The Shield Devil, Dispater's Personal Guard

[Baron Corm]

The creature standing before you looks almost hominid. The thing that immediately draws your attention is a large scythe-like blade stemming from the creature's forehead, making it look like some sort of violent unicorn-man. Less readily, you notice the blades on each of its arms, and the fact that its feet are actually more similar to a hawk's talons. The being appears cold and stately, as if the murder it is about to commit was something more elegant than heinous.

The favored spies and guardians of Dispater, the shield devils, are a recent creation of his. They were made as a response to the suspicious uprising of Glasya and Dispater's constant need to feel protected. Their body is mostly composed of gray "flesh" - slightly tougher than human flesh - but they also have blades attached to their arms, forehead, and talons. These blades double as shields when fighting, giving the shield devil its name.

Also contributing to the name is the weak shield of force which briefly surrounds the shield devil's whole body when he is attacked, granting him a minor deflection bonus to AC. The shield devil can concentrate this shield against a single attack in a round and add a bit of the iron of Dis to the effect, making it block a single spell or attack as a wall of force interlaced with iron would.

The paranoid archdevil that he is, Dispater keeps his elite guard close at hand. They are rarely seen outside of Dispater's fortress, and almost never outside the city of Dis. Those who do see a shield devil in Dis should expect to be soon destroyed; shield devils are excellently camouflaged within the city and only come out when their policing or assassination duties need to be upheld.


Shield Devil (Droxyluth)
Size/Type: Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 8d8+24 (60 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 40 feet (8 squares)
Armor Class: 31, touch 23, flat-footed 26 (+5 dex, +8 natural, +2 insight, +2 deflection, +4 shield)
Base Attack/Grapple: +8/+10
Attack: Armblade +13 melee (1d8+8, 19-20) or Gore +13 melee (1d10+8, x3) or Talon +13 melee (1d6+8)
Full Attack: 2 armblades +13 melee (1d8+8, 19-20) and gore +11 melee (1d10+6, x3) and 2 talons +11 melee (1d6+6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Iron shield of force, war machine
Special Qualities: Iron running, hell-tempered blades, damage reduction 10/good or silver, damage reduction 10/-, regeneration 5, resistance to fire 10, immunity to acid, darkvision 60 feet, see in darkness, spell resistance 23
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +8
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 21, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +16 (+20 around metal structures, +26 in Dis), Jump +13, Knowledge (the planes) +12, Listen +13, Move Silently +16, Spot +13, Search +12, Sense Motive +13, Tumble +16
Feats: Weapon Finesse (B), Great Cleave (B), Shield Ward (B), Multiattack, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
Enviroment: The Nine Hells
Organization: Solitary or Troupe (3-20)
Challange Rating: 10
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: 9-28 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment: -

Iron Shield of Force (Su)

As an immediate action, a shield devil can create a barrier of force and iron acting as a wall of force against a single attack or spell which then immediately disappears. Effects which can hit through force must also hit through 2 inches of iron (60 hp, hardness 10).

Iron Running (Su)

Any nonmagical ground the shield devil steps on is changed to iron down to two inches deep. This would allow the shield devil to walk on water or air, as air walk. When walking on a surface which normally could not support iron, such as water or air, the iron is suspended magically. The change to iron happens instantly, so the shield devil is able to ignore any nonmagical difficult terrain. The iron remains for 1 round after the shield devil leaves the area, then fades away gradually during the round after (it is still in existence for the second round).

The shield devil can activate or deactivate this ability as a swift action. Shield devils often deactivate it when they are sneaking around, and activate it when in combat.

Hell-Tempered Blades (Ex)

The shield devil's natural weapons were designed to reward precision, allowing the shield devil to add its Dexterity modifier to damage rolls with them. They also ignore the first 10 points of any damage reduction.

War Machine (Ex)

Shield devils are given an energy boost by the act of murder. A shield devil may make a full attack at the end of a charge. If the shield devil kills a creature and another creature is within 80 feet, the shield devil may make a charge against that creature (if he could otherwise make a charge).

Regeneration (Ex)

Shield devils are dealt lethal damage by good-aligned effects, silver, and electricity.

Summon Devil (Sp)

Once per day a shield devil can attempt to summon 1d3 chain devils with a 60% chance of success, or 1 shield devil with a 30% chance of success.

Skills

Shield devils receive a +4 racial bonus on Hide checks made in areas with a lot of metal structures, and an additional +6 racial bonus while in the city of Dis.


Fully Advanced Shield Devil (Droxyluth)
Size/Type: Medium Outsider (Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Hit Dice: 28d8+84 (210 hp)
Initiative: +9
Speed: 40 feet (8 squares)
Armor Class: 51, touch 33, flat-footed 46 (+5 dex, +18 natural, +2 insight, +2 deflection, +14 shield)
Base Attack/Grapple: +28/+30
Attack: Armblade (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d8+13+2d6, 19-20) or Gore (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d10+13+2d6, x3) or Talon (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d6+13+2d6)
Full Attack: 4 armblades (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d8+13+2d6, 19-20) and 2 gores (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d10+13+2d6, x3) and 4 talons (+5, unholy, speed) +38 melee (1d6+13+2d6)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Iron shield of force, war machine
Special Qualities: Iron running, hell-tempered blades, damage reduction 10/good or silver, damage reduction 10/-, regeneration 5, resistance to fire 10, immunity to acid, darkvision 60 feet, see in darkness, spell resistance 43
Saves: Fort +19, Ref +21, Will +18
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 21, Con 17, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 14
Skills: Hide +36 (+40 around metal structures, +46 in Dis), Jump +33, Knowledge (the planes) +32, Listen +33, Move Silently +36, Spot +33, Search +32, Sense Motive +33, Tumble +36
Feats: Weapon Finesse (B), Great Cleave (B), Shield Ward (B), Multiattack, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Improved Bull Rush, Shock Trooper, 4 more
Enviroment: The Nine Hells
Organization: Solitary or Troupe (3-20)
Challange Rating: 20
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: -
Level Adjustment: -

Shield devils with advanced HD are the favored of Dispater. They are granted one or several magical weapon abilities applied to all of their natural attacks in addition to a +1 to +5 enhancement bonus.

[DracoDei]

For the single attack, don't bother listing the talon... it is inferior in every way to the other two.

Consider reducing the amount of iron in the shield to 1 inch... as it is it has as many hp as the creature itself.

CR 10 SEEMS a bit low to me for something that can go "DENIED!" to one attack a round.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Lead here by your sig of false promises, I thought it would be an animorphs monster. Now, I am tempted to convince my DM to let me play one of these.
Devilly stuff intentional

[Baron Corm]

I have been tempted at times to do some actual Animorphs homebrew... but that's really a story that gets told, not great as a game. Those kids would be dead in 5 seconds without the plot. Another problem is, the difference between a grizzly bear and a tiger in reality is huge. In D&D, it's some natural armor and ability scores. Hard to make interesting.

For the single attack, don't bother listing the talon... it is inferior in every way to the other two.

Consider reducing the amount of iron in the shield to 1 inch... as it is it has as many hp as the creature itself.

CR 10 SEEMS a bit low to me for something that can go "DENIED!" to one attack a round.

A little belated in responding to this, sorry . I listed the talon because if the shield devil's arms and neck are tied, he can still use his talons. The shield having the same hp as the creature is something I find cool. And CR is hard.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: Reopened at creator request.