Infernal

A realm of law turned to cruelty: iron fortresses, burning plains and frozen depths, all ordered in ranks. Its rulers trade in contracts and souls, and every word spoken there can be held against the speaker. One arrives by spell, by a summoning gone wrong or by a signed bargain; leaving takes a spell or a written permission, and both have a price. Nothing is ever free here, least of all help.

Light
Dim
Going
Slow

Hear it

Hazards

  • Burning plains. In the upper reaches, the ground smokes and the air shimmers. D&D 5e: At 38 °C (100 °F) or hotter, anyone exposed without drinkable water makes a Constitution save at the end of each hour, DC 5 then 1 higher each hour, or gains 1 Exhaustion. Medium or heavy armour gives Disadvantage; fire resistance or immunity passes automatically.
  • Frozen depths. Lower down, everything is frozen hard and the wind cuts like a blade. D&D 5e: At −18 °C (0 °F) or colder, anyone exposed makes a DC 10 Constitution save at the end of each hour or gains 1 Exhaustion. Cold resistance or immunity passes automatically.
  • The binding word. A promise said aloud here becomes a contract, and the realm itself enforces it. D&D 5e (House rule): A creature that breaks a promise made aloud on this plane has Disadvantage on all saves until it makes amends or leaves the plane.
  • Brimstone fumes. Yellow smoke rises from cracks and burns the throat. D&D 5e (House rule): Each hour in the fumes, a creature makes a DC 12 Constitution save or is Poisoned for the next hour.

Adventure hooks

  1. A fiend offers a fair contract: what the party wants most, for a price to be named later. A disgraced advocate in the iron city offers to read the fine print, for a price of his own, payable now.
  2. A soul has escaped the infernal ranks and hides in a mortal town. Hounds of fire are coming for it, and the soul is a decent man whose father signed him away before he was born.
  3. An imp has been assigned to help the party and is desperate to meet a quota of misery, because he was demoted for being too nice. He keeps doing them favours by mistake and begging them not to tell.
  4. A traitor lies frozen in the ice of the lowest depths, and he alone knows the clause that would free a mortal king from his contract. Thawing him is easy; he wants a contract of his own first.

What may happen

  1. A line of chained souls marches past under the whips of horned overseers. One of them calls a party member by name.
  2. A small winged fiend offers to guide the party for free, which should worry them.
  3. An iron gate with a guard post asks for papers, a seal and the purpose of the visit.
  4. A scrap of burnt parchment blows into the camp. It is a contract, signed, with one name the party knows.
  5. Hounds with burning eyes bay in the distance, and the baying comes closer.
  6. A legion marches in perfect step, a thousand fiends with one rhythm. The ground shakes under them.
  7. A figure frozen up to the neck in ice begs the party to free him and swears he deserves it.
  8. A courteous fiend in fine clothes offers the party a way home, contract already drafted.
  9. An iron city glows on the horizon, its chimneys pouring red smoke.
  10. A soul that has slipped its chains hides in the rocks and begs to come along.
  11. Ash falls like snow, warm and grey. It smells of old paper.

Creatures

To bring back

Devil Tooth, Imp Leg, Vargouille Tongue, Succubus/Incubus Blood, Nightmare Tainted Soul, Zariel's Ashes

Other planes

Feywild, Shadowfell, Ethereal, Astral, Elemental Fire, Elemental Water, Elemental Earth, Elemental Air, Abyssal, Celestial, Hades

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

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