P Levistus atience is the virtue of the vicious, and none are so patient as Levistus, the frozen lord of Stygia. Indeed, in the centuries of his imprisonment he has grown to wield such power as was unknown to him in the distant days of his freedom, his mind seeding uncountable schemes accross the multiverse even as his body remains trapped and helpless. Levistus' agents are everywhere, and among the ranks of those who oppose him, sudden and violent betrayals are so common as to be expected; though even worse are the selfinflicted wounds his foes suffer in their efforts to detect and root out these expected traitors. Levistus Lore History DC 20: Asmodeus imprisoned Levistus centuries ago after the murder of his consort Bensozia, though what role Levistus may have played in her death remains a matter of debate among devils who imagine themselves unheard by the Lord of All Hells. Religion DC 10: Cults devoted to the Prince of Betrayal are comprised of outcasts with little to lose, bound by a comraderie of amicably mutual distrust. More commonly, however, worship of Levistus is something private and individual, engaged in by those of great ambition and little concience who seek his aid when they find their grasp exceeded by their reach. Religion DC 15: Levistus is Lord of the Fifth, duke of the stygian wastes of Baator, which he rules from the drifting glacier prison to which Asmodeus confined him centuries ago. Relgion DC 20: The curse of imprisonment lies not upon the glacier, but on Levistus himself, hence why the tunnels carved through the ice by his underlings close as fast as they can be opened. Occasionally a powerful sacrifice from one of his cults will grant him a fleeting moment of freedom, but inevitably the ice moves to reclaim him. Levistus Tactics Levistus always makes an offer of single combat to the greatest warrior among his foes and directs his allies to avoid intervention if it is accepted, though in the spirit of fair play he welcomes any indirect aid his dueling partner's allies wish to provide. So long as he is confident of victory, he does not cast spells and uses his concentration to suppress his Curse of the Vault, using his reputation for cultivating betrayal to sow seeds of discord and suspicion among his foes with sardonic taunts and cryptic gloating. When combat is joined in earnest with several foes, he Casts Iced Earth and begins using Freeze the Blood whenever available, targeting the same creature each time until it is functionally removed from the fight. Once a creature is downed by one of his attacks, he uses Offer Aid to briefly turn it against its allies, then follows up by targeting it with Flesh to Ice. If he ever has more than 30 temporary hit points, he uses an attack against himself to clear some of the ice away.
Levistus Medium fiend (devil), lawful evil Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 546 (52d8 + 312) Speed 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 23 (+6) 24 (+7) 23 (+6) 26 (+8) 25 (+7) 27 (+8) Saving Throws DEX +15, CON +14, WIS +15, CHA +16 Damage Resistances Fire Damage Immunities Cold, Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned Skills Deception +24, Perception +15, Performance +16, Persuasion +16 Senses Darkvision 120 ft. (penetrates magical darkness), Passive Perception 18 Languages All, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 25 (75,000 XP) Lord of the Fifth. Devils under Levistus' control are immune to Cold damage, and can burrow through ice at half their movement speed. Curse of the Vault. At the beginning of each of his turns, Levistus gains 20 cumulative temporary hit points as thick ice magcially begins to grow outward from him. His speed is reduced by 5 feet for each 5 of these temporary hit points he has, and he is restrained and can't cast spells or concentrate while his speed is reduced to 0 in this way. Prince of Betrayal. Levistus has advantage on attacks against a creature within 5 feet of one of its allies. Magic Resistance. Levistus has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Duelist's Resistance (5/Day). If Levistus fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. He subtracts 1 from his AC and attack rolls for each expended use of this ability. Actions Multiattack. Levistus makes two melee attacks, one of which he may replace with a use of his Iced Earth. Frost-Fair Épée. Melee Weapon Attack: +15 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (3d8) piercing damage plus 18 (4d8) cold damage. If this attack was made at advantage, the target must succeed on a DC 23 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away and suffer one additional effect of Levistus' choice. Bladebeat. The creature's AC is reduced by 2 until the beginning of its next turn. Stacatto Remise. The creature takes an an additional 13 (3d8) piercing damage. Second Intent. The next attack Levistus makes against the same target before the beginning of his next turn is made at advantage. Iced Earth (3rd Level Spell, Concentration). Crystals of slick ice spread across the ground at Levistus' feet. Whenever another creature is hit with a melee attack within 5 feet of Levistus, it must succeed on a DC 23 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. Flesh to Ice (5th Level Spell). One creature Levistus can see within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 23 Constitution saving throw or take 36 (8d8) cold damage, or half as much on a success. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this damage transforms into a statue of glittering ice until cured by Greater Restoration or similar magic. Freeze the Blood (9th Level Spell, Recharge 5-6). Levistus forces one creature he can see within 60 feet to succeed on a DC 23 Constitution saving throw or take 5 (2d4) points of exhaustion, or half as many on a success. Reactions Passata Sotto. As a reaction to being targeted with a melee attack while he has no temporary hit points, Levistus imposes disadvantage on the strike as he dives beneath it. If the attack misses, he may make an attack at advantage as part of this reaction. Spell Parry. As a reaction to being targeted with a spell, Levistus makes a melee attack roll against the spell caster's Save DC. On a success, Levistus chooses a new target within 15 feet of him for the spell. Bloodied Vigor (1/Day). As a reaction to being reduced below 274 hit points, Levistus gains two additional Legendary Actions on each of his turns for the next minute. Legendary Actions Levistus can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Graceful Advance. Levistus moves up to half his speed. Attacks of opportunity provoked by this movement are made at disadvantage. Offer Aid. One creature with 0 hit points within 5 feet of Levistus regains 20 hit points as he helps it stand from prone, and must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or act under his control until the end of its next turn. Induce Paranoia. One creature Levistus can see within 60 feet must make a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, the creature cannot be the willing target of a spell or magical effect until the end of its next turn. Spirited Exchange (Costs 2 Actions). Levistus makes two attacks with his Frost-Fair Épée. If any of these attacks miss, up to one creature may use its reaction to make a melee attack against him. Suppress Curse (Costs 2 Actions, Concentration). Levistus supresses the effect of one spell or magical effect within 30 feet for as long as he maintains concentration.
Art Credits Levistus by Hector Ortiz Thing in the Ice by Mike Bierek Bisk, Goblin King by Rae Elderidge I've Got a Subreddit! Want more monsters like this? Come check out r/bettermonsters, where I post all my work. Don't see something there? Drop a request and I'll usually get it to you within a day if I've got something on hand, and I'll shoot you a message when it's ready if not. You Found the Free Books! The Part Where I Shill My Patreon Want to support the creation of content like this? I post new monsters with lore and tactics to my patreon five times a week, joining the more than 1300 already there, indexed in a big PDF along with formats for Foundry and 5eTools.