Chains of Asmodeus

Chapter 3: Avernus, the Eternal Battlefield

[image: Sentry Towers overlook the battlefield.]

The topmost layer of the Nine Hells, Avernus serves as both an entrance and a defensive line for the lower layers. With the Blood War raging, battles between demons and devils are continuously fought on its rocky soil. The remnants of recent battlefields scar the landscape, reminding inhabitants to be vigilant.

Running This Chapter

Before running this chapter read the "Avernus Overview" section. That section provides the information you need to guide the characters through Avernus and nudge them towards the War-Slough where the items they seek may be found.

Encounters

The characters may sail the River Styx through Avernus without much incident but once they leave the waters and travel overland, dangers arise. Roll at least once on the Random Encounters in Avernus table each time the characters move between major locations on the map.

Random Encounters in Avernus

d6	Encounter
1	A lone halog (see appendix B) begins to follow the characters.
2	A group of black abishai and white abishai led by a blue abishai (see Monsters of the Multiverse) fly overhead. If the characters follow them, they find Tiamat's Lair but risk discovery.
3	Six spined devils and eight imps circle in the sky above the remains of a recent battlefield.
4	Far in the distance, the characters observe infernal war machines chasing each other across the wastes.
5	The sky suddenly darkens as the flying fortress of the archdevil Zariel (see appendix A) passes over the characters, casting a lengthy shadow. Two affliction devils (see appendix B) leap from it to attack the characters, while the fortress continues its journey across Avernus.
6	A storm of flame and dust that is equivalent to the Storm of Vengeance spell (with a spell save DC of 19) erupts, centered around the characters and lasting for 10 rounds.

Locations

Koh Tam can provide a summary of Avernus when they arrive (see "Key Locations in Avernus").

Koh Tam

Avernus is more widely known than other layers, but if the characters are unfamiliar, Koh Tam can provide them with the information they seek. His focus should be on the Blood War however, and the eternal battleground that is the War-Slough. In locations such as that, great power is to be found.

Objectives

Make sure you keep track of your players' objectives to help guide them to the appropriate areas in Avernus where they might complete their goals. Ideally, they should be met by Rexlexkala in the War-Slough and encouraged to explore the Ruined Tower and the Ichor Lake in that area.

The following objectives can be attained in Avernus:

Objectives in Avernus

Objective	Location
Phylactery of the Brother	The War-Slough: The Ichor Lake
Phylactery of the Queen	The War-Slough: The Ruined Tower

Temptations

Have the characters encounter at least one temptation during their time in Avernus. You can of course have them encounter more if you want. If the characters give in to temptation, use the information in appendix E to keep track of their corruption level.

Avernus Overview

Thousands of years of construction projects have led to myriad artificial channels, sluices, and gates within parts of the River Styx. Where it used to flow, along the edge of the realm, there remains only a dry riverbed and sparse vegetation. Due to the powerful nature of the river, the walls and mechanisms are in a never-ending cycle of repairs.

Aside from the Styx flowing through the center of the layer, Avernus lacks water and vegetation. Much of the realm consists of lifeless hills, jagged mountains, and rocky terrain. Outcroppings of crystals and metals jut through the surface like spikes, accompanying the boulder fields as surface features. Lakes and rivers of lava dot the surface, though not nearly as dense as the fire-aspected layers beneath. Geysers and fumaroles decorate the landscape, occasionally spewing scalding steam and toxic clouds.

While the sky remains unlit by celestial bodies, fireballs streak through and explode, bringing a fiery light to the horizon. Sometimes the fireballs collide with the land, resulting in smoldering impact craters. Closer to the land, the realm is bathed in a deep red light of unknown origin. To mortals the air is thick, due to the ash, toxins, and dust that contaminate the atmosphere. Bones and blood of creatures long perished decorate the less-traveled areas, as well as the decaying battlefields.

Notable locations within Avernus include the Bronze Citadel, the Pillar of Skulls, and Tiamat's Lair. Connecting each landmark with the rest of the realm is the Great Avernus Road, constructed by Bel to facilitate military transport.

Bel used to rule the realm, but has since lost the position to Zariel, a fallen angel turned devil. Her goals, even as the Blood War rages, are to restore Avernus to its former glory, and to remove Tiamat from the realm. Zariel's subjects primarily include devils that form the defensive armies of the Blood War, but natives to Avernus still remain.

Leaving Avernus

Only a few methods allow travel to the lower layers of the Nine Hells. The cave system of Tiamat's lair contains a hidden and perilous path to Dis. In addition, one of the largest iron towers of the City of Dis pierces through Avernus, with an opening next to the Pillar of Skulls. For an experienced sailor, the Styx is also viable, as it snakes its way around a mountain down into the next layer and beyond, and this is Koh Tam's preferred route.

Features

Avernus' combination of oppressive heat and supernatural malevolence weighs on the bodies and souls of those who aren't evil. A non-evil creature treats normal travel through Avernus as a forced march and must make a Constitution saving throw at the end of each hour of travel. The DC is 10 + 1 for each hour of travel. On a failed saving throw, a creature gains one level of exhaustion.

Optional Rule

Evil pervades Avernus, and visitors feel its influence. At the end of each long rest taken on this plane, a visitor that isn't evil must make a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature's alignment changes to lawful evil. The change becomes permanent if the creature doesn't leave the plane within 1d4 days. Otherwise, the creature's alignment reverts to normal after a day spent away from the Nine Hells. Casting the Dispel Evil and Good spell on the creature also restores its original alignment.

Key Locations in Avernus

Some of the major landmarks found in Avernus are described below.

The Bronze Citadel

The Bronze Citadel is the largest and longest-standing city in Avernus, serving as both a political and militaristic capital. Within the city lies a basalt fortress, from which Zariel rules the realm. The city is under a constant state of retrofitting, with metal and bone fortifications and buildings being improved or modified every day. Though sprawling across hundreds of square miles, the city is a massive structure with numerous walls and war machines, befitting its position so near the beachhead of the Blood War.

As Koh Tam's barge prepares to leave the Bronze Citadel, read:

If the characters ignore Koh Tam and linger, perhaps seeking out magic items or other wares, they might become tempted by Asmodeus to acquire something that they shouldn't.

[image: Stay inside on a rainy day in Avernus.]

Tiamat's Lair

A cave mouth leads into Tiamat's lair, a massive mountain and cave system which is one of the routes into Dis. But Tiamat protects the other layers of the Nine Hells from potential invaders by guarding these passages vigilantly. Access to her lair is even more difficult because a massive pit of wretched souls blocks the way. This pit and numerous abishai keep outsiders from entering Tiamat's Lair.

Koh Tam advises against attempting passage this way, for the devils of the Nine Hells have many agents in Avernus and the characters' forcing their way through Tiamat's Lair would certainly be noticed.

The Pillar of Skulls

At the edge of the layer, next to the entrance to Dis, lies the Pillar of Skulls—a multiple-mile high monument to the Blood War. Skulls of fallen demons and devils are stacked on top of each other, creating a gruesome landmark. As the characters approach they hear a cackle and sigh, as if the skulls themselves have a story to whisper to them. But the noise appears to just be the hot wind scouring bone and dirt.

The War-Slough

The location most interesting to characters seeking phylacteries is the War-Slough, a vast battlefield upon which demons and devils have been slaughtering one another for eons. Here is where the characters may find what they seek in Avernus...

Adventure: The War-Slough

The War-Slough in Avernus, site of the Great Fray, was home to a devastating war between devils and demons and what's left is a nightmarish collection of lost devil units, wandering demons, and corruption. The characters might come here searching for a soul phylactery.

If the characters tell Koh Tam that they wish to visit the War-Slough, or if they are not certain where to travel to next, he recites the following tale:

"Once there was a battle that pushed even the limits of the Nine Hells to past their breaking point. Devils still talk of the Great Fray in hushed voices, mostly because of the infernal bureaucracy it still causes. On that day the skies of Avernus opened, and the demons just kept coming through, host upon host of them. And the blazing and barbed armies of the Nine Hells rose to meet them, as they always do, and it went on. And on. A single engagement of the Blood War that raged back and forth while, on more mundane planes, mortal lifetimes came and went, empires rose and fell, species were created and became extinct. Countless demons and devils fought and were destroyed or banished. Countless. That was the problem." Koh Tam pauses, as if not quite sure of where he's taking the story. He glances at you, then continues.

"It's the chaos that did it, of course. All those demons concentrated on a single field, slaughtering the lesser hosts of the Nine Hells through sheer ebullient numbers but being slaughtered in turn. Their ichor being shed in tides that would drown a nation, and again, and again. The demons have been driven off long since, but in some way the Abyss won that engagement. The War-Slough is what's left. And that is where we must search." Koh Tam smiles grimly. "It should be easy to find... a great sunken bowl miles across, a morass of half-drowned trenches, craters, broken war engines and ruined fortifications. There are artifacts of vast power lost somewhere in the war-strata of the Slough, stockpiles of souls and every unique war-ending engine that failed to end anything. All of it buried in the corrupting mud."

Advice from Koh Tam

If the characters are struggling to decide what to do, or about to set out without being sufficiently prepared, Koh Tam can help nudge or guide them with the following advice:

There are some devils that seek mortals to enter the War-Slough and find discarded weapons from the Blood War. They should search the borders for such a devil as it might help them find what they're looking for.
The War-Slough can warp those who stay too long, so they should make haste.

Koh Tam also gives them an infernal map. Show the players the map of the War-Slough in appendix F. They can use this map to decide which points of interest they want to explore. Refer to the "Using an Infernal Map" section of chapter 2. A failed or successful Wisdom (Survival) check to use this map has a 50 chance of triggering an encounter on the Random Encounters in the War-Slough table.

Demon Blood

The corrupting mud of the War-Slough exists due to the sheer unparalleled quantity of demonic blood that has been shed in this single concentrated engagement. Normally the ground of the Nine Hells is inhospitable terrain for anything so undisciplined. Chaos runs off it like water from weaved cloth. Even the resilience of the Nine Hells has limits. Eventually they fought ankle-deep, knee-deep. The stuff just didn't soak away, and the field became a nightmarish quagmire reeking of the wild Abyss. The very sight of the War-Slough sends shudders down the spines of lesser devils.

Because of the corrupted demon blood, when a creature has spent more than an hour in the War-Slough it must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw. Fiends, Oozes, Plants, and Undead automatically succeed on the saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is warped by the demon blood, as determined by rolling on the Flesh Warping table.

When a creature takes a short rest in the War-Slough, they must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw to resist having their flesh warped. A long rest requires succeeding on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. A spell that removes a curse ends all demon blood related warping effects on a creature.

Flesh Warping

d10	Effect
1	The creature's eyes push out of its head on the end of stalks.
2	One of the creature's legs grows longer than the other, reducing its walking speed by 10 feet.
3	The creature's eyes become beacons, filling a 15-foot cone with dim light when they're open.
4	The creature's ears tear free from its head and scurry away; the creature has the deafened condition.
5	The creature's arms become tentacles with fingers on the ends, increasing its reach by 5 feet.
6	The creature's legs grow incredibly long and springy, increasing its walking speed by 10 feet.
7	The creature grows a whiplike tail, it can now use a bonus action to make one tail attack (treat the tail as a whip.)
8	The creature's ears become wings, giving it a flying speed of 5 feet.
9	The creature's body becomes unusually brittle, causing the target to gain vulnerability to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
10	The creature grows another head, causing it to have advantage on saving throws against the charmed, frightened, or stunned conditions.

The Forever War

The War-Slough isn't abandoned. To evacuate it you'd have to master it, and the place is beyond even Zariel's dominion. It doesn't matter what nebulous period of time has passed since the Great Fray: the combatants on both sides are immortal, and there are plenty left in the Slough still trying to fight the dead battle. On the nominal side of the Nine Hells, units of single-minded merregons (see Monsters of the Multiverse) from the handfuls to the hundreds slog endlessly through the mire, cut off from any orders after too many usurpations and reappointments up the chain of command. Beyond any hope of returning to the infernal hierarchy they attack just about anything on sight, including each other. Brutal, yet simultaneously pathetic and desperate, they scream codewords and countersigns as though hoping to hear some word of authority that they're past the point of ever recognizing.

A number of infernal generals were lost to the Great Fray, and some are still in there. Fighting the infinitely shifting hosts of the abyss broke them one after another, leaving them unable to trust any external authority for fear of falling for a demonic trick. They maintain their camps and shrunken domains in the ruins of fallen fortifications and tell themselves that they continue the fight even as they raid one another or make sham alliances that they know will be broken in heartbeats.

Aside from the pathetic remnants of devil armies, the War-Slough has developed an ecology of sorts. There is always a meal to be had for an opportunistic scavenger. One-off mutated creations roam forlorn over its churned surface or slither through its trenches. Demons stalk and worry at the ineffable meat of fallen Fiends, growing fat and corrupt with demonic taint. There are tentacled things in the lakes of demon-ichor and vast corpse-worms that burrow through the slimy soil. For every hideous monster there is something worse still to prey upon it.

War-Slough Encounters

Every time the characters take a short or long rest in the War-Slough roll on the Random Encounters in the War-Slough table. Then roll a d6. On a 1–3 the random encounter interrupts the rest. On a 4–6 the encounter happens a few minutes after the rest is finished.

Random Encounters in the War-Slough

d6	Predator
1	A flock of three shredwings (see appendix B) circles in the distance.
2	A gang of five bulbous hezrou (speed 20) erupt from a pool of demonic ichor.
3	A lost legion of one hundred merregon (see Monsters of the Multiverse) march in formation, ignoring anything that doesn't get in their way. A headless horned devil leads them.
4	A corpse worm (purple worm with the Fiend type) erupts from the ground beneath the characters.
5	A squad of a dozen insane merregon mistakes the characters for demons.
6	Two horned devils fused together (they always occupy the same space but have their own turns) lead a battalion of two dozen merregon. One horned devil orders the battalion to attack, while the other orders them to march in formation. Each round there is a 50 chance of the merregon obeying either leader.

Escaping the Slough

If a creature tries to leave the War-Slough after being there for more than 8 hours, the demonic taint fights to stop them from leaving. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or find that they don't want to leave. They may make another DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to escape only after they finish a short or long rest. However, if they haven't killed a living creature since their last attempt, the DC increases to 25.

War-Slough Locations

There are those who go to the War-Slough by choice. Why would anyone? Well, there are all those lost artifacts and items of fearsome power that are in there somewhere, if one could only track them down. There's enough potent treasure for any number of daring hunters to retire on, plus stored souls to power every warship on the Styx for half an eternity.

W1: Sentry Tower

Technically, Zariel has set a prohibition against any devil entering the War-Slough, to avoid the region being destabilized any further. Because of this prohibition, ambitious devils bargain with mortals to trick or bribe them to enter the Slough seeking rumored treasures. One such is an amnizu (see Monsters of the Multiverse) named Rexlexkala. He approaches the characters if he sees them on the border of the War-Slough. Once he has convinced them that he doesn't intend harm, he explains what he has to offer them:

"You will find it easy to enter the War-Slough. While there is a ring of towers about the perimeter, they are far-spaced, and sentry duty is a punishment detail for lowly devils who survived failed actions in the Blood War. The constant prickle of the demonic at the backs of these pathetic devils serves as sufficient distraction that diligent intruders can easily sneak past. However, getting out of the Slough is harder. The truth is that the Slough, through the sheer weight of wasted life and passion and its unique admixture of the infernal and the demonic, has become something like a sentient thing, a kind of insensate god of wasted wrath. It does not want to let go of anyone or anything that falls into its clutches, and over time its influence turns everything within it to a lost, furious combatant seeking to perpetuate a meaningless war. However, I have something that can help you avoid that fate, but only if you help me retrieve something."

Rexlexkala has learned the location of an infernal artifact designed millennia ago to end the Great Fray. The artifact is a horn built to allow devils to listen in on the thoughts of demons while they're in Avernus, even powerful demon lords. Such an item is worthless to mortal adventurers but is of supreme value to an archdevil such as Zariel. Rexlexkala will give 10 Soul Coins for the horn. In addition, he provides each character with a vial of Condensed Order (see appendix D.) In addition to the substance's normal effects, it also allows them to leave the War-Slough without requiring a Wisdom saving throw first. Finally, he has studied the War-Slough for centuries and can give advice on how to find things within. If the characters agree to his terms, Rexlexkala gives them a map to a rift which is located deep within the War-Slough (reveal area W4 on the infernal map). In this rift lie buried many weapons left over from the Blood War.

He will also answer questions from the characters if they agree to his task or he feels his life is threatened.

If the characters ask him for help in finding the phylactery of the queen, he says that they will find it at an abandoned tower which is located deep within the War-Slough. It dates from a time when the War-Slough was much smaller.
If the characters ask him for help in finding the phylactery of the brother, he tells them that they will find what they're looking for at the largest of the demon-ichor lakes located in the Slough.

W2: Ruined Tower

The characters notice the tower when they get within 300 feet of it. It was built centuries ago to guard the borders of the War-Slough when it was much smaller. Now the top floor of the tower is the roost of a marilith. She wraps her snake body around an infernal throne, a remnant from the Blood War. The throne allows a Fiend to control lesser devils as if its occupant were at the top of the infernal hierarchy. The marilith, a demon, uses it to amuse herself by having all the devils in the region perform whatever whim comes into her head. The marilith is easier to defeat if the characters enter the tower without her knowing, but there are several obstacles to achieving that.

The first obstacle is a half dozen barbed devils and a half dozen bearded devils marching back and forth along the road to the entrance. If observed, they're seemingly following orders that only they hear. They'll attack anyone that they see, but it is easy to avoid them when they're marching away from the tower. When first discovered they're 90 feet away from the tower and marching back towards it. Every turn, there is a 50 chance they reverse direction. Any noise makes them Dash towards the direction of that distraction, but they ignore anything that happens overhead, because they're, after all, mere foot soldiers. If these devils engage in combat with the characters, each round, one devil attempts to Dash back to the tower at "A" and if any devil reaches it, this obstacle is considered failed.

The second obstacle is only encountered if the characters approach the tower by air. If they do so, and are noticed, they're confronted by four bone devils that patrol the skies about 600 feet above ground. One of the bone devils will Dash to the window ("C" on the map) 100 feet away that leads into the "Throne Room". If it reaches that window, this obstacle is considered failed.

The final obstacle is within the tower. The interior is mostly an empty ruin, with a simple stone staircase rising upwards. But 1d4 shadow demons linger at each location marked "B" on the staircase (see the "Ruined Tower" map). These shadow demons attempt to hide from the characters and, if not discovered, they ascend to the next "B" (or to the "Throne Room," if the uppermost "B" has been reached). If any shadow demons reach the throne room, this obstacle is considered failed. If discovered, the shadow demons attack the characters.

The Throne Room

The marilith is dressed up in the garments of a queen and attended to by four bearded devils that wear the fine clothing of palace courtiers and are busy entertaining the marilith. The marilith and her minions are unaware of the heroes until they announce themselves, or come within 15 feet of the throne, unless they've failed 2 or more of the previous obstacles, in which case she is very much aware of them. There is an additional bearded devil for every failed obstacle.

Once aware of them, the marilith and her devil courtiers mock the characters. They do this until the intruders attempt to leave or show any sort of disrespect, then they attack. If the marilith is killed her body vanishes and she appears on her throne 1d6 rounds later with 100 hit points. Only by destroying the throne can she be killed. The throne has an AC of 15 and 100 hit points.

The Phylactery of the Queen

If a character that has chosen this phylactery enters this room, read the following upon entering:

In a fight this servant (commoner) doesn't participate, even if attacked directly. Once the queen is permanently slain, the servant contorts and twists, leaving behind the character's soul phylactery.

W3: Ichor Lake and the Demon Nest

[image: The ichor lake awaits.]

A huge circular rift drops one 100 feet into the depths of the Slough. Small streams of demonic ichor cascade over its edges. At the bottom of this foul place the demonic ichor of the War-Slough has gathered into a large lake that seethes and bubbles with unconstrained malice and possibility. At its center is an island that resembles a massive ant nest with entrances to caves or perhaps burrows. The smoke, haze, and muck make it nearly impossible to discern whether creatures occupy the tunnels below.

For some time, Zariel's underlings held out hope that a finite number of demons remained, and they would slowly dwindle away over the eons until none were left and the Slough might revert to Avernus' natural state. The most recent Infernal Survey of the place found ample evidence that concentrations of demonic material (resembling nests) were spawning random demons at least as fast as the creatures were being killed off. Through these nests, the War-Slough perpetuates itself. The island at the center of the lake is one such nest.

W3A: Entrance

W3B: The Caves

Each cave has hezrou and barlgura embedded in its walls, many only partially formed. Blood vessels in the walls pump demonic ichor into the catatonic demons. Attacking any of them awakens 1d6 of each.

W3C: Demons

A mixture of two dozen dretches and manes mill about mindlessly in these caves. They ignore intruders but descend with fury on anyone who attacks them.

W3D: The Lake

Coming into contact with the ichor of the lake forces a creature to succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or roll on the Flesh Warping table. Gibbering dretches or manes demons that spawn from the demonic heart swim across the lake. They ignore anyone they see and emerge from the lake with a new deformity (use the Flesh Warping table for examples). These demons tend to accumulate in the various caves. The characters need to cross the lake to reach "The Heart."

W3E: The Heart

The island is about 60 feet from the shore. Once it is reached, the characters can walk up to the heart itself. The heart has an AC of 8 and 200 hit points. Killing it causes the lake to become inert. However, as soon as it is damaged, the heart will awaken the hezrou and barlgura to come to its aid. On initiative count 10 of each round 1d4 of each arrive in the chamber and begin swimming across the lake.

When the lake becomes inert all the demons act as if they're under the Confusion spell. However, instead of acting normally on rolling a 9 or a 10 (as per the spell), this roll results in the demon inflating like a balloon and then exploding, showering demonic ichor in a 10-foot-radius. Anyone in that area must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be forced to roll on the Flesh Warping table.

The Phylactery of the Brother

A character who seeks their brother's soul, notices movement in the ground underneath the demonic heart.

Once the heart is slain, the ichor can be pulled aside, and the brother's phylactery recovered. The character gains the Phylactery Benefit associated with it.

W4: Canyon Trove

[image: A brave prospector ventures into the Trove despite its dangers.]

This isolated canyon descends into the depths of the Slough and is where the real treasures of the War-Slough are found, including the horn that Rexlexkala desires. Strange things occur sporadically as the characters descend, the place twisted and distorted by the great war. When a character least expects it (perhaps just after a rest, or in the midst of battle), a grotesque tentacle with a shrieking mouth instead of suckers bursts from the canyon wall to flail about wildly before withdrawing again. The tentacles are harmless unless the characters decide to attack one (then the tentacles have the statistics of a guardian naga, but 0 movement speed, lawful evil alignment and no spellcasting trait).

Though the tentacles can be safely ignored, there are real dangers in the canyon. And to find items of true value, the characters have to make an effort to explore, heading deep into the canyon's bowels. Each hour the characters make a DC 20 Wisdom (Survival) check to search for clues that might lead them to the treasures they seek. Failure results in an encounter, while success leads to treasure.

Encounter

The first time the characters fail their search results in them encountering the "Temptation of Anger." Afterwards, on future failures, roll a d8. 1–4 means an empty cave; 5–6 means they stumble upon 1d2 glabrezu; a 7–8 means they find 1d4 hezrou.

Treasure

Every time the characters succeed in their search for clues, they have a 50 chance of finding Rexlexkala's Horn. Otherwise, they roll on the Infernal Items table. For a description of these items see appendix D. When they find the item, it might be in the clutches of a tentacle that erupts from the canyon walls, or it might be lodged at the bottom of a bubbling pool of demon ichor (which is a black pudding with 120 hit points and immunity to fire damage). After 3 such items, they'll no longer find any more infernal items here and even successful searches are now treated as failures.

Rexlexkala's Horn

A nalfeshnee carries the artifact that Rexlexkala seeks and won't relinquish it without a fight. The artifact looks like a metallic horn, but if touched it begins to wriggle like a grotesque worm. Other than this it can be handled safely. An Identify spell reveals that it is meant to be swallowed to attune to it, but if anyone other than a devil does so, they gain none of its powers and instead are afflicted with a random major insanity that can't be removed until the artifact is extracted.

Infernal Items

d10	Item	Danger
1	Bracers of Asmodeus	None
2	Infernal Plate Armor	Pool of demon ichor
3	Stygian Spear	Tentacle
4	Canian Fork	Pool of demon ichor
5	Demonbone Polearm	2d6 barlguras
6	Sword of Retribution	Yellow mold
7	Infernal Amulet	Angry horned devil
8–10	Ancient Blood War Weapon (see Ancient Blood War Weapons table)	None

Ancient Blood War Weapons

d4	Blood War Weapon
1	This is a fleshy, blood-hued sphere and if an action is used to squeeze it hard enough, it erupts into a 500-foot-radius Cloudkill that harms only Fiends.
2	This box casts bright light for 200 feet and dim light for 1,000 feet. Covering it negates the light. An Identify spell reveals that the box is full of divine energy and will explode if opened. If an action is used to open the box, every creature in a 100-foot-radius takes 70 (20d6) radiant damage and the box is destroyed.
3	This ornate fan is comprised of dozens of partly melted blades. When an action is used to unfurl the blades, spores are released in a 40-foot-radius. Any demon in the area must make a DC 17 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, they take 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and one affliction from the Flesh Warping table. Once used, the fan can't be used again until a long rest is finished.
4	This is a bag with 10d10 strange seeds inside. If a seed is planted in the Nine Hells, it immediately grows into a corrupted shrieker. Any demon that doesn't have the deafened condition and starts its turn within 30 feet of a corrupted shrieker takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage. This damage doesn't stack with damage from other corrupted shriekers.