Summary
Dungeons & Dragonsoffers many areas to explore, but few of them reach the same level of danger as Hell itself - and there are many dangerous places in this multiverse. It’s divided into nine layers, so there are quite a few things you can throw in your players' way - aside from any devil from the 2025 Monster Manual, obviously.
After all, Hell in D&D is a civilization of its own rather than a hellscape where monsters are just roaming and fighting one another. Between places to have fun, iconic characters, and dangerous locations, you can run into many things while venturing into the Nine Hells.
10Demonic Invasion
Consequences Of The Blood War
Devils and demons are not the same,and they hate each other, in fact. They’re known for the constant fights against one another, aka the Blood War. While your party is definitely expecting to see devils in Hell, a sudden appearance of demons might be a fun twist.
Since this would be an invasion, it can happen anywhere at any time, and if you want your players to actually befriend a particular devil (to backstab the party later), having them fight side by side against demon invaders is a good way to make them bond.
9Devil Battalion
Or Maybe Just A Squadron
Finding devils in Hell is obvious, but to make things a little different, the party could come across a group of militarized devils. The party can run into a full squad of devils who are ready to descend into the Abyss or defend Hell from demons.
All that said, devils are not nice, so a group of fully militarized devils spotting a party of outsiders can easily develop into a fight, as souls are an interesting coin for hellish creatures, and a party of players has a few souls that might interest them.
8A Bar
Yes, Really
Hell actually has a lot of cities in it, and devils also need to blow off some steam, apparently. Not to mention that Avernus, in particular, usually has the occasional mortal (your party included), so a place for them to visit (and be tempted by devils) is not uncommon.
Hell also offers drinks that burn the inside of your body a bit but are theoretically good, so you can even have some fun moments with players drinking, having fun, and feeling pain, too. How much can they stomach?
7A Market
Yes, This One Works, Too
Another thing that surprisingly works in Hell is devils selling things. You can use this as a perfect opportunity to offer extremely powerfulmagical itemsfor your players, but the cost can also be something intense.
You can trade for favors, make pacts, or even demand complicated things, like an innocent person’s soul, a player’s precious memory, or other abstract things, like an emotion. You can demand weird things with a devil.
6A Devil With A Bargain
Let’s Make A Deal
Speaking of pacts, the party can run into a devil who is happy to help them with whatever they need to do in Hell in exchange for similar things we listed above or something else entirely, depending on what you want to go with.
This devil can even become a temporary ally, but depending on how you phrase your deal and what exactly you said you’d help with, you may easily leave the party in a bind while technically doing your part.
5Styx
The River Of Blood
Styx isn’t a creature but a river, so the players won’t have a random encounter with it. However, this is a complicated river, as its waters can make someone forget who they are completely, and the effects can even be permanent.
Having a random encounter that involves traversing the river, fighting monsters on the river (some live there), or maybe even having to traverse the river while fighting and making sure no one falls into the water are all excellent ideas with high stakes.
4Tiamat
Mother Of Dragons
This encounter shouldn’t end in a fight (unless your party is really strong), asTiamat is a CR 30 monster,but since she’s trapped in Avernus and your players are hanging out there, this is the perfect moment to have them meet one of the most iconic characters in D&D.
You can have a simple roleplaying segment, or she can offer powers or deals similar to devils (and her help is even better, so she can demand more in return), or it could lead to escaping from her since fighting her is too much. Or have them fight her if they can take it.
3Corrupted Good Beings
Evil Corrupts All
One thing a lot of players (and even DMs) forget about the Lower Planes is that they’re made from the essence of evil itself, and merely staying in Hell for a long time, exposed to such evil, can corrupt anyone, including the players.
A fun random encounter (and a reminder that they can’t stay there long) is having a famously good-aligned creature, like a celestial, as a corrupted enemy for them to fight against. Bonus points if it’s someone they met before Hell and know that they’re good, making the corruption clearer and making them risk killing an NPC they may like.
2Damned Souls
The End Of The Pact
Along with good beings, they can see mortals suffering from the consequences of whatever pact they sealed with a devil, leading them to Hell. They can be lemures, their souls can be used as currency, or they could be slaves, among other options.
This idea also works if they see a known NPC who became a damned soul for dealing with a devil, or also a strong image to show your party if one of the players has made a pact with a devil - they can see what their future could become.
1A Caravan Of Ores
Or Souls
We mentioned how you could add magical items here or there through markets or deals, but one thing that’s also valuable from the Hells is its unique minerals. The players could gather resources and later make special gear or sell it once out of Hell.
Finding caravans moving these ores around is an efficient way to run into this without having to divert the session into searching for ores. Alternatively, a caravan transporting souls as currency can be a morally intriguing choice since good-aligned players might want to free these souls.
