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ZARIEL’S SPARK

The last of our four memory dives comes at the moment when the Archduchess of Avernus touches the Sword of Zariel. As we’ve now established, Zariel placed a small shard of her soul into the Sword of Zariel before giving it Yael. This spark of Zariel’s former self is what provides Zariel with a chance for redemption.

Here’s how that plays out:

• The Archduchess and the PCs are drawn into a memory dive.
• The events of Zariel’s Fall (see above) play out once more.
• But this time, the “Zariel” of the past has the appearance of the Archduchess of Avernus. She’s living out her own memory of what happened.
• The PCs are also present in the scene (although only Zariel can see or hear them).

The key here is that the spark within the Sword basically gives Zariel a chance to relive this pivotal moment and (most importantly!) make a different choice when the ultimate moment arrives.

If Zariel rejects Asmodeus’ offer, that obviously doesn’t actually change the past. This is a memory dive, not time travel. But it is her chance for redemption: The vision ends, the PCs return to the real world to find that no time has passed, but Zariel’s devilish form melts away as she is returned to her angelic form (see Descent Into Avernus, p. 148).

INFLUENCING ZARIEL: The PCs can attempt to influence Zariel’s choice. They might counter Asmodeus’s arguments, remind Zariel of events from her own past, or perhaps even make an emotional appeal (which could be particularly effective coming from Lulu).

Resolve this as a special group check, calling for skill or ability checks at DC 15. Give them advantage on this check if they invoke something they’ve learned about Zariel’s past. If at least half of the group makes a successful check (even if not everyone in the group makes a check), then they succeed: Zariel makes a different choice and is redeemed.

On a failure, they still grant advantage to Zariel’s Wisdom save (see below).

BEARING SILENT WITNESS: If the PCs don’t intervene or fail the group check, then Zariel makes a DC 22 Wisdom save. On a success, she makes a different choice and is redeemed. On a failure, she rejects redemption and destroys the Sword (along with the spark of goodness within it).

ON THE MATTER OF REDEMPTION

This is a semi-controversial point in Descent Into Avernus: Zariel has spent centuries as a devil, doing countless evil acts on a scope probably beyond mortal comprehension (of her own free will!), and now she just waves her hand and is redeemed?! What the hell?!

(If you’ll pardon the pun.)

You can see similar arguments around Darth Vader’s redemption in Return of the Jedi.

What seems to trip people up here is the idea that redemption means Zariel or Vader should be automatically forgiven for the things they did or should be immune from facing consequences for those actions. There are ethical structures in which this is true, but it’s not intrinsically linked to the act of redemption itself.

Redemption isn’t about how other people treat you or should treat you. It’s about your fundamental identity and the type of person you are (which will determine the actions you will take in the future). You can choose to be a better person starting RIGHT NOW, but ultimately no one else needs to change their behavior because of that until your actions give them cause to do so.

In Christianity, for example, the only person who “needs” to do anything differently because you’re redeemed is God. Who is, notably, omniscient and can, therefore, “see” redemption without the need for action.

(The meaning of the word “redemption” is actually based on the Christian God’s omniscience: Only He can redeem your sin – i.e., declare it a debt no longer owed — because only He can see your “ledger.”)

This same thing applies to the Star Wars universe: Force magic allows you to “see” a person’s fundamental identity and the fact that Anakin is able to manifest as a Force Ghost is evidence of how he was “aligned” as a person, regardless of the actions he had taken previously (and which would have demonstrated that prior personal alignment).

And we see the same thing in the metaphysics of Descent Into Avernus: Zariel is a supernatural being and if the fundamental alignment of the cosmos recognizes her as an angel… well, it means she has, in fact, fundamentally changed. She has rejected sin and found redemption.

In the real world, we could similarly hypothesize the ability to have this knowledge: Like, if we could take 100% accurate brain scans and were able to analyze a person’s “code” to see what type of person they were, we’d be able to know whether or not someone had truly become redeemed — had fundamentally changed and become the type of person who does good things.

Once we have that technology, the ethics of crime and punishment will need to change (but will almost certainly take decades or centuries to adjust). But until we have that technology (if we ever do), then it’s just a fantasy that can be fun to think about.

Go to Part 6D-L: Questioning the Hellriders

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CLAIMING THE SWORD

In the larger structure of the campaign, this memory dive more or less replaces the Idyllglen visions from Descent Into Avernus, p. 140. Its presentation and function, however, are different.

In the published campaign, the Idyllglen vision is triggered by Lulu’s memories being restored in a burst of magical light. In the Remix, that doesn’t really happen. We’ve put large structures in place for Lulu (and the other PCs) to slowly piece together what was taken from her, but there is no finale where it all magically comes back to her.

This memory dive is instead triggered when a PC moves to claim the Sword of Zariel. Within the Sword is Zariel’s Spark, and this memory dive is basically the Spark showing the PCs’ the long path to the Fall of Zariel.

Structurally it’s more or less doing the same thing for the players: We’re setting up the path to Zariel’s Fall because that’s also the path to her Redemption — if the PCs choose to take that path. (If they don’t, then this simply completes Zariel’s story and reveals the origin of her evil.)

So, a PC reaches for the Sword, there’s a flash of golden light and…

SNIPPET – THE LEGIONS OF HEAVEN: A legion of solars stand at attention, flaming swords held point-down before them. Before them – inspecting them – is another angel. He rides a golden, winged lion. His face shares the fierce, leonid beauty of his mount.

Zariel is there — somehow younger in her timeless beauty. An innocence around her eyes? A naivete? An eagerness?

The mounted angel stops. He speaks, but not to Zariel. To an angel just a little further down the line.

Celestial Marshal: What’s your name?

Chazaqiel: Chazaqiel, Celestial Marshal, of the ninth legion.

Celestial Marshal: Do you know why you are here, young one?

Chazaqiel: Elysium seeks to claim the Avernian paradise!

Celestial Marshal: Thank you, young one.

The winged lion spreads its wings and soars into the sky.

Celestial Marshal (addressing the whole assembly): To glory, my angels! To the emerald plains we’ll soar, and there forge our destiny! The Legions of Heaven shall secure the Eighth Heaven!

A great, golden light grows around the mounted figure, suddenly pulsing with blinding intensity. And then…

GM Note: The Celestial Marhsal is Ashmedai, who shall become Asmodeus.

VISION – THE GREAT BETRAYAL: You find yourselves… flying? Yes, flying on feathered wings through a jungle at night. Somewhere nearby the forest is on fire — a wall of blue flame which sends strange shadows dancing through the writhing foliage. The air is hazed with purple smoke. You’re following another angel, your commanding officer.

“Zariel!”

Another small squad of angels swoops out of the night, led by Chazaqiel. Your commanding officer — who your realize is Zariel —pulls up in midair.

Zariel: Kentarch Chazaqiel! Thank the Heavens! Have you heard from Princeps Sanniel?

Chazaqiel: Sanniel is no longer in command. I am Princeps now.

Zariel: What do you mean? Was she killed in the planar upheaval?

Chazaqiel: No. She turned against the Celestial Marshal.

Zariel: Against Ashmedai? What are you talking about?

Chazaqiel: Things are changing, Hecaton. We are no longer going to be a the plaything dangled between Elysium and Celestia. Ashmedai has claimed Avernus for himself. The great work has just begun. We ride paradise into the jaws of battle!

Zariel: Where?

Chazaqiel: To Hell.

Zariel: This is treason!

Chazaqiel: Don’t be a fool, Zariel! You swore an oath to the Celestial Marshal! Now obey him! Obey us!

Zariel: I swore an oath to Heaven, Chazaqiel. To Heaven above all.

Zariel abruptly draws her sword and attacks! Chazaqiel beats his wings and flies back just out of reach.

[Roll initiative.]

Angelic Rebellion: The PCs are currently solars under Zariel’s command. They use their own stat blocks, but have the hit points, AC, and other abilities of a solar (MM, p. 18).

• Zariel and Chazaqiel both command an equal number of solars. (The PCs are free to choose which side of the conflict to side with.)
• After 3 rounds, there are trumpets from reinforcements nearby. Zariel orders those loyal to her to cut their way free and flee!

The Flight of Blue Fire. Use the rules for chases (DMG, p. 253). Even if the PCs are captured or cut down, Zariel is fated to escape with a small band of other loyalists.

Homework: Develop a chase complications table that features the after effects of the planar upheaval as Avernus plunges through the multiverse.

When the chase comes to an end (either because the PCs have been captured or they have escaped with Zariel), there is a flash of golden light. A voice cries out, “The demon lord flees!” And then…

SNIPPET – FIRST VISIT TO IDYLLGLEN: Zariel is mounted upon Lulu in her golden war mammoth form. A small force of planetars and other celestials are arrayed behind and above them. Across a recent battlefield of torn mud and blood, they are glowering at a deviless mounted upon a dire hellhound and surrounded by a motley gang of demons.

The devil has coppery skin, dark hair, and two curving ram’s horns upon her head. Her lips are curled in a sultry smile that doesn’t touch her tawny eyes.

Zariel: What has brought you to the mortal plane, demon?

Glasya: It seems the same as you, angel. We pursued the demon lord Yeenoghu and followed the foul beast here to his butchery among the humans.

Zariel: And your name?

Glasya: I am Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus.

Several of the planetars surged forward with a strong beat of their wings. Zariel raises her hand to keep them at peace.

Glasya: And yours?

Zariel: Zariel. What are your intentions?

Glasya: Completed, I think. Yeenoghu has slipped through our snare. He has most likely slunk back to the Abyss with his tail tucked between his legs. [she looks up at the planetars] Will we need to tuck yours, too?

Planetar 1: She’ll only have a tail once she’s ripped it off of you!

Glasya (laughs): Come, Zariel. Leash your dogs and I’ll leash mine. I would speak with you without our voices being drowned by the rattling of sabers.

Zariel gestures towards a small grove off to one side. Glasya considers it, then nods her head and dismounts. Zariel follows suit, leaving Lulu and the others behind as she moves off to parlay with the devil.

Glasya’s hellhound edges closer to Lulu and sniffs. Lulu recoils. The hellhound reaches up… and licks her trunk.

Glasya and Zariel return. Zariel announces that they have both agreed to leave the fields of Idyllglen in peace, having “fought to common purpose.”

There’s a flash of golden light. And then…

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S FALL: As your vision clears, you’re standing on a field of battle beneath the blood red sky of Avernus. A huge mound of devils lies dead. Other devils, still living, are hauling bodies off the mound, chittering amongst themselves.

All the way at the bottom of the mound, as one last corpse is pinioned on a pitchfork and flung to one side, the body of an angel is revealed. A blood-stained Zariel.

The devils draw back. Some of them are cackling, but then one glances back over their shoulder and suddenly drops prostrate to the ground. Others, too, following the first’s gaze, throw themselves to the ground.

A tall devil with skin of maroon and crimson, dressed in robes of black and gold, strides in amongst the scattered corpses. He is possessed of a leonid beauty, with two almost impossibly long, dark horns curving gracefully from his forehead.

You recognize this face. It is the face of Ashmedai, once Celestial Marshal of the Legions of Heaven.

The devil’s eyes smolder as he looks down at the angel. In a smooth voice of elegance and grace he asks, “Where is her Sword?”

“Gone.” Zariel chokes out of the word. “Asmodeus.”

“Fetch her some water,” Asmodeus says.

They wait. Simply gazing at each other. A few minutes later, the water is brought in a chalice of ivory-and-gold. Asmodeus takes the cup and offers it to Zariel.

Zariel smacks his hand aside, spilling the cup into the dust and blood.

Asmodeus smiles:

I look at you and I see that you are in despair. You thought you could make a difference. That you could end the Blood War. But here you are on a field of dead friends.

You look at me and I know you see malevolence. You see Evil. You see an antithesis. You see betrayal. But I did make a difference. And I will end the Blood War.

All those aeons ago, at my trial, when I looked you in the eye and laughed. Do you think I mocked you? No. I laughed because I saw you standing where I had stood before. I knew we walked the same road and you were just a few steps behind me.

Look around you. Look at the dead. Piled high. Do you really think this to be Good? Do you think this butchery to be worthwhile because it was done in a noble cause? You know as well as I do that as long as this continues, as long as the dead are nothing but tallies in the ledgers of complacent gods, Good is derelict. It is meaningless. It is feathery cupids cavorting on a celestial isle while suffering boils forth across the multiverse.

I know you came here to kill demons. You think you have failed. I think you have barely begun.

Which of us do you think sees more clearly?

What I offer you is simple: A chance to continue our fight. You have killed Terza’reg. I offer you his place on the Dark Eight and command of a Blood Legion. Serve me and your Crusade can still boil across the Abyss and turn the Great Wheel into a new epoch.

As Asmodeus speaks, you sense that this is but one truth among many: That Zariel and Asmodeus converse upon many different planes of thought. That this is but a mortal reflection of a myriad complexity beyond your grasp.

But when it is done, Zariel gazes upon Asmodeus for a long moment. An eternal moment.

And then she reaches out her hand.

“I accept.”

As their hands clasp, they explode with a blinding, golden light. And then…

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S REQUEST, REDUX: You are elsewhere on the Avernian field of battle. Zariel is kneeling in the dust. Lady Yael, arrayed for battle in battered, bloody, dust-covered armor kneels on the ground next her. Zariel is pushing her glowing sword into Lady Yael’s hands.

Yael: I refuse. Do not ask me of this.

Zariel (smiling sadly): I must. I do. Look beyond this forsaken day. One last time, I need you to dream a little bigger.

Yael weeps and then, unable to speak, nods, taking Zariel’s sword.

But the moment shifts, and you see that in the moment Zariel passes over the Sword, she passes something else, too: A part of herself. A spark. A shard of her eternal, celestial soul.

I am the memory of Zariel that was and who can be again.

I am the Sword of her will and the Blade of her soul.

Zariel continues to speak to Yael, but she turns her head and her blazing eyes bore into you: “This is the last thing I will ever ask of you.”

Go to Part 6D-K: Zariel’s Spark

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THE DREAM MACHINE

The dream machine allows multiple subjects to be strapped into it and share the dreams of the primary subject. Lulu is the primary subject here, and the dream machine should allow her to dive into and recover memories that she has lost. Mad Maggie will encourage as many PCs as possible to join Lulu in the machine so that they can help her in recovering her lost memories.

Once everyone is attached to the machine, Mad Maggie will activate it (and will continue monitoring its activity from outside the shared dreamscape) while promising to pull them out if things get too rough.

SNIPPET – TUNING INTO LULU’S DREAMS: There’s a strange rushing sensation and/or sound (it’s difficult to differentiate one sense from another for a moment) and then all of the PCs open their eyes to find themselves with Lulu in an infinite, featureless white void.

• A moment of double vision: The PCs realize that they are looking out of each other’s eyes. (So PC 1 is looking out of PC 2’s eyes and is seeing themselves, for example.)
• They hear Mad Maggie’s voice cackling out of the white void all around them: “That’s odd! One moment!”
• There’s a high-pitched squeal, everyone’s vision blurs, and then they’re all looking out of the correct sets of eyes.
• Mad Maggie says: “That’s better! Now, give me just a moment to synchronize your soul-streams with the heartstone. [PC’s name] seems a little choleric.”
• As Mad Maggie adjusts the machinery, the white void slowly morphs or shifts or phases in and out of a sickeningly pink and fluffy landscape that slowly comes more and more into focus until it finally solidifies around the PCs… this is the inside of Lulu’s mind.
• Mad Maggie: “You should all be on the same beam now. This may hurt a little. I’m going to adjust the machine to harmonize with her Styx-tainted memories.”
• The fluffy pink landscape begins to undulate precipitously. It seems to accelerate unevenly in semi-random directions, rushing past the PCs and Lulu in a dizzying display. Then pieces of the pink fluff seem to either desiccate or decay; turning into faded brown patches or, in some cases, a dripping black sludge.
• The effect accelerates — more and more of the pink fluff turning into a sickening morass that swirls about the PCs in a whirl of multi-shaded black. PCs need to make a DC 13 Dexterity or Wisdom check to avoid having this black muck cling and stick to them. On a failure, they will suffer disadvantage on their first check in the vision.

VISION – THIRD VISIT TO IDYLLGLEN: The black sludge sloughs away to reveal a field of battle. It’s chaotic. The battle lines of Zarielite crusaders have met a ravening mass of gnolls and the front lines are a frantic melee. [PC’s name] is just dragging their sword free from the dead body of a gnoll.

• Lulu is nearby and Zariel is mounted atop her. But even in that moment of respite, Zariel cries out, “Lulu! Help hold the line here! I’m going to get a lay of the land!”
• As Zariel shoots straight up into the air, another clot of gnolls comes rushing down the hill.

Encounter: Zariel can be seen circling above. You might describe her occasionally diving down towards some distant part of the battlefield, only to reappear above on the next round.

• 4 gnoll fangs of Yeenoghu (MM, p. 163)
• 7 gnoll pack lords (MM, p. 163)
• 16 gnolls (MM, p. 162)

Second Round: A “gnoll” archmage strides to the top of the hill about 250 feet away. There’s only a 50% chance per round that it focuses its spellcasting on the PCs’ section of the battle. (You can describe other spells zipping off to blast away NPCs fighting to either side.)

• Use stats for archmage (MM, p. 343), with following changes.
• Damage Resistance cold, fire, lightning; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical weapons.
• Damage Immunities poison
• Condition Immunities poison
• Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 12

Wrap Up: At a time of your choosing (probably when the PCs are finishing off the gnolls in their immediate vicinity and/or when they’ve credibly threatened the archmage), there is a terrible trumpeting sound that echoes across the field of battle.

• It’s followed by a monstrous voice echoing through a bullhorn. It speaks Abyssal: “Cast off! Cast off! Demons of the Abyss, to arms! To arms! We ride for the flag of Yael! At Yael we strike!”
• On its next action, the skin of the “gnoll” archmage sloughs off, revealing a chitinous, winged, demonic form that takes to the air and flies towards the bullhorn’s command.
• “To Yael! To Yael we ride!”

SNIPPET – SECOND VISIT TO IDYLLGLEN: Just as the demon’s gnoll-skin sloughed away, the fields of Idyllglen begin to decay once more into that thick, black sludge.

• The PCs can hear the sound of something metallic being struck repeatedly; like a cheap gong.
• Mad Maggie’s voice from a distance: “Worthless junk! Worthless! Align you thrice-cursed pile of barlgura dung! Align, damn you!”
• The black sludge churns for a moment longer and then grows still. Just a black void that seems to press in on the PCs from all sides.
• Out of the darkness: “You’re no ogres! Identify yourselves!”
• There’s a blazing golden light: Lulu! Lit up as if golden flames danced through her fur! Zariel is astride her. The sudden light also reveals a small band of irregularly outfitted soldiers, led by a woman with long black hair. [Yael]
• Zariel says, “Know ye that I am Zariel! By the compact of old and in heed of your call, I return to you in your hour of need!”
• The woman smiles, walking forward: “I am Yael of Idyllglen. And we are sore pressed, milady.”
• Zariel dismounts and extends her hand, clasping Yael’s: “I am glad to you meet you, Yael of Idyllglen.”

Montage of Lost Conversations. There’s a horrible screech and the vision flies apart in tatters.

• Mad Maggie: “Hold on in there! One of the bile ducts has gotten wedged open!”

What follows are just fragments of conversation (the PCs may not even see all the speakers, who are indicated in brackets for the DM’s elucidation):

• “Yeenoghu has returned! He razes the settlements of the Winding Water!” [a messenger to Zariel and the Three Generals, precipitating the Third Visit to Idyllglen]
• Zariel: “Chazaqiel has betrayed all we believe in. You must see that! To Hell with her if that is what she wants, but we would break our oath to follow her!” [Zariel rallying those loyal to Heaven before her Long March during the Averniad]
• “Which of us do you think sees more clearly?” [Asmodeus, tempting Zariel to her fall]
• Zariel: “The demon lord flees before our wrath! And he has taken one our own! To rescue and salvation! Charge!” [Zariel unwittingly leading the Three Armies through the portal to Avernus]
• “My friend, you will find the aid of the Emporium to be all that you will ever wish.” [Mahadi, shortly before he splashes Lulu with water from the Styx]
• Zariel: “It may be madness. But will you join me?” Yael: “Aye. Let’s dream a little bigger.” [Yael and Zariel forming the Zarielite Crusade]

VISION – LAST STAND ON THE STYX: They hear Yael’s voice continuing to speak, but now it’s some sort of eldritch chant. It seems to pulling at them. Their vision begins to clear. They find themselves surrounded by a gentle undulation. Like the surface of a scrying pool, it shows them:

• Yael and Lulu onboard an infernal ferry sailing down a river [the Styx].
• The ferry has been hulled and is slewed to one side; it’s slowly sinking.
• They’re surrounded by demons. Lulu has just gored two of them with her tusks and, with a shake of her head, hurls them overboard.
• Yael is casting a spell. Her chanting voice is literally drawing the PCs towards it. They can resist this effect with a DC 14 Wisdom save if they choose to (in which case they remain in the undulating space for what follows, but can choose to leap through at any time).

Yael is casting a summon celestial spell (see Tasha’s Cauldron, p. 110). PCs who are drawn through the undulating surface of the vision actually become the Celestial Spirits she summoned that day. Yael says, “Well… it seems the gods can still hear us, even here.”

• Let the players choose whether they wish to be Avengers or Defenders (Tasha’s Cauldron, p. 110).
• Although they have the stat block of a Celestial Spirit, they use their own normal attack bonuses and have their own physical appearance, but with golden, glowing skin and hair that seems to be made from pure light.
• If Lulu is a PC, she’ll assume the role of her former self.

Shortly after the Celestial Spirits arrive, Yael calls out to Lulu: They’re losing the ship! They need to flee back into Avernus to escape the demons tracking them from the Abyss! Yael flies off on Lulu’s back, leaving the Celestial Spirits to cover their retreat.

Encounter. This is not an encounter designed for the PCs to win. (If they do, great. End it there.)

• 2 shadow demons (MM, p. 64) + 4 barlgura (MM, p. 56) on the ferry
• 8 barlgura on the shore; 1d4 leap onto the boat each round
• 4 glabrezu (MM, p. 58) on the shore, shouting orders to the barlgura (they’ll come across at an opportune time)
• A flock of 8 vrock (MM, p. 64) on the shore next to the glabrezu, some of whom take off and pursue Lulu and Yael (send all of them if Lulu is player-controlled) while the rest continue assaulting the boat

Wrapping Up. This vision ends when the Celestial Spirits have been overwhelmed or, against all odds, destroyed the demonic war party.

SNIPPET – LULU CROSSING AVERNUS: As the PCs return to the undulating place, they see Lulu and Yael flying low across the Avernian wastelands.

There’s a kind of “glitch” and then it’s just Lulu flying by herself. The glitch repeats, and Lulu the War Mammoth is replaced by Lulu the Cute Little Elephant. Another glitch and now it’s Yael walking alongside the Cute Little Elephant.

DM Note: Lulu’s many, fractured memories of wandering Avernus are getting mixed up.

VISION – LULU & ZARIEL IN MERCURIA: There’s a final glitch as they see Lulu the Cute Elephant again, flying across the red sands of Avernus. The hue of the sands slowly shifts to a silverish color as the skies above darken and fill with a cascade of diamond-like stars shining bright.

The vision of Lulu fades away and they find themselves on a beach, the wine-dark waves gently lapping a beach of gleaming silver sand.

Arranged on the beach are eight pairs of frozen figures: Each pair is the same two figures in different positions and poses. Lulu (in her “fuzzy war mammoth” form) and Zariel, talking to each other.

Vignettes. The pairs of figures remain frozen until one of them is touched. Touching a frozen vignette causes it to come to life, playing out a brief snippet of the long-ago conversation between the two friends.

DM Tip: If Lulu is a player character, you could give her the script for each vignette to play out her historical part with Zariel.

Vignette #1 – Planning to Return: Zariel is standing, staring up at the stars. Lulu is curled around her feet.

• Zariel: I look out across the vast gulfs of the multiverse, and I am the sick for the need of change.
• Lulu: If change is what you’re looking for, then you’ll need to look somewhere new to find it.
• Zariel: It’s these mortals. Speaking with them – feeling the heat and fleeting speed of their passion – has aroused in me the truth. We may be eternal, but they are not. And if we fail them, our eternity makes the failure even greater.
• Lulu: Could mortals truly make such a difference in your heart?

Vignette #2 – The Disaffected Angels: Zariel wading through the waves.

• Lulu: And when the infinite forces of the Abyss sweep down upon us?
• Zariel: Then we will fight! [she laughs] But, no. Once a beachhead exists, others will flock to our cause. I am not the only disaffected angel! Give them but a chance, and they will seize it!

Vignette #3 – Dream a Little Bigger: Lulu and Zariel standing side by side, looking up at the stars.

• Lulu: From the Powers of Heaven? You’re certainly following her advice! Your dream is impossibly large!
• Zariel: Perhaps. But we’ll dream it together?
• Lulu: Forever.

Vignette #4 – What Army? Zariel and Lulu sitting on the beach facing each other.

• Lulu: You already have an army!
• Zariel: [after a moment’s confusion] You mean Yael?
• Lulu: And her militia. Yes!
• Zariel: That’s a force for bandit ogres, not demonwars!
• Lulu: But it could be!

Vignette #5 – Secrets from Heaven: Lulu and Zariel sitting on a log side by side.

• Zariel: They will not appreciate having their hand forced.
• Lulu: Then we must keep it a secret.
• Zariel: For as long as we are able.

Vignette #6 – Mortal Army: Zariel petting the top of Lulu’s head.

• Lulu: Then it will be a crusade.
• Zariel: A crusade of the valiant, whose courage shall never be broken!

Vignette #7 – Giving the Mortals a Chance: Zariel hovering a few feet off the ground, her wings spread wide. Laughing. Lulu looking up at her.

• Zariel: They have! They have made all the difference! … And perhaps that is the key. From eternity nothing can change, but if the mortals are given a chance…
• Lulu: What sort of chance?
• Zariel: To fight! To take up swords and say that their destiny is their own! That they’re no longer children! That they will no longer stand idly by while gods and godlings waste eternity!

Vignette #8 – The Second Front: Zariel is sketching something in the silver sand with her finger; Lulu is hovering in the air, looking down over her shoulder.

• Lulu: But to what end?
• Zariel: To disrupt the balance! Demons vs. devils. Heaven vs. Hell. The Great Wheel is a trap. It turns, but never ends. We will break the wheel.
• Lulu: How? Where?
• Zariel: The Blood War. The Powers of Heaven refuse to intervene – to break an eternal cycle endlessly consuming mortal souls. But if we created a second front – if we broke the balance – that might be all it would take.

SNIPPET – JANDER’S BETRAYAL: Zariel is astride Lulu and General Yael is beside them on her black charger. The battle flags of Yael’s crusaders are nearby. They stand atop a small rise on the Avernian plains surrounded by a vast array of soldiers.

Zariel: The demon army is buckling under Olanthius’ assault. I think Haruman may be able to catch them in a pincer and end Yeenoghu’s terror for all time.

Yael: I agree. As long as my army holds strong, we can keep the devil army engaged until their bloody work is done.

At that moment, a desperate trumpet sounds out across the battlefield. Zariel, Yael, and Lulu jerk their heads around.

Yael: I gave no order!

Lulu: What’s happening?

Yael grabs ahold of Lulu’s fur and shouts, “Fly! We need to see!”

Lulu launches into the sky, carrying both Yael and Zariel into a formation of pegasus-riding Crusaders.

Yael: Report!

Pegasus Rider: Sunstar’s platoon has sounded a retreat!

Yael: What?

Pegasus Rider: The call is spreading!

Looking down, they can see that a huge section of Yael’s army is peeling away towards the large portal through which Yeenoghu led the Crusaders to Avernus. Small units from other sections of the army – including some from Haruman’s and Olanthius’ armies – are following.

Zariel: What has he done?

Insight (DC 12): Zariel is in despair. She’s lost. Uncertain. Doesn’t know what to do. Her hope is breaking.

Another Pegasus Rider: What should we do?

Insight (DC 12): Yael sees Zariel’s despair and for a moment it washes over her. She, too, is losing hope. And then a steely strength seems to enter her eyes; her back straightens.

Yael: Send a messenger. Order Jander to turn back. Then rally the rest of the reserve! We’re going to charge the devil army! We have to keep them off Haruman’s back!

The doubt vanishes from Zariel’s eyes.

Zariel: The rest of you form up on me! We’ll need to intercept those flying devils! Keep them off the riders below!

Yael lets go of Lulu and plunges back towards the army waiting below.

Mad Maggie can be heard again: “What was that? One moment, the cogbox is rattling up a storm.”

Following Zariel’s orders, the pegasi begin gathering into a three-dimensional formation above the battle.

Mad Maggie: “The cogbox is resonating with something in there! A powerful memory! Hang on! I’ve got a shifter around here somewhere!”

There are rattling noises. The sound of metallic items being thrown around.

The pegasi are now in formation. Zariel’s eyes drift to the portal, where Jander Sunstar and the Hellriders are fleeing back to the mortal plane.

They aren’t turning back.

The portal snaps shut.

Zariel orders the charge.

Mad Maggie: “I’ve got it!” A screeching sound of metal on metal.

SNIPPET – THE BLOODY CYST: The memories glitch. You’re back a few moments earlier. Yael is still clinging to the side of Lulu. “We’re going to charge the devil army!!”

The memory glitches. Repeats. Yael is clinging to Lulu’s fur. “We’re going to—”

Mad Maggie: “Turn you bastard!”

The memory glitches. Repeats. She lets go and begins to fall… and fall… and fall…

Mad Maggie: “There it is!” The sound of a clutch box screeching, and then gears slamming into place.

The battlefield melts away beneath Yael. The memory reshapes itself.

Yael stands next to Lulu in the Avernian wastelands. They’re alone. Yael slumps against Lulu’s side, clutching her fur to stay on her feet. She’s looking toward the horizon: There’s a huge cloud of dust. Some massive force is approaching.

She turns and looks in the opposite direction. A cluster of black spots can be seen in the distance. They’re far away, but Lulu’s sharp eyes can see them: Demons. And they’re getting nearer.

Yael: It’s done. There’s no place left to run.

Lulu: There has to be something we can do!

Yael: There is… Do you trust me, Lulu?

Lulu: To the very end.

Yael draws the Sword of Zariel. It bursts with golden, divine light. A beacon which seems to call out a challenge to the approaching forces of evil.

Yael raises the Sword high above her head. “To all the Gods of the Seven Heavens, I plead for your aid! In the name of Zariel, Solar of Celestia. In the name of Yael of Idyllglen. In the name of the mortal souls who have died in this noble cause! I beg a boon to fulfill the final wish of a dying angel! I beg you not to forsake the greatest and most daring of your warriors!”

Lulu rears back on her hind legs, raises her trunk, and trumpets. The sound is deafening, yet simultaneously soothing. You can feel the hollyphant pouring her own celestial essence into Yael’s call, the sympathetic resonance of her trumpet echoing across the Avernian plains as she drives Yael’s plea across the planes.

And there was an answer.

Not a voice perhaps. But a presence. Riding Lulu’s trumpet back across the planar boundaries.

“Lathander…” Yael murmurs. “Thank you.” And then she plunges the sword down into the rocky surface of the Avernian wastelands. There’s a huge burst of holy light.

Lulu cries out. “Yael! No!” She can feel Yael poruing her own life force into the gift Lathander had offered.

Yael looks up at Lulu and smiles. “All that’s left now is the dream.”

The light intensifies. It’s a blinding blast that never seems to end.

But then it does. Rising from the ground – from the confluence of holy might and mortal sacrifice – is an alabaster fortress. Here the Sword will be protected. Here the Sword will be safe.

But the skein of Avernus itself rebels at this holy touch. The wastelands seethe and boil in a pustulential eruption. A cancerous, bloody cyst surges upwards, engulfing the fortress, Yael, and Lulu herself.

Note: This final vision reveals the location of the Sword of Zariel to the PCs, which is within the Bloody Cyst (Hex F4).

It is very likely that the PCs will have seen the Bloody Cyst before this: It’s positioned in Hex F4 because (a) characters crossing the bridge in Hex G5a will likely run into it and (b) this also makes it a convenient landmark for NPCs to use while giving directions. (One of my patrons also recommended that Mahadi’s Emporium could be camped out at the base of the Bloody Cyst at some point.)

So the intention here is that the players will be able to say: “Holy crap! The Cyst? We know where that is! We’ve walked past it like a dozen times!”

If not, that’s okay: Lots of people in this area of Avernus know the location of the Bloody Cyst and can point the PCs to it if they start describing it and asking for directions.

Part 6D-J: Claiming the Sword

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In the Remix, there are four “memory dives”:

• The Vision From Torm
• The Dream Machine
• Claiming the Sword
• Zariel’s Spark

In each case, the players are given the opportunity to play through the events of the past. In some of the memory dives, the players will take on the roles of NPCs in those scenes. In others, it will seem as if the PCs themselves are part of the memory (as if they had been somehow transported into the past). Regardless of method or methodology, we’ll refer to this as the dreamscape. While in the dreamscape:

• PCs cannot be killed. Characters taking damage in the dreamscape suffer psychic damage and if reduced to 0 hp are rendered unconscious but stable.
• The past cannot actually be changed: These are morphable (and, it should be noted, therefore unreliable) visions of what happened. The PCs are not actually travelling through time. The dreamscape experiences are strongly guided and, if the players deviate too far from the course of history, it’s likely that the dreamscape will adjust itself. (Alternatively, the memory dive might end abruptly and need to be restarted.)

GM Note: Although the past cannot be changed by the PCs, it’s up to you how much the players can non-diegetically define what “really” happened. If it doesn’t contradict something previously established in the campaign and/or alter essential continuity, there’s no reason not to assume that how things play out at the table is how those things happened in the past. (For example, one of the players might improvise a battle cry during a memory dive, and then, later, one of the former Hellriders might make the same battle cry or talk about hearing it on the field of battle that day.

THE VISION FROM TORM

When a PC puts on the Helm of Torm’s Sight in the Grand Cemetery of Elturel (see Part 5D), they’ll enter a comatose state until someone, most likely Pherria Jynks, performs a ritual to free them. As that ritual completes, flashback to the moment of them putting on the Helm and then play through the visions they’re shown.

If the players make note of the gauntlet imagery found throughout these visions, they can make a skill check:

• Religion (DC 12): A right-handed gauntlet, held upright, is Torm’s holy symbol.

Snippets are non-interactive. Visions are interactive, as noted.

SNIPPET – THE BEGINNING OF ZARIEL’S FALL. There is a kind of inky darkness; a nauseous veil of swirling shadows. Then a beam of golden light. The light slowly grows in intensity and the shadows are ripped apart, like a caul parting before your eyes. At the point where the light is almost blinding, it turns reddish and becomes hot. Dry and hot. A dry, hot wind.

As your vision clears, you’re standing on a field of battle beneath the blood red sky of Avernus. A huge mound of devils lies dead. Other devils, still living, are hauling bodies off the mound, chittering amongst themselves.

All the way at the bottom of the mound, as one last corpse is pinioned on a pitchfork and flung to one side, the body of an angel is revealed. Her skin is porcelain white. Her hair the golden light of an evening sun. Her wings bloodstained ivory.

The devils draw back. Some of them are cackling, but then one glances back over their shoulder and suddenly drops prostrate to the ground. Others, too, following the first’s gaze, throw themselves to the ground.

A tall devil with skin of maroon and crimson, dressed in robes of black and gold, strides in amongst the scattered corpses. He is possessed of a leonid beauty, with two almost impossibly long, dark horns curving gracefully from his forehead.

The devil’s eyes smolder as he looks down at the angel. As he pulls off a gauntlet-like glove from his left hand, revealing the talons beneath, he turns and asks, in a smooth voice of elegance and grace, “Where is her Sword?”

The caul of gilded night sweeps over your vision.

VISION – THE THREE GENERALS. You are standing at attention in some sort of ceremonial uniform in a small group of similarly dressed knights. Each has a small badge on their left shoulder, depicting a pair of twin suns. Before you, on a grassy field, are arrayed three riders wearing identical badges: A woman with dark hair upon a black charger. A bearded man on a white horse. And the angel you saw lying beneath the mound of corpses riding a golden-furred, winged mammoth. Approaching from across the field is another mounted man, this one flanked by an honor guard.

GM Note: This is an interactive vision, but it’s designed to introduce the concept. If the player says they want to take an action, let them. Otherwise, the vision just plays out.

As the man draws near the trio before you, he brings his horse to a stop and then dismounts. The trio does likewise. A herald steps forward and announces, “Haruman, Lord Knight of the Far Hills greets Lord Olanthius.”

The beaded man smiles. “Hail to you, Lord Haruman. And welcome to Elturel. I am pleased to introduce you to Lady Yael of Idyllglen and Zariel, solar of Celestia.”

“And I’m Lulu!” trumpets the mammoth.

Haruman removes his left gauntlet and extends his hand, shaking each of the others in turn — and also, with a laugh, Lulu’s trunk! Escorted by Lord Olanthius, he proceeds down the line. In a few moments he stops before you and extends his hand. What do you do?

(As they grip Haruman’s hand or within a few moments either way, the vision shifts again.)

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S REQUEST. The red heat of Avernus sweeps over you. So do the sounds of battle, but only at a distance. There is a trumpeting and the shadows are swept away like mist in a strong wind, you see the angel Zariel kneeling in the dust. Lady Yael, arrayed for battle in battered, bloody, and dust-covered armor kneels on the ground next to her. Zariel is pushing her glowing sword into Lady Yael’s hands.

GM Note: The trumpeting is Lulu stomping some devils a little distance away.

Yael: I refuse. Do not ask me of this.

Zariel (smiling sadly): I must. I do. Look beyond this forsaken day. One last time, I need you to dream a little bigger.

Yael weeps and then, unable to speak, nods, taking Zariel’s sword.

There’s another trumpet and Zariel’s golden mammoth comes charging up. “I drove them off, but there’s another group drawing near.”

Zariel pulls off her left gauntlet and buries her hand in the mammoth’s fur, taking a moment of comfort. “My old friend. Goodbye. Perhaps we shall meet again, but I do not think so. I need you to go with Yael. Help her make certain my Sword is not captured by the forces of Hell. Let it become a symbol of everything we have fought for. Even if it has ended in folly, let our deeds have meaning.”

As the veil formed from shadows of gold wraps itself around you again, slowly blotting out everything except the sword still glowing in Yael’s hand, Zariel’s voice continues: “This is the last thing I will ever ask of you. Protect Yael.”

VISION – YEENOGHU’S GAMBIT. Through the shadows, the sounds of battle intensify. Your vision clears to reveal yourself riding on horseback at a full gallop. The sun hanging high in the blue sky momentarily blinds you. Your companions are with you: [insert PC names]  Ahead of you, on the back of a golden mammoth and leading your charge, is the angelic Zariel. You’re surrounded by a massive battle – an army of mostly human knights are fighting a horde of gnolls.

[Call for initiative checks.]

A wall of black-furred gnolls come loping up over the top of the hill in front of you. Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. Zariel calls back over her shoulder: “Guard the flanks! I’ll cut us a path through!” Then she spurs her mount to an even higher speed; the mammoth’s feet actually glide off the ground.

[Collect initiative scores and start combat.]

Combat Encounter: As Zariel instructs, she’s got the gnolls in front. (If one of the PCs is playing Lulu, give them the Hollyphant Elder stat block from Lulu’s Guide to Hollyphants. They can help Zariel on the front lines, probably attacking gnoll pack lords. Alternatively, have Zariel order her to help guard the flanks and add an extra Fang and four gnolls to the fight.)

• Left Flank: Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu, Gnoll Pack Lord, 8 Gnolls
• Right Flank: 2 Gnoll Pack Lords, 8 Gnolls

At some point during this, Zariel will almost certainly refer to Lulu by name and the penny will drop (if it hasn’t already).

After Combat: After the fight, the PCs can rally to Zariel and ride up over the top of the hill. From there they can look out over farm fields churned and ruined by the battle, sowed with a carpet of the dead. Off to their left is a small village. Some of the buildings are on fire.

A few hundred yards away across a field stands a twelve-foot-tall demon gnoll. It holds aloft a dark-haired woman — Lady Yael – by the neck. Seeing Zariel across the field of battle, it turns and with a slash of its claws rends a purple, roiling gash in the air. With a hyena-like cackle which crackles across the field like black lightning, it leaps through the portal with Lady Yael still clutched in its gauntleted right hand.

SNIPPET – ZARIEL’S COURT. As the demon vanishes, the energy of the portal turns red and then seems to turn into swirls of shadow and gold. Through the darkness you hear two voices.

The first voice, as if played from a cracked record, asks, “Where is the Sword?”

And the second voice, weak and disoriented, replies, “I don’t know… I don’t… I used to know, but I don’t any more. I don’t.”

SNIPPET – MESSAGE FROM TORM. A hand — or, rather, a gauntlet — reaches through the shadows and sweeps them away. An immense light which seems as if it should be blinding in its intensity but which is instead a soothing comfort to your eyes emanates from the gauntlet… or perhaps from a point behind the gauntlet.

A booming voice emanates seemingly from all directions: “Seek ye Zariel’s blade. It is the key to her heart and her greatest desire. With it, Elturel’s chains can be severed.”

The gauntlet clenches into a fist as the voice speaks. Then it opens and, upon the palm of the gauntlet, a tiny golden elephant — Lulu — is flying in miniature. “Even from my sight is the Sword hidden. There is only one who knows and she knows not.”

The gauntlet closes again, then opens to reveal two black-feathered, birdlike humanoids standing next to a strange vehicle of blackened iron. “She must seek the kenku. In her memory they speak.”

The gauntlet closes for a third time. You hear a different voice chanting as if from a great distance.

[This is the voice of whoever is casting the spell. The PC might recognize this voice.]

The booming voice speaks again, but it, too, seems to come from a distance now as the other voice grows stronger: “Seek the kenku!”

The light now truly becomes blinding and—

[The PC wakes up.]

Note: As per p. 72 of Descent Into Avernus, when the PC who received the vision tells Lulu what they saw, it will trigger a memory of meeting two kenku at a place called Fort Knucklebones. Realizing it was near the Dock of Fallen Cities, she’ll swoop up into the sky and then return, declaring that it’s only a dozen miles off and she can lead the PCs there.

If Lulu is a PC in your campaign, you might want to prep a brief handout describing the kenku and Fort Knucklebones, and also telling Lulu’s player that she knows how to get there across the Avernian plains.

If it WAS Lulu who put on the Helm, modify Torm’s final vision. He’ll say something like, “Among all living creatures, only you know where it was hidden.” He might also show her Fort Knucklebones in miniature, triggering her memory of the kenku there.

Go to Part 6D-I: The Dream Machine

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Soul coins are one of the cool ideas bouncing around Descent Into Avernus. The basic concept is that souls damned to Hell are forged into coins on Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells, and then “used for goods and services, infernal deals, dark bargains, and bribes.”

This is great worldbuilding both literally and metaphorically: Devils making deals for souls is an epistemological satire of commercial dealings, and the trading of souls as literal currency simply extends that satire. But it also just logically makes sense that devils, having obtained a soul, would want to package it into as convenient and relatively compact a form as possible. And the universal form is such as to dehumanize the victims by establishing that the individual holds no significance to the devil.

The full function of soul coins is described in “Commerce” (DIA, p. 78), “Soul Fuel” (p. 217), and “Soul Coins” (p. 225).

Unfortunately, the book’s handling of soul coins is rather flawed.

First, the actual value and rarity of soul coins is all over the map. They are either very rare and incredibly difficult to find or incredibly common and the basis for all commerce in Avernus. In some places their value is pegged at being roughly equivalent to 6 sp, but elsewhere an NPC will offer 100 gp worth of gems for every soul coin the PCs can find for him.

It seems fairly clear that some of the writers on the book thought the soul coins were meant to be the de facto currency of Avernus, while others thought of them as rare magical artifacts. Or perhaps they started as the former, but then someone along the line got cold feet because… well… they’re souls aren’t they? Wouldn’t they be pretty rare? (Not necessarily. Eternity across potentially infinite planes can make souls as common or as precious on Avernus as you like.)

Second, there are inconsistencies in which functions of a soul coin require charges and/or how many charges it takes to exhaust a soul coin. For example, the stat block of a soul coin says each time you question the soul inside the coin it costs a charge (and each coin only has three charges), but there’s also an NPC with a soul coin collection that they chat with on the daily.

Third, at first glance Descent Into Avernus also does a clever thing by making soul coins the fuel for various infernal machines, creating an ethical dilemma for PCs who have to choose between not using those machines or literally burning up the souls inside the coins.

In practice, though, the only thing it really seems to do is actively discourage any non-evil character (and, realistically, prohibit any good character) from riding kick-ass war machines across the Avernian plains. And, I’m going to be honest, the war machines are a lot fucking cooler than the ethical dilemma.

Fourth, there’s some metaphysical vagueness, which is fortunately fairly easy to clear up. Are the coins forged exclusively from evil souls or are some good souls illegitimately captured? And, similarly, do the lowest order of evil souls sent to Hell end up as lemures or forged in soul coins? In both cases: Why not both? In the latter case, it’s easy to imagine that there all manner of Hellish intakes for new souls. (You could perhaps even imagine a different one for each of the Nine Layers.)

COINS AS FUEL

I’d make two adjustments to the coins:

• Talking to the soul inside doesn’t require charges.
• Expending all the charges in a coin (or using it up as fuel for an infernal machine) burns out the coin, but doesn’t destroy the soul inside. (Such coins need to be taken back to Minauros to be reforged, with the soul being transferred to a new coin.)

My goals here are twofold:

First, it’s interesting to talk to the souls inside the coins, so I don’t want to discourage it. Similarly, NPCs with collections of coins that they chat with or regularly consult/torment are cool.

Second, I want to dull the ethical conundrum for PCs using soul coins. There are still plenty of ethical conundrums here: Should you free them? The souls, uh… scream when you use them as fuel. But it’s not just an instant no-brainer for anyone who isn’t evil.

ALTERNATE FUEL: Devils need soul coins to fuel their war-machines because they’re not mortal. Mortals like the PCs, however, can directly fuel the war-machines. The mortal suffers 1d10 points of damage and fuels the war-machine for 24 hours. This damage cannot be healed by normal means, but returns at a rate of 1 hit point per day. A greater restoration instantly restores these lost hit points.

This also means that you can have devils riding across the Avernian plains with screaming prisoners strapped to their war-machines Mad Max-style.

Design Note: My goal, obviously, is to give PCs the option to drive war-machines without exploiting trapped souls. You might require them to track down (and install) a converter to do so, but I don’t think it’s necessary.

COINS AS COMPANIONS

Every soul coin is a unique NPC. I recommend leaning into this.

WHO THEY ARE: Check out 51 Soul Coins as a good source for random soul coin characters. The collection is a limited in its range (featuring almost exclusively average people who got gulled by a devil), so you may want to broaden its scope (with, say, historical figures, those who damned themselves to Hell without the help of a devil’s contract, good souls who were captured and forced into a coin, and so forth).

WHAT THEY KNOW: Soul coins are constantly aware of their surroundings, making them a potentially valuable source of information. Let’s give them a 1 in 6 chance of having useful information (i.e., roll on the Avernian rumor tables).

COIN MADNESS: Being locked up inside a coin for eternity is not conducive to a sane mind. Many soul coins have had their sanity shredded to the point that they are no longer coherent or intelligible (see table below), and even those who are capable of conversing may display strange tics of behavior and distress.

COINS AS CURRENCY

If you want soul coins to be prized as fuel for the war-machines, then they can’t be common enough to serve as coinage in Avernus. Which is a pity, because the use of an alternate currency would be an excellent opportunity to alienate and disorient the players (and their characters). “What do you mean I can’t pay with gold?”

As I describe in Random Worldbuilding – Coins & Currency, money can be a powerful channel for conveying information about the world to the players. And this would be a powerful one: Not only clearly signaling that “you’re not in the Realms any more,” but also viscerally signaling how Hell is fundamentally built upon the suffering and exploitation of mortal souls.

So here’s my recommendation:

• Soul coins are worth roughly 50 platinum pieces in purchasing power. They are rarely used in actual commerce, and instead serve primarily as a coin of account.
• Spent soul coins are more common, accumulating over millennia of soul coins being used up that aren’t important enough to reforge. They have a purchasing power roughly equivalent to 1 platinum piece.
• Obsidian chits are the common currency of Avernus, with a purchasing power of 1 gold piece. These chits are issued by various Dukes and warlords and backed by stockpiles of soul coins. Mad Maggie, for example, has a small stockpile and issues her own chits, as does the Wandering Emporium.

You can generally issue about 1,000 chits per soul coin. (That’s more than the strict conversion rate, but welcome to the wonderful world of being a banker.) If you want to get more complicated, you could postulate cheap chits or bull-chits — chits which were circulated by Avernian powerbrokers who no longer exist or whose soul coin stockpile was lost. These are still perceived as having some value and could be used as the equivalent of copper pieces.

Design Note: Such cheap chits could also be a window into Avernian history. Or just easter eggs. For example, the PCs might find cheap chits that were issued by Gargauth when he was Treasurer of Hell.

COINS AS SOULS

As described in Descent Into Avernus, p. 226, the soul within a soul coin can be freed by casting a spell that removes a curse. A freed soul is released to whatever planar afterlife it belongs in… which means that for most soul coins the soul is just churned back through Hell’s intake for new souls.

USING THE SOUL: A soul coin can also be used in conjunction with animate dead or create undead to bind the soul to the undead created. Such undead can be controlled by anyone holding the soul coin they were created from. If the undead are destroyed, the soul is released to whichever planar afterlife it belongs in (see above).

If you are in Hell, you can similarly cast infernal calling (from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, p. 158) in conjunction with a soul coin to transform the soul within the coin into a lemure. The soul coin is destroyed in the process. (You’ve more or less just created the lemure the soul would have become if it had entered Hell through Avernus rather than Minauros.)

Go to the Avernus Remix