D&D 5E Bounded Accuracy and Asmodeus

[SkidAce]

I like bounded accuracy in 5e. Get enough peasants and soldiers and even a dragon will eventually be worn down (theoretically).

There was a thought I had while revising some of my old lore, etc...

Get enough of the other devil princes together and even though they are lower in power than Asmodeus...they can kill him.

Potentially enough fiendish foot soldiers could treat old Asmo just like the peasants/dragon.

The machinations and politics to keep this from happening must be incredible.

 

[jgsugden]

It isn't really that hard to keep the rabble in line if they fear you enough. All you have to do is keep them so scared that nobody wants to risk their neck by being the first voice of the revolution.

 

[Corwin]

I like bounded accuracy in 5e. Get enough peasants and soldiers and even a dragon will eventually be worn down (theoretically).

There was a thought I had while revising some of my old lore, etc...

Get enough of the other devil princes together and even though they are lower in power than Asmodeus...they can kill him.

Potentially enough fiendish foot soldiers could treat old Asmo just like the peasants/dragon.

The machinations and politics to keep this from happening must be incredible.

But how is this any different than any leader being susceptible to opposing forces? For example, a mortal king is still a mortal man. One of the keys to holding onto power is to be smart enough (Big A that in spades) to stay out of situations that threaten it, right? I think Big A is more than capable of such machinations. Probably more so than anyone else even.

 

[ExploderWizard]

It isn't really that hard to keep the rabble in line if they fear you enough. All you have to do is keep them scared that nobody wants to risk their neck by being the first voice of the revolution.

Pretty much this. Yeah a big enough group with enough determination can accomplish quite a bit. It is simply a matter of conviction. When the fiendish rabble come round and give their " sons of Scotland" speech, how many will flock to cause knowing that victory may be possible- with perhaps a 90% casualty rate?

 

[jaelis]

The machinations and politics to keep this from happening must be incredible.

Well, even regular human leaders have historically been able to pull this off pretty well. And devils are as a rule more law-inclined than humans, even if they are more evil too.

 

[Krachek]

Mankind history is full of long lasting tyrant that were only simple human.
A Dm should not have problem to explain why Asmodeus still rule the nine hells.

 

[SkidAce]

It wasn't a "problem".

What I found interesting was prior to bounded accuracy, big bads could not be hit* from the rabble, and somewhat had nothing to fear (in combat).

Now, what we are used to, like the examples above, is reflected in the rules.

Neat.





*more or less...

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Asmodeus may or may not be a god, so if you kill him, he might pop up a couple of weeks later.

You can't go wrong with secret police (and double extra secret police to watch the secret police).

Most lawful types want to be respectable. Being the first guy to oppose the boss is rarely respectable.

The trouble with conspiracies of powerful types is they all want to be the boss of the conspiracy. The most successful conspiracy against Asmodeus failed largely because a couple of Lords of the 9 were left out and weren't happy about it.

A secret weapon that can destroy Hell if Assy is overthrown is a good plan. Well crafted rumors of the secret weapon work almost as well as the real thing (maybe better, it is hard to destroy a weapon that doesn't exist).

 

[gyor]

Asmodesus is a God so if he loses a fight, he discorpersates, any srchdevil he kills simply dies, it's very high risk. Plus Asmodeaus plays archdevils off each other and their underlings against one another, he's always a step ahead.

And if Asmodeaus dies, the hells open up to attack the rest of the multiverse, so other deities may actually intervene to protect him if it looks like the archdevils plans put their own interests at risk.

 

[Elderbrain]

Also, Asmodeus is careful to keep the other Arch-Devils divided and at each other's throats, with alliances being only between (say) two Arch-Devils and not larger - and even then, they don't really trust each other. Asmodeus has already survived one revolt attempt, the Recconing (and yes I know SIC), in which several Arch-Devils were overthrown by him or otherwise punished.