Illustration Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast.

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The Lore

Chain Devils, also known as kytons, are the official jailers and torturers of Hell. They’re also quite popular in many tables because of their striking looks, which are that of a human wrapped in spiked chains anchored to its flesh like percings. Kytons can animate and control these chains at will. In combat, they prefer to capture their foes alive and drag them back to their dungeons for a days-long torture session before finally killing these victims and claiming their souls. Their fighting style is not unlike a spinning dance, moving deftly around the battlefield and whipping people with spiked chains.

Some chain devils learn rituals that allow them to control chains not attached to their bodies, which is an excellent excuse for the GM to fill a battlefield with chain-based hazards.

Any similarities between D&D’s Kytons and Hellraiser’s Cenobites is probably not a coincidence. Pathfinder went even further in that direction, turning its kytons into a whole sub-category of devil with varied torture instruments sticking out of them. So there you have chain devils, scalpel devils, and so on.

Kytons are present in both the Monster Manual and the Monster Vault. They’re mostly identical aside from slight number adjustments.

The Numbers

Numbers-wise the 4e Kyton is a Medium Immortal Humanoid (devil), and a Level 11 Skirmisher. They have Darkvision, a speed of 7, and Resist Fire 20.

Their basic attack is a Reach 2 spiked chain, and they can make two of those with a standard action despite being regulars. This puts them damage in line with the expected for their level even without the math fix. In fact, the Monster Vault kyton actually does a bit less damage with its individual chain attacks.

They can also employ these in an attack named Hellish Chains, which targets Reflex and restrains the target on a hit (save ends). Interesting that this is not treated as a by-the-book grapple - on one hand the target doesn’t need to spend actions to escape, on the other “escapey” PCS can’t rely on their skills to do so. The kyton can only have one target restrained in this way at a time.

When first bloodied, the devil’s Chains of Vengeance ability allows it to immediately make two spiked chain attacks. It can also shift as a minor action (Dance of Battle), and twice per encounter as an immediate interrupt when attacked in melee (Dance of Defiance). That’s once at the start and once after being first bloodied.

The sample encounter is Level 11: 2 kytons, 4 legion devils (minions), 1 snaketongue celebrant, and 4 snaketonge zealots (minions). It looks like Zehir might also be one of those deities on friendly terms with Asmodeus.

Final Impression

My, the word “chain” sure gets used a lot here. Still, their looks are quite striking. Combat-wise they seem a little better than mezzodemons at pinning down those annoying mobile strikers, since the chain devil retains the use of all its attacks while restraining someone and can even move away from them.