Armies of the Abyss is the third in Green Ronin Publishing’s Monster Compendium line of d20 supplementary products meant for use with
Dungeons & Dragons, Third Edition, and it is the second in the “Book of Fiends” series. (The first is
Legions of Hell.) This 64 page soft-cover book presents: an overview on the Abyss; a complete, new basic character class—the thaumaturge—along with all of the necessary rules; descriptions of over 20 demon princes; descriptions—including full stat blocks—for over two dozen common and unique demons (including demon lords); two appendices collect all of the relevant tables and charts as well as introducing new spells and domains meant for use with the cleric and thaumaturges of the many demon princes of the Abyss. It’s also worth noting that this book is wholly compatible with Wizards’
Manual of the Planes.
The first chapter presents the above-mentioned overview of the Abyss. This chapter is where the reader receives his briefing about the nature of this damned, blasted corner of existence that is the Abyss. Cosmology, history and politics are all covered in brief—just enough for a Game Master to make use of the information for his own purposes—but the most important information is the introduction of the Qlippoth as the progenitor race of demons from which the Tanar’ri came. For those gamers (such as myself) that wondered if “Tanar’ri” equaled “Demon”, now we have an answer that makes sense and is very playable. The Qlippoth offer a new political and cosmological hook that GMs and players alike may hang campaigns, adventures or even character concepts upon. (A half-Qlippoth character ought not be the same as a half-Tanar'ri.) This borrowing of Kabbalist mythology is a welcome addition to the game. The rest of this slim chapter—it’s just a couple of pages—goes into practical game-play elements such as customizing demons for one’s campaign and what demons usually want when they deal with the Material Plane.
The second chapter is one of the big reasons to get this book. The thaumaturge class is a basic character class that combines elements of the sorcerer and the cleric into a whole that blends the better elements of both. It's inspired by historical Western occulist figures such as John Dee and Aleister Crowley. Such a character cannot be lawful or good. He develops his Base Attack Bonus and Saving Throws as if he were a sorcerer, may take a familiar like one, gains the weapon and armor proficiencies (simple only and none) like one and his spell casting takes it strength from his Charisma like a sorcerer.
The thaumaturge’s spell casting capability is like a cleric’s. He casts divine spells, he chooses two domains from those allowed by his patron demon prince and he has the spell progression of a cleric. The thaumaturge’s skills are akin to a cleric, but not they aren’t identical (even if the skill points per level are); Bluff is a class skill, for example. The big differences are in his hit die (d6) and what he does to regain his spells: the “obedience”. The obedience ritual takes one hour it to do, regardless of the character’s patron demon prince. In return for this power, the thaumaturge suffers corruption to his body and soul; this represents the corruption of the Abyss upon the character as he develops his powers.
That last feature may turn people off to the class, and I would agree that it is one. That said, I like this class more or less as it appears. It works best when demon princes are unable to support clerics of their own, so this is the only option for devotes thereof; it also works as it is to represent those who dare to think that they are able to bargain with demon princes and come out ahead. (People seeking a class to represent historical magic systems may want to look to this class for inspiration, if not outright recycling in a new d20 product.)
The third chapter goes into detail about many of the demon princes that thaumaturges will strike their bargains with when they become thaumaturges. There are no stats for the princes, but that’s quite alright; you’d need Wizards’ Deities & Demigods to create the proper stat blocks anyway, and that book’s content isn’t Open Game Content, so avoiding the use of stat blocks was a very wise move on the part of Mr. Mona and Green Ronin. As for the many princes described here, all of them involve themselves in one or more pursuits that adventuring characters concern themselves with. (There’s even a demon prince of adventurers: Anarazel!) The obedience of any associated thaumaturge is at the end of every description, while the domains and favored weapon associated with it is at the beginning. As campaign or adventure fodder, this chapter is an idea mine that a GM can’t exhaust. I dig it.
The fourth chapter has the new monsters. As mentioned above, some are common and some are unique individuals. There is something for every level of play; the monsters range from CR 2 (Mandragoras) to CR 25 (Armageddon Beast), and the individual NPCs range from CR 13 (Eurynomus, the Corpse Eater) to CR 21 (Shiggarreb, a Qlippoth lord). The monsters include a construct (Razorwire Golem), an undead (Skulldugger, which are immune to Turning) and an aberration (Spawn of Marbas) amongst the listings. I’d like to’ve seen a listing of what creatures fall under what summon monster spell, and the entry for the Razorwire Golem is in error (non-sentients can’t have any alignment but Neutral), but that’s about all of the faults that I could find. They’re monsters, my fellow gamers, so finding a use for them shouldn’t be that hard. The sidebar describing the effects of the River Styx is worth noting for any extra
As for the appendices, this is where all of the charts and tables (etc.) seen elsewhere return in an easy-to-reference form. This is also where the new spells, domains and diseases get their due. The first handles all of the demonic magic, the second has all of the new monsters ranks by CR and the third has a bibliography. These are useful, and it makes referencing them during play quick and easy. I’d recommend reading the books mentioned in the bibliography if you want a better grounding in the cosmology or the history behind the inspiration for this book and its contents- especially the thaumaturge.
In conclusion, this book is a good choice for those seeking to expand upon the default state of demons and the Abyss as presented in D&D. It is also a good choice for those who seek something for use in historical fantasy campaigns set in Europe or its colonies, but you may need to adapt the contents to fit your particular needs. If demonology or demons are not your thing, then you safely skip this book. Like a well-designed feat, race, class, etc. there are as many reasons to buy as not; buy it only if you’ll use it. I have, and I shall.
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