The text is wrapped in the blackened hide of an unknown fiend and smells of sulfur. This text is written in Common and is entitled Faces of Evil, Vol. XIII, written by Oriam Trascalia The author describes themselves as sage and planeswalker, with this timeworn volume is part of a larger work containing studies of baatezu fiends and the Nine Hells from which they hail. Many of the book's pages have been torn out, but those fragments that remain offer some potentially useful information:
The source of law and evil in the multiverse, the Nine Hells are home to the evil devils known to scholars as baatezu. Each of the nine layers of this foul plane is ruled by a powerful devil who holds absolute sway over the denizens of their realm. Mortals who practice depraved acts of evil in life, or who foolishly barter away their souls, find themselves sent to the Nine Hells for eternal torment upon death. Souls hailing from the world of Toril awaiting judgment in the Fugue Plane may be tempted by baatezu, who offer to make the waiting souls agents of the Nine Hells. Some souls accept this evil bargain rather than take their chances with an unknown fate.
The first layer, or circle, of the Nine Hells is Avernus, a hellscape of choking smoke, exploding fireballs, blackened earth, and lava pools. Astral travelers who enter the Nine Hells always appear in Avernus, which is why this layer is sometimes referred to as the "topmost" level of Hell. The pit fiend Bel rules this layer from his fortress, the Bronze Citadel, where he trains legions of devil soldiers to fight in the Blood War.
The second circle of Hell, Dis, shares its name with the enormous iron city in the center of the city. Dispater, the ruler of Dis, is known to be faultlessly obedient to the terms of contracts, but always writes his complex bargains to be in his favor. Beyond the city of Dis, flat plains crossed by foul, still rivers stretch endlessly.
The archduke Mammon constructed the third level of Hell, a festering morass known as Minauros. Minauros is an endless plain of decaying bogs filled with rotting bodies and decomposing plant matter. The polluted air is impossible to breathe and oily rain constantly falls on the plain. Occasionally acidic blizzards or hailstones as big as boulders pound down on the surface of this fetid plane as well.
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"...most baatezu can only be harmed by enchanted weapons..."
"...the most powerful of fiends constantly radiate an aura of fear..."
"...impervious to flame, fiends revel in the use of fire-based magic..."
"...the bite of some fiends is highly poisonous, and may infect the victim with devastating disease..."
"...baatezu enjoy mind games. They often use charm magic to turn their opponents against each other..."
"...powerful fiends possess certain magical abilities they can exercise at will. These include invisibility and teleportation..."