Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2009072" data-attributes="member: 9860">This is not a playtested review.Armies of the Abyss is Green Ronin's second volume in the Book of Fiends series.At $14.95 for 64 pages it is fairly average for its type and size for a d20 product, but does make good use of space (including using the inside covers).The art ranges from average to superb. Though most of it is good, I felt that it wasn't quite up to the quality of some previous Green Ronin releases. The quality of writing and editing are both good.Chapter One: Into The Abyss (4 pages), discusses the nature of demons and introduce a new type of ancient demon, the Qlippoth, who once ruled the Abyss but were mostly destroyed by celestials. The rest of the chapter deals mainly with the hierarchy of the Abyss, with a brief mention of demons on the material plane.Chapter Two: Those Who Serve (7 pages), offers up The Thaumaturge class, demon-worshippers who gain their spells from demonic patrons. The thaumaturge suffers physical corruption as he progresses in power. Four related feats (abyssal familiar, adept summoner, master summoner, and influence chaos) are described.Chapter Three: Those Who Rule (17 pages), gives background information on the twenty one demon princes(ses) that Thaumaturges can worship, including a description of the obedience ritual that is required for the Thaumaturge to gain his spells from his patron.Chapter Four: Creatures of the Abyss (30 pages), gives 26 demons from CR 2 to 25 with most in the range 4-14.Appendix 1: Demonic Magic, offers up 10 new domains (catastrophe, change, crippling, disease, eloquence, fear, pain, pleasure, prophecy, and subterfuge), 9 new spells (including fit of coughing and phantasmal orgy), and 6 new diseases related to the Greater Contagion spell. In addition, there is a table listing all demons by CR (including those from the MM) and a short bibliography.After Legions of Hell being so good, and demons being one of my favourite creature types, Armies of the Abyss had a lot to live up to, and I found myself somewhat disappointed. What I found particularly disappointing was 24 pages of information about a thaumaturge class (which I felt would have been better presented as a short prestige class) and the demon princes they worship (which to my mind could have been provided in 1/3 of the space). This left only half the book for statted demons (though there is also a construct, undead and aberration to further reduce the numbers).Which led me to my second disappointment: the information on 'demons and the material plane' in chapter one states that "most demons visit the mortal world but briefly", usually due to being summoned. In line with this statement, about half of the demons presented are (as the chapter title suggests I suppose) purely creatures of the abyss; they live in the Abyss and interact with demons, with few or no comments about their interaction with the Material Plane. Only one or two of the presented demons met my hopes for using them as the basis for recurring villains with intricate, cunning and despicably evil plans to corrupt the innocent and destroy the peace of the material plane of my campaign setting. This slant would have set them further apart from the fiends proffered in Legions of Hell, whereas with a very little tweaking, many of the descriptions of the demons in 'Armies' could have sat side by side with the devils in 'Legions'.That said, there are plenty of interesting and original concepts for demons encapsulated within the text, and some information that sparked adventure ideas. If you are a fan of demon-worshipping cults and are looking for an NPC class that will act as a template for a widespread organisation for enemies, the Thaumaturge class and their demon patrons does offer a viable option, just not one that captured my imagination that well. I felt the book would have been particularly useful to those running adventures that took a path into the Abyss.In all, I felt the book lacked emphasis on the subtle corruptive and divisive powers that I associate with demons, instead focusing on too many creatures that looked like overgrown intestines with features such as acid spray and other combat-related abilities. The Possessing Fiend showcased in The Shaman's Handbook had far more adventure and horror potential than any of the creatures featured in Armies of the Abyss.Now don't get me wrong, the book is well written and presented, and brings you demons to fit into your standard D&D cosmology and mindframe. In addition, it adds a well-reasoned slant on demon-worshipping cultists and their 'gods' - the demon princes. But I was hoping for and expecting a lot more from this tome and it mainly failed to deliver.Best Creature: Stygian Interloper - forms itself from the memories of those who lose their souls in the River Styx. They then seek out friends and family in the Material Plane to cause chaos and betrayal whilst impersonating the lost individual.Worst Creature: Solesik - a big maggot-like mawed worm that eats language.Most Useful Creature: Mandragoras - a small demon that is used as a familiar by many demonologists. Only CR2 but has a nice feel and relevant abilities to its use as a spy.Most Incongruous Creature: Razorwire Golem. Razorwire? Riiiight.</blockquote>

Verification