| Joe Shmoe 741 |
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I've realised that, going off of what's presented in the Books of the Damned, the daemons should have been wiped out a long time ago. Here's why:
First of all, everybody wants them dead. The demons, the devils, the empyreal lords, pretty much every body wants the daemons gone. Now, that in and of itself wouldn't necessarily damn the species to extinction (we could say similar things about the demons after all) but it will be important once we examine point two.
Secondly, and more importantly, the daemons are the weakest faction of the various archfiends. Think about it--according to their own faction book, each of the Horsemen is about en paar with a demon lord, archdevil, or empyreal lord. Each harbinger is of similar power to a nascent demon lord or infernal duke. This means there's a massive power disparity. There are eight archdevils, not counting Asmodeus (a god). There are countless demon lords, not counting Lamashtu (a god). There are many, many empyreal lords, not counting Sarenrae (again, a god). There are only four archdaemons, and they don't have a god in their corner (at least not since the Oinodaemon was bound).
With that in mind, how am I supposed to believe that Abbadon was able to resist Lamashtu's invasion, or any of the other incursions they've suffered. The daemons are so much weaker in terms of the power they have available to them, that there's no believable way they could have lasted this long. They are outnumbered and outgunned by Heaven, Hell, and the Abyss.
While we're on the subject, why was it decided that the daemons should be so much weaker? I get that the Horsemen of the Apocalypse theme is cool, but only four archdaemons? In all of Abbadon there's only four daemons who can stand up to a demon lord, archdevil, or empyreal lord? I find that hard to believe. It seems silly to make one faction so much lesser than the rest.
When I run a campaign, I'm going to have to alter the rules somewhat. I'll likely make the Four equal to or just slightly lesser than the actual gods in terms of power, and the harbingers the equivalents of demon lords/archdevils/et al. It seems to be the only way to bring some balance in, and present the daemons as an actual threatening faction.
Thoughts?