What are you expecting to find? The range and variety of Demon Lords and ArchDevils and whatever apex Yuggoloths are called and probably some fiend type I'm forgetting are so broad, the only commonality among them is it permanently dies, as far as the killers and witnesses and observers know (I mean, maybe it doesn't?). The ramifications beyond that would vary based on broad categories from the type of Archfiend it is to its specific nature. For instance, if a Demon Lord dies, if it's domain level of the Abyss's existence was not dependent on the Demon Lord's existence, other Demons would likely fight over it, or destroy it to make space for the designs of other Demons. If an Arch Devil falls, there are protocols in Hell, basically "Asmodeus calls it" or if its Asmodeus, some system is likely in place to determine who takes the bottom level.
In many senses, this isn't really a question "google" or any search is going to find an accurate answer for. There's no mechanical procedure in the _rules_ of 5e, and the fiction is not actually as consistent as many lore heads thing it may be. At the end of the day, if you're playing D&D, and you've managed to permakill some Arch Fiend, what happens next is ultimately the DM's call, not a specific rule.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
On a metaphysical level - if you ask me - the lower planes are no picnic. If you're there, you're in hell*. And whether you know it or not, it's suffering. Everything. There is no part of any lower level plane that isn't fine tuned to make you suffer. So any denizen of any lower plane suffers, all the time. And the higher you rise, the worse it get's. So, to give it a name, Orcus suffers most of all.
If you kill Orcus, he starts right back at the bottom, and some other demon is promoted to take his place - and become the new Orcus. So when seen from the outside, Orcus may seem to be constant, but in reality (I mean, potentially) each individual incarnation needn't last very long.
Keep in mind, though, that I consider the official canon to be worse than cheap toilet paper - and useful for the same things.
* Parts of hell are actually named Hell - the Nine Hells, to be exact - but to me, all evil souls go to hell, and that hell just happens to be called Hell if you're of Lawful alignment.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Well, the first trick is actually killing one. In most cases, archfiends are beings of such power that simply reducing them to 0 HP doesn't actually kill them, it just leaves them without a body or unable to act for a time. Sometimes they actually get put down for good, but usually that's only the really weak ones like Bel or Zariel. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you have beings like Pale Night or Asmodeus, who are probably not capable of being permanently killed at all.
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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.
Yeah, Asmodeus is god-tier, and 5e says that straight up killing a god isn't meant to be within a player's purview. So any "what happens" in that case is pure homebrew.
Regarding "what happens to the essence/being/etc. of such an entity if they're permanently destroyed", there's not a good canon answer, but I'd go with "it's scattered across the appropriate plane and just becomes another part of the background energy"; for demons that means the power will eventually spawn a bunch of fresh demons, but probably without a connection to the being it once was- it's like a statue being ground into sand. For devils I'd say it means Asmodeus or someone near the top has to pull the power back together to then promote whoever's determined to be next in line to the vacated position. Notable consequences, but it's not going to seriously upset the balance of power between the Outer Planes themselves because you'd need to get a lot more conceptual/meta to alter the fundamental state of the alignments and their reflections.
Yeah, Asmodeus is god-tier, and 5e says that straight up killing a god isn't meant to be within a player's purview. So any "what happens" in that case is pure homebrew.
Regarding "what happens to the essence/being/etc. of such an entity if they're permanently destroyed", there's not a good canon answer, but I'd go with "it's scattered across the appropriate plane and just becomes another part of the background energy"; for demons that means the power will eventually spawn a bunch of fresh demons, but probably without a connection to the being it once was- it's like a statue being ground into sand. For devils I'd say it means Asmodeus or someone near the top has to pull the power back together to then promote whoever's determined to be next in line to the vacated position. Notable consequences, but it's not going to seriously upset the balance of power between the Outer Planes themselves because you'd need to get a lot more conceptual/meta to alter the fundamental state of the alignments and their reflections.
And there's also examples where an archfiend "died" but then came back later, like Orcas- he died, then came back in the guise of a different demon lord before eventually regaining his power and Abyssal layer.
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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.
I like the idea that a power vacuum is created and the next most powerful figure steps in control. It creates a sort of dilemma. This evil monster that killed my Mom might be dead, but now his power has been given to another evil monster who might be even worse.
Whenever I try googling, it never gives a very specific response, just stating "they permanently die" with nothing else
What are you expecting to find? The range and variety of Demon Lords and ArchDevils and whatever apex Yuggoloths are called and probably some fiend type I'm forgetting are so broad, the only commonality among them is it permanently dies, as far as the killers and witnesses and observers know (I mean, maybe it doesn't?). The ramifications beyond that would vary based on broad categories from the type of Archfiend it is to its specific nature. For instance, if a Demon Lord dies, if it's domain level of the Abyss's existence was not dependent on the Demon Lord's existence, other Demons would likely fight over it, or destroy it to make space for the designs of other Demons. If an Arch Devil falls, there are protocols in Hell, basically "Asmodeus calls it" or if its Asmodeus, some system is likely in place to determine who takes the bottom level.
In many senses, this isn't really a question "google" or any search is going to find an accurate answer for. There's no mechanical procedure in the _rules_ of 5e, and the fiction is not actually as consistent as many lore heads thing it may be. At the end of the day, if you're playing D&D, and you've managed to permakill some Arch Fiend, what happens next is ultimately the DM's call, not a specific rule.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
On a metaphysical level - if you ask me - the lower planes are no picnic. If you're there, you're in hell*. And whether you know it or not, it's suffering. Everything. There is no part of any lower level plane that isn't fine tuned to make you suffer. So any denizen of any lower plane suffers, all the time. And the higher you rise, the worse it get's. So, to give it a name, Orcus suffers most of all.
If you kill Orcus, he starts right back at the bottom, and some other demon is promoted to take his place - and become the new Orcus. So when seen from the outside, Orcus may seem to be constant, but in reality (I mean, potentially) each individual incarnation needn't last very long.
Keep in mind, though, that I consider the official canon to be worse than cheap toilet paper - and useful for the same things.
* Parts of hell are actually named Hell - the Nine Hells, to be exact - but to me, all evil souls go to hell, and that hell just happens to be called Hell if you're of Lawful alignment.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I see, thanks
Well, the first trick is actually killing one. In most cases, archfiends are beings of such power that simply reducing them to 0 HP doesn't actually kill them, it just leaves them without a body or unable to act for a time. Sometimes they actually get put down for good, but usually that's only the really weak ones like Bel or Zariel. At the opposite end of the spectrum, you have beings like Pale Night or Asmodeus, who are probably not capable of being permanently killed at all.
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.
Yeah, Asmodeus is god-tier, and 5e says that straight up killing a god isn't meant to be within a player's purview. So any "what happens" in that case is pure homebrew.
Regarding "what happens to the essence/being/etc. of such an entity if they're permanently destroyed", there's not a good canon answer, but I'd go with "it's scattered across the appropriate plane and just becomes another part of the background energy"; for demons that means the power will eventually spawn a bunch of fresh demons, but probably without a connection to the being it once was- it's like a statue being ground into sand. For devils I'd say it means Asmodeus or someone near the top has to pull the power back together to then promote whoever's determined to be next in line to the vacated position. Notable consequences, but it's not going to seriously upset the balance of power between the Outer Planes themselves because you'd need to get a lot more conceptual/meta to alter the fundamental state of the alignments and their reflections.
And there's also examples where an archfiend "died" but then came back later, like Orcas- he died, then came back in the guise of a different demon lord before eventually regaining his power and Abyssal layer.
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.
I like the idea that a power vacuum is created and the next most powerful figure steps in control. It creates a sort of dilemma. This evil monster that killed my Mom might be dead, but now his power has been given to another evil monster who might be even worse.