Nine Hells

The Nine Hells of Baator, more commonly known as simply the Nine Hells, is the home plane of devils. It is known as the Hells of Despath in The Legend of Vox Machina.[1]

Unlike the Abyss, the hells are highly organized with a strict caste system, each devil kneeling before those who are above them in hierarchy, starting with lemures, then lesser devils, greater devils, and archdevils who in turn all owe their fealty to the Lord of the Hells, Asmodeus himself.[2]

Layers[edit | edit source]

There are very few portals that will lead to the hells. To travel to one layer a person usually had to traverse through the other layers, starting at the first layer, Avernus.[3]

Avernus[edit | edit source]

Avernus is the first layer of the Nine Hells, and the arrival point for most visitors to the Hells. Avernus is a rocky wasteland with rivers of blood and clouds of biting flies. The Archduchess who rules over Avernus is the fallen angel Zariel.[3]

Tiamat is a prisoner on this layer of the Nine Hells.[3] The adventures of Arkhan the Cruel after the banishment of Vecna haven't been established as Critical Role canon, but according to Joe Manganiello, Arkhan has a keep on Avernus near his deity's prison. After the defeat of Vecna in Vasselheim, Arkhan took his newly-acquired Hand of Vecna and Teleported back to his keep in Avernus. As of Campaign 2, he is still trying to unlock the Hand's power in order to free the Scaled Tyrant and unleash the Dragon Queen upon the other planes of existence.[4]

Dis[edit | edit source]

Dis is the second layer of the Nine Hells. It is full of iron ore, which is used to build roads and bridges, and from which the Iron City of Dis gets its name. This level of hell is mountainous and full of deep, winding ravines.[5] The archdevil who rules over this layer is Dispater, who styles himself the "Iron Duke". He is considered to be highly politically astute, as well as a skilled manipulator.[6] Dispater lives in a massive iron tower which overlooks the City of Dis.[7]

Nessus[edit | edit source]

Asmodeus, Lord of the Hells, rules from his fortress, Malsheem, on this deepest layer of the Hells.[8]

Creatures[edit | edit source]

Screenshot of Nine Hells souls, by Titmouse from "Vexations" (LVM3x03).[art 1]

Notable inhabitants of the Hells[edit | edit source]

  • Asmodeus, Lord of the Hells.
  • Dispater: Archdevil of the second layer of the Nine Hells.
  • Zariel: Archdevil of the first layer of the Nine Hells.[3]
  • Zerxus Ilerez: Human champion of the Lord of the Hells.
  • Ghurrix: Pit fiend serving as ambassador to the Elemental Plane of Fire until assassinated by Vox Machina on behalf of Juuraiel.
  • Utugash: Pit fiend who bought Tova to torture her and was ultimately assassinated by Vox Machina on behalf of his subordinate Ipkesh.
  • Hotis: Rakshasa who became a repeat threat to Vox Machina until they went to the Nine Hells to destroy him for good.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Art:

  1. Screenshot of Nine Hells souls, by Titmouse from "Vexations" (LVM3x03). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.