Since you offered to do so, would you mind sharing more of your views on Infernal sociology? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it as well, because it's a super interesting topic!
Thanks for the ask! You probably know most of this already, but I’ve been wanting to get some baseline thoughts written out for a while, and this was a great opportunity to do that.
Okay so, the hells as a whole are like… the quintessential embodiment of Lawful Evil. If you could distill Lawful Evil into an environment perfectly designed for it to thrive, that would literally be the hells. Think of the most morally bankrupt, superconglomerate corporate firm, the kind that makes sure the laws are designed to best serve them, as well as having a plethora of loopholes at their disposal, allowing them to pick and choose when to adhere to the letter and when to adhere to the spirit based on what they judge they can get away with. That’s the pale reflection of the hells.
Now think about how that corporation would operate. Everyone is trying to scrabble their way to the top by any means necessary, because power is the only vehicle by which to measure the value of anything. And, for the most part, fiends thrive in that environment.
The majority of devils do not consider existence in the hells a punishment. Certainly there is the potential for suffering around every corner should they fail – or, perhaps worse, succeed – at a task, but there is also the potential for gain, and this is what is foremost in their minds at every conscious moment. Think of that quote by John Steinbeck:
“Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist.”¹
This pretty well encapsulates the perspective of the majority of the devils and assorted fiends occupying the hells. No matter how far down the corporate ladder they currently are, their big break could be – and surely is – just ahead of them. Every one of them is convinced they are one right step away from taking over from Asmodeus.²
This philosophy colors every single interaction that takes place in the Nine Hells.
¹ Steinbeck, John. "A Primer on the 30's". June 1, 1960.
² They're not, they never were, and they never will be.
