Zimimar

Greyhawk Character

Zimimar
General info
Home:	Baator
Alignment:	Lawful evil
Gender:	Female
Species:	Pit fiend
Class:	n/a
Dates
Age:	Unknown

The pit fiend Zimimar is the Minister of Morale in the Dark Eight, which means she is the infernal bureaucrat in charge of making sure the infernal armies remain in relatively good spirits, as well as quashing rebellions and insubordination among the ranks. Arguably, though, her real job is to cover up the mistakes made by the other members of her council, maintaining the illusion among the troops that their power is mighty and infallible.

Description

The always-friendly Zimimar is polite and ingratiating to all devils below her station, no matter how lowly and insignificant. Of course, this is all merely to help her gain an edge in Baator's cutthroat politics, and she will readily betray those who are of no use to her. She always smiles, even when crushing the last breath from her enemies, and lesser baatezu know that if they don't display high morale when she comes inspecting, there will be heads on pikes before she's through. Zimimar has a network of spies throughout the baatezu ranks ready to report anyone who steps out of line or speaks against the power of the Dark Eight.

Relationships

Each member of the Dark Eight is given authority over one aspect of the Blood War. They separately pursue their own agendas, but the entire council has final say over their decisions. Despite their rivalries and intrigues, though, the Dark Eight works well as a team, and Hell's bureaucracy moves efficiently. Zimimar works closely with Furcas, who determines promotions and demotions among the baatezu ranks.

History

The Dark Eight was founded prior to the Reckoning of Hell as a secret order of pit fiends. Under the leadership of the pit fiend Cantrum, they wormed their way to the leadership of Baator's nine armies. During the Reckoning, they revealed the true control they had been hiding even from the archdevils they purportedly served; they turned their armies against the rebellious Lords of the Nine, making it clear that Asmodeus's cleverness could not be matched and his power could not be questioned.

The first recorded public intervention of the Dark Eight following Cantrum's death was the Rebellion of the Inferiors, in which balor spies secretly inspired a revolt among lesser devils in one infernal settlement. The Dark Eight arrived to personally deal with the situation; the balors were revealed, and they were torn apart by their enraged dupes.

The present Zimimar is not the original one, who had led six companies of bone devils in the service of Mammon. Over the centuries, many members of the Dark Eight have fallen to assassinations or other causes, but in order to maintain the illusion of continuity they have been quickly and secretly replaced by new pit fiends and given the same names as their predecessors. The Dark Eight kill anyone they suspect of knowing the truth.

Publishing history

Zimimar was first mentioned as a male pit fiend in Dragon #75 (1983) and appeared in the first edition Monster Manual II. Although initially he was portrayed as one of Mammon's minions, Zimimar was reinterpreted as one of the Dark Eight in the Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix (1991). In Hellbound: The Blood War (1996), it was revealed that the present Zimimar was female, and not the original one who had served Mammon.

Bibliography

• Cook, Monte. A Paladin in Hell. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998. ISBN 0-7869-1210-3

• Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual II. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

• Greenwood, Ed. "The Nine Hells, Part I." Dragon #75. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

• LaFountain, J. Paul. Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1991.

• Laws, Robin D., and Robert J. Schwalb. Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2006.

• McComb, Colin. Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Renton, WA: TSR, 1997.

• McComb, Colin, and Monte Cook. Hellbound: The Blood War. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1996.

• Pramas, Chris. Guide to Hell. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.

• Varney, Allen, ed. Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1994.

  Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index

The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.

Topic	Type	Description	Product	Page/Card/Image
Zimimar (Duke of Hell)	Non-player character	Devil, Pit fiend,	Dragon magazine #075	9, 24, 25
Zimimar (Duke of Hell)	Non-player character	Devil, Pit fiend,	Monster Manual 2, AD&D 1e	44
Zimimar (Duke of Hell)	Non-player character	Devil, Pit fiend,	Manual of the Planes, AD&D 1e	65