Descent into Avernus

(Jeff_L) #1

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light which sent the vampire lord scrambling for the


shadows and laid waste to his undead army. Thavius


Kreeg, who took credit for summoning the Companion,

was hailed as the savior of the city and rose to become


its high overseer. Under Kreeg's decades-long rule,

Elturel embarked on a path to becoming not just a holy


city but the holy nation of Elturgard.

TuAVIUS'S BETRAYAL


Thavius was told the exact time when the Companion


would cease to protect Elturel. In the weeks leacling up


to this fateful hour, Thavius urged Grand Duke Older
Ravengard of Baldur's Gate to visit Elturel, to help settle

some longstanding disputes between the two cities. Fac-


ing political pressure at home, Ravengard reluctantly


acceded. After greeting Ravengard's delegation. Thavius

Kreeg fled Elturel in secret and watched from a safe dis-


tance as the Companion transformed from a racliant sun


into a black orb awash with crackling energy. It ripped


Elturel from the Material Plane, transporting it and all
its inhabitants to Avernus. A few other city folk managed

to escape before Elturel disappeared. Where it once


stood, only a crater remains.


Disguised as a refugee, Thavius Kreeg was one of the


first of his people to arrive at Baidu r's Gate with news
of Elturel's "destruction." He slipped through the city's
gates with the help of his influential friend, Duke Van-

thampur, and took refuge in her home.


ROLEPLAYING DEVILS


As the DM, you can play devils as humorous, aloof, bom-


bastic, conniving, or scatterbrained, but a general rule


to follow is this: devils have no desire to do good. When

dealing with mortals, devils are constantly figuring


out how to exploit and corrupt them, often behind thin

smiles of feigned concern and false charm.


IMPORTANT REFERENCES
This adventure features the Nine Hells, which is described
in chapter^2 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Devils, being
the primary inhabitants of the Nine Hells, play prominent
roles in this story. Before running the adventure, it's worth
taking the time to familiarize yourself with the "Devils"
entry in the Monster Manual, which not only describes
the most common types of devils but also explains their
hierarchy, how they behave 1n accordance with their lawful
evil alignment, what pleases and enrages them, and why
they're scared of dying on their home plane.
Stat Blocks. The Monster Manual contains stat blocks for
most of the monsters and non player characters (N PCs)
found in this adventure. Whenever this adventure presents
a new monster or N PC, you'll find its stat block near the
encounter in which it appears, or in appendix D. When a
creature's name appears in bold type, that's a visual cue
pointing you to the creature's stat block in the Monster
Manual. If the stat block appears elsewhere, the adven-
ture's text tells you where to find it.
Spells and Magic Items. Spells and nonmagical equip-
ment mentioned in the adventure are described in the
Player's Handbook. Magic items are described in the Dun-
geon Master's Guide, unless the adventure's text directs you
to an item's description in appendix C.

ABOUT THE ADVENTURE

A devil that successfully corrupts a mortal gets the

infernal equivalent of a gold star and can eagerly expect


a superior to take notice and give it the promotion it so


richly deserves. Meanwhile, when that mortal dies, its
soul will find itself condemned to the Nine Hells where

it twists into the form of a lemure (unless it's used for


some other morbid purpose). The devil doesn't care what


becomes of the souls it corrupts; it just wants to be pro-


moted to a superior form of devil. That's how, over ages,


a lemure might become a pit fiend.
But devils do more than corrupt. They also fight in the
Blood War. Asmodeus attests that serving in his infer-
nal legion is a holy honor. for in so doing a devil helps
protect the multiverse from demonic destruction. While

that sounds impressive, most devils partake in the Blood


War only to distinguish themselves among their peers
and move up the chain of command. Endlessly fighting
demons isn't what most devils signed up for.
If a devil dies somewhere other than the Nine Hells,
it re-forms in the Nine Hells and is therefore not truly

killed. However, a devil that is killed in the Nine Hells is


dead forever; not surprisingly, that's why devils tend to

be more cautious in their dealings al home than abroad.


DEVIL TRAITS
Common traits among devils include the following:

Charm. Devils are consummate charmers. Like


humans, some are better at it than others. The good


ones savor the exchange of pleasantries, speaking in


measured sentences or noticing pleasant details about

the environment or a character's clothing.


Patience. Devils are rarely in a rush to make a deal


or sign a contract. As masters of the long con. devils


make genuinely good deals with mortals to buy appre-

ciation and trust that can be leveraged during more


consequential dealings later on.

CiviJity. Devils like to pretend that they run by the same


rules and obey the same social conventions as mor-


tals. Devils have no problem appearing and acting


in whatever manner they need to achieve their end


goal- usually a contract for services or a soul. They've


learned that more can be gained from behaving in a


civilized manner than reacting angrily or violently.


Deviousness. Devils don't age, so there's rarely a sense


of urgency with a devil as it plots its conquest or cor-


ruption of a soul. This allows for winding schemes


that are rarely what they seem on the surface. For


minor devils, a simple acceptance of an evil gift is


enough, while greater devils enjoy tangling up charac-

ters in choices that compromise their values.


Unscrupulousness. Being evil and soulless, a devil can-


not be embarrassed or shamed, doesn't feel guilt or


remorse, and is prepared to do the most heinous acts


to get what it wants.

Fear of Demotion. A devil that disappoints a superior


can be demoted, whereupon it's instantly transformed


into a lesser form of devil. The greater the devil, the


more it fears demotion and the loss of its power. Thus,


a devil takes great pains to hide its failures or pin


them on someone else.

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