Manual of the Planes

added to the Bronze Citadel. Work gangs of soul shells,lemures, and imps constantly expand the city. The constructionis so pervasive that bone scaffolding is as likelyto be supporting a given wall as not.Pillar of Skulls: This massive landmark of actualskulls represents devilish trophies taken in the BloodWar. Most of the trophies are twisted, demonic skulls,varying in size from minuscule to the size of a house. Thepillar rises to a height of more than a mile.The Pillar stands near the part of the ledge whereaccess to the next lower layer is an easy walk down a particularlytall metal spire of the city Dis reaching upthrough the haze between layers. This spire sees quite abit of devil and petitioner traffic on its spiral stairwell—and quite a few accidental and not-so-accidental falls.However, a massive cave mouth near the base of the Pillarof Skulls holds a particularly terrible sentinel of theledge: Tiamat.Tiamat: The Chromatic Dragon, Tiamat, is revered byevil dragons, and her five heads each bear the color of onekind of evil dragon. She enjoys such wretched pastimesas torture, bickering, and destruction. Tiamat guards theaccess between Avernus and Dis near the Pillar of Skulls,but she usually stirs forth only to counter demonic incursions.Five consorts, powerful male great wyrms of red,black, green, blue, and white varieties, attend her at alltimes. The hoard of Tiamat, hidden deep in her cavern, issaid to equal the treasuries of a hundred worlds.DisThe second layer of the Nine Hells is a burning city ofiron. The red glow of infernal heat burns within thescorched iron walls, and a pall of smoke rises up to form ageneral dark haze over the entire layer. For the city is thelayer and the layer is the city, Dis. Some claim that a travelerwho walks far enough can leave the city behind, concealedwithin a great ring of mountains.Ranks of red, glowing buildings extend to every horizon,rising and falling according to the hidden terrain.Palatial mansions of particularly important devils andofficers of the Blood War break the cityscape here andthere. Every iron wall glows with heat, and casual contactwith the walls deals 1d6 points of fire damage.Even the iron cobblestones glow with heat. Withoutiron-shod boots, visitors soon writhe and burn in thestreets. Screaming petitioners, captives from the BloodWar, and mortals kidnapped from the Material Plane fillsubterranean prisons beneath the streets. The sound oftheir agonized lament is usually audible from small ventsin the city walls.Some sections of the city host markets and bazaarswhere creatures from a variety of different planes meet.Most seek to buy or sell questionable wares, or hire abloodthirsty band of mercenaries for work that only adevil could love.Crowds fill the streets. Parades of devilish nobilityattended by lemures and horribly sculpted soul shells viewith countless work gangs who constantly sally forth torepair, extend, or remodel the city at the behest of Dispater,Lord of the Second.Iron Tower: The Iron Tower is visible from every part ofDis, for it reaches high above the city, piercing the hazeof the layer. The tower’s form seems to constantly shimmerand change textures and architectural styles.The Iron Tower is Dispater’s personal redoubt. Withinits walls, he enjoys a +20 bonus to his Armor Class, spellresistance, and all saving throws. He is almost invulnerablethere, so he rarely ventures forth, preferring to leadthrough erinyes messengers.MinaurosThe third layer of the Nine Hells is a fetid swamp of mireand pollution. Acidic rain, bitter winds, and flesh-slicinghail rule the bog. The waters of the marsh are so cold insome places that they have iced over. In others, the dankwater boils and steams with infernal heat.Terrible creatures with no names swim the murkywaters, and even devils fear to stray too far from theirvarious cities. Where the layer is lowest, a constantCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANESpqqqqrsLORD OF THE FIRST: BELThe center of the Bronze Citadel holds the personal fortress ofBel, a pit fiend of great power who controls Avernus; In additionto being Lord of the First. Bel is also a general in the BloodWar, though not one of the Dark Eight. Bel betrayed the formerLord of the First, Zariel, for his current position. It is whisperedby his subordinates that Bel still keeps Zariel prisoner somewheredeep in the Bronze Citadel so that he can siphon herhellish power into himself, increasing his own abilities whileslowly reducing her to just another soul shell.While Bel has succeeded where many failed before him,his climb to power seems to be stalled now, since he doesnot enjoy the support of other Lords of the Nine, except forpossibly Asmodeus.LORD OF THE SECOND: DISPATER THE ARCHDUKEUnlike with Bel, it is difficult to class Dispater as a specific“type” of devil or recall his origin, other than to say he is anarchdevil. Like the other Lords of the Nine, he is an elitedevil whose powers are waxing, and even pit fiends fallbefore his onslaught. He usually appears as a humanoid ofsupernatural height, dark hair, tiny horns, and resplendentgarb. He always holds his badge of office, a rod of singularpower.Dispater never takes risks and rarely leaves his Iron Tower.Only Asmodeus’s call brings him forth. In the politics of TheNine Hells, Dispater and Mephistopheles, Lord of theEighth, are allies, usually scheming against Baalzebul, Lordof the Seventh.pqqqqrs117