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Demons and Devils
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<blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008140" data-attributes="member: 9860"><p>Beware! This review contains major spoilers.</p><p></p><p>Demons And Devils is a set of three short high-level dungeons for character levels 9-13. The cost of the module is $8.95.</p><p></p><p>Production And Presentation: This is a 32-page module. The front cover has a good quality piece of colour artwork, by the same artist as Crucible of Freya. The back cover contains an introduction and overview of the adventures. The first page contains credits, the last two pages OGL bumf and advertising. The inside front cover has two reasonable maps in cross-section and top-down view, relating to the first adventure. The back inside cover contains maps for the other two adventures. The text is clear, black on white background. The several pieces of internal black & white artwork were generally good – a distinct improvement compared to the Crucible of Freya. One or two of them really helped me to envision things more clearly than the text allowed. The text takes up about nine-tenths of each page in a familiar two-column layout – the edge of each page is bordered by a strip of grinning skulls.</p><p></p><p>The Story: There are actually three adventures in this module. Before launching into them, there is a one page introduction, explaining that the dungeons are designed to be the culmination to an extended quest for an important magical item or artifact. Ideas for adventures whilst the PCs are travelling to these dungeons can be downloaded from www.necromancergames.com, though it requires a password available in this module. The introduction clearly states that these adventures are meant to be deadly – be warned. The first adventure ‘The Sorcerer’s Citadel’ (for PCs of level 9 and over, 11 pages) is a wizard’s tower-dungeon carved out of a mountain using a sphere of annihilation, and built above ground using stone transported to this plane by the lawful neutral wizard’s infernal servants. The sphere still lies within (in a forecage protected by 3 cornugon devils), the wizard long dead, but his servants (including golems, animating statues and an erinyes) still protecting his tower. The whole complex is also defended by a series of really nasty traps and secret doors. The second adventure ‘Ra’s Evil Grin’ (for PCs of level 11 and over, 9 pages) involves recovering a sacred artefact, the Globe of Arden (said to be the eye of a dead god). The globe was stolen by a treacherous priest from his temple and hidden in a complex dedicated to an evil frog-god on an island far away. The players can only enter the dungeon by solving a puzzle. Once inside, the PCs face more puzzles, deadly traps and secret doors. There are two major monsters still lurking within (a mummy priest who is the original traitorous priest and his consort, a Marilith demon). The final adventure ‘The Pit Of Despair’ (for PCs of level 13 and over, 8 pages) involves a quest by a paladin PC for a holy sword hidden in a desert temple. The quest is actually a ploy by the demon-lord Orcus to kill or corrupt paladins. They either die in the dungeon, or they recover the holy sword, which is really an unholy sword, enchanted to mimic a holy one. A paladin of great renown many years ago had a holy sword, which had been passed down from generation to generation. No worthy successor appeared to take the ownership of the sword when the paladin died. The priests of the paladin’s temple were then visited by a demon posing as a celestial, who took the sword to a secret temple in the desert, telling the priests that only a worthy paladin could retrieve the sword. The sword was hidden in the temple, but another sword, an unholy one, is easier to find and presented by the demon posing as a celestial once the PCs get beyond the secret entrance, and the vrocks and dretches that ‘protect’ the inner temple. The adventure ends with some advice on enabling the paladin who takes the unholy sword to atone afterwards.</p><p></p><p>The High Points: The first two adventures are chock-a-block with creative ideas for traps and puzzles. The backstories are logical, and the villains despicable. The tactics of the monsters are well-explained, and there are plenty of demons and devils as the title suggests, with some nice deceptive introductions to them. The first two adventures are easily incorporated into a larger campaign and aspects of them can be altered. The free downloadable 21-page wilderness encounters that can be used with this module give a lot of added value.</p><p></p><p>The Low Points: There is a distinct lack of material designed to aid roleplaying NPCs – indeed the adventures seem to specifically avoid dealing with this aspect in many instances, concentrating on combat, traps and puzzles instead. The third adventure is less easily adaptable to one’s own campaign (requiring a paladin and a search for a holy sword) and tends to railroad the PCs a bit. I like the concept of demons deceiving PCs – in fact I would have liked to have seen some complex behind-the-scenes demonic plotting in the module – but the third adventure gives little room for the PCs to manoeuvre.</p><p></p><p>Conclusion: I give this a Good rating despite some of it’s shortcomings, because on the whole the module presents plenty of interesting ideas for use in a home-grown campaign, the explanations of plot, monsters, tactics, traps and puzzles is excellent, and it is clearly organised and well-presented. The addition of the free wilderness adventures from the website pushes this above the average. If you’re looking for complex demonic plots and in-depth NPC background, give it a miss. But if you’re looking for a solidly written dungeon adventure or new ideas for tricks, traps and puzzles for your own game, look no further.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Simon Collins, post: 2008140, member: 9860"] Beware! This review contains major spoilers. Demons And Devils is a set of three short high-level dungeons for character levels 9-13. The cost of the module is $8.95. Production And Presentation: This is a 32-page module. The front cover has a good quality piece of colour artwork, by the same artist as Crucible of Freya. The back cover contains an introduction and overview of the adventures. The first page contains credits, the last two pages OGL bumf and advertising. The inside front cover has two reasonable maps in cross-section and top-down view, relating to the first adventure. The back inside cover contains maps for the other two adventures. The text is clear, black on white background. The several pieces of internal black & white artwork were generally good – a distinct improvement compared to the Crucible of Freya. One or two of them really helped me to envision things more clearly than the text allowed. The text takes up about nine-tenths of each page in a familiar two-column layout – the edge of each page is bordered by a strip of grinning skulls. The Story: There are actually three adventures in this module. Before launching into them, there is a one page introduction, explaining that the dungeons are designed to be the culmination to an extended quest for an important magical item or artifact. Ideas for adventures whilst the PCs are travelling to these dungeons can be downloaded from www.necromancergames.com, though it requires a password available in this module. The introduction clearly states that these adventures are meant to be deadly – be warned. The first adventure ‘The Sorcerer’s Citadel’ (for PCs of level 9 and over, 11 pages) is a wizard’s tower-dungeon carved out of a mountain using a sphere of annihilation, and built above ground using stone transported to this plane by the lawful neutral wizard’s infernal servants. The sphere still lies within (in a forecage protected by 3 cornugon devils), the wizard long dead, but his servants (including golems, animating statues and an erinyes) still protecting his tower. The whole complex is also defended by a series of really nasty traps and secret doors. The second adventure ‘Ra’s Evil Grin’ (for PCs of level 11 and over, 9 pages) involves recovering a sacred artefact, the Globe of Arden (said to be the eye of a dead god). The globe was stolen by a treacherous priest from his temple and hidden in a complex dedicated to an evil frog-god on an island far away. The players can only enter the dungeon by solving a puzzle. Once inside, the PCs face more puzzles, deadly traps and secret doors. There are two major monsters still lurking within (a mummy priest who is the original traitorous priest and his consort, a Marilith demon). The final adventure ‘The Pit Of Despair’ (for PCs of level 13 and over, 8 pages) involves a quest by a paladin PC for a holy sword hidden in a desert temple. The quest is actually a ploy by the demon-lord Orcus to kill or corrupt paladins. They either die in the dungeon, or they recover the holy sword, which is really an unholy sword, enchanted to mimic a holy one. A paladin of great renown many years ago had a holy sword, which had been passed down from generation to generation. No worthy successor appeared to take the ownership of the sword when the paladin died. The priests of the paladin’s temple were then visited by a demon posing as a celestial, who took the sword to a secret temple in the desert, telling the priests that only a worthy paladin could retrieve the sword. The sword was hidden in the temple, but another sword, an unholy one, is easier to find and presented by the demon posing as a celestial once the PCs get beyond the secret entrance, and the vrocks and dretches that ‘protect’ the inner temple. The adventure ends with some advice on enabling the paladin who takes the unholy sword to atone afterwards. The High Points: The first two adventures are chock-a-block with creative ideas for traps and puzzles. The backstories are logical, and the villains despicable. The tactics of the monsters are well-explained, and there are plenty of demons and devils as the title suggests, with some nice deceptive introductions to them. The first two adventures are easily incorporated into a larger campaign and aspects of them can be altered. The free downloadable 21-page wilderness encounters that can be used with this module give a lot of added value. The Low Points: There is a distinct lack of material designed to aid roleplaying NPCs – indeed the adventures seem to specifically avoid dealing with this aspect in many instances, concentrating on combat, traps and puzzles instead. The third adventure is less easily adaptable to one’s own campaign (requiring a paladin and a search for a holy sword) and tends to railroad the PCs a bit. I like the concept of demons deceiving PCs – in fact I would have liked to have seen some complex behind-the-scenes demonic plotting in the module – but the third adventure gives little room for the PCs to manoeuvre. Conclusion: I give this a Good rating despite some of it’s shortcomings, because on the whole the module presents plenty of interesting ideas for use in a home-grown campaign, the explanations of plot, monsters, tactics, traps and puzzles is excellent, and it is clearly organised and well-presented. The addition of the free wilderness adventures from the website pushes this above the average. If you’re looking for complex demonic plots and in-depth NPC background, give it a miss. But if you’re looking for a solidly written dungeon adventure or new ideas for tricks, traps and puzzles for your own game, look no further. [/QUOTE]
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