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Nice going gentlemen. Twenty Infernal Fiends.
Now how about some more (cut for lack of space) info on the Dukes of Perdition and Hell's magnates to whom even pit fiends bend thier knees.
Hey Wes, it's been a while since I read it but wasn't there a devil in Tower of the Last Baron too?
EDIT: The Crepitus! But I can't remember whether it was a devil or not...
Oooooh, good call. I'll check that out when I get in.
Oooooh, good call. I'll check that out when I get in.
Or maybe I can't wait.
So, the crepitus. It's a frustrating creature for scholars of the infernal to deal with and the source of significant debate. Included in some of the earliest treatises on the Pit, these imp-like fiends found their way into infernal bestiaries, tomes of dubious diablere, and even saw occasional summoning and interviewing by misinformed diabolist. Yet, crepitus are no more devils than hell hounds, cerberai, Hell gigas, asuras, kytons, or any other of the terrifying creatures that often make their lairs amid the flames of Hell. Certainly, the confusion has to do with the wings, red skin, natural maliciousness, and so many of the other traits that link these nasty fiends to imps, especially their interest in corrupting souls and serving mages, but such does not a true devil make. For all their similarities, they lack the powers and abilities inherent in those of true infernal pedigree - the immunities, traits, and ability to call on one another that typify actual devils. Their tendencies for pranks and wanton destruction also suggests a mind lacking the true discipline of a diabolical mind. Thus, while certainly similar, and seemingly interested in passing themselves off as devils, for all these fiends's submission and service they will always be mere suppliants in the face of true devilkind, ignored, manipulated, abused, or used as the lords of Hell see fit.
(Short version: Close but no cigar. Lawful, Evil, Extraplanar - yes, but no devil subtype. Also, lacking several of the immunities and abilities typical to devils. The description also doesn't really paint them as being in line with our plots for devils. Thus, despite the flavor text, the stats do not paint them as devils, so not devils. Doesn't mean Hell wouldn't use them, but it does mean they don't get invited to Dispater's birthday parties.)
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Hey Wes, check out Mike McArtor's blog post:
The Creepy Crepitus
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
Here's another peek at the forthcoming Pathfinder Module LB1: Tower of the Last Baron.
It is speculated that Asmodeus spawned the first crepitus devils, sometimes called magewretches, to tempt and corrupt mortal wizards into damning their souls. Yet while it is true that the crepitus is a highly intelligent creature with a gift for spellcraft and all things arcane, its great intellect is countered by its foolishness and inability to competently lure mortals to Asmodeus's will. As a result, specimens seen on the Material Plane are more often slaves than fiendish tempters.
Ecology
A crepitus stands 3 to 4 feet tall, with bright eyes in a saurian head that appears too large for its gaunt, rune-covered body. Its shoulders sprout bat-like wings that allow it to fly with ease, and its sharp talons are surprisingly nimble and capable of fine adjustments when conducting magical rituals. A typical crepitus weighs 30 pounds. Though, like other devils, crepituses don't require food, they take particular joy in consuming wizards' familiars (and sometimes the wizards themselves.) Crepitus devils are native to Hell, and many lurk around Asmodeus's infernal palace, often serving as messengers.
Habitat & Society
Left to their own devices, crepitus devils are cunning, malicious pranksters, content to while away their days flitting about Hell and tormenting lost souls and devils alike. Yet crepituses are rarely left alone for long, and it is likely from this fact that their long-standing racial hatred of wizards stems. Highly valued for their spell-like abilities and intuitive knowledge of magic, crepituses are frequently bound into contracts or enslaved outright by mortal wizards and other fiends, a situation the intelligent devils find exrtemely demeaning. This situation is not helped by the fact that crepituses are frequently the first gifts handed out by higher-ranking demons attempting to seduce mortal magic users. If given an opportunity, a crepitus goes well out of its way to destroy a wizard and burn his precious spellbooks to ashes (not necessarily in that order). Chelish wizards regularly bind crepitus devils as servants, and view having an enslaved crepitus as a mark of prestige.
Crepituses enjoy lording their power over their significantly weaker impish cousins, and referring to a crepitus as an imp is the gravest possible insult.
Mike McArtor
Editor
Yup, that's exactly the text from Tower of the Last Baron. The stats for the creature don't back up the descriptive here, though (hence the tone of my "in character" post above). In this case, consider the term "devil" a misnomer for "creature from Hell."
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Yup, that's exactly the text from Tower of the Last Baron. The stats for the creature don't back up the descriptive here, though (hence the tone of my "in character" post above). In this case, consider the term "devil" a misnomer for "creature from Hell."
Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. I take it this was done before the greater vision for the devils was laid out? Were there any similar issues with the Phistophilius or Bdellvarita?
This list made for a really useful blog, thanks, Wes.
And I love the Inquisitor Devil illo...YEE! <shiver>
Creative Director
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Yup, that's exactly the text from Tower of the Last Baron. The stats for the creature don't back up the descriptive here, though (hence the tone of my "in character" post above). In this case, consider the term "devil" a misnomer for "creature from Hell."Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. I take it this was done before the greater vision for the devils was laid out? Were there any similar issues with the Phistophilius or Bdellvarita?
More like the words were written and the adventure was developed by someone who didn't realize that there were implications to being a devil. This happened quite often in the module line early on, when neither Wes nor I nor Erik were as involved with the line. And now that we've had a few "poser" devils and demons creep in the game via this back door, the three of us are keeping a more strict eye on how things go... PARTICULARLY now that we're "restarting" it all with the Pathfinder RPG.
It pops up more often than I'd like... same goes for daemons and demons. If you want to create a new devil, demon, or daemon (or oni, or asura, or div, or ANY fiend), you need to do more than just claim it's a devil or whatever in the flavor text. It needs to have the correct subtype, the correct flavor for rules, and the correct design philosophy.
As for the phistophilius and the bdellvarita devils... since those guys showed up in a Pathfinder Adventure Path, and thus went through both my and Wes's "filters," they fit in perfectly well among devilkind.
In the Bestiary, you'll note that the retriever, the bebilith, and the kyton were all removed from their respective Demon or Devil sections. This was for the same reason. When these monsters were originally created in 1st or 2nd edition, they were NOT devils or demons; they were related to them, but they were not officially devils or demons. The way 3rd edition lumped them into categories where they don't belong has always been a pet peeve of mine and I'm glad we were able to "fix" it in the Pathfinder Bestiary.
Heh-heh...I was looking at that last night.
I kind of don't mind these odd hellish/abyssal creatures that aren't devils/demons. It makes me look for an explanation in fiendish ecologies.
With the above posts in mind it would be nice to see a Book of the Damned that Discussed the role of outsiders that did not belong to a specific group. So a Hell focused book might discuss Hell Hounds, Hell Cats, Crepitus, Cerberai, etc.
Just a thought.
With the above posts in mind it would be nice to see a Book of the Damned that Discussed the role of outsiders that did not belong to a specific group. So a Hell focused book might discuss Hell Hounds, Hell Cats, Crepitus, Cerberai, etc.
Just a thought.
We've mulled over a few idea like this. There's a lot of ground to cover beyond the Big Three Ds with asuras, oni, divs, and the like. Let's see how the Book of the Damned series is standing around 2011 and we'll talk!
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Look James ... you area a freakin' Dire Fiendish T-rex. That Mona guy, he's just some midget with depth perception issues. You go tell him. We want a daemon book. And we want Todd to write it.*
* even if it means that the daemon book will end up 300 pages long and SKR will get a stroke while developing it.
I can already see it!
Book of the Damned VI: Those Other Guys!
Oh, there's SO much potential out there before we just lump together "The Other Guys." Kytons come to mind first, and doing a version of the Book of the Damned that reads like Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" or <i>The Scarlet Gospels</i> gets me very excited. Our ideas on oni too have a lot, lot, lot of potential. Qlippoth too. And then there's even demodands, out there. Lots of very interesting possibilities.
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Oh, there's SO much potential out there before we just lump together "The Other Guys." Kytons come to mind first, and doing a version of the Book of the Damned that reads like Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" or <i>The Scarlet Gospels</i> gets me very excited. Our ideas on oni too have a lot, lot, lot of potential. Qlippoth too. And then there's even demodands, out there. Lots of very interesting possibilities.I can already see it!
Book of the Damned VI: Those Other Guys!
Demodands are Open Content?
Demodands are Open Content?Oh, there's SO much potential out there before we just lump together "The Other Guys." Kytons come to mind first, and doing a version of the Book of the Damned that reads like Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" or <i>The Scarlet Gospels</i> gets me very excited. Our ideas on oni too have a lot, lot, lot of potential. Qlippoth too. And then there's even demodands, out there. Lots of very interesting possibilities.I can already see it!
Book of the Damned VI: Those Other Guys!
See Tome of Horrors.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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Oh, there's SO much potential out there before we just lump together "The Other Guys." Kytons come to mind first, and doing a version of the Book of the Damned that reads like Barker's "The Hellbound Heart" or The Scarlet Gospels gets me very excited. Our ideas on oni too have a lot, lot, lot of potential. Qlippoth too. And then there's even demodands, out there. Lots of very interesting possibilities.
While I'm all for fleshing out kytons, oni, demodands, and the rest, I'm not sure I'd want to see them as 64-page books. The primary outsider races make sense in that role, but I think there are better uses of the Chronicles line than a book on divs. We already have a ton of information on them from Legacy of Fire, and the AP Bestiaries and supporting ecology articles seem sufficient for kytons and so forth. I could also see demodands or oni being fleshed out similar to how divs were in LoF.
I'm sure oni will be thoroughly treated in Pf Chron: Classic Oriental Monsters Revisited.
