An Endzeitgeist.com review
This installment of Kobold Press' Demon Cults-series clocks in at 14 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial/ToC, 1 page advertisement, 3/4 of a page SRD, leaving us with 10 1/4 pages of content, so let's take a look!
So what are the doomspeakers? Are they the homeless persons with the "The end is nigh"-shields? Nope, and neither are they doom metal enthusiasts - in this context, the doomspeakers are the antipaladin champions that have drank deeply from the well of profanity that is the Book of Nine Dooms, chaotic demon-worshipers, one and all.
Know how often alignment doesn't work so well in my preferred mode of shades of gray morality? Well, even there, sometimes, you have people that just fit the alignment system - their ideologies match up perfectly. This is one such example. If you're tired by moral conundrums, these guys fit the bill - it doesn't get more evil. These are guys that do not even try to seem morally ambiguous - we have capital E level, vile demon worshippers here and their methods and ideology reflect that. Now, unlike the first installment, we receive a bunch of statblocks, not one - from Narn, a straight 16-level antipaladin build (also known for crucifying captured enemies and minions) to a savage level 11 gnoll antipaladin, the first two builds are nasty pieces. A somewhat tragic tiefling oracle (level 12 of the pit-born subtype, btw.) is a more diverse character - severely mutilated by ignorant townsfolk, her descent into utter darkness was traumatic indeed. Oddly, her type is wrong - she is stated to be a humanoid (elf, human), when obviously, she should be a native outsider. Finally, a gnoll cleric and a half-elven arcane duelist (level 8 and 7, respectively) complete this array of champions of evil.
Now in direct comparison to the first installment, the doomspeaker's hooks have been greatly expanded: Each APL-array receives a plethora of exceedingly detailed hooks - essentially, this provides enough fodder for the DM to potentially run a whole campaign centered on the doomspeakers - and honestly, some of these hooks are significantly more compelling than quite a few full-blown modules I've read - without this section, the doomspeakers would feel like a cardboard cutout cult; with it, they come into their own as a distinct entity. Fans of Midgard should be aware of the sidebox that contains information on the cult in Midgard. Kudos for the inspired writing here!
The supplement also sports 2 new magic items - the bone whip, which is nice and the primal doom - these items can be thrown at foes, conjuring forth the very worst fears of the target, with the save influencing the particular CR of the doom called forth. Nasty and a cool storytelling device. The pdf also sport a new spell, the Doom of Ancient Decrepitude, which temporarily ages all targets, including the caster, while in the area - a nasty debuff indeed, and one that can have fatal consequences - be sure to take a look at the SRD-page, btw. - the spell's text carries over to this page.
Conclusion:
Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn't notice any truly significant glitches. Layout adheres to a modification of Kobold Press' beautiful 2-column full-color standard, with the borders evoking the theme of the gorgeous front cover. The pdf comes fully bookmarked for your convenience.
Jeff Lee's Doomspeakers were the Demon Cult I was least excited about - it is a personal preference, but I simply enjoy less obvious black and white morality more. That, and I'm quite frankly burned out on evil demon cults that are evil for evil's sake. I was positively surprised by the rather intriguing hooks for the sue of the doomspeakers, which help bringing the straight builds for the NPCs into a given campaign - they provide a depth I honestly did not expect to find. At the same time, however, I couldn't help but feel like the Demon Cult could have used a tad more elements to set it distinctively apart. What remains here would be a very straightforward cadre of vile opponents, foes worthy of radiant heroes. In the hands of a lesser author, the doomspeakers could have been a textbook example of evil blandness, but Jeff Lee's inspired and exceedingly detailed hooks set them apart and improve this book to a point where I'm considering this to be a worthwhile addition to a campaign.
The unique spell and items further help establishing a unique identity and manage to do an admirable job within the confines of this pdf. Now personally, I would have liked a tad bit more unique tricks for the cult - more distinct, exclusive crunch to set them apart more. The primal doom, for example, is a great narrative device and adding some special qualities to the creatures called, perhaps via a modular template, would have been the icing on the cake. As written, this pdf remains a surprisingly good installment and clocks in at a final verdict of 4 stars.
Endzeitgeist out.
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