#devils
Dinosaurs Attack! © The Topps Company Inc. Image accessed on Flickr here
[Monster 1000, everyone! I think! In updating my indices, I found that that’s harder to pin down than I had thought, what with templates, multiple monsters in one entry, and non-monster but game mechanics posts. But I’ll be treating this as Monster 1000 because even if it isn’t officially, it’s darn close.
I figured I would commemorate the milestone with a monster that embodies the Codex somewhat. I’ve been thinking about how to do it for a while (since around monster 900 or so). I was eventually inspired by some of the major themes of the blog. There’s a lot of dinosaurs and a lotoffiends around here. So here’s a patron for them both. The Supreme Monstrosity originally appeared in the Dinosaurs Attack! series of super-violent trading cards (seriously, be aware if you’re going to click through the source link) as the leader of an army of time-displaced, ferociously murderous prehistoric beasts.]
Infernal Duke, Saurafer
CR 26 LE Outsider
This orange scaled horror is a bipedal reptilian humanoid taller than a giant. Its skull is swollen and features a crown of horns and six eyes. Its arms end in muscular paws, leathery wings grow from its back, and its tail ends in an immense spiked club.Saurafer
Devil Dinosaur, the Supreme Monstrosity
Concernsdinosaurs, competitions of strength, savagery
DomainsEvil, Law, Scalykind, Strength
SubdomainsDevil, Ferocity, Judgment,Saurian
Worshipersevil druids, reptilian humanoids, gladiators
Minionsfiendish and half-fiend dinosaurs, horned devils, stygionyx
Unholy Symbol a fanged maw biting a globe
Favored Weapon heavy flail (or natural weapons)
Obediencewin a competition of strength. If you are alone, spend 1 hour writing an argument about why one individual or creature would win in a fight with another one. Gain a +4 profane bonus on Intimidate checks, and add 4 to the DC needed to successfully intimidate you.
Boons1:rage1/day; 2: mass bull’s strength 1/day; 3: extended frightful aspect1/daySaurafer, the Supreme Monstrosity, is an infernal duke who rules over violent competitions of strength. He is perhaps the physical embodiment of the doctrine of “might makes right”, and seeks forever to test his power against other creatures. His chosen species are dinosaurs, which he sees as emblems of ferocity and power. Saurafer delights in pitting creatures against each other, especially dinosaurs against creatures of other eras and worlds, in order to see who is the superior. He is a sore winner, but an even sorer loser. He despises birds, as they are a reminder that in many worlds, dinosaurs succeeded not by becoming larger and stronger, but smaller and more intelligent.
As to be expected of the patron of savage combat, Saurafer is an absolute terror on the battlefield. He toys with weaker foes, using his fear abilities to send them scattering and then picking them off one by one. Those that resist are blasted with spells and breath weapons. If all else fails, Saurafer flies into a savage rage, which rarely ends until either he or his enemies are slain. Although he delights in one-on-one battles, if he fights multiple foes at once, he evens the odds by summoning devils and dinosaurs to aid him, or even uses animal shapes to turn devils into dinosaurs and improve their melee abilities.
Saurafer stalks the blighted realm of Avernus, single-handedly destroying armies that attempt to make a foothold in Hell and testing the forces of other infernal dukes. He is an example of a malabranche promoted, as he was successful in dragging an entire planet into the clutches of Hell. He hopes to someday repeat this performance, and is looking for ways of summoning and controlling enough dinosaurs at once to invade a whole world. Although he is not terribly intelligent by the standards of the hosts of Hell, he does not tolerate condescension, and is a shrewd judge of character. He has eaten at least one malebranche who did not show him proper respect.
Tell me when did you fall in love with your sins? When did the crimson red running down your arms become heaven instead of hell and when did the lies become a bed in which you laid yourself down willingly, one covered with thorns yet you only focused on the roses , a house of shadows and of curses to which you should have shut your ears off to but you sat down and listened , sang along to the chorus of despairs and laughed at the pain which drenched you like a never ending waterfall. They told me angels turn bad too and then they’re called devils but looking at you makes me think that angels never existed , it was always just the devils , disguised in a certain way , till the world breaks them enough , like an egg hatching , till the devil comes out, forgive me lord for i have sinned , after all , I’ve always been but a sinner .
D.L. Smith
We are slytherin saints, sons of venom, serpents of night.
Master of the Shadows
“And the Evil that was once vanquished shall rise anew. Wrapped in the guise of man shall he walk amongst the innocent, and terror shall consume they that dwell upon the earth. The skies shall rain fire, and the seas will become as blood. The righteous shall fall before the wicked, and all creation shall tremble before the burning standards of Hell.”
-Mephisto, “Diablo II”
Azmodan: How did you become the Lord of Lies?
Belial: Funny story. Diablo and Baal were too chicken-shit to tell Mephisto that Inarius got Lilith pregnant. They tricked me into breaking the news. After learning the hard way that Mephisto was very much a shoot-the-messenger type, I decided never to tell the truth again.