Van Ritchen's Guide to Fiends? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Van Ritchen's Guide to Fiends? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
sciborg3
12-04-07, 12:57 AM How was this product? I'm specifically posting here because I want to know if it adds to what Faces of Evil said about the fiends...thanks!
The Serge7
12-04-07, 09:59 AM It's a decent supplement and somewhat complements FoE. It somewhat better captures a more "spiritual," almost "occultic" feel for fiends, which is to my preference, than FoE.

I'd have to take a look at it to offer more. That'll be about eight hours or so from now.
Thanael
12-04-07, 12:34 PM It should provide a scholarly albeit slightly planar-clueless view of the fiends. The perspective is probably: "What do fiends do when on the prime?" vs. Faces of Evil's "Where do fiends come from and what do they do there?".

This is all from memory though. Oh and it is spelled Van Richten.
ripvanwormer
12-04-07, 11:44 PM There's some stuff on fiendish "transposition" that was later used, much less atmospherically, in the Fiendish Codex I. There's a bit more flavor on fiendish summoning but not a lot. I actually prefer the summoning circle diagrams from the 1e adventure Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth to the ones in Van Richten's Guide.

The section on transposition is going to be useful for some. The section of theories of fiendish origins might be instructive as examples of what people who don't know about the Outer Planes might think fiends are (one suggestion is that they're evolved demiliches).

The section on "Observed Powers" from pages 27-43 is execrable. If others have wrung some use or at least enjoyment out of it, I commend them, but I wasn't able to. It's full of tedious writing that goes on for pages and pages and manages to say nothing at all; it's quite painful, really. If there's anything worse than the ham-fisted, dry-as-tax-forms "in character" text, it's the condescending, page-filling, "if you've got the Monstrous Compendiums you already know this" out of character text.

"Reality wrinkles" are cool, but don't make a lot of sense (and weren't intended to be used) outside of the Ravenloft setting. I suppose you could decide that powerful planar beings could create them in the Outer Planes as well - it would mean that they have essentially tiny equivalents of divine realms wherever they go, which would make them much more powerful than they currently are.

I wasn't impressed with most of the sample fiends, which didn't really have distinct personalities - they're more or less standard examples of their respective species. I didn't need the book to tell me the succubus seeks to manipulate mortals, the cornugon is a military conquerer, or the arcanaloth tries to get people to sign contracts, and there's really nothing else notable about them.

I do like Drigor, who is an excellent example of a well-used shator gehreleth, and has a fascinating family saga built around it.

The bit about "phylacteries" is Ravenloft-specific. The "Mystick Cage" is an interesting enough attempt at a device that keeps fiends from teleporting. The material on how fiends lure mortals into cults is something Faces of Evil generally didn't include, and it's pretty well done, though there's nothing surprising in it.

There are regular fictional interludes that sometimes work well in illustrating various ideas. If the alternative is the "Observed powers" section, I'm happy for Teeuwynn to stick to fiction. At least it's a pleasant enough read.

I can't really recommend this book to anyone who has the other 2nd and 3rd edition material on fiends unless they're running a Ravenloft campaign. I don't dislike it, but there's not much point to it. The material on transpositions is the best and most original part. The stuff on fiendish summoning, pacts, and cults is good, but nothing really new. Reality wrinkles are cool, but vaguely defined - if you think fiends should be able to warp reality to an undefined degree within a greatly variable distance while remaining immune to divination magic, I've pretty much told you all the book tells you about it.

For people in Ravenloft, yeah, I recommend it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
sciborg3 12-04-07, 12:57 AM	How was this product? I'm specifically posting here because I want to know if it adds to what Faces of Evil said about the fiends...thanks!
The Serge7 12-04-07, 09:59 AM	It's a decent supplement and somewhat complements FoE. It somewhat better captures a more "spiritual," almost "occultic" feel for fiends, which is to my preference, than FoE. I'd have to take a look at it to offer more. That'll be about eight hours or so from now.
Thanael 12-04-07, 12:34 PM	It should provide a scholarly albeit slightly planar-clueless view of the fiends. The perspective is probably: "What do fiends do when on the prime?" vs. Faces of Evil's "Where do fiends come from and what do they do there?". This is all from memory though. Oh and it is spelled Van Richten.
ripvanwormer 12-04-07, 11:44 PM	There's some stuff on fiendish "transposition" that was later used, much less atmospherically, in the Fiendish Codex I. There's a bit more flavor on fiendish summoning but not a lot. I actually prefer the summoning circle diagrams from the 1e adventure Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth to the ones in Van Richten's Guide. The section on transposition is going to be useful for some. The section of theories of fiendish origins might be instructive as examples of what people who don't know about the Outer Planes might think fiends are (one suggestion is that they're evolved demiliches). The section on "Observed Powers" from pages 27-43 is execrable. If others have wrung some use or at least enjoyment out of it, I commend them, but I wasn't able to. It's full of tedious writing that goes on for pages and pages and manages to say nothing at all; it's quite painful, really. If there's anything worse than the ham-fisted, dry-as-tax-forms "in character" text, it's the condescending, page-filling, "if you've got the Monstrous Compendiums you already know this" out of character text. "Reality wrinkles" are cool, but don't make a lot of sense (and weren't intended to be used) outside of the Ravenloft setting. I suppose you could decide that powerful planar beings could create them in the Outer Planes as well - it would mean that they have essentially tiny equivalents of divine realms wherever they go, which would make them much more powerful than they currently are. I wasn't impressed with most of the sample fiends, which didn't really have distinct personalities - they're more or less standard examples of their respective species. I didn't need the book to tell me the succubus seeks to manipulate mortals, the cornugon is a military conquerer, or the arcanaloth tries to get people to sign contracts, and there's really nothing else notable about them. I do like Drigor, who is an excellent example of a well-used shator gehreleth, and has a fascinating family saga built around it. The bit about "phylacteries" is Ravenloft-specific. The "Mystick Cage" is an interesting enough attempt at a device that keeps fiends from teleporting. The material on how fiends lure mortals into cults is something Faces of Evil generally didn't include, and it's pretty well done, though there's nothing surprising in it. There are regular fictional interludes that sometimes work well in illustrating various ideas. If the alternative is the "Observed powers" section, I'm happy for Teeuwynn to stick to fiction. At least it's a pleasant enough read. I can't really recommend this book to anyone who has the other 2nd and 3rd edition material on fiends unless they're running a Ravenloft campaign. I don't dislike it, but there's not much point to it. The material on transpositions is the best and most original part. The stuff on fiendish summoning, pacts, and cults is good, but nothing really new. Reality wrinkles are cool, but vaguely defined - if you think fiends should be able to warp reality to an undefined degree within a greatly variable distance while remaining immune to divination magic, I've pretty much told you all the book tells you about it. For people in Ravenloft, yeah, I recommend it.