Customer Reviews

Guide to Hell (Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2nd Edition, Accessory/11431)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an excellent book for those adventuring groups that want to take on the ultimate test: Hell. I can also see that the fear of accidentally printing something "evil" within the AD&D game is slowly disappearing. New tables detail devil/human crossbreeds and the character kits are excellent. The Hell blade turns your average thief into a deadly devil-battling warrior. A new devil made just for the book is designed for a text book horror movie possession story. The book is excellent for its price, and it's nice to see that at least some of the new AD&D books are taking a more dark and religious path. I can see this book fitting very nicely into a Ravenloft campaign in addtion to a Planescape one.

Ah, the Nine Hells! After 20+ years of ignorant attacks on the game system by Christian extremists, it's nice to be able to say that again. Don't get me wrong, I love Planescape, but somehow, it just didn't seem to provide a gothic, forsaken, ultra-dramatic Hell. Now we have it! Granted, it's a bit unorthodox and anti-classical, but I believe that's the point. This isn't a mere retread of the classic AD&D representation of Hell - if you want a tamer, more Dantean environment, check out Dragon 75, 76, the Manual of the Planes, and the 1st printing of the Monster Manuals I and II. This book has a more creative vision - it tries to remold our interpretation of the Infernal into something more cosmic, alien, and underwordly. You get the impression that Hell isn't necessarily a place where the damned go for punishment; rather, its raison d'etre is as the ultimate stronghold of diabolic (lawful) evil. And it's good! The Blood War and history are briefly touched upon, but then we plunge in up to our necks with fantastic details on devils and their beliefs and society, notes on infernal cults, the priests-turning-fiends table, and great new kits that your players will love if they want to dive into "the 9." The Devil Slayer is your basic Hell-bent (ahem) crusader, the Thaumaturgist is a diabolical summoner who specializes in comprehending contracts and magical circles, the Inquisitor is an horrific cleric subclass, the Hellblade is a type of ninja-infiltrator who destroys devils, etc. Then, we have L'Ordre de la Croix-Rose Veritas, a great devil slaying "Templar" order in Greyhawk. But there's more! Diabolic magic, the descriptions of the Hells, infernal powers, the arch-devils, and minions are all described. All in all, it's an amazingly useful compendium. I give it four stars only because its unorthodox nature keeps it from appealing to everyone. In Pace Requiscat!

This book was a wonderful rewrite of some of the Mayfair Games Role-Aids Demons supplements that TSR won in their lawsuit against the third-party developer several years back. Although much of the background information had to remain consistent with the previously developed AD&D cosmology, much of the gaming material was obviously inspired by these now-gone supplements. For those who enjoyed Mayfair Games' work (Demons and Demons II,) this is a wonderful companion for your collection.

Finally, TSR decided to correct the wrongs they've dealt to their fiends in both PLANESCAPE and second eddition. Calling the devils of first edition "Baatezu" and the demons "tanar'ri" (not to mention giving the abyss infinate layers instead of 666, as it really has) annoyed me to no end. That's why this book is hailed as a bold new revelution in the AD&D gmeworld, completely detached from the PLANESCAPE setting. This is a short, self-contained book that brings back several of the old arch-devils and concepts from out-of-print Monster Manuals. And if that's not enough, it describes each layer of Hell (or "Baator", as it was refered to) in full detail, provides new character kits, and gives more ideas about incorporating Devils into your campaign. This book has no pollitical correctness or Planescape jargon. It simply is what it is--a stand-alone, non-planescape guide to the plane of Hell and it's devils, for serious DM's who still like 1st edition rules better.

One comes away from this book feeling very little. Many of us don't use a "Hell" in our games, but something similar...in this sense the book was ok, providing characters and settings that are easily adapted to your own environment. The information on playing in Hell was fairly good, as was the discussion of new kits. For the price, the book is good (IMHO - a wise decision on WotC's part to provide books of very specialized use at a low price).

This work is mostly a summary of previously written TSR work on the subject of baatezu (or devils as the 1st Ed. and some new material calls them). The summary is well done (though it forgot the material on baatezu language) and especially useful for those who do not have the Planescape line, but wish to use baatezu in their games with up-to-date information. In addition, the Guide presents some new material regarding the secrets of the Nine Hells and the true goals of the masters of evil.

The core ideas are excellent, though they are presented only from the perspective of the Nine Hells and its lawful evil nature. Because said ideas are so presented, most GMs will have to figure out how the secrets of Hell figure into the grand and very complex cosmology of TSR's world. The author could have done some of this work, which is why I don't give him 5 stars. Because the logical extensions are (in my view) simple, he still rates 4 stars. Finally, I would have liked information on the ancient baatorians, a creation of Planescape, which was missing as well.

All in all, a book worth buying that could have been a little longer and better.

The Guide to Hell is a decent sourcebook if a DM lacks the Planescape setting, or the Planescape monstrous Compendium vol 1. If a DM has both of these, then the section revolving around the inner machinations of Hell is still new and quite cool. Of course, most DM's will want to heavily modify various parts of this book- I beefed up all the Lords of 9 to make them strong enough to fend off my PC's party of 6 lvl 9-12 heroes, changed most of their names, etc. There is a bit of conflicting info here with planescape- in that setting a PC can descend into Nessus if he's lost his bloody mind and really wants to, but in the Guide to hell, simply being there without asmodeus' permission means instant death. I favor the latter personally, but this is just one example of some contradictions between this and planescape. If a DM only owns the Monstrous Manual and wants to incorporate the diabolical, this book includes brief run-downs for every type of devil/baatezu. The devilkin race is neat, some of the kits are OK, and the summary info is very useful if you can't get it anywhere else. It is also more informative and comprehensive than the overview provided in Planes of Law, but apparently that's what some people did not like about it, they found it dry. I feel that a DM can add juice and flavor to the cold hard numbers when he's writing adventures, but if things like the Illithiad are more your style this book may not be for you. When I buy an RPG book I want it to provide me with the stats and overviews that I can flesh out into adventures rather than "tone" or too much flavor text, but that's me. If that's what your looking for, this book is a good purchase. Otherwise, I'd point you to the "Faces of Evil" book which does a nice job of combining info about fiends and flavor. It's probably more fun if not so useful.

Another failed attempt at re-writing the hells. First Planescape now this. The devils in this supplement arn't evil creaturs who were outcast from the heavens or some other plane, rather they are presented as the blood-spawn of Azmodeous. Azmodeous is transformed into a god in this supplement with all devils being his "children". While the supplement contians some creative elements, for the most part I didn't feel they fit a more classical presentation of Hell. (ala Dante's Inferno, or Paradise Lost). If you're looking for a new twist on Hell then this may be worth a look, however if you prefer a more classical presentation of Hell (like I do) then I recommend reading Dragon Magazine Issues #75 and #76.

One of the things that always bothered me about the Planes as described in 1st edition was that it seemed flat, populated by killing machines, and mostly the romping ground for inhumanly powerful characters looking for stuff to kill that would give them suitably huge experience. Period. Then, in 2nd Edition, Planescape was published, and I was astonished. Here, at last, was an attempt to explain how the planes actually worked, to populate them with a more realistic demographic, to make them more than a playground for 18th level fighters. Granted, many people disliked Planescape (I suspect they were the very same 30-year old children I refer to above). But most people I have spoken to found Planescape to breath life back into the stale, boring Planes. And now this. This product is a sad rehash of Planescape information: it encourages DMs to treat fiends like monsters, ignoring their immortal patience, tremendous intelligence, and experience. It describes one of the seven lower planes. 'Hell,' as it really is in D&D and has been since the beginning, encomapasses all the lower planes, not just Baator. If you want a 'to do' list for your munchkin campaign, this is your product. If you're interested in things like setting, dialogue, actual role-playing (as opposed to combat simulation), or story, this should be at the very bottom of your list.

Wow, this is the best aid I have for the adnd game yet. It'slike a whole campaign setting in 1 book, and it is (worth the cost).The devils in it are awesome monsters. The lords of the layers are also very cool. I like the whole idea of it the best. The creators of this book made a VERY good book here.