Demonology: The Dark Road A D20 System supplement from Mongoose Publishing Rating: (5 ot of 5 hearts) by Jean-Michel

Demonology: The Dark Road, is the first in the "Encyclopaedia Arcane" series by Mongoose Publishing, the publishers of the excellent "Slayer's Guide" series. This book describes the art of demonology, or of summoning demons. The term "Demon" in this case also refers to evil outsiders such as Hell Hounds, Devils, Daemons, Nightmares, and such. The approach to this new form of magic is far different than anything published so far. Instead of having prestige classes that can summon more powerful demons as they gain levels, the author Matthew Sprange invented a fluid system that can be used by practitioners of any level. It permits wizards to summon Fiends without having to master the Planar Binding spells and to summon more powerful creatures than the lower level Summon Monster spells permit.

To use the art of Demonology, a wizard must take a level in the prestige class of Demonologist, in which he can progress as early as his second character level. The next step is to research rituals. The difficulty of performing the ritual is based on the Challenge Rating of the demon as is the amount of time required to complete the ritual. The summoning ritual is the easy part, however. Next comes the control check. This is where we get into the interesting, insidious aspect of Demonology.

A low level demonologist can easily summon and control a Dretch, a Lemure, a Quasit or an Imp. He can also try to summon and control a Succubus, a Kyton or a Hellcat, but that is a lot more dangerous and the chances of failure are much higher. The consequences of a failed control check are dire, as the Fiend will try to kill or possess the summoner. But it is possible to succeed, so the temptation will be there…

A controlled Demon can be used in a variety of ways. He can be issued a nine-word order. He can perform a task, such as that of a bodyguard, for an hour (there are ways to give multiple instructions to a Demon or to prolong his period of servitude, but it makes the control check harder). He can be siphoned of his demonic energy to add to the demonologist's magical strength (one extra spell slot per point of Challenge Rating, split between spells as the demonologist sees fit). He can be bound into an object, such as a weapon or armour, to empower it with magical properties. There is a chapter describing the uses that a variety of Fiends from the Monster Manual are typically put to.

There are many ways the Demonologist can improve his chances of success: research, finding one of the greater names of a fiend or even its true name, experience, taking more time to perform the ritual, offering blood sacrifice of an animal, offering the soul of a priest or paladin, even offering his own soul. While it is possible for a demonologist who exercises restraint to be of good alignment, using the Dark Road to summon the more powerful Fiends like Balors and Pit Fiends will almost necessarily imply resorting to the loathsome practices that have given Demonology a bad reputation. Demonology is about taking risks, and balancing those risks with the gains. There are always risks, a roll of 1 on the control check always means failure and the most carefully prepared ritual can end in catastrophe.

Although I gave five hearts to this book, I hesitated to do so. I don't think it is universally useful, because of its narrow focus, but a group can find tremendous satisfaction in watching the wizard character control powerful demons to achieve his goals (or loose his soul to infernal forces). The uses a DM can find for it are many. The game mechanics are elegant and well balanced. A player trying to overexert his demonologist's capacities will most likely be rolling up a new character shortly. One section provides advice for GMs on how to introduce and adjudicate the use of demonology in their campaign. This book is definitely intended for experienced gamers and role-players. In the end, I have no choice but to give five hearts to this work. But understand, my soul is at stake.

New Rules: