I just thought I'd resurrect this thread.
Last night, I had the opportunity to use a Pain Mistress from Legions of Hell. I would say that she worked quite well, and her CR is probably pretty accurate. First, a little background:
The PC's are currently in a camp of revolutionaries about 2 days outside of a city. They are honorary members of the revolutionary league, and they have been travelling with the crown prince and the mastermind behind the revolution, a woman named Naivoryn. Unknown to them, Naivoryn is an erinyes. Naivoryn has her own sinister reasons for starting the revolution. For reasons that are too involved to mention here, an organization of devils (and demons, there's no Blood War in my campaign) desperately wants to stop Naivoryn from accomplishing her "secret" mission, so they have dispatched spies and assassins.
At any rate, the PC's and Naivoryn recently fled the city under circumstances that caught the attention of this group of devils, so the devils dispatched a group to try to track Naivory down and kill her. The group consisted of a Pain Mistress (for tracking and killing), an Osyluth (for Dimensional Anchor, and to isolate Naivoryn), and a Black Abishai (for more killing power). Using illusion and polymorph, the group appeared as a ragged band of peasants who had a message they desperately needed to give to Naivoryn herself. The Pain Mistress tracked the party to the camp, and the group approached. The camp was wary and knew of the "peasants'" approach, so the captain had ordered all of guards to be present (about 30). When Naivoryn identified herself, the group made their attack, starting with a Dimensional Anchor from the Osyluth (successful).
The combat went pretty well. The Pain Mistress's Symbol of Pain did wonders against the mass of guards, as well as the PC's, though a later Dispel by the party cleric was surprisingly effective. I had the Pain Mistress use her grappling claws, as she wanted to grab hold of Naivoryn and crush the life out of her. Unfortunately, she never got a chance. When the erinyes turned invisible (a reasonable response), I realized with horror that the devils had no way of detecting her! The Pain Mistress had to satisfy herself with killing guards while the Osyluth blindly used walls of ice to try to keep Naivoryn in a contained area.
Overall, the Pain Mistress was quite effective. Her lack of DR and SR, which is unusual for a devil of her power, was her undoing, as stray crossbow bolts from the few remaining guards (those that hadn't fled) did damage, and every spell sent her way was effective (mostly magic missiles). Her Domination ability was quite nice, as it allowed her to turn the party's most powerful fighter to her side. Her grappling claws were also quite effective, and she managed to kill 3 guards and a PC's cohort before she was brought down. In the end, though, her weaknesses and lack of Teleport ability spelled her doom, and she was cut down. The Osyluth (Teleport) and Abishai (flight, regeneration) both managed to escape.
In summary, the Pain Mistress is an excellent tool of evil. Wilderness Lore combined with a Polymorph Self ability allows her to track quarry and infiltrate if necessary. Once her quarry has been located, the Symbol of Pain and Domination make it difficult to effectively combat her, and the Pain Mistress's grappling claws are effective in grabbing a single opponent and making sure he gets dead.
Last night, I had the opportunity to use a Pain Mistress from Legions of Hell. I would say that she worked quite well, and her CR is probably pretty accurate. First, a little background:
The PC's are currently in a camp of revolutionaries about 2 days outside of a city. They are honorary members of the revolutionary league, and they have been travelling with the crown prince and the mastermind behind the revolution, a woman named Naivoryn. Unknown to them, Naivoryn is an erinyes. Naivoryn has her own sinister reasons for starting the revolution. For reasons that are too involved to mention here, an organization of devils (and demons, there's no Blood War in my campaign) desperately wants to stop Naivoryn from accomplishing her "secret" mission, so they have dispatched spies and assassins.
At any rate, the PC's and Naivoryn recently fled the city under circumstances that caught the attention of this group of devils, so the devils dispatched a group to try to track Naivory down and kill her. The group consisted of a Pain Mistress (for tracking and killing), an Osyluth (for Dimensional Anchor, and to isolate Naivoryn), and a Black Abishai (for more killing power). Using illusion and polymorph, the group appeared as a ragged band of peasants who had a message they desperately needed to give to Naivoryn herself. The Pain Mistress tracked the party to the camp, and the group approached. The camp was wary and knew of the "peasants'" approach, so the captain had ordered all of guards to be present (about 30). When Naivoryn identified herself, the group made their attack, starting with a Dimensional Anchor from the Osyluth (successful).
The combat went pretty well. The Pain Mistress's Symbol of Pain did wonders against the mass of guards, as well as the PC's, though a later Dispel by the party cleric was surprisingly effective. I had the Pain Mistress use her grappling claws, as she wanted to grab hold of Naivoryn and crush the life out of her. Unfortunately, she never got a chance. When the erinyes turned invisible (a reasonable response), I realized with horror that the devils had no way of detecting her! The Pain Mistress had to satisfy herself with killing guards while the Osyluth blindly used walls of ice to try to keep Naivoryn in a contained area.
Overall, the Pain Mistress was quite effective. Her lack of DR and SR, which is unusual for a devil of her power, was her undoing, as stray crossbow bolts from the few remaining guards (those that hadn't fled) did damage, and every spell sent her way was effective (mostly magic missiles). Her Domination ability was quite nice, as it allowed her to turn the party's most powerful fighter to her side. Her grappling claws were also quite effective, and she managed to kill 3 guards and a PC's cohort before she was brought down. In the end, though, her weaknesses and lack of Teleport ability spelled her doom, and she was cut down. The Osyluth (Teleport) and Abishai (flight, regeneration) both managed to escape.
In summary, the Pain Mistress is an excellent tool of evil. Wilderness Lore combined with a Polymorph Self ability allows her to track quarry and infiltrate if necessary. Once her quarry has been located, the Symbol of Pain and Domination make it difficult to effectively combat her, and the Pain Mistress's grappling claws are effective in grabbing a single opponent and making sure he gets dead.
