Princes of Hell
The Princes of Hell are powerful devils whose might makes them, in some ways, equivalent to gods themselves, and they are occasionally worshipped as such by the desperate or demented in Bastonia, the Orcish Nation, the remnants of the Shimmering Shores, or even the Atarlie Empire. Though born in the same process as all devils, the Princes of Hell have ascended to phenomenal cosmic power, and rule over whole layers of hell as a result.
They are native to Hell. Unlike true gods, they maintain no realms, only territory, and are part of a shifting web of alliances and conflicts that keeps them from collectively organizing - perhaps a blessing to those in other domains. They can agree on only two matters - Ogharod the Conquerer must be driven from their domain and San Meteo is not to be trusted. The Enemy is sometimes included on this listing; however, he is properly a diety (not a devil at all) and belongs to the Bastonian Pantheon, in spite of being apparently native to Hell.
All the Princes of Hell are lawful-evil. As semi-divine beings, they do have worshippers from which they gain power and in whom they imbue divine spellcasting ability. Unlike normal deities, however, their bond to the mortals that follow them is weak enough that only Lawful Evil clerics can draw power from them, though they occasionally make deals (at terrible cost) with mortals of other alignments. In addition to law and evil, they each allow their followers access to two other domains as potential domain choices.
The territory beneath the Ninth Layer - and the identities of princes that deep down - are unknown in Ahren, at least in Wisteria. This has made the phrase "the Nine Hells" somewhat ubiquitous among those races, usually as an execration, such as "What in the nine hells!?"
Pantheon at a Glance
| Name | Epithet(s) | Domains |
|---|---|---|
| Barbatos | Prince of the First, The bearded Lord | Magic, Travel |
| Dispater | Lord of the Second, Prince of Kings | Nobility, Trickery |
| Mammon | Prince of the Third, Lord of Silver | Artifice, Earth |
| Belial | Lord of the Fourth, the Pale Kiss | Charm, Destruction |
| Greyon | Lord of the Fifth, the Serpent | Strength, Water |
| Moloch | Lord of the Sixth, the General of Hell | Fire, War |
| Baalzebul | Lord of the Seventh, Lord of the Flies | Air, Death |
| Pirias | Lord of the Eighth, the Whispering Vial | Erosion, Trickery |
| Mephistopholes | Lord of the Nineth, the Merchant of Souls | Knowledge, Rune |