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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Simon Collins" data-source="post: 2008532" data-attributes="member: 9860">Beware! This review contains major spoilers.Legions of Hell is a manual of devils for the D&D game. It costs $14.95.Presentation: Legions of Hell is a 64-page softcover book. The front cover is an atmospheric portrait of Baal, Lord of the First Circle of Hell. The back of the book contains a short introduction and overview of the sourcebook with some cool skulls at the top of the page. The irst page is credits and contents, the last page is an advert, and the penutimate page has the OGL. The internal black and white artwork is on the whole excellent. Each devil is given a page (or in some cases two pages) to themselves and they are not (in almost all cases) split across pages. There is some white space around the drawings, but the margin is relatively narrow, and the text is compact.Whats Inside: The book begins with an introduction to Hell, including the lowdown on the Lords of the Nine Circles. This two-page section continues with information on the Infernal Hierarchy, Devils and the Prime, Baatezu Qualities, and some advice on customizing devils. There follows 41 devils over 45 pages, some of which are types of devil, many of which are individual devils, some of them nobles: Akop, Antaia the Witch Queen, Asakku, Ashmede, Balan - Master of the Infernal Hunt, Balan's Huntsman, Bonedreg, Bulugon, Bune - Duke of Eloquence, Chamagon, Dagon - Warden of the Stygian Depths, Darksphinx, Distender, Enforcer of Dis, Faceless, Furcas - Duke of Rhetoric, Gladiatrix, Hadriel - Duchess of Domination, Hellwarden, Iblis - Duke of Pride, Ice Stalker, Jalie Squarefoot - the Lich Fiend, Kere, Knocker, Krotep - Pharaoh of Axor, Lel - Marquise of the Night, Magugon, Malgrin - Duke of Unlife, Naamah - Contessa of Duplicity, Nekhet - Prophet of Set, Nergal - the Fetid Prince, Oubliette, Pain Mistress, Painshrieker, Soulsniffer, Spinder, Striga, Vierhander, Vuall - Duke of Pleasure, and Whiptail. Each enry begins with a stat block. There follows text which varies with each entry - sometimes it focuses on history, others on politics, whilst there is usually something about the role of the devil within the hierarchy. A section on combat is included with each entry, with tactics and special abilities covered here. After the devils themselves, there is an appendix with three prestige classes - Balan's Jackal, Mountebank, and Plaguelord - that can be used for the minions of a diabolic lord on the prime. Each of these classes has an example accompanying them. Appendix 2 introduces the Fallen Celestial template, with an example. Appendix 3 looks at Angelic Choirs (a basic hierarchy of the Upper Planes). The remainder of the book has a listing of fallen celestials, devils ranked by challenge rating (from 1/2 to 24), and a bibliography.The Good: One of the pleasures of this book is the text of each entry - the writing has fluidity and holds your interest by giving a different angle on each devil. Within the text, you quickly get a feel for not only the role of the devil within Hell's hierarchy, but also one or more ways to base an adventure around the devil in question. Some of the wicked ideas incorporated in the text actually had me chuckling evilly out loud. The concept of the Fallen Celestial template is ideally suited to reflect the philosophy of Hell should you wish to introduce these concepts into your campaign. The wide selection of CRs for the devils in this book means that there is something for all levels of play, and devils can be modified to be used at higher levels if necessary.The Bad: I would probably have liked to see some further adventure ideas for using devils on the prime, and a few more devils of very low level to use as foreshadowing for beginning characters in a Hell-related campaign. You must bear in mind that many of the devils offered in this book are tied in with a specific world-view, heavily influenced by 1st Edition D&D. Thats not to say they can't be adapted, just that it would require some work to use with a different cosmology. Conclusion: This book ably accomplishes what it sets out to do, and does it with panache. Each entry sparked an idea for an adventure or a campaign, and you can't ask for more than that. The fact that it also had me grinning with anticipation says it all. I can't wait for the companion volume on demons.</blockquote>

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