Naome (Dungeons & Dragons)

In many campaign settings for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game, Naome "the Golden," was the clever consort of Belial, the arch-devil who formerly ruled the 4th layer of Baator, Phlegethos. She is the mother of Lady Fierna, Belial's daughter who is currently ruling the layer. As of Fiendish Codex II, Naome is deceased.

Creative origins

Naome is derived from a real-life mythological demon who sports the same name.

Publication history

Naome first appears in Ed Greenwood's article "The Nine Hells Part I" in Dragon #75 (1983).^[1]

Naome was briefly mentioned in Faces of Evil: The Fiends (1997).^[2]

Naome was briefly detailed in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (2006).^[3]

Description

Naome has been successively described as a golden skinned she-devil of great beauty and then as a red-skinned, husky female devil with human-flesh-colored hands, face and shoulders, aside from typical baatezu features (cloven hooves, forked tail etc.), brown hair and pale green eyes. These patterns may suggest she's the one responsible for anything regarding dealing with humans and mortals.

History

Naome was a skilled seductress and very effective in terms of communication and diplomacy. She was Lady Fierna's personal advisor and was highly regarded for her ability to settle disputes and her shrewdness when bargaining with mortals. Quite surprisingly, she had a very light, pleasant humor, which is a very rare thing among the Dukes of Baator. While she had no real enemy in the Nine Hells, she disliked Glasya and Lilith but was quite friendly to the quiet Baftis, and she felt sympathy for the grim-fated Cozbinaer.

Although not as powerful as her master, Naome's role at Belial's court was very important. It's been said that, as the Reckoning of Hell ended, she advised her consort into placing their daughter on the throne and using her to rule Phlegethos, in order to avoid demotion from Asmodeus. This maneuver has proven to be quite efficient and Naome constantly acted behind the scenes alongside Belial.

Naome met her death at the hands of Asmodeus himself. As of Dragon #360, it has been explained that Asmodeus eventually found out the truth behind Belial's voluntary withdrawal. Not being able to get rid of Belial anymore, Asmodeus decided to punish Naome for being too cunning for his tastes and destroyed her. This last action earned him a bitter grudge from Belial and Fierna.

While rumors go that Belial and Lady Fierna are having an incestuous relationship, it seemed that Naome was unconcerned. Another disturbing rumor was that she was actually of undetermined gender, which would explain her quite mannish build.

References

1. ^ Greenwood, Ed. "The Nine Hells Part I." Dragon #75 (TSR, 1983)
2. ^ McComb, Colin. Faces of Evil: The Fiends. (TSR, 1997)
3. ^ Laws, Robin D, and Robert J. Schwalb. Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Wizards of the Coast, 2006)