D&D 5E 5e EPIC MONSTER UPDATES

[Ebonynightcloudstorm]

It depends on how far back you want to go with the dnd mythology
When you go back to !st ed there was no blood war, the concept of the blood war came with 2nd ed and then got revised with 3rd ed but in the original 1st ed it wasn't about the blood war and Bel was a duke in the service of Dispater commanding 3 companies of horned devils. Zariel wasn't around, just Tiamat
You should definitely check Dragon magazines 75 to 76 and issue 91 as well which goes extensively into the terrain of the nine hells and the rare precious metals and gem stones.It seems to people who came up with the blood war in the 2E weren't reading up from the Dragon magazines of 1E which gave a complete picture and filled in the gaps that weren't in the 1E monster manual and monster manual 2. The Nine Hells revisited is an excellent article, arjale and tantulhor, te two unique metals of the hells and Hellstones. The 2nd Ed people completely forgot about these Dragon articles when they did the blood war. They were only game playing a fraction of the story and downplaying everything else

 

[dave2008]

It depends on how far back you want to go with the dnd mythology
When you go back to !st ed there was no blood war, the concept of the blood war came with 2nd ed and then got revised with 3rd ed but in the original 1st ed it wasn't about the blood war and Bel was a duke in the service of Dispater commanding 3 companies of horned devils. Zariel wasn't around, just Tiamat
You should definitely check Dragon magazines 75 to 76 and issue 91 as well which goes extensively into the terrain of the nine hells and the rare precious metals and gem stones.It seems to people who came up with the blood war in the 2E weren't reading up from the Dragon magazines of 1E which gave a complete picture and filled in the gaps that weren't in the 1E monster manual and monster manual 2. The Nine Hells revisited is an excellent article, arjale and tantulhor, te two unique metals of the hells and Hellstones. The 2nd Ed people completely forgot about these Dragon articles when they did the blood war. They were only game playing a fraction of the story and downplaying everything else

I pretty much always go back to 1e, since that is the edition I grew up with. I didn't play 2e or 3e, jumped back in with 4e and continued with 5e. I tried to make these epic monsters have something from all editions, but I definitely prioritize 1e.

I don't have #75 or 76, but I do have issue 400 which reprinted those articles (with the 1e stat blocks) by Ed. So I think I am covered, but I may need to go back and pick those up. I hope to include most if not all of the Dukes when I update these to the 2nd and 3rd drafts.

 

[Ebonynightcloudstorm]

8. In issue #76, page 34, mention is
made of Alastor, the greatest pit fiend of
all, and yet he is not personally described.
What are his statistics?
Alastor was not described because he is
just that a pit fiend. None of the pit
fiends in the hierarchy (each is marked with
an asterisk in the listing given in Monster
Manual II) were described individually in
the earlier magazine article because they
would have almost doubled the overall
length of that article, with seemingly endless
repetitions of the pit fiend entry that appears
in the Monster Manual. However,
here are some facts and figures that can be
used in an adventure that involves the
greatest pit fiend of all:
Alastor the Grim (sometimes called Alastor
the Silent) is a pit fiend having maximum
hit points (13 HD, 114 hp), genius
intelligence, and the strength of a storm
giant (ability score of 24, +6 to hit, +12 on
damage). He fights with all weapons, and
usually executes beings with a great black
double-bladed +4 battleaxe (12’ long, 2- 12
+4 damage, plus Alastor’s strength bonus,
vs. opponents of all sizes) or a giant scythe
(non-magical, 9’ blade and 13’ handle,
damage 1 - 10 plus Alastor’s bonus vs. all
opponents). He never wears armor, is covered
with the gouges and twisted flesh of
gruesome, poorly healed wounds, and has
broken, tattered wings (he can fly, but only
6" per round). He is thought to be the
closest friend and confidant of Asmodeus,
and is unswervingly loyal to the present
Overlord. Alastor is grey-skinned, with
wings of a sooty black appearance. He is
otherwise a normal pit fiend (see the
Monster Manual entry
This was from Dragon magazine 91

 

[Ebonynightcloudstorm]

I thought I;d post this

 

[dave2008]

8. In issue #76, page 34, mention is
made of Alastor, the greatest pit fiend of
all, and yet he is not personally described.
What are his statistics?
Alastor was not described because he is
just that a pit fiend.

Yes, I plan to stat Alastor and the dark eight at some point. In 5e, if you max the HP it changes the CR. Along with the unique weapons, and other tidbits, I think a unique statblock is warranted.

You seem very interested in the devils, would like to help contribute to this project? Either by making some stat blocks or updating (no copying) some lore? I want to eventually add lore to all these epic monsters, but with over 150 of them, I can't do it all myself! Let me know.

 

[GrahamWaso]

When will the Arch-Fiends and Giants come out?

 

[GrahamWaso]

Is it possible that you could make stats for the General of Gehenna, Luthic and the rest of the Orc gods?

 

[GrahamWaso]

I just want to say one thing that relates to the previous post: Can you also make stats for the Star Spawn and Allabar, Opener of the way, as well?

 

[dave2008]

When will the Arch-Fiends and Giants come out?

There are already many arch-fiends (Arch-devils, Archdukes, Demon Lords, and Demon princes). Anything else will be added in the 2nd drafts (+ see post below)

 

[dave2008]

Is it possible that you could make stats for the General of Gehenna, Luthic and the rest of the Orc gods?

One of my contributors is working on the yugoloth lords. When they are finished I will edit and post them. Unfortunately, I don't know when that will be.

I hope to do the Orc gods, but it will no be until the 2nd drafts. So it will be a while. No timeline yet.