Transporting Devil's for Witness Interrogation

[ProsecutorGodot]

Something I hadn't put much thought into until a recent plan started forming, I'm wondering what effective ways of capturing and transporting a devil would involve.

The specific goals are as follows:
-The devil might have to be transported over the course of several hours in a hostile area.
-Dimensional travel is currently impossible through our own wills.
-The devil must be in a state where it can offer testimony, almost certainly through interrogation.
-Ideally the testimony should be truthful and verifiable, so methods to accomplish that are also good.

[nickl_2000]

Would the floor of a large wagon be considered the ground? If it is, then you could cast an inverted Magic Circle on the floor of a very large wagon and go that way.

[Unoriginal]

Something I hadn't put much thought into until a recent plan started forming, I'm wondering what effective ways of capturing and transporting a devil would involve.

The specific goals are as follows:
-The devil might have to be transported over the course of several hours in a hostile area.
-Dimensional travel is currently impossible through our own wills.
-The devil must be in a state where it can offer testimony, almost certainly through interrogation.
-Ideally the testimony should be truthful and verifiable, so methods to accomplish that are also good.

Sorry, I need more context to help here:

- What kind of Devil are they/how powerful is the Devil, and what is the PCs' relationship with them?

- What PCs, allies and ressources do you have at your disposal?

- What do you need the Devil to testify about?

[Mastikator]

If you have access to Zone of Truth then that would help with the "verifiable" part. How you'd go about capturing it and transporting it kinda depends a lot on what kind of devil it is, are you capturing an imp or a pit fiend?

[Evaar]

Upcast Magic Circle on a portable platform - the floor of a wagon if you can, or platform of wood set on the ground, or even a shallow box of wood buried just below the surface of the earth and filled back with dirt if your DM is being a real stickler about the definition of "ground." Mold Earth can make this easier. The spell doesn't have language like Glyph of Warding that prevents you from moving it. Upcasting it adds hours to the duration.

Then Zone of Truth once you're there.

Given that transportation is part of your scenario I assume you aren't summoning the devil, otherwise you'd just summon it once you're where you need to be. So if you need to get it into the magic circle from where it is, you need to hold it still for a minute. Hypnotic Pattern could do that for you. You'll need someone other than the Magic Circle caster to use that, since taking a minute to cast Magic Circle will break Concentration on Hypnotic Pattern.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Sorry, I need more context to help here:

- What kind of Devil are they/how powerful is the Devil, and what is the PCs' relationship with them?

- What PCs, allies and ressources do you have at your disposal?

- What do you need the Devil to testify about?

-Probably upper tier, I'm not sure at the moment what could show up next but we've encountered several who are being contracted to go after my character in Undermountain. Relationship could be summarized as "incredibly hostile" as they're basically devil assassin's.
-We have a large sum of money to acquire material components of spells, our Sorcerer also has wish but little else in the way of utility. Party is 18th level, Monk, Paladin, Sorcerer, Fighter.

We have powerful allies but none willing or able to go into Undermountain beyond the forward camp we set up on the third floor.

--The long story short is that the Cassalanters are trying to kill my Paladin and recover his soul. They spent a great fortune to attempt a false true resurrection on him to corrupt his soul so they could install him as a tool for political gain. They plan failed.

My Paladin, also being a noble in Waterdeep from a time before the Cassalanters became such a commanding force, is aware of their devil worshipping and believes that one of the assassin's might be able to testify to the Open Lord, or one of the two masked lord's we know.

I am aware the plan is a bit hair brained but my Paladin has a strong belief in law and justice and would likely commit to this even with a great chance of failure.

[Unoriginal]

-Probably upper tier, I'm not sure at the moment what could show up next but we've encountered several who are being contracted to go after my character in Undermountain. Relationship could be summarized as "incredibly hostile" as they're basically devil assassin's.
-We have a large sum of money to acquire material components of spells, our Sorcerer also has wish but little else in the way of utility. Party is 18th level, Monk, Paladin, Sorcerer, Fighter.

We have powerful allies but none willing or able to go into Undermountain beyond the forward camp we set up on the third floor.

--The long story short is that the Cassalanters are trying to kill my Paladin and recover his soul. They spent a great fortune to attempt a false true resurrection on him to corrupt his soul so they could install him as a tool for political gain. They plan failed.

My Paladin, also being a noble in Waterdeep from a time before the Cassalanters became such a commanding force, is aware of their devil worshipping and believes that one of the assassin's might be able to testify to the Open Lord, or one of the two masked lord's we know.

I am aware the plan is a bit hair brained but my Paladin has a strong belief in law and justice and would likely commit to this even with a great chance of failure.

You could get the Talisman of one of the Devils, then summon them to obey your orders with the Sorcerer using Wish for Infernal Calling.

Otherwise, I'm fairly certain there is a magic school with some expert Devil summoners in Undermountain.

[RogueJK]

Zone of Truth doesn't compel someone to talk... It simply compels them to tell the truth if they choose to speak.

You'll need something higher level to force them to answer. Like Dominate Monster.

(Just keep in mind that Devils have Magic Resistance, and therefore have Advantage on saves against spells. So it may take several tries to get it to stick, and even once it sticks they'll be likely to shake it off fairly quickly. So in addition to having the means to cast the spell multiple times, it'd be helpful to have ways to reduce their saves, like having an Eloquence Bard with Unsettling Words around to assist.)

[Necrosnoop110]

-Dimensional travel is currently impossible through our own wills.
This line confuses me can you explain it further?

[Unoriginal]

This line confuses me can you explain it further?

Undermountain prevents voluntary planar travel.

[ProsecutorGodot]

This line confuses me can you explain it further?

Undermountain is warded against using spells or effects to travel to and from, we have to physically move around unless we use one of the several methods of travel that aren't restricted.

We know of a way to bypass this but it would likely be a significant detour to track down someone to part from their horned ring.

[JackPhoenix]

Do you know if the devil will disappear when it hits 0 HP? If not, you can just beat it unconscious, and punch it every 1d4 hours when it awakens to knock it out again.

[Unoriginal]

Alternatively: could you just move to an area where you can have hidden witnesses, wait to get attacked, and make the Devils admit for whom they work?

[Carpe Gonzo]

Zone of Truth doesn't compel someone to talk... It simply compels them to tell the truth if they choose to speak.

You'll need something higher level to force them to answer. Like Dominate Monster.

(Just keep in mind that Devils have Magic Resistance, and therefore have Advantage on saves against spells. So it may take several tries to get it to stick, and even once it sticks they'll be likely to shake it off fairly quickly. So in addition to having the means to cast the spell multiple times, it'd be helpful to have ways to reduce their saves, like having an Eloquence Bard with Unsettling Words around to assist.)

Command can also be helpful here, for six seconds at a time using a lower level slot. While my favorite command is "Confess!" "Testify!" would be more appropriate here.

[nickl_2000]

Alternatively: could you just move to an area where you can have hidden witnesses, wait to get attacked, and make the Devils admit for whom they work?

You're a high level party, why not make or buy a Potion of Clairvoyance for a Witness to use?

[ProsecutorGodot]

You're a high level party, why not make or buy a Potion of Clairvoyance for a Witness to use?

If you mean to avoid having to transport them, in not entirely sure that the spell would allow a sensor to be placed from outside of Undermountain. It might be possible from the third floor encampment we have, we can try to test it.

[Unoriginal]

You know, for most Devils, anything that prevents movement is an efficient prison.


Like, as long as they can't put themselves to 0 HPs, most Devils don't have special get-out-of-restrains powers, in Undermountain.

[loki_ragnarock]

Do you know if the devil will disappear when it hits 0 HP? If not, you can just beat it unconscious, and punch it every 1d4 hours when it awakens to knock it out again.

A man after my own heart.

PHB 198: Knocking a Creature Out.

Tie it up. Chain it down. Shackle it. Then kick it in the teeth if it starts moving.

It's foolproof! Foolproof, I tells ya!

[ProsecutorGodot]

A man after my own heart.

PHB 198: Knocking a Creature Out.

Tie it up. Chain it down. Shackle it. Then kick it in the teeth if it starts moving.

It's foolproof! Foolproof, I tells ya!

We might even be able to get our Artificer NPC to make Dimensional Shackles. I don't think he's a high enough level to have them as an infusion though, so it would be a long term commitment to craft them.

Incapacitating them to apply the shackles should be relatively easy as well, in theory, if I fail to do so using Hypnotic Pattern I think our Monk has a good chance of stunning any devil we encounter.

Yes, I can see a plan forming now. It's pretty heavily reliant on Wish to fill in for spells we don't otherwise have access to, but what else is Wish for really?
-Incapacitate Devil
-Restrain them with Dimensional Shackles/Magic Circle
-Wish cast Planar Binding
-Use "persuasion" to overcome the devils attempts to be deceitful after we've transported it for trial.

I guess the next part is figuring out how to best give it orders while it's bound so that it has little room to twist our instructions, the more we can get done without strict magical compulsion the less likely I feel it is for the Cassalanter's to form a reasonable defense.


You could get the Talisman of one of the Devils, then summon them to obey your orders with the Sorcerer using Wish for Infernal Calling.

Otherwise, I'm fairly certain there is a magic school with some expert Devil summoners in Undermountain.
I recall us being chased out of the Dweomercore in a hurry last time, they're trying to "enroll" our Fighter and Sorcerer very much against their wills. We may have also killed the Mind Flayer student.

I'm not sure that my DM is actually aware of devil talismans as a mechanic, so Planar Binding is more likely to see success here, though Infernal Calling would circumvent their ability to twist our instructions.

[Unoriginal]

We might even be able to get our Artificer NPC to make Dimensional Shackles. I don't think he's a high enough level to have them as an infusion though, so it would be a long term commitment to craft them.

Incapacitating them to apply the shackles should be relatively easy as well, in theory, if I fail to do so using Hypnotic Pattern I think our Monk has a good chance of stunning any devil we encounter.

Yes, I can see a plan forming now. It's pretty heavily reliant on Wish to fill in for spells we don't otherwise have access to, but what else is Wish for really?
-Incapacitate Devil
-Restrain them with Dimensional Shackles/Magic Circle
-Wish cast Planar Binding
-Use "persuasion" to overcome the devils attempts to be deceitful after we've transported it for trial.

I guess the next part is figuring out how to best give it orders while it's bound so that it has little room to twist our instructions, the more we can get done without strict magical compulsion the less likely I feel it is for the Cassalanter's to form a reasonable defense.


I recall us being chased out of the Dweomercore in a hurry last time, they're trying to "enroll" our Fighter and Sorcerer very much against their wills. We may have also killed the Mind Flayer student.

I'm not sure that my DM is actually aware of devil talismans as a mechanic, so Planar Binding is more likely to see success here, though Infernal Calling would circumvent their ability to twist our instructions.

The sort-of-nuclear option would be using your contacts on the outside to find an Iron Flask and use it to bind a Devil.

It IS a Legendary item, so hard to find, but if you have Waterdavian higher-ups helping you it's at least possible.