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• Dec 3, 2019

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Legion Devil

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  The devil entries in both books make frequent mention of the “Legions of Hell”, and now we finally get to see who it is they’re talking about. They exist in both the Monster Manual and the Vault.

  The Lore

  The creatively named legion devils make up the bulk of those legions. They’re kinda like the perfect ideal of the totalitarian soldier, as they don’t have much in the way of personal initiative or even personality. They live to obey their commanders, and will gladly give their lives if for the glory of Hell ordered to do so.

  If you keep following the corporate analogy I’ve been using you’d be tempted to equate legion devils to the many salaried employees who fill cubicles and mail rooms in any giant corporation, but the truth is they’re not very like those people at all. They’re a lot closer to the dystopian notion of a “resource”: numbers on a balance sheet, undiferentiated and replacable. Managers spend them to achieve their quarterly goals and can always get more where those come from. And they’ll never complain about any of this, because they’re happy to serve the goals of President Asmodeus.

  In fact, all this grim thinking reminds me of several discussions I’ve been seeing on RPG.net lately where some people say humanoids like orcs and kobolds aren’t acceptable “kill on sight” monsters, while others do a bit of contortion to figure out a scenario where they would be because it’s traditional. Me, I say that if you need an army of faceless minions who are never up to any good and whom you should always fight with all your might, you should drop humanoids entirely and look to these guys. Well, to all devils and demons, really, but fighting devils-as-symbols-of-totalirarianism specifically feels a little more satisfying to me these days.

  The Numbers

  Legion Devils are Medium Immortal Humanoids (devils), and are always minions. More specifically, they’re minion Soldiers even though the first Monster Manual didn’t assign subtypes to minions.

  The Monster Manual gives us Legion Devil Grunts, Hellguards, Veterans, and Legionnaires, which are level 6, 11, 16 and 21 respectively. The Vault has updated versions of the Hellguard and Veteran. All versions in the same book are pretty much identical aside from level, and it’s pretty easy to level any one of them up or down to the exact level you need if none of the ready-made ones is appropriate.

  Legion devils are armed with longswords and heavy shields, and wear plate. They have darkvision and a fire resistance of 5 per tier (i.e, 5 at level 1-10, 10 at 11-20 and 15 at 21-30). They run with speed 6 (level 15-) or 7 (16+), and teleport with speed 3 at all levels. They gain a +2 bonus to all their defenses if adjacent to another legion devil.

  Their longsword attacks suffer from the damage bug in the Monster Manual versions. The Vault versions fix this, and also do aditional damage to targets that willingly move in their next action. When building your own legion devils, you should use this version of their basic attack.

  This indicates to me that despite being expendable minions, legion devils fight in a very coordinated fashion, teleporting short distances to gain combat advantage and using their attacks to keep enemies locked in place and allow their bosses to focus fire on the biggest threats.

  The sample encounters in the MM are:

  • Level 6: 4 legion devil grunts, 2 tiefling heretics, 2 tiefling darkblades. Your basic diabolist cult and its summoned muscle.

  • Level 21: 8 legion devil legionnaires, 2 ice devils, and 1 war devil. An infernal princeling and his personal security detail.

  Final Impression

  There isn’t much actual flavor in the book entry for legion devils, but for some reason they ended up sparking my imagination and giving rise to the rant you see up there in the Lore section. In a game focused on fighting devils, I’d definitely make regular versions of them for use as low-to-mid Heroic tier opponents, and the minion versions would be a constant presence in the rest of the campaign.

• Nov 30, 2019

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Imp

  

  This is part of a series! Go here to see the other entries.

  If bone and ice devils are management, then imps are door-to-door salesmen. Evil and evil-curious spellcasters love the little jerks. They’re always willing to bargain for infernal secrets of power, and look too weak to pull a fast one. Of course, that’s just how the imps and their bosses want it.

  Left to their own devices, imps love tricking mortals into hurting one another, which is made easier by the fact that they’re pixie-sized, can fly and turn invisible at will. They’ll remain on any given fight only as long as they have the upper hand, and will run away as soon as the tables turn.

  Imps exist both on the Monster Vault and on the Monster Manual, but the two versions are more or less equivalent. They’re Tiny Immortal Humanoids (devils), which means they’re around 6-12 inches tall - pixie-sized, as I said.

  Both imp versions are Level 3 Lurkers with 40 HP. They have darkvision, Resist 15 fire, run at speed 4, and fly at speed 6 with hover capability. They’re trained in Perception, Arcana, Bluff and Stealth. The main differences are on the imp’s attacks, which we’ll discuss below.

  Imp (Monster Manual)

  The MM Imp’s basic attack is a bite that does so little damage it’s noticeable even on a level 3 monster. It also has a tail stinger that’s slightly more accurate, does a bit more damage, and has a secondary attack against Fortitude that on a hit does ongoing 5 poison damage and imposes a -2 penalty to Will (save ends). Both are Reach 0, which means the imp has to be occupying the same square as its target to use them. It can do that because it’s Tiny.

  As mentioned above, the imp can also Vanish as a standard action, which turns it invisible for a turn or until it attacks. Using this also recharges the tail stinger, which firmly establishes the imp’s Lurker routine: vanish, sting, repeat.

  The sample encounter is level 3: an imp and a whole lotta goblins, including a gobling hexer. The hexer is exactly the sort of caster who’d summon himself an imp familiar.

  Imp (Monster Vault)

  The MV imp has the same attacks as the original, but they’ve all been significantly improved.

  Both the bite and the stinger have Reach 1 now, and do damage appropriate for a level 3 monster. The venom no longer requires a secondary attack, and does 10 ongoing poison damage while keeping its Will penalty. That’s a lot for a level 3 regular!

  Vanish still works like it did before, but its text has been made more “technical”, saying that the invisibility is dispelled when the imp “hits or misses” with an attack. This is actually important, because it means the monster can make that attack while invisible and will only appear after it resolves the whole thing. You can’t see it coming beforehand, or hope to interrupt its attack by readying an action for when it becomes visible.

  Final Impressions

  Imps are kind of living Team Evil membership cards. If you want a character to come off as an obvious villain, give them an imp familiar or servant. They’re also quite a bit smaller than I thought at first.

  Mechanically, you should definitely go with the Monster Vault version. It retains the same flavor but is much better executed. While imp combat stats lack the pile of spell-like abilities they had in previous editions, it makes perfect sense for imps to have access to a variety of infernally-flavored rituals, and possibly for them to be able to cast them at a higher level than 3.

  If you miss fireball-chucking imps, you could make artillery and/or elite versions that have similar combat powers.

• Nov 29, 2019

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Ice Devil

  

  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.

• Nov 28, 2019

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Chain Devil

  

  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.

• Nov 27, 2019

  Let's Read the 4e Monster Manual/Vault: Bone Devil

  

  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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