The Nexus
Roleplayer Training
The third layer, Minauros, is an endless bog of vile pollution. The weather on Minauros consists of acidic rain, flesh-slicing hail, and harsh winds. Most of the layer is a vast dismal marsh of foul rotting soil, littered with carrion and pools of water. Through murky fog, one often encounters numerous carcasses soaking up the filthy rain. Another horrid feature of these lands are "cells." These are large shallow pits, filled to a depth of two or three feet with water. Chains and manacles of brass and iron are attached to huge stones laying at the bottom of the cells, where intruders and others captured by Mammon's barbed devil sentinels will be kept. The chained prisoners are forced to stand or sit in the chill, fetid water until they die from exposure or starvation, unless they are taken away for torture or interrogation first. Fortunate prisoners escape, though occasionally the barbed devils will allow a prisoner to escape in order to hunt it for sport.
The huge stone city of Minauros the Sinking is located here, so called because the weight of the city causes it to continually slip beneath the slimy waters; only the endless efforts of thousands of slaves prevents it from doing so. The city sits in a marshy bowl in the center of these volcanic lands, and is constructed of a black stone gleaned from another plane, perhaps a world on the Prime Material, and rests on mighty pillars that eternally sink into the foul bog that fills the layer. Below the city are said to be the ruins of a town that once resided in the Outlands, a town filled with riches beyond dreaming. Hanging in the sky over the stink of Minauros can be found the kyton city of Jangling Hiter, City of Chains, suspended by chains suspended from who knows what.
Mammon the Viscount is the ruler of Minauros; he resembles a long serpent with a human torso. He rules from the center of the city, within a huge mausoleum-like structure made of gold.
Aeaea, the secondary realm of the goddess Hecate, is on Minauros, as is the realm of the Blood Queen of the Aboleths.
Archduke of Minauros, Mammon
Mammon is the archduke of Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells, and the patron of greed and lust. He is a baatezu. Despised by his peers, no one trusts Mammon thanks to his record for duplicity. Condemned to his stinking mire, he dreams of one day throwing off Asmodeus's curse and attaining his rightful place, with Glasya at his feet. Fully aware that he has exhausted any hopes of gaining allies from the other Lords, he has abandoned the political maneuverings in Hell to focus on subverting mortals to his cause.
He invites those who prove themselves loyal to attend him in his court. The service is disgusting, and one must suffer Mammon's vile attentions, but the riches and power to be gained are beyond imagination. Mammon's cults on the Prime Material Plane are widespread and wealthy. Having gained their station from dirty deals, extortion, and coercion, they are invested in the highest ranks of society. Mammon is also popular among non-humanoids. Among his servants he includes beholders and mind-flayers, but none are as beloved as the evil dragons he subverts—something Tiamat most keenly resents.
This massive fiend has the lower body of a brown-spotted serpent and the upper body of a muscular humanoid with two powerful arms. The creature’s bestial head is terrifically monstrous, with a black-lipped maw filled with pointed teeth and a pair of serpent’s fangs. His eyes are pale white, without irises or pupils, yet he seems to see perfectly.
Mammon is ruthless, greedy and lustful. He is able to use words and magic in a cunning way, establishing a friendship before committing an act of betrayal, often violently.
Mammon invites mortals to his palace and asks them to attend his court, as a test of loyalty, where he grants them riches and power. He prefers to play with mortals, lulling them into a false sense of security, and enjoys seeing them surprised when he turns on them.
Mammon is indirect and venomous. Mammon is known for speaking in riddles, never coming straight to the point even when giving orders.