History Main / DemonLordsAndArchdevils

* The ''Literature/ArsGoetia,'' the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon, lists 72 kings, dukes, princes, marquises, earls, knights and presidents of Hell, along with their areas of expertise, the number of demonic legions under their command, and [[SchmuckBait instructions]] [[DontTryThisAtHome for their summoning]].

** The ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' setting has several varieties:
*** The Overlords are the biggest and baddest (they're also called Rakshasa Rajahs, because most of their fiendish subjects are Rakshasas, but setting creator Keith Baker prefers "Overlords" because they're not actually Rakshasas themselves, any more than a god is a really power human). They're tremendously powerful PhysicalGod-level beings who each personify some for of destruction or corruption; [[AbusivePrecursors they ruled the world a long time ago]], but were eventually defeated by the dragons and, since they could not be destroyed, were imprisoned. Now they want out, and they've got loosely-allied cabal of fiendish followers- the Lords of Dust, many of whom fit this trope themselves- working to release them, which would pretty much mean TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Godforsaken}}'': Demon lords are mighty demons that command hundreds of lesser fiends and often ruling entire hellish dimensions. They are cunning beings who make centuries-long plans of conquest against rival demons, and seek to corrupt and enslave powerful mortals. They wield powerful magic, can grant wishes to mortals in exchange for service or favors, and summon lesser fiends to serve them. Some are nearly as powerful as gods and are worshipped as such by evil creatures and societies, and claim ownership over concepts such as murder, rot, undeath or seduction.

* ''TableTopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' has various daemon princes and Greater Daemons that serve the four Gods of Chaos. The former are mortal followers who were rewarded for exceptional service to one of the Chaos Gods, the latter split off from the Gods. Of particular note are Kairos Fateweaver, Ku'Gath Plaguefather and Skarbrand, who are available in the game as special characters. Just below the daemon princes are "regular" Chaos Lords and Champions, who are also empowered mortals (just slightly less mutated) leading nations of corrupted Chaos-worshipping peoples, and below them are various foot soldiers both daemonic and mortal (or at least, they were). In general, the [[TheLegionsOfHell Chaos]] hierarchy seems to go Chaos Gods > [[TheAntichrist the Everchosen]] > Greater Daemons > Daemon Princes > Chaos Lords/Champions > Chaos Warriors > Lesser Daemons > Marauders > [[CannonFodder Beastmen]].[[note]]The Beastmen, a synthetic satyr-like race created by Chaos corruption, have their own sub-hierarchy of Beastlords/Bray-Shamans > Wargors > Bestigors > Gors > Ungors. Beastmen can be be found under the command of Chaos Champions/Lords and above, but have never been seen to have any authority over other Chaos-aligned races (daemons, humans, etc.) regardless of internal rank.[[/note]]
** The Skaven race have the Horned Rat as their unique Chaos God (and who became one of the 4 main Chaos Gods in ''TabletopGame/WarhammerAgeOfSigmar'') while the Chaos Dwarves have Hashut as theirs. Note that Daemons and Chaos Gods are essentially the same thing, just differing in scale. Various sourcebooks mention that the difference between an extra-powerful Greater Daemon and a weak Chaos God is negligble.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has rules for Daemon Lords of Chaos, Greater Daemons even bigger and more powerful than most of their kind. They are Gargantuan Creatures that cost from between 666 (Slaanesh) to 999 (Tzeench) points so they're only usable in extremely large-scale games, and for a good reason as they can pretty wipe out armies single-handedly. While daemon princes, mostly traitor primarchs who ascended to daemonhood, rule entire Chaos planets.
** In the 2022, Vashtorr the Arkifane has been introduced. This independent daemon is the ruler of the Forge of Souls and outside of the control of the 4 Chaos Gods. [[{{Tulpa}} Formed by the idea of innovation in technology]], Vashtorr is far beyond the power of a typical Greater Daemon and seeks to become a true god himself.
* Influenced by ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'' 2nd ed., Schwalb Entertainment's ''Shadow of the Demon Lord'' has the titular [[{{God}} Demon Lord]] who is far and away the top-most ruler of the Void and nothing is going to take his place as top dog. The Demon Lord is largely hands-off when it comes to herding his demonic minions. So sometimes a demon that ends up on Urth can learn to be independent, accumulate a lot of power and become a unique Demon Prince. Notable Demon Princes are the Destroyer of Worlds, Failure in Flesh, and Lord of Undeath. There is also Hell, which is the punishing afterlife created by [[TheFairFolk evil Fey]] that came to be known [[AlwaysChaoticEvil as Devils]]. The ruler of {{Hell}} is the Great Fey, Diabolus who's grown so strong he's mightier than the Fairy Queen. Forming an aristocracy in {{Hell}}, there's over 100 Greater Devils of which 18 are the top nobility and of these 6 are the most well known: Olal, Desire in Flesh; Abbadon, Warfather; Gotherah, Sower of Dissent; Taelahar, Mother of Filth; Ithritonus the Deceiver and Xutba the Obscene.
* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' has the various Demon Princes: a dozen or so in the core rules and an unspecified number of "minor" ones, some of which have been detailed in the supplements. As with the Archangels, they have a Word they must act in accordance with. Unlike the Archangels, who may sometimes have a Word that makes their life difficult, but only because [[BeingGoodSucks upholding morality is, in fact, difficult]], it's been known for demons to be given BlessedWithSuck Words as a ''punishment'' (for instance, the Demon Princess of Taking Credit For Others' Work, whose Word is specifically designed to ensure other demons hate her).
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Talislanta}}'', the most powerful devils are called "shaitans", and constitute a race in their own right that rule over the lesser diabolic races.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' has the Yozis, as well as the Third and Second Circle demons. The hierarchy of Hell established by the Yozi Cecylene declares Third Circle Demons (the [[OurSoulsAreDifferent souls of the Yozis]]) to be Unquestionable, while the Second Circle Demons (and some exceptional members of the lesser orders) are citizens, carrying numerous privileges and protections, while the Yozis themselves preside over the entire thing by virtue of command of the Third Circles [[GeniusLoci and being the substance from which Hell is composed]]. In terms of general function, only the citizens really fit the traditional image; the Yozis and Unquestionable preoccupy most of their time with distant and alien agendas, leaving the citizens to politics and conquest.
* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'' features twelve demons [[EvilKnockoff who act as evil counterparts of the major gods]]. Also there is the Demon Sultan, a true EldritchAbomination in demon form. ("Daemon Sultan", incidentally, was one of the titles for Azathoth in the Franchise/CthulhuMythos.)
* ''TabletopGame/DemonTheFallen'' has these. In fact, they are the bosses (ostensibly) of the player characters.
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has a biomechanical hellish plane called Phyrexia, filled with these guys. There's Gix, Davvol, Tsabo, and many others. Some people even ascend (descend?) to this role, such as Volrath, Ertai, and Crovax. The new Phyrexia doesn't have a BigBad, just five praetors who also fill this role. The Gothic horror-inspired plane of Innistrad is also home to at least three major archfiends: Withengar, Ormeldahl and Griselbrand, the latter being one of the four demons who owns Lilliana Vess' soul (the other three being Razaketh, Kothophed and Belzenlok). Powerful demons also hold high-ranking positions on Dominaria, where Belzenlok is worshipped as a god, and on Ravnica, where Rakdos rules over the red/black aligned guild of torture circus performers that bears his name.
* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheForsaken'' has the Maeljin, grand spirits of malevolence. There are 9 of them, 7 of which corresponds to the SevenDeadlySins (the other two are of Deception and of Violence). They rule over evil spirits, the Maeltinet, who in turn are the totem spirit of the [[TheMole Bale Hounds]]. [[EnemyMine The Forsaken and The Pure hates them more than they hate each others.]]
* ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' likewise has the Urge Wyrms, aspect of [[EldritchAbomination the Wyrm]] that lure mankind to ruin through aspects such as Power, Corruption, Lust, Greed, Hatred, and Apathy. They've got their own Maeljin, but these are humans who were so wicked in life that they were offered the chance to become a representative to horrible wickedness, and gladly said yes.
* ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' has the sourcebook ''Inferno'', who is all about demonkind. The hierarchy of demons go a long way, capping with the Archdemons, who are so powerful they aren't even given stats. It's strongly hinted that the aforementioned Maeljins are the same beings as the Archdemons.

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' has the various Demon Princes: a dozen or so in the core rules and an unspecified number of "minor" ones, some of which have been detailed in the supplements. As with the Archangels, they have a Word they must act in accordance with. Unlike the Archangels, who may sometimes have a Word that makes their life difficult, but only because [[BeingGoodSucks upholding morality is, in fact, difficult]], it's been known for demons to be given BlessedWithSuck Words as a ''punishment'' (for instance, the Demon Princess of Taking Credit For Others' Work, whose Word is specifially designed to ensure other demons hate her).

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has a hellish plane called Phyrexia, filled with these guys. There's Gix, Davvol, Tsabo, and many others. Some people even ascend (descend?) to this role, such as Volrath, Ertai, and Crovax. The new Phyrexia doesn't have a BigBad, just five praetors who also fill this role.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': BigBad Ghirahim has the title of "Demon Lord", and he appears to be the leader of the demons of the surface and the most powerful demon next to his master, [[spoiler:Demise, Hyrule's GodOfEvil]].

** The original games have Hell Knights and Barons of Hell, the latter outranking the former and the former outranking fodder demons like Imps. Spider Masterminds and Cyberdemons seem to outrank the Barons, with the first Cyberdemon you fight being referred to as the "demon lord that ruled the lost moon base of Phobos"(in No Rest For The Living, another Cyberdemon even attempts to proclaim himself lord of all Hell). ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'' keeps the hierarchy but makes some changes; Barons have been replaced by Guardians, and the Cyberdemon is a unique creature rather than a class, and is explicitly stated to be Hell's greatest warrior. After it dies, Maledict takes over. Note that all of the above greater demons can be killed by liberal application of [[GatlingGood minigun fire to the face and torso]].

* Ghirahim, the BigBad of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' has the title of "Demon Lord", and he appears to be the leader of the demons of the surface and the most powerful demon next to his master, [[spoiler:Demise, Hyrule's GodOfEvil]].

** Because the Underworld is such a hopelessly boring place, devils usually entertain themselves by tormenting lower-ranking devils, who then go on to torture those of even lower ranking. [[spoiler:The devil within Asta's grimoire, named Liebe by Asta's mother Licita, [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer was considered the lowest of the low-ranking devils because he had no magic, and as a result was perpetually tortured and tormented by every other devil in his layer]]. This became [[DramaticIrony ironic]] for two reasons: first, having no magic allowed Liebe to escape the Underworld after another devil tossed him into the gate (while expecting him to [[LudicrousGibs splatter]] against it since the gate normally blocks passage to all devils); second, it would later turn out that Liebe possessed AntiMagic, which meant [[WrongContextMagic Liebe possessed an edge against most other devils if he could wield his power properly]]. After all the abuse he suffered at their hands, and Licita's death by his own hand while [[YouKilledMyMother Lucifero]] was attempting to [[GrandTheftMe possess his body]], Liebe is now possessed by [[BoomerangBigot undying hatred towards his own kind]], and wishes for nothing more than to [[{{revenge}} wipe them out]].]]

** Sauron himself occupies a place between Morgoth and the Balrogs in the demonic hierarchy. Less combat-focus than the Balrogs, he mainly served as Morgoth's primary sorcerer and administrator of his fortresses and conquered territories. While Gandalf was able to kill a Balrog through sheer might, Sauron is stated to be truly immortal, with the destruction of the One Ring only banishing his presence to the Void rather than ending his life.

** Because the Underworld is such a hopelessly boring place, devils usually entertain themselves by tormenting lower-ranking devils, who then go on to torture those of even lower ranking. [[spoiler:The devil within Asta's grimoire, named Liebe by Asta's mother Licita, [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer was considered the lowest of the low-ranking devils because he had no magic, and as a result was perpetually tortured and tormented by every other devil in his layer]]. This became [[DramaticIrony ironic]] for two reasons: first, having no magic allowed Liebe to escape the Underworld after another devil tossed him into the gate (while expecting him to [[LudicrousGibs splatter]] against it since the gate normally blocks passage to all devils); second, it would later turn out that Liebe possessed AntiMagic, which meant [[WrongContextMagic Liebe possessed an edge against most other devils if he could wield his power properly]]. After all the abuse he suffered at their hands, and Licita's death by his own hand while [[YouKilledMyMother Lucifero]] was attempting to [[GrandTheftMe possess his body]], Liebe is now possessed by [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch undying hatred towards his own kind]], and wishes for nothing more than to [[{{revenge}} wipe them out]].]]

** Because the Underworld is such a hopelessly boring place, devils usually entertain themselves by tormenting lower-ranking devils, who then go on to torture those of even lower ranking. [[spoiler:The devil within Asta's grimoire, named Liebe by Asta's mother Licita, [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer was considered the lowest of the low-ranking devils because he had no magic, and as a result was perpetually tortured and tormented by every other devil in his layer]]. This became [[DramaticIrony ironic]] for two reasons: first, having no magic allowed Liebe to escape the Underworld after another devil tossed him into the gate (while expecting him to [[LudicrousGibs splatter]] against it since the gate normally blocks passage to all devils); second, it would later turn out that Liebe possessed AntiMagic, which meant Liebe possessed an edge against most other devils if he could wield his power properly. After all the abuse he suffered at their hands, and Licita's death by his own hand while [[YouKilledMyMother Lucifero]] was attempting to [[GrandTheftMe possess his body]], Liebe is now possessed by [[MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch undying hatred towards his own kind]], and wishes for nothing more than to [[{{revenge}} wipe them out]].]]

** "Demon Lord" is technically both a title ''and'' a species. The title can technically be used to refer to any sufficiently powerful monster/non-human being, but the ''species'' explicitly refers to those acknowledged by the "Words/Voice of the World" (effectively the SentientCosmicForce of the setting) as "Demon Lord", and are in fact given the moniker of "''True'' Demon Lord" to reflect this. To become one of these, a person must cultivate their "Demon Seed", which requires the harvesting of a large number of [[YourSoulIsMine human souls]] whether killed by their hands or just obtained through other means. There are ten declared Demon Lords at the start of the series, but only seven of them are acknowledged as "True" Demon Lords, and two of them still aren't ''technically'' True Demon Lords but rather simply possess the power and recognition of one. [[spoiler:Rimuru joins their number upon his own ascension to True Demon Lord status, and after killing Clayman while Frey and Carrion willingly step down seeing themselves as too weak to hold onto the title, they rename themselves as the Eight Star Demon Lords (Octogram).]]

* In the anime adaptation of the sexy-statue franchise ''Anime/SevenMortalSins'', the Nine Circles of Hell are initially run by the eponymous clique of sexy demonesses, led by Belial, who represents the Mortal Sin of Vanity, and followed in ostensible power rankings by Astaroth (Melancholy), Satan (Wrath), {{Mammon}} (Greed), Belphegor (Sloth), {{Beelzebub}} (Gluttony), and {{Asmodeus}} (Lust). However, its later revealed that the rankings are actually Nonsense (they have no real relation to power levels at all but merely measures the level of loyalty to leadership) which were invented by Belial (who is secretly the FallenAngel Satanael, in contrast to the other six who are natural-born demons) when she first took over Hell (after being banished forever from Heaven) by convincing the other six demon lords (who were hedonists that cared nothing for politics) that Hell needed a formal organized government to counter any possible invasion/extermination by Heaven (to whom Belial was actually planning to sell out Hell in order to be restored to her former status). Later, Belial is again banished forever (well, it doesn’t last this time), this time from Hell to Earth, for her treachery, and Asteroth (her Number One Fan) voluntarily goes into exile with her. They get replaced by Lucifer, another Fallen Angel (and ironically the former leader of Heaven’s own ruling clique of Archangels, the Seven Lively Virtues, who banished Belial from Heaven to begin with in the first place), who represents the Mortal Sin of Pride (which was once a Lively Virtue until she and it got replaced by Faith and its representative, the archangel Michael, Lucifer’s understudy who banished her on God’s orders and replaced her as the leader of the Lively Virtues) and Leviathan (Lucifer’s own Lovecrazed obsessive stalker) who represents the Mortal Sin of Envy (amusingly, she was a trying-hard(est) wannabe who kept getting rejected from joining the Mortal Sins for being too weak until Lucifer rewarded her for her tireless support in her quest to defeat Belial and repel the invasion/extermination of Heaven).
* Several Demon lords appear in ''Manga/Bastard1988''. The demons have a hierarchy of nobility, with Satan being the top dog. Directly beneath him are the 7 demon kings,- Asmodeus, Astaroth, Baal, Beelzebub, Belial, Bilt & Paimon. Among whom Beelzebub seems to be the one in charge. Further down the hierarchy, we have demons like Konron, who is a Viscount of Hell.

* The Godhand are the five most powerful demons of the ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' universe, and are in charge of creating new demons (and occasionally, new members of the Godhand) when they are summoned by [[ArtifactOfDoom Behelits]]. [[spoiler:They, in turn, serve [[GodIsEvil the Idea of Evil]].]]
* Graf Wilhelm Josef von Herrmann of ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', a demon of the higher ranks [[spoiler:who was summoned to help in the destruction of [[DoomedHometown Negi's village]]]]. [[DealWithTheDevil He also sells wishes for those interested]]. Order now, and you could get any three wishes for a low, low introductory price.
** Demons appear to be ranked on a scale of nobility. Graf is a Count.
** Poyo [[spoiler: Rainyday]] is said to have a very high rank, enough in fact to be [[LampshadeHanging a final boss]].
* There are seven Satans of Hell in ''Manga/AngelSanctuary'', all of which represent the SevenDeadlySins.
* Kokuyo from ''Manga/{{Wish}}'' by Creator/{{CLAMP}} is the Son of Satan. He's invited to the Bridge with Satan, God and the Four Archangels and is always referred to as being of a high rank in Hell.
* Mazoku-Lords in ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'' are the five servants of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, this universe's Satan equivalent. Since Shabranigdo is temporarily unavailable, they are free to act as they choose, politick against each other and create more underling Mazoku.
** To date (in the anime continuity): two fragments of Shabradigdo out of seven and two Mazoku-Lords are safely dead.

%% * This is what TheHero of ''Literature/{{Maoyu}}'' ''expected'' to find when he stormed into the Demon King's castle. He found a rather dorky queen who's no less of a hero than he is, though of [[GuileHero a different kind]].

* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' has Asmodeous and Astaroth as major threats in the second game. Each one of them is powerful enough to wreck the world once fully manifest.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' has rules for Daemon Lords of Chaos, Greater Demons even bigger and more powerful than most of their kind. They are Gargantuan Creatures that cost from between 666 (Slaanesh) to 999 (Tzeench) points so they're only usable in extremely large-scale games, and for a good reason as they can pretty wipe out armies single-handedly. While daemon princes, mostly traitor primarchs who ascended to daemonhood, rule entire Chaos planets.

* Influenced by ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasyRoleplay'' 2nd ed., Schwalb Entertainment's ''Shadow of the Demon Lord'' has the titular Demon Lord who is far and away the top-most ruler of the Void and nothing is going to take his place as top dog. The Demon Lord is largely hands-off when it comes to herding his demonic minions. So sometimes a demon that ends up on Urth can learn to be independent, accumulate a lot of power and become a unique Demon Prince. Notable Demon Princes are the Destroyer of Worlds, Failure in Flesh, and Lord of Undeath. There is also Hell, which is the punishing afterlife created by [[TheFairFolk evil Fey]] that came to be known [[AlwaysChaoticEvil as Devils]]. The ruler of {{Hell}} is the Great Fey, Diabolus who's grown so strong he's mightier than the Fairy Queen. Forming an aristocracy in {{Hell}}, there's over 100 Greater Devils of which 18 are the top nobility and of these 6 are the most well known: Olal, Desire in Flesh; Abbadon, Warfather; Gotherah, Sower of Dissent; Taelahar, Mother of Filth; Ithritonus the Deceiver and Xutba the Obscene.

** In the 2022, Vashtorr the Arkifane has been introduced. This independent daemon is the ruler of the Forge of Souls and outside of the control of the 4 Chaos Gods. Formed the idea of innovation in technology, Vashtorr is far beyond the power of a typical Greater Daemon and seeks to become a true god himself.

In battle, they will almost always be the [[AuthorityGrantsAsskicking most powerful demonic forces]] bar {{Satan}} himself. They often command {{Hellfire}} of far greater power than the demonic {{Mooks}} under them. Sometimes they are a RealityWarper, allowing them to make [[DealWithTheDevil deals with mortals]] and grant them incredible power at an even greater price. EvilIsNotAToy after all. They frequently wield [[DevilsPitchfork pitchforks]] or [[MagicStaff staves]] into battle. They are also [[CrossMeltingAura immune]] to what normal demons are weak to.

* Mazoku-Lords in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' are the five servants of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, this universe's Satan equivalent. Since Shabranigdo is temporarily unavailable, they are free to act as they choose, politick against each other and create more underling Mazoku.

%% * This is what TheHero of ''LightNovel/{{Maoyu}}'' ''expected'' to find when he stormed into the Demon King's castle. He found a rather dorky queen who's no less of a hero than he is, though of [[GuileHero a different kind]].

* ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'':

* The Balrogs from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and the rest of the Tolkienverse. Massive flaming beings ten yards tall, that wield a whip and a gigantic sword and are so immensely powerful that Gandalf, one of the strongest beings in the material world, barely managed to defeat one and soon after died of exhaustion.
** Sauron himself also qualifies, occupying a place between Morgoth and the Balrogs in the demonic hierarchy. While Gandalf was able to kill a Balrog through sheer might, Sauron is stated to be truly immortal, with the destruction of the One Ring only banishing his presence to the Void rather than ending his life.
* Referenced in Robert Jordan's ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' books, where a solid percentage of the QuirkyMinibossSquad -- who are just superpowered evil humans -- are named after classic demon princes. Asmodean==Asmodeus, Bel'al==Belial, etc.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has brought up the hierarchy of demons once or twice. Archdemons are mentioned as a hypothetical in ''Fool Moon'' and Harry theorizes that the villains in ''Small Favor'' could only have [[spoiler: trapped the Archive with the power of a [[{{Satan}} fallen archangel]]]].
** On a slightly lower level, Anduriel, the FallenAngel who is "partners" with [[HeroKiller Nicodemus]], is stated to have been one of {{Satan}}'s captains during the Fall and is currently probably the most potent Fallen active directly on Earth.
* In ''Literature/{{The Guardians|Meljean Brook}}'', Hell is in the middle of an EnemyCivilWar, and both [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] and Beliel have lieutenants among TheLegionsOfHell.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''Literature/ProsperosDaughter'' trilogy, their enemies include one of the powers of Hell, and one demon deposed from that position and out to get it back.
* The Dagda Mor from ''[[Literature/TheSwordOfShannaraTrilogy Elfstones of Shannara]]'' is TheLeader of [[TheLegionsOfHell the Demons]] by virtue of having broken anybody else who tried to take the position. Following his death, we learn in ''Literature/HighDruidOfShannara'' that several major Straken Lords, including series' BigBad Tael Riverine, have tried to fill the void since he fell, but have been unable to do so. [[spoiler: The subsequent ''Dark Legacy'' trilogy has Tael Riverine as BigBad again, and heavily implies he has finally succeeded at becoming ''the'' Straken Lord. However, he's KilledOffForReal at the end, and it's unclear who- if anyone- will end up taking his place.]]
** In Creator/TerryBrooks' ''Literature/TheWordAndTheVoid'' (which was later retconned into the ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' verse) the small "d" demons do not have an actual aristocratic hierarchy, with most demons operating solo, playing their own individual role in [[UnseenEvil The Void]]'s plans. Thematically, however, Findo Gask, powerful demon and notorious HeroKiller fulfills this function, forcing lesser demons to obey him, and sometimes acting as The Void's MouthOfSauron.

* The strongest of ''VideoGame/DungeonCrawl'''s various demons are those represented by an ampersand (&) in the ASCII version. There's Geryon, the gatekeeper to the four Hells. The bottom floor of each branch of Hell contain one of the hell lords (Asmodeus, Antaeus, Ereshkigal, and Dispater), all of whom guard a [[MacGuffin Rune of Zot]] apiece. The endless demonic realms of Pandemonium contain four more named demon lords (Cerebov, Lom Lobon, Mnoleg, and Gloorx Vloq), each of whom presides over one specific level and guards another Rune. Other levels in Pandemonium are each ruled by a randomly-generated Pandemonium Lord, all of whom have a chance of guarding yet another Rune. All of these are extremely challenging {{Bonus Boss}}es since you can find enough Runes to complete the game elsewhere in the dungeon.

** Of particular note is the recurring BonusBoss, ''Tyrant'' Overlord Baal, who is so powerful that even Overlords tend to crap their pants at the sight of him. He's also immortal, being able to eternally recreate himself even if his body is destroyed.

In battle, they will almost always be the [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking most powerful demonic forces]] bar {{Satan}} himself. They often command {{Hellfire}} of far greater power than the demonic {{Mooks}} under them. Sometimes they are a RealityWarper, allowing them to make [[DealWithTheDevil deals with mortals]] and grant them incredible power at an even greater price. EvilIsNotAToy after all. They frequently wield [[DevilsPitchfork pitchforks]] or [[MagicStaff staves]] into battle. They are also [[CrossMeltingAura immune]] to what normal demons are weak to.

** ''VideoGame/Doom2016'', being a new universe, elaborates more on the demonic hierarchy. For example, it makes it clear that Arch-viles are part of Hell's ruling caste (something that could only be extrapolated in previous games), though it doesn't clarify wherther or not they outrank Barons. The "Cyberdemon" is unique (generic Cyberdemons more resembling their classic counterparts appear under the name "Tyrants" in ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'') and called a "shadow lord" of the Baalgar type; he ranks above the Barons. At the top of the hierarchy are the unseen archdemons, and above them is the singular Dark Lord. Presumably the three Hell Priests are ranked between the shadow lords and the archdemons. Interestingly, despite being the most powerful beings in Hell short of the Dark Lord himself, Titans seem to be of very low rank in the hierarchy, visibly enslaved and used as beasts of burden, while the Hell Priests are high despite being defenseless in a fight, so it's not exclusively a case of AsskickingEqualsAuthority.

* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series, operating on AllMythsAreTrue, have several demon lords and arch devils from Christian, Jewish and Islamic lore making multiple appearances. All of them are unique and each of them are said to command a significant portion of the demons. Lucifer himself is the strongest amongst them and seems to command the fealty of most of his fellow demon lords through sheer AsskickingEqualsAuthority. In several of the games he is one of the main characters' staunchest patrons in their fight against God.

* In ''Literature/TheSalvationWar'', Hell is split into many fiefdoms of various sizes. The ranks of nobility the Demons use is based primarily on medieval Italy and the Holy Roman Empire, with Satan acting as the King/Emperor who allowed the Grand Dukes, Barons, etc. fight amongst each other in order to preserve the balance of power and have no one be able to challenge him. Throw in the basic territorial setup found in Dante's ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'', and you have an idea of the political, technological and geographic situation the modern humans fighting them easily overcame. Following this trope, the largest and most powerful demons were usually regarded as Grand Dukes and Princes. They usually had the best territory, the most wives and offspring, the most powerful armies, and the most favour in Satan's Court. They were also (as mentioned before) [[LargeAndInCharge the physically largest and most imposing Demons in Hell (only trumped by Satan himself)]], as well as [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority the strongest and most feared Demons, with Satan regularly killing off underlings easy-as-you-please whenever he threw a tantrum]].

** Also, "Satan" for the longest time until the 2000s did not officially appear in Creator/MarvelComics; it has always been some other demon impersonating instead. This is a {{Retcon}}, probably for politically correct reasons, as Satan was a regular character in the "Son of Satan" (now known as Hellstorm) series in the 1970s. That "Satan" was later revealed to actually be Marduk Kurios and was initially thought to ''possibly'' be a corrupted version of the Babylonian god, but it was later shown that there's someone else entirely different claiming to be that deity too. This fits the real-life mythology that the Babylonian Marduk was an egomaniacal narcissist who gave himself 200+ names when he won in battle the leadership of his own pantheon, with most of those names forcibly appropriated from other older dieties, such as his fellow Babylonian gods who were his older relatives who he personally defeated to become their leader. MK, who was later confirmed to be Marvel's version of the FallenAngel Lucifer, may have been the entity from whom the Babylonian Marduk got his dominant name.
** Marduk Kurios repeatedly shows up again as "Lucifer" in battle against the Ghost Riders, and in his final form as the "true devil" who "really ruled" Hell when ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s spirit is sent to Hell for eternal punishment. MK is later confirmed by Mephisto at the irregularly held convention get-together meeting of ''all'' demons (or at least those native to Earth and its connected {{pocket dimension}}s), the aptly named Devil's Advocacy, to be the "Satan" who fathered Daimom Hellstrom, and his younger sister Satana, and guest-starred in their series.

** There are also many demon lords and ladies who don't go after the title of Satan, but have no less nefarious goals, such as Lilith, Blackheart, Asteroth, Plotka, and the Beast of the Hand (though the Beast has been hinted to actually be a guise of Marduk Kurios , who has called himself and been called by others as "The Beast" upon occassion, the embodiment/personification of amoral passion). However, all but the last are confirmed to have different origins than the main group.
** In 2018, Marvel finally revealed their ''"true"'' Satan in ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'': the One Below All, who is the 'lowest'-level devil -- as in, residing in the bottomest level of the multiversal netherworld and thus being the most powerful demon ever -- not just of Earth, but of the literally the ''whole [[TheMultiverse multiverse]]''. Fittingly, 'it' is [[TheAntiGod the evil counterpart to the One Above All, the highest-level deity in the multiverse]]. Even more shockingly, the One Below All is also revealed to be the secret supernatural source of all gamma radiation in the cosmos, making [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk the Hulk]] and all other gamma-powered mutates its unwitting and unwilling avatars of violence and hatred.

* ''VideoGame/DeptHeaven'' has a complicated system in its underworld--the demons are ruled by the titular lord of the underworld, who oversees the demon gods; the demon gods oversee the Accursed, and the Accursed are in charge of regulating basic {{Mook|s}} demons. Apparently a demon's intelligence and competence determine its rank, and rank is very important in Niflheim, as survival of the fittest is the only real law. The underworld itself can only be explored briefly in ''[[VideoGame/RivieraThePromisedLand Riviera]]'''s BonusLevelOfHell, but the Accursed and demon gods have starred as enemies in both that game and ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare''.

*** And then, many regiments of Monster Soliders, each led by a Monster Captain.

** Lilithmon was a major enemy in ''Anime/DigimonFusion'', but for the most part amounted to little more than part of the QuirkyMinibossSquad.

Common in all sorts of fantasy works, usually serving under a GodOfEvil (or possibly {{Satan}} himself) and [[TheStarscream plotting against them]]. They're [[AlwaysChaoticEvil demons]], [[MadeOfEvil after]] [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder all]]. May be the center of a ReligionOfEvil or the true identity of the being worshiped by a PathOfInspiration. This trope is the EvilCounterpart of the CouncilOfAngels, although these guys tend to be a ''lot'' less likely to cooperate with each other. When the EnemyCivilWar breaks out, they're the ones in charge of either side.

Common in all sorts of fantasy works, usually serving under a GodOfEvil (or possibly {{Satan}} himself) and [[TheStarscream plotting against them]]. May be the center of a ReligionOfEvil or the true identity of the being worshiped by a PathOfInspiration. This trope is the EvilCounterpart of the CouncilOfAngels, although these guys tend to be a ''lot'' less likely to cooperate with each other. When the EnemyCivilWar breaks out, they're the ones in charge of either side.

* In the broader ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' canon, there exists a group by the name of the Seven Great Demon Lords, consisting of... well, seven great demon lords: [[BigRedDevil Daemon]], [[EvilSorcerer Barbamon]], [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile Leviamon]], [[BearsAreBadNews Belphemon]], [[BadassBiker Beelzebumon]], [[HornyDevils Lilithmon]] and their leader, [[{{Satan}} Lucemon]]. In actual appearances in media, they've been portrayed rather inconsistently and never together though, outside of the video games (they're the primary antagonists in ''Digimon World Data Squad'', for example):

* In ''ComicBook/SatansHollow'', the Devil is serviced by four lieutenants in his infernal court, namely his Queen (a [[HornyDevils succubus]] with NavelDeepNeckline), his Squire (a [[SpiderPeople spider-esque]] demon), his Executioner (a [[BigRedDevil giant red demon]] with a Nazi cap), and his Reaper (TheGrimReaper with black wings).

** The LawfulEvil devils are ruled by Asmodeus (probably the most direct Satan-analogue) and overseen by a pretty complicated hierarchy of devils, the most important one being the other eight Archdevils or Lords of the Nine: [[FallenAngel Zariel]] (formerly [[DragonAscendant Bel]]), [[ExtraOreDinary Dispater]], [[{{Greed}} Mammon]], [[LadyInRed Fierna]] (and her father, [[ParentalIncest lover]] and secret co-ruler or "[[TheManBehindTheMan advisor]]", [[HornyDevils Belial]]) , [[SealedEvilInACan Levi]][[AnIcePerson stus]], [[DaddysLittleVillain Glasya]], [[{{Beelzebub}} Baalzebul]], and [[TheStarscream Mephistopheles]]; there are also a couple of exiles, most notably Geryon and Moloch. The lesser unique devils are known as Dukes of Hell and serve the above as vassals.

* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', each of the four demon hordes has an archdemon leading it, but a few independent archdemons exist as well. The known archdemons are [[EvilOldFolks Hepnaz]], [[FourStarBadass Malphas]], [[HornyDevils Nina]], [[WickedCultured Pazuzu]], [[spoiler:[[VisionaryVillain Vaetris]]]], [[TheAtoner Omaroch]], [[OmnicidalManiac Yurius]], [[EvilMatriarch Nhrakate]] and [[AGodAmI Malakhia]].