The Softcover version is Letter-sized, 8.5" x 11". This works with your B/X, BECMI, or other OSR books.
The Hardcover is A5 sized, 148mm X 210mm, (8.3" x 5.8"). This is the same size as the OSE books and roughly the same size as my Warlock book (which is Digest size 6"x9").
The content and art are the same for each, so the layout is different.
This is an experiment. If the sales on this are good then I will consider A5 or Digest sized versions of my other Basic Era Witch series books.
Today is the start of my "Shadow Week" where I am going to spend some time with various Shadow Elves and Shadow Fey products. Today in lieu of a Monstrous Monday I want to talk about a classic Basic D&D (BECMI) resource, GAZ13 The Shadow Elves.
The world of Mystara/The Known World doesn't have Drow, but they do have Shadow Elves that fill the same ecological niche, but not the same mythological niche. Like the drow, the shadow elves do live underground, are harmed by bright light and separated from the main, light elf, race many centuries ago. And that is where the similarities end.
To understand the Shadow Elves best it is helpful to understand a bit about the world of Mystara and their Immortals.
For the unintiated Mystara does not have gods, but rather immortals, that help guide the affairs of mortals. The immortals in question here are Rafiel and Atzanteotl. I will deal with them in the review, but sufice to say that Immortals of Mystara tend to meddle in the affairs of entire races. Shadow Elves are a prime example. This book is also one of the first introductions to the Hollow World of Mystara.
This book is a 103 pdf, larger PoD book. It was originally published in 1990 and it was written by Carl Sargent and Gary Thomas. Cover art is by the fantastic Clyde Caldwell with interior art by the equally fantastic Stephen Fabian. The book was designed for the Dungeons & Dragons, aka Basic or BECM line. I am reviewing the PDF and PoD version from DriveThruRPG.
The book is split up into a Player's Section and a Dungeon Master's Section. While each is numbered starting at "1". The table of contents (printed) starts with the Players Section, but the book (PDF and POD, and hyperlinked bookmarks) start with the DMs section and then the Player's section. The Player's section does say "READ THIS BOOKLET FIRST!" So I think I am going to star with the Player's Section. This only makes sense since all DMs are also players.
Player's Section
This 32-page section introduces us to the book and to the Shadow Elves. This section also includes the very helpful "Other Books to Use" which gives some resources that would be helpful for a player dealing with the lands of the Shadow Elves, mostly GAZ 5, The Elves of Alheim and GAZ 10 The Orcs of Thar. I also found that GAZ3 The Principalities of Glantri was also useful.
Here we are introduced to the Immortal Rafiel and how he and his works have really guided the Shadow Elves to their modern state after their split with the Light Elves. This covers the history of the Shadow Elves as they know it. It is an interesting read and does exactly what it supposed to do, separates the Shadow Elves from the more popular Drow. You get an idea for the size of the Shadow elf realms (larger than any other country covered by the GAZ series.) and how the various settlements/cities are connected. You get an overview/example of a day in the life a Shadow Elf. The importance of the Shadow Elf shamans (clerics) and the "Soul" crystals in the birth of a new Shadow Elf is covered and how important each birth is. (This is something that is actually revisited in 5th Edition D&D Elves).
There is a great section on Creating and Playing a Shadow Elf. This speaks to the strength of D&D BECMI. It can easily allow a new race/class without "breaking the rules" as it were. Shadow Elves can advance farther than surface elves. This is explained by their unique nature. New skills for Shadow Elves are also covered. There are also many "new" spells for Shadow Elves. I say "new" since many are from AD&D or alterations of other D&D spells. Additionally, you can play a Shadow Elf shaman (cleric). It is one of the best examples of playing a D&D / BECMI Shaman. The Shaman has a few more spells, most of these are newer though there are some reused AD&D spells. Note: I say "reused" not imply that these spells are somehow lesser, they are not. They are all (for the most part) new to D&D BECMI, but players of other editions will recognize them.
The player's section has a yellowish background. It does not make it difficult to read at all, but it does make it visually separate from the DM's section.
Dungeon Master's Section
This section is 64-pages with inserts. The Immortal Rafiel is the primary focus of this section, or at least his importance is stressed. He was not the genesis of the Shadow Elves, but he certainly shaped their evolution. He is the center of their religious life and since religion features so much in their everyday life, Rafiel is central to everything.
While the Player's Section gives us the Shadow Elves as they see themselves, this section gives us Shadow Elves and their history as the Immortals see it. Their story begins 6,000 years ago (5,000 BC) when Mystara was young and Blackmoor was a magical and technological global power. The elves were living in what would become Glantri until 3,000 BC when Blackmoor was destroyed and the Great Rain of Fire happened. Mystara was knocked off her axis and ice caps melted and new ones froze. The Shadow Elves sought safety and sanctuary underground.
Here they encountered the followers of Atzanteotl, and evil Immortal, and some began to follow him, but most moved on and soon found Rafiel. Now here is where things get uniquely "Mystara". Rafiel was a Nuclear Physicist in Blackmoor. The explosion that nearly destroyed Mystara was his reactor. OR his reactor saved him when the Rain of Fire ( not to be confused with the Rain of Colorless Fire from Greyhawk) happened. In any case, this former human now leads and protects the Shadow Elves. Back to history, there is a nice objective timeline that covers what the Shadow Elves have done in their time below the surface. Including learning that others did survive (they thought all life had perished) and what they want to do about Alfhiem. Here you learn also that there are some false beliefs purposely put into the player's section that are corrected here. For example, the "Soul Crystals" do not contain or house the souls of elves as all Shadow Elves believe, instead they are bits of the Radiance (from under Glantri) that are the nuclear equivalent of magic or the magical equivalent of nuclear energy. Science and Magic get blended a lot when dealing with Blackmoor.
Shamans and their roles are also covered in more detail here. It is here since there are secrets that a Shama learns as they progress in levels that are supposed to remain unknown to them at lower levels. A really nice way of doing it if you ask me. This includes some new Shamanic spells.
The geography of the Shadow Elves' lands is covered. Including the towns, major cities, and the passageways in between. Also covered are the possible location of more soul crystals and how many. We also see the different types of animals living near or with the Shadow Elves including the "Skinwing" or a flying dinosaur they use for patrols. This is reminiscent of both the Mahars of Pellucidar and the running lizards of the drow. A couple of other monsters are presented, but I would have liked to have seen some more. Likely these would have been covered in other Gaz products.
There is a neat little section on what everyone else thinks of the Shadow Elves include Glantri scholars, orcs, elves in Alfheim, and a dwarf. Later on, we also get what Shadow Elves in other lands are up too.
Several important NPCs are also covered including Rafiel and Atzanteotl.
There is also a Shadow Elf specific character sheet. I stress function over form.
The PDF has maps you can print out and the Print version has the maps bound in the pages.
The text is easy to read if it is a scan of a printed document.
The PDF is $9.99 and the softcover POD + PDF is $18.00. If you are getting the POD it is worth it to add the $2 to get the PDF to print out the maps and character sheets.
Using this Book and Shadow Elves
If you are unfamiliar with Mystara then some of the ideas mentioned inside will sound "out there" to other D&D players. Nuclear explosions? Post-Apocalypic Elves? Immortal physicists? Aztec like humans living in a Hollow Earth? But they are all perfectly sensible in a Mystara campaign.
The writing of this Gazzateer is top-notch, easily one of the best, and right up there with GAZ 3. The Shadow Elves are also a little more interesting than Drow in my opinion. Their lives make perfect sense once you see things from their own point of view. They would in fact make a fine replacement for the Drow in many games.
The player's section would work "AS IS" for most versions of D&D. Shadow Elf Shamans are easily converted to future D&D Clerics. Adding them as a race or type of elf is also very easy.
Honestly, they are perfect for anyone that wants to play a Drow but wants something that is a little different.
For my Week of Shadow, I want to come back to these guys a little later and see how they might fit in to other types of Shadow Elves / Shadow Fey.
The Autumn Equinox draws near. Today we have slightly more light during the 24 period than tomorrow. On Tuesday this all changes and we begin that slow descent to the Dark.
This week I am going to be looking at and doing reviews on the Shadow Fey, Shadow Elves, and other creatures of shadow.
Maybe as much as Tolkien, the works of Michael Moorcock laid down the foundation that was going to be the lens of D&D. The alignment system, the multiverse, champions of Law and Chaos, all these things came to D&D via Moorcock. Though in truth for this piece I could also just say Elric since these are the mythos we are discussing today.
Whether or not these meet the AD&D Monster Manual criteria for a demon is to be decided. Let's explore some other details first.
Law & Chaos, Good & Evil
The battles in Elric's world(s) are not just of Good vs. Evil but of Law vs. Chaos. Chaos is shown to be a destructive, and often evil force. Elric and his kin are all dedicated to the Lords of Chaos and have pacts with many of these lords. So the "alignment" system of Elric's world view is the same as that as D&D really. It's where we get it in fact. So this does free up one issue; creatures described here as being Chaotic Evil are likely appropriately described in their own world and an AD&D one. We are not going to run into issues here of Chaotic Evil creatures that also protect mothers like in the Aztec myths for example.
Lords of Hell and Demons
The Elric saga takes a "multiple hells" view on the cosmos. There is more than one hell and they ruled over by Lords of Chaos. Some of these Lords are also explicitly demons. They are called such in the text. In many ways, One Man's God and my own games have evolved to be more like this point of view.
Demons vs. Elemental Lords
There are many creatures of power in the Elric tales (and Moorcock's books as a whole). Some are explicitly demons. Others though are classified as Elemental Lords. These creatures do not see to differ very much the Princes of Elemental Evil first seen in the Fiend Folio. In the 4e cosmology they would be called Primordials and the Titans and Giants are their offspring. This also fits in well with the mythology Gary was building in the GDQ series. So there are at least some relationships between these Elemental Lords and the Demons. But that is for another day. Though all of this leads me to two conclusions:
Many demons/creatures/lords of the Elric saga are very much like the demons of AD&D. Or maybe it is the other way around.
Elric might be listed as a "Magic-user 19th level" and "Cleric 10th level" but what he really is, using the current term, is a Warlock. In fact he might be the exemplar from which we draw from.
But more on that later.
Elemental Lords & Animal Lords
Before I get to the Demons, let's look at the various Elemental Lords Elric has pacts with or is able to summon. We can compare them to other examples in other AD&D works.
Elemental Lords are not the only creatures Elric encounters. There are also the various Animal Lords, or Master Types. These are almost taken verbatim for the Monster Manual II Cat Lord and in the later editions of AD&D/D&D. Among the Animal Lords are Fileet (Lady of Birds), Haaashastaak (Lord of Lizards), Meerclar (Lady of Cats), Nnuuurrr'c'c (Lord of the Insect Swarm), Nuru-ah (Lord of Cattle), and Roofdrak (Lord of Dogs). Back in the 80s we treated Meeclar as the Cat Lord before the "current" Cat Lord and Bast as the one before Meeclar. Gary would go on to support our claim in the 90s when he made Gord the new Cat Lord. all of this fit into our worlds very nicely.
The Demons
Let's get to the demons. There are lot of creatures in these myths are weird and Chaotic Evil. BUT, does that make them an AD&D demon? Well, some fit perfectly, others, we might need to file off some of the edges to make them fit.
Arioch (and Xiombarg)
Let's address the Chaos Lord in the room. Arioch. In the books he is Elric's patron. I believe he is even described as a Patron Demon. He often referred to a Lord of Hell, a Lord of Chaos and it is said he is worshipped as a god in many worlds. But is he a god? He is certainly very powerful. On the side of a God is the fact that he can have many avatars on multiple worlds (though in D&D 3 and beyond this would be called an Aspect), on the side of Demon is the fact that he can be summoned, sometimes even against his will. It is possible that Arioch (Knight of Swords), as well as Xiombarg (Queen of Swords) and Mabelode (King of Swords, and not in the D&DG) are Demons, they are just very, very powerful ones on the level of the Arch Dukes of Hell.
I am inclined to make them powerful Demon Lords/Princes. Their power is such that would disrupt the hierarchy of Hell (the AD&D Hell), but in the Abyss they can plot and scheme all the like. Again they have never been described as anything but Chaotic Evil. I would also argue that their stats in the D&DG might be a touch high. Elric did kill Arioch in the end.
Assassinator of the Gods
Back in the AD&D days we always combined this creature with Ma Yuan of the Chinese Mythos. Though they were not exactly the same. In this case, I am inclined to make this a completely unique creature.
Clakar
Chaotic Evil winged apes that can be used as guards. A bit like a summoned demon, but nothing about them screams demon to me.
Elenoin & Grahluk
These two are in a perpetual race war against each other. Not demons. I always thought of them as the female and male of the same species in a division that has gone very, very wrong. I say every few years both races have a "pon farr" like time where both are compelled to mate. While both can be summoned I took this more as they were responding to some other pact made. So they are not demons, but likely commanded or ruled by demons.
Kelmain
Humanoids from Limbo.
Mist Giant
More of a monster than a demon.
Mordagz
Now here is an interesting character. A former Lord of Chaos, he has been "demoted" to a Storm Giant. He could qualify as the classical definition of a demon; a former god reduced in power and status. His alignment though is Chaotic Neutral.
Pyaray
Now this guy. Lord of the Ocean Abysses. Looks like a demon. Commands a flotilla of sunken ships manned by undead sailors. his soul is stored in the blue crystal on his head like a demon amulet. Yeah, this one fits the demon description rather well. His 250 hp makes him a bit more powerful than Demogorgon, but otherwise he is a good fit. We also know that Pyaray and Straasha are bitter enemies. so if Straasha is an Elemental Lord, we can have Pyaray be a Demon Lord.
Quaolnargn
Ok. This one is explicitly called a "demon from the Abyss."
There are more creatures in the tales, but these are what appear in the D&DG.
Elric as a Warlock
The big surprise here is not that there are demons and elementals in this mythos, but that Elric might be better represented as a warlock rather than a wizard, or as he is described in the book, a sorcerer. We see Elric using magic, but mostly we see him summoning creatures to do his bidding. We rarely see him use the sorts of magics that one might expect of a 19th level magic-user/10th level llusionist/10th level cleric/5th level druid. However, all this magic can be used by a warlock.
I did a quick build with Elic for the 5th Edition warlock. I made him a tiefling to cover his demonic ancestry and it worked out well. But a better choice might be a Demonic Pact Warlock using some old-school rules.
My Warlock book for Swords & Wizardry would be a good fit here since I also re-classified the various demons to work with multiple "hells" and planes.
Spells: 1st: Black Fire, Charm Person, Command, Detect Magic, Mage Armor, Obedient Beast, Spirit Servant 2nd: Agony, Burning Gaze, Cause Light Wounds, Clothes of the Emperor, Grasp of the Endless War, Magic Circle Aganist Spirits, Share my Pain 3rd: Astral Sense, Circle of Respite, Clairsentience, Fiend's Shield, Lifesteal, Summon Winged Steed 4th: Arcane Eye, Call Imp, Divine Power, Fear, Spell storing 5th: Blade Dance, Conjuration of Elementals, Extend Spell (Greater), Song of the Night, Ward of Magic
*6th: Invisible Stalker **7th: Conjuration of Demons ***8th: Symbol
I rather like this.
And Arioch would fit rather well in my Warlock book too.
I have mentioned many times here what a fan I am of the Dungeon! board game. Recently James over at Grognardia (yes if you have not seen, Grognardia is back) posted about the Dungeon! computer game.
I remember it from the time, of course, I had a couple of friends that had Apples. I never picked it up since I was in the Tandy Color Computer world at the time.
Sadly, like many games, this one was never ported over to the CoCo, nor do I think it ever made it to the Atari 400/800/1200XL world either.
So naturally, I started looking for it and was pleased (and not surprised really) to see it had been uploaded to the Internet Archive.
There are a few versions up, but this is the one that I had the most success with.
With the MAME extension already supplied by the Internet Archive, you can play it right in your browser.
The Computer Adventure Game Mueseum also has the manual for you to see. But if you have played Dungeon! before then you know how to play this one.
The graphics, while primative by today's standards, look great on an Apple IIe. I did a bit more digging and discovered that the game was written in Apple Basic. So if you can get ahold of the source code you could have some fun! Hell. I would try it on my Color Computer emulator if for no other reason that see if I can still do it. On the other hand, maybe I should ask my youngest to make one for me in Python.
A user at Board Game Geek tried his hand at writing a version in C#. My C skills are weak anymore so this source code does me about as much good as the Apple Basic one. I tried to run the files he has, but I think I am missing a .NET file or two on my PC. I didn't want to try to run it on my work computer.
The Apple IIe emulation above though runs nice enough.
If you want to get a feel for what the game was like here is a walk through on YouTube.
I am a fan of Dungeon! but I don't think I am going to spend the energy chasing this one down. That is unless I also inherit an Apple IIe. But my wife has already threatened to kill me if I bring another "busted up, old ass computer" into the house.
Back in the 3.5 days there was this contest, the D&D Creature Competition. It was a fun little romp of pitting monster vs. monster in a bracket-style competition where people voted. There were such mainstays as the Tarrasque, Meepo the Kobold, and a gelatinous cube, and some odd ones like a half gold dragon/half pixie, a warforged ninja, and Half-Amethyst Dragon/Iridescent Naga. But the strangest one, and the one that eventually won was Eludecia, the Succubus Paladin.
Eludecia got a featured write-up and even an adventure centered around her, Legend of the Silver Skeleton. I always thought the character was a really interesting one. She is seeking redemption at a level that honestly staggers the mind. She has suffered (imprisoned inside a gelatinous cube to burn the entire time) and yet she is still trying to be better. She is a character I could see working quite well in D&D 5th edition. But what about Basic-era D&D?
Basic D&D: B/X or BECMI?
Lately, I have been playing an unholy hybrid of D&D B/X and BECMI and OSR. It might not work for others, but for me it has been fantastic.
So I try to aim at a 1st to 14th level range, this allows me not to have to choose between B/X and BECMI level play. I add in BECMI details when things get higher in level. Thankfully for me, there are plenty of examples of Eludecia at levels 8th, 14th, and 18th level. Once you figure her 6HD of Succubus this makes her 2nd, 8th, and 12th level Paladin. That keeps her within the bounds of my B/X sweet spot.
In this version of Eludecia has been roaming the multiverse, seeking quests not to prove her worthiness, but to test it. She has a shape-change ability, but she keeps her succubus features in the open so that everyone knows what she is. To her, it is far more important to be truthful in her dealings with all mortals than to pass herself off as human. She carries a holy sword, even though its touch hurts her.
For her Basic build, I am going to start with the Succubus as presented in Eldritch Wizardry. Then I am going to add the Paladin class on top of that. For the Paladin, there are a lot of choices including the BECMI Paladin in the Companion Rules or the OSE Paladin. I think in the end I'll use the OSE Paladin and add in the BECMI material as needed.
The Eldritch Wizardry Succubus has the following features.
Succubi prefer to act alone and Eludecia is no different. In her case though it is because she knows her journey is a solo one. Only she can earn her redemption. Plus she knows she is a target by the forces of Evil and sometimes Good alike. She does not wish to put others in harm. She still has all her succubus powers; causing darkness, drain life, become ethereal, charm person, ESP, clairaudience, shape change, and gate. She considers these powers to be tainted and will never use them, even to save her own life. Her Gate ability will not work even if she tried, no demon will answer her summons. She does know this. She can't control her 70% magic resistance.
Her base AC is 9, movement is 40 (120), and 60 (180) flight. Her base HD is 6.
I think for this build I want her a little higher level than her 3.5 days, so here she is now a 14th level Paladin. With her base 6HD this makes her a 20HD/level NPC.
Her base 3.5 stats are a little bit outside the realms of Basic D&D (unless I use some Companion or Immortal Rules). Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 30
I'll re-scale these to Basic levels.
I also opted to make her blonde as a nod to Sheila Mullen the supposed "model" for the succubus in the AD&D Monster Manual.
Eludecia, the Succubus Paladin
14th level Paladin, Lawful (Lawful Good)
Strength: 18 (+3) Intelligence: 16 (+2 languages) Wisdom: 14 (+1 on magic-based saves) Dexterity: 14 (+1) Constitution: 14 (+1) Charisma: 20 (likely it is a lot more) (+4)
1st level: Cure Light Wounds, Detect Evil, Protection from Evil
2nd level: Bless, Hold Person
3rd level: Striking
How I Would Use Her
There is so much that could be done with this character. I guess that is why 15 years after she appeared I still find reasons to pull her out for things.
I am getting near the end of my HUGE Order of the Platinum Dragon campaign (more on that later) and presently the characters are stuck in the Abyss. I think it is entirely possible that they might find her silver bones stuck in the Gelatinous Cube. The PCs could free her and gain an ally. AND since I now have Basic-era stats for her, I can see her making an appearance in my new campaign, War of the Witch Queens.
