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The new feats are good, both conceptually and in terms of game mechanics. Where this product really shines, however, is Chapter 5. Many layers of the Abyss are presented, a nod towards Planescape factions and cosmology is given, and the whole setting evokes thoughts of plane hopping adventure. Whether they’re used as a permanent campaign locale, a brief hop across the planes, or as the single source of all a world’s evil the layers of the Abyss presented here are interesting and well written.
The Physical Thing
This 160 page full color hardcover showcases above average production values. The art is of good quality throughout the book, and is logically tied to the material being presented. Full color, detailed maps of various levels of the Abyss are particularly nice. The formatting and font choices are excellent, leading to an easy to read product.The Ideas
This product is focused on demons, the Chaotic Evil denizens of the Abyss. It presents rules for possession, a variety of new* demons, fully stated demon lords, new spells, demon feats, and a lengthy presentation on the Abyss. While the Abyss is infinite, this product does an excellent job of presenting a wide variety of layers of the Abyss complete with their own rules of existence, interesting locations, and powerful NPCs. On the whole this product is great for anyone who wants to include demons as a major theme in a traditional fantasy campaign, play Planescape or a similar plane hopping game which will involve the Abyss directly, or run an entirely Abyss focused campaign.* Some of the material presented in this product, most notably a few demons, the demon lords, and some feats, has been reprinted from The Book of Vile Darkness. Such content has been updated to 3.5 rules and, in the case of the demon lords, altered to be more accessible to lower level characters.
Under the Cover
This product begins with an excellent index-like table of contents which makes finding information easy.Chapter 1 Demonic Lore 22 pages.
The whole product is focused around the idea that an ancient prophet wrote the Black Scrolls, the most complete treatise on demonology ever created, and that fragments of those Scrolls tell us all these wondrous things about demons. The chapter kicks off with a dissection of a Dretch, a very low ranked demon. A discussion of its anatomy, magical nature, and how death changes it is presented and it’s neat.
The chapter then moves on to the Material Plane, how demons typically get there, and what happens to them upon death. The book states that demons teleport back to the Abyss, dissolve into ooze, or otherwise discombobulate upon death. I find this to be highly unsatisfying, and many of the example descriptive methods for doing this are problematic. For example, if I use the method that upon a demon’s death two snakes come out of its belly and begin devouring it from each end what do I do when a character attacks a snake? The book suggests the whole thing should disappear then, but once again that is unsatisfactory.
This chapter also divides all demons into one of five roles: Assassin, Brute, Corruptor, Manipulator, and Overlord. It provides example combat tactics for each type and a very general discussion of how each type will behave. This is a surprisingly lengthy discussion and, in many ways, tells a DM nothing. Assassins use stealth, prefer ambushes, and in certain cases set traps for their prey. Several pages focused on that idea, however, is excessive and for many readers will just be wasted space.
Possession is also presented and discussed, with simple rules for certain demons becoming incorporeal and taking over a person or object. A demon can take over a PCs body and force them to do whatever it wants, though the PC will receive Will saves to avoid this fate. The book, however, suggests that PC controlling demon possession should not be used unless the party has a method at hand to resolve it. I agree, that isn’t fun, but I dislike that many of the demons have an ability that should only be used if the PCs can readily combat it. That seems to go counter to how most monsters, with their diverse abilities, tend to work. I’d rather the book simply suggest that if the PCs are poorly equipped to fight demons, that demons not be used. However, as a plot device it’s great.
Chapter 2 Demons 30 pages.
Sixteen demons are presented here, covering a wide range from demonic centaurs to corpse possessing balloons. There is a nice mix of challenge ratings, but on the whole demons are meant for mid to high level play. In addition to being generally spread out among challenge ratings, the demons here also do a good job of representing diverse challenges. From straight up combatants to stealthy masterminds, a bit of everything is included.
One problem with many demons is the sheer number of abilities they receive. The Dybbuk, for example, receives four unique special abilities that take up over half a page of raw description. Add to that its immunities, resistances, SR, spell like abilities, and other features and it’s a lot for a DM to keep track of assuming this demon is alone.
Many of the demons have flat out disgusting abilities, such as implanting eggs or projectile vomit. While this makes sense, some players will find the demon abilities particularly detestable. In addition a few abilities are either exceptionally strong or, in the case of the Molydeus, showcase poor game design. The Molydeus wields a +1 dancing vorpal cold iron greataxe. This weapon is “an extension of its being” and thus melts away upon the creature’s death. Finding ways to prevent players from acquiring the weapons of an enemy seems frustrating to say the least. Nevertheless, these are flavorful additions that represent a lot of demonic archetypes.
Chapter 3 Demon Lords 24 pages.
Fourteen demon lords are presented here, varied in their appearance and powers but all requiring epic level PCs to defeat. Baphomet, Dagon, Demogorgon, Fraz-Urb’luu, Graz’zt, Juiblex, Kostchtchie, Malcanthet, Obox-ob, Orcus, Pale Night, Pazuzu, Yeenoghu, and Zuggtmoy are all presented here. If some of those names look familiar that’s because they are classic Dungeons and Dragons demon lords and/or have been previously presented in other products.
While stat blocks take up most of the space here, about a half page is given to each of the demon lords to describe their goals, followers, and other relevant information. The demon lords are powerful entities, and while they might subtly be presented earlier in a campaign it is unlikely that a DM will use more than one or two of them in a given campaign. They’re epic in scope, and to that end make excellent adversaries for powerful adventurers.
Chapter 4 Trafficking with Demons 24 pages.
New (and reprinted) feats, spells, and domains are presented here. The feats are mostly Abyssal Heritor feats, a type of feat that represents either a demonic heritage or a bargain with demons. The feats turn the possessor Chaotic and typically exert some sort of disadvantage (typically -2 to a skill) but are well balanced and provide good bonuses. The bonuses increase as a character takes more Abyssal Heritor feats, so a character with Demonic Skin gains +1 Natural Armor and another +1 for every 2 Abyssal Heritor feats the character possesses. On the whole the feats are interesting and sufficiently useful that characters will be tempted to take them. There are, however, several vile feats reprinted from The Book of Vile Darkness.
The magic section is brief. The new domains (Corruption, Demonic, Entropy, Fury, Ooze, and Temptation) generally correspond to demon lords or demon focused concepts. The spells are largely evil with ooze and evil themes, the big exception being the Exorcism spell that Clerics and Paladins receive as a 1st level spell. With it possessing demons can be driven out of a body, definitely a useful spell to be included with this content. In total there are 21 new spells.
Eight pages are devoted to the Black Cult of Ahm, a group dedicated to putting together the remnants of the Black Scroll and truly understanding demon kind. It’s a nice organization, and can serve the role of ally or enemy easily. For a good game focused on destroying demons it could be a group that assists the PCs in return for scroll fragments, or opposes PCs because members are serving the demons in question. If it’s a more neutral or evil game the PCs could certainly be members of the Cult who are questing for parts of the Black Scroll.
Chapter 5 Into the Abyss 50 pages.
This chapter focuses on setting locations inside the Abyss. Fifteen layers of the Abyss are discussed in detail, but the chapter kicks off with a general discussion of the Abyss including the Blood War and other extra planar events. The role of various planar organizations presented in the Planar Handbook and previously presented in the Planescape Campaign Setting are included as well. For those that are interested this Chapter creates a strong Planescape feel for those that remember and enjoy that setting, though it is certainly independent of the setting.
Each of the realms includes information on the ruler, special traits, major locations (cities and adventure sites), and a table of appropriate random encounters for that layer. In addition every entry has a flavorful color map, about a quarter of a page in size, that depicts that layer and the locations described. I don’t often say this about lists of adventure locations like this, but these are extremely good. They each have a unique, otherworldly feel and I would be happy to use any of them in my games. This is, by far, the best part of the book and anyone who enjoys the idea of adventuring through layers of the Abyss will be pleased. Additionally, a DM could easily pick out their favorite and have it be “hell” or “the realm of demons” or something similar in a more traditional fantasy campaign that does not use the D&D cosmology.
Appendix I, II, and III 3 pages.
Appendix I presents a two page list of lords of the abyss, their titles, their concerns, and what realm they rule over. Appendix II provides a whole bunch of Abyss layer names along with the name of the current ruler, handy for those random trips to the Abyss. Appendix III provides an index of all demons that have appeared in 3.0 and 3.5 products, a total of 12 books. All together it’s very short, but useful.
My Take
This is an excellent product. It’s narrowly focused, provides a variety of useful content, and has a lot of detail and flavor presented in the form of the layers of the Abyss. While some of the content is partially reproduced, it’s not a lot and the content that has been reprinted has been updated and changed.Ultimately, those DMs who want a product for a heavily demon focused campaign will really enjoy this. Those DMs who just want a product to include a little bit more demon flavor, however, might find a lot of the content to be of little use. While the new feats and demons could certainly be mixed into any campaign, the demon lords, abyss layers, and flavor concerning the Black Scroll takes up a significant part of the product. Finally, those who aren’t d20 fans but enjoy using some of the content may also want to pass on this one. While Chapter 5 is very flavorful, the book does have a moderate mechanics focus.
