Demon: Servants of Darkness

[Messageboard Golem]

From the Hero Games website:
"UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS...

...the evil cultists and sorcerer-priests of DEMON work their evil! The world thinks of DEMON as a Satanic cult with delusions of grandeur, but in truth the organization has a far more sinister and deadly purpose. Can your heroes discover DEMON's secrets in time to put an end to its foul schemes?
DEMON includes:

—a complete history of DEMON, with plot seeds for every important era of the twentieth century

—a review of the organization's structure, philosophy, beliefs, and approaches to its true goal

—information on DEMON's leadership, including character sheets for the leaders and their most important servants

—complete details on DEMON's three levels of members (Brothers, Initiates, and Morbanes), with archetypes, power and spell templates, and other resources for each

—descriptions of DEMON's Demonhames (secret cult centers and places of power) and Profane Regalia (enchanted items)

—advice for GMing DEMON and using the group in many types of campaigns

Inject a new dose of villainy into your game with DEMON!"

 

[Messageboard Golem]

DEMON: Servants of Darkness
Written by Allen Thomas -128 pg Trade Paperback, Perfect Bound, Black & White.

This is a campaign sourcebook for the Hero System detailing the enigmatic occult group from whom the book gets its title. The book is best used in modern or super heroic genres but with some modifications can make an excellent addition to a fantasy campaign. This is a comp copy and was not playtested. Again, this is not a d20 book but is for use with the Hero System but as many sourcebooks it is easily adapted to other rules engines.

Overview: DEMON is a twisted crawl into the belly of a fantastical black magic cult set in modern times. The themes are occasionally mature but handled in a tasteful fashion. The DEMON organization has been around through previous editions of the Hero System but this is the first definitive treatment that the popular mystics have received. This book is well written and executed to create a powerful mystical organization whose goals could threaten all of humanity. Impossibly complex, the organization of DEMON is built to keep your players guessing and on the seat of their pants.

Layout & Design: The cover art is well done in the comic style of Storn Cook. Interior artwork is standard for Hero which is to say that it is passable but not much more than that. A few pieces really stood out as above par on pages 11, 45, & 148 - unfortunately they were not signed. The maps were done by Keith Curtis and are excellent. The layout is Hero System standard and the book seems densely packed with text, more so than usual for Hero Books.

Chapter One
First, let me say the first 40 pages of the book deal almost exclusively with the power behind DEMON: Luther Black. The sections read like a novel rather than a character write up. Luther Black was born on leap year 270 years ago and thanks to his gypsy mother will live to the ripe old age of 280 – in other words time is running out. To use DEMON, the GM needs to understand Luther Black – his powers, weaknesses, and his visions. The author builds this master villain and his plan with exceeding exactness that allows a GM to intersect his game at various points and leaves the ultimate success or failure in the hands of individual games – to the reader it is not at all clear if Luther Black will succeed in his planned apotheosis or if he has already failed.

From the great wars, to the depression, and into the nineties, we follow Luther Black and thus DEMON as the organization grows and changed into the Byzantine cult that it finds itself in modern times. Various sidebars and plot-points are used throughout the book that provides hooks for using DEMON during other times. As mentioned, the back-story reads more like a depraved novella than an introduction to a gaming book.

Chapter Two – Demonic overview.
This short section is invaluable, providing a concise breakdown of who knows what. It details the goals of the organization and the methods to pursue those goals. This section also provides the reasoning behind the various teaching styles DEMON uses to recruit new members. One of the many ingenious ideas in this book is that DEMON could care less about your personal religious beliefs; the organization recruits Satanists, Kali Thugs, and nihilists with equal abandon. I get the feeling that this section will see lots of reference if you use DEMON in your game.

Chapter Three – The Leadership of DEMON
Luther Black starts out this chapter under his assumed name, the Edomite but quickly we start to get into other facets of the organizations. The Inverted Trinity serves as Black’s personal enforcers who remain unknown to the larger organization. These are spooky creatures, less human than Blacks own shriveled husk. Each of the Inverted Trinity has been possessed by a malign entity or been corrupted into a malign entity – powerful and utterly ruthless they are foes that should inspire fear even among the super heroic.

The Inner Circle are beings corrupted by Qliphothic energies (Qliphoth are negative cosmic energies equating with the ten positive Sephiroth – Gnostic/Hebrew forces of good, at least as far as I was able to figure out.). They run the operations that keep DEMON in check and are all suitably evil. The majority of them seem to spring right out of some Chuthulu inspired nightmare but the final member of the Inner Circle stands out as a cut above. Dyer Vander Bleek is a powerful occultist and infernal trafficker but somehow you feel sorry for this poor fellow who is both out of his league and totally fails to comprehend the situation that he has found himself in.

The Edomite, The Inverted Trinity, and the Inner Circle are the powerhouses behind DEMON and all strive towards their own, occasionally conflicting goals. Many of these characters are a match for super heroic characters and bring to the table unusual threats and powers that the heroes may not be prepared to face, something sure to inspire fear and loathing at any game table.

Chapter Four – Mephistophelean Evil
When the players speak of DEMON, odds are that they will be referencing the characters and groups presented in this chapter – wholly unaware of the greater evil of the previous chapter. However, this chapter does more than just present villain stats. The greatest parts of the DEMON source book are in the details and this section provides great details without becoming a manual.

The chapter leads in with a section on recruitment. The author is well researched and laid out some practices that could have been taken from a real world cult, most of them are reprehensible. One of the examples of active recruitment occurs in support groups after all “recovering alcoholics, drug users, persons with cancer or who have a loved one with cancer, people who have been recently divorced or lost a child, people who feel they lack confidence or any other failing – all of these are susceptible to DEMON’s pitch.”

The nuisances of the chapter are something to be experienced rather than explained so I will leave it at that.

This chapter also covers the various “levels” of initiation: Brethren, Initiate, & Morbane. Each level has various archetypes from “the victim” to the “faithful servant of evil” that provide dozens of hooks for a games master.

Two special types of rank and file DEMON members deserve to be called out – the Demonbound & the Supervillians. The Demonbound are a cunning addition to the DEMON stable that allow for the creation of one-shot villains to challenge the players and come with a number of templates that can be used to make them interesting and less predictable. The Demonbound, as the name implies, are people who are possessed by a demon through a ritual, sometimes these are DEMON agents and sometimes they are hapless bystanders which makes wanton slaughter of the Demonbound and difficult decision. The super-villain section illustrates the various methods for creating supers who are aligned with DEMON (Qliphothic corruption, magical item based villain, and possessed villain).

Chapter Five – The Demonhames
This is a short chapter detailing commonalities in the various bases used by DEMON and then two example Demonhames. The example Demonhames come with useful maps and neither of the bases is ultra-powerful making them perfect places for your heroes to get their feet wet in the scum filled pool that is DEMON.

Following the examples is a discussion of DEMON around the world – while DEMON is a worldwide cult they don’t always fare as well as they do in the United States or the West in general. There are some great teasers for DMs to work with in this section.

Chapter six – Profane Regalia
What evil cult worth the name does not posses some malignant artifacts of bygone evil? This section details a few dozen items used to empower the Morbanes and their lackeys.

Chapter Seven – Gamemaster’s Demonic Designs
This section covers everything that is left – the anatomy of a satanic ritual, demonic trappings, hooks & black magic plots, and finally DEMON in other genres. If I had to pick on a section, this would be the section. It is fairly skimpy and many GMs could use the extra uumph when it comes to getting the DEMON ball rolling at their table. Still, the section is not bad.

Summation – or Wow, you made it!

The negative – the Inner Circle is interesting but a few of the members need tweaking or could have had more expanded write-ups (Coin Collector, I am looking at you). The Profane Regalia section is technically correct but seemed uninspired when viewed against the rest of the book. Finally, I had mentioned that the final chapter seemed a tad anemic. These are minor quips more than actual flaws and I really had to stretch to come up with these.

The Positive - DEMON is an excellent sourcebook for most genres but will require more work for anything that is not a modern superhero or action style campaign. The book is well written and entertaining to read, always a significant bonus in my book. Finally, the topic has the ability to stray into the childishly perverted but the author does a fine job of managing to convey the depravity of the organization while keeping the books overall rating to PG-13.

Randy Madden
Eosin the Red

 

[Sketchpad]

First off, let me say that this is not a d20 book. Demon: Servants of Darkness is a supplement for Hero Games/DoJ, Inc. Hero System (specifically Champions, though it could be used for a multitude of other genres). With that said, let me say that Demon is an interesting read. Within the 120+ pages, one would find a detailed organization that’s perfect as opposition for mystic heroes.
Looking through the book, Allen Thomas, the author, starts the reader off with a serving of Demon’s history. Covering the organization from it’s inception to present day, this chapter also gives many plot hooks for the various ages of superheroes (from Pulps to the Bronze Age, including some info on the eighties and nineties). It’s here that we’re introduced to Luther Black, Demon’s founder, and told of his strange and dark life, as well as information on various other members, some detailed within the book, while others are not.
Moving forward, Chapter Two details Demon as an organization, noting who knows what, Demon’s goals and various principles that they adhere to. I felt this chapter to be a bit light, as I would’ve liked to see more information on the agents here, as well as some extra package deals (mind you, there are package deals here … more on that later). Chapter Three begins to give us the meat of the book, introducing us to Demon’s leadership and giving us more details on its leader, the mystical Luther Black. It’s also within this chapter that stats for the various characters begin, all detailed with the normal Hero System format. As an added bonus, Mr. Thomas has included package deals for “The Maleficia”, the Inner Circle’s eyes and ears in the “normal world.”
Like Chapter Three, Chapter Four gives a series of stats for Demon’s soldiers and independebt agents. While there are no true package deals for the few soldiers/cultists available (a trend that was done quite well in Hero’s Viper and UNTIL books), there are notes on recruitment and cultist types (giving packages for various stereotypes). Though the packages are a bit weak, the representation of power groups was very well done, giving sample spells and powers for GMs to give to the various soldiers. Of the cultists listed, one of the staples of Demon past gets a bit of a face-lift: The Morbanes. Speaking as an old Champions fan, I remember the Morbanes from the old “Primus & Demon” book and can easily state that these are not the Morbanes of old. Finally we get a small sampling of super-villains that have some pretty interesting ideas behind them (The Devil Dog).
What good would an organization be without an evil lair? That’s exactly what Chapter Four gives … a small sampling of bases that Demon uses, including detailed maps and some interesting builds for base features. Of the ones given, I’ve found the idea of a vacated movie studio as one of the most unique ideas presented, especially with Keith Curtis’ great cartography. In addition to the lairs, there’s also a brief overview of Demon’s bases worldwide, giving some clues to where some other bases could be.
The last two chapters give the reader something that’s become expected from a Champions organization: Gadgets and Plot Ideas. Though not as substantial as some of the other sections, Chapter Six gives a nice smattering of equipment that Demon members (or even other characters) may carry. A nod to Mr. Thomas needs to be made here, as the treatment of Demon Bones was both interesting and a good build. The final chapter, Chapter Seven, presents various ideas on how to use the organization, some intriguing plot hooks and, as with all Champions books, how Demon fits in with various genres.
Overall, the book is a good read, especially for fans of the “Iron Age” of comics. The graphic design follows the uniform of typical Hero System books, though the illustrations were a bit lower quality in many regards. On the plus side, fan-favorite, Storn Cook, created an incredible cover. On a personal note, though I found the book an interesting read, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in the content. Allen Thomas has created an intriguing organization that would appeal to fans of DC’s Vertigo line. Unfortunately, I’m not within that demographic. Demon has always been a favorite of mine since it was first created back in the ‘80s and, though it’s always been depicted as a creepy mystical organization, I think that the 5th edition version is too dark for my taste.

 

[RealAlHazred]

<i>The DEMON organization has been around through previous editions of the Hero System but this is the first definitive treatment that the popular mystics have received.</i>

I'd have to respectfully disagree with the author, here. DEMON was the subject of Organization Book 2 for old Champions, <i>Primus and DEMON</i>; while somewhat anemic by modern standards, the Organization Books were considered to be "definitive treatments." The organization also received a decent writeup in the 4th edition supplement <i>Classic Organizations</i>, again a "definitive treatment." This is the latest such definitive treatment, and undoubtedly the best.

 

[Killer Shrike]

DEMON
Servants of Darkness

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Purpose

This book is intended to provide support for involving the mystically oriented villain organization of DEMON in the Champions Universe.

What this book isn't:
*Not a Rulebook
*Not a Setting
*Not a How-to for Character design
*Not a general purpose Villain book
*Not a good selection for "bedtime story" readings

What this book is:
*A very specifically detailed and distinct organization, complete with NPCs, Package Deals, and a nefarious back story.
*A good model for other Cthuluesque cults and covens.
*Chicken soup for a tainted soul!

General Use: This book is most useful to HERO System GM's that want to include DEMON in their Champions Universe games. It has practically no use to players, unless the GM is running some kind of "be the bad guys" campaign centered around DEMON.
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Physical Description

Form Factor: Just shy of 1/2 an inch across the spine, with the typical HERO System black header and footer strip. The interior uses most of the page space with a standard font on white background. Very easy to read. Sidebars are present on all pages, used for sidebar entries in many places, but otherwise blank. Chapters are divided with a full page art spread. Standard HERO System formal business like layout.

Cover Art: Another Storn cover, this one depicts Witchcraft flinging a spell while a cultist is poised to drive a ceremonial dagger thru Defenders chest plate. (Defender and Witchcraft are iconic Champions Universe characters).

I like the cover. It's well executed, thematically appropriate, uses a good color palette, and just all around works.

Interior Art: Not as good as the cover overall. There are some good pieces in the interior, but overall a mediocre effort in my opinion. This is compensated for somewhat by the inclusion of a few really good maps.
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SPOILER ALERT: The nature of this product makes it difficult to review without inadvertently mentioning various spoilers. Players should seriously consider not reading any further
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All in all, I have some difficulty reviewing the product, because I would really like to gush over some of the more nifty approaches taken in the book, but I dont want to broadcast some of the great fodder for unexpected twists, and general mystery of the organization presented herein. Thus, the following review reads a bit "stiff" even to me, because I am trying to keep a tight clamp on the "neat stuff" and do my best to avoid mentioning such elements. Apologies in advance if it detracts from the value of the review.
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Itemized Review

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Introduction
Even more to the point than usual for a HERO System intro, this one isn't even a full page. It summarize each chapter in turn, and a sidebar mentions other good products to use w/ DEMON.
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Res Demonica
The best section of the book in my opinion, this Chapter is essentially the History of the nefarious organization and it's founder. It's notable for it's overall vision and general plausibility. It gives a real gravitas to the rest of the book.

The History, rather than being a dry timeline, instead hits the high points in a narrative fashion, illustrating the key events of the matter. Also useful/interesting, are several pages bulletpointing key DEMON schemes and plots across various ages, broadening the usefulness of the product for pure modern supers.

The key point to this chapter is everything else that is DEMON is directly rooted in and driven by the all-encompassing vision laid out here at the beginning of the book. Do not skip over it, or else the true elegance of the later material will lack context.
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The Nature Of The Demon
A short Chapter, this section simply establishes the different working parts of DEMON, which contains wheels within wheels, and is laid out along the lines of a "magicians circle", a nice thematic touch that lends some internal structure to the organization. Good, to the point, and easy to envision.
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The Doings Of The Wicked Ones
The Leadership of DEMON is statted herein. This is the first place my interest dwindles a bit. Several of the write ups of the top man and his support types, and the Inner Circle are too goofy for my tastes. The fine high concept starts to breakdown here along more traditional comic booky lines.

The Inner Circle in particular just seems kind of random, even though there is an underlying reason behind their general theme I think most of them could have been done up in a more logical and sinister fashion. Oddly the only one of the Maleficia I like is the one that isn't supposed to be there.

The Maleficia are the personal agents of the Inner Circle, with a "Rite" for each of the five Inner Circle members. Since I don't like most of the Inner Circle and their flunkeys are themed after them, no big surprise I don't like most of the Maleficia.

All in all, Ill be rewriting almost all of these characters for my own campaign.
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Mephistophelean Evil
A much better chapter than the previous in my opinion, this chapter stays true to the promise of the backstory and motif of DEMON. It details the rank and file of DEMON, startup cults, and the "middle management" of DEMON, the Initiates and Morbanes.

The handling of Morbanes is particularly adept, with a nice multifaceted modular approach.

Finally three sample DEMON aligned powered villains are provided. One of them is even a clever reference to an earlier mention in the history section, granting some good internal consistency.

All in all, this section represents the primary "face" of DEMON for PC's to interact with, and the chapter's general utility helps compensate for the campy Inner Circle material of the previous chapter in my opinion.
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The Abode Of The Demon
A shorter chapter, the bases of the DEMON rank an file, called Demonhames, are described in general terms, and two very different examples are given, complete with maps. Good stuff. Also covered are capsule references to notable DEMON presences around the world. Solid chapter with a lot of good story hooks.
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Infernal Devices And Malevolent Magics
A "Stuff" Chapter. Sam Colt made Men equal, but Luther Black made DEMON competitive with super types via the "Arcane Regalia", essentially super powers in the form of profane "artifacts". As an interesting distinguishing move, the DEMON weapons tend to be Hand Attacks and Hand Killing Attacks -- clubs and swords and such. This helps to differentiate them from the more high-tech gunsels of VIPER and presumably ARGENT (if a book for that high-tech org is ever released).

All pretty basic HERO System goodness, but useful to the time-pinched and neophytes. A good bread and butter section.
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A Gamemasters Demonic Designs
A useful chapter full of story ideas for the enterprising GM, it gives specific ideas of the kind of things DEMON might do in pursuit of their core goals. It also uses the term schadenfreude in a sentence, earning it a certain cachet. Several sections give advice for using the material both in the Champions Universe as written and also with changes in other genres and settings.

Overall the chapter has a lot of good ideas and is good use of page space.
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Conclusion
Overall this is a very good product.

The only flaw for me was the higher echelons of the organization are a pretty large departure from the rank & file. Some people might like that, but I find it disruptive.

Otherwise, I also noticed a lot more typos in this book than any other HERO System product -- a lot of dropped "a"'s mostly.

A big plus for this book however was the layout and organization was much cleaner and logical than most other HERO System products. You don't have to go flipping around the book to find things, and that wins big points with me. I also liked the clean and crisp separation of information. No conceptual bleed over between chapters to be found -- things are in their proper place.

I really like DEMON, and it was a tough sell for me. Comic booky evil is never evil enough for me to respect. It's usually got it's roots in mustache twirling idiocy. DEMON however describes an organization that is not only EVIL, it is also insidious, pernicious, and competent. Or to put it another way, DEMON is no longer the "Diet Pepsi" of evil.

You can't help but feel a little unease when reading the plentiful flavor text -- DEMON is a scary, faceless, and shadowy organization with unknown goals, unpredictable methods, and possessed of a certain ineffable menace. And in this it succeeds in being a useful addition many different campaign settings.