Category: Fiend

“Arise my kin, arise and make merry! Let this malaise fill and fuel you! May you revel in their death, their suffering, the carnage! MAY YOU NEVER GO HUNGRY AGAIN! “

– Aklimnok, Fragment of the Abyss

Fiends are a bit tricky within the D&D mythos as there are three predominant types of Fiends: Demons which come from The Abyss, Devils hailing from The 9 Hells, and Yugoloths which are their own separate can of worms. All you need to know is each one represents a flavor of evil:

• Demons – Chaotic Evil – Demons don’t care about any pleading, bargain, or deal they might have promised. They’re savage, cruel, deceitful, and exist to sow chaos and destruction wherever they tread. Most Demonic worshiping cults in D&D simply are either crazy, descendants or related to Demons in some form or fashion, or bitter and spiteful enough that they don’t care if they die or the whole world is destroyed, they just want everyone else to suffer.
• Devils – Lawful Evil – Devils are evil… but with loopholes. While a Demon might lie to you about not killing you… and then kill you, a devil will barter and strike a deal, not a good deal but a deal nonetheless. Typically what a Devil wants is your soul and in exchange for it until you die you are granted something: powerful magical affinities, wealth beyond measure, a harem of beautiful men/women, or that one comic that went out of date 70 years ago and there’s only two left in existence.
• Yugoloths – Neutral Evil – Yugoloths fill a weird spot in the fiendish hierarchy and more often than not act as mercenaries for other fiends. They don’t really have much of a plane to call home like the other two and all in all, are a bit lack luster comparatively. Because they fill the Neutral slot in-between Demons and Devils, they aren’t as interesting from a story perspective. they aren’t as crazed or aggressive as Demons, but they’re not the pinnacle of sinister schemers like the Devils are.

Abyss Mages: The Overview

So as a Demon, Abyss Mages hail from the Abyss. Who would’ve guessed? In all seriousness, these guys went through a bit of an overhaul lore wise before ending up here. Initially, I wanted them to be similar to Absolution: a general for their respective forces, but I had them as commanders for both Demons and Devils alike which felt somewhat weak and weird? Why would something so closely tied to The Abyss, a place spilling out into The 9 Hells leading to Demons and Evils fighting constantly, not only serve Devils but be allowed to serve them? Additionally, their abilities were rather lackluster for aiding anything on the combat field aside from just obliterating their opponents. So, I went and changed a lot of their stats and abilities around to better mold them to something that both strictly fills the Demonic idea as well as give them abilities to help aid their fellow demonic kin.

Stats and Abilities

Unlike the last general/leader statblock we made with Absolution, Abyss Mages are much more focused on assisting from the backlines then being up in the fray. Bolstering high INT, WIS, and CHA with lackluster STR, DEX, and CON for a CR 10, Abyss Mages have no issue taking a star hit from a spell, but the second there’s a Barbarian, Fighter, or Rogue in their face, it’s time to panic.

What makes Abyss Mages dangerous is their self sustain being hard to permanently kill. Even worse, they know this. So while its not ideal for an Abyss Mage to be stuck locking blows with a Fighter, so long as there’s no Radiant damage being flung around and it’s not at a risk of being struck with a critical hit, the Abyss Mage continues supporting it’s allies how it can, though that is frequently “Get over here and help me!”

• Stats and Skills: With proficiency in only INT, WIS, and CHA saving throws, this really forces the Abyss Mage to lean into a backliner role and support from a distance rather than be in the fray. On top of having these high mental scores, Abyss Mages also pack Magic Resistance, making that much more difficult to challenge in spell-to-spell combat. Minor typo, the Skills section in the statblock should not be there as the Abyss Mage has no proficient skills.
• Resistances, Immunities, and Senses: Being resistant to all nonmagical weapons allows the Abyss Mage to be an adequate threat to those unprepared, enforcing the idea that this is a monster that prefers to prey on the weak rather than those that stand a fighting chance. Being outright immune to Necrotic damage and resistant to Poison damage comes from the fact that this is a fragment of The Abyss manifested into flesh. The Abyss is a place fueled by plagues, destruction, and death so it makes sense that Abyss Mages would naturally be able to handle those elements. Like a surprising majority of the creatures posted so far, the Abyss Mage hovers through the air as its only form of movement and thus cannot be knocked Prone nor can it be Charmed or Frightened. Another slight edit that needs to be made is granting the Abyss Mage immunity to being Poisoned as with most creatures that are resistant to Poison damage they end up being immune to the Poisoned condition. Reliant on Darkvision, the Abyss mage prefers to attack in the dead of night, playing more into it favoring unfavorable matchups for its opponents.

Passive Abilities and Actions:

This is the main function on how Abyss Mages can keep themselves alive despite their moderate AC and HP pool. This becomes a lot better as more features are revealed as it effects anything that deals Necrotic damage from the Abyss Mage’s aresenal.

Staple for any monster at CR 10 or higher. I have already mentioned in depth its utility so no notes.

Even if Anti-Life Siphon ends up falling short and the Abyss Mage falls in combat, it’s not over yet (unless it died at the hand of a critical hit or radiant damage). Being a fragment of a plane of existence, especially one as infectious as The Abyss allows Abyss Mages to fester and regrow after death. So if you’re hunting one, come prepared.

Cantrips (at will): eldritch blast, mage hand, minor illusion, toll the dead
1st level (4 slots): armor of agathys, arms of hadar, bane, hex
2nd level (3 slots): hold person, invisiblity, misty step
3rd level (3 slots): antagonize, dispel magic, hunger of hadar
4th level (3 slots): blight, shadow of moil
5th level (2 slots): negative energy flood

Another full caster just like Absolution, so lets rapid fire this off and try and make this quickish:

Cantrips:
– Eldritch Blast – The Abyss Mage’s main form of attack as it lacks an actual attack Action. Just barely misses the 3rd beam that comes from being a level 11 caster.
– Mage Hand – A strictly very niche utility. I can think of exactly one instance where this could be useful in combat, and even then I could be misremembering how effect the spell is.
– Minor Illusion – This is a very ‘meh’ option as while it might want to lure others away from their allies, more often than not an Abyss Mage is going to be accompanied by other Demons who aren’t going to sit around and wait.
– Toll the Dead – A counterbalance so the Abyss Mage doesn’t strictly need to rely on an attack roll to hit a target consistently, thus hitting allowing them to be able to hit a high AC Fighter (who might have dropped WIS slightly. Still won’t help against a Paladin thought…)

1st Level:
– Armor of Agathys – This is not a spell the Abyss Mage would use a 1st level slot for. Instead, it would likely use it’s 5th level slot to jump both the temporary hit points granted and the damage dealt by the spell from 5 to 25. Now granted, this doesn’t play well with the Abyss Mage’s Corrupting Land as Temporary Hit Points don’t stack, so it has to choose one or the other. I imagine this would either be the opening spell cast or one where the Abyss Mage is trying to retreat and needs a little more oomph to its hit points.
– Arms of Hadar – A good “get off me tool” as it forces everything within 10ft. of the Abyss Mage to make a STR save, dealing a little damage and preventing creatures who failed from taking Reactions (attacks of opportunity. Not great, but decent.
– Bane – A great support spell that can severely hinder up to three separate creatures at once. Only down side is that it’s a concentration spell which the Abyss Mage has a large amount of.
– Hex – Interchangeable with Bane as instead of three creatures, it targets one and forces disadvantage on all Ability Checks using one stat of the Abyss Mage’s choice and it also deals 1d6 necrotic damage every time the Abyss Mage hits it (free hit points!) so long as it maintains concentration.

2nd Level:
– Hold Person – This is one of the most dangerous spells for its level. Being able to force the Paralyzed condition on a failed save for a full minute could spell death for a Player Character. Great utility and support. Sadly, another concentration spell.
– Invisibility – I’ve mentioned this one in a prior monster entry, but this is the trump card if the Abyss mage is actively retreating. Abyss Mages are smart and while hungry for destruction, know to turn tail if a competent paladin or cleric is on the field.
– Misty Step – Another great option to create space and try and escape. Also useful if the Abyss Mage simply wants to reposition. Regardless of how many times it attempts Hold Person or uses Misty Step, it will always save one 2nd level slot for Invisibility.

3rd Level:

– Antagonize – A good spell to force your foes to attack each other. An instant effect and does a moderate amount of damage and even if the target fails the save but can’t attack another creature as the spell dictates, it instead suffers disadvantage on it’s next attack roll.
– Dispel Magic – A great utility spell that allows Abyss Mages to remove beneficial buffs to the players. Not as effective as a shut down as Counterspell is, so it’s more so used to stop lingering effects rather than big damage spells.
– Hunger of Hadar – This is one of the Abyss Mage’s nuclear options. A concentration spell that covers a good 20ft. radius that deals turnly damage both at the start (or when first entered) and when ending a turn in the area for a total of 4d6 acid/cold damage. On top of that, everything inside is Blinded, so even creatures with Devil’s Sight that pierces magical darkness aren’t immune. This is one of the best spells for the Abyss Mage to have.

4th Level:
– Blight – The Abyss Mage’s other big damage option, dealing a whopping 8d8 necrotic damage on a failed CON save (that’s a whole lot of healing). Not the greatest save option as most players have an adequate CON score as a minimum, but still taking half damage of 8d8 on a successful save is rough.
– Shadow of Moil – Another retaliatory defensive option for the Abyss Mage, granting resistance to Radiant damage and dealing 2d8 necrotic damage to anything that hits it with a melee attack. Another concentration spell however, so it has to pick and choose when it’s worth using this. Best option is likely when the Abyss Mage feels threatened by a Paladin/Cleric and needs to offset any Smites or the like.

5th Level:
– Sickening Radiance – Another nuclear option that honestly feels less thematic than Hunger of Hadar or Blight. now that’s not to say it’s bad, but it just doesn’t quite feel right. A concentration spell creating a lingering 30ft. area that not only deals lingering Radiant damage, but also causes levels of exhaustion on failed saves and prevents creatures in the AoE from benefitting from being invisible. Again, this just feels… off?

The target can make a DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check at the end of each of its turns, breaking free on a success. The Abyss Mage can only have one creature restrained in this way at time.

With this feature, while it doesn’t paralyze like Hold Person, it is an adequate replacement. Now, a fun yet cruel combo is to use this on the same target after a successful Hold Person spell as the Paralyzed condition forces auto failures for any DEX or STR check/save, meaning the Abyss Mage can freely use this and start getting some hit points back. Looking back, I’m not sure why there is a lingering silencing effect on this. That should be removed and I have no idea why I put that there to begin with.

While a Demon has these temporary hit points, it can make one additional attack on its turn as part of its attack action. Non-Demonic creatures must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw whenever the first start their turn or first enter the area. On a failed save, the creature takes 7 (3d4) necrotic damage and on its next turn choose whether it gets to move, an action, or a bonus action; it gets only one of the three. The area remains desecrated for 1 hour.

The ultimate feature of an Abyss Mage, being able to channel The Abyss out into the surrounding area, providing a literal home-field advantage for any Demons in the vicinity. Now, funnily enough aside from the constant refresh of Temporary Hit Points the Abyss Mage doesn’t gain a whole lot from this as it only corrupts the ground and like Aurelionite with Tremorsense in the last post, Abyss Mages hover and scarcely will be anywhere close to the ground. Additionally, this effect specifies “[demons] can make one additional attack as part of its attack action.” and the Abyss Mage has no actual attack actions, only Shadow Bind. So this is strictly to support any demons that are partying with the Abyss Mage, and as such 9/10 this is the opening move an Abyss Mage will play.

Revisions:

Like I mentioned in the beginning of the post, this already was heavily revised before I began work on the post and even still, there’s bits here and there I think still need to be touched up:
– Giving the Abyss Mage immunity to the Poisoned condition.
– Changing it’s Spellcasting feature to Innate Spellcasting so it’s spells feel more impactful and so there won’t be any spells out of place like Sickening Radiance.
– Removing the silencing effect from Shadow Bind. Seriously, what was i thinking two years ago?
Even with all these tweaks, I’m much happier with how this is vs. what it was and I loom forward to seeing y’all next week when we start with the literal giants of D&D; The Giants!