Avernus Flow Chart:

Overall:
Mammon – He is portraying Dorian. He has already destroyed dorian’s painting and is trying to get the
group to gather the unholy regalia for him so he can win the throne of Hells.

Asmodeus has been locked inside an avatar, away from his natural body. He cannot be found. If he is
away from his body for more than 666 hours (27and a half days) at 3am his body will permenantly be
stuck in the weaker form. With Asmodeus away from his throne, his daughter has the claim to the
throne. However, as devils love their rules and contracts, the right to the throne may be challenged in
the absence of Asmodeus. The challenge may be in an open duel (which is why no one challenges
Asmodeus) or by whomever retrieves the irretrievable unholy regalia. 3 of the most power unholy items
that have been lost to time and lore.

(use recurring theme of 3)

Dorian’s Den of Pleasures.

A Literal Den of Pleasures They offer every type of experience to feed what brings you to exctasy or
numbs your pain. Sins of the flesh…

Dorian Gray
an aristocratic Victorian man. The first man to sell his soul and retrieve it.

Newly understanding that his beauty will fade, Dorian expresses the desire to sell his soul, to ensure that
the picture, rather than he, will age and fade. The wish is granted, and Dorian pursues a libertine life of
varied amoral experiences while staying young and beautiful; all the while, his portrait ages and records
every sin.

(Dorian is the owner, he appears to be only in his 20s but has owned this Den of Pleasures for centuries.
He has a painting hidden away somewhere with his true self painted on it. He can never die or age as
long as the painting remains intact.

Dorian greets you, explaining that the Clan of the Mournlands have told him your quest to retrieve
Gerki’s Soul. He will explain to you that there are 9 Planes of Hell (Hell is the home plane of Devils, Abyss
is the home plane of Demons). Most are ruled by Devil Lords, some by ArchDevils (lessers than
Asmodeus). Each contempt to rule over their plane until the end of days with their Lord ruling over all
the Hells.

How he got his soul back:

The 9 Hells used to work by pure torment and punishment. The screams of the dying and tortured would
fuel the infernal war machines and fortresses of the Lords, and Archdevils of the 9 Hells. My soul was
fair within the rights of the Soul Hunters to come and take back down to the Hells. Asmodeus knows the
amount of sin he has committed in his unnatural lifespan. There was no loop hole or errors to be had in
his contract, so instead he offered the Devils a new idea to fuel their soul-business. Soul Coins.
Soul Coins.
Instead of drawing out, draining and trying to get every last drop of pain and fear out of a soul, the souls
could be converted into golden medallions called Soul Coins. "Soul coins are created by Mammon and
his greater devils on Minauros” He seems very enthralled and happy about this bit of information, proud
even. With a soul coin converted into a coin that can be used as if a slot machine, it would ensure every
ounce of soul energy would be used up. Efficient. The Devils loved the idea. Dorian bargained the future
of souls in exchange for his soul’s freedom.

And once a soul is bound for the Hells, it cannot leave. Not without devil-ish loophole. See the devils and
demons who run these planes operate by a strict law. They love to form contracts with mortals as they
will assuredly end up breaching the contract sending their soul to hell, or their ambitions too grand and
only the exchange of a soul can bring them to their desired goal.

Soul Hunters
Soul Hunters are unseen servants of the 9 Hells. They can travel to the mortal planes and drag down
those who have made Soul Contracts. Of course with every contract there can be extensions and
addendums to the original contract; 7 free years in exchange for an innocent soul.

Unholy Regalia
If an evil god wants to make use of the Regalia, he, she, or it must take it from another god by trickery or
force. As a result, these are the most contested Regalia, used as much by fiends in the Blood War as by
Evil's champions against Good and Neutrality. Over the years, the three Regalia of Evil have become
separated and sometimes lost.

The Regalia of Evil are destroyed if the powers of Good utterly conquer the forces of Evil. It is said they
could also be destroyed by being buried at the heart of the Positive Energy Plane, or if the evil gods are
tricked into destroying them themselves.

The Crown of Evil

The Crown of Evil is forged from a single piece of coarse black iron, cast to resemble ugly flames. When
worn by an evil creature, the iron flames blaze with reddish light and magic fire, concealing the wearer's
face.

The Orb of Evil

The Orb of Evil is a crude, pitted and scarred iron sphere, bound in equally crude-looking chains. At the
slightest touch, red sparks fly from the orb.
The Rod of Evil
The Rod of Evil is an iron staff draped with chains. A heatless red flame burns at the tip.

Devil:
During the Blood war, Devils were created to fight Demons by celestials. Asmodeus was created and
made a pact with the celestials that they will fight this war for the celestials, if they are allowed these
evil souls that are not allowed up in their divine planes.

Created as a response to Demons who represent Chaos and Evil. Devils are infernal creatures of tyranny
and adhere to a strict hierarchy, law and order, not just Evil. Demons try to “level” up, where as Devils
just “do” because their love of doing what they are meant to do. Devils want to be the top devil basically
when the “end game happens”

Fallen Angels become Devils (Succubi). Angels of Warfare

Only greater Devils can sexually reproduce. Other devils when they reproduce become cambrions,
tieflings

Asmodeus is so powerful, his blood when it falls becomes a pit devil

Lamure-
mindless blob once a human. Pure evil. Purely evil beings who die and don’t fit the other “themes” of
layers of hell become these Lamures…

Contracts:
Standard Soul Pact – Sign soul away and you know it

Malevolent Pact – A series of contracts that gain portions of the soul over time.

9 Hells:
Avernus

Dis

Minauros - Mammon

Phlegethos - Belial was the ruler of Phlegethos, the fourth circle of Hell, "Mount of Leaping Flames",
nestled in the caldera of an extinct volcano

Stygia - Levistus was the ruler of Stygia before (and perhaps even while) he was imprisoned in an iceberg
floating on the frozen sea
Malbolge - Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus and former consort of Mammon was the ruler of the sixth
circle

Maladomini

Cania

Nessus - Overlord Asmodeus. Deity of indulgence and ruler of all devils.

Asmodeus
Asmodeus' true form was that of a hundreds of miles long wingless serpent with scales. His form's sheer
size made it impossible to meet and enter conversations with others. Therefore, he created humanoid
looking avatars. The location of his body was kept secret from everyone including other devils and
everyone who learnt of the truth about his body was killed within a day. Therefore he only showed
himself through avatars or projected images. Asmodeus' avatars looked like a slim, charismatic, red-
skinned humanoid over 13 feet (4 meters) tall, with horns on his head and glowing red eyes.

Titles:
Supreme Master of the Nine Hells

Lord of Nessus

The Lord of the Ninth

The Cloven

Old Hoof and Horn

Lord of Lies

The Archfiend

The Raging Fiend

Prince of Evil

Paintings
In order to use a painting as a portal, you must be wearing these three items:

Travel Ready
Ghastly Water - Water from whipping down corpses, spread all over your entire body to mask the
stench of the living.

Shoes of the Dead – taken from a coffin or a furnace, the literal shoes of the dead. Only the dead walk in
the Hells.
Grave Dirt – Lining your pockets shall be dirt taken from a graveyard. As your souls have yet to be
judged, they would float back to Limbo where judgment is carried out. Only the dead are weighed down.

Painting 1: Shores of sorrow

the souls of those who die alone wash ashore in the morning.

An aqua blue ocean violently washing ashore what would be drift wood, but in reality is the corpses of
those who have died alone. The beach itself, made from crushed skulls as the weight of new bodies
pulverizes the layers below them. A purple sky rages with red lightning in the distance. The very mists of
the crashing waves seem to be made of wisps of the forgotten souls

Unholy Item- Herod’s Demon Crown

King Herod (The massacre of innocents, King of Judea ordered the execution of all male children 2 years
and younger.)

Crown of Evil – See Magic Items

Painting 2: Forest of Torment

Gloomy forest with what is assumed rays of light shining through the moss covered trees. In the second
ring of Dante’s seventh circle is a forest of trees that used to be people, weeping and bleeding as birds
peck at them. This forest is for those souls of the beings who committed suicide. Standing alone in the
field of the painting is a figure standing solid as stone staring back at you, wherever you move the eyes
follow…

Painting 3: Fields of Betrayers

the 9th circle, the hottest circle of all the 9 planes of hell, is reserved for the greatest betrayers in all
existence. Sun bleached white dune fill the painting with a sun depicted so hot the very paint seems to
be melting from the canvas. Three stones stand as the only features in this heated planescape.

Magic Items
Crown of Evil –
The Crown of Horns, in its original form, was an electrum helm fully covered with small horns and a row
of black gems around the edge; since its reformation, the Crown is an electrum circlet with four bone
horns mounted around its edge and one large black diamond centered over the wearer’s brow while
black as obsidian, the stone is clear, and weird energy dances within the faceted gem. While powerful in
its first incarnation, the Crown of Horns. might has only increased in the past decade. Its powers and
abilities (derived from Myrkul’s essence) are:

Effects
The Crown of Horns surrounds the wearer with an aura similar to the magical aura of a lich; as such,
creatures of fewer than 5 Hit Dice (or 5th level) who view the Crown’s wearer make a successful saving
throw vs. spell or flee in terror for 5d4 rounds.

The Crown is the host for the last vestiges of the Realms. fallen god of the dead, Myrkul. The Crown
allows Myrkul to control the wearer with suggestions, and it can (for 20 rounds/day) possess its wearer;
a possessed wearer has an Intelligence and Wisdom of 20.

Donning the Crown of Horns automatically changes the wearer’s alignment to neutral evil. If the Crown
is later removed, the character’s original alignment returns.

The Crown’s wearer is immune to necromantic and necromancy spells and death magic, automatically
ignoring any ill effects of such spells and being affected by beneficial effects only when desired.

The Crown slowly turns the wearer into a lich as well; the process takes two years of constant contact
with the artifact, but the wearer speeds the process by using the major powers (use of the ray of
undeath or Myrkul’s Hand powers reduces the time by 1d4 months). Once the wearer of the Crown
becomes a lich, the process is irreversible, and the Crown itself acts as the lich’s phylactery.

The Crown’s wearer commands undead as a 6th-level priest (or six levels higher than the current level, if
already a priest).

The Crown’s wearer can teleport without error once every ten days; this power affects the Crown –
bearer, not other creatures in contact with him or her.

Powers
The Crown’s first major power is its ray of undeath, a dark energy ray that erupts from the black
diamond (maximum of one ray/ turn) to cover a conical area 40-feet long and 10-feet wide at the base.
Any creatures in this area of effect must make a successful saving throws vs. death magic or die;
successful saving throws prevent immediate death, but beings still suffer 4d12 points of damage from
the necromantic energy. If slain by the ray of undeath, any characters rise from the dead as Lesser
Shadowraths under the total control of the Crown-wearer.

The second major power of the Crown is Myrkul’s Hand. Similar to the power granted to his specialty
priests, Myrkul’s Hand surround the wearer’s hands with black flames for four rounds and can only be
summoned once per day. If Myrkul’s Hand touches any living being, that being must make a successful
saving throw vs. death magic. If successful, the being resists and only takes 1d12 points of damage; if the
saving throw fails, the character dies, consumed by black flames. After 1d4 rounds, the being’s skin and
possessions rise up as a Greater Shadowrath at the Crown-wearer’s command.

Once donned, the Crown makes its possessor paranoid and jealous about the artifact; the bearer does
anything to keep others away from the Crown. To a lesser extent, the Crown also affects those in a 100-
foot radius, instilling in them a desire to possess the artifact. This often forces a conflict with the current
bearer of the Crown, but it also ensures that the most capable and powerful people wear it.
Once donned, the Crown cannot be removed unless Myrkul wishes to have a new host; then, the Crown
teleports elsewhere without the wearer. If the wearer has become a lich while wearing the artifact, he
or she crumbles to dust instantly upon the Crown’s departure (1% chance per level of surviving as a
demilich with the character’s original alignment).

History
The Crown of Horns is a major artifact of the Realms, legends giving it a key role in Netheril’s downfall.
Created by Myrkul, the god of the dead, the Crown of Horns was lost for centuries after the death of the
deity until found by Laeral Silverhand and the Nine. Donning the Crown, Laeral fell under its influence
swiftly, and she attacked former friends and allies, including the Harpers. Khelben Blackstaff Arunsun
saved Laeral from an awful fate when, with Mystra’s aid and the sacrifice of some of his own power, he
fought Laeral in a spell battle that destroyed a large part of the High Forest’s interior (the forest is
restored, but many strange, magical effects and creatures linger as legacies of the battle). In the end,
Khelben destroyed the Crown of Horns, reducing it to pieces. Now in the role of caregiver, Khelben
collected the wild Laeral (driven mad by the Crown’s destruction), returning to Blackstaff Tower in
Waterdeep. Over time, Laeral recovered her wits and beauty, and she and Khelben grew closer. Today,
the power of these mages is insignificant compared to their love, and Laeral is officially treated as the
Blackstaff’s consort.

After its destruction, Khelben collected the many shards of the Crown of Horns and carefully stored
them within Blackstaff Tower for safekeeping (and to prevent the priesthood of Myrkul from gaining any
power from it). With Myrkul’s destruction outside of Blackstaff Tower during the Time of Troubles,
Khelben and Laeral thought the threat of the Crown was over. However, when his avatar was slain,
Myrkul used his lingering power to send his mind toward the greatest remaining concentration of his
power in the Realms. Given his proximity to Blackstaff Tower, his essence forced its way into Khelben’s
vault where the Crown of Horns lay in pieces. Myrkul’s divinity and much of his former might was
granted to Cyric (and later Kelemvor) by Ao, but Myrkul was not fully destroyed as his last vestiges of
energy slowly restored his unholy artifact. After a decade of marshaling its strength, the Crown of Horns
is restored by the will of Myrkul into a new, more powerful form that is not just an artifact but the vessel
of a dead god’s essence and power, wholly controlled by the mind of Myrkul, fallen god of the dead.
Once the artifact was wholly in its new form, Myrkul teleported the Crown of Horns to many places, his
hosts actively creating shadowrath servants (while many believe them a new form of undead, a few
erudite sages recognize them from times long lost). Spending a year teleporting to his former sites of
worship, he has kept his existence quiet, but has had the Crown – wearers spreading rumors among the
Cyricists about the Crown and how it could aid the worship of Cyric. Myrkul actually enjoys his new
existence and the ability to foment dissent, chaos, and death without the strictures inherent in being
one of Ao’s gods. His greatest satisfaction is in disrupting the organization of the Cyric-worshipers and in
destroying any worshipers of Mystra (who caused Myrkul’s destruction). He would love to cause major
strife within Waterdeep’s temple to Mystra, but Myrkul knows Khelben’s (and the other wizards of
Waterdeep) power and dares not risk a conflict with him again soon. For now, the Crown of Horns rests
on the brow of Nhyris D’Hothek, a pureblooded yuan-ti who is becoming a growing power in Skullport,
and Myrkul bides his time with this host, relishing the unique evils and dangers of the subterranean port
city