Spike Devil [Least Baatezu]

The smallest baatezu looks like a little gargoyle: a winged humanoid with a spiked tail, razor talons on its feet, a body studded with spines, and a tiny military fork or other cruel weapon in hand.

A spike devil would rather flee and alert a stronger devil than fight. If pressed, its fork works as a javelin for 1d6, and in flight it rakes with each foot for 1d4. While flying it can shoot its spines, two per round and 12 in all; they count as darts and ignite on launch, setting flammables alight. It can also ram a foe with its whole body, driving in 1d4 spines for 1d3 each that always strike home and can be reused, but that is its only action that round.

It lacks the standard baatezu powers but has stinking cloud, scare, produce flame, command, change self, and affect normal fires. Once a day it may call 1-3 more of its kind (35% chance).

Common everywhere in the hells and thickest on layers three through seven, spike devils are lackeys to almost every other baatezu. They are dependable couriers that rarely botch a letter or memorized message, though many devils scorn them as weaklings. All those errands make them de facto scouts: one that finds intruders flies off to fetch help, fights only when cornered and unable to bargain, and may even give up its message to escape. They also herd lemures and mindless devils into armies, so a greater devil in a hurry treats them with care.

Gathering armies is how they rise, but important fiends get troops first, so mid-ranking devils often bully spike devils over delays. Their promotion is set by those they served: pleasing a gelugon can lift one as high as ruler devil, and stories say the pit fiend Varghast raised one to hamatula.