How To Homebrew An Archdevil In DnD

The Nine Hells in Dungeons & Dragons are home to devils of various ranks in a strict hierarchy that determines who they serve and how they serve them. Archdevils are the highest of these devils and are among the lords who run the Nine Hells and their most powerful advisors and rivals.

Your campaign might need its own lords and archdevils that reflect your world building, or you might want to insert a specific archdevil for your players to interact with while traversing the material plane. Although there are similarities between archdevils that give them familiarity, there are many ways to create your own, cunning, master of souls.

9

Make Their Appearance Reflect Their Domain

Or Vice Versa

Each layer of the Nine Hells has a distinct aesthetic that only rarely appears as the fiery layers those on the material plane sing songs and paint portraits of. The archdevil, Mammon, the wealthiest being on any plane, controls a layer of the Hells that resembles a ruined swamp, covered in decrepit buildings and sinking roads.

This is meant to be anachronistic on purpose, displaying Mammon’s obsession with wealth not as a tool for prosperity but incessant greed that never leaves his own pockets. Your archdevil might have their domain reflect their outward appearance more literally, covering the land in a blackened ooze that also drips from every orifice.

8

Create Loyal Followers

A good way to outline the goals and ambitions of an archdevil is to look at the cultists and advisors who serve them. While their goals may not match those of your archdevil, they will definitely be in line with what they are told to believe and how they are directed.

While the cultists of Fierna desire to spread her ideals of control and subservience, Fierna herself has more insidious plans for those that are under her sway. Cultists might give their souls to Mammon in order to gain wealth, only for him to keep them in endless debt.

7

Decide On Their Methods

Although the driving goal behind each archdevil’s plans is to obtain more souls, how they go about obtaining these and to what ends these souls can serve them is another matter. Either through brute strength, intense debate, or sheer deception, there are many ways to convince a mortal to sever their soul.

Levistus, for example, is known as an archdevil who offers freedom and (relative) safety to those who are in desperate need. A criminal to be executed might offer their soul to Levistus in exchange for freedom, and this reputation is enough to appeal to mortals, or an agent of Levistus might seek these souls out.

Glasya will offer respite to imprisoned or tortured mortals, only to do the same to their souls.

6

Designate A Layer Of Hell

A main novelty of devils versus demons is their intense structure and laws that give the fiery domain a distinct shape. These nine layers each have their own archdevil lord, and to be one means overseeing your slice of the cake with impunity.

The lowest levels of the Hells each lead closer to Asmodeus, the ruler of the Nine Hells, and their lords are increasingly powerful as they reach his domain. If your archdevil is on a higher rung, they might appear in person to mortals more often rather than use servants, seeing as their lack of power forces them to rely on themselves.

5

Combine Existing Stat Blocks

The mechanics of an archdevil represent very clearly how they wield power and through what means they seize control. By looking at existing stat blocks of archdevils, you can combine or loot their abilities to create your own statblock that reflects a unique archdevil.

Bael and Zariel are both combat focused devils, and rely on physical prowess with massive weapons and teleportation to defeat their opponents. Titivilus is a master politician and has abilities such as “Twisting Words”, which allow him to charm opponents and force them to his aid.

4

Give Them A Backstory

No archdevil was born to the throne, rather they clawed and scraped their way to power through deception, guile, and bloodshed. Who they were before ascending the ranks is a good way to inform their ambitions and ideals, such as Glasya, the daughter of Asmodeus, who was given her position as warden to Hells’ prisons and uses her anger and rebellion to inform her torture methods.

Your devil might have once been mortal, serving and somehow surviving the Blood War to become a respected general. As an archdevil, they might seek out retired soldiers lusting for a final battle or deserters seeking a form of redemption or escape.

3

Make A Contract

Not only do physical contracts act as an amazing prop to give your players at the table, they can also contain bountiful information on your archdevil. This could be what the archdevil offers in return for a mortal’s soul, and what punishments are in store if they break the contract.

Even what the contract is written on could reflect the personality or aesthetic of your archdevil, such as being etched into the mortal’s skin, carved onto a slab of stone, or heavily detailed on a scroll of parchment a mile long. Think of an archdevil contract as a wizard’s spellbook or a fighter’s sword.

2

Make Your Archdevil In Service Of An Existing Lord

Although all lords of the Nine Hells are archdevils, not all archdevils are lords of the Nine Hells. Bael, for example, serves under the tyrant Mammon, and Geryon is locked in an endless battle against Levistus for control of the frozen wastes of Stygia.

An archdevil free from the constraints of running an entire layer of the Hells isn’t free from their service to a master, or who they actively fight against, and can determine the kind of archdevil they aspire to be. Choosing an existing lord of the Nine Hells for your archdevil to serve under can be a solid jumping off point for more detailed creative choices.

This can also be a plot hook for players, offering an exchange of power in return for help deposing their master rather than surrendering their souls.

1

Break A Rule

The Nine Hells have more than just a strict hierarchy, but a long list of rules that each devil is forced to follow, even Asmodeus himself. However, breaking one of these rules allows for unique archdevils that center their personality around this broken rule.

Fierna and Belial are both somehow ruling a layer of the Nine Hells despite only one lord meant to rule a single layer at a time, which makes their dynamic all the more interesting. Your archdevil might find a way to enter other devil’s contracts, stealing their hard-won souls and creating powerful enemies.