Indwelling devils are the unseen puppet masters of the Nine Hells, all-knowing, all-seeing spies that secretly control others in service to their nebulous agenda. The true mission of the dark, twisted spirits however is to hunt down souls that escape from Hell.[1]
Personality[]
Indwelling devils are adept manipulators and capable diplomats.[1]
Abilities[]
Indwelling devils can briefly become invisible at will and fly as fast as they walk. Their caress is degenerative and leaves those they touch dazed, and once so debilitated the enemy can be held and mentally dominated. The titular ability of indwelling devils is their "indwelling" whereupon they merge with an individual they have dominated. From there the indwelling devil controls the seemingly normal subject's every action (limited by the capacity of the possessed). However, the indwelling devils can still be grabbed within this state and forcibly dragged out of their victim, leaving the devils dazed.[1]
Combat[]
In combat, indwelling devils normally use invisibility to avoid notice before enthralling an already engaged opponent. This is followed immediately by indwelling, after which the devil turns the target against their unknowing companions. An expelled indwelling devil, now dazed and visible, was in a very bad position, and only if immediately able to recover from their disorientation and muster another use of indwelling would they face the foe rather than simply flee before the possibility of destruction.[1]
Society[]
The services of indwelling devils are in high demand among the infernal aristocracy of the Nine Hells. It is believed that the creatures are all part of one greater cabal, either in the form of a secret society with its own esoteric objectives or in service to a singular master, although this is all speculation and liable to change according to who is positing it. The most common claim is that they all serve Phongor the Inquisitor, and by extension, Asmodeus himself.[1]
Despite their status in the Nine Hells, indwelling devils are most commonly found among creatures they secretly controlled, which canbe anything up to and including cambions, eladrin, cyclopses and medusa, sometimes all at once. What appears as small bands of dazed creatures might suddenly be revealed to be the puppets of an indwelling devil, leaving any force that defeats them liable to become the new hosts.[1]
History[]
A well-known story tells of a recent city-state that elected a dictator to protect it from a horde of hobgoblins, one who refused to relinquish power after the threat had passed and became a tyrant. The city's salvation came in the form of an oracle of Ioun who demanded an audience with the autocrat which, when granted, saw the seemingly meek individual arrogantly accuse the dictator of being a soul who escaped from the Nine Hells. After a pitched battle which revealed the oracle to be enthralled to an indwelling devil, the dictator was defeated and dragged back to the Hells, whereupon the city made a small shrine to the Hells and the devil who saved them, and maintained it ever since.[1]