A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Demiplanes: The Twilight Demesne

Demiplanes: The Twilight Demesne by Robert Brookes is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press. The supplement is for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and, as a result, it is covered by the Open Game License and some of it is considered to be Open Game Content. This particular supplement details a demiplane, a small plane, artificially created, plane of existence that is linked to the Prime Material Plane and the Plane of Shadow.

This is a ten page bookmarked PDF that is available from RPGNow at the regular price of $2.45 but which was purchased at the reduced price of $1.72. Two pages are Raging Swan’s standard plain front and rear covers and there is a third, similar, page. One page is the front matter and Contents along with a list of stat blocks by CR (although there is only one stat block) and one page is the Open Game License. The supplement comes in two formats, one optimised for print and one for screen.

The first section is The Twilight Demesne At a Glance (this section is also reproduced in GM’s Monthly Miscellany: July 2014). This gives an overview of the Demesne – a shadowy forest – how to get to it, which are randomly appearing paths, its physical and other traits, notable NPCs and locations and lore. There is also a d20 table of dressings for the demiplane and a map.

The second section, Notable Locations covers the six locations from the previous section in more detail. There is one stat block, for the kitsune Keeper of the plane (the entire plane has an Oriental feel to it).

Demiplanes: The Twilight Demesne in Review

The PDF is very well bookmarked, with all the major and minor sections linked and the Contents, which list the two sections and OGL, are hyperlinked, making navigation above average. The text maintains a two column format and no errors were noticed. Apart from the map, there are a couple of minor black and white illustrations which would appear to be stock.

The primary focus of the demiplane is a location called the Starlight Shrine. This is a library containing books and scrolls on astrology and arcane lore, and which gives a bonus to a Knowledge check. There is also an astrological chart which can, once per day, be used for one of spell-like divination abilities, if a skill check is succeeded at.

Other locations include a labyrinth forest, a wayang bard who fled the Plane of Shadow and a forest containing transformed kytons, who had pursued him. Hovering over the plane is the Dragonglass Moon, a moon made of obsidian inhabited by an umbral dragon and which contains a vast library.

There are a number of potential adventure hooks on the plane, even if they aren’t listed as such: helping the Keeper against the dragon, helping the wayang bard, stopping the kytons, finding out the secrets of the moon (which aren’t actually given; a GM will need to develop these) or simply wanting to consult the library. As such, with a bit of work, quite a lot can be done using this, comparatively short, supplement.

If it has a single disadvantage it is the sheer number of official Pathfinder supplement that would appear to have been used, going by the Open Game License. There would appear to be eleven different supplements as well as two Pathfinder core books used. Fortunately, if these aren’t owned, the required information can be found in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document and the d20PFSRD; without access to those the supplement would be unusable without the actual books.

Despite this potential problem, this is an interesting plane that can easily be dropped into any campaign. Demiplanes: The Twilight Demesne is well worth a look at and can be found by clicking here.