| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | The Black Duke |
| Home plane | Baator |
| Power level | Duke of Hell |
| Alignment | Lawful evil |
| Portfolio | n/a |
| Domains | n/a |
| Superior | Fierna |
| Design details | |
Bathym is a Duke of Hell in the service of Fierna, in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game.
Contents |
Bathym first appears in Ed Greenwood's article "The Nine Hells Part I" in Dragon #75 (1983).[1]
Bathym was briefly detailed in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (2006).[2] Bathym was detailed in the online version of Dragon, in issue #360 (October 2007) in the "Infernal Aristocracy" feature.[3]
Bathym has black-hued eyes, black hooves, and black nails. His skin, horns and tail are a dead, fishbelly-white color. Bathym’s forked tail is short and curled like a pig’s; he is most sensitive about it and keeps it concealed. When angry, Bathym hisses like a snake when he speaks.
Bathym is known as "the Black Duke" for the color of the armor he wears. He covers his face with a full horned helm and covers his armor with a voluminous black cloak. His black spiked mace bleeds darkness.
Bathym displays prudent caution and diabolical cunning in battle, letting his mount, the terrible half-devil nightmare Fell Wind, do most of the fighting.
Bathym is a duke of Phelegethos and a supporter of Fierna.
Before the Reckoning of Hell, Bathym was an ally of Balan, a fellow duke in the service of Belial. Disgusted by Belial's cowardice (as he saw it) after that war, Bathym shifted his alliance to Fierna, who he had long coveted from the shadows. Balan, however, remained loyal to Belial, who had long helped him satiate his unspeakable lusts. More than any other baatezu, Balan is now Bathym's greatest enemy; Bathym hopes to increase Fierna's control over Phlegethos and his own position with it, while Balan desires to keep Belial as the power behind the throne. For a time, they were at least civil with one another, but as Fierna continues to assert herself, it looks as if Balan and Bathym may soon come to blows.
Bathym commands 30 companies of barbed devils. Each company consists of 333 devils. He has no mortal followers.