Fantasy Monster: Savoir-Fiend Devil

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Devil, Savoir-Fiend
This sharp-dressed androgynous gentlebeing with a pair of horns, red skin, and hooves has a serpentine tail extending from underneath their impeccable coat.

CR 4; XP 1,600
LE Medium Outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13

Defense
AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +3 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 37 (5d10+10)
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +7
DR 5/good or silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 9

Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee two animated +1 flaming rapiers +6 (1d6+1/18–20 plus 1d6 fire)
Special Attacks berate, dueling proxies
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th, concentration +8)
At Will—create attire (2nd level, summons a set of exceptional clothing for personal use only for the next 24 hours, only one active at a time), ghost sound, message, prestidigitation, unseen servant
1/day—plane shift (back to hell only, transporting self, 50 lbs of equipment and up to seven additional willing targets), teleport (self and 50 lbs of equipment only)

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 13, Cha 17
Base Atk +5; CMB +5; CMD 18
Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Nimble Moves
Skills Bluff +11, Diplomacy +11, Knowledge (nobility) +13, Knowledge (planes) +9, Perform (dance) +11, Perform (oratory) +11, Perception +13, Sense Motive +13; Racial Modifiers +4 Knowledge (nobility), Perception, Sense Motive
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.

Ecology
Environment urban
Organization solitary
Treasure standard

Berate (Su) A savoir-fiend can verbally denigrate one sapient being within 30 feet that recently insulted the devil or otherwise took an action against them (including publicly speaking against them) or broke a locally accepted social rule (which probably include making a disturbance during the social gathering, speaking out of order, speaking against of higher standing, etc.—savoir-fiends are experts at finding the slightest infractions). On a failed Will saving throw (DC 15) the target suffers from one of the following effects, picked by the devil: fatigued, shaken, or silenced for 1d4 rounds, stops threatening anyone for 1d4 rounds (which prevents taking attacks of opportunity and providing flanking bonus) due to mild disorientation, drops anything held in hands that isn't a weapon and steps back 5 feet back away from the devil. Once the savoir-fair devil berated the target, a new offense has to be witnessed before the devil can berate the same target again. This is a language-dependent, mind-affecting compulsion effect. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.

Dueling Proxies (Su) A savoir-fiend can summon a pair of animated +1 flaming rapiers as a standard action. Until they are destroyed or dismissed, the devil can command them to attack opponents within 30 feet with a swift action. As long as the devil can see the target, and there is enough space for the rapiers, they can ignore cover and concealment, striking from optimal angles. While they are objects, not creatures, they are blocked by protection against evil and similar effects as if they were summoned evil creatures.

Scathing Contempt (Su) After successfully berating the target three times within the same 24 hour period, the savoir-fiend can utter a curse upon the offender as a full-round action, bestowing –4 penalty to all Charisma-based ability and skill checks, to Knowledge and Profession checks related to customs and knowing the proper behavior, and to Sense Motive checks. This is a permanent evil curse effect that can be removed with a break enchantment, dispel evil or remove curse (DC 10+the devil's HD). It can also be reversed as a side effect of changing alignment to lawful evil via atonement spell temptation effect.


Savoir-fiends are devils that harness the restrictive bonds of social norms and obligations to enforce hierarchies, push mortals to cruelty, make them scorn each other, and turn to evil, both petty and grant. They use etiquette to deepen the divide and incite hatred between social classes, ethnic groups, and races.

Fantasy NPC: Honorable Lamraqand Till

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Honorable Lamarquand Till

A tall, respectable-looking ghost wearing an elegant wig and a burgundy coat.

CR 12; 19,200 XP
Male ghost human aristocrat 10/expert 6
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid, devil, incorporeal)
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +25
Aura impartial grounds (20 ft.)

Defense
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 16 (+6 deflection)
hp 168 (16d8+96)
Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +16; +4 resistance against chaos, evil, good, and law
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, rejuvenation; Immune undead traits; Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10

Offense
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee corrupting touch +12 incorporeal touch (12d6, Fort DC 24 half)
Ranged hellfire blast +12 touch (12d6)

Statistics
Str —, Dex 10, Con —, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 23
Base Atk +11; CMB +11; CMD 27
Feats Alertness, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive, Skill Focus (Knowledge [planes]), Skill Focus (Profession [barrister]), Weapon Focus (hellfire), Weapon Focus (touch)
Skills Bluff +25, Diplomacy +29, Fly +27, Intimidate +29, Knowledge (nobility) +22, Knowledge (planes) +22, Linguistics +22, Perception +25, Profession (barrister) +21, Sense Motive +25
Language Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Common, Infernal, and others; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ incorporeal, infernal passport

Hellfire Blast (Su) The Right Honorable Lamarquand Till can cast bolts of infernal flames against targets within 120 feet, dealing unholy damage. Any creature wounded by the flames becomes tainted with evil for 1d4 rounds, gaining an evil aura and reacting to other effects as evil being during that time. When a mortal  creature dies while tainted in such way, it has to succeed a Will saving throw (DC 24) or its body incinerates into ashes and the victim reincarnates in hell as a tiefling. Good creatures receive +4 bonus to their saving throw. Tieflings killed while tainted may embrace their evil and be reborn as a devil with HD not exceeding their total HD effectively becoming a completely new creature. The saving throw DC is Charisma-based.

Impartial Grounds (Su) Honorable Lamarquand Till projects an aura that acts as double-strength magic circle against chaos, evil, good, and law (+4 bonuses, 20 ft. radius). While it does protect against possession and exercising magical compulsions, creatures within the aura can voluntarily relinquish their protection, with prior written statements and contracts counting for that purpose, as long as they were signed with adequate understanding and sound mind (though belief in their truthfulness is not necessary). Impartial grounds also suppresses any spells and spell-like abilities with alignment descriptor of 3rd or lower level.

Infernal Passport (Ex and Su) Due to his prior, ah, arrangements and agreements, Honorable Lamarquand Till counts as devil when it is favorable to him, though he retains his nominally mortal nature otherwise, he can also consider himself a honorary tiefling, if it ever came to be a factor in his endeavors. His soul is his own to possess, he has the right of safe travel across the hell (and can always choose to leave hell and reform in 1d10–1 days in his office as per rejuvenation ability), and he can't be attacked by lesser devils unless he takes an offensive action against them. During the solstices and equinoxes he can perform a ritual that links his location to hell, as if using gate spell—either to travel between the mortal plane and hell, or contact and conjure hell's denizens, though while he has the lore required he needs assistance of one or more physical beings capable of sapient thought, speech, and manual skill to prepare the rite and perform its corporeal elements for it to work (the ritual itself takes 1d4 days of preparations and 1 hour to perform either at dawn or dusk).

Rejuvenation (Su) The Right Honorable Lamarquand Till reforms in his old office in the club he was member of within 1d10–1 days of having his ghostly form destroyed (it is possible for him to reform immediately if the roll results in 0). If his old club is ever destroyed, according to specific arrangements he made, the club, its grounds, and the surrounding estate are drawn into the hell where they reform as twisted reflections of themselves within 1d10 days, fully staffed by damned souls and lesser fiends. Only destroying the reformed estate in hell might end Till's existence. Unless he finds yet another loophole allowing him to escape the oblivion.


Idle rich find various pastimes, some of them more questionable than others. In the highly civilized, refined, over-entitled, and bored circles that Lamarquand Till frequented, pacting with devils became such dubious entertainment. While it was viewed as amusement at first, it slowly grew as a hidden way of rebuilding failing fortunes, acquiring promotions that were denied before (completely unjustly, we can assure you), and gaining position and prominence gentlefolk felt they deserved.

The Right Honorable Lamarquand Till was already a barrister of some renown and skill, and found counseling those who would make deals with hell an interesting change of pace and an adequate challenge to his underused talents. His natural obsessiveness and self-centered intellect helped him master the nuances of the bargaining arts beyond the skills of his peers, making him foremost, if not-quite-public authority of the matter in the high society.

While he advised many in the matter of infernal bargains, including those who made soul pacts, he never made a bargain for his soul himself—he did accumulate favors, here and there, exchanging them and accumulating in bigger favors, but he never sold his soul. Instead, he took steps to make sure his soul remains in his own possessions, lasting beyond his death. The exact details remain vague—while his professional pride might desire the well deserved fame, the same profession also taught him the benefits of confidentiality.

Now, the Right Honorable Lamarquand Till resides within the gentlefolk club he was member during his lifetime, occasionally offering legal advice, if the matter appeals to his sense of curiosity, feels like a proper challenge, a worthwhile favor is promised to him, or an old favor is called. His passage to undeath was smooth, as he was never swayed by the pleasures of the flesh, at least beyond satiating his pride in wearing fashionable outfits, always preferring intellectual pursuits. Being a ghost of higher order, he is free to come and go as he pleases unrestricted by lesser bonds.

Urban Horrors: Bones In The Lake

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Urban Horrors: Bones In The Lake

There is an artificial lake in a big city. The lake is surrounded by a park—free growing grass around walkways, some trees, some bushes shielding the place from surrounding streets. A few swings and children's slides, some benches and tables. Nothing fancy but pleasant nonetheless. The lake itself has two small islands and some bridges going over corners, flocks of ducks and geese often roam around, and always a few people sit around throwing feeding birds with bread.

And yet, this place has a dark secret, both metaphorically and literally.

There are no beaches, the banks are steep, and there are warning signs reminding that swimming is forbidden here—the lake was never made suitable for it. The water is dark, most people looking at it are surprised by the feeling how deep it must be, though the impression fades away quickly forgotten. The lake never freezes, at least not completely. Always a few sulky people keep around spending their time by the water, though they are often spread far and wide, rarely acknowledging others.

One would have to be particularly keen observer, not easily swayed by distractions and misdirection, to notice those bland, gruff regulars are too bland, too indistinct, hard to recall and describe afterwards.

This hadn't caught anyone's attention, yet, but people are going missing. People no one will be looking for—homeless, junkies, drunks, runaway kids from far away. Such people slip through cracks in large cities every day after all. Here, though, here, they end in the lake—offerings from the regulars to the lake itself, sunk in the inky depths. Over the years so many deaths turned the lake into an abyss, no bottom, only darkness dwelling below, closer and closer to the surface with passing decades.

Is that an old god? An alien presence? A twisted genius loci? No one knows, not even the cultists that feed it. The thing is, spirits of the dead offerings are nowhere to be find for those who could seek them... Will that strangeness finally lead someone in the know to the lake?

The Past

Before the lake was made, before the city spread its ever-expanding bulk around this land, there was a rural community here. It was surrounding a small pond, feed by a stream or a spring, and in less enlightened times, it was customary to throw offerings into its waters. With time, though, the city grew and absorbed the village, the people moved away, the land was repurposed, the pond and the stream and spring landscaped into something else, and then into the lake again.

Many years later, some of the descendants of those who lived in the village returned. At first it was one or two... Then more of them came to live nearby, and more... And they started making sacrifices to the lake, to the depths—at first trinkets, then animals, then people. Not that many, a few each year, but it was enough, the link was made, the offering accepted. They sought more of their kinfolk and brought them to live in the surrounding city. Those who refused to return were left alone, those who would not keep the secret joined the sacrifices...

The Now

The cultists, if they can be called that, are but a handful of people, but each of them makes a few sacrifices each year and the numbers add. No one is suspecting anything amiss, at least not among law enforcement, city officials, or social workers. The cultists avoid targeting those who are living nearby, avoid connecting disappearances to the lake—which has no record of any drownings, not even suspected drownings. In fact, some of the cultists take care to keep local children away from water to avoid attracting undue attention.

The Cultists

Why do they do that? They probably could not really say themselves. As they make their sacrifices and their connection to the abyss at the bottom of the lake grows, they become less distinct, more vague, their lives become more and more distant, slowly dissolving in the shadows—while it might sound horrific it is anything but that—the lake slowly takes away mundane concerns, hardships of modern life, disappointments, failures, and regrets. The cultists are left with a sense of calm serenity. They might be dismissing their humanity in the process, but it feels right.

The Future

Is the force in the lake growing? Is the abyss deepening? Is its power a scam, a fake sense of tranquility holding humans-turned-monsters in its sway, but powerless to offer them anything but a narcotic bliss as they kill for it?

Or is that something more? A growing new deity? A sleeping old one? A gate elsewhere?

Can the cult be stopped? Or will the lake attract new servants if the old ones are rid of? And how could that even be done? With violence? Feeding the cultists to the lake itself?

What would happen if the lake itself was disturbed—if someone had the connections to have it drained, filled up, reshaped? Would that solve the problem... Or uncover whatever the darkness in the depths really is and doom the city?

Monster: Robomonkey

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Robomonkey
A metallic construction in the shape of a monkey.

CR 1; XP 400
N Small Construct (robot)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0

Defense
AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 11 (+2 Dex, +1 size)
hp 15 (1d10+10)
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +0
Defensive Abilities evasion; Immune construct traits

Offense
Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
Melee bite +2 (1d3), 2 slams +2 (1d3)
Ranged thrown trash +0 (1d3)

Statistics
Str 10, Dex 14, Con —, Int 11, Wis 11, Cha 11
Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +8, Disable Device +6, Sleight Of Hand +6, Stealth +6; Racial Bonus +8 Acrobatics
Languages understands Common, white-noise vocalization
SQ tinkering

Ecology
Environment urban, ruins
Organization solitary, pair, team (3–10)
Treasure standard

Tinkering (Ex) A robomonkey treats Disable Device and Sleight Of Hand as class skills. Its fingers and tail substitute for adequate tools for Disable Device checks.


Robomonkeys are one of many types of robotic pests that can appear in areas where advanced technology was present. Their programming imitates behavior of small primates, though they are much smarter but no less capricious than their biological counterparts. They have varied personalities—curious, lazy, irritable, mischievous, patient, and so on, discernible between individuals.

Stories of robomonkeys having access to hidden stashes of explosives are certainly mere rumors, with no basis in reality whatsoever. There is nothing to worry about it.

A robomonkey may be selected as an improved familiar (caster level 5).

Battlemonkeys (CR 2) have AC 14, 2 HD, 21 hp, Reflex +3, Dex 16, Atk bite and 2 slams +3 (1d3), built-in laser +6 (3d6 fire, 20 ft. range increment), Acrobatics +11, Disable Device +8, Sleight Of Hand +8, Stealth +7.