The baatezu are the primary inhabitants of the Nine Hells. they are a strong, evil tempered race held together by equally strong organization. The baatezu live in a rigid caste system where authority is derived not only from power, but from station. And changes in station come, most often, from participation in the Blood War. If a baatezu performs a great feat that cripples the efforts of the tanar'ri, he is likely to be rewarded by being promoted to a higher station. But most often, promotion comes from the high attrition rate amongst the upper ranks.
In appearance, the baatezu are very diverse, though a gothic gargoyle-like look is somewhat common. They are grotesque and unsightly by human standards.
The golas of the baatezu - though seemingly on-tracked - run very deep. First and foremost, the baatezu wish to fulfill their ancient quest and destroy the tanar'ri, their blood enemies. But still, it should be noted, this is not merely a war of annihilation, but rather a fefinition of existence. Also, the baatezu have recently (by their immortal standards) noticed a small but interesting group of beings: mankind. The baatezu know that by infiltrating men and entering their world, they will gain power over the tanar'ri. Toward this end, they constantly strive to dominate the Prime Material plane and its natives. By convincing the men and women of the Prime Material plane that the baatezu have godlike powers, they hope to gain followers.
The baatezu are divided into greater, lesser, and least.
The lemures are so lowly, they don't even qualify as 'least' in the baatezu scheme. They are the very bottom baatezu in station.
All baatezu, except for lemures, nupperibo, and spinagon are able to perform the following spell-like abilities, once per round, at will:
The baatezu are able to summon their fellows, as detailed in their individual descriptions. Because they have a special form of telepathy, baatezu are able to understand and converse with any intelligent creature.
Only least and lesser baatezu can be hit by nonmagical weapons. The other varieties of baatezu can be struck by magical weapons, or weapons of silver, but ordinary arms do them no harm.
The baatezu can travel to any of the Nine Hells, and lower plane, or even the Astral plane. However, they cannot enter the Prime Material plane unless properly summoned. Least and lesser baatezu have a combination of sigils that, when inscribed and a gate spell cast, will bind them to service for nine days, keeping the creatures from harming the caster. The greater baatezu can like-wise be commanded or kept at bay for nine hours.
The baatezu follow a very rigid chain of command where the more powerful and high ranking creatures have control over larger numbers of lesser creatures. In addition to power, high station grants another advantage: freedom. Although every baatezu possesses the ability to travel to any of the layers of the Nine Hells, they dare not do so unless commanded by a superior. Only those individuals who are considered "commanders" can travel freely from layer to layer. The powerful pit fiends can, of course, go wherever they please.
Avernus: Because it is the topmost layer of the Nine Hells, this place is the most heavily gaurded and populated with mass numbers of lesser baatezu. In this infinte stretch of rocky wasteland and great mountainous crags can be found vast armies of teh lowly lemure. It is not uncommon for an army of 10,000 or more lemure to be lead by a nupperibo. Patroling the emptiness of Avernus is an army of 1,000 barbazu lead b the pit fiend Bel. This force is sent to the scene of any sort of invasion or rebellion, such as when the tanar'ri have been bold enough to attempt an invasion of Avernus. Their token force has been quickly destroyed on each attempt, with Bel receiving great honors each time.
Middle Layers: The seven middle layers of the Nine Hells are generally considered equal in status. In these layers, the least and lesser baatezu comprise the armies and the greater baatezu form the commander core. Their primary purpose is to guard each layer from invasion and to mobilize against the tanar'ri. Also, it is not uncommon for a pit fiend ruler here to mobilize his army covertly against another ruler. As long as there is no trace of teh act, then it is considered to have never happened.
Nessus: It is unknown if there are "baatezu lords" that have absolute rulership in the Nine Hells, but if there are, they surely rule from Nessus, the plane's ninth and deepest layer. Nessus is where the greates number of the pwerful pit fiends live. They are based out of Malsheem, a huge iron fortress in the "center" of Nessus. It is unknown if they are the lords of the keep or if they are but servants of some greater being.
Accession in the Nine Hells: The baatezu, with their evil, twisted sense of honor, have a definite path of progress. By performing deeds that further the cause of evil, one gains honors and station. By gaining honrs and station, one gains additional power. It is this way that an enterprising spinagon might advance upward and become an abishai. Though the trasmutation process from prinagon to abishai is long and torturous, it is a worthwhile sacrifice because of the potential for upward mobility. Often, too, a baatezu might "disappear", in which case its immediate subordinate would take its place in the chain of command. Covert assassination is quite common amongst the baatezu.
The Dark Eight: In the fortress of Malsheem on the layer of Nessus, there meet eight of the most powerful pit fiends in the Nine Hells: Furcas, Baalzephon, Zimimar, Zapan, Zaebos, Corin, Dagos and Pearza. They meet four times per year to determine policy in the Nine Hells. It is said that to draw the attention of these eight powerful beings is to surely invite destruction upon one's self. All war descisions and attacks on the tanar'ri originate from this grim and evil council. Any promotions of particular baatezu are decided by these ominous lords. Strangely, these eight rulers have reigned for a great many years, seemingly not subject to the assassinations that are so common amongst the upper ranks.