Devil (Dungeons & Dragons)
fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons
A devil, also referred to as a baatezu, is a member of a group of fictional creatures in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game typically presented as formidable opponents for advanced players. Devils are characterized by their Lawful Evil alignment and are depicted as originating from the Nine Hells of Baator. They follow a strict and hierarchical structure, progressing through various forms as they rise in rank. At the top of this hierarchy are the Archdevils, also known as the Lords of the Nine, who govern different regions within Baator. Devils are often portrayed as seeing the various worlds in the D&D universe as tools to be exploited for their objectives, such as participating in the Blood War—a centuries-long conflict against demons.
Publication history
Devils first appeared in the original first-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual.
The release of the 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons brought a name change for the devils and their counterparts, demons. The 1st Edition's Deities and Demigods sourcebook was described as "exactly like witchcraft" by a televangelist. Concerned about protests from religious groups and others who viewed the game as an entryway into Satanic worship, TSR dropped the words "devil" and "demon" from all descriptors of the monsters, substituting instead, baatezu and tanar'ri . This persisted until the rollout of the 3rd Edition when the original terms were reinstated.
The public source identifies “Devil (Dungeons & Dragons)” as fictional monster from Dungeons & Dragons. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Devil, Dungeons and Dragons.
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This entry incorporates text from “Devil (Dungeons & Dragons)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.