Champions of Ruin

[JoeGKushner]

Everything a player needs to know to play evil or morally ambiguous characters in the Forgotten Realms setting.

Champions of Ruin is a comprehensive guide to playing evil characters in the Forgotten Realms setting. Many aspects of play are covered: vengeance, ambition, evil vs. evil, corruption and moral failure, loyalty and betrayl. The book also discusses types of evil-lawful, chaotic, and neutral, as well as morally ambivalent characters such as anti-heroes and rogues. Elder evils of extreme power are discussed along with tools, feats, spells, evil places and planar touchstones, and guilds and organizations that evil characters can join. Two new races are also introduced.

 

[Pinotage]

Isn't a lot of this content covered in the Book of Vile Darkness?

Pinotage

 

[Nightfall]

Yeah but that was more for GH stuff than FR. Besides in my FR campaigns, the Archfiends can ALWAYS grant spells.

*I WANT MORE INFO ON ORCUS!!! Head will roll if not! *

 

[Andre La Roche]

I also get the impression that this seems to be more about focusing on evil PCs and integrating them into the campaign and is more of a player-aid. Think Player's Guide to the Planes.

 

[Crothian]

BoVD didn't really show how to play an evil PC, it really just gave options for playing one.

 

[Darkness]

in my FR campaigns, the Archfiends can ALWAYS grant spells.

In mine too. Generally, at least. A few can not.

 

[Shemeska]

I'm going to the buy the book, but two things there put alarm sirens going off in my mind:

1) New races - Usually a code word for filler
2) Planar Touchstones - single worst designed and implimented idea in all of 3rd edition. *shudder*

That said I'm curious how they treat Bazim-Gorag and some of the Toril specific archfiends (even if I will never use the 3e FR cosmology, the FR books have been, with very rare exception, very very well done).

 

[Darkness]

even if I will never use the 3e FR cosmology

Preach it... Great wheel forever!

 

[d20Dwarf]

I'm going to the buy the book, but two things there put alarm sirens going off in my mind:

1) New races - Usually a code word for filler
2) Planar Touchstones - single worst designed and implimented idea in all of 3rd edition. *shudder*

I dunno, the 3 new races I did aren't filler, but are interesting new parts of the Realms. I don't think I worked on any planar touchstones, but I did expand on some existing rules in new ways that I think are fun. All in all I think the book is definitely going to inspire people to give the Realms a shot from a new angle. I've never been a big fan of evil PCs or campaigns, but the stuff in this book really made me look at the Realms and say "man, if there was ever a setting for an evil campaign, this one is it!"

 

[demiurge1138]

I actually really like the inclusion on planar touchstones in the Planar Handbook. Not the actual idea, mind you, which sort of felt like incentive for exploring the planes in-game and inventing a new, weird mechanic out-of-game. But I really like how they were all adventure sites, with little mini-quests, and how some of them were really imaginative and occasionally twisted (I'm thinking of the derro in Carceri who's forced to write his memoirs one page at a time, then burn them to stay warm). If I get more adventure sites in the planes to play with, I'm happy. I'll just ignore the mechanics.

Demiurge out.

PS: I got very serious deja vu writing this post. Odd, that.