Hellforged devils are former constructs turned devilish enforcers of the laws of the Nine Hells.[1]
Personality[]
The rituals first used to create hellforged devils compels them to obey the laws of Hell to the letter, and so they demonstrate a rigid adherence to the rules even by infernal standards.[1]
Abilities[]
Despite being full-fledged planar beings, hellforged devils share some qualities with constructs, such as their lack of vital organs making them invulnerable to precision strikes.[1]
Society[]
Hellforged devils exist to protect and maintain the well-defined, if utterly convoluted, hierarchy and legal code of the Nine Hells, their extreme lawfulness making them ideal enforcers and executioners. Their primary function is tracking down any who violate Hell's strictures, whether devil or mortal, so wizards who break infernal pacts are often besieged by hordes of the creatures. They also fight alongside other devilish legions in the Blood War.[1]
Their original creator, the Duke of Hell Aurandeus, is still their leader.[1]
Types[]
History[]
Hellforged devils were created in eons past by Aurandeus, a powerful devil mage cursed long ago by those he attempted to enslave to be unable to harm devils or mortals unless they broke the laws of Hell. Originally the hellforged devils were constructs of natural materials meant to house the souls of the condemned, but in all that time the strange magic of the Nine Hells gradually transformed them into true beings. Aurandeus's creations have since gone on to be used as guardians and enforcers throughout the Hells, and he seethes at the thought that the minions he built to subvert Hell's orders for his purposes now uphold it at his expense.[1]
Fall of Balruhk[]
Hellforged devils were absent from the Material Plane for a time due to machinations surrounding the pit fiend general Balruhk. Considered brilliant even by his peers, his keen military mind and skill at arms saw him rise quickly up the ranks, to the displeasure of those he displaced along the way. His rivals approached the mortal master diabolist Yullok, who agreed to drag and permanently bind Bahlruk to the Material Plane in return for mastery over a unit of hellforged devils. After making a few more deals with different fiends, the trap was set.[2]
On the chosen day, at the height of a battle between baatezu and tanar'ri armies, Yullok's spell bound Balruhk, but he could not control the energies his spell unleashed, and so both armies were annihilated by magical backlash. After learning of the pact, the Dukes of Hell were enraged, not because it was illegal, but because it would have them consign a legion of their most useful and loyal servants to the service of a mere mortal. They put forth an edict that no hellforged devil could serve a mortal master for the next three centuries, rendering the hellforged devils unknown to mortals for hundreds of years, a rule that has only expired relatively recently.[2]
Publication history[]
D&D 3rd edition[]
The hellforged devils appeared only in By Evil Bound, Dragon #306 (Apr 2003), by Mike Mearls.