Devil, Gambling Devil (Magadaz)This creature resembles a man crafted entirely of gold. Some of its features seem warped, as if the creature had been melted and then reformed.Gambling Devil (Magadaz) CR 4Source Pathfinder #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow pg. 84
XP 1,200
LE Medium outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +10
Aura risk (30 ft., DC 16)DefenseAC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+1 Dex, +1 luck, +5 natural)
hp 42 (5d10+15)
Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +6
Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10OffenseSpeed 30 ft.
Melee slam +8 (2d6+4)
Ranged thrown coin +6 (1d4+3)
Special Attacks double down, produce coins
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +12)
Constant—detect chaos
At will—greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only)StatisticsStr 16, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19
Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 19
Feats Alertness, Deft Hands, Iron Will
Skills Appraise +10, Bluff +12, Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +12, Perception +10, Profession (gambler) +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +11
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ change shape (any Small or Medium humanoid; alter self)EcologyEnvironment any (Hell)
Organization solitary, pair, or table (3–9)
Treasure doubleSpecial AbilitiesDouble Down (Su) A gambling devil’s understanding of probability is so good that it knows the best moment to play its hand, even if that means having to lose one first. As an immediate action, anytime a gambling devil rolls a d20 (for an attack roll, a saving throw, or a skill check), it can take a luck penalty of up to 1/2 of its Charisma modifier on the roll (–2 for most magadazes). The next time within 1 minute it attempts a d20 roll of the same category (for example, if the first roll was a skill check, the second can be any skill check), it gains a luck bonus to the roll equal to double the penalty taken earlier (+4 for most magadazes).
Produce Coins (Su) A gambling devil can produce up to 50 gold coins by drawing them from its body as a free action. Typically, a magadaz uses this ability to pay its debts at a gaming table, but it must successfully use Sleight of Hand if it wishes to conceal the supernatural nature of this ability from any observers. Coins produced in this way disappear 1 hour after leaving the gambling devil’s possession. In addition, a gambling devil can use these coins as weapons, turning them into dangerous thrown projectiles. Each coin deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage and counts as evil, lawful, and magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. A gambling devil can produce a number of gold coins per day equal to 50 × its Constitution score (850 coins for most gambling devils).
Risk Aura (Su) The presence of a gambling devil encourages nearby creatures to make riskier decisions and take bigger gambles. Any creature within 30 feet of a gambling devil must succeed at a DC 16 Will saving throw each round or be compelled to throw caution to the wind so long as it remains within the aura’s effects. Whenever a situation calls for a d20 roll, any creature affected by this ability must roll twice. If either roll is a natural 20, the affected creature can use that roll. Otherwise, it must use the lower of the two results. A gambling devil can suppress or reactivate this aura as a swift action. The save DC is Charisma-based.DescriptionGambling devils, also known as magadazes, are born from the damned souls of mortal gamblers, bookies, and even moneylenders. Although they can be found throughout Hell and even on the Material Plane, they are most numerous in Erebus, the third layer of Hell, where they use their immense luck and cunning to serve the archdevil Mammon, Hell’s accountant and treasurer. In addition to their pathological love of and skill at gambling, magadazes are known for their willingness to provide ledgers claiming anything that their customers—usually diabolists or other foolish souls—might desire. Common requests include paperwork proving clients’ destitution or statements showing that their vaults overflow with gold and jewels.
To pay for this creative accounting, the client must simply engage the gambling devil in a game of chance. Sometimes these competitions are even fair (or as fair as any such game can be), but a gambling devil’s unique skills give even the toss of a coin poor odds. This, coupled with a magadaz’s ability to encourage risk-taking, means that gambling devils have caused many mortals to lose everything they own. Gambling with magadazes almost always seems fair until the devils miraculously win at the last moment.
Some believe that magadazes are extensions of Mammon’s reach, tempting mortals away from their wealth and siphoning it into Erebus’s innumerable vaults. But gambling devils also simply take pleasure in manipulating chaos to force probability toward their own advantage—or that of their patron. Gambling devils vary widely in shape and size, but they stand 5-1/2 feet tall on average. Their incredible density, however, results in them weighing an average of 500 pounds.EcologyGambling devils resemble living gold statues, and their bodies are as soft and malleable as one would expect, especially in the heat of Hell. Melting doesn’t harm or even particularly inconvenience a magadaz—it can speak or see even if its face has melted away, and it can hold a humanoid shape in front of all but the fiercest flame. However, even the heat from a torch can melt away finer features, forcing the magadaz to shape them again. If destroyed, gambling devils aren’t reduced to scrap gold. Instead, they melt into puddles of molten lead, as does any piece that is severed from a still-living magadaz. Some say that such leaden puddles litter Erebus, particularly the areas Mammon frequents. Those rumors claim that the archdevil regularly destroys gambling devils who have, in his eyes, shirked their greater duty to him in favor of frivolous gaming activities that bring no profit to the vaults.
Perhaps to avoid this destructive wrath, many gambling devils are overly eager to gain the Ardent Prince’s approval. Those that enjoy Mammon’s highest favor sometimes serve as the archdevil’s bookkeepers. They are particularly useful in roles where the amount owed Erebus, or Hell in general, is in dispute. In addition to their meticulous accounting skills, magadazes’ luck and skills ensure that Hell ends up on the winning side of almost any monetary arrangements. This role seems to suit many gambling devils well, as it allows them to manipulate money and debts while staying in Mammon’s good graces.Habitat and SocietyGambling devils tend to be either meticulously devoted to or colossally incompetent in their infernal service. Additionally, though they can suppress their ability to encourage risky decisions in others, they are easily distracted and may unintentionally affect other devils. Because of this, despite their ubiquitous presence in Hell, they are often kept at arm’s length from important proceedings. When an important decision needs to be made, incompetent gambling devils are often sent elsewhere and tasked with long and tedious jobs, such as tallying all the casualties in a battle against Heaven. In rare cases, however, they are invited to key proceedings to encourage carelessness in their masters’ rivals.
When visiting the Material Plane, magadazes take the forms of humanoids typical of the particular region they are visiting. In this guise, they often fund and encourage gambling halls and other dens of temptation, even going so far as founding gambling halls when none can be found nearby. They take special delight when they can establish these dens of sin near temples of Abadar, undermining the temples’ authority while at once overworking and infuriating the clerics.
Conjurers who call gambling devils to their sides must be sure to steel themselves against the temptation these devils engender, for magadazes possess great skill in making even the most unlikely bet sound tempting. Despite this risk, many still bind these devils, seeking allies who gladly provide discreet aid in high-stakes gambling ventures; in turn, though, gambling devils almost always demand a game of chance with the caller as payment, and those games’ subsequent costs can run high indeed.
The fact that one never knows whether a called gambling devil will be meticulous or incompetent poses an additional risk. When not tasked with a job, less effectual gambling devils seize upon any opportunity for a game of chance. To combat this inclination, canny summoners provide a bound magadaz with constant distractions. Many find benefit in calling two magadazes at once, allowing them free rein to gamble as they will so long as they do so only with one another.Creatures in "Devil" CategorySource Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 72
Masters of corruption and despoilers of purity, devils seek to destroy all things good and drag mortal souls back with them to the depths of Hell.
As the most numerous fiendish occupants of Hell, the various forms of devils are well catalogued by diabolists. Most are known by two names: an evocative title given to the fiends by commoners and folklore, and an obscure, ancient designation spoken by the servants of Hell and those who would seek to deal with the damned.
Born from the foulest of mortal souls—their personalities and memories long since scoured by millennia of torment—would-be devils rise from the masses of suffering souls as lemures, revolting beings of mindless evil potentiality. Only through continued centuries of torture or by the edicts of more powerful devils do these least of devilkind rise to become deadlier fiends, graduating through a pain-wracked metamorphosis dictated by their masters or the infernal whims of Hell's semi-sentient layers. While fiendish lords wield transformation into greater or lesser forms as both prize and punishment, some devils spontaneously rise from particularly evil souls long trapped upon an infernal layer. Thus, although the various diabolical breeds possess recognizable abilities and hold generalized rankings in the great infernal hierarchy, a devil's type alone does not always correspond to a specific tenure of torment or place in the infernal chain of command.
Devils fill the nine layers of Hell, though certain fiends are more common on specific layers than others, their specialized duties or fealty to individual archdevils drawing them to one torturous domain more than others. Although the various types of devils tend to specialize in unique forms of depravity or temptation, the hierarchies of Hell are not without flexibility for uncommon individual talents. Thus, particularly watchful hamatulas might join the ranks of Phlegethon's bone devil inquisitors, while veteran barbazus might serve among the pit fiends of Nessus.
Beyond the pits of Hell, devils often travel to the Material Plane at the summons of evil spellcasters. Quick to bargain and willing to serve mortals to assure their damnation, devils ever obey the letter of their agreements, but serve the whims of Hell foremost. Thus, even the least of devilkind might come to the Material Plane intent on further corrupting souls, cleverly escaping the bonds of their contracts to indulge their own plots, or to further the unspeakable goals of the archdevils of Hell. The Ranks of Devilkind Diabolists speak often of the rankings of Hell, the distinctions made between devils that distinguish the foot soldiers from the commanders of Hell's armies. While such divisions mean little to most mortals—a devil being a deadly foe in any incarnation—the hierarchies and nuances of Hell's society carry distinctions vital to the survival of any who would commune with devils. What distinguishes a breed of devils above or below others is more than a matter of brawn, with several cunning types of fiend holding priority over their fundamentally stronger brethren. While a devil's station does not mean it can instantly command every other devil of inferior standing, it does imply which fiends might serve their brethren or hold influence over others.
Below these are the devil races themselves, from the lordly and malevolent pit fiends all the way down to the lowly, malformed lemure. The Infernal Hierarchy Listed here, from the absolute weakest devils to the lords of Hell, is the most basic hierarchy of the infernal realm's best-known denizens.
Least Devils: imps, lemures
Lesser Devils: bearded devils (barbazus), erinyes, barbed devils (hamatulas), bone devils (osyluths)
Greater Devils: horned devils (cornugons), ice devils (gelugons), pit fiends Devil SubtypeDevils are lawful evil outsiders that hail from the plane of Hell. Devils possess a particular suite of traits (unless otherwise noted in a creature's entry). - Immunity to fire and poison.
- Resistance to acid 10 and cold 10.
- See in Darkness (Su) Some devils can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by a deeper darkness spell.
- Summon (Sp) Devils share the ability to summon others of their kind, typically another of their type or a small number of less-powerful devils.
- Telepathy.
- Except when otherwise noted, devils speak Celestial, Draconic, and Infernal.
- A devil's natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as lawful and evil for the purpose of resolving damage reduction.
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