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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Book of the Damned—Volume 2: Lords of Chaos (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Book of the Damned—Volume 2: Lords of Chaos (PFRPG)
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Gaze into the Abyss!

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:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscription.

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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Exorcise Your Demons!

5/5 —

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.

Everyman Product Reviews: Book of the Damned

5/5 —

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.

For the full review, head to the Everyman Gaming blog.

(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!

5/5 —

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?

Damned Well Done.

4/5 —

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

Demons! :)

5/5 —

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.

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Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Oh sweet, I so can not wait for this.
Contributor

Awesomeness. :D
Dark Archive
Dark_Mistress wrote:
Oh sweet, I so can not wait for this.

Makes two of us. I'm currently enjoying vol. 1.

Dark Archive

The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?
Shadow Lodge
Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Very awesome!
The Exchange RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32

Can't wait ... til August? *sob*

Still, it's nice just knowing it's on it's way. Here's hoping there's a third book :-)
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I was kind of hoping for the daemon book, but oh well, I guess that all the tanar'ri lovers out there need some hugs.

And I can't wait to see how it stands up to the Fiendish Codex, both written by the same author :) Shame that James can't recycle his ideas from FC...
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Jared Ouimette wrote:
The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?

I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

But yeah... there will at LEAST be one more book in this line, if all goes according to plan.
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Gorbacz wrote:

I was kind of hoping for the daemon book, but oh well, I guess that all the tanar'ri lovers out there need some hugs.

And I can't wait to see how it stands up to the Fiendish Codex, both written by the same author :) Shame that James can't recycle his ideas from FC...

I can't recycle ideas... but I can build on them. If this book works as a companion to Fiendish Codex AND to Green Ronin's Book of Fiends... then woo!

Jared Ouimette wrote:
The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?

At least, daemons will get some love, after Bestiary II! In which they will feature! The big question is... will there be demand for the other smaller races of fiends, or will a few get put in the same book!

Scarab Sages

Does the Dance of Joy
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Oh and I hope for some serious, sweet, tentacled, slimy qilppoth/obyrith love. *SPLOORTCH*
Dark Archive

I really hope they'll release a variant of this series focusing on celestials. I've had some fun moments using celestials as allies and villains and it'd be great for celestials to get the Paizo treatment.

That said, Lords of Chaos is one of the books of 2010 for me as I'm planning a Mendev/Worldwound campaign. Now we just need a Chronicles book focusing on that region. :D
James Jacobs wrote:

I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

But yeah... there will at LEAST be one more book in this line, if all goes according to plan.

I hope that Todd will write a possible third book about Daemons. :-)

Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Baroth wrote:


I hope that Todd will write a possible third book about Daemons. :-)

+1

Gorbacz wrote:
Baroth wrote:


I hope that Todd will write a possible third book about Daemons. :-)
+1

+ infinity and (the great) beyond

Really looking forward to this book as well!
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
Ravenmantle wrote:

I really hope they'll release a variant of this series focusing on celestials. I've had some fun moments using celestials as allies and villains and it'd be great for celestials to get the Paizo treatment.

I hope that a celestials book comes long after ALL of the fiends are covered. While celestials are occasionally antagonistic to pc's, it's not often enough for me to be panting eagerly for a 64 page treatment.

That said, bring on Volume 3: Daemons and Volume 4: Denizens of Shadow (fiends such as Kytons that have taken up residence on the Shadow Plane)!
Dark Archive

Hmm. When I saw the title "Lords of Chaos", I was actually hoping it would be about the Proteans and the Maelstrom...
Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy
Atrocious wrote:
Hmm. When I saw the title "Lords of Chaos", I was actually hoping it would be about the Proteans and the Maelstrom...

Yeah, that does seem a better fit for the title.

Baroth wrote:
I hope that Todd will write a possible third book about Daemons. :-)

For some reason, I imagine getting him to write the book would be easy.

Getting him to write only a books worth of content. That would be harder.
Dark Archive
Vigil wrote:
I hope that a celestials book comes long after ALL of the fiends are covered. While celestials are occasionally antagonistic to pc's, it's not often enough for me to be panting eagerly for a 64 page treatment.

Aye, I was thinking along those lines. It's not something I just have to have in my hands as soon as possible. I can wait until the more obvious villains have had their moment in the spotlight. Just that it'd be interesting to see it get the Paizo treatment. :)

Contributor
Blazej wrote:
Baroth wrote:
I hope that Todd will write a possible third book about Daemons. :-)

For some reason, I imagine getting him to write the book would be easy.

Getting him to write only a books worth of content. That would be harder.

*grin* You're probably right ;)

But enough threadjacking, more talk about demon-boy Jacobs and his book :)

Fiendish Codex I was the best 3e product, I expect something that great.

Can't wait for the daemon book by Todd as well.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

See Paizo, now you just need a mockup cover and we can start pre-ordering Todd's Daemon book. No need to even debate on the idea ! ;)
Dark Archive

Just photoshop his picture and the words "Todd's Daemons Book (working title)". Best seller. :)
Contributor

Here's the outline:

Product Name: Matt Daemon Must Die
Author: Todd Stewart
Page Count: 2 pages.

You hear that, Todd? TWO PAGES!

*braces for the impact of a 300-page manuscript*
Contributor
Sean K Reynolds wrote:

Here's the outline:

Product Name: Matt Daemon Must Die
Author: Todd Stewart
Page Count: 2 pages.

You hear that, Todd? TWO PAGES!

*braces for the impact of a 300-page manuscript*

*wry grin* You do realize that I'm incredibly tempted to turn that in along with my next batch of stuff on the 9th now?

*fiendish cackle*
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Product Name: Matt Daemon Must Die

Please keep this as the official name!! :D

Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Easy - tell Todd that he has to turn in a regular 64 pages Chronicles book, while secretly up the count to 256 at the printer. This way, you will have to cut just 44 pages ! ;)
Contributor
Gorbacz wrote:
Easy - tell Todd that he has to turn in a regular 64 pages Chronicles book, while secretly up the count to 256 at the printer. This way, you will have to cut just 44 pages ! ;)

I'll still have to develop 256 pages tho. :/

The Exchange
James Jacobs wrote:


I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

That is what I love about you guys, I totally believe you.

That is going to be so sweet! ...in a abyssal sort of way, of course...
Dark Archive

I love your books guys, although Monte's Inferno aka BoVD ranks up there as a favorite too :)
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Jason Nelson wrote:
Thanks for the thumbs-up - hopefully War of the River Kings will live up to your regard. It's coming together nicely so far! Mmm... troll thunderlancers mounted on mastodons... :)

Kakishon was awesome, Pathifnder needs *more* pocket dimensions ! ;)

Todd Stewart wrote:
...it could in theory fit ...

AP's are 96 pages long Todd, you sure about that "fit" thing ? :)

Dark Archive
Gorbacz wrote:
Jason Nelson wrote:
Thanks for the thumbs-up - hopefully War of the River Kings will live up to your regard. It's coming together nicely so far! Mmm... troll thunderlancers mounted on mastodons... :)

Kakishon was awesome, Pathifnder needs *more* pocket dimensions ! ;)

Todd Stewart wrote:
...it could in theory fit ...
AP's are 96 pages long Todd, you sure about that "fit" thing ? :)

G, I think he's saying the theory would fit...just the theory, nothing else. But I think I would actually buy 96 pages of Todd's theories.

Dark_Mistress wrote:
Oh sweet, I so can not wait for this.

Mistress, you think that you and me and one other sly dancer on here could get a dance of ruin going until this hits the shelves? Maybe one of the dog and pony show people...Heathy or...whats-his-name?

Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Beercifer wrote:
Dark_Mistress wrote:
Oh sweet, I so can not wait for this.
Mistress, you think that you and me and one other sly dancer on here could get a dance of ruin going until this hits the shelves? Maybe one of the dog and pony show people...Heathy or...whats-his-name?

Whaaa?

James Jacobs wrote:
Jared Ouimette wrote:
The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?

I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

But after you cover demons, devils, and daemons, who's left?

Contributor

Republicans? ;)
Sovereign Court
Eric Hinkle wrote:


But after you cover demons, devils, and daemons, who's left?

Divs, Hags, Qlippoth, Rakshasha, Asuras?

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16

Kytons!
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Eric Hinkle wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Jared Ouimette wrote:
The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?

I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

But after you cover demons, devils, and daemons, who's left?

Plenty!

Asuras (evil outsiders that rise from the mistakes of the gods)
Daemons (physical manifestations of death)
Demodands (perhaps the mercenaries of chaos and evil or something like that)
Demons (the result of sinful mortal souls exposed to the raw nature of the Abyss)
Devils (fallen angels and heretics of faith)
Divs (corrupted genies)
Kytons (shadow-plane dwelling masochists who have been infused with some strange outer evil)
Oni (evil spirits bound into the flesh of a humanoid form)
Qlippoth (the original evil outsider race, perhaps the first source of evil)
Rakshasas (fiends who have abandoned links to the gods and the outer planes in order to try to rule the Material Plane)

Now, there'll certainly be some crossover here and there (expect to see a fair amount of talk about qlippoth and maybe a little about demodands in Lords of Chaos), but I could certainly see a book about all ten of these fiend races eventually!
Liberty's Edge
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Easy - tell Todd that he has to turn in a regular 64 pages Chronicles book, while secretly up the count to 256 at the printer. This way, you will have to cut just 44 pages ! ;)
I'll still have to develop 256 pages tho. :/

So just to make sure that we are all on the same page...Book 3 is 256 pages with Todd writing, Sean is the developer, and the under/over on the manuscript is 300 pages....excellent! ;)

PS...I will take the over...

PPS...James - Looking forward to book 2! Book 1 was excellent.
Contributor
Mr Baron wrote:

So just to make sure that we are all on the same page...Book 3 is 256 pages with Todd writing, Sean is the developer, and the under/over on the manuscript is 300 pages....excellent! ;)

For the record, everything I've turned in since The Great Beyond has hit the word limit. I've been good with that since Sean threatened to break my typing fingers! ;)

Paizo Employee Creative Director
Todd Stewart wrote:
Mr Baron wrote:

So just to make sure that we are all on the same page...Book 3 is 256 pages with Todd writing, Sean is the developer, and the under/over on the manuscript is 300 pages....excellent! ;)

For the record, everything I've turned in since The Great Beyond has hit the word limit. I've been good with that since Sean threatened to break my typing fingers! ;)

Makes me wonder if Sean didn't have something to do with a certain bite attack aimed at one of your fingers, now...

:::Heavy breathing can be heard from Las Vegas:::

Must. Have. Sooner....
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Republicans? ;)

Ouch! LOL! I resemble that remark :)

EDIT: Though my players do call me an Evil GM a lot :)
Gamer Girrl wrote:
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Republicans? ;)

Ouch! LOL! I resemble that remark :)

EDIT: Though my players do call me an Evil GM a lot :)

Nothing is wrong with Republicans, after Helmet is forcibly removed from the elder demons influence, the Republican Movement can proceed without the horrid plans for runechildren in Ptolus as scheduled.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
James Jacobs wrote:
Eric Hinkle wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Jared Ouimette wrote:
The big question is...will there be a Volume 3?

I certainly hope so. We've got plans for more than 3 volumes in this series, in fact... so hopefully we'll do a lot more in the series!

But after you cover demons, devils, and daemons, who's left?

Plenty!

Asuras (evil outsiders that rise from the mistakes of the gods)
Daemons (physical manifestations of death)
Demodands (perhaps the mercenaries of chaos and evil or something like that)
Demons (the result of sinful mortal souls exposed to the raw nature of the Abyss)
Devils (fallen angels and heretics of faith)
Divs (corrupted genies)
Kytons (shadow-plane dwelling masochists who have been infused with some strange outer evil)
Oni (evil spirits bound into the flesh of a humanoid form)
Qlippoth (the original evil outsider race, perhaps the first source of evil)
Rakshasas (fiends who have abandoned links to the gods and the outer planes in order to try to rule the Material Plane)

Now, there'll certainly be some crossover here and there (expect to see a fair amount of talk about qlippoth and maybe a little about demodands in Lords of Chaos), but I could certainly see a book about all ten of these fiend races eventually!

I don't see "Republicans" on that list anywhere?

what about the bladelings?
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