Dagos
| Dagos | |
|---|---|
| General info | |
| Home: | Baator |
| Alignment: | Lawful evil |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Pit fiend |
| Class: | n/a |
| Dates | |
| Age: | Unknown |
The pit fiend Dagos is the Minister of Strategy in the Dark Eight, which means he is the infernal bureaucrat in charge determining the tactics used by Hell's Blood War armies, and he commands the nine generals who lead the nine baatezu armies of the Blood War.
Description
Dagos works fiercely to weed out corruption from the military ranks, and he is in charge of determining who gets promoted or demoted, in both military rank and diabolic power, within the armies under his control. In this respect he bypasses Zaebos's ministry, which determines promotions and demotions among all other devils. Devils under the command of Dagos tend to rise through the ranks more quickly than those who have to rely on Zaebos's conservative judgment; in part they deserve to because of the intense discipline that Dagos squeezes out of his soldiers.
Dagos believes the rules he sets controlling the behavior of his subordinates do not apply to him, and he permits himself to engage in double-dealing that he would execute an inferior for.
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.
Dagos directly commands the nine infernal generals of the Blood War: Alusiel, Phanior, Galarond, Kobbis, Meathe, Laginus, Bel, Meritos, and Hanariel, who together lead the Three Commands.
The Three Commands
- The First Command consists of air forces and elite units who establish beachheads and infiltrate tanar'ri camps. These armies are stuck with the most hazardous duties, including suicide runs and scouting missions, but the opportunities for advancement are greater in the First Command than in any other, and the First Command already includes far more greater baatezu among its ranks than the other two. The First Command is led by the pit fiends Alusiel, Phanior, and Galarond.
- The Second Command is Hell's navy, including vessels designed both for rivers and the sea. They are also responsible for transporting other Commands across water. The Second Command is led by the aminizus Kobbis and Meathe and the cornugon Laginus. Most of the leadership of the Second Command is composed of amnizus (Styx devils), because they have the most experience with water, especially the River Styx itself. Most of the rest of the troops are abishai and erinyes under the amnizus' command, along with osyluth boatmen.
- The Third Command is primarily commanded by Bel, a mighty pit fiend who has been (thanks to a coup he led against the previous Lord of Avernus) elevated to become one of the Lords of the Nine. By Asmodeus's decree, however, Bel must continue to fulfill his responsibilities to the Dark Eight and lead troops in the Blood War, which keeps him too busy to foment many other schemes. Assisting Bel are his co-generals, the gelugons Meritos and Hanariel. The Third Command comprises the infantry and expendable lower ranks of the Blood War, from the lowest lemures and nupperibos on up to abishai, spinagons, and barbazu, and is thus by far the largest of the three commands, with millions of troops; Bel constantly scours Avernus recruiting more. They are tasked with wearing down their demonic adversaries through attrition and superior discipline.
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 Dagos 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.
Publishing history
Dagos 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.
- Pramas, Chris. Guide to Hell. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1999.