Buy me a coffeeDevil Accuser (Zebub) (Buzzing, Shrieking Plague of Baalzebul)
“Meet Zebub: The horrifying, infant-sized demon with insect wings that will crawl into your nightmares!”
Zebub is a grotesque demon, standing only 2 feet tall, with the bloated, deformed body of a sickly infant fused with insect-like features. Its pale, translucent skin is stretched tight over its distended belly, revealing dark veins beneath. It has large, multi-faceted fly eyes that glimmer with malice, a wide grin filled with sharp, needle-like teeth, and thin, spindly limbs ending in jagged claws. From its back sprout translucent, tattered fly wings, which hum with an unsettling buzzing sound.
Zebub’s behavior is both craven and cunning—while it can move with unsettling speed, it typically crouches low, lurking in the shadows, spying and whispering commands in a high-pitched, childlike voice. It seeks out weak-willed mortals to corrupt, manipulate, and gather secrets for its infernal masters. Zebubs work in isolation, often avoiding direct confrontation but always scheming for personal gain, eager to please more powerful devils.
Zebub thrives in the dark, decaying depths of Cocytus, the frozen, waste-filled seventh layer of Hell, but it is known to be unleashed into mortal realms, often hidden in dark corners, caves, or decrepit places, where it can observe from the shadows. It thrives in environments of decay and rot, where it can blend in and gather information undetected.
Its modus operandi is one of subtlety and espionage. Zebub uses its ability to become invisible and infiltrate areas, stealing secrets or causing ruin by manipulating those who are easily coerced or frightened. It is often used as a spy or messenger, although its treacherous nature can make it dangerous to those who summon it. Its motivation is simple: to gather information and serve its fiendish masters, all while advancing its own self-interest, always seeking to manipulate and corrupt others to rise in power within the infernal hierarchy.
Zebub, Accuser Devil
Small Fiend (Devil), Lawful Evil
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 66 (12d6 + 24)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (+0) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 15 (+2) | 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) |
Saving Throws Dexterity +5, Charisma +5
Skills Deception +7, Insight +5, Perception +5, Stealth +7
Damage Resistances Cold, Fire, Lightning
Damage Immunities Poison
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 60 ft., Passive Perception 15
Languages Infernal, Common, telepathy 60 ft.
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
TRAITS
Devil’s Sight. Zebub can see in magical darkness as if it were dim light.
Magic Resistance. Zebub has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Innate Invisibility. As a bonus action, Zebub can cast Invisibility on itself, without expending a spell slot. This effect lasts for 1 minute or until Zebub makes an attack or casts a spell.
Flyby. Zebub does not provoke opportunity attacks when it flies out of an enemy’s reach.
Hive Mind (Recharge 5–6). Zebub can communicate telepathically with any other zebub within 1 mile. As long as they are connected, they can share information and tactics. This grants Zebub advantage on attack rolls against creatures who are unaware of it or who cannot communicate telepathically.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. Zebub makes two attacks: one with its Claw and one with its Biting Grin.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 3) slashing damage.
Biting Grin. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the target has disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma saving throws.
Shriek of the Pit (Recharge 5–6). Zebub lets out a high-pitched, childlike shriek that resonates with otherworldly terror. Each creature within 30 feet of Zebub that can hear it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute. A frightened creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, with disadvantage if it is within line of sight of Zebub. On a success, the creature is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours.
Corrupting Vision (Recharge 5–6). Zebub can force one creature it can see within 60 feet of it to make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or have visions of their greatest sins and fears. On a failed save, the creature suffers 3d6 psychic damage and has disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws for 1 minute. On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and suffers no further effect.
SPELLS
Zebub is a 6th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). Zebub has the following spells prepared:
- Cantrips (at will): Thaumaturgy, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Eldritch Blast
- 1st level (4 slots): Disguise Self, Charm Person, Hex, Shield
- 2nd level (3 slots): Invisibility, Hold Person, Misty Step
- 3rd level (3 slots): Counterspell, Fear, Bestow Curse
- 4th level (2 slots): Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer
- 5th level (1 slot): Dominate Person
REACTIONS
Counterspell (1/Day). When a creature within 60 feet of Zebub casts a spell, it can use its reaction to cast Counterspell. Zebub does not need to expend a spell slot to cast this spell.
TACTICS AND BEHAVIOR
Zebub is a cunning and cowardly devil, preferring to observe its enemies from the shadows rather than engage directly. When it fights, it uses its Invisibility and Flyby to harass opponents, darting in and out of combat, striking with its Claws and Biting Grin while staying out of reach. It often uses its Shriek of the Pit to disorient and frighten its enemies, isolating weaker targets to manipulate them further. If necessary, Zebub can use its Corrupting Vision to weaken a particularly troublesome foe, but it tends to rely on subtlety rather than brute force.
In combat, Zebub will rarely stand its ground if it perceives a threat greater than itself. Instead, it will retreat into the shadows or attempt to escape using Misty Step or its Fly speed. It will often use Dominate Person to control weak-willed mortals, turning them into pawns to carry out its bidding. If Zebub is working as part of a group of other devils, its Hive Mind allows for perfect coordination, making it especially dangerous when encountered in a pack.
MOTIVATION
Zebub’s primary goal is to collect information, spread corruption, and manipulate mortals for its infernal masters. While it may not be the most direct or powerful of devils, its ability to weave webs of deceit and cause chaos in the mortal world is what makes it dangerous. It is motivated by a desire for power within the ranks of Hell and will go to great lengths to advance itself—often at the cost of others. When not directly working under a greater devil, Zebub is constantly scheming to gain favor, seeking out those it can blackmail, deceive, or twist to its advantage.
Devil Accuser (Zebub)
This childlike blasphemy conjoins the features of a plump human infant and a gigantic, gore-fattened fly.
Childlike souls tormented and scoured of innocence by the flames of Hell and then reshaped by the mad whims of the archdevil Baalzebul, accuser devils embody the foul, merciless, and pervasive corruptions of the infernal host.
From the depths of the Pit they rise in buzzing, shrieking plagues unleashed to taint the land, despoil weak flesh, and reveal exploitable secrets. En masse they display little of the cunning or subtlety typical of devilkind, spreading ruin at the will of their fiendish masters. Alone, though, a zebub is a craven, deceitful thing, lurking in darkness and filth, endlessly spying and vying for the petty favors of greater evils.
Accuser devils are almost exclusively formed amid the cesspits of frozen Cocytus, the seventh layer of Hell. Within the Pit they serve countless infernal lords as messengers and spies, with droves being unleashed upon myriad mortal worlds with a mandate to seek out souls ripe for corruption or those whose sins might lead to greater damnations. Many of them overstep the freedoms of such vague missions, seeking to manipulate weak-willed or easily intimidated mortals into all manner of trivial evils, dispensing shrill orders in their buzzing, childlike voices. Despite the fact that many zebub plots end in the zebubs’ own revelation and destruction, few diabolical lords allow the slaying of their spies to go unpunished.
The zebub’s ability to grant other creatures visions of what it has witnessed makes it an unusually useful creature to many conjurers. Relatively easy to conjure with a spell like lesser planar ally or lesser planar binding, an accuser devil can be an invaluable spy.
One simply orders the foul little devil to become invisible and then infiltrate an area where visual information is hidden, with orders to teleport back to its point of origin to grant visions of what it observed to its master. Those who make use of accuser devils in this manner should take care to watch their own actions or what they reveal, of course, for such a creature can just as easily be bribed or intimidated into revealing visions that some conjurers might not want being made public. It’s common practice among conjurers to kill their accuser devils once they’ve completed their missions of infiltration and observation.
These lesser devils stand just over 2 feet tall and rarely weigh more than 25 pounds.
| Accuser Devil (Zebub) CR 3 |
| XP 800 LE Small outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful) Init +8; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9 |
| Defense |
| AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dexterity, +2 natural, +1 size) hp 30 (4d10+8) Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +3 DR 5/good or silver; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10 |
| Offense |
| Speed 20 ft., Fly 60 ft. (perfect) Melee bite +5 (1d6 plus 1d6 acid and disease) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; Concentration +9) At will – greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), invisibility (self only) 3/day – grease, summon swarm, whispering wind 1/day – summon (level 3, 1 zebub or 1d4 lemures, 40%) |
| Statistics |
| Strength 11, Dexterity 18, Constitution 14, Intelligence 9, Wisdom 15, Charisma 12 Base Atk +4; CMB +3; CMD 17 Feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes Skills Bluff +8, Fly +21, Knowledge (planes) +6, Perception +9, Stealth +15 Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft. SQ infernal eye |
| Special Abilities |
| Disease (Ex) Devil Chills: Bite – injury; save Fort DC 14; onset 1d4 days; frequency 1 day; effect 1d4 Strength damage; cure 3 consecutive saves. Infernal Eye (Su) A zebub records all that it sees and may pass its visions on to another creature. By remaining in contact with a willing creature, it can replay up to 24 hours of witnessed events, or shorter incidents if it so chooses. It takes them 1 round to replay 1 hour of recorded images, which the target receives in a flash of information, without sound or other sensory information. After relaying its findings, the zebub cannot replay its visions of those events again. A zebub cannot replay its visions for an unwilling creature or as an attack, no matter how horrific the events it might have witnessed. |
| Ecology |
| Environment any (Hell) Organization solitary, pair, or swarm (3-28) Treasure standard |