This week’s featured creature is the Shaved Devil- a Bearded Devil who has been rendered unable to grow their beard back after having had it shaved off with a Silver weapon. Of course, this has made it angry (more so than your typical devil), but it has also left it weaker. This is because its beard was not hair, but rather tendrils which it used in combat. Having had many tendrils cut off has removed 1 HD from it, but also removed its ability to strike with the poison-barbed tendrils, arguably its most dangerous attack.

What can they do?
The Shaved Devil is capable of most everything a Bearded Devil is capable of, with a few exceptions.

For one, while it will still attempt to use its beard in battle (akin to having phantom limb syndrome), the most it will accomplish is a bump of its chin upon its foe.

For another, the devil’s resistance to fear (which was reliant on having allies nearby) is a moot point- after all, associating with others simply opens itself up to ridicule. Therefore, it instead gets irrationally angry at anyone who sports facial hair. This rage is handy if your fighter or cleric has a bit of stubble, but could be bad news for a full-bearded wizard!

How should I use them?
This monster is perfect for the campaign which doesn’t feature devils at all, as it is more likely to be a random encounter and would not conflict with the story. On the other hand, being a weaker version of a Bearded Devil may allow you to introduce devils into a story earlier than one might expect without resorting to stereotypical imps and lemurs.

Try some of these plot hooks.

• A Paladin has found their powers removed for shaving instead of killing a devil, and to atone must face the creature without their holy powers. Will you help them find the monster?
• A town curse causes everyone to lose their facial hair, and a devil who was summoned for some other task was no exception- it has broken free of the summoner’s bonds and is attacking the town.
• The Shaved Devil wants to hire adventurers to find a cure for its lack of a beard
• An artificer has been kidnapped and forced by the devil to build a prosthetic beard.
• The party comes upon a devil being ridiculed by its peers.
• One person in the party has such a magnificent beard that the devil is stalking them unceasingly.

This devil’s purpose is mostly to give the party a new challenge at lower levels, but as you can see from the plot hooks above, it opens up some interesting possibilities. If you aren’t yet convinced, try this idea- the devil’s evil was contained in its beard, and while it still feels unreasonably angry when it sees someone with a beard, it is trying to atone for its wickedness. The party comes across the Shaved Devil trying to coax a cat from a tree for a child. What happens next? If you don’t know how your party would handle it, then it’s going to be a great encounter indeed!