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This is a yet another installment in my guide to the Diabolist. Here are the earlier parts:
Building a Diabolist
Tips on playing a Diabolist
Lesser Planar Binding
Planar Binding
And now, on to the darkest and most dangerous of conjurations -- the Greater Planar Binding.
Doug M.
* * * * *
This list is shorter, because I'm concentrating mostly on devils. At these levels you're no longer calling mooks. These creatures are powers in their own right, with minions -- in some cases entire armies -- at their beck and call. Your DM would be perfectly within his rights to give these creatures unexpected resources, including the ability to strike at you even on your home plane. Handle with care.
Elder Fire Elemental* [CR 11, Will +7, SR 0, Cha 11] -- These guys are very easy to call for a creature of their CR. Of course, by the time you can conjure them, a CR 11 creature may not be all that useful. Potentially useful as a terror weapon, especially if you call them in groups.
Malbolgian Cerberi [CR 12, Will +6, SR 0, Cha 8] -- These are Paizo creatures, but 3.5 (from the Council of Thieves AP, Pathfinder #28), never converted to Pathfinder. If you can convince your DM to allow them anyway, they are wonderful. Not only are they ridiculously easy to conjure for a creature of their CR, but they have the Cerberus' Jaws ability, which prevents bitten creatures from leaving the plane as a curse effect with no save or SR. Otherwise they're a decent melee creature, basically the next step up from a Nessian Hell Hound.
Glabrezu* [CR 13, Will +11, SR 24, Cha 20] -- While the glabrezu is a fine melee combatant with a bunch of useful SLAs, you're probably conjuring this fellow for one reason: to get that Wish. Under the RAW, you ought to be able to compel the demon to use its Wish, just as you can compel any other summoned creature to use an SLA. This is obviously potentially game-breaking; you'd be getting the benefit of a 9th level spell by casting a 7th level spell, and avoiding the 25,000 gp material component to boot. Furthermore, you could call a new glabrezu every day, piling Wish on Wish. Under these circumstances, the DM is entirely justified in giving your Wishes nasty, unforeseen side effects. So, if you wish for +1 Intelligence, the demon snaps its fingers -- and your brain expands dramatically, causing your face and cranium to become grotesquely deformed, costing you -4 Cha. You get the idea. After all, it says right in the text that the demon is "nothing if not creative in addressing a mortal's desires." Seriously, this is just asking for the DM to mess with you.
Ice Devil (Gelugon) [CR 13, Will +12, SR 24, Cha 20] -- Am I the only one who thinks the Paizo illustration looks like Jiminy Cricket? Anyway. The Gelugon's SLAs are no great shakes, but AC 32 and that nice slow-spell debuff make it very respectable in melee. Interestingly, the ice devil is immune to both fire and cold -- it's a devil, after all, and it does not have the "cold" subtype. So it walks right through fireballs and such, just like every other devil. Its 25 Int means that it can probably out-think you, so be careful. But note that this also means it has a bunch of crazy-high skill bonuses. So if you've got one of these guys around, you can totally to use it to google things.
Marut Inevitable* [CR 13, Will +13, SR 26, Cha 24] -- A solid melee brute, and one of the few outsiders to use a sonic attack. Like all inevitables, the marut has that annoying "can't be forced to act against its nature" thing. The marut's particular obsessions is "eliminating those who have unnaturally extended their lives". So if you're going up against a lich or a vampire, the marut should cheerfully cooperate. Well, "cheerfully" by the standards of a giant stomping lawful neutral death robot. Like all the inevitables, a specialized tool.
Handmaiden Devil (Gylou) [CR 14, Will +10, SR 25, Cha 20] -- Although the Handmaiden has a higher CR than the Ice Devil, it's just about as easy to call and bind. In terms of combat power it's perhaps half a step behind -- but then, the Gyllou isn't really a combat monster. It's a spy, excellent at deception, diplomacy, and disguise. And its weird tentacle cage makes it an excellent kidnapper, too.
Divine Heralds: Heralds are unique servants of deities (Basileus for Asmodeus, the Stabbing Beast for Norgorber, the Old Man for Irori, etc.). They are all CR 15. Unfortunately, they can't be summoned by Planar Binding, ever -- only by Greater Planar Ally, and then only by a worshipper of that particular deity. One of the very rare cases in which Planar Ally is better than Planar Binding.
Astradaemon [CR 16, Will +14, SR 27, Cha 24] -- "Astradaemons can only be bribed into service by two things — a feast of souls and the promise to spread death." Since this thing is really only useful as a melee brute, that shouldn't be a problem. Note that its Soul Siphon ability stacks with itself, meaning that if enough creatures die within 10' of it there's almost no limit to how much its Str can increase. Seriously, that's RAW. If it plunges into battle and kills six low-level warriors? It immediately gains 6d8 hp and +12 Str for the next 10 minutes. And it can keep doing that. And if you feed it a 5 HD creature soon after it arrives -- a warhorse or a grizzly bear or something -- it gets +1 on all attacks, saves and checks for the next 24 hours. (Obviously you do this after it's bound.) Call this guy when you expect lots and lots of combat against living foes, especially against piles of low-level mooks.
Horned Devil (Cornugon) [CR 16, Will +13, SR 27, Cha 23] -- The cornugon is another pure melee brute. You call it up to smash things and commit carnage. It's not terribly bright for a creature of its raw power (14 Int) so it's less likely than some other devils to come up with a viciously cunning scheme to entrap you. The astradaemon is somewhat better in combat thanks to its soul siphon and energy drain, but Infernal Charisma makes the cornugon a much easier creature to bind.
Belier Devil (Bdellavitra) [CR 16, Will +20, SR 28, Cha 24] -- The Belier's sky-high Will save makes it a difficult fiend to catch. And when you do catch it, you have a 3,000 pound leech-slug with three human heads growing out of its backside. Okay, well. You would use the Bdellavitra to possess someone with its magic jar ability. Sure, you could possess them yourself -- but the Bdellavitra is a face monster, with around +27 on Bluff, Diplomacy, Perception and Sense Motive. Use the Gyllou to kidnap the prince, then use the Belier to replace the prince. Note that this is another super-genius Int 25 devil, though, so handle with extreme care.
Apostate Devil (Deimavigga) [CR 17, Will +20, SR 27, Cha 28] -- Emphatically not a combat monster (its attacks are quite weak for a creature of its CR), the Deimavigga has an array of strange powers that can be used for all kinds of creative effects. Most notably, given a few days to work, it can permanently change creatures' alignments! Call up this guy if you want to destroy the kingdom; he murders the vizier and takes his place, then with a few words in the king's ear gradually and permanently changes the kindly monarch into a raging tyrant. But have a care -- this devil can directly and physically attack you all the way from Hell. Unless you want to spend the rest of your career cowering inside your Forbiddance-protected private apartments, don't piss off the deimavigga. Only call it up if you can offer it something it would reasonably want, like turning an entire kingdom Lawful Evil or wiping out the local churches of the good gods.
I love this guide. I do a lot of binding in my campaigns and these creatures should be excellent for it. Thank you again.
I know you are more focused on Devils but if you are using Greater Planar Binding then you cannot really ignore the Planetar. Having access to a level 16 cleric caster is a huge benefit and they are less likely to come after you after the service is finished if you don't ask them to do anything particularly unpleasant.
I've completely ignored good outsiders. I think they're even more likely than devils to come after you! After all, you're an obvious menace both to other angels and to innocents on your own plane.
Doug M.
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
I've been reading your whole guide on the Diabolist, fantastic work. Thanks for posting these.
Whoops, forgot a big one!
Immolator Devil (Puragaus) [CR19, Will +14, SR 30, Cha 24] -- This is the biggest, baddest devil you can get with any Planar Binding spell. And guess what? It has (for a creature of its CR) a mediocre Will save and unimpressive Charisma. It's only a bit harder to call up and bind than a cornugon, but it's much more powerful. I think its official CR of 19 is a bit high, but even at CR 18 this is a pretty good deal. There's just one problem: the immolator's stupid high SR. Even if you're a 20th level caster with both Spell Penetration feats, it's going to break loose a quarter of the time. So you really need a strong Plan B here. Also, note that the Immolator has a 24 Int, and it's RAW that they're often commanders of legions of lesser devils. So if you make an enemy of it, the Puragaus is definitely capable of making long-term problems for you.
Hah hah, I was just going to ask about why the Immolation Devil was left out. It's just an amazing blaster. It's almost worth True Name discovery just for it (although that doesn't help when doing Diabolist)
Is it really an amazing blaster, though? For a CR 19 creature? Fireball at will isn't that big a deal at that point. And while throwing Hellfire seems awesome at first glance, it also means that half its blast damage gets ignored by anything that's either evil, or is bright enough to cast Protection from Evil.
As noted, I don't think the Immolator really holds up as a CR 19 creature. Compare it to another fire-themed creature, the CR 18 Very Old Red Dragon: who'd win in a fight, and who would you rather have backing you up? Pretty sure it's the dragon.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/outsiders/devil/devil-imm olation
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/dragons/dragon/chromatic- red/red-dragon-very-old
(A fight would come down to, could the devil teleport away before the dragon zapped it with anti-magic? If yes, then a draw. If no, then the dragon's much greater melee damage probably gives it the win.)
Doug M.
Half the devil's damage isn't ignored by prot vs evil or evil creatures. It deals unholy damage, but that doesn't mean evil creatures or creatures protected by prot vs evil ignore it. That is a specific ability of a few spells (like order's wrath), but in general holy/unholy damage is just flat irresistible, which is what makes it good. Anti-magic field is also not really a problem as it is a personal range emanation, not a targeted ray. The dragon can use it on itself. This also means the dragon simply cannot kill the Devil with its DR 15 cold iron (even assuming it is inside the field) and its regeneration. Given patience, the Immo Devil will always win, as even with half its damage negated, it will pick away with impunity over hours if necessary.
There's also the fact that you can't force an Old Dragon to work for nothing. So the Devil has that as well.
Brotato wrote: Half the devil's damage isn't ignored by prot vs evil or evil creatures. Yes, but half is -- and it's not doing all that much damage /for a CR 19 creature/ to begin with. I mean, Fireball at will seems nice... but a CR 19 creature should be able to do a lot more with a standard than 10d6 of fire damage, Reflex save for half. Fire Storm 3x/day is better at 17d6 of damage, but again, Reflex for half. Evil creatures? Only gonna take half damage anyway, because they're ignoring the unholy part. Creatures with fire resistance or immunity are going to do well too. And, of course, creatures with SR have a chance to laugh this off entirely.
It's not that Fire Storm is bad; it's not. But for a CR 19 creature, it's a somewhat underwhelming use of a standard action. If you're facing a group of enemies who are good-aligned, and/or with the cold-subtype, and/or with no SR, sure, could be great. But most of the time, it's kinda meh.
Quote: in general holy/unholy damage is just flat irresistible, Pretty sure that evil creatures simply ignore unholy damage; see, e.g., Unholy Blight.
Quote: Anti-magic field is also not really a problem as it is a personal range emanation, not a targeted ray. The dragon can use it on itself. This also means the dragon simply cannot kill the Devil with its DR 15 cold iron (even assuming it is inside the field) and its regeneration. Note to get into the nitty gritty details, but the dragon also has DR 15. And since a sharp nip from the dragon with Greater Vital Strike and Power attack does 16d6+34 damage, the devil's DR is more of a speed bump than anything.
If the dragon casts AM shell on itself and grapples, it's game over -- the dragon will be able to just chew the devil up. The devil's only viable tactic is hit-and-run using its unlimited teleport. But even then, the dragon has teleport (as a spell) too, and the devil has no way to scry or otherwise follow it. So, it's pretty much impossible for the devil to beat the dragon, while it's certainly possible for the dragon to beat the devil.
Quote:
Given patience, the Immo Devil will always win, as even with half its damage negated, it will pick away with impunity over hours if necessary.
Actually, all of its damage is negated -- red dragons are both evil, and immune to fire. The Immolator has a few tricks it can still try (Dictum, summoning a bunch of lower level devils) but the red is immune to its big guns. And vice versa, to be sure! The dragon's 16d10 of breath weapon is just a refreshing breeze to the devil.
I do think the most likely outcome is a draw. But that goes to my point about CR, below.
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There's also the fact that you can't force an Old Dragon to work for nothing. So the Devil has that as well.
...not my point. What I'm saying is, the CR 18 dragon is as good or better than the CR 19 devil. I'd say it's better, but let that bide -- I think we can all agree that it's at least roughly as good. That means either the dragon's CR is too low, or the devil's is too high. Eyeballing them, I'd say the dragon is about right and the devil should really be CR 18, not 19.
Doug M.
I believe he intent of 'unholy damage' for hellfire is that it work like flame strike.
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1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.
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That's a reasonable interpretation of the intent, but the sad fact is that's not how it's worded. Here it is, complete:
Quote:
Hellfire (Su)
Any fire damage caused by an immolation devil’s abilities and spells is half fire damage, half unholy damage.
That's actually kind of confusing, since (1) there isn't exactly a definition of "unholy damage"; we have to back-interpret from spells like Unholy Blight, and (2) "Hellfire" does have a definition, which is similar to but not exactly the same as Unholy Blight -- both affect good creatures and not evil, but Hellfire is blocked by Protection from Evil as well. Sloppy.
Doug M.
I think it was cramped for space more than sloppy.
Remember that Sr doesn't matter when binding
Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber
Hellfire is defined on page 5 of Book of the Damned Vol.1 Princes of Darkness.
"Evil aligned creatures and those with the evil subtype take no damage from the unholy energy, but good aligned beings and those with the good subtype take double the normal damage from it. Creatures under the effects of spell like protection from evil are unaffected by this unholy energy, though they may still take fire damage."
I take it back then. I was under the same impression as Ross Byers, that the unholy damage was supposed to work like Flame Strike. Seeing that a level 1 spell completely protects you from it, you're right, Immo Devil isn't worth the summons.
I've spun off a rules question here, hoping for some FAQ action.
Of note from my researches there, Infernal Duke-level Pit Fiends also get hellfire, which explicitly works like flame strike, but also refers to unholy damage.
Princes of Darkness does define Hellfire differently, but shouldn't be necessary to figure out a monster printed in the RPG line. Also, that definition seems to be used to say things like '1d6 points of hellfire damage', not directly referring to fire and unholy damage in the rules text of spells and abilities: instead you read the sidebar to figure out what 'hellfire damage' means and how it is different from 'fire damage'.
Hellfire is a bit of a mess generally. It doesn't have a proper definition anywhere; everyone is inferring it, usually from the Hellfire Trap.
This leads to my "sloppy" comment above. Making the Purugaus throw Hellfire means it's often a *worse* blaster than if it were simply flinging ordinary fireballs. An ordinary Fire Storm has some damage that ALWAYS gets through; an immolater's Fire Storm can have all its damage blocked by fire resistance + protection from evil (or simply being evil aligned). That's poor design.
Doug M.
I still assert that it's supposed to work like flame strike, which makes it the same against creatures with some fire resistance, better against creatures with lots of fire resistance (or immunity), and worse against creatures with fire vulnerability.
Since more creatures have fire resistance than vulnerability, that's a net positive.
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