Mephistopheles

Lord of the Eighth, Archdevil of Cania

For more information on all Archdevils, see: Archdevils

Mephistopheles, sometimes shortened to Mephisto, is the Lord of Cania and most powerful Archdevil next to Asmodeus himself. Hell's greatest wizard is a walking contradiction, on the surface the cool and calculating Cold Lord and beneath that the grandiose and hot-headed Lord of Hellfire.

Divine Domains

Mephistopheles' primary base of operations in Cania, and perhaps the only notable area on the entire plane, is the citadel of iron and ice, Mephistar. Mephistar was carved from the sparkling ice of the glacier it overlooked, the tremendous mountain of ice, Nargus, which, while temporarily settled between surrounding glaciers, can be controlled by Mephistopheles to steam over any lesser glacier. The city is like a gleaming, translucent, blue-white jewel of ice perched at the glacier's edge.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Mephistopheles' great intelligence often ends up mixing with his obsessiveness, as in his pursuit of knowledge, he became fascinated with the most minor details. Though this allows him to delve deeper into topics than typical wizards, his unrelenting focus has to be tempered by his responsibilities, and is ultimately undermined by his mercurial behavior. When forced by some political circumstance to stop what he was doing, there is a chance upon returning that some new project will catch his eye, at which point that research will become his new top priority. Because of this cycle of undivided attention followed by casual neglect, Mephistopheles has many useful discoveries ready to be accessed that he simply doesn't know about.
Mephistopheles suffers no distractions from his focus, his studious pursuits being of upmost importance to him. Though he entertains visitors purely for his own amusement, a rarity among the Archdevils, he hates any unwanted distractions and rarely gives time to anything not worth his personal attention. He is known for disintegrating underlings for the slightest annoyance, only allowing a few devils to speak without being spoken to, and sometimes executes his servitors based on the suspicion that they would bother him. Further cementing him as a contradictory entity is the strong but flickering nature of his focus.
Mephistopheles is perhaps the most entitled of the Archdevils, an avatar of envy who resents the fact that he is "merely" the second most powerful Archdevil. Always jealous of others, he can't get enough of prestige, wondering where his awards are when another is rewarded for service, despite having continually, confidently, and directly told Asmodeus he plans to take his throne. Though willing to fawn if needed, he normally doesn't bother to cloak his intent with fake vows of obedience, truly believing that he is the rightful ruler of Hell, that his destiny is to rule it, and that he deserves to be worshipped as a god. He constantly demonstrates this attitude anew each day, and likely wouldn't be satisfied even if he achieved this primary reason for existence.

Physical Description

Identifying Characteristics

Mephistopheles plays up his infernal image as much as possible, intentionally appearing as the classic archetype of a diabolical devil. He is 9 feet tall and striking, his handsome visage and charming yet unnerving smile of self-superiority contrasted by his more monstrous features. His fiendish claws, bright, crimson red skin, large, bat-like wings and impressive, curling ram horns all leave his hellish heritage on proud display. Another source of contrast is his dead-white eyes against his long, straight, black hair, as well as his dramatic, flowing cape as dark as the deepest void.
Earlier reports of Mephistopheles claim that he once had an image more befitting of Cania. He had blue-black skin across his heavily muscled body; wings, horns, and claws a deep shade of blue, scales of sooty black, and eyes that were pale blue except for the red irises and pupils.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Among the Archdevils, Mephistopheles isn't looked upon with particular favor, the result of his blatant arrogance and unstable personality. His greatest and most obvious rival is Baalzebul, each regarding the other with bitter hate and seeing one another as their biggest obstacle to taking the throne of Hell, although their hatred does have other roots. Like Dispater, the ancient Archduke of Cania sees Baalzebul's rapid promotion as worthy of enmity, while Baalzebul has come to see everyone else as responsible for his transformation into a slug, especially Mephistopheles. Each conspire against each other, the hatching of plans taking up a great amount of time and their more open antagonism towards each other being part of the reason Asmodeus left them in charge.
Though Baalzebul is certainly a threat to Mephistopheles, and could possibly have defeated him and become the most powerful Archdevil during the Reckoning, the Lord of Flies tried to achieve too much at once, attempting to dispatch both his master and archnemesis, offending Asmodeus and causing him to intervene. Mephisto, meanwhile, was undermined by the sheer instability of his court. His policy of destroying anyone who proved too competent caused his political and military endeavors against Baalzebul to suffer, and perpetuated the stalemate. Also on the Cold Lord's mental radar is the Frozen Prince, Levistus, who he carefully keeps an eye on. One of Levistus' agents has a taste for good-aligned children, and so Mephistopheles sent minor devils to offer the rare delicacy, subtly influencing his decisions. Among Mephistopheles' actual allies, at least nominally, is the Iron Duke, Dispater, the two of which share seniority and a desire for knowledge. Dispater is drawn to Mephistopheles' power and respects him as a true member of the devil race, unlike the relative upstart Baalzebul, although recently, Dispater tried to present himself as a friend to all and enemy of none, distancing himself from allies and trying to make peace with rivals in a futile attempt to assuage his paranoia. On top of that, Mephistopheles' court has to be on constant alert for Dispater's agents, as the secret-loving Archdevil is pained by the idea that Mephistopheles knows something he doesn't. Once the two of them were allies with the greedy Mammon, but the speed with which the spineless serpent sold them out at the end of the Reckoning marked him as undesirable to all Archdevils.
While his anger and neurotic tendencies are weaknesses, which he can either hide or use to his advantage, Mephistopheles' most damaging issues are his rampantly unchecked megalomania and recklessness in the pursuit of power. Though he hates to be compared to Baalzebul, both Archdevils seem incapable of being content and compulsively overextend themselves, Baalzebul's plans collapsing under the weight of his unrealistic expectations and Mephistopheles becoming so absorbed in his plans that he ignores his overall wellbeing. Mephistopheles's manifestation of greed however is somewhat opposite to that of the Lord of Flies, who hides his goals through skillfully woven deception, since Mephistopheles' execution of wicked plots is always extreme and dramatic, his brazen ambition almost glorious in its nakedness.
Perhaps Mephistopheles' strangest relationship is with his master Asmodeus, for he is the Prince of Evil's most dangerous enemy and most capable ally. Despite Mephistopheles making it abundantly clear that he dreams of the day when he can depose his lord, Asmodeus still seems to trust his counsel when offered. The relationship is further clouded by the existence of Glasya, to whom Mephistopheles is something of a godfather. Mephistopheles is potentially the only individual Archdevil that Asmodeus fears, whose mastery of hellfire, knowledge of ancient secrets, and duty as guard of his realm make him a deadly and great enough asset to tolerate his threats. Though Mephisto can't yet oppose Asmodeus, both watch to see if circumstances change the nature of the situation, the Lord of Hellfire waiting until his adversary makes a big enough miscalculation for him to make his move.

Social Aptitude

Mephistopheles is a being of razor-sharp instinct, careful suspicion and prodigious brilliance, a cunning genius with an unparalleled understanding of Hell's political dangers and a great capacity for patient deception. Foremost wizard of Baator, his ordinary speech is like a whispering wind and his cool, pleasant demeanor give him the outward appearance of a princely gentleman. He comes off as sophisticated and charming when he speaks, an intellectual force of understated wit, reason and self-restraint. However, this is by no means his ordinary behavior, but a facade like Dispater's which disguises his true personality, a veneer of elegance as carefully crafted as his traditionally infernal appearance.
Despite his courteous persona, Mephistopheles is an unstable individual on the inside, the contrast between his cold surface and fiery core a perfect example of his existence as a walking contradiction. Mephistopheles is a vicious being with an outrageous temper, who when alone in his palace, frequently flies into violent rages, his quick wit burning away when met with his underlying hate and frustration. In his shrieking fits of terrible wrath, he starts tearing at his own skin and destroying his surroundings in explosive outbursts of fiery, magical destruction, his unpredictable eruptions of rage having been his undoing multiple times in the past. Although his conniving intelligence is certainly real, Mephistopheles is an emotional entity that is ultimately driven by his passions.

Divine Traits

General Information

Alternative Name(s)
Archdevil of Cania
The Cold Lord
Lord of Cania
Lord of the Eighth
Lord of Hellfire

Alignment
Lawful Evil

Pantheon
Lesser Idol - Archdevil

Areas of Concern
Contracts, Devils, Secrets

Favored Weapon
Trident

Symbol
Trident and ring

Worshippers
Cultists, evil-aligned wizards

Plane
The Nine Hells - Cania

Pathfinder 1e

Domains
Evil, Knowledge, Law, Rune

Subdomains
Devil, Language, Memory, Thought

Pathfinder 2e

Domains
Fire, Glyph, Knowledge, Magic

Alternate Domains
None

Divine Ability
Intelligence or Charisma

Divine Font
Harm

Divine Skill
Arcana

Cleric Spells
1st: Burning Hands
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