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The D&D Mоnster You Literally Can't Attack
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ส.ค. 2024
- The harvester devil is a classic D&D monster archetype with an incredible spin. The 3rd edition D&D lore and ecology of these fiendish foes is really awesome, and I am so excited to talk about them this week. As always you can find the 5th edition D&D conversion of this 3.5 classic linked directly below!
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00:00 - INTRO
00:51 - WHAT IS A HARVESTER DEVIL?
07:00 - COMBAT
11:21 - PLOT HOOKS
17:21 - BIG ANNOUNCMENTS & FINAL THOUGHTS
20:42 - NEXT TIME ON MotW!
Thanks for watching everyone! What monster do you want to see covered on the channel next?
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Check out this week's artist, Tam: twitter.com/TamVmaT
Monster Suggestion: Stormcloud of Thoon 3.5e mm5
All the Thoon creatures are cool. But I feel like the stormcloud is fairly unique for a construct.
Monster I wanna see, say so in the comments? WITCHLIGHT MARAUDER!!!!!!
I just noticed these guys don't have Fire immunity. Was there an in-lore reason for that? Cuz otherwise I'm probably giving it to them, as standard devil stuff
@@agentchaos9332 It is a mistake. Should be immune.
“Your fiendishness, my client was promised ‘fame that would surpass your wildest dreams’. Well their fame has never reached the realm of dreams and thus is clearly within their wildest dreams. Therefore the deal wasn’t upheld and their soul forfeit from the transaction and should be returned”
OH MY GOD! THAT IS FREACKING BRILLIANT!
excuse me? your client lack of imagination turn this a figure of language. My client gave fame and resources as per contract. His soul is now property of my client.
Unless literally every person in every plane has heard of you then you could absolutely dream about being more famous
Grey zone arguments end as being 50% effective. Possibly with resonance like becoming a warlock, on a save and, perhaps both sides are content with that roll.
Then again, chance is not very devilish. Room for role-playing though.
@@kaduVIIIpuffery is not an acceptable defense in infernal court. What do you think we are? Demons?
The idea that these guys are so aggressively strong against those of the material plane but a total pushover otherwise is so funny to me. You could have the most powerful warrior in all the land unable to hurt him at all, failing over and over, and then some leprechaun kicks him in the shin and everything starts falling apart.
Pretty much not how it worked in 3.5. That's just the only way it fits in 5e.
And one of many reasons 5e sucks...
If my DM pulled "you cant atrack... because" i would either just walk away or break out my "time to break the bad GM" side of me.
@@Asghaadnobody said you couldn’t try to attack them you will just probably fail. Mr the game has to work exactly like I think it should or I’ll throw a fit and ruin the game for everyone
@@Seymourjohnson69 ah yes because disliking railroading bad DMs is "ruining the game" ...
ive played with plenty over the years in several different systems and i have been DM plenty of times myself and i know of not ONE DM that was railroading storylines and deciding arbitrarily what players can or cant do without damn good reason that players stuck with and enjoyed the games.
The best ones were not only letting players to do whatever the hell they wanted to do with no "you cant do that because i sayd so mcguffins", they also without exception were good at improvising and "going with the flow, not "you cant attack this guy becaus it says so in this rulebook" ... not one of them would look at this design and put one in theyr game because its STUPID design and totally unneeded because proper DM tha knows his group, theyr capabilities and behaviors can achieve the same without using such a horrible crutch of a gimmick.
@@Asghaad you equate not being able to easily attack one single monster to railroading. Then you said you’d leave the table or start playing in a way that’s detrimental to everyone else’s enjoyment that’s called throwing a fit buddy
I always loved dealmakers.
Lawful evil is so neat as an alignment. Sure he might be evil but he keeps his word and is perfectly civil
This. Same
Also, as I want my character to be a con artist, I would love to have a devil as an actual best friend and NOT as a business deal but as a real friend. Friends help friends.
I would help them find souls (not my own or my own teams or anyone that is/could be related in any way, sort or form or other people that i/we aka the team would also like to be on in the future but other people's souls.
The people/characters/other mosters/etc we don't care about or people/characters/other monsters we don't like for whatever reason at any time we want/need for any reason.
As long as I/the team not including the devil gets and keeps the control of which souls the devil gets and when then the best friendship is still good.
In short. Evil with Standards
I have a lawful evil character who’s a warlock with a Celestial patron. Neither side of the pact was tricked or coerced into it; they were able to create a mutually beneficial relationship.
One of my favorite moments was when he accidentally released a tiger upon a town while trying to get something from inside a wagon. But since nobody saw him do it, he was later (after getting the item he was after, of course) able to trap the tiger inside a ring of fire, making himself seem like the town’s savior. Ironically, this only put the party at a net neutral in terms of reputation in the town, since other party members had previously done some dumb stuff that culminated in them killing a town guard while my character (and I irl) was elsewhere.
Tl;dr: It’s fun having a lawful evil character who is also the voice of reason in a group.
Gaunter O'Dimm was the best.
I like the idea of a Harvester devil who learnt the raise dead spell, opening a funeral service, and offering the friends and family of the deceased a deal to revive the dead for their soul.
That's not the worst deal it could offer. The devil could pull an Earl of Millenium from D Gray Man.
Press F to pay your soul.
Quick way to have one of the nastier varieties of Inevitable sicked on your ass. Maruts are not to be messed with.
Hey. You could make a religion out of this!
Guess I know what my Halloween game is gonna involve 💅🏻
You know a video is gonna be good when it opens with the phrase “ the Faustian deal gets a bad wrap “
What is it wrapped with? If the lettuce wrap is bad, use tortilla instead.
*rap
Once I saw the fit you knew it's about to get heavy
@@citizen_grub4171 rep* as in reputation
@ThatReplyGuy It’s actually lettuce, reason being I prefer the crunch it provides it really compliments the texture of the fine print
I can imagine an evil Saul Goodman for a Harvester Devil.
I’m Saul Badman, did you know you have rights?
evil saul goodman.... otherwise known as saul goodman
A missed opportunity for Soul Goodman 😂
@@Danny191 better call Soul
I like the idea of a party member finding out they're from an outer plane when they deck a harvester devil in the face and nothing immediately terrible happens to them.
Great stuff as always dude!
"no mortal may harm me"
that one PC the DM was allowed to decide some secret background stuff with: *punch*... I've got some questions
Aasimar Divine Soul Sorcerer/Celestial Warock (aka Cokelock) struts into the room like Vince McMahon
@@jemm113aasimir are still mortals of the material plane, they just have a deadbeat angel for one parent.
So a Gith can throw hands? They’re not from the Material Plane.
@@sinisterthoughts2896 when they were introduced they were primarily a Planescape race.
So. Good.
Devil/Angel society was so interesting in 3.5 and I love having it brought back up. The idea that the epitomes of evil, Devils themselves, have a robust and functioning legal system and that it's actually fair and just is just... *chefs kiss* perfection, and kudos to whomever came up with the idea.
There's an old saying. "The Devil is in the details", and few things have details like legal codes.
They might be evil, but they aren't unfair
What’s more evil than screwing yourself over in plain (legal) sight?
*points to small print in legalese
“Ya screwed yourself, says right here”
@@gideonmele1556I've found the Harvester Devil
The Beauty of Lawful.
Honestly showing Matt as Lawful Evil is perfect. Bro knows how to pose like a villain 🤣
Absolutely he does
Brennan Lee "Imma kill that dog" Mulligan is good?
Brennan Lee "I used my normal voice for the prince of all hells" Mulligan?
@@Spyromancy598 Brendan is threatening when you meet him, but he doesn’t have that classical “Villainous Look” that Matt has.
@@nadsenoj8719Matt plays for his players. Mulligan plays against his players.
One is a great storyteller who let's his players be heros while the other is on a power trip
@@shaynewalker3248 That's just not true, I have seen Brendan bend over backwards to help his players do what they want, while Matt would have just said "I won't allow that". I guess if you only watched Calamity you could argue that, but he was very bound by having to keep Exandrian history intact.
Not gonna lie, I think bringing in a Planetar to deal with a harvester devil would be absolutely hilarious. That planetar is having a good time.
Planetar walks in: oy, I heard you were talking shit.
*Immediately smites the Harvester devil so hard he crashes through the first six layers of hell*
Harvester Devil: "You can't hit me, and you know It"
Paladin: "I do know that, unfortunately for you, I made some friends who don't care"
Harvester Devil: "Oh please, nothing In this realm can ever hop-"
Planetar: *Teleports In and Instantly hits Harvester Devil across the head, sending them flying*
Paladin: "Sup bae"
Planetar: "Sup"
@@TaurusTheCrazyBulli can see clearics doing this like say a harvester is being aon arse of a problem and maybe even thoughs its got contracts with are starting to dislike its antics and the clearic convences their god to send it back from once it came in a 3x3ft cube of a box as a warning to not be so pushy.
Petition to get a stat block for Dungeon Dad
Expert stat block. Proficency in History and Investigation.
Well, he takes our immortal youtube-soul (aka sub) in exchange for updated monster stat blocks, and I'd argue we can't really attack him - so he basically already IS a Harvester Devil, right? :P
He has a 3 in every stat and a halitosis breath weapon.
Tyrants of the Nine Hells is now the most expensive book on my Amazon wishlist, thanks Dungeon Dad!
It's SOOOO expensive to get a physical copy. It's a really great book imo, but yeah, the price has really climbed up there.
I usually try to find scanned pdf copies of these older d&d books if I want to read them. It's sad, but also more practical :/
A cool way to get around the Harvester devil's protection would be for the party to find a way to make themselves appear to be some type of Celestial or outer being, and tricking the Devil leading to them making the first attack, and thus opening them up to further assault.
Just some sneaky way to make them be the ones to break the Cosmic Contract.
... is this what Raphael is?
No he is a cambion
A cool idea I had while watching this is what if the harvester devil and a city corrupter are trying to control this city and what your players morals are.
I like that a lot!
couldn't you just use a summoning spell to get an elemental or fey to fight it for you? like couldn't a paladin's find steed just kick the devil over and over because it's not a mortal horse?
That is certainly a creative solution!
You could even say that paladin was horsing around.
Yes, but you've also got to watch out for all the minions it has. You need to be prepared for a bunch of other Devils, and like Dungeon Dad said, maybe the town guards, or who knows what else. You suddenly find yourself also dealing with say, a high level Wizard who sold his soul to the devil for knowledge or something, it complicates things.
So basically you need to make sure to hold everything else off while the horse kicks it in the face, which could be rather interesting.
@@brettwood1351 That's certanly a novel aproach to solve a problem. I cant say I have ever run a combat where the main goal is to buy time for a planar horse to trample a devil.
@@piens51 There's a first time for everything.
I really like encounters and monsters my players can't just punch through, since I'm often playing with 1-2 players that have murder-hobo-ish tendencies. Being able to naturally punish their actions with a specific NPC or encounter keeps them on their toes and guessing, and I think it also helps curb a lot of the issues that playstyle tends to have.
Lol teach them Skyrim players how to REALLY roleplay
Also good way to finaly send them to do that one plane related quest they have been ignoring. Nothing motevates players more than killing a smug douche that quite literaly laughs at them when they say that they will kill him and all they can do is watch.
@@piens51 It helps that even if you get around the "Can't directly attack", this isn't a enemy you just bash in the face. Oh, you can now bash him in the face, sure, but you've got to worry about all the minions, or you screwed up what the local Lord was dealing with him for, and now you've got a very bad rep because of it, and everyone out for the reward on your head, etc.
This is one of the very few situations where summoning a demon mightn't be a terrible option. I imagine you're not allowed to order summoned creatures to attack the devil, but you certainly don't have to actively prevent them from doing so. I don't imagine a demon would need any explicit encouragement to rip a physically weak devil limb from limb.
That is definitely one way to solve the problem!
@@DungeonDad Just make sure you can unsummon the Demon afterwards.
Summon spells seem like the best way to attack this thing if it refuses to attack.
Also player characters thet play centaurs, Fairies and even elves Elike Eladrins) that are from the feywild will be the partie's dedicated wacking stick and I love that.
The only thing with summons is that your DM might rule that you have to pass the check to give the order, since most summons eat a bonus action. I probably would, if my players tried it.
@@noonie6872though I’d argue that you wouldn’t get hit by the curse because you never actually touched him.
Someone call the shepherd druid!
@@noonie6872 *Laugh in Pathfinder summoner*
Imagine having to give order to a' invocation.
Thought it would be funny to see an eidelon with a pigeon form (party DPS) fight a devil
It’s always good to hear more lore on the Nine Hells, and I could easily see these guys becoming a reoccurring npc to the characters.
Would you also be interested in hearing about the Great Dreamers from Spelljammer?
Great Dreamers are 100% on my list!
One major note about the effect with the Pact Primeval, that only applies to one from the same planar "region" as the character.
Which creates some fun games if you have spelljammer involved there because that ability doesn't deal with stopping someone from a different "wheel" from just attacking the one from another one. So someone from Greyhawk could stab a Harvester Devil from the wheel with Faerun.
Weird thought: some playable races are classed as fey and other such extra planar classifications. Would they be free to attack the devil?
Now you're thinking like a devil: The Key Phrasing on Refuge of the Damned "If a creature from the material plane", this implies that their home plane is the Material plane. However if a character is born say in the Shadow Fell, or The Fey Wild or any of the outer planes (Which is possible) then they would be free to attack the harvester devil. Like wise, a fey born on the material plane would be unable to attack the harvester demon
@@HallowedKeeper_ Yup. For instance, following that logic, Aasimars and Tieflings wouldn't be able to attack Falxugons, considering they're Outsiders (Native).
He takes them court "Your honour!! They hit meee!!! They should be cursed DX"
"Well, technically..."
Right but summoning a Fey or Elemental is not a very high bar to pass.
Last night a ran a 7 hour campaign it was so much fun but at the end the sorcerer sold their soul to save their hometown from a curse, and then the bard unaware of the creature being a devil brought the creature back to said hometown to be their pet. I was trying to plan the next session now that the curse was fixed in session one. This video gave me so many ideas for what the nameless throwaway devil they met could now be thank you.
I think this is one of my favorite devils. I love the kind of villains that you cant really physically harm them becase they are master manipulators or something and when the heros finally manage to outsmart them it feels so good to see those villains getting beaten to a pulp.
You got that Brandon/Matt, good/evil thing backwards. Matt may mess with his players sometimes, but Brandon is FROM the abyss.
So Brandon can't be devil, if he is from the abyss (yes i'm playing the devil avocate for a démon lol)
He is absolutely a creature of chaos
Brennan
who the hell is brandon
Brandon the Builder
Thanks as always, Dad! I feel like these creatures are a natural fit around high-stakes corporate environments...if your world is more magically industrialized, then the "union" of harvester devils would be well-respected or even an industry standard in transactions between companies using soul power. Interactions with a non-enemy harvester devil for the party could be quite memorable in that kind of setting!
Also, I know someone who would be down for some commission work. They're quite busy at the moment, but if you have a backlog of creatures with no imminent deadline for getting some art, then hmu!
I love the idea of a harvester devil acting as a mafioso that's opposed to the party somehow
I actually had the idea for a harvester devil who doesn’t really make many contracts, as opposed to acting as a pipeline for items and resources that are hard to get in the nine hells.
Day 5 of Arc 2 of me asking for the Grue from Zork on Monster of the Week!
This was my favorite villain from an old campaign because they never figured out it was the Uncle Iroh looking tavernkeeper who kept tabs on them with his imp familiar (he had 3 lvls of sorcerer).
He used contracted people to do his dirty work. They die going after the party he kept their soul. An endless stream of random stranger attacks. They couldn't figure out their connection. They went up through the infernal chain and skipped right over the harvester devil. He continued to act as a spy for the ice devil that ran the slaver/fight ring in the Underdark sewers.
This is my favorite fiend to select as the ancestor/parent of my Tiefling characters
That's so awesome, that you're going to be commissioning artists! The art for this monster is phenomenal, you chose the right person!
Honestly, getting an extraplanar entity to fight a harvester devil could be a really fun adventure in and of itself. It reminds me of one of the plot lines in Super Crooks.
Thanks for the art link,it’s a pain finding pictures or more than one of so many monsters and creatures from Rifts,this may help me big time!! Thank again!!
This came just in time! A buddy recently challenged me to make an Ursula-themed character. The result was a water genasi warlock with a demonic patron that gives him power in exchange for having him gather souls. He resorts to making contracts with rigged terms to force criminals and vagrants into his patron's service. The idea being that his patron can't make unfair deals, but he can. Now I have the perfect devil for his pact!
One of these is definitely opening a “soul recruitment center” on the Rock of Bral in my Spelljammer setting.
To my fellow ambient music DM's
The song at 11:30 is called "Craniums" by Pearce Roswell
His "Where Truth Lies" album fits that somber guitar feel that we need perfectly
it would be fun if its summoned minions have lawyer outfit
Is it me or... is that Fire Elemental wearing a tie? 🤔
Pit fiend named The manager
Anyone else remember The Accountant from Drive Angry? One of Nick Cage's most underappreciated movies
I think my favorite version of using a Harvester Devil is having a Harvester Devil approach an adventuring party in order to get them to do something for them. Like get an artifact they made a deal with a noble to get retrieved. Or rescue a noble lady from a tower, because she made a deal to be rescued by a great adventuring party. Anything really.
Even if the devil could get something done itself, or using summoned creatures, perhaps it wants to cut costs by using a less expensive method (adventurers), or hide a deal from their superiors to get the soul themselves. Frankly I think it makes for a great adventure hook for a party.
Can you imagine the look on a paladins face when they realize that the princess they just rescued lost their soul because the "kind old man" who informed them of her location was actually a Harvester Devil who had made a deal for her rescue?
Or a deal to return a party member's soul in exchange for ending some loopholes in other contracts the demon made. "He applied for a judge to free his soul because I only gave him 1,000 gold instead of the 1,200 he agreed upon. I need you to dig up his body, and rebury him with the remaining 200 gold. After all I never said I would give it to him while he was alive. Then I can call a retrial and get his soul sent straight back to hell."
Great for major quests, or even little side adventures. Perhaps even bonus quests for an additional reward. For example a Harvester Devil offering a desired magic item they heard the party looking for, only asking that in exchange a certain guard's body in a castle the party is going to attack is burned, or an individual is left alive due to a deal the devil has to protect a persons family. Your party can get the item they need and only have their morals as the cost!
Watching this while playing baldurs gate 3 just made me see Raphael in a whole New light. Im glad I didnt take the pact lol
Loving the inclusion of Primus’s animated music video for their cover of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”!! Great video :D
"Greetings adventurer, I'm Harvey Star the travelling trader... say, that's an interesting amulet. A holy relic, you say?
...
...
I think we might be able to come to some kind of arrangement."
Thank you so much for uploading this topic, going to help me this Sundau.
One of my players signed a deal with one of these things where to learn the true identity of their soul powering their body (they are a homunculus) they have to kill a very important NPC of the world, another players mother. I love that you made this video just in time for the Ball they are going to, I was going to have the Devil show up since the player failed to even attempt to follow through with their end with a multitude of warnings while being with the NPC. Now I know how to run Papa Crimson in the material plain.
New Dungeon Dad video? Great way to start the weekend!
Here's an idea for an evil, roleplaying-focused campaign: A Harvester Devil made a deal with some adventurers to turn them into Harvester Devils in exchange for a period of service to him.
The "falx" in it's Abyssal name is a reference to the Roman sword of the same name, which was single edged with an inline curve. Basically, a sickle like sword - associated with a _harvest_ tool
Harvest 'er devil? I hardly know 'er!
Honestly I wanna see Harvester Devils acting a liaison to a Warlock's Patron, or in the event the party has to find a way to bring down it they bring in a Celestial servant of a Law Deity and bring them to court, being the Phoenix Wright to their Miles Edgeworth
Best thing about devil contracts; bylaws. Riders that are technically in the contract without being written into the contract, based on the diety or arch devil that the contract represents.
My games featured a few homebrew minor gods, including a LE hobgoblin diety of contracts and trickery.
Love the idea of pitting fey against devils. Not only would that make an interesting fight but it would make an even more interesting dispute.
That whole Phoenix wright scenario where you’re pleading your case with a harvester devil defending you against other devils? Imagine that but with a fey as your lawyer instead working on your behalf to work through the deal before its made. I imagine a lot of trickery back and forth between the devil and fey. Of course the fey might actually enjoy the mental sparring and see it as a game but the devil would be endlessly annoyed even if they didn’t express it and they might just leave because its not worth their time anymore.
I even came up with kinda some rough dialogue for how I imagine it might go.
*(Party is approached with a Faustian deal by a devil and summons a fey to intercede in the deal on their behalf and work out the most beneficial deal possible allowing the fey to also bargain with the devil to get something out of it.)*
F: for if you tug at the strings of truth and weave a web of lies
The deal shant be remiss
To due the price and prize
D: of course, of course! I can work with that but for what I offer the price you pay is your soul
F: hmmm if I may I might add a personal steak at hand, and I will require your name as proper compensation for my sole.
D: how would you like your steak cooked? and other devils call me *(insert degrading insult in infernal here)*
F: rare is fine for me to dine and of the sole here be mine. *(takes off shoe and hands it to devil)*
*(Both leave frustratingly bewildered by how they were cheated in the deal by the other. Party somehow gets the best of both ends of the deal they would have made.)*
I love the idea of one that's (through some shady practices and influence) helped a rather downtrodden town become extremely affluent. And he's become extremely proud of this town, genuinely loving the people within it as an extension of his own greatness. Basically, sociopathic greed "you all belong to me", blah blah blah... And then the party comes across and through shenanigans, become well aquainted to this devil who would definitely not turn down their souls if they'd just... make a deal... But that never happens, and he's like "well, it's like begging for copper, which I'll never do." Maybe at some point a party member ends up in the 9 hells and demands a trial because of a random bit of info slipped in conversation, and he decides "huh, I know that guy.. he bought all of that disgusting ale from Agatha and finally convinced her to scrap it from the menu after projectile vomitting acid across those nice new floors I had made.. I should probably defend him."
I may not like the idea of a monster that cannot be attacked, but I can see why other folks may find it interesting. Epescially when it comes in the package deal of a monster that is interesting all around, like this one is.
No, it epitome of bad design and something DM would be laughed at normally because its bs railroading toxic nonsense
@@Asghaad It's not railroading though. Nor is it toxic.
It can be attacked by summons from any plane but the material. If you want to just beat them instead of trying to beat them at their own game.
I made my own 5e update of this fine fellow a couple of weeks ago. Nice to see Dungeon Dad giving the Falxugon his full lore and statting treatment. :D
Did you give him fire immunity? Cuz for me it's weird he doesn't have that, unless there's a specific lore reason that he doesn't
@@agentchaos9332 I did. All baatezu are fully immune to fire and poison. I checked my PDF copy of the Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells and the Falxugon has fire and poion immunity there as well. Just a minor error on DD's part.
As a fellow owner of a Fiendish Codex II, i ageee its a great book.
Just got back from crit crab and this is a nice refresher to the channel.
It feels like the Harvester Devil is a perfect contact between a Fiendish Warlock and their Patron, or possibly even the perfect gateway for a character to become a Warlock in gameplay.
Basically a perfect way to give a patron a more physical presence in a campaign, especially at a lower power level.
I had a demon is that was close to this:
*The demon walks up to you, he's dressed well and doesn't seem to hide it's features. Odd
*It decided to see if it can tempt you. You're a paladin who doesn't seem to want to lose your soul
*They said they don't deal in those things normally. They asked if you would be at least interested in hearing them out
*Now you're curious. Yes
*They said you can ask for anything lost as long as you or someone close to you wasn't the one who lost it
*You asked to get the great sword of Rahalla, a sword known to have been lost after everyone died at the great battle of Goe
*He can't do that
*You got a new side mission
you had to record this is THAT shirt. I respect it
I didn't know these existed! I had a shady business man that was a devil that used only illusions to avoid combat and tire out the party while he was sitting at his desk in the next room. I'm totally making these guys the lawyers in my games!
my party hates you. 21 minutes video + 1hour ploting but multible weeks of pain for my group
Love the new transitions. Hope to see more fiend and devil creature videos. You cover them very well.
That artwork looked amazing! Props to the artist!
I enjoy the idea of the harvester devil offering help to adventuring parties at a reduced price specifically to get them on his side as allies, then leaning on them for protection or other help it might need
"You may select your representation for this Infernal trial."
"...I select Asmodeus the Archfiend."
I adjusted the statsheet to make one of these guys a fae creature that was running a travelling entertainment troupe and let me tell you their abilities work GREAT for that vibe
One of my favorite characters was a lawful evil Tiefling rogue. His grandfather was a Harvester Devil.
But what's one of the rules of Magic in DnD?
Magic cannot *CREATE* wealth or objects of value. Just full-stop can't. Illusions of it, sure. Transmute lead into gold, all day long. But it cannot conjure gold from nothing. So all those merchants trading their souls for gold? That gold has to come from somewhere. And who amasses more gold than successful adventurers?
So Grampy Brimstone hit on the idea of creating his own mafia-style family, populated by tieflings and other outcasts, and raising a generation of adventurers to fill the coffers he uses to trade with suckers. They take on a mafia-style family culture, and it's all about 'supportin tha family, ya dig?'. Gold. Jewels. Art. Tomes of rare spells. Skulls of unique creatures. Blood of exotic monsters. Maps of distant lands. Everything has value to someone, and there's always someone who will trade away what they have for what they think they want.
Now, this means that the entire family is destined for the hells themselves, and that's more feathers in grampa's hat as well, but the highest earners? The made men? They get a special pass, they get to skip the centuries of torment and skip straight to infernal promotion, becoming Abishai in days instead of decades. That was my character's goal. To make it as a 'made man' so impressive, he could skip Abishai and get promoted straight to a fellow Harvester Devil.
This video has given me such an interesting idea for a player backstory/motive. A relative tells you about a deal that seems to good to be true and despite your warnings, they take the deal and turns out the price was their soul. The bbeg of your story becomes a near untouchable devil holding your relatives soul hostage.
My brain has been buzzing trying to get around the wisdom save to attack. My best idea for a non-magic party. A big rock. Push a rock off a cliff while the devil is distracted. Gravity doesn’t need to make a save.
It would take planning and the devil being willing to meet with you. Maybe a magic circle to keep him from getting away if you have a wizard in the party.
My character picked up a large door and flung it at a harvester devil. It just leaned its neck to the side dodging it, and dusted its shoulder off.
oh wow, this is my first video of this channel and im so impressed! you explain things so well and give a ton of ideas for a DM to play around with!
Wonder if the devil from Baldur's Gate 3 is a Harvester.
Another fun way to deal with the Harvester Devil's protection would be to just taunt him into throwing a punch, either as the whole plan or just as a distraction while the party fetches a Fey or Elemental.
Hey Dad, just wanted to say thank you for providing me with hands down the best monster revamps. Especially with the plot hooks. Going through writer's block sucks but you honesty saved my Theros campaign with the Sun Giants.
Hell yeah, I’m happy to be of service!
Came over by recommended videos. Noticed the constant comparison to 3.5e references and found the 3.5e of the Harvester devil. It should also be noticed the 5e stat block in the google doc for harvester devil in the OP section above has a high chance of being homebrewed a bit further than normal 5e conversion. here is 3.5e stat.
Infernal Debt (Su): A harvester devil's ichor-soaked dagger places a powerful curse upon those struck by it. When struck by this weapon, a target must make a successful DC 20 Will save or take a �2 penalty on attack rolls, checks, and saves as feelings of fatigue and sloth overcome him. Multiple attacks with this venom do not stack. This penalty lasts for 24 hours or until the target willingly strikes a good-aligned creature. This attack must deal its full normal damage, though the victim can opt to make an unarmed strike or other similarly ineffectual blow. In any case, he cannot opt to deal less damage than normal, nor can he accept the standard -4 penalty on the attack roll to deal nonlethal damage. The victim feels a strange urge to strike eligible targets to break the curse, and he can feel soothing relief waiting for him if he only gives in to the malevolent whispers that echo in his mind. A remove curse or heal spell rids a victim of the penalties, as well as the urge to do a companion harm. This is a mind-affecting ability, and the save DC is Charisma-based.
Refuge of the Damned (Su): Through a bizarre clause in the Pact Primeval, harvester devils are magically warded to prevent attacks by all non-outsiders, at least until they strike first. A harvester devil continually gains the benefit of a sanctuary spell; a DC 22 Will save is required to overcome this effect. Outsiders are unaffected by this ability. If a harvester devil attacks any opponent, this ability ceases to function for 1 minute. A non-outsider that succeeds on its save against refuge of the damned takes a -2 penalty on all saves for 1 minute, the cosmic price for breaking the ancient clause that protects harvester devils. The save DC is Charisma-based.
So infernal debt versus the google doc. Proper conversion would likely be that the victim of the curse would have disadvantage on attacks rolls against enemies, checks against enemies, and saves made against enemy abilities until willingly striking an ally or self. The 'will save' when converted to 5e can be Int save, Wisdom save, or Cha save. In the case of the context as well as it (in 3.5e) being a mind affecting ability (big implications in that edition). I can see more of a lean toward Wisdom or Cha save. Mind affecting has implications of 'fear' or 'charmed' impication in 5e with appropriate abilities affecting it appropriately. In 5e, curses and similar to this can carry a 'successful save means immunity for 24 hours'. A fair balance for this not happening for this ability can be made.
Refuge of the Damned versus the google doc. Big difference between 'non-outsiders' and 'residents of the material plane' and even down the the 'sanctuary effect'. In 5e, proper conversion would resort to the 'humanoid, beast, etc.' types instead of the overall 'residents of the material plane'. Google doc has 'super sanctuary' effect which doesn't convert well like that from 3.5e. Even 5e sanctuary doesn't ward against area of effect and what. DC 25 Wisdom save might be a bit too high, but should still be high. Constant effect until Devil making an attack is still doable. Wisdom save would need to be Int, Wis, or Cha save. I myself would lean more toward Wis or Cha save. Type restriction would need to be 'humanoid, beast, etc.' versus all encompassing 'residents of the mortal plane'. Successful save would still carry minus 2 penalty to attack rolls and saves, but would last 1 minute. Not bring about disadvantage for 24 hours.
The idea behind this devil (even in 3.5e) is that he is not mean to be attacked DIRECTLY (unless super high saves or certain abilities due to race/class/feats/etc). Using resources to indirectly attack is another matter altogether.
mechanics part over.
CAN DEFINITELY see the roleplay potential in dealing with this kind of villain.
16:27 im just imagining a giant pit fiend sitting in a desk way too small for him with the tiny glasses and the wig on holding a tiny little hammer with his thumb and index finger who is REALLY pissed he's on judge duty instead of crushing demon skulls
What I got from this was that I need to summon some extra planar animals to kick some devil ass.
I a way this guy would be perfect as the crossroads deal devil in old tales.
I saw a spinning 20 sided die from the company Fan Roll, and immediately thought it would make an amazing prop for a faustian bargain. Now I have the perfect character to use it.
I had something similar to this, but it was in the City of Brass (Pathfinder).
Basically, one of the players had a super valuable recipe, and they sold it to one of the market lords (powerful Efreeti that controls a portion of the city's market), but was under contract to not share the recipe or sell items created with it to anyone else for 1 year.
But this guy also had a Deck of Many Things, and the high level players figured why not. One got a Donjon card, and was trapped for a day until the wizard could prepare wish.
Turns out the Donjon spell sent this player to one of the OTHER market lords, who extracted the recipe. This in turn put them in violation of the contract, and they got sued for a million gold.
They pled against it, but their case ended up being thrown out because their memories had been tampered with (they had memories of some stuff that would get them in even deeper shit if it got out), and they ended up having to assassinate him and blame it on someone else so they didn't have to pay up.
Will be a fun fight vs a Cleric who cast Sanctuary on themselves. Intense staring contest commence!
"... Surely there is something you would give anything for?" -HD coyly
"No, not really." -player lamely.
"Come now, you have BBEGs galore, enemies abound, a bucket list a mile long, and you're up against a literal god. I can solve at least one of these." -HD almost sickly sweetly.
"Fine, I'll bite."- player, some annoyance.
"Yessss?"-HD
"I want your eternal servitude. You answer to me. Any souls you collect are mine. Your knowledge is mine. All your skills are mine. You get my soul on completion of this contract."-player smugly.
"No." -HD responds flatly, hints of offence.
"Hm, so you won't take that deal? Then why the hell would I take any deal you would offer? I just offered you perfectly equal exchange, and you said no. Seems like your own advice is to not take a deal from you." -player
"Get bent." -HD, huffily vanishing in a puff.
Summon elemental. Summon earth elemental. Hulk sling loki at the end of avengers.
Also first 5e character was a Cambion conjuration wizard whose pre adventuring days were as a Military Lawyer and "Chivalry" Judge Advocate General
Love the Idea of a Shadow rogue selling his soul shards to that Devil.
I once had a DM that was running a harvester devil which we tricked into exchanging his soul for that of a rabbits. It was exceptionally funny because we later leveraged it to force it to release all other souls it had already taken during the past months so that he couldn't create a legion demon. I also saw a harvester devil which simply wanted to be loved by someone honestly.
God, there could be so many ways to play such a character. Like, imagine making him a Mr. Beast level of likable philanthropist. Just spreading wealth and prosperity in fun wild ways and only people in the right spots going to hell for it.
I could also see such a character 'cleaning up' the underbelly of a city. Feed the poor, make them his spy network, make sure they follow the law - BAM. They go from chaotic evil to lawful evil, so their souls go his side of the underworld without even a bargain being struck. Guards love him because crime is down. Charity balls to rebuild infrastructure means the lords of the land don't need to put all their funds into rebuilding themselves, and everyone has a good time. Now he's so likable that he can easily take whoever he wants.
I'm definitely going to use this in my upcoming Planescape/City of Sigil campaign.
Love that ep of American Dad. Later Roger tricks his opponent into paying for his guitar lessons for him. Thus saving his soul, lol.
god the kid running with a knife meme is still the funniest most wholesome thing! that little shit knows what hes doing lmao!
Heard that thought about imprisoning the devil, and immediately I thought 'What if that is exactly what the devil wants?'. After all where better to find a whole heap of desperate people with maybe a lack of morals than a big prison. Combine that with it getting out that there is an infernal deal maker with some real power behind them in a known location. Well then all those rich and powerful people with lacking morals will suddenly know just where to go to make a deal. Introducing corruption into the prison's defences and guards as they circumvent it for their own wants that can then be taken advantage of.
Hey @DungeonDad long time fan here and I don't really comment often. Anyway I know this is an older video but I recently downloaded your free stat block (amazing work as always) as I plan on using it in a Halloween One-Shot in a few days.
Don't know if this has been flagged up already by other viewers or you've caught it yourself by now. But the stat block for the old Harvester Devil seems to forget the devils immunity to fire and poison damage types.
Kinda jumped out at me as odd, them being a devil and all.
Hope you're doing well and eagerly await the Quintessential kickstarter getting fully published.
Tam's harvester devil gives me serious Darkest Dungeon vibes. Loving it!
It would be funny if some Harvester Devils were formerly lawyers in their original lives.
sounds like a good warlock patron, or at least an emissary of a warlock patron. very intriguing villain!
Conjure animals: You summon FEY spirits that take the form of beasts and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears.
3rd level spell loophole lmao
This guy was featured in a quest in _NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer._ The quest also involved diving into the dream repository of an ancient, epic level Night Hag coven that had set up shop in Rashemen. I won't spoil what happens, but it's part of the main storyline so you won't miss it unless you deliberately skip that section.
It could also be neat to explore the lawful connection between celestials and harvester devils. The pact says that sold souls belong in the 9 hells, so would a law-bound celestial be willing or even able to interfere with that? They are obviously opposed on the good vs evil axis, but they're connected by the same document.
honestly i like the idea of one of these things posing as some kind of miracle-doctor, making deals with the desperate to save their loved ones
Thank you Dungeon Dad for dropping the perfect monster for my upcoming BBEG. I’ve been searching around for the perfect “monster in disguise” that’s supplanted itself as a local monarch and this checks all the boxes
Player: “I attack the demon”
DM: “Nuh uh”
I'd change the unique harvester quality to a positional template for any extraplanar diplomat or merchant that has 1. An approved authority, and 2. Obvserves cosmic law.
"Diplomatic Immunity is a powerful force for outsiders to sway mortals to their planes. Devils, angels, and Djinn are the general population of Planar Diplomats. Most chaotic entities can't control their impulses long enough to maintain ther immunity status, and more Neutral entities such as Yugoloths don't often find the benefits of immunity to be worth the limitations. A strange new phenomenon is powerful mortals petitioning for Planar Immunity, such as Gold, Blue, and Green dragons, some Illithid, Storm Giants, and even the first undead diplomat Ezaril the Elf-lord Lich of the Khyrrozan Mythal!"