Aura of Subjugation. Asmodeus exudes an overpowering aura of authority in a 120-foot radius centered on him. At the start of each of his turns, Asmodeus can exert this influence over any number of creatures of his choice in the affected area, causing them to become charmed for as long as they are on the same plane of existence as Asmodeus.
An affected creature can prevent being charmed in this manner by defying Asmodeus’s authority. A creature that does so does not become charmed but takes 35 (10d6) psychic damage as it suffers retribution for its defiance.
Mythic Resistance. When Asmodeus fails a saving throw, he can expend one of his unexpended legendary actions to succeed instead.
Ruby Rod of Asmodeus. Asmodeus is never without his powerful relic, the Ruby Rod of Asmodeus. While Asmodeus holds the rod, if he attempts to charm a creature within 120 feet of him that is immune to the charmed condition, it is instead not immune.
Additionally, Asmodeus cannot be disarmed of the Ruby Rod unless he allows it, and any who attempt to disarm him of the rod must succeed on a DC 28 Constitution saving throw or take 55 (10d10) necrotic damage and be thrown 60 feet away from him in a straight line, landing prone.
Ruby Rod. Melee Spell Attack: +20 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d12 + 2) bludgeoning damage plus 33 (6d10) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 28 Strength saving throw or be throw 60 feet away from Asmodeus in a straight line, landing prone.
Archdevil’s Might. Asmodeus unleashes the true power of an archdevil, causing one of the following effects.
- Casts a spell of 7th level or lower (spell save DC 28, +20 to hit with spell attacks) with a casting time of an action or bonus action, without the need for any components.
- Summons a devil of CR 20 or lower in an unoccupied space he can see within 300 feet of him, which acts on the initiative count immediately after Asmodeus’s.
- Makes three Hellfire Blast attacks.
Hellfire Blast. Ranged Spell Attack: +20 to hit, reach 300 ft., one target. Hit: 30 (3d12 + 11) hellfire damage.
Hellfire Crown (Recharge 5–6). Asmodeus becomes crowned with hellfire until the end of his next turn, signifying his supremacy as lord of the hells. While so crowned, when Asmodeus would deal damage other than hellfire damage, he can choose to instead deal fire damage. Additionally, when a creature deals damage to Asmodeus, it takes hellfire damage equal to half the damage dealt to Asmodeus (rounded down).
Infernal Decree. Asmodeus issues an infernal decree using Dark Speech, the primal language of evil, at up to three creatures of his choice within 300 feet of him. Asmodeus chooses which decree he utters from the following options.
- Decree of Fealty. Each affected creature must succeed on a DC 28 Wisdom saving throw or fall prone and prostrate themselves before Asmodeus. A creature knocked prone in this manner cannot spend movement until the start of Asmodeus’s next turn.
- Decree of Suffering. Each affected creature must succeed on a DC 28 Constitution saving throw or take 40 fire damage.
- Decree of Privilege. Each affected creature must succeed on a DC 28 Charisma saving throw or have Asmodeus end a single spell or magical effect currently affecting it.
- Decree of Dark Fates. Each affected creature must succeed on a DC 28 Charisma saving throw or become permanently afflicted with a curse. When a creature so cursed is reduced to 0 hit points, it is instead reduced to 1 hit point, has its alignment changed to lawful evil, and becomes unable to harm or act against Asmodeus for as long as it remains cursed.
Asmodeus can take three legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Asmodeus regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Infernal Decree. Asmodeus uses his Infernal Decree action but can target only a single creature.
Strike. Asmodeus makes a Ruby Rod or Hellfire Blast attack.
Archdevil’s Might (Costs 2 Actions). Asmodeus uses his Archdevil’s Might action.
Gather Hellfire (Costs 3 Actions). Asmodeus recharges his Hellfire Crown action.
Description
“The truth, like a contract, is a fickle thing. Full of loopholes, contradictions, and exclusivity. My role is to define truth. Yours, to adhere to it—or suffer my displeasure.”
The undisputed ruler of the Nine Hells and the progenitor of the fiends known as devils, Asmodeus is a sinister being whose duplicitous voice has proven more dangerous than any mortal weapon. Archetypal in his appearance, Asmodeus presents himself as a towering, red-skinned humanoid, clad in silks spun from the darkest pits of hell, and sporting a regal face complete with tightly manicured goatee and a rack of pointed horns. To hear the Lord of the Nine Hells speak is both blessing and curse. His voice effortlessly shifts from terrifying authority to honeyed guile in an instant, with prose, vocabulary, and intonation that is hypnotic to all who hear it. Most unsettling of all are Asmodeus’s eyes. His gaze is like a predator who has sighted easy prey, making one feel vulnerable and exposed with but a glance. Few have stood in the presence of such a being and emerged better for it, with most becoming another pawn in Asmodeus’s grand plans spanning centuries, ready to be sacrificed at a moment’s notice.
New Damage Type: Hellfire
Hellfire is a unique substance, equal parts fire, magic, and evil. This makes hellfire a new damage type, separate from other damage types such as fire or necrotic damage. This allows those who wield hellfire to burn creatures that would ordinarily be immune to fire damage, which is particularly useful when dealing with other fiends. Additionally, a creature damaged by hellfire cannot regain hit points through nonmagical means for 24 hours after it takes this damage. Finally, burning hellfire cannot be extinguished by nonmagical means.
New Language: Dark Speech
When evil was born, it took many hateful forms as it spread across the multiverse, infecting countless worlds with its vile presence. While few evil beings remember this era from eons past, a hateful few carry with them the knowledge to speak a horrific atrocity of a language known as Dark Speech.
Uttering Dark Speech is to describe evil in its purest form, and its sound is hateful to all decent creatures. When speaking Dark Speech, a creature has advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) ability checks, and evil creatures always perfectly understand words spoken to them in Dark Speech. Good creatures of CR 10 or lower that hear Dark Speech become incapacitated for as long as they can hear it being spoken.
Lair and Lair Actions
The seat of power in all the hells, the Hellfire Court is part political office, part fortress, part retreat, and all evil. The massive structure is composed primarily of the infernal metal known as green steel and its every rampart and corridor lit by the malevolent flames of hellfire. The exterior architecture is an unassailable citadel guarded by disciplined, elite fiends that put their ordinary counterparts to shame. The interior is a different story, eschewing deadly defense for tasteful elegance. While undoubtedly the home of fiends, the Court is a place of comfort and peace, a place where even a celestial could find a quiet corner to relax. Its many offices and courtrooms are packed with executive devils whose sole purpose is to manage the maddening bureaucracy that comes with running nine planes of hell. Here, some of the most import deals, legal cases, and trials in the hells are observed where the legal process can be enacted without interference. Most significant of all is Asmodeus’s boardroom, a magnificent circular hall with seats for each of the nine archdevils. Most prominently placed is the Hellfire Throne, a construction of burning power from which Asmodeus directs his greatest subordinates.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Asmodeus can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects. Asmodeus can’t use the same effect twice in a row.
- Asmodeus calls fourth an account of all the acts of evil a creature within the lair has committed over the course of its lifetime. The ledger is an object, which Asmodeus holds in one of his free hands, with an AC of 15 and 60 hit points. While he holds the ledger, the creature cannot succeed on saving throws and is frightened of Asmodeus. Once a creature has been affected by this action, it cannot be affected again until 1 year has passed.
- An object within the lair of Asmodeus’s choice vanishes, appearing in an unoccupied space within the lair. If the object is being worn or held by a creature, that creature can attempt a DC 28 Charisma saving throw, preventing the object from vanishing on a success.
- Another creature of Asmodeus’s choice within the lair becomes empowered with hellfire until the next initiative count of 20, gaining the following benefits for the duration.
- Any damage dealt by the creature other than bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage instead becomes hellfire damage.
- The creature uses Asmodeus’s proficiency bonus (+8/+11) instead of its own.
- The creature gains 100 temporary hit points and immunity to hellfire damage.
Regional Effects
The ninth layer of hell is warped by Asmodeus’s infernal power, which has created the following effects within the structure.
- Devils native to this layer of the hells cannot be compelled or tricked, even by magic, into acting against Asmodeus’s known interests. Additionally, such devils always have the highest possible hit point maximum allowed by their Hit Dice.
- When Asmodeus is reduced to 0 hit points or slain on a plane of existence other than the hells, he is instead reduced to 1 hit point, not slain, and teleported to his chambers within the Hellfire Court.
- When a creature in this layer performs an act of good, it becomes marked with an infernal tattoo that glows with a fiendish light. Devils that see an affected creature can instantly recognize its true nature, regardless of what form it has assumed or what magic it has used to conceal itself.
If Asmodeus is destroyed, these effects fade until a new archdevil assumes control over this layer of hell, at which time the effects begin again.
Comments