more on evil gods and devils

it is my opinion that wotc does not give asmodeus his due.

consider that asmodeus sent an underling, graz'zt, to invade the abyss. now that underling is one of the most powerful of demon lords, reigning over three layers of the abyss and rivaling demogorgon. so, if an underling can accomplish that much, then of what could his master, asmodeus, be capable? remember, even before he became a god, asmodeus succeeded in stealing a shard of the evil seed embedded in the heart of the abyss.

i envision a merger of several evil gods with certain arch devils. i do this in order to (i) remove perceived redundancies, (ii) elevate the primacy of devils as the principle source of immortal evil, and (iii) more prominantly than has been done, place asmodeus at the top of the heap.

what results from these mergers is an implication that the nonevil gods have done a very good job of containing the physical presence of the evil gods, if not their influence. aspects of these evil gods can appear outside of hell, but if you want to fight the real mccoy, then you must pay a visit to hell (which is a good thing for gaming, right? it means that the high end of epic level play must occur, to some extent, in hell, assuming that archdevils serve as the bbegs in the campaign).

other results of these mergers are that archdevils become more powerful and more important than before and, consequently, asmodeus becomes commensurately more powerful. i mean, come on, he IS the prince of EVIL. all those other guys are just stewards of certain aspects or manifestations of evil (e.g., war, avarice, treachery, etc.)

asmodeus, prince of evil (that says it all, imo)
manual of the planes, page 105
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bane gives up his claim on tyranny:

asmodeus is THE tyrant. bane is not so much a tyrant as the epitome of a general; granted, a very evil general. bane is not so much concerned with tyranny as he is with military success, and everything that goes with the latter-- which is where the confusion with tyranny creeps in. think of conan, who was, for a time, a king. but, he grew bored of being a king and gave up his crown. think of the generals of attila the hun, who conquered may nations. these generals were motivated by conquest. if given the choice between (i) remaining in a conquered land with the responsibilities of monarchy or (ii) the opportunity to conquer more nations, they would choose the latter. attila, on the other hand, was interested in rulership, conquest was merely a means for him to attain rulership.

make no mistake, asmodeus is the tyrant, above all others. this is illustrated by his domination of such powerful beings as bane, tiamat and lolth (note, this is as i envision the d&d universe).

asmodeus is the evil god of tyranny and domination
power, domination, tyranny
dungeon masters guids, page 162

bane, the god of war and tyranny
manual of the planes, page 92

graz’zt is the dark prince, a demonic patron of tyrants and despots (okay, so graz'zt is a demon lord now, but you never know about that guy)
manual of the planes, page 130
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bane and bel merge. bane becomes asmodeus' general, charged with leading the armies of hell in their assault on the divine seals and wards throughout avernus that imprison the devils in hell. kord leads the opposition forces in battles throughout avernus to protect and maintain those divine seals and wards. this makes avernus the largest and most perpetual battlefield in all creation (note, neither the battle between gods and primordials nor the blood war was confined to a single battlefield). it's an ugly job for kord, but somebody's gotta do it ("man, this job is hell"). bahamut sometimes provides support, as needed.

bane is the evil god of war and conquest
dungeon masters guids, page 162

bel, chosen by asmodeus for his loyalty and his military genius
manual of the planes, page 99
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tiamat and mammon merge:

mammon, the king of greed.
given to insatiable lust and avarice,
he seeks to corrupt powerful mortals through avarice and lust
manual of the planes, page 100-101

tiamat is the evil god of wealth, greed, and envy
dungeon masters guids, page 163
Wealth, greed, vengeance
dungeon masters guids, page 162

tiamat is the evil god of wealth, greed, and envy. she is the patron of chromatic dragons and those whose lust for wealth overrides any other goal or concern.
she urges her followers to hoard wealth and to take vengeance for every slight.
draconomicon - chromatic dragons, page 244
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lolth and glasya merge:

the archdevil glasya, daughter of asmodeus, rules malbolge. she is brilliant, seductive, manipulative, and thoroughly wicked. she delights in playing with those who fall into her power by mixing subtle mockery and cruel teasing with queenly hauteur.
manual of the planes, page 103

lolth is the chaotic evil god of shadow, lies, and spiders.
scheming and treachery are her commands
dungeon masters guids, page 163

lolth is a capricious goddess who revels in betrayal and blood. (note, i recognize that forgotten realms tends to put its own spin on deities, but this description seems consistent with that of the default setting)
forgotten realms player's guide, page 152
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torog acquires, to some extent, the far realm and insanity as parts of his portfolio:

torog is the evil god of the underdark, patron of jailers and torturers (meh)
dungeon masters guids, page 163

rats are sacred to torog, the king that crawls.
their presence signifies plague, decay, and collapse in decadent cities.
monster manual, page 219

similar to graz'zt, torog was sent by asmodeus to explore and conquer the far realm, perhaps seeking a way to escape the divine confinement of hell.. unlike graz'zt, torog did return to hell and his foray was not so successful (granted, graazt did not actually succeed in his original pursuit, but he did conquer three layers of the abyss). [insert language from prior post] suffice it to say, that
asmodeus has since seemed to have backed away from his initial interest in the far realms.
__________

bye bye vecna:

orcus is known as the demon lord of undeath, the demon prince of the undead, and the blood lord. he is worshiped by undead and living creatures that do not fear undeath. (one lord of undeath is enough; as one lord of death is enough. bye bye vecna. that sacred cow has been slaughtered.)
monster manual, page 206