Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B is for Baalseraph

Eldritch Witchery is my next book coming out.  It is for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game and covers some of the same ground that my last book, The Witch, did for Basic D&D.
One of the special features though of Eldritch Witchery is the inclusion of Demons and Devils much like the original (and inspiration) Eldritch Wizardry did for Original D&D back in 1976.

With my book I wanted to capture everything eldritch about the witch class.  So unlike some of my other books, this book also has a Warlock class.  It is also different from my Basic D&D book "The Witch".  Though all three classes together would make a nice full picture of the witch as she has appeared through out the history of RPGs.
Plus this book is designed to be used with the Spellcraft & Swordplay game.  It *can* be used with OD&D/S&W, but you would need to modify some things a touch.

But the biggest draw for both books is the inclusion of Demons.

 

When writing about demons, devils and the hells for D&D it is very hard to break out of the Gygaxian classifications of who is what and what is what.  A look at the history of the Succubus in D&D reveals that. So I had to make a conscious effort to break it.  I did and everything is now a "Demon".  There are many different types of demons though.

The Baalseraph are powerful demons that were once the forces of good.  They fought against their brethren and masters, becoming twisted and evil.  They were cast down into the pits (which we call Hell) and there they subjugated the demonic races already living there.

To non-gamers: The Baalseraph are the fallen Angels and gods from various myths.
To gamers: The Baalseraph are the unique "Ruling" class of devils.

In EW demons, devils and other creatures were put together and resorted in to Calabim, Eodemons, Lillim and Shedim.  The Baalseraph rule over the Shedim (Demons of Rage) with an iron fist.  They have alliances with the Lillim (Demons of Seduction) and the Eodemons (Proto-demons) and fight against the legions of Calabim (Demons of Destruction).

The rulers of the Baalseraph are Astaroth, Asmoday, Baalberith,  Beelzebub, Gressil, Sonneillon and Verrine.  I am also working up backgrounds and stats for Belial, Mammon, Mephistopheles, Moloch, and Dispater.  Once I have them all plotted and stated out I want to have seven Princes, each in charge of other courts and representing one of the Deadly Sins; somthing I have discussed before.  Belial, Moloch and Baalberith I have used before in my Ghosts of Albion games, so coming up with something brand new for them will be key.

Hopefully I can get this all sorted out this month!

14 comments:

Stuart Lloyd said...

Looking forward to more demonic posts! This is an Z to Z post I will be following all month.

www.lloydofgamebooks.com

A Tarkabarka Hölgy said...

And I am now officially following this blog. Good job! *games high five*
Happy A to Z!

Pun Isaac said...

Things like the Baalseraph are things I've always wanted to include in a game, but never gotten around to.

Roger said...

Sounds like enough to keep you busy for a while. Enjoy!

Teresa Cypher said...

All very interesting, Timothy. I had no idea.

This is akin to mythology, and that is one of the most fascinating things about humans--that they--I mean "we" invent such tales. ;-)

Nice to "meet" you. I'll be back to read more :-)

Tonja Drecker said...

Looks like you're going to be a busy boy! I'm going to have to remember these demons.

Unknown said...

Happy April. This was interesting. Good luck with your gaming endeavours.

Arlee Bird said...

Whoa, that's a lot of demons to keep track of. This is gonna get intricate.

Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog

Timothy S. Brannan said...

I have over 300 demons I could talk about!

Anonymous said...

Very enlightening post.

cturnitsa said...

Good job, Tim

Unknown said...

I'm not in love with demons, but they do fascinate me. Interesting theme!

Look forward to the rest of your challenge posts!
Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge


Trisha said...

I have never played in the D&D-verse but it is a fascinating world. :)

Kern Windwraith said...

Very interesting. You're obviously the go-to guy for demon intel. As Teresa (above) said, this is very much like mythology. I'll be interested to hear more about these demons.