Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Mephistopheles

[@joshuazane3210]

Anyone else get the impression that Asmodeus keeps Mephistopheles around just because he really enjoys messing with him, letting him build up his hopes and ambitions only to crush them? 😈

[@thedarkmaster4747]

oh yessszz 😈 for the evilz!

[@bowserbrowser6559]

Also his existence ironically acts as a bodyguard to Asmodeus

[@kevindaniel1337]

​@Bowser Browser yup, I see it that way to: "I'm going to attack and kill Asmodeus." "The hell you are, only I get to do that."

[@JayTheRed602]

I think it's kinda like a guy keeping a mean dog around. As long as it's on a chain it's no danger to the owner but it is a useful tool to keep the riff raff out of his yard. Mephistopheles is undoubtedly the second most dangerous devil in the Hells and is one of the most knowledgeable arcanists in existence, so it's easy to understand why he's valuable to the Hells. I do question why Asmodeus has never punished him in general like he did with Baalzebul

[@GrandCondemned]

Asmodeus admires and respects Mephistopheles, that's why he keeps him around. How could he not appreciate something so evil? Asmodeus has no reason to feel threatened by him. In Asmodeus' view, when he eventually breaks Mephistopheles, all the hells will fall in line after him, because no other being in hell rivals his ambition or power.

[@commissarchaplainradke92]

*cups his hands around his mouth and yells* "YOU'RE STILL ONLY SECOND BEEEEEST"

[@AJPickett]

*hellfire intensifies*

[@thedarkmaster4747]

this thread is hilarious!!! XD

[@MasterVolton]

13:49 "Mordenkainen's tome of Hoes" 🤣🤣😂

[@fromachat]

^Came to the comment section to say this

[@Im-Not-a-Dog]

Meth-istopheles, Fiendish Prince Of Florida.

[@mikeoxlong1395]

And his nefarious cultist Florida Man.

[@tonyh1718]

@@mikeoxlong1395 florida man strikes me as a demon cultist with his antics

[@masoncray9815]

Floridian here, praise the sun

[@dakotastein9499]

wielder of the tome of hoes

[@StephenLawson]

Meth is EVERYWHERE lol

[@Tb0n3]

13:49 "Mordenkainen's Tome of Hoes" Love it.

[@destonlee2838]

Cited in my new module Tomb of Whores" wherein a coven of hags and succubi pull all the strings in the lower planes. Many sordid knots.

[@ryanstewart2289]

"Frostbite within hours" Me, a Minnesotan: "Oh. So not THAT cold then."

[@peterlane7128]

Me, a Minnesotan trapped in phx, AZ: "Sounds nice. Just like home."

[@OneWorldHistory]

Me: A North Dakotan, “Frostbite within hours? So no wind. Sweet! …frisbee anyone?”

[@ryanstewart2289]

@@OneWorldHistory It's a good frolf day, and I've been working on my forehand.

[@bigmonkey1254]

I recently read Goethe's Faust so I'm very much enjoying this. Also, gotta love that he's basically the Nine Hells' WMD R&D department.

[@That80sGuy1972]

In one of my high-level campaigns, the Spawn movie was new. One of my players combed the land for an artifact that would give him the abilities of Spawn, he had a list of AD&D equivalents. I used Mephistopheles on him. He had to willingly burn to death while wearing the cloak for it to activate. He came back to life, looking a lot like an AD&D middle ages hellspawn, a modified Chain Devil. He got the powers. Hated that the cloak and chains were now part of him, he got vulnerable to divine light powers, and his maximum HP's dropped by one every day. Smart player, he figured out how to bring his max HP's back up. "Dang, man. You take the deal with the devil's strings seriously." "Well, you did ask for it and Mephistopheles told you exactly who he was and that you WILL BE hellbound, right?" Oh, and he had to go on a quest to remove divine disfavor and prove he was not truly a devil and of good intention. He got the party to have some horrible brushes with upper planer beings, their allies, paladins, and priests. Being Felix Faust in my campaigns is something I strongly recommend against with all of my players.

[@viperck2428]

'Mordenkainens Tome of Ho's', now THAT is a supplement I want!

[@LionaelSama]

Oh, I'd like to know more about the undead angels, I have been working on an entropic subtype for outsiders for my own setting.

[@Mare_Man]

13:50 Ah yes, Mordenkainen's Tome of Hoes, the lesser known companion book to the Tome of Foes.

[@Mortablunt]

Who can forget the game-changing spell: Begoneness-Of-Thot. Roll 4D6 vs level of the Thot. If your roll is +2 or greater higher than than level of the Thot, the Thot is banished. Cost: 80GP to cast. Range: Anywhere in vision.

[@ryderma1]

What was on AJ's mind lol

[@jeffcook360]

My players will go into a library looking for an important book, and find the tome of hoes while looking. They accidentally start in the romance section...

[@sypandacat7236]

A cool idea for hell fire Ever held an ice cube or had a leg etc fall asleep on you Imagine that feeling times 1000 a feeling of frostbite but one that has no problem cooking your skin off of you agonizing go hold an icecube for 10 mins now imagine it able to melt through your hand That's my idea of hellfire maybe a deep purple flame or blue or green or a abnormal scarlet something that gives off the vibe it's not normal As beautiful as a devil but as cruel cold and horrible too

[@iGuttsi]

13:49 "Mordenkainen's Tome of Hoes" lol

[@joshuazane3210]

Haha. I didn't notice it at the time, but he totally said that. Awesome 😄

[@AJPickett]

I can't help with agree with you there, that is exactly what it sounds like.

[@fuzzyzombielove]

I for one, can never get enough of people mistaking Mephistopheles for Asmodeus. And that Asmodeus just lolz and takes credit for Mephisto's work is just gold. He'll even let put Mephisto in charge of his shrines sometimes because it's not like anyone can tell the difference, right? I swear it's the best long-running joke in all the Nine Hells. Archdevils embroiled in sitcom-workplace-shenanigans is what I live for. 10/10

[@AppalachianAcademics]

I'm almost tempted to run a D&D campaign that makes the 9 hells a version of dunder mifflin, but instead of it being a paper company, it's a torture company. Asmodeus would probably be Jim and mephistopheles would be Dwight.

[@theshatteredsaga3965]

Remember, Megatron kept Starscream around, ostensibly because Starscream was good at what he did. I think it's the same thing here.

[@RobCrowley85]

While the other 8 Archdevils want to depose Asmodeus and take his place, Mephistopheles is the onl one who had the guts to actually say it to Asmodeus' face. Given what we know of Asmodeus, especially his sheer power, can you imagine the balls it would take to do that? Mephistopheles is hardcore on a lever no other Archduke ever was.

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

Well I can't disagree with you on the mount of sheer stones Mephistopheles has. I have to wonder if Asmodeus didn't want him to do so. All things considered about Asmodeus, I feel like he is just waiting for him to come up to him. Thinking he's won, then boom right in the face turned into a soul larva.

[@tonyh1718]

@@TraciPeteyforlife probably true Id think asmodeus would punish him for his temerity though

[@krispalermo8133]

@TraciPeteyforlife , or Asmodeus just fake his own death and let Mephistopheles deal with the other Lords of Eight. I don't know what their current stats are , but I do have the AD&D2e Guild to Hell setting book with their stats in it. Even if you use 3.5e rule book to multi-class power game them, they are beasts to defeat in combat. You might as well run a mini campaign game playing "titans", or pit fiends.

[@tonyh1718]

@@krispalermo8133 since 3.5 someone at wizards developed a huge crush on asmodeus He destroys the abyss Hes a full fledged god His true form is hundreds of miles long with scales a mile thick Im thinking damb, if he can destroy an entire plane then why doesnt he just conquer the upper planes and rule the multiverse?

[@krispalermo8133]

@tony H , hello.. 1.) uhm..only read a bit of the wiki on the matter and none of the novels related to this subject. Asmodeus only broke up the Great Wheel and moved the Abyss to the far reaches of the Outer Reams. 2.) Asmodeus may be an Elder God, but the realms of Good and Neutral still out number his two realms of evil. Baator spent most of their time fighting the Blood War. Demons felt more incline to attack devil cause they hate Law & Control. So the Higher Planes spent that time creating weapons to kill devils. a.) As I stated in earlier comments, I only have the rule books for AD&D2e and 3.0e. In 3e with the right feats a wizard can cast a 90pt Fire Ball spell. Killing the Run of the Mill devils may be easy. b.) In 3.5e "Manual of the Planes" has the stats for the dragon goddess "Tiamat" HD 49d12(906hp)CR:25 "I know kind of low." ii.) Astral Dreadnought HD 54d8(1,400hp) CR:17x4 XP iii.) CRB3:Greater Titan HD: 60d8(600hp) CR:21x3XP " I had played with groups that hunt these creatures." It takes a special group of players that can work the system to kill a god. " cough,cough,cough, Asmodeus is also the Midgard Serpent ." Back in AD&D2e they had this book,"Tome of Magic" High level priest spell," Avatar." A group of clerics combine their HP and spells into a single being Avatar of their chosen god. Our game shop ran a few encounters where one player used a Greater Titan " Thor," and we roll dice to see how long it took to kill "Tiamat" Ran a few games of "Thor and the Warriors Three," as Titans. Then as Epic level multi-class characters. AS 40th to 50th-level PCs. Asmodeus can not easy take over the Higher Planes.

[@josephmatthews7698]

MWAHAHA MORTAL! WELCOME TO HELL! We're gonna whip you and bury you in bureaucracy! Mortal: uh, but I'm lawful evil. Devil:!?!? Mortal:... D: So? Mortal: *closes his eyes and rubs his nips while quivering out a whisper* whip me again and tell me more about your big bad bureaucracy... Devil: EVERY... GOD DAMN TIME. *Tries to quit but has to complete 666 exit interviews and a 9000 year long grace/notice period* And that is why 'pure souls' are so delectably obsessed over in hell.

[@AJPickett]

Accurate.

[@Gamerzombiex]

I actually like this archdevil, he seems very interesting.

[@TheClockworkBadger]

*playing Neverwinter Nights and answering the 5 fold mysteries while listening to lore* 23:11 "hay... that sounds familiar..."

[@jaymevosburgh3660]

Always loved using gelugon in my game. I tend to make them look unique from one another, taking various insect looks instead ov the same, mantis-look they have going on. I give the advanced forms a pair ov wings that can cause a droning sound and can kick up small devil funnels(tiny tornados ov dust & grit) that hamper vision and may allow for a Minor Image spell effect for a round or few. Always a good way to throw off the veteran players that can't help from meta-gaming due to playing for so long. Fun times ;)

[@mikegould6590]

Fascinating, not just for the lore on Mephisto, but on all his generals, Dukes, Consort and the like. Great stuff!

[@sirwilliam4128]

WARNING! SPOILER WARNING: so, what I am about to recount may be remembered incorrectly and/or a spoiler to would be readers of Faerun’s past. My first encounter with Mephistopheles in D&D and the Forgotten Realms is in the Erevis Cale Novels. Erevis Cale is/was the chosen of the deceased god, Mask. Mask is/was the god of thieves and shadows. And apparently, Mask is/was also the offspring of Shar, goddess of darkness. There was in this scene in the novels where Mask tasks Erebus to find a chalice that hold his divine essence and will bestow the mantle of Shadows upon the one who drinks it giving them Mask’s divine power. At the end of the novel three different individuals drink from this chalice: Mephistopheles, one of the Princes of Shade Enclave (a Shade), and a compatriot of Erevis Cale who was also a devotee of Mask. Mask had stored this divine essence away upon a dying world where it was revealed that Mask is the son of Shar. In this same series of novels, Mask is summoned to darkness of Shar’s realm where she embraces her son only to kill him by slowly snuffing out his existence. Mask makes an attempt to say something to his dark mother, but she says, “Shsh!” ...just before extinguishing his divine spark. The other interesting thing about Mask in this novels is that whenever Erevis and Mask communed, Erevis would go to a back alley in a city or town and wait for the avatar of Mask to reveal himself. I digress, so at the end of one of the novels when Mephistopheles drinks from this chalice he gains some of Masks’s divine power and in so doing becomes a minor divine power. I wonder if this remains canon in 5th Edition...?

[@bchighlander]

Mephistopheles as the Lord of the Eight also embodies the ultimate futility of over arching ambition. He will never be satisfied with the power he has; the moment he toppled Asmodeus he would be crave even more power, unsatiated with what he has gained.

[@thedarkmaster4747]

YASS!!!

[@Iceblade269]

That’s every devil though. Gaining power is like a sweet ambrosia to them

[@strongsmith1897]

The hellfire you described reminds me of a character I play, a Tiefling red draconic sorcerer / Undying light warlock. He has the Elemental Adept (fire) feat and Flames of Phlegethos feat. So his flames cut through fire resistance, coat him in a protective barrier, and are far more powerful then normal fire

[@AJPickett]

Yep, that is Hellfire.

[@strongsmith1897]

Cool! I was just trying to make the best pyromancer I could, turned out I made a hellfire user! I've gotta tell my dm about that now! I'm sure he'll be able to do something with that!

[@SolidDragonUK]

I love this channel man

[@AJPickett]

Thanks Stephen!

[@nomadjensen8276]

I know right? I'm constantly clicking one video an then just let autoplay do the rest.

[@capealio]

Ditto

[@Direblade11]

This is in response to his layer of hell's climate: Causing frostbite within hours you say? -30 C causes frostbite in minutes to unexposed skin. -30 could cause frostbite in hours if you dress properly. -50 (about as cold as it gets where I am) cuts through thermal clothing and could probably cause frostbite in an hour. The frostbite would be under ten minutes to exposed skin probably. TL;DR Frostbite within hours isn't THAT hellish

[@krispalermo8133]

Hmm, slow suffering with a false slime chance of Hope you can get out of this place alive. Or, uh F^*K ! I just got burnt alive.

[@fructosecornsyrup5759]

@@krispalermo8133 *s l i m e c h a n c e*

[@krispalermo8133]

@@fructosecornsyrup5759 yeah I did misspell that, but from D&D2e I hate anything to do with slime, molds, and puddings ....

[@fructosecornsyrup5759]

@@krispalermo8133 I dunno man, puddings are pretty tasty.

[@joshythehand2960]

Back in the day he was called the lord of pain.. but remember.. in d&d , only asmodaus counts. He simply ALLOWS some others to have their own planes. He can instantly replace them at will.

[@jerroldsmith2489]

Hey AJ, I was wondering if you would do a video on Bel. The former lord of the first layer. I really like the relationship between him and Zariel and I feel that needs to be covered more as I think it really covers what life is like in the 9 hells

[@iGuttsi]

Jerrold Smith I think he only thanks requests on his patron page, or if you're lucky enough to catch his live stream and ask, but he's such a great guy who knows maybe he will see this and write it in the list

[@AJPickett]

Bel is on the list.

[@jeremiah1059]

The 8th plane of Hell will cause frostbite within hours? There are many places on our Earthly little plane that will cause frostbite within minutes.

[@ItachiUchiha-69]

D&D characters are probably stronger than us, even at level 1.

[@gustaafargoan]

I imagine he is talking about characters that dress warm and think they are prepared. I worked for 8 eight hours in a range between -30 to -50 degrees fahrenheit and didn't get frostbite. It was -51 when I left for work. I believe the high temperature was -33.

[@gorgit]

​@@gustaafargoanoh wow. May I ask what you were working as?

[@gustaafargoan]

@@gorgit tree trimmer.

[@gorgit]

@@gustaafargoan thanks!

[@warface4881]

Mephistopeles has always been one of my favorites. He is just cool.

[@elricengquist9989]

I always loved to use this devil when I do alot of campaigns that deal with non-necromancers, or even semi-necromatic magic users that might not get the attention of Orcus. Like when I took the idea of the movie "13 ghosts" in which he contracts with a mage that had began to work on exploring the secrets of the soul, and then thru his advice if they do not turn back from his offer of explaining the secrets of the soul, but only if the mage can build a machine that fueled by the dark unique souls of several beings both mortal an undead of the world. When the mage if they succeeded in building this device it would be revealed it is used to open a stable permanent portal to his own plane giving his direct access to these worlds.

[@pandoraeeris7860]

The biggest dealer in mephamphetamines.

[@alexpaul4144]

Loved this archdevil since I read about him in the Everest Cal books

[@jacopoarmini7889]

I had one character, an exorcist cleric whose soul was crafted by both angels and Mephistopheles with the purpose of infecting chaotic entities with a "soul virus" that would have turned them to the side of law. For some reason this character was very respectful of devils, especially Mephistopheles, who knows why...

[@bstoybox]

You said something about dis pater in this video.. very interesting because recently ive been reading more about dantes inferno, and somehow i got on the tangent of cthonic deities, and dis pater was the original lord of the underworld and death. Back then Hades, and Pluto were more associated with cthonic wealth, as well as just the underground as a physical thing, while Dis Pater was a place and a being dealing with the underworld. Very great work AJ, keep it up.

[@trajanfidelis1532]

“Who needs enemies when you have bosses like him?” *points at a smiling Mephistopheles*-some ice devil.

[@AmigoRoberto]

This is my favorite video and favorite archdevil. Thanks Professor

[@zenith110]

Ah man that story recap of Hoard of the Underdark was so nostalgic! I played that game many times! Ah, I miss Nathyra xD

[@fructosecornsyrup5759]

Valen was pretty 👌 too.

[@kalzonenu]

Awesome campaign!

[@jongreene5000]

If they ever remake the animated Dungeons and Dragons series.... you do the voice of Dungeon Master.....

[@AJPickett]

I'm in.

[@ChrisSeastrand]

One of my players in my campaign is a warlock with this guy as his patron.

[@amishverma8415]

I hear Kenya when you say Carnia and it gets me everytime.

[@cussundriakneal9904]

All i can imagine when you were explaining what Mephistopheles looks like was Illidan, but blue. XD

[@Geraduss]

I just remember him from the Neverwinter Nights game, second expansion Hordes of the Underdark, as the finall boss whos true name you could aquire and beat that way. Damn that expansion was the best NWN content ever.

[@Zombied77]

I loved that game. My poor computer couldn't handle the sequel.

[@yaldabaoth2]

@@Zombied77 It surely can now. NWN2 is worth it. Especially Mask of the Betrayer. On par with Hordes of the Underdark.

[@napoleoninrags1346]

One of your best...Great!! I wish we had more pics of the subjects...Still, great job

[@AKNeal81]

With the rise of Bg3, it might be a good idea to revisit The Hells and in particular have a specific video on just the lore behind Hellfire! Plus, you can do the Hellfire Wyrm again, and EVERYONE loves dragon videos! 🐉 😈 🔥

[@AJPickett]

The BG3 surge has come and gone.

[@andyh2783]

Call me little sunshine,call me Mephisropheles- Ghost

[@trajanfidelis1532]

one of my favorite songs

[@ironreed2654]

Dont forget the period where he had a Jerry Curl!

[@cazador7131]

In my game there's a red dragon who desperately wants to learn how to breathe hellfire and kidnaps wizards and those who deal with devils wanting answers, he doesn't hurt the wizards but he is running out of space to hold them. And wont let them go until he learns how to breathe hellfire. Granted because hes so focused on this he doesn't really hurt anyone in the nearby towns but if your smart or concerned with devils, I hope you don't have anything else to do for a while.

[@DIEGhostfish]

When I was a little wanabee munchkin playing 3.5 I would often just roll a Mephistopheles cultist to get free Hellfire casts since the cult's supposed to get a few casts for free, caster class or not. (For a wanabee munchkin I was really bad at bookkeeping for a whole caster class so, getting to just launch fireballs that couldn't be resisted by fire resistance/immunity (I don't remember if general Spell Resistance could block them) was fun. At least in the Fiendish Codex 2 there wasn't really a strict cost on using Hellfire.

[@jayxhuit6000]

Like, i know that you heal the CON damage from Hellfire Blast but its stll costly at 1 CON per blasts. Can be cumbersome.

[@delenaa9312]

Talk about the paladin devils That ride nightmares

[@johnnynesbit8289]

Mephistopheles is a main villain of the pc game neverwinter night 1 module shadows of undrentide

[@rhemorigher]

Hordes of the Underdark. Shadows of Undrentide was someone else.

[@luciferblue6503]

Johnny Nesbit they did an awful job of depicting him in NWN.

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

Is there any way to break a deal with a devil? Say if you managed to somehow depose them or throw them into the abyss for Demogorgon to chew on?

[@AJPickett]

I'd suggest finding and making a deal with a celestial and hope, in the legal wrangle that ensues, you can simply die of old age and hang out in the fugue plane in the court of Kelemvor, playing checkers with some archons.

[@CernobilRS]

Maybe find out his true name like in Hordes of the Underdark, then tell him to try to put his trident up his own ass, see if it fits :D

[@edmaldonado8207]

If memory serves, only something like divine intervention could break a deal. You could also gain the favor of Glasya, Asmodeus's daughter. Her specialty is finding loopholes in deals. Course shes an archdevil too so you'd likely be bound to her in the process.

[@sagesheahan6732]

@@AJPickett .....that gave me an idea for a character. Haha.

[@krispalermo8133]

@Ed Maldonado , when Glasya come out in AD&D2e everyone at my game shop "Planescape" campaign was chasing after her. One group turn her into stone and hid her in the Seven Heavens.

[@DuskyPredator]

His experimentation almost sounds like he could be liable to bring on the same disaster he preys on wizards. Like accidentally create a hole to the abyss, or some other chaotic force. Not knowing much on him, I was thinking along the lines of the incubators of Madoka Magica, inspired by the Faust roots.

[@brettperry6655]

Dicefreaks Devils pwn all others! Just take a look of the power of those monstrosities!

[@austinosma]

Yassss. Kicked this archedevil's ass singlehandedly in Shadows of the Underdark - wasn't a pushover, but wasn't a cakewalk either.

[@00784865]

Faust actually encounters him in the guise of a dog,brings him home and then he turns into Mephisto and tells him who he is.According to Goethe.

[@AJPickett]

Interesting, Goethe certainly added his own spin to the tale for sure.

[@Insane-Howl-Cowl]

This is one of the videos I have been waiting for since I first signed up for the channel! Well done sir!

[@kikankuro]

I know the events your talking about with waterdeep! It's the main plot of the Neverwinter Nights campaign Hordes of the Underdark!

[@AJPickett]

The general rule of Lore is that things that happen in officially sanctioned electronic game storylines are to be considered lore unless it is specifically detailed differently in a D&D print product. So, yeah, it happened (so far).

[@jaywoodworth9048]

Perfect! Just what I've been looking for!

[@dogle9258]

So, I now many people have asked, as well as you have hinted in your live streams about games with viewers. I think a RP lite one shot would be great. Have all players being monster hunters for the Sage AJ, that has them go out and encounter creatures for him to study. Have 1-2 hours games where they go out and gather intel or bring back rare creatures would be a great time. Maybe XP based off of missions (ie: 1 monster to get to level 2, 2 monsters to get to level 3, etc)

[@firetarrasque4667]

Love it. I want it to happen, even though I'm across the planet. Question is, how would rolling or such work? You could link to character sheet, but KZbin has no dice rolling command.

[@Battleguild]

Corpse Flower next. I'm thinking of making a variant that acts as an older Yellow Musk Creeper and spawns YM Zombies instead.

[@giangano9161]

Mordenkainen's tome of HOES!!! Damn bro, that's a book i want to read...

[@Daimon-X]

Classic diabolical evil ruler of hell, drokking "handsome devil"

[@aliceofspades]

Another great video, AJ! I'd love it if you'd cover Dispater and the layer/city of Dis (if you haven't already, I might have missed it).

[@__Insanity_]

I wonder if Mephistopheles' Hellfire could melt Levistus' Icy tomb...

[@jaymevosburgh3660]

@Fuzzy Bunny Or would Levistus' be able to cool Mephistopheles' hot heart with a mere hug... Now you have me thinking ov the real infernal questions. Maybe this will be the way the pc's defeat him in my game.

[@DragonRage61]

My Avatar for Baldurs Gate 3 is a Mephistopheles Tiefling! She loves magic! 🧙‍♀️

[@atilax6452]

THIS is a very interesting, multidimensional character. So many possibilities.

[@stockvillain]

Mephistopheles is, by far, my favorite lord of Hell.

[@matthewcecil8552]

We need a video on asmodius! Ignore me if you've made one, im gonna search for it.

[@matthewcecil8552]

Found it! Some more playlists might be helpful. Nine hell's playlist, monsters by type playlists, etc. Also, a whole video dedicated to the most important things you've learned in combat would be cool. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnmUqaqpjLdsh9k&ab_channel=AJPickett

[@MisterTutor2010]

The Lord of NO MERCY? So he's the God of Cobra Kai :)

[@jacopoarmini7889]

"Stay, thou art so beautyful..."

[@zaera1653]

Don't forget about the great and powerful Mephiskapheles!

[@RobertCharlesW]

What are the Divine laws in the Dungeons & Dragons universe?

[@ToBeSchooled]

Asmodeus one of the two creators of literally everything. He is the lawful evil. The other is lawful good. His true form is a gaint snake and he heals himself by eating the souls of non believers while coiled around the bottom of the nine hells.

[@ToBeSchooled]

Also the avatar Asmodeus is super powerful. None of the Lord's of hell can even get close to him powerwise. They all are given power by Asmodeus, and he can smash them all.

[@josephmatthews7698]

In old DND lore Asmodeus kicked Lucifer/Satan out of hell and took over. Satan became like this dude who rides a chariot of fire through the multiverse causing trouble. the lord's of hell always feared his return. Obviously they wanted to get rid of the direct christian influence since it's not nice fictionalizing someones faith (LOOKING AT YOU DANTE!) So divine laws are dependant on the divine being you're a follower of.

[@chriswalker5061]

Interesting thought: Lucifer and Satan were not used as names.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

Satan isn't a name but a title that means something like adversary. He was the divine prosecutor of souls. However it is foretold he would eventually damn himself in his pride for, while it was his job to tempt us in life and give every reason we are unworthy in death, he would go too far and actually knowingly cross the will of his boss. This is why he is thrown into hell in revelations. This is the turning point. Until then he actually is part of god's court.

[@davidjarkeld2333]

They were just too obvious

[@zacharygadzinski3147]

Lucifer and Satan are the same being. In Dungeons and Dragons lore it seems like Asmodeus fills that role and is probably referred to as Satan or Lucifer by people on the prime material plane who oppose him. Yet he probably tricked the good aligned gods twice before he was cast down. The first time being when deciding where each of the races should live and making the good aligned gods sign a contract to send people to hell. Yet of course the only way he could of pulled that off was by a Garden of Eden scenario where the god that created humanity had to cast out humans out of a garden paradise due to sin and later the creator of humans meeting with Ao to plan salvation where the forgotten crator of humanity would die and later climb back up to his rightful place as a god.

[@krispalermo8133]

D&D " 1st" had a book Demi gods & Dieties that cover all of the classic mythology gods and heroes , with their demons they fought against. Giving them all combat stats. The religious groups got butt hurt over the middle east gods/demons. And they got sue over putting Lovecraft Elder gods in the book.

[@grevesman]

hay AJ I've been looking in to some more rare dragons and would really appreciate if you could cover the Chole dragons of the abyss i know this is more daemons than devils, but i have no idea when you will do a more abyssal topic so just a suggestion/request for when you do

[@AJPickett]

Pretty soon actually. And yes, I can totally do the Chole dragons and at the same time, have a chat about the River Styxx.

[@grevesman]

oh snap AJ, thank you. i have been watching a lot of your content recently and even put in an orange dragon into one of my campaigns after watching your video on it. it would be epic to be able to do that with the chole dragon as well, demon dragons are soo cool but most of all: YOU ARE AWESOME

[@francoisturcotte3982]

It would be nice to know what IS Mephistopheles origin? In Tyrants from the Nine Hell in 3.5 it is implied he was a fallen angel who, along with Dispaster, followed Asmodeus when he was cast out of the Higher planes. Can anyone confirm this theory?

[@AJPickett]

Any legend that includes Asmodeus is most likely false.

[@fereshkan]

Ah Mags as the first image, damn good book series that needs a reread.

[@donaldfort8131]

I have been waiting for you... mephistopholes

[@Parasmunt]

Neverwinter nights expansion on pc, he was the end boss.

[@firetarrasque4667]

MEPHY! Friend. Back in AD&D, you were cool. Almost smart, honestly. You are *really* good at what you do. But then Asmodeus ascended to godhood. So yeah, maybe stop the rebelling thing now? Or at least play buddy buddy with Dispater. Before you came along in the MM II, he was Asmodeus's second.

[@loganmc163]

Where did you get this information on Helfire, the monk Andros, and the Book of Brimstone? I’ve not been able to find anything specific about using helfire in game or learning it in the first place

[@theredneckunicorn9752]

One has to wonder... what would happen if a mage would turn his offer down?

[@AJPickett]

He'd probably be fine with it.

[@Derinma]

Ah my favorite arch-devil

[@wolfnerd4984]

If we are going down the line, it's Beelzebul next. But I really think Glaysa is more interesting

[@AJPickett]

We are not going down the line.

[@wolfnerd4984]

Sounds good

[@RobCrowley85]

The ballsiest devil ever. As of 3.5e, he was the only one to tell Asmodeus TO HIS FACE that he (Big Meph) was going to overthrow him and got away with it. I don't know if he has the STR score to walk with those balls! And the inventor of hellfire on top of that? Fuckin top tier devil without a doubt.

[@delenaa9312]

Talk About the ice Devils in the manes demons and the dragon Devils

[@delenaa9312]

Hey are you gonna talk about Barb devils & spine devils

[@AJPickett]

Yes, and horned devils.

[@DIEGhostfish]

@@AJPickett The Spikey boi trio.

[@rickeymariu1]

Love the vid, as always. Gonna use Meph in my late game. Maybe as a means to get more power for the pcs

[@elricengquist9989]

It would be interesting if the player/s that did a deal, or were approached by Mephs an mistook him for Asmodeus, annoying him in turn for such a misstep were later approached by Asmodeus. With the players being used as pawns an spies both devils throughout the campaign. Than near the end the players are given the option to ally with one of the devils an their spying being known to both of the devils, even maybe that the group might get split with the group allying with one of the devils an a sole player character allying with the other an acting as a spy within the group.

[@dragonballtalk8527]

Cania was featured in godborn novel

[@demonblood8841]

There is probably a good reason for this but why is a layer of hell frozen?(im curious not criticising) The typical vision of hell is endless sea of fire and torment.

[@stefandeboer8696]

Hell was not portrayed as a fiery place before the middle ages. Many early mythologies also had it's hell being a frozen place.

[@drakegonnan6030]

if you were to read the book often called "Dante's Inferno", you would find that the deepest layer of hell is completely frozen over. in fact, many portrayals of hell from the early middle ages were frozen over.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

The reason being the devil's wings(he is in the very center) beat with so much force it causes freezing winds. This is the layer of hell for traitors and such. As told in the divine comedy.

[@EdMcStinko]

I kind of like this guy

[@durnsidh6483]

That's how he gets you.

[@samvimes5124]

Why is this "Lord of Hell" included among the "Lords of Ruin" playlist?

[@tatsusama3192]

You think the creators laughed when they made a frigid ice hell and named it something that sounds a lot like "Kenya?" xD

[@Asmith218]

I think it was originally from Dante's inferno which was the circle that was named from Cain.

[@firetarrasque4667]

I love Dante's Inferno. Geryon and Levistus are from there too.

[@dr.calibrations7984]

Tatsusama Not as loudly as i did when i happened upon you my friend.

[@wolfnerd4984]

Why become a lich when you can become a devil doing research for Mephistopheles?

[@pbr-streetgang]

Thanks for the vid sir.👍🏼👍🏼

[@flibbernodgets7018]

23:01 isn't this the plot of Neverwinter nights? Ah, the nostalgia

[@AJPickett]

Yes,

[@flibbernodgets7018]

I never finished the game before I lost the disc, so thanks for filling me in

[@JamesTheKoopaTroopa]

Yeah, and his voice was pretty damn cool in the game.

[@RayJackson88]

DON'T LEAVE IT TO ME AJ, DON'T! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!1 TELL ME! TEEEEELLLL MEEEEEEEE....

[@firetarrasque4667]

Mephy is great.

[@sagesheahan6732]

Mephy. Haha. Could call him Ellie. MephistophELLIEs. Or, Phist of the Phellies. 😂

[@XXX_xxxxxxxx]

"The Ambitious "

[@roarytheromanarcanine]

Raphael’s dad.