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mike mitchell (order #8652403)

 C l a ss i c Pl ay

The Book of Hell

Adrian Bott

Contents Cred it s
Introduction 2 Editor
Entering the Infernum 3
Infernal Environments 16 Richard Ford
Lower Levels 38
The Creatures of Hell 47 Line Developer
The Organisation of the Devils of Hell 60 Richard Neale
House Astyanath 67
House Carthenay 71 Studio Manager
House Haimon 75 Ian Barstow
House Glabretch 84
House Oblurott 90 Cover Art
House Riethii 94 Vincent Hie
House Sturrach 98
House Zethu 102
The Four Great Princes 107
Interior Illustrations
Devil Species 111 Jim Brady, Danilo Moretti, Ricardo Jaime,
Demon Species 128 Randy Nunley, Moises Donoso Segundo,
Demon Bikers From Hell 135 Stephen Shepherd, Joey Stone, Alejandro
The Laws and Customs of Hell 139 Villen
Corruption 145
Sympathy for the Devil 160 Production Director
Infernal Secrets of Magic 174
The Harvest of Souls 189
Alexander Fennell
Infernal Equipment 207
Infernal Transfiguration 223 Proofreading
Adventure Hooks 247 Mark Quennell, Sarah Quinnell
Designer’s Notes 249
Index 251 Additional Support
Licence 256 Ian Belcher, Matthew Sprange

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Classic Play – The Book of Hell ©2004 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of non-Open
Game Content of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden.
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 INTRODUCTION

Introduction torment the damned? Are all devils members of the

same monolithic force? What actually happens to the
soul of a person who sells his soul to the Devil and
what can he expect in return?

A
s an adventurer, you will be used to hardship.
You can wade up to the neck through leech- Between these covers, you will find an exhaustive
infested swamps; you can shiver on an arctic guide to Hell in which all of these questions are
plain with nothing to eat but the stiff body of your answered. The Book of Hell is a bestiary, spellbook,
companion, who was lucky enough to die first; you resource guide, gazetteer and Who’s Who for the
can struggle through seemingly endless desert, place we have chosen to call Infernum. Although
blinded by the sun and dried crisp as a mummy by it reflects our own ‘take’ on the outer planes, it is
the heat, while scorpions and venomous fully compatible with other works on the subject. In
reptiles lurk in wait and vultures particular, the concept of what a ‘devil’ is has been
circle overhead. In all of these expanded immensely. The
terrible straits, one thought may civilisation, social conduct
serve to comfort you: no matter and objectives of these
how bad this is, it could be fascinating beings
worse. have been fully
investigated. They
There is one place where are far more than mere
even that thought cannot scaled and horned
bring comfort, because warriors of darkness.
it is the worst place
that can be found Those who are
anywhere. It is a familiar with such
place so dreadful things will note
that its very name that a good deal
is a curse and has been adapted
good folk fear to from authentic
mention it. That sources. This
place is Hell. simply perpetuates
the established tradition
All too often, in d20 of drawing from
Hell is merely the folklore of the real
glimpsed from afar. world to expand the
Legends, frequently game’s mythos. We must,
contradicting each of course, insist that
other, tell of its this is a game and that
many awful sights. any reference to infernal
So varied are these powers and rituals is to
accounts that one might be understood entirely in that
wonder whether they were context. Irresponsible and wilful
describing the same place. meddling with genuine occult
It is a realm of endless fire, material is not condoned.
though insectoid ice devils
dwell within its confines. It is
all chaos and horror, yet the devils Classic Play
are fundamentally lawful, or else why do The Book of Hell is the latest in the highly
they always work with contracts? The place is acclaimed ‘Classic Play’ series from Mongoose
supposed to be inescapable, yet fiends are often to be Publishing. Each volume in the series covers
found walking the material plane. The souls of evil one field of central importance to any d20 game
people go to Hell when their body dies, yet evil ghosts in unprecedented depth and detail, providing an
are often reported, so why are they not in Hell? abundance of readily usable material, new rules
mechanics and background information. With this
Other questions beg to be answered; for what series, we intend to produce the definitive works on
purpose, other than sheer sadism, do the fiends subjects relevant to any Games Master.

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Entering The
Infernum
T
hough Hell is immense, it is not without form
and boundary. The features of Hell remain
constant enough for the various powers and
principalities to claim certain regions as their own
and establish borders. There are features of Hell
known to all cultures of the Prime Material plane,
such as the Sea of Fire and the Shrieking Peaks.
This is one reason why so many accounts of Hell
from the various different worldly religions have so
many details in common, even when the cultures have
grown up separately.
What Is The Infernum?
The realm referred to as ‘the Infernum’ is the Hell
with which this book deals. It is not a part of any
of the established lower planes, such as have been
covered in other publications. The Infernum has no
alignment other than ‘evil’. It occupies a vast realm
that lies between the Astral and the various lower
planes, feeding into all of them. Each of the lower
planes, from the hells of the demons to those of the
devils, opens on to the Infernum. As a result of this,
the Infernum is both a realm of transport between
the lower planes and a battleground where the wars
between devils and demons are fought out. There are
also openings from the Prime Material plane into the
Infernum.
Most of this book is given over to detailing the
topmost level of Hell, since this is the one that
travellers from other planes are most likely to
encounter. It has the most resemblance to the Prime
Material, though the materials, colours and elements
are very different. Other levels of Hell are literally
beneath the first. Only the upper level is, as it were,
open to the sky. When commentators speak of the
Infernum, they usually mean the upper level of Hell,
though the term technically encompasses all of the
lower levels as well.
In form, the topmost level is one vast lake of fire,
beneath an unending sky that is always dark, stormy or
full of seething red light. In some places, the regions
further out than even the devils care to venture, this
sea is sluggish, putrid and blackish-green rather than
flaming, as the liquid is too full of other substances to
burn. The souls of the damned fall from the sky into
the uppermost levels of Hell, where they are claimed
by whichever band of fiends finds them first.
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
From the sea of flame emerge outcrops of red-black
rock. Some are nothing but craggy, featureless peaks
in the middle of a sea of roaring flames, while others
are large enough to support a multitude of cities,
outposts and estates. These islands are the territories
that the infernal powers claim. Each one has a
population and a character that varies according to
who has claimed it. The lands of the devils develop
culture, civilisation and industry, building structures
and making the torment of the damned into a refined
occupation, while the lands of the demons remain in
chaos, with an ongoing orgy of torment and gluttony
sprawling over the surface. Beneath these lands lie
the sub-planes inhabited entirely by fiends of one
alignment. The hells of the devils do not connect
with the hells of the demons, except in the topmost
level.
The Infernum is thus a middle ground. Those
who enter it are not necessarily treading upon the
sovereign territory of any of the infernal or demonic
powers. Only a few creatures count it as their home
plane. It is easiest to think of the Infernum as a form
of satanic no man’s land or colonised nation, where
different factions compete for territory and resources.
There is one resource that the Infernum will never run
short of, not so long as human beings are prone to
give in to the temptations of evil: damned souls.
Where The Bad People Go
Normally, when a person dies, their soul simply
departs for the plane where their deity lives, or the
plane that corresponds to their alignment. Where the
good and neutral planes are concerned, this is a fairly
straightforward matter. The soul instinctively knows
which way to drift. There is usually a manifestation
of some sort that it can follow, such as a bright light,
or a long tunnel that leads to the soul’s ultimate
resting place. The evil planes are, however, not so
benignly organised.
The fate of an evil character after death depends on
how evil he actually was. One theme to which we
will recur several times in the course of this book
is the contrast between an evil philosophy and an
evil history. There is no profit in merely being evil,
as one might be if one had a lawful evil alignment.
One must also do evil. Only when the corrupt
nature of a character is expressed in deeds are the
true possibilities of Hell opened to him. Consult
the Corruption chapter for more details as to how a
character’s corruption rating is determined.
Characters who are of evil alignment when they die
but have only moderate levels of corruption do not
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM

drift away to a plane corresponding to their alignment power (as determined by the character’s alignment) to
at the point of death. Instead, the accumulated evil dispatch a devilish or demonic agent to the character
that weighs heavy upon their soul drags it down as he nears death or even at the point of death. This
through the realms of the Astral to the brink of the devil or demon then has responsibility to ensnare the
Infernum. The soul can do nothing about this. A soul character’s soul and bring it back to the Infernum
that has any corruption rating at all when it dies is when the character dies. The devil or demon will
referred to as damned, since this shall be its fate. The usually wait invisibly or observe from the Astral
soul then falls from the sky into the Infernum. Such Plane.
is the yield of damned souls from the Prime Material
plane that there is always a constant fall of them. Some especially notable figures of evil may find,
as they lie on their deathbeds, that a whole crowd
As evil men and women die on the world above, their of devils has come to fetch them away, such is their
souls come tumbling (and usually screaming) like a prestige in Hell. Sometimes, especially in the case of
human rain from the skies of Hell. These souls fall pacts that have run their course, the infernal powers
down upon various different parts of the Infernum, all will send agents to carry the damned person down to
of which we shall detail in due course. The majority Hell without waiting for them to die first. For further
fall into the Sea of Fire, where they float among the information, see The Harvest Of Souls.
sulphurous fires in utter agony. Some are impaled
upon the jutting rocks and spear-like peaks of Hell’s
mountains and others smash into the seemingly Prison And Punishment
endless red, dry plains of one of the infernal islands. There are only two roles one can possibly have in
Although almost all souls think that their torment Hell. You are either the torturer or the tortured.
there is to be unending, it is not long before some
devil or demon comes to fetch them from their first For the majority of damned souls, who were not evil
point of impact. Souls are the primary resource in enough to join the ranks of the tormentors but were
Hell, for reasons that we shall cover presently. not repentant enough to save themselves before they
died, the Infernum is both the place of their eternal
When a character dies with medium or high levels of confinement and the source of their eternal agony.
corruption, or has made a pact that requires his soul It is simultaneously the prison that keeps their evil
to be forfeited to from infecting the
Hell at the end world and the
of a given time punishment that
period, his fate is they deserve for
different. He does having been evil
not simply fall in the first place.
from the sky into They have nothing
the Sea of Fire to look forward to
with the specimens but an eternity of
of mediocre evil. gloom, pain and
Instead, Hell takes regret. The time
an interest in him. for repentance is
Souls such as this are past.
worth seeking out.
As well as From the point of view
being rich of the devils
resources, and demons,
since Hell is an
they are opportunity.
so steeped in Corruption
corruption, they is meat and
have the potential to drink to them.
become demons or The one chance that
devils in their own a denizen of Hell has
right. It is therefore to gain power and
customary for the escape reduction to
appropriate infernal insignificant status is

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to pile more and more corruption upon himself. A
devil that does not perpetrate evil deeds is not worthy
of the title and may find himself reduced to the rank
of a mere damned soul, hurled back into the chambers
of torment alongside those who he once tortured. The
ongoing goal of the denizens of Hell is therefore to
become even more corrupt than they already are. This
is the infernal rat race, the motivation behind much of
Hell’s agenda. The two most popular activities in
Hell are thus tormenting the damned and corrupting
the people of the Prime Material plane.
Despite the fact that most cultures portray Hell as
punishing the damned, as if it were somehow for
their own good, the devils and demons that do the
work of tormenting them have their own agenda.
They are certainly not servants of the lawful and
good Gods. On the contrary, the very sadism and
inventiveness involved in torturing the damned souls
(who, it must be remembered, can be tortured to a
level impossible for the living, since they have no
flesh and are therefore not liable to die under torture)
is itself a way for the devils and demons to gain more
corruption and advance themselves yet further in the
ranks of Hell.
The tormentors of Hell inflict horrible suffering on
the damned because this is an evil thing to do in
itself. As sheer sadism against a defenceless creature,
it counts as an evil act and as such is one of the only
ways to gain increased rank, status and power. The
other is, as we have pointed out, to spread the cause of
evil among those who have yet to die. This is the real
reason why devils and demons are so interested in
perverting human souls. If they were secure in their
own position, they would be content to let humanity
lead itself astray. This, though, is not enough; since
there is such an ongoing struggle to achieve greater
and greater heights of corruption, they must find
some way to do evil from their home in Hell, which
boils down to either tormenting the souls in Hell or
plotting fresh atrocities in the mortal realm.
The devils and the demons have very different
approaches to this, as one might imagine from the
fundamental difference in their alignments. Devils
prefer to work through intrigue, spreading distrust and
suspicion and leading their dupes deeper and deeper
into sin, whereas demons aim to provoke outbreaks
of raw and destructive emotion, leading to massacres,
wars and carnal atrocities on a massive scale. Where
the devils go for quality of corruption, demons go for
quantity. The Infernal Agenda is addressed at length
later in this volume.
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
As well as being convenient victims to torment,
the souls of the damned have many other uses. As
we address in The Harvest of Souls, souls are a
rich resource in other ways. Their distilled agony,
sorrow and strain are delicacies among the infernal
nobility, their resilient bodies can be used to build
objects and even structures and they can be devoured
(temporarily, as nothing can be completely destroyed
in Hell) to lend energy to evil outsiders.
Contested Territory
Devils and demons have two main reasons for
fighting over territory in the Infernum. The first is
related to the Harvest of Souls. The more souls that
can be claimed, the more the claimant garners power,
influence and opportunity for indulgence. Infernal
settlements and fiefdoms claim any souls that fall into
the Infernum within their dominion, which translates
simply to the realm that they are able to retrieve souls
from. Set boundaries are less important than the
ability to fetch in your harvest.
The other reason for fighting is simply because it is
what devils and demons do, and always have done.
There is no love lost between one side and the other.
Law and chaos may sometimes unite in the interests
of good but very rarely do so in the interests of evil.
In the ongoing war, devils have the advantage of
organisation, while the demons have brute strength on
their side. The chapters entitled Infernal Equipment
and Infernal Transfiguration give details of some of
the different units and equipment produced by each
side in the never-ending battle of demon against
devil.
The Infernal Archipelago
As Hell consists of ‘islands’ of solid rock in the midst
of a fiery sea, it has some strange resemblances to
a marine culture of the upper world. As well as the
ships built by the devils and demons to sail across
the fire, there are also smaller vessels and harvesting
plants on the shores of some islands. The operators
are independent factions composed of evil outsiders
not allied either to the demons or the devils, who
trade souls harvested from the fiery waves to whoever
will give them the best price.
There are also isolated islands that are home to
savage entities that take no part in the ongoing war;
there are even rumours of a colony of free souls who
have managed to escape the claws of the devils and
demons (for now) and are desperately planning to
return somehow to the upper world. In addition,
the further reaches of the fiery sea and the less
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM
populated islands thereon are the dwelling places
of great primeval monsters, such as the wild titanic
stalkers. These monsters are so formidable that even
the devils and demons do not approach them without
due preparation.
The Infernum as a Junction Plane
There are not many places where the lower planes are
accessible from a common region. The Astral Plane
is one of these; it is possible to move from the Astral
to the topmost level of any of the lower planes. The
Infernum, however, has many more interconnections
than this, providing entrances into the lower levels
of the Hells and the Abyss. If one understands the
geography of the region, the Infernum is a very useful
planar crossroads for those who have an interest in
visiting the lower realms of existence.
The Infernum also exerts a strong attraction on
wandering souls and planar travellers. This may
be because it is set below other planes and it is
easier to fall down than up. It is common for those
who make mistakes in calculating plane shifts or
interdimensional travel in vessels to end up in the
Infernum by mistake. It is inherent in the way the
universe works that those who go astray should
more often end up in the plane of perdition than the
blessed domains. It is much easier to wander into the
Infernum than out of it. Tales are told of ships that
attempted to venture into shortcut gateways between
lands, only to find themselves amid a sea of fire.
Infernum As Home
None of the well-documented species of demon or
devil (see Core Rulebook III) are truly native to the
Infernum per se; they all have their origins in the
deeper hells. All of the demons and the devils that
make their abode there hold estates or form colonies.
The only species native to the Infernum are the
various fauna and flora of Hell catalogued later in
this volume. These are mostly creatures of animal
intelligence. The Infernum does not seem to produce
much in the way of sentient creatures. It is too sterile
for that.
Those ambitious demons or devils who establish a
presence in the Infernum are almost always members
of one of the bloodlines of Hell. The feuds, alliances
and power mongering of these bloodlines and the
way in which they compete with one another to gain
renown and increase their own corruption are the
main focus later in this volume.
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P er m a n en t G a t ewa y s T o
H ell
The Prime Material plane contains several openings
that lead directly into various points within the
Infernum. Some of these are natural, some artificial.
The natural gateways are by far the most rare. Even
the devils and demons are not often aware of them.
Natural Gateways
Natural gateways are those that could easily be
mistaken for tunnels into extraordinarily bleak
surroundings, or through regions of fiery volcanic
lava. One would not even be aware that one had
entered Hell until one noticed a major landmark or
emerged into an area that clearly had no place in the
Prime Material plane. The physical surroundings blur
into one another. Natural gateways only ever occur at
places where the terrestrial landscape is every bit as
harsh and grim as that of Hell.
A character passing through such a gateway is
allowed to make a Wisdom check (DC 15) to sense
that he is crossing over into another Plane. If he has
more than 5 ranks in Knowledge (the planes) then he
is allowed a +2 circumstance bonus to this check. If
he succeeds by more than 5, then he knows which
realm it is that he is entering. This check is allowed
even if there is no outward sign that the travellers are
entering Hell, as it represents an intuitive awareness
that something is not right. A character can also make
deductions based on observation of the environment.
This is covered in the description of each type of
gateway.
It is always much easier for incarnate mortals to
enter Hell through these gateways than it is for any
denizen of Hell to enter the upper world through
them. Damned souls can never voluntarily pass
through these gateways. An outsider may not easily
do so either, unless summoned. Summoning an evil
outsider from such a breach as this is much easier than
usual, as the creature has less far to go; summoning
spells that call evil outsiders within 60 feet of a
natural gateway double their usual duration.
An outsider can sometimes venture forth from
a natural gateway to a limited distance from the
gateway’s opening, which accounts for legends of
devils and demons coming out of haunted places and
being seen by frightened peasants. This is easier at
certain times of the year than others. Twice in the
year, on the nights that the farming peoples remain
inside with the bolts drawn, the powers of a natural
gateway alter and the denizens of the Infernum may

venture forth from the opening as if it had been an
artificial gateway. If a terrestrial calendar is used,
these two days are Beltane, otherwise called May
Eve (April 30th) and Samain, also known as All
Hallow Even or Hallowe’en (from dusk on October
31st until dawn on November 1st). The Games Master
may of course adjust these dates as necessary for the
campaign but they should always be exactly half a
year apart and are the two days when the hours of
darkness are equal to the hours of light. The gateway
remains open until dawn, so any infernal denizens
who do visit the mortal world will make sure that
they head back to Hell before cock-crow, as they are
always said to do in the old tales.
The habit of devils and demons of coming out of
their gateways on these nights leads to many taboos
and superstitions springing up, based around wise
caution. When parents tell their children not to go up
to the cave in the hills on All Soul’s Night or the devil
will snatch them away, they are recalling times when
this has in fact happened to unfortunate children of
the past. Devils being what they are, they never miss
an opportunity to spread evil or pervert innocence and
they will eagerly seek out humanoids to bundle into
their sacks and make off with. Some villages have
folk tales of heroes who were bold enough to follow
the devils down into Hell and fight with them so that
the captives could be returned home. Village clerics
are in high demand at these times of the year and
local communities offer them presents of food and
wine so that they will bless their houses and keep the
rampaging demons at bay. Other areas have different
traditions, claiming that the damned souls can walk
the streets on these nights. Only the offering of some
sweetmeat, left outside each dwelling, can prevent the
damned from taking retribution against the living.
Denizens of the Prime Material plane may pass freely
into Hell and out of it through a natural gateway. So
long as a creature is native to the Prime Material
plane, it may use a natural gateway to escape from
the Infernum. For a mortal who has been captured
and carried off, this is the only hope of salvation.
Natural gateways never have clearly marked transition
points. They seem to be points of gradual phasing
between one realm and the next, as the environmental
conditions slowly change. You seem to pass from
the Prime Material into Hell gradually through such
gates, not all at once. Nonetheless, each gateway
does have a specific point at which you cross over
from one plane into the other. This is the point that
must be affected by spells (see below) if you intend to
suppress or seal off the gateway.
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
Underground Gateways: Local legends and
folklore often speak of caves that run so deep that
they go down to the bowels of Hell itself. Usually,
these legends have some material basis, such as
sulphurous gases that belch from the cave or strange
echoes that sound from it if one listens carefully.
Most of the time, these legends are nothing more than
the usual stuff and nonsense that grows up around a
natural phenomenon, such as a hot spring or volcanic
duct but once in a while, a fissure will indeed run
down into Hell and an overcurious wanderer can find
himself climbing into a land much hotter than he had
anticipated. If the walls of the tunnel down which
you are delving become increasingly warm and red-
tinged, this may be a sign that you are heading down
into the Infernum. The first unmistakeable sign that
one has strayed too far is usually a devil busy at work
on a damned soul, who is as surprised to see you
as you are to see him. Underground gateways are
usually fairly narrow, meaning that the larger devils
and demons cannot enter the world through them on
the nights of the year when they may do so.
Characters have a chance to notice that something
is very wrong. As well as the usual Wisdom ability
score check, they may make a Survival check (DC 20)
to realise that the rocks have changed much more than
is usual for the terrain. Dwarves and gnomes receive
a +2 racial bonus to this check. The character does
not necessarily know that he is heading into Hell,
though he will be aware that he cannot possibly be on
the Prime Material plane any more.
Desert Gateways: Another place where the planes
of Hell and the Prime Material coincide is in the deep
desert, far from civilisation. Travellers who have
become lost and wandered for days without water
under a delirium-inducing sun have told tales of
trekking through Hell, where strange sights appeared
to them and laughing demons mocked their plight.
Again, many of these tales can be attributed to the
befuddlement of the senses that the environment
creates, but some tales prove that the wanderer had
indeed strayed into Hell for a brief span of time. The
scalding, featureless sands can sometimes become
increasingly crimson in colour and before one knows
it, one is trekking across an island in the midst of the
Sea of Fire. Desert gateways are simply regions of
desert land approximately one quarter of a mile wide;
you enter from one side on the Prime Material and
leave from the other side in Hell. Evil sorcerers and
clerics of the desert people know of these places and
go there to summon evil outsiders such as the efreeti.
There will never be any sign of civilisation near a
desert gateway. Towns, and even cities, do spring
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM

up in the desert around sources of

water; there is never a source of water
within three miles of the gate. Desert
gateways are always in shunned places
away from the trade routes, in regions
where nobody ever has any reason to
go. They are not spoken of among the
people and travellers will be gently
warned not to go there.

As with the underground gateway,

the desert gateway can be identified
with a successful Survival skill check
(DC 20). Desert nomads (see The
Quintessential Human from Mongoose
Publishing) and other sand-dwelling
peoples are allowed a +2 circumstance
bonus on this check, owing to their
familiarity with the desert and its
changing scenery.

Lake Gates: When local legend tells

that a black, misty tarn is so deep that it
‘runs all the way down to Hell’, it may
in fact do so. Lake gates are found in
desolate rural places and are always
the focus of legend. Children drown in
these lakes with unpleasant frequency
and travellers on the road occasionally
ride right into them without noticing
that they have left the path. Any
traveller moving at a faster pace than
walking by the side of a lake gate is
subject to a mild misdirection effect.
He must make a Will saving throw
(DC 10) or run (or ride) off the path
and into the lake. The waters of the
lake exert an uncanny clutching effect
on the bodies of those who enter them, course of the gate runs down through stinking water
increasing the DC of all Swim checks by +3. for many fathoms, through a root-filled tunnel and
then up to a similar lake in a marshy region of Hell.
Lake gates are the most easily recognisable of any Lake gateways may be identified with a successful
gate and the most accessible, as they sit brooding Survival or Knowledge (nature) skill check (DC
amid the wilted rushes without going anywhere. One 20). The water from such a lake is always foul and
does not need to climb down through endless caverns undrinkable. Animals will not willingly drink from
and rock passages to reach them, nor travel through them and will be skittish and uneasy around them,
the desert, nor sail to some godforsaken part of the adding a DC of +2 to any Handle Animal skill checks
ocean. Lake gates are usually found quite close to made within 30 feet of the lakeshore.
civilisation. Fortunately, not every lake with such
a reputation is a gateway to Hell. Even if a lake Sea Gates: The gateways to Hell that lie in the
has on occasion produced monsters who ravaged sea are the rarest of all. There are always fearful
local settlements, these are much more likely to be legends surrounding such gateways, with mariners
ordinary monstrous humanoids than devils. telling tales of devil-ships crewed by the dead
sighted on the full moon, or lost ships that ventured
If a lake is a gateway, then it is bound to have a into such-and-such an area and never re-emerged.
hag living in it, keeping watch over the portal. The

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The one common factor linking all sea gates is that
they are always wreathed in thick mist. This is the
main reason why they have never been catalogued,
mapped or documented. Ships that cross into this
mist become unable to navigate and only become
aware of their plight when the mist clears and they
see sluggish murk all around them instead of blue
waters. Sea gates only ever lead to the stagnant,
flameless regions of the infernal sea, never into the
fiery part. If a gateway should ever open on to the Sea
of Fire from the seas of the Prime Material, the result
would be a colossal and brief explosion of steam;
such phenomena have indeed been recorded, so one
can assume that gateways to Hell sometimes open
spontaneously.
To identify a sea gate as something other than an
ordinary marine phenomenon, a character may make
a Profession (sailor) check (DC 20). Success tells
him nothing about the nature of the gate, only that it
is one. There is no easy way to discover where it goes
to without sailing into it. Sea gates differ from other
natural gateways in that there is a constant current
drawing ships into the mist. Although the waters are
still and the air is always calm around a gate, there is
still a subtle force that pulls a ship towards the misty
region. A successful Profession (sailor) check (DC
15) is needed to wheel a ship away from the gate.
This is for large ships. Smaller boats powered by oars
can escape the pull of the gate without difficulty.
Closing Natural Gateways: It is not possible to
close natural gateways, as they are rifts between the
planes and form part of the fabric of reality. Their
function can be impeded with an antimagic field, as
it is technically a supernatural effect. If such a field
is placed so as to cover the entire area of the gateway,
then the gateway ceases to function as such while the
field is in effect. A caster may also use such spells
as magic circle against evil to form a barrier that the
outsiders would have to attempt to cross in order to
enter the Prime Material plane.
Natural gateways cannot ever be destroyed. They
may, however, be sealed off. Many of the most
strategically important natural gateways, by which
the forces of Hell attempted to storm the Firmament,
were sealed off generations ago by the Celestial
powers. A natural gateway to the Infernum can only
be sealed off if a good-aligned creature of at least 18
experience levels or Hit Dice volunteers to become
the basis for the seal. The seal is, in essence, the
creature itself in another form. This is the tactic
the Celestials use, with many potent members of
the heavenly host willingly sacrificing themselves in
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
order to make the world safe from the powers of the
Infernum. The spell given below is the method by
which this is achieved.
Seal Natural Gateway
Transmutation
Level: Clr 8, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft. level)
Effect: One natural gateway between planes
Duration: Permanent until discharged
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: See text
This mighty spell places a permanent barrier across
a naturally occurring rift between the Prime Material
plane and another plane. It requires the voluntary
participation of at least one creature of no less than
18 experience levels or Hit Dice. This creature must
have at least one opposite alignment to the destination
plane; in order to seal off a gateway to the Infernum,
the creature need only be good aligned. One such
creature is needed for every 20 feet in width that the
gateway measures. At the conclusion of the spell, the
creatures’ bodies dissolve into pure energy and spread
across the gateway. Gates that exist in open air (such
as desert gateways) no longer function, while gates
that have physical definition (such as tunnels) now
come to a dead end as well as ceasing to function as
gates. The creatures that contributed to the formation
of the seal no longer exist for game purposes. They
are neither alive nor dead, cannot communicate and
may not be called or released in any way but one.
When the seal is created, a key item also comes into
being in the hand of the caster, usually a physical key
or some precious item such as a gem. This item may
then be used to destroy the seal (a single command
word, set by the caster, produces this effect) and
return the creatures to their original state at the time
of casting. When the major gateways to the Infernum
were sealed by the Celestial powers, these keys
were taken to the most fortified strongholds in the
good-aligned planes, where they remain to this day.
Needless to say, the Princes of Hell are very keen to
lay their claws on these keys and thus burst open the
seals that prevent them from swarming across the
upper world.
A creature may also attempt to destroy the seal by
sheer force of will, forcing its way through as if it
were overcoming a magic circle spell. The effective
caster level of the seal for spell resistance purposes is
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM
that of the highest level or Hit Dice of the creatures
that contributed to it plus 20. Most of the major
natural gateways to the Infernum now have seals
created by good-aligned creatures of 20 Hit Dice,
making it impossible for even the most potent of the
Princes of Hell to break through them. The powers of
the Infernum have worn themselves out time and time
again attempting to sunder these seals but still crave
their destruction and often employ mortal aid to seek
out some means whereby they might be dispelled.
Ar t i fi c i al G at e w ay s
There are two kinds of permanent artificially
manufactured gateway into Hell. One kind is the
deliberately crafted sort, made by weaving spells and
building a physical doorway. These are traditionally
called ‘hellmaws’, places where the jaws of Hell
open. The process whereby these gateways are
created is given below. The other is created by
accident, following a notably vile or horrific incident
(or series of incidents) that leaves its mark on a place.
The purposefully crafted hellmaw gate is the easiest
to use, as it is either open or closed and can have its
state changed with the proper rituals and commands.
Contingent gates work more spontaneously.
Unlike natural gateways, artificial gateways can be
used with equal freedom by creatures on either side.
Demons and devils can come marauding through
them and into the Prime Material plane. For this
reason, the infernal powers are far more interested in
the artificial gateways than the natural ones. Artificial
gateways can only stay open for a short span of time
but during that time, they are an open egress between
the Infernum and the Prime Material. Even the souls
of the damned can escape from Hell through an open
artificial gateway, which is one of the reasons why the
demons and devils are so keen to monitor them.
Contingent gateways may have their function
suppressed in exactly the same way as natural
gateways. Unlike natural gateways, it is possible to
close a contingent gateway forever. A forbiddance
spell must be used to seal the rift and the caster must
succeed at a level check (DC 20 plus double the
rating of the gateway). A caster may also use gate to
achieve this effect, using the gate spell as if it were a
form of counterspell.
Forming Contingent Gateways: When a person
performs an evil act, the stain of it lingers on their
soul but also affects the surrounding environment.
It is well known that the houses or strongholds of
notoriously evil people have an unpleasant aura to
them, as if the horror were somehow soaked into the
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walls. If enough blasphemy against what is decent
and good is committed, the very walls of reality can
wear away, bringing the place closer to the Hell it has
come to resemble.
A contingent gateway between the Prime Material
and the Infernum is sometimes formed without any
magic being cast, simply because the acts carried
out in the region were so despicable that the place
becomes linked to Hell. This phenomenon is the
explanation behind many haunted ‘horror houses’ or
scenes of mass torture and murder. There are ghosts
bound to the area because of their grisly deaths but
there are also denizens of Hell crossing over, able to
do so because the evil deeds of the past have ripped a
tear in the fabric between worlds.
While evil creatures are committing atrocities and for
the next ten years after they are no longer doing so,
there is a chance of a gateway to Hell spontaneously
forming. The rating of this gateway is determined by
the total Sin Ratings of all the sins with a greater Sin
Rating than 10 that were committed there; see below
for details. The chance is a flat 2% per year per point
of the rating of the potential gateway. So, by the time
a given person or group of people have committed
acts with a total Sin Rating of 300 in the same area,
there is an 8% chance per year of a contingent
gateway opening with a rating of 4.
Note that repeated acts of corruption in an area do not
necessarily make a place into a gateway to Hell. If
this were so, there would be very few city slums that
did not have a gateway to Hell somewhere inside their
rotting buildings. For a gateway to have a chance of
forming, the same person or people must generate
corruption again and again. Ordinary, mundane acts
of evil, such as betrayal, violence and murder, do
not generate gateways to Hell, as these are simply
the everyday acts of amoral people. For a gateway
to form, there must be a person or group of people
performing exceptionally evil acts repeatedly. A
single murder or a rowdy tavern or brothel would not
ordinarily stand a chance of generating a gateway. A
serial murderer whose crimes were so shocking that
they outraged the whole city, or a house that was the
lair of sadistic cannibals fond of consuming children
Contingent Gateway Formation
Total Sin Rating Age of Site Gateway Rating
30–50 — 1
50–100 10 years 2
100–300 100 years 3
300–500 500 years 4
500+ 1,000 years + 5

alive, would be much more likely to generate a
gateway.
Contingent gateways are rated on a scale of 1 (minor)
to 5 (major). The power of a contingent gateway is
based upon two factors, namely the age of the site and
the scale of the atrocities that were committed there.
When multiple evil deeds take place in the same
area and increase a person’s Corruption rating (see
the chapter entitled Corruption) the Games Master
should keep track of the Sin Rating of the various sins
that are committed and keep a running total, adding
all the Sin Ratings together. Do not include sins with
a Rating of less than 10.
Consult the Contingent Gateway Formation table
to find out the size of the contingent gateway. The
‘age of site’ column only applies if a gateway has
already been formed. In such cases, should the
total Sin Rating provide a different result to the age
of the site, then apply the highest rating earned. A
site of relatively minor atrocity that has festered for
a thousand years can be more potent than the site of a
horrendous massacre of innocents that is still fresh.
When Contingent Gateways Open: The size of a
contingent gateway and the frequency with which it
opens are determined by its gateway rating. Nothing
can be done to force a contingent gateway to open.
They simply become passable at certain times.
Contingent gateways only open during the hours
of darkness and in the time surrounding the day
in which the greatest amount of corruption points
were generated in the vicinity of the gate. For the
fourteen days before and after that day, the gate
has a percentage chance of opening at sunset and
remaining open until dawn. The chance for the gate
to open is 2% for every rating point. So, for example,
a contingent gateway with a rating of 4 would have an
8% chance to open at sunset on any night within 14
days of the critical date.
A gateway of this kind is two feet across in each
direction for every point of rating that it has. The
least significant of the gateways are too small to
admit the most terrible creatures of Hell, letting only
imps and their ilk pass through, while the scenes
of most memorable atrocity can admit legions of
devils or creatures as huge as the pit fiends and
balors. Contingent gateways are a danger to the
inhabitants of the Prime Material plane but they
are rarely sufficiently broad or long lasting for the
inhabitants of Hell to use them as a means to invade.
Contingent gateways count as supernatural effects for
the purposes of dispel magic and such like spells and
abilities.
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How The Denizens of Infernum
Use The Gates
Once the denizens of Hell have discovered an
intermittent opening into their realm, they will exploit
it, learning when it is most likely to open and how
many of their number can be sent through it. Natural
gateways are preferred, as although they only open
for two nights in the year, they are usually large and
cannot easily be closed by mortals alone. What is
done with the gateway will depend on whether it
opens into territory controlled by demons or devils.
Gateways that open into neutral or unclaimed territory
are not likely to produce evil outsiders except by
random chance, such as by a passing erinyes noticing
that the gateway is open and venturing into it out of
curiosity.
The denizens of the Infernum are cautious about
using gateways. When they are called from their own
plane by a summoning effect, they are granted the
one-time ability to return to their own plane (see Core
Rulebook I) so they can always vanish from a combat
if it goes against them or escape captivity. If they
enter the Prime Material plane through a gateway,
they do not count as called creatures and so do not
have the option of returning to their own plane. They
will thus be very careful to make their way back to the
gateway before dawn comes and the gate closes.
Other Ways To Form Contingent
Gateways
Although the most common way in which a contingent
gateway is formed is by the repeated performance of
evil deeds in the area by the same person or group of
people, there are other ways in which they can come
into being spontaneously.
Bloodshed: Causing death is not an inherently evil
act, as it may be done in self-defence or to bring an
end to an evil being. Good-aligned forces do not
shirk from declaring war if it is believed to be truly
necessary for the greater benefit of all. It cannot
be denied, though, that bloodshed, mayhem and
mass slaughter is the very meat and drink of Hell,
however sanctified the motivation of the generals and
commanders may be. As a general once said, there
are many young men who look on war as all glory,
when in truth it is all hell. To a soldier in the field or
in a hospital tent, surrounded by the broken bodies of
the dead and the dying, it may seem that he is in Hell
already. Precious few of those who die in war do so
in a state of sanctified grace. To draw upon another
saying, in times of war the devils make more room in
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM
Hell. When one reflects that there are so many devils
present in astral form on the battlefield taking the
souls of the sinful to their eternal doom, it is hardly
surprising that battlegrounds may become the sites of
contingent gateways to the Infernum.
Effect: Every ten deaths that take place on a
battleground count as the equivalent of one point of
corruption for the purposes of calculating whether or
not a gateway forms. A truly monumental number
of deaths must occur for this to happen but given the
scale of some battles in the fantasy world, it is not that
unlikely an occurrence.
Desecration: Some of the most hellishly charged
places on Earth were once filled with the light of
goodness; the satanic powers like nothing better
than to see something fair turned foul. Desecrating
a holy site is an evil act in and of itself and generates
corruption but for the purposes of forming contingent
gateways, it is especially potent.
Effect: Any act of desecration of an area or building
counts for triple the number of corruption points for
the purposes of assessing whether or not the area
develops a gateway.
Evil Burial Grounds And Mass Graves: The burial
places of evil people are sometimes brought close
to Hell, as the festering wickedness in the soil has a
strong astral sympathy with the Infernum. There is
a sick, uneasy feeling to such places and people do
not like to remain there long, especially after dark.
Primitive cultures do not like to go near the remains
of villages where evil tribes once dwelled until they
were wiped out, nor are new cities always founded
on the remains of former ones that were occupied by
evil peoples. Even the grave of a single murderer is
something to fear.
Effect: When the bodies of multiple evil people are
buried in the same place, or placed there by some other
method than burial (such as entombing, casting into
the sea or mass burning) then a contingent gateway
may form. Proceed as if every level or Hit Dice of
evil humanoids whose bodies are disposed of in the
area counted for 10 points of corruption generated in
the area, and proceed by the table above.
Special: There are ways to prevent a contingent
gateway from forming when a large number of the
cadavers of evil creatures need to be disposed of. A
consecrate spell prevents a contingent gateway from
forming while it is in effect, so a single low-level
cleric can keep a place safe simply by casting this
spell every day.
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Evil Spells: The more evil-aligned spells are cast
in an area, the greater the chance that the area
will develop a spontaneous rift linking it with the
Infernum. It is sometimes the case that isolated
sorcerers or evil divine casters who are not close
enough to other living creatures to work great deeds
of evil will nonetheless cause major contingent
gateways to form centuries after their deaths, simply
because of the number of evil-aligned spells that they
cast during life. As a result, the former haunts of evil
spellcasters develop a bad reputation even when the
casters themselves are long gone. The echoes of their
foul magic linger even among the ruins.
Effect: For the purposes of determining whether a
contingent gateway has formed, each level of evil
spell discharged counts as two points of corruption
generated in the area. So, an unholy blight spell
counts as eight points of corruption, as it is a 4th level
evil spell.
Plague Sites: Sickness and death from disease are
close to Hell’s heart. Many of the damned in Hell are
scabrous and crawling with parasites, while red-eyed
rats gnaw on their flesh, their teeth yellow and filthy.
Towns that have succumbed to plague are as close
to Hell on Earth as most human beings are likely to
see. Demented moans come from the buildings as
the sick lose their minds in the final stages of plague,
the dead are piled up in the streets for want of strong
workers to bury them and all that humanoids hold
sacred is profaned by the delirium of a sick brain,
driven to commit acts of unspeakable debauchery and
violence.
The only creatures to prosper during a plague are
the vermin, especially the flies, who grow fat and
plentiful; not for nothing is one of the Princes of
Hell referred to by the formal title of Beelzebub
(literally ‘Lord of the Flies’). It may even happen that
gateways form during a time of plague without the
victims being aware of it. The sight of cackling red
imps is nothing unusual when one’s brain is giving
in to fever.
Effect: Every death from plague that takes place in an
area counts as half a point of corruption generated in
that area, for the purposes of calculating whether or
not a gateway forms.
Creating Hellmaws
Wizards and sorcerers create hellmaws to save
themselves the bother of casting a gate spell every
time they need to open a portal to Hell. A hellmaw
counts as a magical item and must be created as

one. A given hellmaw may be between 5 to 20 feet
across, as decided by the creator. Hellmaws are solid
when they are not open and take the form of a two-
dimensional surface enclosed within some form of
boundary, such as a gateway set into a wall or a circle
marked out on the floor.
The creators of hellmaws are careful to prepare them
in such a way that they cannot be opened inadvertently.
Instead of command words, hellmaws sometimes
have rituals of activation that must be carried out to
the letter. Enacting such a ritual takes half an hour,
requires concentration and calls for a successful
Spellcraft check on the part of each participant, of
which there may be up to three. The creator of the
ritual may set the DC of the ritual with a Spellcraft
check of his own. Failure does not have
any negative consequences other
than failing to open the hellmaw.
The main purpose of the ritual
is to prevent apprentices,
thrill-seekers and other
undesirable parties from
opening the hellmaw on
a whim.
Once opened, the
hellmaw remains open
for one minute, during
which time creatures
on either side may pass
through freely. It is
possible to extend the
time for which the hellmaw
stays open by chanting the
syllables of the ritual within 5
feet of the hellmaw. A character
who does this must chant continually and
concentrate upon what they are doing. They must
also have taken part in the ritual to open the hellmaw
in the first place; they cannot take over half way
through. Common practice is for a sorcerer or wizard
and his assistants to open the hellmaw with the
appropriate ritual, after which the assistants remain
behind, chanting to keep the gateway open, while
the wizard or sorcerer ventures into Hell, returning
in time through the open hellmaw. If there is nobody
left to carry on the chanting, the gate closes one
minute after the last chanter has fallen silent.
It is sometimes necessary to close the hellmaw before
its duration has elapsed, such as when the forces of
Hell decide to surge into your magical laboratory.
The person who conducted the opening ritual, or
another person who knows the ritual, may close it
by performing a much shorter ritual that takes a full
round to perform. A Spellcraft check is still required,
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
at a DC of 10 less than the DC to open the hellmaw.
This action closes the gate even if others are still
chanting.
Unlike the regular gate created by the spell, a hellmaw
cannot be used to call in an extraplanar being without
additional preparations. Naturally, a hellmaw can
only call up an outsider from one of the lower planes,
of the kind that frequents the Infernum. You do not
need to perform the full opening ritual in order to
use this aspect of the hellmaw, as the gateway only
opens for a brief instant, enough to pull the creature
through from its infernal home. You must, however,
still chant the proper activation phrases and sacrifice
1,000 experience points (as if you were casting the
gate spell) to use this aspect.
As an optional rule, you may dispense
with the experience point sacrifice
if you are calling up a single
outsider whose Hit Dice do
not exceed your experience
level. In this case, a
preliminary blood
sacrifice must instead
be made in order to
bring the creature
through. The sacrifice
must consist of an
intelligent creature
(Intelligence 6 or
higher) whose blood is
allowed to flow over the
hellmaw if it is set into the
floor, or allowed to pool at its
base if it is set into a wall.
Any given hellmaw may only be opened
as a through way to the Infernum or used to call
forth creatures once per day. The item’s original
creator, who is advised to scry the area first, must
choose the point where the hellmaw opens into the
Infernum. Most hellmaws open on to one of the
islands, though some open hundreds of feet up in the
sky, or lead directly into the Sea of Fire.
Caster Level: 18th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous
Item, gate; Market Price: 165,000 gp: Weight: Not
applicable.
One-Way Hellmaws: Hellmaws are sometimes
created as traps for the unwary, whereby mortals can
be lured down into Hell and forced into slavery by the
infernal ones. These permit passage from the Prime
Material plane into the Infernum but not the other
way around. Such gateways cannot be used to call
forth creatures.
 ENTERING THE INFERNUM
Caster Level: 18th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous
Item, gate; Market Price: 65,000 gp: Weight: Not
applicable.
Vortex Hellmaws: These gateways, when opened,
produce a howling vortex of winds that drags
creatures and unsecured objects into the maw. They
are produced as one-way hellmaws, an especially
fiendish trap as they not only pitch creatures into the
Infernum with no easy way to return, they suck them
in from the surrounding area. The wind vortex affects
an area 60 feet in radius, centred on the hellmaw and
the winds produced are gale force. Tiny or smaller
creatures and objects are knocked down and rolled
1d4x10 feet towards the hellmaw, taking 1d4 points
of nonlethal damage (in the case of creatures) per 10
feet. If flying, a Tiny or smaller creature is sucked
2d6x10 feet towards the hellmaw and dealt 2d6
points of nonlethal damage from buffeting. Small
creatures are knocked down and rolled 1d4x5 feet
towards the hellmaw, or sucked in by 1d6x10 feet.
Medium creatures are knocked prone and pulled 1d4
feet towards the hellmaw, or 1d6x5 feet if they are
flying. Large creatures are unable to move against the
direction of the winds and are sucked in by 1d6 feet
if flying. Creatures of greater than Large size may
move normally within the affected area.
A creature may attempt to hang on to a solid object
to avoid being pulled in by the screaming winds.
To grab a handhold, such as a protruding piece of
masonry or a tree root, the creature must successfully
grapple it as if he were making a grapple attack
against another creature. He is allowed an ‘attack
of opportunity’ against any such object as it passes
out of his threatened area, even though he is the one
moving. Once he has succeeded in a melee touch
attack against the handhold, he and the wind make
Grapple checks against one another. Success on the
creature’s part lets him keep his grip, while if the
winds win the contest the creature’s grip is broken and
he is dragged away. He can make further attempts to
grab at other objects on his way into the hellmaw, as
before. The wind has an effective Grapple modifier
of +15. Creatures who are themselves secure may
also attempt to grab creatures that are being dragged
away by the winds. In this case, only a successful
grab attempt is necessary if the creature is willing to
be grabbed. If a secure creature holds on to another
creature, then the opposed Grapple checks are made
between the wind and the secure creature doing the
gripping; the latter gains a +4 circumstance bonus to
his Grapple check, as the dragged creature is helping
him hang on.
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All unprotected non-magical flames within the area
of effect are extinguished. Protected flames (such
as those inside covered lanterns) flicker madly and
have a 70% chance to go out. All objects of Medium
size or smaller that weigh less than 100 pounds are
blown across the ground towards the maw at a rate of
1d4x5 feet per round. Objects of Tiny size or smaller
that weigh less than 2 pounds are blown through the
air instead of along the ground, moving at a rate of
2d6x10 feet per round.
Caster Level: 18th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous
Item, gate, gust of wind; Market Price: 80,000 gp:
Weight: Not applicable.
One-Way Trips To Hell
Finally, there are some ways in which a person can
have himself shunted off to Hell without any way of
returning under their own steam. There may be one
or two deranged souls who would want to do this
voluntarily. For example, one might have urgent
business to attend to in Hell, or one might be dying
and want to destroy a few devils before one breathed
one’s last. More commonly, though, people stumble
upon these methods by accident. Some of them are
documented in folklore and superstition, which can
lead people to try them out of curiosity or simple
bloody-mindedness.
Cursed Scrolls: Although there are now very few
of these scrolls in existence, there are still some in
ancient, unopened libraries and the loot of tombs
from forgotten aeons. The scroll, when unrolled,
shows only the words ‘Go directly to Hell’ in a
flaming script. The reader must make a Will saving
throw (DC 18) or be plane shifted straight to one of
the islands of the Infernum.
Eating Certain Forbidden Fruits: There are many
curious old stories that connect Hell with the eating
of fruit, such as the apple of Eden or the pomegranate
of Hades. It is said that one should never consume
apples between midnight and dawn on the nights of
Beltane or Samain, or one will wake up among the
flames of Hell. The Games Master may of course
adjust the fruits in question to fit in with the campaign.
A creature who does this and falls asleep that same
night has a 1% chance to be plane shifted in his sleep
to the Infernum, as if the spell had been cast by a
10th level caster; Will save (DC 15). If the forbidden
fruit is consumed within two miles of a natural or
contingent gateway, the chance rises to 5%.

Running Round The Church: Old wives’ tales say that
anyone who runs widdershins (counter-clockwise)
round a church seven times after dark will be taken
off to Hell. This is in fact true, though it is only true
of the oldest churches and temples; a sacred site,
irrespective of the religion to which it is dedicated,
must be at least 5 centuries old for this method to
work. On the completion of the seventh circuit, the
runner may (5% chance, rising to 15% if the character
is of evil alignment) be transported to Hell, as if by
a plane shift spell cast by a 20th level sorcerer. If the
person is not so transported, the method will never
work for them.
Sleeping On A Grave: It is not only supposed to
be terrible bad luck to fall asleep on a grave, it is
rumoured to be a way to spend the rest of your life
among the torments of the damned! Any character
that sleeps directly above the spot where an evil
humanoid was buried (with the remains no less than
five feet away) has a chance to be whisked away to
Hell overnight. Treat this as if the character had eaten
forbidden fruit on an ill-omened night of the year, for
which see above.
Speaking Prayers In Reverse: It is said that if prayers
to good deities are said backwards at midnight while
looking into a mirror, then a devil will appear and
carry the blasphemer away to Hell. As with most
such superstitions, this one is founded in truth.
Speaking a prayer backwards may (1% chance, or
5% if the character is of evil alignment) cause a single
barbed or bearded devil to appear directly behind the
character. This devil is not under the control of the
character at all and has no other agenda than to seize
the character and carry him or her off to the Infernum.
The devil will attempt to grapple the character; if it
succeeds in pinning him, then on its initiative count
on the next round, devil and character are both plane
shifted to the Infernum. The devil can use this ability
in this one instance even if it ordinarily could not. If
the character manages to avoid the devil’s clutches
until dawn, then the devil will return to Hell, cheated
of its mortal prize. Any one character may attempt
this only once in his or her life.
Talismans of Pure Good or Ultimate Evil: The
artefact by this name has the power to cause evil or
good aligned divine spellcasters to fall into flaming
cracks in the ground and be sent down to the centre
of the earth. At the Games Master’s discretion,
such characters could be dispatched to Hell instead.
This would be more appropriate for good than evil
characters, as an innocent soul in Hell is a treasure,
which can be defiled and tormented merrily for
thousands of years.
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ENTERING THE INFERNUM
Cr ea t in g t he D a m n ed
‘Damned’ is a template that can be applied to any
humanoid or monstrous humanoid, referred to as
the base creature. The creature’s type changes to
‘undead’ and it gains the ‘incorporeal’ subtype. It
uses all the base creature’s statistics and special
abilities except as noted here.
D a m n ed
Undead (Incorporeal)
Hit Dice: Increase to d12
Initiative: Same as base creature
Speed: Same as the base creature
AC: Same as the base creature
Attacks: Same as the base creature
Damage: Same as the base creature
Special Attacks: Same as the base creature, but the
damned are incorporeal and usually lack incorporeal
touch attacks
Special Qualities: A damned retains all the special
qualities of the base creature, and adds Solid to
Fiends
Saves: Same as the base creature
Abilities: Loses Constitution score but otherwise
same as the base creature
Skills: Same as the base creature
Feats: Same as the base creature
Climate/Terrain: Infernum
Organisation: Varies
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature –3
Treasure: None. The damned have no equipment
Alignment: Always evil
Advancement: None
Combat
Solid to Fiends (Su): The damned are not incorporeal
to the attacks of fiends and fiendish objects. An
Infernum-forged weapon acts like a ghost touch
weapon against the damned, while an infernal cage
can trap the damned. Fiends can grapple with the
damned freely, but the damned cannot normally
attack fiends back.
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

Infernal they claim are tormented for the devils’ pleasure or

put to use in other creative ways. These are all
detailed in The Harvest of Souls.

Environments
T he S ky O f H ell
H
ere we look at the notable natural
environmental features of the topmost level Hell has no sun. The constant scarlet glow, like an
of Hell, such as its mountains, its caverns eternal sunset without the romance, comes from
and its lava pits, before venturing into a select few of clouds of coalescent fire that swell and part and
the deeper levels. This is essentially the ‘wilderness recombine against a background of eternal blackness.
guide’ for adventuring across the infernal landscape. These burning clouds give the same degree of
illumination as full daylight on the Prime Material
The table below shows the traits for the upper level plane. Below their level, other clouds often drift,
of Hell, using the system laid out in Classic Play: composed of other substances than fire; these can
The Book of Planes from Mongoose Publishing, here vary from foggy congestions of toxic gas to swarms
reproduced for completeness’ sake for players who of living creatures.
use that volume.
Fire-clouds: These clouds are those that light Hell’s
sky. They are like vast bonfires without solid fuel, so
Devils’ Estates that when they are viewed from close up it becomes
The central part of Hell is controlled by the devils, the apparent there is nothing to them but billows of fiery
powers of lawful evil. The more outlying regions are gas. Fire-clouds are many thousands of feet across
more likely to be under demonic influence. The bulk and ride high in the airs of the Infernum at altitudes of
of the devils’ territory is a cluster of landmasses in the around fifteen thousand feet. The lightweight gas that
centre of the lake of fire, with a single continent in creates them is continually belched up from vents in
the centre rising to needle-sharp mountains at its very the mountains. This forms invisible clouds that drift
heart. Around the rim of the devils’ territory, the land freely until they encounter a fire-cloud, at which point
fragments into smaller islands. they ignite. As the gas burns up, the clouds shrink and
fade. The clouds are numerous but it is easy enough
This entire region is built upon by the various noble for a flying creature to find a gap in them.
houses among the devils, who raise palaces in which
to dwell and satanic processing plants where the souls The interior of a fire-cloud is nothing but roaring
flame in all directions. A creature unlucky enough
Infernum Traits to be immersed in one suffers 20d6 fire damage per
Gravity 0 Normal (Subjective) round, with no saving throw possible. The periphery
Time 0 Normal of the cloud (the 20 feet at its outer limit) is full of
Size 20 Infinite infinites wisps and blooms of fire as the cloud consumes itself,
Morphic 5 Alterable Morphic allowing for the possibility of evasion; a creature in
Life 0 Normal this region may make a Reflex saving throw (DC 24)
to take half damage from the cloud.
Weather +6 Dangerous
Water/Fire +8 Fire-dominated
Falling Souls: Between the clouds, the skies of
Earth/Air 0 Balanced Hell are black, but tiny motes can be seen constantly
Negative/Positive 0 Balanced tumbling through them and faint screaming is always
Good/Evil +8 Strongly Evil on the air. These are the souls of the damned,
Law/Chaos 0 Balanced plummeting from the Astral Plane, drawn into Hell
Arcane 0 Normal by their evil natures. If a soul passes through a
Divine 0 Normal fire-cloud, it comes out the other side as a flaming,
writhing meteor. It is unlikely that a creature will
Green 0 Normal
ever be struck by a falling soul; even if one were to be
Accessibility 15 Magically Accessible
struck, the souls of the damned do not have the power
Proximity to affect their environment, so the worst that one
...to Astral 7 Coterminous would experience would be a mild tugging sensation
...to Mal 7 Coterminous as the substance of the damned passes through them.
...to Chasm 7 Coterminous

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It is generally conceded that snatching a falling soul
out of the air is just too much trouble to go to. It is
much less effort to fish them out of the flaming sea or
herd them in from the peaks and plains. Nonetheless,
sometimes an erinyes and her cohorts will go after a
falling soul, purely for the sport of it.
Hellbat Swarms: The darker clouds that drift under
the burning skies are often great flocks of hellbats.
These are fiendish bat swarms, clustered together
into single masses that migrate from one side of Hell
to the other, looking for food. A cloud of hellbats
contains 3d12 swarms of fiendish bats. The cloud
will not pursue damned souls, as there is no nutrition
to be found in them but they will attack any living
target that comes within a hundred feet, whether the
target is a devil, demon or strayed mortal. When they
are not on the wing, the hellbat swarms nest in caves
high up in the mountains.
In fer n al Lan d T y pe s
The wilderness lands of Hell are close enough to those
of the Prime Material to seem like a blasted, tortured
version of them but sufficiently alien to remind
wayfarers that they are very far from home indeed.
Some of the wilderness features, such as mountains
and deserts, are not essentially dissimilar from those
of the mortal realm, while others are unique to Hell.
The most common type of land to find underfoot in
Hell is a dry, crumbling substance like reddish sand,
with a greasy feel to it. It takes footprints as well as
damp sand does, counting as soft ground for tracking
purposes. There is little aqueous moisture in Hell,
though there is oil, grease and fat in abundance. In
open plains and deserts, the greasy quotient is much
less and the earth is more like dry red dust or fine
cinnamon-coloured sand.
Terrain Type Limb AC
Desert Sand Pseudopod 17 (–1 size, +8 natural)
Forest Extended Tree 14 (–1 size, +5 natural)
Root
Lava Flaming Tentacle 17 (–1 size, +8 natural)
Marsh Swamp Matter 12 (–1 size, +3 natural)
Tentacle
Mud, Boiling Snaking Liquid 13 (–1 size, +4 natural)
Column
Rock Jointed Stone 19 (–1 size, +10 natural) 40
Claw
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When one is not walking across this stuff, one is
usually walking across outcrops of rock. Hell is
strewn with huge masses and chunks of rock; viewed
from above, the land of Hell is mostly irregular scarlet
stone with a scum of powdery earth in its crevices and
hollows.
Animated Ground Mass (CR 4-6)
Within Hell, the very land itself is hostile. It reacts to
non-evil creatures, forming pseudopods out of its own
substance and lashing out. These temporary limbs
are not monsters as such but temporary emanations of
the matter of Hell. It is always the underlying ground,
not any substance or life form on top of it, that forms
the limb. For example, a region of lava can exude
glowing tentacles that lash out and scorch creatures,
while a region of marsh can send up a blobby column
that engulfs them. The limbs have no other purpose
than to eliminate the presence of anything that is not
evil. Hell itself uses the limbs to scratch itself and
remove the irritation.
Animated masses of ground can only be formed in set
regions. The portion of a given type of terrain that
is sensitive to non-evil alignments is approximately
10%. Creatures can escape the limbs simply by
running out of range, though there is no way to tell
whether or not the region they are running into is
itself capable of sending limbs out. The sensitive
areas within a given terrain that can send out a limb
are 1d6x10 feet across.
Sensitive areas automatically detect the alignment
of creatures that enter them. Magical means of
suppressing your alignment are effective against
them. Each sensitive area can manifest one limb for
every 10 feet of diameter, so the maximum number of
limbs any one region can produce is 6. The limbs are
each 10 feet long and made from the same substance
as the ground. They grasp and entwine around
Hit Points Special
30 None
25 Not a plant creature type
40 Immune to fire effects; double damage
from cold effects; +2d6 fire damage
when attacking
25 Disease; see entry on Marshes below
25 +1d4 fire damage
Limb takes 4d6 rounds to reform
instead of 2d6
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

creatures that enter the area, holding them fast and
crushing them with great strength. Depending on
the type of ground, the limbs also have additional
abilities, for which see the table below. Any fiend
with the telepathy ability and a Charisma of 10 or
more can command the limbs, instructing them (for
example) to release a creature, to concentrate their
attack on one being or to pin an adversary without
harming him.
The limbs attack on an Initiative count of 1. Treat the
limbs attacking a particular target as a Large creature
with a base attack bonus of +9, a Strength score of
22 and a Grapple modifier of +19. The limbs have
an Armour Class, hit points, damage immunities and
energy resistance determined below.
Once the limbs grapple an opponent, they may make a
grapple check each round on their turn to deal 1d6+6
points of damage, along
with any additional energy
damage or effect resulting
from the limb type.
have branches. They are skeletal, like trees in winter
and have a desolate look to them. Climbing such a
tree requires a Climb check (DC 15). Hell’s forests
are infested with night-oaks and suicide willows, for
which see The Creatures Of Hell.
Soul-trees: It is customary for damned souls that
committed suicide but were not corrupt enough to
warrant special punishment (Corruption level less
than 4) to be bound into the form of a tree for all
eternity, in which they bemoan their wretched state.
A soul-tree is a damned soul whose body has been
rendered immobile and whose limbs have been
stretched and split until they resemble roots and
branches. In all other respects, they are ordinary
damned. Individual soul-trees are harmless but a
cluster of them together can set up such a horrible
groaning and lamenting that travellers are driven half
mad by it; see below. It is possible to communicate

Limbs suffer damage as if

they were constructs and
have a saving throw modifier
of +3 to all saving throws.
You can destroy a limb by
reducing its hit points to
zero. The sensitive area can
extrude a new limb (up to its
maximum total allowed) 2d6
rounds after the former limb
was destroyed. The sensitive
area’s power to detect
alignments and emit limbs
is essentially a supernatural
ability of the ground itself,
so it can be blocked by
means of an antimagic field.

Forests
The forests of Hell are
nothing like the green, deep
woodlands of the Prime
Material plane. Green things
do not grow in Hell and the
only plant life is tough,
leathery, blackish stuff, like
terrestrial trees and bushes
that have been dipped in
tar and somehow gone on
living. Infernal trees do not
have leaves, though they do

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with a soul-tree but they are usually so wrapped up in
their own tragedy that they do not spare any attention
for others. A successful Diplomacy check (DC 20)
attracts their attention for long enough to exchange
a few sentences (1d6 rounds) though they drift off
again into self-pitying monologue after this.
Moaning Forest (CR 3): This common phenomenon
occurs when multiple soul-trees are situated in the
same area. They continually groan, cry and howl
about how much they regret wasting their lives
and how they would do it all right this time if only
someone would give them another chance. This
torrent of abject misery eventually wears down the
spirits of those who are forced to listen to it. After the
first ten minutes of exposure, creatures in a moaning
forest must make a Will saving throw (DC 15) or
become dispirited, suffering a –2 morale penalty to
all attack rolls, damage rolls, ability checks and skill
checks. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect. A bard
can oppose this effect with his Countersong ability.
Fiends, hellreavers, travesties and creatures native to
Hell are immune to the effects of moaning forest; they
have heard it all before.
Nightmare Forest (CR 7): The deepest, thickest
forests of Hell are nightmare forests. In these, the
boughs of the trees are closely set together, sometimes
offering no more than ten feet of space between one
charred black trunk and the next. Creatures moving
through these regions have their speed reduced by
50%, as the twisted roots slow down progress. The
intertwined branches that arch overhead block out
most of the light from Hell’s flaming sky. Natural
illumination inside the forest is shadowy.
Nightmare forests accumulate the pain and terror
of Hell, storing it up within their ancient trees and
inflicting it upon those who are unwise enough to
walk under their branches. The trees have a form of
hive mind, which gives the whole forest an overall
Intelligence of 16. Its alignment is neutral evil.
Nightmare forests are favourite haunts of lesser
incubi, who go there to whisper to the trees of the evil
dreams they have sent to mortals.
Simply entering nightmare forest is harrowing, as
the trees seem to have deformed human faces and to
move stealthily when at the periphery of vision. A
creature entering the forest must make a Will saving
throw (DC 20) or be shaken; those who fail their
saving throws by more than 10 are frightened. A
character who makes his Will saving throw does not
need to save again for 24 hours. Animals will not
willingly enter nightmare forest and a Handle Animal
check (DC 25) is needed to persuade them to do so.
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Fiends, hellreavers and travesties are immune to the
effects of nightmare forest.
Once inside a nightmare forest, the trees assail you
with hallucinations and dark visions. The following
powers are possessed by the forest entity:
† Any creature coming within five feet of a tree
within the nightmare forest, or touching one,
is immediately subject to a fear effect as if
produced by a 12th level caster. The creature
must make a Will saving throw (DC 17); if
the creature touched the tree, the saving throw
increases to DC 19. Only the creature that
moved close to the tree is subject to this effect.
Panicked creatures attempt to flee the forest;
if they become lost or their way is blocked,
they cower.
† The forest can generate one phantasmal
killer per hour, which it sends against the
creature it considers most likely to succumb.
Dead creatures contribute their own pain and
terror to the nightmare forest, which greedily
consumes them as the body of the creature
rots. The phantasmal killer is produced as if
by a 12th level caster and has a DC 17 saving
throw, which is Intelligence-based. The forest
can use any of its trees as a source point for
the spell. This is a supernatural ability of the
forest.
† Any creature that sleeps in nightmare forest is
automatically subject to a nightmare effect, as
if produced by a 12th level caster; the saving
throw DC is 18 and is Intelligence-based. This
is also a supernatural ability of the forest.
Charnel Points
A charnel point is a region of Hell into which the
necropolises, mass graves and slaughtering grounds
of other planes constantly empty. The result is a
constant rain of bones, skulls and lumps of decaying
flesh, falling sometimes in individual dribs and drabs
as if someone were tossing them out of a window high
above, sometimes falling in a torrent, like a collection
of wagons full of mouldy corpses simultaneously
empting their contents.
Why this constant fall of dead matter should happen
is not known. Scholars of planar dynamics have
postulated that temporary gateways into Hell (see
Gateways) are created spontaneously whenever vast
amounts of anonymous remains are collected in
the same place. It is certainly a notable feature of
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
charnel points that there is never anything found to
distinguish who the original owners of the skeletal
remains were. Some even think that they were never
real people at all, but only soulless bodies fabricated
by some insane and unstopping magical process.
The remains are always human or humanoid, which
lends some credence to this admittedly unpopular
theory. The most likely explanation is that this is
the waste disposal system for some immense and as
yet undiscovered civilization, which deals with the
problem of cadaver disposal by emptying its dead
directly into Hell.
The remains fall into a circular area that is 10d10
feet across. The size and height of the heap beneath
depends on how long the remains have been falling
without being cleared away.
Charnel Heaps And Pits: Beneath the charnel
points, immense piles of carrion build up, ranging
in size from one hundred feet to half a mile across.
The devils take these away in carts and empty
them into pits, to prevent the piles from growing to
unmanageable levels. House Haimon of the noble
devils has a special interest in these pits, as they
supply the raw materials for their undead hordes.
Movement In Charnel Regions: Simply crossing a
charnel region is difficult, as the mounds of dead act
as an obstruction. The outer periphery of a charnel
region, where the layer of bones and skulls is not
so thick, does not impede movement but makes it
harder to make quick, nimble actions. The DC of
any Balance and Tumble checks increases by 2. The
inner region is much more heavily congested. It costs
2 squares of movement to enter a square of charnel
region proper. The DC of any Balance and Tumble
checks increases by 5 and the DC of Move Silently
checks increases by 2.
Baneflies: Any character travelling over a charnel
point or trying to climb up the side of one is risking
infection from disease and attack from swarms of
baneflies. Banefly swarms are content to gorge
themselves on the remains of the dead until a more
tempting target presents itself. If a living creature
approaches the settled swarm to within 30 feet, the
swarm will rise and attack it.
Disease: The disease that breeds in charnel heaps
and pits is called ‘ghoul’s mist’, has an incubation
period of 1d3 days, a Fortitude saving throw DC of 15
and deals 1d2 Strength damage. A creature reduced
to 50% of its original Strength by this disease also
suffers blindness; its eyes mist over with cataracts,
giving it a blank-eyed, zombie-like appearance.
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Curing the disease also cures the blindness, though
the blindness can be cured separately.
Stench: The smell that comes from millions of tons
of liquefying putrescent remains is simply impossible
to describe. A creature coming within 100 feet of
a charnel heap or pit must make a Fortitude saving
throw (DC 20) or be nauseated for as long as it
remains in the area and 1d4 rounds after. Creatures
that actually move into the charnel pit or heap must
make the same saving throw (DC 30). Creatures that
are immune to poison are immune to the stench effect
and creatures with bonuses to saving throws against
poison may apply them here.
Instability: The sides of charnel heaps can be
climbed, though they are unstable and the climber
may provoke an avalanche of rotten debris. Scraps
and fragments of bodies are constantly tumbling down
the sides of the heap and can knock a climber to his
doom. A creature may climb during a light fall (see
below) with no penalties. During a medium or heavy
fall, the creature must make two Balance checks (DC
20) and (DC 25) respectively in order to maintain its
footing. A creature that fails is knocked prone, while
a creature that fails by 5 or more must also make a
Reflex saving throw (DC 15) or be buried. A buried
character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per
minute. If he falls unconscious, he must make a
Constitution check (DC 20) or take 1d6 points of
lethal damage on every following round, until he is
either freed or dies.
Impact Danger: This hazard only applies in the
central fall zone, the circular area into which the
remains fall. Creatures in this region are at risk of
being struck by debris. The danger of a charnel point
depends on how heavy the fall is at a given time. At
any given hour, the fall of human remains is 60%
likely to be light, 30% likely to be moderate and 10%
likely to be heavy.
Light Fall: Most of the dead matter that falls is
small enough to be harmless on impact, such as bony
fingers, scraps of withered skin or tufts of hair. The
easiest way to simulate the fall of heavier matter
is to assume that any one 30-foot by 30-foot area
suffers an attack from a falling heavy object, such
as a detached head or pelvis, once every 10 rounds.
Determine randomly which character in the area is
struck; the object attacks at +15 melee and deals 2d6
bludgeoning damage.
Medium Fall: Visibility within the area is reduced to
40 feet, on account of the fall of corpse fragments.
Background noise means that Listen checks within

the area are subject to a –2 penalty. Heavy objects
fall as above but the frequency is increased to once
every 3 rounds, rather than once every 10.
Heavy Fall: Visibility is reduced to 20 feet. The
noise of falling bones is so deafening that all Listen
skill checks are made at a –4 penalty. 1d3 heavy
objects fall into each 30-foot by 30-foot area every
round.
Shifting Land
The patches of terrain known as shifting land have a
shimmering, hazy look to them, as if the whole area
were directly above a powerful heat source. Any
creature in the area is automatically subject to a blur
effect as if produced by a 12th level caster, with a Will
saving throw (DC 12) for those who wish to resist
the effect. These regions are patches of inconstant
reality, minor wormholes in the fabric of Hell, though
they do not lead outside the plane. Those who are
strong-willed enough to employ them use them as
natural transport devices.
Any creature that stands in shifting land and strongly
visualises a specific destination in Hell has a 1 in 4
chance on each round of continued concentration
of being transported there as if by a greater teleport
effect, as produced by a 12th level caster, with a Will
saving throw (DC 20) if the creature is attempting
to resist the effect for whatever reason. Note that
a damned soul or other creature that has been fitted
with a manacle of binding metal cannot use shifting
land to teleport itself. To visualise the destination
with the required strength, the creature must take a
standard action to make a Charisma check (DC 20).
Once the check succeeds, the creature only needs to
sustain concentration, which will of course require
Concentration skill checks if distractions should
occur.
Rock Plains
The most rugged terrain on Hell’s surface is the vast
acreage of blood-coloured rock that covers so much
of the landscape. This is higher up than the desert
and the flaming sea; from afar, a rock plain looks
like a raised plateau. This is the result of ancient
lava pouring up through the surface, cooling down
and setting, then lying undisturbed for years. There
is nothing soft or yielding found anywhere on it.
No plant life grows and the region is more desolate
even than the deserts. The only characterising
feature of a rock plain is whether it is even, uneven
or unstable. There is no precipitation in Hell (apart
from occasional acid rain) so the rock formations are
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INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
always sharp, jagged and sudden. Rivers of lava can
sometimes be found flowing through these areas.
Gaining access to a rock plain necessitates climbing
up the sides, which are craggy and mountainous.
Refer to the mountain terrain guide in Core Rulebook
II. Once the plateau is reached, the terrain is very
much smoother, except for the broken places.
Even Rock Plain: This surface bestows no penalties
to movement at all. A creature can make very good
headway across a surface like this, apart from the
total lack of drinking water, food or shelter.
Uneven Rock Plain: Where the underlying ground
of Hell has shifted, the rocks above split and shear
without any warning. This means that a traveller
moving across a rock plain can find that a flat,
unremarkable area suddenly becomes a crevasse
thousands of feet deep, or rises up as a cliff hundreds
of feet high. There is no gentle progression from a
flat surface to a vertical one. Climbing a vertical
surface of hellstone requires a Climb check (DC 25),
as the stone splits smoothly, leaving precious few
handholds or footholds.
When chasms are encountered, the bottom of the
plunge is usually rock; even a deep chasm in a
stable area is not likely to split all the way through
to an active lava flow, though this does occasionally
happen. There is a 1 in 10 chance for any given
chasm to have lava at its base.
Rock Pillar: Very rarely, an uneven rock plain
cracks in such a way as to leave a single pillar of rock
in the centre of a huge open chasm. These pillars
are typically 1d8x100 feet across, with the chasms
around them 1d4x200 feet across and 1d6x500 feet
deep. As in the case of the chasms detailed above,
there is a chance that they will have molten lava at
the very base. The sides of the pillar are every bit
as sheer and forbidding as any other hellstone cliff,
requiring a Climb check (DC 25) to ascend.
Unstable Rock Plain (CR 4): The ground in this
area is cut through with cracks, ranging from one
inch to five feet wide, which divide up the ground
into rough sections approximately five feet across.
The area looks like crazy paving, or like a dried-out
riverbed. From beneath, a deep groaning can be
heard as the land rearranges itself. Once per hour,
the region is subject to an earthquake effect, during
which the cracks that are already in the ground
widen and swallow up creatures. Saving throws to
resist the earthquake effects are detailed in the spells
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
description in Core Rulebook I.
Rock Bubbles (CR 2): Some parts of the rock plain
contain huge bubbles of pressurised gas, trapped
in the rock as it cooled from its molten state. The
caves left behind when these bubbles explode are
small spherical shelters between five and twenty feet
across. These make natural lairs for any creature
sufficiently hardy to nest on a rock plain.
Travellers may sometimes encounter unexploded
rock bubbles. A Spot or Survival skill check (DC 30)
is needed to notice the slightly translucent surface of
a rock bubble. Creatures with the stonecutting ability
gain a +2 racial bonus to such checks. These bubbles
can be broken open by dealing sufficient damage to
the rock to crack the surface; assume that there are
2d4 inches of rock to break through. Hellstone has
equivalent hardness and hit points per square inch
to granite. Breaking open a rock bubble causes
an explosion of gas and rock shards that deals 2d6
damage to all creatures within 10 feet of the rupture
point. If there is a naked flame in this region, the gas
also ignites, dealing an additional 2d6 fire damage to
affected creatures. A Reflex saving throw (DC 15) is
allowed to take half damage.
The interiors of rock bubbles are covered with
crystalline deposits that glitter blackly when light
is shed upon them. Some of these deposits are
large enough to be counted as gems. Each bubble
yields 2d6 gemstones; these are worth 2d4x100 gold
pieces each and have the curious innate property
of amplifying light. If a gemstone is ground down
into a lens, which is a Craft (jeweller) (DC 25) task,
then a creature looking through it gains low-light
vision. Demons use these lenses to make the eyes of
retrievers and other hellish constructs. The gemstones
are referred to as ‘spider baubles’ for this reason.
Isolated Fortress: Some of the fiends find the
desolation of the great rock plains entirely to their
taste. The excellent visibility and defensibility
makes the rock an ideal place to build a stronghold.
A fortress on the rock plain is always on a stable
region and has nothing in the surrounding area to
announce its presence; travellers come across these
fortifications completely without warning. Pit fiends
are especially fond of castles built on rock pillars, for
which see above.
Hellstone Quarries: The edges of the great rock
plains are used as a source of building material by
the fiends, who set up quarries that also function as
toiling fields (see The Harvest of Souls) thus ensuring
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supplies of building material and Strain. These
places are desolate slave-pits too far from the centres
of fiendish civilisation to attract much attention. A
typical quarry contains 1d4x1,000 damned souls,
who are used as beasts of burden, carting the slabs
back to the estate of the devil or demon that owns the
quarry. Since the damned lack the ability to damage
anything in Hell, the actual quarrying is done by a
host of lemures (usually numbering 1d3x100) under
the supervision of a gang of bearded devils numbering
one quarter of that amount, with a single ice devil in
overall command.
Devils detest being consigned to the quarries. It is
weary, tedious, dull work. There is a 3 in 4 chance
that the devils in a given work or supervision gang
will be listless and apathetic, with a –2 morale penalty
on Spot, Listen and Initiative checks. However, if a
distraction is found (such as a strayed traveller) the
entire camp will hasten to find out what is going on.
Desert Plains
The deserts of Hell are very similar to those of the
Prime Material plane, with the exception that the sand
is coarse and red. There are no oases in Hell and no
shelter from the winds that blow hither and thither,
bringing clouds of abrasive sand. The only visible
life is the occasional deformed cactus-like shape,
huddled with its fellows in the midst of the wasteland.
Those fiends who do not use a greater teleport spell-
like ability to get around use titanic stalkers (see The
Creatures Of Hell) to cross the desert, or fly if they
have the stamina for it.
Dung Mounds: One can tell when a titanic stalker
has been in the area by the immense mounds of
sulphurous dung that the creatures leave behind
them, which are usually cones 10 feet across at
the base, sometimes mistaken for dwellings by
desperate travellers lost in the desert. These mounds
are harmless in themselves but serve as a home to
fiendish vermin, who feast on intestinal parasites,
smaller insects and other nutrients found in the dung
pile. A given mound will always be home to a swarm
of some kind of fiendish vermin or a community of
larger fiendish vermin, as determined below:
Oil Pits: There is no water in Hell’s deserts but
d100 Dung Mound Contents
01–40 1d4 swarms of fiendish monstrous scorpions
(tiny)
41–70 2d4 fiendish giant bombardier beetles
71–90 2d6 fiendish monstrous centipedes (medium)
91-00 3d4 swarms of baneflies

occasionally a spreading black stain marks a point
where oils are welling up to the surface. The oil
pits are 1d6x5 feet across and reek of minerals and
industry. This oil is very similar to alchemist’s fire
and can be bottled and used to fuel lamps or as a
grenade-like weapon. It burns with an intense heat,
dealing an additional +3 points of fire damage when
used as a weapon. If an oil pit is set on fire, the plume
of thick smoke can be seen from up to twenty miles
away. The heat within the burning pit deals 6d6+3
points of fire damage upon any creature within it. A
flaming oil pit burns for 1d4 days before it becomes
exhausted.
Screaming Cactus: The things that resemble cacti
are actually damned souls condemned to the cactus
form for eternity. Travellers across the desert who
need to drink can hack at the screaming cactus to
release a torrent of blood, which causes the cactus to
scream aloud. This screaming attracts the attention of
any titanic stalkers or dust devils within a quarter of
a mile of the area.
Volcanic Land
A large amount of Hell’s surface is volcanic, especially
towards the outer islands where the demons dwell.
Volcanoes in Hell are constantly active, dribbling
flows of lava from their peaks but only rarely erupting
any further than this. Given the constant background
heat in the upper region of Hell, volcanic areas rarely
cool down enough to block off the lava flow and allow
pressure to build up sufficiently to cause an eruption.
There are two types of volcanic land in Hell: the type
where the lava flows around the rock and the type
where the rock floats on the lava. The latter case
is more common towards the heart of the volcanic
lands, as there is so much lava flowing that the only
solid land to be found is composed of floating islands
of frothstone, for which see below.
Lava Streams: Refer to Core Rulebook II for how a
stream of lava is handled in the game.
Frothstone Cluster (CR 3): Frothstone is a porous
brownish-red rock that looks similar to pumice,
formed from violent discharges of matter up from
the bed of the Infernal Sea and other places where
the molten lava beneath Hell breaks through to the
surface. It is ugly, bubbly stuff, resembling spittle
that floats on the surface of the Infernal Sea or on
lava lakes in bulbous clumps. Frothstone is extremely
light and quite fragile.
Huge islands of it drift on the Infernal Sea, some of
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INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
which are populated. Sometimes devil-ships collide
with frothstone outcrops, suffering no damage from
this (as sinew wood is much harder) and smashing
off chunks, often shattering the outcrop completely.
A collision between a ship travelling at more than
10 feet per round and a frothstone outcrop creates a
crack five feet wide in the frothstone and 10 feet long
for every 10 feet that the ship travelled in the round
prior to the collision. Ramming a frothstone outcrop
on which defendants are standing is a typical tactic
of devil-ships, as they divide up the defenders and
sometimes pitch them into the flaming sea.
Small islands of frothstone are unstable and difficult
to keep your footing on. They pitch and yaw as
creatures move around on them. A frothstone outcrop
that measures 15 feet or less across is so unstable that
it is dangerous to those creatures that are standing on
it. So long as no creature moves in any given round,
the platform is steady. As soon as a creature moves,
even so much as a five-foot step, all creatures on the
outcrop must make a Balance check (DC 10) or fall
prone. Islands of frothstone 10 feet across or smaller
require a Balance check (DC 15), while islands 5 feet
across require a more difficult Balance check (DC
20). Any creature adjacent to the edge of the outcrop
that fails its Balance check must make a Reflex saving
throw (DC 25) or fall into the flaming sea, lava lake or
whatever else the frothstone is floating on.
When there is a current in the liquid beneath the
frothstone, it can coast along like a lily pad on a
river, taking creatures with it. Typical currents are
the flow downhill of lava streams and the waves on
the Flaming Sea that wash inwards. The frothstone
chunk moves in the flow direction at its set speed.
Creatures standing on moving frothstone pieces must
make Balance checks as above to keep their footing.
Typical current flow speeds are 2d4x10 feet for a
wave washing in from the Flaming Sea and 1d4x10
feet for a lava flow.
Some of the noble devils have chunks of frothstone
shaped into long, flat ovals – a Craft (stonemason) or
Craft (sculptor) (DC 18) task – which can then be used
as surfboards. The practice of surfing on the Flaming
Sea is long established among those devils that are
resistant or immune to fire damage. A creature using
a frothstone board gains a +2 circumstance bonus to
its Balance skill check when trying to keep its footing,
because of the streamlined shape of the board.
Lava Tongues (CR 12): Some of the fire-spouting
mountains of Hell are not volcanoes in the
conventional sense; they may vomit molten rock
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
and sulphurous fumes, but the flames in their guts
are unnatural hellfire. These flames do not merely
rise and fall as the mountains erupt and go dormant
– instead, the flames worm their way through and
around the peaks like serpents of living flame. These
vast tongues of lava can be up to ten miles long,
slowly crawling and writhing around the fringes of
the Infernum.
A lava tongue is not a monster and cannot be fought
using conventional means; it is hateful fire animated
by a malignant, hellish will. It moves at a rate of
100 feet per round and is 1d20x10 feet wide. Any
character caught in the flow takes 10d6 fire damage
per round and must make a Swim check (DC 25)
or be dragged under. All metal is affected by heat
metal.
Sulphurous Vents
The surface of Hell is pitted in many places with
vents like huge acne scars. These are the openings of
tunnels, 1d4x5 feet across, which run deep down to
the gurgling bowels of Hell. The vents periodically
emit sulphurous fumes that drift into the atmosphere
and form clouds of yellow-green gas, drifting at a
much lower level than the fireclouds. These gas
clouds unleash acidic rain at periodic intervals, for
which see below.
When a sulphurous vent emits gas, there is a pause of
1d12 rounds before it does so again. The gas cloud
is identical to that produced by an acid fog spell,
with the exception that the cloud is mobile. Since
it is lighter than the airs of Hell, it moves constantly
upwards at a rate of 30 feet per round. Gas that is
prevented from escaping accumulates, adding cloud
after cloud to the amount of space filled.
Boiling Mud (CR 4): Close to the swamps of Hell,
flat plains of boiling mud can sometimes be found.
These are grey, greasy-looking, smooth surfaces that
constantly simmer, with slow bubbles of gas pushing
up through the slime and bursting. A creature
unfortunate enough to be dunked into the boiling
mud suffers 1d6 fire damage every round from the
sheer heat of the sludge. In addition, it is much harder
to swim in thick mud than in water. All Swim checks
made to escape boiling mud suffer a –4 circumstance
penalty. Once a creature emerges from the mud, it
cakes to him, resulting in a –1 penalty to Dexterity-
based skill checks and ability checks until the mud
has been washed off or twelve hours have passed,
whichever is sooner.
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Marshland
Hell’s marshes, otherwise called ‘fire swamps’, are
thick with methane and so tangled and overgrown
as to be practically impossible to navigate through.
Even the devils do not choose to live there voluntarily.
Only a few fugitive souls, fiendish will-o-wisps and
the occasional hellspitter call the marshes home.
Marsh Fever: If a creature’s flesh comes into
contact with the swampy mess underfoot, or a limb
formed spontaneously from the marsh successfully
hits a creature, it is exposed to marsh fever. This
is a supernatural disease, with a Fortitude saving
throw (DC 18), an incubation period of 1 minute and
damage of 1d6 Constitution and 1d6 Intelligence.
Unlike normal diseases, marsh fever continues to
eat away at the victim’s body until he reaches zero
Constitution and dies or is cured as described below.
Like other supernatural diseases, marsh fever is in fact
a form of curse and not a natural disease. A character
attempting to cast any conjuration (healing) spell on
a creature afflicted with marsh fever must succeed on
a DC 20 caster level check, or the spell has no effect
on the afflicted character. To eliminate the disease,
the curse must first be broken with break enchantment
or remove curse, which require a DC 20 caster level
check for either spell. After this point, a caster level
check is no longer necessary to cast healing spells on
the victim and the marsh fever can be cured magically,
just as with any normal disease. A creature that dies
of marsh fever dissolves into stinking filth that joins
the rest of the morass around it.
Memory Pools: The pools of iridescent scum that
build up in the marshes of Hell have one peculiar
property, which brings dedicated scholars across the
planes when they need to find out secrets that have
been erased from all other records in the universe.
Owing to some bizarre system of circulation that
is not fully understood, the marshes are the final
repository of those memories that wash away in the
mind-erasing waters of Nepenthe. They also hold the
remains of the consciousness of all those who perish
from marsh fever.
By gazing into the pools and making an Intelligence
check (DC 30), a seeker can access any fact that was
ever known by a damned soul and forgotten after it
drank from Nepenthe. One check can be made per
ten minutes. The pools are not without danger, as the
swirls and colours are bewitching. A creature that
successfully accesses a forgotten fact by means of
the pool must immediately make a Will saving throw
(DC 25) or become transfixed, gazing wistfully into

the depths. He can take no actions, nor can he defend
himself. This is a supernatural mind-affecting ability
of the marshes.
Fire Spouts (CR 2): Some of the fire swamp
territory is subject to spouts of ignited marsh gas.
These areas are 5 to 10 feet across. Stepping on the
spouting ground of the fire swamp is likely to cause a
sputtering rush of flame to shoot upwards. The first
creature to enter one of these areas is subject to a fire
spout, which deals 4d6 fire damage, with a Reflex
saving throw (DC 15) allowed for half damage. After
the spout has gone off, the area does not emit another
for 1d6 rounds. When another fire jet is ready to
go off, the first creature to move within the area is
subjected to the fire jet.
Mountains
Hell’s mountains are, without exception, craggy,
forbidding and jagged. There are no soft contours
and fierce winds howl around their peaks. Most of
these mountains are unremarkable; the forbidding
mountain territory entry in Core Rulebook II is
adequate for them. There are, however, some specific
subtypes of mountain in Hell, detailed below. The
largest of Hell’s mountains, Mount Zeberrok, is in
fact something quite different and has its own entry.
Gatehouses: These towers are located near portals
and mountain passes. They are found both in the
demonic and the devilish regions of Hell. A fiendish
lord of at least bebelith status rules each gatehouse,
although glabrezu, mariliths, barbed devils and
cornugons are more common. By ancient compact,
these gate lords are sworn not to destroy travellers
on sight but instead must grant them an audience.
A traveller can negotiate for the protection of such a
gate lord and for the service of a guide to the lower
reaches. The minimum fee for such aid is at least
500gp per level per traveller; this figure is doubled
for good characters and tripled for paladins or good
clerics.
At the top of each gatehouse is a great cage containing
a single damned soul, set alight using demonic
magic. In its agonies, the soul is warped to the size
of a giant, and appears as a burning skeleton of white
light. The soul is horribly sensitive to any form of
planar travel other than the innate plane shift or gate
ability of certain fiends, so any arriving travellers
cause the soul unbearable agony. This behaves like a
locate portal with a range of thirteen miles from the
gatehouse. The soul projects a beam of burning light
that acts like a faerie fire outlining the travellers for
1d10 minutes.
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Hobbyl Cells: A multitude of souls are placed in
hobbyl cells within the Mountains of Hell. A hobbyl
cell is a tiny chamber hollowed out of the rock, barred
at the front with a grille. These cells are used for
the particular type of torture called Little Ease; see
The Harvest Of Souls. Travellers walking on the
mountain paths are assailed by pleas from the souls
held captive; they clutch at their bars and beg to be
let out. If any creature is foolish enough to try, the
grilles are made from steel or binding metal and can
be wrenched off with a Strength check (DC 25). A
region with hobbyl cells is always patrolled by 1d4
bearded devils or 1d4 erinyes, charged with the task
of making sure that the grilles are not wrenched off.
Needle Peaks: A needle peak is a mountaintop with
extrusions so sheer and pointed that each one is like
a spear or knifepoint. The mountain range called the
Cinderstone Heights rises to a multitude of needle
peaks. Assume that out of each block of four squares
in a needle peak region, one is the peak itself.
When a creature (such as a plummeting soul) falls
on to one of these, it must make a Reflex saving
throw (DC 15) or be impaled. It suffers 8d6 piercing
damage (as well as any accumulated falling damage)
and is pinned in place, helpless. It may attempt a
Strength check (DC 25) each round to pull itself off
the spike. The most likely creatures to be impaled
on the peaks are falling souls, who tumble from the
sky all the time. Flying devils often throw opponents
down on to the peaks to finish them off.
The Game Of Shish: The erinyes, with their cruel
sense of humour, have developed a game to relieve
the monotony of Hell. The object is to grab a creature
from the ground below (it does not matter what, so
long as it wriggles and screams) and drop it so that
it is impaled squarely on a needle peak. When the
erinyes (or any other flying creature) drops a creature
with the express intent of landing it on a target such
as this, it may add its ranged attack bonus to the DC
of the creature’s Reflex saving throw to avoid being
impaled. There is thus a major element of skill to the
‘game’.
The Mountains of Sin: These are immense mounds,
formed not from solid rock but from uncountable
millions of stones piled on one another. It is said that
every sinful act adds a pebble to these mountains; if
true, then hope is fading fast, for these mountains
are taller than any natural range. Each mountain
represents a different sin, from the foothills of
Falseness and Deceit to the vast peaks of Atrocity
and Murder. Each mountain has a ruler aligned to
its particular misdeed; succubae flock around the
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
mountains of Lust and Illicit Desire, balors stalk the
slopes of Wrath, hezrou and dragons dwell in the
peaks of Greed.
These mountains are aware of their natures; if an
extraplanar creature commits the relevant sin while
standing on the appropriate mountain, the mountain
tries to claim him. He gains double the normal
amount of corruption for the sin; see the Corruption
chapter for details. In addition, the character must
make a Will saving throw (DC 23) or be struck by
an imprisonment spell as the mountain tries to absorb
him. The DC of the imprisonment spell is raised by 1
for every level of corruption that the sinning creature
has.
Mount Zeberrok
This mountain dominates the skyline of Hell and
lies at the centre of the main continent. It is an
unimaginably vast peak, thousands of miles across
at the base, with something oddly artificial about
its outlines. It looks more like a steep dome than a
mountain. If travellers draw near enough to examine
it, they find that it is made entirely out of dark,
tarnished metal, though it has layers of encrusted
sand and filth lying over it. The images of screaming
angels, barely recognisable after millions of years,
can be discerned in some portions of the mountain’s
face. Mount Zeberrok is in fact the topmost part of
the hilt of a sword built to a scale that only Gods
can comprehend, hurled down from Heaven as the
final gesture in the original war between the planes,
shearing through the upper layers of Hell and pinning
the whole Infernum down, keeping it in place.
Mount Zeberrok radiates a faint aura of good. The
fiends cannot damage it – no matter how hard they try.
It has not been damaged by the uncounted centuries
that it has spent here, only veiled by the grime and
dust that has been heaped upon it and the filth spat
and hurled at it by the fiends who loathed it and all
that it stood for. Chipping or rubbing at the surface of
Zeberrok reveals bright shining metal beneath, which
nothing at all can damage.
According to one of the Apocalypse Texts, the
final days will begin when the promised avatar, the
chosen one of Hell referred to as the Avenger, arises
and claims the sword Zeberrok for his own. When
that day comes, so the story goes, the Avenger will
seize all the power that lies in mighty Zeberrok and
profane it to the cause of evil. The Avenger, grown
to the stature of a god, will draw forth Zeberrok and
Hell, no longer impaled, will ascend the planes once
more (bringing the crumbling remains of the Prime
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Material plane with it on its upward path) until Hell
and Heaven are once more in proximity. Zeberrok
will be wielded against the heavenly hosts that first
created it and they will fall in their millions. This is
a popular legend amongst the fiends, though nobody
who has seen the immensity that is Zeberrok would
believe that a single being could ever lift it.
Fiends suffer mild discomfort in the presence of
Mount Zeberrok, but nothing worse. Good-aligned
characters in Hell sometimes foolishly attempt to
seek sanctuary on its slopes, only to find that the
fiends have become acclimatized to it over the
centuries. Aside from holding Hell down and playing
a part in certain prophecies, it has no other effect.
The Four Rivers
From the base of Mount Zeberrok flow four eternal
rivers, detailed below. These rivers burst forth when
the plane of Hell was first struck by the descending
blade of Zeberrok and have been flowing ever since.
Each river is half a mile across.
Echtum, The River Of Filth: Echtum is a
manifestation of the corruption of Hell, the turgid
foulness that rises from its diseased heart. It is
a sluggish flow of a substance that seems to be
composed mostly of raw sewage, with lakes and
rivulets of more watery effluvia passing over the
surface. It can be smelled from thirty miles away
and the constant haze of baneflies hovering above it
resembles a thick black cloud. Swarms of fiendish
rats nest on its banks and fiendish otyughs immerse
themselves in the muck, waiting for prey.
The slurry of Echtum has several supernatural
qualities. It transmits a potent strain of marsh fever
(see above) with a DC of 25 for the Fortitude saving
throw, although victims of this strain do not dissolve
into marshy putrescence when they die. Vermin that
nest in or near it are fortified, slowly increasing their
hit points until they are at the maximum allowable
for the creature’s Hit Dice. The stench of Echtum is
equivalent to that of a charnel heap (see above) but
with the additional quality that it transfers itself to
non-evil creatures that come into contact with it. If a
non-evil creature is besmeared with Echtum’s sludge,
it must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 25) or be
cursed with foul stench.
A creature coming within 30 feet of a stench-cursed
person must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC
20) or be nauseated for as long as it remains in the
area and for 1d4 rounds after. Objects can also
be befouled in this way. Finally, the mess has the
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

power to desecrate. None but the powers

of evil will grant divine magic to one who
has been marred by Echtum. Those who
are cursed with stench are also unable
to receive divine spells from non-evil
deities. A creature attempting to cast a
divine spell without an evil descriptor on
a stench-cursed person must first succeed
in a caster level check (DC 30). The curse
can be removed by a break enchantment or
remove curse spell, which necessitates a
prior caster level check as usual.

Evil creatures that are immersed in Echtum

gain the foul stench power described above
(as a supernatural ability rather than a
curse) for one week, after which it fades.
Before going into battle, some of the demon
legions will hold ‘baptisms’ in which
honoured members are washed in Echtum’s
filth. According to one legend, the vrocks
were originally the fiendish vultures that
waited by the banks of Echtum to eat the
bodies of those who died from disease and
eventually evolved into stinking demons in
their own right.

The matter that flows in Echtum loses its

properties within a week if brought away
from the river and becomes nothing more
than ordinary filth. If it is transported and
stored in vessels of solid gold (costing at
least 500 gold pieces per pint of ooze) then
it keeps its properties indefinitely. House
Glabretch of the noble devils views the
river Echtum as sacred and has several
great cities established on its banks. These
sell golden bottles of the potent sludge to Glabretch
pilgrims, who take them home and reverently rub
their contents over themselves.
Nepenthe, The River Of Forgetfulness: The waters
of the river Nepenthe, which are about the only true
moisture to be found anywhere within Hell, are
deep, black and cold. A haze of positive darkness
hangs over the river’s surface, preventing any greater
illumination than shadowy light. A creature looking
into the waters finds that he casts no reflection. Along
the shores of the river, gloom devils and slugs of
inanity lurk; see The Creatures of Hell for these.
Drinking from the river erases all of the drinker’s
memories, permanently and forever. A Will saving
throw (DC 30) is allowed to resist this effect. The
waters of Nepenthe lose their memory-erasing power
if they are brought from the river in any vessel other
than one made of pure black onyx, the only substance
that can preserve the virtue of the waters. Such a
vessel costs a minimum of 400 gold pieces to make.
The only magic that can restore lost memories is a
wish or miracle. Even then, the creature is allowed
to reject the return of its memories if it does not
want them back. Once a creature has drunk from
Nepenthe, it can prevent the memories of its previous
life from ever returning to it.
Neben-kra, The River Of Innocent Blood: Neben-
Kra flows like a tumultuous flood, since its high
banks contain all of the innocent blood that Hell’s
minions have ever spilled or caused to be spilled in
the other planes. Its banks are liberally covered with
the red roses of Hell and occasionally with one of the
much scarcer black rose bushes. See The Creatures
Of Hell. These bushes are found elsewhere in Hell,
such as in stately gardens cultivated by briar devils
and in the depths of infernal forests, but never in such

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profusion as they are found here. Rose vampires,
the victims of the roses’ insatiable hunger, attend the
bushes, fetching up bucketfuls of innocent blood and
dousing the rose bushes with it.
Evil-aligned creatures can draw upon the power of
the innocent blood to heal themselves. The blood
of the corrupt is common enough stuff but the blood
of innocents has a sweet and nutritious purity to it.
Drinking or applying a pint of Neben-Kra’s unending
stream of blood heals 1d8 hit points of damage, while
complete immersion in Neben-Kra heals 4d8 hit
points and 1 point of ability score damage per round
of immersion. The powerful healing properties of
the river, together with the aesthetic appeal of the
red and black roses, has led the noble devil families
to establish holiday villas and healing spas along
Neben-Kra’s banks. Only the intercessory power of
the briar devils has made this possible.
Neben-Kra is also the site of many infernal military
hospitals. There is no sentiment in Hell; the
wounded are left to rot and such pathetic creatures
as the lemures are used up in their thousands without
anyone sparing them a thought. However, the higher-
ranking devils have their privileges, one of which is
access to the healing blood flow of this river.
Tatsumo, The River Of Molten Steel: Tatsumo
is a white-hot flow, bathed in sizzling steam, with a
rippling scum of metal dross bubbling on its surface.
It is not obvious what its origin is but the planar
trauma caused by the impact of Zeberrok possibly
broke open a rift into some primordial plane of
metals. Whatever the truth of the matter, Tatsumo
boils and hisses its way across the derelict plains of
Hell and ultimately into the Flaming Sea. It loses
none of its heat on the way. Only when Tatsumo’s
molten flow is brought away from the river does it
have the chance to cool down at all.
Falling into Tatsumo is likely to spell instant death for
any creature that does not have protection against fire
damage. Any character caught in the flow takes 16d6
fire damage per round and must make a Swim check
(DC 25) or be dragged under. All metal is affected
by heat metal.
Tatsumo is the source for the vast majority of metal
used in Hell. Its banks are clustered with industrial
buildings in which chain devils and bearded devils
haul gigantic crucibles of liquid metal up from
the river and pour them out into moulds. Almost
everything metallic in the devils’ part of Hell, from
the arrowheads used by the erinyes to the chain
devils’ eponymous chains began its life as a molten
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mass lifted out of Tastumo. Diabolical industry is
swift and efficient, as the raw materials start out in
a molten state and do not need to be dug from the
ground and melted down.
The demons do not have access to Tastumo as it is
devil territory and must instead resort to such molten
metal wells as they have in their tunnels and caves,
for which see below. This is the reason why devils
are much more likely to use manufactured weapons,
while demons use natural weapons like claws and
bites. The exceptions to this are the powerful balors
and mariliths, who are at the top of the demonic
pecking order and get whatever they want.
The Boundary Wardens
Between the largest of the devils’ territories and
that of the demons lies an immense plain, called
‘Mugarri’ in the local dialect. This has been the site
of battle after battle between the armies of the fiends;
there are horned skulls deep beneath the soil here
whose owners were among the first to fall from the
Firmament.
Across this no-man’s-land stride huge figures like
walking mountains. Certain ancient gods, now
long forgotten, placed these there. They are neither
combatants nor hostile to either demons or devils.
Instead, they serve as watchers, alerting each side
to the presence of the other. If a force of fiends
numbering more than a hundred comes within fifty
miles of the borders of Mugarri, the wardens’ notice
and begin to cry out a warning. This makes sure that
whenever a force of devils sets forth, the demons have
plenty of time to meet it and vice versa.
T he Cha s m o f U n g a r a u n
This chasm is the largest demon-populated land
feature on the surface of Hell. It resembles a
cross between the Grand Canyon and a work by
Heironymous Bosch. Ten miles long, a mile across
and so deep as to seem bottomless; the chasm is
home to several billion demons. The population and
the activity in each area of the chasm vary according
to how close to the surface one is.
The chasm is roughly divided into seven levels.
Three of these are accessible from the sides of the
chasm; the remaining four can only be reached from
above. The huge gulf in the chasm’s centre is also
populated, with winged demons passing across from
side to side like flocks of birds. At the centre of the
gulf hangs a monstrous globe, held there by a web of

titanic chains secured to anchor points in the walls of
the abyss. This is called the Eye of Havoc and is the
central defensive emplacement for the whole chasm.
Beneath it, the chasm is filled with steam and smoke
from the constant toil that goes on in the industrial
levels.
The sound of the place is indescribable, a constant
din of ringing metal, roaring wind, hissing steam and
cackling laughter. Even so, sometimes a groan will
echo up from the chasm that is loud enough to drown
out the other sounds for a moment; shortly thereafter,
a gout of white steam wells up from the chasm’s
depths.
The demons like steep vertical environments, as their
best medium infantry (the vrocks) are accustomed to
attack on the wing. The chasm is therefore home to
more vrocks than any other type of demon, which fills
every chamber and tunnel with their characteristic
stink. Anyone who has faced vrocks before can tell
that there are vast numbers of them here.
Balconies: The vertical sides of the chasm have
innumerable balconies built into them. These are
the standard means of egress into the tunnels beyond.
The balconies are little more than crude stone ledges
that sink into the wall of the chasm to a depth of one
foot, beneath strong metal doors that open from the
inside. There is always an overhang above the door
as well as a ledge below it. This overhang has holes
in, so that the demons can dump corrosives and cast
spells on creatures trying to get in.
Arrow slits on either side of the door allow the demons
within to make sure that none but their own number
is able to get inside. A flying creature can land on
the balcony and remain there without a problem,
while it waits for the door to be opened. Flightless
creatures find the balconies much more precarious.
The Balance check DC to move along one or keep
your footing while attacked is 10. The demons keep
plenty of oil in reserve to coat the balcony and make
it slippery.
Vrock Domes: The vrock dome is a standard
demonic defensive emplacement. It is a worked
stone dome like an igloo, twenty feet across and with
metal vents around the outside. The dome is entered
from beneath, never from without. Inside the dome,
a central metal pole is topped with a metal basket like
a crow’s nest from a ship. Within reach of this basket
is a large windlass and a lever, attached to a set of
chains, usually taken from defeated chain devils, that
are attached in turn to the lids of the metal vents and
to a counterweight.
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When in use, three vrocks use the dome to perform
their dance of ruin, while a fourth demon occupies
the crow’s nest, using the windlass to haul up the
counterweight. On the concluding round of the
dance, the fourth demon pulls the lever, which
releases the counterweight and causes the vents to fly
open, thus allowing the energy produced by the dance
to explode out from the dome. The vents slam shut
again immediately afterwards. The counterweight
can then be winched back up again and a new dance
begun. Obviously, for this to work, the demons must
all take their actions on the same initiative count.
This arrangement is far more effective than a dance of
ruin performed in the open, as there is very little that
can be done to prevent the vrocks from finishing their
dance and unleashing the blast. There is only one
major drawback. Since the energy released is slightly
dissipated by the intervening structure between the
vents, all Reflex saving throws to take half damage
from the energy are made at a +2 circumstance bonus.
The intervening stone framework is wide enough to
completely shelter a creature of Tiny or smaller size,
if it pressed itself right up against the wall of the
dome.
There are other ways in which the emplacement can
go wrong. Timing the opening of the vents is tricky
and requires a successful Dexterity check (DC 15)
on the operator demon’s part. Failure means that the
vents are opened too early or too late and the energy
goes nowhere. The lids of the vents are three inches
thick and made from the hardest metal available. The
vents themselves are circular holes five feet across.
When the lids are closed, a locking mechanism holds
them shut.
Despite these mild inconveniences, vrock domes
are immensely popular with the demons, who build
them whenever and wherever they can. They allow
the demons to deliver 20d6 damage to all creatures
except themselves within 100 feet, once every three
rounds, again and again. The vrocks performing the
dance of ruin are safe behind the walls of the dome.
It takes a lot of work to smash your way into a vrock
dome and the demons inside can always abandon the
emplacement and flee through the tunnel in its base if
the fight goes badly for them.
The vents are only open for a brief moment, to allow
the energy to explode outwards but it is still possible
for a creature to dive into the dome through an open
vent. To do this, the creature making the attempt
must act on the same initiative count as the vrocks,
which usually entails delaying its action. When the
vents open, the creature may take a move action and
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
make a Tumble check (DC 15) to duck nimbly into
the dome. If the skill check fails, the creature remains
on the outside of the dome. The creature must also be
able to fit through a five-foot circular gap!
It is not immediately obvious, to those who have not
encountered one before, what a vrock dome’s purpose
is. Those within thirty feet of the dome are entitled
to a Listen check (DC 20) as a free action to hear the
sounds of chanting and stomping feet from inside the
dome, which might provide a clue as to what is going
on inside.
Vrock domes are surface defences, intended for
use when defending the horizontal upper level of a
structure. As the demonic energy explodes upwards
as well as outwards, they are perfect against aerial
attackers. When defending against ground troops,
the same philosophy behind a vrock dome is used
in defending walls. In this case, a cylindrical ‘vrock
column’ is built into the side of the wall. It does
not matter that the energy explodes into the demon
stronghold as well as outwards, since the demons are
completely immune to it.
Demonic gatehouses will always have one vrock
column on either side of the main gate. The ability to
produce such devastating energy discharges is central
to the demons’ battle strategy and they exploit it as
often as possible.
Level One: The Battlements. The topmost level
of Ungaraun is nothing but fortification, as far as the
eye can see. Both the flat land at the edges of the
chasm and the sheer vertical sides are clustered with
defensive emplacements. Assume that a demonic
defendant can always attack from behind cover when
it is stationed in the topmost level of Ungaraun, unless
there is a very good reason why it should not be able
to do so. The portals of Ungaraun are mostly made
from steel or adamantium. The population here is
made up mostly of hordes of dretch infantry, backed
up by hezrou commanders and vrock lieutenants.
In the centre of the battlements is a vast, circular
metal door, shaped like an iris valve and powered
by two separate machine-houses nearby, which run
on Agony. This is the top of the shaft that descends
down to the Halls of Changing on the sixth level. As
the valve is such a potential security risk, it must be
opened by two demons, one in each house, pulling
a set of levers in the correct sequence at the correct
time. The shaft is filled with a constant up draught,
making it even harder to use as a method of egress to
the lower levels.
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The battlement level is where the majority of
Ungaraun’s siege engines are stationed. These
consist mainly of soul ballistae (see The Harvest Of
Souls) and other, more devastating engines as detailed
in Infernal Equipment.
Level Two: The Barracks And Armoury. This
level provides living accommodation for the rank
and file of the demonic guard stationed in Ungaraun.
It is little more than a hive of crude chambers with
the occasional fighting pit or feasting hall thrown
in for variety. The dead are brought down here to
be stripped of their weapons and armour before the
bodies are tossed into the chasm. The armouries of
Ungaraun are mostly filled with armour and missile
ammunition, since demons prefer to fight with their
own claws and teeth than with melee weapons.
A small room, for the use of the commanding
demons only, contains several racks of masterwork
quality claw sheaths. These weapons are the sign
of a respected warrior in the demons’ ranks and are
detailed in Infernal Equipment.
Level Three: The Halls Of Industry. This level of
the chasm is the first to have access to the wells of
molten metal, bored down to deep sources of liquid
iron and steel that may, or may not be, subterranean
tributaries of the river Tastumo. The dretch
workforce slaves ceaselessly, bringing cauldrons
of brimming metal up from the depths and tipping
them down pipelines (kept at a constant red heat to
avoid clogging) into the zones where the demonic
blacksmiths work.
The population at these levels consists mainly of
marilith weaponsmiths and babau assistants. Narrow
chimneys bored through the rock allow the smoke
of the forges to escape out into the chasm; tunnels
angled the other way are used to tip the slurry and
refuse out. Viewed from the outside, a constant pall
of smoke rises up the sides of the chasm from the
third level, while beneath it a constant rain of refuse,
clinker and an occasional shrieking dretch (caught in
the machinery) tumbles into the void.
At times of siege from creatures other than devils,
access panels are opened to allow the cauldrons of
molten metal all the way to the battlements layer,
where they are taken and used to drive off foes. The
demons do not bother wasting metal against the
devils, as many of them are immune to fire but they
will not hesitate to use it against their own kind. A
cauldron of molten metal emptied over an area deals
8d6 points of fire damage in a 10 foot burst, with a
Reflex saving throw (DC 15) to take half damage.

An immense double door made from adamantium
seals the upper three layers off from the lower ones.
It is held fast by an arcane lock, with a caster level
of 20. All the senior demons have magical key
stones worn around their necks, which allow them
to pass through the doors. Beyond this point, it is
not possible to enter the chambers of the chasm from
the sides. You must descend from the inside. This
feature ensures that the senior demons are kept safe
until they choose to venture aloft.
There are a handful of secret emergency entrances and
exits, whose location is entrusted to the most valued
and reliable of the babau assassins who work for the
commanders of Ungaraun. These are fitted with the
same calibre of arcane lock as the main gateway and
are so cunningly concealed that they require a Search
check (DC 35) to detect; one would also have to know
where to look. Two of these secret tunnels lead from
the third level to the babau conference rooms on the
fourth level; the remainder lead from the surface to
the elite apartments, where the demon lords can use
them to escape if the chasm should ever become
overrun, not that this is especially likely.
The only other link between the deeper levels and
the surface is a single shaft that connects the Halls of
Changing with the battlement level. This shaft is filled
with a constant up draught. When a consignment of
freshly transmuted troops needs to be delivered to
the upper levels, a telepathic signal is sent to the
machine-houses by the valve on the battlements level,
telling the attendant demons to open the valve. When
this happens, the assembled mass of newborn demons
and travesties is hurled up the shaft to the upper level,
where the waiting demon sentries assist them to grab
on to the ledge and climb out.
Level Four: The Chambers Of Command. These
halls are more ornately styled and contain such
features as scale model maps of the Infernum, tactical
plans spread over tables and rooms where scrying
devices have been set up. A sealed audience chamber
allows the demon lords to receive intelligence reports
from their most valued babau spies, scouts and
assassins and to give them new assignments. The
senior demons use these chambers to consolidate their
knowledge, plan attacks and formulate strategies. A
telepathic amplifier (see Infernal Equipment) allows
the central command chamber to receive reports
from the various guard stations and sentry rooms at
other places in the Chasm. This interwoven relay of
communications allows all demons on this level a +2
circumstance bonus to Initiative checks, so long as
the command chamber is kept manned and telepathic
signals are not blocked. Demons within 100 feet of
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a telepathic amplifier anywhere else in the Chasm
receive a +1 circumstance bonus to Initiative checks
while the chamber is manned.
This level and those below it are set about with
numerous downdraught traps (see below) that drag
intruders down screaming into the depths. Only the
demons and their honoured guests know which doors
open on to a command room and which open on to
a sucking hurricane. Other than magical detection
methods, the only way to detect a downdraught is
with careful listening, for which see below.
Level Five: The Elite Apartments. These luxurious
rooms are where the mariliths and balors dwell,
with their retinues of slaves and concubines to wait
upon their lusts. The treasure chambers are also on
this level. Ambassadors from the upper world and
other important guests are received here, so that
they can sample the full splendour of what Hell has
to offer. The apartments are always fully stocked
with healing balms and poisons, so that visitors
can be helped to health or done away with as the
hosts choose. It is traditional for the humans who
are to become travesties and serve the demons (see
Infernal Transfiguration) to be allowed to spend the
previous night in the elite apartments, as a reward for
the permanent change they are about to undergo in
service to their lords.
Level Six: The Halls Of Changing. The Halls
within the Chasm of Ungaraun have room enough to
transmute one thousand creatures. The use of Halls
of Changing is detailed in Infernal Transfiguration.
This area also has a secure egg chamber for the
private transformations of high-ranking demons.
Level Seven: The Conduit To The Below. The
single salient feature of this vault is a hexagonal
portal of mist three hundred feet across, set into the
floor. This is the opening into the chaotic evil aligned
plane of Khulmesh, the plane immediately ‘under’
this part of the Infernum. The demons use the portal
as a means of gaining reinforcements and would also
flee through it if it ever became necessary to do so.
The Eye Of Havoc: This is one of the few surviving
demon battlespheres; an artefact left over from a time
when humans still knew the art of making the most
powerful magical devices and assisted their demon
allies by crafting seven immense engines of war.
These used to hover above the battlefield, piloted by
trained demons, unleashing actinic hellbolts upon the
opposition and occasionally descending to roll over
them and grind them into paste like some mechanical
steamroller. With the Seven Eyes to assist them,
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
the demons almost succeeded in seizing the whole
upper level of Hell for themselves but their chaotic
nature soon asserted itself; there was fighting over
which device belonged to whom, several of the Eyes
were stolen, sabotaged or drifted off unattended and
fairly soon the balance between devils and demons
reasserted itself.
The Eye of Havoc, without any other instruction,
simply hovers in place. The art of piloting an Eye
is long lost, though the demons of Ungaraun still
know how to operate certain of the weapons systems;
fortunately for the demons, many of them operate
automatically. Unable to use the Eye to its full effect,
they have opted to secure it with multiple chains so
that it will not be stolen and flown away by someone
who does know how to work it. Situated as it is in the
very centre of the chasm, it can bring its weapons to
bear on the greatest possible number of foes.
The Eye is an adamantine sphere one hundred
feet across, hovering immobile in the air, covered
with twitching spikes and nozzles. The walls are
two feet thick. It can be entered and left through
a single hatchway in its side. The interior of the
Eye is panelled, rather disturbingly, with something
that seems to be pink fur; whether this is a growth
from the Eye itself or some chaotic design feature
is unknown but the demons do not dare to remove
it in case something goes wrong with the sphere.
Within, a single command deck fitted with hissing
organic controls allows an operator to pilot the
sphere or activate the weapons systems. From the
inside, the sphere appears transparent, so a creature
at the consoles can see out, although creatures on the
outside cannot see in.
The Eye has the following powers while in its current
state. The Games Master must be the judge of
what kind of knowledge would be needed to induce
the sphere to fly again, or activate its more potent
functions. We suggest that such knowledge would
be as difficult to find as an artefact itself. Any person
who knew how to fly the Eye of Havoc would be
in a position to steal it. The devils would be very
interested in such a proposition, if they could find
anyone foolhardy enough to take it on.
† A constant antipathy effect emanates from
the Eye to a distance of 75 feet, with a caster
level of 20 and a Will saving throw (DC 25).
This effect repels devils, angels, archons and
guardinals.
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† A creature within the Eye can activate a wall
of force that surrounds the whole battlesphere.
While this wall is in place, the sphere cannot
use any of its weapons. The wall has a caster
level of 20. The wall remains in place for 24-
hours; it may be set to reactivate at any time
within one hour of the time when it would
otherwise drop. This ‘dead man’ switch is
to prevent a creature from activating the wall
of force and then dying. If the wall of force
is brought down by hostile magic (such as
disintegrate) it reforms 1d4 rounds later.
† The Eye’s automatic weapons systems
unleash a torrent of green, livid energy against
any creature (other than a demon or travesty)
that approaches closer than 200 feet. The Eye
has the power to detect creature types and
alignments, even if the creature has altered
its form. It can be fooled by a shape change
spell, though the caster must succeed at a
caster level check (DC 30) to pull this feat
off. This energy manifests as a ray attack,
with a ranged attack modifier of +30. If it
successfully hits, the victim suffers 20d6
damage, with a Fortitude saving throw (DC
25) allowed for half damage. This energy is
without specific type and is simply ‘demonic’
in nature, like that produced by a vrock’s
dance of ruin. Spell resistance does block
this ray attack; the Eye produces the rays at
an effective caster level of 20. The Eye makes
this attack at an initiative count of 1, or at the
initiative count of its operator if it has one. It
can produce a maximum of 10 rays in any one
round. No creature will be targeted by more
than one ray while it remains further than 50
feet away; creatures that approach closer than
50 feet are treated as serious threats and will
have any unused ray attacks directed against
them.
† A simple control protuberance within the Eye
can be thumped to electrify its surface, which
is the standard means of repelling boarders.
This electrification lasts for one full round
after activation. The electrical energy burst
affects any creature that is in physical contact
with the Eye at the moment of activation or
makes contact with it during the round in
which it is active. Such creatures suffer 12d8
electrical damage, with a Reflex saving throw
(DC 25) allowed to suffer half. Once the hull
has been electrified, it cannot be electrified
again for 1d4 rounds.
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

† If the operator chooses, he can constantly
electrify the hull while having the energy
beams fire intermittently. This setting keeps
the outer casing of the Eye continually
electrified (as above) but the green rays may
not fire again for 1d4 rounds after they have
discharged. The Eye has monstrous amounts
of power, but it does have limits.
The Great Face: Below the clamour of the industrial
levels, where constant smoke and din veil the lower
chasm from the eyes of the upper world, the walls veer
down into the dark for mile after mile, sheer and silent.
If a creature were to plumb these depths, which grow
dank and cold the further away from Hell’s surface
you travel, he would eventually discover an artefact
that the denizens of the world above know is there,
though few of them have ever seen it. It lies precisely
one hundred and fifty six miles
below the surface, in a region
cold enough to be considered
arctic. Refer to Core Rulebook
II for the effects of intense cold
upon creatures.
Hell. Others believe that it is in fact a minor god,
who was undecided as to which side to take in the
conflict between Hell and Heaven and was trapped by
the avalanche of matter when Hell fell to its current
place. The most speculative of all theories holds that
the face is that of the demon of demons, the original
crown prince of Hell himself whose name is never
spoken aloud, who lies pinned in place by the blade of
Zeberrok, unable to free himself until the end of days,
when the Avenger comes to haul Zeberrok out once
more and wage war on Heaven.
Whichever theory may be true, if indeed any of them
are more than the troubled dreams of magi who have
spent too long poring over books of arcana, there
is one point on which all the theories concur. The
Great Face is not only sentient; its mind records every
single word in all the planes that has (or ever has

The Great Face must have

been carved out of the side of
the chasm, though its surface
bears no sign of the marks of
tools. It is made from the same
black stone as the chasm itself
and has human features, with
an agonised expression. From
time to time (within 2d8 rounds
of the start of every hour) it
groans in pain and white steam
surges from its mouth and
nose. All creatures within a
hundred feet of the face must
make Fortitude saving throws
(DC 24) or be deafened for 1d4
rounds. Creatures that fail this
saving throw by 10 or more are
deafened permanently, their
eardrums burst.

Theories vary as to what the

Great Face is. At the very least,
it has no discernible alignment,
nor does it seem to be affected
by any magic. Some scholars
believe it to be a construct,
placed there by some insane
demonic architect of the deep,
serving no other purpose than
to contribute to the malaise of

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 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
had) magical associations or magical power. Every
syllable of every spell devised, however obscure;
every command word of every magical item, however
insignificant, all of these are locked within the stony
index of the Great Face. Whatever it may be, it
knows.
Any creature that wishes to seek an audience with the
Great Face and perhaps learn some crucial fragment
of magical lore has only to pass through the upper airs
of the Chasm of Ungaraun, descend to the level where
the Face broods in eternal darkness and verbally
request that the Face divulge the information sought.
Some seekers bring tribute, such as living creatures
to sacrifice or songs sung in praise of whatever the
seeker thinks the Face actually is; none of this has
so far made a difference to the outcome, as far as
anyone can tell, but this does not stop petitioners
from trying.
Only two outcomes follow from this. The face either
transmits the requested information telepathically to
the petitioner’s brain, or the face extracts and devours
the soul of the petitioner as if by a trap the soul
spell. The latter effect is instantaneous; the soul is
immediately gone and does not dwindle over time as
is usual for trap the soul. Spell resistance does not
avail against it and the DC of the Will saving throw
to resist the effect is 60. The effect is supernatural,
not spell-like.
The Face is one of the greatest mysteries of Hell.
Nobody has, to date, been able to ascertain what makes
the difference between a petition answered and a soul
devoured, though the available data is admittedly
scanty. There are only records of about twenty
petitions, exactly half of which were successful. The
truth behind the Face is left to the Games Master to
determine but we offer the following options for those
who would rather use such things:
† The Face is a being left over from the original
creation, in which primordial chaos and order
are fused together. Its ties to the underlying
order of things permit it knowledge of all
magical words and phrases, while its chaotic
nature prevents it from ever using them
coherently. It determines its response to a
petitioner by sheer random chance. There is
a 50% chance for a petitioner to be devoured;
it is that simple and nothing can affect this
outcome.
† The Face is the being that makes all magic
possible, both arcane and divine. It is not
the source of magic, but the titan-like entity
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that (like Atlas in the legends) supports the
burden of magic’s existence. This explains its
knowledge of all arcana. It is fundamentally
neutral and selects who shall perish and
who shall live on a basis of how much their
continued existence will upset the balance.
This means that the more trivial a creature
and its aspirations are, the more likely it is to
survive.
† The Face is Knowledge itself, an accursed
being because it is the logical contradictory
of innocence. It groans because it hates itself
and wishes its torment to end. Petitioners who
remind Knowledge of itself (by having a total
of 12 or more ranks in any single Knowledge
skill) are devoured. Others are allowed to
live.
T he F a r t hes t R ea c hes
At the outermost extremity of the Sea of Fire, in
the opposite direction to that by which one enters
Hell, the sea washes against a bleak shore that
seems to have powdered bone for sand. The sky
overhead is no longer filled with clouds of fire but is
instead absolutely black. Although there is no light,
everything in the region is clearly visible, albeit in
monochrome; grey-white shades move against a
charcoal background. Only artificial light shows
things as they are, in colour.
The shore is utterly desolate, with no buildings
or creatures anywhere to be seen. There is only a
sense of a Presence far too vast and old to be given
a name. This area is utterly cut off from any but the
evil-aligned planes. Clerics of non-evil deities cannot
regain their spells here.
Bubbles of ultimate blackness drift to and fro along
the shore, seemingly without direction. These sinister
spheres are explained below.
The Wall: Half a mile inland from the bleak shore,
there is a solid wall of darkness. This, not the depths
of the infernal burrows and tunnels, marks the limit
of Hell. The deep Hells are bottomless and go on
forever, while the wall of darkness marks the point
beyond which there is no longer any Hell but only the
primal darkness, the principle of which Hell is merely
one manifestation.
For game purposes, walking into this wall is the
equivalent of entering a sphere of annihilation. No
creature that has ever ventured into the wall has ever

returned, nor has it been possible to contact them.
Even the Gods cannot tell their fate, though they can
restore them to life by direct intervention. Should this
happen, the creature can remember nothing of what
happened.
That which lies beyond the wall is an evil so
absolute, so archetypal, that all other instances of evil
throughout the planes are just partial and incomplete
reflections of it. It has lain beyond the wall since
before there was any such thing as Hell and defined
the direction of ‘evil’ into which the Hells and their
occupants fell after the decisive war with
Heaven. The origin of the wall is the
origin of Creation itself.
Before the universe could exist,
the forces that created it had to
define their ground; in doing so,
they discerned between evil and
good and between law and chaos.
That primal act of differentiation
excluded the Presence behind the
wall from the rest of the universe.
In a metaphysical sense, it defines
the planes of Good by remaining
beyond its wall. So long as the
darkness abides where it is,
there can be such a thing
as good. If it were ever to
emerge, then the polarity of
the planes would be upset
forever. Good and evil would
become mere philosophical
abstracts instead of spiritual
forces.
Small wonder, then, that certain
of the Apocalypse Texts predict
just such an outcome. They insist
that the darkness beyond the wall is
only dormant (not subdued) and will
awaken if the proper rituals are carried out.
The associated cult devotes its entire energy to finding
the items and people it needs to pass through the wall
safely and deliver a one-word message – ‘awake’ – to
the Darkness that lies beyond.
Emitted Spheres: Those few creatures that have
visited the Farthest Reaches and returned to tell
the tale know the secret origin of the spheres of
annihilation. They are not created at all but emitted
spontaneously from the wall of darkness. Within
any 100-foot square area on the bleak shore, there
will be 1d4 spheres drifting aimlessly around. If a
living creature comes within 30 feet of a sphere, it
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INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
will slowly drift towards him at the rate of 10 feet per
round. This is a result of the wall’s proximity and
as such only occurs while creatures are on the bleak
shore; if the sphere is taken anywhere else it hangs
static in the air, as they are wont to do. Creatures
that are reckless enough can come to the bleak shore
and attempt to harness a sphere of annihilation of
their own. While the sphere is within half a mile of
the wall of darkness, the DC for the control check to
move it mentally is 40 rather than 30.
Hellglass Deposits
The mountains and
windswept deserts of the
Infernum occasionally reveal
deposits of hellglass. This is
the result of sand and silicate
rocks being melted to boiling
soup by the intense heat of the
bottom of the Infernal Sea in
aeons when the lands were
beneath its surface. Hellglass
looks much like obsidian, a
gleaming treacle-black rock with a
mirror-like surface when polished. It is
semitransparent, like smoked glass but has
a far greater tensile strength. Hellglass
has a hardness of 10 and 20 hit points
per inch. It has a resistance to fire of 30
points and damage resistance of 5/good.
Hellglass deposits are a hazard of the
Infernum, as heat or the impacts of meteors
can smash them into sharp edges and pointed
slivers. A desert region where a layer of sand
or dust overlays hellglass shards is treated
as if it were covered with concealed
caltrops (see Core Rulebook I). Exposed
hellglass is treated as caltrops that can
be avoided if characters move at half speed. A
person who is knocked prone on a region of jagged
hellglass suffers an attack at +6 melee; the glass
deals 4d6 piercing damage if it hits.
Between Levels
As the various levels of Hell are stacked on top of one
another, there have to be ways of crossing between
them. Naturally, it is much easier to descend than to
ascend.
Inferniculars: Inferniculars are quick paths down
into the depths. They are sluices made from the
spines of hellworms, the fiendish purple worms that
burrow like maggots beneath Hell’s crust. A character
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS
sliding or flying down an infernicular is transported
to another layer of the Infernum at great speed. The
surface of an infernicular is exceedingly slippery;
anyone trying to stand on the floor of an infernicular
without falling into the slide must make a Balance
check (DC 30) each round or slip into the abyss.
Levitating Gusts And Sucking Downdraughts (CR
2/6): The differences in pressure and temperature
between the various levels of Hell mean that there
are certain smooth rock chimneys, between 5 and
20 feet across, that are filled with roaring blasts of
air. These are either warm or chilly; the warm gusts
are surging constantly upwards, while the cold ones
suck downwards. The force of the blast is sufficient
to blow a creature straight up the chimney or suck
him down it.
The upward draughts are seen as useful by the
fiends, as they allow effortless transport, while the
downward gusts are used as traps. In either case, a
chamber with a heavy door at each end seals off the
shaft from the remainder of the level, so that the wind
does not disrupt activity.
A creature that steps out into an up draught is lifted
upwards at a speed of 1d6x10 feet per round, so long
as it does not weigh more than 500 pounds, or 600
pounds if it is a flying creature, as the wings give it
additional lift. If it exceeds this weight, it slowly
sinks downward at a rate of 10 feet per round.
Creatures lifted by the flurry of air are unable to use
their Dexterity bonus to Armour Class and suffer
a –2 penalty to attack rolls. Flying creatures with
Good manoeuvrability or better can move laterally
across the shaft at their usual speed, allowing them
to manoeuvre, while flightless creatures or flying
creatures with inferior manoeuvrability must make a
Dexterity check (DC 15) to move 5 feet in any given
lateral direction.
Exits from the shaft are set at intervals, with iron
handles to grab hold of. One ends one’s upward
flight by grabbing hold of one of these and lifting
oneself through into the corridor beyond. To do this,
a creature must succeed in a Climb check (DC 15).
Naturally, it cannot do this unless the handle is within
its reach.
Sucking downdraughts are far more dangerous. A
creature standing within 10 feet of the edge of a
downdraught shaft must make a Strength check (DC
25) each round or be knocked prone and dragged into
the shaft. If it is gripping on to something, it gains
a +4 circumstance bonus to this check. A creature
that has especially stable footing (i.e. a bonus
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
against knockdown and bull rush attacks, such as
dwarves have) may add any bonuses to this check as
a circumstance bonus. A creature in a region where
there are potential handholds is entitled to a Reflex
saving throw (DC 25) to grab one before it makes its
Strength check.
Creatures pulled into a downdraught fall at a much
faster rate than usual. Any falling damage they take
upon impact is resolved as if they had fallen 50 feet
further than they have, adding an additional 5d6
damage to whatever else they may suffer. If they
strike an object on the way down (highly likely, as
the fiends line the shafts with spikes and protruding
obstacles for falling creatures to bounce off) they
suffer full falling damage and may begin to fall again.
A creature has a 1 in 6 chance to remain stuck on an
obstacle that it ploughs into. Otherwise, it slides off
and begins to fall over again.
Flying creatures can struggle against the downdraught.
A creature can attempt a Strength check (DC 25)
to move upwards at its full flying speed minus 50
feet. This may of course still result in the creature
continuing to fall, albeit at a slower rate. If it strikes
a protrusion in any round in which it was trying to fly
upwards, it may deduct damage from the impact at the
rate of 1d6 per 10 feet of flying speed. For example, a
creature that was flying upwards at a speed of 40 feet
could deduct 4d6 of damage if it struck a protrusion
or the bottom of the shaft. This damage is taken off
the total before it is rolled, not after.
A falling creature can attempt to grab a handhold as
it zooms past, should one present itself. This requires
a Climb skill check (DC 40). Even if this skill check
is successful, the creature suffers 2d6 falling damage
from the shock of impact.
Detecting Downdraughts: The subterranean fiends
make sure that their great portals are tightly fitted
into place, to prevent gusts of wind from causing
disturbance, so it is difficult to hear the roar of the
downdraught even from close by. A creature listening
at the outer portal of an airlock can attempt a Listen
check (DC 30) to hear the winds shrieking beyond; if
it listens at the portal closest to the shaft, the DC is
lowered to 15. It is impossible to tell just by listening
whether the sound is that made by an up draught or a
downdraught, unless the listener is a dwarf or gnome,
or has more than 5 ranks in Survival.
 INFERNAL ENVIRONMENTS

Then the Incubus stood up within the Circle and his Shirt fell from his Body, and he came into the Candlelight;
and to see him there all Golden-eyed and Wanton-hair’d with the Down on his Chest like glistering Flames I
thought I might be in the Presence of Lucifer Himself before his Fall; and may great Hurm be bless’d eternally
that this false Joy was swiftly Slain in me.
- You think me to be naught but Evil? said he. I am free to do Good if I choose, for its Own sake, and not because
any Man or God commands it.

- Villain thou art not Free at all, for by great Hurm’s grace I have thee Bound.
- I walk not Abroad, but my Spirit is free. And thou, priestess, how is it with Thee? Knowest thou thy true
Desires? Canst take pleasure in thy Thoughts, or must thou Censure them for the sake of thy Church?
- My delight is in serving my God, said I.
- Tell me, said He with an insolent Cocking of the Head, how came you to the State of a Churchwoman?
- What business is That of Yours?
- None, but that I would Know.

- Know then, said I, it was my Father’s earnest Wish that I should lead a Clerical Life; and this being in accord
with my own true Disposition, I took Orders as soon as the Opportunity afforded it Self, and in thirty Years I
have not once had Regret of this. There, you have your Answer.
- I trow you wanted a Husband in younger years, said he.
I said Nothing but he knew he spoke True. We both Knew that it is the Custom in the North, that the Unwed
Daughter had best go into the Church, for though she may have no Beauty she may yet get Wisdom.

- You have led a Life blest with Simplicity, Sister Kurrik. You are an Honest Northern woman and keep Strictly
to Doctrine; ’tis Pity I have Muddled your greying Head so. How I have Crept in to thy Peace like the Serpent
into the Garden! Ere I came you were in Innocence, and believ’d Heaven and Hell were Absolute as the Sun and
Moon, having no Experience of either; now all is reveal’d to be Chaos, and the Devil plays upon a Jewell’d Harp,
while Great Hurm has gone a-Whoring!
- Though you seek to Wrack my Faith with these Sayings, I have seen the Light of Hurm burn thy Body, which
is more to Me than all thy Persuasion.

At this he spat Blood and said Go to then, you Thing of Stone. I was not Damn’d before, but you have chosen to
Damn me. He cast him self to the Floor and would not Move.

I marvell’d again at the Beauty of this Spirit, who seem’d a thing Transparent and Aerial, such was the Grace and
Subtlety of him. For many Moments I look’d upon Him thinking; Must it be that he shall Die in Torment?

For I knew I could not keep him Here for Ever; and I regretted with great Anguish that I had ever cag’d this
Bird, for had he come to any Other, he had surely been Butcher’d or forced to Flee; for any other Priestess of
the Hammer would have written for Aid to her Brothers and Sisters in Hurm, and cleansed the Cancer right
Quick, while I, Sister Kurrik, had kept the Monster shut Away as a Milkmaid might treasure a Love-token. Vain
Arrogance that I thought to help my Church by Wringing Words from the Beast!

I could not slay him in cold Blood; yet I could not keep him neither. I could tell None of this, for I might be call’d
Witch and Consorter with Devils for all my Priestly apparel, and be Hung for it. Already the Word had gone
About that I was conducting strange Rites in my Cellar, which Rumour I lik’d not’.
- (From the papers left behind by the late Sister Sigrud Kurrik, in the keeping of the Temple of Blessed Hurm,
Northern Segrevdia)

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 LOWER LEVELS
Lower Levels
T
he following are some of the lower Hells
that lie beneath the Infernum. Rather than
detail the residential Hells that are occupied
by much the same kind of fiends as the upper levels
– demons and devils – who live out their lives in
much the same way, we have focused on the more
unusual, aberrant and noteworthy levels of Hell.
The Lab y ri n t h
This plane is one of the most notorious of all for
sending echoes of itself into the minds of sleeping
people. It is, as the saying goes, a maze of twisty
passages, all alike. The walls and floor are of
black stone blocks, fit closely together. There is
no obvious exit; the environment is so homogenous
that it is practically impossible to tell which way is
up.
This is the original planar maze from which all maze
spells borrow a little essence when they come into
being. Unlike them, it has a fixed structure and one
can learn one’s way around in it. A creature that has
been deposited in the maze has no idea where it is at
first, nor how to find its way out.
The following special rules apply to creatures
within the labyrinth:
† Every day, a creature that is exploring the
labyrinth may make an Intelligence check
(DC 15). Success means that it has found a
salient feature in the maze where it has not
been before, such as an audience chamber,
a room with a distinctive floor, another way
into the labyrinth, or some similar feature. It
can now find its way to this feature on future
occasions. Success by more than 10 means
that it has found an exit from the labyrinth.
A creature may add the total number of
salient features discovered so far to its
Intelligence check each day. If multiple
creatures are involved in the exploration,
then they must nominate one creature to lead
their explorations and make the Intelligence
check.
† It is impossible for non-evil creatures to
run in the labyrinth. Any neutral or good
aligned creature attempting to run finds that
the air itself seems to thicken around its feet
and slow it down. This effect is especially
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common in the nightmares of those who
have glimpsed this place during sleep, as
they attempt to flee some invisible pursuer,
only to find that their legs will not carry
them.
† The same restrictions regarding spells that
apply to a maze spell also apply to the
labyrinth plane.
† The labyrinth is home to several stalking
fiends that enjoy hunting down and devouring
those who wander lost within their realm. In
the portion of the labyrinth that is closest
to the devils’ realm, the fiends are steam
devils; in the demons’ quarters, they are
bebeliths, who make full use of the dark side
passages to lurk in and leap out upon passing
creatures.
T he P la y g r o un d O f E vil
C hild r en
The do-gooders of the Prime Material plane point
to children as examples of all that is innocent,
sweet and uncorrupted. For the most part, this is
true enough. There are, however, some instances of
true evil manifesting itself even in a childish mind.
It does not happen often but happen it does. Such
a child may drown a playmate or strangle a pet out
of nothing more than idle curiosity. Parents may
suspect demonic possession or sorcerous influence.
In truth, the child is simply evil, tainted from
within.
This layer of Hell is given over to the delights of
evil children. Visually, the place seems to be a
comfortable village, such as halflings might live in.
Everything is built to a small scale, with climbing
frames, play houses, building blocks and toys…
many, many toys, all with spikes and sharp edges
and crusted with blood.
A traveller coming across this level of Hell may
think that he has encountered a paradoxical place
where innocent angels reside amongst corruption.
It does not take long for the truth to become
apparent. The children, who want to be ‘played
with’, soon surround newcomers in mobs of ten
and twenty, pulling at them and babbling excitedly.
Games are suggested, such as ‘Stabby Stabby One
Two Three’ and ‘Blind Man’s Butcher’. The former
consists in running up to someone, stabbing them

three times with a knife and running away, while the
latter involves blinding two creatures, giving them
cleavers and making them fight one another.
The evil children resident on this level are those
who were taken away by the fiends during life, so
that they could have a special place all of their own.
They are not damned souls but a special class of
fiend, subtly altered by the pervasive magic of the
place.
To create an evil child, first generate a child character
and apply the fiendish template from Core Rulebook
III. The evil children who live here are immortal
unless killed. In their twisted playground, they have
forever to pull the wings off flies – and off larger
creatures than flies. The special responsibility for
maintaining this plane is given to the erinyes, who
ordinarily hate children but who do not object to
those who enjoy the same twisted amusements as
they do. The children call their guardians the ‘bird
ladies’.
The following rules apply to the Playground Of Evil
Children:
† Entrances to this plane are few. They
commonly resemble slides, such as are found
in the playgrounds of mortal children.
† All creatures within this plane are continually
veiled by an undetectable alignment effect,
as if produced by a 20th level caster. This
is a supernatural emanation of the plane. It
applies to creatures that enter it as well as
creatures who are native to it.
T he An gel P ri s o n s
This plane, access to which is fiercely restricted,
is purely for the purpose of holding outsiders of
good alignment captive. The typical method of
confinement is to suspend the outsider in the centre
of a pit, held immobile by chains that hook through
its body. It cannot move at all and can only suffer.
Although the prison complex is referred to as ‘the
Angel Prisons’, it is used to hold all manner of
outsiders. There are archons and similar creatures
here, who have been held in adamantine chains since
the very first of the wars in Heaven and have still not
given up hope of rescue. Their steadfastness is like
a lantern in the darkness and sickens those devils
that are exposed to it.
This dismal place is where corrupt the blessed
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LOWER LEVELS
spells (see Infernal Secrets of Magic) are most
commonly cast. The angels held here are being
kept in the hope that House Zethu, or some mortal
ally of the devils, can find out what their true names
are and thus render them susceptible for corruption.
Nothing is sweeter to the devils than to have a true
fallen angel among their ranks.
The following special rules apply within the Angel
Prisons:
† There is only one entrance to the Angel
Prisons. This is an adamantine portal within
the sanctum sanctorum of Hell, where the
Four Great Princes hold private council.
Only the most trusted of the pit fiends and
the current heads of Hell’s noble houses are
allowed free access.
† A dimensional lock seals the whole plane.
No interplanar travel or even teleportation is
possible within the prisons. The only means
of entering or leaving is via the main portal.
The B elly O f T he B ea s t
Unique among all the fiends, the Prince of Hell called
Leviathan does not live within a plane or sub-plane
of Hell. He is so vast that he is a sub-plane of Hell
unto himself. He lies adjunct to the other planes,
his immense body feeding upon the spillages and
corruption of Hell, awaiting the day when he can
project his immensity into the Prime Material and
go ravaging. Nobody knows what Leviathan looks
like any more, though there are some sketches in
certain forbidden tomes of diabolic lore that depict
something like a cross between a devil, a dragon and
a blue whale. It is believed that he was originally
the founder member of House Oblurott, who gorged
himself upon soul after soul and just never stopped
growing. The other Princes of Hell, who know the
truth of this, have not contradicted it.
Those who enter Leviathan encounter an
environment of gurgling red-walled passageways,
pulsing cells coated in slime, ribbed vaults that
slowly breathe in and out and ghastly intestinal
tunnels full of the devil’s stinking stomach contents.
It becomes rapidly apparent that the whole plane of
Leviathan is alive.
The damned souls within Leviathan are condemned
to be eternally digested, reduced to sizzling
translucent skeletons by stomach acids and regrown
 LOWER LEVELS
from ectoplasmic matter before being devoured
again. Lesser fiends, many of whom find their
parasitic existence within Leviathan relatively
comfortable compared to other places in Hell,
patrol his body and keep out intruders. Leviathan’s
main line of defence is the periodic appearance of a
bile duct (see The Creatures of Hell) along with the
brood of bile devils that it generates. Popular belief
has it that the bile ducts found elsewhere in Hell
were in fact parts of Leviathan’s body that somehow
budded off from his flesh and took root within the
Infernum.
Leviathan is one of the Four Great Princes of
Hell who rule over the Infernum but is obviously
incapable of attending council meetings, owing to
his immense size. He therefore sends a specially
constructed iron golem, built for him by Baalzebul,
to represent him. This golem is in constant
telepathic contact with Leviathan and is mistakenly
believed to be him by many of the less important
denizens of Hell.
Leviathan has nothing to fear from those who enter
his body. Most of the time, he is no more aware of
them than a giant would be aware of fleas. His body
is simply so vast, approximately the size of a small
moon, that it would be practically impossible to do
him any lasting damage. Nonetheless, it is possible
to irritate him and he will dispatch bile devils to
investigate any source of annoyance.
The following special rules apply within the body
of Leviathan:
† Entrances to this plane resemble greasy
mouths, studded with occasional teeth,
which open on to throats. These are the
tubes through which Leviathan feeds. They
are typically found near charnel points and
sites where masses of organic waste pile up.
Exits from the plane are stinking orifices
that gush with sludge, through which
Leviathan emits its bodily wastes. Several
of these empty into Glabretch territory and
one swells the river Echtum.
† The spongy texture of Leviathan’s innards
makes it easy to walk without making noise,
adding a +4 circumstance bonus to Move
Silently skill checks.
† Leviathan’s nerve clusters resemble
bunches of grey footballs hanging from the
roof of a tunnel, with a gnarled set of roots
40
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above them. A telepathic creature standing
within 100 feet of one of these clusters may
communicate directly with Leviathan’s
mind. Injuring a cluster causes a spasm as
Leviathan reacts to the pain. This makes the
tissues within 150 feet of the cluster shake;
all creatures within the affected area must
make an immediate Balance check (DC 20)
as a free action or be knocked prone. When
injured in this way, Leviathan dispatches a
group of 5d4 bile devils to investigate.
† The ‘white cells’ of Leviathan’s body are
fiendish oozes. A similar theory to that
which postulates the origin of the bile
ducts holds that all oozes began when they
were secreted in some elephantine gland
of Leviathan’s, after which they bred on
other planes. Ochre jellies are found near
the stomach regions, gelatinous cubes near
the nerve clusters and black puddings in the
blood flow.
† Hacking at the walls of a passage within
the body of Leviathan can have several
different possible effects, detailed below.
The Games Master should choose between
these depending on where he reckons the
culprit to be, or roll randomly. In any case,
the fleshy tunnel walls have a Hardness of
3, damage resistance of 10/good and 5 hit
points per inch. They naturally heal at the
rate of one hit point per hour, closing rents.
† Hacking through the wall of a blood
vessel results in a torrential gush of blood,
flooding the passageway. One hundred
cubic feet of blood are released per round.
Creatures caught in the gush must make
Strength checks (DC 25) or be knocked
prone; especially stable creatures, such
as dwarves, may apply their racial bonus
against knockdown attacks to this check.
† Hewing into a fat deposit sprays the creature
with rancid, lumpy yellow paste. Though
it smells revolting, this has the same effect
as rubbing yourself with oil prior to a
wrestling bout and adds a +2 circumstance
bonus to Escape Artist skill checks. The fat
is highly flammable and if set alight will
burn intensely for one round, inflicting 3d4
fire damage.
† Breaking open the skin next to a lung area
 LOWER LEVELS

results in a terrific gale that either sucks the
creature responsible inwards toward the
lung cavity or blows it outward down the
passage, depending upon whether Leviathan
is inhaling or exhaling. Either condition
lasts for ten rounds, following which there
is a two-round hiatus. Use the gust of wind
spell to determine the effect of the gale. The
DC of the Fortitude saving throw to avoid
being knocked off one’s feet is 30.
that the titanic sword of Zeberrok thrust through the
centre of Hell was quite large enough, if one wanted
gigantic weapons. Ezrazene Callimauphrey stormed
off to a private plane of his own, brandishing a
fistful of blueprints and followed by a train of loyal
devotees and was not seen again. That was over
nine hundred years ago. Since then, his lunatic
plans have taken fearsome shape, to the surprise of
a great many. House Zethu still adamantly refuse to
associate themselves with him.

Ezrazene is still adamant that the Cannon, when it

T he Can n o n Ai m e d At is eventually completed, will be able to fire a single
Heaven projectile through the planes, which will smash
into Heaven like a comet. The targeting will be so
This plane is an engineering nightmare, the work of
precise that the matrix on which Heaven rests will
one tormented genius among fiends. It is strongly
be broken up, creating a drop-zone straight from the
lawful, helping the machines within it to function
shattered remnants of Heaven straight to Hell. The
smoothly. The plane is nothing but a single flat
Cannon still needs at least another century’s work
sheet of greyish metallic rock, crisscrossed by
done on it before it will be ready to fire. When
regular, geometric trenches filled with black oil and
this finally happens, the assembled devils of House
covered over with thick smog.
Zethu will finally know whether Ezrazene was in
fact their greatest genius or the cracked madman
In the centre of this artificial-looking landscape,
they collectively believe him to be.
rising high above the cloud level, towers a cylinder
nearly a dozen miles in height. On the outside of the
The following special rules apply on the plane of
cylinder, layer after crusted layer of scaffolding has
the Cannon:
built up. Biomechanical life forms and sweating
devils toil side by side, adding more and more height
† The plane has several entrances, all found
to the already absurdly huge edifice. As an observer
in the devils’ portion of Hell. These are
watches, tiny forms fall screaming from the sides of
deep underground and located in, or near
the tower; this is clearly a common occurrence and
to, regions of industry. They resemble huge
no heed is paid to it.
bulkheads or airlocks, closed off by metal
doors with wheel-like handles. Ezrazene’s
This is the work of the noble devil Ezrazene
project made it necessary to steal certain
Callimauphrey, once the most brilliant innovator
equipment and materials that could not
in all of House Zethu and said by some to be the
be found on his own private plane, so the
inventor of biomechanical life. Having scored
entrances were made close to sites of heavy
several resounding victories against the forces of
machinery.
good, he became an enthusiastic advocate of the
Final Blow hypothesis. According to Ezrazene, the
† Infernal machines and biomechanoids do not
key to winning the war against the heavenly host
need special fuel to work in Erazene’s plane.
should not involve trying to fight them on their own
They can sustain themselves by drawing
ground, but dealing them a devastating stroke from
from the rivers of rich oil that flow through
below and letting the angels and archons plummet
the ground.
down from a shattered Heaven into Hell, where
the fighting would at least be on the fiends’ turf.
† The air of the plane is practically unbreathable,
Dismissing the various Apocalypse Texts as sheer
as it is thick with pollutants, chemicals and
claptrap, he insisted more and more furiously that
the smoke of the infernal machines. This
infernal engineering was the way forward and that
does not bother the biomechanoids or the
all that was stopping the devils from winning the
fiends, who are used to the thick airs of
day once and for all was the lack of a weapon big
Hell but may present a problem to travellers
enough.
from off-plane. A breathing creature who
is neither a fiend nor a biomechanoid must
House Zethu did not condone this plan, believing

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 LOWER LEVELS
make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 15)
every hour or suffer 1d6 nonlethal damage
from lack of adequately breathable air. If the
creature should become unconscious from
inhaling this atmosphere, it begins to suffer
lethal damage every hour instead.
The Dark C arn i v al
This plane lies close to the Tattered Market and
may once have been part of it, before the clamour
and insanity grew too great and caused the plane to
shear away. The plane is extremely small, taking
the form of a dense forest in which all roads lead to
the same clearing. Within the clearing, a travelling
carnival has been set up. Fiends stroll to and fro,
admiring the attractions and trying their luck on the
stalls. This is the home plane of the demon clowns,
who live here in brightly coloured tents.
The dark carnival is a sick parody of the human idea
of an old-fashioned funfair. The coconut shy uses the
severed (and still screaming) heads of damned souls
as the targets; demons hurl balls of iron at them and
try to knock them off their stands. The freak show
contains damned souls who were formerly human,
but have been stretched, torn and reshaped beyond
all recognition by means of the Soul Sculpting skill,
for which see The Harvest Of Souls. The merry-go-
round rides are powered by infernal machines and
feature real horses, still living by means of demonic
magic, impaled on struts and trampling the bodies
of the damned in an unending parade. Bogeymen
are employed as the roustabouts, succubae entice in
customers and burly hezrou stand ready to rip the
head off any customer who complains.
For all its gaudy horror, the Carnival has one quality
that makes it vitally significant to the damned and
those who have friends among the damned. By
time-honoured tradition, this is one place where the
living may gamble for the release of a damned soul.
Unlike the Court of Bountiful Injustice, release here
means genuine release. The demon clowns being
fundamentally chaotic, they respect the whims of
chance. There is no way that negotiation will ever
avail to win a soul back from them but gambling just
might do it.
The gambling takes place in the central tent of the
whole carnival. Here, a living creature who still
has his soul may nominate any damned soul in the
demons’ section of the Infernum for release. For the
price of a ruby worth no less than 3,000 gold pieces,
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an attendant glabrezu will use its wish-granting
ability to summon that damned soul to the tent.
The creature willing to gamble for the soul’s release
must (of course) put his own soul up as collateral, as
anyone must do if they are attempting to win a soul
away from Hell, whether by gambling or contest;
see The Customs Of Hell.
The house always sets the odds. The proprietor,
a curvaceous marilith named Lady Myonatix,
decides what the bet shall be based on. This can be
anything: a simple toss of the dice, a bet over which
way a beetle will crawl, the draw of a card from the
deck. It has to be as random as possible and not a
test of skill, endurance or wit in any way. Myonatix
is open to suggestions from the floor; these are more
likely to be heeded if they are entertaining for the
audience.
Two principles govern the gamble. The odds are
always stacked in the house’s favour (otherwise,
what would be the point of playing?) and the house
has to be able to cheat. One might think that this
combination of factors would mean that no soul
ever managed to escape. Such was indeed the case
for a long time but it was discovered that without
the possibility of success, nobody wanted to play,
which was unforgivably boring. It is, therefore,
possible to win at this game. It happens very rarely
but even a minute chance is better than no chance at
all when in Hell.
The following special rules apply in the Dark
Carnival:
† The plane can be entered from the Tattered
Market, from any of the demon cities, from
the Playground of Evil Children and from
Asylum. Entrances to the Dark Carnival
usually resemble doorways made from
colourful tent fabric but occasionally look
like the beaded curtains that hang over the
entrances to fortune-tellers’ booths.
† The Dark Carnival is a place of luck, chance
and blind fortune. It is more chaotic than
evil. When a man comes here, his personal
store of luck is accentuated. While on this
plane, all Luck bonuses and penalties to any
roll or check whatsoever are increased by 2.
T he A ud it o r ium
This plane is one unimaginably vast chamber. It
 LOWER LEVELS

takes the form of an inverted cone, around whose

perimeter are set rank upon rank of carven stone
thrones, six hundred and sixty six thousand in
total. The centre of the Auditorium is a pedestal
five hundred feet across, continually illuminated
by a shaft of light from above. In the centre of the
Auditorium is a speaker’s podium, with a lectern
and a gavel.

The Auditorium is the central council chamber

for the devils. Elite members of the noble devil
families, generals and commanders of the military
devils and honoured servants of the devils’ cause
assemble here to hear the proclamations of the
Princes of Hell and to debate policy, when policy is
allowed to be debated. The Auditorium is also used
for other purposes, such as recitals, trials, petitions
for the release of souls (see The Customs Of Hell)
and important executions, such as the decapitation
of powerful archons.

The following special rules apply within the

Auditorium:

† Entrances to this plane are found in all the

noble devils’ major estates. They resemble
ornate double doors in a classical style.
The door opens directly on to the throne or
thrones that the noble devils who own the
estate are entitled to occupy.
† When a fiend of at least 20 Hit Dice strikes
the gavel, the Auditorium is deemed to be
in session. A silence effect, as if produced
by a 20th level caster, affects every seat in
the Auditorium except those on the central
pedestal itself. Those in the seats can hear
what is said from the pedestal but they
cannot respond. The wielder of the gavel
may remove this effect from the occupier of
a given throne, to allow him to speak.
† Each throne has a crystal sphere in front of
it, which a telepathic creature can mentally
instruct to glow blue or red. The occupants
of the throne use these spheres to cast votes
and to call attention to themselves, when they
wish to make a point or raise an objection.
† The power of the Auditorium is such that
its proceedings can be relayed to the upper
world, in such a way that any creature on the
upper level of the Infernum can witness what
happens. When this mode is active, the fire-
clouds of Hell become the screen on which
the Auditorium’s proceedings are magically
displayed. The Princes of Hell also use this
method to summon the devils to arms, by
speaking to them through the fire-clouds.
The Co ur t O f B o un t if ul
I n jus t ic e
The devils have the Auditorium, in which they
conduct trials and hearings in accordance with their
lawful ways. The demons have their own courts,
which are a deliberate mockery and perversion of
all justice, celestial, human and infernal. These are
found at the Court of Bountiful Injustice.
The purpose of the demons’ court is simple. There
is no appeal for a soul that has been condemned to
eternal punishment. There is only the accounting
at the Court of Bountiful Injustice. The fiends are
– theoretically – open to bribes to win freedom for
a damned soul. In truth, the best fate that can be
won is a kingship amid the flames or a position in
the armies of the Infernum, following the process of
infernal transfiguration. The only real purpose of
the Court is to calculate how large the bribe should
be. Refer to The Customs Of Hell for guidelines

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 LOWER LEVELS
regarding this.
The massive courthouse is a labyrinth of tunnels
scratched into the rock. This labyrinth is of
immense complexity, as it is a direct manifestation
of the complexity of the laws and precedents related
to bribing the nalfeshnee judges. Subsidiary
labyrinths contain the thousands of scrolls and
tomes that detail the sale of souls, and souls are
traded in the Tattered Market above the labyrinth.
Lawyers and orators are common in the tunnels
surrounding the Court, hawking their skills and
(lack of) virtues to prospective bribers. The gold or
magic given in bribes is funnelled back to the other
planes, to fuel the schemes of the emissaries of Hell
or other fiendish agents.
The following special rules apply within the Court
of Bountiful Injustice:
† Entrances to this plane can be found all over
demon territory. It is easy to gain access to
the Court. The main entrance is found in the
centre of the Tattered Market.
† Violence within the Court is expressly
forbidden, unless you are an authorised
bailiff. The demons are not lawful but even
they recognise the authority of the bailiffs. A
bailiff is recognised by the silver pentagram
that he is allowed to wear, as a badge of his
office. Most bailiffs are nalfeshenees and
mariliths, though some hezrou qualify for
the office. The job of the bailiffs is to keep
the Court free from disruptions and throw
anyone who causes trouble out of the plane.
As with all proceedings in the Court, the
bailiff’s authority can be had for the right
price. Bribing a bailiff to look the other
way for a moment typically costs 1d6x100
gold pieces. Garnering yourself a bailiff’s
badge costs 15,000 gold pieces and requires
a successful Diplomacy check (DC 30). If
you are willing to pay 25,000 gold pieces,
you can dispense with the need for the
Diplomacy check.
† Creatures within the Court are not obstructed
by the threat of violence but by the monstrous
demon bureaucracy. This is so recondite,
Byzantine and meaningless that it is next to
impossible to make any headway within it
unless you can make yourself out to be an
authority, or at least convince the demon
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barring your way that you know the law
better than it does. Diplomacy checks are
required everywhere within the Court. The
typical DC for a Diplomacy check to gain
access to a trial, to find out the appropriate
bribe to set a creature free or to meet with
one of the demonic officials is 30.
T he Ta t t er ed Ma r ket
Like a patchwork quilt of ragged scraps thrown in
haste across the floor of a cave, the tents and canvas
stalls of the Tattered Market lie in eternal hubbub
across a vault beneath the surface of Hell, close by
the heart of the demon lands. A vast open staircase
in the central square corkscrews down into the
deeper dark, where raised voices argue in the Court
of Bountiful Injustice.
The commodities bought and sold in the Tattered
Market are primarily of one kind: damned souls.
Specimens that have been captured, tricked into
entering Infernum, cultivated or stolen from the
devils’ soul trawlers are all displayed here for those
who wish to buy. Other delicacies, such as flasks
of hell-broth, can be had for the right price. What
passes for order in the market is maintained by a
force of glabrezu, under the overall command of
the balor Mezuk. The atmosphere is that of a slave
auction. Souls are sold based on their endurance,
their attractiveness and (most importantly) the
degree of their corruption, since the most depraved
of souls are the best source for hell-broths. Innocent
souls, who can be used to make Sorrow, fetch an
even higher price.
The following special rules apply in the Tattered
Market:
† Entrances to the plane usually look like
the hastily erected opening into a merchant
stall. They are made from sticks and twine,
apparently thrown together in a hurry. They
can be found in any subsidiary market in any
demon city. Entrances are also occasionally
found in markets on the Prime Material
plane. These are erected by the demons,
in the hope of drawing in lost children,
curious wanderers, thieves seeking a hiding
place and other hapless souls. Those who
follow mysterious veiled women down dark
alleyways sometimes never come out. There
may be a serpent’s tongue flickering under
the veil, and more than one pair of graceful

arms.
† The whole plane reeks of misdirection,
concealment and blather. Whether a horned
merchant is trying to distract you from
the flaws in his merchandise or a sinuous
demoness is making advances just so that
her consort can pick your pocket, they have
the chaos and confusion of the market on
their side. It is simply not the kind of place
where one can see through to the truth of
things. All Sense Motive skill checks made
here suffer a –2 circumstance penalty.
† By ancient covenant, entertainers are not to
be ripped apart and eaten within the Tattered
Market, no matter what their alignment may
be. The demons that run the market know
the value of a good performance; it brings in
the punters and helps the day along. Thanks
to this tradition, any creature who can prove
itself worthy to be considered an entertainer
is allowed to remain in the market along with
up to two companions, on condition that it
provides a show for the assembled crowd.
A sinew wood stage stands in the centre of
the Tattered Market for this purpose, with
the dismembered remains of inadequate
entertainers piled up around it. In game terms,
one can prove oneself to be an ‘entertainer’
to the satisfaction of the demons by making
a successful Perform check (DC 25). Failure
means that the crowd thinks you would make
a better addition to the butcher’s stall than
the performers’ guild. Depending on the
preceding events, this DC may be raised or
lowered by 2; evil characters have an easier
time of it, while good characters have much
more to prove.
T he Surg e ry An d
Di ssec t i o n Ro o m s
This level is made up entirely of stark white
corridors, opening on to cubical rooms. The air
smells of a chemical tang and the lighting comes
from fluorescent panels in the floor. Everything is
horribly sterile. Characters walking here find that
their footsteps echo and their breath fogs in the
cold.
The walls are all but featureless, broken in places
by a huge (and garishly coloured) illustration of a
bodily organ. Characters turning a corner might
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LOWER LEVELS
find themselves met with a twenty-foot heart
looming out of the whiteness or an image of a brain
sliced in two, or a gigantic eyeball. Every once in
a while, a scream echoes through the pale corridors
and fades away.
Where the corridors meet, a flesh golem stands,
silent and attentive. These golems wear stark white
gowns. Some are dressed in the habits of those
monks and nuns who care for the sick. Creatures
who make undue amounts of noise, or who the
golems recognise as ‘patients’, will be escorted
back to their cells; other creatures will be left
unmolested, though the golems defend themselves
if attacked. The golems have maximum hit points
for their size but are otherwise identical to those in
Core Rulebook III.
This level of Hell is home to the tormentors, for
which see Devil Species. They use this endless
hospital to practice their medical researches,
bringing creatures here from all planes and spending
hours slicing them up into their component organs.
The following special rules apply within the Surgery
level:
† All Move Silently skill checks suffer from
a –4 circumstance penalty, because of the
manifold echoes.
† The sterile conditions mean that creatures
heal much faster. All Heal skill checks and
Fortitude saving throws to recover from
disease are made at a +2 circumstance
bonus.
† Any mad thaumaturgist wishing to bring a
creation to life is in the perfect place to do so.
Flesh-based constructs, such as flesh golems,
built here in the Surgery are automatically
created with maximum hit points for their
size.
A s y lum
The level of Hell called simply Asylum, part of the
demon territory, is the permanent home of those
who were taunted or encouraged by ‘voices’ while
in life until they did unspeakable, sinful things. The
truly mad are of course not evil, because they are not
responsible. They have happier planes of their own
on which they abide. Asylum is reserved for those
who surrendered to the temptation of madness, to
give themselves the freedom that they desired, the
 LOWER LEVELS
freedom to work evil.
Asylum is an endless array of twisted, haphazard
structures. Windows are lopsided, doors are
trapezoid instead of rectangular and ladders lead
up and down from one ledge to another. The place
is painted in dazzling primary colours. Inside the
structures live the damned, carrying out the same
rituals they did in life: they scream, they rend their
hair, they smear blood and filth on their walls and
they randomly attack one another. All of the damned
that are resident here act as if they were under the
influence of a permanent confusion effect.
The custodians of the insane damned are equally
mad themselves. These are the raving demons and
the cacodaemons, for which see Demon Species.
Set above these in authority are a special detachment
of demon clowns, who are responsible (the term is
used loosely) for keeping the residents of Asylum
under control by terrifying them into submission.
The following special rules apply within Asylum:
† The architecture and layout of the place
does not conform to the usual conventions
of reality. You can go up a ladder and come
out beneath the point where you started, or
walk through one door and come out through
another at ninety degrees to it.
† The irrational environment, with its failure to
observe the laws of geometry, rapidly takes
its toll on the sanity of creatures who come
here. Every hour that a creature spends in
Asylum, it must make a Will saving throw
(DC 25) or begin to suffer from encroaching
madness. Failure costs the creature 1 point of
permanent Intelligence and Wisdom. Failure
by more than 5 causes the creature to suffer
from confusion as per the spell cast by a 20th
level caster. Creatures of chaotic alignment,
fiends of any alignment and beings that are
already mad are immune to this effect. This
is a mind-affecting effect and a supernatural
emanation of the plane.
The Hal l o f Re g re t
A gigantic clock face dominates the Hall of Regret,
twenty feet across. This is set in a background of
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carven skeletons holding scythes and hourglasses,
images of weeping figures being hauled away,
ravens perched pensively on skulls and similar
baroque images expressing the futility of life and
the inevitable eternity of damnation.
The clock has but a single hand, fashioned as an
actual human hand with a pointing finger. It is
divided into twelve regions as a normal clock is but
instead of numerals, the phrase ‘Too Late’ is written
in Gothic script in each section. The hand moves
on every 5 minutes (50 rounds) but always points to
the words Too Late. A metronome-like device rocks
back and forth above the face, emitting the hollow
tick-tock noise that great clocks make, its needle
pointing alternately to the words ‘ever’ and ‘never’.
The following special rules apply within the Hall
of Regret:
† There is one and only one entrance to the
Hall. According to legend, it is in one of
three possible locations; beneath the hellglass
palace of Irania of House Astyanath, behind
the entrance that the Princes of Hell use to
access the Auditorium, or behind a panel
in the nalfeshenee judges’ chambers in the
Court of Bountiful Injustice. The Games
Master may choose which, if any, of the
legends is correct.
† The clock is an artefact of outrageous power.
The whole of the Hall of Regret is influenced
by it. Within the hall, a permanent time stop
effect is in place. Those souls held prisoner
here are more thoroughly damned than their
miserable counterparts outside, as their
torment is an eternity within an eternity. The
hall is sealed off from all other planes and
may only be entered by means of one door.
A creature that leaves the Hall of Regret
comes out the very round after it went in,
whether it spent ten minutes or a thousand
years inside.
 THE CREATURES OF HELL

The Creatures attacks any living prey it encounters. A swarm deals

2d6 points of damage to any creature whose space it
occupies at the end of its move.

Of Hell Combat

T
he creatures detailed here are neither demons Disease (Ex): Any creature that suffers damage from
nor devils but the native life forms of the a banefly attack must make a Fortitude saving throw
Infernum. They are very rarely encountered on (DC 12) or be exposed to slow putrefaction, a grisly
other planes, when rifts bring them through or natural disease that eats away the flesh (incubation period
gateways allow them passage. 1d4 days, damage 1d4 Strength). The corpse of a
creature that dies from slow putrefaction releases a
new banefly swarm 1d4+2 days after death, unless the
Ban efl y Sw arm body is burned, dissolved or otherwise destroyed.
Diminutive Vermin (Evil, Extraplanar, Swarm)
Hit Dice: 6d8–3 (24 hp) Distraction (Ex): Any living creature that begins its
Initiative: +8 turn with a banefly swarm in its space must succeed
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares) fly 30 ft. (poor) on a Fortitude save (DC 16) or be nauseated for 1
AC: 18 (+4 size, +4 Dex), touch 18, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/–
Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Full Attack: Swarm (2d6)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Distraction,
disease
Special Qualities: Darkvision
60 ft., hive mind, immune to
weapon damage, resistance to
fire 10, swarm traits
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +4
Abilities: Str 1, Dex 19, Con
8, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 2
Skills: Listen +4, Spot +5
Feats: Improved Initiative,
Iron Will, Toughness

Environment: Infernum
charnel pits
Organisation: Solitary, cloud
(2–7 swarms), or plague (11–20
swarms)
Challenge Rating: 4
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful
evil
Advancement: None
Level Adjustment: —

Baneflies are fat, bluebottle-like

insects that stink of the midden
and have bright green eyes.
They move in clouds over the
charnel pits of Hell, breeding on
the decayed remains of mortal
creatures that have strayed there.
A banefly swarm surrounds and

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL

round. The save DC is Constitution-based

and includes a +4 racial bonus.

Hive Mind (Ex): A banefly swarm with at

least one hit point per Hit Die forms a hive
mind, giving it an Intelligence of 6. When
a banefly swarm’s hit point total is reduced
below this threshold, it becomes mindless.

Skills: A banefly swarm has a +4 racial

bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

Bil e Du c t
Colossal Aberration (Evil, Extraplanar,
Lawful)
Hit Dice: 24d8+240 (348 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 0 ft.
AC: 6 (–8 size, –4 Dex, +8 natural), touch
1, flat-footed 6
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+47
Attack: Slam +25 melee (3d8+19 plus 1d6
acid)
Full Attack: Slam +25/+20/+15/+10 melee
(3d8+19 plus 1d6 acid)
Space/Reach: 100 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Creeping bile, spawn bile
devil
Special Qualities: Absorb bile devil, blind,
damage reduction 20/good, immunity to fire,
acid, disease and poison, resistance to cold
20, SR 25, tremorsense 200 ft.
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +4, Will +17
Abilities: Str 36, Dex 2, Con 30, Int 4, Wis
12, Cha 3
Skills: Listen +28
Feats: Improved Initiative, Blind-Fight,
Great Fortitude, Iron Will, Alertness,
Endurance, Improved Natural Attack,
steams, giving off a vile odour like stomach juices
Weapon Focus (slam), Greater Weapon Focus (slam)
and bubbling with livid yellow goo. This central hole
is one of Hell’s bile ducts. It is a living thing; the hole
Environment: The Infernum
leads down through a ring of flesh to an underground
Organisation: Solitary, attended by bile devils
stomach, as wide across as the crater and full of
Challenge Rating: 10
creeping bile, for which see below. This stomach is
Treasure: 1/10th coins, 50% goods (no non-metal or
the home of multiple bile devils. The statistics above
non-stone), 50% items (no non-metal or non-stone)
are for the whole creature of which the bile duct is
Alignment: Any evil
merely the mouth. The stomach produces new bile
Advancement: —
devils constantly, growing them like embryos from
Level Adjustment: —
its walls.
There are certain craters in the surface of Hell,
When the duct feels creatures walking across its
between two hundred to three hundred feet across,
surface (using its Tremorsense special ability) it
that have half-dissolved skeletons lying in them.
prepares to spout bile and ensnare them. It will
At the centre of each crater, a ten-foot wide hole

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL

usually wait until the creature or creatures are right

up next to the central crater before erupting, as this
B ile D ev il
Small Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
gives them much less of a chance to evade the bile
Hit Dice: 6d8+18 (45 hp)
eruption.
Initiative: +8
Speed: 50 ft. (10 squares)
It is impossible to attack any part of the bile duct
Armour Class: 22 (+8 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size),
unless you descend into the stomach. This is always
touch 19, flat-footed 14
full of creeping bile. The only other option is to
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+2
uncover part of the stomach by digging through the
Attack: Bite +14 melee (1d4 +1d6 acid)
rock or opening it up somehow.
Full Attack: Bite +14 melee (1d4 +1d6 acid) and 2
claws +9 melee (1d3)
A bile duct’s natural weapons count as evil-aligned
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming
Special Attacks: Acid spit
damage reduction.
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid and poison,
Combat
Blind: A bile duct has no eyes. It tracks
enemies through Tremorsense and by
listening to them to judge their position.
All enemies attack the bile duct as if they
were invisible. However, bile ducts
are capable of attacking opponents
efficiently even though they cannot see
them; note the bile duct’s Blind-Fight feat
above.

Creeping Bile (Ex): A bile duct ejects

enormous quantities of creeping bile from
itself. It is always full of creeping bile.
See the Infernal Equipment chapter for
more details.

Spawn Bile Devil (Su): A bile duct may

take a full-round action to spawn 2d4 bile
devils from its stomach lining. Each
spawned devil reduces the duct’s total hit
points by 3.

Absorb Bile Devil (Su): As a full-round

action, a bile duct may absorb any bile
devils that are inside its stomach back
into itself by releasing a special enzyme.
The duct heals 3 hit points of damage for
every devil that it absorbs. It may absorb
any number of bile devils in a round,
all of which must be inside the duct’s
stomach region.

Tremorsense (Ex): The bile duct can feel

vibrations made by creatures walking on
the ground above it. It can automatically
pinpoint the location of anything that is
in contact with the ground within 200
feet of itself.

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL
resistance to cold 5 and fire 5, SR 7
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +13, Will +6
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 26, Con 16, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha
10
Skills: Hide +8, Jump +6, Listen +5, Move Silently
+5, Spot +10,
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Mobility
Environment: Bile duct craters
Organisation: Cluster (2–8) or swarm (6–36)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: —
Bile devils are the product of bile ducts. They are
hardly even worthy of the title ‘devil’, as their sole
function is to eat and relay food back to the great
bile-pumping stomach where they were born. They
live only to serve the monstrosity that birthed them,
though they are not above performing acts of cruelty
and malice to please themselves. They are yellow,
rubbery creatures with blistered skin and watery eyes,
moving by scurrying and hopping about.
Bile devils are extremely cowardly and will not attack
if outnumbered, retreating instead to the bile duct. If
they have at least twice the numbers of their attackers,
they will make a mass charge, taking full advantage
of their abilities. Those devils at the back will spit
at the opponents, while those at the front pounce
forward and rip at them.
A bile devil’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
Acid Spit (Ex): Bile devils constantly drool streams
of corrosive juice, which adds acid damage to their
bite attack. A bile devil may attempt to spit a gob
of acid at a target as a ranged attack. The range
increment is 10 feet and the damage is 1d6 acid.
N igh t - Oak
Huge Plant (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armour Class: 17 (+1 Dex, +8 natural, –2 size),
touch 9, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+29
Attack: Branch +16 melee (1d8+10)
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
Full Attack: 4 branches +16 melee (1d8+10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, lightning blast,
constrict 1d8+15
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., fire healing,
damage reduction 10/cold iron or good, resistance to
cold 10, rooted, immunity to disease, electricity and
poison, SR 15
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +4, Will +4
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 13, Wis 12,
Cha 18
Skills: Intimidate +17, Listen +14, Spot +14
Feats: Weapon Focus (branch), Combat Expertise,
Improved Surface Bash, Power Attack
Environment: The Infernum, forests on evil-aligned
planes
Organisation: Solitary or grove (1–4)
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Any evil
Advancement: 11–16 HD (Huge), 17–21 HD
(Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
Night-oaks resemble leafless black trees, with
skeletal branches and thick trunks. Two gnarled boles
in the centre of the night-oak function as eyes. Night-
oaks preside over the forests of Hell, hunting down
damned souls who try to use the forests as a haven
or an escape route. They often grow on the edges
of precipices or on high promontories, as they have
an especial fondness for seizing fugitive souls and
hurling them back down to damnation. The charnel
pit (see Chapter 2, Geography of the Infernum) has
night-oaks standing as sentinels around the outside,
waiting for souls to clamber up the sides just so
they can grab them and fling them all the way down
again.
Combat
Constrict (Ex): A night-oak deals1d8+15 points of
damage with a successful Grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a night-oak
must hit a Large or smaller opponent with a branch
attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free
action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If
it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can
constrict, lightning blast or hurl the opponent, so long
as the opponent is of the requisite size and weight.
Night-oaks have a +4 racial bonus on Grapple checks,
which is already included in the statistics block.
 THE CREATURES OF HELL

points of magical fire damage dealt to the

creature causes one point of magical
healing. Noble devils that keep night-
oaks on their estates use their scorching
ray spell-like abilities to replenish the
creatures’ energy at range.

Rooted (Su): Night-oaks spend

their days with their roots driven
deep into the scarlet soil of Hell,
drawing up unholy nourishment from
that accursed earth. While a night-oak is rooted, it
cannot move at all, though it can still defend itself.
A rooted night-oak benefits from fast healing of
10 points per round and can use its lightning blast
ability against grappled opponents, for which see
above.

A rooted night-oak can uproot itself if it needs to

move, such as to relocate itself, pursue foes or make
a tactical retreat. The night-oak must take a move
action to pull its roots up. It may re-root itself if it
chooses to do so but must take a full-round action
to achieve this. A night-oak may not root itself on
rock, hellglass or on any other surface that cannot be
penetrated by roots.

If a night-oak is rooted in the soil of any

other plane than Hell, it does not benefit from
Lightning Blast (Su): its fast healing ability or from its lightning
Night-oaks can call down bolts of blast ability. A creature may attempt to uproot
lightning to smite opponents that a night-oak against its will. To achieve this, a
are ensnared in their branches. To do this, it must successful Grapple check must be made against the
succeed in a Grapple check against the opponent. night-oak, which gains a +4 circumstance bonus to its
The lightning blast strikes down from the sky Grapple check when resisting forcible uprooting.
overhead; if the night-oak is indoors for whatever
reason, or the sky is not filled with clouds, the night- New Grappling Manoeuvres
oak cannot use this ability. The blast of lightning
deals 6d8 electrical damage, with a Reflex saving
Bashing An Opponent Against A Surface
During a grapple, combatants often take advantage of
throw (DC 19) allowed for half damage. The save
hard surfaces to do extra damage to their opponents.
DC is Charisma-based. Once the night-oak has used
A human grappling another human will slam his
its lightning blast ability, it cannot use it again for 1d4
enemy’s head into the floor or into a nearby wall.
rounds. A night-oak cannot constrict an opponent
Creatures with flexible tentacles, such as ropers, will
and lightning blast him on the same round, nor may it
get a grip on enemies and then pound them into the
call down lightning against any opponent other than
ground. A giant that has a person in its grasp will
one that it has grappled. Note that lightning called
smash him on a cave wall to finish him off quickly,
down from the skies of Hell by a night-oak counts as
like an animal breaking a bone to get at the marrow.
evil-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage
Those monsters with the constriction special ability
reduction. A night-oak must be rooted in the soil of
(or one of its variants, such as rend) can exert
the Infernum to use this ability.
greater force against a grappled opponent and deal
additional damage that way but any creature can
Fire Healing (Su): Unlike most plants, night-oaks
take advantage of the environment to hurt a grappled
love fire, relishing the occasional ember showers
opponent. Bashing an opponent against a surface
that fall from the Infernal skies. Ordinary fire does
offers an opportunity to deal more damage to them
not harm the creature at all. Magical fire damage
but increases the likelihood that they will slip out of
nourishes and fortifies the night-oak. Every two
your grasp.

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL

To bash an opponent against a surface, you make a

grapple check as if you were attempting to deal your
usual unarmed strike damage against them. However,
instead of the usual amount of damage, you apply
your usual unarmed strike damage for the impact
plus one and a half times your Strength ability score
modifier. This damage is lethal by default. If you
wish to make the damage non-lethal, you invoke a –4
penalty to your Grapple check.

Once you have attempted to bash your opponent

against a surface, your grip is slightly weaker
in the next round, whether you are successful in
your bashing attempt or not, as you are shoving
your opponent away from you. You receive a –4
circumstance penalty to all Grapple checks against
that opponent for the whole of the next round.
You must, of course, have a hard surface within the
space that you and your grappled opponent occupy
in order to use this move. Creatures that have strong
grips (a high Grapple check modifier) can use this
move again and again in order to smash enemies to
bits.
N ew M o n s t e r Fe at
Improved Surface Bash
Prerequisite: Dex 13, Str 17
Benefit: The creature is accustomed to holding
tightly on to creatures while whacking them against
hard surfaces in order to do more damage to them.
The creature only suffers a –2 penalty to Grapple
checks against an opponent it has bashed against a
surface in the subsequent round, instead of the usual
–4 penalty.
Hurling A Grappled Opponent
The largest of Hell’s devils, such as the behemoths
and the steam devils, like to snatch up opponents of
Medium or Small size, such as human heroes, and
dash their brains out against cliffs or hurl them into
the flaming sea. It is much quicker to do this than
to waste time fighting them all. Even when you can
Hurling Opponents
grapple an armoured paladin and slowly crush him
to death, such tactics are much less satisfying than
flinging him high into the sky and then watching
him plummet and splatter across the rocks. Some
creatures of the upper world, such as giants, also use
this manoeuvre. Even humans have been known to
do it; if you happen to have Improved Grapple, then
grabbing a venomous creature, such as a snake, and
hurling it out of the window can be quicker than
finding a weapon to stab it with. Hurling can even
be used co-operatively, such as when a large creature
throws a smaller friend over a wall. The following
rules are used when you hurl a creature from you.
To hurl a creature, you must be at least two size
categories larger than it is. A storm giant can hurl a
human, while an ogre can hurl a halfling. A creature
must have hands, claws, tentacles or a similar
grasping body part to hurl an opponent. If it only has
a bite, sting, gore or similar attack, it cannot do this.
You cannot hurl a grappled opponent if their weight
(including all the gear they are carrying) amounts to
more than a Light load for your Strength ability score.
For example, a treant with a Strength ability score of
29 cannot hurl an opponent who weighs more than
466 pounds.
You must be grappling the opponent in order to
make a hurl attempt. To attempt to hurl him, make a
Grapple check. If the opponent is willing to be hurled,
then he does not make any opposing check and begins
his flight through the air. If he is attempting to hang
on, then he makes a Grapple check to oppose yours.
Success means that the grapple continues and he is
not flung; failure means that he is flung. If you are
attempting to throw the grappled creature at a specific
target (such as an opening) then make a ranged attack
roll at a –4 nonproficiency penalty, as if the grappled
Grapple Check Excess Distance Thrown
Less than 9 10 feet
10–15 20 feet
16–20 30 feet
21–25 50 feet
26–30 70 feet
31–35 100 feet
36–40 130 feet
41–45 160 feet
46–50+ 200 feet

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL

creature were a thrown weapon. If you miss, then

refer to the thrown weapon chart in Core Rulebook I
R o s es o f H ell, (B la c k)
Medium Plant (Evil, Extraplanar, Fiendish,
to see in which direction the thrown creature lands.
Lawful)
Hit Dice: 8d8+11 (47 hp)
When you throw a creature, the amount by which
Initiative: +4
your Grapple check result exceeds your opponent’s
Speed: 0 ft.
determines the distance the opponent is flung.
Armour Class: 20 (+4 Dex, +6 natural), touch 14,
Consult the table below. The result is the distance the
flat-footed 16
hurled creature covers in its trajectory. If you throw
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+12
the creature laterally, such as by pitching it across
Attack: Thorn lash + 10 melee (1d4+2 plus poison
open ground and it strikes no obstacles en route, then
and energy drain)
it suffers falling damage on impact as if it had fallen
Full Attack: 2 thorn lashes +10 melee (1d4+2 plus
half the distance that it has travelled; so, a creature
poison and energy drain)
thrown 200 feet laterally would suffer 10d6 falling
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
damage.
Special Attacks: Energy drain, fascination, blood
drain, poison, stupefying scent, spectral projection
If you throw the creature straight up into the air, it
Special Qualities: Plant traits, darkvision 60 ft., DR
travels the total distance indicated by your Strength
10/magic, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10, SR 13
check before beginning to fall, dropping all of the
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +3
initial distance plus your total height. So, if a giant,
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12,
20 feet tall, threw a creature directly upwards and had
Cha 18
a result of 40 feet, the creature would fall 60 feet and
Skills: Listen +12, Spot +12
suffer falling damage accordingly.
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Toughness, Power Attack
If you hurl a creature into a solid object, such as a
Environment: Evil-aligned planes
wall, a rock face or another creature, then it suffers
Organisation: Solitary, cluster (2–4) or floral border
damage as if it had fallen the whole distance, because
(4–12)
of the speed at which it is travelling. For example, a
Challenge Rating: 7
creature thrown for an indicated distance of 70 feet
Treasure: 1/10th coins; 50% goods; 50% items
that smashes into a brick wall after 20 feet still suffers
Alignment: Neutral evil
7d6 damage. Creatures that have been hurled are
Advancement: 8–16 HD (Medium), 17–25 HD
entitled to make a Jump or Tumble check to reduce
(Large)
the damage (see the section on falling damage in Core
Level Adjustment: —
Rulebook II) as if they had fallen.
Much more rare than the red roses of hell are the
Flying creatures that are hurled through the air are
exquisite black roses. These have an unearthly
better able to resist the effects, as they are used to
beauty about them, each petal incandescent with
being airborne and can slow themselves down. A
blackly luminous blushes, with the faint image of
flying creature that succeeds in a Reflex saving throw
the face of a bewitching female devil moving within.
(DC 10 plus half the hurling creature’s Hit Dice
Black hell-roses drain not only blood but life energy
plus its Strength ability score modifier) can halve
away from their victims.
the total distance travelled when an opponent hurls
it. Creatures receive a bonus to their Reflex saving
The black roses are one of the rare neutral forces in
throws based on their manoeuvrability: Perfect +8,
Hell. They do not owe allegiance either to the devils
Good +4, Average +2, Poor +0, Clumsy –4. In
or the demons. The only creatures they respect are
addition, a flying creature that is hurled laterally
the briar devils, with whom they have empathy. This
or straight upwards does not fall to earth like other
has given the devils the edge over the demons and
creatures once it has travelled to the limit of the
allowed them to establish settlements in regions
throwing distance. Flying creatures do not usually
where the roses grow.
have much to worry about from hurling attacks but
there is always the danger that a strong creature will
Creatures slain by the black rose’s energy drain
grab them and fling them against a solid surface.
attack may arise 24 hours later (1 chance in 4) as
rose vampires. These are identical in most respects
to vampire spawn, for which see Core Rulebook
III, with the following differences. They are under

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 THE CREATURES OF HELL
the control of the rose bush, which uses them as
guardians and food-gatherers. Rose vampires always
have porcelain-white skin, whatever their original
skin colour may have been, jet-black hair and bright
red lips. They gain the stupefying scent supernatural
ability, which is constantly active and does not
require any effort on the rose vampire’s part to use.
Depending on the vampire spawn’s other abilities,
this may increase its Challenge Rating by one.
Combat
Blood Drain, Flexible, Poison, Stupefying Scent:
The black rose has the same abilities as the red rose,
for which see below. Saving throw DCs against
poison and scent are 17 and 15 respectively.
Energy Drain (Su): The black rose’s thorn lash
bestows two negative levels on the victim. Each
negative level bestowed grants the black rose 5
temporary hit points. The black rose may use its
energy drain ability once per round.
Fascination (Su): As a standard action, the rose may
open one of its blooms, revealing the full glory of the
flowers to a target within 50 feet. Looking into this
spellbinding vortex of darkness is captivating and the
target creature must make a Will saving throw (DC
18) or be fascinated for as long as the bush sustains
the effect. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
The bush does not need to concentrate to maintain the
fascination. It can fascinate one creature at a time per
3 Hit Dice it possesses.
Spectral Projection (Su): At will, as a free action,
the black rose may project a major image of a tall,
white-clad elven or human female, as if produced
by a 12th level caster. This is the ‘soul’ of the black
rose bush, given illusory form. Those who are brave
enough to examine the rose petals closely realise that
the spectral projection has the same face that appears
in the petals.
The bush uses this image to communicate with
those around it. Unlike red bushes, black bushes are
intelligent and can be bargained with. The black rose
bush will often use its spectral projection ability to
make it appear that the figure is under attack from the
rose, thus coaxing good-aligned creatures to come to
the rescue. The spectral projection has a range limit
of 50 feet. A creature that interacts with it may make
a Will saving throw (DC 17) to disbelieve the illusion.
The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
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R o s es o f H ell, (R ed )
Medium Plant (Evil, Extraplanar, Fiendish)
Hit Dice: 6d8+3 (30 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 0 ft.
Armour Class: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 13,
flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+9
Attack: Thorn lash +7 melee (1d4+1 plus poison)
Full Attack: Thorn lash +7 melee (1d4+1 plus
poison)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Blood drain, poison, stupefying
scent
Special Qualities: Plant traits, darkvision 60 ft., DR
5/magic, resistance to cold 5 and fire 5, SR 11
Saves: Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +3
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 4, Wis 12, Cha
14
Skills: Listen +10, Spot +10
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Toughness
Environment: Evil-aligned planes
Organisation: Solitary, cluster (2–4) or field
(10–60)
Challenge Rating: 5
Treasure: 1/10th coins; 50% goods; 50% items
Alignment: Neutral evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium), 13–25 HD
(Large)
Level Adjustment: —
The roses of Hell are of the most rich, silken scarlet
to be seen anywhere in the planes. Hell is not without
some specimens of beauty and its roses are without
doubt one such. Beneath their luscious blooms are
thorns as thick as your thumb, with hollow points.
The roses use these to feed. They thrive on blood and
do not especially care where they get it. They will
attack devils and demons as readily as they attack
mortals and the damned. Noble devils wanting these
roses in their estates employ briar devils to tame them
first. House Astyanath has a special love of these
roses and incorporates them into its torture devices,
creating living frames on which souls are hung, with
the roses’ briars twined in and out of their bodily
openings.
Combat
Flexible: The roses’ snaking, twining briars are
especially suited for ensnaring foes, giving the rose
bush a +4 racial bonus to Grapple checks.
Blood Drain (Ex): The roses use their long, sharp,
hollow thorns both to inject poison into their victims

and to suck out their
lifeblood. They can drain
blood with a successful Grapple
check. If a rose successfully pins an
opponent, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of
Constitution drain each round. With each successful
blood drain attack, the rose bush gains 5 temporary
hit points.
Stupefying Scent (Su): The heady aroma of the
roses confuses the perceptions of those who come
close to them. It is so thick as to be intoxicating.
A creature coming within 30 feet of a rose bush
must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 13) or be
intoxicated for as long as it remains in the area and
for 1d4 rounds afterwards. An intoxicated character
suffers a –2 competence penalty to all attack rolls,
skill checks and Armour Class. The saving throw
DC is Constitution-based. This is an inhalant poison
effect, so immunities and resistances apply.
Soporific Poison (Ex): The bushes have a powerful
natural weapon in their venom. When they deal
damage to a creature, they pump it full of toxins that
remove the pain of the wound and send the creature
to sleep, so that the bush can continue to feed without
interruption. The saving throw DC for the poison
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THE CREATURES OF HELL
is 15, including a
+2 racial bonus. The
saving throw DC is
Constitution-based. A creature
that fails its saving throw falls asleep for 1d6x10
minutes. Slapping or wounding a creature that is
sleeping because of poison does not automatically
wake them. Every such attempt allows the creature
to attempt a new Fortitude saving throw (DC 25) to
waken. One such attempt can be made per round.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day, the bush can make a
normal melee attack to deal an additional +6 damage
against a good foe.
S lug s O f I n a n it y
Large Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 8d8+35 (71 hp)
Initiative: –2
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armour Class: 17 (–2 Dex, +10 natural, –1 size),
touch 7, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+17
Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+7 plus disease)
Full Attack: Bite +12 melee (2d6+7 plus disease)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
 THE CREATURES OF HELL

Special Attacks: Disease, memory erase
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., fast healing 3, immunity to fire
and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 12
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +4, Will +5
Abilities: Str 20, Con 18, Dex 6, Int 4, Wis 8, Cha 14
Skills: Climb +20, Concentration +15, Listen +10,
Move Silently +10, Spot +11
Feats: Toughness, Ability Focus (memory erase),
Improved Natural Attack
Environment: Deep caves or crevasses in the
Infernum and the Nine Hells
Organisation: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: None
Alignment: Neutral
Advancement: 9–16 HD (large), 17–24 HD (huge)
Level Adjustment: —
These monstrous gastropods feed on the intellect
and emotions of those around them before eating
their physical bodies. They resemble pulsing black
slugs with hard chitin domes protruding from their
head parts; these domes protect the slug’s main nerve
clusters. Their eyes are burning red globes on stalks.
The slugs of inanity live in the blackest hollows and
trenches of Hell, surrounded by the hollow husks
of the dead and damned souls who have forgotten
who they are. Many of them cling to the walls of
Hell’s chasms, held fast by their gluey undersides,
waiting for souls to fall in. Like the legendary River
Nepenthe, one of the four rivers to run through the
Infernum, the slugs of inanity erase the memory of
their victims. While they move around and feed
upon their victims, they make a sound like lugubrious
sighing, uncannily similar to the groans of a horribly
bored person.
Some desperately miserable souls actively seek the
slugs out, hoping to have their memories devoured, as
the oblivion of memory loss is preferable to knowing
where they are and why there are there. Hell is much
worse if you understand that it is a punishment for
what you did and an eternal separation from the life
you used to lead. If you cannot remember anything
but Hell, it does not seem so bad, terrible though it
is.
A slug of inanity’s bite attack counts as evil-aligned
and lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming
damage reduction.
Combat
Disease (Ex): The bite of a slug of inanity transmits
a form of disease known as brain rot, which corrodes
the mind of the victim. The Fortitude saving throw
DC to avoid contracting the disease is 18 and is
Constitution-based. Brain rot has an incubation
period of one day and deals 1d6 Intelligence damage
upon the sufferer. A slug of inanity will usually bite
a victim once and then retreat, returning to the area
days later in the hope of finding him a stupefied
vegetable that will be much easier to consume.
Memory Erase (Sp): The primary magical attack of a
slug of inanity is its memory erasing blast. It fires this
as a cone 30 feet wide at the base, emitted from its
eyestalks. All creatures caught in the area must make
Will saving throws (DC 18) or suffer memory loss.
This saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
To ascertain the effect of a memory erase attack on
the affected creatures, roll 2d6 and add the affected
creature’s Will saving throw modifier, then consult the
table below to determine the severity of the memory
loss. If the creature affected has already suffered
memory loss from a given slug of inanity, then it does

Memory Erasing
Roll Result Memories Lost
2–3 Victim is stunned for one round. He suffers complete mind wipe; he loses all prepared arcane spells
and recalls nothing at all of his life, including his own name. Permanent.
4–5 Victim is stunned for one round, loses all prepared arcane spells and cannot remember anything of
the last 10 years of his life. Permanent.
6–7 Victim is stunned for one round and cannot remember who he is, who his friends are or anything of
the last 5 years of his life. He loses all prepared arcane spells. Duration 1d6 weeks.
8–9 Victim is stunned for one round. He can remember who he is but not who his friends are nor any of
the events of the previous week. He loses all prepared arcane spells. Duration 1d6 days.
10–11 Victim is stunned for one round. He cannot remember any of the events of the day but remembers
who he is and who his friends are. He loses all prepared arcane spells of higher than third level.
Duration 1d6 hours.
12+ Victim is stunned for one round but suffers no memory loss.

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not add its Will saving throw modifier to t h e
roll when determining the effects of a subsequent
memory erase attack from the same slug. Repeated
memory erase attacks from the same slug are almost
guaranteed to destroy a person’s recall. Once a slug
has used its memory erase attack, it cannot use it
again for 1d4 rounds.
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THE CREATURES OF HELL
A creature that has suffered memory loss
does not lose any experience or gain
any negative levels. It can
defend itself and it not
insane. Lost memories,
whether temporarily or
permanently lost, can be restored with
a greater restoration, heal, limited
wish, miracle or wish spell. Remove
curse does not restore lost memory.
Legends abound of powerful heroes of
the Prime Material plane who set out to
harrow Hell and who were believed
lost, yet who are in fact alive and
suffering memory loss, roaming
the wastelands of the Infernum with
no recall of their former lives. Some
brave souls have even set out to rescue
these legends and restore their memories
to them.
Skills: Like all gastropods, slugs of inanity
cling to surfaces. A slug of inanity has a
+8 racial bonus on all Climb skill checks.
S uic id e W illo w
Huge Plant (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 10d8+50 (95 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armour Class: 17 (+1 Dex, +8 natural, –2 size),
touch 9, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+29
Attack: Tentacle +16 melee (1d8+10)
Full Attack: 8 tentacles +16 melee (1d8+10)
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict 1d8+15
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., damage
reduction 5/good, resistance to cold 10 and fire 10,
immunity to disease and poison, SR 15
Saves: Fort +12, Ref +4, Will +4
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 12, Con 20, Int 13, Wis
12, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +17, Diplomacy +17,
Intimidate +17
Feats: Weapon Focus (tentacle), Combat
Expertise, Improved Feint, Power Attack
Environment: The Infernum, forests
Organisation: Solitary or grove (2–8)
Challenge Rating: 10
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
 THE CREATURES OF HELL
Advancement: 11–16 HD (Huge), 17–21 HD
(Gargantuan)
Level Adjustment: —
Suicide willows are drab, grey, animate trees with
roughly humanoid trunks that look oddly like
old women or hags, their bodies contorted and
bent, frozen in a posture of mourning. From their
outstretched branches dangle thick, ropy strands.
These have loops at the end that look exactly like
hangman’s nooses. A successful Spot check (DC 25)
from a distance of at least 30 feet is needed to notice
the loops at the end of the tentacles.
A suicide willow’s natural weapons count as evil-
aligned and lawful-aligned for the purpose of
overcoming damage reduction.
Combat
Constrict (Ex): A suicide willow deals 1d8+15
points of damage with a successful Grapple check
against a Large or smaller creature. As the willow
seizes its victim by the neck, a creature in the willow’s
grasp cannot speak nor sing, nor can it cast spells with
verbal components.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a suicide
willow must hit a Large or smaller opponent with
a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a
grapple as a free action without provoking an attack
of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it
establishes a hold and can constrict. Suicide willows
have a +4 racial bonus on Grapple checks, which is
already included in the statistics block.
Whispers Of Despair (Su): Suicide willows are
shrouded in an almost palpable aura of bleak misery,
the collected sorrow of all those who have taken
their own lives and been condemned to the Forest
of Suicides. The willows draw upon this sorrow to
beckon others to their deadly embrace. They may
emanate a subtle whispering that has a stupefying
effect on the target, drawing him helplessly to the
willow’s foot where it loops a vine around his neck.
When the willow begins to whisper, all creatures
within a 300-foot spread other than devils and
plants must succeed on a Will saving throw (DC
19) or become captivated. This is a sonic, mind-
affecting charm effect. A creature that successfully
saves cannot be affected again by the same willow’s
whispers for the next 24 hours. The save DC is
Charisma-based.
A captivated victim walks steadily towards the suicide
willow, taking the most direct route available to him.
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If the path leads into a dangerous area, such as over
the edge of a cliff or through a region filled with
hellglass spikes, then the victim is allowed a second
saving throw. Captivated creatures can take no
actions other than to defend themselves; they cannot
attack nor can they run away but they do not suffer
any penalty to Armour Class or any other defensive
penalty. A victim within 5 feet of the suicide willow
simply stands there in abject misery and does nothing
to resist the willow’s attack. At this point, the willow
will attempt to grab the victim with one of its looped
tentacles and choke him to death. The effect lasts for
as long as the willow keeps up the whispering and for
one round afterwards. A bard’s countersong ability
allows the captivated creature to attempt a new Will
saving throw.
T it a n ic S t a lker
Colossal Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 36d8+360 (522 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 80 ft. (16 squares)
Armour Class: 17 (+3 Dex, –8 size, +12 natural),
touch 5, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +36/+68
Attack: Slam +46 melee (2d8+16) or trunk slap +46
melee (4d6+8)
Full Attack: 2 slams +46 melee (2d8+16) and trunk
slap +41 melee (4d6+8)
Space/Reach: 30 ft./30 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict 4d6+24,
trample 2d8+24, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/good and
silver, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, regeneration 3, see
in darkness, spell resistance 32, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +30, Ref +22, Will +23
Abilities: Str 42, Dex 16, Con 31, Int 8, Wis 13, Cha
16
Skills: Balance +42, Concentration +49, Intimidate
+42, Listen +40, Search +40, Sense Motive +40, Spot
+40, Survival +40
Feats: Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Combat
Reflexes, Weapon Focus (slam), Greater Weapon
Focus (slam), Improved Bull Rush, Awesome Blow,
Dodge, Mobility, Improved Sunder, Iron Will
Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells
Organisation: Solitary or herd (3–12)
Challenge Rating: 16
Treasure: None
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Advancement: 37–72 HD (Colossal)
Level Adjustment: —
 THE CREATURES OF HELL

These monsters are among the most enormous found Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a titanic
anywhere in Hell. Distant cousins of the behemoths, stalker must first hit with its trunk slap attack. It can
they resemble fiendish elephants of gigantic size then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without
whose legs have been elongated by stretching, so provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the
that the result is like a mammoth crossed with a grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
cranefly. Standing at their full height, titanic stalkers It may only use this ability against gargantuan or
average seventy feet high. The heads of some of the smaller opponents.
noble devil houses, such as the heads of House Zethu
and House Carthenay, occasionally travel in huge Regeneration (Ex): A titanic stalker takes normal
howdahs dripping with ornamentation on the backs damage from silvered good-aligned weapons and
of titanic stalkers, which travel in procession across from spells or effects with the good descriptor.
the immense infernal plains.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: shout (DC 17),
Despite their titanic size, these creatures are very blasphemy (DC 20), greater dispel magic; 5/day:
agile. Their legs are as thick as tree trunks but move earthquake. The caster level is 18th and the saving
deftly, like those of insects. They can negotiate the throw DCs are Charisma-based.
crumbling mountain slopes and hellglass fields of the
Infernum with little trouble and can wade through Trample (Ex): The titanic stalker’s trample attack
deep lava because of their immunity to fire damage, deals 2d8+24 damage. The DC of the Reflex saving
keeping their passengers unscorched. Titanic stalkers throw to take half damage is 44. This saving throw
and their crews are employed to do battle against DC is Strength-based.
demonic ships close to the devils’ estates, as they can
wade into the flaming sea to a depth of 40 feet and Titanic Stalker Howdah: The howdah that is
still fight without hindrance. customarily mounted on the back of one of these
monstrosities is a small self-enclosed platform
A titanic stalker’s natural weapons and measuring 15 feet square, set in the centre
any weapons that it wields count as evil- of the stalker’s space. Any creature fighting
aligned and lawful-aligned for the from inside it benefits from cover. The usual
purpose of overcoming damage strategy is to fill the howdah with archers and
reduction. spellcasters, who can then assault flying
opponents or those on battlements. The
stalker’s movements are so graceful
Combat that the usual penalties for using
Slam: The titanic stalker ranged weapons while mounted are
attacks by smashing its huge halved. The howdah is likely to be
legs down on opponents. It can crewed by a squadron of erinyes led
make a single slam attack without by a horned devil. A command
causing its passengers any stalker will have a crew made
inconvenience. To make up of a pit fiend general and a
a full attack with both retinue of horned devils.
slams, it has to rear up.
Any creature aboard As the stalker is so tall,
the titanic stalker its passengers will
that is not secured usually rope themselves
in place must make in, securing themselves
a Balance or Climb in position in case the
skill check (DC creature rears or stumbles.
15) or fall from its This requires a Use Rope
perch. skill check (DC 10).
While roped in, a creature
Constrict (Ex): A may not move further than
titanic stalker deals 5 feet from its tethered
4d6+24 damage with position but it is safe from
a successful Grapple falling out if the stalker
check. should rear up.

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 THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
The
Organisation Of
The Devils Of
Hell
T
o the devils, organisation is paramount. Evil
that has no structure to work through is
impotent to achieve anything but destruction,
slaughter and havoc, which while they are laudable
ends in themselves are not the heights that true evil
seeks to attain.
In the political structure of the devils’ Hell, which
is fundamentally lawful and keeps each creature in
its place, the noble devils form the citizenry and the
governing elite, answering to the Princes of Hell and
to their lieutenants. They are the civitas, the bulk
of the population of Hell. They are organised into
nine great houses, each one of which has estates,
holdings, servants, a stock of the souls of the damned
and agents in the upper world. The nine houses are
continually feuding with one another. Each one has
its own specific character and interests; these lead
the houses to play perpetual power games, making
and breaking alliances across the aeons.
Alongside these runs the hierarchy of the military
devils. These are those familiar fiends found in Core
Rulebook III, such as bearded devils, bone devils and
pit fiends. They are not nearly so humanlike in their
appearance or their habits as the noble devils. Their
role is that of the standing army of Hell. They are
the dedicated warriors, whereas the noble devils are
the citizens.
Only the absolute authority of the Princes of Hell,
backed up by the fighting power of the military
devils, keeps the entire population of Hell from
dissolving into civil war. It is sometimes said that the
eternal wars between the devils and the demons are
kept going by the devils’ side purely for the reason
that the absence of a common enemy would remove
the only thing that the houses have in common and
pitch all of Hell into a vicious, eternal civil war.
Instead of open conflict, there is a seething rivalry, in
which suspicion and plotting are rife. The devils live
in an environment that has no equal when it comes
to political treachery and conniving. Being lawful,
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they are careful to be seen to play by the rules at all
times, yet being evil, they exploit these rules to their
best advantage. There is nothing a noble devil likes
more than tricking a foe into becoming the agent of
his own destruction. This is why the noble devils,
unlike the military devils, are so often associated
with contracts, pacts, unfair contests and similar
crooked deals. They hold to their side of the bargain
with compete fidelity; they will never break a deal
but they will insist that the deal is fully honoured,
even if the unfortunate victim did not read the small
print, or failed to understand exactly what he was
signing up to.
The Hierarchy of Hell
All of Hell, including the Nine Hells and any part
of the Infernum under the control of devils, is
ultimately ruled by the Princes of Hell, who are
detailed later in this chapter. These are the supreme
governors, whose leadership determines Hell’s
entire policy towards the other planes. They form
the head of what may be called the executive branch
of Infernal government.
Immediately below the Princes in rank are the
Inquisitors, the head of the judicial branch. These
elite devils are a breed of their own, who take no
part in governing but who see too all the important
judicial matters that arise in Hell. When a devil is
found to have broken the law, either the Inquisitors
themselves or one of their appointed representatives
pronounces sentence upon them. Even the Princes
are technically subject to the Inquisitors where
judicial matters are concerned.
The Princes are not only in overall command of
the populace of Hell; they direct its military forces,
too. Common mortal wisdom and the study of
demonology texts tend to give one the impression
that the overall governors of Hell are the pit fiends.
This is only true in a limited sense. The pit fiends
are the undisputed lords of the military devils but
this hierarchy is only one family of fiends, the one
that acts as the strong arm of Hell. The military
devils stand in relation to the noble devils and their
families as the armed forces stand in relation to the
citizenry in a more conventional society.
Of course, as there is so much warfare in and around
Hell, both with the demons and with the denizens
of the upper planes, the number of members of
the military is only slightly less than that of the
citizenry. This is the reason why the military devils
are all such dedicated fighters, each with their
particular brand of weaponry and natural mode of

attack. They are the ugly devils of folklore, the
rending, slashing brutes that tear the damned to
pieces. The noble devils, with their more humanoid
physiognomy, are more likely to take the part of the
smooth-voiced devil who seduces the innocent into
the ways of sin, or who whispers terrible secrets into
the ear of a sorcerer and persuades him to take up a
diabolic path.
Thus, the military devils, though they are the most
commonly encountered type of devil, are not the
sole occupants of Hell by a long way. They are
the military class of Hell’s population, the most
powerful in terms of fighting strength and thus
the most likely to be sent to the upper world on
missions of importance. The overall commanders
of the military devils are the pit fiends, who have the
authority of line commanders over the lesser species
of devil and act as the generals of Hell, under the
overall command of the Princes of Hell.
Hell is effectively under martial law and has been
for countless millennia, ever since the wars between
demons and devils began. Although the noble devils
are allowed autonomy, meaning that they can work
their estates in the Infernum and pursue their own
agendas (so long as none plays the traitor to Hell) they
may not interfere with the work of the military devils
and must submit to their demands when necessary.
For example, if an ice devil under the command of
one of the pit fiends needs to garrison troops in a
noble devil’s estate, then the noble devil must allow
this. The noble devils are allowed authority over
lemures and imps but not over any higher-ranking
devil unless that devil has specifically been placed
under the command of the household.
The noble devils do have a voice in the running
of Hell. In matters concerning the day-to-day
government of the Infernum, the supreme generals
of the pit fiends and the current heads of the noble
houses sit on a council called the Sovereign Grand
Infernal Assembly, under the presidency of the
Princes of Hell, in which policy is discussed and
disputes settled. The two branches of the infernal
population, the military and the civil, with the pitiful
lemures as a slave class and the damned souls as
little more than a resource, together make up the
society of Hell.
Relations Between Military And
Noble Devils
Members of the military castes are often assigned to
the houses of the noble devils to fulfil various duties.
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THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
In accordance with charters drawn up by the Princes
of Hell and the heads of the noble houses in times
long since past, each house is allowed a standing
military division in order to protect its interests and
defend them from the demon swarms that surge into
the Infernum from the Abyss.
Pit Fiends
A single pit fiend acts as military attaché for each
noble house. There are thus nine of them involved
in such activity at any one time. The noble devils
expect the pit fiend to represent their interests and
treat him with as much fawning courtesy as they
can, giving him gifts and servants. The pit fiends
exploit this to the full, forcing their hosts to provide
them with the estate’s best and taking full advantage
of whatever the house has to offer, whether it is
willingly proffered or not. It is mutually understood
that the pit fiend may help himself to any of the
female devils or slaves who are members of the
household, up to and including the lady of the house
herself; since female noble devils are all too often
thrill-seeking debauchees, this arrangement does not
displease them.
Horned Devils
Horned devils rarely cross paths with the noble
devils. They are such military specialists that
Hell saves them for the defence of tactically vital
locations, such as the infernal fortresses at the brink
of the Nine Hells, the openings into the Infernum
or the frontier where the clash with the demons is
presently occurring. Every head of a noble house is
assigned a retinue of four horned devils to act as a
personal bodyguard.
Ice Devils
These are the least likely devils to encounter in
noble devil society. Their role is almost exclusively
military. Ice devils also have the worst relations
with the noble devils; for reasons that nobody has
yet ascertained, the two strains of devil despise
each other. Mortal sages have theorised that the ice
devil’s insectoid form, further from the humanoid
shape than any other military devil’s (excepting
the hellcats) is the reason for this. The noble devils
enjoy emulating the ways of humans and building
a perverse version of human society in the world
below, a society to which the ice devils are resolutely
alien.
When an ice devil is found on a noble devil’s estate,
it is usually investigating some allegation of treason
prompted by a bone devil’s report. Ice devils are
 THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
in charge of those bands of devils who enforce the
public order in Hell. They are the closest thing Hell
has to a police superintendent, with the bone devils
taking the role of the constabulary and spy forces.
Barbed Devils
The barbed devils are the chief security staff of the
noble devils. They are found guarding the most vital
parts of any noble estate (such as vaults and prisons)
and may also be assigned to act as bodyguards to
less important noble family members. The barbed
devils resident on a noble devil estate are set in
charge of the more numerous bearded devils who act
as guards and sentries.
Just about every devil in Hell is a torturer of some
description but the barbed devils have a special
additional responsibility. If a political prisoner or
captive taken during war needs to be interrogated,
then the barbed devils are called in, with a staff
of chain devils to assist them. The barbed devils’
torture is reserved for those incarnate beings who
are not yet damned souls; for example, if a human
paladin were captured and dragged down into Hell,
it would be a special task force of barbed devils that
was given the job of breaking his spirit. The chain
devils are also enthusiastic torturers but are less
adept at keeping the victim alive over time; they are
better suited to rending the elastic flesh of damned
souls than the more frail flesh of mortal beings, as
the latter break too easily. See the section on Torture
in The Harvest Of Souls.
Bone Devils
These skeletal horrors are the Secret Police of the
Infernum. There is much in common between these
insidious devils and the Gestapo of Nazi Germany; if
a Games Master is in need of inspiration for how to
play a bone devil, then that is the best of archetypes
to draw upon. Bone devils do not have residences
on the noble estates but they do pay frequent visits,
just to check that all is in order. The most common
way for rival noble devils to make trouble for one
another is to create a situation that the bone devils
are obliged to come and investigate. Many a noble
devil has fallen from grace (and on some occasions
been demoted to lemure status) after being tricked
into committing an offence against the laws of Hell,
which the bone devils have then investigated and
acted upon.
The bone devils have the special prerogative of
reporting directly to the Inquisitors without going
through the normal chain of command. This is
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because the bone devils may report on the conduct
of any devil lower in authority than the Princes of
Hell, whether that devil outranks them personally or
not. For example, a bone devil could inform on a
horned devil, although the horned devils are senior
to the bone devils in Hell’s caste system.
Erinyes
The erinyes are the servants of the noble devils,
while the lemures are the slaves. There are always a
great many erinyes found in any estate of the noble
devils, as they have a great many functions. They
act as domestic servants, bedmates, sentries and
messengers between the houses. They do not do
a great deal of manual labour, leaving that to the
lesser devils under their command. An erinyes is
more of a handmaiden than a night porter to a noble
devil household. They are excellent hunters and are
often placed at the head of soul-hunts (see below) as
harrowers and spotters.
A typical noble devil mansion, occupied by a Count
of Hell of one of the houses, would contain from
four to ten of the erinyes. An erinyes is the most
likely of all the devils to be placed in service to an
evil spellcaster who has earned the favour of a noble
house. Their close resemblance to humanity and
undoubted sexual appeal serves them well in this
respect.
In the military hierarchy, the erinyes have quite
a different role. They are the scouts of Hell
par excellence and have the special function of
capturing and retrieving souls who try to escape.
With their speed of flight and their ability to ensnare
foes easily, they are the perfect agents to retrieve
those who attempt to make a break for it through
a gateway or some similar futile plan. Many noble
houses employ their erinyes servants to hunt the
skies for falling souls who can be snatched up and
claimed for the house’s soul harvest before they have
a chance to fall into the sea.
Hellcats
These fiendish felines take pleasure in allying
themselves with the various noble houses of Hell.
Not every mansion has a hellcat in residence but the
palace of the head of the house always will. The
hellcats are not pets; they are active participants in the
family’s business and intrigues. They are respected
as members of the family. The noble houses call
upon their hellcat allies to carry out covert spying
missions on each other, as the hellcats are masters of
stealth. It is very common for a household’s hellcat

to act as an unofficial bodyguard and confidant, as of
all the military devils the hellcats are more inclined
to favour the noble devils than their own military
overlords. Hellcats especially enjoy the soul-
hunting expeditions that many of the noble houses
engage in, as they are often the first to pick up on the
quarry’s track and lead the hunters after him.
Some hellcats are not allied to any of the houses
but instead throw their lot in with the military of
Hell. These are usually the largest and most vicious
of their kind. They are employed by the bone
devils in an investigative capacity, accompanying
them in the same way that police dogs accompany
mortal patrolmen. The hellcat’s ability to observe
without being observed makes it an ideal agent to
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THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
gather incriminating evidence. Hellcat testimonies
often play a decisive part in the trials of allegedly
traitorous devils.
Chain Devils
The kytons are the overseers of any labour that goes
on in a noble devil household. They can be found at
the heads of work gangs and supervising the torture
of the damned. They use their chains to enforce
discipline, lashing truculent lemures with them
and spearing those who try to get away, hauling
them back on the end of a barbed length. Kytons
also serve as the mechanics on any torture palaces
or infernal machine emplacements (see Infernal
Equipment and The Harvest Of Souls) that the
 THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL

household owns, owing to their affinity with worked
metal. They are uniquely qualified to mend broken
machinery or replace worn parts.
The other specialty of chain devils is of course the
inflicting of pain. They have one of the greatest
appetites for torture of all the devil species and
one of the most useful weapons for satisfying that
appetite to the full, the barbed chain. Kytons are
found in abundance in any hall of torment, finding
new ways to wring even more searing agonies out of
the souls of the damned and always hungry for fresh
souls to practice on.
Noble houses most commonly employ kytons as
their assassins against mortal targets who they wish
to terminate after a harrowing chase, as the kytons
enjoy the hunt so much. The chain devils are not
always efficient at surprising their prey, as they make
a lot of noise with their rattling chains but they are
extremely good at spinning out the terror and panic
the prey feels before finally finishing them off.
Bearded Devils
These are the regular patrolmen, sentries, guards and
security boys on a noble devil estate. Depending on
the size of the place and its grounds, from ten to fifty
bearded devils are likely to be found patrolling the
establishment, reporting to the barbed devils and
making sure the borders are secure. Bearded devils
on the quieter estates of Hell (yes, some estates can
be said to be relatively quiet) require a heavy hand
to supervise, as they are prone to boredom and will
happily start fights with one another if they are not
given anything else to attack.
Imps
Imps on noble estates are used for odd errands,
with the erinyes of the house set over them and as
messengers when a devil is out of telepathy range.
If, for example, it were necessary to send a message
to a Count of Hell studying in isolation in a tower,
an imp would be dispatched to relay it. Imps also
see to the little duties of day-to-day maintenance,
such as polishing the implements of torture, clearing
away the tattered fragments of devoured souls after a
banquet or sluicing a corpulent guest’s gastric juices
out of the main hallway. They have a very servile
existence, though their lot is not nearly so bad as that
of the lemures.
In the armies of Hell, imps serve as scouts and
attendants. They are especially good at spying, as
their ability to turn invisible coupled with their small
size and excellent flying manoeuvrability and speed
makes them ideal for watching without being seen.
Lemures
These wretched parodies of humanity (scarce better
than the damned souls that they once were) are the
lowest of the low among the devils of Hell. They
are used without any care or consideration. Their
job in the noble houses is to serve as mindless
menials doing the most repetitive and punishing of
tasks, such as digging, hauling and working the vast
machines of Hell. They cannot manage anything
more complicated than this, as they simply do not
have the reasoning power. No consideration is given
to their safety and they are frequently crushed, sliced
up or kicked about by bored bearded devils until
they perish.
The Noble Devils
Noble devils are a subspecies of fiend. They do not
belong to the military devil family and have several
characteristics that set them apart from the majority
of devils. They have a great interest in the upper
world, modelling their society upon it in ways that
both parody the better achievements of humans
and humanoids and celebrate all that is worst about
them. Noble devils believe in subtlety over brute
force, corruption over carnage. They hold to the
principle that one can achieve much more evil in the
Seven are they, seven are they!
In the channel of the deep seven are they!
In the radiance of heaven seven are they!
In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.
Male they are not, female they are not.
In the midst of the deep are their paths.
Wife they have not, son they have not.
Order and kindness know they not.
Prayer and supplication hear they not.
The cavern in the mountain they enter.
Unto Hea are they hostile.
The throne-bearers of the gods are they.
Disturbing the lily in the torrents are they set.
Baleful are they, baleful are they.
Seven are they, seven are they, seven twice again are
they.
May the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits
of earth remember.
- Ancient Charm against Demons

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word with a few well-chosen words and a carefully
pitched appeal to the worst in human nature than
with a full-on assault.
Unusually for devils, they dress in a very similar way
to mortals. The ultimate ideal of the noble devils is
to create Hell on Earth and it seems that they believe
the transition will be easier if Earth is parodied
in Hell. Noble devils often walk among mortals,
imitating them and sowing the seeds of evil among
them. It is much easier to do this convincingly if
you are already acclimatized to mortal society by
having lived in your own version of it on your home
plane. Noble devils visit the Prime Material plane
much more often than any other breed. As the devils
leave their evil festering in the upper world, so that
it comes closer to resembling the Hell they wish it to
be, they bring more and more of the upper world’s
ways and styles back with them.
The other reason for emulating mortals is simple
boredom and a wish for novelty. The devils
have eternity in which to amuse themselves and
many pastimes grow stale after the first thousand
repetitions; there are only so many ways to pour
molten lead into the sawn-open skull of a damned
soul, so many different shapes you can twist a body
into. The infinite variety of the upper world races,
especially the humans, is inspiring to the noble
devils, who use it to tickle their jaded palates.
Noble devils are much more humanlike in their
thinking than the military devils are. The military
species are devils of a monstrous, near-bestial kind,
lacking subtlety and artifice, while the noble devils
are given to plotting, advanced calculation and the
development of cunning schemes. Military devils
are all shrieks and roars and frenzied carnage when
in combat. Noble devils, by contrast, are precise and
ruthless.
Nobl e De v i l
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 9d8+36 (77 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), females fly 40 ft. (8
squares, good)
Armour Class: 23 (+5 Dex, +8 natural) touch 15,
flat-footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +9/+11
Attack: +1 flaming greater hellfork +11 melee
(1d8+3 plus 1d6 fire) or +1 flaming flail +11 melee
(1d8+3 plus 1d6 fire) or claw +11 melee (1d3+2)
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THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
Full Attack: +1 flaming greater hellfork +11/+6
melee (1d8+3 plus 1d6 fire) or +1 flaming flail
+11/+6 melee (1d8+3 plus 1d6 fire) or 2 claws +11
melee (1d3+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, summon devil
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +11
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 21, Con 18, Int 21, Wis 21,
Cha 21
Skills: Bluff +23, Concentration +16, Craft (any)
+11, Disguise +17, Diplomacy +21, Hide +17,
Intimidate +19, Knowledge (any two) +17, Listen
+17, Move Silently +17, Search +11, Sense Motive
+17, Spot +17
Feats: Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint,
Persuasive
Environment: The Nine Hells, The Infernum
Organisation: Solitary, group (2–8), hunting party
(4–16) or estate (6–36)
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +7
Different breeds of noble devil have different
appearances according to which house they descend
from but all have the same basic body shape. They
are humanoid with small horns, lashing forked tails
and goat-like legs that end in cloven hooves, the
classic fairytale image of a devil, completed by
the flaming pitchfork-like weapon (the hellfork,
for which see below) that is the signature weapon
of the males. Male noble devils of a classical bent
sometimes use a trident instead. Females also have
small bat-like wings that emerge from their shoulder
blades; these devils prefer a barbed flail or bow as
a weapon. The flesh is usually tinged red, the hair
lustrous black and the eyes brilliant yellow or green.
Males typically favour a widow’s peak hairstyle and
a well-groomed goatee, while the females grow their
hair long and abundant.
Combat
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 19), major image (DC 18), pyrotechnics (DC
17), scorching ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC
 THE ORGANISATION OF THE DEVILS OF HELL
Hellforks
Weapon Cost Dmg (S) Dmg (M)
Hellfork (light) 15 gp 1d4 1d6
Greater Hellfork 20 gp 1d6 1d8
19), wall of fire (DC 19). Male noble devils also
have scrying (DC 19) as a spell-like ability, usable
three times per day. The caster level is 12th. The
save DCs are Charisma-based.
Polymorph (Su): All noble devils have an alternate
humanoid form, which they may assume at will as
a standard action. This transformation does not
cure any hit points. The humanoid form retains the
same general build (slim, fat, muscular and so forth)
and facial features as the devil, without any of the
devilish features. The devil loses its natural attacks
when in humanoid form and female devils cannot
fly without their wings. Most noble devils have a
human alternate form, though some prefer to adopt
the forms of elves or dwarves. The noble devil will
adopt this form when interacting with upper world
society, so that the agenda of Hell can be pursued
without attracting undue suspicion.
The devil can maintain this form indefinitely so long
as nothing threatens or harms it. If the devil suffers
good-aligned damage, such as from a holy smite, it
must make a Concentration check (DC 10 + total
good-aligned damage suffered) or revert to its devil
form. If this should happen, the devil cannot assume
its alternate form for one hour.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, a noble devil
can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded
devils or one erinyes with a 50% chance of success.
This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Skills: Noble devils are some of the most smooth,
accomplished liars in the multiverse and can talk the
hind legs off a tarrasque. It is next to impossible to
avoid being taken in by their glibness and persuasive
talking. They benefit from a +4 racial bonus to all
Bluff and Diplomacy checks.
The Hellfork
Hellforks are the favourite martial weapon of the
male noble devils. The image of the hellfork is
instantly recognisable as a symbol of Hell. They
come in two sizes, the regular hellfork and the
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Critical Range Increment Weight Type
19–20/x2 10 ft. 2 lb. Piercing
19–20/x2 10 ft. 4 lb. Piercing
greater. Ordinary hellforks are light, single-handed
jabbing weapons that look like large toasting
forks (or small tridents) with barbed ends. Noble
devils ram them into the flesh of damned souls for
amusement. At social gatherings, it is customary
to skewer chunks of the flesh of the damned with
hellforks and broil them over a raging fire. Greater
hellforks are similar to two-tined tridents and look
more like pitchforks. When a hellfork scores a
critical hit, the prongs are driven deeply into the
victim’s body and then ripped out; the barbs cause
horrendous damage as the weapon is withdrawn.
H o us es O f The U n ho ly
The noble devils all belong to one of the nine great
houses, or to a lesser line that is affiliated to one
of the families. These families are detailed in the
chapters that follow.
Signature Magical Items
The heads of the houses all wield one or more
powerful magical items, which have been in the
keeping of the house since ancient times. These
magical items are all of artefact calibre; they are
unique and may not be recreated. If a house ever lost
one of its magical items, it would stop at nothing to
recover it, even going to the extent of turning aside
from the ongoing wars and breaking alliances with
other houses until the item was returned.
As Hell is a lawful society, it is understood that the
honour of the house depends on its reserving its
signature items for its own use, so a war to recover
a lost item is legitimate, if regrettable. Those good
agencies that attempt to lessen the power of Hell
have sought to set the houses against one another by
mounting expeditions to steal one of the items and
leave evidence that blames one of the other infernal
houses.

House
Astyanath, Th e
Cruel
T
he noble devils of House Astyanath are steeped
in the arts of cruelty. To them, the Infernum is
all about pain, more than anything else. They
are devout sadists and (to a great extent) masochists
too, as the tastes of the family run to embracing pain
as well as inflicting it. They like nothing more than
finding what will most hurt a person and then twisting
the metaphorical knife. This extends to psychological
aspects of torture as well as the physical. They have
sharp tongues as well as sharp knives. The devils of
House Astyanath inspire mortals to insult and belittle
one another, whispering ingeniously catty comments
into people’s ears so that they may strip others of their
self-esteem and confidence. The more tears their
victims shed, the more the devils of House Astyanath
laugh.
Appearance
Members of House Astyanath are slim and sleek,
taller than humans with sharp features and almond
eyes. They have no body hair at all and their skin is
as black and shiny as polished leather. Their bodies
are covered with tiny hooks and barbs, remarkably
like the thorns found on the stems of roses. A row
of thicker thorn-like protrusions runs down the spine
and on to the top of the tail. According to the theories
of demonology, they are most closely related to the
barbed devils, though they enjoy the company of
chain devils most as they share their passionate
interest in tearing up flesh. When in human form,
they have pale white skin, elven build and glossy
black hair.
The Astyanaths have a penchant for barbaric metal
jewellery that threads through their bodies, fashioned
by the kytons. Many of them have deep, self-inflicted
wounds that they hold open with metal rings or ribs.
This jewellery has magical properties, for which see
the entry on Astyanath Piercing Rings, below.
Character
Astyanaths are proud and arrogant even by the
standards of devils, utterly convinced of their own
beauty, intelligence and blood superiority. They
delight in gossip, malice and poisonous rumours,
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coming up with elegantly cutting comments about
those who are not in favour. A typical Astyanath can
be compared to a cruel demimondaine or diva, very
much in control of the scene around her and able to
cause pain with a single word.
Astyanaths are great ones for holding court and
hosting grand parties of torment to which only a
select few are invited. It is made quite plain to the
attendees that a different quality of pain is available
at an Astyanath ball than at any other place in Hell;
they are the elite, the master craftsmen and women of
torture and one had better stay in favour if one wishes
to remain safe. Astyanaths are extremely adept at
character assassination and can stick knives in your
back as readily as using them to flay the skin from
your body.
The devils of House Astyanath have a not-so-secret
conviction that they are the most truly devilish of all
the devils. In form and in character, they are clearly
the most truly representative of Hell. They do not
waste time with acquisition, like the Carthenays,
or with study, like the Zethu; instead, they devote
themselves to perfecting the arts of torment, which is
what being a devil is all about.
Habits
As might be expected, the chief delights of the
members of House Astyanath are those that involve
tormenting the damned. They attempt to do this in
more and more inventive ways, creating macabre and
complicated devices that gore, gouge and eviscerate.
Members of House Astyanath build more torment
palaces than any other house and they will not tolerate
any comparison in quality with those of the others.
Astyanaths can nurse grudges for thousands of years,
savouring the cold burn of their desire for revenge.
The crowning glory of an Astyanath’s career is to
carry out that revenge by dragging a pure agent of
good down into Hell and torturing it slowly over
the months and years, keeping it alive. A paladin or
good-aligned cleric is quite a catch, as these frequent
the Prime Material plane and are relatively easy to
snatch away; even better is a half-celestial, who can
have his wings steadily plucked and finally carved
from his body; the best of all is a celestial, such as
an archon or a planetar. House Astyanath already
hold six captive celestials prisoner in the deepest
dungeons of Chateau Malaise, where (if rumours are
to be believed) they are taunted with open gates to the
Prime Material plane, only to find when they struggle
towards these gates that their flesh has been impaled
with huge hooks on chains; the harder they try to fly
 HOUSE ASTYANATH

towards freedom, the more sorely they are torn. The of the thumbscrew, a device that human clerics have
gates are, of course, always closed before the celestial occasionally found very useful.
has any chance to reach them.
Estates
Interest In Mortals The greater part of the Astyanath estates is situated
The Astyanaths see in the humanoid races in the shadow of the Steeples of Pain. The castle of
a wonderful potential for cruelty. the head of the house is called Chateau Malaise and
Every time a small boy pulls the is made entirely of razor-sharp hellglass. There is not
wings from a fly or a little girl tells a soft surface anywhere within the place. Everything
spiteful tales and lands an innocent is knife-edges, needlepoints and ripping barbs. For
playmate in trouble, the cold black details of hellglass, see Infernal Environments.
hearts of House Astyanath exult.
They inspire humans to set aside their
humanity and lose all regard for mercy, Modifiers And Special
respecting pain and the value it has. Abilities
If the human can be persuaded Members of House Astyanath are less
to practice its cruel acts while competent to summon other devils
justifying this, claiming that than those from other houses,
it is in the best interests possibly because of their
of the victim, then the tendency to set themselves so
victory of Astyanath is far above the other breeds.
complete. Astyanaths Their attempts to summon
gain a 10% bonus to other devils (see above)
Corruption earned have only a 20% chance
from inducing of success, irrespective of
mortals to commit what is being summoned.
acts of emotional or This lessened ability to
physical cruelty. summon help means
that the Astyanaths tend
Torments to go around in packs,
or ‘cliques’ as they are
Those damned
souls unfortunate often called and are rarely
enough to be encountered alone.
given over to the
Astyanaths suffer They gain the power to use
the pains of Hell in symbol of pain at will as a
the most immediate spell-like ability (DC 20)
and physical sense. though they may have no
It is not possible to more than one such symbol
describe fully the agonies active at any one time.
that the Astyanaths, who
are masters of cruelty, Relations
inflict upon the damned, on Astyanaths are widely respected
grounds of good taste; but we among the houses of Hell. Even in
may adumbrate a regimen that has the absence of any formal alliance, the
been known to include peeling off skin, Sturrachs look to them for leadership, while
the insertion of fine needles into ears and eyes, they look to the Sturrachs for military support.
removal of fingernails, lips and teeth, slow stretching
across many square yards until the victim comes to Astyanaths utterly despise the members of House
resemble a vaguely humanoid membrane that is then Oblurott, who are crass where they are refined, gross
punctured in strategic places, along with assorted where they are fine and more interested in luxury
grindings, eviscerations and tearings performed by than in pain. The most carefully crafted, witty
the Astyanath machines. The Astyanaths are fond of Astyanath insult is likely to fly right over the head
their devices and are said to have been the inventors of an Oblurott, while the slim, wicked blades of the

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Astyanath torturers are not very effective against the
pulpy bulk of an Oblurott body, not that the Oblurott
would be likely to feel much in any case.
Currently, House Astyanath is allied with House
Riethii, the alliance cemented with the union of
the Majestrix Irania of the Astyanaths and Lady
Barbelion, the High Voluptuary of the Riethii. This
union forms the strong base of the Triad of the Fine,
the other member being House Zethu.
Notabl e M e mbe rs Of Ho u s e
Ast yan at h
The head of House Astyanath is always female and
given the honorific title of the Mater Lachrymae
(Mother of Tears); the current holder of the title is the
Majestrix Irania de Malfaisance, a statuesque devil-
queen whose body is covered in blazing tattoos.
The Majestrix Irania: Female noble devil Sor 20;
CR 28; Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+36
plus 20d4+80; hp 159 (48 points lost to piercings);
Init +10; Spd 30 ft, fly 40 ft, (good); AC 24 (+6 Dex,
+8 natural) touch 16, flat-footed 18; Base attack:
+19; grp: +21; Atk +26 melee (1d8+7 plus 1d6 fire
plus laceration, +5 flaming flail of laceration) or
+21 melee (1d3+2, claw); Full Atk +26/+21/+16/
+11 melee (1d8+7 plus 1d6 fire plus laceration, +5
flaming flail of laceration) or +21 melee (1d3+2,
claw); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft; SA spell-like abilities,
summon devil; SQ damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.; AL
LE; SV Fort +16, Ref +18, Will +24; Str 14, Dex 22,
Con 18, Int 21, Wis 22, Cha 24.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +45, Concentration +29,
Craft (alchemy) +12, Craft (jewellery) +23, Disguise
+19, Diplomacy +23, Hide +18, Intimidate +34,
Knowledge (arcana) +23, Knowledge (nobility
& royalty) +14, Knowledge (the planes) +20,
Knowledge (religion) +23, Listen +18, Move Silently
+18, Search +13, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +23,
Spot +18; Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint,
Persuasive, Combat Casting, Weapon Focus (ray),
Improved Initiative, Empower Spell, Quicken Spell,
Enlarge Spell.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 21), major image (DC 20), pyrotechnics (DC
19), scorching ray (three rays), symbol of pain (DC
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22), unholy blight (DC 21), wall of fire (DC 21). The
caster level is 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-
based.
Polymorph (Su): Irania’s alternate form is of a tall,
bald, elven female with a cruel smile and extensive
tattoos, a trait from her devil shape that she refuses
to conceal.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Irania can
attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded devils
or one erinyes with a 20% chance of success. This
ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Spells Known: (6/8/8/8/7/7/7/7/6/6; save DC 17
+ spell level); 0th level: resistance, daze, mending,
message, detect magic, read magic, touch of fatigue,
mage hand, arcane mark,; 1st level: protection from
chaos, protection from good, mage armour, true
strike, identify; 2nd level: resist energy, detect
thoughts, hideous laughter, touch of idiocy, cat’s
grace; 3rd level: magic circle against good, magic
circle against chaos, fireball, vampiric touch; 4th
level: arcane eye, crushing despair, phantasmal killer,
enervation; 5th level: dominate person, feeblemind,
nightmare, waves of fatigue; 6th level: greater dispel
magic, symbol of persuasion, chain lightning; 7th
level: banishment, plane shift, mass hold person; 8th
level: binding, mass charm monster, horrid wilting;
9th level: weird, energy drain, wail of the banshee.
Treasure: Kindness, her +5 flaming flail of
laceration; 6 Astyanath Piercing Rings.
+5 Flaming Flail Of Laceration (Axiomatic,
Unholy): This is an iron-handled lash whose three
strands have clearly come from one of Hell’s black
rose bushes, as they writhe and surge towards any
potential victim, eager to slake their inch-long thorns
in blood. As it is an axiomatic, unholy weapon, it
deals an additional 2d6 damage upon any creature
of Chaotic alignment and an additional 2d6 damage
upon any creature of Good alignment. Any chaotic or
good creature attempting to wield it gains a negative
level while the weapon is wielded.
The flail is so thickly set with cruel thorns that it
deals slashing rather than bludgeoning damage and
functions as a wounding weapon, inflicting a point
of Constitution damage from blood loss whenever it
hits a creature (see Core Rulebook II). In addition,
any creature struck by the flail must make a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 20) or be wracked with agony as if
by a symbol of pain. This agony lasts for one hour.
Three of these objects are known to exist, each one
named. That borne by Irania is called Kindness; the
 HOUSE ASTYANATH

others are called Charity and Compassion. Whether effect upon the wearer and giving him or her a
this reflects some part of the Astyanath philosophy damage reduction of 10/adamantine. Any one ring
of pain or whether it is simply an ironic joke is may prevent a total of 150 points of weapon damage,
unknown. after which it is exhausted. Once one ring has been
exhausted, the next takes over. They do not function
Others: Important nobles and allies of House simultaneously. Any one creature may wear a
Astyanath are Princess Thanee, the deranged maximum of six of these piercing rings. They do not
daughter of Irania; Duke Khal, the brother/son of count as ‘rings’ for the purpose of determining how
Irania, begotten on her by her own father, who is a many magical items a creature may use at once.
renegade to House Sturrach; Luxibel and Vantangro,
the hellcats of the household and Numinus Wackett, The members of House Astyanath keep these
a mortal human sorcerer who resides in the magical piercing rings for their own immediate
Infernum as the liaison between Astyanath and households and their most loyal servants.
the human world. They are a badge of rank as well as a form
of personal armour. Any member of
the house or important servant who has
proven their loyalty may wear one, heads
Sec re t s of households are entitled to two, regional
Of H o u s e estate commanders may wear three, senior
lords within the family are given four, the
Asty an at h immediate relatives of the head of house
are allowed five and only the head of
Astyanath Piercing the house herself is allowed to wear
the full six.
Rings
The body jewellery sported The rings have an additional function.
by so many members of the They compel obedience. When
Astyanath house, made for a ring-wearing creature wears
them by the chain devils fewer of the Astyanath rings than
and enchanted by their another creature, it suffers a
own dedicated spellcasters, –2 penalty to Will saving
is not only ornamental but throws against spells
also functional. Each ring and spell-like abilities
must be forcibly driven from that creature for
through the flesh of the every ring that the
wearer and hammered shut in senior creature has.
order to function. For example, if
an Astyanath of
The piercing process for four rings cast a spell
each ring deals 3d4 points upon one of two rings,
of damage that can never be the latter would suffer
healed so long as the ring is a –4 penalty to its Will saving
worn. Once removed, it heals throw. Mortals are sometimes
naturally. The technique persuaded to accept a ring as
for fitting the piercing is a ‘reward’, only to find that it
kept within the Astyanath makes it far harder for them to
house. Unless the ring is escape from abject thraldom to
fitted in the proper way, it the Astyanaths. Of course, if
will not function. they are serving willingly,
then they welcome this
Each ring has a damage domination…
absorption function,
conferring a stoneskin

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House
Carthenay, The
Hoarders
T
he noble devils of House Carthenay prize
wealth over all else. Money, to them, is the root
of all evil, which makes it the most precious of
possessions for a lord of Hell. It is no coincidence that
both the God Pluto (from whence we have plutocrat
and other words to do with wealth) and the Devil
Mammon were both occupants of the underworld.
Hell and buried treasure are both found deep under
the Earth’s surface and mortals have long associated
the two with one another, often expecting devils to
be found guarding legendary hordes of gold. The
Carthenays are as greedy for possessions and material
objects (and other forms of wealth such as slaves
and, of course, souls) as the Oblurotts are greedy for
food and drink. When, in the upper world, a man
murders his fellow man for money, the influence of
the Carthenays is at work.
Wealth in the conventional sense (such as gold and
gems) is of course of little account in Hell; such things
are used to bribe mortals into signing away their souls
and to fund the projects that the devils undertake in
the mortal world. The true treasures are such things
as magical items, gems with trapped souls in, stores of
adamantium and other raw materials for making arms
and armour, although gems into which innocent souls
have been bound are some of the most precious items
in Hell. Contracts, incriminating letters and other
important documents are also the kinds of wealth
prized by the Carthenays.
Appearance
Carthenays have what Shakespeare called ‘a lean and
hungry look’. They are wispy-haired and pinch-faced,
with a thinning, grey tinge to their hair. Carthenays
are Hell’s misers and look the part. Often, they are
hunched, gnarly-fingered and bespectacled. Very
few of them seem to be young. The males favour
waistcoats, half-moon glasses and gold-inlaid canes,
while the females dress in faded ball gowns and cover
themselves with jewellery.
Character
The Carthenay temperament is extraordinarily mean.
They never forget a favour owed or a debt unpaid and
begrudge even the tiniest expense. As with many
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HOUSE CARTHENAY
hoarders, they are completely paranoid about the
security of their goods and the trustworthiness of the
people around them. Carthenays will have servants
flayed alive if they suspect that pilfering has gone
on. The surest way to threaten a Carthenay is to
endanger his wealth, while the best way to get on his
good side is to bribe him with riches or offer favours.
Carthenays keep meticulous track of all their affairs;
they are the most parsimonious record-keepers of all
the devils. Any devil will offer to buy your soul, but
only a Carthenay will haggle over the price.
Another aspect of the Carthenay character is their
exactitude in matters of law. They know all of the
rules of Hell, the history and the details of them and
can recite them on demand. Carthenays are the most
likely devils to be called up as barristers in the Courts
of Hell.
Habits
Carthenays care little for the social interactions of
the other noble devils. To them, the only meetings
worth having are those to do with commerce, business
and (most of all) making deals. They have audience
chambers for this purpose, carefully situated away
from any goods that might be stolen from them. The
only other social activities they take part in are those
when they attempt to curry the favour of senior devils;
they occasionally parade important guests around
their holdings, gloating over the extent of their wealth
and showing off their latest acquisitions.
Carthenays are not just accumulators of their own
wealth and resources. Avarice is, after all, the sin
of using wealth to build more wealth, not just that of
being mean. They act as bankers for the other noble
houses, keeping their goods stored in the deepest
vaults of Hell. This relationship, along with the
Carthenays’ reputation for ruthlessly exact dealing,
gives the house a measure of respect that no other
house enjoys. Many despise the Carthenays but their
usefulness is undeniable.
When in the Infernum, it is a Carthenay habit to have
a secretarial imp flutter close behind one at all times,
with a quill and parchment ready. This ensures that
no important conversation ever takes place without a
record of what was said by whom, in case it becomes
necessary to refer back to it.
Interest In Mortals
In the context of the general agenda of Hell, the
Carthenay role is to promote greed and avarice.
They induce mortals to give up any aspirations to
charity and instead keep their goods for their own
 HOUSE CARTHENAY

enjoyment. Slave-traders are particular favourites of

the Carthenays, as they both further human misery and
Modifiers And Special Abilities
Carthenays have Appraise as a class skill; for a
increase profits. The Carthenays make the rewards of
standard specimen, substitute one of the Knowledge
exploiting others for material gain very clear to the
skill options for an Appraise skill of +17.
people of the Prime Material. Carthenays receive
a 10% bonus to all Corruption earned for deeds of
They also have the inherent power to transmute base
avarice, greed or small-heartedness.
substances to gold or silver for a limited time, a power
that is often used to tempt mortals into the service of
Carthenays are also interested in mortals because
Hell. Treat this as a spell-like ability, with the devil
of own their keen desire to go on acquiring souls of
having the power to cast polymorph any object three
quality. As well as taking the usual devils’ route of
times per day as if by a 12th level caster, with the
waiting for the damned to fall from the sky or fishing
limitation (and the exception to the usual rule of the
them out of the Sea of Fire, the Carthenay house
spell) that it may only be used to transmute base metals
picks out especially fine specimens on the Prime
into an equal quantity of gold or silver. Materials so
Material plane and attempts to corrupt them, selecting
transmuted remain in this state for 24-hours.
targets after careful scrying of the upper world. The
formula is well worked out. A devil of the house of
Carthenay (in human form, as a rather charming old Relations
gentleman) will approach a mortal who is down on his All of the noble houses of Hell, with the exceptions
luck and offer him a quick solution to his problems; of Haimon and Glabretch, have a good deal of wealth
the exchange of his soul, which is not something he stored in the Treasury of Mammon and in the other
really needs anyway, for an immediate increase in vaults of the Carthenays. This makes for a balance
prosperity. Upon the mortal’s death, his soul is forfeit of power more lasting than any purely political
and may be collected by one of the many thousand arrangement. The Carthenays have a very strong and
devils in the house’s service. stable position among the houses of Hell. They do not
rock the boat, nor do they like others to.
Torments House Haimon and House Glabretch are contemptuous
Carthenays are not especially interested in tormenting
of wealth of any kind. The former looks to all things
their damned souls. They own them and that is enough.
morbid and withered, while the latter is preoccupied
A damned soul in the Carthenay vaults is tormented
with disease and disfigurement. Neither house has
with utter desolation and boredom, not with hot irons
very much use for material resources. As such, the
or racks. They have nothing to look forward to except
Carthenays do not have the lever of influence with
an unending gloom of confinement with no possibility
them that they do with the other houses, making for
of escape. Some of these poor wretches even envy
mutual suspicion and hatred. Their only other major
the lot of those who are taken by the Astyanaths or
problems are with House Sturrach, who they see as
the Sturrachs, since they at least know some variety
dangerously impetuous and too fond of mayhem.
even if it is only the variety of being torn to shreds in
Carthenays like the assured corruption of a well-
a different way each morning.
ordered system, not the wanton, bloody violence of
combat, no matter how lawfully ordered or ordained
Estates it may be.
The Carthenays have the most extensive and best
fortified of all estates, owning much of the territory
on the fringes of the flaming sea. They hold the N o t a b le Mem b er s O f H ous e
immense Treasury of Mammon, a multi-chambered
vault deep below the surface of the Infernum, where
C a r t hen a y
The head of House Carthenay is called the Great
the riches of many of the heads of the noble houses
Mammon (this is actually a title, not a proper name, a
are stored. This is accessible only through the titanic
point which has greatly confused mortal researchers)
armoured gateways in the Carthenay estates. Though
and the position currently belongs to Grand Duke
the Carthenays are well entrenched, they have little in
Contumacius von Berrengrath, a monocle-wearing
the way of offensive equipment such as siege devices,
devil who appears to be many thousands of years old,
as they have no interest in taking any part in the Blood
so hoary and decrepit is he. This haggard appearance
Wars other than defending what is theirs.
disguises his true nature, which is lightning-quick and
lethal when he chooses to be. His teeth have long
since been lost and replaced with carved diamonds,
which have nothing of their original beauty left, now

72
mike mitchell (order #8652403)

that centuries of tobacco-tinged drool have dribbled
over them.
Contumacius von Berrengrath: Male noble devil
Rog 20; CR 28; Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD
9d8+36 plus 20d6+80; hp 227; Init +11; Spd 30 ft.;
AC 25 (+7 Dex, +8 natural) touch 17, flat-footed 18;
Base Atk: +24; gRP: +26; Atk +31 melee (1d6+6
plus 1d6 fire, +4 flamimg hellfork of impaling) or
+31 melee (1d3+2, claw); Full Atk +31/+26/+21/+16
melee (1d6+6 plus 1d6 fire, +4 flaming hellfork of
impaling) or +31 melee (1d3+2, claw); Space/Reach
5 ft./5 ft; SA spell-like abilities, summon devil; sneak
attack 10d6 SQ damage reduction 5/good, darkvision
60 ft, evasion, immunity to fire and poison, improved
uncanny dodge, polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and
cold 10, see in darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy
100 ft.; AL LE; SV: Fort 16, Ref 25, Will 18; Str 14,
Dex 24, Con 18, Int 21, Wis 22, Cha 22.
Skills and Feats: Appraise +30, Balance +37, Bluff
+22, Concentration +15, Craft (trapmaking)
+10, Decipher Script +36, Disguise
+16, Diplomacy +20, Disable
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
HOUSE CARTHENAY
Device +38, Forgery +36, Gather Information +25,
Hide +26, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (the planes)
+17, Knowledge (history) +17, Listen +17, Move
Silently +26, Open Lock +37, Search +12, Sense
Motive +18, Sleight of Hand +38, Spot +18, Use
Magic Device +18, Use Rope +23; Dodge, Combat
Expertise, Improved Feint, Persuasive, Improved
Initiative, Weapon Finesse, Mobility, Spring Attack,
Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (hellfork).
Treasure: +4 flaming hellfork of impaling (see
below), +5 ring of protection, monocle of miserly
sight. Contumacius’ personal treasury contains some
five hundred million gold pieces in Hell’s Gold.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm
monster (DC 20), major image (DC 19),
pyrotechnics (DC 18), scorching ray
(three rays), unholy blight (DC
20), wall of fire (DC 20); 3/day
- scrying (DC 20). The caster
level is 12th. The save DCs
are Charisma-based.
 HOUSE CARTHENAY
Polymorph (Su): Contumacius’ alternate form is of
a short, tubby, jovial old human banker, remarkably
like Mister Pickwick as created by Charles Dickens.
He retains his monocle of miserly sight when in this
form.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Contumacius can
attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded devils
or one erinyes with a 50% chance of success. This
ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
+4 Flaming Hellfork Of Impaling (Axiomatic,
Unholy): This magical light hellfork (see above) has
the name of Morton and is as greedy for the blood
of enemies as its owner is for their possessions. If
it scores a hit, its barbs clamp into the flesh of the
target, keeping the hellfork locked fast in the target’s
body. On each round after this, it automatically
hits and causes maximum damage. The wielder’s
Strength bonus is not included in this, as the wielder
only drives the hellfork in once. A person impaled by
the hellfork can attempt to pull it out of his body as a
standard action, if he has a free hand to do so. Another
person can also attempt to do this. A successful
Strength check at a DC of 25 is required to achieve
this; whether or not the check is successful, the
hellfork deals damage as if it had scored a hit (though
not automatically scoring maximum damage) with
every attempt to extract it, as the barbs rip and tear
at the flesh. The wielder may summon the hellfork
back to his hand as a free action, so long as he is
within 200 feet of it. Contumacius’ preferred tactic
is to sneak attack his foes with Morton, teleport away
to a safe distance and watch as the victim struggles
to pull Morton out of his body. Should he succeed,
Contumacius simply summons Morton back to his
hand and either retreats or finds a spot to hurl Morton
from again.
Monocle Of Miserly Sight: This is a gold-rimmed
crystal lens on a chain that fits snugly over one eye.
It gives the user extraordinary precision of sight, with
the following magical effects:
† Continual +5 insight bonus to all Appraise and
Search skill checks.
† Continual true seeing.
† Ability to produce true strike three times per
day.
Others
Important nobles and allies of House Carthenay
are Zephestus Baunt, the devil in charge of soul
traffic with the upper world and scribe of standard
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
soul-trading contract forms; Luxibel Toadscroate,
the keeper of House Carthenay’s hall of records,
in which the contents of the Vault of Mammon are
meticulously detailed; Oleaginus Cresk, the grinning
salesman extraordinaire who has successfully talked
more mortals into parting with their souls for money
than any other devil; and Titus Spittlegreave, the sour-
faced supervisor of the legions of bearded devils who
guard the Carthenay vaults.
S ec r et s O f H o us e
C a r t hen a y
Hell’s Gold
It is well known that the treasuries of Hell put
dragons’ hordes to shame. Enormous mounds of
glittering coins seem to give the lie to the platitude
that evil does not pay. This gold is mined from the
rich veins of the underworld and minted into coin by
the mindless slaves of the devils. On its own plane,
the Infernum, the stuff is not a great deal of use. It is
too plentiful and besides, there is nothing to spend it
on. Nonetheless, the devils still hoard it and wear it
as jewellery.
When taken from its own plane, Hell’s gold seems
to be a very pure form of the metal. Mortals who
are given bags of it often cannot believe their luck.
However, luck is the very thing that Hell’s gold
corrodes. If a person who is given Hell’s gold by
a devil then passes it to someone else as a gift or in
trade, the person who receives the gold suffers a –2
luck penalty to all saving throws for as long as he has
the gold in his possession. If he then passes it on
to another person, the curse is transferred to them.
The gold is a cursed item (other than when on the
Infernum), so a person must voluntarily take it in
order to suffer the penalty. One cannot slip a coin to
another person or throw it at them in order to saddle
them with bad luck. Knowingly passing cursed gold
to another in order to rid yourself of it is possible but it
is an evil act (Sin Rating 2) and generates corruption.
The only way to get rid of the curse without harming
anyone is to throw the gold away or destroy it.
The nature of the gold may be detected easily by
anyone who troubles to try; it is tinged with evil magic
with a flavour of necromancy. Any attempt to remove
the malign influence from the gold itself is doomed
to failure. The gold of Hell melts into rotten slush if
such spells as remove curse or even dispel magic are
cast upon it anywhere other than in the Infernum. The
touch of a lawful good individual who is genuinely
pure of heart and without any trace of corruption also
causes the coins to dissolve into foul-smelling goo.

House
Glabretch, The
Putrid
H
ell is an orderly place. Over millennia of
specialisation, the devils of Hell have all
come to embody one of the fundamentals of
evil. House Astyanath is cruel, House Carthenay
is avaricious and House Sturrach is violent. House
Glabretch is simply disgusting. They are the least
sophisticated of all the noble devils, even exceeding
the coarseness of House Oblurott. The members
of House Glabretch venerate all that is diseased,
infested, rotten, loathsome and venomous. They are
the devils that exult in plagues, the epidemics that
wipe out whole cities and leave the dead piled up in
the streets but also in the secret, shameful diseases
that are spread in private, of which the signs are often
little more than scabs and odours but which eventually
kill just as surely as the plague does. When the upper
world groans with fever, when the sewers overflow,
the leprous lie in the streets and the flies and rats
have the run of the cities, House Glabretch rejoices
in Hell.
Appearance
These devils have a sickly greenish tinge to their skin.
They all display the symptoms of a common disease
(see Core Rulebook II) though the sickness does not
seem to interfere with their activities. They embrace
disease symptoms and go out of their way to make
them prominent and noticeable. The disease chosen
will vary from devil to devil. Some have obvious skin
conditions, such as the bubo devils that are covered
with skin lesions that constantly seep vile-smelling
ichors. Others seem to have respiratory ailments,
wheezing constantly and hacking up fist-sized gobs
of phlegm, while a few judder with the symptoms
of palsy and a fortunate few suffer from leprosy or
gangrene. Some Glabretches of high rank within the
house cultivate parasites instead of diseases. These
devils have bodies swarming with lice and ticks, or
bloated bellies from the worms that breed therein.
Character
The devils of House Glabretch do not just prize
disease and disfigurement, they actively despise
beauty. They embody the twisted principle that ‘fair
is foul and foul is fair’. They cannot see a thing of
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HOUSE GLABRETCH
conventional beauty without thinking it would be
better defiled. A strong, fit body would to them be
much improved with the addition of some weeping
sores, a tapeworm or two in the guts and perhaps a
chronic nervous complaint as well. They are so keen
to trample all beautiful things into the mud that they
will often make quite generous deals with mortals
who give them an opportunity to do so. A mortal
sorcerer who offered House Glabretch the chance
to spend several decades turning a beautiful princess
into a pestilent, bloated, unrecognisable freak would
have much more leverage than one who only offered
a quantity of innocent souls. To the Glabretches,
corruption should be a visible, tangible thing – a
literal rottenness or sickness of the body, not just a
morally low state.
Those who have studied the ways of House Glabretch
at length know the reason for their hatred of the
beautiful. Like the erinyes, they were once angels
and have a very clear memory of how far they have
fallen. Unlike the erinyes (for whom they do not
care) they retain no vestige of their original angelic
loveliness. The devils of Glabretch have a passionate,
unquenchable hatred for beauty because they see it
as the work of a benign creator. By ruining the best
creations, they are punishing Heaven for having cast
them out.
Habits
The devils of Glabretch are gregarious. They like to
congregate in large numbers, knowing that where they
are gathered, others will find it difficult to bear their
vile odours. The other devils tolerate them, as they
fear falling victim to the diseases that the Glabretches
carry. Devils are tough but they are not immune to
disease. The Glabretches know this and capitalise
upon it, making sure that the other devils give them
the respect that they feel they are due. Very few of
the noble devils visit Glabretch estates, for the simple
reason that they do not want to expose themselves to
the diseases that breed there.
Glabretch society is focused upon the seething pits,
which are the main feature of any Glabretch estate.
These are the equivalent of a public bath for these
devils, in which the bathing matter is a glutinous
sludge that resembles maggoty algae. The stuff is
lethally dangerous for mortals even to touch, acting
as a contact poison (DC 18), an initial damage of 1d4
Constitution and secondary damage of 2d4 Charisma.
The Glabretches immerse themselves in these reeking
vats for pleasure and rejuvenation. Every hour that a
Glabretch spends in a seething pit is the equivalent of
a day of rest, with the same natural healing benefits.
 HOUSE GLABRETCH
Certain especially qualified members of the Glabretch
house, namely those who have over 10 ranks in both
Craft (alchemy) and Heal (a skill which is never used
for actual healing but only for the study of diseases
and parasites) become disease harvesters. It is the
job of these researchers to scrutinise the new strains
of disease that are spontaneously created from the
stew of foulness that is the infestation burrows. With
this new information, the house of Glabretch extends
its arsenal of what are essentially tools of biological
warfare.
Disease harvesters also have the ability to create
plague grenades containing a disease of the devil’s
choice, which require a Craft (alchemy) skill check
at the same DC that is needed to resist the disease
and free access to the infestation burrows. These
are bundles of highly concentrated infection encased
in a blister-like skin, which the Glabretches hurl at
enemies. When a plague grenade bursts, it sends up
a fug of particles in a ten-foot spread. The stench
of this affects creatures in this area as if a Glabretch
had been standing amongst them, while the disease-
infested particles force all creatures in the affected
area to make a Fortitude saving throw or contract
the disease bound into the plague grenade. The
Glabretch’s ability to increase the DC of the disease’s
saving throw applies here.
Interest In Mortals
Glabretches see mortals as flawed but nonetheless
sound creations that should be infected, befouled
and dragged down into the slime wherever possible.
They share something of House Astyanath’s appetite
for suffering, as a quick death does not allow the
disease the chance to wreck the body of the victim
properly. There is no point in hastening the end
when the progress of the illness is so fascinating and
uncomfortable. As the Glabretches are so vile in their
habits and mortals find them hard to tolerate even
when they are in human form, they have relatively
few dealings with mortal spellcasters and rarely
become patrons. The most likely time for them to
recruit pawns is when a city is labouring under the
weight of plague.
Humans have a saying that cleanliness is next to
godliness. Glabretches go out of their way in the
mortal world to prove that the reverse is certainly
true – that filthiness is close to Hell’s heart. They like
nothing more than to gain access however they can to
the sewer system of a major city of the upper world, or
better still the water supply, then spread their foulness
and contagion and watch the resulting hysteria as the
settlement succumbs to disease. The Glabretches
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
then seek out promising candidates from among the
dying and offer them the chance to avoid death, if
they will consent to retain the plague within them and
carry it to new settlements, an offer that many accept
rather than ending their days in the putrid horror of
plague. This has for many generations been the way
in which Glabretch gains agents in the mortal realm.
Poison is part of the Glabretch sphere of interest, as
it has many of the admirable qualities of disease. It,
too, destroys the body and corrupts its function in
exciting ways that the Glabretches love to study.
More importantly for Hell, mortals use poison
to commit evil deeds on a regular basis, whereas
they rarely use disease to harm their fellow man.
Significant exceptions to this do exist, such as the use
of pox-infested blankets to give a deadly disease to a
tribe of pagans. Glabretches earn a 10% bonus to any
Corruption generated by deeds of evil in which the
perpetrators achieve their ends by the use of poison
or disease.
Torments
The Glabretches torment the damned by causing
them to suffer the symptoms of disease. The damned
souls in a Glabretch estate are trapped in an unending
nightmare, where everyone is ill, there is no relief and
there is not even any merciful death to look forward
to at the end of it. As the souls are indestructible,
they can be burdened with multiple different diseases.
Some are so crusted with scabs and dried fluxes that
it is no longer possible to recognise the creature they
used to be.
Estates
The majority of the Glabretch estates are situated
directly above the infestation burrows, so that the
stinking vapours can waft upwards and perfume
the halls of the devils. The infestation burrows are
always producing new varieties of disease that the
Glabretch alchemists study, learn from and attempt to
cultivate in themselves.
Glabretch buildings are remarkably like the filthy,
squalid slums of a human city. When passing through
an estate occupied by the Glabretch, one could easily
mistake it for an especially bad case of ordinary urban
decay and neglect. The Glabretch do not favour the
usual infernal architecture, choosing instead to
emulate the human style of life at its most disease-
ridden. A Glabretch street is an open sewer on either
side of which stand ramshackle buildings, with poxed
devils emptying slop canisters from windows into
the street below, cellars where fiendish swine lie

alongside more devils in the mud and scum and road
junctions where seething pits have been set up and the
devils of the estate roll around in nauseating slime to
their heart’s content.
Modifiers
Glabretches are immune to the debilitating effects
of all diseases and parasite infestations. They may,
however, exhibit the symptoms of infection or
infestation and, more importantly, may pass on these
conditions to others. Glabretches are ideal plague-
carriers, strengthening the diseases that they host and
passing them on in even stronger strains. Whenever
a Glabretch hits an opponent with a claw or with
a melee weapon that it has handled for more than
ten minutes, the opponent is exposed to the disease
carried by the Glabretch. When a creature is exposed
to a disease or infestation from a Glabretch, the DC
of the initial saving throw to resist the disease is
increased by +4.
If remove disease is cast on a Glabretch, the devil
may be stripped of its precious disease; it must make
a saving throw or suffer 1d6+1 points of Constitution
damage and lose the ability to pass on more virulent
forms of disease until it has bathed in the plague pits
of the Infernum for 12 hours, which restores both the
lost Constitution and the disease enhancing ability. A
Glabretch only suffers Constitution damage after the
first casting of a cure disease spell, as it neutralises
an important part of the devil’s physiology. Repeated
castings after the first have no effect.
All Glabretches have a terrible stink, the smell of
disease so far advanced that the organs of the sufferer
are beginning to putrefy while still alive. Living
creatures within 10 feet must succeed at a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 19) or be sickened for 1d6+4
minutes. A creature that successfully saves cannot be
affected again by the same devil’s stink for 24 hours.
A remove disease, delay poison or neutralize poison
spell removes the effect from a sickened creature.
Creatures with immunity to poison or disease are
unaffected and creatures resistant to poison or disease
receive their normal bonus on their saving throws.
The save DC is Charisma-based. If a Glabretch is in
human form, the stench is not so powerful. It has no
harmful effect but it can still be detected, which may
cause the Glabretch’s subterfuge to be uncovered.
Every single Glabretch is infected with a disease or
parasite (see below) of its own choosing. It suffers
one point of ability score damage of the kind that
the disease reduces but is otherwise immune to the
disease’s effects.
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HOUSE GLABRETCH
N o t a b le Mem b er s O f H o us e
G la b r et c h
The head of House Glabretch is Duke Festenadi. His
chosen disease is leprosy, which he has allowed to
eat into his extremities, so much so that several of
his crooked fingers are missing and he no longer
has a bottom jaw. Duke Festenadi does not care for
robes or clothing, choosing instead to wear lengths of
bandage wrapped around his body, so that he looks
like a living mummy with horns poking from his
swaddled head.
Duke Festenadi: Male noble devil Ftr 20; CR 28;
Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+36 plus
20d10+83; hp 270; Init +10; Spd 30 ft; AC 24 (+6
Dex, +8 natural) touch 16, flat-footed 18; Base Atk:
+29; Grp +33; Atk +40 melee (2d4+13/18–20 plus
disease, +5 Festering Falchion) or +41 ranged touch
(entanglement plus disease, +4 Net Of Stifling Fevers,
see below) or +33 melee (1d3+4 plus disease, claw);
Full Atk +40/+35/+30/+25 melee (2d4+13/18–20x2
plus disease, +5 Festering Falchion) or +33 melee
(1d3+4 plus disease, claw); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft;
SA disease transmission, spell-like abilities, summon
devil; SQ damage reduction 5/good, darkvision 60
ft., immunity to disease, fire and poison, polymorph,
resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness,
stench, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.; AL LE;
SV: Fort +22, Ref +18, Will+17; Str 18, Dex 22, Con
18, Int 21, Wis 21, Cha 20.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +43, Concentration +21,
Craft (weaponmaking) +21, Disguise +22, Diplomacy
+21, Hide +20, Intimidate +39, Knowledge (the
planes) +20, Knowledge (obscure diseases) +22,
Knowledge (poisons) +21, Listen +22, Move Silently
+26, Search +21, Sense Motive +27, Spot +37; Blind-
Fight, Cleave, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes,
Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (net), Great
Cleave, Greater Weapon Focus (falchion), Greater
Weapon Focus (net), Greater Weapon Specialisation
(falchion), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative,
Mobility, Persuasive, Power Attack, Spring Attack,
Toughness, Weapon Focus (falchion), Weapon
Specialisation (falchion), Weapon Focus (net),
Whirlwind Attack.
Disease Transmission: Any successful hit that
Duke Festenadi makes with a weapon or with a claw
exposes the target to infernal leprosy. This disease
deals 1d4 Charisma damage, has an incubation period
of three days and a Fortitude saving throw (DC 22).
 HOUSE GLABRETCH

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 19), major image (DC 18), pyrotechnics (DC
17), scorching ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC
19), wall of fire (DC 19), 3/day - scrying (DC20).
The caster level is 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-
based.
Polymorph (Su): Duke Festenadi’s human form
is of a healthy, bearded merchant in fine robes,
drenched in perfume in order to conceal the stench
of disease. He has long since learned that mortals
find the Glabretch hard to stomach when they
appear in their full revolting glory, so adopts
a form less likely to dissuade them from
dealing with him.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once
per day, Duke Festenadi can
attempt to summon 2d10
lemures, 1d4 bearded devils
or one erinyes with a 50%
chance of success. This
ability is the equivalent of a
3rd level spell.
When thrown, it trails loose strips of cloth behind it,
looking more like the severed head of a mummy than
a net. If the net entangles a target, he is assailed by
a multitude of sicknesses and is steadily exhausted
as the net drains his energy away. For every round
of entanglement, the victim must make a saving
throw against a disease (determined randomly) or
become infected by it. It is possible for a victim
who struggles with the net for a long time to become
infected by many different ailments. The stifling
effect of the net deals 1d6 nonlethal damage per
round upon a target trapped within it.
The magic of the net increases the DC of the Escape
Artist skill check needed to wriggle out of it by +4,
for a total DC of 24. The Strength ability score check
needed to burst the net is similarly raised by +4, to
29.
Helm Of The Plague-Fly: Duke Festenadi’s battle
helmet is shiny and bulbous, resembling the head of
a common housefly, with colander-like metal eyes, a
leather head covering with short metal ‘hairs’ and a
trumpet-like mouthpiece at the front. When worn,

+5 Festering Falchion
(Axiomatic, Unholy):
The signature weapon
of House Glabretch is
the festering falchion, a
great curved blade of
rusty metal that drips a
thin black discharge. The
wounds that it creates hiss and
bubble, infected with the filth
scraped from the bottommost dregs
of Hell. Any creature struck by
the festering falchion must make
a Fortitude saving throw (DC 20)
or instantly become infected by a
devouring disease that spreads out from
the wound and eats away at the body’s
tissues. This disease is so rapacious that
it takes over the body immediately
(with no incubation period) and deals
damage every hour instead of every
day. The damage is 1d4 Constitution. Only
good-aligned magical healing can counter the
wasting sickness that the festering falchion
deals.

+4 Net Of Stifling Fevers: This unusual net

appears to have been woven from scraps of old
bloodstained rag, grimy hospital blankets torn
into long strips and lengths of filthy bandage.

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 HOUSE GLABRETCH

Parasites
Saving
Parasite Type Damage Establishment Treatment Throw DC
Belly Larvae Intestinal 3 Dex 3 days Purgative 8
Tapeworm Intestinal 2 Con 7 days Purgative 10
Needleworm Intestinal 1 Con, 1 Str 4 days Purgative 12
Boil Goblins Subcutaneous 3 Cha, 1–3 hit points per 1 day Cautery 6
day
Bore Worm Subcutaneous 1 Dex per day 1 day Acid 10
Ear Slug Subcutaneous –4 to all Listen checks 1 hour Extraction See Below
Jiggers Subcutaneous 2 Dex, half movement rate 1 day Knife See Below
Flea Skin/Hair 2 Dex, –4 to all 5 hours Fumigation 18
Concentration skill checks
Louse Skin/Hair 2 Dex, Difficulty Sleeping 5 hours Alchemical 8
Soap
Scrutters Skin/Hair 2 Cha 4 hours Cautery, Knife See Below
Treatment
Tick Skin/Hair 1–4 hit points 4 hours Fire None

the helm confers a +3 deflection bonus to Armour Glabretch, Oblurott and Carthenay form the ‘triad of
Class. The wearer may also call upon the following the coarse’, against which House Astyanath, Riethii
abilities of the helm, which have an effective caster and Zethu have formed the ‘triad of the fine’.
level of 18:

† Fly with Good manoeuvrability at will. S ec r et s O f H o us e

† Insect plague three times per day, by blowing
through the mouth-trumpet.
† Acid arrow at will, manifested as a vomited
missile from the mouth.
Others
Other noted members of House Glabretch are
Snitchbloat, the gamekeeper who oversees the
Glabretch plague-pits where the damned souls are
kept, noted for his enormous and continually running
nose; Bladderghast, the bearded piggy-eyed devil
who is said to have the worst stink of any of the
Glabretches and who spends much of his time in
mortal form in the upper world, leering at human
women; and Old Volcani, whose boils are envied by
all the Glabretches.
Relations
The Glabretches are a powerful clan. Their dominion
over disease makes them formidable allies for any
house to have. The devils know better than to let
the Glabretches’ repulsiveness blind them to their
usefulness as allies. At present, they are allied
with House Carthenay and House Oblurott and are
pursuing good relations with House Haimon. House
G la b r et c h
Parasites
Parasites are an unpleasant but inevitable fact of
life in the fantasy milieu. Though they are often
spoken of in the same breath as diseases, they are
really very different. Parasites are living creatures,
rarely larger than fine size, who infest the body of
the victim and feed from it. This inconveniences
the host considerably. Parasites are rarely fatal and
their infestation results in discomfort more often than
serious damage.
Parasites are transmitted orally or by contact,
depending on whether they live inside or outside the
body. Orally transmitted parasites are contracted by
eating undercooked meat, drinking water that is not
safe, or by failing to observe a basic level of hygiene.
A typical case is that in which a barbarian picks up a
case of tapeworm from eating semi-raw beef. Contact
transmitted parasites are contracted by spending time
close to an infested object or person, such as wearing
a set of furs that is crawling with fleas, or sleeping
in the same bed as a person who has lice. It is also
possible to contract such parasites by walking through
or sleeping in areas where there is infestation, such as
picking up sheep ticks from long grass.

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 HOUSE GLABRETCH
No saving throw is allowed to avoid parasite
infestation, as the health of the creature concerned is
not a factor. Instead, there is a base 1 in 6 chance for
an exposed creature to contract parasite infestation
when exposed to the parasites. This chance is raised
to 1 in 3 if the creature is especially unsanitary in its
habits or if it is forced into unsanitary conditions,
such as being kept as a prisoner in an orcish cell with
nothing but louse-ridden furs to sleep on.
Once a parasite is picked up, it begins to settle in to
the host’s body, during which time it is not easily
noticeable. This period is called the establishment
time and varies from parasite to parasite. Once it is
established, it deals the amount of damage (or other
effect) shown. This damage or effect lasts for as long
as the parasite is resident in or on the host’s body.
The damage is usually inflicted only once, though
some parasites (such as boil goblins) produce effects
that go on day after day.
Parasites are not easy to get rid of. Remove disease
does not work on them, as they are a creature and not
a disease. Each parasite has a treatment listed next
to its description below. The parasite is allowed a
Fortitude saving throw to survive the treatment, with
the DC listed alongside. The parasite’s Fort save is
+0 by default. Any death effect that affects an area
rather than individual creatures can be used to wipe
out parasites. Repel vermin instantly drives off skin
and subcutaneous parasite infestation. Cloudkill
destroys all skin parasites in an infested object.
Some breeds of the same basic type of parasite are
tougher than others. The Infernum produces fiendish
parasites that count as evil creatures and have a +2
resistance bonus to survive the treatments listed here.
Infernal fleas, for example, are larger, evil-aligned
crimson variants on the original.
You can diagnose a case of parasite infestation with a
successful Heal check (DC 10), though this does not
help you get rid of the parasites in any way. If you
have more than 5 ranks in Knowledge (nature) then
you get a +2 circumstance bonus on this check.
Intestinal Parasites
This type of parasite enters the body through the
mouth or a similar orifice and grows to full size inside
the intestines. Once there, it feeds on the host, either
consuming food that he eats or absorbing nourishment
directly from his tissues. In addition to the treatments
listed, intestinal parasites are vulnerable to poison. If
a character imbibes poison, the parasites must make a
Fortitude saving throw or die, whatever the effect of
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the poison is. The parasites benefit from any magical
or alchemical bonus to saving throws against poison
that the host has.
Belly Larvae: These thumb-sized grubs are found in
egg form in old magical potions that have been allowed
to spoil. They are the larval stage of a harmless fly
called the botsuc that is attracted to magical energy.
The most common way for a character to contract
belly larvae is by drinking a potion that was found
along the way, whose seal has been broken without
the character noticing. Even if the potion is effective,
it may have been infected with botsuc eggs, giving
the drinker a dose of belly larvae. When the larvae
establish themselves in the host’s innards, they inflict
wracking cramps that make it hard for the host to
move comfortably. Those who quaff potions found
in old abandoned laboratories would be well advised
to check the stopper carefully, in case a botsuc fly has
been attracted to the magical aura of the potion and
laid its eggs inside.
Purgative: Belly larvae may be treated with an herbal
purgative. This is a foul-smelling brew made from
herbs and roots, requiring a successful Heal, Craft
(alchemy) or Survival check to make. The person
preparing the brew must either have a healer’s kit
to hand, have access to medicinal herbs, or make a
successful Survival check (DC 15) to forage for such
herbs in the wild, assuming there is a source of herbs
nearby. A creature that has downed the purgative is
immediately sick, hopefully bringing up the parasites
too. Whether or not the parasites make their saving
throw, the imbiber of the purgative is sickened for two
hours after drinking it.
Tapeworm: The eggs (known as cysts) of these
horrendous ropy worms are found in meat that has not
been properly cooked. They are extremely common
among orcs and other creatures that like to tear into
raw meat, though they do not infest ghouls and similar
undead because parasites need a living host in order
to survive. A person with a tapeworm looks drawn
and sickly and knows that there is something amiss.
The most obvious symptom of tapeworm is a loss
of weight with an increase in appetite, as the worm
feeds on the nutrition that the host would otherwise
be getting. Tapeworms can be removed by means of a
purgative, for which see above under belly larvae.
Needleworm: These worms have long, thin bodies
with sharp heads. Once inside the stomach, they
burrow into the host’s vital organs and drain juices,
sapping his strength and causing his health to suffer.
They are contracted by drinking water that has had
eggs laid in it by the adult needleworm. Such water

is usually found underground, as this is where the
adults live. A successful Survival skill check (DC
15) can identify water that is likely to be infested.
If the water is boiled before it is drunk, there is no
chance of infestation. Needleworms can be removed
by means of a purgative, for which see above under
belly larvae.
Subcutaneous Parasites
These parasites live inside the flesh of the host, below
the level of the skin. They are the hardest parasites
to remove without harming the host. The contents of
the intestines may be voided at either end and the skin
may be scraped clean but to get into the flesh, you
have to cut, sear or melt your way in. The exception
here is the ear slug, which can be pulled out of the
same orifice by which it entered.
Boil Goblins: These parasites are amongst the most
horrifying ever documented. Fortunately, they are
relatively rare, appearing only in dense jungle and
forests. They are called ‘goblins’ because of their
appearance, although they are not related to the
monster called a goblin in any way. An adult boil
goblin is miniscule, measuring only half an inch to
an inch in height. Boil goblins are contracted when a
potential host sleeps out in the open. While the host
sleeps, an adult boil goblin jabs an ovipositor into the
host creature’s body in several places and tiny worm-
like creatures burrow under the skin. These stings, if
found in the morning, resemble gnat bites, which they
are usually believed to be.
Once the establishment period is over, the true horrors
of boil goblin infestation become apparent. The host
breaks out in huge boils the size of a hen’s egg, angry
and red, soft to the touch with a hard nub at the centre.
These are infant boil goblins, breeding under the skin.
Each day, one to three of the boils will burst (causing
a hit point of damage to the host) and a tiny manikin
clambers out of the flesh, sometimes making a high
squealing noise as it does so. The boil goblin does
its best to escape to the floor below, where it looks
for long grass to hide in. Victims of boil goblin
infestation continue to suffer from the boils until they
die or until the parasites are removed.
Cautery: Other than magic, the only way to get rid
of boil goblins is to take a hot poker (or sword tip,
or similar implement) to the victim. The potential
boil areas have a tiny red spot in the centre, which
must be seared with a hot point. This has to be done
quickly, or the subcutaneous parasites will wriggle
away to new parts of the body. Every hour of cautery
deals 4d4 points of fire damage on the host creature
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HOUSE GLABRETCH
and forces the parasites to make a saving throw or be
wiped out.
Bore Worm: These corkscrew-like worms are
small, grey and so thin and threadlike that they can
penetrate the host’s skin without causing any pain.
Once they are under the skin, they leave their tails
at skin level and probe their heads towards the host’s
joints, where they start to feed. This causes agony in
the bones for the host, like a terrible case of arthritis.
The longer the bore worms remain in the body, the
more immobilised the host becomes, until eventually
he can no longer move at all. Bore worms can be
identified by the holes they leave in the host’s body,
through which they take in the air they need to live
through their tails. A victim of bore worms has a
multitude of little pinholes in his skin near his elbows
and knees.
Acid Treatment: Other than magic, the standard way
to destroy bore worms is with acid. Other methods
(such as cautery, for which see above) may bring
temporary relief but acid applied to the infected area
is the only way to finish the worms off once and for
all. The treatment must deal at least 3 points of acid
damage to the host, following which the worms make
their collective saving throw to survive. Any source
of acid may be used.
Ear Slug: This bloodsucker is undoubtedly related
to the leech, which it resembles. It is the size of a
finger-joint, reddish-brown in colour and attracted to
warm places. When it has not fed for a while, it is no
thicker than a little string. Ear slugs live in streams
and rivers, latching on to animals and people who
swim there. When a potential host is infested with
an ear slug, the little creature crawls inside the ear,
latches its mouth on to the warm flesh and begins to
feed. The amount of blood drained is tiny; it does not
trouble the host at all. However, as the ear slug feeds,
it swells up, blocking the ear canal. A host with
one ear blocked by an ear slug cannot hear well and
suffers the penalty shown to all Listen checks. A host
with both ears blocked cannot hear at all. Ear slugs
only infest humanoids and monstrous humanoids of
Medium or Small size.
Extraction: To remove an ear slug, one must get a
firm grip on the creature and pull hard. A successful
Dexterity check (DC 15) is needed to get the grip in the
first place, following which a Strength check (DC 15)
is needed to pull the slug out. The slug’s mouthparts
tear at the host’s flesh while it is extracted, inflicting
1d4 points of damage every time a Strength check is
attempted to remove it, whether or not the check is
successful. Killing the slug can be achieved without
 HOUSE GLABRETCH
any great difficulty but this does not remove it, as its
mouth champs on to the host by reflex action.
Nose Slug: This is a variant species that latches on to
the flesh inside the nose of the victim. It is less of a
pest than the ear slug, as it only prevents the victim’s
ability to breathe through his nose.
Jiggers: Humanoids who go barefoot on
open plains sometimes contract jiggers.
They are the larvae of a tiny ground-
dwelling insect, which lays its eggs
just beneath the surface of the skin
of the feet. When the eggs hatch,
excruciatingly painful
swellings develop
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as the larvae grow in their sacs. Creatures that move
by walking have their movement rate reduced by
half and can no longer run, as their feet are in agony.
Jiggers left untreated break the skin and crawl out
after four weeks, leaving scarring behind but no other
damage.
Knife Treatment: The accepted way to get rid of a
case of jiggers is to dig them out of the flesh with
a sharp knife. To do this, a character must make an
attack roll with a light weapon that deals slashing or
piercing damage. He may not add his Strength bonus
to this roll, though he may add his Dexterity bonus
if he has the Weapon Finesse feat and is proficient
with the weapon. The result of this attack roll is the
Fortitude saving throw DC that the jiggers must make
in order to survive the infestation. If the attack roll
scores less than 10, the host of the jiggers suffers
the base damage of the weapon, without modifiers.
Otherwise, he only suffers one point of damage from
the blade digging the grubs out.
Skin/Hair Parasites
The most common of all parasites, these live on the
body or in the clothing of the host. They usually suck
blood from the host for nourishment.
Flea: Fleas are one of the most common parasites
in the world. They are ubiquitous, irritating and
remarkably tough. Humans and other humanoids
frequently have fleas living in their clothing and in
their carpets, rugs and other fabric. Fleas do not
infest any creature that is not covered in fur, so though
they may plague bugbears, fleas only trouble humans
and similar creatures when they infest their clothes or
bedding. Their bodies are not actually infested.
Flea bites cause angry red lumps that itch outrageously,
making it hard to keep concentration on what you
are doing. The results of flea infestation (Dexterity
ability score damage and a penalty to Concentration
skill checks) automatically occur after a character has
spent the establishment time in immediate proximity
to a flea-ridden object or animal, whether or not the
character becomes infested. The effects last for one
day. This is a poison effect; though it does not have a
saving throw, creatures that are immune to poison are
not affected by it. Spells that remove the effects of
poison are also effective on fleabites.
Creatures with one or more points of natural armour
are never troubled by fleas, as their hide is so thick
that the fleas cannot pierce it. High-level barbarians
can wear furs that are crawling with bugs without
any problem, for precisely this reason. A cloth or
fur item stored next to a flea-infested object has the

same chance to become infested as a character. The
most likely items to become infested are garments
(especially cloaks and shirts), furs, hide armour and
bedding such as bedrolls and blankets.
Fumigation: Characters only suffer fleabites while
they are wearing flea-infested clothes or sleeping on
flea-infested bedding, or otherwise spend time close
to fleas. A garment that becomes infested with fleas (a
whole outfit counts as a garment for game purposes)
cannot have the fleas removed unless it is fumigated.
This requires 24 hours of dousing the garment with
smoke from a specially prepared smokestick that
costs the same to prepare as the standard variety. You
cannot wear a garment while it is being fumigated.
Washing has a chance to remove fleas but they have
a DC of only 6 on the saving throw to survive this.
Some characters have garments burned rather than go
to the trouble of fumigating them.
Infernal Flea: This insect is the size of an apple seed
and the colour of a hot coal. Infernal fleas have a
+4 resistance bonus to their saving throws against
treatment. Their bites are especially irritating. A
character suffering from infernal fleabites is treated
as if he were constantly suffering from distraction.
He needs to make a Concentration check (DC 15)
to undertake any action that involves concentration,
including casting a spell or performing skill checks
that call for focus. Infernal fleas are evil-aligned
and suffer damage from effects that damage evil
creatures, such as holy smite. Washing in holy water
is a reliable way to remove infernal fleas; their saving
throw DC against this treatment is 18.
Louse: Lice nest in furs and cloth in much the same
way as fleas but will infest humanoids directly. Louse
infestation attacks the hairy parts of a creature’s body,
where the lice lay eggs. Their bites cause pain and
itching. A character who has a louse infestation must
make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10) whenever he
takes a night’s sleep; failure leaves him fatigued for
the whole of the next day, as the constant annoyance
of the lice robs him of restful sleep.
Alchemical Soap: The only reliable way to rid a body
of lice is the use of an alchemical preparation that
costs 3 gp to make and requires a Craft (alchemy)
check (DC 12). A thorough wash, taking at least an
hour, is necessary. It is most effective if the infested
character shaves off all his body hair. If this is done,
the lice have a saving throw (DC 18) to survive the
treatment.
Plague Louse: This rarer species transmits disease
in its bite as well as causing irritation. A character
infested with plague lice must make a saving throw
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HOUSE GLABRETCH
against fever for every day that he has the infestation.
Plague lice are hardier than other parasites and benefit
from a +4 resistance bonus to their Fortitude saving
throws to resist infestation treatment.
Scrutters: Common parasites among those who
live in forest regions, such as rangers and wood
elves, scrutters are vegetable based life forms. They
infest moss, moist bark, forest loam and similar wet
vegetative places, latching on to people who sleep out
in the open or use moss as pillows. Repel vermin does
not work on them but such spells as control plants do.
Scrutters look like little scraps of mould or flakes of
bark and cluster on the victim’s face, clinging to the
region around the eyes, nose and mouth like lichen
scabs. Scraping them off removes them temporarily
and causes 1d3 hit points of damage to the host but
the tiny roots remain and the scrutters return after
24-hours.
Cautery and Knife Treatment: There are two ways
to get rid of scrutters. Cautery is automatically
successful but deals 2d4 points of fire damage on the
victim, who must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC
20) or suffer one point of permanent Charisma ability
score damage from severe scarring. Knife treatment
may also be used (see Jiggers above) but a result of
less than 10 on the attack roll accidentally deals a
critical hit with the weapon, using the base damage
only.
Black Scrutters: Far more rare than the common
breed are the ghastly black scrutters. These parasites
spread to cover the whole body, not just portions
of the face, so that the victim’s body becomes as
blackened, damp and flaky as a rotten log. They
deal 4 points of Charisma damage and 4 points of
Constitution damage. Fire treatment is the only way
to get rid of them, other than magic.
Ticks: Ticks are bloodsucking parasites that bury
their heads in the victim’s flesh and are difficult to
pull out. They go for soft, warm parts of the body,
including the underarms and the insides of the
thighs. Ticks cling to the tips of long blades of grass,
from where they latch on to the bodies of passing
creatures. Simply ripping the ticks from the affected
creature’s body leaves the head and mouthparts
beneath the skin. If this is done, the area becomes
infected automatically and hit point loss from ticks
is permanent until a remove disease spell (or similar
disease-removing magic) is cast.
Fire: The way to remove ticks is to touch a hot coal
or hot poker to them. A successful Dexterity check
(DC 15) is required to do this safely. Failure deals
1d3 points of fire damage upon the host.
 HOUSE HAIMON
House Haimon,
The Deathly
H
ell is not just an abode of devils; it is an
afterlife, a dwelling place of the dead.
Some of its occupants are more inclined to
celebrate death and its perversion than to torment
the dead once they arrive. The chalk-white, sunken-
eyed devils of House Haimon care nothing for the
noisy, shrieking delights of souls peeled slowly
over the Astyanath banqueting table nor for the
abundance of vulgar gold spilling from the vaults
of the Carthenays. They exult in desolation and
in vast piles of reeking death. House Haimon
loves everything morbid; their environment is
one monstrous ossuary built from the remains of
mortals, fallen or plundered from the graves of the
upper world.
The devils of House Haimon are the special patrons
of the undead. Although there is a potent demon
lord who is sometimes called the Prince of the
Undead, many of the undead are in fact lawful
evil and do not cleave to the cause of chaos. These
lawful evil undead find ready allies in Hell in the
form of House Haimon and include such creatures as
wights, mummies and mummy lords, spectres, many
of the more civilised vampires and a good proportion
of liches.
Appearance
Devils of House Haimon are the cold white colour
of a dead fish’s belly, their leathery skin flaky and
sagging as if rubbed with floury paste. Their horns
and claws are more brittle than those of other devils,
so they are frequently cracked and or broken off.
Without exception, they are very skinny indeed, with
large ribcages, shrunken waists and rat-like tails, so
that they almost look like bipedal greyhounds from a
distance. They are clearly related in some way to the
bone devils; the same stink of the grave surrounds
them.
Character
The Haimons are utterly lacking in humour that any
sane creature can understand. They have macabre
tastes even by the standards of Hell, finding the
mounds of decaying flesh heaped up on their estates
genuinely beautiful to look at and savour. Too much
noise and clamour offends them; for this reason, they
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despise demons and the chaos they create, especially
the infuriating cacodaemons. It is difficult for other
devils to relate to them, as although they share the
appetite of all devils for indulging in evil deeds and
helping others to do so, they seem so subdued and
passive that it is easy to think that they are bored by
the prospect. Haimons are not exactly the life and
soul of any party in Hell. The truth of the matter is
that they are simply very patient, formulating their
plans over decades and centuries without any need
to fuss or hurry. Haimons have the patience of the
cold dead.
Habits
Contrary to the expectations of others, the Haimons
do have celebrations to which none but their kind
and privileged undead guests are invited. The
Haimon carnival is called the danse macabre and
is sometimes celebrated in the Infernum, sometimes
on Earth. Members of House Haimon prefer to host
a danse macabre on the Prime Material plane, as
the corpses of the unhallowed dead can be raised
up out of their graves and marched back to Hell
when the celebration is done. Those mortals who
have managed to witness a danse macabre from a
safe spot have told horrible stories of great bone-
fires burning with fizzling blue light, desecrated
cemeteries, circles of capering skeletons and ragged
zombies urged on by desiccated corpse-kings, with
the dance led by skinny white devils tootling on
flutes evidently carved from human remains. The
main purpose of the danse macabre is to bring home
more corpses to boost the undead armies of House
Haimon, though it is also used as an opportunity to
desecrate holy sites (thus earning fresh Corruption
for the devils involved) and liase with undead allies
based on the Prime Material plane.
Many mortals have legends of the danse macabre,
knowing that there is a day of the year when
spectres, vampires and other night-horrors rise
from their graves (or leave their castles) and fly to
lonely mountains or graveyards, where they hold
their grisly Sabbath with the devils who advise and
encourage them. The signs of such an event are
unmistakeable. Previously holy altars drip with
black foulness, images of saints lie in scorched
pieces across the floor and the graves of good men
and women now gape open and empty, torn open by
dead hands – from the inside.
Haimons have the least in common with the military
devils of any noble devil race. Their close kinship
with the undead supplies them with troops of their

own, more worthy of trust than the military devil
soldiery that they are required to accommodate on
their estates. There are many rumours that the bone
devils give House Haimon preferential treatment,
turning a blind eye to their plots and intrigues
when they should by rights be investigating them
and finding out just what they are up to in their
ossuaries and mausoleums. The undead armies of
House Haimon are nothing like as powerful as the
massed ranks of the military devils but it is still a
source of annoyance to the other noble devil houses
that the Haimons have a private fighting force all of
their own and a ‘special relationship’ with the bone
devils.
Interest In Mortals
The Haimons are very interested in mortal
necromancers. They have little concern with
spreading corruption in any other way than by
furthering the necromantic arts, increasing the
numbers of lawful evil undead on the Prime Material
plane and persuading powerful mortal spellcasters to
defy death and become liches or vampires. When a
mortal sorcerer or evil cleric has a devil patron from
House Haimon (see Sympathy For The Devil) he can
count on that devil’s help when he needs to create
and control large numbers of undead.
When a mortal shows contempt for the sanctity of
the grave and blasphemes against the memory of the
departed by turning them into his servants, or defies
fate by making himself into an undead monster so
as to go on existing past his natural lifespan, House
Haimon has scored a victory over the forces of
good. Haimons earn a 10% bonus to all Corruption
generated by performing acts of defilement,
desecration or the creation of undead.
Torments
Damned souls held by the Haimons are given ordeals
of labour. The Haimon command over death and the
dead makes them inclined to use their stock of souls
as workhorses. Though the souls are weak, they can
still be used. Damned souls on the Haimon estates
can be seen pushing huge boulders up hillsides,
staggering with vast mounds of chains on their
backs and screaming as they are crushed beneath
collapsing walls too heavy for them to hold up.
Estates
The main Haimon estates are situated beneath the
charnel points (see Infernal Environments) where
the detritus of mortal graves falls down in occasional
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HOUSE HAIMON
showers of bone and grave-dirt. The Haimons use
these skeletal remains to build their ossuaries.
Haimon ossuaries are one of the wonders of the
Infernum. Simultaneously weirdly beautiful and
ghastly in the extreme, they are dwellings, fortresses
and palaces made entirely from the bones and skulls
of the dead. Those who have visited Hell or seen
visions of it (whether from actual scrying or from
episodes of delirium) report seeing vaulted corridors
whose roofs are made from vast ribs and spines,
teetering towers like skeletal fingers and crenulated
battlements at the tops of castles made from row
upon row upon row of human skulls.
The Haimon centre of power is situated in the
Dead God’s Bones, in the northern extremity of the
Infernum. The palace of Balsfemeros is built into
the skull, which has been added to and built upon
so extensively over the aeons that towers now burst
through its cranium and additional overhanging
chambers cling to its cheekbones and sides like
growths.
Modifiers
The devils of House Haimon are more skeletal
and shrunken than most. Their hide is not so thick
and leathery as that of the other noble devils. It
resembles peeling sheets of tissue paper or badly
healed skin after an infection and reeks of rot. This
gives them a natural armour bonus to AC of only
+7, making them less effective in combat than other
noble devils.
This weakness is relatively minor compared to the
benefits that members of this house enjoy. Their
tails have a venomous sting in them, which though
it does not resemble the scorpion-like appendage of
the bone devil is no less virulent. The devil attacks
with the tail as a natural weapon; it deals 2d4 damage
plus the devil’s Strength modifier. The poison has a
Fortitude save (DC 20), with initial damage of 1d6
Strength and secondary damage of 2d6 Strength.
The save DC is Constitution-based.
Haimons have the ability to cast animate dead three
times per day as the spell cast by a 12th level sorcerer
and create undead once per day. All House Haimon
structures count as desecrated for the purpose
of casting these spells, allowing the Haimons to
produce 24 HD of lesser undead with a single use of
the ability when doing so on their own grounds.
 HOUSE HAIMON

N ot ab l e M e m be rs
Of H o u s e Hai m o n
The head of House Haimon is
Balsfemeros. It is a seven-foot
tall, skeleton-thin specimen of
the Haimons, who is respected
and feared by undead across
the planes. The gender of
Balsfemeros is unknown. The
features are too shrivelled, the
face stretched into a permanent
skeletal grin, for any observer
to be able to ascertain whether
Balsfemeros be male or female.
When in its own chambers, which
is virtually all of the time, it is
habitually dressed in a garment
like a long, rotting wedding dress,
which may indicate that it is of the
feminine gender, or may just prove
that Balsfemeros has not been
fully sane for a very long time.
Balsfemeros is utterly reclusive
and does not allow itself to be
disturbed for anything other than
the most important news. Only a
select few members of the house
are allowed into its presence, to
bring new information and to
receive instructions.

Balsfemeros: Noble devil of

unknown gender Clr 20; CR 28;
Medium outsider (lawful, evil);
HD 9d8+36 plus 20d8+80; hp
247; Init +10; Spd 30 ft; AC 23
(+6 Dex, +7 natural) touch 16,
flat-footed 17; Base Atk: +24;
Grp: +26; Atk +32 melee (2d4+8/
x4 plus 1d6 fire, +5 flaming
scythe of severance) or +26 melee
(1d3+2, claw); Full Atk +32/+27/
+22/+17 melee (2d4+8/x4 plus
1d6 fire, +5 flaming scythe of
severance) or +26 melee (1d3+2,
claw) and +21 melee (2d4+2 plus
poison, tail); Space/Reach 5 ft./5
ft; SA spell-like abilities, summon
devil; SQ damage reduction 5/
good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, Skills and Feats: Bluff +24, Concentration +36,
polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in Craft (bone carving) +15, Disguise +20, Diplomacy
darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.; AL +38, Hide +20, Intimidate +26, Knowledge (arcana)
LE; SV: Fort +22, Ref +18, Will+24; Str 14, Dex 22, +37, Knowledge (religion) +19, Knowledge (the
Con 18, Int 21, Wis 24, Cha 22.

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planes) +19, Listen +21, Move Silently +38, Search
+15, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +32, Spot +14:
Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Combat
Casting, Persuasive, Improved Initiative, Mobility,
Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus
(scythe).
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 20), major image (DC 19), pyrotechnics (DC
18), scorching ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC
20), wall of fire (DC 20); animate dead three times
per day; create undead once per day. The caster
level is 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Polymorph (Su): Balsfemeros’ human form, which
it does not often adopt, is of a hooded, cloaked
person so aged and hairless that its gender is no
easier to determine than when it is in devil form.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Balsfemeros
can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded
devils or one erinyes with a 50% chance of success.
This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Spells Prepared: (6/7+1/7+1/7+1/6+1/6+1/5+1/
5+1/4+1/4+1, save DC 16 plus spell level); 0th
level: detect magic, detect poison, guidance x2,
read magic, resistance; 1st level: bane, cause fear,
curse water, detect undead, detect good, divine
favour, protection from chaos, shield of faith; 2nd
level: bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, death knell,
darkness, desecrate, hold person, resist energy,
undetectable alignment; 3rd level: animate dead x2,
bestow curse, inflict serious wounds x2, invisibility
purge, magic circle against chaos, magic circle
against good; 4th level: death ward, dimensional
anchor, discern lies, dismissal, divine power, inflict
critical wounds x2; 5th level: dispel chaos, dispel
good, greater command, plane shift, slay living,
true seeing, unhallow; 6th level: banishment, blade
barrier, create undead x2, harm, inflict moderate
wounds (mass), ; 7th level: blasphemy, destruction
x2, dictum, inflict serious wounds (mass), repulsion;
8th level: dimensional lock, create greater undead,
fire storm, inflict critical wounds (mass), greater
spell immunity; 9th level: implosion, soul bind, storm
of vengeance, wail of the banshee x2.
Domain Power: Balsfemeros may use a death touch
once per day. Its death touch is a supernatural ability
that produces a death effect. It must succeed on a
melee touch attack against a living creature using
the rules for touch spells. When he touches a living
creature, roll 20d6; if the total at least equals the
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HOUSE HAIMON
creature’s current hit points, it dies, with no saving
throw allowed.
+5 Flaming Scythe Of Severance (Axiomatic,
Unholy): The weapon that Balsfemeros wields is
symbolic of swift death and severance of the soul
from the body. It is one of the only items in creation
that can sever the silver cord of an astrally projected
person. If the scythe is wielded against a person who
is travelling by means of an astral projection spell,
so that their silver cord is manifest, Balsfemeros can
attempt to attack it. For the purposes of attacks by
the scythe of severance, the silver cord has the same
base Armour Class as the character, discounting
any armour or shield bonuses and adding a +4 size
bonus. If 20 or more points of damage are dealt to
it in one blow, it is severed and the character dies.
Otherwise, the attack has no effect. If a natural 20 is
rolled when attacking an astrally projected character,
the silver cord is instantly severed, killing the victim.
Note that the silver cord is only visible when an
astrally projected character is on the astral plane
proper. If the character then formulates a body on
one of the Outer Planes, the silver cord is no longer
visible and benefits from full concealment.
Others
Other prominent members of House Haimon include
Amaloi, the Bone Princess who is so devoted to
darkness and solitude that she has established a
stronghold beneath the surface of one of the stagnant
lakes of Hell, built from the bones of sailors who
drowned in a state of sin; Crevicule, the keeper of
the names of the dead, who keeps the records of
all those whose souls House Haimon will claim
when they die; and the Whispering Twins, a pair of
identical devils who speak in quiet hissing voices
and are the immediate retainers of Balsfemeros,
keeping all disturbances away.
Relations
House Haimon has uneasy and uncertain relations
with the other houses. They are the wild card in
the political games of Hell; nobody knows their
true strength, as they are so secretive, nor does
anybody know their true leanings, apart from their
basic loyalty to Hell. They have not failed to supply
troops and undead support in the ongoing war
against the demons but this support is the extent of
their participation. Other than this, they are entirely
reclusive, taking no part in the politics of Hell. Very
few visitors from the other noble houses are brought
to the Haimon estates.
 HOUSE HAIMON
The other noble devils are convinced that the
Haimons are ‘up to something’ but have so far failed
to ascertain exactly what this may be. One theory
holds that the Haimons are attempting to build a
mile-high colossus from melted down corpse matter,
with which they shall subjugate all who oppose their
rule. Others believe that they are in collusion with
House Glabretch to create a disease so lethal that
even the devils of Hell shall succumb to it.
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S ec r et s O f H o us e H a im on
The Burning Dead (‘corpse-
candles’)
House Haimon has developed a special kind of
undead, not often found outside Hell, which fuses
the unholy strength of the Infernum with the powers
of undeath. The burning dead resemble half-rotted
zombies who are constantly wreathed in flames. The
fat of the zombie’s body seems to fuel the process
somehow, turning the creature into an inexhaustible
flaming torch. Mortal students of the infernal
sometimes call the burning dead ‘corpse-candles’.
The secret of creating these monsters is found in the
flaming sea of the Infernum. Burning dead may be
created by a create undead spell cast upon a corpse
that is wholly immersed in the liquid of the Sea of
Fire. The Haimons have access to a subterranean
reservoir of this fiery substance. The spell must be
cast immediately, before the flames have a chance to
consume the dead body.
It is customary in House Haimon estates to
use the burning dead for illumination as well
as shock troops. The Haimons themselves do
not need light to see but they sometimes light
beacons and provide light for their guests. For
this purpose, the burning dead are hung in strong
iron cages that resemble gibbets, or impaled upon
tall iron spindles. The main audience chamber of
Balsfemeros’ palace has its lighting supplied by a
sphere of transparent material in which the bodies
of ten of the burning dead, made from the
bodies of good heroes, constantly
writhe and scream.
 HOUSE HAIMON

Bur n i n g De ad
Medium Undead (Fire)
Hit Dice: 14d12 (91 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 23 (+4 Dex, +9 natural), touch 14,
flat-footed 19 FAUSTUS. Now tell me, what
Base Attack/Grapple: +7/+12 says Lucifer, thy lord?
Attack: Slam +12 melee (1d6+5 plus 1d6 fire) MEPHISTOPHELES. That I shall
Full Attack: 2 slams +12 melee (1d6+5 plus 1d6 wait on Faustus whilst he lives,
fire) So he will buy my service with his
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. soul.
Special Attacks: Immolation, flaming body FAUSTUS. Already Faustus hath
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., undead traits hazarded that for thee.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +9 MEPHIST. But, Faustus, thou must
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 19, Con —, Int 11, Wis 10,
bequeath it solemnly,
Cha 10
And write a deed of gift with thine
Skills: Climb +11, Hide +19, Listen +11, Move
own blood;
Silently +21, Spot +15, Swim +9
For that security craves great
Feats: Alertness, Dodge, Improved Initiative,
Lucifer.
Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike
If thou deny it, I will back to hell.
Environment: Any
Organisation: Solitary, gang (2–4), or mob (4–16) FAUSTUS. Stay, Mephistophilis,
Challenge Rating: 9 and tell me, what good will my soul
Treasure: None do thy lord?
Alignment: Always chaotic evil MEPHIST. Enlarge his kingdom.
Advancement: 15–21 HD (medium); 22–28 HD FAUSTUS. Is that the reason why
(large) he tempts us thus?
Level Adjustment: — MEPHIST. Solamen miseris socios
habuisse doloris.
Immolation (Su): One of the burning dead may FAUSTUS. Why, have you any
choose to expend all of the fiery energy bound pain that torture others!
into its undead form at once. This attack burns the MEPHIST. As great as have the
creature out, so that it loses the flaming body feature human souls of men.
(see below) but it does not harm it. The burning But, tell me, Faustus, shall I have thy
dead immolates as a standard action; this gives off soul?
fire energy in a burst 40 feet across, inflicting 12d6 And I will be thy slave, and wait on
damage to all creatures within the area. A Reflex thee,
saving throw (DC 15) is allowed for half damage. And give thee more than thou hast
The save DC is Charisma-based. wit to ask.
FAUSTUS. Ay, Mephistophilis, I
Flaming Body (Su): The body of the burning dead give it thee.
gives off fire like a torch, so that roaring flames MEPHIST. Then, Faustus, stab
constantly surround the creature. Any creature thine arm courageously,
striking the burning dead with its body or a handheld And bind thy soul, that at some
weapon deals normal damage but at the same certain day
time the attacker takes 2d6 points of fire damage. Great Lucifer may claim it as his
Anyone grappling the burning dead takes 6d6 points own;
of fire damage. Burning dead often act as suicide And then be thou as great as Lucifer.
troops, grabbing on to attackers in the front line
and mindlessly hanging on, burning their victims - Christopher Marlowe, Doctor
steadily to death. Faustus

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 HOUSE OBLUROTT
House
Oblurott, The
Gross
G
luttony and sloth are the vices most dear to
the hearts of House Oblurott. To them, Hell
is a carnival of consumption. They stuff
their bloated bodies with meat torn from the ribs
of screaming souls, guzzle vats of wine and liquor
captured from the upper world and recline on the most
luxurious cushions and canopies found anywhere in
the Infernum. If House Carthenay are the devils most
greedy for material goods, these devils are greediest
for food, drink and all forms of gluttonous indulgence.
They are responsible for promoting all evils that
depend on excess. Oblurotts whisper in mortals’ ears
that eating, drinking and making merry are not enough
and that they must do all of these things to excess.
Nobody who has been tainted by the Oblurotts can
ever feel truly satisfied. They always crave more.
Appearance
All Oblurotts are grossly fat. Their horns are small,
their tails thin and rat-like and their bodies vast
sweating heaps of blubber. Their eyes are tiny and
narrow and their jowls heavy with fat. Their mouths
are broader than those of other devils, full of pointed
shark-like teeth. Their jaws can dislocate, so as to
swallow large items of food whole. Their skin has
a slight tinge of gold to it, making a room full of
stationary Oblurotts in the crimson half-light of Hell
look like an assembly of idols.
Character
Oblurotts are like a parody of all stereotypically fat
and jolly people. They are only happy when they
have gorging to look forward to. They are utterly
gross in their tastes and they know it, taking a perverse
pleasure in this. They seem to have no regard for
subtlety, invention or scheming, which infuriates the
more sophisticated devils such as the Astyanaths and
the Riethiis. Oblurotts are, in fact, far shrewder than
they are given credit for; those beady little eyes see a
lot. They are one of the most internally uncooperative
houses of all. Oblurotts are constantly at odds with
one another. The most resounding victory an Oblurott
can ever score against a rival is to butcher and eat
him.
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Habits
Oblurotts celebrate sins of excess with enormous
feasts that go on for weeks, reminiscent of the orgies
of old Rome. The celebrants gorge themselves to
bursting point, pausing to eject floods of vomit into
iron vats borne by unfortunate servants, so as to make
more room in their stomachs. These feasts always
involve the roasting alive of several of the damned,
who’s butchered but still living remains are tossed into
carrion pits after the flesh is cut from them.
Some Oblurotts develop a taste for the flesh of wicked
children and take any chance they can to venture into
the upper world. There they use their polymorph
ability to assume the aspect of friendly, merry people,
who make away with children and devour them.
Interest In Mortals
The Oblurotts see mortals as a valuable source of
pleasure. The best feast of all for an Oblurott is
the flesh and blood of the damned, but they do seize
other goods for their enjoyment. If an Oblurott can
pervert a cleric of a good religion, it can gain access
to sacramental wines and other such sacred foodstuffs,
which House Oblurott loves to guzzle like so much
fodder.
Oblurotts spread the evils of Hell by encouraging
mortals to indulge their basest appetites. They
leave the carnal urges to the devils of House Riethii
and content themselves with promoting the sins of
gluttony and sloth. Oblurotts tempt mortals into
wasting their lives and their fortunes on feasting,
drinking and gambling. In the aftermath, they
urge them to avoid honest work and never to exert
themselves when they could bully another into doing
the work for them. The Oblurotts cultivate tyrants and
lords as likely candidates for damnation, as they are in
an ideal position to fatten themselves at the expense
of others but they also groom greedy merchants,
competing with the Carthenays for these souls. The
term ‘fat cat’ gives a very clear indication of the
kind of person that House Oblurott seeks to recruit.
Oblurotts gain a 10% bonus to all Corruption earned
by acts of evil involving consumption, drunkenness,
idleness and neglect.
Torments
Those damned souls fated to be tormented by House
Oblurott are those who were themselves greedy,
excessive and gluttonous in life. The least corrupt
among them are condemned to eternal starvation,
trapped in wasted, skinny soul-bodies and forced
to watch the Oblurotts stuffing themselves. Those

who were somewhat worse are kept in stockyards
like cattle, fattened on slops and taken out on their
appointed day to be hacked into meat for the feast.
Once their digested bodies have been deposited in
the teeming Oblurott dung-piles, they begin the slow
process of regeneration, with no brighter future in
sight than to be herded, fattened and devoured all over
again.
The very worst souls of all (those who are not corrupt
enough to be turned into nascent devils themselves)
are allowed a measure of participation in Oblurott
indulgence. They are nailed to boards in much the
same manner as geese are when foie gras is made and
force-fed with gruel until their swollen bodies finally
rupture. This event is cause for rejoicing among the
devils, who then rip out the entrails and enjoy them as
a delicacy.
Estates
Oblurotts like gaudy, vulgar splendours. Their
estates are richly decorated palaces with friezes
commemorating legendary feastings and feats of
gluttony of the past. Butchery is a constant theme, with
rooms fitted out like the interiors of carcasses (with
roofs vaulted like ribcages and furniture sculpted to
resemble sweetbreads) and mazes of abattoirs beneath
the palaces where damned souls are carved into food
for the banqueting table. Witnessing the interior of
an Oblurott kitchen (whether in person or through a
scrying link) is such a stomach-wrenching experience
that any non-evil character must make a Will saving
throw (DC 18) or be sickened for 1d6 minutes.
The central palace of the Oblurotts is the immense
banqueting hall that the devils call Hell’s Kitchen.
This is one enormous dome inside which is a circular
feasting table, around which there is room for all
the most favoured of the house to gather when
Hurgblotten commands it. Surrounding this dome are
a dozen separate kitchens, staffed by sweating devils
assisted by members of the devils line. Prepared food
is sent into the central feasting hall in wheeled iron
carts the size of mine trucks.
Modifiers And Special Abilities
All Oblurotts have a layer of thick fat that acts as
additional natural armour. Their natural armour rating
is raised to +10. They are more resilient against harm
than others and have damage resistance of 10/good.
A favourite Oblurott attack mode against small
opponents (such as quasits) is to grab them and
devour them whole. Their large jaws can stretch
wide like those of snakes, allowing them to swallow
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whole opponents who are at least one size category
smaller than them. An Oblurott can try to swallow
a grabbed opponent by making a successful grapple
check. Once inside the devil’s belly, the opponent
must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw (DC 18)
or be paralysed for 3d6 rounds by the devil’s potent
digestive juices, taking 2d6 points of acid damage per
round. A new saving throw is required each round
inside the devil’s stomach. The saving throw DC
is Constitution-based. A swallowed creature can
attempt to cut its way out by using a light slashing or
piercing weapon to deal 25 points of damage to the
devil’s interior, which has an Armour Class of 14. A
Medium sized Oblurott’s interior can hold one Small,
two Tiny or four Diminutive or smaller opponents.
The Oblurotts’ most revolting combat tactic is to
eject a stream of vomit over their opponents. They
cannot do this unless they have feasted to excess
within the last eight hours. Devouring a soul before
battle (see below) counts as feasting to excess. No
one Oblurott may vomit more than once per 2 points
of Constitution ability score modifier that he has
(rounded down) before feasting again and refilling his
belly. For example, an Oblurott with 18 Constitution
could deliver two vomit attacks before needing to stuff
himself with food again.
The Oblurott vomit attack is delivered as a line 15
feet long and 5 feet wide. Affected targets suffer 2d6
acid damage and are sickened. A successful Fortitude
saving throw (DC 18) avoids these effects; the saving
throw DC is Constitution-based. Those who fail
their saving throws by more than 10 are nauseated
instead of sickened. A creature that fails its saving
throw cannot remove the sickened condition until the
coating of vomit is removed, either by taking off the
affected worn items or washing thoroughly.
Oblurotts are so heavy that their speed is reduced to 20
feet. Female Oblurotts (it is often hard to tell which is
which) cannot use their wings for flying at all; they are
much smaller than those of other female noble devils,
as if they were shrunken from disuse. The bulky flab
surrounding the Oblurotts’ limbs interferes with hand
gestures and body movements, giving them a constant
arcane spell failure chance of 10% and a –4 armour
check penalty to the skill checks affected by armour
encumbrance.
N o t a b le Mem b er s O f H o us e
O b lur o t t
The head of House Oblurott is the monstrous
Hurgblotten, a mountain of blubber with gleaming
black horns and a constantly smirking, constantly
 HOUSE OBLUROTT
drooling mouth as wide in his face as a bullfrog’s. He
is habitually dressed in a blood-spattered butcher’s
apron and carries a huge cleaver which he keeps razor-
sharp with a whetstone carried in the apron pocket;
he has a very unpleasant habit of whetting the blade
while he is talking, which makes his audience deeply
uneasy. It is his proud boast that he has devoured ten
million souls since the foundation stones of Hell were
laid.
Hurgblotten delights in the title of ‘Hell’s Butcher’
and makes a point of appearing at functions draped
in the sausages that he has made out of his political
opponents. His lair is constantly smoky from the
sulphurous fires that he uses to cure his many hanging
carcasses. Those few unfortunate mortals who have
seen the inside of Hurgblotten’s larder and found
out the fate of the heroes sent to bring his rule to an
end have taken the sight with them to their graves;
dedicated paladins and clerics of good deities now
swing from S-shaped hooks, reduced to so much
brisket.
Hurgblotten: Male noble devil Ftr 20; CR 28;
Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+36 plus
20d10+800; hp 267; Init +10; Spd 20 ft; AC 26 (+6
Dex, +10 natural) touch 16, flat-footed 20; Base Atk:
+29; Grp: +33; Atk +40 melee (2d4+13/18–20, +5
slaughterer’s cleaver) or +33 melee (1d3+4, claw);
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Full Atk +40/+35/+30/+25 melee (2d4+13/18–20,
+5 slaughterer’s cleaver) or +33 melee (1d3 plus
4, claw); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft; SA swallow whole,
spell-like abilities, summon devil, vomit; SQ damage
reduction 10/good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire
and poison, polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold
10, see in darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100
ft.; AL LE; SV: Fort +22, Ref +18, Will+17; Str 18,
Dex 22, Con 18, Int 21, Wis 21, Cha 21.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +43, Concentration +21,
Craft (cookery) +23, Disguise +22, Diplomacy +23,
Hide +22, Intimidate +39, Knowledge (the planes)
+23, Knowledge (nature) +22, Listen +23, Move
Silently +26, Search +16, Sense Motive +27, Spot
+37: Cleave, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes,
Dodge, Great Cleave, Greater Weapon Focus
(cleaver), Greater Weapon Specialisation (cleaver),
Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Spring
Attack, Weapon Focus (cleaver), Improved Unarmed
Attack, Improved Grapple, Persuasive, Power
Attack, Improved Sunder, Improved Disarm, Weapon
Specialisation (cleaver), Whirlwind Attack.
Vomit (Ex): Hurgblotten can vomit over opponents,
possibly causing them acid damage and sickening
them. See above for details of this special ability.
Swallow Whole (Ex): Hurgblotten can attempt to
swallow a grabbed opponent whole by making a
successful Grapple check; see above for the rules.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 19), major image (DC 18), pyrotechnics (DC 17),
scorching ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC 19),
wall of fire (DC 19), 3/day - scrying (DC 19).
The caster level is 12th. The save DCs are
Charisma-based.
Polymorph (Su): Hurgblotten’s alternate
form is utterly unlike his devil-shape. In
order to beguile mortals, he takes the
shape of a small boy of around 10 years
in age, with a cheeky grin and bright blue
eyes. While in this form, he tempts adults
and children alike into his clutches, adding
them to the stockyards of Hell.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Hurgblotten
can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4
bearded devils or one erinyes with
a 50% chance of success. This
ability is the equivalent of a
3rd level spell.

+5 Slaughterer’s Cleaver: This huge length of
sharpened magical iron has a hole in one end, so
that Hurgblotten can hang it from a hook when not
in use. It is so keen that it can strike right through the
bones of a joint with a well-placed blow. The weapon
has the vorpal quality; on a roll of natural 20, with a
second roll to confirm a critical hit, the head of the
victim is struck from his shoulders.
Others
Other nobles of House Oblurott are Mudger of the Pot,
who keeps a forty-foot wide cauldron full of broiling
souls constantly suspended by chains above the Sea
of Fire, reeling it in from time to time so that his kin
can sample it with long ladles; Kithlubbin, who lives
at the bottom of a rubbish chute that he has not left in
three thousand years, as he is content to gorge himself
on the scraps that others throw away; The Lobbigus,
an Oblurott devil so obese that he is now of Large size
and has to be wheeled around in a converted chariot
drawn by bearded devils; and the most gloriously
overweight female Oblurott of all, Rosa, who is the
consort of Howling Aengus of House Sturrach.
I went down to Satan’s Kitchen
For to get me food one morning
And there I got souls piping hot
All on the spit a-turning
There I took up a cauldron
Where boiled ten thousand harlots;
Though full of flame I drank the same
To the health of all such varlets!
My staff has murdered giants,
My bag a long knife carries
To cut mince pies from children’s thighs,
And feed them to the faeries’
And still I sing, bonny boys,
Bedlam boys are bonny,
For they all go bare and they live by the air
And they want no drink nor money!
- Mad Tom O’Bedlam (Traditional ballad
of the humans)
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HOUSE OBLUROTT
Relations
House Oblurott is a key player in Hell’s politics.
The Oblurotts have an unending and mutual hatred
for the Astyanaths, which has gone on so long that
even ancient clay tablets of the upper world make
mention of the hatred that the fat devils have for the
skinny devils. The rivalry of these two houses would
undoubtedly split Hell down the middle if it were not
for the stabilising influence of House Carthenay and
the Princes of Hell above them, backed by the military
might of the devils. The Oblurotts may be slow
moving but they are tough, making them dangerous
front-line fighters.
S ec r et s O f H o us e
O b lur o t t
The Devouring Of Souls
Any devil can devour a damned soul. See The
Harvest of Souls, for a description of what souls are
forced to endure. The devils of House Oblurott are
particularly fond of eating entire damned souls, not
only for pleasure, but to derive especial nourishment
from them.
To gain sustenance from a particular damned soul, its
entire body must be consumed. The Oblurott method
of doing this is to hew off the limbs first, then swallow
the head and torso whole. This gives the devourer
additional temporary hit points above his normal
total. A devil that devours a soul gains 3 temporary
additional hit points for every level or Hit Die of the
damned soul that he consumes, to a maximum of
40 temporary hit points. These additional hit points
disappear after 12 hours, whether any of them have
been used up or not.
The Oblurotts have a custom of feasting on the
damned before going into battle. When mustering for
a fray, they bring along a ‘packed lunch’ of impaled
souls, carrying them on their melee weapons for ease
of transport and tearing into them shortly before battle
begins.
 HOUSE RIETHII
House Riethii,
The Voluptuous
H
ell would not be Hell unless it contained all
the vices of the upper world, exaggerated and
magnified to an obscene degree. Avarice,
greed, filthiness and cruelty are found in abundance in
the estates of the Carthenays, Oblurotts, Glabretches
and Astyanaths; carnality, too, has its place in Hell
and its own family of noble devils who are devoted
to it. It is not ordinary bodily urges that the Riethii
clan celebrate. These are healthy in moderation.
Instead, it is the distortion and deformity of the
natural instincts that the Riethiis adore. They deal in
cravings, obsessions, envy, twisted lusts and crimes
of passion. If the angels are set over the impulse to
love, then the Riethii households are set over all that
distorts and disfigures that impulse, defiling its purity
and dragging it into the slime.
Self-obsession is the sin the Riethiis most love to
cultivate. They are notoriously narcissistic and like to
see others going down the same path. When a person
turns all their attention inward and lives purely for
his own pleasure, elevating himself above all others,
then the Riethiis have scored a victory over the cause
of heaven.
Appearance
Riethii devils are brilliant red in colour and are all
strikingly handsome, with pert little horns and white
teeth. The females are proportioned like the fantasies
of a sailor who has been at sea too long, with frankly
unlikely vital statistics and dazzling smiles. Riethii
devils are closest of all to the quintessential image
of a devil, the image that is habitually represented in
tattoo designs or folk art. They dress most commonly
in garments of leather and silk, like celebrants at an
exotic party.
Character
Riethiis have in common with Oblurotts the belief that
there is no such thing as ‘too much’. They believe
in excess and in drowning the senses in rapturous
things. Many mortals are tricked into thinking that
the Riethiis are not all that bad, really; they seem to
be encouraging people to live a little, to celebrate
while there is time to do so. In reality, the Riethiis
are not so wholesome. Their palates are rapidly jaded
and they require greater and greater stimulation in
order to entertain them. Those who find that Riethii
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entertainments and practices become too extreme for
their tastes are almost always in too deep to get out
again. The Riethiis love to see innocence violated,
natural instincts perverted and all restraint dispensed
with.
The Riethiis have always been closely allied with the
Astyanaths. Both houses are fundamentally cruel
but while the Astyanath urge is to slice, slash and
lash, the Riethiis prefer to use, abuse and defile. The
damned kept by the Riethiis are doomed to be used
as playthings, pets and concubines. At heart, the
Riethiis are twisted, rapacious brutes, with none of
the sophistication that they pretend to have and cursed
to be forever unsatisfied. They are utterly vain.
Habits
The Riethiis model their dress and behaviour on
various different regimes of the upper world, always
choosing a time of especial decadence. The code
of fashion in play at any given time depends on the
whim of those at the head of the house. The regimes
that are emulated will depend on the campaign but we
would suggest that such examples as the court of the
Roman Emperor Caligula are the best kind. It amuses
the Riethiis and satisfies their vanity to play the part
of mortal dukes and duchesses, holding court over
retinues of adoring sub-devils.
Riethii festivals are carnivals of enthusiastic obscenity,
in which honoured members of the house perform the
feats and tableaux that they have worked upon in the
preceding months. These are undeniably splendid
(and involve a good deal of artistic invention) but
always culminate in horrible, orgiastic routs in which
the devils seize upon and wilfully abuse any soul they
can lay their claws on.
Interest In Mortals
Riethiis love to lead mortals into ruin by manipulating
their emotions. They have an easier time of it than
most devils, as many mortals have a weakness for
sensual pleasures; the pious have often said that the
fastest route to Hell is to give in to the temptations of
the flesh. Riethiis corrupt mortals by leading them
into lesser evils practiced often, in contrast to the
methods of such houses as the Sturrachs, who aim for
major sins such as the murder of siblings.
Riethiis use mortals as playthings, much like they
use the bodies of the damned. A living creature
in Hell that falls into the hands of the Riethiis is
destined for a starring role as the centrepiece of some
devil’s tableau. The Riethiis are careful to keep such

unfortunates alive, as there is no fun to be had from a
plaything that breaks too quickly.
Torments
Damned souls in the Riethiis’ keeping are not
subjected to so much physical agony as others.
Instead, they suffer torment from being forbidden to
indulge in the pleasures they see going on all around
them – the standard punishment for those who were
excessively carnal in life – or by being forced into
depraved acts by the devils, who take full advantage
of the indestructibility of the bodies of the damned.
Good taste and concern for the comfort of our readers
prevents us from documenting such acts in detail;
suffice it to say that they are no less uncomfortable
than the worst butcheries of the Astyanaths.
Estates
The Riethii estates are in the most civilised, settled
regions of the Infernum, namely the central plateau
and some of the major islands. They build palaces
like great manor houses in which to celebrate their
wantonness; the richer the branch of the family,
the more vast the mansions will be and the more
spectacular the events. Riethiis love statuary and
have vast erotic images, sculptured out of the red-
black rocks of Hell, erected in the gardens of their
houses. The grounds of a Riethii mansion will
always include a labyrinth, into which captive souls
are released so that the hellhounds and other noble
devils can hunt them for sport.
Modifiers
To do their wicked work, Riethiis must winnow away
the common sense and the willpower of those they
target for their attentions. Those who have escaped
the Riethiis describe a strange, sweet-smelling
pink cloud that permeated everything, making it
impossible for them to resist the devils’ charms and
making their illusions seem unquestionably real.
This curious mist in which willpower just melts away
is the result of an inherent ability unique to the Riethii
house. They can produce a mind fog three times per
day as a spell-like ability, as if cast by a 12th level
caster. The devils breathe the fog out through their
mouths and nostrils. Standard Riethii tactics are to
emit this fog immediately before using their charm
monster or major image spell-like ability.
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HOUSE RIETHII
N o t a b le Mem b er s O f H o us e
R iet hii
The head of House Riethii is given the title of High
Voluptuary, with the title currently residing with the
self-affirmed Queen of Sin, Lady Barbelion. She is
a visually stunning devil with red hair that glows like
hot embers. Barbelion is always found in the company
of her mount, a fiendish pyrohydra with seven heads,
named Thero. She is always intoxicated, sometimes
to a minor degree in which she can still communicate
coherently, sometimes so much so that she cannot
speak except to cast spells or roar a battle cry.
When in her full glory, as depicted in prophetic
tapestries and illuminated copies of the Apocalypse
Texts, she is shown riding on the seven-headed fire-
breathing monster with the Chalice of Abominations
in one hand, the Rod of Dissolution in the other, her
flaming greatsword slung from a scarlet girdle at her
waist and the golden Crown of Blasphemies sitting
slightly lopsided on her head, as if it were slightly too
big for her, or she had put it on while drunk.
Lady Barbelion: Female noble devil Ftr 10/Clr 10;
CR 28; Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+36
plus 10d10+40 plus 10d8+40; hp 257; Init +10; Spd
30 ft, fly 40 ft. (good); AC 24 (+6 Dex, +8 natural)
touch 16, flat-footed 18; Base Atk: +26; Grp: +29;
Atk +35 melee (2d6+9/19–20 plus 1d6 fire, +5
flaming greatsword) or +29 melee (1d3+3, claw);
Full Atk +35/+30/+25/+20 melee (2d6+10/19–20
plus 1d6 fire, +5 flaming greatsword) or +29 melee
(1d3+3, claw); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft; SA spell-like
abilities, summon devil; SQ damage reduction 5/
good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.; AL
LE; SV: Fort 24, Ref 18, Will 22; Str 16, Dex 22, Con
18, Int 21, Wis 22, Cha 22.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +22, Climb +11,
Concentration +34, Craft (jewellery) +11, Disguise
+16, Diplomacy +40, Handle Animal +14, Hide
+18, Intimidate +36, Knowledge (arcana) +14,
Knowledge (history) +13, Knowledge (religion) +15,
Knowledge (the Infernum) +15, Knowledge (the
planes) +17, Listen +17, Move Silently +17, Ride
+38, Search +12, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft +25,
Spot +18; Dodge, Combat Expertise, Improved Feint,
Persuasive, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Spring
Attack, Combat Reflexes, Combat Casting, Weapon
Focus (greatsword), Mounted Combat, Ride-By
Attack, Mounted Archery, Power Attack, Cleave.
 HOUSE RIETHII

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater

teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects
only), charm monster (DC 20), major image
(DC 19), pyrotechnics (DC 18), scorching
ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC 20), wall
of fire (DC 20); mind fog (DC 20) three times
per day. The caster level is 12th. The save
DCs are Charisma-based.

Polymorph (Su): Lady Barbelion’s

alternate form is of a tall, graceful elf with
fiery red hair down to her waist, who smiles
frequently and never says a word. She visits
the mortal world very often and has done for
many centuries; as elves have long memories,
her image has been recorded as something to
fear. Pictures of Lady Barbelion in her elven
form are found in ancient books of elven
lore, with many warnings and speculations
as to her true nature written in by wise sages.
The most famous account of Lady Barbelion
is in the vision of one of the human prophets,
who was once scrying the Infernum and saw
her riding Thero out of the flaming sea. He
never recovered from the experience and the
record is preserved as one of the Apocalypse
Texts.

Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Lady

Barbelion can attempt to summon 2d10
lemures, 1d4 bearded devils or one erinyes
with a 50% chance of success. This ability is
the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Domain Power: As a cleric of the evil domain, Lady
Barbelion casts evil spells at +1 caster level.
smite good; SQ darkvision 60 ft., damage reduction
5/magic, fast healing 17, low-light vision, resistance
to fire 5, resistance to cold , scent, spell resistance 12;
SV Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +4; Str 19, Dex 12, Con 20,
Int 3, Wis 10, Cha 9.

Spells Prepared: (6/6+1/6+1/4+1/4+1/3+1); 0th
level: detect magic x2, guidance x2, resistance x2:
1st level: bane, command, curse water, divine favour,
doom, protection from good, protection from chaos;
2nd level: bull’s strength, darkness, desecrate, eagle’s
splendour, enthral, hold person, inflict moderate
wounds; 3rd level: bestow curse, deeper darkness,
dispel magic, magic circle against good, magic circle
against chaos; 4th level: discern lies, divine power,
poison, inflict critical wounds, unholy blight; 5th
level: greater command, dispel chaos, dispel good,
insect plague.
Thero: Male fiendish pyrohydra with 7 heads; CR
9; Huge magical beast; HD 7d10+38; hp 77; Init +1;
Spd 20 ft, swim 20 ft; AC 17 (–2 size, +1 Dex, +8
natural), touch 9, flat-footed 16; Base Atk: +7; Grp:
+19; Atk 7 bites +10 melee (1d10+4); Full Atk 7 bites
+10 melee (1d10+4); Space/reach 15 ft./10 ft.; SA
Skills and Feats: Listen +7, Spot +7, Swim +12;
Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Toughness, Weapon
Focus (bite).
Smite Good (Su): Once per day Thero can make a
normal melee attack to deal extra damage equal to his
HD (+7) against a good foe.
Chalice of Abominations: The prize signature item
of the Riethii devils is a golden cup, so large that it
resembles a trophy, set around the rim with precious
jewels. The rim and sides are crusted with dribbles of
spilled blood. The chalice is always brimful with the
blood of slaughtered innocents, a draught that devils
delight in. If emptied, it will refill in one round as
soon as it is righted again; it does not pour and pour
constantly if it is tipped. Only the most privileged of
devils are permitted to drink from the chalice, as it is

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the heart of all that the Riethiis stand for. According
to one of the Apocalypse Texts, the brew that shall
awaken the primordial darkness behind the great Wall
(see Infernal Environments) must be prepared within
the Chalice of Abominations.
One creature per round may drain the chalice. The
blood inside it tastes bitter and full of fire. Non-
evil characters that handle it gain a negative level,
which may be removed with restoration and similar
remedies and will never turn into actual level loss;
non-evil characters that drink from it willingly suffer
2d6 points of fire damage. The chalice has several
possible applications for an evil character.
† If the contents of the chalice are drained, the
drinker benefits from a cure moderate wounds
effect as if produced by an 18th level caster.
† The blood in the chalice may be used as the
basis for summoned creatures. The wielder
may produce a summon monster IX effect
three times per day as cast by a lawful evil
caster, with a caster level of 18th and the
benefits of an Augment Summoning feat,
with summoned creatures benefiting from
a +4 enhancement bonus to Strength and
Constitution.
† The wielder may command the blood in the
chalice to become corrosive. A chalice-worth
of corrosive blood can be thrown at a target
within 10 feet as a splash weapon. A full hit
deals 4d8 points of acid damage, with a splash
inflicting 1d8 points.
† A vampire or vampire spawn that drinks
from the chalice receives a massive boost of
energy, the equivalent to a transformation
spell produced by an 18th level caster. The
Haimons regard the chalice with covetous
eyes because of this, wanting it for their
vampire shock troops.
Crown of Blasphemy: This crown of solid gold,
when viewed at a distance, seems to be nothing
more than an ornately shaped diadem. When seen up
close, it becomes apparent that the crown is covered
with blasphemous phrases and images, insulting the
good deities and depicting them engaged in abhorrent
practices. The images and phrases on the crown shift
slowly while the observer watches, so that new words
appear and the images animate. The crown thus
shows a constantly shifting stream of blasphemies
against all that is good and true. It confers upon the
wearer the power to produce a blasphemy effect three
times per day, at a caster level of 20.
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HOUSE RIETHII
Any non-evil character that sets the crown upon
his head immediately suffers 3d6 points of damage
and gains one negative level. This negative level
will never result in actual level loss but it cannot be
removed so long as the crown is worn.
Rod of Dissolution: This rod of office is slim and
golden, tipped with a single large ruby. The High
Voluptuary wields it when presiding over orgiastic
revels in the mortal world. It has the power to render a
living creature into a boneless, oozing mass, symbolic
of the Riethii aspiration to destroy uprightness and
steadfastness in mortals and leave only submissive,
pliant flesh. A favourite spectacle is to use the rod
to transform the mortal revellers at an upper world
carnival one by one into a homogenous pink sludge,
with remnants of limbs and hands protruding from it,
so that they can surge and mingle together like the sea
of libidinous scum they truly are.
† The wielder of the Rod of Dissolution can
cast baleful polymorph on a total of thirty
creatures per day, with a caster level of 18. It
may only transform creatures into pink oozes
or lemures. A pink ooze is a small grey ooze
with a Strength ability score of 3 and no acid
attack ability.
Others
Other renowned members of House Riethii are Duke
Radamanthus, who specialises in recruiting young
nobles of the upper world to the cause of Hell,
promising them debauch and wild parties with the help
of his pretty sisters, then revealing the true horrors of
the Hell that they have condemned themselves to;
Madame Japusca, who collects the souls of murdered
harlots who died with evil still in their hearts; and
Lord Kavalon, who might be called the patron devil
of misunderstood young poets and tempts the lonely
and unloved into committing suicide.
Relations
The Riethiis are the most powerful of Hell’s noble
houses in terms of numbers and influence. They
are not the strongest fighters by a long way but
their ability to bend others to their will has deeply
entrenched them in Hell’s circles of power. They
have a strong alliance with the Astyanaths, whose
loftiness they tolerate and whose craft they respect
and a more tenuous alliance with the Zethu. The
Zethu see the Riethii preoccupation with indulgence
as a waste of time unless it directly furthers the cause
of Hell, while the Riethiis remind the Zethu that
eternity is a long time and that the whole point of
Hell is to torment the damned while enjoying one’s
devilish status.
 HOUSE STURRACH
House
Sturrach, The
Bloody
A
ccording to one legend of the origin of man,
in which one brother slaughtered another,
the oldest sin of all is that of cold-blooded
murder. The better nature of man is eclipsed in
that moment, making him something infinitely
worse than he was meant to be; one can even define
true evil as the willingness to kill another in cold
blood. All of the good religions have codes against
killing. It is acknowledged that to cause death in
self-defence, or in the protection of another, is
legitimate, though it should be avoided if at all
possible. However, to kill one who cannot defend
himself, or to cause death when it is not absolutely
necessary, leads one directly into the cold, black
heart of evil. It is in that cold black heart that the
Sturrachs live. House Sturrach is the brood of devils
that inspires an assassin to kill a goodly king for
pay, a soldier to strike the head from a child for fun,
or a man to come home drunk and batter his wife to
death. They spread the cause of Hell through the
worst sins of all.
Appearance
The Sturrachs can easily be distinguished from other
devils by the length of their horns, which are easily
twice as long as those of other devils, sweeping
above their heads like the horns of an ibex. Their
bodies are pale pink, with only their hands the full
rich red of other devils, as if they were stained with
the blood of many murders. Their faces tend to be
lean, with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes, like those
of a person who has not slept properly. Sturrachs
rarely smile at all, the only exceptions being the
moments when they make a perfect kill.
Character
Sturrachs are killers, through and through. They are
very good examples of the evil end of lawful evil,
in which a person is nothing more than a resource
that can either be used, ignored or removed. If
they think that a person is actively hindering their
schemes, they will have that person killed. They are
hot-blooded when in the field, loving the smell and
sounds of battle but are completely cold-blooded
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when making their plans. No Sturrach ever goes
into a fight unprepared. If a Sturrach decides that an
enemy needs to be terminated, he will plan the event
with extreme caution, making sure he has backup
plans in case the first should fail. Sturrachs are not
mere berserkers, like their opposite numbers in the
ranks of the demons. They are masters of tactics
and strategy.
They are not entirely without emotion, as they kill
for pleasure as well as for expedience. Sturrachs
love the soul hunt more than all other devils. To
a Sturrach, the prey’s fear is part of the pleasure
of the hunt, which makes a long chase after a
terrified victim the most satisfying of pursuits.
They understand the Astyanath attitude toward
prolonging a victim’s suffering but they do not agree
with it. What is the point, they argue, in tormenting
a creature that cannot get away? It quickly resigns
itself to its fate.
Habits
House Sturrach busies itself with killing constantly.
If it did not, its members would become listless
and apathetic. Fortunately for them, Hell is always
offering opportunities for blood and slaughter. The
Sturrachs work alongside military devils in the
Blood Wars, acting as assassins against the demons’
commanders or as elite troops fighting side by side
with the horned devils. During lulls in the fighting
against the hordes of the Abyss, the Sturrachs
keep their bloodlust slaked by mounting frequent
soul hunts and by acting as patrons to assassins
in the upper world. It is almost as satisfying for a
Sturrach to see one of his own mortal assassins kill
an innocent as it would be if the Sturrach had done
the deed himself.
Sturrachs have very good relations with the erinyes,
who serve them as aerial scouts and ‘beaters’ when
a hunt is due to begin. Erinyes are also employed
as gamekeepers on Sturrach estates, as they are
especially qualified to notice souls attempting to
escape and can bring them down with ease. Some
erinyes of proven loyalty and competence have
entered Sturrach families as consorts.
Interest In Mortals
Sturrachs cultivate mortals for two main purposes.
They intend either to hunt them or to use them as
pawns in the upper world. When an important mortal
who is pledged to House Sturrach dies, his damned
soul is collected and then allowed to run loose in the
 HOUSE STURRACH

Forest of Suicides, where

the main Sturrach estates
are. He will then become
the subject of a soul hunt,
once he has had a chance
to familiarise himself
with the territory and
learn a few hiding places.
Sturrachs only bother to
cultivate mortals who will
be suitably quick, elusive
and persistent to make the
hunt enjoyable.

On rare occasions, such

as nights on which natural
gateways to Hell open,
they will take the whole
hunting party to the upper
world and hunt down
a mortal of particular
interest to them. This
has resulted in legends
of a ‘wild hunt’ with fire-
breathing hounds and
a horned Master whose
prey is men. A victim
who is torn to pieces in
the mortal world can then
have his soul brought back
to Hell, if the chase was
worth the trouble, so that
he can be hunted all over
again. If he offered little
sport, his soul is allowed
to fall from the sky of the
Infernum like any other
and the Sturrachs will not
bother with him. Torments
Damned souls can be ‘killed’ again and again.
Sturrach hunts in the mortal world are usually See The Harvest of Souls. To be killed is always
after lawful evil individuals, as the devils want to a horrible experience for a soul, as its very
keep the soul afterwards and derive more hunting consciousness is ripped into shrieking fragments
pleasure from it. This gives rise to the belief that and kept in unending, yearning agony, unable to find
evil, sinful people, or those who have made pacts any surcease. The horror of being damned is that
with the devils, have ‘hellhounds on their trail’ and consciousness never ceases. One is always aware of
are the true prey of the wild hunt. However, the what is happening, even if one’s body is pulverised.
Sturrach hunting parties will sometimes chase a This is the fate that awaits those kept in the game
victim chosen completely at random. They have reserves of the Sturrachs. A few weak souls are
no hope of catching any soul other than an evil one, kept as menials but the great majority are used for
even if they should slay the victim but they hunt hunting. Sturrachs ride out on a hunt every day if
them anyway, as their attempts to stay alive are so they are not required elsewhere, such as when there
very entertaining. is a lot of fighting with the demons to be done.

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 HOUSE STURRACH
Sturrachs do not only hunt damned souls. They will
occasionally take ships out on to the Sea of Fire,
or hunting parties on to the Ashen Plains where the
hellworms roam and go after larger prey. Damned
souls are used as bait, with up to five of them
impaled and squealing on huge iron hooks, which
are then dipped into the flaming sea or left in the
open plain to attract the roaming creatures.
Estates
Sturrach estates are built from sinew wood (see
Infernal Equipment) in preference to stone and
resemble hunting lodges. Those few constructions
that are made from stone are crude fortresses
whose battlements bristle with iron spikes. The
central Sturrach estate is at the rim of the Forest of
Suicides, into which captive souls are released so
that the Sturrachs can hunt them down later. The
whole forest is surrounded by a great stone wall one
hundred feet high, whose sides are festooned with
fragments of sharp material – sword blades, bits of
broken glass, broken bones and similar protrusions.
This wall can be climbed but slices the climber to
ribbons as he does so; see the rules on Hellglass in
Infernal Environments.
Modifiers
All Sturrachs are expert hunters. They have
different special abilities depending on their gender.
Male Sturrachs pursue prey across the ground, as
they are wingless. They have their choice of either
the Mounted Archery feat or the Track feat for
free, allowing them to pursue prey even across the
fuming, acrid plains of Hell. The most common
composition of a Sturrach hunting party is for the
males to ride on nightmares, accompanied by the
household’s hellhound pack, while the females fly
above them.
Female Sturrachs gain the Flyby Attack feat for
free. A typical tactic when pursuing a fleeing soul
is for the females to harry the soul with arrows from
above, guiding it into the path of the riders below
who then charge down upon it to finish it off. The
females will often leave the prey an apparent path
to safety (their airborne position allows them to see
the landscape more clearly than the ground-bound
soul can) and allow it to think that it has a chance
of getting away, only to dive down with exultant
screeches and shower the area with fiery arrows.
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Sturrachs who have the ability to perform sneak
attacks (such as by having levels in rogue) also
gain the ability to perform death attacks, as they
are so competent in the arts of slaughter and have
had countless years to practice their techniques.
If a devil of house Sturrach studies his victim for
3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a
melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the
sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly
either paralysing or killing the target; the devil may
choose which.
While studying the victim, the devil can undertake
other actions so long as his attention stays focused
on the target and the target does not detect the
devil or recognize him as an enemy. The innate
polymorph ability of the noble devils is vitally
useful here. If the victim of such an attack fails a
Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + ½ the devil’s total
Hit Dice and class level + the devil’s Intelligence
modifier) against the kill effect, he dies. If the
saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the
victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for
1d6 rounds plus 1 round per level or Hit Die of the
Sturrach. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the
attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once the devil
has completed the 3 rounds of study, he must make
the death attack within the next 3 rounds.
If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim
makes his saving throw) or if the devil does not
launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the
study, 3 new rounds of study are required before he
can attempt another death attack.
Owing to their racial specialisations, which make
them more of a stalking and slaying caste than a
political one, Sturrachs do not receive the +4 racial
bonus to all Bluff and Diplomacy checks that the
other noble devils enjoy. Instead, as their talents are
focused more in the direction of silent pursuit and
hunting in the open, they receive a +4 racial bonus
to all Move Silently and Survival skill checks.
The Sturrachs’ obsession with killing has caused
their innate magical potential to wane, robbing them
of the use of some of the spell-like abilities that they
would ordinarily have. Sturrachs cannot use any of
the listed spell-like abilities of a noble devil except
greater teleport and (if they are male) scrying.
They retain their summon devil spell-like ability.
 HOUSE STURRACH

N ot abl e M e mbe rs
of House
St urrach
The head of House Sturrach is the
imposing Count Zarov, whose eyes
are icy blue (unique among devils)
and whose bald head is offset by
his huge black beard. He is in the
direct service of the Princes of Hell,
who believe that House Sturrach
is too dangerous to be wrapped up
in the politicking of the infernal
houses. The Princes view Zarov as
their most reliable assassin. He has
managed to infiltrate the demonic
command circles and terminate key
members on at least three separate
occasions, for which the demons
have set a two million gold piece
bounty on his head, should any
mortal be willing to consider the
mission of slaying him.

Count Zarov: Male noble devil

Rog 10/Rgr 10; CR 28; Medium
outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+39
plus 10d6+40 plus 10d8+40; hp
240; Init +11; Spd 30 ft; AC 25
(+7 Dex, +8 natural) touch 17, flat-
footed 18; Base Atk: +26; Grp:+29;
Atk +34 melee (2d6+10/19–20, +5
Spot +21; Dodge, Combat Expertise, Endurance,
vorpal greatsword) or +38 ranged (1d8+5 plus 1d6
Exotic Weapon Proficiency (greatsword), Improved
fire, +5 flaming longbow); Full Atk +34/+29/+24/
Feint, Persuasive, Improved Initiative, Manyshot,
+19 melee (2d6+10/19–20, +5 vorpal greatsword)
Mounted Archery, Rapid Shot, Survival, Toughness,
or +38/+33/+28+23 ranged (1d8+5 plus 1d6 fire,
Track.
+5 flaming longbow); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft; SA
spell-like abilities, summon devil, sneak attack
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
+5d6; SQ damage reduction 5/good, darkvision 60
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), 3/day - scrying
ft, evasion, immunity to fire and poison, polymorph,
(DC 19). The caster level is 12th. The save DCs are
resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness,
Charisma-based.
spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft, uncanny dodge;
AL LE; SV: Fort 20, Ref 27, Will 17; Str 16, Dex 24,
Polymorph (Su): Zarov’s human form is of a bald,
Con 18, Int 21, Wis 21, Cha 21.
goateed nobleman with a cruel smile.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +24, Climb +23,
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Count Zarov
Concentration +36, Craft (jewellery) +21, Disguise
can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded
+18, Diplomacy +39, Handle Animal +14, Hide
devils or one erinyes with a 50% chance of success.
+18, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (arcana) +15,
This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Knowledge (history) +20, Knowledge (religion) +22,
Knowledge (the Infernum) +22, Knowledge (the
Spells Prepared: (3/2); 1st level: alarm, longstrider,
planes) +17, Listen +18, Move Silently +18, Ride
pass without trace; 2nd level: bear’s endurance, wind
+38, Search +17, Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft +25,
wall.

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 HOUSE ZETHU

House Zethu, utterly single-minded in their pursuit of vengeance

through the discovery of angelic secrets. Nothing
else – not luxury, not tormenting the damned, not

The Unveilers fighting – holds any interest. They regard the

ongoing conflict with the demons as an absurd waste
of energy. Alone among the devil houses, they

H
ouse Zethu are the most motivated of all the repeatedly propose a cessation of hostilities with the
devils and have an agenda that sets them apart demons.
from all of their noble kin. They are driven
to the point of obsession by a desire for vengeance
against Heaven. Unwilling to languish in idleness
Habits
The Zethu scholars are rarely seen out of their
and make the best of Hell like the Oblurotts, or
libraries and towers. They spend their days
quench their hatred with blood and destruction like
compiling notes, scrying the Prime Material plane
the Sturrachs, the members of House Zethu labour
for useful information, casting spells that allow
night and day to find new ways of bringing down
them to ask questions of higher intelligences and
their hated celestial opponents. To the members of
planning expeditions to remote places (such as the
House Zethu, knowledge is the most precious of all
deeper levels of Hell) where buried secrets might
resources. No amount of military strength will ever
be uncovered. When they are not researching, the
break the seals that divide Hell off from its enemies.
Zethu are usually developing new weapons and
Only research, science and magic will be able to do
technologies. It was the Zethu who created the
that.
steam devils; they may also have been responsible
for the entire race of biomechanoids that now shares
House Zethu is determined to find out the secrets of
Hell with the fiends and serves them, though they
the heavenly host, such as the true names of angels
have never taken credit for this.
and the hiding places of the keys that seal off the gates
to Hell. For the most part, it shares its discoveries
The Zethu are masters of magical item creation.
freely, giving other devils the information they need
When one of the higher-ranking fiends needs an item
to inflict the most damage on the angels. There are
made, the Zethu are approached to craft it for them.
some secrets that House Zethu has uncovered that
As they are so much in demand, it is extremely
even the Four Princes do not yet know about, with
difficult to persuade them to perform such a task for
the possible exception of their patron Lucifer.
you. At the very least, a Diplomacy skill check (DC
25) and a bribe (or, as they like to call it, a ‘courtesy
Appearance charge’) of at least 5,000 gold pieces are needed in
The devils of House Zethu have cobalt blue skin, a addition to the cost of the item itself. If you ever
striking difference from the other devils whose hue insult or offend the Zethu, they will flatly refuse to
is predominantly orange and scarlet. They dress in make anything for you or your associates.
long, flowing robes into which elaborate cabalistic
designs have been woven in metallic thread. As they
are almost all members of the wizard class, they
Interest In Mortals
House Zethu are the most likely devils to form
very rarely carry weapons. When in human form,
a bonded relationship with a mortal wizard or
they favour the appearance of monks and nuns (the
sorcerer. They like to work with those who have
clerical variety, not the martial artist monk character
a lust for arcane knowledge, as this resonates with
class) from lawful good monastic orders. It is said
their own natures. They are not especially interested
that Mephistopheles, one of the most famous of all
in corrupting mortals, though they will do so out
devils, was a member of this house.
of duty. However, powerful wizards will certainly
be invited to sojourn in Hell and help the devils of
Character Zethu with their research.
These devils have an instantly recognisable
demeanour. They are the spirit that drives the crazed
researcher, the obsessed wizard and the fanatical
Estates
House Zethu have no estates of their own. They
alchemist. To a member of House Zethu, discovery
occupy towers, libraries, academies and halls of
of new information is the ultimate reward. They are
magical learning on the estates of other noble
addicted to research and discovery. Zethu devils are
devils. By ancient compact with the Four Great

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Princes, all other noble devils are obliged to provide
accommodation and sustenance for members of
House Zethu on their own estates. Some noble devils,
such as the Carthenays, find this a fine arrangement.
The Zethu keep themselves to themselves and their
potent magic is very useful for safeguarding the
vaults. The Riethii and the Oblurotts, by contrast,
think of the Zethu as altogether too serious and
regard their refusal to participate in Hell’s delights
as suspicious.
Modifiers
House Zethu are steeped in magic, through and
through. They gain a +2 racial bonus to all
Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft skill checks. In
addition, the DC of the saving throw against any
spell or spell-like ability from a member of house
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HOUSE ZETHU
Zethu is increased by 1, owing to the potency of
their magical art. In addition, they may take the
Craft Soul-Bound Item feat (see below) at 10th level
rather than 20th.
House Zethu also have a vulnerability most
commonly associated with the undead, possibly
related to their habit of spending so many hours
indoors, studying books. They are sensitive to
daylight. The flaming sky of Hell does not disturb
them in the least but exposure to the sunlight of the
Prime Material plane (or the sun on any non-evil
plane that has a sun) causes them harm. Exposure to
direct sunlight robs the devil of one-quarter of its hit
points per round until it is destroyed completely on
the fourth round of exposure.
 HOUSE ZETHU
N ot ab l e M e m be rs Of H o us e
Zeth u
The current head of House Zethu, whose role is that
of a research supervisor, is Prince Akkaron, bearer
of the Sword detailed below in the section on soul-
bound items. He is a soft-spoken devil who never
seems to become angered and is extremely fond of
engaging intelligent opponents in games of chess.
Prince Akkaron: Male noble devil Wiz 20; CR
29; Medium outsider (lawful, evil); HD 9d8+36
plus 20d4+80; hp 207; Init +6; Spd 30 ft; AC 24
(+6 Dex, +8 natural) touch 16, flat-footed 18; Base
Atk: +19; Grp: +21; Atk +26 melee (1d8+7/19–20
plus additional effects dependent upon active array,
for which see below, +5 sword of Akkaron) or
+21 melee (1d3+2, claw); Full Atk +26/+21/+16/
+11 melee (1d8+7/19–20 plus additional effects
dependent upon active array, for which see below,
+5 sword of Akkaron) or +21 melee (1d3+2, claw);
Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft; SA spells, spell-like abilities,
summon devil; SQ damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
polymorph, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 20, telepathy 100 ft.; AL
LE; SV: Fort +16, Ref +18, Will +24; Str 14, Dex 22,
Con 18, Int 24, Wis 22, Cha 21.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +23, Concentration +36,
Craft (armoursmith) +25, Craft (weaponsmith) +39,
Decipher Script +39, Disguise +17, Diplomacy +21,
Hide +18, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcana) +39,
Knowledge (the planes) +39, Knowledge (religion)
+19, Listen +18, Move Silently +18, Search +12,
Sense Motive +18, Spellcraft +39, Spot +18; Dodge,
Combat Expertise, Improved Feint, Persuasive,
Scribe Scroll, Craft Magical Arms & Armour, Craft
Wondrous Item, Craft Soul-Bound Item, Craft Rod,
Craft Staff, Forge Ring, Quicken Spell, Maximise
Spell, Silent Spell.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater teleport
(self plus 50 pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 20), major image (DC 19), pyrotechnics (DC
18), scorching ray (three rays), unholy blight (DC
20), wall of fire (DC 20); 3/day: scrying (DC 20).
The caster level is 12th. The save DCs are Charisma-
based and include the Zethu racial bonus.
Polymorph (Su): Akkaron’s alternate form is
of a slender, bald monk with a somewhat dour
expression.
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Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, Prince Akkaron
can attempt to summon 2d10 lemures, 1d4 bearded
devils or one erinyes with a 50% chance of success.
This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd level spell.
Relations
House Zethu is very frequently condemned for
thinking itself above the other houses and their
interests. It is not that the Zethu are arrogant; the
Astyanaths already have the monopoly on that
vice. It is more that the Zethu do not think that
anything in Hell could possibly be more important
than their research and the victory it will ultimately
bring. From the Zethu point of view, they have been
working hard for countless centuries, bringing the
other devils the benefit of their industrious research,
while all the likes of House Oblurott have ever done
is to produce an assortment of belches.
House Riethii is currently allied with House Zethu.
Apart from this (largely token) alliance, no one
house of the noble devils has particularly good
relations with House Zethu, though they are nothing
like as alienated from the rest of the devils as House
Haimon is. Of the military devils, the pit fiends have
exceptionally good relations with House Zethu. The
pit fiends ensure that House Zethu is always kept
informed of any discoveries made by the frontline
troops, while Zethu keeps these generals of Hell
fully up to date with its research and supplies them
with potent magical armour and weaponry.
Secrets of
House Zethu
Soul-Bound Weapons And Armour
The art of making soul-bound magical weaponry
and armour resides with House Zethu of the
Infernum and is not known to exist anywhere else.
If the celestials know of it, they do not employ it, as
it is a fundamentally evil art. It is said to be part of
the secret technique whereby artefacts were created
in aeons now lost to history. Whether this is true or
not, it does allow the creators of magical weapons
to exceed the usual limitations imposed upon their
craft.
The soul-binding technique uses gems into which
the souls of living creatures have been bound as key
components in the magical matrix. Each trapped
 HOUSE ZETHU

soul is forced to be a nexus of magical energy, which

causes the soul agony beyond measure. The item
may draw upon the nexus of one soul at a time.
Rather than having a single magical core, so to
speak, it has several, within a common framework.

The net result is unarguably efficient. A soul-bound

item contains two or more trapped souls, each one of
which is keyed to an array of powers. By touching the
jewel that contains the soul you want and speaking
the appropriate command phrase, that
soul’s array is activated. The
implications of this
are quite staggering
for magical weapon
creators.

Ordinarily, when
creating a magical
item such as a sword
or a spear, the creator
may only include an
enhancement bonus
and additional special
abilities that give a
total of +10, with the
maximum enhancement
bonus being +5. In practice, this
means that you cannot create a sword
that has a +5 enhancement bonus and is
simultaneously vorpal and unholy. However,
when creating a soul-bound item, the enhancement
bonus remains constant but each gem-bound soul
has an array of powers that may be brought on line.
This allows a single item to possess a multiple set of
special abilities, which though they may not all be
used at once allows a vast degree of flexibility.

Craft Soul-Bound Item [Item

Creation]
You may craft special magical items that use bound
souls to achieve a greater range of abilities than is
normally possible.

Prerequisite: Craft Magic Arms and Armour; Creating Soul-Bound Items

caster level 20th
Benefit: You can create magical arms and armour
with more than one array of powers and with a
constant enhancement bonus. See the section below
for full details
Special: Members of House Zethu may take this
feat at 10th level
You must have the Craft Soul-Bound Item feat (see
above) in order to achieve this at all, as well as its
prerequisite, the Craft Magical Arms and Armour
feat.
To create a soul-bound item, you must possess one
gem into which the soul of a creature of at least 3
Hit Dice or experience levels per point of bonus

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 HOUSE ZETHU
modifier has been bound by means of a trap the soul
spell, with a minimum of 8 Hit Dice or levels per
gem. Remember that by the rules for trap the soul,
the gem must have a value of at least 1,000 gold
pieces per level or Hit Dice of the creature whose
soul it is going to contain. Consult the magic item
creation tables in Core Rulebook II to find out the
total bonus modifier for the special abilities you
want. For example, if you wished to include a gem
with the array of unholy, flaming burst and ghost
touch, the total would be +5, so you would need a
gem that contained the soul of a creature with 15 or
more Hit Dice. Note that only weapons and armour
may be created as soul-bound items.
When you create the item, you must specify its base
enhancement bonus first. This remains constant;
whichever array of powers is active. A soul-bound
item cannot have any special abilities that are not
part of a given gem’s array; for example, you cannot
have a magical sword that is always flaming no
matter which array is active. If you wanted the
sword to be flaming all the time, you would have to
include that special ability in each array.
No one array can have special abilities that, when
added to the base enhancement bonus of the item,
exceed +10. For example, if the item’s base
enhancement bonus was +3, you could only have
special ability arrays whose bonus modifiers each
totalled +7 or less bound into your soul gems. You
may only include five such gems in total in any one
item.
Activating a given array of powers is a free action.
The wielder must know the proper command phrase
and be wielding the weapon or wearing the armour
at the time. The great advantage of soul-bound
weapons is that they allow a single weapon to
change powers according to what is needed by the
wielder.
For example, the Sword of Akkaron, a signature item
of the Zethu house, is a +5 greatsword with three
soul gems set into the hilt. The occupants of these
gems were once powerful archons, now forced to
occupy and empower a weapon that is dedicated
to slaughtering their kind. However, it is not only
archons that the devils of House Zethu must face;
they often have cause to fight mortals and demons as
well. They therefore forged a weapon that could be
used to stand against any one of these foes.
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The gems in the hilt of the Sword of Akkaron are a
ruby, a sapphire and a diamond. When the ruby array
is activated, the sword activates its archon-slaying
array. It acquires the good outsider bane, unholy and
speed special abilities, giving its wielder the ability
to make additional attacks and deal significant extra
damage to good outsiders.
The diamond gem activates the mortal-slaying array.
The sword manifests the keen, mighty cleaving and
brilliant energy special abilities, allowing the user
to slice through armour and deep into the vulnerable
mortal flesh beneath.
The sapphire gem transmutes the sword into a
demon-slaying weapon. It acquires the axiomatic,
chaotic outsider bane and speed special abilities.
Destroying Soul-Bound Items: Although they
are extremely powerful and versatile, soul-bound
items are no harder to destroy than ordinary magical
items. They are not artefacts and as such do not
have specific requirements for their destruction.
There is also a strong motive for good-aligned
creatures to destroy them rather than wield them,
namely the release of the imprisoned souls. With
the usual rules for the trap the soul spell, the gem is
the soul’s vessel and the soul is released if the gem is
destroyed. However, incorporating one of these soul
gems into a soul-bound item makes the whole item
the vessel for the trapped souls. There is no other
way to release the trapped souls than by destroying
the whole item, nor is it possible to release only one
of them without releasing all.
Knowing this, the Zethu craftily use multiple gems
into which they bind the souls of evil creatures
as well as good ones. As they have opponents
among the demons, such as the powerful balors and
mariliths, they do occasionally have the opportunity
to do this. For example, if they bind a gem containing
the soul of a mortal hero (such as, say, a paladin who
ventured into Hell on some gallant quest, or who was
captured on the Prime Material plane and brought to
the Infernum) into a weapon, they may well add two
more gems containing the souls of demons. That
way, any heroes attempting to free their comrade by
destroying the item will find themselves confronted
by two huge, potent, evil outsiders as well as the
hero they sought if they should succeed.

The Four Great
Princes
H
ell is ruled by a coalition of four crown
princes. These share authority equally and
have done since the devils first claimed Hell
for their own. This group has many different names;
the humans call them by one set of titles, the elves
by another but they all refer to the same four beings.
Here, we shall refer to their Satanic Majesties by
the names they are customarily given in human
theology: Satan, Lucifer, Leviathan and Belial.
It is beyond the scope of this book to provide
statistics for the four of them. Leviathan alone is
so vast that he constitutes an entire plane in his own
right! Their status is that of deities, not fiends and
it is as deities that we here treat them. Each of the
Four has his own domains and issues divine spells to
his followers, much like any other divine being.
The noble houses of the devils each have a
priesthood who worship one of the Four as a deity
and duly receive divine spells from them. This is not
to say that the houses in question may never worship
any other of the Four, or any other deity for that
matter. The Prince listed does, however, have the
role of patron for the house as a whole. As a rough
estimate, 90% of the clerics of one of the listed
houses will have the given Prince as their deity.
The Powers of the Sphinx
Those wizards and sorcerers in bonded relationships
with devils and who follow the Four Princes as
personal deities sometimes speak of the four
cardinal virtues of Hell as the Powers of the Sphinx,
for reasons which are long lost to the arcane students
but may have something to do with the ancient desert
civilisations where the Four were worshipped under
other forms.
These powers are to know, to dare, to will and to
keep silence. Each one means far more than the
name alone would suggest. The principles are so
universally applicable that they have been used in
teaching magic by other schools than the diabolic
ones. It is only the diabolic schools, however, that
may cultivate the powers in sequence. One does not
have to have a bonded relationship with the devils
in order to gain these powers. All that is necessary
is that the spellcaster have one of the four Princes
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THE FOUR GREAT PRINCES
of Hell as his deity. If he ever changes his deity,
even from one of the Princes to another, he may not
continue to gain the Powers.
The Powers of the Sphinx can only be gained by
means of painstaking and disciplined work. The
spellcaster can choose which power of the Sphinx
to develop first. Almost any caster will choose the
easiest option, determined by whichever Prince of
Hell that he worships, as detailed below. After this,
he may attempt to acquire the other powers. The
Powers of the Sphinx are all supernatural abilities.
To do this, he makes a Knowledge (arcana) check for
each week that he spends in study, meditation and
disciplined practice, carefully heeding his infernal
mentor. The result of this check is then multiplied
by the DC of the power that he is attempting to gain,
as described below and a running total kept. The
process is essentially similar to the use of a Craft
skill to make an object. When the running total
reaches 5,000 he has gained the power. If he should
fail his Knowledge (arcana) skill check by 4 or less,
he makes no progress in his studies; if he fails by
5 or more, he loses 1d6 x 100 experience points.
Study is not without its dangers.
The DC of the Knowledge (arcana) skill checks to
cultivate one of the four Powers of the Sphinx is
20 for the first power, 22 for the second, 24 for the
third and 26 for the last, irrespective of the order
in which the powers themselves are taken. It is
always much easier to grasp a single principle than
to integrate it with the others that you have already
mastered. Each of the Four Princes has dominion
over one of the powers and reduces the DC for one
of his followers to acquire it by 4. For example, a
mage who followed Lucifer and was attempting to
gain the Power to Know as his first power would be
making Knowledge (arcana) skill checks against a
DC of 16.
The Power To Know
Knowledge is what makes men into potential
Gods. Armed with knowledge, one can avoid
untold amounts of danger, difficulty and effort. The
spellcaster with this power gains an insight into the
fundamental workings of the universe. He may
add a +2 insight bonus to any Knowledge checks.
Since this power makes it easier to acquire the other
powers, many mages take it first.
 THE FOUR GREAT PRINCES

the effects of torture, for which see The Harvest of

The Power To Dare
The servants of Hell are masters over their own
lower natures. Fear is a cry from that part of oneself
which is still a cowering animal; it must be turned
from a lamb into a wolf. When this power is gained,
the spellcaster’s heart is fortified beyond the power
of any force to intimidate it. He becomes completely
immune to fear effects.
The Power To Will
All magic is dependent upon will. By making
choices and enforcing one’s will upon reality,
one reshapes the universe. Pure will is its own
justification for being and needs no moral arguments
to support it; it is as blameless and direct as lightning.
The spellcaster with this power gains a +2 resistance
bonus to all Will saving throws. In addition, any
mind-affecting spells that he
casts (including spell-like
effects) are produced as if they
were 2 caster levels higher than
they are and have the DC of
their saving throws increased
by 1.
Souls, or to resist an attempt to examine the contents
of his mind.
Satan
Often considered by many to be the true ruler of
Hell, or at least the voice that the other members of
the coalition unite behind, Satan is depicted as the
quintessential devil. His skin is red, his body that of
a goat from the waist down and his wings vast and
bat-like. His image is found all over Hell, where it
is often mistaken for mere decoration. Within the
Council, he advocates unity and can often bring
other contending viewpoints into agreement. Satan
has a gift for making the oppressed and the wicked
feel like they have something in common, making a
brotherhood out of evil.

The Power To Keep

Silence
Silence is more than simply
‘not speaking’. It represents
the concealment of secrets
behind a veil of utmost secrecy.
A mage who cannot keep
silence, in the sense in which
it is meant by this power, is
magically incontinent. He
wastes his energy and leaves
himself open to exploitation.
Every apprentice knows stories
of mages who were too fond
of talking, who boasted of
their powers and their exploits
and thus made it easy for the
self-appointed guardians of
good to find and destroy them.
When this formidable power is
achieved, the spellcaster gains
the Silent Spell feat for free
and may add a +2 competence
bonus to all Move Silently skill
checks. He may also add a +4
resistance bonus to any Will
saving throws made to resist

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Ideologically, Satan stands for rebellion, though
this is not rebellion against law and order; indeed,
such a rebellion would contradict the fundamental
lawfulness of the Prince’s own outlook. Satan rebels
against restriction and encourages his followers
to do the same. Those who follow Satan rebel
against their own limitations, against the tyranny of
others and against their own lack of power. Satan
encourages the cultivation of power through system
and structure. He has no time for the idle or the
indolent. The Satanic outlook is to see existence
as competition. The strong survive, while the
weak are eaten. Law is necessary to ensure the
consolidation of one’s own power (and chaos serves
nobody’s interest, being but a waste of energy) but
the sanctimonious pabulum peddled by the followers
of ‘good’ need not fetter one.
Satan is sometimes called ‘the father of lies’. He
regards principled honesty as a vulnerability and
not part of his concept of law at all. Deceit and
manipulation are entirely legitimate. Those who
are intelligent enough will see through a bluff and
may be commended for doing so, while those who
are stupid enough to be gulled deserve all they get.
Truly strong individuals know that lies are a valuable
weapon to wield. Every predator uses camouflage
and every military commander uses subterfuge.
To survive in the real world, one cannot be a boy
scout. One has to have guile, wit and the instinct
to trick those who would otherwise dominate one.
There are many kinds of strength and a person who
can overcome a far stronger opponent by wits and
treachery alone is beloved of Satan.
Associated Houses: Riethii, Carthenay
Domains: Fire, Evil, Law, Strength, Trickery
Power Of The Sphinx: To Will
Luc i fer
Lucifer appears in a form that has not changed
significantly from his days as an angelic being. He
resembles a beautiful young man with blond hair,
swan-like wings and a golden halo. Depending on
his whim, he may also have tiny horns, or a burning
star on his brow. He is one of the most comely
beings in the universe. Those who have seen him
in his full glory have spent the rest of their days
in happy senseless oblivion, stricken mad by the
splendour of the sight.
Lucifer’s prevailing moral quality is pride. His
followers hold themselves to be the keen, the
proud, the royal and the lofty. What is the purpose,
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they argue, in submitting to some bleeding-heart
democratic plan of society in which everyone is
forced to be equal? Why should lions be made
to comply with the same laws as sheep? It is
manifestly obvious to anyone – anyone whose eyes
are not clouded by pious idealism, that is – that some
people are simply better than others. One can either
bow one’s head in assumed humility and deny the
very qualities that place one above others, which
is of course exactly what the weak and the stupid
want you to do, or one can raise oneself in pride and
refuse to be numbered among the peasants and the
servants. The first step to liberation, according to
the code of Lucifer, is to be proud. When you are
humble, you allow the world to walk all over you.
Humility is just another name for cowardice. Pride
is what makes you say, as Lucifer first said to the
assembled powers of lawful good, ‘I will not serve.’
Lucifer is sometimes called the Prince of the Powers
of the Air. Symbolically, air is associated with the
intellect and with the critical faculties. Lucifer’s
followers are great lovers of knowledge, keeping
to the aphorism that knowledge is power. He has a
great many devotees from the wizard and sorcerer
classes. Within the Council of the Four, Lucifer
argues in favour of the intelligent course of action;
research, research and more research before forces
are committed. He is often at odds with Belial,
whose quick temper and desire to do something
right now can easily overbalance a debate.
Associated Houses: Astyanath, Zethu
Domains: Air, Evil, Knowledge, Magic
Power Of The Sphinx: To Know
L ev ia t ha n
Leviathan is sometimes called the Monster of the
Sea. The huge sea-creatures called leviathans are
said to be his children. As detailed in Lower Levels,
he is a beast so enormous that his body constitutes a
sub-plane of Hell. He is depicted in art as a whale-
like devil, or sometimes as a sanity-wrangling
composite of squid, dragon and humanoid with great
goggle eyes. It is difficult to find accurate images of
Leviathan, because nobody has seen him (other than
from the inside) for several millennia.
In terms of infernal ideology, he represents
stubbornness, obstinacy, inertia and the ideals of
the flesh. Leviathan is all about the body and its
various desires and wilful ways. It is important, in
the canon of Hell, to accept the flesh for what it is
– not something to be chastised but something to be
 THE FOUR GREAT PRINCES

enjoyed. Within the Council of the Four, Leviathan
(by means of his iron golem proxy) always argues
for the minimum of effort to be expended to deal
with any crisis. Sitting and waiting is his favourite
strategy.
The followers of Leviathan tend to be stolid and
languorous to the point of seeming idle. His Oblurott
clerics lie amid steaming mounds of food, while his
followers among the Glabretch sit and fester in pits
of disease and decay. They emulate their massive,
almost immobile deity.
Belial is the archetypal satanic warrior. While Satan
is all fire and defiance, Lucifer pride and glory and
Leviathan carnality and mass, Belial is the mailed
fist of Hell that strikes back against the powers who
would keep the fiends down. Ideologically, Belial
is about action over thinking. Rage has its own
wisdom and vengeance is purpose enough.
Associated Houses: Sturrach, Haimon
Domains: Earth, Evil, War, Destruction, Death
Power Of The Sphinx: To Dare

Associated Houses: Oblurott, Glabretch

Domains: Water, Evil, Protection, Animal
Power Of The Sphinx: To Keep Silence

Beli al
Belial is a towering fiend
with great tusks protruding
from his bottom jaw. He
appears clad in armour and
brandishing a greatsword,
while the pennants of
Hell’s armies flutter
around him. He represents
the vengeance of Hell
incarnate. In the Council,
Belial is always advocating
war. His answer is always
the same; trample down
those who would oppose
us. It is the influence
of Belial that makes for
mighty, regimented armies
on the Prime Material
plane, armies made up
of people who easily
forget their humanity and
are happy to slaughter
those who are different to
themselves. To Belial, the
law of lawful evil is that
of the soldier, the military
structure that keeps each
warrior in his proper
place and prevents Hell’s
forces from degenerating
into rabble like that of
the demons. Belial is the
commander-in-chief of the
military devils.

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 DEVIL SPECIES

Devil Species Combat

A herald devil’s natural weapons and any weapons
that it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned

T
he following devils increase the ranks of those
for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
already found in Core Rulebook III. In the
social structure of Hell, they are all classed as
Thunderous Blast (Sp): A herald devil can emit
military devils.
a magical blast of wind through its nose-trumpet,
which combines the effect of a gale with that of a
Heral d De v i l deafening noise. The blast acts as a gust of wind spell
with a caster level of 12th and a Fortitude saving throw
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp) DC of 17. In addition to the gust of wind effects,
Initiative: +3 creatures in the affected area must make a Fortitude
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) saving throw (DC 19) or be deafened for 1d6 rounds.
AC: 16 (+3 Dex, +3 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 13 The saving throw DC is Charisma-based and the
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+9 deafening effect is a sonic effect. Herald devils use
Attack: Claw +9 melee (1d6+3) this ability to knock adversaries prone, following
Full Attack: 2 claws +9 melee (1d6+3) which their sturdier companions charge forward and
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. massacre them.
Special Attacks: Thunderous blast, induce fear,
inspire courage, spell-like abilities Inspire Courage (Su): A herald devil can use the
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good, hellish music that it plays with its body to inspire
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, courage in its allies and in the herald devil itself,
resistance to acid 10, cold 10 and electricity 10,
see in darkness, spell resistance 12, telepathy
100 ft.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +7
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 13, Wis
14, Cha 20
Skills: Bluff +14, Climb +12, Concentration
+10, Diplomacy +14, Intimidate +14, Jump
+12, Move Silently +12, Perform +21, Tumble
+12
Feats: Combat Expertise, Dodge, Skill Focus
(perform)

Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells

Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium), 13–18
HD (Large)
Level Adjustment: —

These bizarre creatures are the musicians

of Hell, accompanying the ranks of devilish
infantry into war and terrifying their opponents
with the shrieking music they make. They
have three faces; the one on their head has an
elongated trumpet-like nose which the devil
plays like a wind instrument, the one on the
belly squeaks in treble, while the one on the
posterior bellows in bass. As herald devils
have parts of their own body that they can
use as musical instruments, they never need to
carry any other musical equipment.

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 DEVIL SPECIES

bolstering them against fear and improving their
combat abilities. To be affected, a creature must be
an ally of the herald devil and must be able to hear
the devil play infernal music. The effect lasts for as
long as the ally hears the devil play and for 5 rounds
thereafter. An affected ally receives a +2 morale
bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects
and a +2 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage
rolls. Inspire courage is a mind-affecting ability.
Induce Fear (Sp): When the herald devil turns its
cacophony against opponents, it can fill them with
terror. All enemy creatures within 40 feet of the
herald devil are affected. The herald devil makes
a Perform skill check, which is then the DC for the
Will saving throw against the fear effect. Creatures
that fail their saving throws are frightened for 1d4+1
rounds, while creatures that succeed are shaken for
1d4+1 rounds. Induce fear is a sonic mind-affecting
fear effect.
Feats: Alertness, Improved Initiative, Power Attack,
Cleave, Great Cleave, Multiattack, Ability Focus
(trample)
Environment: The Nine Hells, The Infernum
Organisation: Solitary or squad (2–4)
Challenge Rating: 18
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 21–36 HD (Gargantuan), 37–50 HD
(Colossal)
Level Adjustment: —
A behemoth is a vast bipedal devil with a bulging,
round belly and the head of a grimacing elephant. It
is a jovial, simple creature, content to gorge itself on
damned souls until it is time to fight, at which point
it literally wades into the fray and stamps on smaller
creatures than itself. Behemoths are notorious bullies
and especially like to victimise creatures that are

Skills: Herald devils receive a +4 racial

bonus to all Perform skill checks.

Behe mo t h
Gargantuan Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar,
Lawful)
Hit Dice: 20d8+160 (250 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
AC: 18 (–4 size, +12 natural), touch 6, flat-
footed 18
Base Attack/Grapple: +20/+46
Attack: Gore +30 melee (2d8+21)
Full Attack: Slam +30 melee (2d6+14)
and 2 stamps +28 melee (2d6+7) and trunk
slap +28 melee (2d8+7); or gore +30 melee
(2d8+21)
Space/Reach: 20 ft./20 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, constrict
(2d8+21), counterblast, frightful presence,
trample (2d6+21)
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft.,
damage reduction 15/good, resistance to
acid 10 and cold 10, immunity to fire and
poison, regeneration 5, see in darkness, spell
resistance 30
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +12, Will +12
Abilities: Str 38, Dex 10, Con 26, Int 10,
Wis 10, Cha 20
Skills: Bluff +28, Concentration +31,
Intimidate +28, Listen +25, Perform
(trumpeting) +28, Search +23, Sense Motive
+23, Spot +25

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much smaller than them, grappling them with their
trunks and then flinging them against hard surfaces.
Behemoths are used as the watchmen of Hell and
are stationed by the main gateways to the Infernum.
They are valued for their musical ability as much as
for their fighting prowess and often entertain massed
hordes of devils at banquets with their trumpeting,
leading a group of herald devil minstrels.
Combat
A behemoth’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Constrict (Ex): Behemoths like to use their muscular
trunks to crush enemies to jelly. A behemoth deals
2d8+21 damage with a successful Grapple check.
Counterblast (Su): A behemoth can trumpet
through its trunk, creating a roaring din that boosts
the morale of any devils in the vicinity. It uses this
blast like the countersong of a bard, to assist its
devilish comrades to resist the effects of spells and
spell-like effects that depend on sound. To use this
ability, the behemoth must have its trunk free (it may
not be using it to grapple an opponent) and must make
a Perform skill check for each round on which it is
using the counterblast. Any creature within 60 feet
of the behemoth, including the behemoth itself, that
is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical
attack (such as a mass command or holy word spell)
may use the behemoth’s Perform skill check result in
place of its saving throw if, after the result is rolled,
the Perform check result is the higher of the two. If
a creature within range of the counterblast is already
under the effect of a non-instantaneous sonic or
language-dependent magical attack, it gains another
saving throw against the effect each time it hears the
counterblast but it must use the behemoth’s Perform
skill check result for the saving throw. Counterblast
has no effect against effects that do not allow saving
throws; for example, it would be effective only
against the banishing function of holy word and not
against its other functions. A behemoth may keep up
the counterblast for 10 rounds.
Frightful Presence (Ex): The behemoth uses its
vast stature and imposing appearance to terrify foes.
It triggers its frightful presence ability by taking a
standard action to roar. Opponents within 30 feet
must make a Will saving throw (DC 25) or become
frightened for 5d6 rounds. Creatures that successfully
make their saving throws are shaken for 5d6 rounds
instead. Only creatures with fewer Hit Dice or levels
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DEVIL SPECIES
than the behemoth are affected; those with equal or
more are not. A creature that successfully saves
against the behemoth’s frightful presence ability is
immune to that same behemoth’s frightful presence
for 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect and
the save is Charisma-based..
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a behemoth
must first hit with its trunk slap attack. It can then
attempt to start a grapple as a free action without
provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the
grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict.
It may only use this ability against Huge or smaller
opponents.
Regeneration (Ex): A behemoth takes normal
damage from good-aligned weapons and from spells
or effects with the good descriptor.
Trample (Ex): The behemoth’s trample attack deals
2d6+21 damage. The DC of the Reflex saving throw
to take half damage is 36, which includes the benefits
of the behemoth’s Ability Focus (trample) feat. This
saving throw DC is Strength-based.
I n c ub us , L es s er
Small Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 17 (+3 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size),
touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+3
Attack: Claw +8 melee (1d6+1)
Full Attack: 2 claws +8 melee (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Nightmare, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/cold iron or
good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to acid 10, cold 10 and electricity 10, see
in darkness, spell resistance 12, telepathy 100 ft.,
greater invisibility
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +7
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 17, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 14,
Cha 20
Skills: Bluff +14, Climb +14, Hide +14, Move
Silently +18, Open Lock +12, Perform +14, Sleight
of Hand +12, Tumble +12, Use Rope +12
Feats: Ability Focus (nightmare), Improved
Initiative, Stealthy
Environment: The Nine Hells, The Infernum
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
 DEVIL SPECIES
Alignment: Lawful evil
Advancement: 7–8 HD (Small)
Level Adjustment: —
The lesser incubus is a hideous, dwarfish creature with
an oversized head and an evil grin. Like the greater
version, it is reputed to visit people in their sleep but
while the greater incubus is a sensual seducer, the
lesser kind brings only nightmares and horrors.
Greater incubi tolerate the lesser, as they find them
amusing and servile. A greater incubus always has
a retinue of between two and six lesser incubi, to
act as servants, clowns and assistants in deviant
practices. Greater incubi find that their own suave,
refined approach to infernal decadence is given a
perfect counterpoint by the gross, bumbling antics of
the lesser incubi. The relationship is rather like that
between a satanic Oberon and his Puck.
Combat
Lesser incubi, like all succubae and incubi, are not
combatants. They enjoy working malice but do
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not have the stomach for a fight. They will
attempt to become invisible and run away if
they are threatened with violence.
A lesser incubus’ natural weapons and any
weapons that it wields count as evil-aligned
and lawful-aligned for the purpose of
overcoming damage reduction.
Nightmare (Sp): A lesser incubus may affect
one creature per day with a nightmare, as per
the spell. There are several major differences
between the nightmare produced by the
lesser incubus and the kind produced by
the spell. The lesser incubus may use this
spell-like ability as a standard action. The
target creature must be asleep at the time
of the ability’s use and the lesser incubus
must deliver the spell with a successful
touch attack. The Will saving throw DC to
resist the nightmare effect is 20; this saving
throw DC is Charisma-based and includes
the benefits of the Ability Focus feat. This
saving throw DC is used instead of the usual
mechanism for calculating saving throws
against a nightmare. The caster level is 9th.
The effect is instantaneous, so dispel evil
cannot help the victim, unlike the usual
casting of nightmare. In addition to the usual
effects of a nightmare, a victim that fails his
saving throw may (30% chance) gain one
negative level. If there is anyone other than
the intended victim in the area, the lesser incubus
will always make itself invisible with its greater
invisibility ability before delivering the nightmare
effect.
Greater Invisibility (Sp): A lesser incubus may
activate greater invisibility at will, as a free action;
the caster level is 9th.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: cause fear (DC
16), sleep (DC 16), dancing lights; 3/day: fireball
(DC 18), fear (DC 19). The saving throw DCs are
Charisma-based and the caster level is 9th.
Summon Incubus (Sp): Once per day, a lesser
incubus may attempt to summon another of its own
kind at a 40% chance of success.
Skills: Lesser incubi receive a +4 racial bonus to all
Climb and Move Silently skill checks.
 DEVIL SPECIES

In c ubus, G re at e r to be metallic. In all other respects, it resembles a

strikingly handsome human or elven male.
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp)
According to legend, greater incubi are seducers rather
Initiative: +1
than energy thieves. They are not combatants; their
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
role in Hell is much more subtle than that, in that they
Armour Class: 20 (+1 Dex, +9 natural), touch 11,
have an eye turned to the future. In brief, they further
flat-footed 19
the cause of Hell by begetting devilish children on the
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+7
Prime Material plane and using them as agents once
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d6+1)
their parents have abandoned them in horror. They
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d6+1)
delight in leaving mortal females impregnated with
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
half-fiends, even if they never return to the infant, as
Special Attacks: Dominating gaze, spell-like
they know the horror that follows when the parents
abilities, summon devil
discover that their ‘child’ has tiny horns and yellow
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron or
slit-pupil eyes.
good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and electricity 10, see
The typical incubus tactic is to dominate the victim
in darkness, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft.
with its gaze, impregnate her and then use its modify
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +7
memory spell-like ability to make her either forget
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 14,
the event entirely or recall it as a particularly intense
Cha 26
dream. The ultimate achievement for an incubus is to
Skills: Bluff +19, Concentration +10, Diplomacy
beget a half-fiend upon a female paladin. Such incubi
+12, Disguise +17 (+19 acting), Escape Artist +10,
are feted in Hell above all others.
Hide +10, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (any one) +12,
Listen +9, Move Silently +10, Search +12, Spot +9,
House Riethii has always had excellent relations with
Survival +2 (+4 following tracks), Use Rope +1 (+3
the incubi and Lady Barbelion always has a retinue of
with bindings)
ten of the most accomplished of them in her court.
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Persuasive

Environment: The Infernum, the Nine Hells

Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 8
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +6

The lesser and greater incubi could hardly be

less alike. While the lesser incubi are cackling,
ugly little creatures, the charming, articulate
greater incubi are the most handsome of all
devils. All of them are male. They are the
counterparts of the demonic succubae, who they
despise, though they have much in common
with them. The popular theory is that the incubi
and the succubae were once one species, who
during the primordial war against Heaven chose
to side with law on the one side and chaos on
the other. The greater incubus lacks the energy
drain ability, polymorph ability and wings of the
succubus but possesses a powerful dominating
gaze and formidable spell-like abilities.

A greater incubus in its natural form has

metallic skin of a bronze or gold colour, tiny
horns and tightly curled hair that also seems

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Combat
Dominating Gaze (Su): The incubus can
overpower the will of another merely by
looking into his or her eyes. This is similar
to a gaze attack, except that the incubus
must use a standard action and those merely
looking at it are not affected. Anyone the
incubus targets must succeed on a Will
saving throw or fall instantly under the
incubus’ influence as though by a dominate
person spell, with a caster level of 12th and
a saving throw DC of 23. The ability has a
range of 30 feet. It is, however, limited to a
three-hour maximum duration. The saving
throw DC is Charisma-based. The incubus
may not use this ability if it is invisible.

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will – greater

invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 50
pounds of objects only), charm monster
(DC 22), major image (DC 21), pyrotechnics
(DC 20), scorching ray (three rays), unholy
blight (DC 22). The saving throw DCs are
Charisma-based.

Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, a

greater incubus can summon 1d4 lesser
incubi with an 80% chance of success, or
a single greater incubus with a 40% chance
of success.

W atc h e r De v i l
Small Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar,
Lawful)
Hit Dice: 6d8+18 (45 hp)
Initiative: +9
Skills: Balance +15, Disguise +11, Hide +15, Listen
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
+18, Move Silently +15, Sleight of Hand +15, Search
Armour Class: 26 (+5 Dex, +1 size, +10 natural),
+12, Spot +18, Tumble +15
touch 16, flat-footed 21
Feats: Improved Initiative, Alertness, Weapon
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+2
Finesse
Attack: Club +7 melee (1d4) or gore +12 melee
(1d4)
Environment: The Nine Hells, the Infernum
Full Attack: Club +7/+2 melee (1d4) and gore +7
Organisation: Solitary
melee (1d4)
Challenge Rating: 5
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Treasure: None
Special Attacks: Stun, polymorph, spell-like
Alignment: Always lawful evil
abilities
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Small), 13–18 HD
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
(Medium)
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to acid and poison,
Level Adjustment: +3
resistance to cold 5 and fire 5, see in darkness, spell
resistance 7, telepathy 100 ft., true seeing
These minor devils are most commonly assigned to
Saves: Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +11
mortals who serve the cause of Hell. They are used as
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 22,
sentinels, guardians and security systems. A watcher
Cha 12
devil has the ability to transform itself into a form

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of solid wood, allowing its master to hide it in plain
sight.
The wizards and sorcerers who work with them
sometimes call watcher devils ‘Jeromes’, as the most
famous example of this species was the sentinel of
a magical supplies shop (a botanica, for which see
Encyclopaedia Arcane: Tomes and Libraries) and
went by that nickname.
A watcher devil is a squatting creature like a tribal
fetish, with large horns, a slender body, a long face
with a downwards-curving mouth, bug eyes and a
loincloth for clothing. It carries a club over one
shoulder. When in static form, it seems to be made of
some hard dark wood.
Combat
A watcher devil’s natural weapons and any weapons
that it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned
for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Stun (Ex): Watcher devils excel at incapacitating
foes by striking sensitive areas. A watcher devil may
declare any attack with a club as a stunning attack. If
the attack hits and does damage, the opponent must
make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 19) or be stunned
for one round, until just before the watcher devil’s
next action. This saving throw DC is Wisdom-based.
A stunned character cannot act, loses any Dexterity
bonus to Armour Class and takes a –2 penalty to
Armour Class. The watcher devil may make one
stunning attack per Hit Die that it has each day; most
watcher devils may make six such attacks per day.
Polymorph (Su): The watcher devil may turn
its body into sinew wood, for which see Infernal
Equipment. It may assume this form as a free action.
While in wood form, it remains alert and perceptive
and will relay anything important that it sees to its
allies telepathically. The devil will usually activate
its undetectable alignment and misdirection spell-
like abilities before assuming wood form, so that
examination will not reveal its nature.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will - undetectable
alignment, hold person (DC 13), web (DC 13),
misdirection; 3/day - scorching ray, stinking cloud
(DC 14). The caster level is 8th and the saving throw
DCs are Charisma-based.
True Seeing (Su): Watcher devils benefit from true
seeing as per the spell at all times.
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D us t D ev il
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 6d8–6 (21 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), fly 80 ft. (good)
Armour Class: 22 (+7 Dex, +5 natural), touch 17,
flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+10
Attack: Claw +13 melee (1d4+4)
Full Attack: 2 claws +13 melee (1d4+4) and gore
+11 melee (1d6+2) and tail lash +11 melee (1d4+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Greater vortex, spell-like abilities,
summon dust devil
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/bludgeoning
and good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and
poison, lesser vortex, resistance to cold 5 and acid 5,
see in darkness, spell resistance 7, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +12, Will +8
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 24, Con 9, Int 17, Wis 17, Cha
12
Skills: Bluff +11, Escape Artist +17, Hide +17,
Knowledge (the planes) +13, Move Silently +17,
Search +13, Sleight of Hand +17, Spot +13, Survival
+13, Tumble +16
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Multiattack, Dodge
Environment: Warm deserts, the Nine Hells, the
Infernum
Organisation: Solitary, patrol (2–5) or swarm
(4–16)
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium), 13–18 HD
(Large)
Level Adjustment: +6
‘Dust devil’ is the name given to the tiny whirlwinds
that blow across desolate plains. It is also the name
of a genuine devil of Hell, which is responsible for
creating some of these vortices. A whirling cloud of
dust almost always surrounds dust devils, obscuring
them from clear view; see the Lesser Vortex ability
below.
If the dust ever clears, the true form of the devil can
be seen. A dust devil is extremely thin, thinner even
than a skeletal creature and entirely black, with a V-
shaped head with curved horns and a long lashing tail
with a barbed tip. Against its usual desert background,
it resembles a stick drawing. Only its large, yellow,
unblinking eyes show up against the darkness of its
body. Despite its whipcord-thin frame, the dust devil
is extremely strong.
 DEVIL SPECIES
Some call these creatures ‘stick devils’ or ‘wind
devils’. They are most commonly found in the desert
regions of the Infernum and in correspondingly arid,
dusty regions of the Prime Material plane, when they
blow in through natural desert gateways.
Combat
A dust devil’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Lesser Vortex (Su): When in an environment where
there is dust or sand, the dust devil can activate a
vortex of dust and debris to whirl around itself as a
free action. This makes it difficult to strike the devil
accurately with blows. A devil with its lesser vortex
active benefits from a continual displacement effect;
any melee or ranged attack aimed against it has a 50%
miss chance unless the attacker can locate the dust
devil by some means other than sight. True seeing
allows an observer to see the dust devil’s location but
see invisibility does not have any effect.
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Greater Vortex (Su): The dust devil can
transform itself into a vortex once every 10
minutes and remain in that form for up to five
rounds for every 2 Hit Dice it has; most dust
devils can do this for 15 rounds. In this form,
the dust devil can move through the air or
along a surface at its flying speed. The vortex
is 5 feet wide at the base, up to 30 feet wide at
the top, and up to 30 feet tall. The dust devil
controls the exact height, but it must be at least
10 feet. While in vortex form, the dust devil
still benefits from the displacement effect of
the lesser vortex ability.
The dust devil’s movement while in vortex
form does not provoke attacks of opportunity,
even if the dust devil enters the space another
creature occupies. Another creature might be
caught in the vortex if it touches or enters
the vortex, or if the dust devil moves into or
through the creature’s space.
Creatures one or more size categories smaller
than the dust devil might take damage when
caught in the vortex and may be lifted into
the air. An affected creature must succeed
on a Reflex saving throw when it comes
into contact with the vortex or suffer 1d6
bludgeoning damage. If the base of the vortex
is in contact with sandy material, or fragments
of abrasive material such as hellglass, the
damage is increased to 1d6+4 because of the
lacerations inflicted.
An affected creature must also succeed on a second
Reflex saving throw or be picked up bodily and held
suspended in the powerful winds, automatically
taking damage as described above each round. A
creature that can fly is allowed a Reflex saving throw
each round to escape the vortex. The creature still
takes damage but can leave if the saving throw is
successful. The DC for saving throws against the
vortex’s effects is 17 and is Strength-based.
Creatures trapped in the vortex cannot move except to
go where the dust devil carries them or to escape the
vortex. Creatures caught in the vortex can otherwise
act normally, but must succeed on a Concentration
check (DC 15 + spell level) to cast a spell. Creatures
caught in the vortex take a –4 penalty to Dexterity
and a –2 penalty on attack rolls. The dust devil can
have only as many creatures trapped inside the vortex
at one time as will fit inside the vortex’s volume. The
dust devil can eject any carried creatures whenever it
wishes, depositing them wherever the vortex happens
to be. A summoned dust devil always ejects trapped
 DEVIL SPECIES

creatures before returning to its home plane; a dust
devil that is travelling on its own volition will use its
vortex to trap creatures before bringing them back to
the Infernum.
If the vortex’s base touches the ground, it creates
a swirling cloud of debris. This cloud is centred
on the dust devil and has a diameter equal to half
the vortex’s height. The cloud obscures all vision,
including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. Creatures 5 feet
away have concealment, while those farther away
have total concealment. Those caught in the cloud
must succeed on a Concentration check (DC 15 +
spell level) to cast a spell.
A dust devil in vortex form cannot make claw, gore or
tail attacks and does not threaten the area around it.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: gust of wind (DC
13), 3/day: control water (lower water effect only)
(DC 15), glitterdust (DC 13). The caster level is 10th
and the save DCs are Charisma-based.
Summon Dust Devil (Sp): Once per day, a dust devil
may attempt to summon a second dust devil,
with a 50% chance of success.
Jump +19, Spot +13, Survival +13
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells
Organisation: Solitary or pair
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 11–20 HD (Medium), 21–30 HD
(Large)
Level Adjustment: —
Briar devils, or thorn devils as they are sometimes
called, are humanoid creatures with egg-shaped
skulls, covered in long curved thorns like those found
on hawthorn bushes. Briar devils are the gardeners
of Hell, tending the blood-orchards and the vampiric
rose bushes, for which see Infernal Environments.
They retrieve souls that have fallen from the sky into
the Wood of Damnation, using their briar lashes to
drag them down out of the branches.
From a distance of up to 60 feet, a person can mistake
briar devils for barbed devils if he has not seen one

Br i ar De v i l
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar,
Lawful)
Hit Dice: 10d8+30 (75 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armour Class: 21 (+5 Dex, +6 natural), touch
15, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+16
Attack: Claw +16 melee (1d4+6) or briar lash
+16 melee (1d4+6)
Full Attack: 2 claws +16 melee (1d4+6) or 2
briar lashes +16 melee (1d4+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. or 15 ft. with briar
lash
Special Attacks: Briar cage, briar lash,
lacerate, spell-like abilities, summon devil, evil
plant empathy
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in
darkness, spell resistance 18, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +7
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 14, Wis
10, Cha 18
Skills: Bluff +17, Climb +19, Diplomacy
+17, Intimidate +17, Knowledge (nature) +15,
Knowledge (the Infernum) +15, Listen +13,

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 DEVIL SPECIES
before; a Spot skill check (DC 20) is needed to notice
the difference. Briar devils have a ceaseless hatred
for non-evil druids and will seek them out and tear
them to pieces whenever they can. Evil druids are
tolerated, though they are not lawful.
Combat
A briar devil’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Briar Cage (Sp): A briar devil may fling a
magical prison made from tangled thorns around
its opponents. The briar cage is a cube of material
10 feet thick, enclosing a space 5 feet across. The
enclosing material is identical to that produced by a
wall of thorns, with the exception that the damage
the thorns deal is counted as lawful-aligned and evil-
aligned for the purposes of damage reduction and the
thorny material is immune to fire damage, magical
and otherwise.
If there is room to evade, then all creatures within the
target space are allowed a Reflex saving throw (DC
19) to dive out of the way of the cage as it forms.
Creatures that make their saving throws are moved to
the outer periphery of the cage. The briar devil may
use this ability five times per day; the saving throw
DC is Charisma-based and the caster level is 12th.
Briar Lash (Ex): A briar devil can fling forth two
slashing rope-like lengths of thorny flesh, which
flagellate and lacerate its opponents. These exude
from openings in the briar devil’s palms. A briar lash
functions as a whip that deals lethal damage and can
be used against creatures with natural armour. The
briar lash is treated as a melee weapon with 15-foot
reach, though the briar devil does not threaten the
whole area into which it can make an attack. In
addition, unlike most other weapons with reach, the
briar devil can use its lashes against foes anywhere
within its reach, including adjacent foes. The devil’s
use of a briar lash does not provoke an attack of
opportunity, unlike attacking with a whip.
A briar devil can make trip attacks with its briar
lash. When using a briar lash, the briar devil gets a
+2 bonus on opposed attack rolls made to disarm an
opponent; the devil is not itself disarmed if it loses
the opposed roll, as its briar lash is part of its body.
A briar lash can be targeted with a sunder attempt. It
has a hardness of 3 and 10 hit points.
While a briar devil is manifesting its lashes, it cannot
use its hands to hold anything, nor may it make
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claw attacks or perform any task requiring manual
dexterity. It may however use its lashes as if they
were ropes fitted with grappling hooks, in which
case it receives a +4 racial bonus on Climb checks
so assisted.
Evil Plant Empathy (Su): Briar devils have a
rapport with evil creatures of the plant type, as they
clearly have some plant in them. A briar devil can
take a free action to change the attitude of all the evil
plants within 30 feet of itself towards a given target
with a Charisma check (DC 15). Briar devils are thus
highly valued in the estates of Hell, as they can calm
down ravening rose bushes, or command the night-
oaks to attack a rival.
Lacerate (Ex): When a briar devil grapples, its
thorns cause ghastly slashing damage to those in its
grasp. A briar devil deals 1d6+12 points of damage
with a successful Grapple check.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: entangle (DC 15),
freedom of movement (self only). Caster level 8th.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, a briar devil may
attempt to summon 1d6 lemures with a 60% chance
of success, 1d2 bearded devils with a 40% chance of
success, or a fellow briar devil with a 30% chance of
success.
S p in n in g D ev il
Large Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 14d8+28 (91 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 70 ft. (14 squares)
Armour Class: 24 (+7 Dex, +8 natural, –1 size),
touch 16, flat-footed 17
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+24
Attack: Hoof +19 melee (1d6+6) or tongue +19
melee (1d8+6)
Full Attack: 6 hooves +19 melee (1d6+6) and
tongue +14 melee (1d8+3)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Strike sparks, spell-like abilities,
summon devil, trample (1d6+9)
Special Qualities: Aura of truth, darkvision 60 ft.,
see in darkness, impossible to flank, immunity to
fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10,
telepathy 100 ft., damage reduction 15/good, spell
resistance 19
Saves: Fort +11, Ref +18, Will +13
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 28, Con 15, Int 23, Wis 19,
Cha 30
Skills: Balance +28, Concentration +19, Diplomacy
+27, Forgery +23, Knowledge (the Infernum) +23,

Knowledge (the planes) +23, Intimidate +27, Jump
+25, Listen +21, Search +23, Sense Motive +21,
Survival +21, Spot +25, Tumble +28
Feats: Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
Mobility, Spring Attack
Environment: The Nine Hells, The Infernum
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 12
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 15–22 HD (Large), 23–28 HD
(Huge)
Level Adjustment: —
Spinning devils (sometimes called ‘whirligigs’) are
possibly the most bizarrely shaped of all devil kind.
Their form has a fleshy core with a bearded face in the
centre on each side and a ring of eight goat-like legs
around the outside, so that the whole creature looks
like a cartwheel made from head, legs and hooves.
The creature has a single long, serpentine tongue
with which it can lash opponents. The devil has two
faces in total but only one of them ever speaks, as it
has the tongue in its mouth. A spinning devil moves
by tumbling and can travel at bewildering speed. Its
favourite mode of attack is to use its exceptional
speed to trample multiple targets. When it makes a
full attack, the devil uses two of its legs to stand upon
and lashes out around itself with the others.
Spinning devils are in service to the infernal
government and act as official messengers, bringing
the proclamations of the rulers of Hell to the noble
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houses. They speak in bellowing voices, as if
some great cistern of brass was booming the
words out. They can be seen moving hurly-
burly across the broad plains of Hell, acting as
emissaries from the Princes themselves, taking
news to one estate after another. Their noted
inability to lie and the aura of truth that they
emanate makes them ideal inspectors for the
infernal Princes.
Combat
A spinning devil’s natural weapons and any
weapons that it wields count as evil-aligned and
lawful-aligned for the purpose of overcoming
damage reduction.
Aura Of Truth (Su): The spinning devil
constantly emanates a zone of truth as per the
spell, which extends to a 30-foot radius around
itself. Creatures within the zone, or which enter
it, may not speak any deliberate and intentional
lies. They are allowed a Will saving throw (DC
24) to avoid the effects when they first enter the area;
this saving throw is Charisma-based and includes a
racial bonus. The spinning devil is itself completely
unable to tell deliberate and intentional lies. Spinning
devils epitomise the law in lawful evil. They only
ever use their Forgery skill to detect forgeries, not to
concoct them.
Impossible To Flank (Ex): The spinning devil’s
two faces make it impossible to flank the creature
effectively. It retains its Dexterity bonus to Armour
Class even when flanked.
Skills: Spinning devils receive a +2 racial bonus to
all Balance, Jump and Tumble skill checks. They
receive a +4 racial bonus to all Spot checks, as their
two faces can survey a broad region.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: dispel chaos (DC
25), dispel good (DC 25), haste, scry, true seeing;
3/day: blasphemy (DC 27), greater teleport; 1/day:
dominate monster (DC 29), mass hold monster (DC
29). The saving throw DCs are Charisma-based and
the caster level is 18th.
Strike Sparks (Su): By clashing its shod hooves
together while spinning on the spot, the spinning
devil can create a spray of burning sparks that sears
all creatures within the area of effect. The sparks
jet forth in a cone 30 feet wide at the base and deal
20d4 fire damage, with a Reflex saving throw (DC
27) allowed to take half damage. The Reflex saving
throw DC is Charisma-based.
 DEVIL SPECIES

Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, a spinning

devil may attempt to summon 1d3+1 bone
devils with a 50% chance of success, or a single
barbed devil with a 40% chance of success.

Trample (Ex): Spinning devils habitually

trample their opponents, running over multiple
targets in a row. The spinning devil’s trample
attack deals 1d6+9 damage, with a Reflex
saving throw (DC 23) allowed for half damage.
The saving throw DC is Strength-based.

St eam De v i l
Huge Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 14d8+112 (175 hp)
Initiative: +2
Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares)
Armour Class: 24 (+2 Dex, +14 natural, –2
size), touch 10, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +14/+33
Attack: Slam +24 melee (2d6+11) or chest
cannon +14 ranged (6d6)
of personification of devouring industry. Some pious
Full Attack: 2 slams +24 melee (2d6+11) and bite
scholars have theorized that an increasing tendency
+22 melee (2d8+5) and drill +22 melee (2d8+5) or
for dwarven and gnomish manufacturers to look
chest cannon +14 ranged (6d6)
to machinery to supply their needs has caused the
Space/Reach: 15 ft./15 ft.
appearance of this industrial devil, risen from Hell to
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, summon devil,
pollute the upper world.
double damage against objects, drill, powerful charge,
trample 2d6+16
Steam devils are not constructs or biomechanoids,
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness,
though they appear to be at first glance. A steam
immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and
devil has an outer casing of beaten brass, like a set
cold 10, telepathy 100 ft., damage reduction 15/good,
of plate armour, with a huge horned helmet in whose
spell resistance 19
eye sockets the fires of Hell blaze, sending forth
Saves: Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +9
beams of bright light. Below the spotlight eyes is
Abilities: Str 32, Dex 14, Con 26, Int 9, Wis 11, Cha
a jag-toothed jaw like that of a modern excavator
16
that champs monotonously as if it were insatiably
Skills: Bluff +20, Craft (weaponmaking) +16,
hungry. The devil has two bulging arms ending in
Intimidate +20, Knowledge (architecture and
metal fists and a single drill-like protuberance in
engineering) +16, Listen +17, Profession (siege
its lower abdomen. From the back of the casing,
engineer) +17, Spot +17
multiple pipes emerge, from which a constant stream
Feats: Power Attack, Improved Sunder, Improved
of black smoke pours. There are two bull-like nostrils
Overrun, Weapon Focus (slam), Multiattack
in the face of the helmet, from which steam hisses;
the whole monstrous figure is mounted on a base like
Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells
that of a chariot, with four wheels instead of a lower
Organisation: Solitary or squad (2–4)
torso. The body of the steam devil is fused with the
Challenge Rating: 10
machinery that encases it.
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
The truth of these creatures’ origin has nothing to
Advancement: 15–30 HD (Huge), 31–45 HD
do with the possible industrialization of the upper
(Gargantuan)
world. Steam devils are in fact a product of House
Level Adjustment: —
Zethu’s tireless research and experimentation and
may even be an early stage in the development of the
Steam devils are very rare and have only recently
biomechanoids. They were originally intended for
been recorded by students of the diabolic. Their
use as devilish siege machines against the strongholds
whole appearance suggests that they are some kind

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of Heaven, as their powerful wheels make them
natural gate-rammers and infantry-crushers but the
steam devils themselves have proved to have other
appetites. A steam devil loves to tear up and devour
forest. When let loose on the upper world, they
ravage, tear, burn and devour any trees they can find,
until the landscape resembles that of Hell itself.
Combat
A steam devil’s natural weapons and any weapons
that it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned
for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Double Damage Against Objects: A steam devil
that makes a full attack against an object or structure
deals double damage.
Powerful Charge (Ex): The steam devil often
commences combat by surging forward on its great
wheels and using the additional force to impale the
opponent on its fearsome drill. In addition to the
normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this allows
the devil to make a single drill attack with a +25
melee attack bonus that deals 4d6+11 damage. This
counts as a full attack for the purpose of determining
double damage against structures and objects. The
steam devils often use their powerful charge abilities
to ram into the gates of structures again and again.
Trample (Ex): The steam devil’s Trample attack is
horrible to behold; it simply roars and grinds forwards
on its huge wheels, crushing opponents underneath.
A Reflex saving throw (DC 28) is allowed for half
damage; the saving throw DC is Strength-based.
Chest Cannon (Su): The steam devil can extend a
brass tube from its chest and fire a steam-propelled
projectile, much like a cannon ball. Once the steam
devil has used this attack, it may not use it again for
a full round, as the mechanism inside its body needs
to reload.
Choking Cloud (Su): The steam devil is constantly
emitting foul black smoke from its vents, so that it is
veiled in a pall of unbreathable air extending out to a
distance of 10 feet. Any air-breathing creature within
10 feet of the steam devil must make a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 25) on its initiative count or suffer
2d4 damage from smoke inhalation. The saving
throw is Constitution-based.
Steam Blast (Su): The devil may project a cone
of boiling steam from its nostrils, scalding enemies
caught in the blast region. Once it does this, it
cannot emit steam again until 1d4 rounds later. The
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cone is 50 feet long and deals 12d6 fire damage. A
Reflex saving throw (DC 25) is allowed to take half
damage from the steam blast; the saving throw DC is
Constitution-based.
Drill (Su): The steam devil’s drill weapon receives
its power from infernal forces that make it able to tear
through hard materials. When the drill is used to deal
damage to an object, the object’s hardness rating is
treated as 5 lower than it actually is, to a minimum of
0. The steam devil often uses its drill to make sunder
attempts against opponents’ shields and weapons.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: shatter, freedom of
movement, dispel good (DC 18), cloudkill (DC 18):
1/day: acid fog. Caster level 14th.
Summon Devil (Sp): Twice per day a steam devil
can automatically summon 2 lemures, bone devils or
bearded devils, or one erinyes or horned devil. This
ability is the equivalent of an 8th level spell.
Co r n D ev il
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 10d8+30 (75 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 21 (+5 Dex, +6 natural), touch 15,
flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +10/+16
Attack: Scythe +17 melee (2d4+9/19–20/x4) or claw
+16 melee (1d4+6)
Full Attack: Scythe +17/+12 melee (2d4+9/19–20/x4)
or claw +16 melee (1d4+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Spell-like abilities, summon devil
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, see in darkness,
spell resistance 21, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +7
Abilities: Str 22, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha
18
Skills: Bluff +17, Hide +18, Intimidate +17,
Knowledge (nature) +15, Knowledge (the Infernum)
+15, Listen +15, Move Silently +18, Jump +19, Spot
+15, Survival +13
Feats: Alertness, Power Attack, Weapon Focus
(scythe), Improved Critical (scythe)
Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
 DEVIL SPECIES
Advancement: 11–20 HD (Medium), 21–30 HD
(Large)
Level Adjustment: —
Also called ‘the walkers behind the rows’ or Hell’s
reaper men, corn devils have a peculiar connection
to the crop fields of the Prime Material plane. They
represent all that farming mortals are most afraid
of; the blight on the crops, the famine that causes
starvation, the parched corn that loses its fertility
and the hungry soil that must be fed with blood. A
corn devil is bright green in colour, with eyes like
burning coals and a pinched, scowling face, with a
pale beard like corn silk. Corn devils wear rags and
scraps of clothing and carry a scythe slung across one
shoulder. From a distance, a corn devil looks like an
agricultural labourer or perhaps a scarecrow.
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In lands that are plagued with corn devils,
the populace make a horrible bargain. The
farmers leave a sacrifice for the corn devil,
which the devil comes to collect once per
month. In return, the devil uses its increase
plants spell-like ability to provide a good
harvest for the people. It does this to keep
them in its sway, not out of any goodness on
its own part. If it does not receive a pleasing
sacrifice, the corn devil uses diminish plants
and insect plague to devastate the fields.
The sacrifice left for the corn devil must be
a living being. Usually, a being of animal
intelligence and at least three Hit Dice
will suffice. Once per year, however, the
sacrifice must be a non-evil-aligned creature
with 6 or more Intelligence. Communities
that are in thrall to a corn devil, or which
are evil-aligned and depend upon one
voluntarily, will often lure travellers into
their community for a festival, in which
the traveller ends up being the sacrifice
of the day. Terrible tales are told of rural
communities outside the boundaries of
civilisation, where bonny local maidens
promise strangers a night they will never
forget, only to lure them into the cornfield at
midnight where a sharp scythe blade waits to
make a sacrificial offering of them.
Corn devils mostly plague communities that
have no druid of their own. Where there are
druids, the populace can look to them for a
blessing on the crops. For this reason, corn
devils that target an area will always attempt
to kill the local druid first.
Combat
A corn devil’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Cornfield Gate (Sp): Corn devils can create
temporary gateways into the Prime Material plane
from any other plane on which they may happen
to be, or from the Prime Material plane into the
Infernum, as per the gate spell as cast by an 18th level
caster. The gate may only open directly into or from
a field of ripe corn (not stubble) and may only be
used for transport, never to summon another creature
across. As the gate opens, it presses down the corn
in a harmless vortex 20 feet across. Such a circle is a
sure sign of corn devil visitation. The devil may use
this ability twice per day.

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: entangle (DC 15),
haste, diminish plants, plant growth; 3/day: animate
plants, blade barrier (DC 20), unholy blight (DC 18),
insect plague. The locust swarms summoned by this
spell-like ability remain for 12 hours, rather than 12
minutes. The caster level is 12th and the saving throw
DCs are Charisma-based.
Summon Devil (Sp): Once per day, a corn devil may
summon 2d4 lemures (50% chance), 1d2 bearded
devils (40% chance) or a fellow corn devil (20%
chance).
G l oom Dev i l
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 4d8 (18 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft, climb 20 ft.
Armour Class: 15 (+1 Dex, +4 natural), touch 11,
flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+5
Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+1)
Full Attack: Bite +6 melee (1d6+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Despair, spell-like abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., gloom, immunity to fire and poison,
resistance to cold 5 and acid 5, see in darkness, spell
resistance 10, telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +6
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DEVIL SPECIES
Abilities: Str 12, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 13, Wis 14,
Cha 22
Skills: Balance +8, Bluff +13, Climb +16, Diplomacy
+13, Hide +8, Jump +8, Move Silently +8, Sleight of
Hand +8, Survival +9
Feats: Weapon Focus (bite), Ability Focus (despair)
Environment: Underground on a lawful evil aligned
plane
Organisation: Solitary, huddle (2–8) or cluster
(6–24)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: None
Alignment: Lawful evil
Advancement: 5–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +3
Gloom devils spend their eternity in a state of baleful
misery. The only consolation they ever receive is to
inflict this misery upon others. When they are not
pitching others into a state of sorrow, they squat in
damp caves and shadowy places, clustering together
under a pall of black depression. They have bald
heads with little horns, rubbery lips that are forever
downcast, floppy ears with hairy tufts protruding
from them, round pot bellies, skinny limbs and flat
paddle-like hands and feet. Their teeth are jagged and
sharp. A region of actual gloom, equivalent to partial
illumination, always shrouds a gloom devil. Their
hands and feet are mildly adhesive, allowing them to
scramble up and down surfaces with ease.
Gloom devils are not inclined to seek the
company of other devils, which suits the
latter very well. No devil wants to spend
time with a gloom devil, as they are the most
despondent of all possible companions.
They only ever huddle together with their
own kind. Gloom devil burrows are found
just above the tunnels and trenches where
the slugs of inanity crawl. According
to legend, they were once angels whose
spheres of patronage were beauty and joy;
on finding that they were condemned to an
eternity of separation from heaven, they
sunk into a woeful malaise from which they
have never recovered.
Combat
A gloom devil’s natural weapons and any
weapons it wields count as evil-aligned and
lawful-aligned for the purposes of damage
reduction.
 DEVIL SPECIES
Despair (Su): Gloom devils can infect others with
the despair that hangs over them. They can project
a cone of misery at will, equivalent to the crushing
despair spell as cast by an 8th level caster, with a
Will saving throw (DC 22) allowed to negate the
effect. The will saving throw DC is Charisma-based
and includes the benefit of the gloom devil’s Ability
Focus (despair) feat.
Gloom (Su): All gloom devils have a zone of
shadow surrounding them to a distance of 30 feet.
The gloom devil can never be in brighter than
shadowy illumination. No amount of natural light
may brighten this zone. Attempts to brighten it
with magical light must successfully overcome the
gloom devil’s spell resistance; even if such an attempt
succeeds, the gloom returns once the spell has run its
course. A permanent light effect that is established
in a devil’s zone of gloom must overcome the devil’s
spell resistance every 24 hours.
Skills: Gloom devils receive a +8 racial bonus to
Climb skill checks.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: darkness, dispel
good (DC 21), touch of fatigue (DC 16); 3/day:
unholy blight (DC 20). The caster level is 8th.
Tor m e n t o r
Large Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 12d8+12 (66 hp)
Initiative: +7
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares)
Armour Class: 28 (+7 Dex, +12 natural, –1 size),
touch 16, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +12/+23
Attack: Finger blades +18 melee (1d8+7)
Full Attack: 2 finger blades +18 melee (1d8+7)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Grievous wound, hideous scarring,
spell-like abilities, stitch mouth
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness,
immunity to fire and poison, resistance to acid 10 and
cold 10, telepathy 100 ft., damage reduction 10/good,
spell resistance 23
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +15, Will +13
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 24, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 21,
Cha 15
Skills: Bluff +17, Concentration +16, Craft (flesh
carving) +15, Heal +24, Knowledge (the Infernum)
+15, Profession (torturer) +24, Jump +22, Move
Silently +22
Feats: Improved Grapple, Improved Natural
Weapon, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack
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Environment: The Infernum, The Nine Hells
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 9
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Lawful evil
Advancement: 13–24 HD (Large), 25–36 HD
(Huge)
Level Adjustment: —
Tormentors are the twisted surgeons of Hell. Their
expertise with scalpels, needles and cautery makes
them much in demand on the battlefield when the
devils go to war. The healing techniques that the
tormentors learn are agonisingly painful but very
efficient. As well as searing and stitching the wounds
of devils, the tormentors apply their skill at slicing
and stitching to the arts of torture, which is where
they derive their name. Tormentors are able to
mangle the flesh of their victims beyond recognition;
once they get a grip, the blades go in and the victim
is rearranged into what the devil considers a more
pleasing form. House Astyanath keeps a retinue of
the most experienced tormentors on hand to keep
the tortured conscious while they are put through
their agonies and to help the Astyanaths perfect their
techniques of pain inflicting.
Tormentors are tall and gaunt, with bluish skin, as if
they were partly organic and partly metallic. They
constantly practice their surgical techniques on their
own bodies, so they are covered with a webwork of
scars, stitching and open wounds. Their long fingers
end in various metallic surgical implements (bone
saws, sharp blades and the like) that are fused with
the flesh and their eyes are hidden in nests of creases.
A tormentor has a silvery eye-like organ in the centre
of its head, between its horns, that sheds bright light.
Its teeth are metallic and constantly chatter.
Combat
A tormentor’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and lawful-aligned for
the purposes of damage reduction.
Grievous Wound (Su): The finger-blades of the
tormentors can disembowel a target with a swift
stroke. A tormentor can attempt to slash its opponent
horribly, causing a grievous wound; this is a full
attack action. To do this, it makes a single melee
attack with its finger blades. If the attack hits and
deals damage, the target must make a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 23) or suffer a grievous wound,
taking 1d6 Constitution damage as well as the hit
point damage from the blow. The saving throw DC is
Dexterity-based.
 DEVIL SPECIES

its own lips and open its mouth with a successful

Strength check (DC 25). Each attempt to do this,
whether successful or not, deals 1d4 damage on the
creature; a torn-open mouth results in a 50% spell
failure chance for spells that have verbal components
and a –10 circumstance penalty to all Perform skill
checks that involve speaking or singing.

Hideous Scarring (Su): A tormentor can rip through

the target’s flesh to its very soul, leaving wounds that
diminish its foes’ sense of self. Formerly beautiful,
striking or impressive creatures are turned into mere
lumps of butchered meat, with their pride broken and
their presence wrecked. A tormentor can attempt to
gouge out its opponent’s tissues, causing hideous
scarring; this is a full attack action. To do this, it must
make a successful melee attack with its finger blades.
The target must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC
23) or suffer a grievous wound, taking 1d6 Charisma
damage as well as the hit point damage from the
blow. The saving throw DC is Dexterity-based.
After stitching a bard’s or a sorcerer’s mouth shut, a
tormentor will usually attempt hideous scarring, just
in case they can cast silent spells or know any non-
verbal ones.

Permanent Wound (Su): Three times per day,

immediately before an attack with its blades, a
tormentor may charge its finger blades with seething
energy drawn from its black and corrupted heart and
declare an attack as dealing permanent damage. It
Stitch Mouth (Ex): The tormentor’s implement-
charges its blades as a free action. If the subsequent
laden fingers are horribly quick and move swiftly
melee attack hits and causes damage, the damage
enough to sew an opponent’s lips together if the
cannot be healed with anything less than a wish or
tormentor can hold him still for long enough. A
miracle spell.
tormentor must succeed on a Grapple check against an
opponent in order to do this and may only attempt this
Repair Evil (Su): With a successful Heal skill check
action against an opponent of Large size or smaller.
(DC 15), a tormentor may heal any evil outsider for
The creature must also have a mouth with lips and a
1d8+12 points of damage. It may use this ability six
natural armour bonus of no higher than +3.
times per day.
Stitching a creature’s mouth shut deals 1d4+3
Skills: Tormentors receive a +4 racial bonus to all
points of damage and renders the creature unable to
Heal skill checks and to all Profession (torturer) skill
speak, sing or cast spells with verbal components.
checks.
A tormentor will often grab a spellcaster and sew
his mouth shut before slicing his flesh to pieces. A
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: death knell (DC
creature may attempt to cut its mouth open again by
14), create undead, 3/day: harm (DC 18), slay living
taking a full-round action to make a Sleight of Hand
(DC 17), symbol of pain (DC 17). Caster level is 12th
or Craft (tailoring) skill check (DC 25). Failure on
and saving throw DCs are Charisma-based.
the skill check deals 1d4 damage. Even if the creature
succeeds in cutting its mouth free, spells with verbal
components suffer from a 20% arcane spell failure
chance and a –4 circumstance penalty to all Perform
checks that involve speaking or singing owing to the
damage to the lips until the creature is fully healed.
A creature that is utterly desperate to speak may tear

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 DEMON SPECIES
Demon Species
T
his section casts a wary eye over some of the
less well-known horrors to emerge from the
demon isles. Some, like the bogeyman, have
long been known of but rarely reported, as they are so
stealthy and reclusive; others, like the demon clown,
are not often seen because there are so few of them,
which is something for which the denizens of the
Prime Material plane can be truly thankful.
Boge y man
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Chaotic)
Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp)
Initiative: +5
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armour Class: 24 (+5 Dex, +9 natural), touch 15,
flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+11
Attack: Claw +11 melee (1d6+5)
Full Attack: 2 claws +11 melee (1d6+5)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, rend, spell-like
abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron
or good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity
and poison, modified gate, resistance to acid 10, cold
10, and fire 10, spell resistance 18, swarm spillage,
telepathy 100 ft.
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +7
Abilities: Str 20, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 14,
Cha 20
Skills: Bluff +14, Craft (trapmaking) +12, Disguise
+14, Hide +16, Listen +11, Move Silently +16, Open
Lock +14, Sleight of Hand +14, Search +12, Spot
+11, Use Rope +14
Feats: Dodge, Mobility, Stealthy
Environment: A chaotic evil-aligned plane
Organisation: Solitary
Challenge Rating: 7
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: +5
One of the best-known demons among mortal
children, yet ironically not believed in by the majority
of adults, the bogeyman is a child-eating horror that
has a unique talent for shifting between the planes. It
moves from Hell to the mortal world during the hours
of darkness, looking for careless victims to snatch
up and devour. A bogeyman looks like a half-rotted
human, with long talons and a broad toothy grin,
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wearing a long coat or cloak. Its eyes glow a dim
green. Tiny wriggling insects and worms drop from
its sleeves and its mouth and nostrils, as if it were
nothing but a skin stretched over a mass of crawling
bugs.
Combat
A bogeyman’s natural weapons and any weapons that
it wields count as evil-aligned and chaotic-aligned for
the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a bogeyman
must hit with its claw attack. It can then attempt to
start a grapple as a free action without provoking an
attack of opportunity.
Rend (Ex): Bogeymen slay their opponents by
seizing them in their spade-claw hands and ripping
them to pieces. A bogeyman that wins a grapple
check after a successful claw attack establishes a
hold, ripping flesh out of the opponent’s body. This
attack automatically deals 1d6+5 points of damage.
Modified Gate (Su): Once per day, a bogeyman
can open a gate from its home plane (usually the
Infernum) to the Prime Material, or from the Prime
Material to its home plane, purely for the purpose of
travel and never to summon a creature across. Caster
level is 18th. This gate is subject to certain limitations.
It can only open into or from a dark, enclosed place,
no greater in size than 5 feet by 5 feet. The bogeyman
may therefore open a gate into the inside of a dark
closet, the space beneath a bed or the interior of a
tomb but not into an open field or a wide cavern.
This is the origin of the legend that bogeymen lurk in
cupboards, woodsheds and children’s closets.
Swarm Spillage (Su): A bogeyman’s body is mostly
clustered vermin with a rotten skin stretched over it.
Every time the bogeyman suffers damage, a mass of
wriggling insects or arachnids drops from its wounds;
these are usually harmless but sometimes there are
enough of them to amount to a swarm. When the
bogeyman is reduced to three-quarters of its total hit
points, two swarms of spiders or a single swarm of
centipedes (rolled randomly, 50% chance of either)
burst from its body into its space. The same thing
happens when the bogeyman is reduced to half its
total hit points and again when it is reduced to one
quarter of the total. The bogeyman cannot eject
the swarms voluntarily other than by doing itself
sufficient damage to release them.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: ventriloquism, ghost
sound, obscuring mist; 3/day: polymorph, humanoid
 DEMON SPECIES

Silently +8, Jump +1, Tumble +8

Feats: Weapon Finesse

Environment: The Abyss, The Infernum

Organisation: Nest (2–8), cluster (4–16)
or swarm (8–48)
Challenge Rating: 1
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 2 HD (Small), 3 HD
(Medium)
Level Adjustment: —

The old Greek term ‘cacodaemon’ literally

only. A bogeyman may only assume the form of a
person whose dead flesh it has eaten. It uses this
ability to convince those who investigate its activities
that there is nothing amiss. Caster level for these
spell-like abilities is 12th.
means ‘noisy spirit’. A typical cacodaemon
is small, chubby and has a shock of
bright blue hair, wide watery eyes and a
deceptively small mouth. Cacodaemons
spread chaos by making noise and clamour.
They love nothing more than to disrupt a
carefully planned endeavour by breaking
someone’s concentration. When they can,
they will clash little brass cymbals, knock
objects over and play musical instruments
badly; when they have no objects to make
a racket with, they babble unceasingly
in high-pitched voices. Those who are
plagued by cacodaemons can get no rest
and find it next to impossible to concentrate
on what they are doing.
Cacodaemons are extremely weak when on their own
but a horde of them can be effective, especially against
spellcasters. More powerful demons will often send
in the cacodaemons to hide themselves in crannies
in the rock as a party approaches, so that when an

Cac odaem o n ambush takes place, the cacodaemons’ babbling will

disrupt any spells the opposition tries to cast.
Tiny Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Chaotic)
Hit Dice: 1d8+2 (7hp)
Initiative: +4 Combat
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) A cacodaemon’s natural weapons and any weapons
Armour Class: 19 (+4 Dex, +3 natural, +2 size), that it wields count as evil-aligned and chaotic-
touch 16, flat-footed 15 aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–10 reduction.
Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d3–3)
Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d3–3) Babble (Su): The cacodaemon’s main form of
Space/Reach: 2 1/2 ft./0 ft. attack is its babble. It may babble as a free action.
Special Attacks: Babble, spell-like abilities On any round on which it does so, all creatures that
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good, are not demons within a 60-foot area of effect suffer
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to poison, resistance to distraction. If they attempt any task that requires
fire 10 concentration, such as casting a spell or making
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +2 an Open Lock skill check, they must succeed in a
Abilities: Str 5, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha Concentration check (DC 20) or fail in the task,
20 lose the spell or otherwise suffer the consequences
Skills: Bluff +9, Hide +8, Intimidate +9, Move of distraction. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect.

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 DEMON SPECIES

Skills: Balance +27,

Climb +25, Escape
Artist +33, Hide +17,
Intimidate +30, Listen
+13, Move Silently +27,
Perform (juggle, dance
or comedy) +30, Spot
+24
Feats: Dodge,
Improved Initiative,
Combat Reflexes, Power
Attack, Iron Will, Great
Fortitude, Lightning
Reflexes

Environment: Deeper
levels of Hell, The Dark
Carnival
Organisation: Solitary,
double act or troupe
(3–12)
Challenge Rating: 20
Treasure: Standard
A bard’s countersong ability allows a creature to Alignment: Always
substitute the bard’s Perform check result in place chaotic evil
of his or her Concentration check result. Creatures Advancement: 19–36 HD (Large), 37–54 HD
cannot rest or prepare spells while a cacodaemon is (Huge)
babbling within range of them. Level Adjustment: —

Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: lesser confusion Clowns. Thank the Gods that they are so rare, for it is
(DC 16); 1/day: confusion (DC 19). Caster level is 6th hard to conceive of anything in Hell more frightening
and the save DCs are Charisma-based. than these white-faced, cackling, rotund creatures of
nightmare, pacing stealthily up behind you with their
Cl ow n De m o n insidious flap-flap-flap. Other demons might have
bats’ wings, tusks and claws like scimitars but at least
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Chaotic)
you know where you stand with them. They want to
Hit Dice: 18d8+54 (135 hp)
kill, torture and possibly eat you. They are terrifying,
Initiative: +10
true enough, but in a wholly different way to clowns;
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
there is no way to guess what a clown might have in
Armour Class: 19 (+6 Dex, +3 natural), touch 16,
store for you. Anybody who has ever seen clowns
flat-footed 13
and shuddered knows the truth. They are avatars of
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+28
shrieking, malicious insanity.
Attack: Slap +22 melee (1d4+4)
Full Attack: 2 slaps +22 melee (1d4+4) and bite +17
Clown demons are radically chaotic. They do not
melee (1d6+2)
co-operate with other demons, preferring to spread
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. and see below
misery and carnage through their own efforts. They
Special Attacks: Constrict (2d4+8), flower squirt,
will band together in troupes with each other but that
frightful presence, improved grab, pie throw,
is as far as their collective ventures will go. Greater
shocking grip, size alteration, trip
demons, such as the balors, do not like to have clown
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 15/cold iron
demons around and do what is necessary to keep
and good, regeneration 5, elastic body, immune to fire,
them away, propitiating them with fresh souls if
poison and disease, resistance to cold 10, electricity
need be. It is not that the balors are intimidated by
10 and sonic 10, immune to mind-affecting spells and
clown demons; they are just so very hard to get rid
effects, indestructible, spell resistance 32
of. Lesser demons are often every bit as scared of the
Saves: Fort +16, Ref +19, Will +16
clown demons as mortals would be.
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 16,
Cha 28

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 DEMON SPECIES

Clown demons look like portly humans,

dressed in striped costumes with pointed
hats. They have long shoes that flip and
flop when they walk. Their faces are
white and covered with thick make-up;
when they grin, they reveal shark-like
teeth. Their bodies are rubbery and
feel spongy to the touch, like an inflated
rubber ball.

No two clown demons have the same

face. Every clown demon keeps his
distinctive face design painted upon an
eggshell, stored in a secure place. This
eggshell is dealt with below, as it is of
critical importance.

Combat
Constrict (Ex): Demon clowns wrap
their elastic, sinuous arms around their
victims and choke the life out of them. A
clown can twine an arm around a victim’s
neck several times, much like a python.
With a successful Grapple check, a
demon clown deals 2d4+8 points of
damage.

Improved Grab (Ex): To use this

ability, a demon clown must hit with
its slap attack. It can then attempt to
start a grapple as a free action without
provoking an attack of opportunity.
Spell-like Abilities (Sp): At will: blink, confusion
(DC 23), hideous laughter (DC 21); 3/day: irresistible
dance (DC 27); 1/day: maze (DC 27). Caster level is
16th and the saves are Charisma-based.
Pie Throw (Su): As a standard action, the demon
can manifest a pulpy mass of creamy goo in one hand
and throw it. This is a ranged attack, with a range
increment of 10 feet and maximum range of 100 feet.
Once it has used this ability, it may not use it again
for 1d4 rounds.
A creature struck by the mass must make a Reflex
saving throw (DC 28) or have the goo plastered to his
face. He is immediately blinded and unable to speak.
He also begins to suffocate, as the sludge clings to his
mouth and nose. Refer to the drowning rules in Core
Rulebook II. Ripping off the clinging mass requires
a successful Strength check (DC 28). Once removed,
it becomes inert. The saving throw DC is Charisma-
based.
Flower Squirt (Su): Demon clowns grow large,
flower-like organs on their chests. These are glands
that secrete a powerful acid. As a standard action, the
demon clown can squirt this acid at a creature within
30 feet. The acid squirt requires a ranged touch attack
to hit and deals 3d6 acid damage. In addition, the
target creature must make a Fortitude saving throw
(DC 22) or suffer 1d6 Charisma damage as well. The
saving throw is Constitution based; the Charisma
damage is a contact poison effect.
Frightful Presence (Ex): The insane laugh of a
demon clown is one of the most terrifying noises one
can hear anywhere in all the Hells. It is the laugh of
a creature that can look on the worst of Hell’s horrors
and find them hilariously funny. When the demon
clown laughs, all creatures within 30 feet who have
less than 18 Hit Dice or levels must make a Will saving
throw (DC 28) or become frightened for 5d6 rounds.
An opponent that succeeds at this saving throw is
immune to the demon clown’s frightful presence for
the next 24 hours. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
The saving throw is Charisma-based.

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 DEMON SPECIES
Immune To Mind-Affecting Spells And Effects:
The demon clown is not mindless but its mind is
incomprehensible to other creatures. It is not possible
to use mind-affecting spells or effects against it.
Trip (Ex): The long, floppy shoes that demon clowns
wear are ideal for tripping over moving opponents.
They receive a +4 circumstance bonus to any trip
attempt made as an attack of opportunity.
Regeneration (Ex): A demon clown takes normal
damage from good-aligned cold iron weapons and
from spells and effects with the good descriptor.
Shocking Grip (Su): The demon clown can make
a touch attack against a target and deliver a violent
jolt of electricity. It may do this three times per day.
It gains a +3 bonus to the attack roll of the target is
wearing metal armour, made from metal, carrying
large amounts of metal and so forth. The demon’s
shocking grip deals 18d6 electrical damage. The
recipient must also make a Fortitude saving throw
(DC 28) or be paralysed for one round, which allows
the demon to make a second Shocking Grip attack
the next round against the same target. A successful
use of this attack against the same opponent as the
previous round does not count as a use of the ability
for the day. Clown demons love to make this touch
attack as a handshake, then laugh for round after
round as their opponents crackle and fry. The saving
throw DC is Charisma-based.
Size Alteration (Su): One of the demon clown’s
most frightening powers is its ability to increase or
decrease its size at will. It does this as if it were
a humanoid balloon. An expanding demon clown
huffs and puffs as if it were inflating itself, blowing
down one of its fingers; a shrinking clown makes a
high-pitched flatulent sound, like a child’s balloon
discharging wind. The clown may take a full-round
action to increase or decrease its size. Adjust the
clown’s armour class, attack modifiers and so forth
accordingly; see Core Rulebook III. A given demon
clown may alter its size to two size categories larger
or smaller than its default size. A Medium demon
clown may therefore increase its size to Large and
then to Huge. The demon may only remain at an
altered size for one hour per day, after which it reverts
to its natural size and cannot use the ability again for
1d4 hours.
The demon clown is more vulnerable to critical hits
when it is inflated. A critical hit with a weapon
that deals slashing or piercing damage does double
damage against a demon inflated to one higher size
category and triple damage against a demon inflated
to two higher size categories.
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Elastic Body (Ex): Demon clowns have bodies made
from stretchy, rubbery material. They can attack with
a slap or with a bite as a reach weapon, by extending
their arms or necks out. They can squeeze through
gaps of up to six inches across, taking a move action
to do so. This flexibility gives them a +6 racial bonus
on all Escape Artist skill checks and Grapple skill
checks.
Indestructible (Su): It is practically impossible to
destroy a demon clown permanently. Even if they
are killed, they spontaneously reform after 1d4 days,
at a spot within 100 feet of the eggshell where their
makeup design is kept. The only way to finish a
given demon clown for good is to find the eggshell
and destroy it. Doing this does not slay the clown
outright, but it prevents the demon clown from
reforming if it is killed. If the clown can create a new
eggshell, which takes it one hour (and requires access
to paints and a small egg) then it can replace the old
one. A clown may only have one eggshell at a time.
It does not know when its eggshell is broken.
G r em lin
Tiny Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Chaotic)
Hit Dice: 3d8–3 (11 hp)
Initiative: +6 (Dex)
Speed: 20 ft. (4 squares)
Armour Class: 21 (+2 size, +6 Dex, +3 natural),
touch 18, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +3/–6
Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d3–1 plus soporific)
Full Attack: Bite +11 melee (1d3–1 plus soporific)
Space/Reach: 2 1/2 ft./0 ft.
Special Attacks: Soporific venom, spell-like
abilities
Special Qualities: Damage reduction 5/good,
darkvision 60 ft., immunity to poison, resistance to
fire 10
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +9, Will +5
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 22, Con 9, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha
14
Skills: Bluff +8, Climb +5, Disable Device +21,
Hide+12, Move Silently +18, Open Lock +12, Sleight
of Hand +12, Use Rope +12
Feats: Weapon Finesse, Skill Focus (disable device)
Environment: Any land and underground
Organisation: Solitary, pair or nest (4–16)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: None
Alignment: Always chaotic evil
Advancement: 4–6 HD (Tiny)
Level Adjustment: —
 DEMON SPECIES

Gremlins always attempt

to leave no trace of their
tampering behind; the
+5 increase to the DC is
factored in already.

Combat
A gremlin’s natural
weapons and any
weapons that it wields
count as evil-aligned and
chaotic-aligned for the
purpose of overcoming
damage reduction.

Soporific Venom (Ex):

A gremlin’s bite transmits
a mild toxin that sends
the victim to sleep. They
will sometimes bite their
sleeping victims just to
make sure that they do
not wake up, though this
Gremlins are tiny, colourful demons with large tufts
can be a risky gambit if the sting of the bite awakens
of hair growing from their ears. They excel at making
them and the poison does not take. Creatures that
mischief without being detected, hiding themselves
fail their Fortitude saving throw (DC 12) against the
away and creeping out when nobody is around to see
toxin are sent to sleep for 2d6 rounds. The save is
them. Gremlins are more chaotic than evil, detesting
Constitution-based, including a +2 racial bonus.
all order and tidiness. Their favourite habit is to
sabotage machinery, in as subtle a way as they can.
Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: detect good, detect
Gremlins take up residence in large houses and places
magic, invisibility (self only), animate rope; 1/day:
of work, usually making a lair in the chimney or
Entangle (save DC 12).
under the floorboards, sneaking out at night to cause
chaos. They also follow parties of adventurers if they
Skills: Gremlins receive a +6 racial bonus to all
see them go past or if they pick up their trail, hoping
Disable Device and Move Silently skill checks.
that when the party stops for the night they will be
able to interfere with their possessions.

Overnight camping is the most common time for

R a v in g D em o n
Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Chaotic)
gremlins to make trouble for most adventurers. Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp)
Gremlins can cause serious problems for adventurers Initiative: +8
if they are not discovered. Gremlins will get up Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
to all manner of annoying things, some of them Armour Class: 18 (+4 Dex, +4 natural), touch 14,
inconvenient, some of them potentially fatal. They flat-footed 14
are so crafty that the sabotage is often not noticeable. Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+11
Use the gremlins’ Disable Device skill to cover these Attack: Claw +7 melee (1d6+1)
instances, which include soaking flammable items Full Attack: 2 claws +7 melee (1d6+1)
(like tindertwigs or smokesticks) in water (DC 15), Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
arranging scrolls so that they will tear when pulled Special Attacks: Gaze, crash circle, spell-like
from the case (DC 15), untying shoelaces (DC 15), abilities
rigging bowstrings to snap (DC 20), loosening sword Special Qualities: Damage reduction 10/cold iron or
belts (DC 15), opening potions so that they go rancid good, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to electricity, fire
(DC 15) and even cutting most of the way through and poison, resistance to acid 10 and cold 10, spell
lengths of rope, so that they will snap when used (DC resistance 16, telepathy 100 ft.
20). Success on the Disable Device check means that Saves: Fort +7, Ref +10, Will +9
the sabotage is carried out without being obvious.

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 DEMON SPECIES

Abilities: Str 13, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 4, Wis 17, Cha Gaze (Su): The gaze of a raving demon causes
24 confusion as the spell. The range is 30 feet, the caster
Skills: Concentration +10, Intimidate +16, Listen level 10th and a Will saving throw (DC 20) negates the
+12, Spot +12, Tumble +13 effect. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved
Grapple Crash Circle (Su): Raving demons have a strange
innate ability to struggle through protective spells
Environment: A chaotic evil-aligned plane and boundaries that would hold other evil or chaotic
Organisation: Solitary outsiders back. Some quality of their delirious minds
Challenge Rating: 8 allows them to ignore the magical symbols and
Treasure: Standard forces that ought to keep them out. A raving demon
Alignment: Always chaotic evil benefits from a +6 bonus to its Spell Resistance
Advancement: 7–12 HD (Medium) when attempting to overcome any of the following
Level Adjustment: — spells: protection from evil, protection from chaos,
magic circle against evil, magic circle against chaos,
A raving demon is humanoid in form, tall, thin and repulsion, antipathy. This ability also gives the raving
emaciated. It has bulging eyes, a long pointed nose demon +6 turn resistance if a character should attempt
and wayward hair that constantly coils and twists like to turn it with the Planar Turning epic feat.
the snakes of a medusa. Raving demons always go
naked; they look like mad hermits or escaped lunatics. Spell-like abilities (Sp): At will: dancing lights,
One look at a raving demon is all you need to know fireball (DC 20), shout (DC 21); 1/day: blasphemy
that the creature is fundamentally and permanently (DC 24). The spell-like abilities function with a
insane. The creatures epitomize the very depths of caster level of 12th.
chaos and evil, reducing everything they encounter to
smouldering ruin. Their favourite method of
attack is to leap on an opponent and grapple
him, choking him to death with their clawed
hands. They are not especially capable
grapplers, being much more lethal with their
spell-like abilities but they enjoy the feeling
of clutching at an adversary’s throat. They
have an especial hatred of good-aligned
spellcasters. When confronted with a magic
circle against evil or chaos, they will howl
and rant and go out of their way to batter
through the protection and reach the person
who created it.

Raving demons never communicate anything

coherent by verbal means. Their demon
allies use telepathy to communicate with
them, as this is the only way to deliver a
message or ascertain anything of the raving
demon’s intent. Raving demons do speak but
what comes out of their mouths is a torrent
of complete gibberish, filled with blasphemy,
curses and obscenity. This constant ranting
like a drunken maniac is what gives the
raving demons their name.

Combat
A raving demon’s natural weapons and any
weapons that it wields count as evil-aligned
and chaotic-aligned for the purpose of
overcoming damage reduction.

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 DEMON BIKERS FROM HELL

Demon Bikers biker gang, offering protection and Agony fuel in

exchange for assistance in wartime.

From Hell Mariliths are unable to ride hellcycles, as they lack

the lower body parts, while dretches are both too
stupid and too low-ranking to be allowed anywhere

T
his chapter is given over to one of the most near one. Some of the weaker mariliths have taken up
daunting of all infernal phenomena, the with cycle gangs as resident mechanics, using their
demonic tribes that use biomechanical life multiple arms to good effect.
forms to ride across the landscape of Hell at speed.
The most common biomechanoid for doing this is
the two-wheeled hellcycle (see Infernal Equipment)
Demons And Their Steeds
Demons who have hellcycles are passionate about
with three-wheeled cycles coming a close second.
them. They only ever use their own and though
A whole demonic culture has built up around these
they will sometimes accept passengers, they will not
creatures. Devils have not embraced this at all,
suffer another demon to ride their hellcycle. If you
finding the whole movement chaotic in the extreme.
damage a hellcycle, the owner will rip you to pieces
if he possibly can. When one demon covets another’s
The majority of demons regard the cycle-riding tribes
cycle, he will usually try to fight him for it, with the
as worthy of respect, if somewhat odd in their ways.
winner taking the prize. Demons work with a power
Their efficiency has been proven time and time again.
struggle of dominance, bullying and brute force.
There are few better scouts than the demon bikers and
practically nothing can equal them for speed when on
Succubae do not often own their own hellcycles.
a flat surface, such as Hell boasts many of, with its
They accompany the male demons as concubines,
thousands of miles of desert and rocky plain.
riding pillion and screaming encouragement. The
only way for them to gain a cycle of their own is by
Membership killing anyone who says they should not have it or
The most likely demons to become cycle riders tries to take it from them, which happens very rarely,
are babau, vrocks, hezrou and succubae, who are since succubae are not fighters.
especially enamoured of hellcycles. A typical
‘chapter’ (as they are called) of demonic bikers will
consist of one hezrou leader, three or four vrock
Gang Mentality
Demons do not go in for alliances and group efforts
lieutenants, up to twenty regular members made up of
as a rule but the hellcycle gang is an exception. Its
babau and succubae and a few quasits, who help the
members are chaotic and evil to a man and will
mechanics. Travesties are also extremely well suited
happily kill each other over the ownership of a bottle
to the life of a demon biker. Even ordinary mortals, if
of Strain but will always place conflicts with others
they are evil enough, are sometimes allowed to join,
over their own disagreements. Hellcycle gangs
though they are given a much harder time than most
hate other gangs almost as much as they hate the
and will have to prove themselves several times over.
devils and the powers of heaven. They are fiercely
territorial, patrolling their own lands regularly and
Larger demons, such as the glabrezu and nalfeshnee,
attacking trespassers but also mounting raids on the
do not often become bikers, simply because they are
territory of other gangs.
too big and hellcycles of their size are extremely rare.
Even biomechanical power can only do so much.
Every gang has its chosen symbol, which is worn
It simply is not possible for the majority of huge
by all the members. This can take the form of a
demons to own a hellcycle that will reach anything
medal, a crest, a design painted on a piece of armour
like the speeds the demons crave, because the size of
or anything of that kind; the only constant factor is
the biomechanoid needed is much too great.
that all the members wear the design in the same
way. If the head of the chapter wears a helmet that
Balors, for their part, find the demonic biker
bears your symbol, then all the gang members wear
phenomenon amusing but beneath them. So long as
helmets. The item bearing the symbol is called the
the bikers keep themselves busy on the outer edges of
‘patch’, irrespective of the form that it takes. The
the demonic lands and do not make trouble for those
gang member must wear his patch at all times. If it
in command, then they may do as they please. At
is lost, he is treated as an outcast. No gang member
least one balor has made a deal with a local demon

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 DEMON BIKERS FROM HELL
may allow his patch to be defaced or ridiculed, so the
various gangs are of course always trying to do this to
each others’ patches.
Getting Kicks
Demon bikers love to mock cowards and will goad
each other into doing ridiculous things in order to
save face and avoid appearing weak. This inevitably
leads to dares and bravery contests. The leader of the
cycle gang can insist at any time that a given member
has to perform a set stunt or lose his membership,
which also means being slaughtered by his fellow
bikers and having his vehicle either given to another
or broken up for spare parts. The stunts are such that
failure will usually result in death in any case, so the
challenged demon has nothing to lose. Typical stunts
include:
† For a flightless demon, such as a babau, jump
across a ravine or a river of lava on a hellcycle.
Jumping distances on cycles is covered in
Infernal Equipment. Flying demons can also
be given this task but they have their wings
bound first, so there will be no chance of
escape.
† Start a fight with a demon bigger than yourself
and win.
† Ride into the territory of another demonic
cycle gang and steal an item belonging to one
of their members. Bringing back a ‘patch’ is
the most desirable outcome.
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† Ride at top speed across a narrow ledge, or
up the side of a mountain while other demons
throw rocks at you. Negotiating the ledge
requires a Ride check (DC 20) every time you
move into a curve; failure means that you lose
control. If you are struck by a flying rock,
you must make an immediate Concentration
check (DC 15) plus the amount of damage
taken; failure means that you must make
an immediate Ride check (DC 20) or lose
control. Refer to the rules on cycle riding in
Infernal Equipment for the consequences of
control loss.
† Lie completely still without flinching while
another demon jumps over you on his
hellcycle. This requires a Will saving throw
(DC 20).
A standard evening’s entertainment involves riding
out to some suitable spot, bringing plenty of flasks
of Agony and Strain and a few souls (or better still,
living creatures) to have fun with. The demons spend
the day having obscene fun and ride back when the
celebration is over, hunting for souls and terrorising
other demons on the way. The biker chapters in Hell
are just as cruel and malicious as other demons and
are especially inventive when thinking up ways to
torment the damned. The added machine power that
they gain from their hellcycles is put to creative use.
These torments are hideously painful to the damned
and fatal to the living:
 DEMON BIKERS FROM HELL

† A creature tied to the back of a hellcycle

and dragged along suffers 1d6 bludgeoning
Joining The Demon Bikers
When a candidate first joins a gang, he is considered
damage for every square of movement that the
a ‘prospect’ rather than a full member. He is not
hellcycle passes through. This is reduced by
allowed to wear the gang’s patch at first and is instead
1 point for every point of armour bonus that
given some appropriate token to designate his lower
the creature possesses, to a minimum of one
status. While he is only a prospect, he is the lowest of
point of damage. If the hellcycle passes over
the low. He is made to wait on the others, gets kicked
especially bumpy territory, such as a field of
about, is constantly abused and is never given any of
stones, the bludgeoning damage is increased
the hell-broth. Even so, an attack on a prospect is still
to 2d4; if it moves over abrasive territory,
counted as an attack on the whole group.
such as a field of hellglass, an additional 1d6
slashing damage is added.
Once he has been a part of the gang for a set amount
of time, usually a year, he undergoes his initiation.
† A favourite demon biker method of execution
Each chapter has a different version of this but
is to tie the victim’s limbs to two hellcycles
there is always a test of bravery involved and the
and then ride them in opposite directions,
consequences of failure are always death. A very
tearing the victim apart. This counts as a coup
common initiation test is to bring back the head of a
de grace against the creature. The damage
devil. This must be a true devil – scum like lemures
dealt is 2d6+10.
do not count.

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 DEMON BIKERS FROM HELL

At my next Meeting with the captive Incubus he said quite calmly

- I must die soon.
- Do you think me as murderous as yourself? I said.
- Your needs must be, for you cannot release me.

- No, that I cannot do.

- Then we are at a Stalemate, he said and sigh’d.

- Do you not fear Death?

- Of course I fear Death said he. What sane Man does not?
- He that dies in the grace of great Hurm fears not Death.

He laugh’d and said So, you would have me accept great Hurm as my Saviour? Kiss the Hammer that burned
me? Wash the Blood of my lov’d Victims from my Hands?

- Aye I said, I would have it so.

- What Difference would it make to you, O my Executioner?
- I would believe that a Devil can repent.
- Could such a Thing be?

The thought of Salvation seem’d to fill him from Within like the blooming of a strange Golden Rose, that was
all the more Beautiful for the blackness of the Soil wherein it grew.
- It needs only your devout Intention to make it so, said I.
- Come into the Cell, sister, he said, let me look upon you.

I did this, and he fell upon his Knees before me.

- Will you then receive Atonement and be Reborn into the service of great Hurm, thou Incubus Choraziel? said
I. Will you give up the Life of Sin, and cease this foul Practice of Seduction that is damnable in the Eyes of
great Hurm?
- Sister, I will. What must I do?
- Prepare yourself. Turn your thought towards great Hurm and confess yourself to be a Creature of Blackest
Sin, a very Dung-beetle of the lowest Hell, which by His mercy He may wash clean. This you may do alone,
for I go to fetch Water.

- Will that not burn me?

- Hold hard, my Son, and be not afraid.

I trembl’d to fill the Bowl, for I was overcome with Awe and love of great Hurm, that this Miracle had come
to be, and that I was to be the Vehicle of it.

- From the papers of Sister Kurrik

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The Laws And
Customs Of
Hell
H
ell is a place of age-old tradition. All of its
occupants abide by certain specific customs,
which have been perpetuated for as long
as anyone can remember. These customs are not
codified into law but every devil or demon under the
sky of Hell knows them.
The devils have rigid laws in addition to the customs
of Hell. These do have a set penalty in the event of
breach. The bone devils act as spies and informers,
seeking out instances of illegal behaviour. Both
the laws and the customs of Hell are given below.
Customs are common to both devils and demons,
while laws are observed by devils only.
Customs
There is no formal penalty for breaching custom.
A fiend who does so is deemed to be a traitor to
Hell itself; his life is forfeit and anyone can claim
it. Fiends who are known to have breached Hell’s
customs will always be met with severe hostility
by other fiends. Customs are so entrenched in the
fiends’ natures that it is difficult for them even to
think about breaching them; they must succeed in a
Will saving throw (DC 20) to entertain the notion of
doing so.
An Agreement In Writing Is
Binding
A verbal promise is worth absolutely nothing in
Hell, unless it is sworn by the Four Rivers, for which
see below. The fiends can give you assurances that
so long as you keep to the path, you will not be
harmed, or that they will escort you to the places
where you wish to go; so long as they do not
commit to anything in writing, they are not bound
at all. They can promise to defend you and then rip
your limbs off for their own amusement if they so
choose. However, as soon as they put their seal upon
a written agreement, they are bound by it. Seals are
covered below.
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THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF HELL
Your Seal Is Your Bond
A similar custom to that above, this reflects the
fiends’ universal use of seals as tokens of identity. A
fiend’s seal is a squiggly glyph, looking like a cross
between a circuit diagram and a bizarre form of
notational shorthand. Fiends use these seals where
mortals would use signatures. A fiend’s seal is in
fact a form of arcane mark. No two are identical. A
creature can make a Knowledge (demonology) skill
check (DC 20) or a Decipher Script skill check (DC
35) to read a fiendish seal and understand to which
fiend it belongs.
Fiends formalise contracts by placing their seals
upon them. Once the seal has been placed on an
agreement, it is binding upon the fiend thereafter.
Naturally, such contracts contain reams of small
print, intended to minimise the fiend’s contractual
obligations. A successful Knowledge (law)
skill check (DC 30) can decipher even the most
convoluted contract and ascertain what one is
actually putting one’s name to.
Touch Not The Truly Pure
A curious and little-known custom of Hell is that a
truly pure, innocent soul, without even the slightest
stain of corruption upon it, may not be harmed in
any way. To qualify for this rare dignity, a creature
must be of good alignment and never have harmed
or caused upset to another creature ever in its life.
Moreover, certain prophetic signs that prove it to
be an utterly pure creature must mark its body.
Only once in several centuries does such a soul
arise. Ordinary innocence is not adequate; newborn
babies and such like are devoured like so many hors
d’oeuvres in Hell.
Keep The Gatehouse Peace
From time immemorial, travellers have been
allowed to visit Hell and look upon its manifold
horrors. Some have returned to the upper world and
written epic sagas about their experiences; a few
have promptly converted to a good-aligned religion
after seeing what kind of fate lay in store for them
and used their description of Hell to convert others.
Such travellers would not have been able to get far
had it not been for the custom of the gatehouse peace.
As mentioned in Infernal Environments, the fiends
who govern the gates may extend their protection to
those who enter Hell in exchange for a suitable fee.
When you are under the protection of a gatehouse
 THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF HELL
lord, any attack against you is an attack against
them. This does not mean that you are immune from
harm and may blithely saunter through Hell without
fear; it means only that anybody wishing to assault
you must be prepared to confront the gatehouse lord
and all his allies. This has in fact happened several
times; it is more common in demon territory than
in that of the devils, since the demons are always
waging civil war on one another.
Respect The Laws Of Hospitality
This custom is an extension of the previous one.
Once you have taken travellers under your protection
for the duly agreed sum, you do not simply abandon
them or sell them as pleasure slaves in the Tattered
Market, nor do you show them to a ‘guest chamber’
for the night that turns out to be the meat locker for
the local Oblurott faction. A fiend who did this
would be ruining the arrangement for all the other
gate-lords. Travellers have to be able to trust their
hosts; if they could not, nobody would ever use the
service.
That said, demons can occasionally be tempted to
break this custom if there is nobody around to see
it, though the usual Will saving throw applies, for
which see above. A crime that leaves no witnesses is
not a crime at all. Travellers under the protection of
gate lords should make the best use of the protection
they have but should not relax their vigilance.
Allow Entertainers To Live
This is the custom in the Tattered Market and holds
sway throughout many of the demons’ lands. One
can never be sure whether it is held to in a given
city, so it is wise to find out before going there. This
custom is detailed extensively in the Tattered Market
section in Lower Levels.
An Oath Sworn By The Four
Rivers Is Unbreakable
The most potent of all oaths in Hell is an oath sworn
by the Four Rivers that flow from the foot of Mount
Zeberrok in the centre of the plane. If a fiend should
swear such an oath, it cannot break it voluntarily.
The fiend can only be released from the oath if the
person to whom it was sworn (if applicable) chooses
to release it, or dies. For example, if a fiend swears
by the Four Rivers that it will never set foot in the
house of Lady Challenor, then the demise of said
noble lady allows the fiend to enter the property
once more. Fiends are very reluctant to swear oaths
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by the Four Rivers and will phrase the oath evasively
if they possibly can, so as to give themselves a way
to break it in spirit but not in letter.
L a ws
These are the solemn laws of Hell, which even the
Four Great Princes keep.
Sustain No Private Quarrel When
In Battle
This rule ensures that personal differences
between the devils, who are quick to fight amongst
themselves, are laid aside in the face of a common
foe. Both personal grudges and rivalry between
noble houses are expected to be forgotten when the
demons are at the gate, or when the host of Heaven
threatens to overwhelm the forces of the damned.
Disruption in the ranks caused by argument is an
offence; if the argument should come to blows, it
is a far worse offence. This rule applies only to
the devils, of course. They and the demons have
common enemies but this has never led to unity
between them.
Punishment For Quarrelling: Lashing with a
whip fitted with silver spikes on first offence (5d4
damage), removal of tongue on second offence (1d6
damage and mute until healed), death on third
Punishment For Fighting: Severed arm on first
offence, death on second
Obey Your Superior
Hell is a place where desires are freely indulged,
without concern for the victim or any form of
remorse. Even so, it is not a libertine’s paradise.
The devils have a very strict pecking order and it
may not be undermined. Bearded devils must be
deferential to the erinyes, who must in turn submit
to the authority of barbed devils. It is incumbent
upon everyone to know their place.
Punishment For Disrespect: Searing of tongue
with acid (1d4 damage, mute until healed)
Punishment For Insubordination: Death
Defy Not The Princes
Hell does not single out individual mortals for
special attention unless they make a point of standing
against the Four Great Princes and their schemes.
 THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF HELL

Simply having a good alignment is not enough
to earn the enmity of Hell. However, interfering
repeatedly with agents of Hell in pursuit of their
ends is an offence against Hell’s laws, irrespective
of what your alignment may be. The same applies to
even a single case of obstruction of a duly appointed
representative of the Princes.
Punishment For Defiance: A mortal who defies
Hell in this way is targeted as a threat. The Princes
will dispatch a force of devils, which they estimate
to be sufficient to do away with him, once and for
all. If this force fails, they will send another, or
attempt some subtler ploy, such as a disguised
assassin or a trap baited with innocent lives. If the
mortal manages to escape the wrath of Hell on three
separate occasions, he will not be targeted again (see
below) unless he re-offends.
Fairly Bought Is Owned
The laws of Hell respect fair trade. When you pay
the asking price for something without haggling,
you own it, fair and square. Even if an object was
stolen from a high-ranking devil and then sold on to
a third party, the purchaser is still considered to be
the lawful owner, so long as he had no involvement
in the theft. If the original purchaser wishes to get
it back, he must fight the current owner for
it. To do this, he must commence a formal
challenge as outlined below.
Punishment For Theft: Severed
hand on first offence (1d8
damage, cannot wield item),
death on second
Fairly Fought
is the property of one being, then that being alone
is obliged to defend against your challenge and you
alone are allowed to make it. If right and title to the
object of desire belongs to an institution, such as a
noble devil family or infernal consortium, then all
members of the group may defend their claim.
Mortals have used this law to win back souls from
the Infernum. It is very difficult to achieve this and it
is only really possible when the owner of the souls is
a small or unpopular force. The noble devil houses
are more than capable of defending their claims.
Instead of fighting, the challenger may propose a
contest and put up a stake at least equivalent in
value to that for which he is bidding, which will
become the property of the challenged if he should
lose. This is much less offensive than provoking a
duel and does not require the challenged to answer
or lose face.
This method is the one most commonly used by
mortals to free specific souls who are owned by
devils. Contests of skill, especially those that
involve playing musical instruments, are very
popular indeed in Hell, no more so than in the courts
of the noble devils. Some contests have been so
famous that the Princes of Hell have given
permission for them to be held in the
Auditorium, so that the whole of Hell
can watch. The typical procedure is for
the challenger to offer his own soul as
collateral for the contest. If he wins,
the soul goes free; if he loses,
then the challenged fiend keeps
the original soul and may
add the challenger’s to his
collection.

For Is Owned Punishment For

If you desire Fighting Unfairly
something that Over Goods: Death
another person or by drowning in molten
group owns, then you gold
can attempt to take it
from them by force.
The only condition Decline Not A
is that you do so with
honour, as befits a
Challenge From
gentleman, giving every A Peer
prior indication of your The system of Hell is one
intentions and allowing of strict caste and rank. Any
your opposite number time noble devil is obliged to accept
to prepare his defence. If the a challenge when laid down by
desired object (or consort, or land) another noble devil or by another fiend

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whose Hit Dice are within 2 ranks of his own. Lesser
fiends are not seen as sufficiently high-ranking to
challenge their superiors, though they may challenge
each other. For example, one bearded devil could
challenge another, as they are close enough in rank.
Similarly, a bearded devil could challenge a chain
devil, as the bearded devil has 6 Hit Dice and the
chain devil 8. However, it would be inappropriate
for a bearded devil to challenge an erinyes, as the
difference between their respective Hit Dice is too
great.
When reckoning social rank from Hit Dice, only the
base Hit Dice of the type of devil count. A bearded
devil of 10 HD is still only a bearded devil. The
one exception is with the noble devils, who may add
their class levels to their base Hit Dice of 8 when
determining social rank.
Punishment For Failing To Accept Challenge:
Ridicule and dishonour. The creature’s social rank
is calculated as if it were 4 Hit Dice lower than it is
and it gains a –4 circumstance penalty to Charisma-
based skill checks when dealing with devils.
Escape Punishment Three Times
And Go Free
The Rule of Three is reminiscent of the old human
custom that a prisoner who was condemned to the
gallows was allowed to go free if the mechanism
failed to kill him three times in a row. It also has
a certain similarity with the rule of many assassins’
guilds that a given contract will only be essayed by a
maximum of three assassins.
Those who have offended against Hell’s laws very
rarely manage to escape unpunished but if three
separate attempts to do so prove unsuccessful, Hell
will no longer attempt to enforce the punishment.
This rule also applies to any person destined for Hell
upon his death who manages somehow to escape the
devils sent to fetch his soul away.
Keep To The Laws Of The Duel
It is not unknown for fiends to have disagreements
with each other or with mortals. These disagreements
can escalate into grudge matches that extend through
decades or even centuries. The demons simply seize
any opportunity to disembowel their opponents,
preferably while there is nobody else around but
the devils take the business of formal conflict with
great seriousness and insist that it is done properly.
Should a disagreement ever turn into an open
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conflict or contest, the feuding parties must conduct
their business in the proper manner.
Devils of 8 Hit Dice or less can settle their
differences by a common brawl. The chain devils
and bearded devils are not expected to have the same
regard for proper form that their superiors do. A
higher-ranking devil can however challenge a lower-
ranking one, even if the challenge could not have
been made from the other side. In essence, a noble
can challenge a commoner but a commoner cannot
challenge a noble, although nobles and commoners
can challenge each other. When a devil is of 9 Hit
Dice or more, it is expected to abide by the proper
formalities.
The following strict laws apply to duels between
devils, or between devils and other creatures:
† A judge must be present. This must be a
senior noble devil, bone devil, ice devil,
horned devil, pit fiend or even one of the
Four Princes. The judge’s decision is final.
Each person involved in the duel must also
have a second present, of equivalent rank and
status.
† The challenged creature may choose the
ground of engagement. This may be any
place within any plane that can be reached
by the contending parties, their seconds and
the judges.
† If either party wishes to withdraw from
the duel and apologise for the insult (or
whatever the misdemeanour may have been
that provoked the duel) he must offer his
opposite number a barbed flail and his own
bare back for the lashing. Should this be
found acceptable, a sound whipping ends the
matter. The offended party is not obliged to
accept this offer and may proceed with the
duel if he wishes.
† The challenged creature may also choose
the weapons of engagement, unless the
challenger professes on his honour that he
is not proficient at fighting with weapons of
a given kind, in which case the challenged
creature may propose a second type of
weapon. The challenger remains at liberty to
decline any type of weapon used in combat,
on the grounds that he is not proficient with
it, until the challenged finally suggests a
weapon or a challenge that is acceptable to

both parties. For example, were a mortal
wizard to receive challenge from a noble
devil, he might opt to fight the duel with
magic in preference to blades.
† In the event that both parties to the duel are
capable of assuming alternate forms, the
challenged party has the right to decide the
shape that shall be adopted by both duellists,
with no further alterations of shape allowed
once the duel has begun.
† By mutual agreement and the consent of
the judge, the duel may be conducted as a
contest of skill, of performance, of bravery
or some similar test, in preference to a clash
of weapons. The right to propose such an
alternative rests with the challenged. For
example, a mortal troubadour, having
professed his honour that he is no swordsman,
might propose a contest with the lute, the
winner to be the one who most pleases the
assembled gentlefolk of Hell.
† Again by mutual agreement and the consent
of the judge, a duel may be fought between
nominated champions or between the
seconds. If it should come about that the
challenged proposes a weapon of engagement
or a contest of skill and the challenger is not
himself competent to enter therein, he may
permit his second or his champion to fight
the duel on his behalf, if the second or the
champion does have such a competence. For
example, were a noble devil and his erinyes
second to be challenged to a contest of
archery by a mortal ranger, the noble devil
(having no skill with the bow) could allow
his second to fight the duel in his stead.
† Intimidation attempts are perfectly
permissible when duelling, whether the
contest is with weapons, magic or skill.
Melee Duels: Physical duels involving hand-to-
hand combat are fought with the chosen weapon,
within a circle 60 feet across. Spectators may
cheer, jeer and otherwise show their appreciation
of the duellists but are expressly forbidden from
interfering. Duellists may use magic to enhance
themselves before entering the circle but protective
magic, or magic that interferes with the other
duellist, is forbidden. All magic must be employed
prior to the duel commencing; using magic in the
midst of a duel is counted as cheating.
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The use of spell-like abilities is likewise forbidden
unless both parties have the same ones. Light
offences are settled when one combatant draws
blood from the other, ruled here as the dealing of
a wound that causes more than three hit points of
damage after damage reduction has been applied.
Severe offences can be settled only by the death of
one of the combatants.
Ranged Duels: Combat duels that involve the
use of ranged weapons are settled differently and
resemble magical duels. Each duellist stands within
an inscribed circle 5 feet across, with the two circles
30 feet apart from one another. The duellists then
proceed to fire at one another alternately, with the
challenged having the first shot. If a duellist leaves
his circle, he has forfeited and must suffer whatever
penalty his opposite number prescribes, as ratified
by the judge. As with the hand-to-hand combat
duel, magic that enhances one’s own performance
is acceptable but protective magic or magic that
interferes with one’s opponent’s combat capability
is not. For example, you could cast true strike prior
to entering into a duel but you could not smite your
opponent with a ray of enfeeblement. Ranged duels
are either considered finished and done after three
shots have been exchanged (in the event of a light
offence) or proceed to the death.
Magical Duels: Magical duels are fought with
each duellist standing within an inscribed 5-foot
circle; the two circles are 30 feet apart. If one of the
duellists leaves his circle, he has forfeited. Before
the duel starts, each creature involved has one round
in which to cast any abjuration magic he may wish to
employ. This is to ensure that the duel is not over in
one round, which would be boring for the audience.
During the duel, prepared or spontaneous spells
of any kind may be employed, though spell-like
abilities may not be used unless both parties possess
the same ones. As with the duel with weapons, no
other creature present may take part. Summoned
creatures may however be used in the duel, as may
familiars.
Contests Of Skill: The rules for settling a contest
of skill are markedly different to those of combat.
The rule in the contest of skill is that one person
demonstrates, then the other person emulates and
improves. The first person to fail to keep up has lost
the contest. In game terms, the contest begins with
one party choosing a low DC for a skill check and
then attempting to make the skill check successfully.
If he succeeds, then the other contestant must choose
a higher DC for his skill check and attempt to make
 THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF HELL
that. The first contestant then has to raise the DC
still further and so on.
It is customary to begin with a low DC and then
move on to higher ones. Starting off with a very
difficult task is considered inelegant and bad form,
as it robs the audience of the excitement of watching
the challenge build. You may take 10 on a check
in a contest of skill; duellists frequently do so when
building up the DC from low numbers, just to give
the impression that they find such trifles ridiculously
easy.
In the event of any given skill check failing, the
contestant may make one and only one retry attempt
for that check DC. A second failure means that
the contestant has lost the duel. The same rules
regarding preparatory magic apply as in the case of
a melee combat duel. You may enhance your own
performance but not interfere with your opposite
number’s.
The best illustration here is also the most popular
skill contest in Hell, namely the musicians’ duel.
The following example should give an idea of how
the contest works.
In the grand Auditorium in Hell, the famous diva
Isabelle Cariachi is engaged in a contest with the
noble devil Terchulos for the ownership of her
brother’s soul. Terchulos has put forward his
representative, the damned soul of the castrato
Timpanelli, to sing on his behalf in the duel. The
contest will be determined by operatic singing, so
the appropriate skill will be Perform (sing). Isabelle
has a total skill modifier of +15 for this skill and
prays that it will be enough; Timpanelli has a skill
modifier of +17.
Isabelle begins by setting the DC low, but not too
low. She chooses a DC of 15 to start with and
launches into a simple aria that does not challenge
her vocal range in the slightest; she can comfortably
take 10 on the check. Timpanelli sneers at her and
proceeds to trill out a piece from one of the more
obscure composers, choosing a DC of 20 and taking
10 on the check. The audience applauds and hisses
in appreciation; Isabelle must set the challenge
much higher than this if her brother is to go free.
Her own soul, too, is on the line if she fails. There
is everything to play for. She picks the Song of the
Dying Phoenix from Esper’s ‘Doleful Threnody’
cycle, a fiendishly complicated array of notes with a
DC of 25. Rolling a 12, she makes the skill check.
Murmurs run through the assembled devils. The
mortal is braver than they thought.
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Timpanelli attempts an improvisation of his own,
designed to show off his full vocal range and
assigns it a DC of 27. He rolls a 1! In the midst of
a high note, his voice cracks. The audience gasps.
However, in a contest of skill, everyone is allowed a
second try at a given DC. Timpanelli calls for wine
to wet his throat and begins his second attempt. If
he fails again, Isabelle has won the contest. If he
succeeds, Isabelle will have to raise the DC even
higher than 27…
Contests Of Bravery And Endurance: This kind
of contest is more common among the low-ranking
devils. Typically, each contestant is subjected to a
physically or mentally punishing trial and must make
a saving throw or ability score check each round in
order to carry on. The first person to fail has lost
the contest. The challenged may, as per the usual
rules, choose the type of trial; it is not permissible
to choose a trial that involves damage or an effect
to which you are immune. For example, a noble
devil may not propose a poison-drinking challenge,
because he is immune to the effect.
Typical contests of bravery and endurance are:
† Holding a heavy weight at arm’s length. This
involves a simple Strength check each round,
with the DC starting at 15 and increasing by
2 with every round that passes.
† Endure a continual drip of acid without
screaming; this would be a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 20) each round, with the
victim suffering 1d4 hit points and 1 point
of temporary Constitution damage every
passing round.
† Drink flask after flask of ingestive poison
until one duellist is either dead or insensible.
Penalty For Breaking The Laws Of The Duel:
When one party in a duel is found to have cheated,
the other party may set the penalty as he sees fit.
This may only involve the person of the cheating
party, not his property; you cannot confiscate
someone’s entire estate if he tries to cheat in a duel,
though you can have him executed. The judge
present must confirm this penalty as acceptable. If
both parties in the duel are found to have cheated,
then the judge pronounces the penalty and will use
his summon devil ability to call in enforcers to aid
him in carrying it out.

Corruption
T
his chapter deals with the translation of evil
deeds into a scale of relative Corruption. The
Corruption rating is used to measure many
important things in Hell, including the likelihood of
a given damned soul being transformed into a devil
or demon after death.
T he Theo ry Of C o rru pt i o n
A thing can be evil without doing evil. In the fantasy
game world, evil is a noun as well as an adjective.
It represents one of the active principles in the
universe, not merely an absence of good but a quality
in its own right, which is present in varying degrees
in different things. A magical ring, for example, can
have an evil alignment although its ability to do evil
deeds is limited.
In metaphysical terms, doing evil deeds results in
an accretion of evil in the creature’s body and soul.
When evil deeds are done, the aura of evil that clings
to the perpetrator becomes thicker and more intense.
There is no moral relativism involved. Evil deeds
draw evil energy, just like a magnet drawing iron
filings to itself. Creatures are not judged to be evil
in this universe; there is no subjectivity involved, nor
any moral relativism. They simply are evil, in the
same way that a knife is sharp or fire is hot.
The more evil a creature amasses, the more
thoroughly damned it will be upon death. An
evil alignment only indicates a creature’s spiritual
sympathy and its tendency to act in an evil manner.
It does not in itself put any blood upon the creature’s
hands. Only when a creature acts in accordance with
an evil alignment can it be considered corrupt.
A creature’s Corruption rating is a measure of the
amount of evil it has done in its life. It represents
the weight of evil deeds on the creature’s shoulders,
or the density of the evil aura that surrounds it. The
more evil the creature has done, the thicker and
denser the aura. It is therefore possible for two
creatures to be of the same evil alignment but to
have very different levels of Corruption. A lawful
evil creature that has killed dozens in cold blood
is far more steeped in Corruption than a chaotic
evil creature that has never done worse than lying,
stealing and kicking dogs.
Corruption is relevant to Hell because not all evil
creatures can be treated in the same way. Hell is
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supposed to punish and contain the souls of evil
creatures, in accordance with the wrongs they did
while alive. This would not be possible if ‘evil’ were
a generic title, with no room for different levels and
grades of evil. Without a scale of measurement, the
devils and demons would not be able to single out
the very worst of the damned for possible inclusion
in their own ranks.
Earning Corruption Points
A creature earns Corruption points whenever it
knowingly and wilfully performs evil acts. These
are referred to henceforth as ‘sins’, each one having
its own degree of severity. In much the same way
as experience points result in an increase in level,
Corruption points result in an increase in Corruption
level. Sins are given a Sin Rating that corresponds to
the Challenge Rating of a given encounter.
To calculate the Corruption point gain for a creature
who commits a sin, refer to the experience point gain
tables in Core Rulebook II, substituting the sin’s
Rating for the listed CR and yielding Corruption
points instead of experience points. If the Rating
of the sin would result in a double asterisk instead
of a numerical figure, award the highest possible
Corruption for the character’s Corruption level. For
example, if a creature with a Corruption level of 1
managed to commit a Rating 20 sin, he would gain
10,800 Corruption points and no more.
Corruption level is calculated using the experience
point tables in Core Rulebook I. Simply proceed
as if Corruption points were experience points. For
example, a creature with 14,200 Corruption points
has a Corruption level of 6.
The higher your Corruption level, the harder it is for
you to increase it further without performing worse
and worse acts. A person who frequently tortures
animals to death, for example, will rapidly advance
in Corruption level at first but will not be able to
make further progress beyond third or fourth level
without committing worse sins. This is directly
analogous to progress in experience level via
increasingly challenging encounters.
You can advance from first to second level easily
enough simply by slaughtering orcs and kobolds;
once you reach sixth level, you must go after bigger
fish. It is exactly the same with Corruption. The
main difference is that unlike progress in experience
level, in which a low-level character could not
easily survive a high CR encounter, progress in
 CORRUPTION
Corruption level can happen swiftly and easily. A
character without any Corruption at all only has
to start committing murders in cold blood and his
Corruption will skyrocket.
Only evil characters can earn Corruption points and
have a Corruption level. Corruption assumes that a
character is evil already and is simply a measure of
just how steeped in evil they are. Good or neutral
characters do not, by definition, commit evil acts.
For example, a good character in command of
an army can knowingly send men to their deaths
without having committed an evil act, if this is
tactically necessary in order to serve the greater
good.
When a good or neutral character commits one of
the sins listed below, the Games Master must decide
whether or not this warrants a change of alignment,
just as he would in normal play. Committing one of
the lower rating listed sins should not automatically
result in a character becoming evil; there is a
difference between a momentary lapse into bad
behaviour and a deed that expresses the wickedness
festering in one’s heart.
It may be that a character does become evil in
one moment, such as when he commits an act of
cold-blooded murder purely for financial gain. A
character that knowingly commits an evil act that
would result in a change of alignment gains the
Corruption points for the sin as well as changing his
alignment to evil.
The Games Master is the ultimate arbiter of whether
or not a creature changes its alignment to evil as
the result of a given act. These decisions can be
very contentious and it is better to err on the side of
caution than on that of condemnation. The fairest
way to play is to warn a player that a given action
is going to be considered a sin before he commits it.
That way, one can ensure that whatever evils may
be done were done in full knowledge of their evil
designation.
Intent and foreknowledge are critical to judging
whether or not a given act is evil and the Games
Master must take this into account. It can be argued
that where ‘evil’ deeds are concerned, ignorance is
an excuse. For example, it is not evil to open a door
that then unleashes a flood that drowns a mine full of
dwarves if you had no idea that this would happen.
However, a character who knew perfectly well that
the dwarves would drown and acted with callous
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disregard for their lives has probably committed an
evil act. Some acts fall into a grey area, such as the
sacrifice of innocent lives so that many others might
be saved. Traditionally, such acts are not regarded as
evil, merely undesirable.
You cannot force a person to earn Corruption points
by mentally dominating him and forcing him to
commit sins. A character who performs an evil
act against his own will while under the influence
of dominate person or a similar spell does not earn
himself any Corruption points; the puppet master
is responsible, not the creature himself. Carrying
out an evil act under the instruction of another is
sinful, whereas carrying out an evil act under the
domination of another is not, as the perpetrator is
not responsible.
Estimating Corruption For Established
Characters: Evil characters who have been active
for some time will have earned Corruption points
and it will be necessary to estimate their Corruption
levels. As a rule of thumb, assume that an evil
character has a Corruption level equal to half his
level of experience at most. Evil characters that have
not gone out of their way to commit evil acts should
be given a Corruption level of one third of their level
of experience.
Corruption And Set Alignment: It is not possible
for a creature that has an alignment listed as ‘always’
evil to earn Corruption points. Only creatures with
a variable alignment can earn a Corruption rating,
because only these have a real choice about being
evil. Most evil outsiders, for example, have evil in
their essence. They cannot be corrupted, because
they are already evil; you cannot besmirch that
which is filthy by nature. To be corrupted, you
must turn from a state of balance and voluntarily
go against your better instincts. Creatures that are
always evil have an effective Corruption rating equal
to two times their hit dice or experience level.
Creatures that are ‘often’ or ‘usually’ of evil
alignment have a measure of evil in their blood. Evil
is considered to be inherent as well as cultural; orcs
are not just raised to be evil, they are born that way
and rarely overcome this. This kind of creature only
gains half the Corruption points from committing
evil acts but automatically has a Corruption level
equal to its hit dice or experience level. Creatures
that are inherently evil do not need to work at it.

Optional Rule: Corruption And
Turning To Evil
If the Games Master wants a campaign in which
characters descend into evil steadily rather
than overnight with an alignment change, then
Corruption points may be used for good and neutral
characters as well as for evil ones. Keep track of
a character’s Corruption level based on the sins he
commits. Once a character reaches a Corruption
level of 1, he may no longer have a Good alignment
and must become neutral or evil. Once a character’s
Corruption level reaches 3, he may no longer be
neutral and must become evil. Single acts should
still have the potential to force alignment change
but this system allows a character’s heart to become
steadily blackened over time.
Maximum Corruption Level
This rule, though optional, is strongly recommended.
It is meant for Games Masters who wish to force
their players to commit the most unspeakable acts
of atrocity before they can truly call themselves
corrupt. By the standard rules as given above, a
person can descend to the depths of Corruption
simply by committing petty sins again and again
over time. The minimal yield of Corruption points
for low-level sins when you are at a high level of
Corruption would eventually mean that you would
no longer gain significant Corruption from such
acts but the Games Master may feel that a further
restriction needs to be set in place to divide the truly
inhumane from the merely bad.
Under the optional maximum Corruption level
rules, you may never advance higher in Corruption
level than the Rating of the worst sin you have ever
committed to date. For example, if you had never
committed a murder in cold blood, you could never
rise above a Corruption level of 10, even if you spent
the whole day nailing elves to planks and setting
fire to their trees. Under this system, characters
have a clearly defined notion of just how far they
have gone down the dark road. A character that
can read another character’s level of Corruption
(such as a paladin) will be able to tell whether the
evil character has done nothing worse than lying or
cheating, or whether he has the blood of thousands
on his hands.
If you use this system, then be prepared for characters
actively seeking out opportunities to commit worse
and worse atrocities. This can be a challenging type
of game to play, for Games Masters and players
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alike. Nonetheless, it is a natural consequence of
the representation of supernatural evil in the game.
Those characters who wish to embrace the fullest
levels of Corruption possible (which, after all, is
the point of this section of the rules) must commit
such acts as the murder of innocents or of a relative
or friend.
Corruption In Hell
A creature’s Corruption level in Hell is a direct
measure of its status. Corruption is simultaneously
a measurement of how far from redemption a
creature is and how much the denizens of Hell
favour it. The companions of a corrupted creature
on the Prime Material plane may hate and revile it
but it is admired and revered by the devils, or by the
demons if it is of chaotic alignment. The agents of
Hell target creatures who raise their Corruption level
to significant heights, seeking to recruit them to the
cause either before or after their deaths.
The denizens of Hell are always keen to increase
their levels of Corruption. They have a constant
supply of victims, namely the damned and have
eternity to practice on them. This is the reason why
tormenting the damned is such a key activity in Hell.
Although it is popular, it is limited as an activity. In
Hell there are no innocents to slaughter, no friends to
betray, no good creatures to entrap and kill. For this
reason, the devils and demons turn their attentions
to the Prime Material plane, where there is so much
scope for further Corruption.
Sins And Their Ratings
The following list gives a description of some of the
most commonplace sins in the fantasy game world.
The Games Master should make any adjustments
that he feels are necessary to reflect the moral
climate of the campaign and to add any specific sins
that this supplement does not cover. It is important
that the players should know the rating of any sin
they might be tempted to commit.
Some of the low rating sins listed here might seem
a little trivial, when compared to the kinds of evil
that are usually perpetrated in fantasy campaigns,
in which heads are hacked off liberally and combat
is a daily occurrence. They are included primarily
for the sake of completeness and also because those
who truly wish to achieve as much evil as possible
will not pass up any opportunity to do so. There are
also limitations on how much evil you can perpetrate
in a well-policed, lawful community. It is a lot easier
 CORRUPTION
to get away with malicious deceit and cruelty than it
is to commit cold-blooded murder.
The Games Master should always be hesitant
to award Corruption points for acts that were
committed out of necessity. The issue of necessity
can often determine whether or not an act is sinful.
For example, killing a man in self-defence is
necessary, as is stealing food when you cannot get it
any other way. Lying is often necessary when telling
the truth would compromise an important mission. It
is a classic characteristic of evil that it is gratuitous.
Good can sometimes cause suffering, but will only
do so when needful; evil causes suffering for no
reason other than to entertain.
The lists of sins given here are not intended as
pitfalls that characters must avoid in order to
remain good; most good or neutral characters
will not even consider doing them anyway. They
are, rather, a set of actions that evil characters can
commit deliberately in order to gain greater levels
of Corruption. This supplement assumes that truly
dedicated evil characters, with their eyes set on
achieving status in the Infernum, will want to be as
evil as they possibly can be whenever they get the
chance. By reference to the sins listed below, you
can ascertain exactly how evil you have managed
to be.
Remember that evil is always self-serving. An
attitude that deems other people insignificant
compared to oneself and holds that the sufferings
of others are not one’s concern is not ‘neutral’ but
evil. Truly neutral characters understand that all
living beings are participants in a closed system
and depend upon one another. They appreciate
that inaction is sometimes an actively evil choice.
To maintain the balance, one cannot always refrain
from acting. To step back and allow evil to occur
unchecked is to aid and abet evil, which is not the act
of a truly neutral being.
Malicious Deceit (Sin Rating 1)
Not every lie or deception is a sin, or else every use of
the Bluff skill would damn souls to Hell. Malicious
deceit is defined as a lie told for no other reason
than to cause pain or harm to another person. An
example of malicious deceit would be to persuade a
young child that his parents were dead, just to watch
him cry, so that you could enjoy it. Fatal deceit (see
below) is a more serious sin than malicious deceit.
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Use Of Evil Magic (Sin Rating 1-3)
Quite apart from the uses to which they are put,
which may constitute sins in and of themselves,
casting evil spells unleashes malignant energy on
the world. Casting a spell with the evil descriptor
always counts as a sin, so working evil magic is one
of the easiest ways to gain Corruption points. Spells
from first to third level have a Sin Rating of 1, spells
from fourth to sixth level have a Sin Rating of 2 and
spells from seventh to ninth level have a Sin Rating
of 3. If you use an evil-aligned spell to achieve an
end that also counts as a sin (such as by using dispel
good to attack a good creature) then you receive
Corruption points from casting the spell and from
committing the associated sin.
Verbal Cruelty (Sin Rating 1)
There are many ways in which you can creatively
hurt someone without laying a finger upon them.
Evil characters take pleasure in even the smallest of
sins. There is no excuse for letting any opportunity
to cause misery go by. Verbal cruelty is an evil
act, whether it involves crushing a young woman’s
self-esteem, laughing at a beggar’s pathetic state or
reminding a person of emotional pain that he has
suffered.
Attacking A Good Creature (Sin Rating 2)
To qualify for this sin, you must attack a creature
with the Good descriptor, not merely a good-aligned
creature. Assaulting the agents and incarnations of
primordial good is an evil act. The more damage is
done to the servants of good, the more the agenda of
Hell gains ground over that of the good outer planes.
This sin only applies if you attack the creature
without killing it.
Refusing To Relieve Suffering (Sin Rating 2)
There are sins of omission as well as commission.
In other words, you can commit a sin by failing to
act as well as by acting badly. In this case, you
commit a sin when you could intervene and relieve
another person’s suffering (without significant cost
or inconvenience to yourself) and you do not. For
this sin to have been committed, the suffering person
must be in genuine need and ask you for help that
you then refuse. For example, refusing to give a
copper piece to a starving beggar when you have a
hundred gold would count as a sin, if done out of
malice.
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Betrayal (Sin Rating 3-8)
This is a difficult sin to define but like the famous
definition of obscenity, one knows it when one sees
it. A character that sells out his friends, who defects
to an evil cause, who abuses a trust or who makes
empty promises for his own ends is committing
betrayal. Betrayal is a sin of varying severity,
depending on the seriousness of the betrayal. A
betrayal that leads to the death of a creature (a death
that would not have occurred without the betrayal) is
a sin of Rating 8.
Cruelty To Creatures Of Animal Intelligence
(Sin Rating 3)
Creatures with animal levels of intelligence
(an Intelligence score of 2) experience pain, so
tormenting them physically counts as cruelty to a
sentient being. Creatures such as oozes do not.
You cannot torture a lump of jelly. Cruel behaviour
towards animals, such as malicious wounding,
burning, deliberate starving or beating, is definitely
a sin. Hunting an animal for food, spurring a horse
to make it go faster or killing an animal that attacks
you are all necessary acts and do not count as cruelty
unless the animal is made to suffer more than it has
to.
count as a sin is a sin in its own right. For example,
if your commander orders you to decapitate an
unarmed captive and you obey, you commit this sin
instead of the sin of murder; the blood is on your
commanding officer’s hands but you share in the
responsibility.
This sin can sometimes be a difficult one to
adjudicate. When the character in question is
evil and is happily obeying the order, there is no
problem; the Corruption points are earned and it
is really more a matter of the evil character being
obliged to take less credit for the evil act he is
ordered to perpetrate, while the commander is
able to earn Corruption points for himself without
lifting a finger. Good characters may sometimes
be ordered to commit evil acts and threatened with
execution for insubordination if they refuse. It is
recommended that no good character be allowed to
continue with good alignment if he participates in an
evil act to save his own life, as one of the founding
principles of good is that it is willing to sacrifice
itself for others. Such an instance should at least
shift the character’s alignment to neutral but not to
evil, unless he has a way to disobey the order and
keep himself alive, such as desertion.

Obeying An Order To Commit An

Evil Act (Sin Rating 4)
Irrespective of what one is
ordered to do, obeying an order
to commit an act that would

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Physical Cruelty To Intelligent Creatures (Sin
Rating 4)
This sin covers any and all acts of wilful and sadistic
harm to creatures with Intelligence scores of greater
than 2, including humanoids. It does not matter
whether the creatures are themselves evil or not.
Refusing To Save Another’s Life (Sin Rating 5)
This sin constitutes failing to prevent a person from
dying when it was unquestionably in your power to
do so and you had nothing to fear from them. For
instance, if you had plenty of water in the desert and
met a man dying of thirst who begged you for a sip,
failing to help him would be a sin; the same would
apply if you met a person drowning in a marsh and
you could throw him a rope easily but could not be
bothered to do so.
Defiling A Good-Aligned Item Or Place (Sin
Rating 3-5)
As in the case of attacking a good creature (see
above), an attack against a good-aligned item, such
as an attempt to destroy a holy avenger sword, or an
attack on a good-aligned place, such as setting fire
to the church of a good deity, counts as a sin. The
severity of the sin depends on the potency of the item
or the primacy of the site.
Killing A Creature That Is At Your Mercy (Sin
Rating 7)
This sin is not quite murder, as it is not premeditated.
It consists of the slaughter of a creature that has no
weapons, is not capable of defending itself and is
bound, held in manacles or otherwise incapacitated.
Many uses of a coup de grace by evil characters fall
under this heading. For this sin to count, the creature
slain must not be have been dangerous to the slayer
in any way.
Delivering a coup de grace to a helpless evil creature
during combat does not count as a sin; slitting the
throats of evil-aligned captives does. Though this
may seem somewhat convenient, in the simple
universe of d20 fantasy, killing an evil creature
cleanly in the heat of battle is almost never an evil
act.
Killing A Good Creature In Combat (Sin Rating
7+)
Killing a creature that is of the Good subtype (not
merely of good alignment) is a sin, as it directly
opposes the cause of heaven by reducing the net
quantity of manifest good in the world. Killing a
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Good creature should not force a neutral or good
aligned character to change alignment if it was done
in self-defence. The powers of Hell look with great
favour upon those who slay the avatars of good, as
every good creature that falls is one less for Hell to
trouble itself about. The Sin Rating of this vile act
is 6 plus 1 per 4 Hit Dice of the creature slain; the
more powerful the creature, the more evil is done by
its death. Destroying an ancient, wise gold dragon
is far more evil than slaughtering a unicorn, though
both actions are sinful.
Fatal Deceit (Sin Rating 7)
Fatal deceit is deliberately causing the death of a
creature by telling lies. It is not the same as murder,
as you do not strike the killing blow yourself but it is
almost as severe a sin. For example, giving a person
a flask of poison to drink and telling him that it is a
healing potion is fatal deceit, as is telling someone
that the coast is clear and he is safe to come out when
a group of bugbears waits to shoot him to death with
missile weapons. As with all deceit-related sins, lies
told in self-defence or to trick an enemy do not count
as sinful.
Unpremeditated Murder (Sin Rating 8)
This sin covers murder committed without any prior
planning. An example of this sin would be killing
someone who surprised you while you were burgling
a house. You did not know they were there and you
did not go in with the express intent to kill them.
It does not cover cases of accidental death, only of
killings that were both avoidable and unlawful.
Protracted Torture (Sin Rating 9)
Torture is several steps beyond cruelty. Whereas
cruelty to a creature involves causing it pain or
distress, torture involves the cold-blooded use of
expertise and equipment to cause a creature as much
pain as possible without killing it, just so that it can
suffer. Evil regimes and individuals use torture
to extract information from their enemies. More
primitive evil groups use torture for amusement
or punishment of offences. This sin is committed
the first time you spend more than thirty minutes
torturing a creature and does not count as committed
again until at least one day has passed.
The torments inflicted upon the damned of Hell
count as protracted torture, as they are an infliction
of suffering that has no redemptive purpose
whatsoever. This is why the tormentors in Hell are
devils and demons, not angels. When good-aligned
creatures cause pain, they do it to teach a lesson or

give a warning; it is always to a constructive end.
Evil creatures inflict pain because they love to do
so. No being other than an evil one could conceive
of condemning a creature to infinite, unending
torment. Despite the misunderstandings of certain
pious commentators, eternal punishment is not a
sentence meted out by a good celestial agency but
simply a way for devils to generate more Corruption
for themselves and more evil in the world.
Murder In Cold Blood (Sin Rating 10)
Murder is the most primordial of all the sins,
prohibited by every good-aligned religion. It is
clearly distinguished from killing an opponent in
combat. To slay a foe who is intent upon killing
you is not an evil act. Even attacking a foe from
behind, without warning, is not necessarily evil; one
can shoot an orcish sentry in the back without having
committed any sin, though it is a dishonourable
thing to do. Killing a person who fights for a cause
or nation with whom you are at war is not deemed
murder but warfare; a debate on the relative evil
of war is beyond the scope of this volume. It is,
however, most assuredly evil to kill a person just
because it is convenient, or because you need to shut
him up, or because you want his money. The Games
Master should make it very plain to a character when
he is about to commit cold-blooded murder. So long
as the Games Master and the players have the same
idea of what entails murder, the game should run
smoothly enough.
If the creature murdered was of the Good subtype,
then add +1 to the Sin Rating of this act for every 4
Hit Dice that the creature possessed.
Murder Of A Friend Or Relative (Sin Rating
11)
All murder is sinful but the murder of a person
who knows and trusts you, or of a family member
with whom you are on good terms, is considered
especially abominable. The act is made worse than
usual because it is both the taking of a life and the
betrayal of a trust. This sin also covers the murder of
a person that you are sworn to protect or who you are
sworn to serve, such as a vassal lord or a monarch.
Murder Of An Innocent (Sin Rating 13)
The killing of innocent, intelligent creatures, such as
infants, is a worse sin than murder alone. For game
purposes, an innocent is a creature that is intelligent,
below the age of adulthood and not inherently evil.
An innocent does not necessarily have to be human
or humanoid. Butchering the children of centaurs
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or even the hatchlings of gold dragons counts as
a massacre of innocents. If the innocent involved
was of the Good subtype, add a further +1 to the Sin
Rating for every 4 Hit Dice that the innocent creature
possessed. This sin covers only single instances of
murder; mass murder is covered below.
Mass Torture (Sin Rating 14)
Mass torture is when a number of individuals are
tortured on your command. You cannot commit
mass torture by yourself; you must have a dedicated
group of individuals working under you who can do
it on your instruction.
Mass Murder (Sin Rating 15)
An individual cannot commit mass murder on his
own. He may commit several murders in sequence
but this is not the same thing. Mass murder may
only be carried out on instruction; it is an order that
you give to creatures under your command. For
example, instructing your troops to execute all the
captive men-folk of a village would be an act of
mass murder on your part.
Mass Murder Of Innocents (Sin Rating 18)
See above under mass murder. Mass murder of
innocents is the very worst of sins and is usually
only carried out when a tyrant wants to rid himself
of an entire dynasty, ensuring that nobody can come
after him to challenge his rule.
Multiple Sins
Characters may be put in a position where it seems
they can commit multiple sins at once. For example,
a person with water in the desert who is approached
by five people dying of thirst could refuse to save
all of their lives, thus committing a sin five times
over. Under such circumstances, raise the Rating of
the sin by 1 instead of treating the event as multiple
sins. The same rule applies to instances of multiple
murder on the same occasion.
Incitement
Inciting another person to commit a sin is a sin in
itself. Incitement is fundamentally different from
command. You incite another to commit a sin by
persuading them to do it, offering bribes, making the
sin seem like the right and proper thing to do and
so forth. A creature that commits a sin that it has
been incited to commit has made a voluntary choice,
while a creature that is ordered to commit an evil
act often has less choice in the matter. Incitement
to commit a sin has special rules to cover it. If the
 CORRUPTION
incitement is carried out by a creature that is not of
the Evil subtype, the incitement counts as a sin of
any rating of the incited sin minus two; incitement
to commit cold-blooded murder is therefore a sin of
rating 8. Incitement is less inherently corrupt than
instruction, as the target creature usually has much
more of a choice about whether or not to commit an
evil act.
When creatures of the Evil subtype practice
incitement, it is not so much a sin as an act carried
out in the direct service of evil. The inciting creature
gains the same number of Corruption points as the
creature that was incited to sin. Ordinarily, a devil
with a Corruption level of 20 would not gain much
from committing cold-blooded murder (a CR 10 sin)
as the sin is so far beneath it that it is barely worth
the bother. However, if that same devil persuaded
a human being with a Corruption level of 1 to
commit cold-blooded murder, both the devil and the
human being would gain 10,800 Corruption points.
Corrupting a person who has not yet been stained
with sin is far more rewarding to a devil than helping
a villain to achieve yet another atrocity.
With this in mind, it is readily apparent why the
devils and demons have always taken the part of
tempters and seducers, trying to persuade others
to do evil in the world. Evil outsiders gain most
of their Corruption points from inciting others to
commit sins. Members of some noble houses gain a
bonus to these Corruption points, depending on their
specialty; see the various chapters on the different
noble houses for details. For example, members of
House Astyanath gain a +10% bonus to Corruption
points earned when they incite mortals to commit
acts of verbal cruelty, physical cruelty or torture.
Instruction
Giving another person the order to carry out an evil
act is an evil act in itself. For example, if you are in
command of a group of soldiers and you tell them
to slaughter the occupants of a village, you gain the
Corruption points just as if you had committed the
sin yourself. Some sins cannot be committed except
by instructing others to do them; they are beyond the
power of any one individual and must be committed
through others under your command. For example,
an individual cannot ordinarily commit mass murder,
except through such acts as setting a building on fire.
He simply does not have the resources to do this in
his own right. By commanding others to commit
atrocities in his name, he can achieve greater heights
of Corruption. This is the reason why tyrants
and dictators have higher Corruption levels than
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ordinary people. Those who have others carrying
out their instructions can commit sins that those who
have no followers cannot.
When you obey an order to commit an evil act
that you know to be such, you commit a specific
sin listed above, namely that of ‘obeying an order
to commit an evil act’; there is no excuse of ‘only
following orders’.
E f f ec t s O f C o r r up t ion
Once you start down the path of evil, you have two
choices. You can renounce it, change your alignment
and attempt to make amends, or you can walk it to
the very end. Most intelligent characters realise that
they are doomed to Hell if they live an evil life. They
are willing to live a pleasurable, selfish existence on
the earthly plane until their time is up, at which point
they will burn in the Infernum and that is that.
The more ambitious evil characters understand that
the torments of the Infernum are only for the under-
achievers. To have any kind of hope of an afterlife
other than one of eternal pain, they must attract the
attention of Hell by performing acts so atrocious that
the demons and devils themselves applaud. If they
are sufficiently corrupt when they die, the agents of
Hell may raise them from the ranks of the merely
damned and transform them into demons and devils
themselves. Hell rewards those who practice evil,
both during life and after death.
The main reason for increasing your Corruption
is thus to escape the fires of Hell and become a
tormentor rather than one of the tormented when
you die. You are not guaranteed a place among the
armies of Hell even if you do have a high Corruption
level but if your Corruption is not high enough to
warrant notice, you are definitely going down in
flames. It is therefore important for an evil character
to be as evil as he can possibly be, if he cares at all
about his eventual fate. This is the reason why evil
non-player characters and similar villains are often
so profoundly evil in their ways, instead of being
only mildly deviant. Hell has no regard for half
measures.
It is not just the moment of death, though, which
brings your Corruption level to the fore. Those who
call upon the assistance of Hell during life have a
much better chance of getting Hell to notice them if
they are as satanic in their ways as the demons are.
The nature of this assistance depends on the type of
relationship you have with your infernal allies.

There are three possible relationships a mortal may
have with the powers of Hell, these being Cordial,
Bonded and Pledged. Your level of Corruption
determines the privileges to which you are entitled.
The fouler you are, the more services Hell will
extend you. For more details on the three types of
relationship, see the Sympathy for the Devil chapter.
Corruption also brings with it certain infernal
benefits and disadvantages listed below.
Attracting The Attention Of Hell
To attract the attention of Hell, a character only has
to call upon the infernal powers. They are always
listening and willing to help out those who serve their
cause. Some characters will not wish to do this, as
calling upon Hell’s assistance is the beginning of an
ongoing relationship with the devils or the demons
and they prefer to remain independent. Other
characters will happily take whatever help they can
get in a tight spot. Either way, your Corruption rating
influences how noticeable you are to the devils and
demons. No power in Hell can be bothered to lift a
claw to help a mere liar and cheat but the Devastator
of Orlan Khang, who hurled his mother from the
battlements at the age of eight, or the Cannibal King
of Goldriver Dell who turned a sylvan grove into
an abattoir are powers worth preserving. It is not
necessary to have a formal relationship with any of
the denizens of Hell before you can call upon them;
a cordial relationship will suffice. Further details on
calling upon Hell are given in the next chapter.
Detecting Corruption
The Corruption level of a creature can be detected.
A detect evil spell reveals not only the strength of an
evil aura but also the Corruption level of the creature
that it belongs to. As an optional rule, you may
change the way detect evil works and substitute the
Hit Dice of a creature for its Corruption level when
calculating the strength of an evil aura. This makes
the deeds of a creature much more relevant for a
detect evil spell than its powers and stature.
In fer n al B e n e fi t s
Though moral reformists and pious puritans do not
like to admit it, pursuing the path of Corruption has
definite benefits. A creature that gains Corruption
may gain small but significant boons along the
way, owing to the increasing concentration of
supernatural evil in his soul. Evil in the fantasy
game environment is a force like electricity as well
as a moral quality; you need no magical training to
gain supernatural benefits from it.
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A character who has a Corruption level of one or
higher is entitled to choose from the following list
of benefits. He must also choose a disadvantage at
the same time. The build-up of evil in his soul and
aura has negative consequences as well as positive
ones, though if he is careful he can maximise
the benefit and minimise the inconvenience. He
may choose a further benefit and accompanying
disadvantage when his Corruption level reaches 3,
another when it reaches 6 and so on. No benefit or
disadvantage may be selected more than once. A
character who chooses not to take a specific benefit
or disadvantage at the moment when he gains a new
level of Corruption may make that choice at any
point thereafter but is obliged to keep to the option
chosen once the decision is finally made.
If a character loses levels of Corruption for whatever
reason, he also loses the benefits and disadvantages
he gained at those levels. If, having lost levels and
thus benefits and disadvantages, he then gains levels
of Corruption again he may choose different benefits
and disadvantages from the ones he gained the first
time around.
These benefits and disadvantages are, as it were,
side effects of the character’s evil ways. They are
not gifts from Hell, spells, presents from evil deities
or any such thing. Possession of them does not
mean that the character is indebted to any power
or being. They are all supernatural effects. Note
that a character is never obliged to take a benefit
or a disadvantage when he gains a Corruption
level. These things are strictly optional. He must,
however, take a disadvantage every time he takes
a benefit. There is no such thing as a free lunch,
especially where Hell is concerned. If a character
has his Corruption points ‘frozen’ with an atonement
spell and/or changes his alignment to something
other than evil, he no longer enjoys the benefit, nor
does he suffer from the disadvantage.
Optional Rule: Instead of the player choosing
both the benefit and the disadvantage, you may
opt to have the player choose the benefit but the
Games Master pick the disadvantage and keep it
secret from the player until he finds out what it is.
This rule takes a measure of control away from the
players and so may be unpopular for that reason but
it is an excellent dramatic tool. Players who have
blithely set off down the path of Corruption in the
hope of gaining even more powers and privileges for
their characters can be brought up sharp when they
realise that the innocent blood that just sprayed all
over them is not coming off and will mark them as a
murderer forever more!
 CORRUPTION

Corru pt i o n B e n e fi ts of a non-evil cleric, it may not be used as such

again until it has been cleansed and treated with a
A character may choose one benefit at his first
consecrate spell. A character with this benefit who
Corruption level and another at levels three, six,
takes the Holiness Burns disadvantage (see below)
nine, twelve, fifteen and eighteen.
still suffers burns from holy water if it is thrown
at him. He does not deconsecrate the water the
Hard Heart: A heart that is inured to atrocity
moment it hits him.
acquires a certain inner strength that the sentimental
advocates of good cannot match. Evil characters
Forked Tongue: The agents of evil are notoriously
may be despicable and doomed to ultimate eternal
persuasive. They use unctuous words to talk their
damnation but in life they are strong, willing to
dupes into signing their souls away, or committing
crush others who get in their way and capable of
acts that their consciences tell them are wrong.
trampling down any qualms they have. A character
When cornered and challenged, they insist that the
with this benefit gains a +1 morale bonus to all Will
situation cannot possibly be what you believe it to
saving throws.
be. Lies and persuasion are as fundamental to evil
as honesty and acceptance are to good. A character
Luck Of The Devil: Bad guys only get their
with this benefit gains a +1 benefit to all Bluff and
comeuppance in fairy stories. In reality, the villains
Diplomacy checks against creatures that are unaware
get away with their ghastly deeds far more often
of his alignment.
than not. At times, it seems there is some kind of
a supernatural agency watching out for them – the
Sinister Ambience: When a character is steeped
devil looking out for his own. Where characters
in evil, it gleams in his eyes and lends a chill to his
with this benefit are concerned, this is the truth.
words. Listening to an evil character make a threat,
Such characters may invoke a single luck bonus of
one can believe he means to carry it out. Evidently,
+2 to any saving throw or skill check per day.
he has done worse things in the past. A character
with this benefit gains a +2 competence bonus to all
Cruel Blow: Evil breeds in the heart, taking the
Intimidate skill checks.
form of negative emotions, such as murderous
rage, jealousy, greed and cruelty. A character with
Evil Physiology: The workings of the evil
this benefit can send a charge of pure malice down
character’s body shift and alter subtly, bringing it
through a weapon or an unarmed strike, tearing
more closely into line with the bodies of devils and
through the tissues of his opponent. He may declare
demons. He becomes more resilient against venom
a cruel blow once per day, adding 1d3 Strength
and disease, much as the demons are. A character
damage to that dealt by the weapon or strike. The
with this benefit gains a +1 resistance bonus to
weapon or blow counts as evil-aligned for the
saving throws against poison or disease.
purposes of damage reduction while the blow is
being dealt.
Fear Not The Fire: Those who know that their
souls will eventually be dancing among the eternal,
Dark To Darkness: Evil has always cleaved to
sulphurous flames of the underworld have little to
the dark, which hides the deeds of the wicked from
fear from the paltry fires of Earth. Demons and
the revealing light of day. Characters who are
devils alike have considerable resistance to fire,
accustomed to using the dark for cover while stabbing
as they spend so much time in it; so too do those
others in the back or burgling good-aligned temples
evildoers who aspire to become demons or devils in
are advised to take this benefit, as it reflects the
time. Characters with this benefit have a resistance
eternal connection between darkness and evil. The
to fire of 3, allowing them to tolerate most small fires
character with this benefit gains a +1 circumstance
without injury.
bonus to Hide and Disguise skill checks when he is
able to stand in shadowy illumination or darker. The
Chain Me Not: Like the snake that is one of its
benefit is lost in full illumination.
most universal symbols, evil is a lithe and elusive
force, hard to contain or keep locked away. It works
Touch Of Defilement: Some characters have their
in twists and tangles instead of straight lines. The
corruption close to the surface, so close that they
influence of evil on a character’s soul helps him hold
can pass it on with a touch. If a character with this
others in a tight grip and escape the grips of other
benefit touches or handles a flask of holy water, the
creatures. A character with this benefit gains a +1
blessing is removed. If he handles the holy symbol

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morale bonus to all Grapple checks and to all Escape
Artist skill checks.
Like Attracts Like: The more evil a character
accumulates within and around himself, the more
empathic attunement he develops with creatures
that are of an inherently evil nature. Evil outsiders
are no longer so alien to him; they seem to be more
like distant relatives. A creature with this benefit can
send simple one-word telepathic messages to any
creature of the evil subtype within 100 feet. This
is a language-dependent ability. He also gains a +2
insight bonus on Charisma ability checks made to
influence the attitude of such creatures.
Unholy Spell: An evil spellcaster who has accreted
sufficient levels of corruption may divert some of
that taint into the magic that he produces. He can
use this to lend a given damage-inflicting spell an
evil cast, so as to overcome the kind of damage
reduction typically found in good outsiders and
suchlike creatures. One spell per day may be
affected with this ability, with the maximum level
of the spell being equal to one third of the caster’s
Corruption level, rounded down. The spell becomes
evil-aligned for all purposes, including those of
damage reduction.
Corrupti o n Di s ad v an t ag es
Each time a character chooses a benefit, he must
choose an accompanying disadvantage. These can
be chosen in any order.
Mark Of The Beast: You lack the ability to disguise
the writhing evil within you. You are one devil that
cannot assume a pleasing shape. A character with
this disadvantage can clearly be recognised as evil
just by looking at him. Something about the look
on his face, the cast of his eye or the way he carries
himself broadcasts his nature to the world. An
observer is simply certain of his alignment, as surely
as if he had cast detect evil on the evil character.
Use of the spell undetectable alignment prevents
this effect for as long as it lasts, as well as masking
the character’s alignment.
The Dogs Shall Know You: Animals, with their
curious sense for supernatural evil, can smell the
corruption on you. Any creature of the animal type
is repelled by you and will shy away from you if
possible; if you continue to approach, it will attack.
You incur a –4 circumstance penalty to all Handle
Animal checks. Characters who are steeped in evil
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and cannot easily handle ordinary animals attempt to
find evil-aligned magical beasts as mounts.
Holiness Burns: The more you embrace evil, the
more damage concentrated goodness can do to you.
Much like undead creatures, your flesh burns at the
touch of holy water, as if it were acid. A flask of
holy water deals the same damage to you that it
would deal to an undead creature or evil outsider,
namely 2d4 damage for a direct hit and one point
for a splash.
Magic Vulnerability: Evil energy concentrated in
your body, the curdled sickness of numerous sins,
lowers your resistance to the powers of good. You
become more susceptible to good-aligned magical
spells and effects, incurring a –2 resistance penalty
to saving throws against such effects.
Flee The Light: Sunlight has always been an
expression of goodness and positive energy. It shines
into the dark places of your soul, illuminating the
guilt and shame that crawl within you like maggots
and for this reason you cannot bear it. If you are
exposed to full daylight, you become shaken, taking
a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill
checks and ability score checks. This condition lasts
until you can get out of the full daylight and into a
more shadowy area. Magical effects that duplicate
the effect of sunlight also provoke this reaction in
you but effects that simply produce light do not.
May Be Turned/Rebuked: Your essence is now
so very sympathetic to Hell that you react badly to
positive energy when a cleric or paladin channels it at
you. A character that can turn or rebuke undead may
turn or rebuke a character with this disadvantage,
just as if he were undead. He may only be turned or
rebuked, never destroyed or commanded. If the evil
character with this disadvantage is able to channel
negative energy (for example, he might be a cleric)
he may bolster himself, just as undead clerics can
do.
Slow Healing: The life that once flowed in your
veins is now sluggish and bitter, corrupted by the evil
in your unrepentant heart. You no longer recover hit
points quite so swiftly as you used to; wounds pain
you for longer, a reminder of the eternal pain that is
waiting just around the corner when you eventually
die. A character with the slow healing disadvantage
may use only half of his normal healing rate,
rounded down.
 CORRUPTION
Hunted: You have been identified as an enemy of all
that is good. A temple to a good deity, determined
by the Games Master, has you on its list of important
strategic targets. The number of creatures pursuing
you depends on your level of Corruption and your
experience level but it is customary to send a paladin
of at least your own level of experience (as estimated
by the temple) to hunt for you. What he does with
you on reaching you will depend on your Corruption
level. If it is less than 10, the objective is to hold you
prisoner and attempt to persuade you to give up your
evil ways before it is too late. If your Corruption
level is 10 or more, then the objective is to destroy
you.
Withering Death: The evil in your soul causes the
good green life around you (to a distance of 5 feet)
to become jaundiced and wither away, perhaps in
sympathy with the grassless plains of Hell where grit
and hellglass hold sway and no plant life is found but
the suicide willows and grim night-oaks. All normal
plants (as opposed to creatures of a plant type) in
your vicinity slowly die. If you walk across grass,
it turns yellow and dies; if you sit near a houseplant,
it will be brittle and brown the next morning. Small
plants such as blades of grass and flowers are killed
instantly, though it takes a day for this death to be
obvious. Large plants, such as trees and hedges, can
endure up to a day of your presence before they too
are killed off. This disadvantage is not so bad in a
city, where the only plants likely to suffer are those
found in window ledges and public parks but in the
wilderness it can be a killer. A character who leaves
a stripe of dead yellow grass behind him is absurdly
easy to track.
Obstinate Wounds: Your body, seething with evil,
resists the gentle touch of healing. Attempts to cure
your wounds magically are occasionally completely
futile. Pain and blood are more closely sympathetic
to Hell than soothing and comfort! Any attempt to
heal your wounds with magic, including potions, has
a 10% failure chance.
Irredeemable: A character who chooses this
benefit is effectively damned before his death.
Such a character may never enjoy the full benefit
of an atonement spell. Although he may change his
alignment, that being one of a player’s prerogatives,
no atonement spell will have the effect of freezing his
Corruption points as it would for other characters. A
character should not choose this disadvantage unless
he wishes to forego any future chance of escaping
damnation by any means short of infernal torment.
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Eternal Stain: When the blood of a victim touches
you, your skin is stained with a scarlet mark forever,
clearly visible on your body even if your skin would
ordinarily hide it. Characters with this disadvantage
gradually develop bright red hands, with bloody
smears up to the elbow and usually have speckles
of bloodstain across their faces. The Games Master
must rule as to when a given act causes a victim’s
blood to land on your body but as a general rule,
any combat with a slashing or piercing weapon will
release enough of a blood spray to cause a visible
stain.
Nightmares: Is there perhaps some vestige of
conscience left deep down inside? If so, it could
be one explanation for the nightmares that vex and
plague you. If you have this disadvantage, your
nights are rarely peaceful, except for the times
when you drink yourself into oblivion first; you are
haunted by memories of the terrible deeds you have
done, which you may never go back and change. A
character who suffers from nightmares has a 10%
chance to wake up in the morning fatigued, as if he
had slept in armour. A fatigued character can neither
run nor charge and takes a –2 penalty to Strength and
Dexterity. If a fatigued character does anything that
would ordinarily cause him to become fatigued, he
becomes exhausted instead. If a fatigued character
manages to rest undisturbed for 8 hours or more, he
is no longer fatigued.
Erasing Corruption
Fortunately for those whose hands are stained with
much blood, so long as you are still alive there is
an option to repent. The only way to rid yourself
of Corruption accumulated during life is to change
your alignment and renounce evil. Changing to a
neutral alignment results in a steady, automatic loss
of 5 points of Corruption per day, while changing
to a good alignment results in a loss of 10 points
of Corruption per day. So long as you live long
enough, you will eventually shed all of the evil taint
that was upon you.
At the Games Master’s discretion, heroic acts may
erase Corruption points. The creature must first
have changed its alignment away from evil, of
course. Evil is fundamentally selfish, so an unselfish
act in which the creature gives of itself is the very
opposite of evil. A character who risks his own life
to save others should certainly be entitled to a major
reduction in his Corruption level; depending on the
severity of the risk, a loss of one level per heroic
deed is not inappropriate.

The most historically celebrated means to erase
Corruption earned during a wicked life is to end that
life with a voluntary gesture of self-sacrifice in order
to save others. It all too often happens that creatures
who realise the terrible futility of their evil lives
have only a few short moments in which to make
amends for this. Self-sacrifice as a heroic gesture
removes 1d6+4 levels of Corruption from a creature;
if the creature decides at the moment of death that it
will not return to the mortal plane and thus never be
raised or resurrected, then all of its Corruption levels
are removed.
For the religious, there is another option. The
atonement spell, when cast on a creature that has
changed its alignment away from evil, is specifically
intended to wash away Corruption. Atonement
may be cast only once following a given change of
alignment. The effect of atonement is to ‘freeze’ the
target creature’s Corruption points. They remain in
place and disappear on a daily basis as described
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above but they no longer count as Corruption.
However, if the creature that has undergone
atonement should ever change its alignment
back to evil, the entirety of the ‘frozen’
Corruption becomes active once again. If
the character dies with ‘frozen’ Corruption
points, they do not burden the creature’s
soul upon death and the creature goes to the
appropriate plane, though the ‘frozen’ points
are still there if the character is ever raised or
resurrected. Atonement is thus an extremely
popular spell when an evil creature is on its
deathbed and feels its last breath approaching.
Those who try to escape their fate are frequently
confounded when they realise that atonement
requires sincere repentance and cannot
simply be undergone as a swift
spiritual wash and brush up before
one is claimed by Hell.
Atonement can do nothing
to help a character who has
pledged his soul to Hell by
means of an infernal contract,
for which see Sympathy for the
Devil. A pledged soul is a matter of
a magical bargain struck between the
individual creature and a given devil
or demon. It has nothing to do with
the Corruption level of the creature.
A creature does not even have to be
evil or have a Corruption rating in order
to pledge its soul. Doing so is not an evil act, as a
creature’s soul is its own, to dispose of as it chooses.
It is a fundamentally stupid thing to pledge one’s
soul to a devil but it is not a wicked thing.
Unredeemed Ghosts
What becomes of a character who dies with a
Corruption level still in place but who has changed
his alignment away from evil to good or neutral?
Such characters, as the stories correctly tell, are
doomed to a twilight existence in which they
walk the earth lamenting their state, pleading for
deliverance. They are referred to henceforth as the
‘unredeemed’, as they have Corruption points left
that still weigh them down and were not able to
shrive themselves before death.
Instead of travelling to the plane most appropriate
to his deity or alignment, an unredeemed character
becomes a ghost, haunting either his place of death
or the place where he carried out the majority of
his evil deeds. When he manifests, he is seen to be
 CORRUPTION
covered in spiritual chains or weights, representative
of the Corruption that still drags at his soul and will
not let him travel on to the afterlife. If his Corruption
level was less than 5, he loses Corruption points at
a steady rate, according to his alignment (see above)
and will eventually be able to cease his hauntings
and move on. If his Corruption level was greater
than 5, he is trapped as a ghost upon Earth and
cannot leave until a specific condition is fulfilled.
This condition must be specified by the Games
Master but will always involve an act of repentance,
making amends or reparation, comparable to that
by which a character may shed Corruption points
during life.
For example, the noted assassin Desmodus, having
killed hundreds for pay and buried the loot in a safe
place, suffered pangs of conscience towards the end
of his life. Having spoken at length to a wandering
monk, who knew who he was and still showed no
fear of him, Desmodus opted to repent, changing his
alignment to lawful neutral; with no cleric nearby
to cast atonement, he retained his Corruption level,
despite his change in alignment. Following his
renouncement of evil, Desmodus found that life was
intolerable and that he saw the faces of his victims
wherever he looked. There was only one thing left
to do. Being the assassin that he was, he made a
very neat job of his own suicide. Unfortunately, his
Corruption level of 15 meant that he was bound to
remain on Earth as a ghost, gloomily haunting the
spot where his gold was buried. So long as the gold
remained under the ground, Desmodus’ spirit was
doomed to stay and haunt the place. The Games
Master ruled in this instance that Desmodus could
only let go of his outstanding Corruption points if
his gold was found and used in a good cause, such
as by being donated to a good-aligned temple, used
to feed the hungry or passed on to the families or
descendants of the people he assassinated.
Unredeemed Ghosts And Purgatorial Torment:
Ghosts who are tied to the mortal plane because of
their Corruption level may also be targeted with an
infernal torment spell (see The Harvest Of Souls) of
the purgatorial torment kind. This is a merciful act,
as it allows the ghost to end its long confinement on
the material plane, burn away the stain of its sins and
go on at last to its true reward in an outer plane. An
unredeemed ghost that is liberated by this spell does
not need to perform any further acts of atonement.
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Optional Sub-Plane: Purgatory
Although no provision is made for the plane
of Purgatory in most standard d20 settings, it
can be included with advantage if the Games
Master believes it would benefit the campaign.
Purgatory depends upon a definition of evil
that does not lump all evil acts together under
one heading. It assumes that some characters are
truly damned, being evil through and through,
while others only need to have the evil burned
away from them in order to be restored to their
pristine state.
When an evil character dies but has a Corruption
level of 5 or less, he is considered too bad for the
heavens but not evil enough for damnation. He is
thus consigned to Purgatory, a realm of infinite
fires that lies between the Astral Plane and the
opening of the Infernum. While in Purgatory, he
is treated as if he were the recipient of an infernal
torment spell of the purgatorial variety, though
he does not have to change alignment first. Once
all his Corruption is burned up, he automatically
changes alignment to neutral or good instead of
evil; the player may choose which.
Purgatory is a contentious concept, inasmuch as
it implies that sentient creatures are not always
evil by nature; having an evil alignment may be
a stain that sits upon you rather than the result
of an evil heart. The assumption of Purgatory is
that sufficient spiritual scorching will eventually
get rid of the evil that encases you and reveal the
good within. Some players may not like this;
they want to be evil, or they would not have
chosen it. It is therefore only legitimate to
include a Purgatory plane if you want a genuinely
mediaeval theme, or if the ethics of your
campaign support the idea that sentient beings
sometimes have evil alignments covering over an
originally good nature.
 CORRUPTION

best suited to campaigns that seek to emulate the kind

Evil Ghosts of view of the world found in mediaeval Europe. A
Evidently, not all evil characters automatically drift
damned ghost is simply a damned soul that has the
off to an appropriate plane when they die, or there
power to formulate itself as a ghost and travel the
would never be any such thing as an evil ghost. The
material plane between dusk and dawn. The soul
following optional rules are suggested for Games
does not truly leave Hell while this formulation takes
Masters who want to allow for the possibility that
place but is rather projected into the material plane
some ghosts should by rights have gone to Hell but
as if by a form of astral projection. A soul that is
are prevented from doing so either by their own
wearing a manacle of binding metal can still project
strength of will or by some other contingent factor.
itself as a damned ghost, if it has the power.
Petty Ghosts: Some ghosts are kept chained to
There are many differences between damned ghosts
the mortal plane because they are evil, though not
and ordinary ones. A damned ghost cannot continue
evil enough for the torments of Hell. Such ghosts
to manifest between dawn and dusk and must
would include misers, bullies and abusive drunkards.
return to Hell. It is in fact not a ghost at all in the
When a person dies with a Corruption level of 5 or
technical sense but a damned soul that is projected
less, they may make a one-off Will saving throw (DC
into the Prime Material plane. As such, it cannot
20) to avoid moving on to the Infernum and cling on
affect material things, nor can they affect it. All
to the mortal plane. It is only fear of their eventual
that it can do is manifest itself and communicate.
fate that keeps these ghosts from departing. If the
When manifested, a damned ghost appears as it
focus of their obsession is still present in the mortal
does in Hell, surrounded by the various tools and
realm – for example, money in the case of a miser,
instruments of its damnation, wreathed in the fires
or a battered wife in the case of an abusive drunkard
eternal and howling in agony.
– then the ghost gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its
Will saving throw.
For a damned soul to manifest itself successfully as a
damned ghost, it must fulfil three conditions.
Malicious Ghosts: Some ghosts were so strong-
willed in life that they cling violently to it after death,
Firstly, the damned soul must have a strong link to
refusing to allow themselves to be dragged away to
the material plane in the form of a friend, relative
eternal fire. To attempt to cling to existence as a
or item upon which it can focus. Damned souls
ghost, a dying evil creature must make a Charisma
often appear to their offspring, complaining of their
check (DC 25); the creature must have a Corruption
damned state and begging to be rescued from Hell,
level of 5 or more and each 2 levels of Corruption
or demanding that their death be avenged.
grant the creature a +1 circumstance bonus on its
Charisma ability score check.
Secondly, the damned soul must succeed in a
Charisma check (DC 20) every time it wishes to
This clinging to existence is formulated as an oath
manifest itself to visible appearance. If it fails this
on the ghost’s part, along the lines of ‘so long as
check, it cannot enter the material plane that night,
this is the case, I shall not depart’. The ghost cannot
nor may it communicate with the living on the
formulate an absurd or impossible condition as its
material plane by any means.
oath and it must (in the judgement of the Games
Master) reflect a genuine motivation to stay bound
Lastly, the damned soul must have strong and
to the material plane. Good examples here are those
unfulfilled desires that relate to the material plane.
of an evil ghost which refuses to leave while the
It must crave vengeance, escape, a chance to repent,
spirits of its victims are still held prisoner as it feels
the rescue of something or someone precious to it, or
they should be, or a ghost that will not depart a house
some similar outcome. This desire is what compels
while the descendants of its enemy still live in it.
it to project itself into the material world. A damned
ghost cannot be targeted by spells (including infernal
Damned Ghosts: There are some ‘ghosts’ who are
torment) but it may be turned as if it were undead.
in fact damned souls, as in the Shakespearian case of
Successful turning forces the damned ghost to return
the shade who is ‘doomed for a certain time to walk
to the Infernum early.
the night and for the day confined to fast in fires’.
This kind of ghost is very classical in nature and is

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 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Sympathy For
The Devil
S
ome mortals are content to be merely evil; some
wish to be actively satanic. All deeds of evil
in the world of men further the cause of Hell
to some extent but sometimes a favoured human or
humanoid can establish a working relationship with
devils or demons, actively assisting them to achieve
their ends on Earth, while they provide him with
tactical help and support.
In this chapter, we look at the different types of
relationship that can be forged between an evil
creature and the lords of Hell, from the cordial
but informal relationship in which each side does
the other favours on an ad hoc basis, to the fully-
fledged satanic pact of legend in which a devil or
demon strikes a bargain with a mortal, exchanging
miraculous prosperity in life for his immortal soul
upon death.
Cordial
In a cordial arrangement, either the devils or the
demons (depending on the character’s alignment)
know the character concerned by reputation and they
have a minor degree of respect for him, based on the
evil that he has done. Lawful characters attract the
attention of devils, while chaotic characters attract
that of demons; neutral characters may attract either
but once they have accepted a cordial relationship
with one side, they may not then establish one
with the other. In the case of the devils, one of the
families of noble devils notices the character. Use
the guidelines regarding the different spheres of
interest of each infernal House to determine which
one is most likely to notice him.
Calling for Infernal Favours
Circumstantial Factors
Duplicate effects of lesser planar ally (outsider of up to 6 HD)
Duplicate effects of planar ally (outsider of up to 12 HD)
Duplicate effects of greater planar ally (outsider of up to 18 HD)
Per call for help already made in the last 24 hours
Outsider asked to perform especially simple task
Outsider asked to perform difficult task
Outsider asked to perform dangerous task, or to fight for character
Character has a Corruption level of 13–16
Character has a Corruption level of 17–20
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A character may attempt to strike up a cordial
relationship with one of the powers of Hell (though
it is in common use, the phrase is misleading, as
the devils and demons are anything but cordial
and are simply out for all they can get) once he
has a Corruption level of at least 10. The infernal
powers are not interested in petty criminals or
those who steal from blind beggars. To commence
the relationship, all that the character has to do is
speak to a devil or demon personally (in which case,
disregard the section above concerning which House
notices him) and propose it, or utter a brief prayer to
the devils or demons of Hell in which he suggests a
mutually profitable association. To succeed, he must
never have actively opposed the cause of Hell, nor
hindered one of its agents from doing what it wished
to do, much less attacked or killed one.
Establishing The Relationship: The character must
successfully appeal in order for the relationship to
be recognised. This is resolved as a Charisma check
(DC 20), with a +1 bonus to the check for every
Corruption level above 10. If the character fails
the check, he is on his own; Hell is not interested in
pursuing a dialogue or extending aid. He may make
a further appeal once he has attained the next highest
level of Corruption and thus won a little more respect
in the eyes of the infernal ones.
Privileges And Obligations: A cordial relationship
places little obligation on the character during his
day to day life; he may never oppose the infernal
faction with which he is friendly but other than that,
he is not expected to carry out any special missions.
The character thus retains his freedom of action but
is not guaranteed any assistance from Hell.
The privilege of a cordial relationship is the power to
call on infernal favours. The character may appeal
to Hell for assistance at any point. This appeal
duplicates the effects of a lesser planar ally, planar
ally or greater planar ally spell, with the restriction
Diplomacy Check DC
20
25
30
+10
–2
+2
+4
–2
–4

that only a devil or demon belonging to the faction that
originally made the arrangement with the character
may answer the call. The character may make the
call irrespective of his experience level; though this
is a summoning effect, it is not a summoning spell.
A character may not call upon an outsider that has a
Hit Dice of more than his own experience level +3, as
the houses of Hell refuse to send pit fiends on errands
that bearded devils could achieve.
This appeal for help is made as a Diplomacy skill
check, with the DC determined as follows:
As per the planar ally spells, the outsider will
require a service from the character upon completion
of its allotted task. Refer to the planar ally spell
description for the guidelines on this. Defaulting on a
service owed to your devilish or demonic assistant is
a grave insult and has severe repercussions. The very
least that will happen is the immediate termination
of the cordial relationship, with no possibility of
reinstatement.
As in the case of the infernal patron (see below)
the various outsiders who may answer a given
appeal should be detailed in advance by the Games
Master. It is especially important that they should be
assigned motivations, as they have a better chance of
answering a call if doing so would further their own
aims and goals. For example, an erinyes that was
called upon to assist a character in battle against an
archon would be easier to call (–2 to DC) if she had
the Revenge motivation, as she would be especially
eager to loose her flaming arrows against such an
avatar of goodness, the likes of whom cast her and
her kind out of Heaven many aeons ago.
Bonded
In this form of relationship, the alliance between the
evil character and the powers of Hell is formalised.
He undertakes to serve the cause of Hell with as
much ingenuity and resource as he can muster.
In return, Hell provides him with a patron, who
instructs, guides and assists him. There is a mutually
binding accord between the two. As the character
progresses in experience, his patron steps down to be
replaced by another.
This is the most common relationship for evil
spellcasters (especially sorcerers) to have with devils
or demons. It is the classic scenario in which an
evil magician has a horned fiend watching over his
shoulder, explaining to him the most efficient secrets
of practical magic. Although any character class can
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profit from having an infernal patron, spellcasting
classes benefit in certain special ways. Despite
similarities, this is not the Faustian arrangement in
which the evil character’s soul is pledged in return
for power; that is a pledged relationship, which is
dealt with later in this chapter.
Such is the lure of the bonded relationship that some
schools of evil wizardry, such as the Covenant of the
Nine Pillars, teach it as standard. In those circles, a
devil patron is as much of a commonplace feature of
a wizard’s life as his familiar is. In regions where
this is the norm, the terror that common people
traditionally have for magic is redoubled. Wizards
and sorcerers naturally tend towards evil, because
the good ones are outnumbered and swiftly exiled or
executed, while the evil ones enjoy greater powers
thanks to their bonded relationships with Hell and
their mutual support. For more information on
organisations such as this, see the Bonded Groups
section later in this chapter.
Establishing The Relationship: In order to
establish a bonded relationship, a character must
first have had a cordial relationship for at least a
year and a day. During this time, he must have
paid for all services promptly and must still have
at least the same level of Corruption as he started
with, preferably more. The character calls upon his
Infernal allies to send the usual evil outsider, not to
perform a favour but to witness the swearing of the
pact. The outsider always answers this call and no
Diplomacy check is necessary unless the call is made
in a combat situation or would otherwise put the
answering outsider directly into danger.
The pact is a simple one to arrange and takes only one
full round, during which time the character must sign
a contract in blood (inflicting one point of damage
upon himself) and concentrate on what he is doing.
The pact, which resembles a magic scroll, is prepared
in advance by the infernal patron or his superiors and
is a magic item, activated by the signature. Every
noble House of Hell has a stock of these ready to be
used, so there is never any delay in finding one when
a client decides to establish a bonded relationship.
The completed pact then functions as a talisman,
granting certain powers to the patron and to the
client. These powers are detailed below. The patron
keeps the pact hidden on his body, among his other
possessions.
Clerics and other divine magic users can only enter
into bonded relationships with demons or devils if
their deity allows it. In these cases, the patron must
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
be an agent or at the very least an ally of the deity, in
order to permit the spellcaster to gain infernal divine
spells through the patron.
What The Character Swears: The character
undertakes to perform whatever tasks his infernal
patron may set for him, whether general or particular,
to the best of his ability; to support the faction with
which he is now formally allied and not to oppose it
or its agents in any way; to heed his patron’s advice
and show respect for his patron at all times; to report
back to his patron a complete account of any observed
event or semblance of event that would conceivably
be of interest to Hell; never to hinder, much less to
oppose, his patron’s free action; and lastly to keep no
secrets from his patron of any kind whatsoever, being
at all times ready and willing to divulge the contents
of mind, journal, private correspondence or any such
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thing, all this on pain of dissolution of the bonded
relationship, loss of all privileges and the forfeit of
his immortal soul.
Characters entering into a bonded relationship also
swear to carry out any particular requirements that
the patron may include, as determined by the patron’s
motivation, for which see the Infernal Agenda section
below. As the patron changes, these requirements
may also change; not all patrons are motivated in the
same way. These additional requirements are given
in the Obligations section following the description
of each motivation.
What The Patron Swears: To guide and advise
the client in his ways, giving the full benefit of
any knowledge and expertise that may be of use;
to remain at all times attendant upon the client, the
better to answer his needs and give him counsel; to
assume a pleasing shape when the client is about his
daily business, so that those not cognizant of the pact
may not suspect its nature; to divulge the infernal
secrets of Magick Art if appropriate, so that the client
may (should he be of a mind) master the mysteries
thereof and come to a profound understanding
of the principles by which magic operates,
thus enhancing his own powers as a
caster of spells; to defend the client
against assault, physical or magical,
within the limits of practicality and
reasonable risk; lastly, to employ
his senses and especial powers
of observation and report to the
client concerning the same by
means of telepathy, so that the
client may be constantly warned
of any threat to his person.
Assuming A Pleasing Shape: It
is standard practice for the infernal
patron to ‘assume a pleasing shape’,
as the grimoires of the Art have it.
The magic of the pact allows
the patron to polymorph
into one alternate form,
which must be chosen
by the client at the
moment when the pact
is signed. If the patron is
agreeable, then it adopts the
form forthwith and continues to do
so at all times, except when the client
is alone with it in private. Devils that
have assumed the form of common
animals, such as black dogs, cats and

goats, may often be confused with ordinary familiars
by those who are unaware of the pact.
Ordinary devils, such as bearded devils or chain
devils, are most likely to take animal shape and
pretend to be pets or guardians. Noble devils
customarily adopt their human form and assume a
role suitable to the client’s station in life, in which
they will not be recognised for who they are, such as
butler, mistress, colleague or ‘charming new friend’.
Demons As Patrons: Demons, being chaotic, are
much less willing to submit to the bonds of the pact
than the devils are, as are the chaotic evil characters
who would be dealing with them if such pacts were to
be made. Bonded relationships between mortals and
demons are thus far rarer than those between mortals
and devils. This is not to say that such relationships
do not exist; they do, as the demons have come to
accept (grudgingly) the mutual profit to be had from
such an arrangement. Demons need mortal agents
to help them in their ongoing war against the devils,
to represent their interests in the world and to secure
their own supply of damned souls.
A demon patron is much more wilful and less likely
to abide by the spirit of the pact than a devil would
be. If the demon does not feel inclined to keep to
the pact, it will come up with excuses, threats and
complaints in an attempt to get out of it. It will not
attack its client nor put him in danger but it will
be rebellious, truculent and evasive whenever its
own interests are not directly served by helping the
client. Demon patrons will attempt to bully their
clients with Intimidate skill checks if they do not get
what they want out of the deal. As far as the demon
is concerned, the client is lucky to have them as a
patron.
Familiars For Bonded Wizards And Sorcerers:
A wizard or sorcerer in a bonded relationship with
the powers of Hell is entitled to an imp or quasit as
a familiar, instead of the familiar he currently has,
should he so desire it.
The Powers Of The Pact
An infernal pact must be created just like a magical
item. The task of creating the pacts is left to the
spellcasting noble devils of the various noble houses,
who have the appropriate item creation feats and
memorised spells. Each pact may only be used once
and is only deemed activated when all creatures who
are to be included in the bonded relationship have
signed it. The patron does not need to sign the pact.
He places his name or seal in the ‘patron’ section,
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where there is space for a new patron to take over.
This amendment, replacing one patron with another,
is the only modification that may safely be made to
the pact.
The pact resembles a lengthy legal document in
scroll form. It confers the following powers. Once it
has been signed, a given pact will only ever work for
the creatures that are named on it. The patron may
add new clients.
† If the named client or clients has the ability to
rebuke undead, then they also gain a certain
measure of authority over devils or demons,
according to whether their patron is a devil or
a demon. They gain the power to rebuke or
awe these outsiders as if they were undead.
They may not, however, rebuke or awe
outsiders of equivalent or greater Hit Dice
than their own patron.
† The named patron may plane shift at will,
either from his current position to within 30
feet of the client or one of the clients (so long
as said client is on the Prime Material plane)
or from his current position to the Infernum.
Patrons use this power to return to Hell,
report on their clients’ progress and return to
the upper world.
† The patron is given the power to polymorph
into a ‘pleasing shape’ as described above.
† The patron and the named client or clients
may communicate telepathically across
distances of up to one mile, so long as they
are on the same plane. Multiple clients may
communicate with the patron, though not
with each other.
† The pact becomes magically linked to the
client or clients who sign it. They suffer what
it suffers, irrespective of any distance between
them, including distance in planar terms. If
the pact is stabbed with a weapon, the client
is wounded; if it is immersed in fire, the client
takes fire damage. Magical resistances and
damage reduction apply but armour does not.
The pact itself does not suffer any damage
until every client that signed it has died, at
which point it too is destroyed. The patron
uses this link to punish rebellious clients, or
to destroy them altogether; the most favoured
method is to throw the pact into the burning
sea, then depart for the Prime Material plane
to collect the clients’ souls. If the client is
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Patron Creatures
Character Class Experience Level
Barbarian/Fighter/Ranger 1–8
Barbarian/Fighter/Ranger 9–16
Barbarian/Fighter/Ranger 17+
Bard/Rogue/Monk 1–8
Bard/Rogue/Monk 9–16
Bard/Rogue/Monk 17+
Cleric/Druid/Wizard/Sorcerer 1–8
Cleric/Druid/Wizard/Sorcerer 9–16
Cleric/Druid/Wizard/Sorcerer 17+
standing in an antimagic field, the pact still
does not suffer damage but it is not inflicted
upon the client either. Experienced paladins
and clerics know that the most reliable way to
take out a diabolic cult is to find the pact and
burn it, which usually results in a temple full
of black-robed cultists bursting into flame,
running around and screaming.
† The patron (and only the patron) may cast
any spell that targets one or more creatures
upon the pact, naming one of the clients
who has signed it; the spell then affects that
creature rather than affecting the pact. Only
spells that target creatures or have a range of
‘touch’ may be used, not ray or area-effect
spells. Patrons may thus use the pact to place
magical protections upon their clients, or to
inflict punishments upon them.
† If any of the named clients should die, the
patron and four more outsiders of the same
type (devil or demon) and up to the same Hit
Dice are instantly summoned to the astral
location corresponding to the point of death,
by the magic of the pact. They seize the soul
of the deceased client, clap a manacle of
binding metal upon his leg and escort him to
the Infernum, there to dwell for eternity in the
place allotted to him. This will usually be the
estate of a noble devil house or the hunting
grounds of a demon, depending on the nature
of the patron. This ensures that clients who
have been punished do not escape their fate
and that worthy clients meet the reward
they have earned in Hell. If, for any reason,
the outsiders are unable to depart with the
damned soul, it drifts to the plane inhabited
by its deity or appropriate to its alignment, by
the usual system.
In order to benefit from the plane shift and polymorph
powers, the patron must carry the pact on his person.
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Demon Patron Devil Patron
Vrock Chain Devil
Hezrou Bearded Devil
Marilith Horned Devil
Babau Hellcat
Glabrezu Bone Devil
Nalfeshnee Noble devil of same class
Succubus Noble devil spellcaster
Glabrezu Noble devil spellcaster
Retriever Noble devil spellcaster
If the patron is ever killed, the pact bursts into flame
and is no longer active.
The patron himself, who will return to Hell and make
the necessary arrangements when the time comes,
handles any change in patrons resulting from the
clients’ advance in experience level. This change
only requires a minor modification to the pact, which
can be achieved with a full-round action.
Infernal Pact: Strong conjuration, divination and
transmutation; CL 13th; Craft Wondrous Item, plane
shift, polymorph, scry; Price 100,000 gp. Devils and
demons do not need to pay any material costs when
making infernal pacts, though they must still pay the
experience point cost.
Types Of Infernal Patron
The type of patron allocated to a client depends on
the client’s own skills and proclivities. A fighter
will be given a patron who can fight alongside him
in battle or tend to his wounds, while a sorcerer will
be allocated a patron who can assist him with his
magical studies. Refer to the table above for the
type of patron each type of character will be granted.
For multiclass characters, the client may choose the
most appropriate patron. The noble devil spellcaster
is likely to be of House Zethu, though it is more
appropriate for the patron to be of House Haimon
if the client is especially given to working with
necromancy and the undead.
Bonded Groups
Covens of evil-aligned witches, groups of students of
forbidden mysteries, unwholesome sects and infernal
cults are all alliances of spellcasters with a common
bond. While individuals working under the tutelage
of devils and demons can achieve much, a group
whose members are all bonded to the same demon
can sometimes be more efficient.
In a bonded group, two or more people (to a
maximum of thirteen) all have a bonded relationship

with the same demon or devil patron. This kind of
arrangement is easier to make. Of the participant
members, only one needs to have had the previous
cordial relationship with the patron demon or devil.
The patron’s type is determined by the experience
level and class of the highest level member of
the group; in the case of a tie, spellcasters take
precedence over non-spellcasters. Finally, the
experience point cost for a member to prepare an
infernal spell can be spread across the whole group;
any member may contribute towards the necessary
total. Even a sorcerer can draw experience points
from fellow group members when casting infernal
spells, though they must be within 100 feet of him
for this to work. All members of the bonded group
must sign the same talismanic contract.
Competitive Bonded Groups: The patron may
opt to prepare the contract for a competitive bonded
group. Demons, with their relish of conflict and
setting intelligent creatures at one another’s throats,
often use this version of the pact. The group is
limited to a set number of people, usually 13. Once
per year, on the anniversary of the formation of the
pact, the patron judges which of the group’s members
has pleased him the least. The patron is empowered
to decree this person in contravention of the contract
and may invoke the penalty clause upon him; see
below. A new member is added to the contract to
replace the one who has failed. The same process
happens if a member ever dies or is ruled in breach of
the contract. This ensures that the number of people
in the group always stays the same.
It is customary for the bonded group to form the inner
circle of a dark sect, while the outer circle is made up
of ‘hopefuls’. When the time for the removal of a
name from the contract approaches, those hopefuls
who have proven themselves are eligible to be
chosen for addition to the contract.
Forfeit
Since the bonded relationship is, at the end of the
day, made with an evil outsider, the balance of power
is firmly on the side of Hell. Devils are constrained
to keep to their half of the bargain because of their
lawful nature, demons by the bonding magic of the
pact; their mortal clients are compelled to keep to
theirs because their patrons can claim their very souls
if they should break the bargain.
There will be times when one or the other side comes
close to infringing the pact or oversteps the mark
completely. For example, a participant in a bonded
relationship might get ‘cold feet’ and decide that he
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wants out of the deal, visiting a cleric of a lawful
good deity to seek help and try to lay a trap for the
patron. This would constitute a gross breach of the
pact. If the patron found out about it, he could take
action.
How these situations are resolved depends on the
level of esteem in which the client is held. In cases
where the client has a Corruption level of less than
14, the patron has full authority to declare the pact
null and void and invoke the penalty clause, without
taking the matter to any higher court. It is thus
entirely up to the patron devil or demon to judge the
case. This is not by any means a fair situation but
then, this is Hell we are talking about here… Devils
and demons alike do not revoke contracts arbitrarily,
as they have to keep some semblance of fairness. If
they did not, then nobody would ever enter into a
bonded relationship, as they would simply be asking
to be exploited. Additionally, bonded relationships
are the soundest way of gaining allies on the Prime
Material plane, who can help both the devils and the
demons achieve their goals.
Clients with Corruption levels of 14 or less do not
have any recourse if they believe that their patron has
not honoured his side of the agreement. When your
Corruption is no higher than 14, then you must take
what assistance you can get and be thankful for it.
Again, even if they are recalcitrant, most demons and
devils will not ignore their contractual obligations
and all of them will attempt to fulfil the compact to
some degree, purely to encourage others to do the
same and keep their allies on side.
If the client’s Corruption level is 15 or more, then they
are too significant to be dealt with quite so lightly. A
creature with such an impressive track record of evil
deeds has the right of appeal to a higher power if his
patron rules that the contract should be declared null
and void. He also has the right to appeal in the event
of misconduct by his patron. Clients who deal with
devils may have such appeals heard in the Infernal
Court, while clients who have demon patrons may
appeal to the demon’s overlord or military superior.
The Penalty Clause: The patron may enact the
penalty clause by burning the pact (see above), which
it will usually do if only one person is involved in
the bonded relationship. If the pact involves multiple
characters and only one of them needs to be struck
from it, the patron will either use the plane shift
power granted by the pact to appear next to the
client and tear them to pieces in person, or cast spells
through the pact and annihilate the client that way.
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Infernal Privileges
Being in a bonded relationship with the powers
of Hell is like having membership of an exclusive
club. So long as you are careful to associate with the
right beings, you can advance your own career and
make contacts in very low places. Any character in
a bonded relationship, whether solo or group, enjoys
the following privileges:
† In the case of those who work with noble
devil patrons, the estate of your patron’s
house is open to you when you visit the
Infernum. You are entitled to reside in the
estate’s chambers, take sanctuary there and
receive healing and other such services from
the estate’s occupants. You may also take out
an interest-free loan from the estate’s treasury
of up to two thousand gold pieces per level of
experience, which you must repay within a
year and a day on penalty of forfeit. If your
patron’s house is Carthenay, this amount is
doubled.
† If you announce yourself and the name of your
patron at any of the devil-controlled gateways
to the Infernum, the gate’s guardians are
honour bound to admit you and provide you
with an honour guard of four bearded devils,
who will escort you to any destination within
fifty miles of the gateway.
† The demon-controlled sections of Hell are
much wilder and less organized than the
devil-held sections. Demons prey upon each
other as well as their mutual enemies and
such horrible creatures as bebeliths seize and
devour all creatures within reach, irrespective
of their nature. Notwithstanding this, a pact
is still respected. If you let a demon know
the name of your patron, then the demon
will understand that an attack upon you is an
attack upon them. Demons work by bullying
each other, so if your patron has more Hit
Dice than the demon you are addressing and
he has heard of your patron, he will treat you
with grudging respect. The demon is entitled
to a Knowledge (the planes) check (DC 15)
to see whether he has ever heard of your
patron.
† The greatest privilege of a bonded relationship
occurs after death. So long as you die with the
pact still unbroken and your patron is satisfied
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with you, you are placed on the fast track to
rebirth as a demon or devil in your own right.
Instead of being tormented along with the rest
of the damned, you are a potential soldier in
the armies of Hell. You automatically qualify
for infernal transfiguration. Refer to the
Infernal Transfiguration chapter for details.
Pledged Relationships
The pledged relationship is completely different
from the cordial or the bonded relationship. A
pledged relationship is the old familiar kind, in
which a mortal ‘sells his soul to the Devil’ in
exchange for worldly prosperity. Unlike the other
kinds of relationship, the character does not even
have to be evil, nor does selling one’s soul count as
an inherently evil act. It may be a stupid thing to
do but it does not hurt anyone other than yourself.
The pledged relationship is entirely the province
of devils; demons do not bother with it, as it is too
sophisticated. They would much rather be rending
and burning than formulating lengthy ‘the party of
the first part’ documents. Only the glabrezu ever feel
inclined to tempt mortals into ruin and they use their
wish-fulfilling abilities to achieve this. Their system,
in which sacrifices are given in exchange for wishes,
is much less complex than a pledged relationship and
more suited to a demonic mentality.
Pledged relationships begin when a devil or the agent
of a devil makes a proposal to a mortal. Only noble
devils ever do this; the likes of the pit fiends and bone
devils have their own work to do. The devils visit the
Earth in their alternate, humanoid forms and seek out
individuals who are down on their luck, in desperate
straits, or who long for something they cannot have.
The male devils find such suitable individuals by
using their scrying abilities. The conversation that
then follows involves the devil persuading the mortal
to give up his soul in exchange for a given service or
set of services.
The different services that Hell can offer are detailed
below. Under the ordinary terms and conditions, the
client may choose any two of these options. The
Games Master may add to these as he sees fit, if
to do so would serve the interests of the campaign;
however, it is traditional to limit the scope of infernal
benisons, seeing as Hell never gives anyone a free
lunch. Simply shortening the duration of the pact
is the easiest way to do this. The more the client is
granted, the less time he should have to enjoy it.
Unless an option that extends the operative time of

the pact is chosen (such as Extended Life) the default
duration is twenty years, which is long enough for
anyone to enjoy himself – or realise just what he has
signed away.
Extended Life: Hell encourages its dupes to enjoy
themselves in this world and not to trouble themselves
about the next. One can guarantee that the old and
decrepit, just as much as the young and beautiful,
will want to stop the clock and gain a few more years
of life. This is most especially true of human beings,
who live absurdly short lives compared to the likes
of elves. This option allows the character to live for
one hundred additional years without aging a day.
The character suffers none of the effects of aging,
including the increases to some ability scores. When
the pact expires, the character suffers the result of a
hundred years of aging in an instant, which is enough
to kill almost all humans outright.
Renewed Youth: The client can have lost youth and
vitality restored. His age is reduced by up to one
hundred years. This undoes the physical damage of
aging (restoring lost Strength, for example) but does
not undo increases to such statistics as Intelligence,
since the creature’s mind is the same as it was. The
creature does not gain the benefits of aging again on
reaching advanced age a second time around. If this
option is taken along with Extended Life (see above)
then the creature remains at its youthful age for a
hundred years before beginning to age again at the
normal rate. In either event, once the creature has
reached the age it was at when the pact was made, the
pact has run its course.
Prosperity: The client’s life becomes prosperous and
he has extraordinarily good fortune. He immediately
gains a +2 luck bonus to all skill checks. In addition,
any Craft or Profession skill check he makes for the
purpose of earning a living automatically brings
in the maximum possible revenue. His Charisma
ability score gains a +5 enhancement bonus when
dealing with merchants, tradesmen, shopkeepers,
bankers and suppliers. The full details of the
Prosperity option must be played out in game; the
Games Master should rule in the character’s favour
whenever an issue of business comes up. He has
a supernatural degree of success when engaging
in business undertakings and everything he turns
his hand to becomes fruitful. Unlike the Wealth
option below, a client with Prosperity appears to be
succeeding in his own right, with a good deal of luck
on his side.
Wealth: The client who chooses wealth as an option
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gains the benefits of material goods. The devil
that prepares the contract arranges for a vast sum
in Hell’s gold pieces (see House Carthenay) to be
deposited in a location of the client’s choice. This
pile of Hell’s gold cannot be exhausted so long as
there is some left over. Up to one hundred thousand
Hell’s gold pieces can be removed from the pile at
once, leaving a handful of coins left. This wealth
magically accumulates at the rate of one thousand
Hell’s gold pieces per day, until it reaches the one
hundred thousand Hell’s gold piece figure. If all
of the Hell’s gold is ever removed, whether the
client does this or someone else does, it no longer
accumulates. The last coin has been spent and that
is that. On the expiry of the contract, the Hell’s gold
melts into rotten pulp.
Wishes: The client is granted three wishes, usable
as per the rules governing the wish spell. Once
all of the wishes have been used, the contract is
concluded. If this option is chosen, the client may
not choose a second option; it is an all-or-nothing
choice. However, the client has as long as he likes to
use the wishes, so the pact has no default time limit.
If he should happen to die from any cause before he
uses them, then any unused wishes are lost and he is
dragged down to Hell anyway. When granting this
option to exceptionally long-lived creatures such as
elves, the lords of Hell usually set an expiry date
on the pact of some 300 years, just to hurry things
along.
The Love Of An Unattainable Person: A
surprisingly common request, this option has a
traditionally unhappy outcome. When the client
desires that a given person should fall in love with
him, such as the princess of a given nation or some
similar focus of desire, the powers of Hell attempt
a mind-affecting enchantment. First, a noble devil
wizard of 20th level (with an Intelligence ability
score modifier of +5) attempts to scry the intended
target. Once the scrying has identified the target, the
wizard attempts a demand spell, with the included
suggestion that the target is developing romantic
feelings towards the client. If the saving throw fails,
then the effect is permanent while the pact lasts. If the
target successfully saves against this effect, then Hell
cannot grant this request; there are, after all, limits to
how much of a person’s free will can be subjugated
and the client had better choose something else.
Perhaps Sir would consider the Charisma-increase
option and pursue his goal another way?
This option should be played out very carefully.
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Although it is a classic ingredient in the ‘pact with
the devil’ story, it has the potential to cause problems
because of the loss of free will involved. In the
interests of game balance, even satanic contracts
should not take away a player’s freedom of choice.
No player character should be compelled to a
lifelong course of action just for failing one saving
throw even if that would be appropriate to the genre.
Incredible Ability: The client simply gains a +3
enhancement bonus to an ability score. This option
may be chosen twice but not for the same ability.
Incredible Competence: The client becomes
uncannily good at one type of task. He may
choose one skill and henceforth benefits from a +10
competence bonus to all uses thereof. This is the
option that allows a young musician to go out to the
crossroads at midnight, make a deal with the devil
and then come back in the morning playing amazing
music that nobody has ever heard before. This option
may be chosen twice but not for the same skill.
Power and Influence: The client immediately
gains the Leadership feat. By a series of subsequent
events that must be played out in the game (that is
to say, not by overnight magic) he also gains a small
keep, tower or stronghold. This then becomes the
basis of his material power. Any creature fighting
under his command gains a +1 enhancement bonus
to all attack and damage rolls, granting a significant
edge in battle to any military units or armies that he
gathers to himself.
Nine Lives: The client has the fabled nine lives of a
cat. If he is killed by any effect that does not destroy
his body altogether, such as poison, hit point damage,
ability score drain or such like, he is instantly raised the
next round as if by a raise dead spell. Should
he suffer complete destruction, such as from
disintegrate or a sphere of annihilation, he is
killed (or destroyed completely, in the latter
case) and Hell may claim his soul.

Disadvantages Of A Pledged
Relationship: A character in a
pledged relationship always
radiates a strong aura of evil,
though it is clear that this does not
come from his essence, even if he
is evil himself. It is as if he carried
an evil magical item, or had an
invisible, evil outsider standing close
behind him.

The Pact Itself

The pact for a pledged
relationship looks very
similar to that for a bonded
relationship. It is a golden
parchment scroll with
the details of the contract
spelled out intricately in
metallic red ink. The pact
is retained by the devil that
makes the bargain and collects
the client’s signature. To be
activated, the pact must
be signed in blood. This
establishes the magical
link between the pact
and the client.

The pact has the same

ability to inflict harm or beneficial influence upon
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the client as that for a bonded relationship does; if
you stab the pact, then the client bleeds. The client
usually only sees the pact once, when he first signs it.
After that, it is taken away to Hell. The pact grants
the devil the ability to plane shift to visit his client and
back, exactly as the pact for a bonded relationship
does; it does not, however, confer the polymorph
ability, or the ability to rebuke evil outsiders.
A pledged relationship always ends with the client
dying and being sent down to Hell. This takes
place in exactly the same way as detailed above
under bonded relationships. No matter what the
client’s alignment may be, he is drawn down to
Hell when he dies, because that is part of the point
of the pact. An innocent soul in Hell is far more
entertaining to torment than a wicked one. Unlike a
bonded relationship, slaying the devil who first made
the bargain does not destroy the pact. A pledged
relationship is made between the client and the very
Lords of Hell themselves, not just with one single
devil.
Of course, most of the time, the client has not died
when it is time to collect. Under these circumstances,
the devils come for their own while he is still alive,
plane shifting to his location on the Prime Material
plane and carrying him off, body and soul, to Hell.
Those who are taken to Hell while still in the body
are slowly and tortuously slain on arrival, after which
their ragged soul is fitted with a manacle of binding
metal and their physical remains are burned.
The Halls Of Dying Fire: Each noble House in
Hell has a great hall kept behind locked doors, whose
walls are lined with hundreds of shelves. Each shelf
holds hundreds of candles, each candle representing
the life of a person who has pledged his soul to Hell.
This allows the devils to keep track of how close any
one person is to the date of his contract’s expiry.
Extinguishing the candle has the effect of freezing
the magic of the contract in place, while relighting
it starts the clock again. A person with only five
minutes left before the contract was over and Hell
could take his soul could theoretically extend the
contract indefinitely by extinguishing his candle.
Naturally, he would still be taken by Hell when he
died but a cunning person can evade death for a very
long time indeed…
Mortal Agents
A pledged relationship does not have to be arranged
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by a devil, though they commonly are; the devils like
to attend to the details of such things themselves.
They occasionally work through middlemen, usually
characters in bonded relationships with Hell. These
agents have authority to make arrangements with
prospective clients and supervise the signing of
contracts on Hell’s behalf. For an agent to do this, he
must be supplied with a prepared pact, which counts
as active from the moment the client signs it.
The mortal agent has several advantages over a
devil. He is less likely to attract suspicion and can
persuade a prospective client that the clause in the
contract about forfeiting his immortal soul is ‘just so
much small print’. A client scanning the contract to
find penalty clauses and such like must succeed in a
Search check (DC 20) to do so, with a +2 synergy
bonus if he has more than 5 ranks in Decipher
Script or Forgery, as the penalty clause is buried in
long tracts of legal pontificating. Unlike a devil, he
cannot necessarily demonstrate any special powers
as proof that what he offers is genuine but he is also
less likely to intimidate clients. Devil patrons with
the Acquire Souls motivation require their clients to
go out and look for gullible mortals willing to sign
their souls away. So that they can achieve this, they
are supplied with ready-to-use pacts and authority to
broker the deal.
Infernal Contests
It sometimes happens that a devil will go on the
hunt for souls by using a much more straightforward
approach. Instead of offering reward in exchange
for the subject’s soul, the devil makes a proposal; a
contest of skills.
The devil offers some splendid object, such as a
piece of jewellery or a magical item and bets it
against the subject’s soul. The object is always
one that has been specifically chosen to match
the subject’s preferences. Hell’s budget is, for all
practical purposes, unlimited but there are certain
traditions to be upheld, so the prize (while generous)
will never be absurdly excessive. As a general rule,
an object worth at least ten thousand gold pieces per
level of the subject is about right. A wizard might
be offered a potent magical staff, or a thief a magical
cloak. A bard, who is traditionally the most likely
class of character to be offered this deal, might bet
his soul against a golden fiddle or a harp gleaming
with gems.
Infernal contests are rarely played out ‘on the level’.
The devils do not cheat but they go out of their way to
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
make the contest difficult, though not impossible, for
the person they challenge. For example, a musician
might agree to a contest of harp playing, only to find
that the venue for the contest was a torture palace in
Hell, full of grisly distractions. As a guideline for the
Games Master, we recommend the following phrase
for the devils be used whenever possible: ‘Well, you
didn’t specify that.’ This is adaptable to any number
of situations.
The In fe rn al Ag e n d a
Mortal scholars have frequently paused to wonder
what it is that the devils and demons actually want
with the world and whether the two different species
have the same goals or not. Why is it that these
creatures are not content to stay in Hell, indulging
their despicable tastes with the souls of the damned?
What does an evil outsider, who has no use for
money or earthly power, actually gain from trying to
recreate Hell on Earth? Do the devils or the demons
have any ultimate goal in sight and if so, what can it
be? Is there any way to prepare for it? In short, what
do the demons and devils actually want and how can
they be prevented from achieving it?
The most basic form of the Infernal Agenda can be
summed up as follows: to corrupt as many souls
as possible. Those mortals who are not yet turned
to evil and who have the potential to be must be
corrupted, while those who are determined to oppose
evil must be destroyed. This fundamental principle
determines how a devil or demon is likely to react to
characters. Corrupting a human or humanoid soul is
always much more of a victory than slaughtering the
body. As demons are chaotic, they are much more
likely to rend first and attempt corruption later, while
devils will usually do the opposite.
As well as the general plan of corrupting the souls
of mortals, there are a set of secondary motives that
apply. Which one is uppermost in the mind of a given
fiend will depend on the kind of creature that it is;
explanations are given in the different entries. This
section is included primarily to assist Games Masters
in making the behaviour of devils and demons more
believable and consistent. These creatures are all too
often seen as simple ‘tough monsters’, who serve
no purpose other than to show up occasionally in
response to a summoning and tear into the characters.
By understanding what motivates given demons and
devils, characters can either work alongside them to
mutual advantage or anticipate their actions and thus
stand against them more efficiently.
The other reason for including a section on fiendish
motivations is that it influences what a demonic ally
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or patron prefers its mortal charge to do. For example,
a patron who is motivated by revenge will have a
different set of goals from one who is motivated by
a desire for territory, so a bonded mortal under that
fiend’s patronage will have to carry out different
kinds of acts in order to stay in favour. Devils and
demons use mortals to help them accomplish their
goals, so they will select the mortals who are most
competent to achieve their own particular ends.
Acquire Souls
This motivation applies only to devil patrons. Devils
with this motivation are acquisitive. They are
consumed with greed for the one commodity that has
any real value in Hell – the souls of the damned. The
fiend owns at least one resource extraction facility
(see The Harvest of Souls) and wants to fill it with
the most corrupt damned souls he can acquire, so as
to get the most efficient use out of it.
Although these fiends will claim any damned souls
they can, they are especially interested in the corrupt
ones. The more sinful and irredeemable a given
damned soul is, the more hell-broth it yields when
tormented. Only the least of the fiends makes do
with ordinary damned souls who are simply fished
out of the Sea of Fire or plucked from the Cinderstone
Heights. The true movers and shakers of Hell keep
stables of souls who the mortal world still remember
as villains of legend.
Roleplaying: Fiends driven by a desire for souls are
always on the lookout for fresh candidates. They
only made the pact in the first place so that they
would be able to gain a foothold in the Prime Material
plane and cultivate fresh souls for their herd. They
have a deal-making mentality and resemble nothing
more than obnoxious stock traders, always zipping
back to Hell to check on their holdings and update
the records. They are so accustomed to judging the
degree of suitability of new souls that they can tell
a person’s Corruption level simply by looking; if
the person is attempting to conceal this, the devil
must succeed at a Sense Motive check opposed by
the target creature’s Bluff check. If the person is
concealing their alignment by magical means, this
ability cannot be used. This is a supernatural ability.
Obligation: Clients in bonded relationships with
these fiends are expected to do their utmost to
increase the fiend’s personal stock of souls. They
achieve this by persuading others to sell their souls
to Hell in exchange for personal profit. To remain
in favour with their patron, they must successfully

persuade at least one person per month to enter into a
pledged relationship.
Defilement
Ugly or loathsome fiends, such as members of House
Glabretch, often have defilement as their motivation.
They equate beauty and harmony with Heaven and
the goodness for which it stands. Their driving force
is a form of revenge wish but instead of wanting to
destroy or slaughter good creatures, they prefer to
deform or mutilate them. Their motto is ‘fair is foul
and foul is fair’. If they see a finely wrought statue
or exquisite work of art, they want to smash it; if they
encounter a pretty face, they want to tear it with their
nails and leave it covered in scars and contusions,
preferably without killing the victim; even a beautiful
landscape, such as a forest at dawn, would look better
to them if it was reduced to smouldering stumps and
ashes.
Roleplaying: Defilement-driven patrons are full
of hatred and resentment. They suffer from violent
mood swings, celebrating their own ugliness and
revelling in it one moment, then lamenting it the
next. They always react negatively to attractive or
handsome creatures, irrespective of alignment. They
find the presence of beauty intolerable; if they are
obliged to look upon a creature or object that the
Games Master rules is of great beauty, including
masterwork items or finely crafted jewellery, they
must make a Will saving throw (DC 25) or be
sickened until they can no longer see the beautiful
thing or it is destroyed.
Fiends driven by defilement are prone to fixations.
This happens when they encounter a beautiful
creature or object and want to keep it for themselves,
planning to alter it so that it is ugly like them. Instead
of wanting to see the beautiful thing destroyed, they
dream of claiming it and keeping it forever. The most
common object of fixation is a strikingly handsome
or lovely mortal creature. When a defilement-driven
fiend makes you the focus of its obsession, there is
no hope that it will recover; it will pursue you until
it gets you, then it will carry you off to Hell to be its
companion, tearing your face off on the journey so
that you are as hideous as it is. A fiend may only
have one fixation at a time. When it sees a creature
or object of truly exceptional beauty, it must make
a Will saving throw as above but instead of being
sickened, it becomes obsessed, as if suffering from
an ongoing suggestion effect. The suggestion is to
claim the creature or object for its own and keep it,
once it has been properly defiled.
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Obligation: Characters bound to patrons with this
motivation may not tolerate the continued existence
of beauty. Whatever their Charisma ability score may
be, they are not allowed to be physically attractive
and must voluntarily mar their appearance if they
are not already ugly or at least plain by conventional
standards. If an especially beautiful item or person
should enter their presence, they must do all in their
power to defile, deface or destroy it. They do not
have to do this immediately but they must satisfy the
patron that they are planning to do so.
They must slaughter one specimen of physical
beauty per month and provide evidence of this to
the patron; in game terms, this specimen is defined
as a creature with a Charisma score of at least 16,
though Charisma is of course not a direct measure
of comeliness. Such repeated slaughter of attractive
creatures to fulfil the pact is behind many ‘serial
killer’ incidents on the Prime Material plane. They
must also do all in their power to assist the fiend to
capture or steal any creature or item upon which it
becomes fixated.
Entertainment
Sometimes, a fiend may establish a bonded
relationship with clients out of nothing more than a
desire to amuse itself. Eternal life can become stale
and boring and there are only so many delights that
Hell can offer; once you have flayed your thousandth
howling soul, the experience begins to pall a little.
The material world, however, is mostly unspoilt,
ideal virgin territory for a fiend to play in. It is much
more entertaining to bring nightmares into people’s
everyday waking lives than to perpetuate the eternal
nightmare of Hell.
Entertainment is a common motivation among the
demons, especially the succubae and the babau.
Their chaotic nature gives them a low attention span,
so they are easily bored and just as easily absorbed.
Devils tend not to be motivated by a wish for
entertainment, with the exception of the Astyanaths
and the Oblurotts, both of whom like to lie back and
see others work hard to keep them happy.
Roleplaying: Fiends driven by a desire for
entertainment are like spoiled brats or cruel children.
They continually yawn and sigh and demand to be
kept provided with interesting things. Those who are
bonded with them by pacts can often find them trying
company. They are only content when they are given
something new to play with, to torment or to corrupt.
 SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL
Often, their clients stick with them simply because
to end the pact would be far worse and they may be
replaced with another, more tolerable patron in time.
Obligations: The fiend must be kept entertained.
This means providing at least one original plan,
scheme or staged entertainment per week. For
preference, the fiend requires an innocent victim to
torment. Persuading it to be happy with some other
form of entertainment, such as a violent brawl in a
tavern, tip over and smash, requires a Diplomacy
check (DC 25). Irrespective of what is offered,
the fiend will not be entertained unless somebody
suffers.
Malice
‘Evil for evil’s sake’ is the motto of the true purist.
In the great majority of cases, evil is not a cause in
and of itself but a license to behave bestially. Evil
characters lack the moral restraints that prevent
others from killing, cheating and simply taking
what they want. Only very rarely is evil studied and
practiced as a positive thing, with its own values and
aesthetics.
A malicious devil or demon is one who believes
in following the path of evil in the most existential
sense, not for revenge nor for gain but for its own
sake. Working evil is almost seen as an artistic
path, with each deed of depravity being judged on
the skill of its execution, the scope of its effect and
the notoriety that it wins for the perpetrator. This is
the rarest of all motivations, only found among the
most philosophical of the fiends. Almost all of the
devils and an even greater proportion of the demons
are evil because of what it gains them, in terms of
satisfaction, indulgence and power. They do not
often go out of their way to commit atrocities. By
contrast, malicious fiends devote time and energy
to working evil, often at great cost to themselves
personally. To them, it is all worth it in the end.
This motivation is found among the oldest and most
powerful of the fiends. They have long since become
tired of power, conquest and such like pandering to
basic instincts and have looked beyond these drives
to the glory of undiluted evil.
Roleplaying: Outsiders that are driven by malice
use their allies as catspaws, apprentices and protégés.
They have an almost avuncular attitude to those who
establish pacts with them, schooling them in the
ways of evil and ensuring that they reach their full
potential for corruption. They become furious at any
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show of weakness or sentimentality on the part of
those with whom they are bonded and will threaten
dissolution of the contract if their proposals are not
followed. Malicious outsiders are always full of
suggestions for what their allies could do. They are
the archetypal ‘devil on the shoulder’ whispering into
their client’s ear, urging him to the worst possible
course of action.
Obligation: A character in a bonded relationship
with a malicious patron must constantly prove his
devotion to evil. He must be no less inventive and
persistent in his pursuit of sin than his patron is.
Accordingly, he must advance by at least one level
of Corruption per year while his Corruption level is
below 20 and by one level every two years if it should
rise above that. Failure to do so, or voluntary loss of
any Corruption annuls the relationship.
Revenge
Hell has always been the target of victimisation,
invasion and repression from the upper planes. They
have shown no respect, nor have they recognised evil
as a necessary part of the cosmic balance. Instead,
they have taken the view that evil is something that
exists only to be opposed, something that the good
can crusade against in order to give meaning to
their lives. Some devils, such as the erinyes, were
angels once, cast down from their place because of
an alleged rebellion, or a failure to bow and scrape to
some self-important divinity.
These affronts will be avenged. Hell can be a roaring
Infernum or a slow-smouldering fire; subtlety can
rule the day over brute force. The devils have
eternity to wait and plot and plan. Good must be
opposed not just because it is the polar opposite of
evil and thus its natural foe but also because it has a
history of interference and abuse. To the pompous
paladins of Earth, simply being evil by nature is
justification enough for a death sentence. What kind
of ‘goodness’ is that?
Corrupting souls is not just the best way to expand
the population of Hell; it is the best way to take
revenge against the heavenly forces that threw Hell
down in the first place. By corrupting a soul, you
ensure that its whole future is ruined forever. Once
damned, it is the prisoner of Hell for evermore, never
again to enjoy the freedom of the upper airs. Such
a fate, visited upon a creature that could have been
good in a different future, is sweet to those fiends that
crave revenge. The most likely devils to have this
motive are the erinyes and noble devils, who have

bitter memories of the wrongs done to them by the
powers of good. Some succubae also feel this way,
though most of them are driven by a wish to defile or
by malice.
Roleplaying: An evil outsider motivated by revenge
will never pass up a chance to destroy or torment a
good outsider and will enthusiastically respond to
summonings that allow it to do so, so long as it has
a good chance of winning. Such creatures are only
interested in acquiring souls because it robs the upper
planes of them, not because it results in any personal
gain. They wish to inflict upon the good outsiders
some of the pain that they have suffered. All evil
outsiders despise good outsiders on principle but
evil outsiders with this motivation have truly insane
levels of hatred for them.
When an evil outsider is motivated by a desire for
revenge, it finds it difficult to resist the possibility of
causing harm to a good outsider and will prioritise
this above such less important goals as spreading
corruption and recruiting souls for Hell. Any Bluff
or Diplomacy skill check that incorporates the
possibility of doing harm to a good outsider must be
opposed by the devil or demon at a –4 circumstance
penalty.
Obligation: Characters under the patronage of
outsiders with this motivation are constantly urged
to seek out good outsiders, or at the very least their
allies and annihilate them. If the patron does not see
his charge doing enough to punish the denizens of
the heavens, the relationship will be withdrawn. The
charge must destroy or capture (for slow torturing
purposes) one creature of the Good subtype per
month in order to stay in favour.
Territory
These fiends think tactically and plan far ahead.
They want to create their own portion of Hell on
Earth in a literal sense, by taking over land where
they can entrench and pool their power. The most
common reason for this is strategic. The Prime
Material plane is an ideal staging point for Hell’s
forces. If they can amass themselves there in
sufficient numbers, they can call the versatile mortals
to their service and prepare for the ultimate onslaught
against Heaven. The first step in achieving this is
to build up fortifications on Earth. Other objectives
are disdained. There is no point in wasting time
amassing souls if you do not plan to spend eternity
making the best of it in Hell, nor is there any sense
in slaughtering individual good outsiders when the
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real battle needs to be waged against the whole lot of
them at once, against the very walls of Heaven.
Roleplaying: Territorially minded fiends are cool-
headed and ambitious. They spend a good deal
of time on Earth, knowing that the first step is to
conquer lands in the Prime Material and then use
the massed forces and resources gained thereby to
bring Heaven to its knees. Mortal agents are vitally
important to them, as they are native to the Prime
Material and can achieve more there than the fiends
can. When a territorially motivated fiend sets up in
business with a bonded relationship, it immediately
begins to entrench, giving orders and instructions
and helping its clients gain followers of their own.
Those who enter into bonded relationships with these
fiends can find themselves in charge of fortresses and
private armies within as short a time as six months.
In a populated area, this is achieved through stealth;
the fiend will use its spell-like abilities to help its
clients kill off all those who oppose their political
ends. In a more isolated area, the fiend works
openly when it can, cowing the local population
with brutal slayings and setting up the clients as
military dictators. These fiends take full advantage
of the power the pact gives them to remain on the
Prime Material plane indefinitely, using it to make
their own contacts with weapons dealers, mercenary
captains, assassins and rogues. In order to work out
the fiend’s material resources, calculate its treasure
by the usual means and assume that it is willing to
sell, trade or invest this in order to achieve its ends. If
it is a noble devil, it has access to as much Hell’s gold
as the total gold piece value of its treasure.
Obligations: The fiend sees its clients as military
allies rather than dupes. It gives them orders to
kill political opponents, hire mercenaries, acquire
property, build fortifications and expand its frontiers.
The exact nature of these obligations will depend on
the campaign but the fiend’s first objective is always
to establish its agents as a significant power in the
region, with itself as their ruler and commander.
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
Infernal
Secrets Of
Magic
S
pellcasters who have infernal patrons gain
special privileges, as these denizens of Hell are
able to teach them certain arcana hidden from
other mortals.
The Four Powers Of The Sphinx
A spellcaster who has a devil patron and who is also
a worshipper of one of the Four Great Princes of Hell
may cultivate the Powers of the Sphinx, detailed in
the chapter on the Four Great Princes. These confer
additional benefits that are not available to other
spellcasters. Which powers he cultivates will depend
upon the Prince that he follows.
Infernal Insights
While the bonded relationship lasts, the client gains
a +2 insight bonus to all Knowledge (arcana) and
Spellcraft skill checks, representative of the insights
into magic that his pact with Hell grants him. He
may also petition his patron to grant him certain
exceptionally devastating spells that may not be
learned or acquired any other way. Although these
spells are attributed to a given level, they are much
more potent than other spells of the same level. These
are called ‘infernal spells’ henceforth.
To gain an infernal spell, the client must have his
patron present while he prepares his spells. The
patron may be in its alternate form, so long as it can
still communicate with the client. Each infernal spell
learned takes up a spell slot of the appropriate level
as if it were a normal spell. Infernal magic does not
come without price and the patron will always drain
away a certain amount of life force in exchange for
this boon. Every time an infernal spell is prepared,
the client must sacrifice a number of XP equal to
twice the amount that would be needed to create
a spell scroll for a spell of the equivalent level, for
which see Core Rulebook II. Preparing a terrible
swarm spell, for example, would cost 90 XP for a
wizard (45x2), as it is a fifth level spell.
Exception: The spells lesser black mass and greater
black mass do not require an investment of XP to
prepare, as they are devotional ceremonies in honour
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of Hell as well as spells of benefit to the caster and
celebrants.
Infernal spells are granted in the same way, whether the
petitioner is using arcane or divine magic. The patron
is not itself a deity but is able to grant these spells as
the agent of an evil deity or power, as appropriate to
the campaign. In the case of divine magic, spells are
granted through (not from) the patron entity. Note
that the patron cannot use infernal spells. An infernal
spell requires a special combination of circumstances
in which a mortal spellcaster receives instruction from
a devil or demon; neither the spellcaster nor the devil
or demon can create an infernal spell independently.
Infernal spells cannot be written down in spell books,
nor scribed into scrolls. They are only ever learned
by means of spell preparation carried out under the
tutelage of the patron. A wizard does not even need
his spellbook to prepare an infernal spell, as the
patron dictates it to him.
Sorcerers and bards, of course, do not prepare spells.
For them, the relationship with the patron is different.
They may choose one infernal spell of each level that
they can currently cast. They then know this spell in
addition to the other spells that are available to them.
Whenever they cast an infernal spell, it costs them
experience points as above. The spell thus taxes their
life force at the moment of casting, rather than the
moment of preparation.
Certain infernal spells may only be granted by devils
and some by demons, as the two great factions of
the Infernum have their own magical mysteries that
they conceal and protect jealously. These spells are
designated in the list below.
I n f er n a l S p ell L is t
The following spells are only available to the fiends
and to evil characters who are in bonded relationships
with the powers of Hell and have a devil or demon
patron. Spells tagged as (devilish) are only available
to those who work with the lawful evil powers, while
spells tagged as (demonic) are only available to those
who work with the chaotic evil powers.
Abyssal Cauldron
Conjuration (Creation, Summoning) [Evil, Demonic]
Level: Sor/Wiz 5, Clr 4, Drd 4
Components: V,S,F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: One iron cauldron
Duration: 3 rounds + 1 round/level
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC

Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (see below) Effects Of The Greater Black Mass
Spell Resistance: No
Sacrificed
Creature’s Total
This spell must be cast on a metal cauldron at least one
HD or Level Effect of Mass
foot across. The caster throws assorted ingredients
into it (see below) following which it begins to boil 1–4 +10 temporary hit points, +2
and steam. A thick, visible cloud of greenish vapours resistance bonus to saving throws
comes roiling forth from the cauldron, expanding at 5–8 Fast healing 2, +10 temporary
the rate of 10 feet per round until it is 10 feet across hit points, +2 resistance bonus to
per level of the caster. These vapours are strongly saving throws
toxic and affect creatures within the area covered 9–12 Fast healing 3, DR 5/good, +1
as an inhalant poison, with initial damage of 1d6 enhancement bonus to Intelligence,
Constitution and secondary damage of death. Wisdom and Charisma, +10
temporary hit points, +2 resistance
The vapours emitted by the abyssal cauldron are bonus to saving throws
only the first phase of its action. Once activated, it 13–17 Fast healing 4, DR 10/good, +2
automatically summons one dretch or 2 quasits per enhancement bonus to Intelligence,
round (50% chance of either), which clamber up out Wisdom and Charisma, +10
of the cauldron and attack any creatures within the temporary hit points, +2 resistance
cloud. These creatures take full advantage of their bonus to saving throws
immunity to poison, attempting to entice or drag 18+ Fast healing 5, DR 15/good, +3
other creatures into the toxic fug. enhancement bonus to Intelligence,
Wisdom and Charisma, +10
Material Component: A tiger’s stomach, the blood of temporary hit points, +2 resistance
a baboon, a newt’s eye and a dog’s toe. bonus to saving throws

Focus: A metal cauldron as described above.
Black Mass, Greater
Conjuration [Evil]
Level: Clr 4
Components: V, S, M, F, DF
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Effect: One chalice of wine per level
Duration: Twelve hours
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (see below)
Spell Resistance: No
This ritual is the apex of infernal worship and is
reserved for the most honoured of celebrants. It
involves the sacrifice of a living creature, which
must be slain on completion of the spell. Undead,
constructs and oozes cannot be sacrificed as part of
a greater black mass. The customary way to do this
is to have the creature rendered helpless on an altar
or similar easily accessible surface, so that a coup de
grace can be administered to finish it off.
As with the lesser black mass, the spell conjures
infernal energy into a prepared substance, in this case
a chalice of wine, which must be drunk (a full-round
action) in order to benefit from the effects. Non-evil
characters who drink this prepared wine are affected
as in the case of a lesser black mass. The exact effects
of the greater black mass depend on the acceptability
of the sacrifice; consult the Modifiers to Sacrifice
Acceptibility table to determine this and the result.
Material Component: One chalice full of fine wine
per celebrant, worth no less than 5 gp.
Focus: As well as the cleric’s holy symbol, the
greater black mass must include an altar service
made from gold and gems, to the value of no less than
1,000 gold pieces. Moreover, this set of items must
either have been stolen from a temple to a good deity,
or been made from materials stolen from a temple
to a good deity. Each celebrant also requires a gold
chalice worth at least 20 gp. Finally, the sacrificial
blow that slays the creature must be dealt with an
unholy or evil-aligned weapon.
Black Mass, Lesser
Conjuration [Evil]
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, M, F, DF
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Effect: Three servings of bread and wine per level
Duration: Twelve hours
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (see below)
Spell Resistance: No

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Modifiers To Sacrifice Acceptability
Creature Characteristics
Creature is good-aligned
Creature is of the Good subtype
Creature is of above animal intelligence (Int 4–7)
Creature is of typical human intelligence (Int 8–15)
Creature is highly intelligent (Int 16–19)
Creature is of superhuman intelligence (Int 20+)
Creature has been prepared for sacrifice
Creature is especially suitable (for example, pure in body)
Creature is evil-aligned
Creature is of the Evil subtype
This simple ritual observance is performed in honour
of Hell and requires only one officer. It bestows
an infernal energy upon bread and wine, which the
creatures present then consume. All creatures doing
so gain +5 temporary hit points and a +1 resistance
bonus to saving throws while the effect lasts. If the
lesser black mass is interrupted for any reason during
its celebration, the effect is lost altogether. The spell
does not target creatures directly; to benefit from the
lesser black mass, a creature must consume the bread
and wine, which requires a full-round action. They
must be consumed within 10 minutes of the lesser
black mass or they lose their effectiveness. Non-
evil creatures that consume these substances gain no
benefit and must make a Fortitude saving throw or be
sickened for 1d4 rounds.
Material Component: One serving of bread and wine
per congregant.
Focus: Other than the cleric’s holy symbol, the
celebration of the lesser black mass also requires a
silver altar service worth at least 100 gold pieces and
a silver chalice for each celebrant, worth at least 10
gold pieces.
Brittle Bones
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature/level
Duration: One hour/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell leeches vitality and strength from the
target’s body, making its bones weak and prone to
shattering. Any creature that has an organic, internal
skeleton can be affected, including undead skeletons
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Modifier To Effective HD
+1
+3
+1
+2
+3
+4
+1/week of preparation (maximum 3)
+2
–4
–8
and similar creatures. The target immediately takes
one point of Constitution damage and thereafter
suffers double damage whenever it is struck by a
weapon or effect that does bludgeoning damage while
the spell lasts. The effects of this spell can be negated
with restoration or heal.
Cannonball
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 120 ft.
Area: Up to 120 ft. line (see below)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex avoids
Spell Resistance: No
This spell is beloved of the devils, as the mortals to
whom they teach it may employ it to deal devastating
damage to the lower ranks of demonkind, who are
vulnerable to cold iron as well as to good-aligned
weapons. It conjures into being a sphere of iron,
flying as swiftly as if it had been fired from a cannon.
Any creature in the sequential line of effect that fails
its Reflex saving throw is struck and suffers 1d6
points of bludgeoning damage per level of the caster,
to a maximum of 14d6.
Creatures that are struck also suffer a trip attack from
the cannonball, whose great force scatters targets like
ninepins. The cannonball has an effective Strength
score of 30 and cannot itself be tripped if the trip attack
fails. A creature that is tripped by the cannonball is
knocked prone, following which the cannonball then
affects the next creature in the line of effect. If any
creature in the line of effect successfully stands its
ground and avoids being tripped by the cannonball,
the effect ends with that creature and is not applied to
the next creature in the line.

Material Component: A cold iron sphere, one inch
across.
Chains Of Immobility
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3, Clr 3
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: 40-foot radius spread
Duration: 1 minute/level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex partial; see text
Spell Resistance: No
When this spell is cast, heavy iron chains burst from
the floor and entangle themselves around creatures’
feet, preventing movement and holding flying
creatures down close to the ground where flightless
foes can reach them. The chains have a vertical
reach of ten feet, so any creature flying that far off
the ground or lower is affected. Creatures that are
ensnared by the chains are in an entangled condition,
for which see Core Rulebook II.
A creature enwrapped by the chains can break free
and move half its normal speed by using a full-round
action to make a Strength check (DC 26) or an Escape
Artist check (DC 26). A creature that succeeds on
its Reflex saving throw is not entangled but may still
move at only half speed through the affected area.
Choking Hand
Evocation (Force) [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 5, Clr 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Effect: Invisible hand
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell creates a human-sized, invisible hand
composed of force energy tinged with evil. You can
direct it to grapple a humanoid opponent of large size
or smaller around the neck. Though it is invisible,
you know where it is at all times. Its attack bonus
to make contact is equal to your caster level plus
your Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma modifier,
according to whether you are a wizard, cleric or
sorcerer, +10 for the hand’s Strength ability score of
31, +2 for its tiny size, +2 for its invisibility. Its target
is also denied any Dexterity bonus to Armour Class,
unless it has some way of seeing the invisible hand.
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Its Grapple bonus is identical to this figure –4, which
incorporates both the hand’s tiny size and an inherent
bonus to Grapple checks. The choking hand only ever
grabs the throat of the target. Directing the choking
hand to a new target is a move action for you.
When the choking hand successfully grabs a target, it
may attempt a Grapple check to constrict immediately,
as if it had the Improved Grab special ability. A
successful Grapple check inflicts 1d3+10 points of
damage. While the target is being grappled, it cannot
speak or cast spells with verbal components.
The choking hand has the same number of hit points as
you do when you are undamaged and has an Armour
Class of 23 (+2 size, +11 natural). Being invisible, it
benefits from full concealment at all times. It takes
damage as a normal creature but most magical effects
that do not cause damage do not affect it. It has the
same vulnerabilities and immunities as an interposing
hand, for which see Core Rulebook I.
Material Component: A black leather gauntlet.
Corrupt The Blessed
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 9, Clr 9
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Effect: One good outsider
Duration: Special (see below)
Saving Throw: Will negates and special, see below
Spell Resistance: Yes
As evil spells go, this one is possibly the most
heinous of all. Its potency is such that it can
recreate the original fall of the celestial powers, in
which previously good and holy creatures were cast
from Heaven to become the first of the devils. It
transmutes a good outsider into its evil counterpart,
or attempts to.
This spell cannot be cast upon a creature unless
its true name is known. The names used by good
outsiders are almost never their actual names. An
outsider’s true name, whether its nature be that of an
angel or a demon, is a thing of power. Only a few
oracles, such as the Great Face that lies in the Chasm
of Ungaraun (see Infernal Environments) can divulge
the true name of an outsider.
A creature affected must succeed on a Will saving
throw or be transported to a sub-plane similar to
that called into being by a maze spell. While within
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this prison dimension, it is subjected to horrific
torment, bombardment of all its senses and visions
of decadence and debauch, all intended to break its
spirit and persuade it that goodness is futile, while
evil is the true path. The creature can do nothing but
suffer, bracing itself to resist this onslaught with all
the strength it has. No other creature can reach it or
communicate with it.
For every day that the creature spends in its private
prison, including the moment of arrival, it must make
a Will saving throw. Success means that it remains
sane and in control of itself, though it does not escape.
Failure means that its sense of self begins to slip away
and it starts to heed the call of evil. Once the captive
creature has failed its saving throw a number of times
equal to its total HD, its alignment is changed from
good to evil and it is released back to the point where
the spell was first cast.
Examination of the image of the angel used as
a material component can reveal the degree of
corruption that has set in so far. The more saving
throws the imprisoned creature has failed at, the more
tarnished and blackened the image becomes until it is
eventually dissolved in stinking filth as the outsider
succumbs wholly to evil.
Although the victim of this spell cannot do anything
to escape, other creatures can release it. A freedom
spell cast at the point where the victim creature was
cast into the prison dimension releases it, as does
destruction of the image.
Material Component: The image of an angel
fashioned in pure gold, worth at least 2,000 gold
pieces.
Crucify
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 3, Drd 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One humanoid creature of large size or
smaller
Duration: 2 rounds/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell functions identically to rack (see below)
apart from two key differences. The target is held
in a cruciform posture, with arms outstretched and
lifted into the air to a maximum height of 30 feet
above the ground, rising at a rate of 10 feet per
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round. The Constitution and Dexterity damage is
inflicted automatically, without the caster having
to concentrate to achieve this. If the target creature
succeeds on its saving throw on a round after the first,
it falls from its position (unless it can fly) and suffers
falling damage. The same happens when the spell
expires naturally.
Defy Symbol
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Clr 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One creature; see below
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell may only be cast upon a creature that
is wearing, carrying or brandishing a visible holy
symbol of a non-evil deity, including the mistletoe
used by druids. The spell targets the symbol, causing
it to combust in the case of a wooden symbol or melt
in the case of a metal one. The holy symbol makes
its saving throw as if it were the wielder. Loss of a
holy symbol leaves a character unable to cast divine
spells that require a divine focus, or to turn or rebuke
undead.
Detestable Putrescence
Necromancy [Evil, Demonic]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Ray
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates, see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell produces a hissing black ray that causes
the flesh of any creature struck to turn liquid and melt
away from its bones. It is a disease effect, so creatures
that are immune to disease cannot be affected by it
and saving throw bonuses against disease also apply
to this spell. The target first begins to shed flakes of
skin, then lumps of living tissue and finally sloughs
great slimy chunks of itself. This spell is not effective
upon plants, constructs, undead, non-organic life
forms or creatures that are immune to critical hits.
A form of vastly accelerated disease afflicts a creature
that is struck by detestable putrescence. If it fails the

initial saving throw, it suffers damage of one point
per round to each of its physical characteristics
(Strength, Dexterity and Constitution). Instead of
making a further saving throw each day, as if it were
attempting to recover from disease the creature must
make saving throws to recover from the effect each
round. It must make two successful saving throws in
a row for the effect to cease. The Heal skill cannot be
used to aid characters afflicted by this spell. Remove
disease or heal stop the effect.
Material Component: An egg that has been allowed
to go rotten, crushed in the course of casting.
Doom Of The Void
Evocation (Force) [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: 1-ft.-diameter/level sphere, centred around a
creature
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Reflex negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell encases a target in a sphere of force,
identical to that produced by a resilient sphere spell.
Unlike that spell, the sphere produced by this spell
contains only vacuum and does not allow air to pass
through it. A creature that ordinarily depends on
breathing to stay alive immediately starts to suffocate,
as per the drowning rules in Core Rulebook II. The
vacuum also causes damage to all creatures other
than constructs, inflicting 4d8 points of damage per
round, with a Fortitude saving throw allowed to take
half damage. Creatures trapped in a vacuum cannot
speak, sing or produce any sound at all.
Material Component: A sphere of crystal.
Evisceration Pillar
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Clr, 5, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: One pillar/4 levels, 5 ft. across and 10 ft.
high, with a 15 ft. reach
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell calls into being one or more black stone
pillars that rise from the floor, spinning in place. The
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surfaces of these pillars are covered with grimacing
faces, sharp blades, curved hooks and fragments
of cadavers that have been ripped asunder. These
pillars extrude long, whipping chains with barbs
and slashing blades on the ends. Each pillar is a
construct, incapable of movement and able to make
melee attacks on any target within 15 feet with its
extensible chains. The caster may produce one such
pillar for every 4 levels he has in his spellcasting
class. The pillar is able to detect creatures in its
vicinity with true seeing, though the caster does not
benefit from this effect.
A pillar may make up to four chain attacks per round,
with a melee attack bonus of +15 and damage of
2d6+5. It has an AC of 20 (+11 natural, –1 size) and
a hardness of 6. If it suffers more than 80 points of
damage, it is destroyed. It may not move from its
position and can only spin on the spot. Spellcasters
often use this spell to block a retreat, or cast it into
an enclosed region from which its intended victims
cannot escape. At the conclusion of the spell, the
pillar sinks back into the floor.
Material Component: A specially carved miniature
pillar of jet, worth at least 100 gp.
Eyeburst
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Brd 3, Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell blinds the target in an especially horrible
way. The target’s eyeballs explode, causing agonising
pain and permanent disfiguring injury. As well as the
effects of blindness, the target takes 2d6 points of
damage. The cure blindness/deafness spell cannot
restore eyes that have been destroyed by this spell.
Only a regenerate spell, or more potent magic such as
wish or miracle, can help. Creatures without eyes are
not affected by this spell.
Flay
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Brd 3, Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
Target: One living creature
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This horrific spell tears the skin from the target,
ripping it away as if by invisible knives. The exact
effects vary depending on the type of body the
creature has. If the creature has a natural armour
score resulting from a thick hide, scales, tough skin
or a similar form of protection, part or all of this is
flayed away. The spell causes the loss of 1d6 points
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of natural armour bonus from such creatures and
inflicts 1d4 points of damage per size category of the
creature; medium-size creatures thus take 4d4 points
of damage, large creatures 5d4 and huge creatures
6d4. This lost natural armour can be restored with
a heal or regenerate spell; otherwise, it heals back
at the rate of one point of bonus per week. The
Games Master may rule that a longer healing period
is necessary for creatures of huge size or larger, as
they have more new skin to grow. Creatures that have
an external carapace, such as giant beetles, or that
depend upon a tough shell for their protection, such
as turtles, are not affected by this spell.
Against creatures that have no natural armour, or who
have had their natural armour flayed away, the spell
simply rips off the top layer of skin, causing extreme
pain and inflicting grisly wounds. The creature suffers
1d6 points of damage per size category (see above)
and is in an agonized condition until it receives any
form of healing, including a successful Heal check
(DC 20). This treatment removes the agony but does
not restore the lost skin. An agonised creature suffers
a –4 penalty on attack rolls, skill checks, and ability
checks. The creature loses all the skin from its body,
which will usually impede social interaction, as the
creature looks freakish; the Games Master should
rule accordingly, with a –4 circumstance penalty to
Charisma-based skill checks when interacting with
civilised races being appropriate. It is impossible to
flay a creature again once it has lost its skin in this
way. The skin counts as an organ for game purposes
and thus requires a regenerate spell to restore.
Footprints Of Blood
Transmutation [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Target: One creature
Duration: 1 hour/level (target), 1 day/level (prints)
(D)
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell is a firm favourite among clerics of evil
deities, who use it to track those who attempt to rob
their temples. Organisations of rogues warn against
thieving from such places, as the priests who serve
Hell have their own means of finding out who the
guilty are and punishing them. A creature affected
by this spell leaves bright footprints behind him
wherever he goes, which seem to have been made
from fresh blood. Even if he is wearing many layers

of footwear, the footprints are still left. Invisible
creatures still leave visible footprints. Flying
creatures leave a spattered trail of blood behind them,
directly under their flight-path. The footprints last
for one day per level of the caster, who may erase
them at will. Tracking them is very easy, as they are
bright scarlet and glistening; they do not even require
a Survival skill check to follow, unless the Games
Master rules that poor lighting or weather conditions
require such a check.
No amount of cleaning, cutting or incineration can
erase the footprints. If the surface on which they lie
is destroyed, they appear on the surface immediately
below; if it is covered up, they appear on the surface
immediately above. Dispel magic can erase all
footprints within its area of effect and an antimagic
field destroys them.
Godsbane
Abjuration [Evil]
Level: Drd 8, Clr 7
Components: V, S, F, DF, XP
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Touch
Area: 120 ft. radius, centred on deity’s desecrated
image
Duration: 1 month/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
When a cleric or druid wishes to ensure that the
worshippers of a rival deity are put at extreme
disadvantage, so that followers of that deity cannot
easily work magic in a given area, he may employ
a godsbane spell to achieve this end. Godsbane
involves the lengthy and thorough desecration of an
image of the deity in question. The deity’s image
must have previously been enshrined in a hallowed or
consecrated region by its worshippers; a shop-bought
or custom crafted image will not work for these
purposes. Most of the spell’s casting time involves
smearing the image with stinking substances such as
asafoetida and sulphur, hammering iron nails into it,
ritually striking it with a ceremonial weapon, spitting
upon it and other similar acts of defiance.
Within the region of operation, all divine spells cast
by worshippers of the deity whose image has been
desecrated by the godsbane spell are subject to an
automatic dispel magic effect at your caster level.
This effect only applies to spells that were granted
by the deity in question. If a spell scroll containing
a divine spell is used, then the godsbane effect
does not apply unless a worshipper of the defiled
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deity prepared the scroll. More than one godsbane
effect can be operative in the same area and whole
pantheons can sometimes be found symbolically
desecrated in temples of evil.
Focus: The image of the deity as described above.
This must be of at least small size or larger.
XP: Desecrating a deity’s image to produce a
godsbane effect requires the investment of 800
experience points.
Hail Of Nails
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Drd 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: Cylinder (20-ft. radius, 40 ft. high)
Duration: 1 full round
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
A shower of nine-inch cold iron nails comes hurtling
from the sky for 1 full round, dealing 5d6 points of
piercing damage to every creature in the area. A –4
penalty applies to each Listen check made within the
hail of nails effect and all land movement within its
area is at half speed. At the end of the duration, the
hail of nails disappears, leaving no after effects other
than the damage dealt.
Hellish Brand
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 7
Components: V, S, F/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: One creature/4 levels
Duration: Permanent
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell burns a mark, symbolic of Hell’s dominion,
into the victim’s flesh with a touch attack. They then
become less resistant to evil spells, suffering a –2
resistance penalty to saving throws against any spell
with the evil descriptor. Any attempt made by an evil-
aligned creature to scry a creature that bears a hellish
brand is made with a –4 resistance penalty to the
target’s Will saving throw, as the hellish brand makes
it much easier to focus on the creature. Any evil spell
that ordinarily requires a touch attack to deliver can
now be delivered against that target with a ranged
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
touch attack instead. Removing the brand requires
a wish or miracle spell. Although it is described as a
brand, it is not a fire effect and cannot be resisted as if
it were such. The hellish brand causes no damage to
the target’s body. It merely establishes a strong link
with the evil energies of the universe. A creature may
only ever bear one hellish brand.
There is one minor advantage to this spell. If a
creature with a hellish brand attempts to scry the
creature that made it, the link works both ways
and the target creature also receives a –4 resistance
penalty to its saving throw.
Arcane Focus: A small branding iron, with the head
fashioned into the appropriate symbol.
Icy Prison
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Drd 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Effect: Ray
Duration: 2 rounds/level; see text
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell, whose origin is attributed to the ice devils,
produces an intense blue-white ray that freezes the
target creature in a solid block of magical ice. The
ice block is the same height, length and breadth as the
creature, plus three feet in each direction. If there is
insufficient room for the ice block to form fully, then
it occupies such space as is available. The creature
is trapped in position and cannot move, speak or take
any action at all that requires gestures. If the creature
needs to breathe, it finds that it cannot; refer to the
drowning rules in Core Rulebook II. While encased,
it suffers 1d6 points of cold damage +1 point per
caster level each round.
A trapped creature may attempt to smash its way out
through sheer strength alone. A successful Strength
check (DC 15 + your caster level) allows it to break
out of the ice from within. Other creatures may
attempt to smash through the ice block and free the
trapped creature. The encasing ice has a total of 108
hit points. Fire spells such as fireball can be used to
melt the ice but the entrapped creature suffers any
damage that the ice does not absorb. For example,
if there were 30 points of ice wall left and a fireball
inflicted 40 points of fire damage on the wall, the
trapped creature behind would suffer 10 points of
damage, with a Reflex saving throw allowed to take
half damage. A creature encased in ice suffers a –6
penalty to any such Reflex saving throw.
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Arcane Material Component: An ounce of water
from the ice level of Hell.
Infernal Embassy
Abjuration [Evil]
Level: Clr 8, Sor/Wiz 8
Components: V, S, M/DF, F, XP
Casting Time: 1 full round
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area: 40-ft. radius emanation centred on a point in
space
Duration: One day/level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
The infernal embassy spell infuses a region with the
planar ambience of Hell, establishing what is in effect
a bubble of Infernum on the Prime Material plane or
another. Any summoned creature that is native to
the Infernum (and would ordinarily have to return
there once the spell that summoned it had expired)
may remain within the infernal embassy until that
spell expires. Once a creature leaves the infernal
embassy, it remains summoned for the normal
number of rounds before returning to its native plane.
A creature may move in and out of the embassy while
it is active; time spent within the embassy does not
count towards the total time elapsed since the creature
was summoned.
High-level spellcasters working under the aegis of
Hell use this spell to assemble great assemblies of
fiends, who serve either as guards or as strike troops.
It is a typical tactic to establish an embassy outside
a besieged fortress, summon a legion of fiends into
it, wait and recover spells, summon more fiends and
so on, until the whole assembled group leaves the
embassy and wreaks havoc.
An infernal embassy may be made permanent by
means of the permanency spell. The caster must be
of at least 17th level and must expend 4,000 XP.
Arcane Material Component: A handful of soil
brought from Hell, scattered around the spell’s area.
Focus: The caster must drive an ornamental golden
hellfork, worth 2,000 gold pieces, into the ground
repeatedly during the casting of this spell.
Infernal Aspect
Abjuration [Evil]
Level: Clr 3, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Target: Caster

Duration: 1 minute/level (D) and see text
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
A spell that requires the patron and the client to be on
extremely good terms, infernal aspect allows you to
benefit from certain of your patron’s special qualities.
For the duration of the spell, you acquire the same
damage reduction, energy resistance and immunities
as your patron. You do not gain any spell resistance,
nor do you gain any other special qualities possessed
by your patron. For example, if you were a chaotic
evil sorcerer with a succubus as your patron, casting
this spell would grant you damage reduction 10/cold
iron or good, immunity to electricity and poison and
resistance to acid 10, cold 10 and fire 10. While the
spell is in effect, your patron does not benefit from
these qualities and is thus left vulnerable. You must
be within Long range (400 ft. + 40 ft./level) of your
patron for this spell to work. Your patron may cancel
the spell and reclaim its damage reduction and energy
resistance at any time, as a free action. If you move
out of range of your patron while the spell is in effect,
it is cancelled and your patron reclaims its qualities.
Material Component: A flask of your patron’s blood,
shed no more than 24 hours previously, which costs it
1d4 hit points to provide.
Intestinal Strangler
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 6, Sor/Wiz 6
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One living creature
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
Many evil wizards and sorcerers in the service of Hell
use this gruesome spell to carry out the executions
of those who stand against them. Once the public
have seen a person killed by means of this spell, they
will think twice about raising arms against him. Put
succinctly, the spell causes a creature’s intestines to
burst from his abdomen and attempt to strangle him.
Naturally, it can only be cast upon creatures that have
living internal viscera; if a creature cannot be affected
by critical hits, intestinal strangler may not affect it.
Undead, constructs and oozes this cannot be affected
by means of this spell.
On the first round on which the spell is cast, the
creature suffers 6d6 points of damage and 1d3 points
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INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
of Constitution damage as its belly erupts. On each
round thereafter, the target creature’s animated
viscera attack him, doing so as if they were one
single opponent. Their size for grappling purposes
is considered to be one lower than the creature itself
but they use the same Strength and melee attack
bonuses.
Any damage inflicted upon the animated entrails,
whether by the target creature or by another, inflicts
damage upon the creature itself. In addition, the
animated entrails are granted the Improved Grab and
Constrict special abilities, allowing them to attempt
a grapple check to constrict immediately after a
successful grab. When the viscera constrict, they
inflict damage as for a creature of their size category
plus one and a half times the target creature’s Strength
bonus.
Arcane Material Component: A sharpened butcher’s
hook made from binding metal.
Lacerating Blast
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Sor/Wiz 5
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: 60 ft.
Area: Cone-shaped burst
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: No
This spell looses a violent blast containing thousands
of razor-sharp hellglass fragments, slashing and
wounding all targets in a cone-shaped burst. Its
immediate effect is to inflict 1d6 slashing damage per
level of the caster, to a maximum of 15d6. A Reflex
saving throw is allowed for half damage.
If an affected creature fails its saving throw, then
any damage die that comes up as a ‘6’ has also left a
hellglass splinter in the victim’s body. These splinters
slowly work their way under the skin, weakening the
injured creature. One hour after the lacerating blast
is loosed, any creature that still has hellglass splinters
lodged in its body takes one point of Strength damage
and one point of Dexterity damage per splinter. This
damage can be healed by means of such spells as heal
but unless the splinters are removed it will recur one
hour after the healing is applied.
Removing a hellglass splinter is a delicate task that
requires a Heal check (DC 25). This DC is raised by
1 for every day that the splinter remains in the body,
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
to a maximum DC of 35. The only magic that can
remove the embedded splinters is wish or miracle.
Laughter Of Insanity
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Evil, Mind-Affecting,
Sonic]
Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Area: 60 ft. spread centred on you
Duration: 10 rounds + 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
You utter a demonic cackle that unravels the nerves
of those who hear it. Affected creatures suffer
from confusion as if you had cast the spell at your
caster level. While they do so, they laugh manically,
spreading the laughter of insanity effect. When a
creature affected by laughter of insanity reaches its
turn to act in the round, it is first entitled to a saving
throw to recover from the effect. If it does not
recover, it continues to suffer from confusion. If it
receives any other result than ‘act normally’, it also
laughs manically and in doing so affects all creatures
within a 30-foot radius with the spell effect. These
creatures must then make saving throws or suffer
from laughter of insanity themselves and so forth.
Affected creatures continue to suffer from confusion
until they successfully make a saving throw or until
the spell’s original duration expires, whichever is
sooner. A creature with an Intelligence score of 2 or
lower is not affected.
Living Gate
Conjuration (Summoning) [Evil]
Level: Varies, see text
Components: V, S, F/DF
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Ray, one summoned creature
Duration: Ray instantaneous, summoning 1 round/
level (D)
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell replicates the summon monster spells up to
Level 5 and has a spell level of the summon monster
spell that it duplicates plus 4. So, a living gate spell
that duplicated summon monster V would be a 9th
level spell. You must successfully strike the target
creature with the spell’s ray in order to open the living
gate. If you are successful and the target creature
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fails its Fortitude saving throw, the summoned
creature explodes from the target’s body, killing
him instantly. If the target creature makes its saving
throw, it takes 3d6 points of damage plus 1 point per
caster level instead. If this is not enough to kill it,
then the summoning does not occur but if the damage
kills the creature anyway, then the summoning effect
occurs as above.
Arcane Material Component: A rod carved from
sinew wood and tipped with a black onyx, worth 500
gp.
Noxious Emissions
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil, Demonic]
Level: Clr 2, Drd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Area: Slow spread 10 ft./round (maximum 100 ft.)
Duration: 10 rounds + 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates and see text
Spell Resistance: No
This spell causes invisible gas to spread in a cloud
from the designated point, spreading out at the rate
of 10 feet per round and expanding no further than
100 feet. The gas has a strong, pungent smell. Any
creature that inhales this gas must make a Fortitude
saving throw or be sickened for 1d4 rounds but
otherwise suffers no worse effect than this. If the gas
comes into contact with a naked flame, it explodes
for 1d6 fire damage per round it has accumulated,
inflicting this damage upon all creatures in the area;
the maximum damage is 10d6 and a Reflex saving
throw is allowed for half damage. A gust of wind
spell or a strong breeze dispels the gas. The gas is
naturally transparent and cannot be seen even with a
see invisibility spell or similar magic.
Arcane Material Component: A bottle of swamp
water.
Rack
Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 2, Drd 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target: One humanoid creature
Duration: 1 round/level (D) plus concentration; see
text
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC

This spell holds the target creature immobile as if by

a hold person spell and in agony, while unseen forces
stretch its muscles and crack its bones as if it were
undergoing torture on a rack. The creature is aware
and can breathe normally but cannot take any actions,
including speech. While the caster concentrates on
the subject, he can inflict damage directly to its joints,
tendons and skeleton, causing 1 point of Constitution
damage and 1 point of Dexterity damage per round.
If the caster ceases concentration, the subject is still
held immobile until the spell ends but no longer takes
ability score damage. The subject may attempt a new
saving throw each round on its turn to end the effect.

Material Component: A small, carved wooden

replica of a torturer’s rack.

Putrid Projectile
Evocation (Acid) [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: 20-ft.-radius spread
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Reflex half
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell rather resembles the casting of a fireball

but the explosion is of sickly green sludge instead
of the usual roaring conflagration and a stench of
rot fills the air when the putrid projectile detonates.
The stench is reminiscent of ignited marsh gas or the
burning vapours of decomposing bodies. A putrid
projectile inflicts 1d4 acid damage per level of the
caster (to a maximum of 10d4) with a Reflex saving
throw allowed for half damage. In the aftermath of
the projectile’s explosion, the floor within the area of
effect is coated with green slime, for which see Core
Rulebook II.
Material Component: A flask of creeping bile.
Rending Chains
Transmutation [Evil, Devilish]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Effect: One handheld bundle of chains
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You fling a gnarled bundle of fine chains at the target,
which explodes into a tangle of links festooned with
hooks, wrapping lengths of chain around the target’s
body and rending its flesh. The chains attempt to hold
the target immobile or cause damage to him according
to your wish. You must succeed at a ranged touch
attack with the bundle in order for the spell to take
effect. If the touch attack succeeds, the chains have
grabbed the target and may immediately grapple.
The animated chains are treated as a Medium
construct with 10 hit dice, an effective Strength of
30, a Grapple modifier of +24 (including a +4 racial
bonus) and an Armour Class of 22 (+12 natural). The
chains cannot move under their own speed; if the
target wrests them off, they lie where they fall and
may only attack targets that move into their space, as
they have an effective reach of 0 feet. You may pick
them up and throw them again while the spell lasts.

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Casting Time: 1 standard action

Scales Of The Hellworm Target: Caster
Evocation (Force) [Evil]
Duration: 1 round/level
Level: Sor/Wiz 8
Saving Throw: See text
Components: V, S, F
Spell Resistance: No
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
You gain the legendary power of the succubus,
Target: Creature touched
namely the ability to drain a victim’s life force with
Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
a kiss. You can simply plant a kiss on a willing (if
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)
unsuspecting) target. If the target is not willing to
Spell Resistance: No
be kissed, then you must start a grapple in order to
inflict it. The kiss bestows one negative level on the
This spell creates shaped plates of force around
victim. The kiss also has the effect of a suggestion
your body, forming black armour that glows with
spell, asking the victim to accept another kiss. The
a faint violet luminescence. This grants you a +8
victim must succeed at a Will saving throw to negate
armour bonus to your armour class. Unlike mundane
the effect of the suggestion. While this spell is in
armour, scales of the hellworm entails no armour
effect, you become completely immune to the kisses
check penalty, arcane spell failure chance, or speed
of succubae.
reduction. Since the armour is made of force energy,
incorporeal creatures cannot bypass it the way they
Arcane Material Component: A lock of the hair of a
do normal armour.
living succubus.
The plates of force are so richly suffused with evil
that any good-aligned weapon that successfully Surface Walk
strikes you (including natural weapons) automatically Transmutation [Evil]
suffers 3d6 points of damage. This damage is applied Level: Clr 2, Sor/Wiz 2
to the weapon if one is used, or to the attacking Components: V, S, M/DF
creature if a natural weapon is used. Casting Time: 1 standard action
Target: Caster
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Scarlet Lightning Saving Throw: None
Evocation [Electricity, Evil]
Spell Resistance: No
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
You gain the ability that devils of folklore are said to
Casting Time: 1 standard action
possess, by which they cross over the land and any
Range: 120 ft.
intervening buildings in a straight line, passing from
Area: 120-ft. line
one infernal gateway to another. The tracks of hoofed
Duration: Instantaneous
beings have sometimes been found the morning after
Saving Throw: Reflex half
heavy snowfall, tracing up the sides of walls, over
Spell Resistance: Yes
roofs and down the other side, prompting rumours
of devilish visitations. You may move at your full
You loose a sizzling bolt of electrical energy of a
speed up or across any surface without having to
bright ruby-red colour, like that which forks down
make Climb skill checks. You may, for example, run
from the skies of Hell. This functions as a lightning
up a vertical wall, across the ceiling and down the
bolt spell, with the difference that the upper limit on
other side.
the spell’s damage is 18d6 and creatures in the first
40 feet of the area of effect must also succeed at a
Arcane Material Component: An iron horseshoe.
Fortitude saving throw or be stunned. If a creature
takes no damage from the scarlet lighting, it also
ignores the stunning effect. Terrible Swarm
Conjuration (Summoning) [Evil]
Level: Drd 7, Sor/Wiz 7
Succubus Kiss Components: V, S, M/DF
Transmutation [Evil, Demonic]
Casting Time: 1 round
Level: Clr 4, Sor/Wiz 4
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Components: V, S, M/DF
Effect: One swarm of hellwasps

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Duration: Concentration + 2 rounds
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
You summon a swarm of hellwasps, which you can
direct as you would any other summoned creature,
so long as you can communicate with it; otherwise,
it acts according to its lawful evil alignment and its
hive mind Intelligence of 6. You may summon the
swarm so that it shares the area of other creatures.
If no living creatures are within its area, the swarm
attacks or pursues the nearest creature as best it can. If
the hellwasps take possession of a dead body or living
creature, you may control it as you control them.
Arcane Material Component: A ruby worth no less
than 500 gold pieces, carved into the shape of a single
hellwasp.
Tongue Lash
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Brd 1, Sor/Wiz 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touched
Targets: Creature touched
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (harmless)
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
The transformative magic of this spell turns the
tongue of the creature touched into a powerful natural
weapon, extensible and venomous. The tongue attack
is made at your normal melee attack bonus and has a
reach of 10 feet. If you have the Weapon Finesse feat,
you may apply your Dexterity modifier to the attack
roll. It strikes for 1d4 damage plus your Strength
modifier. Any creature that takes damage must
make a Fortitude saving throw against poison (DC
10 plus half your caster level plus your Intelligence
or Charisma modifier, according to whether you are a
bard, sorcerer or wizard) or suffer the venom effect,
which inflicts primary damage of 1d6 Charisma and
secondary damage of 2d4 Charisma.
Unholy Warding I
Evocation [Evil]
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area: 30-ft.-radius emanation
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: No
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When this spell is cast, a zone of profane energies
is established which directly opposes good energies
brought into it. At this level, the effects are mild.
Flasks of holy water brought into the zone become
superheated and explode one round after they are
taken into the area of effect. Attended flasks may
use the bearer’s saving throw bonus to save against
the effect but a new saving throw must be made for
each round that the flasks spend inside the affected
zone. They become hot to the touch immediately. A
creature carrying flasks of holy water who brought
them into the region on its turn has until the end of
its turn to leave the area or discard them; the Games
Master may rule that flasks carried in backpacks
cannot be discarded in time. Each flask explodes for
1d4 slashing damage and 1d4 fire damage.
Material Component: Powdered silver to the value of
50 gp, which is sprinkled in the area of effect.
Unholy Warding II
Evocation [Evil]
Level: Clr 4
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Area: 30-ft.-radius emanation
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: No
This spell replicates the effects of unholy warding I.
As well as causing flasks of holy water to explode,
any holy or good-aligned metal items in the area of
effect become subject to a heat metal effect, which
lasts as long as the spell does. Unlike the usual heat
metal effect, items only begin to cool down after they
are removed from the area. If they reach searing
temperature and are not removed from the area of
effect, they remain at searing heat. As an item must
be magical in order to have an alignment, it is entitled
to a Will saving throw to avoid the effect but this
saving throw must be made afresh for every round
that the item remains in the area.
Material Component: Powdered silver to the value of
200 gp, which is sprinkled in the area of effect.
Unholy Warding III
Evocation [Evil]
Level: Clr 8
Components: V, S, M, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
 INFERNAL SECRETS OF MAGIC
Area: 30-ft.-radius emanation
Duration: 10 minutes/level
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: No
This spell replicates the effects of unholy warding II.
In addition, the sheer intensity of the profane energies
begins to blacken and corrode holy or good-aligned
items brought into the area of effect. If such an item
fails its saving throw, it suffers 2d6 acid damage on
every round that it spends in the affected area. Even
an item that successfully saves against this effect
must make a fresh saving throw on the next round if it
is still within the affected area.
Material Component: Powdered fire opal and silver,
to the value of 800 gp.
Vomit Frogs
Transmutation [Evil]
Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets: One creature/level, no two of which can be
more than 30 ft. apart
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
A spell that is said to have been a favourite of
mediaeval witches, vomit frogs causes the target
creatures to do exactly that, retching and heaving
up live frogs. These frogs are harmless and are the
common, tiny variety. As summoned creatures,
they last as long as the spell does. While the spell
lasts, the target is sickened. He has a 50% chance
of retching up a frog on every round on which the
spell is in effect. If he is not throwing up a frog, he
can act normally, though he still suffers the penalties
for being sickened. If he is regurgitating a frog on
a given round, he is incapable of taking any other
action save moving a five-foot step, though he is not
helpless and may defend himself. A character who is
vomiting a frog cannot speak.
Material Component: A small handful of pills, made
from dried frog.
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Come infernal, terrestrial, and heavenly Goddess
of the broad roadways, of the crossroad, thou who
goest to and fro at night, torch in hand, enemy of
the day. Friend and lover of darkness, thou who
doest rejoice when the bitches are howling and
warm blood is spilled, thou who art walking amid
the phantom and the in place of the tombs, thou
whose thirst is blood, thou who doest strike chill
and fear in mortal hearts, Gorgo, Mormo, Moon
of a thousand forms, cast a propitious eye on our
sacrifice!
- Invocation to a Queen of Hell
Wingbind
Conjuration (Creation) [Evil]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Effect: Ray
Duration: 1 round/level
Saving Throw: Will negates, see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
This spell is effective only against creatures that use
wings to fly. Spellcasters working alongside devils
and demons use it to bring down winged opponents,
such as archons. When you cast the spell, a steely
grey ray lances from your finger towards the target.
If the ray successfully hits, the target must succeed at
a Will saving throw or have its wings wrapped around
with strong chains. While these binding chains are
in position, the creature cannot fly. If it was already
airborne, it plummets. On its turn, the creature can
take a full-round action and attempt to break the
chains with a successful Strength ability score check
(DC 10 plus your caster level plus your Intelligence
or Charisma ability score modifier, according to
whether you are a wizard or a sorcerer) or an Escape
Artist check against the same DC.

The Harvest Of
Souls
T
he souls of the damned are the most commonly
encountered creatures in Hell. They are the
inmates, the population and the currency.
T he In des t ru c t i bi l i t y O f
Soul s
Unlike outsiders, which have a body and soul as a
single unit, and ordinary mortals, who have a soul
resident within a body, the damned are nothing but a
soul. Outsiders can be killed and may not be raised
or resurrected afterwards; mortals can be killed and
brought back from the dead by means of raising or
resurrection; souls cannot be destroyed at all, except
by extremely rare processes such as devouring by
powerful undead.
Souls suffer damage in the same way as other
creatures, even though they are only tangible to fiends
and to Infernal materials. They recover hit points
over time, benefiting from the same natural healing
rate that they would enjoy in life.
Damned souls can take much more physical
punishment than incarnate creatures. You can tear
a soul’s arm off, rip out its entrails and scorch it in a
furnace and it will still retain consciousness – though
it will wish that it did not. Most of the souls in Hell
are in a terribly disfigured state, their flesh hanging
off them in strips so that they resemble the walking
dead. Souls in torture palaces (see below) are all too
often left stretched out like elastic between sets of
hooks or crushed to an inch-thick pancake of flesh
under iron plates. Left alone, they eventually heal
back to their former state. A soul with 0 or less hit
points is disabled but is not dying; souls cannot die.
Even the immensely elastic, resilient body of a
damned soul has its limits. When a damned soul is
reduced to –50 or fewer hit points, it is dispersed.
This means that its being has finally lost all of the
cohesion that held it together; it assumes vaporous
form automatically. A soul in vaporous form is a
mere smudge that can take no actions and cannot be
affected by anything. Any gear that it was carrying
is vaporised along with it, including its manacle of
binding metal if it had one. All it can do is reform.
Whether the soul was battered to destruction by losing
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hit points or was disintegrated is of no account; the
same result occurs. A dispersed soul reforms once
again after 3d6 days plus one day for every level or hit
die that it possessed. When the soul has reformed, it
appears on the point at which it was destroyed. If this
would cause the soul to be destroyed over again (such
as reappearing directly over the Sea of Fire) then it
reappears at the closest stable location.
A Devil Put Aside For Me
Under certain circumstances, Hell will send agents
to fetch the soul of a recently deceased person
to the Infernum. The different noble houses lay
claim to the souls of especially corrupt individuals,
based on the kind of sins they committed in life.
Gluttons are claimed by House Oblurott, misers
by House Carthenay, the violent and murderous by
House Sturrach and so on. The death of the corrupt
individual acts as a summoning effect, bringing 1d4
devils to the Astral Plane to collect the damned
person’s soul. If the corrupt individual is moribund,
such as from old age or sickness, the devils will arrive
an hour before the estimated time of death, to make
sure that they collect the soul.
When the person dies, their soul enters the Astral
Plane first, after which the ‘gravity’ of its alignment
or its deity pulls it to one of the Outer Planes. This
gravitation ceases as soon as the creature reaches
the outer plane appropriate to its alignment or the
presence of its deity. If a corrupt individual dies,
their soul gravitates to the Infernum whether the
devils of a noble house claim it or not. The devils
only dispatch a collection team to save themselves the
trouble of finding the damned soul when it falls into
the Infernum and to prevent any other faction, such as
a band of roving demons, from claiming it.
Creatures on the Astral Plane can attempt to interfere
and prevent the emissary devils from fetching the
deceased person’s soul away. All that a devil needs
to do to bring a soul back to the Infernum is to
successfully grapple the soul and then activate its
power as a summoned creature to return to its native
plane.
Ordinary Death: When an evil character dies but is
not sufficiently corrupt to earn the special attention of
Hell (Corruption level less than 5) his soul is likely
to be gathered up by one of the groups of demons
or devils that roam the flaming sea and survey the
high peaks. You can either play out the travels of
the character after death, finding out if he is free to
return that way, or simply apply the following rule:
a character’s soul has a 10% cumulative chance per
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
day after death of being gathered up by one of the
demonic or devilish factions.
If you do decide to play out the character’s adventures
as a disembodied soul, then the Games Master can
either decide where the character’s soul lands, or roll
on the table below:
Arrival Point In Hell For Newly Dead Souls
2d6
Result Arrival Point
The soul lands in the Wood of Suicides,
2 where the soul hunts take place
The soul crashes into one of the demon
3–4 territories
The soul lands amid the Cinderstone
5–6 Heights
7 The soul falls into the Sea of Fire
The soul is snared on the branches of the
8 Wood of Damnation
9–10 The soul lands on the Mountains of Sin
The soul falls to ground near one of the
11 noble devil estates
The soul falls directly into the estate of one
12 of the Houses of Hell
Devil Transformation: If a damned soul has
been elevated to the status of devil or demon, he
cannot be restored to life at all. He has undergone
a transformative process that has changed his nature
from humanoid to outsider; he no longer has a soul or
body but is a single unit. Accepting transformation
into a demon or a devil signals full and final rejection
of one’s life as a mortal. One can never be raised or
resurrected but one will also never grow old.
Infernal Pacts: When a person has pledged his soul
to Hell in exchange for powers and privileges during
life, Hell takes no chances when retrieving that soul.
A person does not have to be evil to pledge his soul
to Hell; most people who do so are in fact well-
intentioned fools, flawed but not evil, without any
Corruption.
A person who has pledged his soul to Hell is doomed
to the Infernum when he dies, whether he is evil or
not. However, he still gravitates toward the plane
most appropriate to his alignment and if Hell is
unable to claim the pledged soul, he drifts to the most
suitable Outer Plane. The devils are aware of this and
make sure that a suitable force is dispatched to grab
the pledged individual on the date of the contract’s
expiry. If your contract gives you twenty years of
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prosperity, then twenty years is what you get; the
devils will come and claim you at the end of that
time, whether you are living or dead. A creature
fetched to Hell while still alive is quickly slaughtered
upon arrival, after which its soul is as captive there as
any other.
The magic of the contract itself guarantees the
summoning effect that brings the devils into the
presence of the pledged character and bestows upon
the devils the power to bring the pledged character
back with them when they return to the Infernum.
This is a notable exception to the rule that summoned
creatures cannot bring other creatures back with them
on returning to their native plane.
Complications With Raising And
Resurrection
The standard rules for bringing a character back from
the dead only require the character to be willing to
return from the plane where it has gone to reside.
This is usually a simple matter; the character either
wants to return, in which case the player can go on
playing the character, or he does not, in which case
a new character can enter play. If the Games Master
wishes, these rules can hold, though it is only logical
to suppose that Hell would be less than willing to let
a soul return to the material plane. The alternative
rules presented here assume that evil characters will
sometimes have a more difficult time of it if someone
tries to bring them back to life.
Good characters can be called back to the mortal
realms easily. They reside on their afterlife plane as
a reward, not a prison or punishment. Evil characters
are another matter. As the damned in Hell are
essentially prisoners undergoing punishment, it is not
always possible to bring a soul back. The tormenting
devils or demons are reluctant to let valuable souls
go.
Claimed And Unclaimed Souls
When a soul is claimed by one of the infernal factions,
a bracket made from binding metal is fastened around
its arm or leg, bearing the seal of the noble house or
the demonic principality that owns it. When souls are
fished out of the Sea of Fire or gathered up from the
Cinderstone Heights, the first priority is to hammer
the bracket around one of their limbs. Depending
on the fate of the soul, the bracket may subsequently
be affixed to heavy chains, a boulder, a rope, or to
another soul, creating a work gang.

Binding metal manacles are crucial to the successful
operation of Hell. Like cattle brands, they show which
house has a claim to the soul. They keep the souls of
the damned in place, preventing all attempts at escape
and allow the devils to lock the damned to whatever
form of torment awaits them today, unfastening them
again when it is time to move on. If it were not for the
use of these manacles, it would be next to impossible
to keep control of the damned.
As the manacle of binding metal prevents the creature
from leaving the Infernum, a soul thus bound cannot
return to the Prime Material plane and thus cannot be
raised or resurrected. The only way to bring back a
bound soul is to remove the manacle somehow. The
manacle becomes part of the soul once affixed and
cannot be gotten rid of by severing a limb or changing
shape. It can however be removed with physical force
or targeted with magic.
Manacle of Binding Metal: Tiny object; hp 50;
hardness 10; damage resistance 15/good.
The Undead And The Afterlife
When a mortal becomes an undead creature, such as an
innocent maiden becoming a vampire following a bite
from one, their alignment automatically changes to
evil. This does not affect the soul of the poor creature
suffering this fate. If a creature was not evil-aligned
before it was turned into one of the undead, then its
soul is not condemned to Hell. In such cases, the soul
remains trapped within the undead shell, unable to
leave and go on to the afterlife that it was meant to
have. Although former friends may think they see
some remnant of the person they used to know in
the eyes of the undead monster, they are mistaken.
The soul cannot communicate and for all intents and
purposes, does not exist. Evil acts perpetrated by the
undead monster do not incur any Corruption points
for the soul trapped within it, unless that soul was also
of evil alignment.
Slaying an undead creature releases the victim’s soul,
allowing it to move on to the afterlife that awaits it.
This is why the likes of paladins consider slaying
vampires to be an act of mercy; they are right. The
look of peace on the faces of many slain vampires
testifies to the relief and freedom their souls now
enjoy. Such a creature may even be resurrected, if
it chooses to leave the afterlife and come back to the
material world.
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The H ell- b r o t hs - A g o n y ,
S o r r o w a n d S t r a in
The devils and demons have certain delicacies that
they indulge in. These are so pleasurable that the
horrors of Hell do not seem significant next to the
forbidden delights the tormentors enjoy. Torment
is not just a means to generate more corruption or
to indulge twisted desires, though these ends are
frequently and enthusiastically pursued. It also has
side effects that explain why there is such a demand
for damned souls and why the devils go to such
trouble to put them through the ingenious, laborious
punishments that they do. It also accounts for a good
deal of the motivation behind the Blood Wars between
the devils of the Hells and the demons of the Abyss.
There are three potent tinctures that can be extracted
from souls and these go by the names of Agony,
Sorrow and Strain. When fully processed, they have
a liquid form and are bottled for consumption by the
devils. Agony is a deep red liquid that resembles old
port. Sorrow is clear and fluid, like vodka, while
Strain is a brassy colour like beer. Each tincture is
drawn from a soul that is undergoing a particular
kind of torment. Agony is made from the shed blood
of souls in the utmost pain, Sorrow from their tears
of grief and Strain from their sweat as they toil at
meaningless tasks that can never be completed.
The nature of these tinctures is such that they must be
produced from the fluids of souls when shed in a state
of profound negative emotion. Blood is used to make
Agony, but it is not adequate to grab a soul and pop
his head off. The blood must be shed drop by drop,
while the soul suffers the kind of pain that would kill
a living creature in an instant. Similarly, Sorrow must
be brewed from tears that fall from the blackest and
most genuine grief, while Strain cannot be made from
the sweat of meaningful or rewarding toil but only
from backbreaking, pointless slavery, working the
victims until they drop.
In their efficient, lawful way, the devils have set up
processing plants where souls can be wracked and
the essence of their suffering collected. Examples
of these plants exist on the estates of all noble devils.
There is some variety in these but in general, they
devolve to three main types, one for each of the
tinctures. Agony is generated in torture palaces,
Sorrow in halls of misery and Strain in toiling fields
or houses. These tinctures are either drunk neat by
the devils (both for their intoxicating effect and for the
benefits they convey) or mixed with other substances
and drunk, which lessens the effect but makes the
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
substance more tolerable. Suitable mixers are given
for each tincture, which are all known to work. If a
mixer is used, the numerical benefits of the tincture
are halved but the imbiber gains a +4 circumstance
bonus to his saving throw. For example, a draught of
Agony that has been diluted in blood only confers a
fast healing rate of 3.
Agony, Sorrow and Strain are intensely powerful
extracts that cannot be quaffed like so much penny
ale. Whenever any one of the tinctures is drunk, the
imbiber must make a suitable saving throw (detailed
in the description) or suffer the negative effects along
with the positive. If the imbiber is not a devil or
demon, the DC of the saving throw to avoid negative
effects is increased by +2. Drinking these extracts
knowingly is almost always an evil act. One dose of
tincture is an ounce of fluid, the same quantity as a
potion.
A creature may attempt to drink more than one of the
hell-broths, so as to benefit from the effects of each.
If this is done, the DC for the saving throw to avoid
the negative effects of all hell-broths after the first is
raised by +8.
The Advantages Of Especially Corrupt Souls: It
has not escaped the notice of scholars of the infernal
that the demons and devils are especially keen to
claim the most corrupt souls of mankind for their
own, sometimes spending years cultivating a soul
and leading it into greater and greater depths of
corruption. Why should they bother to do this, if all
damned souls are equally useful? The simple answer
is that the hell-broth yield from damned souls that are
steeped in corruption is far greater than that from the
merely sinful.
Under the resource extraction section below, the
necessary total number of souls needed to create a
specific hell-broth is given. For the purposes of hell-
broth extraction, a damned soul that has a Corruption
level of 11 or above counts as the equivalent of a
number of souls equal to his Corruption level minus
10. So, an especially perverse damned soul with a
Corruption level of 18 would actually count as the
equivalent of eight souls in an extraction facility.
This is why the most corrupt sinners have whole
rooms and complexes given over to their torment and
why the various houses of Hell are so enthusiastic to
claim them. They are a high-yield investment.
There is, however, a difficulty with using corrupt
souls to make Sorrow. The more corrupt a soul is,
the less likely it is that the soul will have any shred
of remorse, or pity for anything other than itself.
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See the entry on Halls of Misery below for details
of this problem. The rarest of all souls in Hell is a
remorseful tyrant, one who has a high Corruption
rating but is still moved to tears by the contemplation
of what he has done.
Using Non-Evil Souls: It is a curious fact that the
souls of both the deeply corrupt and the profoundly
innocent can produce far richer hell-broth than the
souls of mediocrities. It sometimes happens that
the soul of a non-evil person will be claimed by
Hell, sometimes because they were unwise enough
to venture into the Infernum and were captured but
more commonly because they were tricked into
signing away their soul for material gain; see the
section on Pledged Relationships in the Sympathy
for the Devil chapter. All non-evil souls count as
the equivalent of three ordinary damned souls for
resource extraction purposes and are never immune
to misery palaces, which makes them ideal fodder for
producing Sorrow.
Agony
This deep red substance has an almost intolerable
fiery taste. Quaffing a dose causes the imbiber to
flush deeply and his or her heart race to increase, as
if from a rush of adrenalin. The imbiber’s veins feel
like they are full of burning lava. A creature drinking
Agony does not experience pain itself but instead
experiences a delicious thrill, as if all the pain of the
tormented victims had been fermented into pleasure.
A creature under the influence of Agony has a
tremendously accelerated healing rate. It is not just
the suffering of the damned souls but their resilience
that is extracted in the preparation of this hell-broth.
While the dose of Agony lasts, the creature benefits
from fast healing of 6 and experiences pleasure
instead of pain when it is injured. Magical effects
that produce pain, such as symbol of pain, have no
effect. If it already has the fast healing special ability,
this amount of recovered hit points per round stacks
with its ordinary amount. A single dose of Agony
lasts for 3d8 rounds. Devils enjoying the effects of
Agony will sometimes wound their own bodies in
artistic ways or invite others to do the same.
Agony is also used as a fuel for infernal machines
and some biomechanoids; see the Infernal Equipment
chapter, in particular the section on Agony Engines.
Freshly extracted Agony is best for this purpose.
Once Agony has been stored for over a day, it loses
some of the volatile quality that allows it to be used
as fuel, though it is still just as potent when drunk.
Stored Agony only counts as half a dose for engine-
fuelling purposes.

Negative Effects: A creature that drinks a dose of
Agony must make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 22)
or suffer the negative effects. Agony has a dramatic
effect on the imbiber’s anatomy, rupturing vessels and
flooding tissues with the quintessence of the suffering
of the damned; those that cannot bear it suffer 2d6
Constitution damage as their blood vessels explode
and their bones crack. One can easily identify a target
who has failed his saving throw, as he bleeds from all
his bodily orifices, including his eyes, which seem to
be weeping tears of blood. This Constitution damage
is not healed by the fast healing effect of the Agony
draught.
An imbiber who fails his saving throw by more than
10 is simply constitutionally incapable of dealing with
the Agony draught. His system purges it as quickly
as it can. Such an unfortunate suffers the negative
effects but does not benefit from the positive.
Mixers: Agony can be mixed with fresh blood, gall,
vinegar or pure alcohol in order to dilute it and make
it easier to save against its negative effects. A pint of
fluid is needed to dilute the dose down enough.
Value: The asking price for a flask of Agony is 250
gold pieces.
Sorrow
The essence of refined sorrow is clear as diamond
and tastes shockingly bitter. Any creature that does
not take sadistic pleasure in the misfortunes of others
(a non-evil creature) cannot benefit from a draught
of Sorrow at all. The benefit of Sorrow results from
savouring the emotional pain of others, which gives
the imbiber a massive boost to his or her own sense
of self and importance. An evil creature under the
influence of Sorrow has a towering ego and feels
itself to be a God, high above the suffering creatures
whose pain entertains it so much. Creatures that are
natural bullies, such as all devils and demons, love
Sorrow because it confirms their idea of themselves
as the biggest, strongest and the most brutal. A
creature must have an Intelligence ability score of at
least 4 to be affected by a draught of Sorrow.
While under the influence of Sorrow, the imbiber
gains a +4 alchemical bonus to Charisma and a +4
alchemical bonus to Will saving throws. The effects
of a dose of Sorrow last for 3d8+10 rounds. Devils
who use many spell-like abilities drink Sorrow before
going into battle, as it makes their abilities much
harder to save against.
Negative Effects: A creature that drinks a dose of
Sorrow must make a Will saving throw (DC 22) to
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endure it. Evil creatures that fail their saving throws
are so overwhelmed by the sensations of power and
superiority that they become sluggish and distracted.
They are slowed for the duration of the effect as if
by a 20th level caster. A slowed creature can take
only a single move action or standard action each
turn, but not both, nor may it take full-round actions.
Additionally, it takes a –1 penalty on attack rolls,
armour class and Reflex saves. A slowed creature
moves at half its normal speed, rounded down to the
next 5-foot increment, which affects the creature’s
jumping distance as normal for decreased speed.
A creature that fails its saving throw by more than
10 experiences quite a different reaction. It is so
overwhelmed by the distilled sensations of grief that
it is stunned for the duration of the draught’s effect
and can only weep. This is one of the worst things
that can possibly happen to a devil or demon. To be
moved by the sufferings of the damned, instead of
savouring them as it should, marks such a creature
out as irredeemably weak. After the other devils
or demons present have finished laughing at the
sentimental creature, it is either torn to pieces or
forced to endure torments itself. There is no place in
Hell for those who empathise with the tormented. A
devil that weeps has come to the end of his career. The
risk that one will not be able to handle a draught of
Sorrow is always present for those devils and demons
who indulge in it. Drinking Sorrow fearlessly proves
that a devil is without compassion or mercy.
Mixers: Although mixing Sorrow with other
substances is seen as the act of a coward and frowned
upon, some creatures do it. Sorrow can be mingled
with unholy water or the waters drawn from the Styx
in order to thin it down.
Value: Sorrow typically changes hands for 2,500
gold pieces per dose.
Strain
This golden liquid has a coppery, acidic taste and is
favoured among the lower ranks of the devils, who
consume it in much the same way as mortal peasants
consume beer. The sweat of pointless toil flows
freely, unlike tears and does not harm the soul, unlike
she shedding of blood. Consequently, Strain is the
easiest of the hell-broths to make and can be come by
relatively easily in Hell.
A draught of Strain floods the imbiber’s body with
fresh energy, removing any trace of fatigue. All
nonlethal damage the imbiber may be suffering from
is restored and fatigued or exhausted conditions are
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
annulled. In addition, a creature under the influence
of Strain can enter a wild rage at will, much like the
rage of a barbarian. While enraged, the creature
temporarily gains a +4 bonus to Strength, a +4 bonus
to Constitution and a +2 morale bonus on Will saving
throws but he takes a –2 penalty to Armour Class.
The increase in Constitution increases the creature’s
hit points by 2 points per level or hit die but these
hit points go away at the end of the rage when his
Constitution score drops back to normal. These extra
hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit
points are.
If the creature already has the ability to rage, such as
by having levels as a barbarian, then its rages under
the influence of Strain result in an additional bonus
of +2 to Strength, for a total bonus of +6. While he
is raging, the character’s behaviour is subject to the
same limitations as a barbarian’s are; he may not
perform any activity requiring concentration. The
effects of a dose of Strain last for 2d4+10 rounds.
Negative Effects: A character must make a Fortitude
saving throw (DC 22) to tolerate a dose of Strain. If
he fails this saving throw, he enters a state of rage
immediately and may not end it until the dose wears
off and also suffers from confusion for as long as the
dose lasts.
Mixers: Strain may be diluted with the cerebrospinal
fluid of a creature with at least 6 Intelligence. One
medium-sized creature produces enough fluid to
dilute two doses. The creature must be living at the
time; the fluids of damned souls are not usable.
Value: A dose of Strain can be bought for 500 gold
pieces, if a dealer can be found.
Extrac t i o n F ac i l i t ies
This section covers the different types of facility that
are needed to make the hell-broths.
Torture Palaces
Torture palaces are most commonly towers or
complexes containing all of the famous pain
inflicting devices that people associate with Hell. A
torture palace will always contain at least a rack, an
iron maiden, a set of whipping posts, thumbscrews,
cauldrons of boiling oil and such reliable staples of
the torturer’s trade. More elaborate palaces introduce
infernal machinery into the process. Rotating columns
fitted with butchers’ hooks rend the flesh of naked,
howling souls, whirling blades slice them thinly and
barbed chains whip from the walls to drag the snared
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souls’ bodies in different directions. chain devils love
torture palaces and are frequently employed there as
smiths and chain specialists. Every torture palace has
a resident Tormentor who oversees the process and
gives advice. The blood shed by the pitiful victims
is funnelled away efficiently by a system of tubes,
or licked up by trained imps who then spit it into
collection tins. Infernal machinery uses some of the
Agony it produces to fuel itself.
Almost all noble houses have torture palaces, as
they are de rigueur for devils; the most elaborately
equipped and architecturally inventive are those on
the estates of House Astyanath. Unlike halls of misery
and toiling fields, torture palaces are labour-intensive
for the devils. A higher degree of supervision and
involvement is needed. A staff of two devils per soul
is required for a traditional torture palace and one
devil per soul for a mechanised one.
Five souls undergoing torture for one week can
produce enough Agony for one dose. A typical
torture palace contains 30 souls, which is enough to
produce six doses of Agony per week.
Sample Torture Palace: The
Factory of Lady Jezafeen
Lady Jezafeen of House Sturrach maintains a torture
palace that is simply called the Factory. Situated over
a river of burning lava, it is a gigantic structure of
black bricks with high chimneys, tall windows that
glow red and a constant clamour of machinery from
the inside. The interior of the Factory comprises a
collection of machines on platforms and suspended
from chains, accessed via wobbling catwalks and
ladders. This machinery serves no purpose other than
to cause physical damage to the souls fed through the
Factory. A typical machine occupies a space 10 feet
across. While the machinery is active, any creature
standing within 10 feet of it has a 50% chance
on any given round to suffer an attack from the
machine, which attacks with a spinning chain (+16
melee, damage 2d8 bludgeoning), a slashing blade
(+20 melee, damage 4d6 slashing) or a projection
of spikes (three attacks each at +14 melee, damage
2d6 piercing). This damage counts as evil-aligned
and lawful-aligned for the purposes of overcoming
damage reduction. Each machine has a hardness of
8, 100 hit points and a DR of 5/good. A machine
reduced to 25% of its total hit points can no longer
make attacks.
Damned souls are winched up to the top of the
Factory and dumped into a hopper, which feeds them

into one of the waiting machines. Each machine then
mashes, tears, mangles or otherwise mutilates the
screeching soul before sending it through a pipeline
into the next machine along. The agony-rich blood
is drained away through metal pipes. The machines
are designed to harm, rather than to kill outright,
though occasionally the whole factory grinds to a
shuddering halt because someone has been caught in
the machinery again. Once or twice a month, one of
the Factory’s maintenance chain devils has to be sent
into the pipelines to free the remains of a mashed soul
from a cog or piston.
Halls Of Misery
As sorrow is a matter of the heart rather than a matter
of the body, it is more of a subtle business to extract
genuine tears from the souls of the damned. The
tincture called Sorrow is thus the most rare of the
three. Genuine tears are much more scarce in Hell
than blood or sweat. Of all the infernal houses,
only House Astyanath specialises in the cultivation
of Sorrow; this is the source of the house’s political
strength.
Those devils who harvest tears are careful to select
the damned souls who are most haunted by guilt,
remorse and regret. Only those rare souls who can
generate their own torment in Hell can shed the kinds
of tears needed to produce the tincture. The devils
must arrange matters so as to remind the damned soul
of what it has done and what it has left behind.
Halls of misery are magical structures like prisons or
asylums, with multiple cells in which damned souls
are kept chained. These cells use illusion effects
to torture the damned with their own memories.
Any creature enclosed within a hall of misery is
constantly subjected to illusions drawn from his own
subconscious, which torment him with the memory
of his mortal life. This effect only affects creatures
who have some remnant of conscience and who have
committed deeds terrible enough to be worthy of
regret. A Will saving throw (DC 20) must be made
every hour in order to avoid weeping and becoming
overcome with despair, as if by a wracking despair
spell cast by an 18th level caster. Most of the damned
do not bother to resist after the first few days of
incarceration. The tears of the damned are collected
by attendant noble devils.
Some souls are simply useless for a hall of misery,
as they have no concept of remorse. A creature
with a Corruption score of 11 or higher may well
be completely immune to the effects of the hall.
To determine this, make a one-off check when the
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creature is first exposed to the hall. For every level
of Corruption the creature has above 10, it has a 10%
chance of having no potential for remorse at all in
its soul, up to a maximum chance of 99%. For this
reason, the fiends do not try to cultivate especially
corrupt souls to populate the halls of misery. They
are much more use in torment palaces or toiling fields.
The halls of misery are for the ordinary damned, most
of which can still cry.
A hall of misery can accommodate one soul for every
cell it has; fifty souls are needed to produce one dose
of Sorrow per week. A cell need not be an enclosure
and can be any zone up to twenty feet square. A
typical hall of misery contains only one hundred
souls, enough for two doses per week.
Sample Hall Of Misery: The
Avenues Of Infinite Mirrors
This hall is found beneath the palace of Lady Terjulia
of House Astyanath. Each soul is led by attendant
devils (usually noble devils of low rank or erinyes)
down a circular corridor, each 20-foot square segment
of which counts as a misery cell. The corridor is lined
on both sides with mirrors that reach from floor to
ceiling. The soul is forced to look into the mirror,
where he sees images of futures that might have
been; he sees himself as he could have been if he had
repented in time, changed his ways, made amends
for his evil deeds and taken a different course in
life. This is allowed to go on until the soul weeps,
at which point his tears are quickly caught in a cup
of iron and he is led to the next mirrored segment.
The mirrors are made from a thin sheet of hellglass
over polished iron; they have a hardness rating of 10,
damage reduction of 5/good and 20 hit points. If a
mirror is smashed, that region of the corridor ceases
to function as a misery cell.
Elsewhere in the underground complex, specially
valued souls are condemned to the Chambers of
Eternal Waking. The misery cells fool the imprisoned
soul into thinking that he has awoken from a dreadful
dream. He was not truly dead and damned; it was
only a vivid nightmare, the devils and hellfire are far
away and there is still time to make amends. Once he
is convinced of the reality of his waking, the illusion
drops away and he finds himself in Hell once again.
This method rarely fails to draw tears of grief from
the souls who are subjected to it.
Toiling Fields And Houses
These are zones of Hell where the souls of the
damned are forced to carry out strenuous work, which
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS

is always pointless, repetitive and achieves nothing at

all. Large amounts of rock and heavy iron chains are
easily come by in Hell, so many toiling fields involve
these ingredients. A favourite type of toil involves
rolling a boulder larger than the damned soul itself.
Some inventive devils have enchanted boulders so
that the soul begins by rolling a pebble uphill; the
pebble grows in mass and weight as the soul pushes
it uphill, eventually becoming a vast boulder that the
soul cannot budge. Industrial accidents in toiling
fields are common. Souls are frequently crushed
under the stone rollers, boulders or weights that they
are forced to move.
Souls condemned to toiling fields are those who
were lazy in life or who exploited others. Overseers
who whipped their labour crews until they fell dead
from exhaustion, mine owners who sent children
or halflings down into choking darkness and slave-
owners who treated their chattels like expendable
property are all found among the work gangs in
toiling fields.
Toiling houses are slightly different in layout and are
constructed on infernal estates in places where there
is not enough room to roll enormous rocks about.
They save space by using machinery to keep souls
in pointless endeavour. Souls in a toiling house are
kept walking on infinite treadmills, walking round
and around capstans, carrying heavy loads up and
down ladders or
just holding piles
of rocks on boards
above their heads
for hours and hours.
Sample Toiling Field: The
Channels Of Plutac
The noble devil Plutac of House Carthenay owns an
estate on which he keeps several toiling fields. The
largest of these is a flat area of soil one thousand feet
square, bordered by walls at the corner of which
stand sentry towers. Each one of these is manned by
an erinyes, who makes sure that none of the damned
are foolish enough to attempt escape. The soil of the
field has numerous trenches three feet deep dug into
it, running parallel as if the field had been tilled for
sowing. Damned souls roll boulders ten feet across
down these trenches, trundling them steadily from
one side to the other. A Strength check (DC 20) is
required to roll the boulder five feet. As they work,
groaning with the endless effort, imps hover nearby
with rags and buckets, collecting the souls’ sweat and
wringing it out. The sweat of the toiling damned is
stored in canisters and taken away for processing.
Any creature that falls into the path of a boulder must
make a Reflex check (DC 15) or suffer 6d6 points of
bludgeoning damage.
S o ul S c ulp t in g
The practice of moulding the bodies of the damned
into new shapes is well established among the devils
and demons, who long ago recognised how useful

Ten souls can secrete

enough sweat for
one dose of Strain
in a week’s toil. A
typical toiling field
can accommodate
one hundred souls,
enough to produce
ten doses of Strain
per week.

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these indestructible creatures could be. It entertains
them to mistreat the damned so and saves them time,
since by using the damned as convenient objects (to
walk on, sit on and so forth) they are tormenting them
without effort.
A soul-sculpted ‘object’ (one or more damned souls
wrested into a new configuration) has the special
property of being solid to all creatures on the plane,
not just to fiends and native materials. It is thus
possible for creatures other than fiends to ride upon
mounts made from massed souls, walk upon stairways
and walkways created from the fused bodies of souls
and recline upon furniture made from the paralysed
body of a soul. Tormentors are experts in the craft of
soul sculpting.
New Feat: Craft Soul Item
Prerequisites: Outsider native to an evil plane.
This feat allows a creature to manipulate the bodies
of damned souls and turn them into useful objects. A
soul sculptor works with blades, saws, tarry pitch and
a needle and twine. The soul sculptor may mutilate
a soul in such a way that the soul does not regain its
natural form, so long as its head is left intact. Any
fiendish creature can mutilate a damned soul but
only a soul sculptor can do so in such a way that
they become solid enough for non-fiends to interact
with. The skill check DCs given below are the Craft
skills needed to create the items shown. Failure on
the skill check deals 6d6 damage to any soul or souls
involved; the sculptor may attempt to use the same
souls again and again until they dissipate. The default
Craft skill to make any item is Craft (flesh carving)
but other Craft skills may be substituted at the Games
Master’s discretion.
Devils and demons like to be surrounded by
suffering, so soul sculptures are the commonest way
in which their living quarters will be dressed. It is
more pleasant for a devil to sit on a couch made from
three sewn-together bodies, whose faces grimace
as the devil shifts its weight, than for the devil to
use ordinary leather and wood furniture. Damned
souls are also resistant to damage and will heal
up when abused, a quality that ordinary furniture
does not share. Visitors to Hell have to get used to
encountering mangled human shapes all over the
place, serving various practical functions.
Soul items do not have a gold piece value, as souls
themselves are currency in Hell. However, an
equivalent value is given so that the length of time
needed to carry out any given crafting operation and
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the progress from the sequential Craft checks can be
worked out.
Posed Soul (DC 10): The simplest application of
the soul sculptor’s craft locks the subject soul into
a frozen posture. It cannot move at all, though it
can moan and groan. This technique is used to turn
a single soul into a coat rack (standing upright with
arms outstretched) or an occasional table (on hands
and knees) and so on. It is not very versatile, as
it limits the soul sculptor to those shapes that can
be achieved by twisting the soul’s limbs about.
About the only weapon that can be made from a
stiffened soul is a clumsy greatclub that bestows a
–2 circumstance penalty to the wielder’s attack roll.
Souls needed: 1. Value: 5.
Stretched/Compressed Soul (DC 20): The soul
sculptor may squeeze, stretch and knead the souls of
the damned like clay or toffee. A given soul may be
stretched out in one direction to three times its height,
or stretched out like a sheet that covers a region of
one and a half times its height square. Alternatively,
it may be squashed to a packed wad of up to one third
of its original height. This more versatile technique is
used to turn souls into the sails and rigging of ships,
boulder-like weights to hold doors open, shaped
furniture, floor coverings and similar accoutrements.
Souls needed: 1. Value: 20.
Bound Group (DC 20): A soul sculptor may fuse
the body of one soul to that of another and may
allow certain limbs freedom of movement. The
most common uses of this application are the fleshy
arch, which is a doorway made from two or more
souls acting as gateposts with their arms forming
the crossbars of a set of double doors (so that the
souls can swing the doors open or shut on command)
and the transport huddle, which is a group of four
souls bent and twisted in such a way that the upper
part is flat and the lower part has four sets of strong
legs. The heads of the souls are set on the sides of
the abomination, so that it can see where it is going.
Transport huddles are ridden as mounts by many
of the devils; their ordinary movement speed is 40
feet. Souls are not compelled to obey automatically
but are assured of a whipping or worse if they are
not compliant, so rebellions are nonexistent. Souls
needed: variable. Value: 30.
Fused Block (DC 15): This is simply a mass of
damned souls measuring ten feet by ten feet and
from five to six feet thick depending on the heights
of the souls that were used. The souls are arranged
in a closely clustered square with their faces looking
upwards. A cauldron of reagent is then poured in,
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS

melting the souls’ bodies together. Soul blocks are
usually used for building walkways or staircases, so
that the devils can trample upon the upturned faces.
The souls encased in a soul block constantly emit a
soft, tortured moaning. It is possible to cut individual
souls free from the block; once freed, they heal
naturally. A total of 20 points of slashing damage
must be dealt to the block to cut a soul free from it.
Souls needed: 25. Value: 5.
Soul Projectile (DC 20): A soul sculptor may
prepare a damned soul so that it can be fired from a
catapult, trebuchet or ballista. It is either moulded
into an aerodynamic clump or smoothed out into a
long spindle with a pointed end. When a projectile
made from a damned soul is fired from a siege engine,
it screams as it flies. All non-evil creatures within
40 feet of the projectile’s entire flight path (for game
purposes, treat this as a straight line traced from the
origin weapon to the point of impact) must make Will
saving throws (DC 20) or be shaken for one round.
This is a sonic mind-affecting effect. Souls needed:
1. Value: 10.
form. To create a soul mask, the soul’s skin is
carefully flayed off, leaving the skinless and agonized
soul behind. This inflicts 8d8 points of damage on
the damned soul, which regrows its skin at its natural
healing rate. Duly prepared by the soul crafter’s art,
the soul’s skin lasts for seven days before drying up
and going crispy, after which it is no longer usable.
To use the soul mask, the devil slips the flayed-off
skin over its own body; thanks to the soul crafter’s art,
the skin shifts and clings in such a way that the wearer
does indeed seem to be the damned soul whose skin
he has borrowed and not merely a devil in an ill-fitting
skin suit. A devil that does not have a humanoid form
or cannot assume one with polymorph or a similar
spell-like ability cannot wear a soul mask; the beards
of bearded devils or the horns of an ordinary noble
devil poke right through the skin. While a devil is
wearing a soul mask, it receives a +10 circumstance
bonus to Disguise checks made to assume the identity
of the soul in question. Devils will often make soul
masks so that they can pretend to be dead people,
so as to deceive the living; for example, a devil

Soul Watchman (DC 10): This is

simply the severed head of a humanoid
soul, with its hair bound up in a plait
and tied to a fixing point beside a
door. Its lungs are left to dangle, so
that it can speak and shout. It is the
soul watchman’s job to call out when a
visitor approaches. This is a standard
means to man a minor entrance point in
Hell, such as a doorway into a devil’s
dwelling. The soul watchman’s role
is more to announce guests than to
defend the portal, though he will alert
any guards by shouting and screaming
if there is a threat. The Astyanaths
customarily use a soul watchman as a
doorkeeper and doorknocker; guests are
expected to bang the soul’s head firmly
against the sinew wood of the door until
either the noise of the banging or the
soul’s shrieking alerts the dwelling’s
occupants. Soul watchmen have
effective Spot and Listen skills of +8.
Souls needed: 1. Value: 5.

Soul Mask (DC 20): Devils sometimes

spy on their fellows by disguising
themselves as the souls of the damned,
then slipping in among the hordes on the
rival devil’s estate. This is particularly
common among the noble devils, who
can only polymorph into one alternate

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might use the skin of a damned soul to convince his
family that he was still alive and thus entice them
into corruption after him. If the creature wearing
the soul mask engages in grappling, the soul mask
has a chance to slide off. Every time an opponent
succeeds in a Grapple check over the wearer, the
skin has a 1 in 4 chance to split and fall away. A
creature may voluntarily shed the skin to free itself
from a hold. Shedding the skin gives the creature
a +4 circumstance bonus on a single Escape Artist
skill check; success leaves the opponent clutching the
empty skin instead of the grappled creature. Souls
needed: 1. Value: 20.
Soul Sentry (DC 20): A soul sentry is a common
sight outside many noble devil estates. Four souls
have their bodies compressed together and wound
round in a decorative spiral. This forms the central
pillar of the soul sentry, which is stretched so as to
raise the height of the whole thing to 10 feet. The soul
sentry’s four heads look out, each in one direction and
yell to raise the alarm if they see anything suspicious.
Soul sentries can see in a complete 360-degree circle
and have effective Spot and Listen skills of +10.
Souls needed: 4. Value: 20.
Soul Snap-Trap (DC 15): To make this item, the
soul’s arms and legs must first be hacked off, as they
will only get in the way. A slit is then made down the
centre of the soul’s torso and the ribcage broken open.
The soul sculptor sharpens the points of the ribs,
bends them out slightly and makes adjustments to the
point where they join the spine, incorporating muscles
and tendons from the discarded limbs. The result is
an organic mantrap. When set, the two halves of the
ribcage are bent backwards and lie nearly flat. When
pressure (such as from a descending foot) is placed
on the exposed spine, the sharpened ribs slam shut,
making a melee attack at +15 and inflicting 2d6+5
piercing damage. If the trap hits successfully and
the victim is of large or smaller size, it immediately
makes a Grapple check, again at +15. If the grapple
check is successful, the entrapped victim has its speed
reduced by 50%. An entrapped victim may attempt
to wrest itself free of the trap by making an opposed
Grapple check or Escape Artist skill check against
the trap’s effective Grapple of +15. Souls needed:
1. Value: 10.
Living Weapon (DC 25): One of the most difficult
techniques in soul sculpting is to make a damned
soul into a weapon. Edged weapons cannot be
made by these techniques but impaling weapons
and bludgeoning weapons can. Living weapons
incorporate the moving jaws of the damned soul into
their construction. When a living weapon is used to
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strike a foe, each successful attack does an additional
1d4 points of damage as the soul tries to bite. This is
simply treated as extra damage, not as an attack in its
own right. A damned soul made into a living weapon
gains a hardness rating of 5 while it is shaped into
this form. Each time it is used to attack, it suffers
1d4 bludgeoning damage plus the wielder’s Strength
ability score modifier. Souls needed: 1, or 2 for a
double weapon. Value: 30.
Soul Net (DC 25): Soul nets are some of the
most horrendous weapons found anywhere in the
Infernum. Some mortals who have seen soul nets in
action have gone mad on the spot, as they are such
a defilement of the mortal form. A soul net is made
from four truly unfortunate souls. Their heads are
situated at the corners of the net, acting as weights,
while their unravelled intestines, stretched out and
knotted together, form the main body of the net. The
remainder of their bodies is discarded, reducing the
hit points of the participant souls by –20 apiece.
When a soul net is thrown, it actively attempts to
entangle the foe. The net has an effective Grapple
attack of +20 and an effective Strength modifier
of +5. An entangled creature must beat the net’s
Grapple attack with an Escape Artist check in order
to wriggle free, or beat the net in an opposed Strength
check in order to rip a hole in the intestinal webbing.
The net’s hit points are the total of all the souls
involved in making it.
Souls that form part of a soul net do not recover their
bodies by natural healing until they are disentangled
from the main mass. To unpick a soul’s innards from
a soul net requires a Use Rope skill check (DC 30).
Souls needed: 4. Value: 40.
Soul Organ (DC 30): This gruesome object takes
pride of place in many noble devils’ palaces. It is
a huge musical instrument that resembles a church
organ, complete with stops, keys and pedals. Thick
iron pipes protrude from the top of the device
but instead of each one ending in a reed, they are
topped with the severed heads of souls. The heads
of humanoid females and elves occupy the tops of
the pipes towards the higher ranges, while the heads
of humanoid males and dwarves occupy the lower.
When the device is not in use, the heads glance at
each other apprehensively (and look at newcomers
with pleading in their eyes) but cannot speak. When
a note is played, air is funnelled through the soul’s
vocal chords and forces it to scream a specific note.
A competent player can rouse a chorus of harmonised
screams from the implement. It takes a great deal of
time and trouble to create a soul organ, as the souls
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
chosen must scream or bellow at exactly the right
pitch.
Evil creatures that have the Perform (keyboard)
skill can use a soul organ to produce an impressive
infernal cacophony. They may add a +3 circumstance
bonus to their Perform skill checks when using the
instrument. Soul organs are too large to move around
(they measure 15 feet by 15 feet and weigh half a ton)
but can be used in situ to great effect. Souls needed:
60. Value: 500.
Soul Catapult (DC 30): This infernal siege engine
resembles an ordinary catapult, made from the tough
sinew wood that is cut from night-oaks and suicide
birches. A soul catapult is in fact an upgraded version
of such a siege engine. The Craft (soul sculpting)
skill check is needed to replace the ordinary firing
mechanism with a soul-based one. Soul catapults use
entwined soul bodies instead of twisted sinew to fire
their projectiles (barely recognisable as humanoid any
more) and have two souls with their arms tangled in
the machinery, who can draw back the catapult’s arm
by hauling on their own appendages. A soul catapult
has a range of 150% of that listed for an ordinary light
or heavy catapult and is self-reloading. A light soul
catapult requires one less crewmember than listed; a
heavy soul catapult requires two less crewmembers.
Souls needed: 4. Value 100.
Soul Ballista (DC 25): This ingenious contraption
is made entirely from reshaped damned souls. A
soul on its hands and knees has its body elongated,
to form the central mass of the ballista. The head of
this soul is forced through the hollowed-out midriff of
a second, which is shaped into a curve and stiffened
with unguents. The entrails of this second soul are
lashed to its hands and feet and used to form the
ballista’s bowstring. As a soul ballista is made from
living bodies, it can fire missiles further and with
greater force. The range is increased by 50% and
the damage of the projectiles is increased by a +2
circumstance bonus. Soul ballistas can move under
their own power, at a speed of 20 feet. During sieges
in Hell, soul ballistas can be seen scuttling back and
forth over the infernal battlements, like giant crabs.
Souls needed: 2. Value 50.
Soul Balloon (DC 35): This is possibly the worst of
all Infernal blasphemies against the residual dignity
of the damned. It is not often manufactured as its
use is limited but some devils enjoy using them as an
unusual battle weapon, so that they can dump barrels
of creeping bile or similar bombardment weapons on
their foes.
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Making a soul balloon is an elaborate, difficult
process. The bodily orifices of the souls involved
must first be sealed, usually by stitching shut or
application of thick glue. The souls are then inflated
with lighter-than-air gases that are belched from
ducts in the landscape of the Infernum; these are
first gathered up in bellows and then pumped into the
distended bodies of the souls. The eventual result is
a set of floating, spherical souls blown up to the next
size category, taut-skinned as beach balls and in a
state of horrible discomfort. These are then lashed to
a basket of sinew wood ten feet across on each side,
the carriage of the balloon. Each inflated medium-
sized soul can lift a weight of 100 lb. Six such souls
are needed to raise a fully laden basket.
When launched, soul balloons gently drift upwards
until they reach a height of 500 feet. The devils that
crew them usually have a spellcaster on board to cast
suitable spells to propel the balloon in a set direction.
Alternatively, they enlist the help of winged devils to
pull them in a set direction. The damned souls used
as the actual balloons retain the same natural armour
bonus and hit points as they had before (with a
modification to armour class because of their increase
in size) but may no longer use a Dexterity bonus to
armour class; they may only float and bob about. A
balloon soul that suffers bludgeoning damage is not
in danger until it is reduced to zero hit points (at
which point it bursts) but a soul that suffers more
than 10 points of piercing or slashing damage begins
to expel gas. A punctured soul can lift only 50 lb;
if it is punctured twice, it deflates altogether ceases
to contribute any lift at all. A soul that suffers more
than 30 points of piercing or slashing damage in one
attack bursts and no longer contributes any lift. Souls
needed: minimum 4. Value: 500.
D a m n a t io n
Most damned souls suffer simply by virtue of being in
Hell. The house that has claimed them enacts tortures
according to its preferred methods (see Houses of the
Unholy) and gains additional Corruption and status as
a result. For most souls, torment is a straightforward
matter of burning, flaying, disembowelling and
other similar practices that do not fall far short of
elementary sadism. The souls recover in time; even if
torn to pieces, they eventually reform and the whole
terrible process starts again.
Some souls are singled out for special attention.
Those who are deemed worthy of their own special,
private Hell, instead of the generic torments meted
out to the hordes of the damned, can be placed into a

special, personal state of torment. This is achieved by
means of the Infernal Torment spell.
Infernal Torment
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One damned soul or evil outsider
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Will negates
Spell Resistance: Yes
You place the subject into a state of continual agony
of a mental or physical nature, especially crafted to
suit the evils that it committed in its former or earlier
life. This spell cannot be cast upon a creature with a
Corruption level of less than 3. Infernal torment has
two applications.
Purgatorial Torment: The spell may only have this
effect if the recipient is willing to receive it. The target
must also agree to change alignment to non-evil if it
has not already done so. Purgatorial torment allows
the target creature to enter into agonies voluntarily as
a form of atonement. While in this state, the subject is
confined to a sub-dimension similar to that generated
by a maze spell. Every year spent in purgatorial
torment removes 200 points of Corruption from the
suffering creature. It has no way to speed up the
process. Once all its Corruption is burned away,
the creature passes from the sub-dimension of its
purgatorial torment directly into the plane on which it
would reside had it died with its new alignment. This
spell is one of the only ways in which a damned soul
can be given an escape from Hell, or an unredeemed
ghost can leave the mortal plane. If a creature is
released from purgatorial torment before all of its
Corruption is seared away and voluntarily chooses to
leave, its alignment defaults back to the original evil.
Good-aligned clerics and their paladin allies have
occasionally mounted missions of mercy into the
Infernum, seeking to find the worst of the damned
souls and persuade them to repent and accept
purgatorial torment as a release. They refer to this as
‘harrowing Hell’ and consider it one of the most heroic
acts that a good creature can ever perform. Some of
the damned gladly accept this, as it allows them to
replace the sadistic fires of Hell with the cleansing
fires of purgatorial torment and thus eventually gain
their freedom. However, a surprisingly large number
of the damned do not accept the option of purgatorial
torment when offered. They are simply too proud to
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repent. Some of them are holding out hope that they
will eventually be selected for promotion to the rank
of devil and escape their damnation that way.
Malicious Torment: This application of the spell
condemns the recipient to eternal suffering in a section
of Hell designed solely for the purpose. It is used by
the senior devils to punish those who offend them or
who break the great laws of Hell as well as being the
way to punish those wicked individuals whose crimes
are such that they warrant a private Hell of their own.
Placing a creature with a lower Corruption rating than
yourself into malicious torment earns the caster 5,000
Corruption.
Creatures undergoing malicious torment may be
placed into a sub-dimension as for purgatorial
torment but may also be placed into a region of the
Infernum or of the Nine Hells prepared specially for
them, a course which is taken far more often as the
devil making the condemnation wishes the suffering
creature’s torments to be on display for all to see. The
caster must have authority over this region and set
aside at least a 30-foot square of ground as preparation
for the malicious torment. Any creature attempting to
enter the region of the malicious torment must make
a Will saving throw at the same DC as the original
spell in order to move into the territory; if this is done,
then the caster of the malicious torment is instantly
aware that there is a trespasser. Unlike the rest of
the damned, creatures undergoing malicious torment
are aware of nothing but their eternal fate and do not
acknowledge the presence of other creatures in the
vicinity. They cannot be removed from the area of
their torment by any means while the spell is current.
The only way to free a creature from infernal torment
of either kind is to cast a freedom spell at the point
at which the infernal torment spell was cast. The
creature’s name and details of its background must
be known. Since most infernal torment spells are
cast in the high courts of Hell, getting there is not at
all easy.
An infernal torment spell provides all the necessary
‘props’ for the private Hell, such as eternal flames,
eternal cold, tantalising seductresses who vanish into
mist when approached, water that vanishes when
you try to drink it, boulders that become heavier and
heavier as they are rolled uphill and so forth. These
props and participants are only real for the subject
and may only affect him, though others can see and
hear them if the subject is not in his own private sub-
dimension.
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS

The Art Of T o rt u re Check: You make a Profession (torturer) skill check

at the end of a torture session, which then becomes
the DC for the victim’s saving throw. His failure
Warning: This section deals with very disturbing
means that you used it effectively and that the damage
practices, included for the sake of completeness
you dealt also had an impact on the victim’s mind.
and authenticity. They have not been made up.
Success on his part means that you only managed to
Each one of the tortures listed here was inflicted
damage the victim’s body.
upon those accused of witchcraft in the past, by
people who believed themselves to be virtuous
Action: You can only make one skill check per
and expected to go to Heaven. If you prefer not
session of torture. The sessions take a variable
to include such abominations in your game, then
amount of time, as determined by the entries on the
skip this section.
various tortures below.
It is worth taking some space here to detail the
Try Again: Yes. However, if a creature has
ancient and renowned art of torture, which has surely
successfully saved against a given method of torture
been in existence for just as long as many of the more
once before, he gains a +4 circumstance bonus on
salubrious professions and has no less a weight of
further saving throws against that same method. It
literature devoted to it than, for example, medicine,
is also not possible to inflict more than the maximum
divination or floristry; it has its professional tools, its
possible amount of Wisdom and Charisma damage
expert practitioners and a body of knowledge passed
for a given method within one three-hour period by
down from expert to student down the years. While
using that method. For example, no matter how long
any thug can achieve results with a club with a nail in
you flagellated a victim for, you could not inflict more
it, the torturer’s skill is far more refined.
than 2 points of Wisdom and one point of Charisma
Although the great majority of tortures
in Hell are practiced upon the damned,
who (as we have noted) are remarkably
resilient, we will now deal with torture
as practiced upon corporeal creatures.
This is by no means uncommon in Hell.
Demons and devils torture each other,
as well as relishing the screams of any
good-aligned creatures they succeed in
capturing. Torturing the damned is easy,
as they are already dead but torturing
a living creature is a far more difficult
business.

Here we run into the first challenge that

faces the torturer, namely the physical
limits of the creature concerned. If you
apply the wrong amount of pressure, cut
too deeply or overwhelm its senses, it
may simply pass out, its consciousness
retreating to a blank state where your
efforts cannot reach it. Worse, it may die,
in which case you have lost a possible
source of information, or at least cut the
entertainment short.

New Skill: Profession

(torturer)
The creature with this skill is experienced
with the various methods of breaking
down a creature’s mind by means of
physical torment.

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damage. Damage already done in a given hour
counts towards the maximum, so even if you change
methods halfway through the three-hour period, you
are limited as to how much Wisdom and Charisma
damage you can inflict.
Special: To torture a victim effectively, you must be
able to speak the same language. Torture involves
threats and promises as much as infliction of pain. If
you cannot communicate with the victim in a shared
language, you suffer a –4 penalty to uses of this
skill.
Synergy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Intimidate,
you get a +2 bonus on Profession (torturer) skill
checks.
The Objective Of Torture: Unless it is being
practiced solely for entertainment, the purpose of
torture is either to gain voluntary compliance from
the victim, so that he will tell you anything you like,
or to get the victim to ‘crack’, a state in which the
victim can no longer resist and has no willpower left
at all.
Once a victim has been wholly broken, he becomes
compliant. He may no longer make Will saving
throws against you or your allies, nor may he oppose
Bluff, Intimidate or Diplomacy checks that you make.
The state of being broken lasts until the victim has
recovered sufficient Wisdom and Charisma to bring
both these ability scores higher than 3, as determined
by the sections below.
You can attempt to change the alignment of a broken
creature, by brainwashing it. Each attempt requires
a day of indoctrination, during which you bombard
the creature with propaganda and undermine its faith
in its current alignment. A day of indoctrination can
change the creature’s alignment one step; so, you
could change a lawful good creature’s alignment to
lawful neutral, or a neutral creature’s alignment to
neutral evil. Successful indoctrination requires a
whole day of work followed by a Diplomacy check
(DC 10 plus the creature’s level of experience or hit
dice). If you fail, you can try again the next day, so
long as the creature is still in a broken state.
No amount of torture can change the alignment of
a creature that has the good, evil, lawful or chaotic
descriptor. Such creatures have ties to the polarities
of the universe that go beyond mere conviction.
Similarly, no amount of torture can persuade an
outsider (such as an angel) to divulge its true name.
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The Mechanics Of Torture: A given form of
torture takes a set amount of time to achieve and
inflicts a certain amount of hit point damage upon
the victim. If, for whatever reason (such as damage
resistance or surreptitious healing) the creature is left
undamaged at the end of the torture, you cannot make
a Profession (torturer) skill check. The creature must
be injured for torture to work. Nonlethal damage
counts. Specifically psychological tortures, like
sensory deprivation, do not require injury.
Once the damage has been dealt (but not before) the
torturer may make a Profession (torturer) skill check.
The result of the skill check, plus the stated modifier
for the torture method, then becomes the DC for the
victim’s Will saving throw to resist the effects of
torture. If the saving throw is unsuccessful, the victim
suffers the stated amount of ability score damage. A
victim is broken when his Wisdom and Charisma are
both reduced to less than 3 by torture. Reducing them
below this threshold by other methods does not work,
though reducing them by other methods first and then
dropping them below the final threshold with torture
does work.
Naturally, overdoing it so that either ability score
reaches 0 (thus placing the victim in a stupor) does
not break him, neither does a character count as
broken if he is reduced to 0 Wisdom or Charisma
and then recovers to 1 or more. This is the problem
referred to above, in which the victim passes out too
quickly. To be broken, he must still be conscious
immediately after the ability score damage is dealt.
Creatures in the midst of ongoing torture (such as
creatures held in Little Ease) are unable to rest and
thus do not recover lost Wisdom and Charisma through
natural healing. Creatures that have been allowed to
rest do recover lost Wisdom and Charisma.
All torture is technically a fear effect. Creatures
that are immune to fear are completely resistant to
torture, though they may choose to submit voluntarily
to save themselves from dying. Creatures that have
bonuses to saving throws against fear effects may add
those bonuses to their Will saving throws to resist the
effects of torture.
The Anticipation Factor: It is possible to torture a
victim with the promise of agony to come. This can
sometimes break him more quickly and effectively
than the torture itself, as the pains that you can
imagine are always far worse than the reality. To use
this method, the torturer makes an Intimidate skill
check in the usual manner before the torture starts
and the damage is dealt. He may add half of the
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
modifier for the torture method (rounded down) as
a circumstance bonus to this Intimidate skill check.
The victim must be allowed to see the torture device
that awaits him, or the modifier may not be added. If
the victim fails, he is not broken but he does submit,
as per the normal rules for the use of the Intimidate
skill.
Torture Methods
The following section covers several of the methods
available to the torturer. By carefully choosing which
one to use, he may achieve the desired end, namely
breaking the will of the victim without destroying his
body. The Games Master should use these guidelines
when constructing new methods of torture dreamed
up by himself or by the players. As a general rule,
tortures that inflict a lot of punishment all at once
should wear away the victim’s Wisdom, while
tortures that last a long time but do little damage
corrode his Charisma.
Strappado
This torture involves tying the victim’s arms behind
his back and hauling him up on a rope. A successful
Use Rope skill check must be made to bind him in
place. If the victim successfully opposes this with
an Escape Artist skill check, he takes no damage
from the torture. The victim is allowed to dangle,
while the joints in his arms and shoulders give him
terrible pain. If the torturer so chooses, he may drop
the victim and catch him with a jerk. This brings the
torture to an end, inflicting an additional 2d6 damage,
1d4 Strength damage and adding +2 to the torture
modifier.
Duration: One hour
Damage: 2d6
Torture Modifier: 0
Ability Score Damage: 1d4 Wisdom, 1 Charisma
Punches And Kicks
This form of torture involves simply beating the
victim up. He is bound first, so this renders him
helpless. You can perform this torture with either
lethal or nonlethal damage. If you use nonlethal
damage, the torture modifier is changed to –5.
Duration: Until the victim has suffered 50% of his
total hit points in unarmed attack damage. If the
victim is injured already, it may be impossible to
achieve this without rendering him unconscious or
killing him
Damage: Automatic hit with an unarmed attack,
repeated round by round
Torture Modifier: –1
Ability Score Damage: 1d2 Wisdom, 1 Charisma
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Flagellation
The victim is bound to a pole or hung from a chain
and whipped. This method of torture is not effective
against creatures with 3 or more points of natural
armour. If barbed whips are used, or some similar
method of inflicting lethal damage, then substitute
lethal for nonlethal damage below and change the
torture modifier to +1.
Duration: Until victim has suffered 50% of his total
hit points in whip damage. If the victim is injured
already, it may be impossible to achieve this without
rendering him unconscious
Damage: Automatic hit with a whip, repeated round
by round
Torture Modifier: –1
Ability Score Damage: 1d3 Wisdom, 1 Charisma
Water Torture
Gallon after gallon of water is tipped into the
creature’s body through a funnel, causing its stomach
to distend. If this torture is continued for long
enough, the victim’s body bursts and he dies. This is
a drastic and frequently fatal torture method, usually
resorted to in the last ditch.
Duration: 2 hours
Damage: 1d6 Constitution
Torture Modifier: +3
Ability Score Damage: 1d6 Wisdom
Pressing
The victim is placed between two sheets of wood
or metal. Weights (usually rocks) are then added
steadily to it, crushing the creature slowly.
Duration: 1 hour
Damage: 4d6 bludgeoning
Torture Modifier: +2
Ability Score Damage: 1 Wisdom, 1d3 Charisma
Gnawing
This especially horrific form of torture involves the
use of a small captive swarm, such as a jar full of
rats or centipedes. The container is placed over the
victim’s body and the occupants are allowed to gnaw
at the victim’s flesh. If the container is heated, the
swarm panics and tries to burrow its way out through
the victim’s body, automatically inflicting maximum
damage and changing the torture modifier to +4.
Duration: 3 rounds
Damage: 3 automatic hits from the swarm
Torture Modifier: +2
Ability Score Damage: 1d4 Wisdom, 1 Charisma

Tearing
The torturer (or his assistants) uses meat hooks on
chains to pull the flesh away from the victim’s body.
Chain devils are especially fond of performing this
torture; if a chain devil assists with the session, the
torture modifier is raised to +5.
Duration: 30 minutes
Damage: 6d6 plus 1d4 Constitution, 1d4 Strength
Torture Modifier: +3
Ability Score Damage: 1d6 Wisdom, 1d2 Charisma
Flaying
The victim’s skin is cut into strips and peeled from his
body. Some torturers like to keep the skin and make
it into ornaments. This torture can only be inflicted
once.
Duration: Five hours
Damage: As per the flay spell, for which see Infernal
Secrets of Magic
Torture Modifier: +6
Ability Score Damage: 2d4 Wisdom, 1d3 Charisma
Sensory Deprivation
This torture is designed to break the victim’s spirit
by isolating his mind, so that it can feed off its
own churning fears and insecurities. The victim is
confined to a dark place where he cannot see or hear
anything. His environment is impossible to discern.
Creatures that can see in the dark are not susceptible
to sensory deprivation unless they have been blinded
first. If the sensory deprivation is disrupted by
noise or light, the torture fails and the torturer
cannot attempt a Profession (torturer) check. While
undergoing sensory deprivation, the victim cannot
recover ability score damage to Wisdom, Intelligence
or Charisma but heals physical ability score damage
and hit point damage normally.
Duration: One day
Damage: None
Torture Modifier: +2
Ability Score Damage: 1d4 Charisma
Little Ease
This torture places the victim in a tiny, cramped
cell. There is not enough room to stretch out, nor
to sit down. Instead, the victim is forced into a
strained, unnatural position that soon develops into
horrible cramp and fatigue. No further intercession
is necessary; the stricture of the environment is
torture enough. Even if the victim passes out through
unconsciousness, he cannot rest and does not recover
any hit points.
Duration: 12 hours
Damage: 4d6 nonlethal damage
Torture Modifier: +4
Ability Score Damage: 1d3 Wisdom, 1d4 Charisma
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Burning/Searing
The torturer uses the classic mediaeval method of
applying hot irons or acid to the flesh. The victim
must succeed at a Fortitude saving throw (DC 15 plus
the total damage taken) or pass out. He cannot choose
to fail this saving throw voluntarily. The torturer can
use the irons to blind the victim, in which case the
DC of the saving throw is 20 plus the damage taken,
the torture modifier is +6 and the Wisdom damage is
increased by +2.
Damage: 1d6 fire or acid
Torture Modifier: +2
Ability Score Damage: 1d4 Wisdom, 1 Charisma
Torture Modifiers
The following methods can be employed to enhance
a given method of torture. A good torturer always
keeps several weapons in reserve.
Narcotics
You can use cocktails of drugs to make the victim
hallucinate, which makes his experiences all the
more dreadful. A dose of torturer’s chemicals costs
50 gold pieces and requires a Craft (alchemy) project
(DC 18). The victim may make a Fortitude saving
throw (DC 20) to resist the effect. While under the
influence of the narcotic toxins, which lasts for 8
hours, the victim suffers a –4 alchemical penalty to
all Will saving throws and suffers 1d6 Intelligence
damage. Lowered Will saving throws make the
victim much more likely to succumb to torture. Since
it is difficult to feed the drugs to a struggling victim,
they are usually administered by injection.
The hallucinogens are a poison, so immunities and
resistances to poison apply. Repeated doses are
dangerous to the victim’s sanity. A creature that has
its Intelligence reduced to 3 or below by the narcotics
becomes permanently insane and cannot recover
its lost Intelligence naturally. Magical healing of
the calibre of heal is necessary to recover the lost
Intelligence.
Lies And Trickery
The best torturers work with the victim’s beliefs,
tricking him into feeling hope and then snatching it
away from him. A torturer can attempt to do this by
adroit use of the Bluff skill. Rather than providing
strict rules, the Games Master is encouraged to use
imagination and allow players to do the same. As a
general rule, a lie told by the torturer that would lower
the victim’s spirits if it were found to be true (such as
telling the victim that his comrades have been found
and killed and he may as well give up) should bestow
 THE HARVEST OF SOULS
a –1 morale penalty to Will saving throws against
torture if the Bluff skill check is successful. If the
victim sees through the deception, it backfires and he
is entitled to a +1 morale bonus to the same saving
throws, as well as a +4 insight bonus to Sense Motive
skill checks against the torturer’s future attempts to
bluff.
It is best to attempt subterfuges fairly late in the game,
to help finish off whatever remaining willpower the
victim has. Once the victim’s grasp on reality has
slipped and his Wisdom is lowered, his ability to
perform Sense Motive checks is lessened, giving your
bluffs more of a chance to work.
Example: Berrian The Just Is
Subjected To Torture
Berian, a lawful good cleric of 8th level, has been
foolish enough to let himself get captured. His
opposite number, the cleric Esteban, intends to do
more than just prise information out of him; he
intends to break his will completely and convert him
to the cause of Hell. Berian’s Wisdom is 18 (for Will
saving throw modifier of +10) and his Charisma is 14,
so it will take a lot to wear him down. He has a total
of 32 hit points.
Esteban has a total Profession (torturer) skill of +10.
The irons are put into the brazier and a selection of
gleaming instruments are laid out on a tray. Esteban
rolls up his sleeves and goes to work.
Session One: Punches and Kicks. Esteban begins
by beating Berian up, always a good opening gambit.
He can do nothing to resist as the evil cleric taunts
him and thumps him in the stomach. Esteban opts to
inflict nonlethal damage, so as not to damage Berian
too much in the early sessions. After seven rounds
of ‘oofs’ and ‘unfs’, Berian has suffered 17 points of
nonlethal damage, which is more than 50% of Berian’s
total hit points. With that threshold passed, Esteban
can make his first Profession (torturer) skill check.
The torture modifier is –5, since the damage was
nonlethal. Esteban’s check result is 13, which should
be an easy DC for Berian to beat; unfortunately,
the goodly priest rolls a 1 and fails completely. He
suffers 1 point of Wisdom and 1 Charisma damage.
The first tiny crack is appearing in his resolve.
Session Two: Strappado. With plenty of time
left in the three-hour period, Esteban calls in an
assistant, who roughly ropes Berrian into position.
Esteban hauls him up and in a moment of ill-advised
malice immediately drops him, wrenching his arms
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practically out of their sockets. Evidently, there will
be no more non-lethal damage in this torture chamber.
The strappado inflicts 13 points of lethal damage and
2 points of Strength damage. The nonlethal damage
now exceeds the lethal, so Berrian passes out and
Esteban cannot make a Profession (torturer) check.
He will now have to wait for Berrian to wake up.
Marvellous. He stomps off in disgust, deciding that
he will start again the next morning. Overnight,
Berrian recovers 8 hit points, one point of Wisdom,
one of Strength and one of Charisma. He is right
back where he started, with a few bruises.
Esteban sends his thugs in to work Berrian over
before he makes a personal appearance. The two
half-orcs wish Berrian a bright good morning and
begin to belabour him with their fists, using lethal
damage this time. 16 hit points of lethal damage later,
Esteban comes in to gloat and make his Profession
(torturer) check. The modifier is –1: he rolls 24.
Esteban fails to save and suffers 2 points of Wisdom
damage and one point of Charisma. He has only 12
hit points left.
Esteban decides on the hot irons next. He sears
Berrian for 4 points of fire damage. Berrian
unfortunately makes his saving throw and remains
conscious. It is time for another Profession (torturer)
check; the modifier is +2. Esteban rolls 18. Berrian’s
Will saving throw modifier is now only +9, because
of the 2 points of Wisdom damage he took last round.
He rolls a 5 and fails for the second time. Esteban
rolls the maximum Wisdom damage (4) but because
Berrian has already suffered 2 points of Wisdom
damage in this three-hour period, he only suffers
2. Similarly, he cannot suffer a second point of
Charisma damage, because the maximum Charisma
loss from searing is 1 and he has already suffered 1
point of Charisma damage in this three-hour period.
Esteban is off to a good start on his second day
of torture. Berrian is down to 14 Wisdom and 13
Charisma but has also been beaten and scorched
within an inch of his life. He has only 6 hit points.
Any torture that is sufficiently harsh to strip away
more Wisdom and Charisma in a short time will
probably kill Berrian outright, in this state. Esteban
decides to take a break and heads off to his chambers
to wash the blood off his hands and have a nice cup
of tea.
The torture is well and truly underway. Berrian
is physically battered and his Wisdom is being
gradually eroded. Esteban would be well advised to
let Berrian spend a few nights in Little Ease, so as to
whittle down his Charisma.

Infernal
Equipment
T
his chapter details several of the inventions,
transports and contraptions that the demons
and devils have devised to make their lives
easier and more rewarding. Many of these are never
seen on the Prime Material plane, as their function is
determined by one of the phenomena of Hell; there is
no point in bringing a soul trawler across to the Prime
Material plane, as there are no damned souls to fish
for. Biomechanoids can be imported to the Prime
Material but the specific fuels that they need to run
can usually only be found in Hell.
In fer n al Su b s t an c e s
The minerals and vegetable life of Hell are not like
those of the upper world. There is nowhere to find
good granite or healthy wood, which is distressing
to dwarves and druids who find themselves in the
Infernum. Instead, there are several native materials
that are used. These are tough, resilient substances,
as one would expect from Hell; they are all resistant
to fire to some degree, as nothing that was not could
stand the wash of flaming waves from the Infernal
Sea, the rains of cinders or the showers of acid that
occasionally fall.
Binding Metal: Binding metal is as hard as
adamantium and as heavy. It is common in Hell,
lying across the surface of the Infernum in enormous
deposits the size of mountain ranges. Theory has it
that these deposits are the heaven-forged chains that
hold Hell down, without which it would break free
of its moorings and rise up to challenge Heaven once
again.
Binding metal has one crucial quality. A manacle or
chain made from binding metal and fixed around a
creature keeps it confined to the Infernum. While the
bond is in place, the creature cannot be removed from
the Infernum by any form of interplanar travel. It can
move from plane to plane through physical gateways
but may not be summoned, brought through a gate,
moved with a plane shift spell or anything of the kind.
It is customary to attach manacles of binding metal
to all the damned souls of Hell as soon as they arrive
and are claimed. See The Harvest of Souls for more
details.
Creeping Bile: This is a sulphur-yellow oozing
slime that emerges from bile ducts (see above) and
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floods areas of the Infernum, trapping creatures in
place and inflicting acid damage upon them. The
sizzling remains are picked over by the bile devils
that live inside the duct, which are too cowardly to
face their prey in open combat unless they have the
overwhelming weight of numbers on their side, in
which case they will surge out of the duct after the
first wave hits, swarming over characters who are
entangled in the bile. Creeping bile is semi-animate,
sucking at moving things and keeping them from
escaping. Although it is most commonly found
oozing from bile ducts, it has a separate entry here
because devils sometimes store it in containers and
use it as a siege weapon.
When a bile duct begins to spurt, creeping bile surges
out of it in a circle that widens by 50 feet per round
for the first two rounds, then by 40 feet for the next
two and so on. If the bile lake reaches the edge of its
crater, the oozing stops.
Progress through creeping bile is difficult. The slime
can thicken itself, becoming tough and stringy so as
to hold an opponent in place. The bile is also highly
acidic. On the bile duct’s initiative count, any creature
in an area that is washed over by creeping bile must
make a Reflex saving throw (DC 20) or suffer 4d6
points of acid damage and become entangled;
success on the saving throw inflicts only half damage
and allows the creature to move at half its normal
speed. Each round, on the bile duct’s initiative count,
the creeping bile attempts to entangle all creatures
within its area that are not already entangled. Flying
creatures, or creatures that are otherwise keeping off
the ground, are not affected.
Creeping Bile As A Weapon: House Glabretch
is especially fond of the creeping bile and sends
delegations of devils out to the bile ducts to gather
it up. A container of creeping bile can be flung as
a splash weapon. Five pints is the minimum useful
amount; treat lesser amounts of creeping bile as if
they were ordinary flasks of acid. On impact, the bile
spreads out to cover a five-foot area. It functions as
described above, entangling and dissolving creatures
within its area of effect, with the exceptions that it
does so on the initiative count of the creature that
threw it, it does not spread out further than its original
area of effect and it dries to a harmless crust after 20
rounds have elapsed. Creeping bile does not survive
long outside of a bile duct and must be stored in an
airtight container if it is to be kept for later use.
Hellglass: Hellglass deposits are described in
Infernal Environments. Creatures that have Craft
(weaponsmith) can attempt to make weapons from
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT
hellglass. They must however be competent in
working with friable minerals first. To attempt to
make a hellglass weapon, you must first have at least
five ranks in a Craft skill involving working with glass
or gems or carving stone, such as Craft (stonemason)
or Craft (gemcutter).
To craft the weapon, you must first find a piece of
hellglass of approximately the right size and shape,
as the hellglass cannot be mined out without sending
shearing cracks through it. Finding a suitable chunk
to make a simple, small weapon (such as a dagger)
requires a Search check (DC 10) in a hellglass
deposit. Finding a piece to make a weapon the size
of a sword requires a Search check (DC 20), while
finding enough to make a greatsword requires a
Search check (DC 30). The piece only needs to be
large enough to make the bladed or pointed section
of a given weapon. For example, a spear tipped with
hellglass only needs enough to make a dagger, as this
is the size of the tip. The haft can be made from sinew
wood.
Such weapons are very common among the devils
who live in the deserts and mountain peaks.
It is a difficult substance to work with, as
a blow in the wrong place can shatter the
whole item or place a chip in the middle
of a cutting edge. When crafting weapons
with hellglass, a single failed Craft check
– even by as much as a single point – destroys
all of the raw material.
The sharpness of worked hellglass makes it especially
lethal for piercing and slashing. The critical hit range
of weapons made from hellglass that inflict this kind of
damage is increased by one increment. For example,
a short sword made from hellglass would have a
critical hit range of 18–20. The damage multiplier
is not affected. Any weapon that inflicts piercing or
slashing damage may be made with a hellglass blade.
Lumps of hellglass may be made into bludgeoning
weapons but they do not add anything to the critical
hit range and are, if anything, less efficient than
other material for this purpose. They are still made
in great numbers, because of the innate evil charge
of the hellglass, which is very useful when warring
against good-aligned outsiders. As hellglass is native
to the Infernum and is utterly steeped in the evil of the
plane, hellglass weapons count as evil-aligned for the
purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Hellglass weapons have an innate weakness.
Although they are strong enough to stand up to a good
deal of punishment, there are stress lines running
through the material and a blow in the right place can
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shatter them completely. Whenever a sunder attempt
is made against a hellglass weapon and it suffers
damage, or an attack with a hellglass weapon results
in a natural 1 on the attack roll, make a shatter check
for the weapon. Roll 1d20; the DC of the check is 4
for small weapons, 7 for medium weapons and 10 for
large weapons. If the d20 result is lower than the DC,
the weapon shatters.
Primal Iron: Primal iron is found in a few rare
places in the Infernum, never as an ore but always
as a deposit of pure iron in a molten clump. A
typical deposit yields 5d8 pounds of primal iron.
Recognising primal iron when it is found requires
a Craft check (any craft that works with metal) or a
Knowledge (geology) check (DC 20).
Those devils who remember how the Infernum came
to be have recounted that these deposits are the molten
remains of the armour and weapons of ancient, elder
devils (of whom the likes of the pit fiends are but
a weak shadow) who were all incinerated in one
moment when Heaven smote Hell away from its land
mass, sending it down through the Astral Plane to
plunge into the lower spaces and fill them.
Primal iron is suffused with the seething,
frustrated evil of those elder devils that were
destroyed in the moment of Hell’s creation.
Their essence bubbled and broiled within the
metal, filling it with their anger and deathless
malice. Any weapon forged from primal iron
automatically has the unholy special ability, inflicting
an additional 2d6 damage upon good-aligned
opponents. The iron itself, if picked up and hurled as
a clump, also has this ability. A weapon does not have
to be crafted as magical to have this special ability,
nor need it have any enhancement bonus or even be
of masterwork quality. Devils who find deposits of
primal iron will usually hide it away and have it made
into weapons as soon as they can.
Primal iron has the same hardness rating and hit points
per inch as normal iron but melts at a much higher
temperature. It is impossible to work primal iron
without a source of intense heat, such as lava, a red
dragon’s breath or a source of magical fire capable of
inflicting at least 20 points of fire damage in a round.
The DC to craft a weapon from primal iron is 4 higher
than usual, as it is difficult to work with.
Frothstone: Frothstone islands are covered in
Infernal Environments. Frothstone has a hardness
of 2 and 4 hit points per inch. It is very easy to hack
chunks of frothstone out of a surface, if you have a
pick, hammer or similar mining tools for the job. A

single creature can clear a quantity of cubic feet of
frothstone equal to 5 plus his Strength ability score
modifier in ten minutes. Souls who try to escape the
Infernum or to evade pursuit often make burrows
out of frothstone, as it gives them a place to go to
ground.
Sinew Wood: Sinew wood is taken from night-oaks
and suicide willows, peeled away in long strips from
the freshly killed creatures. It looks unpleasantly like
muscle tissue, which is why it has the name it does,
though it is obviously vegetable matter. It is black in
colour with scarlet mottling. Sinew wood is the most
common material used to build the ships in which the
devils fare out on to the Sea of Fire. It is completely
fire-resistant. Sinew wood has a hardness of 8 and
10 hit points per inch; the texture is rock-hard. Many
doors in Infernal structures are made from sinew
wood and the Sturrach house of noble devils prefer to
build their entire dwellings from the stuff.
The wood’s rigidity is only found after the death of
the plant, since sinew wood is very flexible while it
is part of a living creature’s body. Once the night-
oak or suicide willow is dead, rigor mortis begins.
Immediately after death, it is as soft as leather. Six
hours after death, it is like ordinary wood. Twelve
hours after the creature’s death, it is as hard as stone.
The only way to soften it enough to work on it is to
immerse it in blood. It takes approximately one pint
of blood to soften 5 lb. of sinew wood enough to make
it as easy to work as ordinary wood; its full flexibility
can never be restored. The wood dries out and
becomes hard again after six hours. The shipyards of
the noble devils always have a large central cauldron
brimful of blood where lengths of sinew wood lie
steeping.
As the blood of the damned is already in high demand
for use in creating the hell-broth called Agony (see
The Harvest Of Souls) other
sources of blood must perforce
be found. The devils can
always use members of their
own ranks who have fallen
into disfavour but prefer to use
mortals from off-plane, as it is
less wasteful.
Shi ps
There follows a small selection
of the infernal traffic that sails
upon the Flaming Sea. These
ships have been detailed using
the rules system from The
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Book of the Sea, another volume in the Classic Play
line. All infernal ships are made from sinew wood
(see The Geography Of Hell), which is both tough
and fire-resistant.
Devilish Frigate
Medium Warship (Sailed)
Structure Dice: 5d10 (27 sp)
Hardness: 8
Manoeuvrability: +0
Speed: 30 ft./72 miles
Turn Rate: 150 ft.
AC: 10
Weapons Fore: Soul ballista
Weapons Aft: None
Weapons Broadside: 6 Cannons of Torment
Damage: Cannons 10d6/5d6; soul ballista 3d6/-
Special Qualities: Immune to fire damage, optional
turbine drive with agony engine
Crew: 50
Passengers: 70
Cargo: 40 tons
Building Time: 9 months
Cost: 52,000 gp
These hard-hitting craft are the mainstay of the
devils’ naval forces. They are employed to patrol
the Sea of Fire, enforce the limits of allocated soul
fishing grounds and drive away any demonic raiding
parties that attempt to plunder the stock. Soul piracy
is extremely common in Hell. Since the damned
have so many uses, ranging from entertainment to
raw materials, the demons try to make off with as
many of them as they can. The demons’ lands are
peripheral in Hell, while the devils’ holdings are
closer to the centre of the Infernum. This means that
proportionally more of the damned fall into devil-
held territory than that run by the demons. See The
Harvest of Souls for more details.
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT

Agony Turbine: The vessel may be fitted with turbine
power. This requires Agony in order to function. See
the section below for the rules regarding Agony
engines. While the turbine is running, the ship’s
speed is increased by 20 feet. It can use its turbine
whether there is any wind in the region or not.
Demonic Raider
Medium Warship (Sailed)
Structure Dice: 4d10 (22 sp)
Hardness: 8
Manoeuvrability: +0
Speed: 30 ft./72 miles
Turn Rate: 120 ft.
AC: 10
Weapons Fore: Swarf blaster
Weapons Aft: Swarf blaster
Weapons Broadside: 6 soul ballistae
Damage: Swarf blaster special; ballistae 3d6/-
Special Qualities: Immune to fire damage, optional
turbine drive with agony engine
Crew: 70
Passengers: 30
Cargo: 50 tons
Building Time: 7 months
Cost: 46,000 gp
Demonic raider ships are designed to inflict the
maximum possible damage upon a devil-ship’s crew
and leave the vessel itself intact, so that it can be
captured. The sight of a raider is a truly daunting
one. The demons pile as many of their warriors on to
the ship as they can, so as to be sure of outnumbering
the enemy when they commence boarding. Every
available surface is swarmed over by scaled, horned,
chattering fiends.
When an enemy vessel is encountered, the demons
will chase it from close behind, using the fore-
mounted swarf blaster to ‘sweep the decks’. Swarf
blasters rip through flesh, even that of most fiends,
but leave structures intact. They are the infernal
equivalent of grapeshot. Specific targets can be
picked off with the soul ballistae if necessary. Once
enemy numbers are whittled down sufficiently,
boarding can begin.
Demonic raiders will usually seek to attack soul
trawlers, as they present lumbering, vulnerable
targets. More rarely, a whole armada of demons
will descend upon a noble devil colony, ransacking it
completely, raiding the torture palaces and claiming
the island for the demon hordes. Demons lack the
patience to plan detailed raids, so anything involving
more than about three ships is unlikely unless a
demon of considerable presence and authority (such
as a balor) commands the invasion.
Agony Turbine: The vessel may be fitted with turbine
power. This requires Agony in order to function. See
the section below for the rules regarding Agony
engines. While the turbine is running, the ship’s
speed is increased by 20 feet. It can use its turbine
whether there is any wind in the region or not.
Soul Trawler
Huge Merchantman (Sailed, Cumbersome)
Structure Dice: 9d8 (40 sp)
Hardness: 8
Manoeuvrability: –6 (–2 size, –2 merchantman, –2
cumbersome)
Speed: 20 ft./24 miles
Turn Rate: 240 ft.
AC: 6 (–2 size, –2 merchantman)
Weapons Fore: 2 harpoons
Weapons Aft: Net
Weapons Broadside: None
Damage: See below
Special Qualities: Immune to fire damage
Crew: 100
Passengers: 400 prisoners
Cargo: 15 tons
Building Time: 1 year
Cost: 75,000 gp

This immense, miserable hulk

is a prison ship, net-dragger and
harpoon bearer all at once. The
screams of damned souls, on
their way to their final doom,
well up from its bowels. Noble
devil families are responsible
for soul trawlers; they are the
means whereby the family
increases its stock of souls
by working the sector of sea

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allocated to it by the Princes of Hell. Some demon
tribes have successfully captured soul trawlers and
now use them to fish for their own damned stock.
A typical trawler looks like a floating factory, with a
broad net at the back and a ballista-like contraption
at the front. Its function is to patrol the Sea of Fire,
hauling up the bodies of the damned souls who fall
from the sky, slapping manacles of binding metal on
them and bringing them back to the family’s estates
to be processed. The souls who are fished out of the
flames often think that they are being rescued and it is
a truly pathetic sight to see them change from sobbing
in gratitude to howling in terror. One soul trawler
working a section of the Sea of Fire ten miles across
can bring in 10d12 souls per day.
Harpoon: The harpoon is a vicious, barbed shaft
attached to a length of chain that can spool out to a
distance of 200 feet. This is launched from a ballista-
like frame. The creature operating it may use it to
make a ranged attack against any creature of medium
size or larger; it counts as a crossbow for proficiency
purposes. The harpoon inflicts 5d4 piercing damage
upon its targets and also has a chance to impale them.
A creature is at risk of being impaled if it suffers
more than 10 points of damage, since this represents
a square hit from the barb. Less damage than this
simply means that the harpoon’s barbs slashed
the target but the head did not embed itself in the
creature’s flesh.
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A creature that is at risk of being impaled must make
a Reflex saving throw (DC 15) plus 1 for every point
of damage above 10 that was sustained. Keep a
record of how much damage was dealt, as this will
become relevant later on. Success means that the
harpoon does not get stuck in the creature’s body;
failure means that it is embedded there. A harpooned
creature cannot remove the harpoon without causing
damage to itself.
Whenever the harpoon is pulled, it has a chance to
tear itself free. If any creature pulls at the harpoon
from either side, roll 1d20. If the roll result is equal
to or greater than the amount of damage that the
harpoon inflicted when it first struck the creature,
not including any additional damage from critical
hits or other factors, then the harpoon tears out of the
creature’s body, automatically inflicting 5d4 slashing
damage plus the Strength bonus of the strongest
creature pulling at it when it tore free. Pulling against
the barb causes an automatic point of damage even if
it does not rip free, as the harpoon’s head worries at
the tissues in the creature’s body.
The operator of the harpoon can take a standard
action to use its winch to pull the impaled creature
in towards the ship. To do this, the winch makes a
Strength check (with an effective Strength of 24)
which the creature opposes, if it wishes to oppose it,
with a Swim check. This opposition causes trauma to
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT
the wound and inflicts an automatic point of damage
as described above. If the winch wins, it pulls the
creature in towards the ship at the rate of 30 feet per
round. If the creature wins, the winch does not pull
it anywhere; if the creature wins by more than 10, the
chain snaps, though the harpoon remains embedded
in the creature’s flesh. The winch is an infernal
engine and requires Agony in order to function.
Net: The trawler’s net is made from fine, strong
chains woven by the chain devils who serve the family.
The net has hooks and barbs worked into it where the
chains join, to make it even harder for creatures to
escape. It draws in all creatures in a cone behind the
ship, 50 feet wide at the base. Any creature who is
in the area of effect as the trawler’s net passes must
make a Reflex saving throw (DC 25) or be entangled,
as if by a thrown net. The net is completely immune
to fire damage, requires a Strength check (DC 26)
to break or an Escape Artist skill check (DC 26) to
wriggle out of. If either of these checks fails by more
than 5, the creature takes 1d4 piercing damage from
the net’s hooks and barbs.
Agony Turbine: The vessel may be fitted with turbine
power. This requires Agony in order to function. See
the section below for the rules regarding Agony
engines. While the turbine is running, the ship’s
speed is increased by 20 feet. It can use its turbine
whether there is any wind in the region or not.
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Claw Sheaths
These silvery talons resemble the fingers of gauntlets,
only without the rest of the glove. They clip over
a demon’s natural claws, providing an enhanced,
metallic sheath with a razor edge that lets the demon
increase its claw damage significantly. They are very
highly prized among the demonic aristocracy and are
a sign that the bearer is an accomplished fighter, not
one to be trifled with. According to tradition, killing
a demon in single combat allows you to claim his
fighting claws for your own. Many sets of claws
have had a history of multiple owners reaching back
over centuries. They are always made in sets of two
but because of the inevitable loss and damage, single
claws are very common. The claws are always highly
stylised, with swirling decorative patterns worked
into them and such favourite motifs as screaming
skulls and sabre-toothed demonic faces opening and
closing on the knuckle joints.
A set of claw sheaths does not change the base
damage of the demon’s claws, which remains the
appropriate damage for the creature’s size but it does
bestow an enhancement bonus to attack and damage
rolls, possibly with other special abilities. Claw
sheaths are made exactly as magical weapons are,
with the same feats and skills needed to do the job.
The manufacturer must, however, either have at least
5 ranks in Knowledge (the planes) or frequent contact
with the demon for whom the claws are being made
in order to make them, because fitting the claws is
difficult work if you are not well acquainted with the
finer points (excuse the pun) of demonic anatomy.
Devils who fight with claws, such as barbed devils
and pit fiends, will occasionally make use of the claw
sheaths but they are seen as very much a demonic
accoutrement. Oddly enough, among demons it is the
more powerful of the brood who use weapons, while
the rank and file use claws and bites; among devils it
is the other way around.
The reason for the claws’ popularity among demons
is simply that demons love to use their natural
weapons so much that they easily become blunted,
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT

broken and split. A demon with

worn-out claws is easy prey for
ambitious rivals. Claw sheaths
show that you are enough of a
‘big fish’ in demonic circles not
to have to worry about that. It
cannot be doubted that metal-
encased claws add to a demon’s
machismo. They combine the
efficiency and savagery of natural
weapons with the convenience
of a magically enhanced blade.
Most importantly of all, they
help the demons to overcome
the devils’ damage resistance,
simply by dealing larger amounts
of damage than they otherwise
could.
still benefits from being made from cold iron, in
Claw sheaths count as light weapons. It is possible that it can overcome the damage resistance of such
to disarm a creature who is fighting with claw sheaths creatures as dretches and babau.
simply by smashing them off, though of course the
natural claws themselves cannot be removed. The Masterwork Claw Sheaths: A claw sheath must be
target of the disarm attempt does not, however, incur at least of masterwork quality to confer any benefit
the usual –4 penalty to the opposed attack roll when a at all. A demon who fights with an ordinary set of
creature fights with a light weapon, because they are metal claws over his own set simply inflicts his usual
so closely integrated with the wielder’s own body. claw damage, with no change to attack or damage
rolls. Masterwork claw sheaths, like all masterwork
Size And Type: All claw sheaths are sized and typed, weapons, grant a +1 bonus to attack rolls.
because not all demons have the same claw shapes. A
hezrou’s immense talons are not suited to bear the set Magical Claw Sheaths: As with all magical
of elegant flesh-cutters crafted for a succubus queen. weapons, claw sheaths must first be made to
To use a set of claw sheaths at all, a creature must first masterwork standard before they can be enchanted.
have a claw attack listed in its description; remember Claw sheaths may be given any enhancement bonus
that the sheaths are supposed to augment claws that or special abilities that could reasonably be bestowed
are already there, not supply ersatz claws for creatures upon a dagger, according to the Games Master’s
that do not have them. The creature must also be of preference. Claw sheaths of wounding are thus
the correct size and fiendish species. allowable but vorpal ones are not.

Price: The base value for a set of claw sheaths is 45
gold pieces for a medium-sized set, 80 gold pieces
for large and 120 gold pieces for huge. They count
as exotic weapons for manufacturing purposes only.
A masterwork component may be added for the usual
sum of 300 gold pieces.
Materials: The vast majority of claw sheaths are
made from iron, steel or binding metal, since there are
precious few other metals available in Hell. The most
prized claw sheaths of all are those made from silvered
metal, as they can rip through the ranks of lemures,
bearded devils and chain devils with consummate
ease. Since demons’ most common opponents (after
the good outsiders and the devils) are other demons,
the second most prized claw sheaths are those made
from cold iron. Even a non-masterwork claw sheath
Telepathic Amplifier
This device resembles a sphere squashed on to the
top part of a pyramid, the whole contrivance being
five feet across and made from riveted metal. The
amplifiers are used by demons and devils alike to
extend the range of their telepathic abilities. A fiend
within 100 ft. of a telepathic amplifier may send a
mental signal to another fiend, or group of fiends,
within 100 ft. of any other telepathic amplifier
within five miles of the first. The fiend is aware of
the presence of all other amplifiers in range and may
choose which one to send to.
The amplifier allows direct mind-to-mind
communication with one other creature within the
operating range, or simple one-word communication

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with all creatures within the operating range. For
example, a group of demons in a sentry post has a
telepathic amplifier nearby; the demons in a second
sentry post further inward has one too; their command
base, half a mile under the ground, also has one. When
an enemy is sighted at the sentry post, the hezrou in
command can deliver the quick signal of ‘intruders!’
to all demons within 100 ft. of the telepathic amplifier
in the second sentry post, giving them plenty of
advance warning. On the next round, he sends the
same signal to the command base. Depending on
how fierce the fighting is, he may also be able to
give a full report to the command base, giving more
lengthy descriptions of who is approaching, how they
are armed and so forth. Similarly, the command base
can issue instructions to its sentry posts, telling them
to be especially alert for certain creatures, such as
(for example) escaped prisoners or beings trying to
disguise themselves as demons.
In fern al M ac h i n e s
An infernal machine is a piece of underworld
technology that generates force by consuming the
hell-broth called Agony and applies it through simple
moving parts. Infernal machines are only found in
Hell, as they all require hell-broths as fuel. The
living machines that are known as biomechanoids
(see Infernal Equipment) often use Agony as their
source of nourishment.
Hell is a place of great and terrible machines. Soul-
harvesting ships churn their way through the flaming
sea, demons carve swathes through enemies with
smoke-belching weapons like circular saws and huge
factories grind the bodies of the damned into pulped
meat. The only possible fuel for infernal machines
is fresh Agony, detailed in The Harvest Of Souls.
This is a mixed blessing; the only source for Agony
is damned souls, so the machines are essentially
restricted to Hell, as they cannot operate for long
without fuel. However, the additional need to keep
fresh legions of the damned in agony (so that the fuel
supply will increase) just contributes to the unending
misery of Hell and keeps the fiends busy corrupting
potential candidates.
Agony Consumption By Machine Size
Engine Size
Small (hand-held machine)
Medium (cargo lift, light siege engine)
Large (small warship turbine, heavy siege engine)
Huge (soul trawler, mechanised torture palace)
Gargantuan (drilling machine)
Colossal (mechanised stronghold)
mike mitchell (order #8652403)
The amount of fresh Agony needed to power a
given device, whether it is an unliving machine or a
biomechanoid life form, depends on its size and the
amount of work it needs to do. Refer to the table
below to find out how much Agony is needed to keep
a given machine running for ten hours. An additional
column gives the number of souls that need to be
installed in an agony engine (see below) to keep it
running constantly. Fewer souls than this can of
course be installed, though if this is done the machine
will only be usable at intervals.
An infernal machine can be created to give motor
power to just about any simple device that the
Games Master can envision. Simply assume that
the amount of Strength that the machine can exert
is that of a creature two size categories larger than
the machine itself. Such a machine can carry out
only straightforward motor activities. These would
include turning a wheel, pulling a load or lifting
a weight. Infernal machines cannot think and
are emphatically not constructs. They cannot be
constructed to anything like the levels of engineering
for which the gnomes are famous. Such complicated
entities as hellcycles are biomechanical life forms,
not infernal machines; they are not manufactured,
they are grown.
Operating An Infernal Machine: Almost all
infernal machines have only two settings: on and
off. It takes a full-round action to activate an infernal
machine. A machine of large size or greater needs
1d4+1 rounds to ‘warm up’ after activation before it
is fully operational.
Making An Infernal Machine: Manufacturing an
infernal machine requires Craft (blacksmith) checks,
as if one were making any other object from metal.
The manufacturer must be a fiend himself, or have
a fiend present throughout the manufacture process.
The overall cost of the machine for manufacturing
purposes is 1,000 gold pieces multiplied by the
amount of Agony it consumes in ten hours, as
listed above. For example, a large infernal machine
would cost 5,000 gold pieces. The DC of the Craft
(blacksmith) check is always 22, irrespective of the
size of the infernal machine being built.
Agony Consumption Souls Needed
1/5 of a dose 1
1 dose 5
5 doses 25
20 doses 100
50 doses 250
100 doses 500
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Machine Hit Points: Determine

a machine’s hit points as if it were
a construct of equivalent size. For
example, a Large machine would
have 30 bonus hit points and at
least 2 HD, which would be d12.
Machines are objects, not creatures
and so do not have saving throws
unless attended by an operator.
The machine’s Hardness depends
upon the material from which it
is made. It is assumed that all
infernal machines are made from
steel, which has a hardness of 10, or
sinew wood, which has a hardness
of 8. Machines can be repaired in
the same way as other damaged
objects, with a Craft (blacksmith) skill check at DC Acid Hurler (Medium)
22. This is a crude mechanical pump, attached to a short
flexible length of hose garnered from the leathery guts
When a machine is reduced to a quarter of its total hit of some unfortunate fiend. It is fitted with a reservoir
points, it may malfunction. It has a 1 in 4 chance per in which acidic chemicals ferment. The acid must
round of seizing up. Should this occur, the machine be made separately with Craft (alchemy) checks;
will not work again until repaired. A machine some fiends prefer to use creeping bile instead, as it
reduced to zero hit points is destroyed. is easier to harvest. The reservoir holds 50 pints of
acid or bile.
Example Infernal Machines When in operation, the pump projects a blast of acid
The following devices give an idea of the kinds of
to a range of up to 100 feet, with a range increment
machine that Hell has developed.
of 20 feet. It can be set to ‘constant stream’ or ‘single
spurt’. Single spurt mode discharges a gout of acid
Cannon Of Torment (Large) when the nozzle is squeezed. The operator may make
Typically used as a shipboard weapon, this ranged attacks with this acid stream without taking
medium-sized infernal machine uses an explosion the –4 proficiency penalty for throwing a flask, as
of compressed gases to propel an iron or stone the stream is easier to aim. A creature struck by
ball at massive velocity. It makes a lot of noise the blast takes damage as if a flask of acid had hit it.
when operational, emitting a shuddering chugging The machine uses up one pint of acid per discharge
sound that shakes the floor nearby and bestows a –4 when in this mode. Constant stream mode allows
circumstance penalty to all Listen checks within 20 the operator to discharge the acid as a stream 50 feet
feet. long, automatically inflicting 2d6 acid damage on
all targets within the affected area. A Reflex saving
A special check is needed to place the shot, as with all throw (DC 10 + the operator’s ranged attack modifier)
siege engines; see Core Rulebook II for details. is allowed for half damage.
The operator may attempt to make a ranged attack
with the cannon at a living target using his usual
ranged attack modifier, but such an attack is subject
Swarf Blaster (Medium)
This object looks just like a piece of machinery culled
to a –4 competence penalty as the cannon is not a
from some dwarven mine or factory. It has a hopper
weapon that is designed to be used to attack creatures
at the top, a huge grinding wheel at the back and a
and also to a further –4 circumstance penalty as
strange array of pipes, bellows and wheezing pistons
the cannon cannot easily be aimed to track a living
beneath. From the front emerges a conical fixture,
creature. The cannon has a range increment of 200
like a megaphone. The whole array is mounted
feet. The damage inflicted upon a living target is
upon a swivel, so that it can be turned and aimed at
10d6 bludgeoning damage. It requires a crew of only
a target.
2 to operate, one to load and one to fire. It takes one
full-round action to reload a Cannon Of Torment.

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Clearing a blocked swarf blaster requires ten minutes

of work and a Craft (blacksmith) skill check (DC
18).

Land Drill (Huge)

This is a tripod twenty feet high and the same distance
across, in the centre of which is a great juddering drill
shaft five times that height. Originally intended as a
mining engine, so that deposits of binding metal and
other useful resources could be reached, the land drill
has become more of an infernal siege weapon. Since
so much of Hell involves levels of habitation stacked
on top of one another, the best way to breach an
enemy stronghold is not to batter at the gates (if you
can even reach them) but to smash downward through
the roof. The land drill is the most efficient way of
doing this.

When operational, the drill can open up a shaft ten

feet across, descending at the rate of one foot per
minute through solid rock. It can bore through metal
softer than steel at the rate of one foot per hour;
The swarf blaster converts ingots of metal into razor-
harder metals, such as adamantium, block it. The
sharp shards, which are then (as the name implies)
drill may not descend further than 100 feet, nor may
blasted at the target with massive pressure. Fearsome
it be used horizontally. It may, however, be used to
blue sparks fly from the machine while it is in action.
tunnel upwards from below.
The machine requires one operator, who can take a
standard action to fire the device; it can be fired once
per round. The blaster emits a cone of flying swarf
20 feet wide at the base. All creatures within this
area of effect suffer 5d4 damage from flying metal
shards, with a Reflex saving throw (DC 10 plus the
operating creature’s ranged attack bonus) allowed for
half damage. Example Agony Engine: The Black Lily
One of the most feared of the independent
The weapon takes advantage of the vulnerability of demon warships is that piloted by Edmund
certain low-ranking devils to specific metals. Silver Creach, a rogue travesty who broke free of his
bypasses the damage reduction of some devils and demonic masters and set up in business as a pirate
cold iron has a similar effect on several demons.
and soul raider. His ship is driven by sail (see
No metal harder than steel can be used in the swarf
blaster, as it is not strong enough to chew it up.
The Sea Of Fire) but keeps a special little device
in the lower hull for additional propulsion when
A swarf blaster needs ingots of metal as ammunition. necessary. This is an agony engine linked to a
The standard block used for this purpose weighs turbine, which can add 20 feet per round to the
twenty pounds, which is enough for one shot. ship’s speed when it is active and dispenses with
Reloading the swarf blaster is a full-round action; an the need for sails.
assistant can undertake this, to leave the operator free
to aim and fire the device. The blaster can only accept The engine is of Large size and thus consumes
properly shaped ingots if it is to remain functional. It half a dose of Agony per hour of use. It is home
is possible to use twenty pounds of other metal, such
to only one tormented soul, the shade of the
as swords and armour, as ammunition but this has
a flat 1 in 4 chance to jam the machine completely.
sorcerer Michel Valjean, who was sufficient of
Magical metal objects fed into the hopper are entitled a wretch in life to have a Corruption rating of 15.
to a Will saving throw (DC 20) to avoid being ground The agony engine can thus generate one dose of
to shrapnel; if they succeed, the machine jams. Agony per week.

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The drill head moves slowly, so is easy to avoid. It
moves on an initiative count of 1. If it moves into
a creature’s space, it automatically inflicts 20d6
slashing damage per round of contact. This is only
likely to happen if a helpless creature is left in the
drill’s path.
After every 20 minutes of operation, roll 1d20. On
a roll of 1, the drill’s head has become blunted and
must be replaced. This takes 30 minutes of work and
at least 3 creatures of medium size or larger.
Land drills are not mobile. They are dismantled,
taken to the site where they are to be used and erected
there. Assembling a land drill takes six hours and at
least 6 creatures of Medium size or larger.
Agony Engines
The need to use fresh Agony as fuel has led to the
development of ‘agony engines’, devices that are
simultaneously torture devices, Agony extractors and
machines. One or more souls is kept in the engine at
all times, undergoing constant torment, while metal
pipes siphon away the blood that falls, bearing it to
glass alembics in which it is converted to Agony.
This is then fed into the larger machinery in order
to power it. As with ordinary Agony extraction, the
more corrupt the soul, the more Agony is generated.
Some agony engines contain only one or two souls,
who were sufficiently evil in life to keep an entire
machine running on their own.
store is equal to the amount needed to keep it running
for ten hours. This Agony is stored well inside the
engine, to prevent fiends from cracking open the
fuel tanks and drinking the contents, a remarkably
common practice.
Within an agony engine, the devices that do the actual
torturing – scalpels, thumbscrews, rotary blades and
so forth – are also fuelled by the Agony that the
victims produce but they use so little of it that it does
not affect performance. However, an agony engine
that runs out of fuel or that is manually stopped
cannot restart itself. The souls within sigh in relief,
no pain is experienced, the Agony does not flow and
the machine is still. It is therefore necessary to ‘kick
start’ the engine by dealing out pain to one of the
souls. Agony engines come equipped with tools for
this purpose, such as lump hammers and whips.
A soul may try to resist giving in to the manually
inflicted pain; if it succeeds on a Will saving throw
(DC 20), it can prevent the agony engine from
starting up. It must make this saving throw on every
round that it is tormented. As soon as it fails, it howls
in pain, the Agony flows, the torture devices start up
and the whole device roars into life.

Not all infernal machines incorporate agony engines.

Some simply accept Agony through a fuel pipe and
are filled whenever possible.

An agony engine can be set to accumulate fuel

instead of running constantly. This is the best
option when you will not need to use the
engine all the time. The soul inside is
still kept in excruciating pain
but the Agony produced is
kept in reservoirs instead
of being fed into the
machines as fuel. The
amount of Agony that an
engine of a given size can

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fight on the side of the demons just as eagerly as the

Filling Stations devils.
Agony engines are efficient, as they provide their
own fuel but they can also be bulky. If the souls
that you are using are not corrupt enough, you need Biomechanical Creature Type
a great number of them in order to extract enough Biomechanoids combine the mechanical structure
Agony to keep your machine running. In regions and capabilities of constructs with the independent
of the Infernum where many infernal machines are sentience and versatility of organic life forms. They
used, such as the demonic tunnelling regions or the are a hybrid of living creature and machine, magically
plains where the cycle tribes ride, torture palaces are fused into one atrocity. Only Hell has produced
sometimes established that act as filling stations. biomechanoids with any regularity, though they are
believed to exist on other planes.
Agony purchased from these places is costlier than
usual, with a 20% tariff imposed upon the gold price. The vast majority of biomechanoids are made to a
The preferred way to pay is in souls. All filling purpose and do not deviate from it. They are, in
stations accept souls in exchange for Agony flasks, essence, mechanically enhanced slaves. Since a
with the going rate being five souls to the flask. biomechanoid is very much better at maintaining
Especially evil souls can fetch more. It is a favourite itself than a blind, unthinking machine would be,
pastime for demonic bikers (see Demon Bikers From they are prized by the demons and devils as reliable
Hell) to ride out in search of souls, hunt them down and efficient devices. Biomechanoids serve fiends in
from their hellcycles with thrown nets and spears, many different ways, acting as vehicles, tools, siege
then haul them back to the filling station and trade engines, symbiotic weapons and heavy machines.
them in for fuel.
Features: A biomechanoid has the following
features.
—10-sided Hit Dice.
Biom e c h an o i ds —Base attack bonus equal to total Hit Dice (as
Hell is a place of rending, soulless machines. fighter).
Those who have glimpsed the levels of Hell where —No good saving throws.
automated torture palaces churn the bodies of the —Skill points equal to (2 + Intelligence modifier,
damned ceaselessly into raw masses of flesh have minimum 1) per Hit Die, with quadruple skill points
reported that a select few of the machines are alive. for the first Hit Die.
Demon lords have been seen with symbiotic weapons Traits: A biomechanoid possesses the following
clamped to their flesh, which fire off scuttling spider- traits, unless otherwise noted in a creature’s entry.
like creatures or whirl a cutting blade. The fiends —No Constitution score.
have clearly managed to breed servants that are —Low-light vision.
both mechanical and organic, allowing independent —Darkvision out to 60 feet.
intelligent action on the servant’s part, coupled —The mechanical form and tough body of a
with the endurance and monstrous strength of the biomechanoid allows it to achieve supernaturally
machine. Perhaps the most striking innovation is high levels of Strength that ordinary organics cannot
that biomechanoids can incorporate wheels into their reach, not without increasing their overall mass and
bodies, something which no other creature has done, muscle. As a result, biomechanoids have the Strength
with the possible exception of the Inevitables from range of a creature two levels higher than their actual
the machine plane. size.
—Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis,
The origin of the biomechanoids is not certain. The stunning, disease, death effects and necromancy
most common account of their origin attributes it to effects.
a rogue faction of House Zethu, that most eternally
inventive of noble devil houses. The steam devil (see Bonus
Devil Species) is not a biomechanoid, though it is Biomechanoid Bonus Hit Biomechanoid Hit
remarkably similar to one and it is well known that Size Points Size Points
House Zethu produced steam devils as a weapon to Fine — Large 15
use against Heaven – surely the similarities are too Diminutive — Huge 20
great to be coincidence! This theory is somewhat Tiny — Gargantuan 30
undermined by the biomechanoids’ failure to exhibit Small 5 Colossal 40
consistent alignment. They may be mostly machine
Medium 10
but this has not made them lawful and they will

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—Immunity to any effect that requires a Fortitude
saving throw unless the effect also works on objects,
or is harmless.
—Spell resistance equal to Hit Dice +5.
Biomechanoids are intrinsically resistant to magic.
—Not at risk of death from massive damage.
—Immediately destroyed when reduced to 0 hit
points or less.
—Because its body is mostly composed of unliving
matter, a biomechanoid is difficult to destroy. It
gains bonus hit points based on size, as shown on the
following table.
—Proficient with its natural weapons only, unless
generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient
with any weapon mentioned in its entry. Some
biomechanoids have no natural weapons.
—Proficient with no armour.
—Biomechanoids need a specific, named fuel to stay
alive, to nourish their organic parts. A biomechanoid
that is not fed with fuel becomes inert and inactive.
After 24 hours without fuel, it begins to suffer the
effects of starvation. No foodstuff other than the
named fuel will suffice. Biomechanoids rest in the
same manner that elves do, by entering trance for four
hours per night.
The following subtypes and special abilities apply to
biomechanoids.
Vehicle Subtype: Biomechanoids of this type are
created to serve as mounts and transports. They can
always carry at least one other creature.
Wheeled Subtype: Wheeled biomechanoids benefit
from a racial bonus to their Speed of +20 feet. As
their wheels limit their freedom of movement, they
usually have a restriction on how far they can turn
with a given move.
Industrial Subtype: These biomechanoids are used
to perform heavy tasks such as mining, drilling and
lifting. They typically have high Strength and low
Dexterity. It is rare for them to have more than one
attack mode. They are not given combat-oriented
feats. Industrial biomechanoids are of at least large
size.
Tool/Weapon Subtype: These biomechanoids are
never of greater than small size. They are created in
order to be used as portable equipment. A creature
can attack with one of these biomechanoids as if it
were a weapon. When this is done, the biomechanoid
adds one-half its Strength ability score modifier to the
attack and damage rolls. A powerful biomechanoid
weapon can be every bit as potent as a magical
weapon.
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While another creature is wielding a biomechanical
creature of this kind, it must be attacked with a
Sunder attempt instead of being struck as normal.
They can also be struck out of the wielder’s hands
with a disarm attempt, though they actively attempt to
avoid this. In either case, the biomechanoid may add
its Dexterity ability score modifier to the wielding
creature’s roll, to avoid being disarmed or sundered.
Biomechanical creatures cannot make attacks of their
own while they are being wielded.
Static Subtype: Static biomechanoids have no Speed
and cannot move around. They can never take such
feats as Run or Spring Attack. They benefit from a +8
racial bonus when rolling to resist attempts to knock
them down. Static biomechanoids are usually placed
where a simple job needs to be done over and over
again; a typical example would be a crane or a torture
machine.
Blood Subsistence: The biomechanoid can fuel itself
by drawing blood from its host and needs no other
sustenance. This ability is very common among
tool/weapon biomechanoids, which are fastened
to the user’s flesh, drive their feeding needles into
the user’s body and remain there indefinitely. A
biomechanoid with this ability deals 1d4 damage to
its host per day but never needs to be given any other
fuel. This ability always ignores damage resistance.
Fitting a biomechanical tool or weapon with this
ability to yourself is a full-round action. The tool or
weapon will not function for you until it has fastened
its feeding probosces in your body.
Example Biomechanical Weapon:
Ripsaw
Tiny Biomechanoid (Evil, Extraplanar, Machine/
Tool)
Hit Dice: 2d10 (11 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 5 ft. (1 square)
Armour Class: 16 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +2 size)
touch 13, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/–2
Attack: Saw blade +6 melee (1d10+6)
Full Attack: Saw blade +6 melee (1d10+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Ignore Hardness
Special Qualities: Biomechanoid traits, spell
resistance 7, blood subsistence
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +0
Abilities: Str 18, Dex 12, Con -, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha
10
Skills: Spot +5
Feats: Improved Sunder
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT

Environment: Infernum Advancement: 9–16 HD (Large), 17–24 HD

Organisation: Domesticated within Infernum (Huge)
Challenge Rating: 1 Level Adjustment: —
Treasure: None
Alignment: Any evil A hellcycle is an Agony-fuelled biomechanoid that
Advancement: 3–4 HD (Tiny), 5–6 HD (Small) could only have come from the most freakishly foul
Level Adjustment: — of Hell’s pits. It is a tangle of metal and organic
matter that is clearly alive in some ghastly fashion;
This biomechanoid resembles the severed head of a it emits a horrible purring noise when stationary
swordfish, with little blank eyes and a long blade- and roars like a jungle cat when spurred to speed.
like device jutting from its face, with vibrating teeth Hellcycles are very popular among the tribes of
around the edge. From the creature’s rear extend little demons who dwell on the plains of the Infernum and
lashing tentacles with rigid needle tips. When it is many of them base their whole lives around hellcycle
not affixed to a host creature, it uses these tentacles to culture. See Demon Bikers From Hell.
crawl along; when it is conjoined, it uses them to feed
from the host’s body. The hellcycle rests on two great wheels the size
of round shields, which are rimmed with rubbery
Ignore Hardness: Ripsaws are violently abrasive, material like the sliced-off lips of a giant. The whole
shearing through materials softer than metal or stone. object gives off a stench that mingles machine oil
When wielded against an object, the ripsaw ignores and burning flesh. Above the front wheel is a single,
all hardness ratings of 5 or less and treats hardness malevolent, slit-pupilled eyeball, which glows with
ratings of 6 or more as if they were one level lower light, giving off equivalent illumination to a bullseye
than they actually are. lantern. The biomechanoid has spongy, leathery pads
on its back that allow a maximum of two creatures
Improved Sunder: The ripsaw transfers the benefits to ride upon it. A typical combination for demons
of this feat to the wielder. is to have the rider at the front armed with a lance,
while the demon sat behind him casts spells or makes
ranged attacks.
Example Biomechanical Vehicle:
Hellcycle Powerful Charge (Ex): A hellcycle deals 2d4+14
Medium Biomechanoid (Evil, Extraplanar, points of damage when it makes a charge.
Vehicle)
Hit Dice: 8d10+10 (46 hp) Subspecies: Like all biomechanical equipment, the
Initiative: +1 hellcycle is a creature as well as a device. It needs no
Speed: 60 ft. (12 squares) other fuel than Agony, though some cycles seem to
Armour Class: 21 (+1 Dex, +10 natural) touch 11, enjoy drinking blood. The description given above
flat-footed 20 describes a generic hellcycle. Several subspecies are
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+15 given below.
Attack: Slam +15 melee (1d4+10)
Full Attack: Slam +15 melee (1d4+10) Vampire: This hellcycle can repair itself quickly
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. when fed with blood. Instead of a slam attack, it
Special Attacks: Powerful Charge uses two hollow bone barbs on either side of its front
Special Qualities: Biomechanoid traits, spell ‘wheel’ to make an impaling bite attack. This deals
resistance 13 1d6+10 piercing damage. A successful bite attack
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +2 against a creature that has blood in its veins allows
Abilities: Str 24, Dex 12, Con -, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha the hellcycle to heal 3 hit points.
10
Skills: Balance +12, Jump +18 Firestarter: This cycle emits a continuous jet of
Feats: Endurance, Run, Improved Overrun flame from its rear end. When it moves, the final
three squares that it moves through to reach its
Environment: Infernum current position are filled with flame for one round,
Organisation: Domesticated within Infernum to a height of 10 feet. This flame deals 6d6 points of
Challenge Rating: 5 damage to any creatures caught in these squares, with
Treasure: None a Reflex saving throw (DC 14) allowed to take half
Alignment: Any evil damage. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.

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Blackbat: The hellcycle can extend leathery wings
out from its sides. These do not allow it to fly but it
can glide freely if it has a place to launch itself from.
It can fly at a speed of 60 ft. (12 squares) with Poor
manoeuvrability and cannot gain altitude. When
gliding, the cycle must move exactly its full speed; it
cannot move any less or any more than 12 squares.
Slasher: This hellcycle has blade-like ‘fins’ down
the side, which can be used to attack opponents.
The hellcycle’s attack damage is increased to 1d6+7
slashing.
Wasp: This hellcycle is faster and more manoeuvrable
than others but is more lightly armoured. Its natural
armour bonus is only +4 but it has a Speed of 80 ft.
(16 squares) and a turning allowance of 45 degrees.
Omega: This hellcycle is covered with glossy black
armour plating, like a large insect. It has a natural
armour bonus of +12. The Omega’s slam attack
bestows one negative level upon the target; each
level so bestowed grants the Omega five temporary
hit points. Omegas are the rarest of all hellcycles and
are usually ridden only by vampire lords and demon
princes.
Hellcycle Movement: A hellcycle can move
independently, or allow itself to be ridden by a
creature. When a creature uses a hellcycle as its
mount, the two of them move on the creature’s
initiative count. The normal rules of mounted combat
apply; see Core Rulebook I.
Certain special movement rules apply to hellcycles,
as they are wheeled creatures. A hellcycle may turn
once at any point in its move, up to 30 degrees. Some
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hellcycles have tighter turning circles than this, as
detailed above. Any hellcycle may make this turn
while making a normal or double move but none
can normally turn while ‘running’. In addition,
hellcycles may ‘drift’ up to ten feet left or right for
every full thirty feet they move forwards. This is
performed as a free action and in no way impedes any
other movement the cycle may perform. Creatures
mounted on hellcycles may make attacks as if they
were on ordinary combat-trained mounts. The same
feats apply.
Tight Turns: A hellcycle may attempt to make a
much tighter turn than is entirely safe. It may choose
to make two turns in a round instead of just one,
though these must be made at the beginning and end
of the move – they may not be made halfway through
as a normal turn may. This is a full round action and
requires the hellcycle to make a Dexterity check (DC
12) if it is moving at base speed and DC 15 at double
speed. A single turn may be made at running speed,
again with a successful Dexterity check, this time at
DC 25. If the hellcycle is being ridden by a creature,
then you may substitute the creature’s Ride skill
check for the hellcycle’s Dexterity check and use the
higher result of the two.
Hellcycle Stunts: The creature riding a hellcycle can
perform simple stunts such as jumping from one ledge
to another. The creature must make a Ride check (DC
25) at the start of the jump; failure indicates loss of
control, with a –10 circumstance penalty applied to
the subsequent Jump skill check. The cycle itself
then makes the Jump skill check to see how far it has
managed to travel through the air.
 INFERNAL EQUIPMENT

It’s no more than I deserve.

That’s what the voices tell me, every time the world swims back into being and I realise that it is happening
again. Little hissing, whispering voices in my head. Funny. When I was alive, they told me to stop. I never
listened to them then. Now, they tell me that this is what I deserve.

I wake, screaming, with my belly smooth and unmarked; for an instant I wonder what is real.

I do not know what happens while I sleep. I have tried to stay awake but it never works. Things happen to a plan,
here. You cannot change it. Time after time, day after day, the same events, the same repetition.

Sleep and the nightmare about smothering; then waking to find myself chained in the same place as yesterday
and the day before and the day before that and so on for the unending corridor of days that reaches back into the
past like a mirror held up against a mirror held up against a...

When I wake, I can feel it moving inside me. Again.

It’s no more than I deserve.

I wonder sometimes who plans what happens to the likes of me. I don’t know who was watching, who was taking
the bloody notes when I used those girls. Clearly, that is what this is about. From town to town, from girl to
girl. Pleasure and screaming and blood.

The ones I allowed to live bore children, usually. It seems that that little detail was what inspired whoever keeps
me here.

It would chill you to know how easy it was to do as I did. If more people knew how ridiculously exaggerated
their idea of the law’s competence is, they would steal and murder and rape in a heartbeat. I got away with it all
my life. I didn’t listen to the voices that told me to stop.

Of course, now I can’t do anything but listen to them.

They hiss and whisper and scratch in the back of my brain. The thing in my belly grows and moves and grows
and kicks. My stomach is taut and painful now. A man’s belly distended with unnatural life, red and tender.

It’s my turn, you see. Today and tomorrow and the day after, until the last of the grains of matter in the universe
is crumbled to dust.

The pain is venomous; I would convulse if I could but the chains hold me. It is beginning.

Every night, they impregnate my guts with uninvited life. Every day, it breeds and swells and grows, and then
we come to this part. The part when it leaves my body.

The darling little child is eating its way out from the inside.

It’s no more than I deserve

No more than I deserve
No more...

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Infernal Creature Types That May Be

Transfigured
Transfiguration Only humanoids, monstrous humanoids, corporeal
undead, outsiders and giants may be subjected to
infernal transfiguration. Animals, beasts, elementals,

T
he most trusted and valued servants of Hell aberrations, magical beasts, plants, dragons, oozes,
may, if they are lucky, be gifted with a different vermin and constructs may not. Incorporeal undead
fate to eternal damnation after they die. This are also unable to undergo the process, with the one
is what keeps the wicked on the road to greater exception being damned souls, which are not only
corruption; if they are evil enough, they can escape eligible, they are the most likely creatures to undergo
damnation and join the legions of the true Lords of the process.
Hell. For the true elite, this fate can befall them while
they still live, preserving them forever without fear of Only outsiders, damned souls and corporeal
aging and transforming them into mighty augmented undead may become fiends by means of infernal
warriors for Hell’s cause. transfiguration. Humanoids, monstrous humanoids
and giants become hellreavers or travesties.
This fate is called infernal transfiguration, the
process whereby a damned soul can be transformed
into a devil or demon, or an incarnate mortal can Qualifying For Infernal
be transformed into a hellreaver or a travesty.
Hellreavers are mortals whose bodies are warped to
Transfiguration
Those who were in bonded relationships with
resemble those of devils, granting them formidable
demonic or devilish patrons in life and who die
natural weaponry and inherent powers, while
without displeasing the patron significantly are
travesties are the demonic equivalent. The creature
automatically eligible for infernal transfiguration.
gives up its former type and becomes an outsider,
These are the lucky ones. Any other previously
no longer a mortal. Only lawful evil or chaotic evil
mortal candidates must be chosen from the uncounted
creatures can survive infernal transfiguration; neutral
millions of damned souls by a devil or demon
evil beings have their own business to attend to and
authorised to do so. In the devil-controlled territories
may not benefit from the rank-swelling activities of
of Hell, this privilege is extended to the bone devils,
the devils and their demonic foes.
with the pit fiends ratifying their decision. In the
demon territories, any demon may propose a soul or
Some fiends of low rank, who have been labouring
collection of souls for transfiguration directly to the
for years in the service of Hell, undergo infernal
balor in charge.
transfiguration in the hope that they will be reborn as
a superior class of fiend. Only a very few dare to do
The fiends choose the souls based on what they
this, because the rigid caste system in place in Hell
observe them doing. If a soul is meekly accepting
means that escape from one’s allotted place is next
its torment, or pointlessly raving and screaming
to impossible. Nonetheless, the prospect that they
defiance, it is passed by. The vast majority of souls
might one day rise above their station is a motivation
do this. Very rarely, a soul is observed who stands
for a vast number of the fiends. It keeps them hard
out from the crowd. Some souls just do not fit in
at work tormenting the damned, as this allows them
and use all their determination to attract the attention
to earn new levels of Corruption (albeit slowly)
of Hell. They might do this by being relentlessly
and thus have a better chance of coming back as a
polite to their tormentors, or by constantly criticising
superior class of fiend.
their performance – ‘you don’t want to do it like
that, you’ve got the angle all wrong, now look what
Undergoing infernal transfiguration means giving up
you’ve done, there’s innards everywhere!’ – or even
all hope of immortality. If you arise as an outsider,
by showing unusual ingenuity or resource in an
your soul and new body will be one unit. This means
escape attempt, though such attempts are always
that you may never again be raised or resurrected and
bound to fail. The fiends are not stupid. They know
may only be restored to life by limited wish, wish,
when a damned soul would make a good addition to
miracle or true resurrection.
their ranks.

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Recruitment often makes for troubled relations

between the noble devil houses and the
military hierarchy. Especially corrupt
souls are valuable to the noble devils
because they can be farmed to yield
large amounts of hell-broth (see The
Harvest Of Souls) but they are also
desirable to the military devils, because
their high Corruption means that
they are more likely to mutate into a
powerful new form. In cases of conflict
of interest, the Lords of Hell rule in
favour of the military devils, meaning
that the noble houses often try to hide
away their prize damned souls where
the military cannot find and sequester
them. Hell being what it is, there is
always a lot of corruption and bribery
involved and a bone devil recruiting
sergeant can often be induced to
look the other way with a generous
private gift of hell-broth.

Shock Troops: When either of

the two great sides in Hell needs
to increase its ranks quickly, damned
souls are herded into the Hall of
Changings in droves and subjected to
forcible infernal transfiguration. The
resulting eggs are treated with Foul
Chrism (see below), which forces
the souls to mutate into lemures or
dretches instead of any higher form.

creatures at once. Once the ritual is complete, all the

The Ritual Of Changing
Bestowing infernal transfiguration is a privilege that
only the highest-ranking fiends hold. It requires
the joint activity of three fiends, who must be pit
fiends, balors or some power of Hell superior even
to them. All those who are accepted for infernal
transfiguration, the incarnate and the discarnate alike,
assemble in a vast hall in Hell, where the three fiends
in concert perform a ritual that takes one whole hour
to complete. Each of the noble houses has such a
hall, with a central one for the military devils.
The ritual involves chanting of page after page of
barbaric syllables, bashing huge brass gongs, burning
sulphurous incense and the sacrifice of as many
screeching victims as can be found. Naturally, the
demons and the devils have their own separate halls
for this purpose. There are usually many hundreds of
candidates; the ritual can transform up to a thousand
creatures within the hall enter the first of the three
stages of infernal transfiguration.
T he S t a g es O f I n f er n a l
T r a n s f ig ur a t io n
The following information is not known to any but
the most erudite scholars of diabolic lore. Although
some of the fiends can trace their origin back to the
creation of the world, such as the erinyes and noble
devils who claim to have fallen from heaven, others
were mortals once. Many scholars have suspected
this, as there would otherwise be a finite number
of fiends, which there clearly cannot be; where
would the new fiends come from, to populate Hell
when all the demons and devils had eventually been
destroyed?

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The truth is both bizarre and curiously apt. The
parallels between fiends and insects have been noted
again and again; ice devils resemble them, hellwasps
are the most devastating of swarms, while honorific
titles such as ‘Lord of the Flies’ reflect the belief that
fiends have authority over vermin. Like insects, new
fiends are generated through a process involving
multiple stages of life. A mortal does not simply turn
into a fiend when he dies. The process is far more
savage and horrific.
Egg Stage
The first effect of the transforming ritual is to
cause all the creatures present to develop a thick,
chitinous layer over their bodies, glossy and black
like a cockroach. This layer becomes thicker and
thicker as the incantations proceed. What is left
behind in the somewhat anticlimactic silence when
the ritual finishes is an egg, one size category larger
than the original creature, with a maximum size of
colossal. This egg has the same molasses-black
colour and sheen of hellglass and is hot to the touch.
It is slightly transparent and something can be seen
within it, pulsing and growing.
If the creature was an outsider, a corporeal undead
monster or a damned soul, then from this point
onwards, the creature’s type changes to outsider
(Evil), irrespective of what it may have been before.
Its hit dice change to d8s. It is now an outsider native
to Hell. The creature is now bound into its new form.
Body and soul are one. If it had comrades on the
Prime Material plane, they can no longer raise or
resurrect it. The soul can no longer return to life,
because it has entered upon a new road. This also
means that if the creature is slain, whether this
happens at the egg stage, the larva stage or at any
point thereafter, it is completely destroyed. Only a
wish or miracle can recreate it as a living thing and
even they cannot change its type back from outsider
to what it was before. To some damned souls, this is
the best true escape from Hell and one of the most
tempting prospects of infernal transfiguration. One
might be eaten alive by a larva but at least one would
no longer be a miserable damned soul.
If the original creature was a humanoid, monstrous
humanoid or giant, it becomes a hellreaver or a
travesty and thus an augmented version of its original
species; see below under Hellreavers and Travesties
for further details.
The mess of tissue and fluids within the egg has the
same Hit Dice, experience level and number of hit
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points as the original creature but retains none of
its other characteristics (for now) save its original
Constitution ability score. All other characteristics
are treated as null. These characteristics are not
erased, they are simply in abeyance for the moment,
so on a technical note it is vital to keep a record of
them.
The thing within the egg is completely helpless.
The egg itself is treated as an object and has 60 hit
points, a hardness of 8 and damage reduction of 10/
good. If it is smashed through, the creature inside
is defenceless and exposed. The egg can take no
actions whatsoever, save to sit there and gestate. It
takes an average of sixteen weeks for an egg to hatch
out. After an egg is sixteen weeks old, it has a 1 in 6
chance to hatch per day. The sooner the egg hatches,
the better, as the eggs that hatch first are the ones
most likely to survive the coming holocaust…
Larval Stage
What emerges from the egg is sometimes called
a hellmaggot, though this flippant title gives no
indication of the true horror of the creature. The larva
is as large as the original creature, a lamprey-like,
greasy mass with an oversized jaw full of needle-
sharp teeth, rearing up and screaming horribly like
nothing that was ever human at all. It immediately
starts looking for prey with cannibalistic hunger and
no urge in its mind save eating and survival.
The hatching process is a hideous massacre in which
larva devours larva, the oozing things ripping at each
other’s flesh and chomping noisily until only a few
specimens, too bloated to move, are left. The sound
of the larvae feasting on each other is one of the most
ghastly things anywhere in Hell; any creature hearing
it must make a Will saving throw (DC 20) or become
frightened. This is a mind-affecting sonic effect.
Mortal creatures rarely ever see larvae; only a
handful of witnesses have ever done so. They only
exist for a few hours at most. If it is necessary to
play out a part of the larval feasting stage, assume
that the eggs are set thirty feet apart. Roll on the
Randomly Generated Larvae table to determine the
size and hit dice of random larvae. Larvae of huge
size and larger are extremely uncommon and should
be placed by the Games Master as appropriate.
Apply the template below to create the larval stage
of the transformed creature. Retain the original
creature’s statistics and other notes, as it regains many
of its lost abilities at the final stage of development.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
Randomly Generated Larvae
2d6 Roll Larva Size HD
2 Small 2 8
3–4 Small 4 10
5–6 Medium 6 12
7 Medium 8 14
8–9 Medium 10
10–11 Large 12
12 Large 14
Size: The larva is the same size category as the
original creature.
HD: d8s, as the creature became an outsider at the
egg stage.
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) for medium-sized or large,
40 ft. (8 squares) for huge, 50 ft. (10 squares) for
colossal.
AC: As the base creature, including original size
modifier and a natural armour bonus of +4.
Attacks: Bite, at the creature’s base attack bonus.
Damage: As appropriate for a bite from a creature of
the larva’s size (see Core Rulebook III) plus one and
a half times the larva’s Strength ability score bonus.
Special Attacks: Devour larva.
Special Qualities: Pupate. A larva retains the damage
reduction, resistances and sensory advantages of the
base creature (such as low-light vision) but none of
the other special abilities.
Saves: Same as the base creature.
Abilities: Same as the base creature, with the
exception of Intelligence, which is 4.
Skills: The larva retains any Strength-based,
Constitution-based or Dexterity-based skills but
none of its Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma-based
skills, with the exception of Spot and Listen. The
larva has no limbs, so it cannot use skills that require
them, such as Open Lock.
Feats: Same as the base creature.
Climate/Terrain: Breeding halls within the
Infernum.
Organisation: Varies.
Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature –2.
Treasure: None.
Alignment: Always evil.
Advancement: Special; see text.
Larvae do not have limbs, nor may they cast spells
or use spell-like abilities. They are unable to
communicate.
Devour Larva: When one larva kills another, it
usually devours the remains. It can take a full round
action to eat 5 Hit Dice of larval matter. As the larva
mike mitchell (order #8652403)
Strength Bite Attack Bite Damage AC
+1 1d3–1 15
+4 1d3 15
+7/+1 1d4+1 14
+9/+3 1d4+3 14
16 +13/+8 1d4+4 14
18 +16/+11/+6 1d6+6 13
20 +19/+14/+9 1d6+7 13
is consumed, the larva (or larvae) that consumes
it gains one point of Strength and one point of
Constitution per 5 HD of the dead larva, reducing
the corpse’s total HD by 5, representative of the flesh
consumed. Multiple larvae can eat from the same
dead larva but in this case it is important to keep track
of which larva begins eating first. Eating any less
than 5 HD of larval matter confers no benefit. For
example, if a 9 HD larva dies and two larvae begin
eating it, then the first to start eating consumes 5 HD
and thus gains the Strength and Constitution benefits,
while the second only has 4 HD left to consume and
so gains nothing.
A larva that gains 4 or more points of Strength
and Constitution from eating other larvae becomes
sluggish and bloated; it can only take a move or
attack action each round and its Speed is reduced
to half of its original amount. A larva that gains a
total of 8 or more Strength and Constitution from
consuming other larvae can no longer move at all
and can only defend itself. If a larva somehow
manages to break open an unhatched egg and
consume the contents, it gains the same benefit as if
it had managed to consume the larva within once it
had hatched. It gains no benefit from consuming any
other type of creature.
Larvae have to eat to survive. The only purpose of
this extremely brief stage in the creature’s life cycle
is to cram itself full of nutrients. If a larva does not
eat at least one other larva, or its own weight in meat,
it dies three hours after it has hatched.
Pupate: The larva can enter the chrysalis stage at
will. To do this, it must take six full-round actions
in a row to secrete a cocoon of sticky matter around
itself. If it suffers damage during this process, the
cocoon is ruined. Secreting a cocoon provokes
attacks of opportunity. When the cocoon is finished,
the larva gains a +5 natural armour bonus. A larva
that does not pupate within three hours of hatching
becomes sluggish, as above. If it has still not pupated
within six hours of hatching, it dies.
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 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

The larvae try to use cunning tactics to survive to
the next stage. Those that were strong and stupid
in their mortal life usually go crazy killing and
devouring other larvae, only to find that this slows
them down and they cannot fend off attacks from
smaller, hungrier larvae, who quickly tear into them
and consume their bodies. The larvae that survive
are the ones who wait it out, choosing their prey
carefully and finding a space where the others cannot
easily reach them. The longer a larva can wait, the
more likely its fellows are to have gorged to the point
of immobility.
The Benefits Of Evil
The more corrupt the original creature is, the more
healthy and energetic the larva that emerges from
the egg. Larvae receive a temporary enhancement
bonus to attack and damage rolls of +1 for every
two levels of Corruption they have above 10; so, a
creature with a Corruption level of 15 would have a
+4 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls.
The larvae that survive the gorging are not always the
biggest and heaviest but the most vile.
Chrysalis Stage
Once the chaos and gore of the larval feasting has
died down and all of the larvae have entered
the chrysalis stage, the attendant fiends clear
away any uneaten body parts and wash the
hall clean of fluids. The chrysalises are taken
away to quiet, isolated caves where they can
develop to final maturity.
without needing to make any Mutation check and
are dealt with in their own separate section below.
Otherwise, the creature itself may choose what it
develops into, within certain limitations.
In order to become a given type of fiend, the creature
must meet the prerequisites listed below in the
Prerequisites section. Not every creature has the
inherent potential to arise as an elite unit of Hell. For
example, in order to emerge as a succubus, a creature
must have spellcasting ability and a Charisma of
20 or more. Once the creature within the chrysalis
has chosen its intended final form, it must make a
Mutation check.
The Mutation Check: In order to mutate
successfully into its new form, the creature within
the chrysalis must make a successful Mutation check
against the DC of the new form. Some forms are
much harder to achieve than others, which is why
Hell is not overrun with pit fiends and balors. Failing
the mutation check leads to the creature emerging
from its cocoon as a pathetic drone creature of the
lowest order, namely a lemure or a dretch. The list
below gives the rank of the various creatures of Hell
into which it is possible to metamorphose.

The chrysalis that a larva weaves around

itself is black and leathery, like a huge
seedpod, with sucker-like breathing vents.
It slowly pulses in and out as the creature
within it stirs in its sleep. The statistics of the
chrysalis are identical to those of the larva,
with the additional natural armour bonus for
the outer coating. It retains any additional
Strength or Constitution that it gained by
consuming other larvae. This may mean that
it can now qualify to mutate into a species
that it could not previously achieve.

The type of fiend that emerges from the

chrysalis is determined as follows. Beings
that were mortal, incarnate and not fiends
already when they underwent infernal
transfiguration become either hellreavers or
travesties, according to whether they were of
lawful evil or chaotic evil alignment. These
automatically mutate into their final forms,

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 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
A mutation check is the result of your total level
of experience (or hit dice) plus your Corruption
level plus 1d20. The DC of the Mutation check is
calculated by comparing the creature’s current rank
to the rank of the intended form. It is equal to 20
plus the Challenge Rating of the fiend into which
you wish to metamorphose. For example, the DC of
the Mutation check needed to mutate into a bearded
devil is 25. You must make the Mutation check
immediately after you enter the chrysalis stage. If
you fail it, you are doomed to become a lemure or
dretch, according to your original alignment. The
excessively ambitious and the weak alike experience
no mercy in Hell. A roll of 1 on the Mutation check
is always a failure.
Some factors can add a circumstance bonus or
penalty to the Mutation check, based on the
creature’s inherent suitability for its new role. For
example, any creature that meets the prerequisites
can attempt to mutate into a babau but if the creature
already has the Sneak Attack ability (which is not a
prerequisite) it gains a +1 circumstance bonus on its
Mutation check, as creatures that are already sly and
stealthy are similar in nature to the babau. Penalties
arise when the creature is not already a fiend and
is attempting to achieve one of the most powerful
forms, such as that of a balor or pit fiend. Only very
rarely do mortals become such horrendous fiends
upon death. It is much safer to advance through
some intermediate stage.
Final Emergence
It takes one month per hit die for the creature to
gestate fully in its cocoon and emerge to its new
life. A creature that emerges from its cocoon as a
fiend is effectively reborn in a new body. Apply the
following changes to the base creature.
Levels and Hit Dice: As the new-born fiend is not a
monster with class levels but a creature reincarnated
into a new form, it is not treated in the same way
as usual. The creature’s total class levels are added
together to determine its Hit Dice as a fiend, along
with any Hit Dice it had if it was already a monster.
It regains any class features it previously had, though
it no longer counts as a member of the class. For
example, an 8th level wizard who becomes a devil
can still cast spells as an 8th level wizard. If the
fiend should gain a level in a character class, or gains
abilities from becoming a fiend that are the same as
abilities it formerly possessed from a given character
class, then any abilities it gains stack with those that
already had. In the example above, if the devil who
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mike mitchell (order #8652403)
had formerly been a wizard then went on to gain a
level in wizard, he would cast spells as a 9th level
wizard, not one of first level. A rogue with a sneak
attack ability of +2d6 who mutates into a babau adds
the babau’s sneak attack dice to those it retains from
its days as a rogue, for a total sneak attack of +4d6.
If the creature’s hit dice now exceed the maximum
listed for the creature type, which often happens
when formerly powerful creatures botch their
Mutation checks and end up as lemures or dretches,
reduce its hit dice to the maximum possible for the
creature and make any resulting deductions from
other statistics, such as lowering skill ranks and
saving throws.
The fiend’s Hit Dice are now d8s, in accordance with
its rebirth as an outsider. Since it has undergone a
complete rearrangement of its body on a fundamental
level, recalculate its total hit points.
Speed: The fiend’s speed becomes that of its new
species. Any increase in speed from formerly having
levels as a barbarian is incorporated.
AC: Recalculate this, including the fiend’s natural
armour bonus from its new form and accounting for
any change in size. The creature retains any armour
proficiencies it had, although fiends do not habitually
use armour.
Attacks: The fiend gains the attacks of its new
species. If it can still wield the weapons it used
to, it regains the ability to fight with them. Natural
weapons from the creature’s previous form are lost.
Special Attacks: All special attacks resulting from
the new fiend’s previous race are lost, including
spell-like abilities. The fiend gains all of the special
attacks of its new form. The DC to save against
any spell-like abilities should be calculated afresh,
according to the new fiend’s Hit Dice and ability
scores.
The level at which spell-like abilities are used is
recalculated; substitute the creature’s highest level
as a spellcaster that could use the spell in question,
if it is higher than the level given in the creature’s
description. Otherwise, use the level given. For
example, an 18th level cleric who arose as a barbed
devil would use his order’s wrath spell-like ability
at a caster level of 18th, while continuing to use its
scorching ray spell-like ability at a caster level of
12th.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

Special Qualities: The new fiend gains all the Demon Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
special qualities of its new species and forfeits those Babau +1 — — — — —
it had gained from its previous race.
Balor +4 +4 — +4 +4 +4
Bebelith +2 — — — — —
Saves: The creature retains the same base saving
throw bonuses as it previously enjoyed, with any Dretch — — — –5 — —
necessary recalculations for new ability scores. Glabrezu +4 — +4 — — +2
Should it advance in Hit Dice instead of advancing in Hezrou — — +2 — — —
class level, it progresses as an outsider. Marilith +2 — +2 — — +2
Nalfeshnee — — +2 +2 +2 —
Abilities: The creature loses any racial modifiers to Quasit –2 — — — — —
ability scores that it gained from its previous race and Succubus — — — — — +4
gains a new set of racial modifiers as listed below.
Vrock — +2 +2 — — —
Any Strength or Constitution that has been gained
from eating other larvae during the larval stage is
retained. P r er eq uis it es F o r The
Skills: The creature regains all the skill ranks that
F ien d is h S p ec ies
The creature must have these prerequisites in order
it previously had, without any racial modifiers that
to mutate into the form listed. The creature’s ability
resulted from its previous race. Its class skills
scores must meet the minimums listed without any
become those listed in its description in Core
racial bonuses applying. For example, an elf with a
Rulebook III. It no longer has class skills resulting
Dexterity score of 20 after its racial bonus is applied
from previously held character classes. For example,
would not qualify to become a hellcat, since the elf’s
a cleric that becomes a barbed devil can no longer
original Dexterity before modifiers are applied is
count the cleric’s listed class skills as such. It must
only 18 and the minimum needed to transform to a
instead use the skill list for a barbed devil as its class
hellcat is 20.
skills. It gains any listed racial modifiers to skill
checks, such as the chain devil’s +8 racial bonus on
Many of the fiends have very high minimum scores
Craft skill checks involving metalwork.
for Strength and Constitution. It might at first seem
impossible for any creature that was not a fiend
Feats: The creature retains all the feats it previously
already, or at least a monster, to qualify. However,
had.
the larval stage can make a major difference to a
potential fiend’s future prospects. Since devouring
Racial Modifiers For Demons And other larvae gives a direct increase to Strength and
Constitution, a lucky or cunning larva can boost itself
Devils considerably during the feeding frenzy. In strictly
Apply these modifiers to the creature in its final Darwinian terms, the fittest not only survive, they
fiendish form. If it should ever undergo infernal have the option to gain the most power and status.
transfiguration again, remember that these racial
modifiers should not be included when calculating The Intelligence Factor: To become a fiend, you
minimum ability scores. must have a minimum Intelligence of 8, irrespective
of the type of fiend that you are trying to become.
Devil Str Dex Con Int Wis Cha
Prerequisite Size: You must be within one size
Barbed +2 +2 +2 — — —
category of the type of fiend that you wish to mutate
Bearded — — +2 –4 — — into. If you are too small, then you cannot undergo
Bone — — — — — — the mutation. Any creature can mutate into a fiend
Chain — — — –4 — — smaller than itself. A human could theoretically
Hellcat +4 +2 — — — — become a succubus, a hezrou, a marilith or a quasit
Horned +6 — — — — +4 but not a glabrezu or a bebelith. Creatures with
Ice +2 — +2 +2 +2 — aspirations to become huge fiends usually mutate
Imp — — — — — — into a large form first.
Lemure — — — — — –5
Pit Fiend +10 — — — +4 —

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 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

Hezrou: A potential hezrou requires a minimum

Demons Strength of 21, a minimum Constitution of 27 and a
A creature must be chaotic evil to qualify for any
minimum Charisma of 18.
demon species. A creature cannot mutate into a
retriever, as these are constructs rather than demons
Marilith: Mariliths must be female, with a
and are built, not bred.
minimum Strength and Constitution of 27, a
minimum Dexterity, Intelligence and Wisdom of
Babau: The creature must have a minimum Strength
18 and a minimum Charisma of 22. They must also
and Constitution of 20 and a Charisma of 16. If it has
have the ability to cast spells, either arcane or divine.
the Sneak Attack ability, it gains a +1 circumstance
If the original creature has the Multiweapon Fighting
bonus on its Mutation check.
feat, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its Mutation
check. If it is not already a fiend, it suffers a –4
Balor: Creatures attempting to become balors must
circumstance penalty to its Mutation check.
have a minimum Strength and Constitution of 30, a
minimum Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma of 20
Nalfeshnee: These demons require a minimum
and the ability to cast spells. If a creature has the
Strength and Constitution of 25 and a minimum
Leadership feat, the ability to cast 8th level spells
Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma of 20. If
(whether arcane or divine) or is a cleric of the Evil
the original creature has the Leadership feat or
domain, it gains a +1 circumstance bonus to its
spellcasting ability, it gains a +1 circumstance bonus
Mutation check. If it is not already a fiend, it suffers
to its Mutation check. If it is not already a fiend,
a –4 circumstance penalty to its Mutation check.
it suffers a –4 circumstance penalty to its Mutation
check.
Bebelith: The demons do not allow their kin to
mutate into bebeliths, as these arachnid horrors are
Quasit: To become a quasit, you must have a
a menace to all creatures of Hell, including their
minimum Dexterity of 15. The life of a quasit is
fellow demons. Even so, some private breeding
not as bad as it might appear. You are always being
experiments do take place with this transfiguration in
underestimated, you spend a good deal of time on
mind. Once a creature has chosen its form, no other
the Prime Material plane and you can get up to all
force can tell it not to. There are instances on record
kinds of unpleasant mischief. As becoming a quasit
of transfigured demons emerging as bebeliths, just so
is remarkably easy even for a low-level character (so
that they could rip open the vulnerable chrysalises
long as they are corrupt enough) it is an excellent
of other creatures and devour the contents, thus
choice for a player. Returning as the demonic
wiping out possible competition. It has even been
familiar of a former ally is a great way to stay in the
theorised that the bebelith’s rend armour ability and
game. Creatures that are already of tiny size gain a
its cannibalistic tendencies are indications that it
+2 circumstance bonus to their Mutation checks to
evolved as a predator in the breeding halls, ideally
become quasits.
equipped to tear open eggs and chrysalises.
Succubus: To become a succubus, you must first
To qualify for mutation into a bebelith, a creature
be female, with a minimum Intelligence of 16 and
must have a minimum Strength and Constitution of
a minimum Charisma of 20. You must also have
26. If it already has arachnid traits, such as from
at least one level as a sorcerer, wizard, cleric or
being a drider, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus to its
blackguard. If you have ten or more ranks in the
Mutation check. If it is not already a fiend, it suffers
Bluff skill, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your
a –4 circumstance penalty to its Mutation check.
Mutation check.
Dretch: Creatures do not voluntarily mutate into
Vrock: A potential vrock must have a minimum
dretches. A dretch is what you become when your
Strength and Constitution of 23 and a minimum
aspirations to higher status come to nothing and you
Wisdom and Charisma of 16.
fail your mutation check.

Glabrezu: To become a glabrezu, you need Devils

a minimum Strength and Constitution of 27, a A creature must be of lawful evil alignment to arise
minimum Intelligence and Wisdom of 16 and a as a devil.
minimum Charisma of 18. If you have more than 10
ranks in the Bluff skill, you gain a +1 circumstance
bonus on your Mutation check.

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Barbed Devil: Barbed devils must have a minimum
Strength and Constitution of 21, a minimum
Dexterity of 21 and a minimum Charisma of 18.
Bearded Devil: Candidates to become bearded
devils must either be male or dwarves of either
gender. They must have a minimum Strength
and Constitution of 15. A creature that has class
levels as a warrior, barbarian or fighter gains a +1
circumstance bonus to its Mutation check. If it has
the ability to rage (as the barbarian class feature) it
gains a +2 circumstance bonus to the check.
Bone Devil: Bone devils have minimum Strength,
Dexterity and Constitution ability scores of 21 and
minimum Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma ability
scores of 14. Creatures of the Undead type, with the
exception of damned souls, gain a +2 circumstance
bonus on their Mutation checks to become bone
devils. Any creature with more than 10 ranks in
Intimidate gains a +1 circumstance bonus to this
check.
Hellcat: Becoming a Hellcat requires a minimum
Strength of 19, Dexterity of 19 and Constitution of
17. If the creature is used to assuming a quadruped
form, such as from having lycanthropy or the ability
to assume a wild shape, it gains a +2 circumstance
bonus on its Mutation check.
Horned Devil: The horned devil’s prerequisites are
a minimum Strength, Dexterity and Constitution of
25 and a minimum Wisdom and Charisma of 18. If
the creature has 10 ranks in Intimidate, the ability
to cast arcane or divine spells or weapon proficiency
with the spiked chain, it gains a +1 circumstance
bonus on its Mutation check.
Ice Devil: Candidates to become ice devils need
minimum ability scores of 21 in Strength, Dexterity
and Constitution and of 20 in Intelligence, Wisdom
and Charisma. If a creature is of the Cold subtype,
it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its Mutation
check, though it does not retain this subtype when it
takes its new form. If the creature seeking this form
is not already a fiend, it suffers a –4 circumstance
penalty to its Mutation check.
Imp: Imps need a minimum Dexterity and Charisma
of 14. As they are easy to qualify for and spend much
of their time on the Prime Material plane, they are a
good choice for low-level characters who are starting
on the path to devilhood. See the above entry on
quasits.
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INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
Lemure: Those lawful evil creatures who fail
their mutation checks emerge from their cocoons
as lemures, broken rejects of the transmutation
process.
Pit Fiend: To mutate into this mighty avatar of evil,
the creature needs a minimum Strength, Dexterity
and Constitution of 27 and a minimum Intelligence,
Wisdom and Charisma of 22. It must also have the
ability to cast spells. If the creature seeking this form
is not already a fiend, it suffers a –4 circumstance
penalty to its Mutation check. Next to balors, pit
fiends are the hardest form of all to achieve. Devils
spend tens of thousands of years clambering up the
hierarchy and risking everything they have and are in
pursuit of this goal.
E x a m p le: T he
Tr a n s f ig ur a t io n O f
A z a r elle Ts io n e
The 8th level drow sorceress Azarelle Tsione,
following a lightning raid on her sanctuary by a
party of good adventurers, lies dying. Even the
intervention of her patron, the worthy succubus
Leshi, could not prevent her demise. Her life has
been a long and profoundly wicked one, giving her
a Corruption level of 18. As she breathes her last,
her patron arrives to escort her soul to the catacombs
of Hell, deep below the demon-infested island
where she lives. Azarelle’s physical ability scores
are unremarkable; she has an Intelligence of 17, a
Wisdom of 10 and a Charisma score which began at
18 and has been increased over the levels to 20, in
keeping with her sorcerer class.
As Azarelle was in a bonded relationship with a
patron and died in good standing, she automatically
qualifies for infernal transfiguration, should she
wish it. Naturally, she has no desire to become just
another damned soul spending eternity as a plaything
for the demons, so she gladly takes the chance.
Even if a hellmaggot devours her while she is in
the larval stage, it would at least be oblivion, which
is preferable to a conscious eternity as a tormented
shade.
Azarelle takes her place in the Hall of Changings
and the ritual begins, melting and reshaping her
ghostly flesh and leaving a gleaming egg instead of
the translucent Drow female soul who stood there
before. As an egg, she experiences nothing other
than a sense of floating in the void. Her total hit
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

points are rerolled; since she is now using d8s instead

of d4s, she is nearly twice as hardy as she used to be,
The Hall Of Changings
Each noble house in Hell and each demonic tribe
for what that is worth.
in the islands of the demons has a prepared Hall of
Changings. This has neither special architectural
The eggs begin to hatch and with that, the real terror
requirements nor any need for magical treatment, as
begins. Azarelle becomes one swollen larva among
the ritual provides all the necessary energy but must
thousands, in an orgy of eating and being eaten. She
be fitted with several features for safety. If necessary,
cannot hope to survive through brute strength, as
a group of three pit fiends or balors can perform the
her base attack bonus is still only that of an 8th level
transfigurative ritual in any environment but the
sorcerer. The spells that she previously knew are
custom of transforming many hundreds of candidates
no good to her in larval form. Not even the racial
at a time requires large, secure halls. The gestating
abilities of a drow can help, as she has left that race
creatures need to be protected from enemies and at
behind. At this stage, she is more vulnerable than
times, the other denizens of Hell need to be protected
any other.
from them.
She does, however, have a singular advantage,
The standard form for a Hall of Changings is to create
stemming from the massacres and assassinations
an area that measures fifty feet from floor to ceiling,
she ordered while in life. Her Corruption level
with one and only one entrance, constantly manned
of 18 gives her a +4 enhancement bonus to attack
by a brigade of horned devils or mariliths. Within,
and damage rolls, good enough for her to quickly
the hall is criss-crossed with walkways at least thirty
kill off three rival larvae close to her. She gains
feet above the ground. These walkways divide the
time by killing them first and eating them later,
hall up into square areas fifty feet on a side.
instead of trying to eat each one immediately after
its death. After fattening on four larvae (for a total
The fiends supervising the transformation take sentry
increase to her Strength and Constitution of +2) she
position at the edges of these walkways, patrolling
decides to pupate but the killing ground below is
them regularly. During the egg and chrysalis stages,
still too dangerous. Using her darkvision to help
they defend the vulnerable pods against attack.
her navigate, she finds a quiet crevice far from the
During the larval stage, they watch the proceedings
slaughter and enters the chrysalis stage.
without interfering, only attacking the larvae if they
attempt to attack their guardians. When fiends are
Azarelle decides to opt for the succubus species as her
being engendered, is forbidden to interfere with the
new race. She meets the prerequisites and assesses
larval feast; irrespective of whether demons or devils
that the risk is minimal. The DC for the Mutation
are involved, Hell involves survival of the fittest.
check is 27 (20 plus the succubus’ Challenge Rating
If shock troops are being bred, there are so many
of 7) and Azarelle’s Mutation check will be 26 (her
lethargic larvae that the guards sometimes kill a few
character level of 8 plus her Corruption level of 18)
off for the sport of it.
plus a d20 roll. Once again, her extraordinarily high
level of Corruption is standing her in good stead for
Harvesting Larvae: If hellreavers or travesties are
her new career as a demoness. She can only fail the
being cultivated at the same time as a mass hatching,
check if she rolls a 1; she rolls a 7 and successfully
permission may be given to kill some of the smaller
mutates. Her slayers on the Prime Material plane
larvae and feed them to the larval creature. This
evidently celebrated too early.
gives it a boost to Strength and Constitution.
Azarelle is now a succubus, with 8 Hit Dice and
Meddling With The Process: Even though the
the spellcasting abilities of an 8th level sorceress in
guards are not supposed to interfere, for a suitable
addition to her newly acquired spell-like abilities.
bribe (3,000 gold pieces or six flasks of Strain, which
The racial modifiers for a succubus raise her
is much more useful) they will make sure that a given
Charisma from 20 to 24, which is about average
larva is helped out, though they have to be discreet
for her new race. She has lost her drow spell-like
about this. This help usually takes the form of an
abilities of dancing lights, darkness and faerie fire
arrow or scorching ray delivered to a larva that is
but considers this a small price to pay, now that she
threatening the one you want protected. Interference
can drain levels with a kiss. Her spell-like abilities as
beyond this, namely killing off a larva that you do
a succubus are produced at a caster level of 12, as this
not want to develop, is a far more serious business,
is higher than her own original sorcerer level of 8.
requiring at least 25,000 gold pieces or, preferably,
ten flasks of Sorrow.

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Foul Chrism
This substance is a stinking, blackish goo, brewed
from the scraped-up fat and fluids that are left in
great profusion after a larval feasting. Once all the
surviving larvae have turned into chrysalises, a group
of low ranking fiends is sent in to gather the stuff up
and squeeze it out into cauldrons. No special talent is
required to brew this syrup; it just needs to be heated
up and reduced to a thick bubbling mess. Once this
stage of preparation is complete, a Craft (alchemy)
skill check (DC 18) is needed to turn a given batch
into foul chrism. A typical feasting involving a
thousand larvae produces enough foul chrism for
five hundred doses, so it is not exactly rare. A single
dose is one pint of fluid.
Foul chrism has the alchemical power to taint the
mutation process. If a small hole is bored in an
egg and a dose of foul chrism injected into it, the
creature inside is stunted. The larvae that emerge are
weak and lethargic, unable to move. They must be
fed by hand. They automatically enter the chrysalis
stage within an hour and emerge from incubation as
dretches or lemures, according to alignment. If foul
chrism is injected into the chrysalis of a developing
fiend, it causes the fiend to fail its Mutation check
automatically.
Foul chrism is used for two main reasons. The first
is the creation of thousands of disposable troops.
When Hell needs to create a vast number of lemures
or dretches, its occupants use foul chrism to do
so, forcibly transforming damned souls into these
pathetic low-level fiends. The method is reliable
and safe; without a larval feasting stage, all the
damned souls that are used are converted into the
same number of cannon fodder troops. The other
use is sabotage. It sometimes happens that a fiend
who undergoes infernal transfiguration in order to
increase its power and rank has enemies who find
out where its Hall of Changings is located. When
a powerful fiend emerges from his chrysalis as a
drooling lemure, it is easy enough to blame the
shocking transformation on a failed Mutation check;
the ambitious fool clearly had ideas above his station
and could not endure the trials of the change.
A Fortitude saving throw is allowed against the
effects of foul chrism. The DC of the saving throw
if the stuff is injected into the egg is 30 and it is 25 if
the chrism is injected into the chrysalis. Even if the
saving throw is successful, the creature still suffers
permanent nerve damage, incurring a –2 penalty to
Intelligence when it finally emerges.
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Foul chrism is thus both a blessing and a bane in
Hell. Its existence means that the fiends can produce
huge numbers of lemures and dretches to hurl against
one another’s forces. The presence of foul chrism in
fact goes a long way towards explaining why there is
such a profusion of these creatures, although they die
by the thousand in the wars of devils against demons.
It also makes the fiends extremely suspicious of one
another, as a dose of foul chrism can sabotage the
evolution into a higher form that a devil has waited
thousands of years for.
In the devils’ part of Hell, access to foul chrism
is strictly controlled and enormous cauldrons of
the stuff are kept locked away in a dimensionally
anchored chamber, behind several doors locked with
multiple keys, with each of the Lords of Hell holding
one of these keys. In the demonic zones, individual
balors, mariliths and nalfeshnees, the owners of
private Halls of Changing, keep their own stores of
foul chrism.
H ellr ea v er s A n d
Tr a v es t ies
While the demons and devils are confined to Hell,
they can only achieve a limited amount. The Prime
Material is not their world and it is difficult for them
to find a way to stay there for any length of time.
When they are summoned or gated in, they are rarely
able to stay for long; the planar ally spells allow for
longer residence but have the disadvantage that the
fiends have to attend to the task required of them by
their summoners.
When Hell needs a champion that can walk the earth,
who incarnates the infernal in a mortal form, it either
takes the long road of breeding half-fiends or calls
trusted allies to the Infernum to become hellreavers
or travesties. Half-fiends have their advantages
but they are too much of a long-term investment to
be any use in a hurry. Besides, even despite their
fiendish blood, they may not rally to their infernal
parent’s banner. Hellreavers and travesties, on the
other hand, are ready in a matter of months and are
already of proven loyalty.
The Mutation Process
A creature can only ever be mutated into a hellreaver
or travesty once in its life. It is not possible to
undergo the process a second time and acquire
even more impressive and devastating mutations.
Mutation checks to become hellreavers or travesties
automatically fail if this is attempted. They may,
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

however, undergo transfiguration to become

devils or demons. This is the standard procedure
Breed Hellreaver/Travesty I
Transmutation (Evil) [Devilish or demonic]
when a particular creature has distinguished itself
Level: Sor/Wiz 4, Clr 4
spectacularly in Hell’s service. Promotion and thus
Components: V, S, XP
further service is the only reward.
Casting Time: 1 full round
Range: Touch
Hellreavers and travesties go through the same basic
Target: One transfigured egg
stages as any other mutating creature, with the egg
Duration: Special (see below)
being formed first, hatching to release the larva and
Saving Throw: See below
ultimately forming a chrysalis. There is, however,
Spell Resistance: Yes (harmless)
one major difference at the egg stage, one at the
larval stage and one at the chrysalis stage.
This spell allows a humanoid, monstrous humanoid
or giant that has been transfigured into the egg stage
Egg: The egg needs additional magical preparation
to emerge as a hellreaver or travesty. It allows the
before it can develop. A creature must cast the breed
creature to claim up to 10 Mutation Points. This
hellreaver/travesty spell (see below) upon the egg
spell exists in two versions, the type that breeds
before it hatches. There are three levels of this spell,
hellreavers and the type that breeds travesties; the
each one of which allows the creature to attempt to
former is devilish in nature, the latter demonic.
gain a different number of Mutation Points. If this
spell is not cast, the resultant creature remains in its
When casting this spell, the caster has the choice of
larval form indefinitely. It must eat every day or die
whether to select the mutations that the creature will
but it cannot pupate and does not suffer death from
undergo, or whether to leave that choice up to the
failing to do so.
creature itself. In the former case, the creature may
make a Will saving throw to override the caster’s
Larvae: The larvae of hellreavers and travesties are
decision and choose its own mutations.
a gleaming blue-black instead of a spongy reddish
colour, so they can be recognised immediately. As
This spell and the higher-level versions thereof can
they are usually produced to order, it makes no sense
be extremely costly in experience points to cast. For
to include them in the feeding frenzy in case they are
this reason, fiends who use it consider the resulting
eaten by accident, so they are carefully segregated in
creatures to be their property. Hellreavers and
private breeding chambers. The fiends who watch
travesties are specially bred juggernauts, significant
over them bring them slain larvae to consume,
investments on Hell’s part. They are weapons, not
increasing their Strength and Constitution by 1d4+2.
individuals with free will.
If there are no other larvae available, then raw meat
is used, which keeps the larva alive but confers no
XP Cost: This spell drains the caster of 300
ability score increase.
experience points.
Chrysalis: The DC for the Mutation check is not
determined by the final form but by the number Breed Hellreaver/Travesty II
of Mutation Points that the creature is attempting Transmutation [Evil, Devilish]
to acquire, based on the level of breed hellreaver/ Level: Sor/Wiz 7, Clr 7
travesty that was cast on it in the egg. It can claim Range: Touch
up to the maximum set by the spell but does not have Target: One transfigured egg
to claim the full amount. Mutation Points allow the This spell functions as breed hellreaver/travesty I
creature to select different features that it will possess but allows the breeding creature to claim up to 25
when it emerges from its cocoon. Mutation Points.

The mutation check is made in the same way as it XP Cost: This spell drains the caster of 1,000
is for ordinary transfiguration (experience level + experience points.
Corruption level +d20). The DC of the Mutation
check is 10 plus the number of Mutation Points that
the creature is attempting to use. A hellreaver or Breed Hellreaver/Travesty III
travesty that fails its mutation check dies, instantly Transmutation [Evil, Devilish]
becoming a damned soul. Level: Sor/Wiz 9, Clr 9
Range: Touch
Target: One transfigured egg

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This spell functions as breed hellreaver/travesty I
but allows the breeding creature to claim up to 40
Mutation Points.
XP Cost: This spell drains the caster of 2,500
experience points.
Mutati ons
In essence, a hellreaver or a travesty is a mortal
creature that has been reshaped by the powers of Hell,
so as to make it a more potent fighting force for the
devils or the demons. The mutations are the key to
this. Each mutation has a set cost in Mutation Points,
gained by a casting of breed hellreaver/travesty.
Some mutations are only available to hellreavers
and some only to travesties, as the different fiendish
species mutate their soldiers in different ways.
Hellreavers are typically streamlined, almost robotic
engines of destruction, symmetrical and proportioned,
while travesties are more like aberrations, sprouting
messes of flesh with additional limbs protruding in
odd directions and extra eyes set sideways or in the
middle of a cheek. Hellreaver-specific mutations are
designated with an (H), while travesty-specific ones
are designated with (T).
Prerequisites: Some mutations have prerequisites,
such as a minimum ability score. A prerequisite is
fulfilled if you have the necessary minimum score or
other feature, or if you are selecting mutations that
will provide these when you finish mutating. For
example, even if you did not have enough Strength
to select the armour rending mutation, you could
still take it if you were also taking other mutations
(such as increased muscle mass) that would result
in enough Strength to meet the prerequisite. If, for
any reason, you end up with a mutation that you
do not meet the prerequisites for (such as from a
miscalculation) then the mutation simply does not
work and you cannot use it. You do, however, retain
it, so if you ever come to meet the prerequisites at a
future time, the mutation activates and may be used.
Prohibitions: You may not take a mutation that
matches a feature that you already have. For
example, a creature that has claws already may not
take the claws mutation.
Additional Arm
The creature gains an additional arm, directly
beneath or above an arm it already has if it is a
hellreaver, or placed anywhere on the body if it is a
travesty. The arm is a replica of an arm the creature
already has; it may not gain arms modelled on those
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of other creatures. It may wield a weapon with this
arm, gaining an additional offhand weapon attack.
This option may be taken multiple times.
Concealing multiple arms is very hard to achieve.
You take a –5 penalty to Disguise skill checks per
additional limb if you are trying to appear as a
normal member of your race.
Prerequisite: Creature must already have one or
more arms.
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
Alternate Form (Su)
The creature may adopt a single, previously selected
alternate form at will. This functions as a polymorph
spell cast by the creature on itself, at a caster level of
12th. It does not regain hit points for changing form
and may only adopt a form of its own size category.
This option may be taken multiple times, with a new
form gained every time the option is chosen.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Armour Plating (Ex)
The creature develops thick, osseous plates on its
torso, head and limbs, as if it were growing a suit
of plate armour underneath its skin. The thickened
skull gives it a lumpen, beetle-browed look. It gains
a +8 natural armour bonus at the cost of 2 points of
Dexterity. This replaces any other natural armour
bonus it previously had. Disguising an armour-
plated creature so that it looks normal is difficult
but not impossible. A –4 circumstance penalty is
imposed on any such attempt.
Mutation Point Cost: 9.
Armour Rending (Ex)
The creature gains the power to rip the armour off
its foes, peeling it away to get at the flesh beneath.
Hellreavers bred for front-line combat are often
given this mutation, so that they can rend the armour
of heavy infantry units and horse barding. To make
an armour rending attempt, the creature must hit
with two claw attacks. It then deals double its claw
damage plus twice its Strength ability score bonus
to the opponent’s armour. Armour reduced to zero
hit points is destroyed. Damaged armour can be
repaired with a successful Craft (armoursmithing)
skill check.
Prerequisite: Claws, Strength 24.
Mutation Point Cost: 15.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
Bone Blade (T)
The creature has one of its hands replaced with a
steel-strong blade made from extended bone. This
is either long and straight or broad and axe-like.
It inflicts damage as a longsword or battleaxe (the
creature chooses which) of the size that would be
wielded by the creature normally and is considered
a natural weapon. The creature cannot be disarmed
and never needs to ready its weapon. A bone blade
can be sundered and has a hardness of 6, with 20
hit points; this is for a Medium creature and larger
or smaller creatures should have duly adjusted hit
points. If it is sundered, the creature grows it back
naturally in a month. The creature cannot perform
any task requiring manual dexterity with this limb,
nor can it even pick anything up. This option may
be selected once for each arm the creature has.
Disguising a bone blade as an ordinary limb is very
difficult, imparting a –8 circumstance penalty on any
Disguise skill check.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Bone Spikes
The creature’s skeleton undergoes severe mutation.
It extends long spikes of malformed bone through
the creature’s skin, giving it an appearance similar
to a barbed devil. The creature is always considered
to be wearing spiked armour for combat purposes,
even when it is not wearing any; it is automatically
proficient with these natural weapons. It may thus
do additional damage to creatures with a successful
Grapple check or with an ordinary melee attack, just
as if it were using regular armour spikes. It can no
longer wear unmodified armour, as the spikes make
the armour impossible to put on. A successful Craft
(armoursmithing) check modifies armour so that
a creature with bone spikes can wear it. Ordinary
bone spikes are impossible to conceal other than with
magic; they bestow a –10 circumstance penalty on
Disguise skill checks.
For an additional cost of +2 Mutation Points, the
spikes can be made retractable. The creature can
extend or retract them as a standard action. This has
no effect on combat but makes the creature’s mutated
nature much less obvious to an observer. The ability
to extend or retract spikes is supernatural in nature.
Mutation Point Cost: 4.
Bone Spines (T)
The creature’s bone spikes are extended in length and
made stronger and sharper. The creature can now
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inflict double damage plus twice its Strength bonus
with a successful Grapple check. It also gains Spine
Defence (Su) as an additional ability. Any creature
attacking it with handheld or natural weapons takes
slashing and piercing damage as if the bone spikes
had hit it with a melee attack. Creatures using
weapons with exceptional reach do not suffer this
damage, as they are out of the danger range.
Prerequisites: Bone spikes.
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
Breath Filter (Su)
The creature grows a fibrous veil across its windpipe,
which gives its voice a wheezing, husky sound. It
does not interfere with normal breathing but allows
the creature to inhale noxious gases and the like
without harm. It receives a +10 resistance bonus
to saving throws against inhalant poisons and gas
effects such as cloudkill, stinking cloud and the
stench ability of a vrock.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Breathe Swarm (Su)
The creature grows two heaving sacs on either side of
its neck, which closer inspection reveals to be filled
with teeming maggots. These live symbiotically with
the host and do not require feeding. Three times per
day, the caster may breathe out a swarm of baneflies
(see The Creatures of Hell) as if by a summon swarm
spell produced by a 12th level caster. The creature
has no control over the swarm, which attacks any
creature close to it, unless he can communicate with
it telepathically.
Mutation Point Cost: 8.
Claws
One of the creature’s appendages is tipped with
claws, which count as natural weapons. It now
inflicts slashing damage with an unarmed attack, of
an amount determined by its size; see Core Rulebook
III for guidelines on appropriate damage dice for
clawed monsters. A Medium size creature inflicts
1d4 damage with a claw attack; a large creature
inflicts 1d6 damage. The creature adds its Strength
ability score modifier to this damage. The creature is
automatically proficient with these natural weapons.
Creatures with claws on rear limbs, such as a human
with claws on his feet, cannot use them to attack
unless they gain the Rake special ability. Claws are
difficult to conceal and bestow a –2 circumstance
penalty to any Disguise check made to disguise
the creature as a normal, clawless member of its
species.

Prerequisite: The creature must already have
extrusions that can be grown into claws, such as
fingernails.
Mutation Point Cost: 2 per appendage.
Commune With Hell (Sp) (H)
The mutated creature develops a strong link with the
plane of Hell that reworked its body so extensively.
A pulsing, glowing red node on the back of the
creature’s skull evidences this ability. The creature
may use commune once per day as a spell-like ability,
as if produced by a 12th level caster. The commune
effect may only be used to contact the governing
powers of Hell. This is a common mutation to give
to the more stupid, tank-like hellreavers, as it gives
them a way to avoid having to make decisions that
are beyond their reasoning capacity.
Mutation Point Cost: 8.
Confusion Aura (Su) (T)
The travesty continually emanates a field of swirling
chaotic energies, a testament to the howling abyss
that spawned it. Creatures within 15 feet of the
travesty must succeed on a Will saving throw
or be confused as per the spell for as long as it
remains within the affected area and for 1d4 rounds
afterward. The DC of the saving throw is 10 plus half
the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience level) plus
its Charisma ability score modifier. A creature that
successfully saves cannot be affected again by the
same travesty’s confusion aura for 24 hours. When
they are building their armies, the demons will often
create several well-armoured and tough creatures
with the confusion aura ability, backed up by a troop
of smaller creatures (such as dretches) who defend
the confusion-emitter from harm and take advantage
of its effect to bring down opponents.
Mutation Point Cost: 10.
Corrosive Blood (Ex)
The creature’s metabolism is radically altered,
substituting the blood in its veins for a strong acid.
Its colour changes from red to a bright primary
yellow. The creature becomes completely immune
to acid damage henceforth.
Weapons that deal slashing or piercing damage to
the creature take 1d8 points of acid damage and the
weapon’s hardness does not reduce this damage. A
magic weapon may attempt a Reflex saving throw
to avoid taking this damage. In addition, the wound
sprays acidic blood into the adjacent square in the
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direction from which the attack came. The spray
extends no further than 5 feet. Creatures in this
square take acid damage (1d6 per 5 points of slashing
or piercing damage inflicted, rounded down) with a
Reflex saving throw allowed for half damage. The DC
of the saving throw for a magic weapon to avoid acid
damage or for a creature to take half damage is 10
plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience
level) plus its Constitution ability score modifier.
A creature with this mutation can deliberately release
acid in a spray as described above by wounding itself
with a slashing or piercing weapon. The amount
of damage done by the acid is determined by the
severity of the wound, as above. This can be useful if
it needs to dissolve its way through a lock or barrier.
Prerequisites: Energy Immunity (acid).
Mutation Point Cost: 14.
Damage Reduction (Ex)
This mutation grants the creature damage reduction,
as if it were a fiendish version of its own species. It is
not possible for a hellreaver or travesty to become a
fiendish creature through mutation, as the template is
inherited rather than acquired but it can develop some
of the same traits. The level of damage reduction
determines the cost in Mutation Points. When a
creature takes this mutation, its natural weapons
and any weapons that it wields count as weapons of
its own alignment for the purposes of overcoming
damage reduction.
Death Throes (Su)
This mutation can be taken by hellreavers or travesties
but is far more suited to the demons’ methods of
combat. When a travesty launches itself into the
massed ranks of the opposition and submits willingly
to numerous attacks, not defending itself but only
Mutation Point
Damage Reduction Cost
5/cold iron or good (T) 7
5/silver or good (H) 9
5/good 10
10/cold iron or good (T) 13
10/silver or good (H) 15
10/good 17
15/cold iron or good (T) 20
15/silver or good (H) 22
15/good 24
15/cold iron and good (T) 26
15/silver and good (H) 28
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
Disease Available To Incubation Damage
Seeping Sanies H, T 1 day 1d3 Con
Ember Tumours H 1d2 days 1d4 Cha
Brain Froth T 1d4 days 1d6 Int
Kickshanks H, T 1d4 days 1d6 Wis, 1d6 Dex
Claggy Vein T 1d3 days 1d6 Str, 1d6 Con
chuckling thickly, then the only explanation that
makes sense is that it is a suicide troop with the death
throes mutation. When a creature with this mutation
dies, it explodes in a brilliant flare of infernal energy.
This deals 5 points of damage per Hit Dice to any
creature within 100 feet, with a Reflex saving throw
allowed for half damage. The DC of the saving
throw is 10 plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or
experience level) plus its Constitution ability score
modifier. The explosion automatically destroys any
weapons the creature is holding.
Mutation Point Cost: 7.
Disarming Gaze (Su) (H)
This mutation is granted to hellreavers that are meant
to take command of large numbers of troops, so that
they can glare recalcitrant underlings into submission.
The hellreaver’s gaze is profoundly unsettling, as if
it could see deep into the target creature’s heart and
find out all of its guilty secrets. The ability has a
range of 30 feet, with a Will saving throw allowed
to negate the effect. Those who fail their saving
throws take a –2 morale penalty on attack rolls for
1d3 rounds. The DC of the saving throw is 10 plus
half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience level)
plus its Charisma ability score modifier.
Mutation Point Cost: 4.
Disease (Su)
The hellreaver or travesty is seething with a disease
bred within Hell’s foul laboratories. Whenever the
creature successfully inflicts damage with a part of
its body (though not with a non-natural weapon) the
wounded opponent must make a Fortitude saving
throw or contract the disease. The various diseases
available and their cost to build into the mutation are
determined by the creature’s origin. The DC of the
saving throw is 10 plus half the creature’s Hit Dice
(and/or experience level) plus its Charisma ability
score modifier plus the Severity Modifier listed for
the given disease.
Seeping Sanies: The infected character continually
oozes a clear, blood-tinged fluid from his ears and
nose and grows less and less robust with every
passing day.
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Severity Modifier Mutation Point Cost
0 3
+2 5
+5 8
+5 12
+8 15
Ember Tumours: The character breaks out in bright
red lumps an inch across, which are hot to the touch
and resemble the coals of a fire. They glow faintly
at night, bestowing a –2 circumstance penalty to any
Hide checks made in the dark in which the character’s
skin is left uncovered.
Brain Froth: The character’s brain stews in its own
juice, the evidence being a foul-smelling foam that is
emitted from the mouth and nose.
Kickshanks: This terrible disease, now eradicated
from the Prime Material plane but still rife in Hell,
causes the afflicted to descend into a feverish stupor
in which they flail and lash about with all their
limbs, hence the name given to the disease. Their
awareness of their surroundings and ability to control
their movements is swiftly eroded.
Claggy Vein: The affected creature’s blood vessels
fill up with a stodgy, inert substance that resembles
greasy putty or corpse fat. They stand out against
the skin, like red whipcords, as the blood struggles
to reach its destination. The character is severely
weakened and can deteriorate physically in days.
One curious side-effect of claggy vein is that
blood-drinking creatures, such as vampires, find the
creature’s blood disgusting and will not willingly
drink it.
Energy Discharge (Su)
The creature may project energy that deals cold,
fire or electricity damage. The amount of damage
dealt by this energy, the frequency of use and the
form it takes depends on the amount of mutation
points invested. Refer to the table below to find the
total mutation point cost of the creature’s energy
discharge.
Whatever form, type and frequency is chosen, the
saving throw DC to negate or halve the energy
damage is 10 plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/
Frequency Of Use Mutation Point Cost
1/day One third of total
3/day No modification
Recharge (see below) Total x2
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

or experience level) plus its Constitution ability Energy

score modifier. The base mutation point cost of Type Resistance 5 Resistance 10 Immunity
the energy discharge is 3 mutation points per d6 of Acid 3 7 20
energy damage dealt (to a maximum of 20d6) with
Cold 4 8 22
a multiplier added for the frequency of use. Only
Electricity 3 7 18 (T)
apply the additional mutation point cost after the
frequency of use multiplier has been included. Fire 3 7 18 (H),
20 (T)
Ray: As with all ray attacks, the creature must
Environmental Tolerance (Su)
successfully hit with the ray to score damage. The
The creature has the ruggedness of Hell infused into
standard ray allows a Fortitude saving throw to
it. It becomes tough enough to ignore extremes of
halve the damage. The creature may opt to have a
heat and cold. While the direct application of intense
successful Fortitude saving throw negate the damage
heat or cold (such as from a fireball or cone of cold)
altogether, which results in a mutation point modifier
still damages it, the creature does not suffer from
of –2 instead of +1.
environmental heat or cold conditions and can walk
naked through an ice waste without discomfort or
Possible Mutation damage.
Energy Energy Saving Throw / Point
Form Types Effect Cost Mutation Point Cost: 2.
100 ft. ray Any Fortitude halves +1
40 ft. cone Fire or Reflex halves +5 Fast Healing (Su)
cold This enviable mutation so empowers the tissues of
80 ft. line Fire or Reflex halves +4 the creature’s body that they heal up with amazing
electricity swiftness. The creature recovers the stated number
20 ft. radius Fire Reflex halves +5 of hit points per round. The ability is expensive
burst (80 ft. but even a single point of fast healing can make
range) a massive difference to an intelligent combatant.
When you realise that with no higher a healing rate
than 1 point per round you can now heal up 600
Recharge: The creature may use this ability any points of damage in a single hour without having to
number of times per day. However, once the creature do anything, you soon learn why fast healing is such
has used this ability, it cannot use it again for 1d4 a benefit. The legions of Hell reserve this ability for
rounds. specialist assassin creatures or commanders, who
have the sense to get away and recover when they are
Example: A travesty seeks to incorporate a ferocious wounded. There is no point in giving fast healing to a
arc of electricity into its arsenal of weapons, as devils run-of-the-mill grunt; additional armour is what they
are rarely resistant to that energy form. It wants the need. Fast healing works just like natural healing.
arc to be a first-strike weapon, usable only once per It does not restore hit points lost from starvation,
day but dealing a large amount of damage. It chooses thirst or suffocation, nor does it allow the creature to
20d6 as the damage, the line as the form and 1/day regrow lost body parts.
as the frequency. 20 dice of electricity damage will
cost 60 mutation points, which is divided by 3 for Fear Aura (Su) (H)
the 1/day frequency (for a running total of 20) plus 4 The creature can radiate a 5-foot-radius fear aura
for the line form, giving a grand total of 24 mutation as a free action. Affected creatures must succeed
points. on a Will saving throw or be affected as though by
a fear spell, with a caster level of 7th. A creature
Energy Resistance that successfully saves cannot be affected again by
The creature gains a variable degree of resistance the same creature’s aura for 24 hours. Devils and
to a given type of energy. The table below gives
the different cost in mutation points for the various Fast Healing Rate Mutation Point Cost
resistances. This mutation may be taken multiple 1/10 rounds 4
times. Hellreavers are not eligible for immunity 1/round 9
to electricity and travesties must invest additional 2/round 18
mutation points for immunity to fire. 3/round 27

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hellreavers are immune to the fear aura. The DC of
the Will saving throw is 10 plus half the creature’s
Hit Dice (and/or experience level) plus its Charisma
ability score modifier.
Flaming Body (Su)
The creature’s body is entirely wreathed in flames.
Any creature engaged in a grapple with the creature
suffers damage per round according to the creature’s
size category, as determined below:
Diminutive: 1d6
Tiny: 2d6
Small: 3d6
Medium: 4d6
Large: 6d6
Huge: 10d6
Colossal: 16d6
Prerequisites: Immunity to fire.
Mutation Point Cost: 2 per 1d6 of fire damage dealt
by the flaming body; a Medium size creature would
thus need to spend 8 Mutation Points.
Hypnotic Voice (Su) (H)
The hellreaver’s voice is compelling, with a resonant
and hypnotic power to it. It is difficult to disobey
or even disagree with the hellreaver, such is the
potency of its spoken words. The creature gains
a +2 competence bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy and
Intimidate skill checks and may use suggestion at will
as per the spell cast by a 12th level caster. The DC of
the Will saving throw to resist the suggestion is 10
plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience
level) plus its Charisma ability score modifier. The
devils bestow this ability upon their infiltration units,
the hellreavers who are charged with the duty of
getting into the opponents’ camps with subterfuge
and deception.
Prerequisites: Charisma 16+.
Mutation Point Cost: 12.
Increased Muscle Mass
This mutation simply piles more beef on to the
creature, thickening its sinews and heightening its
physical strength. There are two possible ways
to do this. The more expensive method simply
adds Strength, without diminishing any of the
creature’s other attributes, to a maximum of 5
points of Strength. This method costs 7 Mutation
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Points per point of Strength. The second method is
much cheaper and easier, increasing Strength at the
expense of the creature’s brain power. Each point of
Strength bestowed costs 2 Mutation Points and drains
one point of Intelligence from the creature. There is
no upper limit on the amount of Strength that it may
be given but it must be left with an Intelligence of
at least 3. This mutation is used to create crude,
powerful foot soldiers. Whichever method of
Strength increase is used, the creature’s Strength
cannot be increased beyond the maximum for its size
category, for which see Core Rulebook III.
Mutation Point Cost: 7 mutation points per point
of Strength, or 2 mutation points plus one point of
Intelligence per point of Strength.
Infernal Spell Ability (Sp)
The creature becomes able to prepare and cast
infernal spells in its own right, without assistance
from a patron. The experience point cost to prepare
infernal spells still applies but the patron does not
need to be present. This ability is not so useful to
spontaneous casters, who only need their patrons’
help to gain new spells at each level.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Infernal Wounding (Su) (H)
The hellreaver chooses one weapon with which it is
proficient. It gains the power to deal infernal wounds
with this weapon. A creature that suffers an infernal
wound loses 2 additional hit points each round. The
wound does not heal naturally and resists healing
spells. The continuing hit point loss can be stopped
by a Heal check, the DC of which is 10 plus half the
creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience level) plus its
Constitution ability score modifier. The hit point loss
can also be stopped by a cure spell or a heal spell but
a character attempting to cast either of these spells
to heal a creature suffering from an infernal wound
must succeed on a caster level check, or the spell has
no effect on the injured character. This caster level
check has the same DC as the Heal check described
above. A successful Heal check automatically stops
the continuing hit point loss as well as restoring hit
points. The hellreaver can only deal infernal wounds
with its chosen weapon but this ability is inherent to
the hellreaver, not the weapon. This mutation may
be taken multiple times, with a new weapon chosen
every time it is selected.
Mutation Point Cost: 7.

Invisible In Light (Su) (H)
The racial ability of the hellcat is drawn upon to
create this mutation. The resulting creature has the
same quality as that monster does; it is invisible in
any area that has sufficient illumination for a human
to see. When the creature is in a darkened area, it is
visible as a faintly glowing outline that can be seen
up to 30 feet away, or 60 feet away if the viewer
has low-light vision. The creature does not show
up in magical darkness, which obscures the glow
altogether.
Mutation Point Cost: 10.
Long Reach (Ex) (T)
While in its protective cocoon, the creature’s body
is warped and stretched like elastic, turning it into a
superior fighting machine. Its arms are lengthened
and re-jointed, folded back upon themselves like
those of a mantis. The creature’s reach extends
by 5 feet for the purposes of natural weapon use
only; even then it may only attack with the natural
weapons on the ends of its arms. If it is obliged
to fight with a hand-held weapon, it suffers a
–2 circumstance penalty to the attack roll. If the
creature’s main natural weapon is a bite, it can have
its neck lengthened instead of its arms (extending the
reach of its bite attack by 5 feet) and may still fight
with hand-held weapons at no penalty.
Prerequisite: Claw or bite attack.
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
Keen Ears (Ex)
The creature’s ears extend and widen until they
resemble those of a bat. The creature thenceforth
gains a +6 racial bonus on all Listen checks and
gains the Blind-Fight feat for free, so long as it can
still hear its opponent. It also becomes vulnerable to
sonic effects, taking a –4 penalty on all saving throws
against such effects.
Mutation Point Cost: 4.
Maw (T)
The travesty emerges from its cocoon roaring from
the mouth in its head and from a new, wet maw in
its abdomen. This is a toothed vertical mouth that
splits the creature’s stomach from top to bottom. The
creature gains a bite attack (whether it had one before
or not) that inflicts the bite damage of a creature one
size category larger than itself, as the mouth is much
bigger than one that could be fitted into the creature’s
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INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
head. See Core Rulebook III for details. It adds its
Strength ability score modifier to this damage. For
example, a Medium size creature with the Maw
mutation would gain a bite attack that inflicted 1d8
damage plus its Strength ability modifier. An attack
with the maw counts as an attack with a secondary
natural weapon and is thus subject to a –5 penalty
unless the creature has the Multiattack feat. The
maw attack cannot be made into the creature’s
primary attack. The maw has no tongue. Though it
may roar, it cannot speak nor can it cast spells.
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
Pincers (T)
Strong pincers, like the claws of a lobster or crab,
replace one or both of the creature’s hands. It can no
longer perform any task of manual manipulation with
that hand, nor can it hold a weapon. The pincers are
natural weapons that inflict the claw damage for the
creature’s size (see Core Rulebook III) plus one and a
half times its Strength bonus. If the creature’s claws
were its primary natural weapons, then the pincers
now take over as such; if they were secondary, they
remain so.
The creature also gains the Improved Grab ability.
To use this ability, the travesty must hit an opponent
at least one size category smaller than itself with a
pincer attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple
as a free action without provoking an attack of
opportunity.
Prerequisite: The creature must have arms that end
in hands or some similar appendage.
Mutation Point Cost: 4 per hand.
Poison (bite/sting)
The mutation process introduces poison sacs into
the creature’s jaws or stinger. The creature’s bite
now transmits a potent toxin. When it hits and deals
damage with a bite attack, the affected creature must
make a Fortitude saving throw against the poison as
well as suffering the damage. The saving throw DC
to resist the poison is 10 plus half the creature’s Hit
Dice (and/or experience level) plus its Constitution
ability score modifier plus the listed severity
modifier. The nature of the poison depends on the
creature’s type and the number of Mutation Points
spent. Poisons transmitted by bites are always more
potent and damaging than those transmitted by claw
attacks, for which see the Poison Mutation table.
Prerequisite: Immunity to poison; bite or sting
natural weapon.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

Poison Mutation
Available Secondary Severity Mutation Point
Poison To Initial Damage Damage Modifier Cost
Soporific Venom (T) Sleep 1d6 rounds None +2 6
Paralysis Toxin (H) Paralysis 1d6 rounds None +2 8
Nerve Toxin (T) 1d6 Dex 2d6 Dex +2 6
Abyssal Bane (T) 1d6 Con 2d6 Con +2 10
Crippling Poison (H) 1d6 Str 2d6 Str +4 8
Lethal Venom (H) 1d6 Con Death +0 15

Poison (claw) Although damage from spells ordinarily ignores

The creature’s claws grow tiny bulbous sacs under
the cuticle, which allow it to deliver poison with
a successful claw attack that deals damage. The
Fortitude saving throw DC is calculated as for Poison
(bite/sting) above. Claw poisons are weaker than
those transmitted by bites and stings; use the entry for
the appropriate poison but use d4 damage instead of
d6 damage, with 3d4 Con damage replacing death in
the case of lethal venom. Reduce the mutation point
cost for the poison by 3. For example, if you were
giving a creature Abyssal Bane as a claw-delivered
poison, it would inflict 1d4 Con as the initial damage
and 2d4 Con as the secondary damage and cost you
7 Mutation Points.
damage reduction, it is still converted into nonlethal
damage where regeneration is concerned. Only the
specific damage type named in the damage reduction
ability can inflict lethal damage.
For example, a creature with damage reduction
5/good and regeneration 3 would suffer nonlethal
damage from a fireball but full damage from a holy
smite, since that spell has the Good descriptor.
Mutation Point Cost: 10 per point of regeneration.
Prerequisite: Damage reduction, for which see
above.

If the poison does not inflict ability score damage,
such as in the case of soporific venom, then substitute
the dice used to determine the length of the sleep or
paralysis from d6 to d4 and do not apply the severity
modifier. For example, soporific venom transmitted
through a claw would put the victim to sleep for
1d4 rounds rather than 1d6 and have no severity
modifier.
Scent (Ex)
The creature’s sense of smell is augmented massively,
giving it the ability to locate opponents by scent. It
gains the scent special ability as described in Core
Rulebook III. Mutated creatures are usually given
the scent ability when they are being designed as
hunter-killer units, so that they can track their prey
more easily.

Mutation Point Cost: Varies, see Poison Mutation Mutation Point Cost: 3.
table.
Scream (Su)
Prerequisite: Immunity to poison; claw natural The mutated creature can emit an ear-splitting shriek
weapon. that has a chance to leave opponents in the area of
effect reeling. All creatures except for demons or
Poison Immunity travesties within a 30-foot radius must succeed on
The hellreaver or travesty gains the common a Fortitude saving throw or be stunned for 1 round.
demonic and devilish quality of complete immunity The DC of the saving throw is 10 plus half the
to poison. creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience level) plus
its Constitution ability score modifier. The creature
Mutation Point Cost: 12. may use this ability once per hour.

Regeneration Mutation Point Cost: 7.

An ability reserved for the most elite of hellreavers
and travesties, the creature suffers only non-lethal
damage from attacks other than those of the type that
would bypass its stated damage reduction and heals
the stated amount of nonlethal damage per round.
Serpent Body (T)
While the creature sleeps in its chrysalis, its body
below the waist is dissolved into an organic soup and
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the creature now has a scaly snakelike body with a
muscular tail. It resembles a marilith demon in form,
needing only the additional limbs to complete the
likeness. It gains a tail slap attack that inflicts tail
damage as if the creature were 3 size categories larger
than it is; so, a Medium size creature would gain a
tail slap that inflicted 2d8 damage. The creature adds
its Strength ability score modifier to this damage, or
half its Strength ability score modifier if the tail is
used as a secondary attack.
Mutation Point Cost: 9.
Skeletal (H)
The hellreaver with this mutation emerges from its
cocoon as a shrunken, bony version of its former self.
It is not undead but it is clearly close to being so; its
body is wasted, its skin clings to it like thin rubber
and only its skeleton seems thicker and more robust.
The overall effect is as if the creature were halfway
towards transforming into a bone devil. Although
bone devils are not sufficiently thin to gain damage
reduction against non-bludgeoning weapons, a
hellreaver with this ability is. The hellreaver gains
damage reduction 5/bludgeoning. If it already has
damage reduction, the current damage reduction
is modified to include ‘and bludgeoning’. For
example, a creature with damage reduction 5/good
that becomes skeletal now has damage reduction
5/bludgeoning and good.
Mutation Point Cost: 5.
See In Darkness (Su) (H)
The hellreaver’s vision changes, giving it the
characteristic glowering eyes of a military devil. It
can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including
that which is created by a deeper darkness spell.
Mutation Point Cost: 4.
Slimy Coating (T)
The creature is constantly slathered in a translucent
ooze with acidic properties. Any weapon that
touches it takes 1d8 points of acid damage, which
is not reduced by the weapon’s hardness. A magic
weapon may attempt a Reflex saving throw to avoid
taking this damage. Any creature that attacks the
travesty with an unarmed attack, unarmed strike,
touch spell, or natural weapon takes this damage as
well but can negate the damage with a Reflex saving
throw. The DC of the saving throw for a magic
weapon to avoid acid damage or for a creature to
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INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
negate the damage is 10 plus half the creature’s Hit
Dice (and/or experience level) plus its Constitution
ability score modifier.
Prerequisites: Energy Resistance (acid).
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
Stupefying Radiance (Su) (T)
The travesty gains the ability to blast foes with visions
of nightmare. Three times per day, the mutated
creature can create a flare of infernal radiance. When
the ability is triggered, swirls and ripples of amoebic
brilliance begin to amass around its body. They
have no immediate effect; however, one round later
they burst in a 60-foot radius. Any creature within
this area must succeed on a Will saving throw or be
dazed for 1d10 rounds, bombarded by horrific sights
and sounds, like a tormented drug hallucination. An
affected creature receives its full Dexterity and shield
bonuses to armour class if it is attacked but it can take
no actions. Other travesties and demons are immune
to this effect. The DC of the saving throw to avoid
the effect of the stupefying radiance is 10 plus the
creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience level) plus its
Charisma ability score modifier.
Mutation Point Cost: 8.
Stench (Ex)
The creature develops bulbous scent glands near
its rear end that constantly drip with fetid ooze,
sending up a fug of revolting odour. Any living
creature (except fiends of the same alignment as the
hellreaver or travesty) within 10 feet must succeed on
a Fortitude saving throw or be nauseated for as long
as it remains within the affected area and for 1d4
rounds afterward. The DC of the saving throw is 10
plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience
level) plus its Constitution ability score modifier.
Creatures that successfully make their saving throws
are sickened for as long as they remain in the
area. A creature that successfully saves cannot be
affected again by the same hellreaver or travesty’s
stench for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize
poison spell removes either condition from one
creature. Creatures that have immunity to poison are
unaffected and creatures resistant to poison receive
their normal bonus on their saving throws.
Mutation Point Cost: 6.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
Sting
The creature grows a lashing tail-like appendage
from the base of its spine that can be used to sting
foes. This mutation cannot be taken if the creature
also has a tail (see below) as a sting is here defined
as a form of the tail mutation. A sting can be used
to deliver the strongest kinds of natural poison, for
which see above. A creature with this mutation gains
a sting as a natural weapon, which inflicts damage
appropriate for the creature’s size; a Medium size
creature gaining a sting would be able to inflict
1d4 damage with it, plus its Strength ability score
modifier if the sting were used as a primary weapon,
or half the Strength ability score modifier if it were
used as a secondary weapon.
The sting is conspicuous and difficult to disguise,
bestowing a –4 circumstance penalty on any
Disguise skill check that would require the creature
to seem not to have it.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Summon Devil/Demon (Sp)
The hellreaver or travesty can summon backup from
its infernal allies. Much as the devils and demons
themselves, it has a percentage chance to summon
a number of fiends. It may utilise this ability once
per day. The efficiency of this mutation depends
upon the amount of Mutation Points invested. The
creature must have a minimum total hit dice or
overall experience level to apply this mutation (see
Summoning Mutation table).
Tail
The creature grows a strong, tapering tail from the
usual part of the body that has a tail. In addition to
having an additional appendage that can be used for a
limited amount of manipulation, the creature gains a
new natural weapon with which it can make attacks.
It gains a tail attack that inflicts damage appropriate
to its size, for which see Core Rulebook III. For
example, a Medium size creature would grow a tail
that would allow 1d6 damage. The tail is very hard
to conceal, as it is as thick as an ordinary limb. Any
Disguise skill check to make the creature look like an
ordinary, tailless member of its species is made at a
–8 circumstance penalty.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Teeth Extension
A horrible transformation takes place as the creature
hibernates. Its natural teeth dissolve away and new
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ones grow up through the sockets, thrusting from the
bone with agonising force and filling the creature’s
mouth with scythe-like incisors. If it did not have
a bite attack already, then it gains one at a level
of damage appropriate for its size. Medium size
creatures gain a bite attack that inflicts 1d6 damage
plus their Strength ability score modifier. If it had a
bite attack already, the damage is increased to that
appropriate for a creature one size category larger
than it is. This mutation may be taken twice, once to
gain the bite attack and once to improve it. You can
also take this mutation to increase the damage done
by a maw mutation, for which see above.
Creatures with this mutation have oversized mouths,
as full of teeth as an anglerfish. They find it difficult
to speak coherently and other creatures thus find it
difficult to understand them. Rather than imposing
rules to govern this danger of misinterpretation, it is
best to roleplay it (we do not recommend simulating
this mutation by placing 6d4 in your mouth and trying
to speak – it has been tried and it is a bad idea). A
creature trying to cast a spell with verbal components
suffers a 20% spell failure chance, as it is quite likely
that a stray tooth will get in the way of the proper
pronouncement of a syllable. Tooth extension also
confers a –4 racial penalty on any Performance check
that involves speaking or singing.
Mutation Point Cost: 3 to gain bite attack, 5 for
improved bite attack.
Telepathy (Su)
The mutated creature is truly a member of the ranks
of devil or demonkind when it gains this ability,
which makes the fiends so efficient on the battlefield.
It gains the power to communicate telepathically
with other mutated creatures of its own kind (i.e.
with other hellreavers or other travesties) and with
either demons or devils, depending on what kind of
mutated creature it is. It cannot use its telepathic
abilities to communicate with creatures other than
these. The ability is effective to ranges of up to 100
feet.
For fewer Mutation Points, the mutated creature may
be made telepathy-sensitive (one-way telepathy)
instead of truly telepathic. This allows it to receive
telepathic commands and obey them but not to send
back any kind of a response.
Prerequisite: Intelligence 6 for two-way telepathy,
no prerequisite for one-way.
Mutation Point Cost: 4 for two-way telepathy, 1 for
one-way.
 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION

Thickened Hide penalty to Disguise skill checks to make the character

The creature’s skin grows an additional layer,
becoming deep reddish-brown and leathery. It gains
a +3 natural armour bonus. This replaces any other
natural armour bonus it previously had. Disguising
a creature with thick hide so that it looks normal
is difficult but not impossible. A –2 circumstance
penalty is imposed on any such attempt. This
mutation may be taken simultaneously with armour
plating, as this mutation affects an outer layer of the
body, whereas armour plating is grown from within.
If this is done, then the two natural armour bonuses
stack, as do the penalties to Disguise checks.
look like an ordinary member of its race.
For an additional investment of Mutation Points, the
tentacle can be upgraded to a specialised grappling
tentacle. This gives the creature the Improved Grab
and Constrict special abilities when attacking with
the tentacle; the creature may commence a grapple
immediately after a successful attack with the
tentacle, without provoking an attack of opportunity
to do so and inflicts the tentacle’s base damage plus
twice the creature’s Strength ability score modifier
when constricting.

Mutation Point Cost: 4. Mutation Point Cost: 3; +3 for grappling tentacle

Tentacle (T)
This mutation is characteristic of travesties; almost
all of the demons’ mutated cohorts will have tentacles
somewhere on their bodies. It is traditional to invest
in a tentacle if you have a few mutation points left
over, as they always come in useful and they help a
hell-spawned blasphemy look the part. The creature
sprouts a squid-like tentacle from its torso. This is
usually extruded from the flanks or the back but may
emerge from any part of the creature’s body other
than a limb. It then serves as an additional natural
weapon, which deals damage as appropriate for the
creature’s size; a Medium size creature deals 1d4
damage plus its Strength ability score modifier with
a tentacle strike. A tentacle cannot wield weapons or
tools, though it can pick up items. This mutation may
be taken multiple times. There is no upper limit on
the number of tentacles that a travesty may sprout.
Tentacles are easier to disguise than other forms of
supplementary limb, as they are flexible and rubbery.
Multiple tentacles soon become unwieldy, however.
Each tentacle that the character has imposes a –3
upgrade.
Tongues (Su)
Another mutation that is habitually bestowed upon
infiltration-based creatures and those who adopt
disguises, the tongues mutation allows the creature
the benefits of a permanent tongues effect as per the
spell, at a caster level of 12th.
Mutation Point Cost: 5.
True Seeing (Su)
The mutated creature continually benefits from true
seeing as per the spell, with a caster level of 12th.
Mutation Point Cost: 10.
Web Gland (Ex) (T)
The travesty’s torso is bloated and discoloured, with
a pulsing orifice where the navel should ordinarily
be. This soft, gooey opening is a web duct, allowing
the creature to produce webbing in strands or (in the
case of an upgraded gland) in sheets. The creature
can exude up to 50 ft. of web strand once per hour;

Summoning Mutation
Mutation Minimum Equivalent
Points HD/level Hellreaver Travesty Spell Level
4 1 — 35%, 1 dretch 1
8 3 — 30%, 1 babau 3
12 5 50%, 2d10 lemures; 35%, 1 bearded devil 30%, 1 vrock 3
16 7 50%, 2d10 lemures or 1d4 bearded devils 35%, 2d10 dretches or 1 vrock 3
20 9 50%, 2d10 lemures; 35%, 1 bone devil 35%, 4d10 dretches or 1 hezrou 4
24 11 35%, 1d6 bearded devils or 1 barbed devil 50%, 4d10 dretches or 1d2 4
vrocks; 20%, 1 glabrezu
28 13 50%, 2d10 lemures or 1d6 bearded devils 50%, 1d4 vrocks or 1d4 5
or 1d4 bone devils; 20%, 1 ice devil hezrous or 1 glabrezu; 20%, 1
nalfeshnee

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 INFERNAL TRANSFIGURATION
The Incubus Choraziel was in Contemplation
when I return’d, his hands clasp’d in Prayer, or
so it seem’d.
- Stand, my Son, said I, that I may Purge thee in
the name of great Hurm.
He stood like an Image of bright Gold crown’d
with Fire, like unto a Heathen Idol, his arms
Palm outward, with a Smile that was all holy
and wanton also, which I was mov’d to kiss
tenderly, knowing not why I did so; and I
saw I had let spill the Water of Atonement,
though to me this matter’d not; and I sought to
pronounce the Words of Atonement, but could
remember only a bawdy Song overheard once
in a Tavern.
The holy Hammer I bore seem’d a catchpenny
Trinket, that I pull’d from my Throat and cast
off in Disgust; and in the Kisses of Choraziel
there was a distill’d Sweetness I had never
Known, for I had been untainted by Physical
Desire all my Life, and now threw open the
Gates to the Storm of Wonder that rush’d
within.
His eyes were like Moonlight reflected in the
Bottom of a Well, and in them I saw myself a
free Woman, dancing and drinking and laughing
loud, trampling beneath my Feet the soil’d
Cloths of the Religious life. I saw my Robe lay
coil’d at my Feet, and Choraziel did embrace
me; then as Lightning blasting my Mind it fell
on me what had happen’d, and with a Shriek
I fled away, and barr’d the door; and making
myself deaf to his Pleadings and Cries I made
me a Mortar, and built a Wall, so that the Door
was in a few Hours completely hid, and my
shame with it. Then I fell down and wept full
Sore, and pray’d to great Hurm to save my
poor weak Soul...
- Last of the papers of Sister Kurrik
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this is a gluey substance as strong as silk rope. The
creature can throw this as if it were making an
attempt to secure a grappling hook, with a +4 racial
bonus to the Use Rope skill check and a +6 racial
bonus to the Climb check to ascend it. Although the
strand is gluey to the touch, it does not impede the
creature that exuded it.
Web Throwing Gland: For an additional investment
of 6 Mutation Points, the travesty can throw a web
up to four times per day. This is similar to an attack
with a net but has a maximum range of 30 feet, with
a range increment of 10 feet. This attack is effective
against targets of up to one size category larger than
the travesty itself. The web anchors the target in
place and does not allow any movement.
An entangled creature can escape with an Escape
Artist skill check or tear through the web with a
Strength ability check. The DC of either check is 10
plus half the creature’s Hit Dice (and/or experience
level) plus its Constitution ability score modifier.
The web has 14 hit points and a hardness rating of 0.
This webbing is mildly resistant to fire; if any fire is
applied to it, there is a 75% chance that the webbing
will not burn, with a fresh check made each round if
fire is continually applied.
Mutation Point Cost: 3.
Web Throwing Upgrade: +6.
Wings
The creature grows wings from its back; these may
be feathered or bat-like, as the creature chooses.
They allow the creature to fly at its normal speed
+20 ft. with Poor manoeuvrability. Wings are next to
impossible to conceal and bestow a –10 circumstance
penalty to any Disguise check that requires the
mutated creature to appear as an ordinary member
of its race.
Mutation Points: 7.

Adventure
Hooks
T
his final chapter in our journey through the
worst of all possible worlds gives several
adventure ideas tied into the Infernum and
other levels of Hell.
Island Of The Damned
The fruit that comes from the island of
Merryblossom is famous for its succulence and size.
As far as anyone knows, it is a peaceful farming
community with few ties to the mainland. Called
in to investigate the disappearance of a young girl,
the adventurers soon find that there are more sinister
forces at work. Far from being a pagan community,
the settlement is in thrall to a group of corn devils
– the real reason behind the island’s agricultural
success.
The villagers are divided over what to do about the
corn devils, who are demanding more and more
sacrifices. They cannot keep giving up their own
kinfolk to the devils but if they reveal the truth,
then who would buy their produce any more? They
have already spent the last decade giving people to
the corn devils as sacrifices. If anyone found out
the truth, the village would be held to account and
several important officials would be executed for
their wicked crimes.
The strongest voice in the village is the local mayor,
who plays the part of a neurotic fool to cover up
his corrupted interior. He is in fact in a bonded
relationship with Hell. His patron appears in the
form of a black horse, kept in the stables behind
the manor house. He and his cronies have come
up with the idea of appealing to the mainland
for an adventuring party to come and help. The
adventurers are, of course, destined to become
the sacrifices themselves. Only a few people on
the island, such as the local schoolmistress, are
secretly opposed to the mayor and willing to help
the adventurers bring an end to the evil.
The atmosphere of this adventure is very much
like that of a well-known horror film with a large
burning figure in it. It is coming up to harvest time
and the villagers are all wildly excited, planning
celebrations and hanging up decorations; yet there
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ADVENTURE HOOKS
is an unmistakable terror in their actions. They are
extremely friendly but oddly reluctant to discuss the
coming festival…
The Architect’s Soul
This adventure is for advanced parties, as it exposes
them to considerable risk. The architect Timeon del
Vaar was a good and virtuous man, as well as the
most gifted designer and constructor of buildings
in all the world. When he reached the end of his
life, nobody doubted that his soul would ascend to
the Heavens and find the rest it sought. The reality
was quite different. Upon his death, Timeon was
grabbed by four hulking pit fiends and dragged
down to Hell, where he was fitted with a manacle of
binding metal to keep him there.
Count Menthos, a noble of House Zethu, has
ordered Timeon’s abduction. He needs the
architect’s help to construct a certain edifice. Using
transplanar geometry and radically innovative
magical techniques, House Zethu has designed a
thaumaturgic steeple that (if it works) will allow
the devils to scry directly into Heaven without the
possibility of detection, increasing the chance that
they will be able to learn the true names of angels
and make preparations in advance if Heaven should
plan to invade. Unfortunately, they have not been
able to make the steeple stand; it keeps collapsing
in on itself. Menthos needs Timeon’s assistance to
overcome the engineering problems.
Timeon’s granddaughter, who has learned from a
cleric that her grandfather is imprisoned in Hell,
approaches the players for help. She offers them
one of his buildings in payment, left to her in his
will, which could be anything from a tower to a
stronghold or even a palace. Nothing in the material
world is as important as her grandfather’s immortal
soul. The players must descend to the Infernum,
find out where Timeon’s soul is held and negotiate
with the Princes themselves for his release. By the
very strict laws of Hell, Menthos does not actually
have the right to Timeon’s soul. Devils would not
bother with contracts and pacts if you could simply
grab any soul you wanted. The players have Hell’s
laws on their side, but it will not be easy for them to
find a person to plead their case.
The Tithe To Hell
According to ancient tradition, the fey are obliged
to pay a tithe of souls to Hell every seven years.
Naturally, the good-aligned fey would not think of
 ADVENTURE HOOKS

such a thing; however, wicked fey are another matter

altogether. When called in to help a band of forest-
A Tune For Lucifer
Bards have to play music to get along in the world
dwelling sprites protect a sylvan glade, the players
and are always stopping off at taverns to sing for
awaken to find themselves in a far less wholesome
their supper. A disguised succubus in the crowd
forest than they bedded down in. They have been
might notice a bard who gives a particularly good
transported to Hell via a plane shift effect while they
performance, as the Tattered Market is always in
slept and must now do their best to escape, if they
need of entertainers. She offers a generous fee if
are not to spend eternity there.
the performer will come and play for her ‘special
friends’.
Old Faces
The rules in Infernal Transfiguration that It is easy enough to find a way in to the Tattered
allow a damned soul to become a demon Market (see Lower Levels) so the musician and
or devil are ideal for bringing back an his companions can come with her if they
adversary that the players had thought wish. Finding the way home might be a more
they had seen the last of. The Games difficult proposal. If the performance at the
Master can take challenge to a new Tattered Market goes especially well,
level by giving the players a a nalfeshnee manager may wish to
chance to kill off one of arrange further performances
the campaign’s persistent in other parts of Hell. Of
villains, only to have course, somewhere
him return more along the line it will
powerful than be forgotten that the
ever. If they learn performer is not the
of the villain’s plans for manager’s property.
transfiguration, they may
be able to gain access (if they The Prodigal
are very lucky) to the Hall of The vast majority of half-fiends
Changing where he is planning to take after their fiendish parent
transform. If they are less lucky, and are evil to the core.
they may arrive just in time for the Once in a while, however, a
larval stage… half-fiend is born who has
a good heart. The players
The Soul Traders are contacted by just such
a creature, who is now
A gang of slavers working
the waterfront in a city near the following several years of
players’ place of residence seems training ready to descend
at first to be no more than the usual to Hell, find his true father
racket. Captives are brought in (an incubus, as they often
from the streets and never seen are) and destroy him.
again. Investigation reveals that
some bogeyman demons have discovered a hitherto Having a half-fiend in the party will make passage
unknown natural gateway that links the tunnels through Hell easier, but the half-fiend has not
below the streets with the sewers of a demon city. reckoned with the temptations that Hell will present;
They are simply carting living beings off to Hell and he feels far more pressure than he ever has before to
selling them in the Tattered Market as slaves. Not allow his fiendish side to take over and to join with
only must the soul traders be stopped, a way must be his devil father instead of striking him down. The
found to close off the natural gateway for good. It players must help their companion hold on to the
is only a matter of time before some more powerful good in himself, in the midst of the most evil place
demon lord finds the gateway and makes much in the multiverse.
more direct use of it. A visitation from hellcycle
riders might even occur.

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 DESIGNER'S NOTES

Designer’s
Devil and so on. Some of my borrowings are from
better-known sources but were just too tempting to
leave out; I doubt that anybody needs me to explain

Notes the origin of Lady Barbelion of House Riethii, for

example.

S
ometimes I can’t believe that I get paid
A list of influences – which also, by the way,
to write books like this. Something this
is recommended for anyone who is thinking
enjoyable can’t really be a job, right? The
of expanding on the material here or setting a
Book of Hell has been a delight to compose from
campaign in Hell or both – would have to include
start to finish. I now feel, as I inevitably do after a
the Lucifer comic series, featuring the concept of
project is finished, that there was so much more that
the Morningstar first realised by Neil Gaiman and
could have gone into it; but one only has a certain
developed brilliantly by Mike Carey; several issues
number of pages to work with.
of Sandman itself, especially Season of Mists; the
Hellblazer comic series, though I would personally
The first time I came across Hell as a roleplaying
recommend skipping the ones by Garth Ennis; the
game accessory was when I finally laid my fourteen-
climax to Alan Moore’s ‘American Gothic’ series
year-old hands on a copy of the Judge’s Guild
in Swamp Thing, which was the strongest
module, Inferno. For those who do not
image at the back of my mind when
remember, or for whom Inferno
writing this; the films Crossroads,
was before their time, it was
the Devil and Daniel Webster,
a module based around
Angel Heart (if Lisa Bonet
Dante’s Inferno and dealt
ever reads this, then I
with the first five or
would be obliged if
so circles of Hell. It
she would consider
instantly became the
marrying me),
module for high-
either version
level characters
of Bedazzled;
to play in and get
the artwork of
minced to pulp. (I
Coop, whose
mean, how can you
devil girls and
not love a module
gentlemen are
that featured Tiamat
exactly what the
in the very first
devils of House
section?) It is thus a
Reithii look like;
personal pleasure to
oh, and the video for
be able to revisit Hell
the eighties classic
over twenty years later
Hymn by Ultravox.
and have a go at it myself.
As far as the games mechanics
My main intent with the book was
side of the book is concerned, I
simply to provide material, translated
have tried my utmost to expand on what
into game terms, with a secondary wish to
is already there rather than to innovate overmuch.
explain some of the non-sequiturs that seemed to
It has not been possible to avoid creating entirely
be associated with Hell. The material comes from
new rules for one aspect of evil, however – the
two main sources; my deranged imagination and
Corruption rating. This may or may not be popular
the best part of three decades of reading books
and alignment has always been a bone of contention,
on the subject of magic and demonology. Instead
but I must say (in my defence) that without some
of simply grabbing the material wholesale, I
kind of quantification of evil, a great deal of the
have tried to capture the feel of such texts as the
complexity of Hell would have been lost. The
Dictionaire Infernale, the Goetia and the Sacred
whole concept of Hell depends on the idea of some
Magic of Abramelin the Mage. The reader who is
people being more evil than others. If one lawful
familiar with such things will no doubt recognise
evil person is not actually capable of being any more
the Spinning Devil, the Behemoth, the Herald
evil than another of the same alignment, then how

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 DESIGNER'S NOTES

on earth is one to create the legendary Hell in which

the worst offenders receive the worst punishments?
Dante’s Hell was divided into circles for a reason.
Whether or not you like the Corruption chapter, I
hope you understand why it belongs there, in my
opinion.

The other place where I have really stuck my neck

out is in suggesting that raise dead and resurrection
might not always work. Although I have included
the usual disclaimer that Games Masters need not
abide by this if they do not want to, I personally
feel rather strongly on this point. For one thing, I
am one of those who think that the ‘revolving door’
approach to death weakens the game. If you can
simply pop back to life again, with nothing more
than your own consent required, then something of
the sweetness of risk is lost. Secondly, on matters
more pertinent to this book, I simply do not see
how the concept of Hell as a prison is compatible
with a system that allows a soul to be conveniently
whisked back into the body. Evil characters have
freedoms that others do not, being unfettered by
moral restraints. It seems to me perfectly fair that
they should have less freedom after death.

I originally intended this book as something of a

sourcebook for the Games Master, whereby the
villains of the campaign can be fleshed out, but now
that it is finished, I suspect that there will be more
than a few players interested in selling their souls,
undergoing infernal transfiguration, or taking up
the study of infernal magic under a patron. I think
Stephen King said it best, in Danse Macabre: ‘Evil,
let’s face it, has a certain flash that good just doesn’t
have.’

Please remember, good reader, that this is just

a game. Failure to tell the difference between a
fantasy and real life may result in serious grief
and upset. There are already some hilarious tracts
in circulation in which roleplaying games are
portrayed as Gateways to Hell, so let’s not give
anyone cause to take that kind of tripe seriously. I
am sure that while you and I know the difference,
we must remember that we share the planet with the
kind of person who came up with ‘Dark Dungeons’.
Search for it on the Web if you don’t know what I
mean.

This book is dedicated to Irene and David, the oldest

and the best of friends, who may perhaps see a little
of themselves in it.

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 INDEX

Index C
A cacodaemon 129
Cannon Of Torment 215
acid hurler 215 Celestials 9
agony engine 217 chain devils 63
agony Turbine 212 Chalice of Abominations 95, 96, 97
All Soul’s Night 7 charnel point 19
Amaloi, the Bone Princess 87 Chasm of Ungaraun 34
Angel Prisons 39 Chateau Malaise 67
Apocalypse Texts 26, 35, 96 Cinderstone Heights 25, 170, 190
Ashen Plains 100 claw sheaths 212, 213
Astral Plane 6, 16, 189 clown demon 130, 132
Asylum 45, 46 Contumacius von Berrengrath 73
Auditorium 43 corn devil 123, 124, 125
Corruption Disadvantages 155
Eternal Stain 156
B Flee The Light 155
Holiness Burns 155
Baalzebul 40 Hunted 156
babau 135, 230 Irredeemable 156
balor 230, 233 Magic Vulnerability 155
Balsfemeros 85, 86, 87 Mark Of The Beast 155
banefly 47, 48 May Be Turned/Rebuked 155
barbed devil 25, 62, 231 Nightmares 156
bearded devil 64, 231 Obstinate Wounds 156
bebelith 230 Slow Healing 155
Beelzebub 12 The Dogs Shall Know You 155
behemoth 112, 113 Withering Death 156
Belial 107, 110 Council of the Four 109, 110
belly larvae 80, 81 Count Zarov 101
Beltane 7, 14 Court of Bountiful Injustice 42, 43, 44, 46
bile devil 48, 49, 50 Covenant of the Nine Pillars 161
bile duct 48, 49, 207 creeping bile 207
binding metal 207 Crevicule 87
biomechanoid 135, 218, 219, 220 Crown of Blasphemy 97
black roses of hell 53
Blood Wars 72, 98
bogeyman 128
boil goblin 81 D
bone devil 62, 231 danse macabre 84
bore worm 81 Dark Carnival 42
botsuc 80 demonic raider 210
briar devil 119, 120 demon biker 135, 136, 137
burning dead 88, 89 devilish frigate 209
dretch 230

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 INDEX

Duke Festenadi 77, 78 hellbats 17

Duke Khal 70 Hellcat 231
Duke Radamanthus 97 hellcat 63
dust devil 117, 118, 119 hellcycle 135, 136, 137, 214, 218, 220, 221
hellfork 66
hellglass 35, 100, 208
E hellmaggot 225
hellmaw 12, 13, 14
ear slug 81
hellreaver 223, 225, 232, 234, 235
Echtum 26, 27
hellstone 21
erinyes 62, 75
hellworms 100
Eye of Havoc 29, 32
Helm Of The Plague-Fly 78
Ezrazene Callimauphrey 41
herald devil 111, 112
hezrou 26, 30, 42, 135, 214, 230

F hobbyl cell 25
horned devil 61, 62, 231
falling soul 17 House Astyanath 46, 54, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 126,
Faustus 89 152, 194, 195
Festering Falchion 78 House Carthenay 59, 71, 90, 93, 167, 189, 196
Fire-cloud 16 House Glabretch 72, 75, 77, 88, 171, 207
fire swamps 24 House Haimon 20, 72, 84, 86, 88
flaming flail of laceration 69 House Oblurott 68, 75, 90, 189
Flaming Hellfork Of Impaling 74 House Riethii 90, 94
Flaming Scythe Of Severance 87 House Sturrach 70, 75, 98, 101, 194
Forest of Suicides 58, 99 House Zethu 39, 41, 59, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106,
foul chrism 233 122, 164, 218, 247
Four Great Princes 39, 40, 107, 140, 174 Howling Aengus of House Sturrach 93
Four Rivers 139, 140 Hurgblotten 91, 92
Frothstone 23, 208

I
G ice devil 61, 231
Glabretch 27 imp 64, 231
glabrezu 25, 135, 230 incubus, greater 115
gloom devil 125, 126 incubus, lesser 113, 114
Grand Duke Contumacius von Berrengrath 72 Infernal Agenda 5
Great Face 33, 34 Infernal Archipelago 5
gremlin 132, 133 Infernal Sea 23
Infernal Spell List 174
Abyssal Cauldron 174
H Black Mass, Greater 175
Black Mass, Lesser 175
Hall of Changings 231, 232 Brittle Bones 176
Hall of Regret 46 Cannonball 176
Harvest of Souls 4, 5 Chains Of Immobility 177
Hell’s Kitchen 91 Choking Hand 177

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 INDEX

Corrupt The Blessed 177

Crucify 178 K
Defy Symbol 178 Khulmesh 31
Detestable Putrescence 178 Kithlubbin 93
Doom Of The Void 179 kytons 63, 64, 67
Evisceration Pillar 179
Eyeburst 179
Flay 179
Footprints Of Blood 180
L
Lady Barbelion 95, 115
Godsbane 181
Lady Challenor 140
Hail Of Nails 181
Lady Jezafeen 194
Hellish Brand 181
Lady Terjulia 195
Icy Prison 182
land drill 216
Infernal Aspect 182
lemure 64, 97, 231
Infernal Embassy 182
Leviathan 39, 40, 41, 107, 109, 110
Intestinal Strangler 183
Lobbigus 93
Lacerating Blast 183
Lord Kavalon 97
Laughter Of Insanity 184
Lord of the Flies 225
Living Gate 184
Lucifer 107, 109, 248
Noxious Emissions 184
Putrid Projectile 185
Rack 184
Rending Chains 185 M
Scales Of The Hellworm 186 Madame Japusca 97
Scarlet Lightning 186 Majestrix Irania de Malfaisance 69
Succubus Kiss 186 Mammon 71, 72, 74
Surface Walk 186 manacle of binding metal 21, 169, 189, 191
Terrible Swarm 186 marilith 25, 135, 230, 233
Tongue Lash 187 marsh fever 24
Unholy Warding I 187 Mater Lachrymae 69
Unholy Warding II 187 Mephistopheles 89, 102
Unholy Warding III 187 Mezuk 44
Vomit Frogs 188 moaning forest 19
Wingbind 188 Monster of the Sea 109
Inferniculars 35 Mount Zeberrok 25, 26, 140
Infernum 3, 4, 6, 7, 38, 40, 42, 51, 61, 62, 70, 88, Mudger of the Pot 93
104, 106, 113, 118, 128, 189, 192, 207 Mugarri 28
Mutations 235

J
Additional Arm 235
Alternate Form 235
Armour Plating 235
jiggers 82
Armour Rending 235
Bone Blade 236
Bone Spikes 236
Bone Spines 236
Breathe Swarm 236

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 INDEX

Breath Filter 236

Claws 236 N
Commune With Hell 237 nalfeshnee 135, 230, 233
Confusion Aura 237 Neben-Kra 27, 28
Corrosive Blood 237 needleworm 80
Damage Reduction 237 Nepenthe 24, 27, 56
Death Throes 237 night-oaks 50, 51
Disarming Gaze 238 nightmare forest 19
Disease 238 Nine Hells 60
Energy Discharge 238 Numinus Wackett 70
Energy Resistance 239
Environmental Tolerance 239
Fast Healing 239
Fear Aura 239
O
Oleaginus Cresk 74
Flaming Body 240
Hypnotic Voice 240
Increased Muscle Mass 240
Infernal Spell Ability 240 P
Infernal Wounding 240 parasites 79, 80
Invisible In Light 241 pit fiend 61, 231
Keen Ears 241 Playground Of Evil Children 38, 39
Long Reach 241 Powers of the Sphinx 107, 174
Maw 241 primal iron 208
Pincers 241 Princess Thanee 70
Poison 241, 242 Princes of Hell 9, 10, 12, 43, 46, 60, 61, 101, 141
Poison Immunity 242 Prince Akkaron 104
Regeneration 242 Prince of the Powers of the Air 109
Scent 242 Prince of the Undead 84
Scream 242 pseudopod 17
See In Darkness 243 purgatorial torment 201
Serpent Body 242 Purgatory 158
Skeletal 243
Slimy Coating 243
Stench 243
Sting 244
Q
Stupefying Radiance 243 quasit 230
Summon Devil/Demon 244
Tail 244
Teeth Extension 244 R
Telepathy 244 raving demon 133, 134
Tentacle 245 red roses of Hell 53, 54
Thickened Hide 245 Rod of Dissolution 95, 97
Tongues 245 Rule of Three 142
True Seeing 245
Web Gland 245
Wings 246

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 INDEX

S T
Sabbath 84 tapeworm 80
Samain 7, 14 Tatsumo 28, 30
Satan 107, 108, 109 Tattered Market 44, 45, 140, 248
screaming cactus 23 telepathic amplifier 213
scrutters 83 titanic stalker 58, 59
Sea Gates 8 Titus Spittlegreave 74
Sea of Fire 3, 4, 7, 9, 72, 88, 100, 170, 189, 190, toiling fields 196
209, 216 toiling houses 196
Shrieking Peaks 3 Tormentor 194
sinew wood 209 tormentor 126, 127
Sin Rating 10, 11, 145, 148, 151 torturer 202
slaughterer’s cleaver 92 Travesties 225
slugs of inanity 55, 57 travesties 232, 234
soul-tree 18 travesty 235
Soul Items 197
Bound Group 197
Fused Block 197
Living Weapon 199
U
Ungaraun 30, 31
Posed Soul 197
Soul Ballista 200
Soul Balloon 200
Soul Catapult 200 V
Soul Mask 198 vrock 29, 30, 135, 230
Soul Net 199
Soul Organ 199
Soul Projectile 198
Soul Sentry 199
W
Soul Snap-Trap 199 watcher devil 116
Soul Watchman 198 Whispering Twins 87
Stretched/Compressed Soul 197 Wood of Damnation 119
soul trawler 210
spinning devil 120, 121, 122
steam devil 122 Z
Steeples of Pain 68 Zeberrok 41
strappado 204 Zephestus Baunt 74
succubus 230, 232
suicide willow 57, 58
swarf blaster 215, 216
Sword of Akkaron 104, 106

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 LICENCES

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2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content fail to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach
that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses
only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix shall survive the termination of this License.
such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms
may be added to or subtracted from this License except as described 14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be
by the License itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent
to any Open Game Content distributed using this License. necessary to make it enforceable.

3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You
indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use
this License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide,
royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this
License to Use, the Open Game Content.
5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing
original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your
Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient
rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast,
Inc.
System Reference Document Copyright 2000–2003, Wizards
of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip
Williams, Rich baker, Andy Collins, David noonan, Rich Redman,
Bruce R. Cordell, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and
Dave Arneson.
Open game content from Classic Play – The Book of the Planes is
copyright 2004, Mongoose Publishing Ltd.

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mike mitchell (order #8652403)