DRAGON #223 – THE LORDS OF THE NINE (1995)

Planes of Law came out in February 1995. As noted, it included Bel as a general and left all but
three of the Lords of the Nine mysterious and unknown. This, it should be noted, was a diegetic
mystery — it’s not just that TSR wasn’t telling you; it was that their identities were a mystery to the
characters in the game world itself.
But in the November 1995 issue of Dragon Magazine (#223, which would have been released in
August 1995), Colin McComb writes “The Lords of the Nine”: “The Lords of the Nine Layers of
Baator have been revealed at last! Do you dare to read about them?”
And, indeed, McComb provides identities for all nine archdukes. And this is done diegetically. A
character named Willgan the Dogged has discovered their identities and is ready to tell all!
Note: I belabor this mostly because I’m fascinated by the decision process to drop this
entire aspect of the Planescape setting almost immediately after publishing the boxed
set.

Regarding Bel, we are told, that “the original Lord of Avernus (not Tiamat, contrary
to popular belief) found herself imprisoned and entrapped by her warlord, the pit
fiend Bel, thousands of years ago.” Bel is siphoning more of the Lord’s power for
himself, but is still beholden to the Dark Eight.