Host Devil, Lesser

This tangle of scaly avian limbs furiously beats its double pair of vulture-like wings, keeping its fiendish, horned skull-head aloft. As fetid breath rises from its repulsive, fly-covered visage, clawed arms work together to slash the air with a vicious-looking spear.

Host Devil, Lesser (CR 3)

Small Outsider (Devil, Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Initiative: +3
Senses: Darkvision 60 feet, See in Darkness ; Perception +6

Speed: 5 feet, Fly 60 feet (good)
Space: 5 feet

Defense

Armor Class: 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural, +1 size)
Hit Points: 30 (4d10+8)
Saving Throws: Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +0
Damage Reduction: 5/good
Immunity: fire, poison
Energy Resistance: acid 10, cold 10

Offense

Melee: mwk spear +7 (1d8+1), 2 claws +6 (1d4+1)
Reach: 5 feet

Special Attacks: noxious breath, summon devil

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th):

• At Will- Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Teleport, Greater (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), Mage Hand, Ventriloquism (DC 10)

Statistics

Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
13 (+1)	17 (+3)	14 (+2)	7 (-2)	9 (-1)	8 (-1)

Base Attack Bonus: +4
CMB +4
CMD 18

Feats: Dodge, Hover

Skills: Acrobatics +9, Escape Artist +9, Fly +11, Perception +6, Stealth +13

Languages: Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.

Special Qualities: superior grappler, shared senses, swarming

Special Abilities

Superior Grappler (Ex)

A gaav can wield a weapon and still make grapple checks. If it's not wielding a weapon, a gaav gains a +4 bonus on grapple checks. In addition, it takes up to eight gaavs cooperatively to lift a creature that one or more of them is grappling; each gaav can lift up to 50 pounds and still fly without being impeded.

Noxious Breath (Su)

Three times per day, a gaav can exhale a breath that reeks of pure corruption upon a creature within 5 feet. The target must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be sickened for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is Constitution-based. Creatures that successfully save cannot be affected by the same gaav's noxious breath for 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect from the sickened creature. Creatures with immunity to poison are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws. Once a gaav uses its breath weapon, it can't breathe again until 1d4 rounds later.

Shared Senses (Su)

All gaavs and magaavs within 100 feet of one another share the same senses. Thus, if one individual perceives something (for example, with a successful Perception check), all others within range are immediately aware of it. Senses are instantly relayed from one gaav or magaav to the next, allowing for the senses of a single devil to potentially spread through and inform an entire massive swarm instantly. It is still possible for a gaav to be surprised or flat-footed even if other gaavs nearby are not.

Summon Devil (Su)

Once per day a gaav can attempt to summon an imp with a 35% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.

Swarming (Ex)

Up to two gaavs can share the same space at the same time. If two gaavs in the same square attack the same foe, they are considered to be flanking that foe as if they were in two opposite squares.

Ecology

Environment: Any, Baator
Organization: solitary or flock (2d4)
Treasure: standard (masterwork Small spear, other treasure)


Hunters of souls, host devils retrieve Hell's most elusive property. Whether souls that have long evaded capture upon the plains of Avernus, damned beings who have somehow managed to escape Hell, or creatures that have reneged upon infernal contracts, vast flocks of these winged fiends swarm from the Pit to recover their prey. Rarely seen alone, host devils travel in great swarms that often number in the thousands.

Amid these great hosts flap the swarm leaders, the magaav, fierce mockeries of the angelic form capable of directing and redirecting massive columns of their brethren like the brain of a single colossal infernal beast. Gaavs stand 4 feet tall and weigh approximately 110 pounds, their wingspans stretching to just over 6 feet wide. Magaavs stand 5-1/2 feet tall and weigh 150 pounds, with wingspans reaching 10 feet across.