Archdevils: which one to help get the throne?

[Unoriginal]

Let's imagine that Asmodeus go destroyed for good (or at least, that no one is capable of proving he escaped) and that as a result, all the decrees, pacts, laws, contracts, etc, he ever enforced are losing their power.

Since Hell devolving into chaos would be a bad thing for pretty much everyone (the Demons are kept busy fighting Hell, without that they'll have to find another target), one of the Archdevil needs to take over. But of course, each of them will think they're the one who should be in charge, and several of them would turn the Nine Hells into something even more horrifying or dangerous for the rest of the multiverse that they already are, to say nothing of those who would just be plain incompetent at the job.

Now, imagining that a group of PCs got to play kingmakers due to acquiring something powerful enough, be it an artifact, a secret, or something else, that if it's in the hands of an Archdevil they will have enough power to claim the throne of Hell and beat their rivals into line.

Knowing that, which Archdevil (including non-duke and exiled ones) do you think is the best of the bad to get the throne?

[Mystral]

Let's imagine that Asmodeus go destroyed for good (or at least, that no one is capable of proving he escaped) and that as a result, all the decrees, pacts, laws, contracts, etc, he ever enforced are losing their power.

Since Hell devolving into chaos would be a bad thing for pretty much everyone (the Demons are kept busy fighting Hell, without that they'll have to find another target), one of the Archdevil needs to take over. But of course, each of them will think they're the one who should be in charge, and several of them would turn the Nine Hells into something even more horrifying or dangerous for the rest of the multiverse that they already are, to say nothing of those who would just be plain incompetent at the job.

Now, imagining that a group of PCs got to play kingmakers due to acquiring something powerful enough, be it an artifact, a secret, or something else, that if it's in the hands of an Archdevil they will have enough power to claim the throne of Hell and beat their rivals into line.

Knowing that, which Archdevil (including non-duke and exiled ones) do you think is the best of the bad to get the throne?

Let's see..

Zariel is too rash and doesn't have the smarts to keep the throne. She's a general, not a ruler.
Dispater is too paranoid to continue the bloodwar, he'd turtle in hell and demons would raze the planes.
Mammon can't even be trusted with a cheese sandwich.
Fierna lacks experience. If Belial is a candidate, he might be adequate to the job, although he would propably only have the support of half of hell and lacks cunning.
Baalzebul is a broken being and worthless.
Levistus is a deluded fool despised by all.
Mephistopheles lacks stability and is too power hungry. He is better suited to be grasp for the throne than to gain it.
Glasya propably has enough intelligence to rule, but she might lack power.

Out of all of them, I think Glasya might be the most natural replacement, if you can back her up with enough power to keep her throne until she has consolidated. Asmodeus has clearly groomed her to be a possible replacement, but he can't have gotten that far. Failing that, Belial might work.

[Vessyra]

Bel, while he has good patience, isn't politically minded enough to survive, although coupling him up with Belial would work well (if that could be done).
Geryon wouldn't be smart enough.
Moloch would be halfway decent (his conspiracy with the hag countess to overthrow Asmodeous almost succeeded, after all) but I think that he wouldn't have enough political standing to avoid having a few hundred assassins at his back.

I think that Mephistophies would be decent, as he would devote many resources to overthrowing the Abyss, although his constant studying would leave a power gap that cause cause someone else to take secret control the Hells, which could spell bad news, depending on who it is.

Glaysa would probably make a decent ruler of the Hells, and may be the best option if Bel-Belial isn't a viable option

[Tanarii]

Graz'zt. He'd switch sides again once the big man was gone, and handily take over. He was the only one smart and powerful enough to see what was what in the first place and do something about it.

Failing that, Hutijin or Titivilus. Both have enough power they could easily attempt a coup and then take over the whole shebang, once Azzy is gone. And quite possibly even succeed.

[JackPhoenix]

Graz'zt. He'd switch sides again once the big man was gone, and handily take over. He was the only one smart and powerful enough to see what was what in the first place and do something about it.

Failing that, Hutijin or Titivilus. Both have enough power they could easily attempt a coup and then take over the whole shebang, once Azzy is gone. And quite possibly even succeed.

I can totally see Titivilus declaring himself "Regent of the Infernal Throne", or something like that, saying that he'll keep things in order while the others decide who's the best suited for proper replacement. He'll stay in that position for life, as the chance the other archdevils will agree on something is about zero. And he's known to work with mortal adventurers, which gives him an advantage in manipulating the players.

[Kane0]

I'd put money on Meph pulling a Starscream.

That aside i'd throw my lot in with the Belial/Fierna duo.

[Unoriginal]

Baalzebul isn't broken or worthless. He managed to keep his Layer of Hell despite being unable to lie to Devils AND the deals he makes always backfiring.

And keep in mind he wouldn't have those curses anymore, since Assy is gone.

That being said, here's my perspective:

Zariel is indeed not interested by or skilled in what's needed the whole thing.

Dispater's paranoia would make him entirely ineffective.

Mammon would turn Hell into a money-making business and leave all the infrastructures in complete disrepair, aside from what is absolutely needed to protect his stuff.

Fierna could make a good ruler, but she doesn't have Belial's smarts and scheming capacities. Plus it would cause problems if Belial took over her side of their Layer's business.

Belial could make a good ruler, but he doesn't have Fierna's charisma and leadership capacities. Plus it would cause problems if Fierna took over his side of their Layer's business.

The Belial-Fierna duo as a whole would work in term of capacity, but their constant tug-of-war would be too costly if at the scale of the Nine layers.

Glasya has the smarts and the leadership to run the whole thing fairly well, but one has to worry about what happens when the loophole-searching rule lawyer gets to write the rulebook.

Levistus's personality wasn't explored much in the Mordenkainen's, but if he's anything like in other editions he's a short-sighted fool.

Baalzebul could be a good ruler, but he tends to forget small things that unravel his plans or to overextend.

Mephistopheles is utterly anti-social interaction. He would turn the Nine Hells into a magic-testing facility, and kill anyone who complain, who displease him even slightly, or even look like they might do it.

Geryon lacks the business and political savviness, as well as the outside-the-box-thinking skills the job requires.

Moloch has plenty of qualities for the job, but he's prone to do risky things if the bait is big enough, so he's probably not careful enough

Bel wouldn't really know what to do except maintain the Status quo forever.

Hutijin... I'm blanking out on what exactly his deal is, but doesn't he irrationaly hate mortals? So he wouldn't keep the business of pacts as it is, nor manage the PR side of Hell that allows the souls to flow to it despite how terrible it is.

Tittivilus might perform the political and business sides well, but he's a bit too much "manipulate from the shadows and blame the other guy" to handle the many setbacks and issues that come with being in the spotlight.

Gra'azt doesn't have the focus or the discipline needed for that kind of job, even if he wasn't a Demon.

So my list would be:

1) Glasya

2) Baalzebul, Fierna or Belial

3) Tittivilus or Moloch

2)

[Tanarii]

Graz'zt is an indulgent hedonist because that's what it took to switch from a Lawful Evil Devil with no hope of ever gaining more power under As, to a Chaotic Evil Demon who could gain large amounts of power.

He'd have to change his behavior to switch back to a LE Devil and take over.

My money would still be on him, if he could pull off the change. But that's probably as difficult as a fallen angel redeeming itself.

Edit: you're probably right about Hutijin. He's as powerful as Mephistopheles, so he probably could take over, but who knows if he'd be interested. For that matter, if Meph has a hold over him powerful enough to keep someone with equal power in check, it might be powerful enough to keep him out of the master chair. He'd probably happily rule the layer if Meph took over the big chief position though.

[Mystral]

Looks like so far we all agree that Glasya is on top of the list, with Belial together with some support being runner-up.

[Eldan]

Why not Dukes? Adramelech and Phangor seem to be doing a good job of running the place as Big A's underlings. Or Alastor. One of the few beings where it is openly stated that Asmodeus respects him. And his reputation is fearsome enough that he might be able to keep his head.

Or you know what? Let's turn this from a monarchy into a republic! Rule by council! I nominate all of the above, plus at least some of the Dark Eight. People who do actual work.

I don't have the best opinion about Glasya, really. Mostly because I can't think of anythign impressive she's ever done, except being promoted by her father. But then, I'm not up on the newer fluff. Shame that Bensozia is dead, by the way. Another good candidate.

[Unoriginal]

Why not Dukes? Adramelech and Phangor seem to be doing a good job of running the place as Big A's underlings. Or Alastor. One of the few beings where it is openly stated that Asmodeus respects him. And his reputation is fearsome enough that he might be able to keep his head.

Or you know what? Let's turn this from a monarchy into a republic! Rule by council! I nominate all of the above, plus at least some of the Dark Eight. People who do actual work.

My OP said any Archdevil, so Dukes are included.

I just didn't know/remember enough about those who aren't on my list.



EDIT:

As for Glasya, some of her accomplishments include:

-Conning the soul traders (including Mammon) into giving her a gigantic fortune in souls in exchange of worthless lead coins

-Beating the **** out of Gra'azt and his armies until he pulled a Corellon and created a new kind of demons on the stop, which forced her to fall back (a draw is still impressive).

-Has always met her quota in souls despite the limitations imposed on her

-Regularly finds way for mortals to break their contracts with other Devils (in exchange for signing up with her)

[Eldan]

Oh. I took "including non-duke and exiled ones" to mean those above the rank of Duke. Nevermind, then.

Adramelech is Asmodeus' chancellor, and runs much of the politics of hell, Asmodeus' court and, perhaps most importantly, Hell's spies. Including the internal secret police.

Alastor probably doesn't count as an Archdevil, sadly, he's just a pit fiend. But then, so is Bel, most of the time? He's black, scarred and had his wings broken and partially torn off. And yet, he serves as Asmodeus' inquisitor and is apparently fearsome enough that even Archdevils flee him. And Asmodeus has named him his greatest companion and said that if he could keep only one devil with him, it wouldn't be his family, or his politicians or spies, but Alastor. Which says a lot.

[Alabenson]

I'm going to go against the grain and go with Bel, at least as a temporary figurehead. Bel is likely going to be focused on maintaining the status quo and continuing the Blood War, which makes him a good candidate to keep things from falling apart while the more ambitious/politically-minded archdevils duke it out amongst themselves to either replace him or become the power behind the throne.

[Pronounceable]

In the event of Big A's fall, whoever Baalphegor feels like supporting will get crowned. Most likely Glasya, for being the least controversial option.

Of course, whoever ends up in the chair after the guaranteed civil war, it'll turn out to be some cunning ploy of the notactuallydeadAsmo that went all according to keikaku. Because of course it will be.

Alternately, the archdukes just contract General of Gehenna to become their new king. Cos that's what's gonna happen anyway once the fighting spirals out of control and they moronically keep bringing more and more daemon armies into hells.

[Daithi]

Titivilus has the brains and the cunning, but he is not nearly powerful enough, so I see him teaming up with someone who does have the power to rule with his backing. Basically, I see Titivilus as the King maker. I think he would probably abandon Dispater, and my guess is back Glasya as the new ruler.

[Ganymede]

In the event of Big A's fall, whoever Baalphegor feels like supporting will get crowned. Most likely Glasya, for being the least controversial option.

Of course, whoever ends up in the chair after the guaranteed civil war, it'll turn out to be some cunning ploy of the notactuallydeadAsmo that went all according to keikaku. Because of course it will be.

This. Or the plot of basically any Mafia Drama.

[Vessyra]

I'm going to go against the grain and go with Bel, at least as a temporary figurehead. Bel is likely going to be focused on maintaining the status quo and continuing the Blood War, which makes him a good candidate to keep things from falling apart while the more ambitious/politically-minded archdevils duke it out amongst themselves to either replace him or become the power behind the throne.

That's my new favourite idea. It combines continuing the blood war, having devils fighting each other, and maintaining political status quo.

The power behind the throne I think would probably work best as Glaysa, or maybe Baazebul (now that the lying curse is gone)