Liber Demonica (3.5e Sourcebook)/Introduction

Introduction

So, what's this all about, then?
Demon. The very word is laden with meaning, and brings up images of terrifying monsters that seek to ruin and destroy. It speaks of dark pacts, moonless nights, blood rituals, depraved individuals and the shining heroes that seek to defeat them. However, each defeat only sets them back a little, for they always return, and greater than ever before, requiring ever-stronger and more vigilant heroes to drive them back to their home - a terrifying place where the earth becomes the sky and chaos and evil reign.

This sourcebook seeks to bring back some of those images to the demons in the SRD, and to put together and add flavour to them that is consistent, interesting and engaging. It also seeks to provide options to those who wish to be (or become) a demon themselves, from alternate class features, to new spells and domains, to new classes and prestige classes. This sourcebook also seeks to describe thirteen of the most prolific demon lords, in both flavour and mechanics.

Some of our core assumptions, and why we went this way
Firstly, none of this book will make use of any epic-level content, apart from a few feats. No entity written in this sourcebook will have a CR of greater than 24, and no epic content will be written here. This is partly due to there being no true balance points at epic level play: caster classes become stronger than ever, whereas noncasters become weaker and weaker; monster CRs are not even remotely indicative of anything regarding abilities or numbers; and lastly, by the time you reach level 20 in DnD, you're already a demi-deity in terms of power level (otherwise, you can't keep up). As a result of all of these considerations, epic content was ruled out of this sourcebook.

Secondly, we are strong supporters of making monsters not simply a pile of combat abilities, but also giving them some ability to affect the world around them in a way that demons would. While many of these abilities can be used to combat effect, they can also be used to corrupt their environment, and sway people toward their cause. We want to think that GMs will use our monsters as villains rather than just random encounters, and have tried to make it so.

Thirdly, we want to allow for the use of demonic characters in a balanced and fair manner. The LA system provided by the SRD is simply not good for this purpose, and thus, no use of it shall be made here. The reason for it is simple - the designers themselves claimed that its stated purpose was to make monster characters worse than non-monster characters - a goal we do not support and do not wish to perpetuate. Instead, we have created a simpler, different system to allow for monster characters and non-monster characters to stand side-by-side.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we want our fluff to support our mechanics. If a monster is CR 20, it's a universe-threatening power, with abilities to match, not some chump that can get kited to death. Our mariliths are true demonic generals; our glabrezu are true fiendish bargainers; and all the rest of our demons have abilities suited to their roles, both in combat and outside of it.

Recommended rules
This sourcebook works with certain rules assumptions. Firstly, due to its wizard-level balance, it seeks to extend a lot of non-wizard-level content into this direction. Secondly, it aims to make all levels as playable as possible by balancing to the monsters we have written. Lastly, it aims to reduce dumpster-diving and encourage flavour-driven character construction.

To this end, there are several rules that we recommend people play with. These rules, we find, allows people to make their characters the way they want, without having to worry excessively over whether they 'fit the bill' or not in order to compete with the monsters we have written, as well as those in the Monster Manuals you are likely to own.


 * Ability arrays
 * Better hit points
 * Better initiative
 * Fixed bonus types
 * More stable saves
 * New level-dependent benefits
 * Revised size
 * Simplified items
 * Simplified skills

We also strongly recommend use of the Magic Item Compendium's magic item rules. In particular, the concept of item levels (which are found on page 226) has been used to design the magic items in this sourcebook. This means that, if an item's level is listed as 10th, that means it is appropriate for a 10th level character. The pricing structure is identical to items of a given level, as described by the Magic Item Compendium. So in short, if you're offended by how cheap these items are, take it up with the sourcebook, and not myself. For a fuller rebuttal of similar arguments, please see this page's talk page.