Baalzebub, Lord of the Seventh

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Kaiser_Kris

Baalzebub, Lord of the Seventh

Post by Kaiser_Kris »

Yesterday night, I brought you Proserpina, the Princess Royal of Hell and the ruler of its first circle. And now, I attempt a second Lord of Hell, this time one of the most iconic ones, Baalzebub, Lord of the Flies.
Baalzebub, Ruler of the Seventh:

Size: Large

HP: 274 (25d10+100)

Move: 30 ft. (walk), 90 ft. (fly)

AC: 26

Attacks: 2x Unholy Avenger +5 (2d8+10 dmg, double against good), or 2x Claws +3 (2d6+8 dmg)

Special: Class Abilities, Devilish Attributes, Miasmic Aura, Resistances, Summoning, Swarm of Flies

Statistics: Str: 22 (+5), Dex: 16 (+2), Con: 20 (+4), Int: 26 (+7), Wis: 24 (+6), Cha: 20 (+4)

Primes: Strength, Wisdom, Charisma

Alignment: Lawful Evil
Special Abilities:

Class Abilities: Baalzebub has all of the class abilities of a 25th level blackguard.

Devilish Attributes: Like all true devils, Baalzebub has the ability to assume the shape of a humanoid creature, disguising their infernal nature and alignments. Attempts to magically detect alignment must make a successful Wisdom check at 18 + 25 (Baalzebubs class level), or roll a natural 20. True seeing will punch through this disguise, however. Baalzebub also has the ability to speak in any language she desires, as well as to use telepathy. Whenever Baalzebub speaks, all within hearing range will hear her words in their native language, unless he specifically wills otherwise. Baalzebub possesses perfect darkvision, and sees in total darkness as if it were daylight.

Infernal Armour: At will, Baalzebub can cover himself in a chitinous armour, which raises his armour class to 32, as well as increasing his Strength to 24. It is also only in his armour that Baalzebub has the ability to fly, using giant fly wings. It also allows him to spray powerful acid at enemies in a cone thirty feet long and five feet wide, doing 5d6 immediate acid damage and continuing damage of 1d8 per round for 1d10 rounds, with no save.

Miasmic Aura: Baalzebub is a master of filth and disease, and has the ability to exude an aura of horrid contagion within thirty feet of him. All non-Infernal creatures who pass within this aura when it is active must make a Constitution save or suffer a disease which inflicts 1d4+1 immediate damage to all of their physical statistics and continues to sap all physical stats by one point per round, until it is cured or Constitution reaches zero, upon which the subject dies.

Resistances: Baalzebub can only be harmed by +4 magical weapons, or +2 weapons that are either good-aligned or made of silver. Baalzebub is also immune to fire, acid, poison, disease, fear, charm, petrifaction and death spells.

Summoning: Baalzebub is capable of summoning 1 pit fiend, 1d2 horned or ice devils, 1d4 erinyes, 1d10 bearded devils or 2d8 infernal legionnaires once per day.

Swarm of Flies: One of the most horrific elements of Baalzebubs frightening power is the vast swarm of flies which constantly attend him. These flies are each approximately a few inches long, with a swarm of them counting as a unique 4HD monster. Baalzebub controls four swarms of these, and a new swarm can replace a destroyed one every 1d6 rounds. No more than four can be present at any given time, however.
Appearance: Baalzebub without his armour has a largely humanoid appearance, eight feet tall and powerfully built, without any hair and a sickly grayish-green complexion. His most prominent feature, however, are his large, unblinking compound eyes. In most combat situations, however, Baalzebub wears his armour, which is shaped like the exoskeleton of a giant horrid insect, complete with the head of a fly and giant fly wings. Baalzebub speaks in a somewhat bizarre, metallic, unearthly tenor.
History: Baalzebub is one of the oldest of all of the devils and was once a high-ranking angel who stood and ultimately fell with Lucifer during his rebellion against Heaven. It is claimed by Baalzebub that he was, truly, the first devil- as while Satan was undeniably their lord and master, he was always just as much a vengeful fallen angel as a true devil. The intense rivalry between Baalzebub and Asmodeus for second place in the Infernal hierarchy was established before the great Infernal city was even built. Asmodeus, the consummate politician, soon established himself as Hells chancellor, while Baalzebub was forced to content himself with commanding Hells armies in their eternal war against the demonic tribes of the Abyss. While this position brought him considerable glory and great power, he was also aware that it largely kept him out of political power.

When Satan turned his attention once more to Heaven, however, Baalzebubs fortunes changed for the better. While Asmodeus was the supreme politician of Hell, Baalzebub was the greatest logistician and general that the Nine Hells had to offer, and it was he that was largely responsible for the world-shattering victories of the united fiendish armies. It is needless to say that Satans disappearance at the climax of their campaign, and the undoing of the alliance between the Hells and the Outer Abyss was both a serious blow to Baalzebubs ambition and a major opportunity for him.

Most of the archdevils had powerful grudges against Asmodeus, and it was not difficult for Baalzebub to acquire their cooperation, though most of them were only allies of convenience. Nevertheless, Baalzebubs military genius made up for much of his political shortcomings, and it was not long before he had forced Asmodeus into a position of submission. Or that is what he thought. It was at that moment that Asmodeus struck a deal with Proserpina, the daughter of Satan himself- an entity that had shut herself away centuries ago and had seemingly ceased to become a factor in Infernal politics. Simultaneously, Baalzebub and his fellow archdevils faced a massive mutiny amongst the Infernal Dukes, who steadfastly refused to attack a child of their original and greatest lord and master.

Asmodeus had triumphed, and promptly turned Baalzebub into a horrific slug-like monster, constantly oozing filth and waste. While this fate would seem horrible to any being, it was an even greater dishonour for an archdevil, all of whom prided themselves on their majesty and elevation far above the poor tortured souls which the devils hoarded amongst themselves. For centuries, Baalzebub remained in that wretched form, becoming known derisively as the Lord of Flies. But somewhere in that humiliation, Baalzebub seemed to find a new strength and power. It is believed, though not known that Baalzebub sought out the mysterious Shaper, an archdevil with no particular loyalty to any one master, to improve his form. It was the Shaper who made his derisive nickname into a totem of fear.

Regaining his humanoid form and possessed of a powerful magical armour, Baalzebub made his power known by violently purging his court of spies, and instituting a terrifyingly totalitarian power in his own circle. Permitting, for the moment, one fairly unimportant spy for Asmodeus to survive (and feeding that devil false information), Baalzebub now plots once again, hoping to retake the Nine Hells which he sees as his fiefdom. And once he does that, he wishes to storm the Gates of Heaven once more
Combat: Baalzebub enjoys flying into the thick of combat, activating his armour and using his unholy avenger to terrifying effect, with his Miasmic Aura constantly active. He uses his swarms of flies as advance scouts, but also to harass and weaken enemies. Baalzebub will typically choose the most powerful foe (if good-aligned) and use smite good upon them until they are slain. If the battle is more difficult than originally predicted, he will withdraw somewhat, summoning allies and redoubling his efforts. If the battle goes truly badly for him, he will withdraw, using a ring of recall on his person to reach safe harbour.
Baalzebubs Swarm:

Size: Medium (as swarm)

HP: 34 (4d8)

Move: 50 feet

AC: 20

Attack: 3d6

Special: Disrupt Spellcasting, Healing, Immunities, True Seeing

Prime: Dexterity

Alignment: Neutral
Special:

Disrupt Spellcasting: A swarm of these insects can stay in place around a spellcaster, raising the spellcasters chance of spell failure to 50%.

Healing: If the swarm has managed to inflict over 50 damage, it can return to Baalzebub, and heal him to that extent.

Immunities: Baalzebubs swarm cannot be targeted with regular weapons, but must be destroyed by AoE attacks of some sort.

Remote Viewing: When Baalzebubs armour is active, he can use his swarms as a scouting device by seeing through their eyes directly. This leaves him somewhat vulnerable, though, so he only does it in a position of security.

True Seeing: Baalzebubs swarms have constant true seeing active.

Inspiration: Needless to say, the traditional DnD image was a huge inspiration here. But also, whenever I think of this guy speaking, I hear Frank Welker's voice as Megatron. I also really wanted to play up the 'fly' aspect but in a more frightening way than is sometimes done. In Hexen 2, you have to fight one of the Horsemen, Famine, who controls swarms of flies and I thought that was perfect for him.

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GameOgre
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Post by GameOgre »

The stop stressing and start living add that is flashing at the bottom of the screen under your post with the old man showing off his nipples as he uses his shirt as a cape while running around on the beach seems to add a extra level of terror to your post.

Baalzebub, Ruler of the Seventh has never looked so damn scary.
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Kaiser_Kris

Post by Kaiser_Kris »

GameOgre wrote:
The stop stressing and start living add that is flashing at the bottom of the screen under your post with the old man showing off his nipples as he uses his shirt as a cape while running around on the beach seems to add a extra level of terror to your post.

Baalzebub, Ruler of the Seventh has never looked so damn scary.

That ad sounds absolutely terrifying ...

Good! He should. I'm heartily tired of 'Beelzebub', which sounds all cute and harmless. A Lord of Hell should be an intimidating fellow, and I saw the old MM art and decided to run with it.

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