Raphael

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Raphael is a cambion who first appears to the player disguised as an enigmatic human, but quickly reveals his true form and intentions.

The mouse smiled brightly: it outfoxed the cat! Then down came the claw and that, love, was that.

— Raphael reciting a lullaby

Overview[edit | edit source]

Background[edit | edit source]

Raphael is a cambion fiend who delights in enticing mortals with offers, especially to those whose circumstances leave them with few options.

Back home in the hells, Raphael resides in the House of Hope, a lavish and seemingly welcoming place where he brings potential clients.

Quests[edit | edit source]

Description[edit | edit source]

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Raphael has dark hair and faintly red skin, which deepens into a brighter red when he sheds his human disguise. In his true form, he has the tell-tale characteristics of a cambion; significantly with thick and decorative curved horns, and a set of pointed wings with visible membranes, similar to that of a bat.

While fiendishly ascended, Raphael's form forgoes its remaining humanoid qualities. Wreathed in flame and two sloping horns, his head is an amalgamation of three animalistic faces with skin stretched tight over bone. His faces total three glowing, yellow eyes, each with tusked gums and open nasal cavities, exposing bloody muscle. His body visibly glows with hellfire, laced with dark, bone-like structures that lead down his arms, torso and digitigrade legs.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Raphael is cunning, manipulative, and incredibly confident, though easily angers when he is undermined. Although his station grants him power and rank higher than many other devils, he hungers for more, and is resolute in his goals.

Raphael enjoys poetry and his own theatricality, as well tormenting and playing with people in creatively cruel ways. He is also narcissistic to the point that his father sent an incubus, who could appear as a more youthful version of Raphael, to distract him. [1]

History[edit | edit source]

Raphael is heir to the archdevil Mephistopheles, a status granting him power and rank above that of other devils. He is proprietor to the House of Hope, a falsely welcoming home used to lure in those he wishes to bind into his service with infernal contracts.

The nature of Raphael's contracts are such that the contractee will inevitably owe him a debt. Those individuals would eventually become Eternal Debtors.

One such contractee was the architect of Moonrise Towers. They bargained to end Ketheric Thorm's Dark Justiciar army in exchange for their soul. [2] Raphael contracted Yurgir and his legion of Merregons, who destroyed all but one of the Justiciars. As Yurgir did not technically complete his end of the bargain, he remained trapped in the Gauntlet of Shar and under contract of Raphael.

The Crown of Karsus[edit | edit source]

Raphael bore witness to the fall of Netheril through Karsus' Folly; a magocracy destroyed by Karsus' inability to control the Crown of Karsus. However, Raphael saw also Karsus' ambition for creating a "better world" and ever since, coveted the crown for use in uniting the Nine Hells under his rule as Archdevil Supreme. [3]

Before he could retrieve the crown, however, his father Mephistopheles archived it to one of his vaults. He continued to monitor the crown, observing later how the Dead Three managed to steal it from its vault, and then use it to control an Elder Brain and subsequently its tadpoled servants.

At some point, likely after the fall of Netheril, Raphael's father sent him an incubus, Haarlep, to distract him from an unknown task (possibly his designs on the crown, though this is task is not expanded upon anywhere). This was met mostly with success, thanks to Raphael's arrogance and narcissism. [1]

Raphael finally saw his chance to obtain the crown when a group of adventurers who had been implanted with tadpoles under the Dead Three's plan, managed to retain their autonomy. He met with them soon after their escape from a Nautiloid ship, and began to set in motion an exchange for the crown through an infernal contract.

Involvement[edit | edit source]

Act One[edit | edit source]

See Raphael's interactions below for the list of triggers for his first encounter

Raphael will introduce himself to the player during Act One, not long after the fall of the Nautiloid. He appears disguised as a Human with an enigmatic personality, and the player can act diplomatically or hostile about his presence.

Regardless of the player's opinion, he will teleport the party to the House of Hope where he will reveal himself as a Cambion. The devil will then offer them to lavishly partake on the supper he prepared, speaking in riddles as if he is aware of the player's condition.

Raphael will offer the player a deal: to remove the Tadpole in exchange for the player's soul. He warns them that when their luck and time runs out, he'll appear one last time.

While in the Wilderness, one of Raphael's agents, Korrilla, will be keeping an eye on the player. If the player is captured by Gut, Korrilla will stab the goblin as she's about to kill the player, killing her instantly. She will then free the player and reveal Raphael sent her. Korrilla will tell the player to watch their back, as Raphael is not always going to be around to save them.

Regardless of if you have interacted with Korrilla before, she can briefly be found at the Campsite, during the 'Celebrate at Camp' stage of the quest Save the Refugees. Shortly after the party starts, Korrilla appears to teleport into the northern part of the camp and can briefly be found sneaking around, towards where Gale is camped, before disappearing.

If the player is spotted getting too close, she will disappear, with the player's character making a remark about a "bizarre" smell of sulphur. If the player can get close enough without being detected, it is possible to pickpocket her for some common items and a small amount of gold, or trigger two lines of dialogue before she disappears.

Act Two[edit | edit source]

During Act Two, Raphael can first be found at the Last Light Inn, playing lanceboard with Mol, if she survived. If Astarion is in the party, Raphael will offer him a deal for information about his scar. Mol can be spoken to after Raphael disappears, and will tell the party that she is considering making a deal with him.

Korrilla too can be briefly spotted and spoken to outside the Rethwin Masons' Guild in the Shadow-Cursed Lands, still keeping an eye on the party.

Raphael will later appear outside the Grand Mausoleum, practising his monologue. After approaching him, he will immediately strike up a conversation with the party. He will warn them of a creature within the Mausoleum, and ask for it to be killed. Killing the creature also acts as payment for Astarion's deal.

Finding the creature inside the Mausoleum, the party will discover that Rapahel's enemy is Yurgir, an orthon who is trapped in a contract with Raphael. If his contract is successfully broken, Raphael will appear to take Yurgir back to the House of Hope to discuss a new contract.

If he is killed, Yurgir will return back to the House of Hope. If Astarion made a deal, Raphael will appear at camp to fulfil his side of the bargain.

Act Three[edit | edit source]

Main article: Deal with the Devil

After reaching Wyrm's Crossing in Act Three, Korrilla will appear at Sharess' Caress' bar, and will try and convince the party to take Raphael's deal. Upstairs in the Devil's Den, Raphael will be speaking to Voss, who wishes to make a deal with him in exchange for the Orphic Hammer. He is uninterested in anything Voss has to offer, but will instead offer it to the party in exchange for the Crown of Karsus. Raphael wants to unite the hells using the crown, and rule over them. The party can take this deal, or attempt to steal the Hammer from Raphael's House of Hope.

The party can also just visit (or loot everything but the hammer from) Raphael's house. Here they will discover he is keeping Korrilla's sister, Hope, captive, and that he prefers to have sex with an incubus who looks like a younger version of himself, Haarlep.

If the party takes the deal, Raphael will have a short cutscene at the end of the story, where he reveals his ambitions to take his rule further than just the hells.

If the party instead steals the hammer from his house, Raphael will confront them as they are trying to leave, and must be killed.

After Raphael is defeated, the party can interact with a Crystal Ball in the Devil's Fee to see that he is dangling bloody and beaten above the giant mouth of Mephistopheles, about to be devoured.

List of interactions[edit | edit source]

Act One[edit | edit source]

  • Raphael cannot be attacked, pick-pocketed, examined, or interacted with during his first meeting, in any other way than answering his questions.
  • The first encounter with Raphael may (though not always) be triggered when arriving at any of the following locations:
    • Across the bridge from the Druid Grove toward the Blighted Village.
    • The plateau southwest of the druid's grove X: 155 Y: 365
    • The path leading to the Secluded Cove
    • Under the archway to East of the Druid's circle and Idol of Silvanus X: 270 Y: 524
    • In the Shattered Sanctum, in the upper rafters X: 313 Y: -26 after collapsing the corridor wall from the Goblin Camp side X: -105 Y: 478
    • At the Selunite Outpost in the Underdark (near the statue with the orb)
    • At the broken bridge between the Blighted Village and Waukeen's Rest X: -7 Y: 476
    • At the Risen Road near where Karlach is recruited [Needs Verification]
    • Or after taking a long rest

Act Two[edit | edit source]

Raphael can be encountered at the following locations during Act Two:

Act Three[edit | edit source]

Raphael can be encountered at the following locations during Act Three:

Companion approval[edit | edit source]

When meeting Raphael for the first time

  • "I'll do anything to get rid of the tadpole."
Astarion disapproves -5 Karlach disapproves -1 Wyll disapproves -1
  • "I need to think this over."
Gale approves +1Shadowheart approves +1Laezel approves +1
  • "You're mad if you think I'll make a deal with a devil."
Astarion approves +1 Karlach approves +5 Wyll approves +5
  • "Then fix it. Or die by my hand!"
Astarion approves +5 Gale approves +1 Karlach approves +5 Wyll approves +1

Combat[edit | edit source]

Main article: Raphael/combat

Raphael can only be fought during Act Three. He is a level twelve Fiend who uses Fire and Hellfire spells (which ignore Fire resistances and immunities), and is protected by his loyal Vengeful Cambions.

Loot[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Video[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Related literature[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • Raphael's appearance has mostly remained the same throughout the lifespan of the game with the exception of his hair color. During the Early Access and the Release of the game, Raphael had dark, brown hair. In Patch 3, this was changed to black. Sometime in a later update, however, his hair was reverted back to its previous state.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Haarlep's Speak with Dead dialogue
  2. Mason's Log by Infernal Mason
  3. Raphael in the Devil's Den

External links[edit | edit source]