Sell me on the Dukes of Hell...

[Bizzare Beasts Boozer]

I am a big fan of Demon Lords- they are evocative, unique, and (mostly) have super interesting layers of Hell you'll need to navigate to actually deal with them.

For whatever reason, I just don't have the same passion for the Dukes of Hell. What are people's favourite dukes, and why?

[James Jacobs]

W E Ray wrote:

...(now called something dumb)...

As a heads up, this isn't a constructive way to provide information or foster a discussion on any topic, and adds nothing to the conversation other than bait arguments. Please avoid this sort of rhetoric. In the meantime I've flagged this post as "baiting" (it certainly got my hackles up and got me to post here!).

So before we get any other replies on this element, let's just leave that alone for potential moderation and focus instead on discussing the original poster's question; thanks all!

That said, to the original poster, I'd suggest checking out Book of the Damned, a 1st edition product that's largely edition-neutral. There's a lot of information in there about the Hell side of things that, hopefully, gives more thigns of interest.

It's also perfectly okay to prefer one flavor of fiend over the other, of course!

[zimmerwald1915]

dot, may come back to this

[Perpdepog]

Just to clarify, you are talking about Infernal Dukes, yeah? Not the Archdevils?

[Bizzare Beasts Boozer]

Yeah- although I think they're not as big a thing as I want them to be.

I really like that all the "outsiders" have their "boss level", something powerful enough to be scary but weak enough to be defeatable. Demagogues, immortals, tormentors- even when they're not given specific stats there is some beautifully terrible lore about what they've done to earn themselves a reputation (to be a bit more fuzzy and blunt with it- I really like that they are basically fiendish heroes)

I think archdevils are the equivalent, but I saw a list of Dukes of Hell and thought "yep- these guys!" I know a few of them have some interesting portfolios, and some of the art I have seen is gorgeous.

Has anyone used any of the Dukes of Hell? Or their cults? Offered their boons to players?

[zimmerwald1915]

There is an infernal duke named after Thomas Malthus *spit*, and I will be forever grateful for that.

[Yakman]

Bizzare Beasts Boozer wrote:

Has anyone used any of the Dukes of Hell? Or their cults? Offered their boons to players?

When we were looking at playing Hell's Vengeance, I made a build for an antipaladin (Insinuator) of Iaozrael

basically a self-righteous crusader who lied constantly to advance himself because getting ahead is all that matters

[Mammoth Daddy]

Lorcan and Luithvein are both infernal dukes operating from the same realm and compete for the souls of infernal vampires.

[Cori Marie]

For the record, that new name is Queens of Night and much more fitting in my mind.

[Perpdepog]

I haven't done anything with any of the dukes, but I do really enjoy the Archdevils and have made a couple characters involving them. My summoner lawyer I was playing in Age of Ashes was going to become, not so much a worshiper but at least a follower of Mephistopheles, and a possible Blood Lords character was going to be a worshiper of Mammon.

I really like the Archdevils. Each one feels more fleshed out than the majority of Demon Lords, I think because there is a finite number of them, so it's easier to dig into their backstories.

[Bizzare Beasts Boozer]

Mammoth Daddy wrote:

Lorcan and Luithvein are both infernal dukes operating from the same realm and compete for the souls of infernal vampires.

Oh this is the good stuff!

[Mammoth Daddy]

Lorcan and *Ruithvein

[CorvusMask]

I like Furcas, I mean just look at him (thanks google, though sadly that link's poster is more focusing on errors than the cool parts :P)

[Bizzare Beasts Boozer]

I couldn't remember the name, but Furcas was the Duke who kept me coming back. And yes- the art was a big reason why. Drawing inspiration from real world sources like the weird and evocative designs in the ars goetia is always going to earn you points from me!

[Perpdepog]

He's also the only Infernal Duke I think we got stats for. Well there's also Lorthact, but boy howdy has that guy fallen on some hard times. I think he's only level 16 now?

[Jonathan Morgantini]

Ive removed a baiting post, and left the quote in for clarification. Please be aware of the language you use.

[GM CrusaderWolf]

Well there's very little lore for most of them, which on the one hand is a bummer but on the other hand gives lots of leeway to slot them in where we like.

for example, I like the idea of Iaozrael the Untarnished Angel being a fallen celestial who keeps a court of fiends that still have the heavenly aesthetic despite being vicious tyrants. I haven't used them in any campaigns but I collect minis and my collection of angels/archons could be Iaozrael's courtiers.

Sabnach is perfect for a story involving industrial war and the horrors it brings; or they could be arms dealers worming their way into influence by providing weapons for use against a different enemy. Maybe his minions engineered the threat in the first place, or maybe they're just opportunists providing a vital service that shields their own malign agenda(s).

Bifrons' one blurb of lore is that he might've had a hand in entombing Mammon and has been leeching some of the latter's power. Tons of potential there for devil vs devil intrigue and playing them off one another, or even figuring out how Bifrons did that in order to battle a different BBEG.

They're also in the same boat as nascent demon lords etc as great Big Bads who aren't so big that your party couldn't potentially kill them as a campaign capstone. If they're not for you that's okay but Devils are some of my favorite antagonists.