:shock: Yes Rhys, actually, that was terrifying. congrats.
I prefer the Bataazu. Say what you will about the rampaging swarms of mercyless Tan'ari. Or The Yugoloth overlords that have a hand in every pie, while secretly owning both the pie and the table its on. I Just goptta admit that lawful evil always added a nice touch to battle. There is cause to fear a Bataazu in battle, thats to be sure. Anyone who doesn't is barmy in need of heavy medication. But the Fiends of Baator also have the deliciously tricky side, the side that makes a play roll spot checks, cast several heavy divination spells, and preparing a scroll of planeshift (just in case) before so much as shaking a Bataazu's hand. (or claw)
Not to mention, you have to love the pit fiends.
...
Love the pit fiend
.
.
I voted for tanar'ri. I know that there are much more subtle ways of spreading evil than a tanar'ri's plan of devouring you and murdering your family and squashing your puppy, but there's nothing quite like the extremes that a tanar'ri will go to. They are the incarnation of hate, terror, and violence, and they simply don't care. It doesn't even matter to them how much power they get for themselves along the way. It's easy to brush them off as mindless killers, but I think there's a lot more to them than most people give them credit for. The important thing, though, is that you can't reason with a tanar'ri. There's no signing a contract with them like with the baatezu, and there's no squirming out of their schemes like with the yugoloths. They don't have to lie or decieve their victims, because everyone knows what they want: everything they can't have. Tanar'ri live in agonizing envy, hate, fear, and madness, and so they focus all of their hatred in a seething rage toward all of existence. You can't reason with a tanar'ri because he doesn't want anything short of your terrified, screaming death; nothing short of your agony, horror, destruction, and total despair; he wants not your enslavement or manipulation, but to torturously devour your soul from your broken, mangled body while you scream for help that will never come.
As for my specific fiend, I choose the maurezhi. So great. Nothing like the horror as your best friend's face turns to ash and falls away, revealing a grinning skull underneath with ragged flesh and vicious claws reaching for you. Suddenly you realize that your friend has actually been dead for days and that the tavern he was leading you to...
Anyways, sorry if I creeped you out. Take care.