Archdevil, BarbatosThis humanoid wears a shabby hooded cloak. Within the
darkness of its hood, eerie eyes glow and strange shapes twitch.Barbatos CR 26Source Bestiary 6 pg. 18
XP 2,457,600
LE Medium outsider (evil, extraplanar, lawful, shapechanger)
Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, detect good,
see in darkness, true seeing; Perception +44
Aura frightful presence (120 ft., DC 35), unholy aura (DC 28)DefenseAC 44, touch 36, flat-footed 34 (+4 deflection, +9 Dex, +1 dodge,
+8 natural, +12 profane)
hp 604 (31d10+434); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic)
Fort +28, Ref +32, Will +31; +8 vs. mind-affecting effects
Defensive Abilities improved evasion, infernal resurrection, mind
blank; DR 20/epic, good, and silver; Immune ability damage,
ability drain, charm, compulsion, death effects, energy drain,
fire, petrification, poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30; SR 37OffenseSpeed 40 ft.; air walk
Melee Eyjatas +41/+41/+41/+36/+36/+31/+31/+26
(1d6+19/19–20), beard +36 (1d8+5 plus bleed and disease)
Special Attacks barbed beard, bleed (2d6), counterport,
festering filth
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 26th; concentration +36)
Constant—air walk, detect chaos, detect good, mind blank, speak with animals, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 28)
At will—astral projection, blasphemyM (DC 27), desecrateM, dominate personM (DC 25), greater dispel magic, dominate animal (DC 23), greater scrying (DC 27), greater teleport, plane shiftM (DC 27), unhallow, unholy blightM (DC 24)
3/day—banishment (DC 27), quickened contagionM (DC 24), dimensional lockM, mazeM, summon devils
1/day—gate, time stopM, wishM
M Barbatos can use this ability’s mythic version in his realmStatisticsStr 30, Dex 29, Con 38, Int 29, Wis 30, Cha 31
Base Atk +31; CMB +41 (+45 trip); CMD 77 (79 vs. trip)
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Double Slice, Greater Trip, Greater Two-Weapon
Fighting, Improved Critical (quarterstaff), Improved Initiative, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Improved Trip, Improved Two-
Weapon Fighting, Lightning Reflexes, Mobility, Quicken Spell-
Like Ability (contagion), Two-Weapon Fighting
Skills Acrobatics +40, Bluff +44, Diplomacy +41, Handle
Animal +44, Intimidate +41, Knowledge (arcana, religion) +40,
Knowledge (nature, planes) +43, Linguistics +43,
Perception +44, Sense Motive +44, Spellcraft +43, Stealth +43,
Use Magic Device +41
Languages all (language mastery); speak with animals;
telepathy 300 ft.
SQ change shape (animal, humanoid, and magical beast;
shapechange), hear name, sphere of soulsEcologyEnvironment any (Hell)
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure triple (Eyjatas, other treasure)Special AbilitiesBarbed Beard (Ex) The bleeding caused by Barbatos's slashing beard requires a successful DC 39 Heal check (or caster level check, for magical healing) to stanch. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Counterport (Su) As an immediate action, Barbatos can negate any conjuration (calling, summoning, or teleportation), effect within 30 feet, or redirect creatures to new valid destinations within 30 feet. Affected creatures take 10d6 points of damage, but with a successful DC 35 Fortitude save, a creature takes only half damage and can teleport normally. As a standard action, Barbatos can recall one creature that teleported since the end of his last turn. This functions as above, but the creature returns to the point from which it teleported (or the nearest available space, if that space is now occupied); the teleported creature can resist being recalled with a successful DC 35 Will save. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
Festering Filth (Su) A creature struck by Barbatos's filthy beard contracts blinding sickness (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 557) if it fails a DC 39 Fortitude save. Attempts to remove this disease via a spell effect must first overcome Barbatos's spell resistance before attempting to remove the disease normally as per the spell's rules. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Hear Name (Su) Barbatos hears his name when it is spoken, regardless of distance and even across planar boundaries. If a creature speaks Barbatos's name three times in the same breath, Barbatos learns the creature's name and precise location, and can hear the next 21 words spoken by that speaker. Once per day, if any living animal or an image or statue of Barbatos is within 10 feet of the speaker, Barbatos can answer the speaker via that image, statue, or animal (an animal can resist being made Barbatos's mouthpiece with a successful DC 35 Will save). Barbatos can observe, converse, or utilize his spell-like abilities through this vessel for up to 13 rounds, but if Barbatos uses a spell-like ability through this link, the connection immediately ends thereafter, regardless of any remaining duration. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Sphere of Souls (Su) As a full-round action, even when he is projecting his consciousness through his likeness or an animal, Barbatos can create a polished black crystal sphere that functions as a crystal ball with detect thoughts, which also grants him the benefits of status for 13 hours on one creature scried by the user. Each round a creature other than Barbatos uses the sphere, it must save against Barbatos's dominate person ability. Barbatos can freely manipulate the vision the scryer sees, as false vision, and can use detect thoughts and scrying at unlimited range on any creature within 10 feet of the sphere, with no save and with a +10 bonus on caster level checks. Effects that normally block scrying spells instead allow each creature a saving throw and negate the bonus on caster level checks. Barbatos can have up to 13 such spheres at a time, and can destroy a sphere as a free action from any distance.DescriptionBarbatos is a mystery among the lords of Hell, a being from beyond who came into the service of Asmodeus a mere millennium ago. Technically not a devil, Barbatos is nonetheless the archdevil of the uppermost layer of Hell. Since his arrival, he has served as the doorwarden of Hell, guarding its outer layer from angelic invasions and fiendish forays alike, and dealing with an endless stream of damned souls needing guidance to their final purgatory and tearful petitioners willing to risk everything for one final glimpse of their lost loves.
Barbatos dresses plainly, rarely showing more than his wicked staff and rumpled cloak, and stands 5 feet tallBarbatos's CultBarbatos is the master of the rippling
dimensions between worlds, and is
worshiped by those who tread the hidden
interstitial spaces of the universe, as well as those who
manipulate animals and wild beasts, warping them
through foul sorceries into sinister servants. His sacred
places are found near crossroads, marketplaces, and ports,
some accessible only by teleportation. As befits his role as
the guardian to the entrance to Hell (and his association
with gateways of all types), entrances to compounds are
often held with particular reverence by Barbatos’s cult, and
the doorways or arches that provide access to his temples or
other sites sacred to him often bear his likeness or symbol.
Barbatos’s unholy symbol is an inverted triangle with
three red eyes—often, the triangle portion of his symbol
appears to be three filthy beards, the tangled hairs of which
extend in three directions around the eyes at the center. His
favored weapon is the quarterstaff. He grants access to the
Evil, Law, Magic, and Travel domains, and to the Arcane,
Devil, Divine, and Trade subdomains.Creatures in "Archdevil" CategorySource Bestiary 6 pg. 15
The greatest and most terrible of devils are the archdevils of Hell, powerful scions of law and evil, subtle and sophisticated demigods who each rule one of the eight vast planes of torment that form the layers of Hell. Each archdevil is a unique creature, and each fits into a specific role in the cosmic chain of corruption and oppression that devils use to bind the cosmos to their will. The first archdevils rose to power soon after their lord Asmodeus claimed Hell as his realm. Asmodeus has guided the rise of other archdevils, sometimes directly creating them as he did Belial and Mephistopheles. Others are older beings who pledged their allegiance to Asmodeus during heavenly rebellions, like Baalzebul and Dispater. Asmodeus has even been known, when in need of additional loyal viceroys, to grant archdevildom to creatures outside the diabolic race, as in the case of ascended mysteries like Barbatos and Geryon.
Below the ranks of true archdevils are Hell’s infernal dukes. These infernal nobles have the potential for power equal to some of the archdevils, but without a layer of Hell under their rule, they cannot truly be counted the equal of an archdevil. An infernal duke can rise in power by gaining class levels, advancing in Hit Dice, gaining mythic ranks, undertaking a vile ritual, amassing a sufficiently large and devoted following, or, rarely, at the leave of their blasphemous lords. However, until Asmodeus sees fit to award an infernal duke its own layer of Hell (to replace a fallen archdevil or one being punished via demotion to infernal duke), such a devil is not itself an archdevil. It should be noted that as scions of law, infernal dukes and archdevils remain loyal to Asmodeus and Hell, though they might resort to trickery and subterfuge to bolster their own resources and reputations. Those who are not loyal are quickly and inevitably revealed as traitors and punished accordingly by the Prince of Darkness. There can be any number of infernal dukes in Hell, but as Asmodeus himself rules the ninth layer of Hell, only eight archdevils can exist at any one time.
An archdevil can be contacted via commune or contact other plane, and can be conjured via a gate spell, but when so called, an archdevil is under no compulsion to come through the gate. Typically, an archdevil requires an enormous and significant offering or sacrifice before it deigns to answer a gate spell.
The Layers of HellEach archdevil rules one of the eight upper layers of Hell, with infernal dukes ruling fiefdoms within it. These layers are immense in size and composed of hundreds or even thousands of smaller subdomains, each of which may be the size of a continent or as small as a strange and secret city. The environments, themes, and traits of each layer are as unique as the archdevils themselves and can shift and change in response to the mood and intention of its archdevil master. An archdevil does not exert total control over its realm, though, and powerful adventurers can infiltrate a layer and accomplish various goals without arousing the anger of its archdevil overlord—if they are careful.
An archdevil gains the following additional powers while in its realm (the statistics presented on the following pages do not include these abilities): - Mythic: An archdevil functions as a 10th-rank mythic creature, including having the mythic power ability (10/day, surge +1d12). It can expend uses of mythic power to use the mythic versions of any spell-like ability denoted with a superscript “M,” as if the ability were a mythic spell.
- Use of the following spell-like abilities at will—demand, discern location, fabricate, major creation, and polymorph any object (when used on objects or creatures that are native to the realm, the polymorph duration factor increases by 6).
- Use of the following spell-like abilities once per day: binding and miracle (limited to physical effects that manipulate the realm or to effects that are relevant to the archdevil’s area of concern).
- Heightened Awareness (Ex): An archdevil gains a +10 insight bonus on Sense Motive checks and Initiative checks.
Archdevils in a Campaign Each archdevil is a unique creature ranging in power from CR 26 to CR 30. Their CRs have no impact on their standing or influence in Hell’s hierarchy. Between raw power, ingenious contingencies, and legions of servants, Asmodeus’s deputies share roughly similar potential for nefariousness and ruin. In any case, archdevils are generally beyond the reach of most mortal heroes, and should not be placed in an adventure without careful consideration. In most cases, they are best used as the final enemies of a long campaign—especially campaigns in which the PCs themselves are mythic characters—and even getting an audience with one should be a memorable event.
Yet while archdevils are beyond the abilities of most heroes to combat directly, they are perfect puppet masters and masterminds, inspiring and directing monsters, mortals, and entire cults at every level of a campaign. Halting a sinister ritual to unleash an archdevil on the world is a classic capstone, allowing a brief encounter with the archdevil and its minions before the ritual is halted and the archdevil forced back to Hell. Alternatively, the heroes can work to destroy an archdevil’s resources, imposing increasing penalties on it and gathering potent weapons to use against it, allowing PCs to face the archdevil at a diminished CR or with negative levels (even though they are normally immune to negative levels) to represent its reduced power... until the archdevil can rebuild and recover its strength.
|