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Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Abyss |
| Original Name | 无底深渊 |
| Type | Lower Plane; neutral character (AI) |
| Role | Homeland of demons; source and embodiment of chaos, destruction, and chaotic evil |
| Status | Active; possesses an instinctive collective will and continues to influence the Blood War |
Nature and Cosmology
The Abyss is the multiverse’s most infamous Lower Plane: a hostile, morally barren realm associated with death, destruction, and chaotic evil. It reflects the ugliness, evil, and chaos generated by intelligent life, giving rise to demons aligned with particular impulses such as desire, jealousy, and sloth. As long as intelligent life exists, demons can continue to emerge, making the Abyss effectively impossible to destroy permanently. 1152
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Layers | 666 layers are recorded, but the Abyss’s true number of layers is unknown; many remain unexplored. 720 1152 |
| Known traversal | Layers are linked by fissures, portals, and the River Styx; even weak demons can travel throughout the Abyss if they survive. 1323 1408 |
| Planar instability | Layers can expand, move closer to the Styx, be pulled elsewhere, or even be separated from the Abyss by sufficiently powerful beings. 1154 1315 |
| Corruption | Its aura causes creatures to become violent, bloodthirsty, mutated, diseased, or dead; corrupted locations become barren and monster-infested unless purified. 1514 |
| Primary conflict | The Abyss wages the Blood War against Baator, though demonic disunity has allowed devils to gain major advantages. 1269 1408 |
The Will of the Abyss
The Will of the Abyss is not a conventional mind. It is a diffuse aggregate consciousness that acts chiefly on instinct, with chaos as its defining impulse. It does not require faith or worship, but occupies a role within the Abyss comparable to that of a god. 1152
Favor and Empowerment
The Will favors demons who spread chaos, bring new territory into the Abyss, or otherwise help it grow. Demons acknowledged by it may become demon lords, gaining territory, authority, unique forms, or powerful knowledge without conventional study. 1152
- A demon lord’s claimed territory functions much like a domain, granting major advantages within that layer. 1155 1156
- The Will can reshape an entire layer to empower a favored lord, as seen when the Sixth Pyre expanded, gained Styx tributaries and blood pools, and formed a volcanic fortress. 1154 1156
- Its favor is not exclusive: Solam, Demogorgon, and other contenders are all part of an age of competition to produce a new Demon Prince. 1269
- It rewards success in the Blood War with direct increases in power, extending its gifts from major leaders to ordinary soldiers. 1453
Demands and Constraints
The Will seeks fierce competition and a Demon Prince capable of reversing the Abyss’s decline in the Blood War. It considers the political stagnation under Graz'zt and Malcanthet unhealthy, preferring brutal survival of the fittest among demon lords. 1269 1333
- Solam is treated as part of the Abyss because he was sacrificed to it; the Will expects him to become a Demon Prince and improve the Abyss’s position against Hell. 1270
- Failure to fulfill the Will’s expectations carries a punishment described as worse than death. 1270
- Despite representing chaos, the Will is constrained by rules and cannot simply act directly to fulfill every objective. 1511
- Solam exploited a sacrificial formation to give the Will a valid means to intervene against a devil army. 1511
Inhabitants
The Abyss is the homeland of demons, whose forms and temperaments are shaped by its chaotic nature. Its population ranges from weak dretches—used as slaves, food, and soldiers—to demon lords commanding layers, armies, and blood pools. 1152 1199
- Demons — Born from the emotions and actions of intelligent life; slaughter and souls can accelerate their growth. 1152 1157
- Demon lords — Demons recognized by the Will of the Abyss and granted authority over territory. 1152
- Obyriths and tanar'ri — Ancient and later demonic lineages that have competed for dominance within the Abyss. 1152 1238
- Abyssal dragons — Independent, wealth-hoarding dragons believed by scholars to be related to true dragons corrupted by the Abyss. 1293
- Lomara demons — Demons born from the nightmares left behind after the Abyss destroyed a pantheon that had severed one of its layers. 1239
Notable Layers and Regions
| Region | Description |
|---|---|
| Plain of Infinite Portals | The uppermost known layer: a barren, dusty battlefield of fissures, iron fortresses, and the River Styx. It is a principal front of the Blood War. 1408 |
| Sixth Pyre | The twenty-first layer and former realm of Kardum. Once a small volcanic plane, it expanded dramatically under the Will’s favor after Solam became its lord. 1154 1156 |
| Forgotten Land | A memory-losing transportation hub crossed by Styx channels; its major business is gladiatorial combat. 1293 |
| Great Abyss | An immense cave-like fissure created when an Obyrith excavation project catastrophically destroyed the layer’s original form. 1314 |
| Well of Darkness | The seventy-third layer, inhabited by Bodaks and containing pools of black liquid that strip prisoners of physical and magical power. 1279 1358 |
| Nightmare Abyss | An emptied layer created after a pantheon severed it from the Abyss; the Abyss retaliated by annihilating that pantheon. 1239 |
| Azzagrat | Graz'zt’s three-layer domain, encompassing the 45th through 47th layers and centered on the Argent Palace. 822 |
Story Role / Major Events
- The Will favors the awakening of the being in the Sixth Pyre’s Sea of Lava, triggering layer-wide eruptions, expansion, and the creation of a volcanic fortress. 1154
- Solam becomes a demon lord tied to the Abyss after being banished and sacrificed to it; the Will’s favor also binds him to its demand for a new Demon Prince. 1155 1269 1270
- The Abyss enters an age of great contention as Demogorgon, Obox-ob, Malcanthet, Graz'zt, Miska, and other powers compete amid escalating wars. 1269 1342
- The Will rewards Solam’s forces after thirty-three devil fortresses are Abyssalized, empowering his children and raising the Alpha Brothers to demon-lord status. 1453
- Through Solam’s sacrificial formation, the Will descends on the Plain of Infinite Portals and annihilates tens of millions of devils, removing its restraints and opening the way for Solam’s return to the Material Plane. 1511
Trivia
- The Abyss is chaotic, but not without rules; absolute chaos and absolute order cannot exist within the real universe. 1511
- A layer’s closeness to the River Styx can increase its ability to attract souls and create blood pools. 1154
- The Abyss’s oceans are interconnected as the Abyssian Ocean, with the River Styx linking seas across different layers. 1246