"Please allow me to introduce myself,
I'm a man of wealth and taste."
- Sympathy for the Devil, by the Rolling Stones
Basic Information
The Devil is the Ultimate Evil, Evil Personified.
Appearance and True Nature
In Christian Tradition, he's a former Angel who rebelled and was cast out of Heaven.
In Islamic Tradition, he's a being formed of "smokeless fire" and created by God, akin to the Djinn.
In the Jewish Tradition things are a little more complicated … Satan has a much more ambiguous relationship to God than might otherwise be expected - in the Book of Job, for example, he appears in the presence of the Divine more as a slightly disrespectful subordinate than an antagonist, and this role is reprised in several other places in Jewish theology. Arguably Satan is fulfilling much the same role when he appears as Jesus's examiner in the Gospels.
In the Garden of Eden, he appeared as a talking snake in a tree.
One modern and rather common version is that of the man in a suit who tempts mortals into sin, or abandoning their Immortal Soul via trickery or the fulfillment of the mortal's wishes. They'll look like a well-dressed professional (See Dressed to Kill, Evil Lawyer, and MiB), until some Glamour Failure - which usually happens after it's too late.
Another common depiction, somewhat cheesier but no less traditional for it, is that of a man with shiny red skin, a goatee, horns, and cloven hooves. Pitchfork, Cape and Golden Fiddle optional.
In European Folklore, and New England Folklore, The Devil appears as The Black Man of Witchcraft. Ebony skin but Anglo/European facial features, dressed all in black.
Names and Titles
The following names and Titles have all been associated with The Devil. Some may actually refer to other Demons, but just get misappropriated by the big guy. See also Demon Lords And Archdevils.
- The Accuser
- The Adversary
- Angra Mainyu
- The Antichrist
- Asmodeus
- Azazel
- Baphomet
- Beelzebub
- Belial
- Bheliar
- The Black Man
- Demon
- The Devil
- The Dragon
- Diabolos
- Iblis
- The King of the World
- Leviathan
- Lord of Darkness
- Lord of Hell
- Lucifer
- Mastema
- Mephistopheles
- Morning Star
- Number of the Beast – either 666 or 616, depending on which version of the Bible you use
- Old Hob
- Old Nick
- Old Scratch
- The Old Serpent
- Prince of Darkness
- Prince of this World
- Prosecutor
- Rex Mundi
- Sammael
- Satan
- Shaitan
- The Stranger
- The Tempter
- The Ultimate Evil
- Voland
- The Wailing Yell
- The Wicked One
Devil-Related Tropes
- Anthropomorphic Personification
- Deal with the Devil
- Demon Lords And Archdevils
- Demonic Invaders
- Demonic Possession
- Hellish Horse
- Horny Devils
- The Legions of Hell
- Our Demons Are Different
- Rebel Against The Devil
- Red Right Hand
- Satan
- Speak of the Devil
- The Devil Is A Loser
- Ultimate Evil
See Also
Sources
Game and Story Use
- If your game needs a Big Bad Evil Guy, you can't get much more Epic than THE Big Bad Evil Guy.
- Minor Demons, Con Men and the like may be able to pull some craziness by claiming to be, or work directly for, THE Devil.
