Bel, General of the Third Command

Physical Description.

"The towering fiend appears as a 12‑foot (3.7‑meter) tall, crimson-scaled colossus, clad in ancient bronze armor, with massive, bat-like wings, clawed extremities, and fangs that are dripping a green, smoking venom. Its very presence fills you with a sense off dread and terror. It’s visage is brutal and bestial but nonetheless infernal, warped by innumerable years of willful wickedness and hatred. Several moaning decapitated heads are attached to the fiend’s horrifically beautiful leather belt. It wields a strangely curved greatsword that radiates heat and is covered in roaring flames."

Bel.

From his bastion, Zariel's second-in-command and the former lord of Avernus oversees the forges that furnish weapons and armor for the Blood War. Though Asmodeus has instructed Zariel to accept Bel as her advisor, Bel and Zariel loathe each other and invent distractions to keep them apart.

Bel outwardly plays the role of Zariel's loyal vassal. However, Bel rankles at Zariel's rulership of the layer of the Nine Hells that was once his, but he won't challenge her directly as long as he thinks Asmodeus supports Zariel.

Personality.

Calculating and calm in his assessments, Bel is one of the greatest military minds in the Nine Hells, using every tactical advantage available and only engaging in battle on his own terms. His favored tactics involves ambushes, double-crosses, feints and counter-feints, and backstabbing his enemies while anticipating the treacherous moves of his rivals. While he occasionally erupts with anger upon being foiled, he is generally cool-headed—a far cry from the constant, fiery fury of Zariel.

Cunning, analytical and, above all, a realist, Bel is fully aware that demons are infinite in number, if not literally then effectively, and so depends on slow defensive advances to fend them off. He is a long-term logistician, and in his mind the most he can do is contain the endless hordes of the Abyss. Even if victory only lasts a day, he values the assistance of anyone, mortal or otherwise, and gives fair hearings to those who offered. Though certainly evil and sadistic, his duties comes before his amusements.

Almost impossible to surprise, difficult to deceive, and typically only attacking when attacked, at least directly, Bel can be a reliable ally if approached with respect rather than duplicity. He can provide riches, information, letters of safe passage, and other forms of aid, but he is a shrewd negotiator who, as one might expect, keeps his promises to the letter and cares less about their spirit. Perhaps Bel's only psychological weakness is his disdain for and suspicion of magic from other sources than his own, preferring martial rather than magical might.

Beucephalus the Flaming Executioner

Weapon (greatsword), artifact (requires attunement)

Beucephalus is Bel's personal weapon, a strangely curved greatsword that radiates heat and is covered in roaring flames. Beucephalus is effective against both demons and cold-based creatures. Demons everywhere knows of and fears the weapon, for it was used to slay thousands of their kind over the course of the Blood War. The weapon has also been used to neatly sever the heads of at least a dozen angels, their decapitation not preventing them from screaming while attached to his belt. At any time, as long as Bel lives, he can decide to make the greatsword teleport to his hand, even if Beucephalus is attuned to a different creature.

Attunement. Any creature besides Bel that tries to attune to the greatsword must make a DC 20 Intelligence saving throw or take 70 (20d6) psychic damage, be stunned for 1 hour, and Bel knows that creatures location, even if you are one a different plane than Bel. If the psychic damage reduces your hit points to 0, then you die and your soul rises from the River Styx as a lemure in Avernus in 1d4 hours. If you are not revived before then, only a Wish spell or killing the lemure and casting True Resurrection on the creature's original body can restore it to life. Constructs and devils are immune to this effect. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage, is not stunned, tough your location is still detected by Bel.

Flaming Wrath. When you hit with Beucephalus, you deal an additional 14 (4d6) Fire damage damage. If you hit or touch a flammable object that is not being held or worn with Beucephalus, it catches fire.

Magic Weapon. You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this ademantine weapon. In addition, Beucephalus functions similar to a vorpal sword.

Random Properties

Beucephalus the Flaming Executioner has the following random properties:

• 1 minor beneficial property
• 1 major beneficial property
• 1 minor detrimental property
• 1 major detrimental property

Detrimental properties are ignored by Bel.

Slaughter Demons. While wielding Becuephalus, you have advantage on attack rolls against demons.

Destruction. To destroy Becuephalus, you need to free and resurrect all the decapitated angels that are attached to Bel’s belt, once all are freed and resurrected they will be able to perform a ritual that can permanently destroy Becuephalus. The ritual takes 24 hours, and ends with Becuephalus combusting and turning into ash.

Bel’s Lair

Before becoming Archduke of Avernus, Bel inhabited a fortress likely larger than any on the Prime Material Plane. Constructed from basalt, marble, granite, and iron, and configured with a description-defying sense of infernal logic, Bel's keep was incredibly well-fortified. It was surrounded by gigantic mountains, enclosed by a 30‑foot-tall (9.1‑meter) iron fence with screaming skulls at the top, and featured various thick gates, jagged fences, spiked walls, protruding towers, and sharp angles. Guarding it were hordes of lemures, abishai, bearded devils, and other fiends, some of which could perceive invisible objects and individuals, and most of which would gleefully eviscerate intruders. The entire stronghold exuded a feeling of hate, suffering, and wicked delight, and seemed to guarantee harm to anyone that came too close.

After ascending and becoming the Lord of Avernus, Bel ruled its wastes from the impregnable city known as the Bronze Citadel. Formerly a fortress of actual bronze, the original structure merely served as Bel's personal quarters where he strategized with the Dark Eight and held meetings with his inner court. The city itself was always in a state of expansion, with work crews of lemures, soul shells, imps, and other slave laborers fortifying it and adding new defenses. The Citadel encompassed an over 600‑mile-long (970‑kilometer) territory encircled by fourteen concentric ring walls with bearded devils, merregons, and spined devils, housed within the bulwark.

Each ring had several guard towers and a gate guarded by dangerous devils. These rings were outfitted with an unstoppable array of ballistae, catapults, magical relics, and other war machines. It was a utilitarian structure, with half of the wall support being bone scaffolding, and the rear of the unimaginative city was built on the foothills adjoining the Stigamaris Mountains. When captured adventurers came to plead their cases and travelers requested letters of safe passage, they would have to contend with either Bel's lieutenants or the Warlord of Avernus himself inside its walls.

After being deposed, Bel made his home in an iron fortress carved out of a volcano. The bastion acted as a forge for Blood War weapons and armor and was protected by infernal legions and dark magic that divined intruders.

Lair Actions

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Bel can take one of the following lair actions; he can't take the same lair action two rounds in a row:

Command. Bel casts the Command spell on every creature of his choice in the lair. He needn't see each one, but he must be aware that an individual is in the lair to target that creature. He issues the same command to all the targets..

Summon Barbed Devils. Bel summons 3 (1d4 + 1) barbed devils, A barbed devil appears in unoccupied spaces within 100 feet of Bel, acts as Bel's ally, and can't summon other devils. The devils remains until Bel dies or until he dismisses any or all of them as an action.

Teleportation. Bel attempts to forcibly teleport up to four other creatures he can see within 120 feet of him, creatures that are not willing targets must succeed on a DC 24 Wisdom saving throw or be forcibly teleported, along with any equipment they are wearing or carrying, up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space Bel can see. Alternatively, Bel teleports, along with any equipment he is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.

Regional Effects

The region containing Bel's lair is warped by his magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

Commanding Voices. Creatures within 10 miles of Bel's lair hears commands from a dark voice in their minds. The closer the creatures are to Bel's lair, the clearer and louder the voice becomes.

Infernal Compulsion. Lesser devils within 6 miles of Bel's lair feels compelled to serve Bel and guard his lair.

Loyal Servants. Servants of Bel that are within 6 miles of his lair have magically increased morale. They have advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.

If Bel dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.