Demonomicon, ToH, Orcs of Stonefang Pass and Vor Rukoth in hand

[Jack99]

Demonomicon

The Demonomicon is divided into 3 chapters: Demon Lore (32 pages), The Abyss (58 pages) , Demons (58).
Demon Lore is what we would call a fluffy chapter. It starts by describing the birth of the Abyss, linking the shard of evil, the obyriths, Tharizdun going mad, the creation of demons and demonlords to the Dawn War, Miska the Wolfspider, The Queen of Chaos, the Rod of Seven Parts, the fall of Asmodeus and the Blood War. Very cool read, with plenty of nods to the former edition stuff.

Fluff-wise, we read a bit more about how the Abyss is part of what makes the demons mad as hatters, about Truenames and what the remaining 12 obyriths are up to. Crunch-wise, we get an awesome demon-possession mechanics, death-throes powers, summon demon ritual, monster themes for 7 different demon lords and demon summoners and their bound fiends, for replacing variable resistances and demonic traps and hazards - all very useful from the looks of it. There is also the (by now) classic campaign-arc, this one ending with a huge bang, bigger than all other campaign arcs I can recall reading.

The Abyss chapter is about the different layers. We read about the Plain of Thousands Portals (13 pages), Azzagrat (6 pages), The Iron Wastes (4 pages), The Abysm (4 pages), The Barrens (4 pages) and 9 of the deeper layers, each getting about 1/3 of a page. I must admit, I am deply smitten with The Barrens. WoW reference aside, this is just the coolest thing since sliced bread. If you haven’t read bout it at wizards.com, go read the excerpt. The chapter finishes by taking a look at demonic gates, portals and temples, as well as giving us 2 demonic delves, one of them involving Shemeska, everyone’s favorite coniving Raavasta.

The last chapter, Demons, gives us a lot of new demons. 45 unique demons, with some of them coming in multiple variations, for a total close to 60 new demons. 5 of these are demon lords (Kostchtchie, Oublivae, Pazuzu, Phraxas and Zuggtmoy). I took a look at the solo’s and they are very different, with very different ways of dealing damage. I like it. As to whether they will be able to match high-level characters, I must admit that I am no longer sure. Too much has changed since we last played epic.

I know I use cool and awesome way too much - but honestly, the Demonomicon is just that. Awesome. I have no qualms rating it as the best supplement book of 4e, a spot that Underdark held previously (in my mind, of course).

Cheers

 

[Scribble]

Now go read Vor Rukoth!!! I am WAY excited about this one... Hammerfast was awesome.

 

[Jack99]

Demonomicon and the adventures have already been spilled over on RPG.net. Vor Rukoth! Vor Rukoth! I'd love to see a pic of its poster map.

There you go

 

[Jack99]

How similar is Vor Rukoth to Hammerfast?

Its very much the same. A couple of monsters, a handful of items and 3-4 skill challenges, and the rest is just fluff: NPC's and their motivations and the different locations with hooks. Its in color though, as opposed to the black and white of Hammerfast.

 

[Jack99]

Now go read Vor Rukoth!!! I am WAY excited about this one... Hammerfast was awesome.

Yes, yes, I am on it.. patience my friend

Have you seen any indication in the text of where Vor Rukoth is in relation to the Nentir or Elsir Vales?
I'm starting to try and put together a better map of the Points of Light campaign and curious about geographical relationships.

Indeed I have..

To the east and south lies the Midnight Sea (Vor Rukoth is next to it, actually)
To the north lies the Horned Hills
To the west lies the Skull Fields
To the northwest lies the Dawnforge Mountains and Hammerfast.
The Trade Road leads from Hammerfast to Vor Rukoth

Hope it helps

 

[ExploderWizard]

I picked up Stonefang Pass and Vor Rukoth this past weekend too.

I haven't had time to really look at them yet. Too busy with work/ prepping for Friday's game. I should get to them this weekend.

 

[Jack99]

Vor Kuroth
32 pages cover this adventuring site. Once an important part of the tiefling empire, Vor Kuroth was invaded by the dragonborn army. In a desperate attempt to save the city, its leader, Lady Najala opened a gate to the Nine Hells and flooded the city with devils. Sure, the invaders were killed, but so was the rest of the city. Talk about a smart move. Anyway, Vor Kuroth is now a not so abandoned ruin with an endless supply of adventures. 7 factions (each with 2-4 NPC’s detailed) and close to 40 locations, each with a hook. It’s a lot. It is almost too much. But not quite. What I like is that none of these hooks are too narrow, there is still plenty of things to expand on and make up for the DM. Also, there is virtually nothing tied to a certain level, so you can use it at level 5 and level 10 equally well. Of course, some of the monsters mentioned do have level, if you look in the appropriate MM, but those can easily be scaled. Reading through the booklet, I was instantly inspired, just like when I read Hammerfast.

In short, it’s pretty safe to say that I recommend this booklet. And if you liked Hammerfast, you can go pick up Vor Kuroth, because you will like that as well.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Vor Kuroth
32 pages cover this adventuring site. Once an important part of the tiefling empire, Vor Kuroth was invaded by the dragonborn army. In a desperate attempt to save the city, its leader, Lady Najala opened a gate to the Nine Hells and flooded the city with devils. Sure, the invaders were killed, but so was the rest of the city. Talk about a smart move. Anyway, Vor Kuroth is now a not so abandoned ruin with an endless supply of adventures. 7 factions (each with 2-4 NPC’s detailed) and close to 40 locations, each with a hook. It’s a lot. It is almost too much. But not quite. What I like is that none of these hooks are too narrow, there is still plenty of things to expand on and make up for the DM. Also, there is virtually nothing tied to a certain level, so you can use it at level 5 and level 10 equally well. Of course, some of the monsters mentioned do have level, if you look in the appropriate MM, but those can easily be scaled. Reading through the booklet, I was instantly inspired, just like when I read Hammerfast.

In short, it’s pretty safe to say that I recommend this booklet. And if you liked Hammerfast, you can go pick up Vor Kuroth, because you will like that as well.

Cool. That's the kind of product I love. Give me idea springboards that can be used in a variety of ways while leaving me room to exercise creativity coming up with all the details.

 

[Jack99]

Orcs of Stonefang Pass battle maps:

 

[JeffB]

Cool. That's the kind of product I love. Give me idea springboards that can be used in a variety of ways while leaving me room to exercise creativity coming up with all the details.

Me three. I'll be picking this up.

Thx for the review Jack!