A lot of the monsters I make on this blog are ones that I have strong ties to, usually from my childhood. This week on another nostalgia-powered blog I take a look at another game that I spent way too long playing when I was younger: Diablo 2. This action-RPG caused me to stay up many late nights in junior high and I feel that I owe a big part of my love for monsters to this game. As such, in honor of this game, I’m statting up the Lord of Terror himself, Diablo!
Diablo, Lord of Terror CR 22
XP 614,400
CE Huge outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)
Init +9; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +17
Aura fear (120 ft., DC 33)
DEFENSE
AC 38, touch 13, flat-footed 33 (+5 Dex, +25 natural, –2 size)
hp 449 (29d10+290)
Fort +23, Ref +16, Will +24
Defensive Abilities combat design, defensive barrier, fortify; DR 15/—; Immune electricity, fear, fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 33
OFFENSE
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 claws +41 (6d6+35 plus grab)
Ranged fusion driver +15 (6d8)
Special Attacks breath weapon
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 22nd; concentration +31)
At will—blasphemy (DC 26), chain lightning (DC 25), chains of fireARG (DC 25), fear (DC 23), fireball (DC 22), greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), greater invisibility, lightning bolt (DC 22), phantasmal killer (DC 23), plane shift (DC 26), pyrotechnic eruptionHA (DC 23), scorching ray, trap the soul (DC 27), wall of fire
3/day—fire storm (DC 27), forcecage (DC 26), incendiary cloud (DC 27), meteor swarm, weird (DC 28)
1/day—summon (level 9, any 1 CR 20 or lower demon, 100%)
STATISTICS
Str 39, Dex 21, Con 31, Int 28, Wis 32, Cha 28
Base Atk +29; CMB +45 (+47 bull rush, +49 grapple); CMD 60 (62 vs. bull rush)
Feats Awesome Blow, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Great Fortitude, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Improved Vital Strike, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Snatch Vital Strike
Skills Bluff +41, Diplomacy +38, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (arcana) +38, Knowledge (geography) +38, Knowledge (local) +38, Knowledge (history) +38, Knowledge (local) +38, Knowledge (nature) +38, Knowledge (nobility) +38, Knowledge (planes) +41, Knowledge (religion) +38, Perception +43, Sense Motive +43, Use Magic Device +38
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ lord of terror
ECOLOGY
Environment any
Organization solitary
Treasure none
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Breath Weapon (Ex) Diablo can breathe a stream of lightning breath once every 1d4 rounds. The breath weapon deals 12d10 electricity damage and 12d10 unholy damage that is not reduced by damage reduction in a 90-foot line. A successful DC 34 Reflex save halves this damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Lord of Terror (Ex) Diablo is the living personification of fear. He can cast any spell with the fear or fire descriptor as if they were affected by the Quicken Spell feat. His claw attacks add 2-1/2 times his Strength bonus to damage and are treated as magic and epic weapons. If Diablo is ever destroyed, his soul is cast into his soul stone.
Diablo, Lord of Terror, is a primal force of evil, created near the birth of existence itself. Alongside his brothers, Mephisto, Lord of Hatred, and Baal, Lord of Destruction, he is one of the Prime Evils. Together, they enact their evil upon the world, sending forth demons from the Burning Hells upon the world. Diablo is the most cunning and patient of his brothers, biding his time and using his great influence to cause his enemies to latch onto their most crippling fears. His ability allow him to turn the fears of mortals into actual creatures and he draws great power from even the smallest fears. His cunning lends to his great foresight, allowing him to set forth machinations centuries in advance, using his terror to slowly erode the wills of his targets. Diablo wields a command over lightning and flame and his great might can tear his enemies apart. If he ever does fall in combat, his soul is transferred into a gem known as a soul stone. The soul stone requires a very specific ritual to destroy. Otherwise, Diablo eventually finds a way to break free and enact his reign of terror once more.
Monstrous Origins
Diablo is the titular villain of Blizzard’s Diablo series. He is the final boss of every game in the series (kind of) and only the player is the only one standing against Diablo’s demons. As the Lord of Terror, Diablo uses a lot of manipulation and psychological warfare to enact his will on the world. As Diablo is a video game series, the player never really experiences that, though. Instead, when it comes time to truly face Diablo, he spews lots and lots fire and lightning everywhere. To try to replicate that, I gave him the Lord of Terror ability to drop lots of fire spells all over the place. I also made sure to give him some lightning- and fear-themed spells to more closely replicate his moveset. Beyond that, Diablo is actually just a big, strong monster. He doesn’t really have many new or interesting abilities, but what he has is very strong. In fact, Diablo is probably just a little too strong for his CR. I’m okay with, though. I think it will help strike fear in the hearts of players.
That’s it for this week! If you end up introducing Diablo into your game or you have any request for a future Monstrous Physique, please drop me a line at KnowDirection@hotmail.com.
