I am very new and have spent some time searching but I can not seem to find detailed info on the planes of hell and its arch dukes. A lot of demon stuff i know but have always liked the devils more. Am I missing the info in an adventure or source book? Does it even exist yet?
First off, in case you were unclear, demons dwell in the Abyss (a chaotic evil plane) devils dwell in Hell (a Lawful Evil plane with 9 levels), the two types of fiends do not like each other and have been fighting a war since literally forever. There are other types of fiends, usually lesser entities, that show up on both plains, and there are other lower planes that haven't really been fleshed out beyond the DMG's notes, though plenty of out of game mythology to look at and riff on.
As far as 5E lore on Devils and Demons. Both types of fiends get good write ups in the Monster Manual to start. Mordenkanian's Tome of Foes gives good background to the Blood War (the demon devil feud) and consequently how both sides are structured. Descent into Avernus is an adventure largely set on the first level of Hell, and provides some insights into the larger "politics" of Hell. Those I believe are the big 5e works addressing your interests. There's deeper lore, and plenty of YouTubers trying to help people make sense of it all. But I think if you look at just the sources I outlined, you'd probably have enough for your imagination to work with and make it your own for your game.
Glad to help. I was on the fence about recommending Avernus, but whether you run the adventure or not, there's some good detail as to how Devil's, especially the more powerful ones think and act. Also there's good explanation of how Devil's bargains work. One thing that's interesting about Devil's in Hell, their lives are more on the line. In other planes, if a Devil is "killed" it returns to Hell and either reconstitutes itself, sometimes suffering a demotion in rank/form, but "it's back." In Hell itself, if a Devil days, it's done. So fighting to the death, aside from against Blood War incursions, isn't something Devils would be want to do. Being "order" creatures (Lawful evil after all), they do a lot more politicking and system game playing. The Screwtape Letters (literature, not a D&D book) may not be a bad read to get a rank and file Devils thought process. Demons live/die by the same rules, except on the abyss, but being chaos creatures, live more "no quarter" than "let's deal with this like civilized fiends" on their own plane, at least that's how I play them in my game.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you really want to learn more about demons and devils, the old Planescape sourcebook Faces of Evil: The Fiends is a fantastic read if you can track it down. It's 100% lore, no rules, so it's almost completely still relevant to 5E, and it's available as a cheap PDF at various online retailers.
Honestly, it's worth reading just for the sections that are written by Xanxost the Slaad.
I am very new and have spent some time searching but I can not seem to find detailed info on the planes of hell and its arch dukes. A lot of demon stuff i know but have always liked the devils more. Am I missing the info in an adventure or source book? Does it even exist yet?
First off, in case you were unclear, demons dwell in the Abyss (a chaotic evil plane) devils dwell in Hell (a Lawful Evil plane with 9 levels), the two types of fiends do not like each other and have been fighting a war since literally forever. There are other types of fiends, usually lesser entities, that show up on both plains, and there are other lower planes that haven't really been fleshed out beyond the DMG's notes, though plenty of out of game mythology to look at and riff on.
As far as 5E lore on Devils and Demons. Both types of fiends get good write ups in the Monster Manual to start. Mordenkanian's Tome of Foes gives good background to the Blood War (the demon devil feud) and consequently how both sides are structured. Descent into Avernus is an adventure largely set on the first level of Hell, and provides some insights into the larger "politics" of Hell. Those I believe are the big 5e works addressing your interests. There's deeper lore, and plenty of YouTubers trying to help people make sense of it all. But I think if you look at just the sources I outlined, you'd probably have enough for your imagination to work with and make it your own for your game.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
TY for the info. Will get those. The politics of the 9 hells have always been one of my favourites.
Glad to help. I was on the fence about recommending Avernus, but whether you run the adventure or not, there's some good detail as to how Devil's, especially the more powerful ones think and act. Also there's good explanation of how Devil's bargains work. One thing that's interesting about Devil's in Hell, their lives are more on the line. In other planes, if a Devil is "killed" it returns to Hell and either reconstitutes itself, sometimes suffering a demotion in rank/form, but "it's back." In Hell itself, if a Devil days, it's done. So fighting to the death, aside from against Blood War incursions, isn't something Devils would be want to do. Being "order" creatures (Lawful evil after all), they do a lot more politicking and system game playing. The Screwtape Letters (literature, not a D&D book) may not be a bad read to get a rank and file Devils thought process. Demons live/die by the same rules, except on the abyss, but being chaos creatures, live more "no quarter" than "let's deal with this like civilized fiends" on their own plane, at least that's how I play them in my game.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you really want to learn more about demons and devils, the old Planescape sourcebook Faces of Evil: The Fiends is a fantastic read if you can track it down. It's 100% lore, no rules, so it's almost completely still relevant to 5E, and it's available as a cheap PDF at various online retailers.
Honestly, it's worth reading just for the sections that are written by Xanxost the Slaad.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
The Dungeons Masters Guide and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes both provide a lot of information on Demons, Devils, and the Nine Hells.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
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