Devil, Possession Devil, Lesser (Gidim)An impression of unmistakable malice pervades the area, the vague yet undeniable sensation of looming malevolence and faint foul breath.Possession Devil, Lesser (Gidim) CR 6Source Pathfinder #29: Mother of Flies pg. 82
XP 2,400
LE Medium outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, incorporeal, lawful)
Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +15DefenseAC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 13 (+3 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 59 (7d10+21)
Fort +8, Ref +10, Will +7
Defensive Abilities incorporeal; DR 5/good; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 17
Weaknesses sunlight weaknessOffenseSpeed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee 2 claws +10 touch (1d4+3), bite +10 touch (1d6+3)
Special Attacks dread, malevolence
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
Constant — greater invisibility
At will — bleed (DC 13), ghost sound* (DC 13), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), knock* (DC 15), levitate* (DC 15), open/close* (DC 13), prestidigitation* (DC 13), mage hand* (DC 13)
3/day — animate rope* (DC 14), dancing lights* (DC 13), ethereal jaunt (Ethereal Plane to Material Plane and vice versa), minor creation, plane shift (self only; to Ethereal Plane, Hell, or Material Plane only), produce flame* (DC 14), silent image* (DC 14), suggestion (DC 16), unseen servant* (DC 14)
1/day — summon (level 4, 1 lesser possession devil, 40%)
* causes dreadStatisticsStr —, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 15, Wis 17, Cha 17
Base Atk +7; CMB +10; CMD 24
Feats Alertness, Dodge, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes
Skills Acrobatics +13, Bluff +13, Disable Device +13, Fly +11, Intimidate +13, Knowledge (planes) +12, Perception +15, Sense Motive +15, Stealth +13
Languages Aklo, Common, Infernal
SQ nourished by negativity, otherworldlyEcologyEnvironment any (Hell or Ethereal Plane)
Organization solitary
Treasure noneSpecial AbilitiesClaws (Su) A gidim’s natural attacks inflict real wounds when they rake against physical objects they strike. A gidim’s natural weapon damage is modified by its Charisma bonus.
Dread (Su) Gidims are adept at using their spell-like abilities to terrifying effect. At will, and while remaining invisible, a gidim can choose to make any of the spell-like abilities noted in its stat block particularly frightening. Any creature that witnesses and is within 10 feet of the effect of one of these spell-like abilities must make a saving throw or be shaken for 1 minute. This effect can potentially increase the severity of other fear effects. This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
Malevolence (Su) Once per day, a gidim on the Material Plane can merge its body with another creature’s. This ability is similar to a magic jar spell (CL 10th or the devil’s HD, whichever is higher), except that it does not require a receptacle. To use this ability, the devil must be adjacent to the target. The target can resist the attack with a successful DC 16 Will save. A creature that successfully saves is immune to that same devil’s malevolence for 24 hours. While using this ability, the gidim is not affected by its otherworldly ability. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Nourished by Negativity (Su) Gidims seek out volatile mortals to aid them in entering the Material Plane. At the most basic level, negative emotions occur when a creature is dying, raging, or subject to a fear effect. At the GM’s discretion, negative emotions might also include non-rules-related effects, such as extreme feelings of anger, betrayal, frustration, hate, or sorrow. Anytime a gidim witnesses a creature affected by negative emotions, it may choose to gain a +1 bonus on its next Will save made to enter the Material Plane, so long as it attempts to enter the plane within 30 feet of that creature and within 24 hours. If within 12 to 24 hours of gaining this bonus the gidim witness the same creature again being affected by negative emotions, it gains an additional +1 bonus on its Will save which stacks with the original and increases the duration of the bonus by an additional 24 hours. Thus, a gidim may gain a stacking +1 bonus to its Will save in this manner once every 12 hours. The devil loses its entire accumulated bonus if it attempts and fails to enter the Material Plane, if 24 hours pass without it witnessing its target creature being affected by negative emotions, or if it takes a bonus from another creature affected by negative emotions. Once on the Material Plane, this bonus applies to a gidim’s Will saves made to resist being expelled from the plane. The bonus decreases by 1 every minute until it reaches 0. A gidim that leaves the Material Plane before this bonus reaches 0 retains any remaining bonus.
Otherworldly (Ex) Gidims find it difficult to enter the Material Plane. To do so by any means, a lesser possession devil must make a DC 30 Will save, failure meaning it is barred from entry and cannot access the plane again for 12 hours. In addition, after every minute of being on the Material Plane, the devil must make a DC 30 Will save or be expelled, returning to the plane it traveled from. Additionally, as a free action a number of times per day equal to the gidim’s Charisma modifier, the devil can empower one of its spell-like abilities to extend out from the Ethereal Plane and affect a target on the Material Plane.
Sunlight Weakness (Ex) Gidims’ powers are weakened in natural sunlight (not merely a daylight spell), reducing the DCs of their special abilities by –4. In addition, gidims attempting to enter the Material Plane into an area of sunlight take a –4 penalty on their Will save.DescriptionDiabolically clever and immortally creative, the legions of Hell use all the tools at their disposal to undermine and corrupt the souls of mortalkind. Among these tools are the souls of unabashedly depraved and hateful mortals sentenced to Hell in punishment for lives of sin. The foulest of these souls occasionally find themselves plucked from their torments and reforged in infernal crucibles, etched with bindings of hellish magic, then set loose upon the living. These evil souls bear many of the powers of devils, but fall outside the normal infernal hierarchies, not being considered true devils by their fiendish peers. Rather, they are gidims, Hell-bound souls made weapons of the Pit.
More than mere souls yet less than fiends, gidims find themselves barred from the mortal plane by the laws of existence. Their minds and memories linger on half-forgotten lives, however, and upon emotions and sensations long lost to fiends. Thus, they endlessly seek ways to infiltrate the paths of the living. Traveling to the Ethereal Plane, they peer into the Material Plane, seeking out hapless mortals and drawing power from their hatred, their violence, their sorrow, and especially their fears. Continued feeding upon and encouragement of such emotions grants them greater ability to invade the mortal realm and potentially steal new bodies, through which their foulness might live again.
Two breeds of gidim exist, lesser possession devils and greater. Both appear nearly identical, but greater possession devils are created from spirits of extraordinary, near-legendary evil beings. These foulest of souls are granted even more powerful diabolical abilities and are often loosed by their infernal masters to torment, unhinge, and ultimately destroy the mortal enemies of Hell. Lesser possession devils are typically left to their own devices, using their abilities to sow fear, torment innocents, spread mistrust, and ruin lives.Creatures in "Devil" CategorySource Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 72
Masters of corruption and despoilers of purity, devils seek to destroy all things good and drag mortal souls back with them to the depths of Hell.
As the most numerous fiendish occupants of Hell, the various forms of devils are well catalogued by diabolists. Most are known by two names: an evocative title given to the fiends by commoners and folklore, and an obscure, ancient designation spoken by the servants of Hell and those who would seek to deal with the damned.
Born from the foulest of mortal souls—their personalities and memories long since scoured by millennia of torment—would-be devils rise from the masses of suffering souls as lemures, revolting beings of mindless evil potentiality. Only through continued centuries of torture or by the edicts of more powerful devils do these least of devilkind rise to become deadlier fiends, graduating through a pain-wracked metamorphosis dictated by their masters or the infernal whims of Hell's semi-sentient layers. While fiendish lords wield transformation into greater or lesser forms as both prize and punishment, some devils spontaneously rise from particularly evil souls long trapped upon an infernal layer. Thus, although the various diabolical breeds possess recognizable abilities and hold generalized rankings in the great infernal hierarchy, a devil's type alone does not always correspond to a specific tenure of torment or place in the infernal chain of command.
Devils fill the nine layers of Hell, though certain fiends are more common on specific layers than others, their specialized duties or fealty to individual archdevils drawing them to one torturous domain more than others. Although the various types of devils tend to specialize in unique forms of depravity or temptation, the hierarchies of Hell are not without flexibility for uncommon individual talents. Thus, particularly watchful hamatulas might join the ranks of Phlegethon's bone devil inquisitors, while veteran barbazus might serve among the pit fiends of Nessus.
Beyond the pits of Hell, devils often travel to the Material Plane at the summons of evil spellcasters. Quick to bargain and willing to serve mortals to assure their damnation, devils ever obey the letter of their agreements, but serve the whims of Hell foremost. Thus, even the least of devilkind might come to the Material Plane intent on further corrupting souls, cleverly escaping the bonds of their contracts to indulge their own plots, or to further the unspeakable goals of the archdevils of Hell. The Ranks of Devilkind Diabolists speak often of the rankings of Hell, the distinctions made between devils that distinguish the foot soldiers from the commanders of Hell's armies. While such divisions mean little to most mortals—a devil being a deadly foe in any incarnation—the hierarchies and nuances of Hell's society carry distinctions vital to the survival of any who would commune with devils. What distinguishes a breed of devils above or below others is more than a matter of brawn, with several cunning types of fiend holding priority over their fundamentally stronger brethren. While a devil's station does not mean it can instantly command every other devil of inferior standing, it does imply which fiends might serve their brethren or hold influence over others.
Below these are the devil races themselves, from the lordly and malevolent pit fiends all the way down to the lowly, malformed lemure. The Infernal Hierarchy Listed here, from the absolute weakest devils to the lords of Hell, is the most basic hierarchy of the infernal realm's best-known denizens.
Least Devils: imps, lemures
Lesser Devils: bearded devils (barbazus), erinyes, barbed devils (hamatulas), bone devils (osyluths)
Greater Devils: horned devils (cornugons), ice devils (gelugons), pit fiends Devil SubtypeDevils are lawful evil outsiders that hail from the plane of Hell. Devils possess a particular suite of traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry). - Immunity to fire and poison.
- Resistance to acid 10 and cold 10.
- See in Darkness (Su) Some devils can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.
- Summon (Sp) Devils share the ability to summon others of their kind, typically another of their type or a small number of less-powerful devils.
- Telepathy.
- Except when otherwise noted, devils speak Celestial, Draconic, and Infernal.
- A devil's natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as lawful and evil for the purpose of resolving damage reduction.
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