Devil Encounter Feedback Appreciated

[tieren]

So I have a group going through Curse of Strahd, they have run into a cult of devil worshippers who have stolen a MacGuffin, and the party is under some time pressure to recover it.

I have designed an encounter where the MacGuffin has been used to open a gateway to the 9 Hells, where the cultists have found a way to escape Barovia by selling themselves to a devil (they have foolishly decided its better to serve in hell than stay trapped in Barovia forever).

I want the party to walk in on the ceremony where the cult has opened the gateway and the devil is in a magic circle just in front the gateway taking the willing through. The MacGuffin will be within melee range of the circle, the devil will be able to attack out, but won't be able to leave the circle during the encounter.

My original idea was to use a chain devil with animated chains wrapping up the cultists and dragging them through the Gate, the the devil could use animated chains to attack the party, who may try to just grab the MacGuffin but are more likely imo to attack the devil.

I am now worried the challenge rating may be too difficult, the party is only 3 strong at this point (all level 5). the chain devil is CR8, and throw in a couple of the cultists that can still move and attack it is a super deadly encounter. I'm okay with that as I think the restrictions on the devil's movement, and the true goal only being to get the MacGuffin back anyway help abrogate the difficulty.

Does this sound like a fair encounter? Should I look for a lower CR devil? Should I give some other advantage to the party to help balance?

[Theodoxus]

Here's what I'd do/suggest: De-power the devil some. Lower their to hit and/or damage, and hit points. You could do this on the fly, without the players knowing you did so (unless they've encountered chain devils in the past and have their stats memorized...) You could fluff it for yourself that the devil wasn't "fresh" when it was summoned, and perhaps the barrier is interfering with their normal tactical prowess.

Easiest to do would be to simply roll a d4 and subtract it every time the devil attacks through the circle. (increase the die if you want it to be even weaker). Or you could just make it a blanket -x to the roll, if you want it less swingy. Do the same with the damage - subtract a die from the initial roll, (so 1d6 on a hit instead of 2d6) or reduce the static damage by a set amount.

However, I'd pop it back up to full strength if someone were silly enough to enter the circle to engage the devil directly. They'll learn their folly quickly enough.

[Unoriginal]

they have foolishly decided its better to serve in hell than stay trapped in Barovia forever

I wouldn't call that foolish. If Strahd isn't defeated during your lifetime, Hell pretty much IS a better option.



Does this sound like a fair encounter? Should I look for a lower CR devil? Should I give some other advantage to the party to help balance?

Question: why is the Devil fighting them?

I think a Chain Devil is a fine choice, but I wouldn't make this a fight. The cultists have made their choice willingly, the Devil has no reason to stay in Barovia, and they will have no need for the MacGuffin once they're in Hell. So why fight?

You should use this occasion to have the Devil interract with the PCs in a non-hostile manner. Maybe try to make deals with them for knowledge about Barovia/Strahd/how to survive, or other perks the PCs can find useful.

A Devil would see this as a business opportunity, I think.

[tieren]

Question: why is the Devil fighting them?

I think a Chain Devil is a fine choice, but I wouldn't make this a fight. The cultists have made their choice willingly, the Devil has no reason to stay in Barovia, and they will have no need for the MacGuffin once they're in Hell. So why fight?

You should use this occasion to have the Devil interract with the PCs in a non-hostile manner. Maybe try to make deals with them for knowledge about Barovia/Strahd/how to survive, or other perks the PCs can find useful.

A Devil would see this as a business opportunity, I think.

I think that is a great idea, and I am open to giving them that avenue as well, but I think my pack of murder hobos are much more likely to try to kill it.

I tried to get them to engage with the hags in a similar fashion but the party really weren't interested in anything but killing.

Presumably the cult may want to keep the MacGuffin to open the portal again and the Devil will like the supply of willing victims.

[Unoriginal]

I think that is a great idea, and I am open to giving them that avenue as well, but I think my pack of murder hobos are much more likely to try to kill it.

Fair, but in that case the Chain Devil will be fine. At worse the devil would flee if hurt too much, due to not wanting to be stuck in Barovia upon death.



Presumably the cult may want to keep the MacGuffin to open the portal again and the Devil will like the supply of willing victims.

The cult's throwing itself in hell, though. On the other hand, you could have the devil *give* the MacGuffin to the PCs... in exchange of doing some murderhoboing for the Devil's purpose.

[bc56]

If the devil is trapped in the circle, the PCs (if they're smart) can bombard it with ranged attacks from out of its reach. The fight shouldn't be too hard.

[Daithi]

If the devil is trapped in the circle, the PCs (if they're smart) can bombard it with ranged attacks from out of its reach. The fight shouldn't be too hard.

I'm inclined to agree with this. Even if they throw caution to the wind and go toe-to-toe with the devil then it would be a needed learning experience at the very worst.

[tieren]

If the devil is trapped in the circle, the PCs (if they're smart) can bombard it with ranged attacks from out of its reach. The fight shouldn't be too hard.

Chain devil has the ability to animate other chains to go get the party, grapple them, and then I will have them dragged towards the circle. Which will hopefully be somewhat horrifying.