Neutral Evil
The Fiends of The Sea of Glass
Origin
The Corruptor’s descent was a cataclysmic event as it erupted from the core of Primordias, spewing the molten blood of the planet high into the atmosphere and washing a vast desert in hellfire, turning it to glass. As the smoke and ash settled, the avatar of The Corruptor was revealed, a thousand foot tall embodiment, formed of living lava and rising from the bubbling caldera of what would become Mount Dju’fah. Frozen in place, the avatar strains toward the sky in endless struggle.
Reality wears thin near the avatar and through the veil lies the Abyss, an upper plane of searing flame and twisted desire. From The Corruptor was born every form of wicked depravity, distilled into manifestation within the furnace of the Abyss. The most powerful sins are known as the Seven Corruptions. They are Pride, Rage, Envy, Greed, Apathy, Gluttony, and Lust, forming a hierarchy of power in the Realm of Sin with Pride at the top. Each corruption manifests a unique archetypal form within the Abyss, but individual entities are only spawned as a reflection of each corruption’s prevalence among the mortals of the Sea of Glass.
A devil of the Abyss may rise through the ranks of the Seven Corruptions, reshaped with each ascension but when the devils of pride ascend, they transcend the Seven Corruptions and become an archdevil, unique and singularly powerful. All devils, including the archdevils, answer to Abaddon, the Archduke of Corruption. He is the undisputed master of the Abyss and speaks with the authority of The Corruptor itself.
Domain
The Sea of Glass is a vast desert, melted and warped by the cataclysm of The Corruptor’s descent. Sand dunes were blown into twisting spires of glass and melting sands were frozen into turbulent expanses of petrified waves. Endless stretches of perfect mirror span the distance between rocky outcrops and oases. Desert ships skate across these blinding oceans on enormous blades, etching their memory in the Sea of Glass. The gas giant Orbis hangs swollen overhead, dominating the sky and bathing the desert in its baleful glow.
At the center is Mount Dju’fah, an enormous volcano with a deep caldera filled with molten rock and venting fumes. At the center of the caldera rises the avatar of The Corruptor and built up around it is the obsidian city of Vitra.Vitra sits atop Mount Dju’fah like a thorny crown of jet black glass. It is a sprawling metropolis that covers the entire top of the volcano, filling the bowl and draping down the sides. The towers are so tall that they obscure the caldera except for the angry glow that shines through the obsidian city.
The Obsidian Palace twists and spirals around the molten form of the avatar itself, dressing its form like a robe of black smoke. Within the palace are the summoning chambers that form the link between Primordias and the Abyss. Through these gateways lies a magnified inversion of Vitra, suspended from a rocky ceiling over an endless pit. From the lowest hanging spire overlooking the empty void, Abaddon rules in The Corruptor’s name.
Society
The tieflings were drawn and slowly warped by the corrupting energies that permeated Mount Dju’fah. They built a civilization around the volcano, empowered and inspired by the majesty of the avatar. As the tiefling civilization grew and their culture was shaped by the subtle influences of The Corruptor, their depravities spawned more and more devils within the Abyss and gave rise to the Seven Corruptions. Once the connection between the sins of the tieflings and the manifestation of devils became strong enough, the first possessions began.
Possession marked the end of isolation for the denizens of the Abyss, allowing them to control mortals and through them, orchestrate the rituals required to open the summoning gates within the Obsidian Palace. The summoning gates are perpetual rituals that have been maintained for centuries, requiring a steady stream of blood sacrifices to feed the sucking wounds in the fabric of reality. By the time power in Vitra was usurped by the archdevils of the Abyss, the tiefling empire was so twisted and corrupt that they welcomed their new masters, celebrating the event as the dawning of a golden age.
Tiefling society is now firmly under the control of Abaddon. From his fortress in the depths of the Abyss, he spurs the corruption of the tieflings, cultivating a debaucherous and violent culture that fuels his armies and enables them to spill forth into Primordias. The tieflings have spread across the Sea of Glass at the behest of their masters, expanding the borders of the fiendish empire to its furthest reaches. They are a dark and tormented people, wicked by nature and consumed by the Seven Corruptions that drive their society.
Paths
Thanasian
Cleric (War Domain)
Thanasians worship The Corruptor. They are the keepers of the Obsidian Palace and maintain the blood rituals required by the summoning gates. In order to fulfill this duty, the Thanasians must harvest sacrifices from the population of Vitra and slaves taken from other nations. They are guided by The Corruptor and act as conduits of its will. Even the archdevils of the Abyss allow the Thanasians autonomy, dependent upon them for the summoning gates.
Thanasians serve as the ambassadors and representatives for the tieflings when dealing with the devils of the Abyss. There is an elite circle that keeps an embassy within the Realm of Sin itself, ever ready to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the two worlds of The Corruptor’s empire. The most powerful Thanasians serve on the Council of Thanatos, ruling Vitra from a circular chamber that sits like a crown atop the avatar’s head.
Dybbukim
Fighter (Eldritch Knight)
Dybbukim are the most elite warriors of the tiefling army, skilled and dedicated fighters that are rewarded for their prowess with acceptance into the training halls of the Abyss. Here, their martial mastery is taken to new levels and augmented by dark powers that allow them to both protect themselves and punish their enemies. Time stands still in the Abyss and so many years pass on Primordias as the Dybbukim learn to fight as devils do. They return long forgotten and much changed, their appearances greatly affected by their time there.
Tieflings were once humanoid mortals that were drawn and changed by the power of The Corruptor. Over the millennia their appearance has become fiendish but retained much of their original traits and diversity. Dybbukim return to their people as much devil as mortal, infused and warped by their time in the Abyss. Feared and respected by their kin they are the height of tiefling achievement, an ideal that is strived for by every young warrior.
Solus
Monk (Way of the Shadow)
Deep in the wastes of the great glass desert live the Dryge, a secret sect of tieflings that have broken their bond with The Corruptor. The Dryge live as their distant ancestors did and cultivate a philosophy that allows them to master themselves in a way that is unthinkable to the Tieflings of Vitra, consumed as they are by sin and excess. An adept of the Dryge Gloaming Path is known as a Solus. The Solusi must first deafen themselves to the lingering whispers of The Corruptor to attain the silence of the soul required to truly master themselves.
Once they achieve silence, they must see the silence clearly and distinguish the boundaries between it and themselves. From here, Solusi learn to bend and blur those boundaries. They become one with the silence and make it their guide, their armor, and their weapon. Empowered by this training and freed of the torments of their birthright, Solusi are able to reject the ways of The Corruptor and make their own lives in the tradition of their ancient ancestors.
Grimskull
Rogue (Assassin)
Grimskulls embody war. They are the whispered threat; the half-believed fear of every tiefling child. The truth of Grimskulls is worse than the legend. They are tieflings who have been sentenced to ritual possession. This is the highest form of punishment in tiefling society and reserved for those who have committed crimes against the very foundation of their culture. These insurgents are brought before the Council of Thanatos, who perform the ritual of Mortalis Knell, forever fusing the punished soul to that of a devil of wrath.
The Mortalis Knell reshapes the punished into a Grimskull, changing them inexorably and in fundamental ways. The tiefling’s horns are reformed, melting and flowing to encase their head in a skull-like mask. Burning eyes glow from sunken sockets, often the final sight of their victims, in the darkest hour of night. After the ritual is complete, a Grimskull is under full control of the Council of Thanatos, and spend the rest of their life watching as they’re used for the most unspeakable acts of violence to further The Corruptor’s agenda.
Soulbound
Warlock (The Fiend)
The archdevils of the Abyss rise in power through the acquisition of souls. This is how they measure and compete with each other in Abaddon’s court. The most valuable acquisitions are Soulbound. Soulbound are powerful tieflings that are capable of acting as vessels for archdevils, granting them a means to carry out their will on Primordias. Archdevils have become too powerful to manifest in Primordias and though they command vast legions of underlings, a cultivated connection with a Soulbound is the only way they can directly influence Primordias themselves.
Soulbound come from all parts of tiefling society. The one thing they have in common is a rare and intangible trait that allows them to host the presence of an archdevil and develop a connection with them. A tiefling only learns of this trait upon first contact with their patron, who has sought them out in hopes of forging the bond, an almost symbiotic relationship in which the Soulbound grows incredibly powerful and in turn becomes a precision tool for the archdevil’s use.
Summoner
Wizard (School of Conjuration)
The first Summoners were those that created the summoning gates of the Obsidian Palace. They were guided by devils of pride in the guise of charismatic leaders. The summoning gates changed all of tiefling society and brought it under the control of Abaddon. Following the Convergence, the Summoners established the Athenaeum for the purpose of training the brightest tieflings to see and shape the veil that separates Primordias from the Abyss. They sought to empower tieflings to call aid and strength from this new realm rather than be mastered by it.
Since its inception, the Athenaeum has always walked a tenuous line between sanctioned and illicit, drawing censure from the court of Abaddon on more than one occasion. The Summoners remain a valuable asset to the Abyss only because they allow the archdevils to expand their reach beyond Vitra and the Obsidian Palace. Where they fall into contention is when the Summoners seek the upper hand in the balance of power between themselves and those they call forth from the Abyss. Summoners must constantly struggle to maintain this balance, at least in appearance, else risk the destruction of the Athenaeum and their way of life.