Opinions on The Demonic Heirarchy

[SoulCrow]

I support Gez's theory wholeheartedly. As is stated by good ole' Deckard Pain in Diablo, the motives of Hell and the demons that reside within are usually centered on destruction, pain and terror. Demons live for absolute chaos... however, they do not destroy to combat anything, they don't try and alter our reality, and they do not seek to enter areas of "order" and "normality" and turn them to the flame. As Phobus stated when describing the "Demons, Cyberdemons, Lost Souls and all Zombies", the demons are like animals -- while they live for destruction and absolute chaos, they are not really aware of what is happening around them.

Basic example - take a lion from Africa. The lion has lived it's life in Africa, and knows nothing else. A lion does not know what other types of living there can be -- forcibly take the lion from Africa and place it into a zoo, and it will have no idea about what sort of place it has entered - nor could it have possibly fathomed what sort of place a zoo would be like before it actually got there (and it would not have considered this at all either).

In my opinion, the same goes for the demons. The demons do not seek to conquer, and are unaware of what sort of places could be conquered. However, when the way is opened for them, and they enter a new environment, they will continue to live in the only way that they know - of absolute chaos. The demonic flesh or "growth" that appears, or any sort of alteration to the reality that surrounds them is not because they want it to happen -- the demons are blissfully unaware of what forces are working around them. Again, the lion cannot understand how gravity works, but gravity is still there nonetheless. Likewise, the alterations that the marine sees around him occur, but not because the demons want it to happen. Once more referring to Diablo, the demons sheer presence in our realm is enough to distort and corrupt everything around them.

In the original Diablo game, the manual states: "The ancient catacombs of the Horadrim had become a twisted labyrinth of raw, focused Terror. Empowered by Diablo’s possession of young Albrecht, the creatures of the boy’s own imagination had gained corporeal form. So strong was the terror that grew inside of Albrecht, that the borders of the Mortal realm began to warp and tear. The Burning Hells began to seep into the world of Man and take root within the labyrinth. Beings and occurrences displaced by time and space, and long lost to the history of Man were pulled screaming into the ever-expanding domain."

However, this only applies to the vast majority of demons. Of course, there are those select few that are intelligent -- what of them? Who knows, my personal belief is that their thoughts are beyond comprehension.

[Captain Proof]

Ok,so the lower class demons (Imps,Demons,Undead,Hell Nobility) are pretty much bent on killing everything that moves but maybe being pushed in a certain direction when the high class demons (Arch Viles,The Arachnids).

Didn't they erect a flamewall to keep the last of the humans from escaping earth in doom 2(Dead Simple)?This shows more signs of intelligence.Not to mention them stealing the Quantum accelerator in Plutonia and like I said,attacking the base on Io using a living ship.

[Gez]

It's very open to interpretation anyway so you do it how you want after all. Heck, there's a ZDoom mod where you can sneak in a demon cathedral and listen to Lord of Heresy harangue assembled demons, in English.

[Ghastly]

I always figured the undead were completely mindless, while the imps, demons and the rest of the lesser ones were like Grunts and Jackles from Halo, with Revenants, Mancubi, Hell Knights and Arachnotrons were the next tier up, and were commanded by the Nobles, which, in turn, were commanded by Cyberdemons, Spider Masterminds, etc., which were the army-commanders, but not real leaders.

Aside from that, I figured the command structure was more like the Zerg from Starcraft, with the Overmind (The Devil) controlling Cerebrates (Baphomet, etc.).

[Unknown_Assassin]

Aside from that, I figured the command structure was more like the Zerg from Starcraft, with the Overmind (The Devil) controlling Cerebrates (Baphomet, etc.).

I agree about the concept of the command structure, but the Overmind being the Devil? Come on. The Overmind dies. I think the Baphomet would be the Overmind and the Cerebrates more like the Spider Mastermind and the Cyberdemon.

[Trance]

The Devil is just Hell's PR guy.

[Ghastly]

the Overmind being the Devil?

I mean in the sense that it's controlling everything else (if not micromanaging every single thing).

Though, seriously, the Tiamat Brood really dropped the ball, in that battle.

[Captain Proof]

I agree with ghastly...Though I see the chain of command like this.

The Mother Demon:The Head Honcho,the one who commands the assault of an Entire Planet
Baphomets:Giant living factories,all they do is make more demons.
Spider Masterminds:leads armies that usually contain between 2000 to 12000 demons (2 to 10 Legions)
Arachnotrons:Act as Psychic relays.Transfer's commands from the Mastermind to the Hell Nobility and other high level demons(Archviles and the like)
Cyberdemons:They are commanders of armies containing 2000 to 10000 demons.They hate the masterminds...posess no psychic abilities.The strongest one of their kind is Thamuz who has ascended to Horde Master status.
Archviles:A failed attempt at trying to create a Human.(When I was drawing up a doom comic book there was instances where humans with high psychic abilities could sometimes be corrupted and be turned into Viles)
Hell Nobles:They usually lead an army that is 2000 to 8000 strong depending on Rank(Hell Baron's being the lowest and Lords of heresy being the highest)
Mancubi:Same as above,no psychic abillity,they act like giant Demonic tanks.
Revenants:Heavy Weapons and Assault type demons.
Demons,Imps:Grunts
Undead:Act as Cannon fodder,their numbers are the real strength.

Now if you want to add in the Hell worm this is what I think of it(I could be wrong since it's Ceeb's creation)
Hellworm:Acts as a Mobile Base/Factory.Very Destructive

[Ethril]

Undead:Act as Cannon fodder,their numbers are the real strength.

Ironically (is this really irony? i have no clue what is or isn't anymore.), due to their hitscans, large numbers of zombies typically just end up slaughtering eachother instead, unless they're in a circle around the player or something so they can still hit you in the crossfire.

[Captain Proof]

Well I figured there's enough of them that it wouldn't matter lol.

[CaptainToenail]

Heh, and technically they are not even dead, only possessed, poor sods.

[Trance]

This thread would be better if the incorrectly-used apostrophe was removed from the thread title.

[Captain Proof]

@toenail:That's why I threw in the Undead/Cannibalistic Psychopaths.

@trance:I fixed the title,thanks for pointing that out I didn't realize the typo.

[Unknown_Assassin]

Though, seriously, the Tiamat Brood really dropped the ball, in that battle.

Yes, they did, but the Overmind could have retreated before the slaughtering of the Tiamat Brood or he could have send more minions from the different planets/worlds as reinforcements.

[Captain Proof]

Yeah well the terran's are equally stupid for turning on themselves(Though The Sons of Korhal had damn good reason)

I remember 2 battles being a 100% pure bulletfest,the Hammer Falls and New Gettysberg where two that stick out in my mind.

EDIT:Make that nuke fest.