[GR PR] Armies of the Abyss Preview

[Nikchick]

Green Ronin has just posted a PDF preview of their long-awaited follow-up to Legions of Hell. Armies of the Abyss gives you the lowdown on over two dozen new demons and more than a score of demon princes, courtesy of Living Greyhawk Gazetteer author and Polyhedron editor Erik Mona.

This snippet from Armies of the Abyss gives you the complete entries for the demon prince Astaroth, and the paigoel, a big nasty demon with 10 arms--and 10 attacks per round!


http://www.greenronin.com/files/aoa_prev.pdf

 

[Harp]

Well, having enjoyed 'Legions of Hell' as much as I have, it should be no surprise that I'm greatly intrigued by the 'Armies of the Abyss' preview. I do have a question, though. What's the relationship between Astaroth and Diabolus? Are they just two names for the same being?

It's probably just too early, without enough coffee, but I can't seem to crack the code...

Thanks,
Harp

 

[Pramas]

Well, having enjoyed 'Legions of Hell' as much as I have, it should be no surprise that I'm greatly intrigued by the 'Armies of the Abyss' preview. I do have a question, though. What's the relationship between Astaroth and Diabolus? Are they just two names for the same being?

It's probably just too early, without enough coffee, but I can't seem to crack the code...

Yes, they are simply two names for the same being. That's explained in the introduction to the Demon Princes chapter (which of course isn't in the preview) so don't be too hard on yourself.

Chris Pramas
Green Ronin Publishing
"d20 Rules Done Right!"
www.greenronin.com

 

[trancejeremy]

Looks like they're from real world folklore more than the ones in Legions of Hell. Azazel, Astaroth, and on the second page, I see a reference to Anarazel.

But it seems Azazel & Astaroth are considered gods, not demons. No stats for them, just domains.

I think that's a bit too much. Astaroth is generally listed as a demon (albeit a powerful one) in real world books on demonology.

From the Pseudomonarchia daemonum

"Astaroth is a great and a strong duke, comming foorth in the shape of a fowle angell, sitting upon an infernall dragon, and carrieng on his right hand a viper: he answereth trulie to matters present, past, and to come, and also of all secrets. He talketh willinglie of the creator of spirits, and of their fall, and how they sinned and fell: he saith he fell not of his owne accord. He maketh a man woonderfull learned in the liberall sciences, he ruleth fourtie legions. Let everie exorcist take heed, that he admit him not too neere him, bicause of his stinking breath. And therefore let the conjuror hold neere to his face a magicall ring, and that shall defend him. "

Still, it's a definite buy for me.

Anyway, be sure to send a review copy of this to Jack Chick...

 

[BadMojo]

Armies of the Abyss looks great! I'm definitely gonna pick up a copy. When can we hope to see this in stores?

 

[Nightfall]

Astaroth is DEFINELY my new best friend! Great Work Chris!

 

[Warchild]

Thanks for the scoop, Nik!

 

[Nikchick]

Armies of the Abyss looks great! I'm definitely gonna pick up a copy. When can we hope to see this in stores?

Armies should be in stores in early April. It's printing now and I have no reason to think there will be any unforseen snafus to hold up the works. I had hoped to get samples in time to show them off at the GAMA Trade show, but I think we're going to miss that deadline by mere days.

Nicole

 

[Erik Mona]

Trance,

All of the demon princes are from real world mythology (though some are _very_ obscure). We ran about 40% "real" and 60% "new" for the individual demon entries. In many cases, such as with the paigoel, we had a name and about one sentence worth of "real" information, and went hog wild from there.

I assumed, for the sake of argument, that all of the beings mentioned by Weirus in Pseudomonarchia Daemonum were at least demon lords. In the case of Astaroth, I made him a demon prince (which, as you point out, is a fair way down the road to divinity). Mostly I came up with a list of sins and areas of concern I wanted for a "pantheon" of demons, and then mapped real world entities to those areas of concern.

I think it was a good approach, but we'll see how it goes over with the fans. My guess is that most people, not knowing much of anything about "real world" demons, won't even notice.

--Erik Mona