Editing Asmodeus (section)

===[[5e]]===
In Fifth Edition, things are hazy.  The forced re-organization of the Planes back into the old Great Wheel means that the Blood War restarted without Asmodeus wanting it to, but he's technically still a true God.  Azuth, the god he ate, is now back as well, and Azzy is now weaker for it.  In addition, he has now been noted to have in fact been controlling the cults of several other Archdevils all along, including his lesser rival and Fallen Angel, Mephistopheles.  His raw power has diminished, but he has a new plot, one which is actually working.  He has started to open legit churches in [[Forgotten Realms|Toril]], and possibly other worlds.  By explaining in clear detail to sinners that they will be tortured for all eternity if they're captured by any form of fiend (including Mezzoloths or worse, Tana'ri) or if they go to the Hells without some form of leg up, they just tell the sinners outright that worshiping Asmodeus will let them start partway up the fiendish hierarchy in Petitioner form... which is ''absolutely true''.  That annoys the Good churches to no end because it's enough to get some desperate old sinners to throw their lot in with Asmodeus right away.  To others who aren't ready to sell themselves to him, the churches instead offer services to people who want to conceal things, apologize for their lesser crimes but can't do it elsewhere, or otherwise cover up sins, which may actually absolve those sinners under some circumstances... or just give them a sense that they can escape all their problems through prayer, and thus encourage them to misbehave more.  Asmodeus has actually been able to get several Waterdhavian nobles to buy his Holy Symbols and '''wear them around,''' which even fiends which became Gods before he did like Orcus never managed.

That said, he's still nowhere near as strong as he was when Mystra was dead and Azuth was in his belly, and the fact that he now has to defend against attacks from every direction thanks to the planar shifts (from Carceri not so much, but from the Abyss, you bet) means he's far less free to act covertly, even if his open worship is drawing in souls at a shocking rate.  For now, he's collecting cards to his hand, and only time or a new edition will tell what he does next.

In ''The Trial of Asmodeus'' (a bit of "Paradise Lost"-esque fluff), angels put out a warrant for Azzy's arrest and he's offended. So, he writes up a contract that says "you're lawful good, I'm lawful evil, let's take it up with a being of [[Lawful Stupid|Pure Law]], Primus, leader of the [[modron|modrons]]," and the angels (after reading the fine print) sign the contract. When they went before Primus, Asmodeus defended himself with four points:

1. He and his devils had swayed mortals towards evil, yes, but they never violated a contract and it was always a clear deal. No fine print here.

2. The souls collected go on to serve to beat back the demonic legions of the Abyss in the [[Blood War]].

3. Asmodeus was following the laws of the Nine Hells in collecting souls.

4. Mortals who refused a devil's offer were left alone.

Primus then heard the angels' testimony. Weeks went by and Primus's patience wore thin (yes, the incarnation of [[Lawful Stupid]]'s patience wore thin) and he said only a few more angels would be allowed to speak. The angels fought over who would be allowed to speak; [[Just as Planned|Asmodeus smiled]].

Primus failed to deliver a definitive verdict, but he did give Asmodeus the ''Ruby Rod''. The ''Ruby Rod'' guarantees Azzy's adherence to the law, grants his devils the ability to make deals for souls, and punishes any devil who breaks a deal.