Devil · Duke of Hell · Unique Outsider
Martinet, Constable of Nessus
Voice of Asmodeus · Infernal Diplomat · Keeper of the Black Baton
Martinet is one of the most influential courtiers of the Ninth Perdition. He rules no Perdition of his own. His power comes instead from proximity, office and delegated authority: he is the Constable of Nessus, the Voice of Asmodeus and one of the principal intermediaries between Malsheem and the wider infernal hierarchy.
Martinet at a Glance
Appearance
Martinet stands roughly six feet tall and combines the proportions of a slender, athletic man with unmistakably infernal features. His skin is deep red, his face narrow and sharply formed, and his large eyes burn with golden light. Long black horns sweep upward from his forehead.
His lower legs resemble those of a hairless goat, while a long barbed tail follows his movements. Broad bat-like wings normally remain folded at his back. Martinet rarely tries to make himself physically larger than those around him. His authority is intended to be recognised before his size matters.
He favours rich black and crimson court dress marked with symbols of Nessus and his master. The most important of his insignia is the Black Baton, an onyx staff of office capped with bright stones. To infernal officials the Baton is as much a political credential as a weapon.
Behaviour
Martinet is composed, vain and almost professionally smug. He normally speaks softly, presenting threats as administrative consequences and demands as though the recipient has already accepted them.
He prefers negotiation, leverage and delegated force to physical battle. Before entering a dispute he learns which offices overlap, who owes whom a favour, which alliance is strained and which participant fears losing face. He then looks for the smallest intervention capable of turning those pressures toward Nessus.
Martinet dislikes exposing himself to unnecessary physical danger. If a dispute becomes violent he is perfectly willing to put Nessian pit fiends between himself and the threat while he controls the battlefield, interdicts escape or withdraws to a position from which the conflict can be managed more safely.
Habitat
Martinet belongs to Nessus, the Ninth Perdition, and is closely associated with Malsheem, the central seat of Asmodeus. His duties carry him through guarded routes, audience chambers, administrative strongholds and diplomatic passages inaccessible to ordinary devils.
His freedom of movement should not be mistaken for ownership. The innermost and most secret depths of Malsheem belong to Asmodeus alone, and even Martinet enters certain places only when his master permits it.
Beyond Nessus, Martinet usually travels with a small escort of Nessian pit fiends. The escort protects him, but it also serves as a visible warning: the visitor has come from the Ninth.
Game Statistics
Martinet, Constable of Nessus
Armor Class 28
Hit Points 775 (50d8 + 550)
Speed 50 ft., Fly 90 ft.
Initiative +10 (20)
Saving Throws Dex +21, Con +22, Int +23, Wis +24, Cha +23
Skills Arcana +23, Deception +34, History +23, Insight +24, Intimidation +23, Perception +24, Persuasion +34, Religion +23
Damage Resistances Cold, Necrotic
Damage Immunities Fire, Poison
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses Truesight 240 ft., Passive Perception 34
Languages All; telepathy 1 mile
Challenge 40 (SpiralWorlds Epic)
Proficiency Bonus +11
Traits
Black Baton Mastery. Martinet uses Charisma rather than Strength for attack and damage rolls made with the Black Baton.
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If Martinet fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Martinet has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Infernal Regeneration. Martinet regains 30 Hit Points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 Hit Point. Radiant damage suppresses this regeneration until the start of his next turn.
Voice of the Ninth. Devils other than Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine have Disadvantage on saving throws against Martinet’s abilities that Charm them, compel their movement or prevent their teleportation.
Constable’s Seal. Martinet immediately knows when a creature he can perceive within 120 feet attempts to teleport or travel between planes.
Spellcasting
Charisma is Martinet’s spellcasting ability (spell save DC 31, +23 to hit with spell attacks). He requires no material components unless a component has a stated monetary value.
Cantrips (at will): Thaumaturgy, Fire Bolt, Minor Illusion.
1st level (4 slots): Hellish Rebuke, Command, Shield.
2nd level (3 slots): Mirror Image, Hold Person.
3rd level (3 slots): Counterspell, Fear.
4th level (3 slots): Greater Invisibility, Blight.
5th level (3 slots): Dominate Person, Wall of Fire.
6th level (2 slots): Mass Suggestion, Circle of Death.
7th level (2 slots): Symbol, Fire Storm.
8th level (1 slot): Power Word Stun, Dominate Monster.
Actions
Multiattack. Martinet makes three Black Baton attacks.
Black Baton. Melee Attack Roll: +23, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 25 (3d8 + 12) Bludgeoning damage plus 27 (6d8) Fire damage and 18 (4d8) Necrotic damage. Until the start of Martinet’s next turn, the target must succeed on a DC 31 Charisma saving throw whenever it attempts to teleport.
Voice of Asmodeus (Recharge 5–6). Martinet addresses up to six creatures he can see within 120 feet that can hear him. Each target must make a DC 31 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature is Charmed by Martinet for 1 minute and immediately uses its Reaction, if available, either to move up to its Speed as Martinet directs or to make one attack against a creature he names. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns.
Writ of Arrest (Recharge 4–6). One creature Martinet can see within 120 feet makes a DC 31 Charisma saving throw. On a failure it takes 55 (10d10) Psychic damage, becomes Restrained and cannot teleport or travel between planes. It repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine are immune.
Call the Nessian Guard (1/Day). Martinet calls two Nessian pit fiends into unoccupied spaces he can see within 60 feet. They are real called creatures rather than temporary manifestations. Called allies are separate creatures and are not included in Martinet’s individual Challenge Rating.
Bonus Actions
Diplomatic Withdrawal. Martinet moves up to half his Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks. If he ends this movement within 5 feet of an allied devil, that ally can immediately move up to half its Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Reactions
Countermand (3/Day). When a creature Martinet can perceive within 120 feet attempts to teleport or travel between planes, Martinet forces it to make a DC 31 Charisma saving throw. On a failure, the movement fails and the action, spell slot or other resource used to produce it is expended.
Legendary Actions
Martinet can take 4 Legendary Actions, choosing from the options below. He regains all spent Legendary Actions at the start of his turn.
Baton Strike. Martinet makes one Black Baton attack.
Measured Step. Martinet moves up to half his Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
Counter-Order (Costs 2 Actions). One willing allied devil or one creature Charmed by Martinet within 120 feet can use its Reaction to move up to its Speed or make one weapon attack.
Writ of Censure (Costs 2 Actions). One creature Martinet can see within 90 feet makes a DC 31 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure it takes 27 (6d8) Psychic damage and cannot take Reactions until the end of its next turn.
Seal the Court (Costs 3 Actions). Until the start of Martinet’s next turn, creatures of his choice within 120 feet cannot teleport or travel between planes unless they succeed on a DC 31 Charisma saving throw.
Malsheem Is Not His Lair
Martinet has no independent regional effects that rewrite Nessus around him. Inside Malsheem he can instead have access to guards, sealed gates, officials, defensive works and other resources belonging to the government of the Ninth. Add these to an encounter separately.
Martinet, Constable of Nessus
Defense
AC 56, touch 29, flat-footed 46
hp 960
Fort +42
Ref +45
Will +50
DR 20/good and silver
Immune fire, poison
Resist acid 20, cold 20
SR 52
Regeneration 7
Offense
Speed 50 ft., fly 70 ft. (average)
Space 5 ft.
Reach 5 ft.
Base Atk +37
CMB +42
CMD 71
Melee — Black Baton. +49/+44/+39/+34 (1d8+11 plus 2d6 lawful plus 2d6 unholy).
Special Attacks: blast infidel, call devils, Constable of Nessus, Infernal Presence, rebuke undead or outsiders, spell-like abilities, spells.
Statistics
Languages: all; telepathy 500 ft.
Skills
Bluff +48, Diplomacy +67 (+73 with evil creatures), Disguise +33, Heal +18, Intimidate +37, Knowledge (arcana) +51, Knowledge (history) +19, Knowledge (local) +35, Knowledge (the planes) +61, Knowledge (religion) +66, Sense Motive +38, Spellcraft +70.
Special Abilities
Constable of Nessus (Su). As a standard action Martinet establishes a 90-foot field of infernal interdiction. Devils and recognised servants of Hell within the area cannot use teleportation or planar escape unless Martinet permits it or they succeed on a DC 47 Will save. Asmodeus and the Lords of the Nine are immune.
Writ of Arrest (Su). Three times per day Martinet may target a devil or recognised infernal servant within 90 feet. The creature must succeed on a DC 47 Will save or become subject to an effect modelled on trap the soul. The Black Baton normally serves as the receptacle.
Infernal Diplomat (Su). Martinet gains a +9 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks involving fiends and their recognised servants. Three times per day he may weave a suggestion into conversation.
Call Devils (Sp). Once per day Martinet may call two Nessian pit fiends, four horned or ice devils, or a correspondingly larger contingent of lesser devils.
Spell-Like Abilities
Caster level 46th; save DC 20 + spell level.
At will: astral projection, etherealness, plane shift, suggestion, greater teleport, true seeing.
Divine Spellcasting
Martinet uses the full prepared divine spell suite presented in the D&D 3.5e panel as the basis for this Pathfinder conversion. Where a spell differs between Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e, use the Pathfinder version of that spell.
Martinet, Constable of Nessus
| Symbol | A small red pentagram within a large black inverted triangle surrounded by a red circle |
|---|---|
| Classes | Cleric 29 / Hierophant 5 |
| Hit Dice | 54d8 + 528 (960 hp) |
| Initiative | +14 |
| Speed | 50 ft., fly 70 ft. (average) |
| Armor Class | 56 (+6 armor, +6 deflection, +10 Dexterity, +21 natural, +3 profane), touch 29, flat-footed 46 |
| Base Attack/Grapple | +37/+42 |
| Attack | Black Baton +49 melee (1d8+11 plus 2d6 lawful plus 2d6 unholy); or claw +42 melee (1d10+5) |
| Full Attack | Black Baton +49/+44/+39/+34 melee (1d8+11 plus 2d6 lawful plus 2d6 unholy); or 2 claws +42 melee (1d10+5), 2 wings +37 melee (1d8+2), and tail slap +37 melee (1d10+2) |
| Space/Reach | 5 ft./5 ft. |
| Special Attacks | Blast infidel, call devils, Constable of Nessus, Infernal Presence, rebuke undead or outsiders 13/day (+10 to checks), spell-like abilities, spells |
| Special Qualities | Damage reduction 20/good and silver, darkvision 60 ft., divine reach, Duke of Hell qualities, immunity to fire and poison, Infernal Ambassador, Infernal Diplomat, mastery of energy, regeneration 7, resistance to acid 20 and cold 20, see in darkness, spell resistance 52, telepathy 500 ft. |
| Saves | Fort +42, Ref +45, Will +50 |
| Abilities | Strength 21, Dexterity 30, Constitution 24, Intelligence 28, Wisdom 36, Charisma 31 |
| Environment | Nessus, Ninth Perdition |
| Organization | Solitary, or squad (1–4 Nessian pit fiends) |
| Challenge Rating | 40 |
| Treasure | Triple standard plus the Black Baton and the Constable’s Keys |
| Alignment | Lawful Evil |
Skills
Balance +12, Bluff +48, Climb +26, Concentration +59, Diplomacy +67 (+73 with evil beings), Disguise +33 (+37 in character), Gather Information +50, Heal +18, Hide +31, Intimidate +37 (+43 against evil beings), Jump +28, Knowledge (arcana) +51, Knowledge (history) +19, Knowledge (local) +35, Knowledge (the planes) +61, Knowledge (religion) +66, Listen +36, Move Silently +31, Search +32, Sense Motive +38, Spellcraft +70, Spot +34, Survival +13 (+17 on other planes, +15 following tracks), Tumble +31.
Feats
Cleave, Corrupt Spell, Corrupt Spell-Like AbilityB, Dark Speech, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Improved Initiative, Investigator, Iron Will, Negotiator, Power Attack, Quicken Spell, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (destruction), Spell Focus (enchantment), Spell Penetration, Weapon Focus (morningstar).
Epic Feats
Automatic Quicken Spell ×3, Bonus Domain (Knowledge), Epic Evil BrandB, Epic Spellcasting, Improved Spell Capacity (10th), Improved Spell Capacity (11th), Multispell, Planar Turning.
Combat
Martinet avoids direct physical battle whenever a negotiated exit, infernal guard or dimensional escape remains available. If forced to fight, he establishes his Infernal Presence, brings reinforcements into the encounter and uses defensive or controlling magic before committing to melee.
His preferred battle plan is to prevent movement, separate important opponents, compel servants and allies to act for him and withdraw behind stronger infernal combatants.
Call Devils (Sp)
Once per day Martinet can automatically call one of the following forces: 12 lemures, 8 barbazus or erinyes, 6 hamatulas or osyluths, 4 cornugons or gelugons, or 2 pit fiends.
Three times per day he may instead summon an equivalent force. Martinet may call or summon devils during a given day, but not both.
Cleric Spells
Spells per day: 6 / 9+1 / 8+1 / 8+1 / 8+1 / 8+1 / 6+1 / 6+1 / 6+1 / 6+1 / 3 / 3.
Base save DC: 23 + spell level; 24 + spell level for Enchantment spells. Caster level: 49th; 50th for Divination, Evil and Lawful spells. Martinet uses the Evil, Knowledge and Law domains.
Typical Prepared Spells
* Domain spell.
Epic Spells
Martinet may cast 5 epic spells per day. His traditional known epic spells are contingent true resurrection, epic mage armour, greater ruin, soul dominion and tyranny.
Constable of Nessus (Ex)
Martinet’s office makes him an especially dangerous agent of custody and enforcement. When executing a recognised order of Nessus, he uses his full Hit Dice when determining the saving throw DCs of his special attacks.
As a standard action Martinet may create a 90-foot field that interferes with extraordinary escape by devils and recognised servants of Hell. Affected creatures must succeed on a DC 47 Will save to use effects such as dimension door or greater teleport. Martinet determines which eligible creatures are affected.
Three times per day he may use trap the soul against a devil or recognised servant of Hell as a 46th-level caster. The Black Baton is the normal receptacle. The ability does not give Martinet unrestricted authority over the Lords of the Nine or Asmodeus.
Infernal Ambassador (Ex)
The office of the Voice permits Martinet to cross planar boundaries with unusual reliability. He can use astral projection, etherealness and plane shift at will as a 46th-level caster.
Nine times per day he may also commune with Asmodeus as a standard action.
Infernal Diplomat (Su)
Martinet gains a +9 circumstance bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks when dealing with fiends, fiend worshippers and agents acting on behalf of fiends.
Three times per day, as a full-round action, he may weave a suggestion into normal conversation, affecting selected creatures within 30 feet. Will DC 47 negates.
Infernal Presence (Su)
Martinet’s Infernal Presence has a Will save DC of 47 and operates at caster level 46th.
Spell-Like Abilities
At will — animate dead, blasphemy, charm monster, create undead, deeper darkness, desecrate, detect good, detect magic, fireball, flame strike, greater dispel magic, greater invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 1,000 pounds), magic circle against good, mass hold monster, mirage arcana, persistent image, polymorph, power word stun, produce flame, pyrotechnics, suggestion, unhallow, unholy aura, wall of fire.
3/day — destruction.
1/day — meteor swarm, symbol of pain.
1/week — wish.
Caster level: 46th; save DC: 20 + spell level.
The Black Baton
Martinet’s onyx badge of office is also a potent weapon. The Baton functions as a +6 axiomatic unholy morningstar.
Three times per day it can grant Martinet a +10 circumstance bonus to a rebuking check or skill check. Three times per day it can instead increase by +4 the save DC of one of his infernal adaptations, Infernal Presence, spells or spell-like abilities.
The Constable’s Keys
The Constable’s Keys appear as elaborate golden bracers decorated with infernal gates and inscriptions in dead languages. They identify Martinet’s recognised access to many official routes and lesser infernal holdings.
While worn, they grant a +6 armor bonus to AC, a +6 deflection bonus to AC and a +6 resistance bonus on saving throws. They also open or disarm many ordinary locks and traps within territory where Martinet’s office is recognised.
The Keys do not provide unrestricted access to the private domains of the Lords or to the forbidden depths of Malsheem. Their authority ultimately derives from Asmodeus and can be limited by him.
Possessions
Martinet normally carries the Black Baton and the Constable’s Keys. He can obtain additional infernal equipment from Malsheem when an assignment justifies it, but such equipment is not treated as his permanent personal treasure.
The Voice of Asmodeus
Martinet’s influence comes from the peculiar relationship between his ducal rank and his office. He is important enough to negotiate directly with the highest ranks of Hell, but he does not possess the territorial sovereignty of a Lord of the Nine.
When Asmodeus entrusts him with a recognised instruction, Martinet can carry that command to infernal nobles, officers, envoys and agents with the weight of Malsheem behind him. The recipient does not obey Martinet because the Constable has become the recipient’s ruler. The recipient obeys because Martinet is carrying the authority of the ruler who sent him.
This distinction allows Martinet to operate inside the overlapping offices of Hell without erasing them. The Dark Ministry continues to administer its own functions. Generals retain their commands. The Lords retain enormous authority within their Perditions. Martinet moves between those structures, carrying instructions, negotiating disputes and ensuring that difficult infernal business reaches Nessus.
Infernal History
The Luciferian Order
Martinet is among the oldest surviving Dukes associated with the infernal court. Traditions preserved around him place his service before the present Asmodean order, when he had already gained a reputation for diplomacy, administration and careful advancement.
The Asmodean Ascendancy
During the struggle that ended Lucifer’s rule, Martinet aligned himself with the rising Asmodean faction. His contribution was not merely physical. He carried messages, built support, exploited divisions and helped the new regime turn conspiracy into government.
After Asmodeus secured the infernal throne, Martinet emerged as a Duke and Constable of the Ninth, an office that placed him close to the new centre of power without making him a territorial Lord.
The Dies Irae
Martinet later worked alongside Geryon in manoeuvring the rival Lords toward the confrontation near Malsheem that became the Dies Irae. The upheaval allowed Asmodeus to reassert central supremacy and restructure the infernal political order.
Martinet retained both office and influence after the crisis. His survival confirmed what many rivals already feared: he understood not only how Hell’s hierarchy worked, but when that hierarchy was about to change.
Motivation & Reactions
Loyalty to the Infernal State
Martinet’s loyalty to Asmodeus is reinforced by a deeper commitment to the survival and strength of Hell as an organised power. He serves the ruler he believes can preserve that order.
Personal Ambition
He seeks access, information and leverage more eagerly than territorial rule. Each successful negotiation creates another person, court or institution that must account for Martinet before acting.
Insult
Martinet can tolerate mockery. What he reacts to far more strongly is a deliberate attempt to undermine the recognised authority of the office he is carrying.
Retreat
He sees no virtue in remaining inside a battle that has ceased to serve its political purpose. Withdrawal is planning, not shame.
Relics of Office
The Black Baton
The Black Baton is Martinet’s most recognisable badge. Its polished onyx body and bright end-stones make it immediately visible in infernal audiences, where it signals that its bearer is not merely another Duke arriving on private business.
It is also a weapon, a focus for his special powers and the usual receptacle for infernal prisoners seized through his supernatural authority.
The Constable’s Keys
The Keys embody delegated access. They allow Martinet to pass through many lesser administrative barriers and infernal holdings while enhancing his defences.
Their limits are equally important. They are not ownership papers for Hell and do not open every private court, fortress or secret chamber. The authority represented by the Keys begins with Asmodeus and can end wherever Asmodeus chooses.
Summoning Martinet
Martinet is not an ordinary devil that can be casually produced by a common summoning spell. A ritual intended to bring the Constable bodily to the mortal world must establish a route capable of admitting an epic Duke of Hell and must provide a reason for him to answer.
The traditional rite consumes rare unguents and incense worth 9,999 gp and requires nine additional voices to sustain an infernal dirge. The offering purchases attention rather than obedience.
When the rite succeeds, the ground appears to split into a red-lit infernal depth and Martinet rises into the prepared space carrying the Black Baton. When the audience ends, he withdraws through the same manifestation. An unprotected summoner risks violent winds, collapsing ground and other after-effects as the breach closes.
Encounter Hooks
Rumours of the Infernal Court
- Martinet knows more private weaknesses among Hell’s Dukes than several official archives combined.
- More than one Lord has prepared a plan for his destruction should Asmodeus ever withdraw his protection.
- The Black Baton contains a prisoner who knows something Martinet has never been permitted to hear.
- The Constable’s Keys are a leash disguised as a privilege.
- Martinet occasionally reshapes the presentation of a decree without altering its essential order.
- His greatest fear is not assassination but irrelevance: the possibility that Malsheem might begin conducting its most important business without him.
Related Infernal Entries
Rules & Provenance
The legacy epic treatment of Martinet preserved on SpiralWorlds derives from the Gates of Hell and Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Dicefreaks material associated with Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir Jr. The D&D 3.5e panel above preserves that epic mechanical identity while reconciling Martinet’s political office with current SpiralWorlds Hell and Nessus canon.
The D&D 5.5e / 2024 and Pathfinder 1e panels are independent SpiralWorlds conversions. Statistics from different edition panels should not be combined during play.