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In the first fifty-odd pages (Chapters 1 to 3) we are presented with a handful of new rules, several pages of demonic statistics, a reasonable number of diabolic spells, and some general information on demons. Unfortunately, the utility of much of this material in the typical Dying Earth campaign is questionable. Your reviewer can see little need for such detailed demons in either Cugel-level or Rhialto-level games, since the rogues in the former will be overwhelmed by all but the most minor demonic entities, whereas the exalted archimages of the latter will deal with all but the most powerful demons with a muttered word or two to a sandestin. Still, a protracted Turjan-level game may well use much of this grimoire during its course. Even then, the author regularly cautions against allowing demons to dominate a game, since they are rare in the source fiction; one cannot avoid feeling that a work of such length devoted solely to demons might perhaps be over-egging the pudding.
The spells themselves, again, are considerably more pedestrian than one might hope for in a Dying Earth supplement. Imprison demons within invisible webs of force, sense information concerning demons, heal demonically inflicted wounds that cannot be healed by normal healing spells, banish demons back to their subworlds, etc.; all useful enough magicks, but lacking in the colourful weirdness that characterises the Dying Earth setting. The book aims for a darker feel than most TDE works, being designed particularly to capture the approach of Vance’s first book in the series (_The Dying Earth_). This it achieves, but at the cost of much of the baroque splendour of said work. The spells for witches, warlocks, and witch-finders are a slight improvement on those for diabolists, but no more than that. Little in these first three chapters rises above the level of lacklustre; it is all consistent and logical enough though.
Chapter 4: The Demon Realms starts out quite promisingly, with around three pages devoted to descriptions of assorted demonic planes of existence. These descriptions are short, but give just enough information and inspiration for a GM to use these subworlds as adventure locations. Unfortunately much of the remainder of the chapter is made up of more spells; these are for the demons of the subworlds to use against the PCs. Again there is little that is new and earth-shattering here.
Chapter 5 details demonic objects and treasures. Some of these, such as the fabled “Eyes of the Overworld,” are derived directly from the Vance books, but most have been created specifically for this volume. Again none of the entries in this chapter stand out as especially good or especially bad; again, I would rather they did stand out, at least as weird and interesting. Most seem more-or-less utilitarian; I want quirky objects that have obscure uses, not generic “magic item” stuff.
Chapter 6: “Other Rules and Revelations” has some useful new magical specialisations for those wishing to learn diabolism or witch-finding. It touches upon Necrophages, which are mentioned in passing by Vance, but draws a veil over their precise activities, hinting simply that they are fairly standard necromancer types. The name, of course, literally means “corpse-eater,” hinting more at devouring human remains than at animating Zombies; I think here I would prefer to devise my own Necrophages, eaters of the dead, rather than taking the standard fantasy approach and treating them as necromancers. Predictably we are now treated to game stats for ghosts, animated corpses, and animated skeletons, along with a cautionary note that one should avoid fantasy cliché and use such creatures only with care and a suitably terrifying atmosphere. Too late! By unnecessarily adding generic undead to the world of the Dying Earth, we are already in bog-standard Fantasyland. Ghosts in the Dying Earth setting are, to my mind, best used as and when required, with game stats (if any) to suit their particular purpose; the other undead do not seem to have any place in TDE.
This chapter also includes several new Tweaks suited to demonic adventure. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Tweaks system for character customisation, but these seem no worse than the usual run of Tweaks.
Chapter 7: “Running Demonic Adventures” offers suggestions for adding demons to Cugel-level, Turjan-level, and Rhialto-level campaigns. These are all good, though the author sensibly recommends that only the Turjan power level is appropriate for a campaign that concentrates on demonic activity; an occasional diabolic diversion may enhance other campaigns too. Several new Personages are detailed, all with demonic or counter-demonic associations, but few of these have associated scenario hooks. The Green Legion, a powerful organisation of demon-hunters and witch-finders, is described in some detail, complete with suggestions for incorporating it into other adventures.
The latter half of the chapter gives a number of adventure ideas in some depth. Most are really only suited to Turjan-level play, again. There are eight short adventure seeds, and a lengthier trip to a subworld for adventurers experienced in diabolic dealings. These for me turn around a lot of my misgivings about the remainder of the book, as they incorporate much of the new information in a useful and appropriate manner. Used as directed, interspersed occasionally within a regular campaign, they will provide an intriguing glimpse into the diabolic practices just beneath the surface (literally, in some cases) of the Dying Earth setting.
Overall this is an average, gap-filling kind of a book. I suspect that most experienced GMs of other RPGs would find it fairly easy to generate similar material themselves, in the (I think somewhat unlikely, unless they run a lot of Turjan-level games) event that they would want to add it wholesale to their TDE games in the first place. Admittedly it would prove time-consuming to create something as extensive as this book, but we are repeatedly advised by the author to only add its contents to a campaign in moderation, so as to keep the unusualness of demons paramount; the book is then perhaps not necessary at all for those GMs who do wish to follow its own advice!
For GMs who plan an extended Turjan-level campaign though, this book has quite a lot to offer to enhance said campaign. Cugel-level and Rhialto-level GMs will likely have little need for it, and will be just as easily able to ad-lib any necessary diabolic information. A GM running only a short Turjan-level campaign will probably want to concentrate on the more player-led style of gaming championed by the _Turjan’s Tome of Beauty and Horror_ supplement, rather than adding anything more than the occasional dash of demonism. Still, if you’re a Dying Earth completist, you will get something out of this supplement, and will likely use at least one of the adventure ideas at some point. There is nothing particularly bad in here, other than perhaps the addition of D&D-style undead to an otherwise undead-free Dying Earth setting.
So on balance this one gets a 3 out of 5 for Substance (average).
Grammar and spelling are generally good with only the occasional error, but the writing style is less lively than that of other TDE supplements. Interior art is of a reasonable to high standard, with a mix of realistic style pictures and more “in-character-looking” sketches such as might have been drawn by a diabolist for the education of her apprentices. The cover art is adequate, but the presence of a black demonic form is actually less subtle and terrifying than the hints of evil on other TDE supplement covers, and the proportions on the characters (particularly their weapons) seem slightly out; the cover also gives the impression of having had less time spent on its creation than is evidenced by some of the intricate Ralph Horsley and Greg Staples work that has graced other tomes in the series. Layout and borders are user-friendly and undistracting. Thus it seems appropriate to give this an average 3 out of 5 for Style too.
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