Basileus, Prince of Paradises

Medium Fiend (Devil), Lawful Evil

Armor Class: 30 (Natural Armor)
Hit Points: 350 (30d8+210)
Speed: 30 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
28 (+9)	26 (+8)	24 (+7)	28 (+9)	22 (+6)	30 (+10)

Saving Throws: Dex +16, Con +14, Wis +13, Cha +18
Skills: Acrobatics +16, Deception +18, Insight +13, Intimidation +18, Persuasion +18, Stealth +16
Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire, Lightning; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks
Damage Immunities: Poison, Psychic
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Frightened, Paralyzed, Poisoned
Senses: Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 23
Languages: Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge: 30 (155,000 XP)

Legendary Resistances (3/Day): If Basileus fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Innate Spellcasting: Basileus’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 26, +18 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

• At Will: Cloudkill, Greater Teleport (self plus 50 lbs.), Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Tongues
• 3/Day: Crushing Despair, Dimension Door, Etherealness, Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer, True Seeing
• 1/Day: Power Word Kill, Wish

Actions

• Multiattack: Basileus makes three attacks: one with his Infernal Touch and two with his Fiery Slams.
• Infernal Touch: Melee Spell Attack: +18 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 36 (8d8+8) fire damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 26 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of its next turn.
• Fiery Slam: Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 42 (8d8+8) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (4d8) fire damage.
• Terror (Recharge 5–6): As an action, Basileus surrounds himself with a wave of terrifying illusions. Each creature within 60 feet of him that can see him must succeed on a DC 26 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if Basileus is within line of sight, ending the effect on itself on a success. A frightened creature can’t move closer to Basileus and takes 45 (10d8) psychic damage.
• Terror Shape (Recharge 5–6): While using his Terror ability, Basileus can summon up to five additional, monstrous limbs. These limbs lash out at creatures of his choice within 30 feet, dealing 45 (10d8) slashing damage.

Legendary Actions

Basileus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Basileus regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

• Infernal Gaze: Basileus targets one creature he can see within 60 feet of him. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Charisma saving throw or be charmed by Basileus for 1 minute. While charmed in this way, the target is incapacitated and Basileus has advantage on attack rolls against it.
• Hellfire Burst (Costs 2 Actions): Basileus unleashes a burst of hellfire in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point he can see within 120 feet of him. Each creature in that area must make a DC 26 Dexterity saving throw, taking 66 (12d10) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
• Teleport (Costs 3 Actions): Basileus magically teleports up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. Immediately after teleporting, he can make one Fiery Slam attack.

Campaign Role:

Basileus, the Prince of Paradises, serves as the herald and enforcer of Asmodeus, the Lord of Hell. In a campaign, he is a figure of both seduction and terror, using his beauty and charm to manipulate mortals while wielding fearsome powers to enforce his master’s will. He is a bridge between the mortal realm and the infernal planes, orchestrating grand schemes to lead souls into damnation.

Unique Traits and Strengths:

• Terror and Illusion: Basileus excels at psychological warfare, using illusions and fear to dominate and control. His Terror and Terror Shape abilities can incapacitate or severely damage groups of enemies, making him a formidable opponent in any engagement.
• Charismatic Manipulation: With exceptionally high Charisma, Basileus can charm and deceive even the most stalwart foes, turning them into unwitting pawns in his infernal games.
• Legendary Resistances: His ability to resist failed saving throws gives him a high chance of withstanding even the most potent magical attacks.

Weaknesses:

• Focus on Charisma: While immensely powerful, Basileus’s reliance on Charisma-based abilities and saving throws makes him vulnerable to effects that bypass Charisma and target his physical attributes.
• High Profile Target: His immense power and the grand nature of his appearance make him a high-priority target for powerful adventurers and celestial beings alike.

Magic Items:

• Crown of Infernal Majesty: A unique artifact that enhances Basileus’s spellcasting, granting him advantage on saving throws against spells and resistance to all damage types except radiant.
• Scepter of Hellfire: A magic scepter that increases the damage of his fire-based attacks and allows him to cast Hellfire Storm (a variant of Meteor Swarm) once per day.

Regional Effects:

The area within 1 mile of Basileus’s current location becomes saturated with infernal energy, causing the following effects:

• Fiery Aura: The ground is scorched, causing it to deal 10 (3d6) fire damage to any creature that ends its turn within 30 feet of it.
• Whispers of Dread: Creatures within 1 mile of Basileus hear unsettling whispers and experience unsettling dreams, imposing disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws against fear effects.
• Illusory Terrain: The landscape becomes distorted, creating illusory hazards and misleading features that can confuse and mislead intruders.

This comely young man is clad in fine silken robes and gold thread, with hair the color of sunbeams. He smiles slyly, and his eyes smolder with Hellish flames and the suggestion of power and terror beyond mortal reason.

Orginally posted on Archives of Nethys

Source Pathfinder #29: Mother of Flies pg. 78

An infernal paradox at once wondrous and terrifying, tempting and blasphemous, the entity called the Son of Suns, Prince of Paradises, or simply Basileus, he serves as the herald of Asmodeus and harbinger of Hell’s will.

Few who have faced the messenger of the Archfiend survive the experience unchanged, for he is the very word of Hell. Typically appearing as a youth of stunning beauty and of the same race as those who look upon him even when appearing before those of multiple races’ little in the herald’s comely appearance, finery, or proud bearing sets him apart from the vainglorious princes of countless mortal nations.

In his radiant eyes, though, dance hellfire flames and a hint of the power he bears himself and often offers. To encounter Basileus is to know the interest or ire of the lord of Hell himself. Like his master, the herald knows no love for mortal kind, striving only to fulfill the worlds-spanning master schemes of the Prince of Darkness and draw souls into the grip of Hell by the legion.

As such, he most often serves as an envoy between Asmodeus and other deities and extraplanar figures of note, rarely deigning to set foot upon the raucous and uncouth Material Plane. When his master’s will dictates he travel to the mortal realm, though, his words bear all the weight of Hell, and typically offer temptations few souls can hope to refuse. Occasionally his master bids him answer the summons of the few mortals who hold the Prince of Darkness’s favor, but even these forays typically prove subtle steps toward some greater infernal goal.

In his humanoid form, Basileus appears as a 6-foot tall mortal of surprising but unnatural beauty, with a languid voice like warm wine over silk. Although typically of male gender, this is not always the case, though he always appears before his lord in masculine form. Much of his form is an illusion, though, and a highly subjective illusion at that.

Those who can see past Basileus’s shrouds of innate deception find a human-like figure resembling the idealized form he presents, though still appearing somehow hollow. The most daring and ancient fiends have suggested that Basileus bears a resemblance to Baalzebul before Asmodeus punished the archdevil by stripping him of his angelic appearance a rumor that leads the lord of the seventh to loathe his master’s herald even more than he despises most creatures.

Basileus CR 15

XP 51,200 LE Medium outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful) Init +10; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Low-Light Vision, see in darkness; Perception +23

DEFENSE

AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 22 (+6 Dexterity, +12 natural) hp 200 (16d10+112) Fort +12, Ref +18, Will +16 DR 10/good; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 26

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft., Fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee touch +24 (1d8+8) or 5 slams +24 (2d6+8 plus grab) Space 5 ft., Reach 5 ft. (15 ft. with slam) Special Attacks terror, terror shape Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th) At will — cloudkill (DC 22), false vision (DC 22), greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs.), mirage arcana (DC 22), persistent image (DC 22), scorching ray, tongues 3/day — crushing despair (DC 21), dimensional anchor (DC 21), ethereal jaunt, greater dispel magic, greater invisibility (DC 21), instant summons, legend lore, nightmare (DC 22), phantasmal killer (DC 21), true seeing 1/day — geas/quest, summon (level 5, 2 bone devils, 75%), grant 1 wish (to mortals only)

STATISTICS

Strength 26, Dexterity 22, Constitution 25, Intelligence 26, Wisdom 19, Charisma 25 Base Atk +16; CMB +24; CMD 40 Feats Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Deceitful, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Persuasive Skills Acrobatics +22, Bluff +30, Diplomacy +38, Disguise +27, Escape Artist +22, Fly +14, Intimidate +38, Knowledge (arcana) +24, Knowledge (planes) +27, Perception +23, Perform (Oratory) +23, Sense Motive +23, Sleight of Hand +22, Spellcraft +27, Stealth +25; Racial Modifiers +8 Diplomacy, +8 Intimidate Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Infernal, Undercommon; telepathy 100 ft.; tongues SQ veil of forms

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Hell) Organization solitary Treasure double standard

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Terror (Su) As a standard action, Basileus can surround himself with a terrifying illusion that to all viewers appears as a unique and violent manifestation of the most terrifying thing their minds can conjure. This horror can only be seen by each individual onlooker, with even Basileus being unaware of what his viewers see. Those within 30 feet of Basileus must make a DC 25 Will save. Those with 6 or fewer Hit Dice who fail instantly die from fear, while those with 6 or more Hit Dice are panicked and take 6d6 points of damage. Those who save are immune to Basileus’s death or panic effects, but still take damage. Those who remain within 30 feet of Basileus, even after making their saves, take 6d6 points of damage every round as long as Basileus continues to take standard actions to maintain the terror. The death and panic aspects of this ability are a mind-affecting fear effect, with even creatures immune to such effects still being affected by the ability’s damage. The save DC is Charisma-based. Terror Shape (Su) While making use of his terror ability, Basileus can manifest one to five additional, monstrous limbs. These take on terrible appearances dictated by the terror ability, and deal 2d6+8 damage. When Basileus ceases the use of terror, these additional natural weapons vanish. Veil of Forms (Su) Basileus appears as a powerful and attractive member of the same race as any creature looking upon him. His appearance is always appealing, with subtle illusory alterations that differ from viewer to viewer. Basileus is not aware of the specifics of his appearance to other creatures, though he may alter specifics as per the spell alter self. This is an illusion that is in effect anytime he is not using his terror ability, and grants him a +8 racial modifier on Diplomacy and Intimidate checks. Should a creature be able to see past the illusion, Basileus does not gain this racial modifier on opposed checks against that creature.