Ashmedai

There is no creature in the cosmos more adept at manipulation than Ashmedai. He began his existence as an Archangel of the Heavenly Host, and was even briefly a member of the elite order of Archangels known as “The Seven.” During Lucifer’s rebellion, Ashmedai sided with the Fallen, and was cast out of Heaven by Michael and the other Archangels. Ashmedai continues to be a powerful operative in Satan’s army of darkness, but (as is the case with powerful demons) his own true motives are somewhat divorced from his fellow fiends.

Hedonistic and Treacherous. While Satan and his cohorts seek the corruption of the human race as revenge for being cast out of Heaven, Ashmedai’s driving motivation is really just to have a good time. His obsession with self-indulgence makes him a liability to his fellow demons, since he is just as likely to ally with humans as he is to betray them.

Ashmedai makes many appearances in ancient Christian and Jewish writings, where he usually appears in the role of an advisor to kings or mages who seek him out for information. One story even claims that Ashmedai played an instrumental role in helping to build Solomon’s temple, as he was able to locate and harness the powers of the Shamir, the only creature that could carve stone without using tools. Ashmedai always seems helpful and cooperative, but he is also always scheming, and never enters alliances where we will not come out on top.

Making a Deal with Ashmedai. Ashmedai is a smooth-talker and a consummate flirt. His pursuit of pleasure has led him to spend most of his time at a nightclub called “Canto 5” at the top of Unity Tower, which is overseen by Senator Jeremiah Resh, the Antichrist himself. In return for his decadent and worry-free lifestyle, Ashmedai is occasionally required to carry out tasks on behalf of Resh. However, Ashmedai holds no loyalty to Resh (or even Satan himself), and in many ways, Senator Resh’s desire to bring about the end times is in conflict with Ashmedai’s personal goals. In order to preserve his life of self-indulgence, Ashmedai is more than happy to betray the Antichrist. This might present an opportunity to the player characters to ally with him, but Ashmedai is always playing the angles, and will not hesitate to betray them too, if the opportunity presents itself. Ashmedai never loses, because he always joins the winning side (often at the last moment).

Ashmedai in the Bible?

Ashmedai is found in many old stories in Christianity, Juda-ism, and Islam. While he is known by “Ashmedai” in Judeo-Is-lamic lore, most Christian references to him (including those in the Bible) refer to him using the hellenized version of his name: “Asmodeus.” Both names are equally valid, but since the name “Asmodeus” has frequently been used in other works of fiction (including other Fifth Edition source-books), we thought it was prudent to use the name “Ashmedai” to avoid confusion with other characters.

Frequently referred to as the “prince of demons,” Ashmedai is usually associated with the sin of lust. Most ancient accounts of his activity describe him as mischievous rather than downright evil, with one exception being his appearance in the book of Tobit where he murders Sarah’s suitors (although some theologians have suggested that he does this because of their lustful intentions with Sarah, since Tobias survives his encounter after praying to be free of carnal desire). In any case, Ashmedai is a quick-witted and manipulative fiend, who shows up in many early religious texts, and his stat block is designed to reflect his role in these stories.

Ashmedai

Medium Fiend (Demon), Neutral Evil

Armor Class: 17 (natural armor)

Hit Points: 175 (14d10 + 98)

Speed: 40 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	21 (+5)	25 (+7)	23 (+6)	21 (+5)	26 (+8)

Saving Throws: Dex +10, Wis +10, Cha +13

Skills: Deception +13, Insight +10, Perception +10, Persuasion +13

Damage Resistances: cold; fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Senses: truesight 30 ft., passive perception 20

Languages: Common, Infernal, Arabic, Hebrew, English, Greek, Latin, Mandarin.

Challenge: 15 (13,000 XP) Proficiency: +5

Features

Supernatural Dishonesty: Ashmedai is immune to magical effects that would force him to tell the truth, and magic cannot reveal whether he is being truthful.

Lucky (3/Day): Ashmedai can reroll a roll he dislikes.

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

Sage Advice (1/Day): Ashmedai draws on his innate connection to divination magic to learn one forgotten piece of lore, such as the location of an artifact or the identity of a rival villain. Ashmedai freely shares this information with those who seek it, but will always leave out crucial information or otherwise twist the facts to his own advantage. When doing so, Ashmedai makes his Deception check with advantage.

Innate Spellcasting: Ashmedai can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components (+13 to hit, DC 21)

At Will: charm person, detect magic, disguise self, mending

3/Day Each: misty step, invisibility, divination

1/Day Each: dominate person

Actions

Multiattack: Ashmedai makes two attacks with Spell-Splitter, and then casts a spell.

Spell-Splitter (Dagger): Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d4 + 6) piercing damage plus 11 (3d6) force damage, and the target is targeted by the dispel magic spell (3rd level), originating from the dagger.

Azrael's Guide to the Apocalypse, printed pages 182, 183.