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<\/a><\/p>\nHordes of the Abyss<\/em>\u00a0is the first of the\u00a0Fiendish Codex<\/em>\u00a0series covering evil Outsiders. My guess is that there will be a total of three since those are the alignment choices with those types of monsters classified as fiends.\u00a0Codex<\/em>\u00a0also feels like it\u2019s part of the other specialized monster-category books covering Dragons, Aberrations and the Undead. Personally, I don\u2019t think Demons need any help unlike grells, ghouls or necromancers. They are already formidable due to their numerous immunities and \u2018at-will\u2019 powers. Demons are more of a nuisance to the players and DMs alike; hard to kill for the fomer and a bookkeeping nightmare for the latter.\u00a0 Hordes of the Abyss\u00a0is the first of the\u00a0Fiendish Codex\u00a0series covering evil Outsiders. My guess is that there will be a total of three since those are the alignment choices with those types of monsters classified as fiends.\u00a0Codex\u00a0also feels like it\u2019s … Continue reading
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\nHowever, this is a 3.5 D&D book. So much like its earlier counterparts\u00a0Hordes\u00a0<\/em>isn\u2019t exclusively about Demons but all things related to them such as spells, feats, the layers of the Abyss and worshippers who are more often willing dupes. It still has a heavier\u00a0Monster Manual<\/em>\u00a0element to it with numerous pages re-introducing old favorites from First Edition that Third left out [Bar-Igura, Manes and Rutterkins] in addition to numerous new types.\u00a0
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\nIt doesn\u2019t start off that promising though. The opening pages blather on about the different types of chaotic evil beings (tanar\u2019ri versus everything else), their physiology and a really useless chapter about the roles (brute, corrupter, assassin, etc.) Demons can take in the game. The latter section is just wasted space for even a beginning DM because 90 percent of all encountered Demons are reckless killing machines with no fear of death. If there was more emphasis on the (known) history, the Blood War and the current politics of the Abyss, I wouldn\u2019t have minded the pointlessness of Demonic physiology too (if they lack most of our functioning biological systems, why are they still vulnerable to critical damage?).\u00a0
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\nHordes<\/em>\u00a0shines when it comes to the\u00a0MM<\/em>-type of entries I mentioned earlier. The feats and other loyalty modifications (based upon which ruler the Demon is loyal to) can make two vrocks, rutterkins or succubi more distinctive; another welcome addition. There\u2019s also a decent breakdown of the key realms of Abyss\u2019s 666 layers.\u00a0
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\nThe book would be incomplete if it omitted the infamous rulers of the Abyss; Orcus, Demogorgon, Jubilex, Grazz\u2019t, etc.; who receive the 3.5 treatment after their reintroduction in\u00a0The Book of Vile Darkness<\/em>. Allegedly they\u2019re weaker now compared to their 3.0 appearances. I will have to defer to the Internet noise being true because I never throw the players against such beings, it\u2019s a guaranteed TPK with any incarnation.\u00a0
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\nBottom Line:<\/strong>\u00a0Hordes<\/em>\u00a0is a pretty worthwhile book since it\u2019s on par with my other favorites\u00a0Lords of Madness<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Libris Mortis<\/em>. It may be on the pricey said but that\u2019s the sad reality with hardback books. Is it a\u00a0must buy<\/em>? For the players, \u2018no,\u2019 it\u2019s not designed for them. For most DMs, it leans toward \u2018yes\u2019 because there are elements that make this book a tool for making enemies more challenging. Many of the feats the demons can take, other monsters and cultists are eligible for and obviously the spells are geared toward evil priests and wizards acquiring them. One day, the heroes may actually go take on Lloth in her Demonweb plane (old Greyhawk adventure) or visit Graz\u2019zt\u2019s capital to rescue Waukeen (an old FR adventure). This book will lay out the environmental conditions of those planes much better than the less interesting and vague\u00a0Manual of the Planes<\/em>. Even if the players never take up planar travel, Demons frequently visit the heroes\u2019 reality and set up gates or bases. Once again, this book contains material on such scenarios and prevents Demons from being routine, two-dimensional foes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"