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Pit Fiend 5e: Stats, Fear Aura and Running the Fight
The pit fiend is a CR 20 Large devil (25,000 XP) with AC 19, 300 hit points, a 60-foot fly speed and a four-attack Multiattack that averages 99 damage when everything lands. Two things decide the fight: a Fear Aura (DC 21 Wisdom, 20 feet) that keeps melee characters from closing in, and a bite whose poison stops healing and deals 21 damage every turn until the target saves. The 2024 version raises AC to 21 and HP to 337, adds four uses of Legendary Resistance, and replaces at-will Fireball with Hellfire Spellcasting: two 5th-level Fireballs in one action.
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Pit Fiend Stat Block (2014)
The SRD 5.1 pit fiend.
Pit Fiend
Large fiend (devil), lawful evil
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 300 (24d10+168)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR
26 (+8)
DEX
14 (+2)
CON
24 (+7)
INT
22 (+6)
WIS
18 (+4)
CHA
24 (+7)
Saving Throws DEX +8, CON +13, WIS +10
Damage Resistances cold, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
Damage Immunities fire; poison
Condition Immunities Poisoned
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages Infernal, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 20 (XP 25,000; PB +6)
Traits
Fear Aura.Any creature hostile to the pit fiend that starts its turn within 20 feet of the pit fiend must make a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw, unless the pit fiend is incapacitated. On a failed save, the creature is frightened until the start of its next turn. If a creature's saving throw is successful, the creature is immune to the pit fiend's Fear Aura for the next 24 hours.
Magic Resistance.The pit fiend has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons.The pit fiend's weapon attacks are magical.
Innate Spellcasting.The pit fiend's spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 21). The pit fiend can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: detect magic, fireball 3/day each: hold monster, wall of fire
Actions
Multiattack.The pit fiend makes four attacks: one with its bite, one with its claw, one with its mace, and one with its tail.
Bite.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 22 (4d6 + 8) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 21 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned. While poisoned in this way, the target can't regain hit points, and it takes 21 (6d6) poison damage at the start of each of its turns. The poisoned target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Claw.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 17 (2d8 + 8) slashing damage.
Mace.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6 + 8) bludgeoning damage plus 21 (6d6) fire damage.
Tail.Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 24 (3d10 + 8) bludgeoning damage.
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 defenses before the attacks. Immunity to fire and poison, resistance to cold, resistance to bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered, Magic Resistance and truesight out to 120 feet. Truesight means invisibility, magical darkness and illusions don't fool it, and it can see into the Ethereal Plane. It has no Devil's Sight trait; it doesn't need one.
The innate spells are the other half of the threat. Fireball at will (8d6, average 28, DC 21) gives it a ranged option every turn, and Hold Monster 3/day paralyzes anything that isn't undead. The pit fiend has no reactions and no legendary actions in 2014, so it gets exactly one turn per round. That is its weak point.
Pit Fiend in the 2024 Rules
SRD 5.2.1 keeps the CR and the XP but rebuilds the turn.
Pit Fiend
Large Fiend (Devil), Lawful Evil
Armor Class 21
Initiative +14 (24)
Hit Points 337 (27d10 + 189)
Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft.
STR
26 (+8)save +8
DEX
14 (+2)save +8
CON
24 (+7)save +7
INT
22 (+6)save +6
WIS
18 (+4)save +10
CHA
24 (+7)save +7
Skills Perception +10, Persuasion +19
Resistances cold
Immunities fire; poison; Poisoned
Senses Truesight 120 ft.; Passive Perception 20
Languages Infernal; telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 20 (XP 25,000; PB +6)
Traits
Diabolical Restoration.If the pit fiend 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.
Fear Aura.The pit fiend emanates an aura in a 20foot Emanation while it doesn’t have the Incapacitated condition. Wisdom Saving Throw: DC 21, any enemy that starts its turn in the aura. Failure: The target has the Frightened condition until the start of its next turn. Success: The target is immune to this pit fiend’s aura for 24 hours.
Legendary Resistance (4/Day).If the pit fiend fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance.The pit fiend has Advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Actions
Multiattack.The pit fiend makes one Bite attack, two Devilish Claw attacks, and one Fiery Mace attack.
Bite.Melee Attack Roll: +14, reach 10 ft. Hit: 18 (3d6 + 8) Piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must make the following saving throw. Constitution Saving Throw: DC 21. Failure: The target has the Poisoned condition. While Poisoned, the target can’t regain Hit Points and takes 21 (6d6) Poison damage at the start of each of its turns, and it repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. After 1 minute, it succeeds automatically.
Fiery Mace.Melee Attack Roll: +14, reach 10 ft. Hit: 22 (4d6 + 8) Force damage plus 21 (6d6) Fire damage.
Hellfire Spellcasting (Recharge 4–6).The pit fiend casts Fireball (level 5 version) twice, requiring no Material components and using Charisma as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 21). It can replace one Fireball with Hold Monster (level 7 version) or Wall of Fire.
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 Pit Fiend
2024 Pit Fiend
AC / HP
19 / 300
21 / 337
Multiattack
Bite, Claw, Mace, Tail
Bite, two Devilish Claws, Fiery Mace
Damage if all hit
99 (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing, fire)
113 (piercing, necrotic, force, fire)
Bite reach
5 ft.
10 ft.
Spells
Fireball at will, Hold Monster and Wall of Fire 3/day
Hellfire Spellcasting (Recharge 4-6): two level 5 Fireballs, one swappable for level 7 Hold Monster or Wall of Fire
B/P/S from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
None
What these changes do at the table:
•Damage types got harder to resist. The 2014 claw and tail are physical damage, which a barbarian's Rage halves. The 2024 claws deal necrotic and the mace deals force, which almost nothing resists.
•Spellcasting turned into a nova. A level 5 Fireball is 10d6 (average 35). Two of them is 70 per target on a failed save, and a level 7 Hold Monster can target three creatures (the 2024 spell drops the 2014 rule that they be within 30 feet of each other, and no longer exempts undead).
•Legendary Resistance changes the spell plan. Four auto-successes a day means Banishment or Hold Monster on turn one will probably be wasted.
•Killing it doesn't end it. Diabolical Restoration sends a slain 2024 pit fiend back to the Nine Hells in a new body. Unless the party kills it in the Hells, it will return.
How the Pit Fiend Fights
A pit fiend that wades in and swings every turn is dangerous. One that controls space is a party wipe.
Make the aura do the work. Any enemy that starts its turn within 20 feet makes a DC 21 Wisdom save or is Frightened until the start of its next turn. That covers the whole turn it matters. A level 17 fighter with Wisdom 12 and no save proficiency succeeds only on a natural 20 (5%). A cleric with Wisdom 20 and proficiency (+11) succeeds on 10 or higher (55%). A frightened character has disadvantage on attacks and ability checks while it can see the pit fiend and can't willingly move closer. The pit fiend wants to stand 10 feet from the fighter: the claw, mace and tail reach that far, and the frightened fighter can't step in. A creature that succeeds is immune for 24 hours, so the aura is strongest in the first two rounds.
Melee math. Against AC 20, a +14 attack hits on a 6 or better, 75% of the time.
Multiattack vs AC 20
Damage if all hit
Expected per turn
2014 (Bite, Claw, Mace, Tail)
99
about 74
2024 (Bite, 2 Devilish Claws, Fiery Mace)
113
about 85
Add the bite poison on top. A fighter with +9 Constitution saves fails DC 21 on 11 or lower, 55% of the time, and then takes 21 poison damage at the start of each turn and can't regain hit points. Healing Word does nothing until the poison ends. Bite the healer's favorite target first.
2014: Hold Monster, then step in. A paralyzed creature fails Strength and Dexterity saves, and every hit from within 5 feet is a critical hit. The 2014 pit fiend casts Hold Monster and ends its move next to the target. If the target fails its end-of-turn save too, every hit in the next Multiattack is a critical hit, and all four attacks have advantage. Doubling the dice turns 99 into roughly 167 damage. Few level 17 characters survive that.
2014: Fireball yourself. The pit fiend is immune to fire. When three characters crowd around it, it can center an at-will Fireball on its own space. It takes nothing; everyone within 20 feet makes a DC 21 Dexterity save against 28 damage. This is weaker than Multiattack against one target but better against three or more.
2024: open with Hellfire. Hellfire Spellcasting is available on turn one and recharges on a 4-6 (50% each round). Two level 5 Fireballs against a party with +4 Dexterity saves (success on 17+, 20%) average about 63 damage per character caught in both. Replace one with a level 7 Hold Monster on three characters, then spend the next turn in Multiattack while they're paralyzed.
Use the flight. Fly 60 feet lets it stay out of reach of characters without flight and rain Fireballs. It has no ranged weapon attack, so the 2014 version switches to at-will Fireball and the 2024 version waits for Hellfire to recharge.
Never fight alone. One action per round, no reactions, no legendary actions. Four level 17 characters get four turns, plus their bonus actions and reactions, for every turn it takes. Give it bodyguards: two erinyes to absorb attacks, a pack of hell hounds at the door, or a horned devil holding a corridor.
Running a Pit Fiend Encounter
A single pit fiend (25,000 XP) against four characters, by the 2024 budget:
Party (4 characters)
Low
Moderate
High
One pit fiend is
Level 15
13,200
21,600
31,200
High
Level 17
18,000
28,800
46,800
Moderate
Level 20
25,600
52,800
88,000
Low
At level 17, a pit fiend plus two erinyes (25,000 + 16,800 = 41,800 XP) is a High encounter that fixes its action-economy problem. At level 20, a pit fiend needs company or it becomes a speed bump.
Under the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines (used by our encounter calculator), one pit fiend against four level 17 characters lands at Hard (threshold 23,600). Adding two erinyes makes three monsters, so the group multiplier is x2: 41,800 x 2 = 83,600, more than double Deadly (35,200).
The XP numbers undersell the 2014 Hold Monster combo and the 2024 double Fireball. If the party has no way to end paralysis, treat the fight as a step harder than the table says.
How Players Beat a Pit Fiend
•Prepare for fear and poison. Heroes' Feast is in both SRDs: in 2014 it grants immunity to poison and being frightened, in 2024 immunity to the Frightened and Poisoned conditions. That shuts off the aura and the bite's poison for 24 hours. Protection from Evil and Good also stops fiends from frightening the warded creature and gives the pit fiend disadvantage on attacks against it.
•Keep Lesser Restoration ready. It ends Paralyzed or Poisoned, which answers both Hold Monster and the bite. In 2024 it is a bonus action, so the cleric can still act.
•Skip fire entirely. Fireball, Wall of Fire and flame weapons do nothing. Cold is halved. Lightning, radiant, force, thunder and acid are full damage.
•Target the weak saves. Its worst saves are Intelligence (+6) and Charisma (+7), and in 2024 Constitution (+7). Magic Resistance still gives advantage. Against the 2024 version, spend cheap spells first to burn Legendary Resistance before casting Banishment, which removes a fiend for good if concentration holds for the full minute (2014: back to its home plane; 2024: to a random location on a plane tied to its type).
•Swarm its single action. Spread out so one Fireball can't catch everyone, and have the frontliners take the aura save in round one so the survivors are immune for the rest of the day.
Pit Fiend Encounter Ideas
The arbitration. A pit fiend arrives under a flag of truce to collect on a debt owed by the party's patron. With Persuasion +19 (2024), it is the best negotiator anyone at the table has met. It offers the party a clause, not a fight. The combat happens only if they refuse, or if they try to cheat the contract.
The siege commander. A pit fiend directs a devil army against a fortress from the air, 60 feet up and out of bowshot. The party must climb the gatehouse tower, which puts them inside its 20-foot aura on a narrow platform where nobody can back away from the edge.
The one that came back. The party killed a pit fiend three levels ago. It was a 2024 pit fiend. It remembers their names, their faces and which of them hesitated.
A pit fiend is CR 20 and worth 25,000 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules. It is the strongest devil in the SRD.
How does the pit fiend's Fear Aura work?
Any enemy that starts its turn within 20 feet of the pit fiend makes a DC 21 Wisdom saving throw or is frightened until the start of its next turn. A creature that succeeds is immune to that pit fiend's aura for 24 hours. The aura stops working while the pit fiend is incapacitated.
Is a pit fiend immune to fire?
Yes. Pit fiends are immune to fire and poison damage and to the poisoned condition, and resist cold damage, in both editions. Their own Fireballs can't hurt them.
What changed for the pit fiend in the 2024 rules?
AC went from 19 to 21 and HP from 300 to 337. It gained four uses of Legendary Resistance and Diabolical Restoration, its claws and mace now deal necrotic and force damage, and at-will Fireball became Hellfire Spellcasting, which casts two level 5 Fireballs at once on a recharge of 4-6.
Can a pit fiend summon other devils?
Not in the SRD. Neither the SRD 5.1 nor the SRD 5.2.1 pit fiend has a summoning action. The 2014 Monster Manual has an optional devil-summoning variant, which is not part of the SRD.
How much damage does a pit fiend do per round?
If all four attacks hit, 99 damage in 2014 or 113 in 2024, plus 21 poison damage per turn from the bite on a failed save. Against AC 20 it averages about 74 (2014) or 85 (2024) per turn.
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.