

Devils who are powerful enough to gain a unique form but do not rule over a layer of hell are the Dukes or Duchesses ranked immediately below the Archdukes and a few other powerful devils who are the highest ranked servants of an Archduke.

Dungeons & Dragons 4E

As with a lot of things, the Baatezu of Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition have in some ways changed dramatically and in other ways haven't changed at all. For starters, because this is now years after the Satanic Panic died down, the term "Baatezu" is no longer used; Devils are Devils, and the game even uses traditional AD&D names for the distinct races.

Their origins in this edition have changed, since 4e's cosmology no longer uses alignment as the end-all justification for anything's existence. 4e's devils are Fallen Angels - which is an entirely separate thing to being Evil Angels, as angels in this edition are Unaligned and serve all deities equally, benevolent or malevolent. What this means is that devils are not merely "Angels who are Evil", it means that they are Angels who betrayed their patron deity and were cursed by it, corrupted into twisted reflections of what they once were.

The story is long and the threads differ depending on the source, but the ultimate tapestry remains the same; Asmodeus was once an Archangel serving under a benevolent deity, until he chose to betray his master. Maybe because of pride, maybe because of the manipulations of Pazuzu, maybe because he meant well and saw his master failing in his efforts to contribute to the Dawn War. The end result was the same: Asmodeus descended into the newly created Abyss and achieved something that even the Demon Princes had failed at - he found the Seed of Evil, the crystalized remains of the obyriths' dead universe that had created the Abyss. Breaking off just a sliver of the Seed, also known as the Heart of the Abyss, he fashioned it into his Ruby Rod and used its power to become a god.

Incidentally, this is why the Blood War is fought in 4e; the demons are outraged that Asmodeus stole some of the Heart, whilst Asmodeus regrets not stealing even more and wants to get back down there to take some more. After all, if this tiny sliver made him so powerful, what would a larger hunk do?

Anyway, now brimming with power, Asmodeus manipulated most of his fellow angels into joining him as he murdered their former ruler. As the god died, though, he cursed them all, which had three effects. Firstly, it devastated the Dominion that Asmodeus had sought to claim, burning it into the blasted realm of Baator. Secondly, it wracked the Fallen Angels, corrupting them into hideously deformed mockeries of their former selves. Finally, it bound them all to Baator, rendering them prisoners in the wasteland that they had sought to conquer.

This is why Asmodeus and his minions are so interested in claiming mortal souls. Beyond the fact they need souls to propagate themselves - unlike demons, who spontaneously arise from the stuff of the Abyss - it is through torturing the damned that they extract the magical energies they need to slowly wear away at the bindings that imprison them as a whole in Baator. Plus, getting summoned is, for many devils, their only chance of leaving Baator. As a result, devils compete with each other fiercely for who can accumulate the most souls for Hell, but all are united in accumulating souls and denying the gods their petitioners.

Who was the god they betrayed? Nobody knows anymore; Asmodeus has done his level best over the eons to erase all knowledge of that god, fearful that if somebody discovered his name, they could resurrect him, and he would be pissed with his former minions. He's only ever referred to as "He-Who-Was", and some suspect he might have been humanity's creator god. Like Zarus, but not evil.

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• Infernal Armor Animus Level 3 Minion Soldier, a suit of armor that has been animated by a tortured mortal soul. When the armor is destroyed, the soul is eaten by the closest non-minion devil to heal them.

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• Imp level 3 lurker
• Spined Devil or Spinagon, level 6 skirmisher
• Vizier Devil Level 7 Controller (Leader) a devil that spreads the influence of hell by infiltrating governments by serving as advisors.

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• Pain Devil Level 8 Soldier
• Succubus are devils in 4E instead of demons, level 9 controller. This also means that Cambions are also devils.
• Chain Devil or Kyton, level 11 skirmisher
• Rage Devil Level 11 Brute, created by injecting devils with demon ichor and then binding them with magical hieroglyphs. These tusked brutes were made for fighting demons in the blood war. They carry mauls that cause enemies struck with them to lose their resistances.

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• Pain Devil Captain Level 11 Controller (Leader)
• Gorechain Devil Level 12 Elite Brute, a bigger and uglier version of the chain devil. While chain devils act as jailers, gorechain devils are bounty hunters.

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• Bearded Devil or Barbazu, level 13 soldier
• Wrath Devil Level 13 Controller, a purple skinned devil with long fingers that specializes in tempting mortals into giving into hatred.

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• Erinyes Level 13 Soldier (Leader)
• Withering Devil Level 14 Controller, a devil that spreads weakness and apathy.

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• Hell Knight or Narzugon Level 15 Soldier. In this edition, instead of being fallen paladins the first Narzugons were instead the corrupted followers of the god Asmodeus once served. They hate Asmodeus for betraying their god but are unable to resist his control over them. New Narzugons are made from the souls of mortal who were tricked into betraying their god.
• Misfortune Devil Level 15 Artillery, these devils specialize in convincing mortals to engage in risky behavior.

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• Slime Devil Level 16 Lurker. A devil made of black slime. They are the interrogators of hell, formed from the souls of evil Inquisitors. They can engulf victims and ask them questions and the victim takes damage if they don't answer truthfully.

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• Shocktroop Devil Level 16 Soldier, large devils wielding swords and shields who act as living battering rams in combat.

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• Warder Devil Level 16 Soldier, sexy bodyguards for more powerful devils that fight with burning greatswords. The first warder devils were angels of protection that sided with Asmodeus due to being too bloodthirsty.

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• Passion Devil Level 16 Controller. A less subtle version of a sucubus who convinces mortals to engage in passions. All passion devils look like Fierna but with one imperfection.

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• Bone Devil or Osyluth, level 17 controller (leader)
• Indwelling Devil Level 18 Lurker. A devil resembling a humanoid Oriental Dragon. Their job is to hunt down and retrieve damned souls who escaped from hell. They have they unusual ability to merge with and possess other creatures.

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• Swarm Devil Level 18 Skirmisher. Angels who fell as a result of being caught lying by their master end up as devil-shaped swarms of flies that are constantly starving.

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• Barbed Devil or Hamatula, Level 18 Skirmisher
• Barbed Devil Enforcer Level 18 Soldier
• Ice Devil or Gelugon, level 20 soldier
• War Devil or Malebranche, level 22 brute (leader) has taken the place of the Horned Devil.
• Corruption Devil or Paeliryon Level 22 Controller (Leader)
• Storm Devil Level 23 Artillery. The artillery of Hell's armies that are mainly found in Maladomini and Nessus. They often act as body guards for Pit Fiends. They fight with tridents that shoot lightning but can also blow enemies around with cyclones.

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• Hellwasp Devil Level 23 Skirmisher or Level 19 Minion Skirmisher. They originally were demons before their queen was defeated by Glasya and they choose her as their new ruler.

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• Assassin Devil Level 24 Lurker
• Pillager Devil Level 25 Soldier. Specialized for capturing wayward souls in the outer parts of Hell and kidnapping travelers in the Astral Sea. Other types of devils hate them.

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• Pit Fiend level 26 elite soldier (leader)
• Brazen Devil Level 28 Soldier, Asmodeus's elite guards who are permanently sealed in brass armor.

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• Sire of Corruption Level 29 Elite Controller (Leader), a more powerful variant of the corruption devil who makes deals with mortals to turn them into corrupted followers, which are monsters based on the sins of lust, gluttony wrath, greed, sloth, and cowardice.

• Legion Devils compose Hell's armies:
  • Legion Devil Grunt Level 6 Minion
  • Legion Devil Hellguard Level 11 Minion
  • Legion Devil Veteran Level 16 Minion
  • Legion Devil Legionnaire Level 21 Minion

• Cambions:
  • Cambion Hellsword Level 8 Brute
  • Cambion Wrathborn Level 9 Skirmisher
  • Chained Cambion Level 10 Controller
  • Cambion Infernal Scion Level 12 Elite Soldier
  • Cambion Hellfire Magus Level 18 Artillery

• Tar Devils are a type of devil associated with a villainous group of mercenaries called the Iron Circle. They resembling Tieflings who are constantly dripping black fluid from their bodies.
  • Tar Devil Harrier Level 3 Artillery
  • Tar Devil Brawler Level 3 Brute
  • Tar Devil Guard Level 4 Soldier

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• Burning Devils are tormented souls with the color determined by what sin they committed in life.
  • Burning Devil Level 4 Minion Skirmisher
  • Whitefire Burning Devil Level 14 Minion Skirmisher
  • Blackfire Burning Devil Level 24 Minion Skirmisher

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And all of those are only the ones that are part of the hierarchy of hell. There are lots of other monsters who have the "Devil" keyword but are not quite devils, such as Duergar, due to their association with devils.

Pathfinder

In Pathfinder the devils perform pretty much the same duty as in D&D. The difference is that they aren't called Baatezu or live in Baator, since those names are excluded by the Open Gaming License. Instead they're just devils who live in capital-H Hell. There are 20 different kinds of devils mentioned in the six Bestiaries that are released so far, ranging the whole garmut from CR1 to CR20. All the devils from the OGL like the Pit Fiend are included as well, though the Chain Devil has been given its own subspecies, because... well, bluntly, because someone over there is getting off on extreme body mod/BDSM stuff, have you seen Zon-Kuthon?

Bestiary 6 also lists the eight Archdevils of Hell. They are Mythic level monsters with a CR in the 26-30 range. Aside from getting a whole slew of spell-like abilities, the use of the Miracle spell as befits their portfolio and +10 on Sense Motive checks, many of them also possess artifacts that are nigh impossible to destroy. I mean, the artifact of the weakest Archdevil can only be destroyed by exposing it to a truth spoken by an immortal which has only ever spoken lies, then cast into a magic portal with no entrance or destination. Many of the names of these Archdevils overlap with those of Baator with matching layers to rule, with a few calling back to earlier Lords of the Nine.

The Fiends of Pathfinder
Lawful:	Asuras - Devils - Rakshasas - Velstracs
Neutral:	Daemons - Divs - Sahkils
Chaotic:	Demodands - Demons - Lilus - Nindorus - Qlippoth
Any:	Oni
Lords:	Ahriman - Archdevils Demon Lords - Four Horsemen