Bel (Dungeons & Dragons)

context

D&D Deity|fgcolor=#fff


caption=
bgcolor=#000
fgcolor=#fff
name= Bel
title= Lord of the First
home=Nine Hells
power=Archdevil
alignment=Lawful Evil
portfolio=
domains= Warfare
alias= The Pretender
super=Asmodeus
In the "Dungeons & Dragons" roleplaying game, Bel the pit fiend, is the Arch-Devil currently in charge of Avernus, the First Layer of the Nine Hells of Baator. He is nicknamed "The Pretender" by others of his kin.

Decription

Bel sports the typical features of any pit fiend. He is a huge, square bodied creature with red, scaly skin and a gaping maw instead of a mouth. He also wears a belt made out of decapitated, still-living angel heads.

History

Bel took rulership of Avernus upon the Reckoning of Hell, after he betrayed his mistress, Zariel, the former Duchess of Avernus about whom virtually nothing is known. Bel is a cruel, violent and very blunt warlord whose main concern is the Blood War, an unending conflict between the chaotic evil Tanar'ris from the Abyss and the lawful evil Baatezus of Baator. As Avernus is actually the battlefield upon which the daily fighting occurs, Bel is in charge of keeping the demons at bay and keeping safe the harvesting of the evil souls that come to the Nine Hells. This makes him the Arch-Devil who most often deals directly with mortals and non-Baatezus. Although Bel delights in corrupting souls as much as others of his kind do, he is very realistic and he knows he can at best contain the invaders but not utterly destroy them, as they fairly outnumber his own armies. Thus, any mortal that offers him to lend a hand in the Blood War is welcome every now and then, and might be rewarded with the right to go further in the Nine Hells or simply to have his/her life spared. Bel is also the Lord who most often deals with the Outcast Dukes of Baator, a group of demoted devils that lurk in Avernus and are continually scheming to regain their lost status.

Bel actually gets his power from removing and consuming pieces of flesh from Zariel herself who is currently imprisoned and continually tortured in the basement of the Bronze Citadel where the Lord of the First has his headquarters. This fact got him nicknamed "The Pretender" by the other Arch-Lords who greatly despise him. However, Bel is very appreciated by the Overlord of Baator, Asmodeus, and the Dark Eight, the pit fiend generals of the eight legions of devils, for his skills in battle and his efficiency in the Blood War as well as his spying on the other arch-lords.

4th edition

The 4th edition "Monster Manual" mentions that Bel is still the lord of Avernus.

As a miniature

The Blood War set featured a Pit Fiend as the most powerful creature in the Lawful Evil faction, if not the most powerful creature of the set. It came with an Epic stat card of 310 points. The card came with a very high armor class stat, along with spell resistance, a general DR, high attack power and a very powerful "meteor swarm" 9th level spell.

Vassals

Bel does not have vassals like the other arch-Lords but the unique pit-fiend Dukes known as the Dark Eight somewhat fill that role as they report to him as well as Asmodeus. By name:

*Baalzephon
*Corin
*Dagos
*Furcas
*Pearza
*Zapan
*Zaebos
*Zimmimar

Creative Origins

Bel's name, like many other arch fiends of Baator, is inspired namewise by a real life mythological figure, the Semitic god Bel.

References

*Cook, Monte. "Book of Vile Darkness". Wizards of the Coast, 2002. ISBN 0-7869-2650-3
*Laws, Robin D., and Robert J. Schwalb. "". Wizards of the Coast, 2006.
*Pramas, Chris. "Guide to Hell" (TSR, 1999).