Asmodeus

Asmodeus was a Covenant leader, battling the primordials of the Creation War, and then the demons in the Demon Spawn War ( 8972 GE - 9493 GE). He was a cunning tactician, feared for his skill in outwitting and outmaneuvering his opponents.

In 9069 GE, the Covenant leader Ares ascended, becoming a Higher Power. His second-in-command was Asmoedus. Highly charismatic, skilled in battle, though of questionable temperament, he was chosen to take over as the Covenant's Supreme Commander. As CSC, Asmodeus divided worlds into what became as the Modeus Grid. Sectors of this were assigned to generals or given up to the demons. It was part of a plan that had been ten years in the making. It was different approach to war than that of his predecessor. Ares's grand strategy of holding everything was replaced with Asmodeus plan of sacrificing entire sectors and their soldiers for ultimate victory.

In the Demon Spawn War, Asmodeus was aided by a number of great leaders. Bahamut fought alongside him in the Hoof Front. Lukoon served as Asmodeus's chief of intelligence; and is thought to have had some doing in Asmodeus's decaying morality.

In the war with the demons, Asmodeus's acts of brutality and cold rationalization corrupted him and many of those close and most loyal to him. At the Trial of Asmodeus, they were found guilty of creating secret armies and the illegal use of a Well of Afterlife.

The Covenant formed a delegation, which set off immediately for Dis. To their surprise, the once-featureless plain of Tyr-Mourn had been transformed into training camps for hellish beings with no problem fighting the demons on their terms.
They found the Well of Afterlife, illegally used, and of ill-purpose. They saw souls emerging in their new forms, diabolic things built for fighting the demons.
"What goes on here?", Heironeous demanded.
"Higher authority has granted us the power to harvest souls", replied Asmodeus. "To protect the Forge Worlds, and take the fight to the enemy, we naturally had to find ways to do this."
Heironeous, under the authority of the Quara'tun Judges, bellowed - “It is your job to punish transgressions, not to encourage them!"

On 3 Lunar 9414 GE, Asmodeus and his lieutenants were found guilty of secretly capturing souls with a Well of Afterlife, building secret armies, and dozens of other violations of the Covenant's code of conduct. They were banished from the Mortal Systems, joining the ranks of the Fallen Angels.

Asmodeus and Dispater created the devils. They were specially made to handle hostile environments, and most importantly, not above using dirty tactics against their enemies. In what became better known as the Nine Hells, Asmodeus continued his role as supreme commander. He went to Nessus, becoming Lord of the Ninth, master of the system's nine core worlds.

When Asmodeus was banished from the Mortal Systems, one of the units that went with him was the 82^nd Last Hope. Looking to build a base of influence on the world he just left, they were eventually sent back. Once tritons, they were transformed from their time in the Hells. Sinister versions of their namesakes, they were the first of the Sahuagin race.

Before The Balance came to power, external powers like gods, primordials, archdevils, and demon lords had an easier time at messing with mortal affairs. Asmodeus was one of these. In the Year 12 HE, he lured the Piamauza tribe to his domain. From this tribe, Bal-Kriav's Piamauza race came into existence. When they were sent home, they became a force to spread his gospel.

The Piamauza of the Mir'piamauza Empire (526 HE - 1612 HE) are one group responsible for the rise of Church of Asmodeus, the making of Asmodeus as a Cult Power (9 War March 721 HE).

Another group was the Mîmêk and Derro of Maleddanar. The strongest area of the Church of Asmodeus, then and today, is with the Taklumlode Monarchy.

In 1503, Asmodeus presided over the marriage of Rax and Katrana. It is believed that this was the first time that Asmodeus served in this capacity.

Across the surface lands, the fall of the Mir'piamauza Empire led to a decline in the Church of Asmodeus. Its revival came long after. This was started in the Year 1695 by his greatest champion, a hero named Rax. After Rax killed Coeus, deity of many minotaurs, religious conversion began in the Ba'lith Empire; a crusade greatly aided by the Asmodean priests of Taklumlode.

The Dark Eight are the top generals of Asmodeus. They helped Asmodeus win victory in a masterful scheme called the Reckoning. In the Reckoning, Asmodeus pitted archdevil against archdevil and had nearly all of the Hells embroiled in war. The outcome of this system spanning war was a reshuffling of the Hells, with new archdevils taking over the claims of dispatched foes. In this end, Asmodeus had the armies of their archdevils turn on them which resulted in the deaths of all the reigning archdevils except Asmodeus. His power over the Hells was displayed to all when he re-instated the slain archdevils. His old friend, and closest ally Geryon lost Stygia to Levistus. It is thought that Geryon lost Stygia because he was militarily defeated by Levistus and that by Hells military tradition, to the victor goes the spoils. Moloch lost Malbolge, to an unusual pick by Asmodeus, a non-devil named The Hag Countess. Moloch, found to have conspired with the demons by practically letting them take hold of Avernus could not be forgiven. Asmodeus imprisoned him in a place where Moloch suffers a near death experience every day.

One practice of the Church of Asmodeus is the cleansing wounds with fire. Church guidelines for healing an infection are first apply a hot iron to the wounds, then follow with the healing spell. They call this brand the Touch of Asmodeus. Even though it has nothing to do with the healing process, some see it as being closer to their god, and perhaps even garnering a bit of divine favor. In some areas, like Ba’lith, people carry such scars with pride.

The Church of Asmodeus follows a centralized command structure, akin to an army. The strongest of these religious fortresses is the Church of the Ninth Pillar, at the very heart of the city Galir-Khizad.

Church Hierarchy of Asmodeus
Name	Location	Notes
Barracks Church, 1-9		small churches, cult-level
Church of the Pillars, 1-6		top strongholds
Church of the Seventh Pillar	Merorarg
Church of the Eighth Pillar	Paradomea City
Church of the Ninth Pillar	Galir-Khizad	top Church of Asmodeus on Bal-Kriav

Sources of Divine Power
Core Worship	Proselytizers
Ba'lith	Lix Tetrax
Hadal One	House Vrankalli
Inge'rya
Paradomea
Taklumlode

Known Powers
Trait	Description
Boss's Orders	compelled to carry-out Asmodeus's orders as if under a quest spell
Divine Toughness	+4,000 hit points as Lesser Power
Modulating Energy	+20 modulating energy damage for all attacks

Sahuagin of Asmodeus

Notable Works

Notable Items

Opaline Rod of Command

Asmodeus

Related Information

Notable Works

Notable Items