Archdevil, MephistophelesThis red-skinned devil has three sets of curving horns atop his
brow and three mismatched pairs of wings.Mephistopheles CR 30Source Bestiary 6 pg. 28
XP 9,830,400
LE Large outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +14; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, detect good,
discern lies, see in darkness, true seeing; Perception +50
Aura frightful presence (120 ft., DC 41), shield of law (DC 32)DefenseAC 48, touch 40, flat-footed 37 (+4 deflection, +10 Dex,
+1 dodge, +8 natural, +16 profane, –1 size)
hp 752 (35d10+560); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic)
Fort +31, Ref +33, Will +37; +8 vs. mind-affecting effects
Defensive Abilities ashen essence, freedom of movement,
infernal resurrection, mind blank; DR 20/epic, good, and
silver; Immune ability damage, ability drain, bleed, blindness,
blood drain, charm, compulsion, critical hits, dazzled,
deafness, death effects, energy drain, fire, petrification,
poison, precision damage; Resist acid 30, cold 30; SR 41OffenseSpeed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (perfect)
Melee +5 axiomatic flaming unholy trident +55/+50/+45/+40
(2d6+29/19–20 plus 1d6 fire), gore +50 (2d8+8), 6 wings +48
(1d8+8/19–20)
Space 10 ft., Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks infernal wings, profane gift
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 30th; concentration +44)
Constant—detect chaos, detect good, discern lies (DC 28), freedom of movement, mind blank, shield of law (DC 32), true seeing
At will—astral projection, deeper darkness, desecrateM, dictumM (DC 31), dominate personM (DC 29), greater dispel magic, greater scrying (DC 31), greater teleport, order’s wrathM (DC 28), secret page, unhallow
3/day—quickened dominate personM (DC 29), fire stormM (DC 32), globe of invulnerabilityM, mass charm monster (DC 32), misleadM (DC 30), summon devils
1/day—soul bind (DC 33), time stopM, wishM
M Mephistopheles can use this ability’s mythic version in his realm.StatisticsStr 42, Dex 30, Con 43, Int 35, Wis 34, Cha 39
Base Atk +35; CMB +52; CMD 93
Feats Combat Expertise, Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and
Armor, Craft Rod, Craft Wondrous Item, Critical Focus, Deceitful, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Forge Ring, Improved Critical (trident, wing), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Multiattack, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (dominate person), Staggering Critical
Skills Bluff +56, Diplomacy +52, Disguise +56, Fly +54,
Intimidate +52, Knowledge (arcana, history, local, nobility,
religion) +47, Knowledge (planes) +50, Linguistics +50,
Perception +50, Sense Motive +50, Sleight of Hand +45,
Spellcraft +47, Stealth +44, Use Magic Device +49
Languages all (language mastery); telepathy 300 ft.
SQ flattering inquisitorEcologyEnvironment any (Hell)
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure triple (+5 axiomatic flaming unholy trident, Visineir,
other treasure)Special AbilitiesAshen Essence (Ex) Despite his appearance, Mephistopheles has a body formed of the ashes and brimstone of Hell rather than flesh and blood. He cannot be blinded, dazzled, or deafened, and he is immune to bleed damage, blood drain, critical hits, and precision-based damage. In addition, once per minute when he is hit by a melee or ranged attack, as an immediate action Mephistopheles can cause his body and all of his gear to collapse into ashes while he teleports to any point within 30 feet of his prior position and re-forms, taking no damage from the attack. Within his realm of Caina, he can trigger this power by expending one use of his mythic power and can teleport up to 300 feet, or up to 30 feet even when subject to effects that normally prevent teleportation.
Flattering Inquisitor (Su) Mephistopheles is unsurpassed at inveigling himself into a creature’s good graces and ferreting out secrets. His discern lies spell-like ability automatically affects all creatures within 30 feet of him, and he does not need to concentrate to know whether a target is lying (although each time a creature tries to lie in this area it can attempt a Will save to negate the effect as normal). Anyone who attempts to lie when responding to a direct question posed by Mephistopheles must succeed at a DC 41 Will save or take 1d3 points of Wisdom drain and be unable to speak for 24 hours (Mephistopheles can end this enforced vow of silence at will as a free action). This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Infernal Wings (Su) Mephistopheles has three pairs of wings, and while the damage caused by all six wings is identical, the additional effect caused by a strike from a wing depends on its nature. A hit from one of his burning wings deals 1d6 additional points of fire damage and the creature struck must succeed at a DC 43 Reflex save or catch fire. A hit from one of his draconic wings deals 2d6 points of bleed damage. A hit from one of his raven wings causes permanent blindness unless the creature struck succeeds at a DC 43 Fortitude save. The save DCs are Constitution-based.
Profane Gift (Su) As a full-round action, Mephistopheles can grant a willing non-devil a +4 profane bonus to one ability score; this also allows him to communicate telepathically with and use his mind-affecting spell-like abilities on the creature at any distance (even across planar boundaries). A creature can have only one such gift at a time. The profane gift can be removed with dispel evil or dispel law, or Mephistopheles can remove it as a free action, dealing 3d6 points of Charisma drain to the target (no save). In addition, a creature that accepts a wish from Mephistopheles immediately becomes lawful evil (Will DC 41 negates) and gains the benefits of good hope for 1 week, followed by the effects of crushing despair for 1d6 months (CL 30th). The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionMephistopheles was formed by Asmodeus from the ashes and hellfire of the plane of Hell itself. He is an artist of flattery and guile, a master of the infernal contract, and a warden of the chained prison plane of Caina. He is tireless in his hunt for new souls, and constantly seeks to lure mortals into signing theirs away in all manner of complex bargains and contracts.
Mephistopheles appears as a muscular, 12-foot-tall, red-skinned humanoid.Mephistopheles's CultMephistopheles is worshiped by dishonest merchants,
crooked politicians, decadent nobles, and cruel tyrants.
His sacred places are almost always within large cities,
often buried in hidden rooms beneath prisons, palaces,
or courts of law, or in secret apartments of corrupt nobles.
His unholy symbol is a diagonal scarlet trident
piercing a golden halo. His favored weapon is the trident.
He grants access to the Evil, Knowledge, Law, and Rune
domains, and to the Devil, Language, Memory,
and Thought 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.
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