Reckoning, the

ripvanwormer's picture

The Reckoning was a war in Baator where the lords Zariel, Belial, Moloch, and Baalzebul fought the alliance of Dispater, Mammon, Mephistopheles, and Geryon. Both alliances ultimately turned on Asmodeus himself before Geryon and the Dark Eight revealed the whole thing had been a trap.

In the aftermath, Geryon and Moloch were dismissed from their positions, and Mammon and Baalzebul were forced to take new forms. Belial was made to retreat into the shadows, making his daughter Fierana the official ruler of Phlegethos. The Hag Countess was given charge of Malbolge, and Levistus was returned custody of Stygia.

This happened thousands of years ago.*

Sources: A Paladin in Hell, Guide to Hell, Book of Vile Darkness, Fiendish Codex II

* The Dark Eight, who first began to rule after the Reckoning, have "ruled their race for millennia" according to Hellbound: The Blood War, "The Dark of the War," page 18.

Bel's predecessor (Zariel) "was deposed thousands of years ago" according to Faces of Evil: The Fiends, page 30.

A Paladin in Hell says only that the present day is "many, many years later."

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