This supplement could probably be unjustly summed up as a “monster book” as it is full of monsters and antagonists. The beast in
Kult are so illustrative of the game’s nature that the book is much more than a collection of teeth and claws to toss at your players. Explanations of the Archons and the Death Angels provide an essential insight into nature of reality in the game, as each serves a lynchpin of the Illusion. The forgotten deities and magical societies and cults show the horrors that have nothing to do with the Demiurge and his minions. The realm of Gaia gives a peek at other realms beyond the Illusion. Perhaps most importantly, the section on the Enlightened serves an essential role of demonstrating not only what the Enlightened are like, but the kind of effect that they can have on those still trapped within the Illusion.
Style
Printed in the three color (black, white and red) format common to the first edition supplements for Kult, Legions of Darkness uses many of the same illustrators and carries on the base book’s style. The book is moody, dark and brooding – perfect for the setting, that is. The art may not be to everyone’s taste, as they are rather dark (as in color, this time) and some get abstract as well. They aren’t my favorite pieces from the game, as Peter Bergting had yet to display his unique and horrific signature style, but they are certainly good.
The writing is solid and serves to get across the subtleties of the different Archons or creatures. It’s not unlike the rest of the game’s prose: clear and full of blood and death. Because of the clarity of the writing and the depth of the explanation for the different factions it explores, the book would likely be of great use for people looking for material to drop into other horror games, but that aren’t very familiar with Kult itself.
Substance
The book is divided up into three broad sections, covering the elements of the Illusion (Archons and Death Angels), creatures in the shadows (the lictors, forgotten gods, and the Awakened) and finally cracks in the Illusion (specifically mortal magical societies, near-human monsters and Gaia itself). While the section on the near-human beasts seems a bit cramped or rushed, most everything feels like it has the room it needs. There could have been much more information on the Archons, for example, but enough was provided.
And speaking of those great beings of power, their and their mirror images of the Death Angels get a fair deal of space. Each is given a few pages of their own, where in their nature is explained broadly and a look is given at their overall operations and agendas. A manifestation of each and some associated servants and minions are also provided.
The next major division of the book looks at beings of power as well, but significantly lower on the totem pole. The lictor chapter gives a few sample lictors, types of lictors and some information on divisions within the servants of the Archons themselves. The next chapter on the old gods was perhaps the second most interesting part of the book (next to the first section of the book) and provides a number of creatures from both within the Illusion and without. A few dark gods and enigmatic beings would serve well to break up the constant presence of the Archons or Death Angels in the life-long torture of any characters in the game. Finally, there is the chapter on the Awakened, looking at three examples. One is an Enlightened human who took the Dark Path and founded a cult, another is one who took the Light Path and has set himself up as a Messiah and the third is Siddhartha himself. The chapter provides a much needed example of what the Awakened do after the fact and is probably nearly essential for anyone intending to run a Kult game focused on the paths out of the Illusion through mental balance.
The book closes out with several cults and magical societies, a few types of near-humans and a look at Gaia, a realm beyond the Illusions independent of Metropolis and Inferno. Four cults/religions are provided, and most of them are centered on the study of the Lore of Death, although the Subjectionist Church is broader than that. Each is nicely detailed and described, from members to organization to locations. Only two types of warped humans are provided, the parasitic Lorelei (think “sexual vampire”) and the Jackals, who are more of a loose sect following a murderer far down the Dark Path than really a different species. This is probably the weakest section of the book, as while these creatures are interesting, the Jackals seem out of place in this chapter and the Lorelai alone seem more a token toss-away idea than a fully developed category of near-humanity. The realm of Gaia, with which the book finishes, is the Garden of Eden humanity remembers before it was imprisoned in the Illusion. Rips in the Illusion that open in wild areas spill into this Living Land, but in our weakened state we are nothing but a quick meal for this brutal world. Again, once we were kings and now we are slaves. The realm itself is described, as is one of its powerful residents now trapped in the Illusion and an organization dedicated to cracking open the Illusions and spilling mankind into its ancient Paradise.
One of the essential books
This is really one of the most important books for a Kult campaign I’ve seen. The level of development and detail it provides on the big powers of the game as well as fleshing out the sidelines and shadows is immensely useful. Anyone intending to run the game should try to get their hands on a copy. Its only real flaw was that I, of course, was left wanting more. There are a number of building and location maps for creatures and lairs that I could have done without, instead filling their space with longer looks at the Archons and Death Angels or Gaia, or even more gods or near-humans. That is, however, a rather light criticism, if only all horror supplements were this good…
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