Customer Reviews

Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (pt. 1)

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Demons has always been one of the more popular and fascinating foes in the Dungeons & Dragon games. First edition modules and adventures introduce us to the terrors that are Orcus, Lolth, Zuggtmoy and Ilsidhaur. Then came the dark days of second edition where the demons (and their hated lawful compatriots the devils and the neutral evil daemons) were erased from existance.

I still remember the now infamous letter by James Ward about placating mad moms, and the feeble reply by Dragon magazine (oh, you can still use the fiends from 1e if you want to!) to explain this away, one angry player (and I believe it was a woman) shot back in a letter: Why don't you guys just admit you sold out!

So third edition came along and the staff at WOTC was emboldened to go ahead with re-instating the fiends (not before second edition did a hatchet job in re-introducing them and subsequent writers of the game have a heck of a time trying to create a credible continuity between all three editions).

Other companies, especially Green Ronin, publishes their own treatise on the fiends, and it wasn't until now that WOTC published a book solely dedicated on the most popular fiends of all, the demons. One can point to second edition books such as "Hellbound" and "Faces of Evil: The Fiends" and other assorted Planescape accessories... but they deserved to be thrown in the the Wells of Darkness and tastefully forgetten.

The closest book that resemble Horde of the Abyss was the Book of Vile Darkness, and as reviewer Mike Schell said, Hordes of the Abyss came across as a rehash of BOVD and roughly a third of the book is repeated information under the guise of updating the material from 3rd edition to 3.5. Also, add another one quarter (if not more) of the book as being compiled from Dragon Magazine's "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" articles.

Repeated material includes possessions, spells, some feats, clerical domains, and updated versions of demons such as the goristro, armanite (yes, their spark bolt ability is back!), and bar-lgura.

New stuff includes new demons such as the lilitu, the molydeus making its 3rd edition debut, two new subraces are introduced: the incorporeal loumara and the precursor race the obyriths. Given that Erik Mona, who also wrote "Armies of the Abyss" for Green Ronin, had a hand in this, it is obvious that the Lovecraftian obyriths are thinly disguised qlipppoths.

The Black Cult of Ahm is also introduced, a organziation dedicated on the study of demons and a host of artifacts and magic items are connected to them.

14 demon lords are featured and many people complained that they have been "powered down". There is a small section that explain how you can beef up the demon lords and I for one think that help maintain their mystique. You just don't know which version you might be coming up against. Besides it is easier to power up a monster and to lower its CR. Besides the classics such as Demogorgon, Orcus, and Zuggtmoy, the new ones are Malcanthet, Pale Night, Obox-ob and the oft-mentioned Dagon. Kostchtchie finally gets his third edition debut.

There is also section on the layers of the Abyss detailing among others, Lolth's Demonweb, Demogorgon's Gaping Maw, Yeenoghu's realm, Orcus' Thanatos, Zuggtmoy's Shedaklah, and my favorite, the Wells of Darkness where many demon lords and worst things are imprisoned.

There are three appendixes in the back of the book. The first one, "Ruler of the Abyss" gives some interesting glimpses and hints to who and what those demon lords mentioned in the first edition Monster Manual 2 were, althought I do take exception that Baltazo is a fat green skinned dude wearing a military uniform (!) and the storm demon Aldinach is now "Lady of Change" with wooden mahagony skin and needles jutting from her fingertips.

The second appendix is "Layers of the Abyss" (and strangely, Malcanthet and her layer were both left on on both appendices).

The third appendix detailed demons published by WOTC's hardcover (but did not list Dragon magazine's entries such as the cataboligne, the orlath, etc) books.

Finally, there is a list of demons by CR, which strangely included the deathdrinker (which I found out much later is in the upcoming Monster Manual 4), the water demon (but not the other 5 elemental demons from Dragon magazine) and the skurchur (also from Dragon).

What the book do not have are demon-specific prestige classes and feats, which allows you to customize and advance them in unique ways. But it does have the Abyssal heritor feats which gives you more bonus the more such feats you obtain.

Overall I was disappointed about this book because it is really more of a compilation of previously published materials than anything else, and doesn't give you too much of any new. Given that this is but the first Fiendish Codex, there will probably a follow-up volumne.

Ever since Dungeons & Dragons made its debut in the 70's, demons have been one of the most popular foes for players. Demons can run the range of first level foes all the way to ultra-high level with their enormous diversity. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss presents these creatures in their full glory, literally containing everything you ever wanted to know about these champions of chaotic evil.

The book starts with the basics including the origin of demons, spawned from the chaotic abyss itself. We learn about demonic physiology. Demons don't NEED to eat, although some do for pleasure, they don't require sleep, and while some demons can reproduce for purposes of creating half-demon spawn, they don't need to do that either since they are produced by the Abyss itself. Demons, of course, cannot be killed permanently unless killed within the Abyss. The book provides a handy table of Death Throes so you can have them die in more interesting fashion rather than just disappearing.

Many years ago Dragon Magazine presented an article about demonic possession that was never really incorporated into the rules...until now. Hordes of the Abyss provides the rules and types of demonic possession, even covering demonically possessed items.

Chapter Two covers some, but not all, of the different demonic types and sub-types. Everything from the Mane, the lowliest of demon types at a mere 6 hp, to the massive engines of destructions called the Goristro at 300hp, some of which have approached 200 feet in height. One of the most ghastly featured looks like something straight out of a Lovecraft story...the dreaded Sibriex. This demon is a giant, bloated, rotting head with a body consisting only of spindly stalks which spews bile at its opponents and can cause madness.

Chapter Three introduces players to many of the more well-known demon lords of the Abyss. Some originally appeared in the "Book of Vile Darkness" but have been updated for this book. Baphomet, Dagon, Demogorgon, Orcus...yes all the old favorites are included. I particularly like Malcanthet, the Queen of the Succubi. She appears as a beautiful horned woman with large, bat-like wings. Amonger her powers are Profane Beauty which corrupts those who try and attack her and Seductive Gaze which can cause negative penalties on attack rolls.

Included in chapter four are dozens of new feats, prestige classes and spells. Chapter four also includes information on the Black Cult of Ahm, and how to traffic with demons. Finally, chapter five details the Abyss itself including information on some of the more notable of the 666 layers and how to travel there and move about. Pure chaos is on full display in the Infinite Staircase and the Pits of Pazunia, both vehicles for traveling the Abyss...should one be inclined to be so foolhardy.

The layers featured include which number it is, who controls it, the native denizens, notable locations and several adventure hooks. For example there is layer number 66, the Demonweb, ruled by the Spider Queen Lolth and populated by her Drow servants. Layer number 600 is known as the Endless Maze and is ruled by Baphomet. This layer literally is one endless labyrinth, filled with minotaurs and creatures far more dangerous.

Hordes of the Abyss is a fantastic supplement that includes a lot of great new information but still embraces its roots in the original Monster Manual. Great Stuff!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I must start off saying I am partially disappointed in this book. Artwork is rather tremendous, but I knew that from the Art Gallery that was posted on the WotC website. But while good art is important the information is even better. Some, maybe a quarter of the material is rehashed from Book of Vile Darkness. Demon lords are updated and I think a couple new ones were added. What disappointed me is what the book lacked. The feats were for those that openly dealt with demons as business partners in a given campaign world. Most of the spells were along the same lines. Virtually nothing was given to beef up those that might hunt demons. No special feats, no references on the standard and optional classes, no prestige classes that would opposed the hordes of the abyss. Now normally I am not in favor of more prestige classes to add to the glut there is already. But come on WotC give us ranger players a friggin bone and gives us something to take on. Not all those that oppose the Hordes of the Abyss wear Full Plate and wield Holy Avengers. In some ways a ranger can be a more effective demon hunter than a paladin. But in this book they get no support. Bottom line is that this is a good book but there is not enough here for the price. If you already have Book of Vile Darkness, this will enhance that book. Otherwise this is a DM book only unless you really want to run an Evil campaign in which case this will help you. If you really want a good book for demons, devils and daemons, get Book of Fiends from Green Ronin, it's a much better book.

First, I caution you that this book is written for 3.5 edition D&D, NOT the current edition of the game. That said, now here's my review.

Maybe this is just me, but I figure if you're given the brief to write a book with a title like "Hordes of the Abyss", that should be a mandate to unleash an absolute maelstrom of depraved creativity.

Clearly, that didn't happen here.

The Fiendish Codex I collects together a bunch of demonic and Abyss related stuff into a single volume. This is convenient. It also includes a decent amount of new material. That's also nice. But there's nothing in this volume that really stands out. And there are a few things I have my doubts about.

On the level of the broad brushstrokes, much of the material in this volume strikes me as simply unneccessary. For example, the book talks about DM-ing demons and suggests the following roles for demons: the assassin, the brute, the corruptor, the manipulator, and the overlord. Well, that's fine and dandy. But will having this list really improve the way DM's role play demons in the campaign? Or tell you anything that wasn't pretty obvious anyway?

Similarly, the Fiendish Codex I also provides an outline for an organization called The Black Cult of Ahm. The "cult" is actually an organization of scholars dedicated to fathoming the mysteries of the Abyss. But honestly, the cult of Ahm never really leaps off the page and comes alive. And most of the information we are given about it is either glaringly obvious or fairly trivial.

On a nuts and bolts level there are also problems. To give just one example, this book introduces a really cool new 9th level spell called Abyssal Rift. This literally opens up a rift in the earth that is capable of swallowing characters whole. The spell description explains how characters can find themselves inside the rift, how much damage they take while they're in it, and what happens to them if they're still inside the rift when it closes up again (answer: they're transported to a random layer of the Abyss). What the spell description does not give is any indication at all of how deep the rift is, or how (or indeed if) characters who are inside the rift can get out again before it closes up. Glaring holes like this make me wonder how much of the material in this book has even been play-tested. This sort of thing is forgivable in fan material. But in an official game supplement, my standards go up.

Even more seriously, the stats and abilities given for the various demon lords and ladies are simply not credible. Apparently at some point someone decided that a high level but non-epic party should be able to take on and defeat a demon lord or lady. The demonic nobility was then downgraded to make that possible.

The trouble with this is that the demon nobles are also represented as truly cosmic beings. Barely one step below godhood, they are often the rulers of literally infinite domains. Yet if you downgrade these creatures to the point where one-on-one they'd have trouble dealing with even a single errant balor, and may actually be less powerful than a pit fiend, that just isn't believable anymore.

"Believable" may seem like a strange word to use here. But I do like even my fantasy worlds to have some level of internal consistency. To not be full of holes. True, individual DM's are quite capable of stepping in to restore consistency to their respective universes. But when the DM absolutely has to do this just to have the universe make some kind of sense, it's not a good product.

Incidentally, Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying), resolves this problem by treating the "downgraded" versions of the various Archdevils merely as "aspects" of the respective devils. That is to say, as avatars of the devils.

I don't mean to suggest that this book does not contain any good stuff. It does. Like the Lilitu: an upgraded succubus that leads whole congregations down the path to demon worship. Or Obox-ob, who held the title of Prince of Demons in the Age before Ages, but is now reduced to being merely the prince of vermin. But overall? Well, I can't help but come back to the title I gave this review as a whole: "It's okay". That about sums it up.

But the Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying) (which I also reviewed) is better. And the Book of Vile Darkness (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) is MUCH better. If you were only going to purchase one of the three, the Book of Vile Darkness is definitely the one I'd recommend. And really, that should give you all you'll need for a very detailed demon-heavy campaign.

Theo.

Outro bom livro para os mestres de RPG...Muito descritivo e para uma campanha nos planos inferiores torna-se indispansavel. Vale a pena.

I'm comparing this book to two others in the series; Draconomicon and Librus Mortis.

There are some overall good pieces of info in the book. Lots of good fluff about the physiology, psychology and roles of the various demons, including some excellent (albeit a little incomplete) information on demon races other than the tanar'ri. They also have the obligatory new/converted monsters section, which is pretty good too.
Also of worth are the presentation of the various demon lords, as well as some information on their layers/lairs/domains.

Where the book was lacking was in monstrous options for demons. I would have liked to see more feats and spells that a demon could possess or use, not simply stuff that deals with non-demons having demon traits or spells that mimic or call on the power of demons.
Also, there were no magic items that demons can make use of. As a DM, I really enjoying equipping NPCs now and then with feats/spells/magic items that the PCs don't expect or otherwise don't have access to or cannot use.

Lasty, having some demon-usable prestige classes would have been really helpful.

I can't believe that I'm actually requesting more crunch in a D&D book, since I like a good balance of both and I find that crunch is usually a focus in a book with the existing fluff marginal at best. This book has really good fluffy bits, but the crunch needed to be MUCH more useful.

This is a great supplement to the Dungeons & Dragons D20 3.0/3.5 collection.
This book can be a used a lot, expecially if you have a high level D&D game. I like to run a High Level Campaign. There are a lot of new and interesting Demons to befuddle and or agrivate your players. I would recommend it to any DM with a 7th to 20th level campaign. I give it is a 8.5 on a 10 point scale for a D&D Monster Manual type book.
Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (pt. 1)

Good book for upgrading the gameplay. It's complete the plane manual. Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement) (pt. 1)

Book is ok, not great. Nice to catch up on the latest politics and whereabouts of your denizens of the Abyss but nothing you aboslutely need to have.

This examination of the Abyss and its inhabitants is a credit not only to D&D, but to the fantasy genre as a whole. I honestly believe people who don't even play the game can get something out of this.

The anatomy, society, and mindset of demons draws from real life legends and the games publication history. Whether you are a Planescape fan or treasure the 1st edition MoTP, you will find something to enjoy here.

The obyriths as proto-demons are a great edition to planar history. The Abyssal Lords are appropriately menacing and diverse as a place of chaos and evil would warrant, as are the Abyssal layers.

Well worth the asking price, especially given the Amazon discount.