#bedknobs and broomsticks

Image © ArtStation user OTL Miu, accessed at their gallery here

[This is going to be the last of the Goetic fiends for a while; the stat blocks are complicated and the lore often heavy, so I'm going to take a break. As such, I wanted this one to be a heavy hitter, both in terms of CR and in terms of concept. Although I flirted with it with the amnosahura, this is the first explicitly Christian monster in the Codex. And not in a flattering light. Astaroth is assembled from the wickedest popes, priests and church fathers, anyone who used Christianity as a weapon to hurt others, and his doctrine is pretty much just modern Evangelism. Pathfinder's timeline is set so that it's currently the 1930s on Earth; unless your PCs stop him, I suspect that Astaroth's ascension to full demon lord will occur around 1947, when Oral Roberts starts spreading the prosperity gospel.

As befitting a demon that a lot of folks know by name, plenty of references and research went into this. The name Astaroth is a corruption of the Caananite Astarte, so I gave his snake and dragon confederates Caananite names as well. Astaroth's focus on healing is drawn from the legend of St. Bartholomew, as is his favored punishment. And I couldn't help but build in a reference to Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a Disney musical about a British witch who fights the Nazis with an incantation learned from the Star of Astaroth. Thanks to @monstersdownthepath for the phrasing of the Animate Army ability.

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Demon, Balor Lord, Astaroth CR 23 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This creature is the epitome of a demon, with a horned head, hooved feet and great wings seemingly made out of smoke. A green serpent coils around his left arm and hand.

On a faraway planet called Earth, a messianic cult arose during a time of political turmoil. Although its founder was a follower of a monotheistic religion, his own followers declared him to be part of that same god, and turned on their parent religion with violent fervor. Within a few centuries, this faith grew from a small persecuted sect to the dominant faith of one of the planet’s greatest empires, and immediately began to persecute other religions with the violence they had once been subject to. The souls of that faith’s chaotic evil leaders, for despite their claims of goodness all manner of actual morals and ethics could be found within, accumulated in the Abyss like sand in an oyster. And the pearl of Christianity’s corruption was Astaroth, a balor who claimed his name from one of the many pagan gods demonized by that religion.

Astaroth rarely appears in his true demonic form when dealing with outsiders. He uses a veil spell to take on the aspect of an angel, and often claims to be such. Astaroth offers to heal the wounded and sick in exchange for veneration, a common deal for religious figures, and his teachings are those of solipsism and spiritual sloth. Why care for other people when you are saved by your beliefs? Better to focus on ritual, prayer and penance than anything so gauche as actually helping people or making the world a better place. And if you can demonstrate your worthiness through wealth, all the better! You deserve the finest things because you are Chosen, says Astaroth, and his sinister whispers find many ears willing to hear them. The finest things Astaroth owns are often animated by his magic in order to show them off, and his household staff includes dozens of suits of magnificent armor and clothing made mobile. Those who resist Astaroth’s cajoling are subject to brutal tortures, his favorite of which is flaying alive.

Astaroth may soon join the ranks of the demon lords if the cult he stokes comes to actually venerate him, but for the time being, he misdirects the worship of the hopeful to the service of evil and chaos rather than focus it on himself. He is currently apprenticing under Abraxas, helping to maintain the illusions of Pleroma and acting as representative when the Master of the Final Incantation is busy elsewhere in exchange for lessons on magic and deception. This is how Astaroth ended up on the Pandaemonic Parliament,, both for his ties to Abraxas and his devotion to evil for evil’s sake. One of his major tasks for the Parliament is to tempt more mortals with the powers of binding and to find ways around the rituals and rites that keep some binders able to engage with fiends while still maintaining non-evil alignments.

Unlike most balors, Astaroth fights with whip or sword, not whip and sword. He prefers to keep one hand free for spellcasting, and mixes melee with spells freely. Astaroth never fights alone, as his familiar Nehushtan is always close by—if not in his grasp, then spying for him or transformed into an emperor cobra with polymorph familiar. He often fights from the back of Lotan, an ancient havoc dragon who fell to evil after being seduced by Astaroth’s promises and lies, and who helps him sell the illusion that he is truly angelic. If Astaroth and Lotan are encountered together, this is a CR 24 encounter.

(via Film Noir Photos: Girls Who Wear Glasses: Angela Lansbury)