The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Before I start this review, there are some things I must say (or perhaps "write" is more appropriate). First of all, though I will try to be as objective as I can be, you should know that I got a free review copy of DaD through RPG.net and thus may be somewhat more favorably disposed towards it than I might have been if I had had to buy it. Secondly, the group I intended to run through one or more of the adventures in DaD recently split up because of an overabundance of players. Unfortunately neither of the resulting two groups has even a remote chance of surviving even the least deadly adventure in the booklet. Therefore this will be a capsule review instead of a playtest review as I intended. Perhaps I will write a playtest review when either of the groups has advanced enough so that I can run them through one of the adventures. And finally, this review contains several spoilers. If there's a chance you will play in one or more of the adventures in this booklet, then I advice you stop reading, or you may spoil your gaming experience.

General information:

L1: Demons and Devils (or DaD for short) is the first module in Necomancer Games' "Lair" series, which according to the text on the backcover of DaD is "a set of modules containing short adventures usable in one or two game sessions for the overworked Dungeon Master who doesn't need a full-scale dungeon". DaD contains three such adventures, each containing a powerful magical item (which can easily be replaced by another one of the DM's choosing) and a demon or devil to guard it.

Fysical appearance:

DaD is a 32 page, saddle-bound booklet of the same dimensions as the WotC books. The cover depicts a Marilith (type V demon, for you first edition fans) busy decimating a party of adventurers. I must say I like this piece a lot. Very well done Mr. Massé! The maps for the adventures are printed on the inside of the cover. These maps are small, but are fortunately very clear. I was pleased to see they all have the standard 5 foot grid and that all important parts are adequately marked. Most of the text in the book is in a clear font a little bigger than that used in the PHB (11 points?). The margins are a little over an inch in width and contain some sort of scull pattern, which is functional, but nothing more. I think the good people at Necromancer Games used the Rappan Athuk module as a template, because the top margin of every othe page features the text "RAPPAN ATHUK - DUNGEON OF GRAVES: THE UPPER LEVELS". Of course this is just a small cosmetic error, but I thought I'd mention it nevertheless. The interior art varies in quality from not-too-good to excellent (Especially the pieces featuring the fiends are very nicely done), though this is of course somewhat a matter of personal taste. There are two or three black and white pieces of art per adventure and most of these are about half a page in size. Each and every one of them is relevant to the adventure, which is something I would like to applaud.

Contents:

The first two pages of DaD contain the credits and a general introduction to the booklet outlining the basic idea behind each adventure and pointing the reader to Necromancer Games' website. At this site you can find several free downloads for use with DaD like wilderness encounters and a map of the island in "Ras Evil Grin". There are some things however that we are promised in DaD that I could not find at the website. These include pre-made characters and a picture of the medallion in the Sorcerer's Citadel. Perhaps these will be put up at a later time... There's also a note about the monster stats listed in DaD. All of these are taken either from the Monster Manual or Swords and Sorcery's Creature Collection, but combat stats are provided.

The next eleven pages are taken by the first adventure: "The Sorcerer's Citadel". As the title suggests, this adventure is all about looting a dead sorcerer's tower. Unfortunately for the players, this sorcerer took his security very seriously and the PCs will have to go through a dungeon with some very nasty traps and fight among other things three(!) Cornugon devils. If they succeed they will find a globe of annihilation. This adventure is intended for level 9 characters. The Sorcerer's Citadel personally reminded me a bit of the classic dungeon module Tomb of Horrors, just shorter and without the undead. If the players aren't cautious then they will probably die very quickly.

The next adventure, "Ras Evil Grin" takes the next nine pages of the booklet. In this adventure the PCs set out to find a powerful artifact that was once a part of the god Arden. This time the dungeon contains very few monsters, but instead several very deadly traps. There is however a powerful Marilith demon at the end of the dungeon who should not be underestimated. For this adventure, characters should be at least level 11. "Ras Evil Grin" is a decent dungeon adventure, but nothing special. Don't run this adventure if the party doesn't include a rogue with very high search, spot and disable device skills.

The next eight pages contain what I consider to be the most interesting adventure in DaD: "The Pit of Dispair". In it the PCs are searching for a legendary holy ( 5) sword. After the paladin of the party shows he is worthy enough and PCs defeat several Vrock demons they will recover the sword, or at least they will think they have. In reality it is an unholy sword that will corrupt the paladin over time. The entire complex is actually a clever trap set up by the demon prince Orcus to corrupt powerful paladins. Of course once the PCs notice something is very wrong with their friend they will return and try to gain the real sword... The recommended level for this adventure is 13 . I personally like this adventure best since it can be greatly expanded with little trouble and is easily the most role-playing oriented adventure in DaD. Be sure to include a paladin in the party (or two if you want some inner party competition :D).

The final two pages of the booklet are taken by the obligatory OGL and an add for Sword and Sorcery Studios.

Some comments and Conclusion:

There are several spelling errors in DaD, though they are never distracting. Something that is slightly distracting however is that some of the mechanics related information is inconsistent with "core" D&D. For instance, on page 9 there is a reference to the non-existent "Track" skill and the stats for most of the fiends differ slightly from those found in the monster manual.

Necromancer Games' motto is "Third edition rules, first edition feel". This is true for DaD in two ways. The first way is because of the flavour of the adventures. For instance all of the fiends are referenced by both their new and old names (a Marilith used to be a "type V demon" for instance) and in "The Pit of Dispair" Orcus is mentioned, who was a major bad guy in first edition, but who was destroyed in second edition. The other way in which DaD is a product with "first edition feel" is that it clearly is what believers of the G/N/S model would call a gamist product. Puzzle solving and monster-butt kicking are clearly the main focus of each of these adventures (though "The Pit of Dispair" can easily be turned into more of a narativistic adventure).

A last comment I would like to make is this: if your players aren't expert dungeon crawlers than you shouldn't run either of these adventures before they are at least few levels higher then the recommended character level. Gary Gygax is given special thanks for writing the Tomb of Horrors in the Credits section of DaD for a reason: these adventures are tough and unforgiving, there are several save-or-die situations and a well-rounded party is absolutely essential.

As for ratings: I will grant a score of 4 (Classy and well done) for Style because the art and layout are on par with WotC products and the adventures deliver the "first edition feel" that Necromacer Games is aiming for. For substance I will also grant a score of 4 (Meaty). For $8.95 you get three adventures comparable in length to AEGs adventure boosters. Each of these can easily be expanded and customized and if you have internet access and don't mind a lengthy download then you can easily double the length of these adventures by adding the wilderness encounters found at Necromancer Games' website. All in all a lot of value for your money. Note however that substance will drop to 2 (sparse) if you're not a fan of short "killer" dungeons.

L1: Demons and Devils
L1: Demons and Devils Capsule Review by Jan-Willem van den Broek on 09/07/01 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty) Demons and Devils gives you 3 short but expandable adventures featuring (surprise) several demons and devils. Good stuff if you like high level dungeon crawling and monster bashing, but of limited value if you don't. Product: L1: Demons and Devils Author: Bill Webb and Clark Peterson Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Necromancer Games Line: Dungeons and Dragons Cost: $8.95 US Page count: 32 Year published: 2001 ISBN: 1-58846-153-X SKU: WW8354 Comp copy?: yes Capsule Review by Jan-Willem van den Broek on 09/07/01 Genre tags: Fantasy	Before I start this review, there are some things I must say (or perhaps "write" is more appropriate). First of all, though I will try to be as objective as I can be, you should know that I got a free review copy of DaD through RPG.net and thus may be somewhat more favorably disposed towards it than I might have been if I had had to buy it. Secondly, the group I intended to run through one or more of the adventures in DaD recently split up because of an overabundance of players. Unfortunately neither of the resulting two groups has even a remote chance of surviving even the least deadly adventure in the booklet. Therefore this will be a capsule review instead of a playtest review as I intended. Perhaps I will write a playtest review when either of the groups has advanced enough so that I can run them through one of the adventures. And finally, this review contains several spoilers. If there's a chance you will play in one or more of the adventures in this booklet, then I advice you stop reading, or you may spoil your gaming experience. General information: L1: Demons and Devils (or DaD for short) is the first module in Necomancer Games' "Lair" series, which according to the text on the backcover of DaD is "a set of modules containing short adventures usable in one or two game sessions for the overworked Dungeon Master who doesn't need a full-scale dungeon". DaD contains three such adventures, each containing a powerful magical item (which can easily be replaced by another one of the DM's choosing) and a demon or devil to guard it. Fysical appearance: DaD is a 32 page, saddle-bound booklet of the same dimensions as the WotC books. The cover depicts a Marilith (type V demon, for you first edition fans) busy decimating a party of adventurers. I must say I like this piece a lot. Very well done Mr. Massé! The maps for the adventures are printed on the inside of the cover. These maps are small, but are fortunately very clear. I was pleased to see they all have the standard 5 foot grid and that all important parts are adequately marked. Most of the text in the book is in a clear font a little bigger than that used in the PHB (11 points?). The margins are a little over an inch in width and contain some sort of scull pattern, which is functional, but nothing more. I think the good people at Necromancer Games used the Rappan Athuk module as a template, because the top margin of every othe page features the text "RAPPAN ATHUK - DUNGEON OF GRAVES: THE UPPER LEVELS". Of course this is just a small cosmetic error, but I thought I'd mention it nevertheless. The interior art varies in quality from not-too-good to excellent (Especially the pieces featuring the fiends are very nicely done), though this is of course somewhat a matter of personal taste. There are two or three black and white pieces of art per adventure and most of these are about half a page in size. Each and every one of them is relevant to the adventure, which is something I would like to applaud. Contents: The first two pages of DaD contain the credits and a general introduction to the booklet outlining the basic idea behind each adventure and pointing the reader to Necromancer Games' website. At this site you can find several free downloads for use with DaD like wilderness encounters and a map of the island in "Ras Evil Grin". There are some things however that we are promised in DaD that I could not find at the website. These include pre-made characters and a picture of the medallion in the Sorcerer's Citadel. Perhaps these will be put up at a later time... There's also a note about the monster stats listed in DaD. All of these are taken either from the Monster Manual or Swords and Sorcery's Creature Collection, but combat stats are provided. The next eleven pages are taken by the first adventure: "The Sorcerer's Citadel". As the title suggests, this adventure is all about looting a dead sorcerer's tower. Unfortunately for the players, this sorcerer took his security very seriously and the PCs will have to go through a dungeon with some very nasty traps and fight among other things three(!) Cornugon devils. If they succeed they will find a globe of annihilation. This adventure is intended for level 9 characters. The Sorcerer's Citadel personally reminded me a bit of the classic dungeon module Tomb of Horrors, just shorter and without the undead. If the players aren't cautious then they will probably die very quickly. The next adventure, "Ras Evil Grin" takes the next nine pages of the booklet. In this adventure the PCs set out to find a powerful artifact that was once a part of the god Arden. This time the dungeon contains very few monsters, but instead several very deadly traps. There is however a powerful Marilith demon at the end of the dungeon who should not be underestimated. For this adventure, characters should be at least level 11. "Ras Evil Grin" is a decent dungeon adventure, but nothing special. Don't run this adventure if the party doesn't include a rogue with very high search, spot and disable device skills. The next eight pages contain what I consider to be the most interesting adventure in DaD: "The Pit of Dispair". In it the PCs are searching for a legendary holy ( 5) sword. After the paladin of the party shows he is worthy enough and PCs defeat several Vrock demons they will recover the sword, or at least they will think they have. In reality it is an unholy sword that will corrupt the paladin over time. The entire complex is actually a clever trap set up by the demon prince Orcus to corrupt powerful paladins. Of course once the PCs notice something is very wrong with their friend they will return and try to gain the real sword... The recommended level for this adventure is 13 . I personally like this adventure best since it can be greatly expanded with little trouble and is easily the most role-playing oriented adventure in DaD. Be sure to include a paladin in the party (or two if you want some inner party competition :D). The final two pages of the booklet are taken by the obligatory OGL and an add for Sword and Sorcery Studios. Some comments and Conclusion: There are several spelling errors in DaD, though they are never distracting. Something that is slightly distracting however is that some of the mechanics related information is inconsistent with "core" D&D. For instance, on page 9 there is a reference to the non-existent "Track" skill and the stats for most of the fiends differ slightly from those found in the monster manual. Necromancer Games' motto is "Third edition rules, first edition feel". This is true for DaD in two ways. The first way is because of the flavour of the adventures. For instance all of the fiends are referenced by both their new and old names (a Marilith used to be a "type V demon" for instance) and in "The Pit of Dispair" Orcus is mentioned, who was a major bad guy in first edition, but who was destroyed in second edition. The other way in which DaD is a product with "first edition feel" is that it clearly is what believers of the G/N/S model would call a gamist product. Puzzle solving and monster-butt kicking are clearly the main focus of each of these adventures (though "The Pit of Dispair" can easily be turned into more of a narativistic adventure). A last comment I would like to make is this: if your players aren't expert dungeon crawlers than you shouldn't run either of these adventures before they are at least few levels higher then the recommended character level. Gary Gygax is given special thanks for writing the Tomb of Horrors in the Credits section of DaD for a reason: these adventures are tough and unforgiving, there are several save-or-die situations and a well-rounded party is absolutely essential. As for ratings: I will grant a score of 4 (Classy and well done) for Style because the art and layout are on par with WotC products and the adventures deliver the "first edition feel" that Necromacer Games is aiming for. For substance I will also grant a score of 4 (Meaty). For $8.95 you get three adventures comparable in length to AEGs adventure boosters. Each of these can easily be expanded and customized and if you have internet access and don't mind a lengthy download then you can easily double the length of these adventures by adding the wilderness encounters found at Necromancer Games' website. All in all a lot of value for your money. Note however that substance will drop to 2 (sparse) if you're not a fan of short "killer" dungeons.