Banishment. When Mephistopheles dies, his body is destroyed but his essence travels back to his lair in Cania to recover, and is unable to take physical form again for 1d100 years.
Lord of Hellfire. All Mephistopheles' attacks, spells and effects that deal fire damage are considered to have the hellfire damage type. The hellfire damage type ignores resistance to fire damage and deals half damage to creatures that are immune to fire damage.
Cold Fire Aura. Mephistopheles can wreathe himself in freezing, blue flames that extend for 10 feet around him (no action required). When creatures enter, or end their turn in the aura they take 14 (4d6) fire damage, and 14 (4d6) cold damage.
Regeneration. Mephistopheles regains 30 hit points at the start of his turn. If he takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn. Mephistopheles dies only if he starts his turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
Limited Magic Immunity. Unless Mephistopheles wishes to be affected, he is immune to spells of 6th level or lower and has advantage on all saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Mephistopheles fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Spellcasting. Mephistopheles can cast the following spells (lower level spells at 8th level) using Intelligence as his spellcasting ability (save DC 26), requiring no material components:
(At will): alter self(can become any size when changing his appearance), cone of cold, dispel magic, fireball, greater invisibility, ice storm, scrying, wall of fire, wall of ice
(3/day each): bane, banishment, blight, blindness/deafness, chain lightning, disintegrate, fire storm, forcecage, hold monster, prismatic spray
(1/day each): blade of disaster, gate, meteor swarm, power word kill, wish
Multiattack. Mephistopheles makes three attacks using any combination of scratch and/or hellfire bolt attacks.
Scratch. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +22 to hit, reach 10 ft., range 240 ft., one target. Hit: 32 (4d8 + 14) piercing damage and 28 (8d6) cold, fire, or lightning damage, Mephistopheles’ choice.
Hellfire Bolt. Ranged Spell Attack: +18 to hit, range 240 ft., one target. Hit: 33 (6d10) fire damage, ignites target. Targets on fire take 17 (3d10) fire damage at the start of their turn until they use an action to extinguish themselves.
Summon Devil (3/day). Mephistopheles magically summons (100% chance of success) one of the following types of devils: 1d6+2 bone devils, 1d4+1 ice devils, 1d4 pit fiends; or (75% chance of success) one of his Dukes.
Infernal Disjunction. Mephistopheles points to a creature he can see that is in the process of casting a spell. If the spell is 8th level or lower, the casting fails and the spell has no effect. The spell slot is used, and the creature that was casting takes a number of d6 psychic damage equal to the level of the spell it was attempting to cast.
Mephistopheles can take 3 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. If Mephistopheles has unspent legendary actions at the end of the round, he may spend and immediately use his remaining legendary actions. Mephistopheles regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Attack. Mephistopheles makes a hellfire bolt or scratch attack.
Move. Mephistopheles moves up to half his speed.
Spellcasting (2/round). Mephistopheles casts a spell.
Teleport (Costs 2 Actions). Mephistopheles magically teleports, along with anything he is carrying up to 240 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.
Description
Mephistopheles, also known as the Lord without Mercy, and the Cold Lord, was the lord of Cania, the eighth level of the Nine Hells. He was the main opponent of Baalzebul during the Reckoning of Hell, and still holds a claim to his own layer. He sought to take Baalzebul's layer away from him, that he may gain enough power to one day challenge Asmodeus for rulership of all the Nine Hells.
Mephistopheles was something of a walking contradiction. Unstable and thoroughly wicked, he presented multiple faces to those he met. On the one hand, he was charming, erudite, and civil. But beneath the veneer of respectability was a vicious temper and unchecked ambition. He was patient and cunning, yet when alone, he flew into a fury, screaming and shrieking, tearing at his skin and destroying everything around him in a thunderous explosion of hellfire and devastating magic.
He had one goal, one reason for existence: He coveted Asmodeus’s throne. It was, in his mind, his destiny to rule the Nine Hells. So confident was he that he has told this to Asmodeus himself. One would have thought that such arrogance would have been reason enough for the Lord of the Ninth to bring this archdevil to heel, but curiously, Asmodeus has not. It seemed he was content to let Mephistopheles have his delusions. Mephistopheles' naked ambition and haughtiness did not sit well with his peers. Some were drawn to his power, such as Dispater, but most despised him, seeing him as an unstable and unpredictable element in the Hells’ convoluted politics. Among his enemies, Baalzebul was his greatest; the Lord of Lies had long opposed his every effort. So long as Baalzebul lived, Mephistopheles spent his time hatching plots to eliminate his ancient rival, leaving Asmodeus secure in his position as the Lord of the Nine Hells.
Despite his distractions, Mephistopheles still posed a grave threat. He commanded legions of ice devils as well as the pit fiends, barbazu, and cornugons that have flocked to his banner. In addition, it fell to him to protect the only gate into Nessus, so he nominally commanded the army whose sole duty it was to safeguard Asmodeus’s realm. To make matters worse, he had mastered the very essence of Hell, channeling it into a foul destructive energy called hellfire. With such tools at his disposal, it seemed Mephistopheles will one day make good on his promise to rule in Asmodeus’ stead. Thankfully, Mephistopheles did not exert the same influence on the Prime Material Plane. Many mortals confused him and Asmodeus, believing they are one in the same. This frustrated Mephistopheles to no end; above all, he wanted to be worshiped as a god. Still, he had a number of small cults that revered him as the god of hellfire. He also attracted disaffected devil worshipers, stealing individuals from other archdevils.
His temples were strange places, hidden and out of the way. Decorated with fire pits, they were unbearably hot and the pits were rigged so that they flared up during ceremonies at the most dramatic moments. The cultists met to perform sacrifices, binding their living victims on a blackened altar and immolating them alive. Their screams added the chorus to their silent prayers.
Scratch. Scratch is a +4 epic trident that inflicts and extra 28 (8d6) cold, fire, or lightning damage (Mephistopheles’ choice), included in the attack. In addition, it magically returns to his hand when summoned (free action).
Lair and Lair Actions
Lord of Cania. Like all of the Nine, Mephistopheles’s title has power and his might is greater while he is in his domain. While on Cania, Mephistopheles is considered CR 35 (265,000XP) and he gains the following attributes:
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Mephistopheles can use legendary resistance 5/day.
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Mephistopheles can use 5 legendary actions per round.
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Mephistopheles has advantage on all attack rolls.
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Mephistopheles rolls a critical hit on a natural 18-20.
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Mephistopheles regains 50 hit points at the start of his turn.
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Mephistopheles can use domain actions.
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Mephistopheles attacks, spells and effects that inflict cold damage do maximum damage.
Domain Actions:
While anywhere within the plane of Cania, Mephistopheles can take a domain action as long as he is not incapacitated.
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Mephistopheles can draw on the infernal power Cania to take a domain action to cause one of the following effects:
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Mephistopheles teleports (3/day) to any location within Cania.
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Mephistopheles use the power of Cania to freeze a creature into a solid block of ice, targeting one creature he can see within 500 feet of him. The creature must succeed on a DC 25 Dexterity saving throw, or take 36 (8d8) cold damage and become restrained. A restrained creature must succeed on a DC 24 Constitution saving throw at the end of its next turn, or become encased in ice (petrified) on a failure, or ending the effect on a success.
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Mephistopheles magically summons the tortured souls of Cania to his aid. They reach up from the frozen pits, grasping at his enemies within an 80-foot radius area centered on a point Mephistopheles can see within 1 mile of him. This area becomes difficult terrain. Each creature in the area when Mephistopheles summons the souls, or that starts it turn in the area, must succeed on a DC 25 Dexterity saving throw, or be restrained and take 10 (3d6) cold damage and 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. On a successful save, a creature takes half as much damage and is not restrained. The souls remain for 1 minute or until Mephistopheles uses another domain power.
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Mephistopheles conjures a freezing fog that fills a 40-foot radius sphere centered on a point within 240 feet of him. The fog spreads around corners, and creatures and objects within it are heavily obscured (Mephistopheles can se through the fog). Each creature in the fog when it appears, or that ends its turn in the fog, must make a DC 24 Constitution saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The fog last for 1 hour and Mephistopheles can use a bonus action to move it up to 30 feet.
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