Spiky is the name given by Roy^[1] to the Barbed Devil summoned by "Durkon" while under the thrall of Malack. Spiky fought first for the Linear Guild, and later for the Order of the Stick after Nale killed Malack, freeing "Durkon" of his thralldom, at which point he changed side to (ostensibly) help the Order. The name is at first descriptive, but is later used twice as a proper name for the creature.^[2][3]

After being defeated by the Order by an ambush devised by Roy, the Linear Guild lost Sabine to Durkon's Holy Word spell, banished back to the Lower Planes. Seeking to bolster their strength and numbers before delving back down into the pyramid, Zz'dtri and "Durkon" used high-level summoning spells to summon a pair of fiends to their service.

The fiends did not see any combat in the pyramid, as the Order avoided further confrontation with the Guild by hiding behind an illusion. After the destruction of Girard's Gate, Nale ordered Zz'dtri and Durkon to send their fiends down into the crater to destroy the Order, who were already fighting an Elder Silicon Elemental. In the mean time, Nale killed Malack, freeing "Durkon" of his thralldom. Once possessed of free will, "Durkon" immediately killed Zz'dtri, freeing the piscodaemon to return to his plane. With Nale fled, "Durkon" joined the Order in the crater and offered his assistance, which included Spiky, still under his command.

Together with the Order, Spiky and "Durkon" were able to finish off the Silicon Elemental, only to find themselves surrounded by the army of the Empire of Blood a shore time later. Surrounded and outnumbered, Spiky fought with Roy, Belkar and "Durkon" against the soldiers until Vaarsuvius finally arrived and placed a protective wall of fire around them. Spiky, immune to fire, was sent outside of the ring to continue to fight the soldiers.

It was at this point that Belkar tamed Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator, and the Order rode off into the desert, leaving Spiky behind, still among the army of the Empire. Spiky was last seen still fighting the soldiers of the Empire, and it is not clear what his final fate was. He may have been killed by the soldiers, or he may have been allowed to return to his home plane, his contract with "Durkon" having been fulfilled.

Powers and Abilities

As a barbed Devil (also known as a Hamatula in 2nd Edition AD&D and later), Spiky had numerous abilities in addition to his normal combat attacks with his claws, including the ability to cause fear, summon other devils, and a number of spell-like abilities.

Spiky was called using Planar Ally, a 6th level cleric spell. Thus his service to "Durkon" must have had some defined task or contract, and "Durkon" must have paid him in some way. As a called, rather than summoned, creature, if Spiky did die at the hands of the soldiers, then his death would have been real and final, unlike with a summoned creature who would simply be banished back to their home plane.

References

Appearances
883, 892, 893, 894, 895, 903, 905, 908, 909, 916, 917, 919