The D&D Mоnster You Literally Can't Attack

hello and welcome to monster of the week the only show on the internet that thinks the fosy and deal gets a bad rap today we are talking about one of the most interesting creatures from the nine Hells you could ever cross paths with the Harvester devil as always we'll be going over this creatur's publication history lore and ecology taking a deep dive into everything there is to know and then we're going to convert them into fifth edition D and D so you can use them in your current 5e campaign I'm so excited to talk about this monster they're weird they're practical they have a personality and they pose larger questions about the overall cosmology of the Multiverse all of which are things I consider to be a massive benefit so settle in make sure you talk to your lawyer before signing any contracts and get ready because we are taking a trip to the nine Hells Harvester Devils first appeared in Third Edition D and D as part of the fish codex 2 tyrants of the nine Hells this book published in 2006 was meant to really flesh out the nine Hells as a location for your Dungeons and Dragons Adventures as was the norm for most Third Edition books of the time this thing was chalk full of all kinds of options for both players and DMS that were looking to get dragged to hell there's also just a ton of really interesting game lore in this book so if you're a lore Nerd Like Me chances are you probably are if you're watching this Channel and you can manage to get your hands on a copy I highly recommend it there's some interesting stuff in there but I digress we're here to talk about the Harvester devil Harvester Devils or fals youon if you're speaking infernal are very humanoid in their appearance aside from their goat feet horns and Barbed tail these guys tend to look like just about any other well dressed charlatan and that's something worth noting is that these creatures are always dressed to the nines in beautiful garments finery and anything that they think makes them look cool if it weren't for their Hellboy esque features they'd almost fit in with high society so it's a good thing they can use magic to mask their true appearance unless this creature was encountered on its home plane in the nine hell somewhere it's very unlikely anyone interacting with a harvester devil would have any idea that they were talking to a devilish creature they do their utmost to come across as any other humanoid creature at least while they're in public in private though that's a whole different situation as the name would suggest these creatures are experts in the art of harvesting and I'll give you one guess what they harvest to a devil there's no crop more important than souls and the easiest way by far to collect mortal Souls is simply to find creatures who are willing willing to give up their soul in exchange for something of value usually we're talking about wealth power or sometimes something very specifically valuable to the wouldbe soul seller and the Harvester devil is an expert at convincing Mortals to make the ultimate trade these cunning Devils travel all over the material plane hatching schemes shooing with nobility and worming their way into society in order to acquire as many Mortal Souls as possible now due to the lawful nature of devils this is almost never a violent transaction the Harvester devil will simply find individuals that can tempt into making a deal and once a deal is struck the creature's soul is forfeit but the Harvester devil does also have to uphold its side of the bargain too this isn't a genie wish situation this is a business transaction between two consenting parties it's all very corporate and if you were to view the nine Hells as a massive bureaucratic institution which it definitely is these guys would be like the entrylevel sales people that get you to sign your life away and then mail you a garage full of weight loss supplements but this is all probably sounding pretty familiar I feel like there are countless depictions of devils and fiends all across DND D and pop culture as a whole that showcase the shadowy businessman wearing a suit trying to convince some Mortal to sell their soul in exchange for mon gain I'm sure your reasons are terrific if you're willing to pay with your soul wait my soul my Kia Soul but you guys also know that I wouldn't be making this video if that's all there was to it see Harvester Devils have one exceptional quality to them and that is the fact that no mortal can cause harm to a harvester devil unless the Harvester devil attacks them first can't touch me to put this in game terms you literally cannot attack or take any aggressive action against a harvester devil unless you are either a creature from one of the Outer Planes or you can pass a dc25 wisdom saving throw and even if you do manage to make that save you'll be bringing a curse upon yourself that gives you disadvantage on attack rolles and saving throws for 24 hours as punishment for breaking Cosmic law this protection that the Harvester devil enjoys isn't a result of some fish magic it's only possible because of a loophole that Harvester Devils have found a way to leverage in an agreement between all of the Gods which has become known as the packed primeval there's a ton of information to go over about this PCT why it is what it is and all the information surrounding its creation a lot of which is laid out in the book but basically it was agreement that all the gods came to at a very early stage in the Multiverse creation that essentially separated the domain of law into the domains of lawful evil and the domains of lawful good basically it's why hell and heaven are two different places in the DND D Cannon so you can only imagine what this must do for their ego and their sense of security Harvester devils are Brazen and imperious because they know that nobody can really do anything against them directly this makes them excellent villains because you're dealing with a harvester devil antagonist you can't just go straight to the source and chop his head off you have to get a little creative now remember the instant you finish it I own your soul for hey wait if I don't finish this last bite you don't get my soul do you uh technically no but before we talk about what kind of schemes a harvester devil might get up to using this power let's talk about all of its abilities and what it can actually do in battle [Music] combat with a harvester devil is bound to be frustrating this is a creature that cannot be targeted unless you're capable of passing a ludicrously high saving throw and even then if you do pass it you have to make that save every single time you want to attack the devil until you can coax it into attacking you come to think of it abilities like crown of M Ness and other charms that compel someone to attack a creature around them might come in real Handy in a situation where you're trying to force a harvester devil to make the first move but barring magical interference as a cr6 creature the vast majority of players going up against this thing are not going to be able to succeed on a dc25 saving throw reliably so because of this the Harvester Devil's biggest fear isn't being attacked and killed it's being captured well you may not be able to stab it with a sword or shoot it with a gun if you manage to imprison the devil that's still fair game so using a combination of spells like disguise self dispel magic and Misty step the Harvester devil is going to be pretty slippery and of course it can also do the one thing most devils are known for doing and that is summoning more Devils once per day the Harvester devil can summon 2 D6 lemures or 1 D4 bearded Devils so if things start to get hairy they're liable to summon some Lackey and hit the bricks but if the devil does get into a situation where it feels like it has no choice but to attack it has one trick up its sleeve sorry did I say trick I mean dagger it has a dagger up its sleeve that it can stab you with for 1 D4 plus three damage let me see what you have no and it curses you if you get stabbed by this infernal creature you might not take a ton of physical damage but you do have to make a dc18 wisdom saving throw or your ass is cursed and if you are cursed you must spend your next action attacking a Target as chosen by the Harvester devil so while the damage from its dagger may only be a slight sting it can use the power of its enemies to cause some real harm But ultimately with limited physical attack options and a fairly shallow hit point pool the Harvester devil doesn't want to be getting in fights if it doesn't have to that's what it has minions for no Harvester devil is ever just alone they make it their duty to become very difficult targets and very hard to catch by surprise they go to Great Lengths to ensure that they are embedded in society like a tick as deep as possible so when you're up against a harvester devil you're not really just fighting the Harvester devil you have no idea how many other other creatures in the surrounding area might be under that Devil's influence bit of advice don't threaten the guy who PS the drinks maybe he's promised the local captain of the guard that he can retrieve his deceased son's soul back from the depths of hell if he cooperates so now you're not just dealing with the devil you've got the town guard on your ass or perhaps he's convinced the majority of the local Merchant skilled to sell their souls to him in exchange for vast quantities of wealth and he uses them as a network of informance now while you're traveling through the city you have eyes everywhere watching your every move and that's not even to mention the other Devils that a harvester devil will have working under them so based on how long a harvester devil has been active in a specific area for there's really no telling how much danger you're actually putting yourself in when you make yourself openly averse to what whatever that Harvester devil is trying to do if you do decide that you want to make yourself an enemy of this creature usually it'll start with the devil approaching you and making you some kind of offer at hopes you won't be able to refuse and once you've refused that offer then we see how things go but I guess that brings us to our next topic how we might actually use these things at the game table this monster is great because it can fit in with practically any level of an ongoing campaign due to the nature of this monster and everything we just talked about it's almost never going to be a physical threat the true challenge here is going to be outthinking and outmaneuvering such a clever Creature if you're a dungeon master running this monster one of the key things you'll want to consider is what role is the Harvester devil currently fulfilling within the society it's invaded perhaps it's the Shady adviser to the king or perhaps it's merely a shadowy Salesman that appears in his stage coach at the local Crossroads every night promising a solution to whatever ails you but whatever level of influence the Harvester devil has in society if it's at odds with the party things are bound to get complicated very fast the adventurers may have to dismantle this Devil's network of people beholden to him essentially just cutting off all of its resources so that the threat becomes moot Maybe go on a quest to find a Celestial who's willing to help them because remember Mortals can't attack the Harvester devil but if they manage to find a powerful Celestial who's willing to get on their side or maybe even a fay creature or an elemental just some type of being that is not from the material plane that they can get on their side now they have a way to actually kill it every single one of these different Avenues has its own challenges just contacting a celestial let alone convincing them that this Harvester Devil is a big enough problem for them to come to the material plane and help them deal with it is going to be a challenge in and of itself but maybe they decide to go for a fay creature just dealing with Fay in general as a challenge in and of itself you'd have better luck convincing Jeff Bezos not to be a greedy nightmare person I also love this as a plan B to an Adventure like maybe the party tries to stop a harvester devil and they just keep hitting brick wall after brick wall and ultimately decide screw it we're going to go try to find someone else to help us deal with this the Harvester devil goating them and laughing at them as they walk away only for them to show up a month later with like a [ __ ] angel who just walks in and says heard you were talking [ __ ] at that point the climax of this adventure is just the party rolling in and dealing with the other Devils and underlings while their new best friend comes in and just Stomps this dude into the dirt I think that that would just be funny and have a lot of great opportunities for roll role play I do also like the Harvester devil as an option for helping the party with heavy air quotes there in exchange for someone's Immortal Soul perhaps the party can strike a deal and get something that they really need this could be a physical object related to the story a powerful magic item or something emotional even like the resurrection of a fallen party member whatever the case the Harvester devil could make for a really interesting NPC just to interact with the party if they're desperate enough I love the idea of a less than moral character dying in a campaign a character who's riding the line between neutrality and evil and maybe their soul ends up in the nine hells and after they die a harvester devil then suddenly appears and approaches the party and tries to convince the Paladin or the cleric to trade their soul in exchange for the resurrection of their friend see there's this whole thing in the D and D cosmology where different Souls have different values to different people a soul that belongs belong to a Cutthroat or a murderer ending up in the nine Hells that's just kind of like your average Soul it makes sense they're supposed to be there but a soul that belong to a virtuous Paladin or cleric or just any good aligned character really has a lot more value in the nine Hells because it's an exceptional Soul it's not really supposed to be there and it probably is beholden to one of the good aligned Gods so it just adds this extra value as far as the devils are concerned so a harvester devil would consider it a huge win if they can convince a virtuous character to trade their soul in exchange for the soul and life of their friend who just died something else I think is really interesting is that Harvester devils in the nine Hells will sometimes act as legal council if you die and your soul is under the ownership of a devil in the nine Hells once you arrive there you're pretty much screwed unless you can convince a judge that the terms of your fian contract Were Somehow invalid usually you do this by convincing the judge that the devil's end of the bargain was not upheld maybe you were promised a million gold and you only received 800,000 gold or in some cases you can also get away with this by convincing the judge that you were forced to sign the contract under duress this devil said if you don't sign this I'm going to kill you and that also invalidates the concept of an infernal contract whether it's actually true or not if you demand a trial you are entitled to stand before a pit fiend judge who will determine the validity of your claim as the defendant you can choose to have anyone you want represent you but if you don't have legal council of your own present in the nine Hells you will be assigned a harvester devil to act as your attorney this might seem like kind of a raw deal at first because of course this random devil is going to side with all of the other Devils but something to keep in mind is that devils are lawful creatures and they also often really hate each other living living and working in the N9 house is an incredibly toxic work environment filled with backstabbing rivalries and basically everyone clawing their way to the top of a giant pyramid scheme so your assigned lawyer is going to do the absolute best they can to defend you and knowing what we know about Harvester devils and legal loopholes you couldn't really ask for better representation basically what I'm saying is if you ever wanted to play Phoenix Right In Hell as a tabletop role playing game now you can but no matter what you choose to do with this creature in the description down below you will find a Google Document which contains all the information that you need to run this creature in fifth edition DND D and of course over on the dungeon dad patreon page you'll be able to find the patreon exclusive stat block which contains all the same information but it's laid out in a fancy schmancy PDF format but that's not all you may have noticed this already but there's some unique artwork on this PDF stat block that is not present in any of the DND books one of my biggest gripes about making these monster stat blocks in the past has been that finding monster artwork is sometimes really challenging a lot of it comes from sources that are low resolution so when you put them on a big fancy stat block and high resolution they look bad or sometimes there just isn't monster artwork or the monster artwork that exists is from that era of DnD where you know it was a D and D it was new it was new some of the old artwork is just a little rough is all I'm saying and in some cases there just isn't any artwork at all but thanks to the support from all you lovely patrons out there going forward I'm going to be having original artwork commissioned of every monster that I talk about on this show so every new patreon sta block is going to have brand new artwork attached to it this is so exciting for a bunch of different reasons it's giving me a chance to work with some really talented artists across the community and it's just so awesome to see brand new life breathed into some of these old creatures this week's artwork for the Harvester devil was done by the extremely talented Tam I'll drop a link to their Twitter page down in the description below definitely show them some love guys because they're super talented anyways that aside it is time for patron of the week this week's randomly selected Patron is nameless cultist thank you so much for the support I expect the Blood Sacrifice by Dawn and thank you for watching I appreciate it immensely and as always if there is a monster from an older edition of D and D that you would like to see show up on an episode of Monster of the week let me know in the comments down below let me know in the monster suggestion channel on our Discord and who knows you might just see it show up on an episode in the future also you may have noticed this lovely shirt I'm wearing the dungeon dad merch store is now open we've got all kinds of stuff in stock including a bunch of generic dungeon dad branded merch but also this lovely D and D's Nuts shirt so head over to the link in the description and check that out as well thank you all so much for your support whether it's patreon buy and merge or just watching these videos I appreciate you being here and as always I will see you in the next one until [Music] then [Music] dungeon dad revisits a classic from the before times a massive Crow with multiple brains that share a single body look at all those shiny magic trinkets maybe being bird brained isn't so bad after all next episode Chrono [Music] Tyron tune in next time for lots more fan service

Channel: Dungeon Dad

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Id: tOmCinfZBb8

Length: 21min 11sec (1271 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 23 2023