5e: The Wages of Sin, Part II

Content Warning

While I don't think there's anything offensive or particularly grotesque in today's article, a devil is a devil. If fiends in your D&D game happens to be a no-no for you, then turn away from this article!

A couple weeks ago, I started a series following my design process of new types of devils based on the seven deadly sins. Today's is the continuation of that series. If you missed the previous article, make sure to give it a visit first as it explains what I wanted to accomplish with the Sin Devils—the type of Devil they are and their position in the fiendish hierarchy. It also provided the statblocks for avarice and wrath devils.

Originally I wanted to provide two devils per article (or three in the last week), but developing them and writing a walkthrough of my process is proving to take longer than I originally estimated. Thus I'll be providing one devil at a time from now on. This week is the gluttony devil.

This article is an exercise in monster creation, which is going to be more useful and interesting to some than others. If you're more interested in the gluttony devil's statblock than my process, skip all the way to the end!

Sin Devil Traits

This is something we discussed last week, but since you may want to refer to the list while following along, I've reproduced it here.

The following are traits that are common to all devils and should also therefore be included in the statblocks of the Sin Devils created during this exercise. Unless, that is, there's a good reason to override them (for instance, an Ice Devil has Cold immunity whereas normally devils have Cold Resistance).

• Damage Immunities fire, poison
• Damage Resistances cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered
• Condition Immunities poisoned
• Senses darkvision 120 ft. Some greater devils may have truesight 120 ft. instead.
• Languages Infernal, Common. All devils more powerful than an Imp have telepathy 120 ft. (which replaces Common).
• Devil's Sight Magical Darkness doesn't impede the devil's darkvision (if it has any).
• Magic Resistance The devil has advantage on saving throw against spells and other magical effects.
• As potently magical creatures, devils generally either possess innate spellcasting (the only example of this is the Pit Fiend, which might suggest spellcasting is generally reserved for more powerful devils), or else unique special abilities that are overtly magical in nature. In the case of the Sin Devils I'm creating, it makes sense to theme spell choices and special abilities around the devil's particular Sin.
• Even the powerful Pit Fiend only has four special traits, including its Magic Resistance as noted above. Keeping a cap on how many abilities a monster has is a good principle for any kind of creature, but particularly for non-legendary monsters which are expected to be encountered in groups. I'll try to stick to a four special trait maximum where I can. I might need to bend this rule, but will try to make sure that if I do most of the creature's special features are simple to adjudicate or don't apply in combat.
• I'm going to make a similar commitment to trying to keep a Sin Devil's available action options straightforward, aiming for no more than two types of special action in addition to its regular attacks and multitattack options.

Sin Devil CRs

Again, this section is included for ease of reference. Last week I decided that my target CR range for the Sin Devils was between 13 and 16. I also noted that it would be good, if possible, for at least a few of the devils I create to have different CRs to each other so there is a greater range of play. Ideally, most if not all of the Sin Devils would also occupy CRs that aren't already filled by Greater Devils in the Monster Manual (eg. the CR 14 Ice Devil). I'll try to make sure that only one of my new devils, at most, has a CR of 14. It would be nice if they were fairly evenly spread throughout the range too.

Finally, I decided that Pride devils would be the most powerful, as Pride is often considered the sin from which all other sins spring. I'm aiming to make the Pride devil with a target CR one higher than the next highest Sin Devil. This means that if any of the other Sin Devils winds up with a CR of 16, the Pride devil will actually have a CR of 17.

Okay, let's get to it!

Making the Gluttony Devil

The gluttony devil should appear morbidly obese, that much seemed immediately clear. My initial instinct was to make it a Huge creature, but then I remembered that it'd be dealing with a lot of secret cults in cramped hidden rooms. Large might be more reasonable.

Given the devil is themed around overindulging in food, why not give it a grotesquely large maw? Certainly a powerful bite attack seems appropriate. To make the bite a bit more grotesque, I'm going to say that the gluttony devil can unhinge its jaw, and has the TARDIS-like quality of being "bigger on the inside", allowing it to consume things far larger than its physical size might suggest.

Gluttony Made Manifest

At this point, it's already fairly obvious what the gluttony devil's unique selling points as an opponent need to be. In case you've not read the previous article, both of the devils I previously created had the ability to manipulate nearby creatures with sinful feelings (an aura of avarice in the case of the Avarice Devil, or a single-target rage incitement for the Wrath Devil). Each of these devils need something similar, the gluttony devil being no exception. I've also already established its powerful bite and ability to swallow creatures whole, as well as the idea that it might be larger-sized creature.

So let's talk about the ability to turn people into gluttons, and how that might even work in a combat context. The gluttony devil's feast should be delicious, and it should also have positive rewards for its allies, such as cultists. But it needs to have a negative side that it can use to bring harm to hostile creatures (or cultists it wishes to punish). I came up with the idea of a Tempting Feast that can be eaten voluntarily, or because a creature is compelled to do so. Eating from the feast can have one of two effects depending on whether a creature is an ally or a target for the devil's animosity. For the positive effect, I looked to the spell Heroes' Feast but scaled it down slightly. For the negative effect, poison seemed appropriate. To make it more horrifying, the creature would still be compelled to keep eating, in spite of the harm it is doing to itself. Tactically, this also sticks the creature to the vicinity of the feast so it can continue to eat.

Here's what I came up with:

Tempting Feast (1/short rest).

The gluttony devil brings forth a great, mouthwatering feast which appears in an unoccupied area that is 10 feet by 5 feet in dimensions and within 30 feet of the gluttony devil. The feast may appear on top of any flat surface within the area that is at least 8 feet by 3 feet, or the gluttony devil may summon the feast atop a table of those dimensions and of a suitable height for either Medium or Small creatures. The feast typically comprises food and drink, but the gluttony devil can tailor the contents to also cater for any creature that requires other substances to sustain itself (such as blood for a vampire or some manner of fuel for a living construct). 

Any hostile creature that moves within 30 feet of the feast or starts its turn within the same range must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature uses any necessary movement and actions to reach the table and partakes from the feast before the end of its next turn. The gluttony devil may choose to force any nonhostile creature to make the same saving throw, with the same result.

When a creature partakes of the feast, the gluttony devil chooses the effect:

• Though the food is appetising it is not fit for consumption and the creature gains the poisoned condition and takes 1d10 poison damage every time that they partake from the feast. Despite their discomfort, the feast is so delicious that the creature is compelled to stay within arm's reach of the feast and use a bonus action on each of its subsequent turns to continue partaking. The creature may make a DC ?? Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns to overcome this compulsion. After it is no longer partaking in the feast, the creature may make a DC ?? Constitution saving throw at the end of each subsequent turns to overcome the poisoned condition.
• The creature may immediately make a saving throw to end each disease or poison currently affecting them, becomes immune to poison and the frightened condition, and makes all Wisdom saving throws with advantage. It also gains 2d10 temporary hit points. These benefits last for 1 hour.

Once a creature makes its saving throw or it benefits from the feast's positive effect, it cannot be affected again by the same gluttony devil's tempting feast until 24 hours have passed.

Okay, so what about its swallow ability? Luckily, that's not a new feature. We can look at creatures like the Behir, the Remorhaz, and the Tarrasque to guide us. The damage dealt while within the devil's stomach is not the issue, since we can just decide on an appropriate amount to help us reach the CR we want (the DMG tells us to assume a monster swallows one creature and deals 2 rounds of damage to it). The main problem is deciding how many hit points of damage a creature inside must do to be regurgitated, because unfortunately the DMG doesn't help us there.

Based on the limited number of monsters available, my best guess for the "rule" behind this "regurgitation threshold" is as follows:

Swallow Feature Regurgitation Thresholds by CR

CR Range	Regurgitation Threshold	Examples
1-5	10	None *
6-10	20	None.
11-15	30	Behir, Purple Worm, Remorhaz
16-20	40	None.
21-25	50	Kraken
26-30	60	Tarrasque
* There's no actual evidence that creatures below CR 5 even need to regurgitate. All lower CR creatures with the swallow ability have no rules for regurgitation. My guess is it's assumed that the creature has few enough hit points it will be killed within a few short turns of the creature being swallowed. Furthermore, all examples are smaller creature who can only swallow one PC, meaning it's impossible to end up in a situation where most or all of the party are inside and need to escape without outside help.

The evidence for the above table isn't conclusive, but I'd say this pattern does fit the available data in a way I'd consider compelling.

Since we know the gluttony devil is going to be somewhere in the CR 13-15 range, we can give it a "regurgitation threshold" of 30, similar to other example monsters with similar CRs. If it winds up a CR 16, the threshold might go up to 40.

I also need to decide the type of damage dealt. Most creatures deal acid damage when they swallow, but the banderhobb from Volo's Guide is a "hybrid of shadow and flesh" that actually deals necrotic damage to the creatures it swallows, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that other supernatural creatures might deal other types of damage. For instance, for any other devil, I might consider giving it a fiery interior rather than a true stomach. For a gluttony devil, however, how can anything be more appropriate than stomach acid?

As previously noted I've decided that the gluttony Devil can swallow creatures larger than its size might suggest due to an unnaturally large stomach out of proportion to its physical dimensions. This gave me the idea that it could use the large quantity of stomach acid within as a weapon, but that spewing acid should be tied to its regurgitation reflex.

Swallow (bite attack rider).

If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC ?? Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the gluttony Devil. The devil's stomach is an extradimensional space, far larger than the devil's outward appearance would suggest. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the worm, and it takes (a not yet determined amount of) acid damage at the start of each of the worm's turns.

If the gluttony Devil takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the devil must succeed on a DC ?? Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the devil All other creatures within 10 feet of the devil are targeted as if it had used its Spew Stomach Acid attack. If the devil dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Spew Stomach Acid.

The gluttony devil vomits forth an unwholesome wave of stomach acid on all creatures in its vicinity. Each creature within 10 feet of the devil must make a DC ?? Dexterity saving throw, taking (a undetermined amount of) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.

Any creatures currently swallowed by the gluttony devil is regurgitated as described in the description of its bite.

For a fourth and final feature, it occurs to me that the gluttony devil ought to be making use of grappling to pin its prey and make them easier to swallow. Thus:

Gluttonous Grip.

If the gluttony devil hits a Large or smaller creature with both its claw attacks on the same turn, it may choose to grapple that creature. While a creature is grappled by the gluttony devil, it has advantage on its bite attack against that creature.

Proficiency

As a Greater Devil, the gluttony devil has a Proficiency of +4 or greater. I'll start with +4 and adjust upwards if it turns out to be necessary later.

Movement

The gluttony devil has no conceptual basis for any kind of special movement. It is on the slow side for a large creature, with a walking speed of 30 ft.

Abilities

The most important ability for any Sin Devil, as consummate tempters, is always going to be Charisma. All Greater Devils are intelligent, for they are cunning creatures. Sin Devils especially need to be cunning to trick mortals into forfeiting their souls. Wisdom should be reasonably high, since a Sin Devil cannot afford to be the one who comes out the worst of an exchange with a potential victim.

For a gluttoy devil, Constitution also feels like it ought to be an important score. We're making them large and ungainly, but they should have excellent endurance. Since it's going to be making physical attacks and is of a larger size, Strength is also important.

I go with my gut and assign the abilities as I see fit, coming up with the following array:

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	10 (+0)	24 (+7)	22 (+6)	20 (+5)	24 (+7)

Skills

As has been the case previously, I think that all Sin Devils should add their proficiency to Deception, Persuasion, and Insight.

Saving Throws

The gluttony devil is proficient in Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom saving throws.

Resistances, Immunities, and Vulnerabilities

The gluttony devils has same resistances and immunities as other devils.

Senses and Languages

I'm giving Sin Devils truesight 120 ft., and telepathy out to the same range in addition to Infernal.

Other Special Features

The gluttony devil has Magic Resistance and Magic Weapons in common with other devils.

Actions

As a high CR creature, the gluttony devil is going to have multiattack. Since it'll only have two limbs, it can have two claw attacks and its bite. The bite is likely to be a significant portion of its damage given the size of its toothy maw.

The multiattack entry looks like this:

Multiattack.

The gluttony devil makes two attacks with its claws, and one with its bite.

Putting it together: Offensive Challenge Rating

This time round I didn't make any assumptions about the damage each of the devil's attack options should be dealing, nor the damage of its stomach acid (though looking at the remorhaz and purple worm statblocks, between 3d6 and 6d6 acid damage would be appropriate depending on where the gluttony devil falls in the CR range).

For now then, I'm going to aim for CR 14. Why? Simply because the avarice devil already slotted in at CR 13 and the wrath devil at CR 15. There are too many sins for every Sin Devil to have its own unique CR in the target range I've set for myself, but it would still be nice to have a nice spread within the range.

Assuming all things being equal a CR 14 monster should be dealing 87-92 damage per round. Looking across at the Defensive Challenge Rating values for CR 14, I can already see that 266-280 hit points and AC 18 might be a bit on the high side, so I can probably afford to push the offensive challenge rating higher.

Let's assume for now that each of its claws deal 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage, and its gaping maw deals damage more appropriate for a huge monster. Let's call it 27 (4d10 + 5) piercing damage! That's 54 damage accounted for already.

I'm meant to assume one creature gets swallowed and takes two rounds worth of damage. If we give the gluttony devil 21 (6d6 acid damage) for its stomach acids, we can multiply 21 by 0.66 to determine its effective increase to the devil's damage/round over 3 rounds, which is 13.86. Let's call it 14. Our running total is up to 68.

Finally, there's the area attack acid damage that the devil deals when it Spews acid/regurgitates. Since this will take an action if done on the devil's own turn, it has to be an attractive option. Eg. it should deal damage roughly equivalent to the devil's multiattack. The general assumption with area effects is that they will hit two creatures (see the entry for Breath Weapon in the table Monster Features in the DMG, for instance). So ultimately, the acid spew should be dealing about half the damage of the multiattack to each target. So we're looking for a solution that achieves about 26 damage. Well, it would make sense to use d6s, right? That's consistent with the damage it's dealing when creatures are swallowed. 7d6 would deal an average of 24.5 hit points; 8d6 would deal 28. Let's go with the larger number in this case. Yep, it's slightly more attractive than the multiattack, but it also comes with the cost of regurgitating any already swallowed prey.

But then, why does spewing acid deal more damage than it does to a swallowed creature? Sort of suggests the damage against the swallowed creature should also be raised to match, right? In that case, let's reset our damage per round subtotal to 54 from the multiattack.

The acid spew would normally replace the multiattack and deal 4 more damage, but it can't keep doing that if it also wants to swallow creatures, which is better for it in the long run. I'm pretty comfortable assuming the average damage per round from the devil's actions will be 52.

We now know the gluttony devil is actually dealing 28 (8d8) acid damage to a swallowed creature. 28 multipled by 0.66 is 18.48. Our new subtotal is 70.

If we're assuming one creature gets swallowed, it's reasonable to assume that the creature will escape, causing two nearby creatures to be affected by the gluttony devil's acid spew at no action cost to the gluttony devil. So that's (28 times 2) multiplied by 0.33 = 18.48.

That puts our running total at 90.

But there's more, isn't there? The Tempting Feast! Once again, let's assume that the gluttony devil can successfully affect 2 hostile creatures with the feast. That's an additional 11 poison damage per round, for 101, bumping the CR up to 16.

As far as I know the poisoned condition should not have an affect on CR given it's roughly equivalent as a penalty to one player as grappling would be a bonus to the monster. And believe it or not, advantage on attacks against creature's you've grappled nets no change. However, I'm comfortable enough to rule that both features stacked together and the fact the poisoned condition would be applying to 2 or more players is enough to combine into an effective +2 to the monster's attack bonus/saving throw DC.

The appropriate attack bonus for CR 16 is +9. The devil's attack bonus actually is +9 (Strength +5 plus Proficiency +4) but I'm treating its effective attack bonus as +11. However, a not insignificant portion of the devil's effectiveness comes from saving throw abilities. An appropiate DC for CR 16 would be 18. The gluttony devil's is actually 19 (8 + Charisma +7 plus Proficiency +4), or effectively 21. This has worked out nicely - whichever offensive measure you use, the calculations come out the same. The gluttony devil currently has an offensive challenge rating of 17.

Putting it together: Defensive Challenge Rating

Assuming I still want the gluttony devil to come out as a CR 14, I need its defensive challenge rating to be 11, so it averages out the offensive challenge rating.

How do the devil's features play into its defensive challenge rating?

Firstly, damage resistances and immunities: with four resistances, we need to factor those into the calculation. Since there are only two immunities, which are both easily bypassed, it should be enough to adjust for the resistances only. For a creature of the CR range we're designing for, the monster's hit points should be multiplied by 1.25.

The devil has magic resistance, which the Monster Features table tells us is equivalent to a +2 AC.

Should the effect of the feast on the gluttony devil and its allies ought to be accounted for? There's not really any example for how this might be handled, so I'll be having to go with my gut.

I'm reasonably certain that most of the benefits of the feast to the devil's allies are negligible. Most of them don't even apply to the gluttony devil and other devil allies, and would only be of benefit to cultist minions. Advantage on Wisdom saves is certainly attractive, but its easy to get around by targeting other saves. The hit points certainly need to be factored in, though.

2d10 temporary hit points is attractive, but probably less attractive than the normal actions of the Sin Devil and other creatures that might be accompanying it. They're likely to deal average damage higher than the amount they would regain. Its allies probably still will eat the feast, because the combined package is a nice deal. But what I'm saying is the mathematical gain is likely to be null, or even a loss.

I might be really wrong in this, and I'd love to hear your opinions if you think so, but I don't think the feast has a significant impact on the devil's defensive CR.

Okay, so now we work backwards. The devil's +2 AC from magic resistance tells us that our target DCR is actually 10, not 11. The hit point range for DC 10 is 206-220. Since the devil has a resistance multiplier of 1.25, we need to figure out a number that is lower than that range and that when multiplied by a quarter of itself arrives at a total witin the range.

165 multiplied by 1.25 is 206.25. 176 multiplied by 1.25 is 220 exactly. So I need to figure out an amount of d10s (since the monster is Large) that, when added to the same amount multiplied by the devil's Con mod, falls within that range.

The average of a d10 is 5.5, and the devil's Con mod is +7. So my first step is to divide 220 by 12.5 (5.5 + 7), for a result of 17.6. Multiplying 12.5 by 17, I get a result of 212.5. 212 is right in the middle of the range, and I clearly can't do better. 212 hit points it is!

The typical AC for CR 10 is 17. And I can't change it without screwing with all the above calculations. But actually, in this case I've been happy all along to rule that whatever AC is required by the calculations is fine. Since the devil has no Dex bonus, it wasn't important to figure out. Its AC bonus can all be natural - from its magical nature and its blubbery body.

Since the DCR is 11 and the OCR is 17, the target CR of 14 has been achieved!

The Gluttony Devil

A gluttony devil is a Sin Devil whose role is to inspire mortals to consume above and beyond their physical need. They provide seemingly endless supplies of delicious foods, wines, sweets, and any other treats that a creature might wish to consume.

A gluttony devil is a tall humanoid with the physical proportions of a grotesquely obese ogre. Its arms long arms end in needle-like claws, with which it is capable of surprisingly delicate handling. It is known to use its claws to puncture its own favourite treats, such as the eyes of a victim, before popping them in its mouth. The gluttony devil's fang-lined maw is unnaturally large and its lower face contorts elastically whenever it smiles, frowns, or shows its fury. The mouth can open to a fantastic degree, unhinging completely, and a gluttony devil is capable of devouring a creature even of its own size, much like a snake would. The pallor of a gluttony devil's skin is wan, and when it is close a faint distasteful odor can be picked up on.

Gluttony Devil

Large fiend, lawful evil

Armor Class

17 (natural armour)

Hit Points

212 (17d10 + 119)

Speed

30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	10 (+0)	24 (+7)	22 (+6)	20 (+5)	24 (+7)

Saving Throws

Dex +4, Con +11, Wis +9

Skills

Deception +11, Insight +9, Persuasion +11

Damage Resistances

cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered

Damage Immunities

fire, poison

Condition Immunities

charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned

Senses

truesight 120 ft.; passive Perception 15

Languages

Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.

Challenge

14 (11,500 XP)

Gluttonous Grip.

If the gluttony devil hits a Large or smaller creature with both its claw attacks on the same turn, it may choose to grapple that creature. While a creature is grappled by the gluttony devil, it has advantage on its bite attack against that creature.

Magic Resistance.

The gluttony devil has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Magic Weapons.

The gluttony devil's weapon attacks are magical.

Actions

Multiattack.

The gluttony devil makes two attacks with its claws, and one with its bite.

Bite.

Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (4d10 +5) piercing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or be swallowed by the gluttony devil. The devil's stomach is an extradimensional space, far larger than the devil's outward appearance would suggest. A swallowed creature is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the worm, and it takes 28 (8d6) acid damage at the start of each of the worm's turns.

If the gluttony devil takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from a creature inside it, the devil must succeed on a DC 19 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate all swallowed creatures, which fall prone in a space within 10 feet of the devil All other creatures within 10 feet of the devil are targeted as if it had used its Spew Stomach Acid attack. If the devil dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 20 feet of movement, exiting prone.

Spew Stomach Acid.

The gluttony devil vomits forth an unwholesome wave of stomach acid on all creatures in its vicinity. Each creature within 10 feet of the devil must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6) acid damage on a failed save, or half as much on a success.

Any creatures currently swallowed by the gluttony devil is regurgitated as described in the description of its bite.

Tempting Feast (1/short rest).

The gluttony devil brings forth a great, mouthwatering feast which appears in an unoccupied area that is 10 feet by 5 feet in dimensions and within 30 feet of the gluttony devil. The feast may appear on top of any flat surface within the area that is at least 8 feet by 3 feet, or the gluttony devil may summon the feast atop a table of those dimensions and of a suitable height for either Medium or Small creatures. The feast typically comprises food and drink, but the gluttony devil can tailor the contents to also cater for any creature that requires other substances to sustain itself (such as blood for a vampire or some manner of fuel for a living construct). 

Any hostile creature that moves within 30 feet of the feast or starts its turn within the same range must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature uses any necessary movement and actions to reach the table and partakes from the feast before the end of its next turn. The gluttony devil may choose to force any nonhostile creature to make the same saving throw, with the same result.

When a creature partakes of the feast, the gluttony devil chooses the effect:

• Though the food is appetising it is not fit for consumption and the creature gains the poisoned condition and takes 1d10 poison damage every time that they partake from the feast. Despite their discomfort, the feast is so delicious that the creature is compelled to stay within arm's reach of the feast and use a bonus action on each of its subsequent turns to continue partaking. The creature may make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw at the end of each of its turns to overcome this compulsion. After it is no longer partaking in the feast, the creature may make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw at the end of each subsequent turns to overcome the poisoned condition.
• The creature may immediately make a saving throw to end each disease or poison currently affecting them, becomes immune to poison and the frightened condition, and makes all Wisdom saving throws with advantage. It also gains 2d10 temporary hit points. These benefits last for 1 hour.

Once a creature makes its saving throw or it benefits from the feast's positive effect, it cannot be affected again by the same gluttony devil's tempting feast until 24 hours have passed.