Geryon
Geryon is the archdevil ruler of the fifth layer of Hell, Stygia, in both D&D and Pathfinder.
D&D[edit]
The devil Geryon ruled the Fifth Layer of Baator for many centuries. At least until the Reckoning, where Geryon was the only Archduke to rise in the defense of Asmodeus. The reward for his loyalty was to be deposed and have Levistus reinstated (although never freed from his icy prison).
What happened to Geryon remained a bit of a mystery, though it is said that after the betrayal he began to doubt his actions and lost all hope at which point Asmodeus struck him down even further, obliterating him. Some believe that the energy was never transferred back to Levistus, since why would he need it if buried under a glacier of ice? The story goes that Levistus was being used as a novel distraction for the rest of the Archdukes and that Geryon's energy was being stored until Asmodeus' daughter Glasya was ready to be promoted to rulership over the Sixth layer.
As for Geryon himself, stripped of his power, what remained of his essence departed into that in-between space where Vestiges go, granting those who seek him out powerful vision bonuses and a gaze attack, though his influence is to force his binders into becoming overly trusting to the point of being dangerously naive.
...But then he somehow got better in 5e. Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes has a section on the Archdevil cults which notes that Geryon's consists of individuals with whom he strikes bargains. Those who seek brute strength like orcs, trolls and ogres are often drawn into the fold, and Geryon rewards them with the traits Crushing Blow and Indomitable Strength. This means that despite being deposed he still has some degree of power.
Gallery[edit]
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1e -
2e -
5e
| The Archdukes of Hell | |
|---|---|
| Avernus | Bel or Zariel |
| Dis | Dispater |
| Minauros | Mammon |
| Phlegethos | Belial/Fierna |
| Stygia | Levistus |
| Malbolge | Glasya |
| Maladomini | Baalzebul |
| Cania | Mephistopheles |
| Nessus | Asmodeus |
Pathfinder[edit]
| Geryon | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Aliases | The Serpent, Source of Lies, Wild Beast, Betrayer | |
| Alignment | Lawful Evil | |
| Divine Rank | Demigod | |
| Pantheon | Archdevils of Hell | |
| Portfolio | Forbidden Lore, Heresy, Snakes | |
| Domains | Evil, Law, Strength, Water, Devil, Ferocity, Oceans, Resolve | |
| Home Plane | Stygia, Hell | |
| Worshippers | Cravers of forbidden knowledge | |
| Favoured Weapon | Heavy Flail | |
Greatly resembling his D&D counterpart, Geryon is the lord of Stygia. He did not start out as a devil: he was once an Asura rana, one of the greatest accidents of the gods. When Asmodeus came rolling into town he made a deal with the Prince of Darkness, betrayed his fellow Asuras and strengthened the devils' grip on the plane. In return for his services Geryon was made into an Archdevil. He has unrivaled knowledge of impossible religious truth and the gravest heresies, being more or less the librarian of Hell. Geryon looks a lot like his D&D counterpart: a massive devilish humanoid with the lower body of a snake. Except he's three snakes; one red, one yellow and one blue. The yellow one wields a flail, the blue one carries a shield and the red one carries a great horn that twists the perception of whoever hears it. According to Bestiary 6, he's literally the three snakes. Each one can simply regurgitate part of any being it's ever eaten and use it to interact.
