Baator
In the Dungeons & Dragons cosmology Baator, also known as theNine Hells, is the Outer Plane where the souls people of Lawful Evil alignment are incarnated as petitioners after death, suffering whatever torments are determined by their gods and beliefs. Baator is also home to the devils, fiendish extra-dimensional creatures of pure Lawful Evil; the most populous variety of devils are the baatezu, a race which effectively rules the plane. The ultimate rulers of Baator are the Lords of the Nine, also called Arch-Devils; each one rules absolutely over one of the layers.
Baator consists of following layers, listed from topmost to bottom:
- Avernus is the first layer, a vast wasteland over which the iron towers of the Dukes of Hell stand. Lord Bel rules here, and Tiamat, queen of evil dragons, stands watch over the way to the next layer.
- Dis is the second layer, dominated by the Iron City of Dis. Dispater rules here.
- Minauros is a vast swamp.
- Phleghethos
- Stygia
- Malbolge
- Maladomini
- Cania (or Caina)
- Nessus is the lowest layer, virtually uninhabited even by the devils. Asmodeus rules the entire plane from here.
The layers of Baator are configured as a descending cone, with each layer successively lower than the one before it. This is an example of an interesting phenomenon in the Planescape universe, where evil tends to sink and good tends to rise. See Mount Celestia.
The topography of Baator is broadly derived from the Hell described in Dante's The Divine Comedy, although the arrangement and names of the layers of Baator differ greatly from the circles of Hell described by Dante.
See also: Planescape
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