BOZ said:
like Shade says, we can mine it for ideas, but i wouldn't otherwise go to far into the novel hoping for canon. still and all though, Greenwood did invent the "rabble" so... we'll see i guess.
Re: Nergal via Elminster in Hell
Ok. I read through the book several times and this seems to be all of the direct passages that involve him. To summarize my thoughts:
32-33 HD. Wisdom as his lowest mental score. (Suggestion: 39 Str, 17 Dex, 30 Con, 28 Int, 19 Wis, 27 Cha) 8 tentacle primary attacks dealing 1d10 damage. 2 claws dealing 2d8 damage. 1 bite dealing 3d6 damage. Barbed body, constrict, disease and rock throwing for special attacks. Reach 10 feet normal, 15-20 feet with tentacles. Spell-like Abilities: Always active –
true seeing; at will –
baleful polymorph, delayed blast fireball, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, hellfire storm, regenerate, scry, shapechange, silence 3/day –
destruction, mindrape* 1/day –
contingency, dimensional anchor Caster level 25th.
*BoVD
This is all in addition to whatever the Dragon magazine has to say about him and his capabilities or where it overrides.
Here is a more detailed explanation of how I justified what. Keep in mind that the gentle talons, spines, chain and collar, doomblade and brightbolt spell are not accounted for above…I have no idea what would get me those effects.
”EiH p 21” said:
Dispater is no greater than I, nor Baalzebul
”EiH p. 24” said:
There are dozens of us outcasts, eight among us with power to challenge, say, Mammon, if the battle were between two, alone, without armies to call on.
While the first statement sounds clearly boastful (directly prior he says he is more powerful than Tiamat), the second seems less so and more informative. I strongly suggest we place Nergal’s HD around that of the second lowest of the Lords of the Nine (ignoring Bel). (Are we assuming the BoVD stats are the ‘true’ stats for the Lords or at least a close approximation?) The non-Bel Lords have from 33-38 HD. I say the ‘rabble’ has between 29 and 33 HD, with Nergal at the top.
This is also keeping in Mr. Greenwood’s original intent for this ‘rabble of devilkin’. They are throneless archdevils, merely waiting the proper opportunity to be elevated to the status of one of the Nine. They are to be for the most part, on par with Lords and above Dukes.
”EiH p. 71 said:
{Nergal has} …shown himself to be a brute with wits scarce swifter than a cunning spellsword
I believe this reflects a less than stellar Wisdom score for Nergal. Of his mental stats, it should probably be the lowest.
Mr. Greenwood describes Nergal frequently as using tentacles (which are located around his jaws as a sort of beard) that slash, pierce and bludgeon/slap. I think this quality might properly be included. They also are described as constricting, so I think that should be a special attack of his. Page 20 describes an attack routine against Elminster using them, page 235 describes the same against a spinagon. Plenty of other times he uses these as well, enough that I think they should be his primary attack routine. The picture of Nergal (found at the beginning of each chapter) shows about eight tentacles. If we include 8 tentacles as a full attack routine, plus his secondary weapons of bite and 2 claws, that gives him eleven attacks in a full round. While that is not really bad for an epic creature like him, we might want to ‘tone down’ the tentacle attack to perhaps 1d8 or 1d10, rather than increase it. (The 3.5 pit fiend has seriously damaging natural weapons for a creature of its size, better than anything it wields.) While I’m normally encouraged to use that as a stepping up point for archdevils and dukes, in this case I think it might overwhelm the CR.
Which brings us to secondary attacks. Page 72 gives us 2 massive claw attacks. Page 158 gives us a bite attack. I’d suggest making these deal the same damage that a pit fiend does, no more.
Page 24, 71-72 all describe vicious barbs emerging from his body. I suggest we give him the quality of a hamatula, advanced a few damage dice for size.
Page 255-256 describes Nergal flinging boulders, enough to crush and bury Halaster Blackcloak. It is described as “a cloud of stones” and Nergal is said to be ‘clutching four more boulders in his tentacles’.
Page 256 describes him growing scorpion stinger tails during battle to match his many tentacles. This is perhaps a spell-like ability, but it could be simply a function of some alter form ability.
p. 256. “The ground under Halaster thrust up in huge fangs of dark, smoking devil bone, much as the mad wizard had first attacked Nergal. Like that attack, those fangs transfixed their target. This could be just a long reach for his tentacles, because Halaster is impaled on them directly afterwards. It could also be a spell that allows one’s hands to burrow through the ground to come up and spear others. I’m not sure.
p. 363. After being defeated the first time by Nergal, Halaster suffered a disease or curse that ripped through his body, changing him partially into a devil, talons, spines and wings bursting through his skin only to fade away as more replaced them. Devil chills from his tentacles?
Contagion? If what I mention before is simply his tentacles striking, this could just be like a pit fiend’s disease attack, tied to the tentacles. It could also be a more severe and less permanent form of warp touch, in the BoVD.
Spell-like abilities
Dispel/greater dispel magic/disjunction p. 17. (Dispels Elminster’s polymorph/shapechange spell that he saw right through, so I’d suggest greater at will or a 1/day disjunction..1d20+10 will never dispel a DC 40, 1d20 + 20 only dispels on a natural 20)
silence p. 21. “’Be still.’ Elminster suddenly found himself silent, though his throat still rippled in midshriek…”
cure critical wounds/heal/regenerate p. 24 “The archdevil…staunched the welling choking blood in his mouth.” And Nergal states “I can tear out your every organ… and restore you with my magic. This is Hell, and here archdevils can do anything!” p. 254 “Nergal let healing fire wash briefly over the shuddering human in his hands[/i]
scry? p. 25 “with my time and magic, I watch your magic-rich Toril”
regenerate p. 26 “darting tentacles touched…sending smaller spells through [Elminster] until the naked exhausted man could stand once more.” (Elminster had been torn apart by Nergal previously.)
destruction p. 130 “cloaked in a shield of Hell-magic as blast after wet, spattering blast heralded Nergal’s triumph over the hapless (pit) fiend. Spells upon spells resounded, enough to shatter even the rock upon which they’d been standing and leave ashes of the mighty devil.”
shapechange/polymorph p 236. “He’d best take the shape of one of the pit fiends he’d slain. So good-bye tentacles and fair greeting to great arching wings and a bulk as large as four Nergals” (He shapechanged into a Huge sized pit fiend)
polymorph any object/baleful polymorph p. 254. “He bent his will and watched his magic turn the scrawny man slowly into a creature of Hell: a nupperibo.
contingency p 395. Teleported away as Elminster unleashed a spell that destroyed him.
Non-obvious spells/spell-like abilities
‘Gentle Talons’ p. 17. Described as capable of absorbing any spell Elminster casts to strengthen the bonds, which allow Nergal to sense where Elminster is and possibly serve as a dimensional anchor. (Except where Nergal’s own power is concerned)
‘blue fire’ and ‘red and purple fire’ pp. 68, 73, 200. Text has it destroying devils, so it can’t be fire damage. Perhaps
hellfire or hellfire storm? Occurs enough to be at will.
‘spines’ grown on another creature for protection p. 159
‘mind worm’ bulk of the book is Elminster’s memories being fed to the archdevil. Nergal learns them as they are removed from Elminster. It also seems responsible for linking Elminster and Nergal’s minds together and throughout the linkage, Nergal frequently punishes Elminster with a possible related effect named a mind-bolt, mind-lash or mind-slap. On page 318, he casts the spell again, ‘letting the old one crumble to dust before beginning the next’
mindrape from BoVD?
Programmed amnesia from Spell Compendium?
telepathic bond? It could be as often as 3/day, maybe even at will.
‘chain and collar’ pp. 253, 276. Fashioned several times…I’m unsure if this is a physical chain or a magical one (beyond merely being magically created)
‘doomblade’ p. 254 Binds a demon for 100 years in the shape of a sword. Nergal does not cast this spell, he merely remarks that he can cast it.
‘black and ruby-red flames’ p. 256. Shatter rocks. Possibly more blue/red/purple fire.
‘brightbolt spell’ p. 256. “A flurry of bolts twice as large and numerous as Halaster’s streaked back at the mage. The very stones on which he stood vanished in blast after blast that hurled the agent of Mystra into the air.” Seems like a much more powerful magic missile spell.
‘mighty magic that left him trembling’ p. 312 This set of spells teleports Elminster to the lair of another archdevil, teleports Nergal away, and leaves a delayed blast fireball for Simbul to set off. I suggest
teleport other and
delayed blast fireball in addition to his innate devilish greater teleport.
‘red and black fire/bolts’ p. 393. Fails to harm The Simbul, but probably similar to the earlier ‘red and purple fire’. This one is more powerful than the previous ones, so perhaps if he has hellfire at will, he has hellfire storm 1/day. Or perhaps it is just easier to give him hellfire storm at will and leave the differences to dramatic license on the part of the author.
There we go. We can take it, we can leave it, we can use it to fill in a few gaps, but there it is.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
