Keep wasting my time with your pointless words and die, or join my war band and live. Choose swiftly. I have a plane to conquer.
Zariel is the central figure of Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus. Her pallid, flame-wreathed visage adorns the cover, and her bloodlust and zeal are central to the events of the story. She stands as a villain that could rival Strahd von Zarovich in depth and tragedy, and in significance. There's no doubt that we'll all learn more about Zariel, her past, and her importance to the next D&D storyline throughout the summer. For now, here's a primer on Zariel.
She Who Rules: A Canonical History of Zariel
Rule of Avernus has changed hands several times over the eons. Three major players have vied for control over Avernus in recent days, and the politics of the Nine Hells are bloodier than any mortal war. A pit fiend known as Bel was once the ruler of Avernus. His mastery of battle tactics was legendary, and he was a great bulwark against the Hells’ enemies, namely the demons of the Abyss. The dragon goddess Tiamat is also a resident of Avernus, though her existence there has constantly confounded mortal scholars. Is Tiamat a part of Avernus’s political landscape, or is she a prisoner there? As we learned in the Tyranny of Dragons storyline, Tiamat can’t leave the Nine Hells of her own free will; only her worshipers can call her from the Lower Planes.
Most notable of these rulers, however, is the archduchess Zariel, a former celestial who willingly joined Asmodeus’s infernal cadre. Once, long ago, Zariel served the heavenly host of Mount Celestia, and played her part in the celestials’ eternal war against evil. So great was her zeal, however, that she rankled at the measured caution and restraint of her superiors.
Zariel’s past plays a key role in the story of Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, so we can’t spoil too much. Suffice to say, Zariel defied her superiors’ orders one fateful day, and called a band of her most loyal warriors to break a demonic invasion on the Material Plane. Zariel’s zealotry ultimately drove her to defeat, but she was visited in her most desperate hour by an unlikely ally: Asmodeus himself. The Zariel had once tried to testify before Primus, master of the Modrons and avatar of absolute order, at Asmodeus’s trial in ages past, but now the Lord of the Nine Hells was poised to save Zariel’s life, and to offer her a deal she couldn’t refuse: to battle demons on her own terms, forever. The cost was simple: join Asmodeus as an archdevil and rule Avernus.
Zariel accepted.
Asmodeus smote Bel and stripped him of the title of archduke and all the supernatural powers it bestowed, and installed Zariel as ruler of Avernus. Nevertheless, Asmodeus recognized Bel’s military prowess and, in a quirk of cruelty, appointed him as Zariel’s chief lieutenant. The disgruntled Bel serves his new archduchess in the name of defending the Nine Hells, but he and his loyal allies scheme to supplant her and regain his favor with the great Asmodeus.
My legions are the only thing standing between your precious Seven Heavens and the bottomless hunger of the Abyss. I did not fall into the clutches of evil. I rose to shoulder a cosmic burden.
— Zariel, Archduchess of Avernus, former angel of Celestia;
She Who was Imprisoned: A Historiography of Zariel
Zariel first appeared in D&D canon in A Guide to Hell (1999), a late AD&D 2nd edition book written by Chris Pramas and published by Wizards of the Coast, shortly after they acquired Dungeons & Dragons from the bankrupt TSR. While information from sourcebooks of earlier editions of D&D aren't non-canon per se, books from the current edition (like Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes) should be considered authoritative. This historiography examines how Zariel was used by developers of editions past, how her motivations and origins have changed or stayed the same, and could even give you some alternate ideas about how to play this most notable of fallen angels.
The Blood War was central to the lore of the Nine Hells and the Abyss, thanks to the influence of Planescape, one of the hallmark campaign settings of 2nd edition AD&D. In this book, Zariel is a central figure in an event known as the Reckoning of Hell, a rebellion in which all eight archdevils who serve Asmodeus betrayed their master. Zariel began the rebellion and the Reckoning saw its birth in Avernus. This rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful, as the archdevil Geryon betrayed the rebels and chose to side with Asmodeus. In the end, Asmodeus proved the victor—yet the Lord of the Nine Hells was capricious and magnanimous in victory. For reasons unknown, he allowed all seven of the renegade archdevils to retain their stations, while Geryon, the only one who had remained loyal to him, was cast down from his position of power.
This book situates Bel as Lord of Avernus, despite Asmodeus graciously allowing Zariel to retain her position. Bel was Zariel's loyal lieutenant, yet sometime after the Reckoning, Bel overthrew and imprisoned Zariel, and Asmodeus sent a messenger congratulating him on his coup. He siphoned power from Zariel for untold ages, but never gained favor with the Nine Hells' other archdevils. All saw him as "Bel the Pretender," and Asmodeus was pleased to replace the troublesome and scheming Zariel with a mere pit fiend who was too busy serving as a general in the Blood War to meddle in political affairs.
Ultimately, the Zariel presented in A Guide to Hell is much more conniving and scheming than the warmongering and politically averse Zariel we've been exposed to in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and at The Descent.
Zariel had a few brief mentions throughout the life of 3rd edition D&D in the Manual of the Planes (2001) and Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (2006), but even in these books, Zariel remained Bel's prisoner, and the beleaguered pit fiend remained master of Avernus. Now in fifth edition D&D, Zariel is back. It's unclear how exactly she was freed from Bel's clutches and regained her control over Avernus—or if this element of her story is still canon at all! It's possible that Zariel's imprisonment has been retconned out of existence, and now Bel's relationship to Zariel is merely one of a deposed archdevil allowed to remain her lieutenant.
Zariel's imprisonment could, however, be viewed as a way to explain her shift in personality between earlier editions and fifth edition. Before, she was just as political and devious as the other archdevils. These days, she's sworn to battle, and has little time for schemes. Being imprisoned and devoured daily by a former lieutenant changes a person, even an archdevil. Zariel may no longer trust anyone, leading her to strive to be self-sufficient, and try to shoulder the burden of the entire Blood War herself.
What do you think of Zariel? Are you excited for Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus? It's available for pre-order now on the D&D Beyond Marketplace!
James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, the DM of Worlds Apart, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and Kobold Press. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and their hellcats Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.
But why hooves? Really?
That would be extremely hard since the monster manual says a fiend being good is inconceivable!
Not necessarily, Eberron's Astral planes at times become conterminous with the Prime, allowing access between both worlds. 4th edition introduced Baator as one of the astral planes of Eberron, 3.5e has Shavarath, which can be interpreted as either Acheron or a unique plane where the Bloodwar is ever raging. So in this sense Eberron makes a perfect plane for adapting the Descent.
My theory is that it is representative of justice like Themis' blindfold from Greek mythology, the titan that wears a blindfold and holds a scale to judge. The way I read about Zariel in MToF, she held her lawful obligation as more important than morality.
I'm really looking forward to find out more regarding the Nine Hells and the lore in 5e.
The changes we already got saw in MtoF will probably reach greater depths (pun intended) in this book.
And the main villain looks like a very interesting character to find out more about.
To anyone with an opinion and/or (preferably) some lore-knowledge:
(Someone from the WoTC or DnDBeyond team would be awesome)
When this book drops, I'll be playing a Fallen Aasimar cleric (Forge domain). My DM is cool with it, as it adds a strange dynamic to their motivation for them being in the story, so my character will be a literal child of Zariel. Is it unreasonable that an Archfiend would have had a child within the last 16-25 years of the time the module takes place? Is there a certain way that I need to/should go about it to make sense within the confines of available lore?
I'm also interested in peoples' thoughts on if it's fine to play as an Aasimar, as opposed to a Zariel-legacy Tiefling (per MToF), given the narrative? My intent is that, at whatever point, my character could become a scourge Aasimar, or Protector, at best.
Per their angelic guide, my character is meant to travel to the Hells with a bit of raw materials from the Abyss (Inheritor background?), and forge within the Devils' domain (perhaps needing to travel as far as Phlegethos—I don't know how deep this adventure will go/allow for) an ultimate Fiend (and possibly Celestial)-killing sword. Perhaps, I'll have to steal Zariel's own blade as one of the components... idk. Thought?
Lastly, I haven't been able to find it anywhere, but did Zariel, as an angel, serve a specific deity, or Celestia as a whole? I'm not sure which Forge domain god/-dess would best fit the bill, or if Zariel's former.... employer(?)... would be a nice touch, should it work in the given domain. I know that there's an overlap between War and Forge, because the two can go hand-in-hand.
It isn't unreasonable that an archdevil would have a child. Devils and demons have the ability to procreate with mortals after all. The question here would be is it reasonable for Zariel to have one? The Zariel bloodline tieflings seem to spring from her relationships with the mortal paladins that accompanied her on her crusade to fight demons. You would first need to think of a reason why Zariel would even be interested in procreating. Her current personality is a bit one track. The second issue would be why is your character so weak? As a direct child of an archdevil, you would be a literal cambion. I'm sure you aren't starting out as a CR 5 (probably more since it is an archdevil's kid) creature. Maybe Zariel's dual nature and previous history as an angel mitigated your strength, idk what your DM would suggest but you would need a reason why you aren't wildly overpowered.
I think it would make a lot more sense for you to be a descendant of one of those paladins that accompanied her, and just be a Zariel Bloodline tiefling. I'm strictly speaking from a lore standpoint, you should do what is fun to you. But, her producing an assimar could be an interesting plot point, maybe she is leaning back to the side of good. It would need to be explained. As for your backstory, take it one step at a time. Having the goal of making some all-powerful ultima sword is a worthy one, but, narratively, incredibly hard to do. One does not simply walk into the Abyss or the nine hells and gather materials.
Solars typically serve specific deities. According to the DMG only 24 of them exist. I don't know if Zariel is still counted among that number since she is an archdevil, but if she served a diety they are unknown.
She lost her hand somehow. Yet, the stat block does not represent that flail in any way which is weird. Personally I'd run her with her both hands intact. She should but perfect and evil. Perfectly evil.
She has an updated statblock in Descent into Avernus.
Which is exactly how different to Zariel from Mordenkainen?
She has the hammer of the demon lord Kostchtchie which does 3d6 cold damage in a 30 foot radius in front of her. She is immune to cold, thanks to the hammer. And she has a flail arm which replaces her javelin attack. She also has the potential to get her sword back if she is redeemed at the end of the adventure. Not going to say too much about the sword other than that it is stupidly powerful on the level of say Axe of the Dwarvish Lords or the Wand of Orcus.
I’m assuming she blindfolded herself to, like, keep the sight of evil out of her eyes or something. It seems symbolic, because when she submitted to Asmodeus she took it off...
I’m assuming she blindfolded herself to, like, keep the sight of evil out of her eyes or something. It seems symbolic, because when she submitted to Asmodeus she took it off...
Interesting
So what did you end up doing?
ALL PALADINS
O_O
Fallen Aasimar Forge Cleric of Torm, angelic guide being a Deva who fought alongside Zariel in her last battle as a Celestial. Literal son of Zariel, bred to be a weapon, was chased after for years by cultists before finding some anonymity, but now destiny knocks and he's got no choice to be caught in the fray. Also, I chose Torm before I knew it had anything to do with the story as written, so that's nice. XD
Zarel sounds like a very well put together person, and has been in DND for a very long time!
-Spoiler warning-
Umm- yes, they can. I guess if your characters are interested in that.
Interesting... Thanks for answering!