Archdevil, Dispater

This diabolic figure is draped in a kingly robe and crowned with iron horns. He bears a long, heavy mace of black metal.

Dispater CR 27

XP 3,276,800
LE Large outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful, shapechanger)
Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect chaos, detect good, see in darkness, true seeing; Perception +46
Aura frightful presence (120 ft., DC 37), shield of law (DC 29)

DEFENSE

AC 45, touch 35, flat-footed 35 (+4 deflection, +9 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural, +12 profane, –1 size)
hp 643 (33d10+462); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic)
Fort +29, Ref +31, Will +34; +8 vs. mind-affecting effects
Defensive Abilities infernal resurrection, mind blank; DR 20/epic, good, and silver; Immune ability damage, ability drain, charm, compulsion, death effects, energy drain, fire, petrification, poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30; SR 38

OFFENSE

Speed 50 ft., fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee The Eclipsing Eye +49/+44/+39/+34 (2d6+22/19–20/×3), gore +39 (2d6+6)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks caustic wit, mortal gaze, sneak attack +6d6
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 27th; concentration +38)

Constant—detect chaos, detect good, fly, mind blank, shield of law (DC 29), true seeing
At will—astral projection, charm monster (DC 27), desecrate^M, dictum^M (DC 28), dominate person (DC 28), greater dispel magic, greater teleport, iron body, order’s wrath^M (DC 25), unhallow, wall of iron
3/day—quickened blade barrier^M (DC 27), forcecage (DC 28), geas/quest, summon devils, symbol of pain (DC 27)
1/day—imprisonment (DC 30), time stop^M, wish^M

^M Dispater can use this ability’s mythic version in his realm.

STATISTICS

Str 34, Dex 29, Con 38, Int 33, Wis 30, Cha 33
Base Atk +33; CMB +46; CMD 82
Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Dazzling Display, Dodge, Greater Feint, Improved Critical (heavy mace), Improved Feint, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Mobility, Power Attack, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (blade barrier), Shatter Defenses, Staggering Critical, Weapon Focus (heavy mace)
Skills Acrobatics +42, Bluff +47, Diplomacy +47, Fly +60, Intimidate +47, Know. (arcana, engineering, history, nobility, religion) +44, Know. (planes) +47, Linguistics +44, Perception +46, Sense Motive +46, Spellcraft +44, Stealth +41, Use Magic Device +44
Languages all (language mastery); telepathy 300 ft.
SQ change shape (any humanoid; alter self), lord of iron, voice of command

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Caustic Wit (Su)

Dispater is a master of urbane insults and flippant dismissals. He can attempt a Bluff check once per round as a free action in place of an Intimidate check to demoralize a foe within 30 feet. In addition to becoming shaken, a creature demoralized by Dispater is so filled with shame and self-loathing that it takes 1d4 points of Charisma damage and becomes dazed. This additional effect can be negated with a successful DC 37 Will save. The insulted creature can attempt a new save each round at the beginning of its turn as a free action to end the effect, but any Charisma damage sustained remains until it is healed. This is a mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Lord of Iron (Ex)

Rust effects (such as rusting grasp) do not function within 60 feet of Dispater unless he allows them to function. Dispater can command unintelligent iron cobras, iron golems, and any other construct made entirely out of iron as if he were the construct’s creator.

Mortal Gaze (Su)

Dispater can level his gaze upon any one creature within 60 feet as a free action once per round. The creature he gazes upon gains 2 negative levels. Each of these negative levels requires a successful DC 37 Fortitude save to remove after 24 hours or it becomes permanent. Creatures slain by Dispater’s mortal gaze rise again 1d4 rounds later as zombie lords under Dispater’s control. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Voice of Command (Su)

The saving throw DCs of Dispater’s charm monster and dominate person spell-like abilities include a +2 bonus; this is included in the statistics above.

Creatures do not gain the usual +5 bonus on saves against charm monster if they are currently being threatened or attacked by Dispater or his allies. If Dispater commands a humanoid controlled via dominate person to take an action against its nature, the creature does not gain a new saving throw to resist the effect unless the order is self-destructive, in which case the creature gains a new save with a +2 bonus to resist the command.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Hell)
Organization solitary (unique)
Treasure triple (The Eclipsing Eye, other treasure)

Dispater is one of Asmodeus’s oldest and most loyal allies, with a favored place in the hierarchy of Hell. He generally keeps his distance from the machinations of the other archdevils, and of all their number he cares least about the tedious and trivial affairs of the Material Plane. His focus is on building the eternal and glorious perfection of Hell, the model community and system upon which the universe should be modeled. He is calm, creative, careful, and deliberate, in some ways the picture of a just sovereign, yet he is also unforgiving, ruthless, manipulative, and arrogant in the extreme. The rules of rank, station, and courtly life are his meat and drink, and he is swift to deride any who violate the tiniest rule of etiquette, though he quickly discards decorum when necessary to further his elaborate schemes. Alone among the archdevils, he maintains a passing acquaintance with courtly love and marriage, conferring with his advisors on matters of state.

Dispater is every inch the image of a devil, 13 feet tall with rippling, rust-colored muscles and a refined and majestic style, eschewing the opulent grandiosity of some of his brethren.

The Eclipsing Eye (Major Artifact)

Slot none; CL 30th; Weight 20 lbs.; Aura overwhelming all

The Eclipsing Eye is a +4 adamantine axiomatic unholy wounding heavy mace; it is a token of esteem and power granted by Asmodeus himself to the governor of Hell’s greatest city. It allows the wielder to command allegiance as per a rod of rulership with an unlimited duration when activated in Hell.

Outside of Hell, it remains limited to 500 total minutes of this effect, but does not crumble to dust if these minutes are used up. Every hour it spends in Hell restores 1 minute of expended duration. When used as a weapon, The Eclipsing Eye has a critical multiplier of ×3. The Eclipsing Eye automatically casts blindness (as per blindness/deafness heightened to 9th level, save DC 23) on the first creature it strikes each round.

The Eclipsing Eye is Dispater’s rod of office, and he can summon it to his hand as a free action from any distance, even across planar boundaries. As long as he wields it, all lawful evil, neutral evil, and lawful neutral creatures treat him as if he were under a sanctuary spell (CL 30th, save DC 23 as if heightened to a 9th level spell). Three times per day, The Eclipsing Eye can create any of the following spell effects, heightened to 9th level as per the Heighten Spell feat: calm emotions, demand, discern lies, and discern location.

DESTRUCTION

Asmodeus can will the destruction of The Eclipsing Eye as a free action, but otherwise it can be destroyed only by immersing it in the headwaters of the River Styx for a century, allowing the artifact to rust away.

Dispater’s Cult

Dispater represents devotion to calming order, meticulous planning, and the dark majesty of Hell’s potential to bring peace and unity to the universe, despite the fact that such peace would be bought with blood, chains, and death. His sacred places are grandiose, typically found in palaces or grand monuments.

Dispater’s unholy symbol is a heavy black nail piercing a red crown. His favored weapon is the heavy mace. He grants access to the domains of Evil, Law, Nobility, and Trickery, and to the subdomains of Deception, Devil, Leadership, and Tyranny.