Hag Countess

The Hag Countess, former Lord of the Sixth

Malagard
Malagard, the Hag Countess, as depicted in the Book of Vile Darkness (2002).
General information
Home:	Nine Hells
Alignment:	Lawful evil
Gender:	Female
Superior:	Asmodeus
Rules items
Domains:	n/a

The Hag Countess, also known as Malagard, is the former ruler of Malbolge, the Sixth Layer of the Nine Hells of Baator. Her name is spelled Malagarde in Fiendish Codex II and Lamagard in Defenders of the Faith. Her symbol is a pair of black-feathered wings on a white background.

Description

The Hag Countess was a gruesome night hag. Her bruise-coloured skin, covered in pimples and varicose veins, constantly seeped with foul blood. Her horrid, gaunt face sported a nearly toothless mouth that smelled of carrion. She also has two large black feathery wings. Despite her decrepit form, the Hag Countess was actually very powerful.

Relationships

The Hag Countess had no alliances or strong rivalries with the other archdevils. Belial sought to conquer her layer, but did not succeed before it was seized by Glasya.

Vassals

Before being deposed, the following beings served the Hag Countess, some of them being former vassals of Moloch. The forces at their disposal are listed, where appropriate:

• Axacrusis, a paeliryon devil, her chancellor. Axacrusis is currently being tortured by Glasya by having its entrails eternally feasted upon by imps.
• Beleth, Prince of Imps
• Bethage, pit fiend - 9 companies of cornugons.
• Bloodcurdle - A powerful cauchemar nightmare who serves as his mistress' steed and personal confidante.
• Herobaal, pit fiend - 16 companies of osyluths.
• Lel - daughter (BoVD) - 6 companies of erinyes.
• Tartach - Moloch's Legate (DR76) later reined in by Baalzebul and now serving Glasya.

Realm

The Hag Countess lived within a stronghold inside of a gigantic bolder that rolled through the sloping Hell of Malbolge. With her coven of night hag courtiers and many night hag allies, the Malagard's palace was one of the surest (and most expensive) places in the Nine Hells to acquire large amounts of harvested souls.

The Hag Countess would periodically visit the bronze fortresses of her subordinates in disguise to see how they acted when they didn't know she was around. Those who failed her tests would face her wrath and her flaming sword.

Dogma

As the physically weakest of the archdevils, Malagard favored subtlety to physical force in her politics, although she inherited a large army from Moloch and was not afraid to exert her wrath upon her inferiors. Her primary goal was to secure her power by becoming a god.

History

The Hag Countess was an exception among the Dukes of Hell. She was no devil but an unusually powerful night hag from Hades. Thus, her (presumed) original alignment was also different from any other devil residing in Hell.

Later, Malagard became the leman of Moloch, Baalzebul's former viceroy who ruled Malebolge at that time. She wasn't his actual consort (Lilith bore that title) but she was highly regarded as his personal adviser and lover. She often soothed her master by coating his body with grease boiled from the fat of heretics and blasphemers. However, she had been cuckolding him with Geryon, who (along with the spymaster Beleth) urged her to convince Moloch to join Baalzebul's rebellion against Asmodeus. This she did, and upon the Reckoning of Hell, she advised Moloch (again, at Geryon's secret urging) to stand defiant of Asmodeus. Moloch acted accordingly and was eventually banished from Baator. Afterwards, Asmodeus granted the rulership of Malebolge to Malagard. Once in charge, the Hag let in annises, night hags, green hags, and other neutral evil creatures into the Nine Hells, much to the other arch-lords' annoyance.

Thousands of years later, in 595 or 596 CY, she was deposed by Glasya, Asmodeus's daughter. As of Fiendish Codex II, in a process whose exact genesis is unclear (but seems to have been empowered by the slain essence of Geryon) the Hag Countess's body swelled enormously and split open to radically change the nature of the entire layer of Malbolge. Thus, the sixth plane of Baator is in fact nothing else than the Hag Countess's innards and bones. The Countess is technically dead, though her life essence still remains on Malbolge, and night hags, paeliryon devils, kalabon devils, and hell lice continually spawn from the enormous tumors in her changed flesh.

The reason why Asmodeus placed Malagard in control of Malebolge is said to be because he wanted to stop bickering with his daughter and finally grant her the place she deserved: being an arch-Duchess. However, in order to do so, they had to come to an understanding. The Hag Countess was the perfect decoy, as the other arch-lords focused on her and her dubious ascension while Asmodeus and Glasya were able to parley in peace. Once both had a deal, Malagard was of no use to them anymore and they quickly disposed of her.

Apocrypha

According to 3rd party material produced by Green Ronin, the Hag Countess and Lilith are one and the same, a unique being who has changed her name through the ages.

See also

• Dukes of Hell
• Lords of the Nine Hells

Bibliography

• Cook, Monte. Book of Vile Darkness. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2002.

• Greenwood, Ed. "The Nine Hells Part II." Dragon #76. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.

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

• Marmell, Ari. "Codex of Betrayal: Beleth, the Witch's Viscount." Dragon #365. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2008. Available online: [1]

• McComb, Colin. Faces of Evil: The Fiends. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1997.
• -----. "The Lords of the Nine." Dragon #223. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR 1995.

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

• -----. Legions of Hell: Book of Fiends, Volume One. Renton, WA: Green Ronin Publishing, 2001.

• Redman, Rich and James Wyatt. Defenders of the Faith. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.

• Schwalb, Robert J. "Infernal Aristocracy: Dukes of Hell." Dragon #360. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007. Available online:[2]