Converting the Dukes of Hell

[BOZ]

I think tongues (and possibly detect thoughts) should be always active as a Su ability.

I think Fortress and flaming blade should be separate Su abilities.

At will—bestow curse, detect thoughts (if not always active), dispel magic, produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, remove curse, see invisibility;
1/day—symbol of pain.

All have archdevils have...
At will—dispel magic/greater dispel magic, greater teleport;

He's got dispel magic covered, needs greater teleport.

Most have:
At will—charm monster, major image, see invisibility/true seeing, suggestion, wall of fire;

He's definitiely a charmer, has see invisibility, and should have suggestion.

Many have:
At will—fireball, wall of fire;
Unholy aura (3/day or 1/day)

I could see any of these, but wall of fire seems least likely.

Others used more than once: dominate person, dominate monster, fire storm, geas/quest, hellfire storm, hold monster, locate creature, locate object, meteor swarm, polymorph, scrying/greater scrying, unholy blight

Dominates and geas/quest seem highly appropriate for him.

With all o' this, I would suggest the following SLA's:

At will - bestow curse, charm monster, detect thoughts (if not always active), dispel magic, fireball, greater teleport, produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, remove curse, see invisibility, suggestion, weapon of energy (fire only)
1/day - symbol of pain, unholy aura

Note that Weapon of Energy appears in the Spell Compendium

OK, so we start with these at minimum, working from Dragon #75 plus greater teleport:
Spell-Like Abilities: (Caster level 20th?)
At will - bestow curse (DC X), detect thoughts (DC X), dispel magic, greater teleport. produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, remove curse, see invisibility, tongues:
(charm monster (DC 27), discern lies, dispel magic, faerie fire, fire shield (either version), greater teleport, locate object, produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, see invisibility, suggestion (DC 26), telekinesis (DC 28)
1/day - symbol of pain (DC X).
(dominate monster (DC 32), symbol of stunning (DC 30).)


I’ll agree on charm monster and suggestion at will, and also dominate person and unholy aura 1/day. How about locate creature?

fortress (this creates a structure similar to Daern’s Instant Fortress - see the DMG - in all respects, save that its door will open and close for anyone, and it will disappear in 16 turns or when Malphas wills)

flame arrow (Malphas can also apply this to blades wielded by himself or others; these become flame tongue swords - fiery damage, but no “to hit” bonuses - for 3 rounds)

I absolutely agree with Shade that these need to be separate Su abilities.

 

[Gothenem]

Well, if we are going to make the flaming ability Su instead of Sp, then it should read something like:

Flaming Weapons (Su): As a standard action, Malphas can make any weapon he wields a flaming burst weapon. This effect lasts for three rounds.

Caster level 20th seems fine.

The Fortress ability, well ...

Instant Fortress

This metal cube is small, but when activated by speaking a command word it grows to form a tower 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens only at the command of the owner of the fortress—even knock spells can’t open the door.

The adamantine walls of instant fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20. The fortress cannot be repaired except by a wish or a miracle, which restores 50 points of damage taken.

The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing the device’s owner. The door opens and closes instantly at his command. People and creatures nearby (except the owner) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC 19 half).

The fortress is deactivated by speaking a command word (different from the one used to activate it). It cannot be deactivated unless it is empty.

Strong conjuration; CL 13th; Craft Wondrous Item, mage’s magnificent mansion; Price 55,000 gp.

Thus

Infernal Fortress (Su): Malphas can create a hellish tower 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens to anyone.
The adamantine walls of the infernal fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20.
The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing Malphas. People and creatures nearby (except Malphas) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC X half).
The infernal fortress lasts for 16 minutes, or until Malphas wills the fortress to go (a standard action).

 

[Shade]

so just claw/claw/bite in raven form?

yeah, his SLAs and fear touch should work fine in either form, as would summoning i'd imagine. unlike Amduscias, i don't see any abilities (besides attacks) that wouldn't work equally well in both forms.

That sounds about right.

so, with an Int of 24, he gets 420 skill ranks, maaaan...

OK, so how about Appraise, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disguise, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (at least two), Listen, Move Silently, Search, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, and Tumble?

I'd go with Knowledge (the planes) and Knowledge (religion), since he works for Tiamat. The others look good.

OK, so we start with these at minimum, working from Dragon #75 plus greater teleport:
Spell-Like Abilities: (Caster level 20th?)
At will - bestow curse (DC X), detect thoughts (DC X), dispel magic, greater teleport. produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, remove curse, see invisibility, tongues:
(charm monster (DC 27), discern lies, dispel magic, faerie fire, fire shield (either version), greater teleport, locate object, produce flame, pyrotechnics, read magic, see invisibility, suggestion (DC 26), telekinesis (DC 28)
1/day - symbol of pain (DC X).
(dominate monster (DC 32), symbol of stunning (DC 30).)

I’ll agree on charm monster and suggestion at will, and also dominate person and unholy aura 1/day. How about locate creature?

I'm fine with or without locate creature. I agree with the rest.

I absolutely agree with Shade that these need to be separate Su abilities.

Well, if we are going to make the flaming ability Su instead of Sp, then it should read something like:

Flaming Weapons (Su): As a standard action, Malphas can make any weapon he wields a flaming burst weapon. This effect lasts for three rounds.

Looks good. Do we want to add that if separated from Malphas, the weapons lose their flaming burst quality?

The Fortress ability, well ...

Infernal Fortress (Su): Malphas can create a hellish tower 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens to anyone.

The adamantine walls of the infernal fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20.

The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing Malphas. People and creatures nearby (except Malphas) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC X half).

The infernal fortress lasts for 16 minutes, or until Malphas wills the fortress to go (a standard action).

I'd make the save DC Charisma-based.

 

[Gothenem]

Yeah, you can add the "if seperated" clause for Flaming weapon.

Charisma for the Infernal fortress seems ok to me.

For flavour, do we want to change the makeup of the tower to Baatorian Greensteel instead of Adamantine (keep hardness and hp the same).

 

[Shade]

For flavour, do we want to change the makeup of the tower to Baatorian Greensteel instead of Adamantine (keep hardness and hp the same).

I like this. Alot.

 

[BOZ]

Hey all! I’m back. Had a lot of RL stuff to deal with, most of which is over now.

fortress (this creates a structure similar to Daern’s Instant Fortress - see the DMG - in all respects, save that its door will open and close for anyone, and it will disappear in 16 turns or when Malphas wills)

Instant Fortress

This metal cube is small, but when activated by speaking a command word it grows to form a tower 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens only at the command of the owner of the fortress—even knock spells can’t open the door.

The adamantine walls of instant fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20. The fortress cannot be repaired except by a wish or a miracle, which restores 50 points of damage taken.

The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing the device’s owner. The door opens and closes instantly at his command. People and creatures nearby (except the owner) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC 19 half).

The fortress is deactivated by speaking a command word (different from the one used to activate it). It cannot be deactivated unless it is empty.

Thus

Infernal Fortress (Su): Malphas can create a hellish tower 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens to anyone.
The adamantine walls of the infernal fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20.
The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing Malphas. People and creatures nearby (except Malphas) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC X half).
The infernal fortress lasts for 16 minutes, or until Malphas wills the fortress to go (a standard action).

Charisma for the Infernal fortress seems ok to me.

For flavour, do we want to change the makeup of the tower to Baatorian Greensteel instead of Adamantine (keep hardness and hp the same).

Sure, that sounds like a good innovation. modifying Gothenem’s ability somewhat. Note that I don’t particularly like the “16 minute” duration, despite the fact that it matches the original text. make it 10 or 20 minutes and that feels better. Or even longer.

Infernal Fortress (Su): Malphas can cause a hellish tower of Baatorian green steel to come into being as a standard action. This tower is 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens for anyone.

The walls of the infernal fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20.

The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing Malphas. People and creatures nearby (except Malphas) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC 34 half). The save DC is Charisma-based.

The infernal fortress lasts for (16 minutes), or until Malphas dismisses the fortress as a standard action. Any beings inside the fortress when it disappears are expelled harmlessly.

flame arrow (Malphas can also apply this to blades wielded by himself or others; these become flame tongue swords - fiery damage, but no “to hit” bonuses - for 3 rounds)

Well, if we are going to make the flaming ability Su instead of Sp, then it should read something like:

Flaming Weapons (Su): As a standard action, Malphas can make any weapon he wields a flaming burst weapon. This effect lasts for three rounds.

Caster level 20th seems fine.

First of all, I think the question is, which should we go with, the flaming burst property…

Flaming Burst
A flaming burst weapon functions as a flaming weapon that also explodes with flame upon striking a successful critical hit. The fire does not harm the wielder. In addition to the extra fire damage from the flaming ability (see above), a flaming burst weapon deals an extra 1d10 points of fire damage on a successful critical hit. If the weapon’s critical multiplier is ×3, add an extra 2d10 points of fire damage instead, and if the multiplier is ×4, add an extra 3d10 points of fire damage. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the fire energy upon their ammunition.

Even if the flaming ability is not active, the weapon still deals its extra fire damage on a successful critical hit.

…or, more like the original description, flame arrow for projectiles and flame tongue for melee weapons?

Flame Arrow
Transmutation [Fire]
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: Fifty projectiles, all of which must be in contact with each other at the time of casting
Duration: 10 min./level
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You turn ammunition (such as arrows, bolts, shuriken, and stones) into fiery projectiles. Each piece of ammunition deals an extra 1d6 points of fire damage to any target it hits. A flaming projectile can easily ignite a flammable object or structure, but it won’t ignite a creature it strikes.

Flame Tongue
This is a +1 flaming burst longsword. Once per day, the sword can blast forth a fiery ray at any target within 30 feet as a ranged touch attack. The ray deals 4d6 points of fire damage on a successful hit.

Looks good. Do we want to add that if separated from Malphas, the weapons lose their flaming burst quality?

Oh, absolutely.

 

[Shade]

Hey all! I’m back. Had a lot of RL stuff to deal with, most of which is over now.

Got your taxes done, eh?

Sure, that sounds like a good innovation. modifying Gothenem’s ability somewhat. Note that I don’t particularly like the “16 minute” duration, despite the fact that it matches the original text. make it 10 or 20 minutes and that feels better. Or even longer.

Infernal Fortress (Su): Malphas can cause a hellish tower of Baatorian green steel to come into being as a standard action. This tower is 20 feet square and 30 feet high, with arrow slits on all sides and a crenellated battlement atop it. The metal walls extend 10 feet into the ground, rooting it to the spot and preventing it from being tipped over. The fortress has a small door that opens for anyone.

The walls of the infernal fortress have 100 hit points and hardness 20.

The fortress springs up in just 1 round, with the door facing Malphas. People and creatures nearby (except Malphas) must be careful not to be caught by the fortress’s sudden growth. Anyone so caught takes 10d10 points of damage (Reflex DC 34 half). The save DC is Charisma-based.

The infernal fortress lasts for (16 minutes), or until Malphas dismisses the fortress as a standard action. Any beings inside the fortress when it disappears are expelled harmlessly.

Rounding up to 20 minutes sounds fine, or you could simplify it even further to 1 hour.

First of all, I think the question is, which should we go with, the flaming burst property…

…or, more like the original description, flame arrow for projectiles and flame tongue for melee weapons?

I vote for flaming burst for simplicity.

 

[Kain Darkwind]

I think it is double tapping if you go with both a 3 round duration AND a separation ends the effect clause. I agree that flaming burst enchantment for simplicity works best...does he affect ammunition or the ranged weapon itself? And can he throw a weapon affected by this power?


I would say that it should be a swift action for Malphas to activate, and it lasts until the weapon is separated from him. Using the power on a ranged weapon simply bestows the effect onto the ammunition as normal. Malphas can't use the power on a thrown weapon or a piece of ammunition because as it leaves his hand, it loses the enchantment.

As a creature whose CR should be 20 or higher, it would be suicide or impractical if he was forced to waste an entire standard action activating the ability for such a low damage increase. One might consider him bestowing the epic flaming blast enchantment instead. If it is an internal power, one doesn't need to worry about the PCs getting their hands on +6 weapons too soon, either. But +3d6 fire damage, multiplied on a critical hit is actually worth Malphas spending an action to use (although I still think standard is too high unless the duration is indefinite). An increase of 1d6 fire damage per round is not.

 

[Shade]

I think it is double tapping if you go with both a 3 round duration AND a separation ends the effect clause. I agree that flaming burst enchantment for simplicity works best...does he affect ammunition or the ranged weapon itself? And can he throw a weapon affected by this power?

Three rounds does seem awfully short for an epic being. I'd go with affecting the ranged weapon itself, as it never leaves his hands.

I would say that it should be a swift action for Malphas to activate, and it lasts until the weapon is separated from him. Using the power on a ranged weapon simply bestows the effect onto the ammunition as normal. Malphas can't use the power on a thrown weapon or a piece of ammunition because as it leaves his hand, it loses the enchantment.

Yeah, like that.

Swift action is a good suggestion.

As a creature whose CR should be 20 or higher, it would be suicide or impractical if he was forced to waste an entire standard action activating the ability for such a low damage increase. One might consider him bestowing the epic flaming blast enchantment instead. If it is an internal power, one doesn't need to worry about the PCs getting their hands on +6 weapons too soon, either. But +3d6 fire damage, multiplied on a critical hit is actually worth Malphas spending an action to use (although I still think standard is too high unless the duration is indefinite). An increase of 1d6 fire damage per round is not.

Not a bad idea, either. We should look at his total damage output compared to his peers, and see how that relates.

 

[BOZ]

Got your taxes done, eh?

i wish that was all i had to do!

Rounding up to 20 minutes sounds fine, or you could simplify it even further to 1 hour.

1 hour sounds fine. since we're going with a different material, do we want to change the hardness and hit points?

I vote for flaming burst for simplicity.

I think it is double tapping if you go with both a 3 round duration AND a separation ends the effect clause. I agree that flaming burst enchantment for simplicity works best...does he affect ammunition or the ranged weapon itself? And can he throw a weapon affected by this power?

Three rounds does seem awfully short for an epic being. I'd go with affecting the ranged weapon itself, as it never leaves his hands.

Hmm, something we’re missing from the original description: “Malphas can also apply this to blades wielded by himself or others”. Thus, maybe it’s good to just stick with a duration and leave out the ending on separation aspect.

I would say that it should be a swift action for Malphas to activate, and it lasts until the weapon is separated from him. Using the power on a ranged weapon simply bestows the effect onto the ammunition as normal. Malphas can't use the power on a thrown weapon or a piece of ammunition because as it leaves his hand, it loses the enchantment.

Yeah, like that.

Swift action is a good suggestion.

I agree on the swift action, absolutely.

As a creature whose CR should be 20 or higher, it would be suicide or impractical if he was forced to waste an entire standard action activating the ability for such a low damage increase. One might consider him bestowing the epic flaming blast enchantment instead. If it is an internal power, one doesn't need to worry about the PCs getting their hands on +6 weapons too soon, either. But +3d6 fire damage, multiplied on a critical hit is actually worth Malphas spending an action to use (although I still think standard is too high unless the duration is indefinite). An increase of 1d6 fire damage per round is not.

Not a bad idea, either. We should look at his total damage output compared to his peers, and see how that relates.

We could give him the epic version as a standard action, or the regular on a swift action; either sounds fine to me. Regular flaming burst on a swift action sounds a bit accessible though.

As a start:

Flaming Weapons (Su): As a swift action, Malphas can bestow the flaming burst quality on any weapon he touches. This effect lasts for (three rounds).

Since the flaming burst property already states that the effect is imbued on ammunition, we can keep it simple like that.