Dungeons and Dragons Lore: Asmodeus' Truth Revealed
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This really just serves to confirm my theory that fall damage is the most powerful force in D&D.
Lol
Gravity FTW!!!!
@@dragonflame1425 @
Lol this son of a bitch fell so hard he penetrated through the material and bounced 9 times into a whole new dimension
Does that mean feather fall is the most powerful spell ever?
"Have you heard about the tragedy of Asmodeus the Fallen Angel? It's not a story the clerics would tell you"
That's a good one
Have you heard about the tragedy of Ahriman the Serpent? It's a story almost nobody can tell you
It's a myth of creation.
Asmodeus once known as Ahriman was an upholder of order, so knowledgeable and so powerful he could influence the chaotic void to create law
Make sure to use Ian McDiarmid's voice as Darth Sidious.
Only comparable to Jazirian, they conjoined together, creating the laws that our universe abides by
Conspiracy Theory
Say "MrRhexx" out loud. Sounds like "misdirects."
Asmodeus is the lord of lies. MrRhexx is actually Asmodeus. Perfect way to divert attention.
WAKE UP, AMERICA.
The Sneaky Muffin It is too late, hippity hoppity your soul is now his property
YO!
sheeps
Ryne Mcgriffin THE POWER OF HELM COMPELS YOU!
Ryne Mcgriffin roll a wisdom saving throw
So technically, all the other devil lords are warlocks pledged to Asmodeus.
The first Archdevels were formed from his blood as he fell where as devils are made from the Leamurrs that inhabited the plane even before the Chaos Serpent loss his fight wiith the Order Serpent though both were basically crippled to the point gods, overgods,and such beings taking it upon themselves to rule took over existence while they still lick there wounds that won't heal......no matter how many souls he asorbs he will never heal BTW
P.s. he is a Greater god eqivilant even in his severely weakened state that will never heal
@@FrarmerFrank
All true.
Should be noted that he still bleeds pit fiends into existence, right now.
@@FrarmerFrank why wont his wounds heal, does the feathered god know about this
@@FrarmerFrank Jazirian and Ahriman were both Order Serpents.
@@FrarmerFrank you really hammered that never gonna heal shit in. Know what that sounds like? My. Next campaign. Him fully healing and beginning the end times. Throwing my players against one of the three strongest beings in DND history. Not to kill him, but to put him back in Nessus.
The lore in D&D feels like an adventure upon itself just when you think you got a grasp and know you pause and lean against a wall to collect your thoughts only to discover a secret door and you realize this is only the doorway the rabbit hole goes deeper
Player: I want to investigate if Asmodeus is lying *Rolls 20 + 15*
Asmodeus: *Rolls 2 + 234 on deception*
Critical success go brrr.
I know the law that Ahriman created and that keeps him in the Serpent's Coil.
Gravity, the same law that made him fall.
Who was the Fuck God of Gravity
That bitch is Invisible Ominpotent
Who was the God of Gravity
That bitch is Invisible Ominpotent
"Did you ever hear of the tragedy of Asmodeus the fallen? I thought not, it's not a story your gods would tell you. It's a myth of creation.
Asmodeus once known as Ahriman was an upholder of order, so knowledgeable and so powerful he could influence the chaotic void to create law
He had such a knowledge of law that he could even keep at bay the demon hordes. Unfortunately he couldn't convince the gods to decide upon the center of creation and without their uplifting wings he fell into the lowest pits of the hells.
Ironic he could uphold the law, but not himself"
I guess I’ll have to add gravity to my list of enemies…
@@JelloImpact there's a spell for that
Asmodeus, demon princes, Lolth or Tiamat: *breathes*
Half of Toril: *WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO THIS TIME, AND WHY ARE THERE 666 DARK PORTALS SCATTERED ACROSS THE LAND!?!?*
Yeah.... it's literally why they exist. Plot hooks . Lmao
Noooooo I've seen your face! Now I can't imagine you as a talking book ;-;
Just imagine it is his avatar form.
You can imagine his face impaling a book
this ruins everything
But he is a sexy BEAST. *Insight check* people! Obviously a talking book is controlling this minion-man as to be more relatable to us HUMANS.
LMAO
I would like to specify that Asmodeus gets to claim the souls of both Atheists AND anti-theists. So people who know the gods exists and fight against them, but also people who generally do not believe the gods even exist and believe there is no heaven. Both of those get claimed by Asmodeus. It is very explicitly written within the lore that Asmodeus does his best to spread Atheism amongst the forgotten realms.
Atheists and anti-theists do not believe in gods.
Therefore, they cannot oppose them.
They only oppose organized beliefs, at most.
Also. Being an atheist in DnD is almost impossible, considering how much tangible and verifiable evidence there is for godly or generally greater beings.
If you are an Atheist in any of the DnD worlds where the you can just have a chat with the gods, you are a fucking idiot and kinda deserve to go to hell.
I have a druid pc who actively refutes the gods. "Nature is all that I feel so it's all that exists" sort of thing despite my efforts to inform her of the very real gods she knows nothing of this lore and does not comprehend the level of evil cackling I have swelling within me. I absolutely lump that attitude in with what Asmodeus would deem acceptable
Love you lore videos my man. They help my knowledge of dnd grow and my appreciation for it as well
Druid magic is divine magic. There is literally a god that is giving her magic, whether it is chauntea or another one; that god could communicate with her this reality. That being said, if she has a view of her character then you as a DM should probably make sure that it becomes real...if that's what she truly wants. I wouldn't try to punish her for example.
"I was born in the law, molded by it. You merely adapted it"
I didn't see the chaos untill I was already a man and by then it was nothing to me but... _blinding_
🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥🔥👌
@@rejvaik00🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥👌
Honestly, an epic level campaign where the true form of Asmodeus is the final boss, with a party of Tieflings seeking to purify themselves, assume an ‘ancestor’ form, where they reflect Asmodeus’ true form, and do battle with him, aided by Jazirian
No lie, doing a one shot in a couple weeks with a party of epic 30 leveled players and we will be facing against Asmodeus who’s currently breaking out of the nine layers of hell
Yup, this is my campaign, more or less, I’ll respond to this again and tell you how it went, session 1 is less than a week away!
Similar campiagn idea to my ongoing one set in the 40k universe. Instead though my BBEG(al) is more of a break it, to reform it type trying to make an Asmodeus type god (a lawful evil god) in a universe with only chaotic evil, evil gods.
CR: 666
So he was not an angel who fell? Or was that his avatar using his fall and contract to be in hell to be near his body?
3rd edition, specifically the Book of Vile Darkness, mentions all about Asmodeus having a real body hidden below Nessus, that he is badly wounded, the existence of the Serpents Coil, and all of this information, but doesn't say specifically that he is a snake. Just that none have seen his true body and that no one knows what he really is.
Actually, you must go back even further, to AD&D 2nd. The TRUE story of Asmodeus was laid back in 1999's "Guide to Hell".
He's actually one of the primordial World Serpents, that were born of pure Chaos or Law (there was no Good or Evil, back then), when the Multiverse wasn't even shaped, and the Powers (gods) didn't exist. It was his actions, when he was named Ahriman, along with his brother Jazirian (the two World Serpents of Law, and you might recognize the name of the "god" of couatls) that formed the ring of the Outer Planes (by forming a ring themselves with their serpent bodies biting each other's tails), and the relation with the other planes.
By giving form and order to the Outer Planes, the actions of the Twin Serpents (Ahriman and Jazirian) were a great victory for Law. But then they battled with each other, as Ahriman's ambition grew, and the distinction between Good and Evil appeared. Ahriman was greatly injured by Jazirian (and remains so to this day, eons later) so his huge serpent body plummeted to the depths of the Lower Planes and forged the pit that became the Nine Hells (Baator). His body lies forever at the bottom of the plane (there were hints that it measures several miles long), and from his blood drops are born pit fiends (that never were mortal souls). He can create avatars like a Greater Power, has the raw power of one of that status, but isn't a power himself. He doesn't need worshipers, or even to be acknowledged or known. He disguises himself just as another Lord of Hell (albeit the most powerful one), but within Baator is almost omnipotent.
That's his true secret. He's more ancient than the whole planar structure, the gods, demons and devils. Probably only the Elemental Lords are older.
@@Arvaniz Actually. The Obyriths are older. Pazuzu for example, has manipulated nearly everything Asmodeus has ever done, and is aware of his true form. It is quite clear he played not just Asmodeus like a fool, but the rest of the setting. In fact, it is highly implied that the fact Pazuzu can disobey the laws of the universe that Asmodeus formed with the other serpent, is because the serpents didn't really come up with the laws at all. Pazuzu did, and he wrote himself out of the deal, making him an exception, which is why he can go wherever he pleases.
Asmodeus is old as far as his universe is concerned, but he is but a child when compared to the Obyriths. To top it off, a great deal of his power comes from a Sliver of the Seed of Evil. Just the Sliver alone has great power, but if he had it all, it could repair his body, if not grant him untold power. Or at least that is what Pazuzu lead Asmodeus to believe in the midst of manipulating him. Pazuzu was the one who led Asmodeus to the sliver in the first place, and is the only being to ever find a piece of the seed of evil. Though it is also implied that he probably already has the entire thing and has made sure Asmodeus never finds it, as Pazuzu is the one who orchestrated the eternal blood war to begin with, and wants it to go on forever. The sliver Seed of Evil of course, being the Red Ruby atop Asmodeus' staff.
@@Arvaniz Unless all that is a lie... Which, given current lore, it probably is... He was recently made a god. That would be pointless if he was already above that. Think about it. Which lie is more useful? That you are weaker than you appear, causing your generals to scheme against you and undermine your plans, or that you are stronger than you appear, keeping gods from interfering with you out of fear?
If I had to guess, I'd say that both are lies, and Asmodeus uses both to deceive people. He's not some primordial deity, he really is a powerful but lesser being that fell, literally, from grace and is wounded and restoring his power. He lies to his servants about how powerful he is, using that to trick them into undermining the eternal war he wages, so that he can gather power. It's likely that HE is the ultimate "Atheist" in D&D, seeking revenge on the gods who cast him down, and possibly all the gods. That's why their souls go to him (until the other gods stopped it with the wall).
Asmodeus is the father of lies. Everything you read about him can pretty much be assumed to be a lie. Taking that into account, it makes sense that he would try to make himself look weaker or stronger depending on who he was trying to deceive.
@@toatahu2003 i think more in his the serpent but only because he can give hard reset to the game for Wizards of the Coast
@@toatahu2003 or maybe he saw the divine spark as a way to heal his body, or maybe fool the gods to think hes weaker. The existence of his brother confirms the truth of his origin.
Asmo:
Everyone else: Alright then, keep your secrets.
I'm glad I finally watched this one. I am envisioning a tier 4 campaign where Zariel has discovered who Asmodeus really is and recruits the PC's to help her overthrow him, so she can rule Baator and finally win the Blood War against the demons, once and for all time. Using some of the rules and mechanics from Descent into Avernus, have the PC's slowly working their way down through the 9 hells, trying to recruit the other Arch-Devils into joining Zariel to defeat Asmodeus.
Have a similar idea but since Bael is my fav character in the 9 Hells, I had it start on Mammons layer & the PCs were assigned under Bael in the Blood War. Through play Bael would learn the truth & help Bael kill Mammon, take over the layer & then expand up & down from there bcz Bael wants to end the blood war once & for all. It was gonna have trips to the Abyss, mortal planes, the Astral Sea, treachery & all kinds of stuff.
They kept Asmodeus "vague" in latter editions for 2 reasons:
1. to help DMs fit this into their own campaigns;
2. to mollify the anti-AD&D Mazes & Monsters crew; this is also why "demons and devils" became "tana'ari and ba'atezu"
Your D&D videos are quickly becoming my #1 source of inspiration for half-done/unpolished parts of my own homebrew world. Just thinking how much time I'd need to sift through all those older edition books and modules, damn... Instead, I got you here covering all of my needs in a condensed, yet info-packed format.
Keep it up, you're very good at this.
Damn it Magnus... keep your sons in line! Now one of them has become a giant daemon snake thing in another universe
What if it's Just As Planned?
I am Alpharius.
@@KyleJordanGaming so am I
im Alpharius
Interesting, it always makes me wonder about two things concerning Asmodeus...
The first one is with Mephistopheles declaring his intent to take over the 9th Ring of Hell.
- This makes me think that Mephistopheles knows or least understands that Asmodeus is not what he presents to the public image of Devil due to how many times zealots and followers mistake the two together as one and the same.
The second one is with Asmodeus's wife Bensozia, his daughter Glasya, and the one the killed his wife Levistus. What role do they really play then? Did Bensozia knew of Asmodeus's true form and name? Did Levistus really tried to make Bensozia his and betray Asmodeus? Or was this a ploy? It makes me question if Glasya is truly Asmodeus's daughter... if so... does she know her father's true form? They did have a 'long talk' during 3rd edition before the Night Hag was blown up into a balloon and reformed the Sixth Layer of Hell, Malboge. Another crazy thought is that maybe Levistus is Glasya's true parent but plays the role or lie by orders/commands of Asmodeus... or Ahriman itself.
This is all assuming everything about Asmodeus being Ahriman isn't ALSO a lie... Which, when you think about it... It almost certainly IS. Think about it. What, only ONE PERSON in all of the cosmology knows the truth about Asmodeus? Really? Isn't info about his real body written in the Book of Vile Darkness? Seriously NO GODS are powerful enough to divine the truth? Really? And why would Jazirian keep this fact a secret in the first place??? There is literally no reason to do so, and every reason to warn others! I don't buy it.
Not all devils came from the Chaos Serpents blood but instead are made from the lemures that were in baator even before he fell in there and took out the King Lemure and took over the joint
His Avatar can reproduce as can devils
No, not likely any devil knows his true form though the ancient cities buried in Ice would hint at the lie
@@toatahu2003 I really love the Ariman proposal, possibly my favorite idea for Asmodeus backstory, however I agree it is likely just another lie told by the Lord of Lies himself.
It seems as though Asmodeus has no true backstory...
In Gates of Hell (by Dicefreaks), Bensozia learnt of Asmodeus' true form and sought out Levistus to erase her memory of it, because it was to horrible for her to know. However, Asmodeus had planned for this to happen and Levistus killed her. Glasya was a creation by Asmodeus meant to replace Bensozia.
@@pancakes8670 The one where he is a Celestial that fell from heaven is the most likely. There is a lot of evidence to back it up. His serpent story never really worked at all. We know how Chaos came to be. The Obyrinths and Tharizdun, as well as the Seed of Evil. Too many aspects of the setting and characters depend on this fact being a thing.
Also, with the fact that Ao is cemented as the Overgod of all D&D now, and it is confirmed, not just FR, this makes the serpent idea just impossible.
Ao is basically the Lawful Good Overgod, The Lady is the Neutral Overgod, and Tharizdun is the Chaotic Evil Overgod.
I think the serpent story might have worked in 1st edition. But come 2nd edition it wouldn't work. ANd I'm pretty certain the serpent lore was introduced in 2nd. Also, people have point out other flaws in it. Such as the details being in the book of vile darkness, which is a physical item that actually exists in the setting. Quite a few people have possessed it too.
I remember watching this video a while back, now here I am again to binge all of rhexx’s stuff. One of your best videos imo, and amazing lore. A true Lord of Lies, maybe the best and most deserving I’ve ever seen in any fiction.
WHOA! First time seeing your face. Super shocked
queue shocked pikachu face
SUPRISE Pickachu
asmodeus face reveal.
Definitely not what I expect, but at the same time I don't know what I'm expecting.
You think that is his real form? Did you learn nothing from this video?
"Did you ever hear of the tragedy of Asmodeus the fallen? I thought not, it's not a story your gods would tell you. It's a myth of creation.
Asmodeus once known as Ahriman was an upholder of order, so knowledgeable and so powerful he could influence the chaotic void to create law
He had such a knowledge of law that he could even keep at bay the demon hordes. Unfortunately he couldn't convince the gods to decide upon the center of creation and without their uplifting wings he fell into the lowest pits of the hells.
Ironic he could uphold the law, but not himself"
Your deep delves into the old books (which I've often not read for decades) is quite fun. Your approach to it from the 5e perspective is still within everything we play/run (AD&D 1e), that's some well planned outlines. I'd love to hear more about the various Arch Devils, the battles between them, your perspective on the Orcus death/undeath/rebirth... scheme?, and more about the unique demon lords.
Of course, I wouldn't want you to stop doing other things for just that, the peryton video was stellar. You are giving me more things to weave into my next campaign when it's my turn to DM games again. Thanks!
Finally refound this video, so since I'm here, I wanna say thanks, this information lead to the most amazing campaign my players have ever had! They still talk about it with their friends and others they play with and I couldn't be more proud as a DM to give them that story. All of this, just because of this video, so thank you for doing this =)
wow. could you tell us about this campaign?
@@christopherbravo1813 I would love to hear more as well!
@@lonniecraig5186 unfortunately, I didn't make it, so....XD
I always pronounced it as "As-mode-ee-us"
I like your lore videos of Skyrim and Fallout, but i specially love this d&d videos since i'm a big d&d fan. Keep It going, man.
I thought Athiest Souls go to Reddit?
Yo MrRhexx. I'm just getting into all this deeper stuff and it's tough to enjoy when people do it so "matter of fact", rather than your superior style of making the myths sound legendary and mysterious. I really hope you keep doing the D&D stuff. You have the best presentation I've seen. I know it is your work and you should do what you like to, but as often as you have more lore, is as often as I will come back and enjoy them all over again. Keep busting them out. Thanks!
As a newbie with dnd, where so you get all that lore from? Is there a certain book? Or from former editions?
This video is based off of the "Guide to Hell" lore book, it was released for 2nd edition Dungeons and Dragons. What i do with my lore videos is I typically find older lore books that explain in greater detail certain monsters, and i compare those with newer editions. Basically i go over topics that the 5th edition monster manual didn't have time to go over.
For example, in 3rd and 4th edition we had entire books just dedicated to Mind Flayers; which gave us so much information about them. But in 5th edition, we haven't had such luck; so the amount of information given to us for this edition is super limited.
@@MrRhexx aaah okay, thank you so much!!
Time, effort, searching through multiple dnd wikis, reading old editions. Lots of stuff.
I knew Asmodeus was related to Jirizian, by looking in wikis. I have no idea how Rhexx found all the other stuff
@Safiras Art really you also watch this channel god i now see you everywhere
Asmodeus IS a deity in 5th edition in 4th he stole azuth's divine spark and in 5th the gods gave him his own so he would release azuth
@@EmiiK Oh I guess I missed that
Guus Missler 6:35
@@Sav-C-Bin oh yeah alright
It is just a facade to make gods believe he needs divine power. Just another lie from the Lord of Lies. He made history itself, and rewrote it with lies for so much time that even the gods don't know his origins, how much power he actually has, or what he's been scheming since the dawn of time.
@@mattopmasterX My take on it is that Asmodeus started off as angel named Lucifer, went by the name of Satan, and then called himself Asmodeus.
I think in the Forgotten Realms only the Forgotten God, the creator of humanity, is the only one who knows the truth.
Dude, I'm so glad I found your channel. You are so damn good at these lore videos! I only wish I would've discovered it sooner. I want to thank you for your incredible work!
Anyone else constantly in awe and just like damn this lore is flawless.
"Did you ever hear of the tragedy of Asmodeus the fallen? I thought not, it's not a story your gods would tell you. It's a myth of creation.
Asmodeus once known as Ahriman was an upholder of order, so knowledgeable and so powerful he could influence the chaotic void to create law
He had such a knowledge of law that he could even keep at bay the demon hordes. Unfortunately he couldn't convince the gods to decide upon the center of creation and without their uplifting wings he fell into the lowest pits of the hells.
Ironic he could uphold the law, but not himself"
This is extremely interesting! I love learning about the timeline of Dungeons & Dragons, and events that made things the way they are for the modern adventures. It's amazing to see how much a new player doesn't know, and if there are any terrifying, world-ending forces influencing their adventures.
Awesome video rhexx, I really like the content you put out, keep going
This was truly one of the most epic youtube videos I have ever seen, please never stop doing this, your work is incredible
Now that's the type of D&D I grew up to! Awesome stuff! Incredible breakdown! 11/10 my dude! Subscribing to that!!!
Holy shit. All this time I thought you were just some disembodied voice.
He is, his avatar is just a lie.
Would like this comment but you had a cool number.
Asmodeus, most beautiful and powerful 👼 Angel.
Why do angels always associate the most powerful with also being most beautiful?
Because Angels use the charisma stat. The origin of their power (Good or Divine magic) must reward beauty with more power.
So, heaven is like massive toddlers in tiara, or a massive beauty contest.
Asmodeus was Miss Heaven. Until, he went full drama Queen-zilla. Freaking out to go start his own beauty contest.
TheTechiemoses “asmo-con”
hykuzo with blackjack and hookers!
From the greatest beauty queen to the greatest drag queen.
A fitting transformation.
charisma is more presence then just beauty. still funny though.
Define beautiful. ;) Doesn't every race have it's own standard?
Yanti is going to have a fucking field day with this information.
Dude, you "have" to do a lore video of Drow, Lolth and the UD. These videos you've made are great! :)
I love these lore videos, quite interesting. However, the people who deny the gods wouldn't be atheists. I mean they know the gods are real and yet seek to undermine them. Atheist don't believe in god or gods, just that, because they do not know they exist. Someone who actively knows or thinks the divine beings are real and tries to act against them would be a Misotheist
Atheism is about a lack of evidence.
In the world of DnD, verifiable and tangible evidence for the existence of greater beings is abundant.
Atheists would be incredibly rare.
So yes.
Wrong terminology was used in this case.
@UCfdqCMePFc4gqYhy4ZOdiOg
The term used in the original post is the correct one.
The original meaning of atheist does not change.
A-not.
Theist-believer.
There is no opposition implied.
@@rogaldorn4759 they would be like flat earthers
@@adamakoy319
Pretty much.
@@adamakoy319 Actually they really wouldn't be because they have a bit of logic behind their ideas.
True there are plenty of evidence of the gods being able to talk to people and have huge interferences with the world..but there are no evidence they are actually beings.
Now we know for a fact that the more followers a god have the more powerful they become..now why is that? Why do their powers correspond to the amount of believe that believe in them? Is it just because it gives them some unknown energy that act as their food and thereby makes them able to grow bigger and stronger? Or are they actually nothing more than believes and thoughts forming into a shape?
If thoughts and believes in them isn't just a powerup but rather a reason to excist then they aren't gods but rather just simply creations from sentient beings that have gotten power from said sentient beings thanks to their believes.
In Dungeons and Dragons thoughts can literally move or destroy mountains. What is to say a combined believe in something from a huge amount of sentient beings wouldn't be able to create another being?
If that is truely the case that would mean that all the races don't truely need the gods to excist. Even if all the gods died at the exact same time the races would still be around..but if every single sentient being suddenly disappeared then so would the gods since no one would be around to believe in them anymore.
If it is truely the power of the thoughts and believes that keeps the gods from excisting then they have never truely excisted but rather been created even if no one is aware of it. They aren't beings but simply thoughs.
Everyone in my Setting which doesn’t have gods: *sweating*
@Tyler Ford I think Butt Er is hinting about their fate in afterlife. To be consumed by Asmodeus/Ahriman
@@Dahaka-rd6tw actually, they'd probably be considered "faithless"
*which still sucks pretty badly*
I spent a long time reading D&D lore online, and managed to find and piece together this story of Asmodeus' true origins a year or so ago. I'm so happy to have it confirmed now, and spent the first half of this video hoping that you'd eventually get to the Ahriman part.
*"The Guide to Hell"* a good 2nd Edition book, for those wanting to get their 9 Hells Campaign on.
Why are things in Asmodeus' favor?
As he puts it, in short:
*"Read the fine print."*
In Pathfinder, Asmodeus' origin is even more foundational. Asmodeus is the oldest living god in the multiverse and was born/created at the same time as his brother Ithys, whom Asmodeus slew after the two fought a bitter war of law versus chaos. Asmodeus, having slew his brother, shed his final tears in all of time and retreated to Hell, forming a compact and a bet with the other remaining "lesser" gods. They are free to preach as they please, but promises them that in time, all will come to Asmodeus - willingly. The legend of this creation comes from Tabris, the angel scholar tasked with creating the books that detailed the multiverse, the most prominent of them being: The Chronicles of the Righteous and The Books of the Damned. If Tabris is to be believed, then Asmodeus is the brother - and murderer - of the one true god of mortal-kind, Ithys, for it was Ithys who allowed free will to take hold over his creations, both gods and mortal alike. It also means that Asmodeus has the power to destroy much of reality, remake it as he sees fit, or worse though how much that extends to his brother's works is unknown. That he doesn't speaks volumes of Asmodeus' character.
Furthermore, unlike in DnD, in Pathfinder, Asmodeus does not claim the souls of atheists or anti-theists. That would be counter to his bet, that all would come to him willingly. Someone that doesn't believe in him, cannot willingly go to him, and neither can someone who actively opposes him. With Asmodeus' compact, those that enter Hell, rarely ever leave for they have done so willingly or have been sentenced to Hell due to an infraction against Hell itself, usually as part of a curse. (ex: A rogue steals an idol from a temple of Asmodeus, while a ritual to summon a high ranking devil was taking place. Since his theft interfered with the ritual, he could legally be considered to have "participated" in the ritual to summon a devil, thus damning his soul to Hell.)
This puts a huge twist to the dynamics of the gods. Like a father who rules alongside his squabbling children, rather than ruling over them. However, it doesn't put a dent on his overwhelmingly evil nature. No mortal should think that they are ever loved or favored by the Lord of Hell. They are his pawns at best and when their souls are sent screaming to Hell, they are either tortured into becoming a devil, enslaved to toil endlessly (and often pointlessly) with tasks that are more easily done with machines and tools but are purposefully not done that way, or are grounded up and used as mortar for its architecture, the still "alive" and screaming walls that visitors hear very much not a magical enchantment or illusion.
So basically, you can choose to go to hell and you can also choose to get out when you think that you don't deserve to be there? Interesting
@@andygoestohell In Pathfinder, Pharasma is the goddess of death and the afterlife. All souls go to her court in the boneyard to await their judgement. Even souls bound for Asmodeus go to her first. Even atheists and anti-theists go before her. Once you are there, arbiters argue on your "behalf" on where you ultimately go. This might be pretty easy for say someone consigned to Hell because they worshiped Asmodeus in life, and was pretty clearly LE and even signed a contract. A devil shows up, shows the contract and off they go.
But what if you were both LE and CE? A devil and a demon will argue over your soul to see who gets it. What about the example I mentioned about about the rogue? If they are CG, an Azata might try to argue on their behalf to say that because they were unaware of the ritual, they cant be held to have participated in it, where as the Devil will bring in evidence to suggest that the rogue had forewarning and knew that taking the idol would be bad, and they go back and forth until Pharasma gives her final judgement.
But generally speaking, it shouldn't be a surprise about where you end up for your afterlife. You don't get anything like "Oh well you lived a fairly pious life for the most part but then you didn't say "bless you" when the priest sneezed so off to Hell you go." Yeah that BS was tossed to the wayside. The tormented souls that reside in Hell belong there absolutely with very little exception. The universe has plenty of tyrants and betrayers to ensure that Hell never runs out of souls to torture, maim, and warp.
One of the tragedies of course is that the river of souls is massive in its influx but also very long just in metaphysical distance. You don't just die and then talk to a soul clerk and then skip off to heaven. Chances are, by the time you finally reach the boneyard for your final judgement, you wont even remember your own name, nevermind why you are being sent to whatever afterlife you earned while alive.
And if you were the kind of asshole to deserve being sentenced to Abaddon? Unlike the other planes, where an escort awaits to take you to your new home (or torment as it were), there are no escorts to Abaddon to bring you to the hunting grounds where you are hunted until your soul is consumed by a Daemon, whose only satisfaction in existence comes from snuffing out a mortal soul.
No, instead, you walk up to the portal to Abaddon and a Devil and a Demon wait there, one with a contract and another with a pact, and should you so choose, you can decide to go to Hell to be tortured into a Devil (if you are "lucky") or be absconded to the Abyss where chaos warps your sin-marinated soul to spawn a Demon (again, if "lucky").
So no, once you are dead, there really isn't a choice anymore. You had that chance while you were alive. Think you can bargain away your soul and then change your mind at the last second? There is a reason that Devil's deal in contracts.
But when time is up, that's it.
Time's up.
@@felixfeliciano7011 Oh, you can choose your punishment if and only if there is a choice but you can't really avoid or escape punishment because you have been already sentenced got it. Thank you btw I was really trying to decide about how I should treat my player's characters to the afterlife after they die and this really helps.
@@magus13131 That is a good point you bring up. Regardless of your destination in your afterlife, if you ascend to the status of an outsider, your memories are almost completely wiped, with very small glimpses being all that is left. Many aware of this fact consider ascension as a "second death" and circumventing that price is something a lot of people would be willing to do and it is no surprise that the only ones willing to help with that are all evil.
Yeah but he's also the weakest thing in the universe full of great old ones ancient and Elder evils and Cthulhu
Cthulhu fhtagn
Take a shot everytime he says "lie."
I ishint dronk i ish zober i mean fiber no no somber darn it sober yeah shober🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
I’d be dead by the end of the video..
This is an amazing video! Thanks for the breakdown! As someone who only recently got into D&D, this lore is super helpful for me. That's a sub!
Watching your channel is giving me new character goals for dnd. Like just learning everything. Not taking no great pursuit of power just the freedom to discover knowledge.
Hmm can you make a video on the OverGods like AO, lady of pain, tharizdun in how they came to be
carlos salazar Yeah I feel like that’d be interesting topic to cover if the hierarchy of the gods are covered. From weaker Demi-gods to overgods and then to the mysterious Luminous Being.
I agree. I wonder how Ao plays into all of this.
DON'T CALL THE LADY A GOD!
Yeah if worshiped she will erase you from existence.
Tharizdun is an intermediate deity. The World Serpent is the only other Over-deity and he/she/it has long since been divided into several other deities. Two of which are Ahriman(Asmodeus) and Jazirian, but also Ssharstrune, Shekinester(Naga Deity), Merrshaulk(one of the Yuan-ti demigods), Set, Seth and probably a lot more.
Honestly the pieces of the the world serpent and their role through the editions could make for a very long video, because unlike the other two Over-deities splitting apart meant those pieces actually did stuff.
Ooooh , rock me Asmodeus...
And so the rabbit hole goes deep enough, until it reaches the maw of the snake... Poetic and peculiar.
Dude you just gave me some crazy amazing ideas for character back stories, this will be amazing.
this added 9 more layers of lore to my D&D campaign... ._. Thanks for making this 100x more difficult to run :) Love your vids!
Welp time for me to get eaten by a snake
Worth noting that Asmodeus being The Serpent is literally from one book and lots of other sources contradict both halves of it.
I’ve been a player and Dungeon Master for over 20 years; these are probably the best lore specific videos ever made; bravo Mr Rhexx!!
He's just a Pathfinder Bard with some dope ass mass suggestion :v
THIS IS GREAT I never get tired of your videos hahaha
Could you do one on Jazirian? and the oldergods (Great serpent for example)? I'm really curious about them D:
I love your lore videos. I really liked how you combined the art and yourself talking in this one. Your face is so expressive and it really shows your passion for what you do.
I don't know why but describing athiests with scary music in the background is absolutely hilarious, killed me man.
A massive adder snake is what I imagine because I read the RedWall books (they are about woodland animals that basically act like medieval people.)
After rewatching this I had a minor melt down and just thought "Since he is lawful and potentially not going to cause Armageddon due to that even if he could, even if he somewhat wanted to. Could he heal up just to reveal his name to someone who he has planned to reveal it to. To the extent where he already knows what this individual would do with the power over his name, and have that person remove him from Baator with the power over him?"
I don't know if that's plausible or not as I haven't slept in some time now, but at least it is in my head as of this moment XD
LichfiendRazool You just finished the plot of a campaign I had in mind based on this video. The players start as the avatars or champions of various gods and are ordered by those same gods to go down to baator and stop asmodeus. They first need to stop at Mt.celestia to get some tidbits of lore from jazirian and then go straight to hell, battling their through each layer to get to nessus.
He definitely can. He can even plot the birth of a character with the characteristics he needs, so he can manipulate its life to the point he gives it his true name and has it have him cause Armageddon. Then he will remember he has to give his true name to a champs, look at all the people who would be listening and decide that nope.
I mean, imagine Demogorgon eavesdropping at that very moment...
This video I have watched several times. It is incredibly interesting to me, and I would love more hidden lore videos, I am eating through your dragons right now to pull roleplay ideas out of them. Keep up the good work!
I loved this. I think it’s really cool that as the lore itself is very hidden and not common knowledge in the actual game, so it should be in real life, it’s a great treasure to find this stories and lore. Let it be deeply hidden.
Interesting when you consider how Tiamat and Asmodeus see each other as kindred spirits.
Where can I get the photo at 4:47? That demon is so kickass. I need it.
Dude you are straight up the best lore channel on TH-cam imo
Perfect lore video for my campaign featuring a lich playing a double agent face of BBEG for Asmodeus against Tiamat to destroy Mt Celestia
I see a lot of comments about atheist vs. antitheist, I just want to say it's not impossible to be an atheist in the DnD universe, but to be one is to live an ignorant life, like a wild man who lives in the forest and never notices or sees the influence of the gods, but this is also an unintentional atheist, one who is unintentionally ignorant of the gods. An intentional and willing atheist, one who is not ignorant of the gods existence, is by definition not an atheist and could only be a moron who is kidding himself and trying to see his own skewed reality as factual
Atheists in D&D are like flat-earthers
@@Mare_Man An accurate comparison.
@@Mare_Man It's a relic of the old TSR era. Basically Atheists in the Forgotten Realms (and Athars in Sigil) are folks who go, yeah the gods exist, but they're not really anything special. On a meta level it comes from the old TSR AD&D stuff of clerics can literally just get their powers from philosophy/faith in an idea and not any specific deity. So really they're something of a lowly door greeter telling the CEO he ain't anything special, when the CEO can (except at the spire in the Outlands) is actually a deity. Also there's some problems with Asmodeus eating them since 5e's default assumption is the Forgotten Realms which has the Wall of the Faithless (which is still a thing) which is where the faithless/D&D atheists in Faerun go and have gone since early on in the Forgotten Realms' lore.
And looking it up, it's because that info comes from a book that had no tie to any setting from 2e, which had no default setting. Still a great concept though, actually kinda beats the Wall of the Faithless when it comes to the fait of Athar types. I kinda like Asmodeus omnomming them (and likely trying to get apotheosis) over shove into the wall around the city of the dead.
I think the only logical way to be an atheist in a standard D&D world is to either see Gods as glorified Warlock Patrons, or to think that Humans and other mortals came into existence first, and their beliefs in Deities brought them into existence.
Inquisitor Thomas that’s how it works in Warhammer
I always liked the Dicefreaks interpretation of Asmodeus where instead of a giant snake, he's a UNIVERSE SIZED DRAGON based on material from the Book of Revelation.
Man, this became my fucking favorite channel on this site!
I've watched you videos for at least a few years because of the Skyrim content, this is still my favorite. I never played D&D but used to play Pathfinder and I really love the flavor you've brought to Asmodeus.
This is the kind of info that turns you into an Allip
Or a nothic
What is your take on Baator itself? It existed before Asmodeus came there, and in the 3E Fiendish Codex ll, it mentions that he had to eradicate the ancient Baatorians (some of which still managed to escape doom or sometimes spawn randomly from the plane itself) and that the ruler of Baator was an immortal monster named Zargon the Returner.
Who knew that serving a sky noodle would put my cleric at the front seats of Armageddon
I've watched almost all of your lore videos and this one was my favourite. Thanks for all of the hard work researching this!
In 5th edition, agnostic or even atheist people in D&D are sent to the "afterlife" that most resemble their alignment. A lawful good agnostic person would still head for Mount Celestia, while a chaotic evil atheist would still ends up in the Abyss. Being "good", "evil", "lawful" or "chaotic" is kinda more important than your belief now.
yep, as i said in my comment, most of the lore in this video is outdated and no longer canon
In 5th ed yes (as in any edition actualy, you had even clerics that worshiped a concept described in the 3rd ed PHB for exemple). In Forgotten Realms no, in any edition. When you are talking about Campaing Settings they have specific rules that overule anything writen in any non specific campaing book.
On Forgotten Realms :"Souls go to the Fugue Plane and wander the City of Judgment. Servants of the gods collect them and bring them to their deity's domain. Sometimes, the faithful are sent back into the world to finish work that was left undone.
Those souls left over are judged by Kelemvor, Judge of the Damned. Some become guides for other lost souls. Some souls are turned into larvae and "cast into the dust."
"The Truly False and Faithless are mortared into the Wall of the Faithless, the great barrier that bounds the City of the Dead, where their souls slowly dissolve and begin to become part of the stuff of the wall itself."
from Sword coast adventure guid, 5th ed
forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Fugue_Plane
@@rafaelfras Eh, the wall was destroyed as far as I know.
@@rafaelfras Also, it's already stated in Mordekainen Tome of Foes that Lawful Evil souls with no ties to specific gods are sent to the Nine Hells, not to the Wall. I think that it's just a bit of outdated lore.
@@ValeTheOwl it was not. Sword coast adventure guide is a 5th edition book for the forgotten realms and has the transcript that i wrote in it.
Realms lore for the afterlife did not changed much between 3rd and 5th ed.
Awesome lore video, especially loved the acknowledgement of the Brimstone Angles novels; just one question, it's said in 5E that Zariel followed Asmodeus to Bator to fight the Demon horde, would she know the truth, or is Asmodeus' Avatar the one she followed?
My tefling who hates the gods with all of her being: O-O
My theory is that Ahriman and Asmodeus actually began as different beings. After Ahriman fell to Baator the blood war began. An Angel named Asmodeus rose to prominence. At some point he encountered the long forgotten Ahriman in Baator. Ahriman tempted and corrupted him. After the events of the pact primeval, asmodeus was cast down and he was devoured by Ahriman. Ahriman then assumed his identity as Asmodeus.
That’s not a theory,👁️🫣 you know what your thinking
So basically This guy is Forgotten Realm's version of Tharazaduin
Not really, he's both older than tharizdun and from greyhawk.
This was such an amazing video! As someone that started playing in 2003 I never knew some of these details and it's super interesting to learn.
What are the sources for the info you dug up? Would love to see them myself.
This is my favorite Rhexx video
When the night serpent is already eating the sun but then this guy finally gets out of the hospital: “this is getting out of hand, now there are two of them!”
So THATS what you look like...
I always imagined you would be beardless.
99% of the time i am xD
I imagined him as an enchanted talking tome
*sips coffee*
"Interesting..."
I’ve been hanging around for a while watching videos, I’ve seen the Couatls video, but I finally made my way back here… the instant you said Ahriman my head exploded with the most gigantic “DUH” 🤣
These are the most entertaining, most helpful videos I've ever seen. It gives me so many ideas for my own campaigns
It should be noted that a lot of Asmodeus, and by extension Baator's, lore was retconned in 4e. In 2e, the Dark Lord of Nessus was purposely kept mysterious as the master of the Dark Eight and the chief of the Lords of the Nine, and Baator's day to day operations were generally the job of the Dark Eight. In 3e, we had the whole Pact Primeval thing, which doesn't really retcon much (except for the Zargon thing). It was 4e that rewrote all of planar history, and especially kicked the yugoloths in the nads to pretty much suck off Asmodeus.
Is that the true creation story of everything in d&d? I think I've heard more than one other conflicting with it.
Its from the 2nd edition guide to hell. and it is my favorite theory tbh
This is so much more interesting than I expected… shouldn’t have watched this before bed- now I can’t sleep
You’ve done the best out of anyone so far buddy ,keep u the great work
Can you make a lore video on Couatls?
Man, I knew that Asmodeus was powerful, but not 'Could delete the universe with a flick of his wrist whenever he wanted' powerful.
well we're lucky he doesn't have wrists then..
He cannot do that (yet). He's wounded and weaker than he used to be.
This was really well done. Very deep.
If you worship a deity, your soul goes to the plane with which that deity resides which is usually the same alignment as your PC. If you play in FR, you are first shunted to the Fugue Plane where an agent of your deity collects you to transport you to their realm. They've changed this so many times, though... The history you reference regarding Asmodeus's creation story, is in the book "The Guide to Hell" a generic D&D supplement.
One of my favorite short stories is the pact primeval, the story of how asmodeus tricked the gods. (Fiendish codex II, 3.5 ed)
And it was a lie.
But it turns out the truth was much more interesting.
ME: 1st edition player
Also me: What the hell is going on?
Omg the surprise face reveal? Awesome! Good to see you Rhexx :D
Woah, I never put these pieces together, That's pretty awesome!