Demon Lord’s Companion 2 by Robert J. Schwalb is a role playing game supplement published by Schwalb Entertainment for use with Shadow of the Demon Lord. This is a collection of new options for the game.
This is a 46 page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for {$7], as a print on demand premium heavyweight softcover print on demand book for $22.99 or as both PDF and softcover for [$23.99]. It is also available in printed for from sites such as Amazon. Previous supplements have come in two versions, one with and one without page backgrounds. This only comes as one, instead using layers to create printer-friendly versions. The PDF is the version reviewed and two pages are the front and rear covers, one page the front matter, one page the Table of Contents, two pages the Index and one page an ad for Queen of Gold: Tales of the Pirate Isles.
The Introduction states that when the Demon Lord’s Companion was compiled it was mainly from material left over from the core rulebook. More of this material wound up in Poisoned Pages supplements and sourcebooks such as A Glorious Death, Exquisite Agony and Terrible Beauty. After two years and over 100 products, all such material has essentially been used, so instead a decision was made to push the game in new directions.
Character Creation starts with new ancestries, ones that are stated to have long remained separate but, with the Demon Lord’s shadow falling upon Urth, have started to appear, either unable to ignore the threat or because their homelands have been destroyed.
Ferren are a race of shapeshifters that can take on the form of the common housecat. Hamadryads are trees that can take on a more human form. Molekin are short, ugly people whose homelands below the Firepeaks in the Desolation has been lost. Naga are part snake, part human creatures who fled to Urth from another world destroyed by the Demon Lord. Sylphs are one of the four elemental races created by the genies. Finally, yerath are a type of sentient insect found in the Patchwork Lands. There is also a page of additional story complications, as introduced in the Demon Lord’s Companion.
Group Themes has reasons why a party of characters may be together in the first place. These themes are selected at the beginning and can be changed at level 3 and at level 7. The reason they can’t be changed more frequently is that each theme has specific mechanical bonuses; allowing the theme to be changed at a whim opens up the possibility of abuse. There are 20 different group themes, which have a variety of benefits. Some of these have “tokens” which are gained or spent in order to gain an associated benefit.
Character Paths has new character paths. There are four new Expert paths. The Auspex can sense what is coming before it does. The Silhouette requires Shadow magic to be known and is common to criminals who use its hiding ability to improve their skills. The Wangateur are wise men and wise women with skills for magic who often serve tribes. The Wardscribe imbues sigils and glyphs to produce a specific magical effect.
There are eight Master paths. The Cenobite becomes enlightened and can overcome the limits of their bodies. The Fencer is adept with daggers, rapiers and related weapons. The Halberdier is skilled with a halberd. The Invoker commands and binds demons. The Legalist is a champion of Order. The Metallurgist is one of the greatest users of Metal magic. The Sleuth has observational skills they use for law or crime. The Tormentor make their foes suffer.
Magic has four new traditions and spells for these. The traditions are Invocation, which summons daemons – not demons – and has a chance to drive the caster mad. This is the tradition of the Invoker. Metal is a tradition that used to be used by dwarfs and gnomes but is now mainly used by Molekin. Order is a tradition that had fallen out of fashion and rids the world of randomness; it is used by the Legalist. The Soul tradition uses the caster’s own soul for energy and is said to have been discovered by the cenobites in the Monastery of the Third Way in the Ice Watch Isles.
Demon Lord’s Companion 2 in Review
The PDF is bookmarked to a reasonable level of detail and the Table of Contents is to a similar level and is also hyperlinked. The Index is more thorough and is also hyperlinked. Navigation is very good. The text maintains a two column full colour format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of colour illustrations, most or all of which look to be custom, as well as some black and white filler. Presentation is very good.
Demon Lord’s Companion 2 is basically a collection of new rules. New ancestries – namely races – are not an uncommon addition to any game, but this actually provides reasons for why the ancestries have not been seen before, rather than simply plonking them down somewhere with no explanation. The new ancestries are races that previously kept a low profile and, by their nature or location, were able to do so. Only recently have they become more commonly seen. The group themes provide a reason for characters to be together – rather than they simply met in a tavern – and this reason gives them an actual game advantage. The new paths provide extra options and two of the new magic traditions are tied to these. More spells for these traditions would be good, but that’s the only real downside. Demon Lord’s Companion 2 is a nice collection of extra rules and it can be found by clicking here.
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