Baator

Baator: aka Inferno; the Halls of the Damned; the Fire Below. Few names evoke as many dramatic and terrifying images in the minds of mortals as The Nine Hells, and with good reason. Baator personifies the epitome of the Lawful Evil ethos as a place of punishment, oppression, and endless, soul-crushing conformity. It is the eternal destination for fascists, tyrants, despots, cruel overseers, malicious judges, unscrupulous barristers, and (most) politicians. Basically, anyone who dominates others through (legal) force or manipulates the law at the expense of others will probably find him-or-herself on a one way trip to the big H-E-Double hockey stick when they get their ticket punched.

Baator is made up of nine descending layers and does not resemble a certain Italian poet's vision of Hell at all. These nine descending layers form (conceptually, at least) an inverted cone, with the "largest" layer (Avernus) at the top and the "smallest "(Nessus) at the bottom (although theoretically each layer is infinite in size; go figure). Baator's layers each embody a unique vision of torment, misery, exile, and suffering.

Avernus: Avernus, the first layer of Baator, serves as the proverbial "Gates of Hell" and is thus the layer most readily accessible from the outside. Avernus is an endless, rocky, blasted wasteland where lightning streaks across the blood-red sky and balls of molten fire periodically streak overhead before crashing into the dust-choked hellscape in a pyroclastic explosion. Lesser Devils herd petitioners (the souls of the dead) through the gates like cattle, prodding with spears and lashing with whips, pausing only to torment and humiliate the terrified, shrieking wretches according to their whim. Notable features of Avernus include the Pillar of Skulls, a giant column of writhing heads whose owners in life told harmful lies. Notable inhabitants include Tiamat, the evil mother goddess of all chromatic dragons, and Kurtulmak, the spiteful, petty god of Kobolds.

Baator's most notable inhabitants are the baatezu (also known as Devils). The baatezu form the backbone of the infernal hierarchy that runs the Nine Hells. They serve as the rank and file soldiers in its armies as well as the clerks who maintain its labyrinthian bureaucracy. Baatezu are vicious, cruel, and power-hungry schemers who see their subordinates as mere pawns and their superiors as obstacles in their endless grabs for influence and authority. Unlike their chaotic counterparts (the loathed tanar'ri), the baatezu frame their actions within a twisted, nearly incomprehensible code of honor.

(more to come)