The bridge has no toll-keeper in sight. Then a small winged figure steps from the mist, its immense crocodilian jaws stretched in an expression too rigid to be a smile. Green light pulses around its clawed hands and the gate’s chains tighten without being touched. The barregon asks for the travellers’ names, the authority under which they pass, and the last thing each remembers before entering Hell.
At a Glance
Creature: Barregon, or gate devil, a species and rank of infernal threshold guardian—not the personal name of a duke.
Office: Keeper of gates, river crossings, keys, warrants of passage and the approaches to the Stygia reaches of the River Styx.
Alignment:lawful evil. It obeys written orders and uses them to deny passage, seize trespassers and impose punishments.
Appearance: A compact, robed, winged devil with pallid eyes, a disproportionate crocodilian mouth and green-lit hands.
Danger: Memory-ravaging touch, exhaustion, fear, flight, feeblemind and the ability to summon reinforcements.
Distinctive protection: Its mind is sealed against the intelligence-destroying waters it guards.
Known progression: A rare awakened nupperibo may become a barregon; an extremely advanced gate devil may become a malefircarim.
AC 20 (infernal hide); Initiative +9 (19) HP 221 (26d8 + 104); Speed 30 ft., Fly 90 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
22 (+6)
18 (+4)
18 (+4)
18 (+4)
24 (+7)
18 (+4)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Con +9, Wis +12, Cha +9 Skills Insight +12, Intimidation +9, Perception +12, Stealth +9 Resistances Cold, Acid; Immunities Fire, Poison; Poisoned Senses Darkvision 120 ft.; Passive Perception 22 Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
Traits
Magic Resistance. Advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.
Sealed Mind. The barregon is immune to effects that reduce its Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma scores and has Advantage on saving throws against the Charmed and Frightened conditions.
Regeneration. The barregon regains 10 Hit Points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 Hit Point. It doesn’t regenerate on a turn after taking Radiant damage.
Fear Aura. A non-devil enemy that starts its turn within 10 feet must make a DC 17 Wisdom save or be Frightened until the start of its next turn. Success protects against this barregon’s aura for 24 hours.
Actions
Multiattack. The barregon makes two Claw attacks and one Bite attack, or two Infernal Touch attacks.
Infernal Touch.Melee Attack Roll: +11, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d4 + 6) Necrotic damage; the target’s Wisdom score falls by 1 until it finishes a Long Rest and it must pass a DC 17 Constitution save or gain one level of Exhaustion (this touch cannot increase Exhaustion beyond level 2).
Amnesia Touch (3/Day). One target hit by Infernal Touch must succeed on a DC 17 Intelligence saving throw or become magically disoriented for 1 minute: it cannot take the Magic action or understand speech. It repeats the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success.
Infernal Gate Magic (3/Day). The barregon casts detect magic, dispel magic, hold monster or greater teleport (self plus worn and carried gear), without material components (spellcasting ability Charisma; save DC 17).
Bonus Actions
Warden’s Pursuit. Move up to half its Fly Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Original D&D 2024 adaptation of the Dicefreaks Barregon, not a published 2024 Monster Manual creature.
Barregon — Gate Devil
Medium fiend (devil), lawful evil · Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Armor Class 19 (natural armor); Hit Points 187 (22d8 + 88); Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft.
STR
DEX
CON
INT
WIS
CHA
22 (+6)
18 (+4)
18 (+4)
18 (+4)
24 (+7)
18 (+4)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Con +9, Wis +12, Cha +9 Skills Insight +12, Intimidation +9, Perception +12, Stealth +9 Damage Resistances acid, cold; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered Damage Immunities fire, poison; Condition Immunities poisoned Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 22 Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Traits
Devil’s Sight. Magical darkness doesn’t impede the barregon’s darkvision.
Sealed Mind. Immune to ability-score reduction targeting Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma; advantage on saves against being charmed or frightened.
Magic Resistance. Advantage on saves against magic.
Regeneration. Regains 5 HP at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 HP, except on a turn after taking radiant damage.
Actions
Multiattack. Two Claws and one Bite, or two Infernal Touch attacks.
Infernal Touch.Melee Weapon Attack: +11, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d4 + 6) necrotic damage; a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or the target gains one level of exhaustion, to a maximum of two levels from this touch. Wisdom decreases by 1 until the next long rest.
Amnesia Touch (3/Day). A creature hit by Infernal Touch makes a DC 17 Intelligence save or suffers the effects of feeblemind (as a campaign interpretation) for 1 minute, repeating the save at the end of each turn.
Summon Devils (1/Day). Attempts to summon 1d4 barbed devil (35% success), which remain for 1 minute then return to Hell.
Original D&D 2014 adaptation, not a published 2014 Monster Manual creature.
Barregon — Pathfinder 1e Conversion, CR 15
XP 51,200 · LE Medium outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful) Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +24 Aura fear (5 ft.; DC 21)
DEFENSE
AC 32, touch 17, flat-footed 25 (+7 Dex, +15 natural) hp 142 (15d10 + 60); regeneration 5 (good-aligned silver or good spells) Fort +13, Ref +16, Will +18 DR 10/good and silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 27; sealed mind
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (average) Melee 2 claws +21 (1d6+6), bite +16 (1d10+3), or infernal touch +21 melee touch (2d4 plus 1 Wisdom damage and fatigue) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. Special Attacks amnesia touch (3/day, DC 21), fatigue touch (DC 21), fear aura, summon devils
Hit Dice 15d8 + 75 (142 hp); Initiative +11 Speed 30 ft., fly 90 ft. (average) Armour Class 32 (+7 Dex, +15 natural), touch 17, flat-footed 25 Base Attack/Grapple +15/+21 Attack infernal touch +21 melee touch (2d4 plus 1 Wisdom damage and fatigue) Full Attack two infernal touches +21, two wings +16 (1d6+3), bite +16 (1d10+3) Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks amnesia touch, fatigue touch, fear aura, spell-like abilities, summon devils Special Qualities DR 10/good and silver, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to fire and poison, acid/cold resistance 10, regeneration 5 (good weapons and spells), sealed mind, see in darkness, spell resistance 27, telepathy 100 ft. Saves Fort +14, Ref +16, Will +18
Amnesia Touch (Su). Three times daily the barregon channels its feeblemind power through an infernal touch, DC 21 Will, as a fifteenth-level caster.
Fatigue Touch (Su). A target touched by its infernal hands makes a DC 21 Fortitude save or becomes fatigued.
Fear Aura (Su). A 5-foot aura produces fear, DC 21 Will, as a fifteenth-level caster; successful saves grant 24-hour immunity to that particular gate devil. Other devils are immune.
Sealed Mind (Ex). The Styx cannot damage or drain the barregon’s Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma.
Summon Devils (Sp). Once daily, 50% chance to summon 2d10 lemures or 1d6 scaly devil, or 35% to summon 1d4 barbed devil or another barregon.
METAMORPHOSIS
A barregon advanced beyond 39 Hit Dice starts a further transformation; by 45 Hit Dice it may become a malefircarim, though this change need not occur immediately. Earlier, a rare nupperibo reaching 15 Hit Dice may itself become a barregon.
Higher effective Hit Points per Hit Die; immunity to mind-affecting effects
42 HD
Further Intelligence +4, Charisma +4, natural armour +8, increased Hit Points
43 HD
Immunity to polymorphing or form-altering attacks
44 HD
true seeing, two improved claw attacks (3d6), maximum Hit Points per Hit Die
45 HD
Metamorphosis into a malefircarim (hellspawn) is possible
Dicefreaks’ community-created 3.5e creature in The Gates of Hell: Grimoire of Cosmic Entities, Volume One, originally conceived by Serge W. Desir Jr.; not part of the official D&D 3.5e SRD.
Guardians of the Styx
Barregons patrol the ports, arches and secret crossings of Hell, especially the dangerous waterways of Stygia. Their orders are rarely simple commands to kill all intruders. A barregon may admit one traveller, seize the second and demand that the third present a seal not issued in centuries. As servants of a relentless hierarchy, they can recognise a legitimate warrant while still searching for every opportunity to exploit its wording.
They are better known to conjurers than their station might suggest. Summoned outside Hell, a gate devil fulfils the strict terms of an agreement while learning every entrance, key and weakness of the mortal site in which it has appeared. After dismissal it can trade that information to a superior or use it when given a new order.
The Waters That Steal Remembrance
The Styx makes memory itself dangerous. A gate devil’s glowing touch draws upon the river’s power, stripping certainty from its victims and leaving them too exhausted or confused to resist capture. Barregons are themselves protected against damage to the intelligence, will and presence that give them their office. That immunity lets them perform work which would eventually unmake a lesser keeper.
A prisoner taken alive is likely to be entered into a ledger and sent to an appointed custodian, rather than slain for sport. barbed devil wardens may receive such a prisoner, while scaly devil soldiers patrol the approaches. A barregon’s first question in every battle is who has authorised passage, not which victim appears weakest.
From Nupperibo to Hellspawn
Infernal promotion can be a matter of office, but this line also admits a terrifying bodily transformation. When a nupperibo survives to an exceptional stage of development, it may awaken and at last become a barregon, trading its unthinking existence for intelligence and responsibility. A gate devil allowed to develop far beyond its natural rank can begin another metamorphosis, on the path to the almost unimaginable might of a malefircarim. Most rulers suppress such changes unless they can be controlled.
The story of Dulahad, the named Admiral of the Styx, is separate from the monster type. His authority, loyalties and exceptional development do not describe every gate devil. The infernal hierarchy remains the measure of who may command a crossing and who is merely stationed there.
Behaviour and Counterplay
A barregon chooses its fight at a narrow bridge, locked arch or portal where enemies must approach in single file. It begins by testing credentials, then unnerves those unable to answer. If combat follows, it stays aloft, uses its touch to disorient the party’s spellcasters and summons help to close the exit. It prefers capture where the standing orders demand prisoners.
Characters can obtain a rival warrant, expose an expired commission, steal a legal key or find the clerk who recorded the original right of passage. A Styx collar can provide protection in some circumstances, though magical wards and negotiations do not cancel the devil’s orders by themselves. The most complete victory may be restoring a stolen memory and forcing the keeper to recognise the travellers’ authority.
Adventure Leads
The Gate That Forgets Its Guests
Travellers entering a ruined Roman gate return without remembering why they went there. The barregon beneath it is collecting their accounts as evidence in a trial between two governors of Hell, and a missing witness has begun speaking a language that was dead a thousand years ago.
Three Keys to One Bridge
Three separate infernal offices issue keys to the same crossing, all apparently valid. A barregon must admit only the bearer of the oldest surviving order. The third key was hidden in a mortal cathedral by a penitent who feared it would open the route for an invading army.
The Admiral’s Unsent Order
A courier carrying a letter from Dulahad disappears upon the Styx. The guard at the next station insists that no new orders have arrived and begins to arrest everyone crossing the bridge. If the characters deliver the letter, the gate devil must abandon its post; if they open it, they may discover which powerful devil intends to take the empty station.
Relations in Hell
Gate devils stand above many ordinary field guards in rank but below the sovereign offices of Hell. horned devil military captains may dispute the custody of prisoners with them, while barbed devil treasurers demand exact inventories. lemures and scaly devil servants bear loads and guard approaches. Barregons belong with the *devil types* of the Devil Bestiary; personally named commanders such as Dulahad have their own histories and responsibilities.
Sources and Licensing
The Barregon is a community-created devil from Dicefreaks’ The Gates of Hell / Grimoire of Cosmic Entities, Volume One, by Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir Jr., based on an original concept by Serge W. Desir Jr. Its original D&D 3.5e-style monster is not part of Wizards of the Coast’s official SRD. The D&D 2024, D&D 2014 and Pathfinder 1e panels are clearly identified adaptations. Background material and encounters are original to this entry; the earlier historical painting of Charon does not depict this species.
Dicefreaks source collection. The hero is the site’s existing Barregon image, served at a size appropriate to its layout.
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