The Devil's in the Details: Slavicsek reveals the Pit Fiend in all its glory

[med stud]

Teleport as Movement Type:

This implies it's a move action for the devil to teleport. (Will it provoke AoOs?)

What happens if he uses this movement type for overland-travel? Does he remateiralize every 10 squares? Or does he just state how long/fast he wants to travel and the appears in the distance he wanted to be?

If it's the rematerializing, I am totally considering a house rule that allowed him teleporting longer distance at something like half "speed", but any distance.
The "blinking" teleportation move doesn't fit my idea of an over-land travelling pit fiend.

But it totally fits my imagination of a Blink Dog or Displacer Beast!

I guess a pit fiend would use some kind of ritual for cross country travel. Possibly by entering Hell and going back to the Prime material using a portal from there.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Howdy med stud!

I guess a pit fiend would use some kind of ritual for cross country travel. Possibly by entering Hell and going back to the Prime material using a portal from there.

Maybe they have Teleport Circles or Permanent Gates in Hell.

The idea that every demon or devil can teleport and many can plane shift takes away from the classic "We have to destroy the portal to stop the [insert threat] coming through."

In Hell (or wherever) where the devils have centuries if not millenia to establish and defend these portals then it makes sense every devil fortress (or immortal's divine realm) will have a "Gate Room" not to get too Stargate-y.

So while it may be a ritual to create the portal in the first place I don't think it will require a ritual everytime you want to use one.

 

[Just Another User]

I guess a pit fiend would use some kind of ritual for cross country travel. Possibly by entering Hell and going back to the Prime material using a portal from there.

Uh, wait, weren't devils supposed to be prisoners in Hell? Can they just teleport out when they want?

 

[med stud]

Uh, wait, weren't devils supposed to be prisoners in Hell? Can they just teleport out when they want?

If a pit fiend has gotten access to the Prime material plane I suppose things get hairy pretty fast, yes. I don't think they can cross over at will, I speculated on how pit fiends did cross country travel. Since flying and tele- jumping seems to bit a bit under such a powerful devil's dignity I thought about the gate- idea.

How they do it officially, I have no idea about.

 

[med stud]

Howdy med stud!



Maybe they have Teleport Circles or Permanent Gates in Hell.

The idea that every demon or devil can teleport and many can plane shift takes away from the classic "We have to destroy the portal to stop the [insert threat] coming through."

In Hell (or wherever) where the devils have centuries if not millenia to establish and defend these portals then it makes sense every devil fortress (or immortal's divine realm) will have a "Gate Room" not to get too Stargate-y.

So while it may be a ritual to create the portal in the first place I don't think it will require a ritual everytime you want to use one.

After answering Just Another User I got to think about this a bit more. It would make sense if it took serious magic to conjure a pit fiend to the Prime material plane. Within a plane I think they are capable of cross country teleportation but between the planes it probably is much more difficult.

OTOH, when making adventures for level 26, a gate directly from Hell might be a good intrigue like you suggested.

 

[Dausuul]

Teleport as Movement Type:

This implies it's a move action for the devil to teleport. (Will it provoke AoOs?)

What happens if he uses this movement type for overland-travel? Does he remateiralize every 10 squares? Or does he just state how long/fast he wants to travel and the appears in the distance he wanted to be?

If it's the rematerializing, I am totally considering a house rule that allowed him teleporting longer distance at something like half "speed", but any distance.
The "blinking" teleportation move doesn't fit my idea of an over-land travelling pit fiend.

But it totally fits my imagination of a Blink Dog or Displacer Beast!

I would interpret pit fiend teleportation as the fiend dissolving into smoke and flame, to reconstitute itself fifty feet away. If the fiend were travelling a long distance using its teleport movement, it would look like a cloud of smoke and embers rolling across the land.

 

[Stalker0]

Ahh, now I follow you. So you would apply half level, plus Strength or relevant ability score plsu the bonus given by the monster's role perhaps?

No, instead what you would do is look at some other 26th level monsters, see what that bonus is, and then right it down for your new monster, with perhaps a +/- 2 in order to make it more or less offensive.


This is actually what engineers often do (being an engineer, I do this a lot). For many things, we don't have strict theoretical formulas to determine properties. Instead, we have tables of values that have calculated through experimentation and experience.

So in this case you would look at the table of "26th level monsters". Get a feel for what kind of AC, saves, and attacks they should have, and then create your own monster from there. In the long run it should be a lot faster without being a slave to the formulas.

While in general I greatly enjoyed the formula approach of 3e when I wanted to create my own monsters or customize. However I sympathize with the problem static formulas cause. Dnd stretches over such a large power level any formula is likely to break down. So from the perspective of creating better fitted monsters to fit a certain level party, then I'm all for dumping the formulas.

 

[FourthBear]

Uh, wait, weren't devils supposed to be prisoners in Hell? Can they just teleport out when they want?

Since the players are going to be opposing devils, I'm thinking that they can actually break out for a time when summoned. So the stereotypical plot would be: foolish mortal makes a bargain with a devil for power, the whole things blows up in his face and devils are released into the world. The PCs must intervene to prevent things from getting even worse.

My guess is that devils outside the Hells are vulnerable to being banished back there. So until they can release Asmodeus, they can never be sure that they are truly free, even if they are currently on the outside. That's the way I'd write it.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I would interpret pit fiend teleportation as the fiend dissolving into smoke and flame, to reconstitute itself fifty feet away. If the fiend were travelling a long distance using its teleport movement, it would look like a cloud of smoke and embers rolling across the land.

QFA (Quoted for Awesomeness)

 

[Emil]

Since the players are going to be opposing devils, I'm thinking that they can actually break out for a time when summoned.

While I think your idea is actually more interesting, I think the developers were also keeping in mind the possibility of the characters traveling to the hells directly. Bringing the fight to the doorstep, so to speak.