G Graz'zt raz'zt craves all things, of this world and of every other, with a passion and fury beyond mortal comprehension. The limitless indulgences of the Argent Palace, the vastness of the three realms of the Abyss that have succumbed to his dominion, the legions of eager thralls that live only for his approval; these are as nothing beside the breadth of his ambition, beside the thrill of a conquest yet to be made. To serve Graz'zt is to serve yourself, to worship him is to worship yourself, for in his covetous gaze is reflected a vision of yourself that is valued and needed and precious beyond measure. Graz'zt Lore History DC 15: While undoubtedly capable of astounding feats of magic, Graz'zt prefers to rely on his natural charms and swordsmanship in combat, wielding an acid-dripping bastard sword called Bitter Bastard. History DC 20: Graz'zt rules over three layers of the Abyss, collectively known as Azzagrat, each of them spanned and pierced by his capital city of Zelatar, and crowned by his Argent Palace within it. It is said that Graz'zt was once an archdevil that invaded these realms before ultimately being corrupted by their chaotic influence, though this is often accompanied by the seemingly contradictory claim that he was a willing defector from Asmodeus' court. History DC 25: Perhaps tied to his rumored past as an archdevil, Graz'zt seems to take a sadistic joy in making his victims complicit in their own corruption, saving his cruelest torments for those who accept his magical influence willingly. Likewise, he seeks always to cultivate and nurture the corruptive desires already lurking within them, rather than clumsily imposing such influences with blunt enchantments. Religion DC 10: Cults to Graz'zt traffic in the extremes of emotion and experience, offering terrors and delights that forever dull the mundane world for those who experience them, inculcating desires that can never be satiated without the Prince of Pleasure's aid. Religion DC 15: Graz'zt rules over three layers of the Abyss, collectively known as Azzagrat, each of them spanned and pierced by his capital city of Zelatar, and crowned by his Argent Palace within it. It is said that Graz'zt was once an archdevil that invaded these realms before ultimately being corrupted by their chaotic influence, though this is often accompanied by the seemingly contradictory claim that he was a willing defector from Asmodeus' court. Religion DC 20: As the demon prince of decadence, obsession, and reckless pleasures, Graz'zt seems to be one of the few figures in the Abyss capable of inspiring a semblance of actual loyalty in demonkind, able as he is to provide them with heights of experience unattaniable without him. Graz'zt Tactics Graz'zt seeks always to acquire any foes as future thralls, and his chief priority in combat is to put enemies in positions where they are incentivized to succumb to his Seductive Guile, then to prevent their escape with his Covetous Intercession as he pursues their erstwhile allies. He becomes particularly fixated on any creature that manages to resist his abilities, and attempts to overwhelm their defenses with a combination of Ambrosial Ecstasy and Gift of Transcendent Pleasure. He use Annihilating Despair whenever available if not already concentrating, both to provoke a creature to choose to succeed directly on the save using his Seductive Guile, and to prompt their allies to do the same if the target dies, so that they might preserve the possibility of resurrecting their fallen ally. He often uses his Gift of Writhing Pain on a creature charmed by his Seductive Guile if no better target is available, so that it can choose to succeed on its turn to re-up the temporary hit points, or suffer the negative effects if it escapes his influence before then.
Graz'zt Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil Armor Class 20 (Natural Armor) Hit Points 547 (54d10 + 270) Speed 40 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 22 (+6) 15 (+2) 21 (+5) 21 (+5) 23 (+6) 26 (+8) Saving Throws DEX +9, CON +12, WIS +12 Skills Deception +15, Insight +12, Perception +12, Persuasion +15 Damage Resistances Cold, Fire, Lightning Damage Immunities Poison; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned Senses Truesight 120 ft., Passive Perception 22 Languages All, Telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 24 (62,000 XP) Six-Fingered Subversion. A creature that starts its turn within 60 feet of Graz'zt that is Charmed by a creature other than him is instead Charmed by him for the same duration. Seductive Guile. A creature that fails a saving throw against a spell or ability Graz'zt controls can choose to succeed instead. If it does, the creature gains 30 temporary hit points. While a creature has any of these temporary hit points, it is Charmed by Graz'zt and acts under his control, and loses any immunity to the Charmed condition. Magic Resistance. Graz'zt has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Legendary Resistances (5/Day). If Graz'zt fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead. Actions Multiattack. Graz'zt makes two attacks with Bitter Bastard and uses either his Gift of Writhing Pain or Gift of Transcendent Pleasure. Bitter Bastard. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 19 (3d8 + 6) slashing and an arc of acid splashes forth in a 15 foot cone centered on the target, dealing 9 (2d8) acid damage to each creature in the area. Gift of Writhing Pain (5th Level Spell). One creature Graz'zt can see within 60 feet falls prone and is wracked with agony for the next minute. At the beginning of each of the creature's turns, it must succeed on a DC 23 Constitution saving throw or take 16 (3d10) psychic damage and be unable to stand until the beginning of its next turn, ending the effect on a success. Gift of Transcendent Pleasure (5th Level Spell). One creature Graz'zt can see within 60 feet cannot take reactions and is suffused in an aura of pure rapturous delight for the next minute. At the beginning of each of the creature's turns, it must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or voluntarily fail all other saving throws until the beginning of its next turn. On a success, the effect ends. Annihilating Despair (Concentration, Recharges when Graz'zt uses his Ambrosial Ecstasy). One creature Graz'zt can see within 60 feet becomes Invisible to him for the next minute. At the beginning of each of the creature's turns, it must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or take 77 (14d10) psychic damage. When a creature is killed by this damage, each of its allies must succeed on a DC 23 Wisdom saving throw or lose all memory of them until restored by Greater Restoration or similar magic. Ambrosial Ecstasy (Recharge 5-6). Graz'zt gently touches a creature within 5 feet and shares with it a fragment of his power. The creature must succeed on a DC 23 Constitution saving throw or be cursed. While cursed in this way, a creature Charmed by Graz'zt adds a d4 to all of its attack rolls and saving throws, and a creature not Charmed by him subtracts a d4 from all of its attack rolls and saving throws. A creature that has this curse removed by any means other than a Wish spell takes 22 (4d10) psychic damage whenever it completes a Long Rest. Reactions Exploit Opening. As a reaction when he is missed with a melee attack, Graz'zt moves up to 10 feet and makes an attack with Bitter Bastard. Covetous Intercession (3rd Level Spell). As a reaction when a creature under his control is targeted with an attack, Graz'zt and that creature teleport to switch places with one another, and Graz'zt becomes the new target of the attack. Legendary Actions Graz'zt can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Beguiling Invitation. One creature Graz'zt can see within 60 feet may use its reaction to move up to its speed, then takes 5 (1d10) psychic damage for each 5 feet away from him it ends this movement. Devour Magic. Graz'zt ends one spell or magical effect within 60 feet, and gains disadvantage on the next saving throw he makes in the next minute against magic controlled by that spell's caster. Mercurial Strike (Costs 2 Actions). Graz'zt teleports up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space within 5 feet of a creature he can see and makes two melee attacks against it.
Art Credits Graz'zt by Richard Whitters 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 1000 already there, indexed in a big PDF along with formats for Foundry and 5eTools. Also check out my website and instagram, where my wife and I make handmade dice and dice bags, and where I post free books as I get them polished up. I'm trying to get a new free book like this out every other month or so. If you've got any monsters you'd like to see statted up by me, leave me a comment over in the permanent thread in r/bettermonsters and I'll put something together for you. Supported By Aaron Rosenberg AHorseWithNoName Alex Bogart Alex Gillies Alex O'Donnell Alex O'Hanlon Alisha Herbitter Allis Anders Ivarsson Andrew Cheeseman Benji Morris Bernhard Fritz Blueberryperson Bradley Webb Brandon Malofsky David Jose Delport Breckland Ex Nihilo Flipp Fletcher Herring George Hughes GramPositive Harrison Phillips Helltroll Hoswell Jack O'Keefe Jacob Gist Jake Serna James Hawthorne James McBride Johnathan Chavez Joseph Donley Josh Huston Justin King Kelsii Weber Kyle Cove Lascifrass Lawrence Courtrelle Luke Wheeler Malacandrian Marc Adelman Matt Herbert Matt Pierce Matthew Cullen Matthew S Mauricio Garcia Maximilian Bizjak Mehul Gupta Michael Taylor Mike Nicolan Milo Baraclough Mitch Whitehead Moritz Hackl Nathan Johnson Nathanial Schnebly Niall Nick I Niki S ObsessiveModelmaker Ondřej Kříž Oscar Mangandid Patrick Phoenix Daniels Primarily Daniel Rae Judd Rici Robert Martin Robin Bjälmsjö Robin Roberts Ronan Battistoni Rowan RuggerFoodie Sandy Hogg SardScroll saternoutlaw Saz Shadowfield Shane Sharelle D Larsen Sheila Dietrich Simen Lande Simon Bell simon Jørgensen Simon Weller SirApetus Sylphreni Tanner F Moen The Coffee Bean GM Victor Navone Vince Margaretich Walter Downard William Dixon Zach Kozel