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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Ice Devil
Illustration Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast. This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.
Ice devils are native to Cania, the frozen eight layer of Hell. Also known as Gelugons, they have an insectoid look which is significantly different from the norm for devils. This makes me think they were a different type of creature than most other rebellious divine servants (who were likely angels or such).
Individually they’re quite powerful, and hierarchically they’re starting to hit “upper management” territory. Gelugons don’t just allow themselves to be summoned by anyone. Their usual clients include evil rulers or generals. They usually function as champions, elite guards, and troop commanders.
Unfortunately ice devils are not all that good at this command business, because their disdain for their subordinates makes them favor high-attrition wave tactics. Well, unfortunately for those subordinates of course. Gelugons must think it’s really fun. Think “40K Imperial Guard Officer” when roleplaying them and you won’t go wrong.
They like cold climates, but aren’t impaired by warmer ones as they take a bit of Cania’s cold with them wherever they go. They like to fight in the front lines even when commanding others, and will prefer to target the weakest opponents first both because that’s tactically sound and because they despise weakness.
Gelugons are present in both the Monster Manual and the Vault, and there are signifitant differences between the two versions. We’ll cover them separately.
In both cases they’re Large Immortal Humanoids, have the Evil alignment (like all devils), Int 15, and speak Supernal.
Ice Devil (Monster Manual)
The MM ice devil is a Level 20 Soldier with 195 HP. It has darkvision and runs at speed 8. It’s completely immune to cold, and has Resist Fire 20. Pretty much all of its powers are tagged with the Cold keyword.
First there’s the Cold Aura, which has a radius of 5 and gives enemies inside a -2 penalty to attack rolls. Then there’s the Icy Longspear, a Reach 3 basic attack that does cold damage and slows on a hit (save ends). Freezing Breath targets Fortitude on a close blast 5, does cold damage and slows (save ends). It recharges on 3-6. And finally there’s Chilling Command, a minor action that recharges on 5-6 and targets Will. On a hit it does ongoing 5 cold damage and immobilizes (save ends both).
5 ongoing damage is low for an almost-epic creature. I imagine this is counterbalanced by the immobilization and this being a minor action. I’d increase it to 10 or 15 anyway, as well as fixing the woefully low damage of all the other attacks above.
Oh, these things also have claws, but they’re so bad as an attack that you might as well ignore them. Devils use weapons.
The sample encounter here level 19: 2 ice devils, 2 cambion hellfire magi, and 2 nabassu gargoyles. Hard to say who’s in charge on that one. I’m guessing it’s a very tense relationship between the gelugons and the cambions, all of whom are under orders from some epic-level villain to cooperate or else.
Ice Devil (Monster Vault)
The MV ice devil has the same level, HP and defenses as the previous version. The main difference are its attacks.
The puny claws are gone, as is Chilling Command. The damage on the Icy Longspear and Freezing Breath has been fixed and further increased for the breath, which now recharges on a 4-6. The spear now marks for a turn instead of slowing, and the first failed save on the breath’s slow effect increases it to immobilization.
The Cold Aura has been replaced by a new Aura 2 named Crippling Cold, which slows for a turn any enemies who start their turns inside it. And finally, the gelugon has replaced its fire resistance with a weakness to fire! Every time it takes fire damage, its Crippling Cold aura deactivates until the ice devil reactivates it. I guess that’s a minor action? It should at least be something it can only do on its turn.
Final Impressions
I think I actually like the MM version a bit more here. Chilling command is flavorful, and having the monster be both immune to cold and highly resistant to fire can lead to a nice “gotcha” moment while still being easier to remember than 3e devil resistances.
So to make my “optimal” gelugon I would start from the MV stat block, remove Warming Weakness, add the 20 fire resistance, and the Chilling Command power.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Chain Devil
Illustration Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast. This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.
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.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Bone Devil
Illustration Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast. This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.
Bone devils, so called because they’re all thin and spiky, occupy an intermediate rank in Hell’s hierarchy. They are fanatically loyal to their superiors, and their main function is to keep a watchful eye on lesser devils to make sure they’re not slacking off and are displaying the proper amount of zeal. Their approach to dealing with slackers or cowards is notoriously violent.
In other words, they’re both Hell’s commissars and its middle management. I imagine that mortal villains would summon bone devils to fulfill the same function for their own organizations, or to help wrangle a cadre of lesser devils. They’re also known as Osyluths, and are only present in the Monster Manual.
The Numbers
Bone Devils are Large Immortal Humanoids (devils), and Level 17 Controllers (leaders). They’re trained in Perception, have darkvision and Resist Fire 20. They move at speed 8, and also have a teleport speed of 8, which makes them very mobile.
I’m not sure I’ve covered the Leader keyword yet. It means that this particular monster has abilities that help its buddies in the same way a PC leader would help other PCs. This rarely includes healing, being weighted towards granting bonuses or extra actions. Leader monsters are most often controllers, but other roles can be leaders too.
Osyluths have two auras, both with a radius of 5 squares: the Aura of Fear gives enemies in it a -2 to attacks, and the Aura of Obedience is basically the Commissar Signature Move. Any bloodied ally who is not also a bone devil and who starts their turn in this aura takes 10 damage, and gains a +4 bonus to attack and a +5 to all damage for a turn. If the damage is enough to kill the ally, then the bone devil regains 10 HP instead.
Their basic attack is a Reach 2 claw, and they also have a Reach 2 poison stinger. This does the same damage as a claw attack, but also injects a poison that does 10 ongoing damage and inflicts a -4 penalty to the target’s Will (save ends both).
Osyluths can make a Double Attack with the claw at will, and if both claws hit the same target it can attack them with the stinger without spending an action.
As a minor action the osyluth can direct its Fiendish Focus towards a target. This has Range 5, targets Will, and gives the target a -5 penalty to all defenses for a turn.
An enemy force including an osyluth is probably a bit frightening to fight. If the bone devil really focuses on a target, the victim could be looking at a constant -5 penalty to all defenses and a -9 to will. They pair really well with lurkers or artillery, but are kind of a double-edged sword when paired with melee fighters. Becoming bloodied in the vincinity of an “allied” osyluth is not conductive to long-term survival.
The sample encounter is level 16: 1 bone devil, 5 barbazus, and 1 cambion hellfire magus who is likely the leader of the band.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Bearded Devil
Illustration Copyright 2008 Wizards of the Coast. This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.
The Lore
The first devil we’re looking at is actually a bad example of infernal subtlety. Bearded devils, also known as Barbazus, are wrathful creatures who love to fight. They tend to be used both by their hellish superiors and by diabolist summoners as bodyguards and shock troops, jobs which suit them just fine.
Bearded devils are well-armored and fight with glaives enchanted to cause horrible bleeding wounds. Their beards are actually a mass of muscular clawed tendrils which they can use to harass enemies. Though they have claws, they will only use them if they somehow lose their weapons. Barbazus might be fiends but they still have standards.
Like all devils, they’re Evil and speak Supernal.
The Numbers
Barbazus are Medium Immortal Humanoids (devils), and Level 13 Soldiers with 129 HP. They have trained Perception and darkvision, as well as 20 fire resistance. They run at speed 6.
Their basic attack is a Reach 2 glaive, which marks the target for a turn and causes ongoing 5 damage (save ends) on a hit, in addition to what should be level-appropriate damage. They also have a claw attack as described above, which is just a normal physical attack that does less damage than the glaive and doesn’t mark.
When bloodied they enter a Battle Frenzy, which gives them +2 to attacks and +5 to damage. And their Devilish Teamwork gives adjacent allies a +2 bonus to AC.
Oh, and there’s the beard. Its tendrils act like an Aura 1 around the devil, dealing an automatic 5 damage to anyone who starts their turn inside.
The sample encounter is level 13, 3 barbazus and 2 yuan-ti malison sharp-eyes (i.e., yuan-ti artillery).
Final Impressions
There’s nothing extraordinary about bearded devil lore, though I find their looks interesting. Mechanically, they seem to be solid soldiers once you fix their damage. They use reach weapons, so they work well in two-row formations with more of their kind, or with brutes.
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Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Monster Vault: Devils
We’ve only just spend a whole lot of time looking at demons, and now we’re going to spend a whole lot of time looking at devils. If you’re new to D&D in general, you might be wondering what’s the difference between the two types of monster. Don’t the words “demon” and “devil” mean the same thing? Out here in the real world they pretty much do, but D&D has a long and storied tradition of making every synonym of a word into an entirely different monster.
To understand what 4e devils are like, and what makes them different from demons, I must tell you another story about the World Axis, the cosmology of D&D 4th Edition. This time, it’s about the Astral Sea that exists “above” the world.
Just like the Elemental Chaos combined all the separate elemental planes into one glorious mess, so does the Astral Sea combine all the former non-elemental outer planes into a single whole. The old astral plane, which used to be a featureless gray void, is now a literal sea, and if you look into its silvery depths you can see the light of the stars in the world’s firmament. By sailing the Astral Sea you can reach the domains of the gods, which work both like islands and like worlds in themselves.
Now, there was this one god who had a very powerful exarch named Asmodeus. The god was pretty nice all in all, but Asmodeus kept thinking that he was too nice. “Why”, thought Asmodeus, “if I was the big boss here I could do a much better job. Streamline our processes, leverage our synergies, cut away the fat”. And so Asmodeus built himself an army out of similarly dissatisfied servants of this god, and any other astral entity who wanted a piece of the action.
You might be thinking hey, I heard this one before, and you’d be right. The difference between the classic Lucifer story and this one, is that here the rebellion was successful, since the god in question wasn’t omnipotent. He was still powerful, however. His dying curse twisted the rebel’s bodies into forms that exposed their inner wickedness. The rebellious angels and exarchs became devils. The domain of the dead god twisted into itself and became the Nine Hells. Devils don’t belong in the cosmology the way angels or even evil gods do. Devils are wrong.
Still, devils are a lot more “human-ish” in appearance than demons. Most look like exaggerated versions of tieflings, though technically it’s the tieflings who look like dilluted versions of devils. Even those devils with a more monstrous aspect still have a basically humanoid body plan, which is not a guarantee with demons. Infernal society is militaristic and fiercely competitive, with individual status being determined by a combination of official rank and one’s skill at acquiring mortal souls. In other words, devils compete for promotions by trying to impress their managers with their outstanding productivity.
Anyway, that “acquiring mortal souls” bit is a big part of the reason for why devils are wrong. Lots of people here in the real world say that when you’re evil in live you go to Hell after death, but that’s not how it works in the World Axis. Evil people who die here likely go to the realm of the evil god whose credo more closely matches their ethics. To get souls, devils have to go out and steal them. Each soul stolen by Hell diminishes the power of the gods, and adds to that of the devils. The general idea seem to be that removing enough souls from the hands of the gods will weaken then and allow devils to take over.
So even evil gods would have cause to oppose devils, though it turns out several of them (Bane, Gruumsh, Tiamat, Torog and Vecna) are on more or less friendly terms with Hell because they struck deals with Asmodeus in the distant past. Either they believe themselves safe, or think they can outsmart Asmodeus when it’s time for the backstabbing. What actually happens when that time comes is left as an exercise for the GM. Asmodeus is pretty smart, but so are Vecna and Tiamat.
Devils have all kinds of uses for souls, from playthings to currency to raw material for their mightiest inventions and magics. Their methods of acquisition are many, with the most popular ones being infernal bargains and other types of trickery. Given all of the above I imagine they don’t necessarily try to make you become evil, just to sign the contract.
However, violence is not off the table as a means of soul acquisition. This puts a new spin on “kill them and take their stuff”. When devils fight, they do so in a distinctly different way from demons, and their stats bear this out. Demons are elites more often than not, and tend to fight as mobs of individuals with their assorted sharp appendages. In contrast to this, even higher-level devils are usually regulars, fight with well-crafted weapons, and rely a lot more on teamwork and training.
Asmodeus, now a god, rules all devils from Nessus, the deepest of the Nine Hells. Each of his exarchs rules one of the other eight layers, and while they’re a little less popular than the demon lords, their names are still classics: Mammon, Belial, Belzebub, and so on.
I’m not sure these archdevils are statted in any of the monster books; these entries are for their less powerful underlings. We’ll see them starting next post, using the same order I did with demons: we’ll look at the devils from the MM, and their MV counterparts when they appear. This time it appears that all of the devils that made it into the MV also exist on the MM.
All of the devils here seem to have two names. One is just an adjective followed by the word “Devil”, the other something more exotic sounding. Since they’re listed in the Monster Manual’s table of contents by their more prosaic names, I’ll use those as titles, but I’ll also mention the fancier name in each article.
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