<div class="top-nav"> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/Home">Home</a> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/Character Main Page">Characters</a> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/Factions Index">Factions</a> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/Locations Index">Locations</a> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/World Lore">Lore</a> <a href="/mydndgame/publish/pages/Map">Map</a> </div> Throughout history, the teeming hordes of the [[Abyss]] and the strictly regimented legions of the Nine Hells have battled for supremacy in the cosmos. In the mortal world, the scant few scholars, arcanists, and adventurers who know the conflict for what it is refer to it as the Blood War. The fighting takes place across the Lower Planes, on the Material Plane, and anywhere else that demons and devils might congregate. From time to time, demons spill out of the [[Abyss]] to invade [[Avernus]], the uppermost layer of the Nine Hells. While the devils defend their home turf, they also make strikes against locations in the [[Abyss]]. Although the intensity of the conflict waxes and wanes, and the front lines of the war can shift drastically, a moment never goes by when demons and devils aren’t battling each other somewhere in the multiverse. Devils and demons are far from the only combatants in the Blood War. Both sides exploit the Material Plane’s most abundant resource — mortal creatures, whose bodies and souls are both useful to the cause. Devils constantly strive to recruit mortals into their ranks by offering them rewards in return for their service. While they live, these cultists carry out the wishes of their archdevil masters, whether raiding an enemy outpost or gathering more members for the cult. When a cultist dies, its soul emerges in the Nine Hells and becomes another of the Blood War’s immortal soldiers. Demons generally have no regard for mortal souls and do not solicit them, but living creatures do have their uses. Groups of corrupted cultists dedicated to one of the demon lords exist all across the realms of the material world. For as long as these mortals do the bidding of their lord, they are allowed to live. From a demon’s perspective, all other living creatures are nothing more than sheep ripe for slaughter, and demonic cultists share this view. These fanatics don’t hesitate to slay other mortals if given the chance — and if their victims happen to be in league with devils, so much the better. The Blood War has all the characteristics of an eternal stalemate, in part because the two sides are so familiar with each other. Every time the [[Abyss]] belches forth some new variety of horror, the disciplined and well-trained legions of the Nine Hells reorganize, rally, and counterattack. The devils continually dream up variations on their attack strategies, only to be checked by the overwhelming chaotic force of the [[Abyss]]. Little true advancement occurs under the angry red sky of [[Avernus]] or in any other realm where the forces clash. The leaders of each side recognize that the introduction of some unexpected factor could permanently affect the balance of power. Accordingly, demons and devils constantly send their agents across the planes in search of artifacts, powerful creatures to recruit, and other resources that could lead to a key advantage in the war. # Session Reference