Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Seþra

Seþra

The Princess of Lies; Mother of Serpents; The Forked Tongue; Eater of Children; Slithering Death; Demon Mistress of Snakes and Deception

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.

Domains: Charm, Composition, Enchantment, Entrancement, Hypnotism, Serpent.

Summon Monster: Seþra's clerics and favored souls may summon anarchic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A viper's fangs.
Favored Weapon: "The serpent's fang" (punch-dagger)
Related Prestige Classes: Servant of Seþra.

Seþra is the sinuous and serpentine demonic mistress of enticement, deception, and seduction. In her true form, she appears as a great, brightly colored serpent: Sometimes an emerald green, at others a bright blue and red, and still others a collage of pink, orange, and yellow - but always with the coloration of a venomous creature. When it suits her, Seþra appears as a beautiful woman, but she always has one snake-like feature such as the eyes of a serpent, or fangs, or possibly a forked tongue. She sometimes appears as a set of disembodied floating red serpent eyes - it is in this form that most of her alleged appearances to her followers have taken. No matter what form she takes, Seþra speaks with a beautiful albeit sibilant feminine voice. In her various guises Seþra weaves a fabric of lies, deceptions, and intrigues aimed at securing what she desires.

Unlike some of the other Demon Lords, Seþra is not mighty in battle or possessed of potent mystical capabilities, but relies upon her guile and cunning to pursue her desired ends. Where someone like Darmas or Lug would overwhelm their enemies with physical prowess, or Ishi or Kivutar would ensorcell their foes with might magics, Seþra uses deceit, enticements, and persuasion to convince her victims to carry out her plans, tempting them into following the path she has chosen for them that suits her purposes. This does not mean that she is not deadly - during the War in Heaven it was Seþra whose venom ultimately killed and corrupted Rúadan, and even the combination of Lódur's craftiness and Vali's piercing spear could not overcome Seþra's veil of deception and both were ensnared by her seductive allure. It was not until Hœnir entered the field, with his machine mind invulnerable to Seþra's charms, and swept aside her cloak of entrancement and defeated the Mother of Serpents.

Seþra's followers are connivers, seductresses, temptresses, and conspirators. She is widely worshiped by ophidians of all kinds, from nagas, to yuan-ti, to käälapsi, who regard her as the infernal creator of all serpentine creatures. Her priests are often to be found at the heart of a vast network of spies, informants, and agents, only rarely acting on their own, but rather working through their operatives, most of whom are members of their devoted nest of fellow Seþra-worshipers.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Oxoßi

Oxoßi

Lady of the Black Fang; The Carrion Eater; The Beastlord; The Slayer; Demon Mistress of the Kell, Evil Beasts, and the Wild Hunt

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Domains: Bestial, Canine, Foraging, Hunting, (Kell), Predator.

Summon Monster: Oxoßi's clerics and favored souls may summon anarchic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A bone necklace or bracelet.
Favored Weapon: "Prey's end" (barbed spear)

Oxoßi is the ever-hungry demon mistress of gnolls. She is the great leader of the kell race who travels endlessly pursuing prey to feed her perpetually gaunt and empty belly. Oxoßi appears as a an exceedingly tall gnoll, lean almost to the point of emaciation, but weathered and hardened. Her claws and fangs are black, and she is always armed with cruelly barbed hunting spears and wears jewelry made from the bones of those she hunted and killed. Her eyes are yellow and malevolent, and she is said to be able to see the tracks of creatures that passed by weeks or even months before. Oxoßi is savage, uncaring, and utterly contemptuous of authority, embodying the spirit of intransigent and tenacious independence. She rejects the power of tyrants like Darmas, and laughs at Ishi's pretensions of dominion, preferring to run wild and free. One might think that this would make Oxoßi an admirable and beloved figure among those who fight against despots and dictators, but the reality is that her wild nature is fueled by selfishness and narcissism.

To the kell, Oxoßi is the Great Matriarch of their race. She is the one who hunts, the one who finds food, and the one who leads the raiding parties that bring plunder. She praises the swift and strong, and culls the slow and weak. All who follow her must stand on their own because in her view all being are either hunters or the hunted, and the hunted are always fair game. Her credo mostly amounts to little more than "be the hunter". In pursuit, she is relentless and savage, often preferring to take down her prey with tooth and claw to better feel the life draining from her quarry. She is not, however, picky about what she consumes, and will eat any beast that has died, even one that is rotting and diseased. Oxoßi is the only Demon Lord other than Lyßa who did not participate in the War in Heaven, regarding that conflict as a pointless waste of time, and as a result, she remains wild and free, roaming the Infernal wastes with a pack of the most powerful gnoll matriarchs to have ever lived in search of things to hunt and kill.

Unlike some other Demon Lords, Oxoßi has a fair number of adherents from many races - ranging from barbarian tribes of the northern wilds, to some of the more depraved denizens of the At'viras Steppes, to feral halflings of the Tozlu Desert, to savage creatures of just about any culture, tribe, and clan. In short, many of those who believe that the strong should prey on the weak and take what they can are likely to offer homage to Oxoßi. Among the kell, the matriarch of virtually every clan seeks to emulate Oxoßi to provide for her people, ruthlessly winnow out those who would sap the strength of the tribe, and implement the divine plan by taking what they desire from those who are too weak to defend themselves and their own. Many matriarchs dye their own fangs black in honor of the Great Matriarch, and to claim for themselves some modicum of authority to enable them to at least have some chance at keeping their fractious clan members in line.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Ninkurra

Ninkurra

Queen of the Infernal Hive; The Consuming Swarm; Demon Mistress of Goblins, Torture, and Vermin

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Domains: Corruption, Diabolic, (Goblin), Pain, Rulership, Summoner.

Summon Monster: Ninkurra's clerics and favored souls may summon axiomatic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: Three intersecting beetle mandibles.
Favored Weapon: "The mother's mandible" (scimitar or vardatch).
Related Classes: Křižák.

Ninkurra is the great Queen of the Goblins, who acknowledge her as the queen of the first hive from which all goblins were ultimately spawned. She appears as an oversized Goblin Queen, standing nearly thirty feet tall with the characteristic wormlike body, pallid and green coated with a sheen of pale yellow slim. She walks on six great suckered tentacles, each of which ends in a multifaceted yellow eye. Her "head" consists of a chitinous sheath topped with three cruelly hooked mandibles. Six long insectoid arms tipped with tiny claws that almost look like three-fingered human hands protrude from a set of bony ridges along the sides of her body. She reeks of mold and decay, and tiny vermin crawl all over her body, feasting upon the slime and detritus that falls from her rancid body.

As the mistress of the Infernal Hive, Ninkurra is attended by a legion of goblinoid servants of all types who spend most of their time grooming, feeding, and pampering her, and carrying off the endless stream of eggs she lays to be implanted in the bodies of the massive torpid drones that serve as the incubators for her multitudinous offspring. She is also always surrounded with monstrous vermin of every size - the goblinoid priests maintain that she is not merely the mother of the goblinoid race, but that she is the mother of all monstrous vermin save for the spiders. Ninkurra advocates correction of the wayward with harsh punishments, although the definition of "wayward" that leads to such tortures seems to be extraordinarily broad. In the War in Heaven, Ninkurra's swarm ravaged the lands, consuming all before them until Eiur shone her piercing light upon them, driving the verminous host back into the darkness from which they came, leaving Ninkurra with an eternal enmity towards the Divine Mother. She also has a deep and abiding hatred of Gangyn, as the great spider spirit and her offspring so often feed upon her children. As a result, goblinoids wage perpetual war against the chitine, who regard the goblinoids with bitter loathing in return.

Other than goblins and the rare intelligent insectoid creature, very few worship this harsh and cruel Demon Lord. Goblinoids, however, maintain that Ninkurra spawned the very first queens of the goblin race long ago, and that as a result, every goblin alive can trace their lineage directly to her. Members of the goblinoid race don't merely worship her as the patron of their race, they honor her as their literal ancestral mother. Because of this, goblinoids who do not place Ninkurra first in their worship are vanishingly rare - and goblinoids who are priests of another Demon Lord are simply unheard of. For her part, Ninkurra seems to regard her progeny as a particularly demanding and exacting mother might regard children desperate to do anything to gain her favor. Ninkurra does not exactly exploit her children, but it is clear that she regards her needs and desires as being of prime importance, and the welfare of her children as being a secondary consideration at best. After all, there are so very many of them, and so long as the whole survives, the individuals do not matter.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Lyßa

Lyßa

The Maiden of Sorrows; She Who Sees; Demon Mistress of Madness, Confusion, and Despair

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.
Domains: Confusion, Despair, Insanity, Limbo, Madness, Mania.

Summon Monster: Lyßa's clerics and favored souls roll 1d18 when using summon monster spells. They may summon creatures according to the result of the die roll: (1) anarchic, (2) aquan, (3) auran, (4) axiomatic, (5) bone, (6) celestial, (7) corpse, (8) corrupted, (9) fiendish, (10) fioð, (11) ice, (12) ignan, (13) ísern-souled, (14) magma, (15) ooze (16) shadow, (17) smoke, (18) terran. Roll each time one of Lyßa's clerics casts a summon monster spell and use the new result for the current spell.

Symbol: A disc spattered with random colors.
Favored Weapon: "The wheel of despair" (chakram).
Related Prestige Classes: Knight of Bedlam.

DM's Note: Although Lyßa is counted among the Lords of Hell, she is not herself actually evil, but rather a force of pure chaotic insanity. Consequently, a player could technically play a character devoted to Lyßa, although given that most of her followers are afflicted with various forms of madness, this would pose a difficult role-playing challenge. As DM, I reserve the right to approve (or disapprove) any character who is a devotee of this deity.

Lyßa is the saddest of all of the divine or infernal powers, and some do not even count her as one of the Lords of the Infernal Realms. Long ago, before any records exist that tell the tale, Lyßa suffered a terrible loss that drove her mad with sorrow and despair. She remains now isolated in a thatched hut at the center of the endless swamps of the Hells, mindlessly weeping and wailing for all eternity with only the ghostly Kalma for company. Lyßa did not participate in the War in Heaven, indeed many question whether she even could have participated had she shown the desire. The Lords of Hell did consult her for guidance, and it was her rambling revelations that led them to take the actions that led to the cataclysmic confrontation between Heaven and Hell.

Lyßa's madness has a strange side-effect: Once in a great while, her mind sharpens and she can see the future with startling clarity. Lyßa is consequently, the oracle of the Demon Lords, who call upon her foresight when they are desperate. These moments are rare, and one might have to sit by her and listen to her lunatic ramblings for hours, days, weeks, months, or even years before she has a moment of lucidity and will answer a single question. The only catch is that because she is insane, her predictions, although always completely accurate, are inevitably phrased in such a away that they are always misinterpreted and are only comprehensible in hindsight. This does not stop supplicants from making the frightful journey across the spirit-filled swamps and braving the terrors of Kalma to consult with Lyßa. And it is not only the Lords of Hell who seek out Lyßa's divinations - the legends are filled with stories of courageous heroes who brave the terrors of the grim odyssey to her door in the hopes of learning some valuable insight that could save them or their loved ones. These tales frequently end in tragedy, but there are enough that could be called a success (for certain values of success), that the desperate might still be tempted to make the attempt.

Lyßa's followers are rare, but do exist. They all seem to be afflicted by some sort of insanity, ranging from delusions to paranoia to violent mania. Whether those who are mad are drawn to worship Lyßa, or worshiping Lyßa drives her followers mad is not entirely clear. Her shrines are usually in forlorn, nigh inaccessible, remote locations and usually house a mad oracle and possibly a handful of slightly less mad caretakers. Others of her faithful wander alone on the streets and cities of towns in the Three Worlds, uttering lunatic ravings mixed with almost unintelligible prophecies.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Lug

Lug

of the Mighty Blows; The Skull-Smasher; The Bone Grinder; Demon Lord of Hill Giants, Ettins, Ogres, Revenge, and Hatred

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Domains: Arm of Lug, Destruction, Endurance, (Giant), Hatred, Retribution.

Summon Monster: Lug's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and terran creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A stone-headed maul.
Favored Weapon: "The skull-smasher" (maul or ogre mattock)

Lug is the strongest and stupidest of all of the Infernal powers. He is depicted as a great mountain of flesh, enormously fat, but still immensely powerful. It is said that Lug cannot be harmed by forged weapons of any kind and that his mighty blows can shatter any barrier or structure. When roused to a wrathful rage, Lug can be dangerous, as his powerful strikes can crush almost any enemy, but like a massive lump of misshapen earth, he is usually indolent and sluggish, almost inert.

In folktales, Lug is often tricked by smaller, smarter creatures who fool and befuddle the dim-witted giant and escape with some treasure or another. In some stories, Lug is depicted with two heads, which only serves to make him dumber, as the heads invariably argue with one another while the plucky heroes run circles around the simple-minded giant. The versions that giants and ogres tell are almost exactly the same, except that in the end Lug smashes the impertinent creatures into a bloody pulp, flenses the flesh from their bones, and grinds what is left into meal. For most giants, nothing is funnier or more satisfying than smashing smaller creatures - a common "joke" told by Lug's followers goes more or less like this: "A dwarf comes to a Lug's house and knocks on the door. Lug smashes him!" Among giants, this is considered hilarious.

In the War in Heaven, Lug was nigh unstoppable until Wünd fooled him into pursuing the Lord of Smiths into an endless cavern who then slipped out, collapsing the only way out behind him. The giants say that Lug could obviously smash his way out, if only he could remember where the exit had been located. Instead, the Bone Grinder wanders his underground realm, sometimes claiming that this is always where he wanted to be, at other times fruitlessly hunting for the lost exit.

Lug has few non-giant worshipers, but among hill giants, ettins, ogres, and evil earth creatures, he is immensely popular. Above all, his followers worship physical prowess, honoring Lug for his strength and destructive capability. As one might expect, cleverness and planning are not considered to be virtues among Lug's adherents, and such considerations are often treated with contempt, a fact that their foes are sometimes able to exploit.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Kalma

Kalma

The Exiled One; The Maiden of Misfortune; Demon Mistress of Ghosts, Spirits, and Calamity

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Domains: Chaos, Curse, Exile, Ghost, Haunting, Spirit.

Summon Monster: Kalma's clerics and favored souls can summon anarchic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A single candle.
Favored Weapon: "The ghostly touch" (open hand or incorporeal touch).

Kalma is a demonic spirit so malevolent that even the other Demon Lords cannot tolerate her, so she is exiled to the vast infernal swamps where she eternally roams, silently weaving about the land, spreading misfortune and ill luck to all who cross her path with only those seeking an audience with the maddened Lyßa for occasional company. While Lódur represents the fickle and unreliable nature of good fortune, Kalma is the cruel inevitability of bad luck and misery. She is the mistress of calamity - the bad turn that is just waiting around the corner for you that will ruin your life and kill your loved ones.

Kalma is always represented as an incorporeal shade who bears a single ghostly candle and is almost completely noiseless except when she wails horrifically to send her victims running in terror. She is bound to the vile, stinking bogs of the Hells by magic that is both powerful enough to anchor a Demon Lord and completely unknown to mortals. No tale tells of the making of this enchantment, or even who bound Kalma to this place. She is able to leave, but only to travel to other swamp lands - including the bogs and swamps of the Three Worlds, or to the sites of impending disasters, usually accompanied by a fright of ghosts where their dim candles in the dark of night is seen as a harbinger of evil fortune.

Although she is not explicitly described as Lyßa's guardian, given that Lyßa's solitary hut is in the middle of the Infernal swamp, she effectively serves as such, dissuading the other Demon Lords (and others) from consulting the Maiden of Sorrows too often in order to benefit from her madness-inspired oracular powers. There are many tales in which some desperate individual seeks an audience with Lyßa and must endure a harrowing journey through the shade and specter-filled swamps of the Hells, culminating with a dramatic appearance by Kalma. Needless to say, most of these tales end in woe. Kalma has very few worshipers - even incorporeal spirits often resent her even as they acknowledge her primacy, but those worshipers she does have are often fanatical - exactly as one would expect those who worship the very spirit of misery and catastrophe to be.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Abonde

Abonde

Mother of Giants; The Blood Witch; She Who Whispers at Night; Demon Mistress of Giants, Trolls, Hags, and Witches

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Domains: Blessing of Abonde, Blood, Breeding, Flesh, (Hag), Night.

Summon Monster: Abonde's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish, ice, magma, ooze, and smoke creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A twelve pointed star.
Favored Weapon: "Corrector of wayward children" (scourge).

Abonde is the matriarch of the entire giant race. She is acknowledged as the mother of Iku-Tyrma, Lug, and Surtan, although the identity of the father (or fathers) of her children is left somewhat vague in the legends. Some tales maintain that each of her progeny was fathered by a different husband, and that when Abonde became bored with them she simply cooked and ate her mate. Other stories simply leave out any mention of fathers for her children. The troll sages maintain that Abonde simply brewed her children in her witch's cauldron, seasoning the infernal soup with her own blood to give them life.

Abonde always appears as an old crone, although whether she is some form of giant, troll, or hag varies, usually depending upon who is telling the tale. She lives in a hut on a mountaintop that is named Varajit Munte whose location is never specified, but it always described as being "far, far away" and is almost always brewing something in her great cauldron, usually a potion or other magical brew, but sometimes merely a stew or soup. Her hut is decorated with twelve heads of long-dead giants - some maintain they are the heads of her dead husbands - who often provide running commentary in stories in which she appears, at least until she scolds them into silence.

In folklore, tales involving Abonde follow a fairly predictable pattern - unwary travelers come across a friendly old woman in the wild, are taken in by her kindly nature, and then find themselves trapped in her larder as she prepares to have them for supper, usually planning to cook them in some interesting manner. These tales almost always end with Abonde's plucky adversaries tricking her in some ingenious manner (often with the assistance of the decapitated heads in her hut) and making their escape. The versions of these tales told by giants are somewhat different, with ungrateful interlopers imposing upon Abonde's hospitality and then committing some unforgivable offense that requires the Mother of Giants to provide helpful "correction". In folklore, Abonde raids people's homes at night at the turn of the seasons, looking for something tasty to eat. If she is not left a suitable offering, she is said to kidnap sleeping children for her stew pot.

In the mythology of the giants, Abonde is a source of wisdom and magical aid. Giant heroes often travel to consult her on important questions, or she shows up to bestow some magical gift upon a mighty giant to enable him to overcome some seemingly impossible task. Many of the most popular stories about Abonde show her intervening to stop quarrels among her fractious children - most giants find the image of Abonde taking Iku-Tyrma and Lug by the ear and scolding them like impudent children to be hilarious. On a more practical level, giant folklore holds that Abonde whispers into the ear of worthy giants and hags at night, imparting her wisdom to them. On a more gruesome level, giants maintain that this wisdom is then always within their heads and may be preserved after death so long as the head is properly preserved, leading to her priestesses proclivity for creating speaking circles.

When a giant regarded as noteworthy dies, Abonde's priestesses endeavor to decapitate the body, invoking the blessings of Abonde. This brings the head to a half-alive state whereupon it is carried to one of Abonde's shrines where the head is hung with the heads of other venerated giants. there they linger, not dead, but still not quite alive. Giants who see knowledge and mystical advice carry gifts of feed and drink to these suspended heads, trading them morsels in exchange for aid, spellcasting, and knowledge. The heads act as oracles. There are always at most twelve heads in a speaking circle. If a thirteenth head is brought to it, the eldest head shrivels and dies.

Abonde has few non-giant worshipers, mostly witches who live on the edge of society and look to her for wisdom and magical guidance. She is extremely popular among giants of all types, regarded as the well-meaning yet stern grandmother who loves her children but is not afraid to use the lash if they get out of hand. Hags of all type hold her to be their personal patron, and she is especially beloved by trolls who claim that their regenerative abilities are evidence that they are her most favored children.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Vaßatar

Vaßatar

The Finder of Secrets; The Deceiver; Demon Lord of Kobolds, Avarice, and Thievery

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Domains: (Kobold), Labyrinth, Secrecy, Secrets, Snares, Trickery.

Summon Monster: Vaßatar's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and shadow creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A halfling skull impaled with a dart.
Favored Weapon: "Greed's ally" (dart, dart thrower, or hand crossbow).

When not disguised, Vaßatar appears as a black-skinned kobold. He is physically weak and cowardly, using protective wards, disguises, and traps to keep those he imagines are his enemies at bay. And because he is paranoid, he imagines everyone to be his enemy. As he is the very essence of greed, he imagines that everyone is after his possessions as well, and so secretes them in hidden vaults protected by elaborate and deadly traps and snares. He is a liar and a cheat, advocating that one should obtain and keep wealth by any means possible, and as a result, even the other demon lords despise him.

Before the War in Heaven, Vaßatar fell in love with Aíne, and sought to woo her, but she was repelled by his grasping rapacity and selfishness and rejected his suit out of hand. In the War in Heaven, he was snubbed by the other demon lords, and only Belial regarded him as anything other than an annoyance, sending him to serve as a spy. After the demon lords seized Aíne as their prisoner, they left Vaßatar to guard her, and he surrounded her cell with an array of deadly traps and unsuccessfully renewed his attempts to win her affection. When Caire overcame his pitfalls and other deadly devices to rescue Aíne, he humiliated Vaßatar and earned the kobold lord's enmity forever.

Vaßatar is the patron of thieves, con-men, and kobolds. He is the living embodiment of greed and avarice, and is looked to by merchants who seek to fleece their customers rather than engage in honest trade. Misers, hoarders, and skinflints are also his within his concern, although many do not realize that they are honoring him through their actions.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Tuni

Tuni

The Reaper of Life; The Bringer of Darkness; Lord of the Crypt; Lord of Ghouls; The Closed Mouth; Demon Lord of Death and Darkness

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Cleric Domains: Darkness, Death, Grave, Murder, Necromancy, Undeath.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Darkness, Envy, Undead.

Summon Monster: Tuni's clerics and favored souls can summon bone and corpse creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A six-fingered white hand, or a white right hand.
Favored Weapon: "The reaper of the living" (scythe).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Tuni is always depicted riding a pale, spectral horse and carrying his great scythe, with which he cuts down mortal lives like wheat. He is always shown in a gray cloak with a hood that hides his features in impenetrable shadow, and no legend details his appearance further. Tuni is silent, just as death is silent. His name is rarely spoken, as no mortal desires to draw this entity’s attention to themselves.

All of Tuni’s clerics are male, and are expected to become husbands to one of the priestesses of Tunar. His clerics are said to take vows of silence and obedience to their spouses once they are married, serving as powerful lieutenants to their wives. Many of Tuni's clerics choose to become undead, to better serve their infernal master and better serve as tools for their spouse's will.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Tunar

Tunar

The Pitiless Queen; The Blood-Drinker; The Dark Lady; Demon Mistress of Vampires and the Underworld

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Cleric Domains: Deathbound, Envy, Infernal, Mysticism, Undead, (Vampire).
Unholy Warrior Domains: Darkness, Envy, Undead.

Summon Monster: Tunar's clerics and favored souls can summon axiomatic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A six-fingered white hand, or a white left hand.
Favored Weapon: "The lash of lamentation" (whip or whip-dagger).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Tunar always shows herself as an unbelievably ugly old crone dressed in a black cloak. She is said to be so terrible in appearance that any mortal who sees her will flee in horror until they collapse from exhaustion. Her hair is entwined with poisonous snakes, and her skin is pallid and deathly. Tunar is usually represented holding a barbed whip with which she tortures those who displease her until the torment drives them insane. She is the spouse of Tuni and their worshipers are invariably found together in an order of priests known as “The White Hand”. Tunar and Tuni rule the dreaded land of Helas from their underworld fortress named Elvidnir, located in the deepest pit of Hell.

All of Tunar’s clerics are female, and each of them is expected to find a mate from among Tuni’s priesthood. The land of Loring is a stronghold of her worship, and she and Tuni are counted as the supreme powers of that realm.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Surtan

Surtan

Evil Prince of Fire; Flame of the Underworld; Lord of the Black Forge, Demon Lord of Fire Giants and Greed

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Cleric Domains: Fire, Flame, Greed, Havoc, Pact, Passion.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Evil, Fire, Greed.

Summon Monster: Surtan's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and ignan creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A red hand with black fingernails wrapped in flames.
Favored Weapon: "The flame of Hell" (greatsword).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Surtan is the demon lord of fire, and appears as a huge fire giant with reddish black skin and a great mane of hair made from huge streaming red flames who breathes flame from his mouth and nostrils. He is said to be surrounded by an aura of heat so intense that none save Wünd and Hœnir has ever been able to approach him in combat. In battle he is said to wear a suit of crimson mail and carry a great two-handed sword made entirely of fire. During the War in Heaven, Wünd and Hœnir combined with Hler to overcome and then douse Surtan's fire to cast the Demon Lord down.

In folktales and legends, Surtan is portrayed as by far the most dangerous of the giant lords. Clever and cunning in ways that Lug is clearly not, and possessed of an instinct for planning and foresight that elude the rash and rage-filled Iku-Tyrma, Surtan combines the strength of the giants with an intelligence and skill at crafting that makes him the most dangerous of the three to deal with. Surtan is, in addition to his other skills, the blacksmith of Hell, and under his guidance a legion of his servants forged the mighty weapons used by the demonic hordes in the War in Heaven. When he appears in stories, it is often because heroes attempt to infiltrate his workshop to steal some implement of war that he has crafted, and in the versions the giants tell, such thieves always end up cast into the blazing furnaces of Hell.

Surtan hates both Hler and Wünd, but holds a special animosity towards Hœnir due to his offense at being defeated by a mere machine, a defeat that offends Surtan's pride. In a strangely perverse kind of mockery, Surtan's fire giants frequently forge great metal servants to do their bidding and serve as engines of war. Surtan has a surprisingly large following of humans and evil dwarves, but most of his servants are fire giants, who hold him as the patron deity of their kind.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Sirchade

Sirchade

That Which Lurks; The Many-Eyed Lord; Demon Lord of Slime, Fungus, and Rot

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Domains: Blight, Decay, Rot, Slime, Suffering, Thirst.

Summon Monster: Sirchade's clerics and favored souls can summon corrupted and ooze creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A jaw bone dissolving in a pool of slime.
Favored Weapon: None.

The appearance of this demon lord is without a doubt the most disgusting and loathsome of all creatures. Sirchade is foul and nauseating, dripping caustic secretions and oozing noisome slime and acid. The creature is covered with thousands of eyes of every shape and size that glare balefully from every part of the demonic being. Sirchade has no set form or structure, and can spread itself into a vast pool of slime, or raise itself up into a towering column of vile ordure. Whatever shape it takes, Sirchade is always composed of a mass of blackish greens, foul browns and yellows, and sickly grays and purples.

Unlike many other Demon Lords, Sirchade has no goals, plans, or schemes other than to simply destroy and consume everything it encounters. In the War in Heaven, Sirchade reveled in the opportunity for unrestrained destruction spreading its acidic secretions across the battlefield, but was eventually overcome by Forseti’s might and power and forced to retreat into the abyss of Hell, an insult that has earned Forseti the demon lord’s undying hatred. After the War in Heaven, Woda trapped the Lurking Lord in a pit with sides so steep that the liquefied demon is unable to escape.

Sirchade is reclusive and hates intrusion by any form of solid creature, but surrounds itself with all forms of slimes, jellies, and oozes. Even for a demon lord Sirchade has few worshipers or priests of any kind, but cruel and evil individuals sometimes call upon it anyway, since it is indiscriminate with regard to whom it aids. It is rarely called upon, however, for it always exacts a high price in repayment for its assistance.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Kivutar

Kivutar

Mother of Plagues; The Queen of Maggots; The Rotted Temptress, Demon Mistress of Sickness, Pestilence, and Lust

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Cleric Domains: Disease, Distraction, Lust, Pestilence, Plague, Temptation.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Corruption, Disease, Lust.

Summon Monster: Kivutar's clerics can summon anarchic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A head, half rotting and worm eaten, and half that of a beautiful woman.
Favored Weapon: "Beauty's end" (kukri).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven, Servant of Kivutar.

The mother of sickness, plague, and poison, Kivutar is the personification of disease. She appears in myth as a black skinned twisted old crone clad in a rotting gray shift and cloak. Her mouth foams and hair pulls from her head in clumps. There are boils and blisters over her diseased skin and the flesh is pulled taut over her bones. In myth anything that touches her rots away immediately, affected by a wasting disease or destructive rust and decay. However, she is also able to present herself as a beautiful, ravishing woman, capable of arousing desire in all who see her. This appearance is, however, merely an illusion, woven over her true appearance by her mastery of deceiving magic.

In the War in Heaven, she was unbeatable until Yng struck her with arrows loosed from his mighty bow. She was unable to withstand his radiant light and was driven back and cast down into Hell. Because of this, Kivutar and her followers bear a special animosity towards Yng and all who follow him. Kivutar is Füllar’s mother, having deceived Woda with her enchantments into coupling with her to produce the child. She bears great animosity towards the three brother knights Heim, Tiwas, and Forseti and Füllar’s half-sisters Syfa and Vali for their theft of the infant Füllar from her.

This goddess is loosely associated with Louviar, although the chaos and disorganization of her kingdom makes any sort of preference or hierarchy impossible to seriously determine. Her worship is, however, quite common in Polþia, although whether her priesthood enjoys any particular favor in that kingdom is a mystery to outsiders. Her priests always seem to have suffered from some sort of wasting disease that has left marks on their body and faces, although those who rise highest in her hierarchy are those who were once handsome or beautiful before the diseases of their patron ravaged their bodies.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Khil

Khil

The Reaver; The Leg Breaker; The Seething Chain; Demon Lord of Orcs, Fury, and Savagery

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Domains: Force, Fury, (Orc), Power, Rage, Savagery.

Summon Monster: Khil's clerics can summon anarchic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A broken thigh bone wrapped with black chains.
Favored Weapon: "The bloody chain" (flail or spiked chain).

The demonic patron of the orcish race, Khil appears as a massive orc and wrapped in massive black iron chains, that serve as both armor and weapons for the demon lord. The chains are covered in cruel spikes, and their ends are sharpened into deadly blades, which Khil wields as vicious whip-like weapons. He is the towering figure of enraged anger and wrath who is said to be unable to feel the pain of wounds or injury - not even from his own chains whose spikes are pierced through his flesh so as to be secured to his body. He cares only for the field of battle, exulting in the frenzy and bloodlust of combat, glorying in the carnage and cruelty of war. He is the embodiment of war, but not war for some other goal, but rather war for the sake of war.

In the War in Heaven, Khil led the charge of the demon host with a whirling fury, ravaging the foes of Hell with the lashings of his chains, savoring the cries of his dying foes and the wailing of those who quailed before him. But Khil's reckless and unreasoning rage was exploited by Tiwas, whose cunning and skill enabled the celestial lord to endure the demon lord's fury and outwit him. Khil's followers angrily maintain that Tiwas used underhanded treachery to defeat their patron, Wünd called upon the very earth to rise up and hold fast the demon lord, and now Khil is imprisoned in a tomb of thick, unyielding stone, wrapped in the very chains that served as his weaponry.

As with most of the demon lords, Khil has few human worshipers, but the orcs hold him in high esteem, honoring his strength and wild abandon. Khil bears a deep and abiding hatred for all things, but tolerates this veneration because it seems to amuse him. He is a harsh patron, demanding a level of dedication to battle and bravery from his followers that most would describe as recklessly foolhardy - and a refusal to ever retreat or accept defeat. Khil demands regular ritual blood sacrifices as his worshippers must prove their ability to withstand pain, and their willingness to endure grievous wounds in pursuit of renown on the battlefield. Khil does, however, bear a seething rage towards both Tiwas and Wünd, the former for his role in defeating the demon lord and subjecting him to his long imprisonment, and the latter because of his imprisonment within the living rock of the world.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Ishi

Ishi

The Red King; The Oathbreaker; The Ruby Sorcerer; The Soulblighter Demon Lord of Evil Enchanters, Dark Magic, Pride, and Treachery

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Cleric Domains: Betrayal, Demonic, Mentalism, Mind, Pride, Spell, Treachery.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Magic, Pride, Treachery.

Summon Monster: Ishi's clerics and favored souls can summon anarchic, axiomatic, and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A ruby scepter.
Favored Weapon: "The rod of rule" (warscepter).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven, Servant of Ishi.

In legend, Ishi appears as a huge man with heavy features wearing rich crimson robes. His head is balding, and he wears a trimmed goatee style beard of black whiskers. He is the lord of dark magic and those who seek to dominate and rule over others. Ishi carries a great ruby scepter as tall as he is, representing his claim to suzerainty over all others, a claim disputed by even the other Demon Lords. Ishi hates all things, and seeks only personal power, seeing others merely as tools to serve his ends. Despite this, Ishi always displays a calm and genteel manner, never showing anger or contempt and always acting with scrupulous politeness, which makes him all the more dangerous. Before the War in Heaven, it was Ishi who negotiated the deal that led to Aíne traveling to the infernal realms to negotiate Rúadan's release, and it was Ishi who broke the oaths that he had sworn to give her safe passage, although Ishi claimed that Aíne was actually a spy sent in bad faith and so his actions were justifiable. In legend, stories in which a mortal makes what they believe to be an ironclad a deal with Ishi only to have him come up with a loophole that later allows him to justify reneging are common. Ishi always scrupulously follows the letter of any agreement, but always twists the words to suit his purposes.

Ishi claims to be the true ruler of Hell, and claims suzerainty over all of the other Lords of Hell, although most of the other Lords regard this claim as being specious at best. On those rare occasions in which he has actually tried to assert his authority, the results have been mixed to say the least. In the War in Heaven Ishi challenged Woda's mastery of the mystic arts and sought to supplant him as the divine ruler. Woda's knowledge proved to outmatch Ishi's, as Woda was willing to make the personal sacrifice necessary to gain a deep understanding of the arcane. While Ishi is perfectly willing to order or compel his minions to sacrifice themselves to his ends, he would never extend himself in such a manner, being, at the core, a coward. Although the battle was magnificent, Woda overcame Ishi, and cast him down from Heaven where the Demon Lord was imprisoned with mystic bonds that hold him motionless. In the councils of Hell, Ishi had a great rivalry with Darmas, with the Lord of Conquest asserting that rule over others is best accomplished by means of physical violence, while Ishi asserts the superiority of intimidation and enchantment for that purpose.

Ishi's followers are often enchanters who seek to dominate and control others. Many evilly inclined alvari honor this deity, calling upon him to fuel their own efforts to dominate others. Ishi's priests rarely act directly, usually serving the ends of their infernal master through a network of minions and intermediaries. His followers favor red clothing, and red equipment. Most of his priests use specially crafted ruby-colored warscepters as their holy symbols, blessing them by beating a slave to death with the weapon. Officially, his priests assert the primacy of their faith over all of the other Lords of Hell, although in practice they only press this claim when they are in a position of unassailable strength. To the extent they acknowledge the Lord of Hell, the Hallitsijainen are said to hold this deity as their patron, and the priesthood of this faith holds an honored position within Isakoti in particular.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Iku-Tyrma

Iku-Tyrma

Evil Prince of Ice and Frost; The Foehammer; The Lord in the Ice; Demon Lord of Frost Giants, Sloth, and Winter

Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Cleric Domains: Ambition, Blackwater, Cold, Sloth, Watery Death, Winter.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Pain, Sloth, Water.

Summon Monster: Iku-Tyrma's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and ice creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A block of ice encasing a bloody maul.
Favored Weapon: "The foehammer" (greathammer).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Iku-Tyrma is the demon lord of cold and ice, and is so hateful that he is despised even by other fiends. He appears as a huge frost giant with bandy legs, which are short and malformed and make his gait appear slow. His head is a flat oval with slitted blue eyes and grossly broad features. His skin is a blue tone, and he is hairless save for his bushy white eyebrows. He wears a coat of white fur made from the pelts of arctic wolves and polar bears. In battle he carries a huge maul of cold iron inlaid with nickel and it is said that enemies he strikes with it are knocked to the ground amidst a cold rushing wind. Because they both claim mastery of the waters of the world, Iku-Tyrma has an ancient rivalry with Hler, and the two despise one another with a powerful anger. In the War in Heaven, Iku-Tyrma was confronted by Hler, and was defeated by him and cast down into Hell.

Following the War in Heaven, Iku-Tyrma was condemned to be imprisoned in a massive glacier of ice as just punishment for his part in the conflict. Iku-Tyrma straining to free himself from his icy prison are said to be the cause of the movement of glaciers around the world and his struggles are the source of avalanches and surges of flowing ice. The frost giants say that Iku-Tyrma was imprisoned because the Lords of Heaven feared his strength, and his faithful have taken the Demon Lord's greathammer encased in ice as their symbol to show their reverence for the overwhelming power and strength of their patron, believing that their enemies will quail at the sight of a symbol displaying what, in their minds, is a representation of the fear the Lords of Heaven have for the Demon Lord of Winter.

As with many of the demon lords, Iku-Tyrma has few human worshipers, but he is the patron deity of the frost giants, and they hold him as the overlord of their race. Among other races, he is worshipped some who live in Arctic climes or who sail the icy northern waters, hoping to call upon his mastery over the cold of winter for their own benefit.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Halpas

Halpas

Evil Prince of Air; The Destroyer; The Nemesis of Heaven; The Relentless Gale; The Flaywind; Demon Lord of Reckless Wrath

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Cleric Domains: Desert, Fatigue, Hunger, Recklessness, Sand, Vengeance.
Unholy Warrior Domains: Air, Hate, Wrath.

Summon Monster: Halpas' clerics and favored souls can summon auran and smoke creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A rainbow colored vulture.
Favored Weapon: "Fury's talon" (claw bracer).
Related Classes: Unholy Warrior.
Related Prestige Classes: Champion of the Dark Seven.

Halpas is the demon lord of the air, and he is said to be honored by cruel avian creatures everywhere as well as fog and cloud giants. Halpas is consumed by rage and violence, turning against even his followers when filled with anger. He appears as a tall, reed thin humanoid with huge wings made from darkness. His eyes glow red with a feral malevolence and his feet have talons like a bird of prey. When his wings spread in flight he is said to darken the sky itself, and he fights with great claws of razor sharp darkness that extend from his hands. Halpas exults in unhindered destruction, using his terrible power to prove his strength by oppressing those too weak to resist him, harrying them to exhaustion just to watch them suffer. In the War in Heaven, he was opposed by Þunor’s strength, and despite his blustering and arrogant demeanor, proved to be cowardly and fearful when confronted by an opponent with the strength to oppose him.

Halpas’ followers are fanatical in their love of destruction and will often seek to call down storms upon ships or cities in the name of the lord of fury. He is a dangerous deity, given to extreme acts of generosity towards those who honor him, but prone to unpredictable acts of rage that sweep in all those in his path, with no regard for whether they are friend of foe. Arrogant and touchy in the extreme, Halpas never forgets a slight, nursing his grievances with a seething rage and plotting his revenge.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Gangyn

Gangyn

The Spider Spirit; The Venom in Shadows; Lady of a Thousand Poisons; Demon Mistress of Shadows, Spiders, and Poison

Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Domains: Fear, Illusion, Poison, Shadow, Spider, Subterfuge.

Summon Monster: Gangyn's clerics and favored souls can summon fiendish and shadow creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A kris bladed dagger, or a black spider in a web.
Favored Weapon: "Venom's sting" (dagger).

The great spider spirit Gangyn is among the most foul and vile beings that exist. Gangyn is dark and filled with envy, greed, and malice. The spider spirit is cruel and capricious even towards its own worshipers. Gangyn thrives on the raw pain and fear caused by rampant and senseless death, destruction and torture. Gangyn is dreadful and terrible and is said to be a giant spider of inky blackness surrounded by webs of impenetrable darkness. She is the fear that lurks in the shadows, and the weaver of illusions to beguile and confuse her prey. In the War in Heaven, Forseti pierced Gangyn’s darkness and cast the demoness down into Hell, earning Gangyn’s implacable enmity forever.

Although Gangyn has few followers among humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, or even orcs or goblins, she is sometimes worshiped by kobolds, and widely worshiped among the chitine who regard the spider spirit as the source of all life and power for that race. The chitine hold that the choldrith priests that are occasionally born into their ranks are the result of the direct intervention of the spider spirit herself. She also has a small but devoted following among the cien-kranula, many of whom regard her as the source of all shadows. Most of her non-chitine followers follow the assassin's path, calling upon her dominion over shadow and poison to aid their professional calling. Gangyn’s priests may treat the rogue class as an additional favored class, and most study the manufacture and use of poisons.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Darmas

Darmas

War Leader of Hell; The Great Slaver; The Scourge of Battles; Demon Lord of Tyranny, Conquest, and Duergar

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Domains: Combat, Command, Competition, Conquest, Tyranny, Weapons.

Summon Monster: Darmas' clerics and favored souls can summon axiomatic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A pair of mummified severed hands.
Favored Weapon: "The enslaver" (waraxe).
Related Prestige Classes: Order's Tyrant.

Darmas is the general of Hell's armies, a menacing figure clad in black plate armor with a helm that covers his face, and bearing a black waraxe inscribed with red runes. He rides a massive fiendish beast that has matted black fur, fangs that drip acid, and claws of steel. Legend holds that neither Darmas' face nor any other part of him has ever been seen, and some maintain that the suit of armor is merely an animated shell, and the beast that it rides is actually the embodiment of the god. Others holds that the suit of armor is empty, but that the armor itself is Darmas. Others scoff at such notions and call their proponents heretics. No matter the truth, Darmas is the very embodiment of the cruelty and horror of war, demanding that his followers be remorseless and ruthless in battle. He is also the unyielding and pitiless tyrant, ruling over all he can reach with an iron hand.

In some myths, Darmas is said to have once been devoid of armor until, aided by evil dwarves, he stole into Wünd's workshop and absconded with his black armor and axe, earning the enmity of the Lord of Smiths. Darmas' priests say that this is a lie concocted by the Celestial Lords to smear the name of their patron out of jealousy at his imposing and awesome presence. All agree, however, that Ishi inscribed the runes of power upon his cruel axe head, which enchant the blade to inflict terrible wounds that never heal upon those it strikes. During the War in Heaven, Darmas severed the hands of the sleeping Heim, and now wears them on a chain around his neck as a trophy. Darmas led the armies of Hell on the field of battle, raising his red and black standard on the battlefield to defy the Lords of Heaven.

Darmas was the last of the Infernal Lords to be swept from the field of battle, standing against the combined might of Vali, Þunor, Tiwas, and Forseti, before Wünd took his hammer and Heim took his vengeful sword to the Tyrant Lord and sealed his fate. When he was cast down, the fall shattered his body, scattering the pieces across the underworld. Woda enchanted the parts of Darmas with magical concealment so that they could only be found with great effort, and his devoted duergar followers spend much of their lives hunting for the scattered remnants of their lord Darmas.

Darmas' worshipers are found among evil warriors, tyrants, unjust rulers, and especially duergar. He is also honored among those worgs who bother with such things, who hold fervently to the belief that Darmas is, in fact, the great beast. Darmas holds a special hatred of Wünd, a sentiment his devoted worshipers share. Among duergar, Darmas is regarded as the unyielding ruler of their race, demanding total obedience in exchange for his favor.

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Campaign Design - The Lords of Hell: Belial

Belial

The Scaled King; Commander of the Demon Host; The Inquisitor of Hell; Lord of the Black Flame; Demon Lord of Scaled Creatures and Domination

Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Domains: Domination, Evil, Insight, Reptile, (Scalykind), Summoning.

Summon Monster: Belial's clerics and favored souls can summon axiomatic and fiendish creatures using summon monster spells.

Symbol: A trident wrapped with a serpent's tongue.
Favored Weapon: "The tines of torment" (trident).

Belial is the commander of the demonic host, and is awesomely powerful to behold. His head is like that of a giant lizard or snake with black horns and fangs with deadly poison, his eyes are yellow with black pupils. His upper body is shaped like that of a man, but with four arms and his skin is plated with blue green scales, while his lower body merges into that of an immense snake tail, and a jagged row of bony spines that run up his back. He has huge dragon wings, and the tip of his tail is barbed and drips virulent poison. Belial has no legs, but travels like a snake along the ground, supporting his upper body with this serpentine lower body. He carries a massive black trident in one hand, and a cruelly barbed scourge in the other. Belial delights in cruelty, and he is also the torturer and inquisitor of Hell.

In the War in Heaven Belial led the demon host into battle, but was turned back by the combined efforts of Tiwas and Forseti. Legends hold that Belial’s great fortress of mud is located in the middle of a fetid, steaming swamp. After the War in Heaven, Belial's realm was transformed into a frozen wasteland, and he was imprisoned in an ice cavern underneath his fortress. The cold and ice has driven Belial's body into a torpor, and even his most devoted servants are kept from aiding him by the infernal chill of his surroundings.

As the ruler of infernal reptiles, Belial prefers intensely hot and humid conditions, and disease and rot are rampant throughout his realms. Snakes, crocodiles, and poisonous lizards are favorites of this demon. His realm is also home to scores of demons and other fiendish creatures that form the core of the demon host. Although he has a number of human followers, most of his adherents are drawn from the evilly inclined scaly creatures of the world that revel in his foul worship, such as evil dragons and depraved lizardfolk.

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