Alaethoth and the Angels

Here is a setting idea I found in one of my older folders.  It is based off of the idea put forth in A Pit Fiend (For DnD), but instead of being an element within a generic setting, the idea takes center stage in the setting cosmology.  Kinda incomplete, and I'm just copy-pasting my notes, I'm afraid.

Cosmology:

The Master was a great spirit that created this world and all in it as his plaything.  The mortals rebelled, tired of suffering as sentient toys, and called upon other great spirits that, if not stronger than the Master individually, were able to overcome him and shatter him into a thousand pieces.  The humans were wise enough not to simply leave the possibility open for a new master to arise – instead the terms of their calling were that the other spirits could not put more of themselves (sum total between all spirits) onto the world than the Master currently had.  No effect greater than his effect.  All other fighting had to be done extraplanarly.  While this would leave the master and the other spirits—the new gods—on purely even footing in the terrestrial realm, it would be the place of the mortals to tip the balance in the one area they mattered.  This was to be enforced by the greedy gods upon each other: Any god that disobeyed would find itself the target of the others, must as the master had, and all that was his would be divided among the other gods.

Time passed, and the master lay shattered, and his shards sealed away.  Much was forgotten.  The gods tampered with the world through indirect means, playing a game that skirted the rules, trying to draw humans to worship them, and cause them to choose to act in accordance with the will of one god or another.  Religions were created, wars fought against each other, and mortals, with all the freedoms they had managed to gain, chose to shackle themselves to the ideologies of gods through their own free will.

Mythology grew about the Master and his shards.  The shards were called demons, while the servants the gods send onto the world in response to a freed demon were called angels.  As gods overstepped the rules, they were torn apart and soon there was a division between the original greater demons (from the Master) and the new lesser demons (from the later gods).

The terms never changed, and the need for humans to help angels overcome the demons stayed true.  Indeed, it became true more than ever, as the angels were often more interested in furthering the agenda of their patron spirit than actually working together to defeat the demon whose presence allowed and justified their continued existence.  And yet, the world stayed demon free more often than not.  Mortal heroes rose and cast down demons.

Into this mix come our characters:

The Immortals

Alaethoth – A greater demon who chooses to rule by kindness.

Umashtim – An angel sent in response to Alaethoth, who seeks to defeat Alaethoth quickly to prevent the batch of angels responding to Alaethoth from upsetting the favorable status quo.

Embeshbil – An angel sent in response to Alaethoth, who seeks to delay Umashtim, allowing him and others time to topple Umashtim’s god’s religion. But not obviously, or that would be unpopular.

Iawashival – Allegedly wants to stop Alaethoth, pretends to help Gehem and Vonshtat.  Is actually allied with Embeshbil’s coalition.  Actually is a traitor to his masters, and seeks out Alaethoth to change his nature so he can be free.

The Mortals

Gehem – A mortal thief, caught and sentenced to jail.

Vonshtat – A mortal hero, disciple of Umashtim’s god, who needs a sneaky person to help him infiltrate Alaethoth’s realm.

Clurim – A mortal sorcerer and self-avowed atheist, driven insane by his usage of magic.

There are layers of understanding for the readers:

Layer 1: Gehem is recruited by Vonshtat and sent on a mission for his ‘true’ god to scout out an Original Demon.

Layer 2: The angels may not be as unified as one might think.

Layer 3: Alaethoth does not actually seem that evil, even if his ambitions are to rule the world.

Layer 4: Clurim tells the nature of the world.

Layer 5: Iawashival is free, becomes Alaethoth’s Lieutenant.  Tells the history of the world.

In particular, Alaethoth understands that the downfall of the Master was that he was cruel when playing with mortals, even when he could have enjoyed interacting with them in a much less harmful manner.  With that in mind, Alaethoth sees the current gameplay between the gods—and the resulting misery—as a means to unite the mortal world against the spirits.  Ideally, he would like to rule the world as a benevolent master while finding and absorbing the other greater and lesser demons, until he becomes the new master.  The gods, if they understood that he may threaten the game they have going on, could unite against him, so instead he pretends to be possessed of enlightened self-interest and motivated by terrestrial gain—just another factor in the game—while he pursues his larger agenda.  Some day he seeks to have allies among the current gods that agree with his vision and are willing to overthrow the system, but that is far in the future of the current situation.