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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2011840" data-attributes="member: 18387">By Ian Hewitt, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack”The clerics of the evil god of darkness and destruction clearly had no power…they sought to get at the tower and drink its seeping blood. They craved the power pulsing from the tower and the sparks of energy that leapt out of it. They desired to feast on the remains of their own dead god.” -Requiem for a God Initiative RoundRequiem for a God is written by Monte Cook and published by Malhavoc Press. Keiran Yanner contributes the color cover and Sam Wood (the artist most in need of a website!) illustrates the interior with simply stunning black and white art. Requiem is a softbound 63-page ‘event book’ providing all of the tools that a DM needs to kill a god in her game and deal with the far-reaching repercussions.The ‘event book’ was a concept designed by Monte Cook that provides a DM with the tools to actually design a specific event within her own campaign. It is important to note that ‘event books’ do not provide the plot and specifics of the event itself. Requiem was the first of its kind, and has proven successful enough that Malhavoc Press has since released Cry Havoc which deals with war and When the Sky Falls which provides the tools needed to bombard your campaign with comets and meteorites. But back to the book in hand, obviously the death of a god – or of multiple gods – is going to be a truly significant event in any world and one not to be treated lightly. Requiem does not shy away from any of the difficult topics to be considered. The book progresses through eight chapters each deals with different aspects of the event – the first two do so the most directly.Chapters One and Two comprise almost exactly half of the total page count and they cover Preparing and Integrating the Event respectively. They do so in a logical manner beginning with choosing the god who is about to pass, deciding how exactly they will die (or be killed) and exactly what will happen to the physical remains. These are all incredibly weighty subjects that have been tackled to some extent in different game products over the years, but Requiem leans away from the high fantasy of mythology or of the approach offered by the Forgotten Realms’, Birthright and Scarred Lands settings and remains impartial - simply describing the gritty details and letting the DM decide the outcome.Many original concepts are introduced in these opening chapters that are used throughout the rest of the book such as Divinity Sparks which are literally bits and pieces of loosed divinity which can be used as a source of power to those who know how (such as the Harvesters of Divinity a new Prestige Class) or Godsblood and Godsflesh which are similar concepts. Bathing in or drinking the blood of a dead god imbues significant (if temporary) powers such as being able to kill a creature of equal or less Hit Dice with a touch or being able to commune a finite number of times. Godsflesh may be used to craft especially potent magical items. The discussion on the death itself is thorough but leaves many options open for DM’s to custom their own campaigns. For example the question of what happens to a god after they die is answered with a series of potential answers from which individual DM’s might draw inspiration or simply choose. Potential causes of death are discussed, Requiem leans heavily away from the idea of epic-level characters killing the gods themselves as this is not what the book is about (although that option would easily be available if it suited the personal tastes of the group). Death is more likely to be the result of a loss of worshippers, or at the hands of another god. This is an event book and so a great deal of focus is given to the event itself and exactly how to stage it. Again, no answers are given and no plots are laid out, but a very thorough discussion is given that does provide almost all of the tools a DM would need. In essence, the DM needs only to apply his own creativity to bring these concepts to life. Most of the ideas, deal with the aftermath of the death – PCs are not expected to be involved in the death in any way, but merely to experience the shocking aftermath. In this way, it is a suitable option for all levels of play, indeed an event of this magnitude could very easily be the long term story arc of the campaign taking the characters through a sizeable chunk of their adventuring careers.All of the questions that you might have are neatly addressed. What happens to the religion and/or the church? What happens to the priests? What ramifications will this have upon society? How will it affect the larger universe? How do the other gods react? These questions are examined in much the same manner as above (perhaps the priests commit suicide, or perhaps they fear a loss of political power and attempt to cover it up, maybe they can’t hide the fact because the god’s corpse fell from the sky and landed outside the city…) providing food for thought and potential options rather than a single definitive answer. The problems are addressed in a manner friendly to the DM though, introducing the Cabal of the Dirge a detailed and usable organization devoted to the protection of deific remains and to the Memento Mori an opposing organization that seeks not to protect the remains but to utilize them for their own gain. Both organizations are presented with adequate detail including NPCs that they provide an immediate in-road to staging the intrigues and power struggles that may very well ensue. While this first half of the book has been devoted primarily to the flavor content, the remaining half of the book contains the more mechanical content. Prestige Classes, Feats, Spells, Magic Items and Monsters each receive their own chapters. All of these ‘rules’ draw directly upon the groundwork already built in the first two chapters, clearly demonstrating that work in action and as directly applicable options to implement into the game. The Dissaffected are a prestige class of clerics who have lost their god. Every player’s worst nightmare perhaps – to have their class skills stripped away from them – but the role playing potential of this prestige class is difficult to match as they wander about the realm attempting to draw upon the loosed divinity to harness what remaining power of their god there is to be had.The new type of feat introduced – Godsblood Feats – are available only to those individuals able and prepared to drink the spilled blood of a dead god. Such a dubious process could imbue such abilities as Divine Resistance (resistance to divine spells) or Overwhelming Presence.The thirty-plus new spells are powerful additions to any spell casters repertoire but many require such tokens as divinity sparks or godsflesh in order to cast them, while others tap directly into the fading power of a dying god and are available only for a short time. Only a handful of magic items are offered and they are exactly what you might expect to find in this book. The creatures include the Divinity Parasite, a six-foot long, 300-pound worm that feeds upon the corpses of dead gods. The Godflesh Golem is sure to terrify most PCs, not to mention the Spectre of the Divine. The final chapter is devoted to Adventures, or more accurately to adventure seeds and ideas. Seven different teasers are given here covering low to high-level play. Critical HitThe entire book is written in a very concise and informative style that neatly accomplishes the intent of the author to show a DM how she may introduce this exciting concept to her game.It would be easy with this subject matter to utilize the recent interest in Epic gaming and concentrate upon the death itself and the involvement of the PCs – but this would limit the playability of the product. Instead it focuses more on the aftermath of the tragedy and its implications on the mortal world which allows for characters of all levels to become involved.The artwork is outstanding. All of the interior artwork is by Sam Wood who has since become a familiar illustrator of Malhavoc Press products. His style increases the beauty and value of this product immensely.Throughout the book, checklists are provided in sidebars addressing the questions and issues raised in the main text. This simple technique is greatly beneficial to a DM hoping to implement the concepts in Requiem and stage his own such event. Other sidebars provide ‘flavor fiction’, a few paragraphs of story illustrating the content of the text (such as the quotation at the opening of this review).Critical FumbleThis is obviously a niche product and if you have no interest in staging such an event in your campaign this book will be of very limited use to you. Coup de GraceRequiem for a God may not cover entirely new ground, but it does so in an entirely new way, paving the way for similar event books, and devoting an entire book to a topic usually covered in novels or adventures. There are not very many 63-page books that could so dramatically affect your entire campaign for years and years to come – but this is one. Even if you have no intention of seeing a god in your campaign die, it will be hard to say no after you read this book. Buy Requiem for a God IF: You: (a) Enjoyed Cry Havoc or When the Sky Falls; or (b) enjoyed The Complete Book of Eldritch Might. Final Grade: A</blockquote>

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