Devils look at mortals as sheep, just as demons do, except devils see themselves not as wolves but as shepherds. Shepherds fleece sheep by the season and slaughter them as needed. A shepherd likely kills the wolves that threaten its sheep. But then again, shepherds always expect to lose a few sheep.

If you were a sheep, would you trust your shepherd?

—Mordenkainen, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

Violence is rarely a devil’s first thought when facing a mortal being. Even the mightiest pit fiend, whose skin is tough like steel, whose fangs drip venom, and who can hurl fireballs with a wave of its fingers, does not immediately think to crush a mortal under its heel at first glance. Though a demon might long constantly for bloodshed and death, devils are manipulators at heart. Some more martial devils, like the merregons that make up the backbone of the Nine Hell’s armies, have no interest in forging pacts, but would still defer to the orders of their commanding officer before killing a mortal on sight.

The Blood War rages eternal, and as Avernus, first layer of the Nine Hells, is the endless conflict’s front lines, the devils of Avernus are in constant need of reinforcements. For, as any diabolist would be quick to remind you, a devil killed outside of its home plane is only temporarily banished to the Nine Hells, but a devil killed within the Hells themselves is destroyed for good. And as countless devils die each day in Avernus, countless more souls are needed to fuel the Blood War. Mordenkainen, arbiter of balance within the multiverse, would be quick to say that the damnation of countless souls is a good thing—as an Infernal defeat in the Blood War would spell a quick and messy doom for all life among the cosmos as the demons, no longer held in check by devils, would consume all around them.

Mordenkainen may be right, but you certainly don’t want to be the chump who has their soul damned to the Nine Hells. And how do you wind up as a Hells-damned soul? The best way is to make a deal with a devil. Some deals are made en masse, without the informed consent of all participants—some are made one-on-one, when a mortal desires incredible power—and if you’re a soul with countless mighty deeds etched upon it, like a mighty hero or terrible villain, then devils seeking glory and praise from their infernal superiors will be all but tripping over themselves to make deals with you.

These are devils: 50% part lawyer from Hell, 50% part snake oil salesman, 100% willing to end your miserable existence if you renege on your side of the deal. Let’s learn how to play a devil. 

A Game of Souls

All archdevils have a quota of souls that they are compelled to deliver to Asmodeus, Lord of the Nine Hells, in a certain period. Think of the Nine Hells as a pyramid scheme, in which Asmodeus reaps all the benefits of ruling the Hells, while his archdevils beneath him use a near-infinite hierarchy of greater and lesser devils to reap enough souls to meet the quotas set for them by Asmodeus. Lesser and greater devils (ranging from the most pathetic imp to the most superior pit fiend) can only enter contracts with mortals on behalf of their archdevil master. For instance, a mortal who calls upon Mephistopheles (such as Faust in the Goethe play of the same name) might deal with the archdevil Mephistopheles himself if the mortal is sufficiently interesting, but odds are their deal will be arbitrated by a lesser or greater devil in Mephistopheles’s service.

This is not to say that devils in service to an archdevil gather souls simply out of a sense of devotion. Far from it. Even the most pathetic of devils is constantly scheming, gazing longingly at the infernal pinnacle of its hierarchy and seeking a way out of its wretched lowliness. Each soul it condemns to the Nine Hells is one step towards its goal.

Each time a devil signs a contract that pledges a mortal’s soul to the Nine Hells, that devil receives credit for the achievement. A stronger soul, such as a mighty warrior who leaves mortality behind to become an ice devil, is worth more than a simple peasant likely to be consigned to existence as a lemure.

—Chapter 1: The Blood War, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes

 Most devils earn their souls by making deals and creating infernal contracts, in which the signer’s soul is used as collateral. Some contracts offer power in exchange for a mortal’s soul. Some contracts essentially hold the signer’s soul in escrow, keeping the soul if the signer violates the terms of the deal, or returning it undamaged if the signer upholds the terms. Exceptionally intelligent devils such as narzugons, ice devils, and amnizus intentionally place deceptive or outright predatory clauses within their deals in an attempt to sucker mortals who fail to read the fine print.

If you want to play a devil like a master legalistic trickster, first consider the Intelligence of the devil. If its Intelligence score is only 10, it probably won’t be drafting the most conniving contracts (unless it has a specific reason to be highly proficient in that skill). Devils with an Intelligence score of 16 or higher are able to create tricky “gotcha” clauses in their contracts, while archdevils and devils with an Intelligence of 20 or higher make nigh-impenetrable contracts filled with archaic language with obscure double-meanings.

If a devil isn’t able to snare a mortal’s soul in one fell swoop, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus also reveals a roundabout way a persistent devil can nickel-and-dime you into damnation. “[Otherwise, a] devil tries to take it one piece at a time by encouraging the mortal to commit evil acts and thereby condemning the mortal’s soul to the Nine Hells [after their death].” In D&D, all souls travel to a plane that suits their alignment in the afterlife, and a devil that manages to guide a mortal down a path that changes their alignment to Lawful Evil ultimately wins in the end. This passage from Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus comes from its appendix A: Diabolical Deals, which is invaluable for any Dungeon Master who wants to snare their players with infernal contracts.

Occultism and You!

There’s another way for devils to win the mortal souls they so crave, and many see it as the most efficient way to success: serving a cult. Many devil cults enter into contracts en masse, with potentially hundreds of mortals signing away their souls—or at least committing soul-damningly evil acts, as described above. Oftentimes, a devil cult is in service to an archdevil, and a lesser or greater devil interfaces directly with the cult’s leader, and the cult’s leader dictates the fates of all their followers, and all of their sacrifices as well. The cult of Asmodeus in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist is a prime example of this. In rarer cases, a cult may be formed to worship a greater devil of uncommon power, such as one that was deposed from archdevilhood at Asmodeus’s whim. The archdevil Bel, former ruler of Avernus, still has worshipers on the Material Plane, and may grant them power directly.

Rarer still, lesser or greater devils have been known to escape from the Nine Hells and exist in secret on the Material Plane. These escapes only occur when the devil is directly summoned, such as with a gate spell. A devil in service of Zariel, for instance, might be summoned to fight alongside a militant cult—and might survive when the cult is routed in battle by paladins of Tyr. This devil could go on to pose as a humanoid and start a cult of its own, thus making a deal directly with mortals who might be unaware that they are dealing directly with a devil.

Most archdevils can assume a humanoid shape, but there are some other devils that can could lead a cult directly with creative use of their abilities, such as:

• Imps. An imp can appear as a bat, raven, or spider. Perhaps an imp could form a cult surrounding a talking raven that pretends to be a herald of the Raven Queen?
• Orthons. Orthons are hulking trackers that can turn invisible at will. Though it can’t assume a humanoid guise, it could use Wizard of Oz-style theatrics to pass itself as a demigod to be feared and obeyed.
• Erinyes. An erinyes has a naturally humanoid appearance, and could pass for a female humanoid if it hid its wings. It could also pose as an avariel (a winged elf), or even as a celestial.

Legion of Fear and Hellfire

Despite their diplomatic prowess, devils are also fearsome warriors. The legions of the Nine Hells are finite, but massive. And while, unlike demons, devils rarely attack mortals indiscriminately, a devil with cause to kill is a terrifying creature indeed. Devils often attack in cleanly regimented armies, with legions of faceless merregons marching in lockstep, shaking the earth beneath their boots, all commanded by a lesser devil that serves as their fiendish taskmaster. Such a legion may be preceded by a swarm of lemures, serving as worthless cannon fodder to spoil enemy charges and disrupt their advance.

Facing a devil with intent to kill should strike fear into the hearts of both players and their characters. Here are ways you can use the truly fearsome might of a legion of devils to intimidate your players.

Orderly Tactics. When a devil enters combat, they always attack the foes their commander orders them to attack. Devils often prove challenging opponents because their commander can order them to gang up on single targets, or intelligently command even the most foolish of legionnaires to attack in strategic ways. However, this comes at a cost. A devil commander can only issue new orders on its turn, causing these regimented tactics to react sluggishly to a chaotic battlefield.

Leverage over Slaughter. Devils prefer sparing mortals to killing them, as a mortal at their mercy is more likely to accede to a contract’s foul terms under duress. Though a quick death is far preferable to damning your soul to an eternity of war on the Lower Planes, most mortals’ basic survival instinct always supersedes logic. Thus, when a devil reduces a humanoid to 0 hit points, it always chooses to knock them out instead of killing them, unless their orders or specific circumstances demand otherwise.

Surrounded by Cannon Fodder. Whenever the characters face a devil in combat, that devil is always joined by a group of lemures. The number of lemures increases proportionally to its commander’s challenge rating; 1d4 per level of challenge. For instance, a spined devil would be accompanied by 5 (2d4) lemures, and a mighty pit fiend would be joined by a whopping 50 (20d4) lemures. These pathetic devils could be used as combatants, but you would be better off having them serve as an environmental effect. A space occupied by four or more lemures could count as difficult terrain and deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage to any hostile creature that walks through it.

Alternatively, you could alter the swarm of poisonous snakes creature to be a swarm of lemures by giving it a lemure’s Damage Resistances, Damage Immunities, and Condition Immunities and removing the snakes’ poison. Each swarm of lemures is composed of 8 lemures. Note that turning the otherwise nebulous swarms of lemures into a distinct creature makes them significantly more deadly than before. Consider this swarm’s strength when building your encounter, in this case. Finally, a group of lemures is only kept in check by their commander. If their commander falls in battle, the pathetic, mindless devils are too senseless to continue fighting, and they start wandering aimlessly.

A Glimpse of Hell. When a devil is killed outside of the Nine Hells, consider adding a minor cosmetic effect to its death. Upon the devil’s death, its body vanishes in a flash of fiery light, but within that light, the devil’s killer can see a vision of horrific torment. This vision is specific to the level of the Nine Hells that the devil’s archdevil master rules over. A devil that serves Zariel may grant the character a brief glimpse of the banks of the River Styx as the Blood War rages across its banks; while a devil that serves Mammon may grant a vision of a vast field of gold coins, as tormented devils count and calculate the incalculable wealth of their avaricious master.

How have you played devils in your game? Do you have any stories of truly terrifying infernal encounters?

You can pit your characters against the forces of the Nine Hells and the Abyss in Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, available for preorder 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, a member of the Guild Adepts, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and other RPG companies. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and their animal companions Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.