A Review of the Role Playing Game Supplement Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Book of the Damned

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Book of the Damned is a role playing game supplement published by Paizo Inc. for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result.

The supplement is available as a 290 page PDF for $9.99 or as a hardback book; the PDF is the version reviewed. Of the PDF, two pages are the front and rear covers, two pages are the front matter, one page is the Table of Contents, one page the Index, one page the Open Game License and one page is an ad.

The Introduction gives the stats for The Book of the Damned, which is actually an artefact that also has its own demiplane that can be accessed by the book. There are a list of abbreviations for other supplements referenced and a warning that this supplement contains disturbing themes, and that such themes will not be for everyone.

Chapter 1: Fiendish Divinities starts with 50 divinities described in detail. These have stats (although not game stats) and descriptions of various demonic, diabolic and daemonic divinities and their religions and followers, as well as boons for three prestige classes, Evangelists, Exalteds and Sentinels.

There are 50 fiendish divinities described, and the majority of these are demon lords. There are only nine devils, all of which rule a plane of Hell, four Queens of the Night, female Lawful Evil deities who reside in Hell, four daemons, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and one Neutral Evil div lord. The preponderance of demons is not that surprising; each deity tends to rule a layer, and the Abyss has many more layers. Not every demon lord started out as a demon though; some originated as qlippoths. There are only two true deities, Asmodeus and Lamashtu; the rest are demigods. Each divinity is illustrated.

Following this are many more divinities divided into types. These are lesser divinities, and each type is given a brief overview before a variety of different divinities of that type are also given a brief overview; essentially a paragraph followed by obediences and boons. These also have tables listing the divinities’ names, areas of concern, domains, subdomains and favoured weapons.

These lesser divinities are divided in Asura Ranas, Daemon Harbingers, Infernal Dukes, Kyton Demagogues, Malebranche, Nascent Demon Lords (demon lords generally have to build power and resources; they don’t usually emerge fully-fledged), Oni Daimyo, Qlippoth Lords (some qlippoth lords evolved into demons; most of the truly powerful ones were destroyed as they were hated by, well, everyone), Rakshasa Immortals and Sahkil Tormentors.

Chapter 2: Fiendish Realms starts with detailed descriptions of Hell, Abaddon and the Abyss. These lack any game information, being all fluff, no crunch – some crunch is provided in the later supplement, Planar Adventures – instead concentrating on descriptions of what can be found, what the planes are like and some locations of interest. These start by covering in detail Hell’s nine layers, Abaddon and the Abyss. Four layers of the Abyss are covered in detail whilst more are given brief overviews (some of the same brief overviews can be found in Planar Adventures). Sometimes more detail on these layers can be found in Fiendish Divinities. Abaddon is in some ways given the most thorough treatment, but this is because it only has a single layer, not multiple ones like Hell and the Abyss, so more time is spent covering the single layer.

Other Fiendish Realms are places other than the three primary planes where general lesser divinities can be found. Not all of the realms are on other planes; some, such as for the rakshasas and oni daimyo, are given locations on Golarion. The Kyton Sanctuaries can be found on the Shadow Plane and Xibalba, the Land of Dread, is the home of the sakhil tormentors.

Inside the Book of the Damned is the demiplane that exists inside the artefact. The book is a source of great, and constantly updating, knowledge on all fiends, but such knowledge has a potential price. This section gives details on the tiny plane, stats for the book as if it was a library, its legend and victims and a guardian creature, a vestige of Tabris, the book’s author.

Chapter 3: Fiendish Influences starts with worshipping fiends and brief overviews of the different types of cults based on the fiendish type. Next are new feats, including Fiendish Obedience, which is the feat used to gain the benefits mentioned in each fiendish divinity’s description in Chapter 1. There are new domains and subdomains, new spells and new rituals, all with a fiendish feel. Devil Talismans are new magic items that allow a devil to be summoned from Hell. Next is a broader selection of magic items, followed by artefacts, the latter including the four component parts of the Book of the Damned.

Infernal Contracts are the deals most usually drawn up between mortals and devils – daemons and demons draw them up as well, but tend not to honour them – in which a mortal gets a specific benefit for a specific price. The contracts follow a specific design, and various sample contracts are described, including payment, complexity, hidden conditions and termination clauses.

Finally, there are three prestige classes, Demoniac, Diabolist and Souldrinker, connected to the Abyss, Hell and Abaddon, and therefore demons, devils and daemons, respectively.

Chapter 4: Fiendish Bestiary starts with lists of devils, daemons and demons, with each having a brief overview of individual types from various bestiaries. including their roles, and this supplement, ordered by CR, as well as a table listing the various sources and other details on each. There are no stats on these.

Other Denizens of the Fiendish Planes has eleven new creatures, one of each fiendish type, which do have stats.

Appendix: Excerpts from the Book of the Damned is an extensive piece of fluff in a writing-style font. This provides in-universe material on fiends and the lower planes, much of it duplicated from other parts of the supplement but perhaps suitable for handing out to players.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Book of the Damned in Review

The PDF is well bookmarked, with by the looks of it the major and minor sections as well as sidebars linked. The Table of Contents covers the chapters and the most important sections. Finally, the Index is divided into several sections; Featured Divinities, Gear and Magic Items, Artifacts, Spells and Rituals. Navigation is very good. The supplement is in full colour, with may custom illustrations, up to two pages in size. Presentation is very good, although the font style for the Appendix becomes a bit annoying to read after a couple of pages.

As the warning in the introduction mentioned, the topics of this supplement are definitely not going to be for everyone. Whilst not truly horrific or dark in nature, and certainly not to the extent that can be found in supplements from some publishers, the whole concept of demons and devils is anathema to some. A GM is definitely advised, as the supplement suggests, to check that their players are okay with such material.

Some elements are quite tied to Paizo’s Golarion setting, and are different from many Dungeons & Dragons-based games. These include Asmodeus being one of the major deities of the setting but perhaps the biggest difference is with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the daemons who inhabit Abaddon; in this supplement they are the ultimate nihilists, out to end everything – including themselves in the long run – rather than being the more mercenary and controlling types they are portrayed in D&D (although in later editions and Planescape their name was changed to Yugoloths). Fiendish races other than demons, devils and daemons are more suited to other settings.

Unless the campaign being played is with evil characters, much of this supplement is of limited utility, mostly reference or for non-player characters. Many of the spells, magic, prestige classes and other options will have seriously negative effects on player characters if they use them. Of the magic items, the Book of the Damned is perhaps the most interesting, but it does have quite a bit of time spent on it. A dangerous artefact full of knowledge that creates its own demiplane is certainly different. Using it in game does, of course, have potentially disastrous consequences.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Book of the Damned is an interesting collection of fiendish material, but it’s hard to see how much of it will be used in the average game, other than for enemies.