There was a time when Dungeons & Dragons came under fire from parent’s groups due to accusations that the game promoted satanism, leading to demons and devils having their name changed. In Dungeons & Dragons, the average campaign is set in just one part of a larger multiverse. Within this multiverse, there are equivalents to Heaven and Hell, each with their own corresponding angels, demons, and devils.
The people who commit evil deeds in life can end up being sent to the Abyss or the Nine Hells, where they will be tortured by the fiends which reside there. Demons are the chaotic evil rulers of the Abyss, while the devils are the lawful evil masters of the Nine Hells. There are mortals who can summon demons and devils to their side using magic, with some forming infernal contracts in the pursuit of power. Demons and devils are some of the strongest monsters in D&D, and players will be wary of facing such creatures unless their powers are designed to fight them (such as paladins).
Demons and devils were part of the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but they had to be changed in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. There was a period of time when Dungeons & Dragons came under scrutiny from different parent groups and religious organizations who accused the game of promoting Satanism. This was one of the biggest controversies facing Dungeons & Dragons in the early days of the game’s existence. One of the most infamous of these was cartoonist Jack Chick and his “Dark Dungeons” tract, which linked Dungeons & Dragons to witchcraft and murder.
Demons & Devils in Dungeons & Dragons
The idea of the game promoting devil worship was one of the biggest misconceptions about Dungeons & Dragons during its heyday. As a result of these complaints, the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons introduced some major changes to the lore of the fiendish races. According to the official Dungeons & Dragons website, the creatures known as devils had their name changed to baatezu and the demons were changed to tanar’ri. They were often referred to as fiends within the text, but the “D” words were never uttered for years within the game, even though many fans still referred to them by their original names at their own tables. The descriptions of each race focused more on the extra-dimensional aspect of their existence, especially when the Planescape campaign setting was released. The conflict between the two races (known as the Blood War) also became the focus of their actions, which overtook the seduction of mortals.
There were times when Dungeons & Dragons had to change things due to legal threats, as was the case with The Lord of the Rings. There is a complicated legal history between Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons, which resulted in several aspects of the game being changed, but the demon/devil situation was a pre-emptive move on the part of the creators. According to the game’s official website, the change was made to appease the parents who may have been concerned by all of the controversies surrounding Dungeons & Dragons.
The demons and devils eventually got their names back in the year 2000, with the release of the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons. By this time, the fervor regarding Dungeons & Dragons had long since died down and ownership of the game had passed into the hands of Wizards of the Coast. The version of the Monster Manual in the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons brought demons and devils back into the fold under their original names, while the baatezu and tanar’ri names have been kept as part of the lore of each faction. The demon and devil names have been retained ever since and are still used in the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons.
