View source for Pearza

{{Character
|image=
|caption=
|name=Pearza
|home=[[Baator]]
|gender=Female
|race=[[Pit fiend]]
|class=n/a
|alignment=Lawful evil
|age=Unknown
}}
The pit fiend '''Pearza''' is the Minister of Research and Implementation in the [[Dark Eight]], which means she is the infernal bureaucrat in charge of Hell's researchers. Her bureaucracy develops new magic and instruments of war. She also commands Hell's interrogators, and constantly seeks innovative means of extracting information from captives.

==Description==
Pearza's ministry is one of the most prestigious in Baator. Many devils find that doing well in the Ministry of Research and Implementation is an excellent way to make a name for themselves quickly.

==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.

Pearza is the least experienced of the Dark Eight, and so she is still figuring out how to best deal with the other members of the council. She walks a line between boldness and subtlety, trying to find the ideal balance to get her what she wants. If she does not find it soon, though, she will find herself replaced with another pit fiend who can do it better.

==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 pit fiend presently known as Pearza is not the original one. When a member of the Dark Eight dies, the event is swiftly covered up and a new pit fiend is appointed in the old one's place, given the name of the predecessor in order to maintain the illusion of continuity. The present Pearza is the newest member of the Dark Eight, serving for even less time than [[Zaebos]]'s paltry three centuries.

==Publishing history==
Pearza was first mentioned in the ''Monstrous Compendium Outer Planes Appendix'' (1991).

==Bibliography==
*[[Cook, Monte]]. ''A Paladin in Hell''. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998. ISBN 0-7869-1210-3

*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.

*[[Chris Pramas|Pramas, Chris]]. ''Guide to Hell.'' Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.

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

[[Category:Archfiends]]
[[Category:Characters of the Nine Hells]]{{index}}