Bael

Large fiend (devil), lawful evil

Armor Class 21 (natural armor)

Hit Points 263 (17d12 + 153)

Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., fly 60 ft.

STR 24 (+7) · DEX 18 (+4) · CON 24 (+7) · INT 22 (+6) · WIS 18 (+4) · CHA 24 (+7)

Saving Throws Str +13, Dex +10, Con +13, Int +12, Wis +10, Cha +13

Skills Arcana +12, Deception +13, Insight +10, Perception +10, Stealth +16

Damage Resistances cold; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren’t silvered

Damage Immunities fire, poison

Condition Immunities poisoned

Senses truesight 120 ft., darkvision 240 ft., passive Perception 20

Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.

Challenge 20 (25,000 XP)

Traits

Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Bael fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Magic Resistance. Bael has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Magic Weapons. Bael’s weapon attacks are magical.

Innate Spellcasting. Bael’s innate spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 21, +13 to hit with spell attacks). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

At will: detect magic (PHB, p. 231/262), invisibility (self only; PHB, p. 254/289), greater invisibility (self only; PHB, p. 246/281), darkness (PHB, p. 230/260), misty step (PHB, p. 260/299)

3/day each: dimension door (PHB, p. 233/262), dispel magic (PHB, p. 234/264), dominate monster (PHB, p. 235/265), dream (PHB, p. 236/266)

1/day each: maze (PHB, p. 258/296), true seeing (self only; PHB, p. 284/336)

Actions

Multiattack. Bael makes three attacks with Namurii or two attacks and uses Ash of Oblivion, if available.

Namurii, Infernal Morningstar. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (4d6 + 7) piercing damage plus 14 (4d6) poison damage.

Ash of Oblivion (Recharge 5–6). Bael exhales infernal ash in a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on himself. The area is magical darkness for 1 minute; only Bael can see through it. Each creature of Bael’s choice that starts its turn in the area or enters it for the first time on a turn must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or take 35 (10d6) necrotic damage and be blinded until the darkness ends. On a success, a creature takes half damage and isn’t blinded. The darkness moves with Bael.

Paralyzing Aura. Each creature of Bael’s choice that starts its turn within 30 feet of him must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or be paralyzed until the start of its next turn. A creature that succeeds on the save is immune to this aura for 24 hours.

Bonus Actions

Shadow Jaunt. Bael magically teleports up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. Immediately after he disappears, he can make one Namurii attack.

Unseen Reposition. Bael takes the Hide action. While hidden this way, he can move through other creatures as if they were difficult terrain until the end of the turn.

Reactions

Unseen Riposte. When a creature Bael can sense misses him with an attack, Bael can make one Namurii attack against that creature.

Legendary Actions

Bael can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Bael regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.

Attack. Bael makes one Namurii attack.

Teleport. Bael uses Shadow Jaunt.

Infernal Command (Costs 2 Actions). Bael targets one creature he can see within 60 feet. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or use its reaction to make a weapon attack against a target of Bael’s choice or move up to its speed into hazardous terrain chosen by Bael.

Lore

A three-headed spider-king of invisibility who grants stealth and strikes while blinking in and out.

Bael is the first spirit listed in both “Lemegeton” (“The Lesser Key of Solomon”) and Johann Weyer’s “Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.” He occupies an exceptional rank within the infernal hierarchy: he bears the title of First King of Hell, rules the eastern sector of the underworld, and is regarded as the sovereign of hidden spheres, empowered to bestow invisibility, guile, and wisdom transmuted into infernal cunning. Etymologically, his name goes back to the Northwest Semitic languages, where “baʿl” meant “master,” “lord,” or “owner,” a title applied to both gods and high-ranking humans; in Canaan and Phoenicia it identified the storm and fertility god Hadad. Over time, the name accrued the epithets “First King of Hell,” “Head of Infernal Forces,” and “King of the East.” In occult practice, the exact pronunciation of the name is considered critical for establishing control over him.

Grimoires describe Bael’s appearance as mutable and grotesque. The canonical form, recorded in the “Ars Goetia” and the “Dictionnaire Infernal,” depicts him as a three-headed being. The human head, often shown beneath a crown, symbolizes royal status and the power to grant wisdom, instruct in science, and teach philosophy; it is credited with articulate yet unnaturally rasping speech. The cat’s head reflects nocturnal nature, stealth, and grace, corresponding to his ability to render people invisible. The toad’s head is linked to chthonic forces, poison, and transformation; in some versions it is replaced by a crab’s head, alluding either to armor or to the watery element of the storm god. Louis Le Breton’s illustration in the 1863 edition of the “Dictionnaire Infernal” fixed the image of three heads set on a segmented body with many thin spider-legs. The spider symbolizes webs, ambushes, and hidden influence, while the contrast between massive heads and fragile limbs underscores an unnatural form sustained by magic. All sources describe Bael’s voice as hoarse, rolling, and rough, yet “well-formed,” highlighting aristocracy and control; the rasp is interpreted either as the loss of an angelic voice after the Fall or as the toll of perpetually masking his true nature.

From Demonic Bestiary 5E, p. 22 · Fern Flower Press