Spawned from the darkest depths of the Abyss, the howling hordes of demonkind rise up to destroy and devour all of existence, their slavering, fiendish forms built to rend, enslave, and beguile. Whether in their horrid domains of madness in the Outer Rifts, or called forth into the material world by insane spellcasters, demons represent the fundamental immorality of the universe, evolving from sinful souls into entities both wretched and godlike, united under their vile taskmasters toward a single goal: to destroy all that mortal life holds dear.
Lords of Chaos is a 64-page book that includes:
Complete descriptions of more than 40 demon lords and their terrifying realms, including the demon queen Lamashtu, Mother of Monsters.
New rules and special abilities for worshipers of individual demon lords.
Rules for the demoniac prestige class.
A detailed history of the Abyss and the disturbing origins of demons as a race.
New demonic spells and magic items, plus rules for demonic implants and becoming a demon.
Overviews of the different types of demons, plus tricks to aid in their summoning.
Descriptions of the Abyss's other residents, such as writhing soul larvae and the sinister, primordial qlippoth.
Rules for creating new nascent demon lords.
Statistics for four new demons ready to bring the horrors of the cosmos to players’ doorsteps.
Lords of Chaos is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and Pathfinder campaign setting, but can easily be used in any fantasy game setting. While Lords of Chaos is a standalone product, it also serves as a companion to Book of the Damned—Volume 1: Princes of Darkness, which details the legions of Hell.
by James Jacobs
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-250-0
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
Lords of Chaos, the second of three sourcebooks on the evil planes of the Pathfinder multiverse, covers the demon realm known as the Abyss. It's written by Paizo Creative Director James Jacobs himself, so you know it's going to be chock-full of accurate setting lore. This 64-page book details the various demon lords and their domains, while also introducing a demon-themed prestige class, some new spells, and some new demons. I'll go through everything in more detail, but first we have to stop and admire the cover art--it's perhaps the best of any Pathfinder book. Simply stunning!
The book opens with a little two-page creation myth. It's intriguing and ominous. Interspersed between each of the main chapters are more brief entries in this vein, all purporting (and stylized to look like) "real" entries from the legendary Book of the Damned. One of my favourite entries is on the Realms of Repose, where slain demon lords go. Fascinating stories! Other useful entries include discussion of the qlippoths and on demon-touched places on Golarion. The art design is excellent.
Chapter 1 is "Lords of the Abyss". Each of the major demon lords of the setting are summarized in half- to full-page entries that cover their interests, unholy symbols, personalities, mortal cults, and (for the purposes of the Demonic Obedience feat) boons. There aren't any stat-blocks for these demon lords even though they all (with the exception of Lamashtu, an actual deity) could in theory be slain by mortals--this book was written prior to the introduction of Pathfinder's Mythic ruleset. The information here is integrated nicely with Golarion, and there are a lot of little adventure hooks and ideas for a GM to play with. The artwork is really good, and the boons and obediences seem well-balanced and flavourful. The chapter covers notables like Dagon, Deskari, Pazuzu, Orcus and Nocticula as well as some more obscure ones.
Chapter 2 is "Demonkind". It provides a brief description, "associated sin", and "preferred sacrifice" for each of the different types of demons in the game. The writing is great here, as is the concept of the various types of demons having their origins in the manifestation of different mortal sins. The chapter introduces the idea of "nascent demon lords" which are CR 21-25 threats suitable as end-of-campaign bosses. The only one mentioned that I recognise from elsewhere is Treerazer.
Chapter 3 is "Demonology". It starts with an interesting overview of whether or why members of the different classes in the game (Core Rulebook and Advanced Players Guide) would be involved in worshipping demon lords. There's a single page introducing the concept of demonic implants, but they're not particularly interesting. Another page covers a ritual for transforming into a demon, which I guess could be useful in an "evil PC" themed campaign. Of more interest is a new prestige class, the Demoniac. It looks solid and reasonably powerful, with early obedience boons, improved summoning abilities, extra resistances and ability score increases, spell progression, and a really cool capstone. Granted, a PC would have to be Chaotic Evil to take the prestige class so I'm not likely to see it in play anytime soon. The chapter introduces four new spells, one of which, rift of ruin, is really cinematic.
Chapter 4, "The Demonic Horde" concludes the book. We get some very brief discussion of larvae and qlippoths (other inhabitants of the Abyss), but mostly the chapter consists of new bestiary entries. There's vermlek demons (worms that inhabit corpses to serve as armor and disguises--gross but good!), brimorak demons (short fire-loving monsters), seraptis demons (suicide demons--the writing in this entry in particular is awesome, and I'm quite intrigued by the Dolorous Sisters), and vavakias demons (CR18 winged bull elephant-like warlords).
The inside back cover of the book is a handy list of all the demon gods, lords, nascent lords, and bhargest hero gods along with their alignments, areas of concern, domains, and favoured weapons. Very useful for a GM who quickly needs a patron for a cult.
I used to think of demons as simply chaotic evil monsters (which they are!) but there's a lot more diversity and material to work with than I original thought. I can't think of anything to complain about with this book, but there's a lot to praise. The writing is uniformly excellent, the artwork is great and fits the tone of the book well, and it will serve as a handy off-the-shelf resource for anything demon-related in the game. Unless you're going with the more recent hardcover book that collects and revises all three of the softcovers, this is the best place for information on demons in Pathfinder.
Final Score & Thoughts Crunch: 5/5 Stars
Flavor: 5/5 Stars
Texture: 4.5/5 Stars
Final Score: 14.5/5 Stars, or 4.75 Stars/5, rounded up for its flavor.
Individually, the three volumes of the Book of the Damned are amazing, excellent reads. The fact that the series managed to hold the same level of quality throughout several years of printing and a slew of authors is a testament to Paizo’s mastery over the evil realms. These planes are ripe for use in adventures of all sorts, and I am pleased to have such a thorough, encompassing guide on the topic. I would highly recommend all three volumes to any GM’s toolbox: they will meet your needs and exceed them a hundred times over.
(Note: This review is for all three volumes of the Book of the Damned combined. Not that it matters much; this score applies to all three books equally.)
A glimpse into the Abyss, and not just Noticula's!
While many individuals have expectations of finding their favorite demons from earlier editions of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game, the realists among us know for fact that the unyielding forces of Litigation and Intellectual Property Rights forbid certain known names from making their appearance. Certainly, to some, this is a disappointment and a detraction from what they might think is otherwise a pretty enjoyable product.
What those individuals forget is that, for one thing, this book does not render prior tomes about such beings obsolete - they can keep those named individuals in their own games. This tome focuses, as it should, on numerous fiends and entities from the Abyss that impact and influence Golarion, as well as how they might interact on the countless worlds across the Multiverse. On this premise, the book exceeds all expectations; details and insights into the workings of the demons, how to best summon them, items that have Abyssal origins, what was lurking in the far corners of the Abyss before there were even such a thing as demons - all this, and delicious details about everyone's favorite Mother of Monsters, within a easy on the eyes package filled with goodies for your villains...and maybe a villain protagonist or three.
Oh, and of course, the cover-girl (and her sinful relations with her brother, among others). Can't forget that, now, can we?
Demons; you need a score card or a guide book to keep them straight. Well here you go. A great suppliment about one of the most Iconic of threats in the game. Check my full review: Lords of Chaos
I love the flavour of the infernal realms in Pathfinder. They show a bit less restraint than older 3E infernal books and while a bit more vaugue (due to lack of space of this format probably) it offers a good idea about the way the Abbys works and thinks and thus sends the imagination on the path of destruction, which is really al we need. In hindsight I commend Paizo's decision not to stat superpowerful planar entities. We have High CR balors and other such horrors to present their will and displeasure to the players.
I must resist the urge to use the Seraptis demon untill my players have at least a slim chance of winning.
If you have the Wrath of the Righteous campaign, Demons Revisited and Demon Hunter's Handbook, will you get much of this book? I'm wondering because it talks about demonic implants, etc. and I imagine many of these things are in those other books?
Lords of Chaos gives a broader overview of demon-kind, and is the basis for material appearing elsewhere. I would consider this (and the other two in the series, along with Chronicles of the Righteous) an essential for any GM who relies heavily upon demons, devils, and daemons in their game.
(based on 9 ratings)
