Before we go any further it should be noted I was sent this book by Hero Games in exchange for a review of it (though I guess I could fly to Brazil and never turn one in, escaping with my ill-gotten gains). No attempt was made by them to affect the content of the review in any way. I intend to be impartial, but hey, I like Hero games.
The Nature of the Beast
DEMON is a very well-written book: I read through it with great delight. Not written by usual Hero author Steven Long, it plays out a lot differently than the Hero books 5th edition players are used to. Allen Thomas’ writing style is very different from what Long has presented us with thus far (not really any better or worse I found, but the change of pace is a refreshing one).
The organization is, at its heart, your typical coven of darkness determined to bring Hell to Earth. However, though such an organization is a classic comic archetype, DEMON has been fleshed out from its basic 3rd-edition origins to become a unique and fearsome collection of mystic foes. Reading the book, you are very soon struck by a distinct vision depicting a truly evil organization.
The book starts with the part I enjoyed most, a 17-page overview of the organization’s creation and growth. Rather than a typical history, it is broken down into a series of snapshots of certain days, starting in 1896, each portraying a major event in the history of DEMON. They are narrated in both a straight historical retelling as well as 3rd-person views. Scattered between these snapshots are looks at the major activities of DEMON during any one particular era (the pulp era, the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, and the modern period). These activities serve both to help fill in the Champions Universe and to provide adventure ideas. The activities are creative too: I particularly like the sketch of a plot by DEMON to steal the sword of Charlemagne during the rise of the Third Reich, and the efforts of a group of German WWI heroes who intervene to try and stop them.
It is a rich history, full of infighting, Champions Universe references, and clever plot ideas. Most importantly, it is the story of one man, DEMON’s founder: each snapshot focuses on him. This man has foreseen the end, and is determined to guarantee that it is brought to pass.
The next chapter gives an overview of DEMON. It describes a flexible organization, with an overall goal in mind and many ways of carrying it out tolerated. There are multiple levels to the organization, each a little more knowledgeable of the ultimate goal. What I like here is that each DEMON cell, or Demonhame, as they are referred to, is allowed a great deal of flexibility in day to day operations. This in turn allows a GM the flexibility to make a particular Demonhame unique: it prevents the phenomenon of the assembly-line DEMON cultist, with standardized uniforms, plots, weapons and tactics. Each leader (known as a Morbane), may run his Demonhame as he sees fit, following whatever patron power and engaging in whatever recruitment methods and covers desired.
Very detailed stats and background on the major players of DEMON are provided, in several sections that take up the majority of the book: the leader, his three most important henchmen, and the five-person Inner Circle. Each is an interesting character in and of themselves, outside the framework of DEMON, and comes with plot seeds and advice on how to beef them up or weaken them. Also provided are templates of various types of DEMON agent: black scientists, counter-espionage agents and the like, and plenty of lower-brethren types, such as The Working Joe Satanist (my personal favourite). Lastly we have a chapter detailing the Morbanes, and one displaying a few supervillains that work for DEMON (each with plot seeds). This nod towards four-colour games has some great ideas – there is an art-school student whose obsessive attempt to paint pure nothingness on canvas unleashed forces beyond mortal comprehension.
Speaking of Demonhames, there is a short chapter giving an overview of such structures, and detailing and mapping out two very different examples (each with more plot seeds). One is your typical evil temple, but the other, in a nice variance on the theme, is a 30’s-era movie studio.
Rounding out the book are chapters detailing DEMON’s recruiting methods, influence in various parts of the world, thoughts on the various other major players in the Champions Universe (it turns out they have a major feud with VIPER), a look at the mystical items employed by DEMON’s agents (ever wonder why they don’t make magical machineguns? Find out why here), and a guide to employing DEMON in your game and in the various genres Hero is designed to emulate.
Layout
And now my token nod to reviewing art and layout, something I've never really cared about. I can find what I’m looking for, things are arranged in a largely intuitive manner, the art serves its purpose (though its appearance is somewhat infrequent it seemed to me, and if any Hero book was going to have a plentiful amount of superb art I would have wished it to be this one), and the standard Hero index is thorough, allowing me find what I need in a hurry.
Cons?
If I could find any fault with the DEMON book it is that is an extremely focused sourcebook. While I have absolutely no problems with this, being happy to use it largely as is in my games, other GM’s might find the exacting detail that has gone into the creation of DEMON to be a stumbling block to ready insertion of the cabal into one’s game. This isn’t the usual highly-universal Hero product most Hero players are used to nowadays; DEMON is working with very exact goals, while following a very strict timeline (down to the very day). Myself, I feel that the flexibility possible in each individual Demonhame (which, after all, is the face of DEMON most players will see) is more than enough to offset this overall rigid goal, and dates can easily be changed.
The other face of this focused approach is that there isn’t a lot of room for the insertion of DEMON into different campaigns. The short chapter on the book's use in different genres tries, but ultimately, other than in fantasy games, DEMON does not play well outside the Champions Universe. Even then, more light-hearted Champions campaigns would find the appearance of DEMON much like that of John Wayne Gacy at a kid’s party; DEMON is riddled with sacrifice and murder, and to envision Patriot Guy and Liberty Lad trying to sock these guys out and take them to justice just doesn’t fly, in my opinion.
As for what's missing entirely, no advice is provided for running DEMON in a lighter game so that you could sidestep the above problem. In addition, I found that, though there were plenty of plot seeds to be used, there was little on what exactly the average Demonhame did in terms of day-to-day activities. The allowance of each Demonhame to be unique in its actions is spoiled when we don't really know what they do with that freedom, and as the day-to-day activities are where most PC's are going to be running into DEMON, I feel this section should have actually been rather large.
Ultimately, these are largely quibbles. The bloody, still-beating heart of the matter is: if you want a soul-eating cabal of evil in any game employing magic, you can’t go wrong picking up this book. I love this book, and intend to find the author's other works ASAP.
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