What surprises me most about the Blood War in #dnd is that it takes place in Avernus, where devils can permanently die.
Demons seem infinite, always spawning from the chaos of the Abyss. Wouldn’t it be easier to fight them on their own turf, where a devil’s death is temporary? It's not a matter of choice, but of desperate necessity. The fact that demons can float down the Styx and into Avernus means there's a never-ending invasion.
The Blood War itself is a larger concept, but Avernus is an eternal battleground because the Abyss can bleed into Hells.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) November 14, 2020
It's occuring to me I'm not entirely verse on how long/difficult it is to make a devil compared to a demon. I've always assumed devils were harder to make because they are relatively sophisticated and the Hells are a finite realm, compared to infinite realms in the Abyss.
— Just-Ice ❄️ Arman (@justicearman) November 14, 2020
Devils are hopelessly outnumbered. Always will be. The fact that they're so much better structured and they know where the demons are coming from is what allows them to hold them back.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) November 14, 2020
This makes sense. I need to review my copy of Mordenkainen’s. Tim brought up that the River Styx connects all the lower planes—geography was always my worst subject.
Is that why demons gravitate towards the Nine Hells moreso than other planes? What do you mean by gravitate? They want to kill or corrupt everything, but the Devils are at the top of their list because of the Blood War.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) November 14, 2020
Gravitate as in Avernus seems to have the largest concentration of demons outside of the Abyss, though that may not necessarily be accurate.
Is it hard to replace a devil that dies permanently?
(This is all very interesting to me btw. I love devils 😈 Devils arise from mortal souls being bound to Baator, becoming lemures, then rising up the ranks. The Nine Hells are also finite. They have to always be recruiting, if they stop, or even slow appreciably, they be overwhelmed.
Demons arise out of the infinite layers of the Abyss.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) November 14, 2020
As for more demons in the Hells, it’s because they have a direct road into the territory of their enemies. A big flashing sign that says “This way for carnage!”
The only other stable way out is through the Gate-Town of Plague-Mort into the Outlands. And who wants to go there? I imagine that Mordenkainen is nervously (?) watching this demonic snowball slowly grow as demons continuously rise and respawn in the Abyss.
One day he's going to have to sponsor a mission to cull the growing demonic force!
— Just-Ice ❄️ Arman (@justicearman) November 14, 2020
Pressing a thumb on the balance of the Blood War is very likely a thing he arranges plane-hopping adventurers to do on the regular.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) November 14, 2020