Updates sporatically ( not that I know what that means)
Know thy enemy:
A paladins guide to smiting the infernal pits of hell
There are many excellent guides out there on how to be the best paladin ever… but this is a guide on how to handle the units of hell, the abyss, abaddon, and any other evil outsiders… this is a guide to, quite literally, knowing thy enemy.
This guide is about tactics, so I will be highlighting each builds ability to deal with these abominations… and how to destroy them
The builds (they are not rated here, as I will be evaluating them against a particular enemy)
The lancer
Two-hander
Two-weapon-fighter
Archer
Sword and board two-weapon fighting
Sword and board defence
The reach paladin
The combat medic paladin
The sacred fist paladin ( usually a champion of irori)
Bestiary 1:
#1: Devils, the LE corruptors
Devil, Barbed
CR: 11
HP:138
AC: 26
Okay, at CR 11 these are probably going to be among the last enemies you will face, and they are pretty tough.
They have greater teleport as an at-will SLA, so Archers will need to be careful, as this beast can teleport right up to your face. Barbed defence mean that Sacred fist paladins will need to rely on lay on hands quite a bit. It has low HP and high AC so the TWF (Both versions) might face some trouble, and the Two-hander will need to be careful with how he/she spends their power attack. Because this devil can teleport, the Reach paladin will have a bit of trouble. The Sword-and-board build will be better than usual, as the devil does not have such a good to-hit. The real winner here is the Lancer for the following reason: In combat, the barbed devil will probably be greater teleporting all over the place, and the lancer has the best speed. The lancer does great damage with a decent to-hit, and if the lancer roles well, he/she can one round the barbed devil. The Combat medic on the other hand, should be able to tank the devils hits, but because the devil can teleport, getting to weakened allies on time will be a problem.
In general, try to kill this sucker as quickly as possible before it warps to the squishy castys, kills them, and warps away.
Devil, bearded
CR:5
HP: 57
AC:19
This one is tough as well. The Archer has the same teleporting problems as with the Barbed devil, but the sacred fist will keep up with this sucker no sweat. The Two-hander and the Lancer will be powerful enough to put some dents in it, and the combat medic will be able to help negate the bleed damage, but the bearded devil will pressure him/her with it’s significant offence. The others can all keep up with the devil well enough, but because of the devils mobility and offence, will not truly shine.
In general stay cool, and do not retreat- this thing can teleport after you. If you find yourself pressured, ask a friend to ready an action to attack it and heal yourself. A good defence is key to this fight.
Devil, Bone
CR:9
HP:105
AC:25
The bone devil has high AC and high HP, as well as a few defensive options, such as wall of ice and quickened invisibility. The Archer is vulnerable to the devils teleporting trick, but can counter the wall of ice well enough. The Sacred fist will do serious damage, but might have problems getting off full attacks- the Two-hander faces the same problem, but does more damage on single attacks. The major problem here is action economy- the devil has a quickened SLA, and wall of ice will hold off the melee characters, so the others are all orange, except for the combat medic who is more likely to contribute when a wall of ice is between him/her and the Bad guy, and the Reach paladin who can get more AOOs from the devil using it’s SLA while near him, and who can evade more attacks thanks to likely higher DEX, and therefore AC. The sword and board defence paladin will probably need to cover the castys, but will hurt the devil a bit when it appears near him.
IN general, try to find permanent ways of bypassing the walls of ice, rather than wasting precious time attacking the walls of ice that the demon can create at-will, and if the devil goes invisible, move close to the rest of your group- that way you can heal the castys if they go unconscious, while the rest of the team gets a few hits in. Also, surrounding the devil will get a few AOOs and possibly a failed teleport when it tries to escape. Teamwork is critical here!
Devil Erinyes
CR:8
HP:94
AC:23
The erinyes has really low hitpoints in exchange for a small boost in AC. But she can fly, so unless you come into the fight pre-buffed, your castys will need to spend a turn buffing you up, and even then the fallen angel can fly faster than you. Also, try to find a way to keep your castys safe. She has a really nasty ranged touch attack routine, she can entangle and then kill an unprepared wizard or cleric. The Archer is the undisputed king here, being able to full attack without moving while staying close to the castys to heal them in a pinch. The Lancer comes second, due to not relying on full attacks so that he/she can follow the erinyes while she moves away. The sword and board paladin will survive a bit longer, but not really do much else. The Reach paladin will be a real star here, moving as close as possible and possibly getting some sweet AOOs in the process. The Two-hander will suffer from the lack of full attacks, the sacred fist and both two-weapon fighting builds even more so. The combat medic will need a wand of dimension door to keep up with the damage this cruel psychopath wreaks, but will probably negate a few attacks and might get close enough to make her provoke an AOO.
In general, try to protect the squishy members in some way, and be as mobile as possible- it is extremely hard to keep up with at-will greater teleport and a nice fly speed at the same time. Spread out a bit, but not too far apart- you want the wizard to have to move a bit but then be able to buff you, the reason for this is a nasty at-will unholy blight ability.
Horned devil
CR:16
HP:217
AC:35
Very low HP, rather high AC.
This guy can do serious damage in melee, but at range all he really has are suboptimal spells, and some summoning that will not even succeed most of the time. The greater teleport at-will ability makes things a little bit problematic though… Because of this, archers should hang around near a caster class that can do a bit of damage in melee- this means that the archer has some time to retreat, while the caster trades blows and the more dedicated melee PCs join in. All paladins should always be smiting this guy, unless there is an evildoer with a higher CR on the board. The two-hander will take serious damage, as will the two-weapon warrior and the sacred fist. The Sword-and board fighter is a bit more survivable, but the sword and board defence build will get hit eventually, or won’t do enough damage. The Reach paladin has a reach advantage that can not be ignored through using a five-foot step, so that’s good. But the Lancer is the real winner here. With ride-by attack the Horned devil should not be getting any full attacks against you, so that’s nice, and you probably do more damage than the reach paladin. The combat medic will need to stay mobile to survive the enemys onslaught, but he/she should be able to protect the castys long enough for the deicated meleers to get closer.
In general, try to avoid letting it get full attacks, but keep the pressure up or it’s regeneration will start to be a problem.
Ice devil
CR:13
HP:161
AC:32
I think I see a trend with mid-high level devils. Lower HP, higher AC than described in the monster creation section of the bestiary as “appropriate”. This guy is a lot like a bone devil- at will wall of ice, and he can even summon bone devils just like the bone devil! (Except with greater accuracy and twice as many are summoned). With a successfull summoning the walls of ice can really get in the way… The ice devil also has a 10d8 damage cone of cold for pure blasting, and the spear can slow you, meaning that combined with it’s 10 foot reach and combat reflexes, it can dish out some mean AOO damage. If you can avoid AOOs the archer is pretty great. The melee builds all face the same problem- walls of ice can cause them to waste turns hacking through those… damn… walls… But if you a reliable way of teleporting or gaining freedom of movement they become a lot better. The combat medic will need to protect the casters, which won’t be too hard, and cone of cold will only do slightly more damage than your lay on hands can heal.
Devil, Imp
CR:2
HP:16
AC:17
This fight should be pretty easy. The imp can go invisible, but the DC on it’s poison is really low, so all builds should be able to survive it’s hits. The archer comes out on top here, because the moment he/she sees the imp, the imp becomes a pin-cushion. The lancer is a bit weaker due to fly speeds being generally unavailable at this level. The other melee builds should not have no problem keeping up with the imp, but the imps stealth makes this a bit hard. The Reach paladin will have no problem hitting the imp. The combat medic will not have much to do, he/she will mostly be following the imp, trying to land a few hits.
Devil, lemur
CR:1
HP:13
AC:14
The lemure is the weakest devil of the lot, the lemure is slow but has a decent offence. Assuming there is a decent distance between the devil and the paladin at the beginning of the fight, the archer will not have to worry about the enemy closing in for melee. The Lancer will probably one-shot the demon, as will most melee builds, though they might eat a full-attack first. The Reach paladin will rapidly beat the lemur to death, and might not eat a full-attack.
In general, this devil is easy. At level one, you might have to smite this guy, at every other level don’t bother.
Devil, pit fiend
CR:20
HP:350
AC: 38
The key to this fight is a good fort, and will save, as this bad boy is packing piles of save or dies. The archer will be doing a lot of damage, but might have a problem with the disease save. The Two-hander and the lancer should be doing a lot of damage to the pit fiend, but might have trouble with the monsters melee attacks, and the fact that this is a SMACC with incredible mobility might mean that you eat a few ( or a TON) of spells before you can even damage it. The other melee builds will do fine, excluding the Sword and board build which will not do enough damage fast enough, and the pitfiend will completely anihilate it.
#2: Demons, the beasts of chaos
Demon, Babau
CR: 6
AC: 19
HP: 73
Gods, that is ugly. So kill it. Smite it and kill it. First off, the sacred fist will have the most trouble beating this guy, due to the acidic skin... NOT good for your skin, mind you. It has no real long-range attacks (aside from teleporting and killing you). So the archer probably won’t have a problem. This thing has 10-foot reach, so the reach paladin will do wonders, trading blows with it evenly. The melee builds will do fine, but it’s 10 foot reach will usually mean attacks of opportunity, and it’s claws are pretty dangerous. The combat medic should be able to defend it’s team from it without too much difficulty, and will function mostly like the melee builds in this setting.
Demon, Balor:
CR:20
HP: 370
AC: 36
As with the Pitfiend, good saves are key. The archer will be pretty amazing at this level, as it’s damage output will be tremendous. The Two-hander and the reach paladin fall about even, with both two-weapon fighting builds shortly behind. The Sacred fist will take a lot of damage from flaming body due to the plethora of attacks it likely has at this level. The combat medic will support the team well, and the Lancer will fare about as well as the two-handed warrior. At this level, the sword and board build is the farthest behind, doing very little damage. In general, this fight should not be that hard, due to paladins having rather excellent saves, but if the dice are against you, it’s vorpal weapons are deadly.
Demon, dretch
CR:2
HP: 18
AC: 14
This is basically a tougher Lemure, with some relatively nasty SLAs. The lancer will not have a paladin mount yet, and the sacred fist likely won’t have come into his/her own at this point yet. The two-hander pulls ahead at this point, having the feat it needs (power attack) and a nice attack bonus. The other builds are low on feats at this point, with the reach paladin only doing huge damage if they are human (power attack and combat reflexes are the reach builds main feats). The archer will be doing respectable damage, but not much else. In general, this fight will be very swingy, but all of the Paladin builds should be able to save against it’s SLAs.