Requiem for a God

[Messageboard Golem]

A god dies. The faithful mourn. Others rejoice. A few see opportunity. All is forever changed.

Kill a God in Your Game!

Malhavoc Press proudly presents the event book, a new concept in roleplaying products by 3rd Edition codesigner Monte Cook. Requiem for a God postulates that a major event has taken place in your campaign -- the death of a divine power.

This d20 event book offers you the rules and guidelines to introduce this fully-developed concept. Game master notes detail the deaths repercussions on your campaign and new prestige classes tap into the departed gods power. Characters can wield artifacts made of god-relics, as well as spells fueled by lingering divine essence. Meanwhile, dark creatures born of the gods passing challenge adventurers of all levels. Tie-in scenarios feature power-mad villains seeking to hoard their new might, while cosmic forces move to realign the balance.

What is an Event Book?

If you are looking for a how-to guide for implementing a major event into your campaign, the event book line is for you. Requiem for a God is merely the first of many such products. Each takes a major event that could have interesting repercussions on your campaign and examines it thoroughly from every angle. It provides DM advice on staging the event, involving the PCs, and making the necessary changes to the campaign that result naturally from the event. Each event book also includes new NPCs, organizations (usually with associated prestige classes), and even rules, spells, magic items, and monsters that might be involved with the event. In short, it is everything you need to make that event a part of your own campaign. The focus here is that it is your campaign -- the event book is merely a guide. It does not force you into structured plots or leave you with no idea of what happens next.

 

[derverdammte]

What it is

"Requiem for a God" is an event book aimed at helping DMs explore the implications of a god dying in their campaigns. It attempts to cover a variety of possibilities regarding the whys and wherefores of such an event, discusses some possible societies that could arise following the death of a god, and it deals with the effects a god's death can have on its worshippers.

(does that make any sense?)

And then, the review...

The new concepts introduced in this book are very creative and they have a pretty high "cool factor," for the most part.

To start with, we get two chapters that basically discuss staging the event and preparing for it, along with a few of the ways a god can die, what can happen after its death, etc. It handles ways to introduce the god's death to the PCs, introduces two opposed societies (the Cabal of the Dirge and the Memento Mori) who take a deep, personal interest in what happens after a god dies, and it offers several ways of handling clerics and other divine spellcasters in the wake of their god's death. There's plenty more, too, some of it dealing with what happens right at death, what lingers behind with the god's corpse, etc. Nice stuff.

Towards the end of this section, we get to the part everything else seems based on: the god's remains. Godsblood and Godflesh is introduced, among other things. It goes over what happens to all that divine power once the god that held it isn't around anymore, with some interesting results. For instance, what if a spellcaster staked a claim near a god's resting place and could somehow...tap into some of the lingering divine energy? What if someone decided to perform a massive ritual to try and personally take over the dead god's position in the deific pantheon? Things like that. We are also provided with sample NPCs (which take up a very small amount of space--surprisingly small, in fact) belonging to the societies.

Then we get four prestige classes. You've all seen the table of contents, so you know what they're called. My favorite was the Disaffected, fallen divine spellcasters (not necessarily clerics and paladins of a dead god; any former divine spellcaster could join the class). They learn to tap into ambient divine energies to cast spells, basically, but they still have a different "feel" from a regular cleric. This is no mere "fix" to handle the problem of a fallen cleric's CR; this is a nice, well-thought-out class that stands on its own.

Next come the feats. The chapter title, "Godsblood Feats," seems somewhat misleading, since not every feat in there is a godsblood feat. Basically, the godsblood feats are abilities you get from infusing yourself with godsblood. This reminded me of Wagner's opera "Sigfried," where the titular hero slays Fafnir, who was in the form of a dragon at the time, and bathes in his blood, gaining invulnerability and the ability to understand the speech of birds. If you take this concept, but make it appropriate to D&D, you have the way godsblood interacts with characters.

The spells chapter was a mixed bag. Some of the spells are really cool, and some of them just didn't interest me.

The magic items were good, but they leaned more towards the utilitarian side of things, rather than the POW, KAZAM, WHIZ, BANG stuff I was hoping for. Actually, I could say the same thing about many of the spells. They're good ideas, solidly designed and functional, but nothing really grabbed me. Basically, the magic items are there for consistency: these are the things you will end up with if you use the other concepts in the book. There wasn't much in the way of "above and beyond" in this chapter.

Again, I was somewhat disappointed by the monsters chapter. I was hoping for a little more power in the creatures, I guess. The divinely infused creature template is pretty good, and not unbalancing if used properly, and the godflesh golem is an interesting idea, but the other two creatures are too weak for what they are, I guess. I don't know; I just wasn't too excited.

The book ends with a series of adventure ideas, some of which are excellent. My two favorites were "The Priests of Grief," a low-level adventure dealing with fallen priests who are trying to bring about an apocalypse, and "The Haunting of the Demiurge," where the PCs are quested by the lingering spirit of a dead god to fulfill a promise it once made. Both of these have great potential for expansion, or they could be glossed over into "side trek" style adventures.

Overall, the book is excellent. The design is solid, and it's well-organized and creative. Throughout the book, there are helpful bulletted sidebars and checklists to aid the DM in planning his version of the event, which was a plus. The worst I can say about it is that some of it just didn't excite me. At the purchase price it's practically a must-have, just for the ideas. In print, I'd probably buy it after a couple of months.

 

[Psion]

Requiem for a God

"Now watch closely, everyone. I'm going to show you how to kill a god. A god of life and death. The trick is not to fear him." - Lady Eboshi, from Princess Mononoke


Requiem for a God is the first in a series of "event books" from Malhavoc Press. Event books provide ideas for incorporating a particular event in a game, including mechanics to support those ideas.

A First Look

Requiem for a god currently distributed as a PDF file, available at www.rpgnow.com and other fine outlets for $7.00 US. The PDF has 66 pages total, including a mock front and back cover. A published version will be released in November.

The cover art by Kieran Yanner is a nice piece depicting some robed men before a shattered altar with a dreary apocalyptic backdrop. Interior art is black-and-white and handled by veteran D&D artist Sam Wood.

The PDF file has the usual refinements such as bookmarks. The interior uses black-and-white, making it more printer-friendly than the early Malhavoc books with color banners across the top.

A Deeper Look

Requiem for a God is basically divided into two major parts: ideas and crunchy bits.

The introduction, the first two chapters (Preparing the Event and Integrating the Event) and the eighth chapter (Adventures) comprise what I call the ?ideas section.? These chapters provide you with ideas and advice for orchestrating the death of a divine figure in your campaign. The third through seventh chapters support these ideas with mechanical details - new feats, prestige classes, spells, magic items, and monsters.

The ideas section is very flexible and lets you make the final decisions. But it gives you all the elements to structure an exciting campaign around this concept to pick and choose from at your pleasure. The first to chapters are with checklists that help guide you through the process of integrating the event into your game. Details are covered such as how the god died, what to do if you don't have a convenient deity you want to die, the reaction of the populace, and so forth.

These chapters have many ideas regarding the effects of a divine death. For example, when such a powerful being is slain, it does not go away. It leaves behind traces of its former essence and power, like divinity sparks, energy pools, godsblood, godsflesh, and the demiurge, the semi-sentient lingering essence of a deity. These ideas are parleyed into game mechanics later in the book, such as godsblood feats, godsflesh items and golems, and spells that allow the character to take advantage of energy pools.

Building upon these ideas, the book introduces two new organization that you can integrate into your game that have an interest in divine remains. The Cabal of the Dirge are a society that reveres gods in passing and protects the remains of deities, but are not adverse to using the remains of deities if it furthers their cause. Memento Mori is a more scholarly organization dedicated to studying (and in some cases, exploitation) of dead deities. Both organizations have sample NPCs, as well as prestige classes later in the book.

There are mechanics for divine remains in the chapters accompanying the ideas, and the "crunchy bits" section follows up the ideas section with more mechanical implementations. Four new prestige classes are presented that have a relationship with the death of a deity:

-Disaffected: The disaffected are characters who once followed a deity, but has now lost that power. The disaffected regain some of their former power and gain abilities through divine remains (particularly divinity sparks.)
-Harvester of Divinity: These are members of the Memento Mori that learn how to best utilize divine remains.
-Necrotheologist: These are characters specialized in the study of dead gods. They may come from either (or neither) of the aforementioned organizations. They have their own spell list, and have class abilities that lets them draw on their knowledge of dead deities.
-Threnody: These are members of the Cabal of the Dirge. They have properties of bards and warriors, but have class abilities from their closeness to the cylce of life and death.

The feats section introduces a new kind of feat, godsblood feat. To gain access to the godsblood feats, a character must have been exposed to godsblood. The feats have some interesting and useful effect. For example, bloodblend lets you infuse a little energy in magic items you carry, increasing their power, overwhelming presence lets you awe others with your presence, and spell affinity enhances your ability with spells of a specific descriptors (e.g., if you take this feat and select the lawful descriptor, you affect all nonlawful creatures as if they were chaotic per the spell description.)

The new spells primarily deal with divine remnants, letting you utilize or manipulate them in interesting ways. The magic items are primarily those made of or infused with some sort of divine remnant.

Creatures include the divinity parasite (a parasite that springs up near the death site of a god), godsflesh golems, the spectre of the divine, and the divinely infused creature template (with two sample templated creatures.)

The last chapter is the adventures chapter. It includes a number of adventure ideas related to the death of a god, or remnants or followers of such a deity. The level ideas are sorted into level ranges. On the low end, "Treasured Blood" is an adventure idea for 2nd to 5th level characters that has the characters searching for godsblood as a possible cure for a rampant disease. On the high end, "The Abandoned Throne" is an adventure idea for 15th+ level characters that has them journeying to the former abode of a deity in an attempt to prevent two would-be usurpers from gaining his power.

The adventures are not fully fleshed out, and consist of just a few paragraphs worth of ideas about each adventure. However, NPCs are provided for some adventures.

Conclusions

Overall, I very much liked Requiem for a God. I really thought I wouldn't at first; I really didn?t see the need to kill a deity in my game and after the whole FR "Time of Troubles" metaplot, I was very jaded to the idea killing deities. However, not only did the book present other options that killing a current deity, but the material and ideas were compelling enough that I actually did consider the idea that having one of the current deities in my campaign pass away.

The book does leave an awful lot to the DM. If you have never stepped away from published adventures, the book may be a bit daunting and perhaps asks a bit too much for an inexperienced GM.

However, if you have a well developed setting and find normal adventures to be hard to fit into a game because of it, Requiem for a God may be right up your alley. It seems to me that the ideas flowed more freely precisely because I had a detailed setting. The book is a great catalyst for a creative DM who would rather not be saddled with an inflexible adventure but would still appreciate a few good ideas.

Further, if you are disgruntled by products that provide prestige classes and other mechanics that, detailed as they may be just don't fit in your game, you may find Requiem for a God refreshing. The book provides you everything you need to build up the surrounding circumstances in your game to justify these mechanical bits.

-Alan D. Kohler

 

[GameWyrd]

Requiem for a God is an electronic event book from the ever popular Monte Cook's Malhavoc Press. Requiem is an electronic product at the moment but come November it'll be available in print. Malhavoc Press works through Sword and Sorcery Studio (hence the logo on Requiem's cover) and SSS are part of White Wolf. I'm a great fan of electronic supplements, they save trees, they're delivered as and when you want them and they're very cheap. I'm content to sit and read the document on my computer's screen too. I've a 1024x768 resolution screen at the minute and that's the larger of the two common sizes at the minute. Requiem for a God opens up in my PDF browser and immediately expands to 158% of its default size and fills my screen. It's just as well because I don't fancy trying to read it if the text was any smaller. The phrase "Gods fade" nearly made me drop my mouse since in the small italic text used for the flavour rich quotes it looks very much like "Gods ... some other four lettered f-word". I suspect most people print their electronic supplements out and Malhavoc has been paying attention to that. The Book of Eldritch Might II is a wonderfully coloured document but the downside to such luxury is that it sucks all the expensive coloured ink from your printer, even if you print it out on greyscale there is still an awful lot of page to cover and you’ll be looking to replace your ink cartridge or laser toner before you know it. The Requiem for a God has been specially designed to be printer friendly. Decorative sidebars are no longer the standard; instead some pages have a greyscaled mini sidebar in the style of a navigational calendar and some pages have their top corner decorated with a curved picture. I think the resulting effect is rather nice, it looks pretty, it encapsulates the text in a clearly defined page and since the same images are repeated throughout the document your computer only needs to load them into memory once. I’m not so impressed with the minimal curvy lines which decorate the top right corners of some pages and the little doodle which is used to tag the top edge of textual asides you’d normally expect to find in a grey background box. Nevertheless, I appreciate the effort made to make the document as printer friendly as possible since it allows me to sit back and concentrate on the important bit of the product – the contents themselves. The text file that accompanies the PDF offers a little more advice on how to print Requiem out and if those instructions look a little strange then open them up in WordPad rather than Notepad on your Windows computer.

Requiem for a God comes in two clear parts. After the introduction where we find out about the authors, Malhavoc and that they don’t want insane zealots bothering them about the supplement’s title there is a healthy chunk of helpful information and then the perfectly balanced game mechanics begin.

The premise for Requiem for a God is the death of a god. Serious stuff. Imagine if your cleric was suddenly unable to wield her divine magic. The informational chapters of the book are there for the DM and they discuss the sort of things to keep in mind before, during and after the death of a deity. The initial chapter is by far my most favourite in the book. The pros and cons of killing off any given god are considered. Killing off a god that’s already firmly established as a campaign deity or even more importantly a deity that one of the PCs worship is contrasted to the death of deity that’s hitherto unknown by the characters. After discussing which god is the unfortunate victim the download goes on to talk about possible causes, murder, suicide, lack of followers or some complication of those three. We’re reminded that the sudden death of a deity will suddenly cut clerics off from their power whereas the death of a god through lack of followers will not leave any clerics without power since there wouldn’t be any clerics for the deity to power. That’s a fine line there. Just how stupid are the readers? I think Monte manages to walk the line safely, these obvious to most of us points are made since they probably need to be made but I never got the sense that I was being talked down to or treated as someone who couldn’t tell his d20 from his 2d10.

There’s more than just the cessation of divine magic when a god dies. In fact, under Requiem for a God, there’s a whole host of side effects and these are all discussed in turn. There’s some really good stuff here, campaign inspiring suggestions and the sort of weird and drastic game events that’ll leave your players talking about it for ages. Imagine if the sun god died inconveniently right in the middle of the player’s war against vampire lords and as a result the sun was hidden for months afterwards. To its credit, Requiem doesn’t solely focus on what happens in the immediate aftermath of a god’s death. There are sections devoted to the long-term effects of a holy death (what if the god had been holding at bay two terrible demon serpents) and very much more on the lingering relics of the dead god; godflesh, godsblood, energy wells, divine sparks and more. You’ll be able to use this product if your campaign world has in its history a god who died hundreds of years ago.

In relation to these lingering effects of dead and dying gods there are two organisations that Requiem introduces. The Cabal of the Dirge and Memento Mori are solely considered with the death of deities. I have mixed feelings about the pair. Each society is carefully constructed and loaded with great plot potential. Yet, if you want to be strictly fussy – or, more likely, have players who’s characters will want answers for this sort of thing – then you might wonder why there are these two organisations at all. How often does a deity die? Once every 1,000 years? Every 5,000 years? Longer? That’s an awfully long lived organisation. That’s a religion in its own right.

Fortunately, you’re not bound to these two groups. There are four prestige classes in Requiem for a God and those ones clearly part of either the Cabal of the Dirge or the Memento Mori all make the point of carrying the caveat that if you’re not using the two groups then the prestige class can be used as a more generic concept. It only takes an extra line or two in the prestige class description but it goes a long way to setting this reviewer back at ease. Prestige classes focused on the death of a deity are inherently strange and powerful. Although GMs will have to use them with care its safe to say that they’re absolutely balanced in terms of level advancement.

After the prestige classes the crunchy bits continue. There are sections of Godsblood feats and on special spells. Godsblood is the liquid substance that leaks from the body of the dead god and without it, without drinking it or covering yourself in it, you’ll never get access to the powerful Godsblood feat. It sounds rather morbid to me, divine vampirism. "Sure I drank his blood! But don’t worry, he’d been long dead!" That’s not really covered though, the bits of dead god are typically presented as loot and powerful treasure throughout Requiem and there’s the sense that if you choose to ignore their potential then you’re as silly as someone who refuses to trade in his sword for a magical one. It’s probably what you would expect from the average ‘loot the body’ game play of many D&D adventures.

Requiem isn’t a particularly high-powered supplement. It’s not something you’d buy with your Epic Level Handbook. From the outset we’re told that there’s no expectation that the players themselves have a direct hand in the death of the deity and that holds true throughout (although there are places where such possibilities are considered). It’s possible to use Requiem in a low fantasy setting and in fact a dead god is particularly suited to the dark and dangerous low fantasy setting. The same is true for new magic spells; although most are extremely high level and almost all require access to some part of a dead god there are lower level ones which could quite happily play a plot centric role in a low fantasy game. The latter sections of Requiem have something of a classy supermarket feel to them; if you can shrug off the urge to put to use absolutely everything available into your campaign’s shopping basket you’ll be able to cherry pick the best and use them to greater effect.

The very last sections of the book are on particularly strange divine creatures and on adventure ideas. Although I claim to be nothing of a crunchy-mechanics fan I will admit to a small penchant for a good bestiary, the combination of the psuedo-mythology and decent illustrations can often inspire whole encounters or adventure ideas. The same is true for the monsters at the end of Requiem even if they’re not likely to be used very often. The scenario concepts are just as inspiring; their approach is to detail out a few solid ideas and offer them in the same sort of game-academic discussion that permeates the whole supplement rather than simply list a hundred one liners.

If you’re a Monte Cook fan then you’ll certainly want to pick Requiem up. If you take things on a case by case basis and liked the Eldritch books but are less keen to see your players deal with nasties that have been locked in a temple by a powerful cleric then you’ll find Requiem for a God is safely on the former and better half of that equation. I’ll look forward to more "event books", I think the style has a wider appeal than typical dungeon crawls and Requiem serves very well as the premier example of the product.

* This GameWyrd review was first posted here.

 

[Simon Collins]

This is not a playtest review.

Requiem For A God is a 3.99 MB .pdf coming in at $7 (which I believe has been recently released as a 64-page paper module for $12.95). The reduced use of colour compared to previous Malhavoc products will be a welcome ink-saver for your printer. I found the font size a bit small for the quotes in italic at the beginning of each chapter and in some of the (unbordered) sidebars. The mono art is generally of a very high standard as is the colour 'front cover' showing a dead god's grieving mourners under a blood-red sky. The writing style is intelligent and thought-provoking and editing seems good.

The introduction begins with an explanation of the format of the book - a new type to the d20 market, an Event Book. An Event Book is essentially a major event that occurs in a campaign setting that explores the ramifications of that event. In this book's case, it's the death of one of the deities of the setting. The introduction also discusses in what manner a god might die and explains that the book is not an adventure (though there are adventure ideas given).

Chapter One: Preparing For The Event
This chapter looks at some of the things the GM needs to think about before creating the death of the god. The book presumes the existence of a Demiurge, a spiritual manifestation of the deity on the material plane, which can exist in muted/shattered form after a god's death. There is advice given in regard to the power and portfolio of the dead deity in relation to the effect on the campaign setting, ideas on the manner of death, and the influence of the remains of the dead god (introducing the concepts of godsflesh and godsblood which influence concepts later in the book). There are also ideas for the consequences of the hard task of resurrecting a god and even an undead god.

Chapter Two: Integrating The Event
This chapter begins with seven ideas for introducing the death of a deity into your campaign. It then gives advice and ideas on the impact the event will have on the deity's worshippers and clergy. It then takes these ideas a step further by looking at the changes to society as a whole, perhaps the attempt of other religions to garner new worshippers from the dead religion. There is also a sidebar detailing some options to the changes on existing spell effects such as magic items imbued with the deity's power. The chapter then details two organisations that focus on dead deities - the Cabal of the Dirge (who aim to protect the sites that hold dead gods' remains), and Memento Mori (who attempt to collect information and artifacts related to dead gods). Both organisations have groups within the organisation, an important NPC is stated out and described for each, and there is advice for integrating the organisation into your campaign. The chapter then goes a step further again - to discuss the death's effect on the universe. The loss of the god's portfolio and replacing the god with various options is given. The chapter then discusses the effects of the loosed power of divinity for each of the domains the god might have held - the death of a god with the Earth domain may result in massive earthquakes or an increase in the hardness of stone for a year, for example. Some of this loosed divinity may coagulate into balls of energy known as divinity sparks. Divinity sparks can be used in a variety of ways (such as fuelling XP when creating magic items). More powerful resources of the dead god's loosed divinity may reside in energy wells, dangerous gates of energy whose power is hard to make use of. The chapter ends with further details of godsblood and godsflesh - the earthly remains of dead gods, which can be used to gain various magical powers.

Chapter Three: Prestige Classes
Four prestige classes related to dead gods:
* The Disaffected - ex-clerics of a dead god who use loosed divinity to keep a tenuous hold
on their social standing and divine powers. They gain a Fighter's BAB and various class features designed to help them maintain their ruse.
* Harvester Of Divinity - investigators often used by the Memento Mori organisation discussed in Chapter Two. Specialists in finding and using loosed divinity.
* Necrotheologist - a student of dead gods who has at some point imbibed godsblood, with an affinity for the past and an ability to speak with the spirits of dead gods.
* Threnody - a secret group within the Cabal of the Dirge organisation discussed in Chapter Two. A cross between a fighter, bard, and necromancer with a respect for death to the point of ensuring dead gods stay dead.

Chapter Four: Godsblood Feats
Twelve supernatural feats that can only be gained by imbibing an infusion of godsblood. Generally used to enhance the power of spells, weapons, and abilities. Examples include Spell Enhancement (like Empower Spell but at no level cost) and Godstrike (increases weapon damage).

Chapter Five: Spells
Thirty four spells related to dead gods such as Call Spectre of the Divine, Channel Energy Well, Detect Godsflesh, and Wrath of the Demiurge.

Chapter Six: Magic Items
Various magic items, artifacts, and special abilities based on aspects previously discussed such as godsflesh, godsblood, and loosed divinity.

Chapter Seven: Monsters
Three monsters and a template designed to integrate with the concept of the death of a god:
* Divinity Parasite - CR 6 parasite that feeds on the remains of dead gods.
* Godflesh Golem - CR 16 built from the remains of a dead god and infused with loosed divinity.
* Spectre of the Divine - CR 8 Undead which are small fractions of a dead god's spirit that haunt the site of the deity's death.
* Divinely Infused Creature Template - gains elemental resistance, spell resistance, and damage reduction. The creature becomes a magical beast (cannot be used on constructs or plants). Two specific examples, a CR 4 Divinely Infused (and variant Evil) Unicorn are given.

Chapter Eight: Adventures
Seven adventure ideas are covered over four or five paragraphs each. Levels range from 2nd to 15+ and include ideas from a frantic search for godsblood to helping decide who should take over the dead gods role in the campaign setting - the dead god's nemesis or his previously unknown daughter with a strange secret.

Conclusion:
I liked the concept of the event book and the way the author carried off the format - giving lots of ideas and options to the GM in introducing the concept of a dead god. This allows the GM to choose anything from a minor adventure related to the remains of a long-gone dead god to world-shattering pantheonic wars, without restricting the GM too much to fit within the confines of an author's a priori concepts. This is obviously the way to go for future successful d20 products as it reaches (and is more useful to) a wider audience.

Having said that, the idea of godsblood and godsflesh does presume the GM is happy with the concept of having a physical manifestation of a god in the campaign world, and the concepts of godsblood and godsflesh underlie many of the new rules (prestige classes, feats, spells, and monsters) presented in the book. And also, of course, it presumes that the GM wants the influence of the death of a god pervading his campaign world. This limits the generic appeal created by the format, and I look forward to the Events concept and format being used for other themes.

 

[Nail]

Simon-
Great review. Could you be more specific as to why you did not give this product either a 3 starts or a 5 stars? It seems you found the product useful, well-written, and "delivers what it advertises", .....so I'm not sure why it wouldn't rank higher on th' scale.

 

[Simon Collins]

Nail

The reason I gave it a 4/5 is stated in the last paragraph of the review. My score includes a reflection of my opinion on the general usefulness of the product, as well as how well that concept has been delivered. Though I thought it was a well-written book and delivered what it advertised, the actual concept itself (particularly in terms of godsblood and godsflesh) restricts its usage to those who feel happy with a physical manifestation of a god (which is not me, for one).

Hope that explains it.

Simon Collins

 

[Messageboard Golem]

By Duane Nutley, Staff Reviewer d20 Magazine Rack

Sizing Up the Target
Requiem for a God is the first in a new series of sourcebooks from Malhavoc Press that Monte Cook, author of this book, styles “event books”. Requiem for a God is a 66 page pdf available from RPGnow normally for $9.00.

First Blood
Requiem for a Godis the first in a new series of sourcebooks by Malhavoc Press known as “Event Books”. Each event book will look at an occurrence that has drastic repercussions on the world that the campaign is based. The first event book looks at what happens when an undying being actually ceases to exist and the consequences of such an occurrence. The pdf is fully black and white, apart from the front and back covers, thus making it nice and printer friendly without needing to have two pdfs within the one zip file. In total you get 60 pages of text, two of which are full-page artwork of reasonable quality. Before looking at the book in further depth, a synopsis of the chapters and what they contain will be looked at.

The Introduction touches on what an event book is, has a brief overview of the chapters, different ways a deity can die, what the book is not and how to use the book. The first chapter, Preparing for the Event, looks at how to prepare the campaign for the event. This chapter introduces checklists that help a GM in ensuring they have covered all aspects of the death. Other points looked at include: which deity to choose to die, what about if multiple gods die, the cause of death, the death site, the remains (godsblood and godsflesh) and briefly how to resurrect a deity or an undead deity. Chapter two is entitled, “Integrating the Event,” and takes a look at various options a GM has in involving the party with the event. Also looks at the changes to religion due to the loss of a portfolio, the changes to society and the changes to the universe. Two new societies, the Cabal of the Dirge and the Memento Mori are introduced in this chapter and are of course at opposing extremes as to what to do with the remains of gods. Side effects and by-products (energy wells, loosed divinity, divinity sparks, godsblood and godsflesh) of a deity death are examined in detail. Chapter three contains four prestige classes: one prestige class for each of the new societies introduced in this event book, one class who looses faith with all deities, but are able to perform divine abilities by using loosed divinity, and the last prestige class specialises in the study of dead deities. Chapter four contains 12 new feats, all under the category of Godsblood. Anyone is eligible to take these feats IF they have ingested godsblood or anointed themselves with godsblood. Chapter five looks at new spells, both divine and arcane, 34 in number, that are useful in a campaign where gods have died. Some of the spells are limited in use as they are useable only for a certain amount of time after a deity dies. Chapter six looks at magic items, including some minor and major artifacts. Chapter seven contains new monsters: one that feasts on loosed divinity and can be found at the death site of a deity, a construct created from godsflesh, an incorporeal undead and a template. None of these monsters can be used if no deity died in a campaign. The last chapter contains seven adventure hooks revolving around the death of a deity. Sample NPCs are detailed for those hooks requiring them.

The first two chapters contain the most information for those GMs wondering how to incorporate the death of a deity or multiple deities into their campaign. The subsequent chapters, from prestige classes to monsters, are the almost obligatory sections of any sourcebook, but they can only be used if at least one deity has died at some point during the history of the world that the campaign is based. The checklists help assist a GM in what to remember and to determine with a deity death. It would have helped to have all the checklists in one place as an appendix, so that a GM could print out the pages required and use it as an actual checklist.

Even though a deity dies doesn’t mean that it is erased from the universe. A demiurge, the permanent imprint of a deity upon the universe, always remains, even after the death of a god. It is up to the GM how large a role a demiurge plays. Spells allow spellcasters to “talk” to a dead god or even summon up the spectre of the divine. The by-products of a dead god also play a role – godsblood, godsflesh, loosed divinity and divinity sparks can affect mortals who encounter them. The effects of deity death are of course most harshly felt by the deity’s clerics and worshippers. As soon as a deity dies, a cleric of that god loses access to all their spells. A GM can take this further and have all magic items created by clerics of that deity destroyed or long-standing spells suddenly fail. Worshippers are left to wonder what will happen to them when they die and whom can they turn to in this world for help? This is of course easily understood, but what I would have liked to have seen addressed by the sourcebook is what are the long-term effects of the sudden loss of a portfolio or until such time as another immortal takes over that portfolio. By this I mean if a deity of inspiration and invention dies, does this mean that no one will create a new product or adapt an existing item into a new one until the portfolio is taken up by another deity? What happens to arcane spellcasters if the deity of magic dies? This has not been addressed in the book and I think this would have been worthwhile looking at, especially for the magic portfolio. Not only do clerics of that deity lose their spells, but all arcane spellcasters lose their spells and what about creatures with spell-like abilities? Do they lose their abilities? What about magic items or existing spells? A GM can decide these for themselves, but this is the whole premise of the book, as a GM can look at all the ideas raised in the book by themselves without needing the book. The author does look in slight detail at something related to this: the effects of loosed divinity around the site of the death. The effects depend upon the domains of the deity and will only occur around the immediate vicinity of the death site. These could be introduced campaign-wide, but that is up to the GM.

The disaffected prestige class could easily be used in any campaign for those who lose their faith, as long as a substitute for loosed divinity can be found. I do have issues with the class though. It is unclear whether to regain cleric abilities they have to do just one ritual or multiple? Also fighter BAB, half spellcasting progression, two good saves, d8 HD and 4 skill points seems a too much for me and overpowered. Harvester of the divine also seems overpowered when they get all the class abilities and all they have to do is visit the site of a deity’s death. If they had partaken of godsblood, loosed divinity or a divine spark, then I could understand the abilities, but otherwise I could just sneak up to a deity’s deathsite, evade the guards, walk around and then meet the requirements for the class. Usually I do not have a problem with the classes Monte Cook creates, but these I think require a bit more thought into them.

Critical Hits
Requiem for a God is a great sourcebook for those who like what ifs. For those left wondering how to incorporate Birthright themes or Time of Troubles this book is a (dare I say it?) “god-send”. Nearly everything has been thought of and the addition of new spells, magic items, feats, foes and classes for players to use or GMs to hinder the party are appropriate for the event.

Critical Misses
As outlined earlier, I think the author should have dedicated a number of pages looking at the effects upon the world as a whole when a portfolio from a deity is lost. I know I would not have minded having extra pages to cover all the portfolios covered in the PHB. Also the classes do not seem to be up to Monte’s best.

Coup de Grace
If Requiem for a God is anything to go by, the entire event book series will be one I will be eagerly looking for in either pdf or print. The sourcebook can be slotted into an existing campaign, be the basis of a new campaign revolving around the death of a deity or just fit into the background of any campaign.

To see the graded evaluation of this product and to leave comments that the reviewer will respond to, go to The Critic's Corner at www.d20zines.com.

 

[GruTheWanderer]

As the first event book from Malhavoc, Requiem for a God presents great ideas for the enterprising DM. It includes an excellent blend of story elements and crunchy bits, setting a high standard for future products in the series.

The Event

The introduction and the first two chapters (Preparing for the Event and Integrating the Event) lay the foundation for the death of a deity in the campaign: choosing a god, staging the death, and the effects on both society and the universe as a whole. I particularly enjoyed the sections on changes to the religion (believers, clerics, and church organizations).

One objection some DMs may find to this book is the assumption that gods leave both physical remains and spiritual traces. This was a particular focus chosen by the author, but it may not blend with all campaign cosmologies. The elements of the body (godsblood, godsflesh, divinity sparks) and spirit (demiurge, loosed divinity, energy wells) are the basis of many of the feats, spells, magic items, and prestige classes presented later in the book.

Crunchy Bits

Chapter 3 presents four prestige classes: the disaffected (former clerics who fake divine spellcasting ability), the harvester of divinity (a prospector of godly remains), the necrotheologist (a specialist in the study of dead gods), and the threnody (bards in tune with the Great Dirge). The classes are interesting and well-balanced, but they may be a bit morbid for most players.

Chapter 4 introduces godsblood feats, which require drinking or anointing oneself in the blood of deceased deity. There are a nice mix of constant effect feats (Arcane Resistance grants a save bonus vs. arcane magic) and limited use powers (Overwhelming Presence allows you to awe onlookers several times per day).

The spells in Chapter 5, the magic items in Chapter 6, and the monsters in Chapter 7 run the range from intriguing (Warp Alignment) to spooky (The Lance of Endless Night) to gross (divinity parasites). The items and monsters could be incorporated into existing campaigns without the dead god story elements, but the spells are a little less flexible (without changing names and explanations).

Story Elements

Chapter 8 gives seven adventure kernels ranging from 2nd to 15th level and beyond. Several of the scenarios feature organizations introduced in Chapter 2: Cabal of the Dirge and Memento Mori. The individual DM is left to flesh out the details of the adventure on their own, as is the case with most of the book's materials.

The sidebars throughout the book are quite useful: checklists for DMs, key terms introduced in each section, and mini stories featuring dead gods (The Final Rest of Theyasmalan, Galathak's Grave). These stories are an excellent complement to the adventure ideas, as is the flavor text in the magic items chapter.

Overall

The production, artwork, and content quality is on par with the Books of Eldritch Might. What really sets this book apart from other adventure supplements is the story elements. Although it can't be dropped into a campaign overnight, Requiem for a God will inspire plenty of thought for tomorrow's adventures.