That announce is good news for me this morning, looking foward to it!
I really hope there's a follow up about the good side of things, too. I don't use outsiders in my game much, but it would be good to have them fleshed out. I'd probably be more likely to use them, then. I plan to get this book for that reason.
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Ohhh, its in the RPG line. I'm really happy with this route.
Is James Jacobs developing this?Nope.
In that I just finished developing it last Monday, that is. So the present tense is no longer accurate. :-P
James, three quick questions if you will:
1. How much (roughly) of this is reprinted material from "Book of the Damned Vol. 1-3" or the Bestiaries (6 included) and how much is all new content?
2. Are there stats for the so far unrevealed Demon Lords in this?
3. Is this book the reason we don´t get a Campaign Setting in september?
Thank you.
1) The book reprints pretty much all of books of the damned 1–3, but doesn't reprint monsters, spells, items, and the like we've since reprinted in other hardcovers. And what we DO reprint from Books 1–3 is generally expanded upon.
2) No. No stats for demigods in this book. That's not the purpose of the Book of the Damned, and never has been.
3) Yes. This book is, like Adventurer's Guide (even MORE than that one) filled with Golarion (and Great Beyond) lore.
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Darkness has been unleashed, friends!
Announced for September, description and image are not final and subject to change.
Hi Chris!
If i have already the 3 campaign settings series "book of the damned" do i need to buy this or is just a reprint?
Thank you in advice for your answers!
Depends how much you enjoyed those three books. And depends if the idea of getting boons for every major fiendish demigod (along with illustrations of each) is appealing.
The original Books of the Damned were 64 pages each. This hardcover compiles all of those books but doesn't compile any of the monsters (they've mostly all been reprinted) and puts brand new fiends of pretty much every fiend category into the bestiary section. And there's more information on all of the other critters as well... harbingers, kyton demagogues, sahkil tormentors, rakshasa immortals, oni daimyo, etc. Some of these, like the Queens of the Night or Ahriman, get a full two page writeup, while others are handled more quickly, a-la the Nascent Demon Lord section in Book of the Damned 2, with compiled boon information and short descriptions. Plus new spells and new demonic rituals and magic items and so on.
At the very least, check it out when you see it on the shelf.
If I were a customer and had my interests in this stuff unchanged, I'd say it's ABSOLUTELY worth buying after buying the previous books.
3) Yes. This book is, like Adventurer's Guide (even MORE than that one) filled with Golarion (and Great Beyond) lore.
3. Is this book the reason we don´t get a Campaign Setting in september?
I realize it may simply be a case of not enough resources if people focused on the campaign setting are also collaborating on RPG line books to get two releases out at once, but I'd like to see the CS line continue even now that the RPG line is starting to delve more into Golarion (as in, I'd like to see a CS release even on the same month that a flavorful RPG hardcover comes out). There's always room for more lore :)
More Rakshasa stuff? Looks like I'll be subscribed for this! If they get obediences, that'd be amazing for a particular character.
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And there's more information on all of the other critters as well... harbingers, kyton demagogues, sahkil tormentors, rakshasa immortals, oni daimyo, etc. Some of these, like the Queens of the Night or Ahriman, get a full two page writeup, while others are handled more quickly, a-la the Nascent Demon Lord section in Book of the Damned 2, with compiled boon information and short descriptions.
And here I was thinking that B6 was the most interesting book with all those demigods...
And there's more information on all of the other critters as well... harbingers, kyton demagogues, sahkil tormentors, rakshasa immortals, oni daimyo, etc. Some of these, like the Queens of the Night or Ahriman, get a full two page writeup, while others are handled more quickly, a-la the Nascent Demon Lord section in Book of the Damned 2, with compiled boon information and short descriptions. Plus new spells and new demonic rituals and magic items and so on.
Cool.
Anything on Asuras?
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I'm sure Ranas and Qlippoth lords are among the "etc" =D
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And there's more information on all of the other critters as well... harbingers, kyton demagogues, sahkil tormentors, rakshasa immortals, oni daimyo, etc. Some of these, like the Queens of the Night or Ahriman, get a full two page writeup, while others are handled more quickly, a-la the Nascent Demon Lord section in Book of the Damned 2, with compiled boon information and short descriptions. Plus new spells and new demonic rituals and magic items and so on.
Cool.
Anything on Asuras?
Asuras are fiends, so... yes.
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Definitely happy to hear that we'll be getting at least a a few tidbits about other outsider-level demigods...surprised but pleased. Be interesting to see what else is provided...certainly curious about the options to fight these outsiders, as well as perhaps serving them in the right game...
The Book of the Damned series has always been more about serving the fiendish demigods than it has been about fighting them. That said, there'll be lots of info in here for GMs to use to build cultists of each of them!
Asuras are fiends, so... yes.And there's more information on all of the other critters as well... harbingers, kyton demagogues, sahkil tormentors, rakshasa immortals, oni daimyo, etc. Some of these, like the Queens of the Night or Ahriman, get a full two page writeup, while others are handled more quickly, a-la the Nascent Demon Lord section in Book of the Damned 2, with compiled boon information and short descriptions. Plus new spells and new demonic rituals and magic items and so on.
Cool.
Anything on Asuras?
Yay. :)
Given that this is the Book of the *Damned* I don't suppose there's any possibility of more information on Ascended Nocticula is there?
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Given that this is the Book of the *Damned* I don't suppose there's any possibility of more information on Ascended Nocticula is there?
Not really the book for that topic at all. It's mentioned, but the story of Nocticula ascending to a chaotic neutral deity is something I'm saving for a more appropriate story-based product, rather than a supplement like Book of the Damned. I may NEVER get to the story either, so don't be too disappointed if Nocticula stays a demon lord for the duration.
Given that this is the Book of the *Damned* I don't suppose there's any possibility of more information on Ascended Nocticula is there?Not really the book for that topic at all. It's mentioned, but the story of Nocticula ascending to a chaotic neutral deity is something I'm saving for a more appropriate story-based product, rather than a supplement like Book of the Damned. I may NEVER get to the story either, so don't be too disappointed if Nocticula stays a demon lord for the duration.
One day we'll get that adventure! (Maybe harken back to Wrath and make it a Mythic adventure...just...with a little more understanding of how powerful mythic is and how much NPCs need to be empowered to stay relevant in the face of Mythic PCs)
Given that this is the Book of the *Damned* I don't suppose there's any possibility of more information on Ascended Nocticula is there?Not really the book for that topic at all. It's mentioned, but the story of Nocticula ascending to a chaotic neutral deity is something I'm saving for a more appropriate story-based product, rather than a supplement like Book of the Damned. I may NEVER get to the story either, so don't be too disappointed if Nocticula stays a demon lord for the duration.
If I ever win the lottery, I will pay anybody and everybody needed to make such a story happen :)
Any idea on the page count of this?288 pages.
Thanks, James.
Now I'm looking through the various fiend demigods, and September is not getting here soon enough.
Thanks for the extra info on what's going to be in the book, James!
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Definitely happy to hear that we'll be getting at least a a few tidbits about other outsider-level demigods...surprised but pleased. Be interesting to see what else is provided...certainly curious about the options to fight these outsiders, as well as perhaps serving them in the right game...The Book of the Damned series has always been more about serving the fiendish demigods than it has been about fighting them. That said, there'll be lots of info in here for GMs to use to build cultists of each of them!
So this is very useful for statting up the Drow of Zirnakaynin, as every noble house of that city venerates a different Demon Lord, right?
Have there been descriptions of boons from Demon Lords before?
I can´t remember.
Thanks for the great info, James. :-)
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Definitely happy to hear that we'll be getting at least a a few tidbits about other outsider-level demigods...surprised but pleased. Be interesting to see what else is provided...certainly curious about the options to fight these outsiders, as well as perhaps serving them in the right game...The Book of the Damned series has always been more about serving the fiendish demigods than it has been about fighting them. That said, there'll be lots of info in here for GMs to use to build cultists of each of them!So this is very useful for statting up the Drow of Zirnakaynin, as every noble house of that city venerates a different Demon Lord, right?
Have there been descriptions of boons from Demon Lords before?
I can´t remember.Thanks for the great info, James. :-)
In fact, the whole system of obediences and boons for Pathfinder debuted in Book of the Damned 2, so yeah... boons have existed for demon lords longer than for any other fiendish demigod. The info presented in this new hardcover takes what got expanded in Inner Sea Gods and expands it a bit further as well.
Any kyton info in this by chance? (I'm guessing not, but hope springs eternal!
... at least until the kytons get to you.)
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Any kyton info in this by chance? (I'm guessing not, but hope springs eternal!
... at least until the kytons get to you.)
Mr. Jacobs did mention kyton demagogues in an earlier post, so I'd say it's quite likely. ^_^
I'm excited to see it too. (That wasn't one of my sections, so it'll be as much a surprise to me as to you.)
Yes there is Kyton info. :)
Awesome.
Been looking forward to learning about the Kyton Demagogues for some time now.
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Mr. Jacobs did mention kyton demagogues in an earlier post, so I'd say it's quite likely. ^_^
Yay! Obviously missed his post on it, but thank you for pointing it out!
Now we just need a follow up to this next year, detailing all of Golarion's simian-kind. "Book of the Damned Dirty Apes!"
This is awesome. I've been waiting for something like this for quite a long time.
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Hrm ...
I just snagged all three Book of the Damned like six months ago. Had I waited I could have gotten all the information and more... for far less.
Really, what surprises me about this book is that it covers a topic that was already done, while so much of the rest of the Great Beyond has barely been touched.
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This book also seems to have information from the great (3.5) "The Great Beyond - A Guide to the Multiverse", as Mr. Jacobs stated above.
I recommend that book to everyone interested in maps and thorough descriptions of the planes - not only the lower planes, but also the higher, inner and outer planes.
This book will probably update only the three lower ones mentioned above, so future products may update other planes.
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Really, what surprises me about this book is that it covers a topic that was already done, while so much of the rest of the Great Beyond has barely been touched.
My theory (based purely on speculation) is that with Starfinder design taking up more staff resources than normal, having a project build on existing material was advantageous.
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That said... as part of the RPG line, some or all of this material should be going on the PRD. This is a huge boon for contributors, as we can now easily and efficiently reference this material. It will also be accessible by third-party publishers via the Pathfinder Compatibility License.
There's at least one mechanic in here that I'll be incredibly glad to have on the PRD, for those reasons. ^_^
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So just to check, will people here too start complaining about rpg line having book that contains info valid in Golarion setting? :D Or are the factions thing that crosses the line?
But yeah, this is awesome (and I'm happy it isn't wasted to get all three volumes, I'm still missing third one), but paizo is killing me since autumn/fall has so much awesome stuff that I wish it was half a year later already :'D
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Really, what surprises me about this book is that it covers a topic that was already done, while so much of the rest of the Great Beyond has barely been touched.My theory (based purely on speculation) is that with Starfinder design taking up more staff resources than normal, having a project build on existing material was advantageous.
That's something i was a little wary off too at first, but come to think of it:
-all 3 BotD are sold out,
-BotD Vol. 1 was the first Campaign Setting book with PF rules,
-Bestiary 6 has stats for all Archdevils, Horsemen & maybe a few new Demon Lords,
-"The Great Beyond" was created with 3.5 rules in mind,
-The Queens of the Night get stats,
-it becomes "Core"/open content material
The only thing about this book that i don't like is, that because of it we get nothing new in the Campaign Setting line for three months (august, september, october) after that line had already paused in march, april and may due to Starfinder needing more development power.
That being said, i hope more old material gets compiled and revised in future hardcovers (like " Complete Varisia" for example, containing the sold out Korvosa, Kaer Maga and Magnimar Campaign Setting books plus additional material about Sandpoint and Riddleport from the RotR and SD APs).
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The sold-out status of the original volumes was almost certainly a factor as well. You're far more diligent than I about keeping track of that. ^_^
Personally, I don't particularly expect to see Golarion regional books in this style. The Book of the Damned has the advantage of being more-or-less usable with any campaign world, so long as it has the usual Lower Planes. A book on Varisia would have far narrower appeal.
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A book completely dedicated to the three upper planes is something that would be just as useful as this one. That's because unlike the setting specific regions, a plane could be used in any setting. And it would be really cool to have rules for serving the empyreal lords and the upper planes on the PRD.
The Campaign Setting line would be more suitable for a product like that, just as they did with Qadira, Cheliax or Irrisen. In fact, I have been waiting for a Varisia Campaign Setting for a long time, filled with adventure hooks related to the ruins of Thassilon.
For people wondering why we are essentially only going to be getting the lower planes in this hardcover, it's best to remember that most of the other planes haven't really been covered in great detail. I wouldn't really expect a big Planes hardcover until the esoteric planes, Plane of Shadows, and the neutral/good planes got a bit more coverage.
Between the books of the damned, various bestiaries and revisited books, player companions, and AP backmatter...Hell, the Abyss, and Abaddon are pretty well covered.
I already have the books of the Damned, so I'll wait and see what else they bring to it.
I love Inner Sea Gods, but Inner Sea Races, not so much.
I like Inner Sea Races but was disappointed by the lack of racial feats and space for non-core races. Inner Sea Gods wasn't bad but would prefer a hardcover focusing on the other continents of Golarion.
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I already have the books of the Damned, so I'll wait and see what else they bring to it.
I love Inner Sea Gods, but Inner Sea Races, not so much.
Lots of obediences was enough for me, but I don't have the original books yet.
Well, since it's probably too late to change anything, I might as well list cool stuff I'm hoping for!
- Obedience-centered prestige class for each outsider type, or possibly one PrC for all of them that has a few modular abilities based on outsider type. Daemons have a very different feel from devils and demons, for instance. If not, there's always convincing the GM to allow them working with the Evangelist PrC. I'm encouraged by the mention of prestige classes (plural) in the description.
- On the topic, roughly equally difficult obediences that don't depend on something impractical like breeding mice while adventuring. (Lamashtu comes to mind.)
- Themed feats for all the outsider types! A lot of them only have bloodlines, and those can be hit-or-miss, and may not work on all all characters. Asuras don't even have that. Being able to get some specific fiend abilities on any evil character would help a lot.
- Bloodlines! I'll be honest, I just think Rakshasa Bloodrager would be really neat, since both are a blend of martial combatant and Sorcerer. But an Asura bloodline for either class would be cool too!
- Archetypes weren't mentioned, so I won't get my hopes up, but they're on my list.
- In the "too narrow and specific" category, Daemon-related character options that let you select a particular form of death. That's one of their creepier aspects.
- For Devil-related character options, contract-making tops my list. We've got a few things for that already, which is nice.
- As for Demons... Lamashtu could use some PC monster-related options. It always struck me as odd that her backstory of ripping the domain of animals from the corpse of a fallen god isn't reflected in having the domain, but I understand she has a number of things she needs to cover. Having a trait (access to the domain), feat (as the trait, but with a slightly mutated companion), archetype, or PrC that focuses a bit on that would round out her portfolio's representation.
- Qlippoth stuff? They're cool, but tricky to use for PC options. Their familiar option is adorable, though. Maybe some sort of Qlippoth fungal carrier ability?
to be honest, outside of the boons, the three fiend related prestige classes, and maybe some stuff stuff on soul harvesting and contracts, I am really hoping there isn't a whole lot of character options, or at least things designed for PCs versus NPC antagonists. I am not a fan evil pc characters, and I would rather have a more GM-focused book if we are going to do a Hardcover book of the Damned.
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A lot of my interest is in the fiends outside the big three, so my real hope is a PC/NPC section for each. Boons are already more than I expected to get, though, so I'm happy!
I count about ten types of evil outsider (not all of whom are necessarily in here), so it's an average of 28 pages each, assuming I didn't miss any. It's probably slanted towards the big three and will have more sections, but I suspect there will be plenty of room for both fiendish worldbuilding and evil accessories. I'd also love to get more info on all the types of fiends!
Question:
Will there be a table in the appendix of The Book of the Damned for the basic deity stats
Or would that information be a little too IP to include in the RPG line?
Please & thank you.
--C.
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There will be some table appendixes like that for the less-well-documented demigods and quasi-deities (such as the oni daimyo and the asura ranas and the rest), but not for demon lords or archdevils or the like... there's just no room for that, and those tables already exist in Inner Sea Gods if you need them. All of the domain and favored weapon and other key information for clerics IS included for each of them in their own entry though.
No room for things like sacred animal or color or the like. It's not a case of being inappropriate info for the RP line, but a case of physics—those tables take up a lot of room (see Inner Sea Gods for proof) and I'd rather use that space on other things.
I was just wondering whether we were getting the more important[=key] stats for those demigods/quasi-deities for which we have none.
Although a table like that in Inner Sea Gods would have been ideal, I do understand that it might not have been possible to fit all of it in. However, even just the basic information as found on the back cover of the three "Book of the Damned" campaign setting books would be enough!
(And of course, I wasn't expecting a reprint of those that were already statted up in ISG.)
Thank you for your reply.
Carry on!
--C.
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I was just wondering whether we were getting the more important[=key] stats for those demigods/quasi-deities for which we have none.
Although a table like that in Inner Sea Gods would have been ideal, I do understand that it might not have been possible to fit all of it in. However, even just the basic information as found on the back cover of the three "Book of the Damned" campaign setting books would be enough!
(And of course, I wasn't expecting a reprint of those that were already statted up in ISG.)
Thank you for your reply.
Carry on!
--C.
As with the softcover Books of the Damned, this is not the proper book to present stats for the demigods themselves. Those stats will continue to show up in Bestiaries and Adventure Paths and other products now and then, but the Book of the Damned is more about worshiping the fiendish demigods than fighting them.
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I'm close to sure that by "stats" Psiphyre meant to say the portfolio, the domains and subdomain, and also the favored weapon of the deities. I suppose these are the "key stats" every cleric needs to know to play as a worshiper. Maybe their profane symbol as well.
Mr. Jacobs,
In an earlier post you said that these minor fiendish demigods (ranas, demagogues, etc) would be depicted as the Nascent Demon Lords were on Book 2 of the BotD trilogy. Does that mean they are all getting resumed obedience and boons?
That would be far more than I was ever dreaming. =O
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I'm close to sure that by "stats" Psiphyre meant to say the portfolio, the domains and subdomain, and also the favored weapon of the deities. I suppose these are the "key stats" every cleric needs to know to play as a worshiper. Maybe their profane symbol as well.
Mr. Jacobs,
In an earlier post you said that these minor fiendish demigods (ranas, demagogues, etc) would be depicted as the Nascent Demon Lords were on Book 2 of the BotD trilogy. Does that mean they are all getting resumed obedience and boons?
That would be far more than I was ever dreaming. =O
If that's what was meant by "stats," then yes, that information is present for every one of the demigods and deities and quasi-deities in the book.
Every one of the quasi-deities/other demigods will be getting their own obedience and abbreviated boons in the form of three spell-like abilities instead of three different powers. And while the main entries will have all three categories of boon (evangelist, exalted, and sentinel), the minor entries will not.
Further, the demigods in this book will continue to have the more powerful boons overall than what was given out in Inner Sea Gods—the book will discuss how that book and this book's boon system overlaps (the short version is that if you use any of the prestige classes in Inner Sea Gods with a demigod from Book of the Damned, the prestige class's entrance requirements bump up 2 levels so that you have to be 7th level before qualifying rather than just 5th level). Furthermore, all three of the prestige classes reprinted in this book are adjusted (diabolist, demoniac, and souldrinker) to work with the boon system.
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I appreciate the Department of Expectations Management clarifying things! SLAs are a nice space/content compromise.
I was wondering what the solution was going to be for the boons' increased power level. I'm glad you found a solution that preserves their potency. ^_^
(PFS might need to issue a Campaign Clarification for the divine paragon cleric archetype, though, since it'll still get the boons at its own rate.)