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Mephistopheles Large Fiend (Devil), Lawful Evil

STR 19 (+4)

DEX 27 (+8)

CON 24 (+7)

INT 26 (+8)

WIS 27 (+8)

CHA 30(+10)

Armor Class: 18 (natural armor)
Hit Points: 580 (40d10 + 360)
Speed: 50 ft, fly 150 ft
Saving Throws INT +16, WIS +16, CHA +18
Skills: Intimidation +18, Perception +16
Damage Resistances: Cold, Fire, Radieant, Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Silvered
Damage Immunities: Necrotic, Poison
Condition Immunities: Charmed, Exhaustion, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., Passive Perception 26
Languages: All, telepathy 120 ft
Proficiency Bonus: +8

Traits

Devil's Sight
Magical darkness doesn't impede your darkvision.

Legendary Resistance (5/Day)
If Mephistopheles fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Regeneration
Mephistopheles regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn, if he is in physical contact with a lemure. This kills the lemure. To facilitate this, Mephistopheles keeps many lemures in is lair in Nessus, although if he is found traveling, as he often is, he will likely be undable to perform this act because he does not travel with lemures typically. Mephistopheles dies only if he starts his turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Actions

Ice Devil Wall of Ice (Recharge 6)
Mephistopheles shapeshifts into an Ice Devil, casts Wall of Ice. This magically forms an opaque wall of ice on a solid surface it can see within 60 feet of Mephistopheles.
The wall is 1 foot thick and up to 30 feet long and 10 feet high, or it's a hemispherical dome up to 20 feet in diameter. Upon creating this wall, he shifts back to his original form.

Pit Fiend Bite
Mephistopheles shapeshifts into a Pit Fiend, and bites a target within Melee Weapon range. +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4d6 + 8 piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. While poisoned in this way, the target can't regain hit points, and it takes 6d6 poison damage at the start of each of its turns. The poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. After performing this action, he shapeshifts back.

Horned Devil Hurl Flame
Mephistopheles shapeshifts into a Horned Devil, and hurls flame at a target. +7 to hit, range 150 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (4d6) fire damage.
If the target is a flammable object that isn't being worn or carried, it also catches fire.

Horrid Touch (Recharge 5—6) Mephistopheles touches one creature within 10 feet of him. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Constitution saving throw or take 8d10 necrotic damage and be poisoned for 1 minute. While poisoned in this way, the target is also blinded and deafened. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Teleport
Mephistopheles can teleport, along with any equipment he is wearing and carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see.

Legendary Actions

You 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. You regain spent legendary actions at the start of your turn.

Immolating Gaze (Costs 2 Actions)
You turns your magical gaze toward one creature you can see within 120 feet of you and commands it to combust. The target must succeed on a DC 26 Wisdom saving throw or take 4d10 fire damage.

Blade Barrier (Costs 2 Actions)
You create a wall of whirling blades made of magical energy. The wall appears within a range of 90ft and lasts until the next players turn. You make a straight wall up to 100 feet long, 20 feet high, and 5 feet thick, or a ringed wall up to 60 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 5 feet thick.
The wall provides Three-Quarters Cover (providing +5 bonus to the AC and Dexterity saving throws of the creature behind it) and its space is Difficult Terrain (every foot of space behind the wall costs an extra foot of movement).
Any creature in the wall's space makes a Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d10 Force damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature also makes that save if it enters the wall's space or ends it turn there. A creature makes that save only once per turn.

Fireball
A bright streak flashes from your pointing finger to a point you choose within 150 ft and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 8d6 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

Wall of Fire
You create a wall of fire on a solid surface within range. You can make the wall up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick, or a ringed wall up to 20 feet in diameter, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. The wall is opaque and lasts for the duration.
When the wall appears, each creature in its area makes a Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d8 Fire damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one.
One side of the wall, selected by you when you cast this spell, deals 5d8 Fire damage to each creature that ends its turn within 10 feet of that side or inside the wall. A creature takes the same damage when it enters the wall for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. The other side of the wall deals no damage.

Invisibility
A creature Mephestopheles touches has the Invisible condition until the spell ends. The spell ends early immediately after the target makes an attack roll, deals damage, or casts a spell.

Lair

Mephestopheles's Lair
Mephestopheles makes his lair in a large bank in the lowest layer of the 9 hells. From nearly a mile away, one can hear the screams and moans coming from the burned victims chained to the stronghold's wall, the dying remains of those who failed to impress the archdevil. The stronghold, covering five square miles, is surrounded by walls reinforced with high turrets. Devils of all kinds crawl over the structure, ensuring that no intruders breach their defenses.

Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Mephistopheles can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; she can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:

  1. 1D6 Lemures are summoned in adjacent locations, 5 bludgenoning damange if you end your turn on one, all attacks suceed
  2. 1D4 Lemures combust, forming a fireball spell.

Regional Effects
Nesus the plane in the Hells containing Mephestopheles's lair,is warped by his magic, which creates one or more of the following effects:

  1. The area within 9 miles of the lair is filled with screaming voices and the stench of burning meat.
  2. Once every 60 feet within 1 mile of the lair, 10-foot-high gouts of flame rise from the ground. Any creature or object that touches the flame takes 2d6 fire damage, though it can take this damage no more than once per round.
  3. The area within 2 miles, but no closer than 500 feet, of the lair is filled with smoke, which causes the area to be heavily obscured. The smoke can't be cleared away.

    4. If Mephistopheles dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.

For the Players

Not all devils wear a suit and a tie, but this one does.

Mephistopheles is the Lord of Nessus, the lowest layer of the 9 Hells. Like most archdevils, has created a kingdom for himself deep within the Hells, where he can rule in safety and comfort.

Unlike many devils, Mephistopheles seems to prefer to spend his time away from his realm, wandering the planes. He seldom bothers to disguise himself on account of developing a reputation for being reasonably safe to make a deal with. While he is still certainly a devil, his pacts are typically straightforward, with the benefits for both parties being very clearly laid out, with no surprise catches at the end. Mortals have actually gotten away with making deals with him and been no worse for the wear.

It isn't hard to figure out why he does this. Most pacts he makes require the mortal to perform some act that very obviously benefits him. It can be something openly evil, like murdering one of his enemies, or it can be something that is not necessarily fiendish but benefits the Hells, like retrieving a powerful object for him or for another devil of Nessus. While it is possible to make a pact with Mephistopheles and come out unscathed, somebody is being harmed by the pact.

The most difficult part of making a pact with Mephistopheles is finding him in the first place, because he is rarely found where you might expect. He has been known to take up jobs in random taverns in backwater towns, run small orchards producing bespoke cider, help a city guard track down horse thieves, and spend years working as a bank teller in random cities. Well, okay, the bank teller job tracks. But he is nonetheless hard to find when you need him.

For the DM

Most TTRPG groups tend to be somewhat left of center (although exceptions exist), but it is not hard to get a group of D&D players to expect devilish behavior from a very wealthy and confident man in a fancy suit.

Mephistopheles is basically a banker. I try to play him very calmly, often smiling, and upfront with what he wants. He's evil and wants to rule the world, but unless you are directly in his way, which is unlikely unless you are level 20, he doesn't have any issue with you. If it is easier for him to make you happy, then why not?

He does not wander randomly, as much as it may seem like it. Mephistopheles knows exactly why he needs to be in a given location at a given time, and his plans span greater timescales than a mortal can understand. If he is seen in a bandit camp, you should investigate what that bandit camp is doing because clearly they are dealing with beings and objects of power far beyond their knowledge. Mephistopheles does nothing by accident.

I have only ever used Mephistopheles for three purposes so far:

  1. Unnerving 'coincidental' meeting in a tavern or on the street. The man selling freshly caught fish has hooves and red horns. Oh wait, is that Mephistopheles? He says hello! If you ask what he's doing, he just says 'selling fish' and refuses to elaborate beyond that.
  2. You make a deal with him for something you need, and in return you need to go on a side quest to get a valuable object.
  3. Boss fight at the end! For extra fun and anger on the part of your players, have a very long-term friendly NPC betray the party and fight with Mephistopheles.
    True story: one time I had an NPC named the Dark Faun, who I played for most of the campaign. 3 sessions before the end, I had my friend hide in the closet, and then when I introduced the Dark Faun entering the room in the session, he came out of the closet to play him! I gave him full discretion on whether he wanted the Dark Faun to side with Mephestopheles at the end or if he was going to side with the party in the final boss fight. He decided on betrayal.