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Chain Devil 5e: Stats, Grapples and the 2024 Rework
The chain devil is a CR 8 Medium fiend with AC 16, 85 hit points and two 10-foot-reach chain attacks that grab and restrain whatever they hit. It is a jailer, not a duelist: its whole stat block is about holding a creature in place while it gets shredded. The 2014 version turns every loose chain in the room into an extra attacker with Animate Chains and frightens anyone who walks up with Unnerving Mask. The 2024 version drops both and gets Conjure Infernal Chain, a fiery lasso it throws every turn that restrains a creature and drags it up to 30 feet toward the devil.
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Chain Devil Stat Block (2014)
This is the chain devil from SRD 5.1, the same stat block as the 2014 Monster Manual.
Chain Devil
Medium fiend (devil), lawful evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 85 (10d8+40)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
18 (+4)
DEX
15 (+2)
CON
18 (+4)
INT
11 (+0)
WIS
12 (+1)
CHA
14 (+2)
Saving Throws CON +7, WIS +4, CHA +5
Damage Resistances cold, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
Damage Immunities fire; poison
Condition Immunities Poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 11
Languages Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 8 (XP 3,900; PB +3)
Traits
Devil's Sight.Magical darkness doesn't impede the devil's darkvision.
Magic Resistance.The devil has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack.The devil makes two attacks with its chains.
Chain.Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 14) if the devil isn't already grappling a creature. Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained and takes 7 (2d6) piercing damage at the start of each of its turns.
Animate Chains (Recharges after a Short or Long Rest).Up to four chains the devil can see within 60 feet of it magically sprout razor-edged barbs and animate under the devil's control, provided that the chains aren't being worn or carried. Each animated chain is an object with AC 20, 20 hit points, resistance to piercing damage, and immunity to psychic and thunder damage. When the devil uses Multiattack on its turn, it can use each animated chain to make one additional chain attack. An animated chain can grapple one creature of its own but can't make attacks while grappling. An animated chain reverts to its inanimate state if reduced to 0 hit points or if the devil is incapacitated or dies.
Reactions
Unnerving Mask.When a creature the devil can see starts its turn within 30 feet of the devil, the devil can create the illusion that it looks like one of the creature's departed loved ones or bitter enemies. If the creature can see the devil, it must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened until the end of its turn.
Stat block from the SRD 5.1 (2014 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
Read the Chain attack slowly, because it does three jobs. It hits for 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage, it grapples the target (escape DC 14), and while that grapple lasts the target is restrained and takes another 7 (2d6) piercing damage at the start of each of its turns. The devil itself can hold only one creature at a time, so its second chain attack each turn goes to someone else.
Animate Chains is what makes the 2014 devil scary. Once per short or long rest it wakes up to four chains it can see within 60 feet, as long as nobody is wearing or carrying them. Each animated chain is an object with AC 20 and 20 hit points, and each one makes an extra chain attack whenever the devil uses Multiattack. An animated chain can also grapple a creature of its own, but it stops attacking while it holds someone.
Unnerving Mask is a reaction. When a creature the devil can see starts its turn within 30 feet, the devil shows it the face of a dead loved one or a hated enemy. If the creature can see the devil, it makes a DC 14 Wisdom save or is frightened until the end of that turn. Frightened means Disadvantage on attacks while the devil is in sight, and the creature can't willingly move closer. One reaction per round, so pick the fighter who was about to close in.
The Chain Devil in the 2024 Rules
The 2024 chain devil (SRD 5.2.1) keeps the body (85 HP, the same ability scores, CR 8 and 3,900 XP) and rebuilds the actions.
Chain Devil
Medium Fiend (Devil), Lawful Evil
Armor Class 15
Initiative +5 (15)
Hit Points 85 (10d8 + 40)
Speed 30 ft.
STR
18 (+4)save +4
DEX
15 (+2)save +2
CON
18 (+4)save +7
INT
11 (+0)save +0
WIS
12 (+1)save +4
CHA
14 (+2)save +2
Resistances bludgeoning, cold, piercing, slashing
Immunities fire; poison; Poisoned
Senses Darkvision 120 ft. (unimpeded by magical darkness); Passive Perception 11
Languages Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 8 (XP 3,900; PB +3)
Traits
Diabolical Restoration.If the devil dies outside the Nine Hells, its body disappears in sulfurous smoke, and it gains a new body instantly, reviving with all its Hit Points somewhere in the Nine Hells.
Magic Resistance.The devil has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack.The devil makes two Chain attacks and uses Conjure Infernal Chain.
Chain.Melee Attack Roll: +7, reach 10 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) Slashing damage. If the target is a Large or smaller creature, it has the Grappled condition (escape DC 14) from one of two chains, and it has the Restrained condition until the grapple ends.
Conjure Infernal Chain.The devil conjures a fiery chain to bind a creature. Dexterity Saving Throw: DC 15, one creature the devil can see within 60 feet. Failure: 9 (2d4 + 4) Fire damage, and the target has the Restrained condition until the end of the devil’s next turn, at which point the chain disappears. If the target is Large or smaller, the devil moves the target up to 30 feet straight toward itself. Success: The chain disappears.
Reactions
Unnerving Gaze.Trigger: A creature the devil can see starts its turn within 30 feet of the devil and can see the devil. Response—Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 15, the triggering creature. Failure: The target has the Frightened condition until the end of its turn. Success: The target is immune to this devil’s Unnerving Gaze for 24 hours.
Stat block from the SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules) by Wizards of the Coast, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. Check an encounter with this monster in the encounter calculator.
2014 Chain Devil
2024 Chain Devil
AC
16
15
Chain attack
+8, 11 slashing, grapple + restrain, 7 piercing per turn while held
+7, 11 slashing, grapple + restrain, no ongoing damage
Targets held at once
1 (plus animated chains)
2, one per chain
Signature action
Animate Chains (up to 4 extra attackers, once per rest)
Diabolical Restoration: reforms in the Nine Hells if killed elsewhere
What changes at the table:
•The 2014 devil is a room trap. The 2024 devil is a hook. Animate Chains depends on the DM seeding chains in the environment. Conjure Infernal Chain needs nothing, works every round, and yanks a back-line caster 30 feet into reach.
•Magic weapons stop solving the problem. The 2014 resistance ends the moment someone has a +1 sword or a silvered blade. The 2024 devil resists all bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage, so a party of weapon users does half damage all fight long. Spells carry the 2024 fight.
•It holds two people. Each chain grapples one target, so a 2024 devil can pin two characters by itself.
How Chain Devils Fight
The chain devil wants one thing: a creature that can't move, standing within 10 feet of it. Everything else in the stat block feeds that.
2014: build the room first. A chain devil in an empty field is a CR 8 creature that deals about 13 damage a round (two chains, 11 each, 60% hit chance against AC 17). A chain devil in a torture hall with hooks, shackles and a portcullis winch is something else. With four animated chains its Multiattack becomes six chain attacks. Against AC 17, +8 hits on a 9 or better (60%), so six chains average about 40 damage a round (6 × 11 × 0.6), before the 7 piercing that every held creature takes on its own turn. Animate on round one, then Multiattack every round after.
Restrain, then focus. Attacks against a restrained creature have Advantage, which lifts the devil's hit chance from 60% to 84%. The usual pattern: the first chain grabs the closest melee threat, the second hits the same target with Advantage, and the animated chains grab anyone else who comes near.
2024: pull the wizard in. Conjure Infernal Chain targets a creature within 60 feet with a DC 15 Dexterity save. A caster with a +2 Dex save fails on 12 or lower, 60% of the time, and takes 9 fire damage, becomes restrained, and slides 30 feet toward the devil. Now the caster is inside 10-foot reach, restrained (so Disadvantage on Dex saves next round) and about to be grabbed by a Chain attack. Expected damage per round against AC 17 is about 12 from the two chains (+7 hits 55% of the time) plus about 5 from the fiery chain, and the control is worth more than the damage.
Use the reaction every round. Unnerving Mask or Gaze should go on whoever starts their turn closest and most dangerous. A frightened paladin can't walk toward the devil, and the devil's 10-foot reach lets it hit people who are stuck one square too far away. In 2024, a creature that saves is immune for 24 hours, so the gaze fades over a long fight. Use it early.
Fight in the dark. Darkvision 120 feet that magical darkness doesn't block (Devil's Sight in 2014, the senses line in 2024) pairs well with a cultist ally casting Darkness. The devil sees, the party doesn't, and the chains come out of nowhere.
Death is cheap for it in 2024. Diabolical Restoration means killing it anywhere outside the Nine Hells only sends it home with full hit points, which makes a beaten devil a recurring enemy. The 2014 stat block has no such trait.
Running a Chain Devil Encounter
With the 2024 XP budget, one chain devil (3,900 XP) is:
Party (4 characters)
Low / Moderate / High budget
One chain devil is...
Level 6
2,400 / 4,000 / 5,600
Moderate (3,900 of the 4,000 budget)
Level 7
3,000 / 5,200 / 6,800
Moderate
Level 8
4,000 / 6,800 / 8,400
Low (3,900 of the 4,000 budget)
A chain devil with two bearded devils (700 XP each) totals 5,300 XP, a High fight for four level 7 characters, a hair past the 5,200 Moderate budget. Two chain devils (7,800 XP) are High at level 8 (Moderate 6,800, High 8,400).
Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), one chain devil is a Hard fight for four level 6 characters (3,600 Hard, 5,600 Deadly) and a Medium one at level 8. Those numbers ignore Animate Chains. If the room has four loose chains, budget the 2014 devil as if it had help, because it does.
Rules of thumb:
•Seed exactly as many chains as you want extra attackers. Zero chains is a fair fight; four is a set piece.
•Give the 2024 devil open ground and a ledge or pit behind it. A 30-foot pull toward a devil standing at a drop is a nasty threat.
•Pair it with ranged support. A chain devil holding the front line while an imp or cultists shoot restrained targets is how devils actually fight.
How Players Beat Chain Devils
•Kill or steal the chains (2014). Animated chains have AC 20 and 20 HP and resist piercing, and they are immune to psychic and thunder damage, so Shatter does nothing to them. Better: chains that are worn or carried can't be animated. Picking up loose chains before the fight denies the devil its extra attackers.
•Break the grapple. Escape DC 14 for the devil's chains. A creature with +5 Athletics needs a 9 or better. Ending the grapple also ends the restrained condition and the 2014 piercing damage.
•Bring silver or magic in 2014, spells in 2024. The 2014 devil only resists bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. The 2024 devil resists all weapon damage types, so lean on force, radiant, lightning, thunder, acid and necrotic. It is immune to fire and poison in both editions.
•Target Intelligence. Its worst save is Int +0, then Dex +2. Magic Resistance gives Advantage against spells, so prefer effects that don't allow a save, like Magic Missile or Spiritual Weapon.
•Banish it. It is a fiend from another plane. Dispel Evil and Good gives its attacks Disadvantage and can send it home with a failed Charisma save. Hold Person doesn't work on it: it isn't a Humanoid.
•Break line of sight against the 2024 version. Conjure Infernal Chain needs a creature the devil can see, and the pull drags the target in a straight line. A caster behind a pillar or around a corner can't be targeted, and the devil has to walk.
Chain Devil Encounter Ideas
The debtors' prison. A town magistrate pays his debts to a devil by handing over prisoners. The jail's lower level is all chains: wall shackles, a chandelier on a hoist, a drawbridge chain. The chain devil works as the warden. The party arrives to free one prisoner and has to decide whether to free all of them, which means carrying the shackles out as they go.
The anchor. A ship's anchor chain hangs into a flooded hold where a chain devil was bound decades ago. The binding failed last night. The devil wants the captain who signed its contract, and it will trade the crew's lives for his.
The second visit. The party killed a 2024 chain devil two levels ago, and it reformed in the Hells. Now it returns with orders and a grudge, and it remembers which character resisted its gaze. It uses Conjure Infernal Chain on that character every round.
Frequently Asked Questions
What CR is a chain devil in 5e?
The chain devil is CR 8 (3,900 XP) in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
How does Animate Chains work?
In the 2014 rules, the chain devil animates up to four chains it can see within 60 feet that nobody is wearing or carrying. Each becomes an object with AC 20 and 20 hit points that makes one extra chain attack whenever the devil uses Multiattack. It recharges after a short or long rest. The 2024 chain devil doesn't have it.
What does a chain devil's Unnerving Mask do?
When a creature starts its turn within 30 feet, the devil can use its reaction to look like one of that creature's dead loved ones or bitter enemies. If the creature can see it, it must pass a DC 14 Wisdom save or be frightened until the end of that turn. The 2024 version, Unnerving Gaze, is DC 15 and grants 24-hour immunity on a success.
Is a chain devil resistant to magic weapons?
The 2014 chain devil resists only bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered, so magic weapons work normally. The 2024 chain devil resists bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage outright, including from magic weapons.
What is the difference between a chain devil and a bone devil?
The chain devil (CR 8, Medium) is a grappler that restrains targets with 10-foot chains. The bone devil (CR 9, Large) flies and poisons targets with its sting. A chain devil holds people in place; a bone devil hunts them.
Can a chain devil be killed permanently?
Under the 2024 rules, only in the Nine Hells. Diabolical Restoration reforms it there with full hit points if it dies anywhere else. The 2014 stat block has no such trait. If your party fights the same devil twice, Loreify can record the session and keep track of which villains are still out there.
Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.