![]() ![]() (Little Soldier had published them starting in 1976.) Gamescience expanded its roleplaying line almost immediately with reprints of Little Soldier's Book of Demons (1978) and Book of Monsters (1978). Little Soldier did present some black magic rules in The Book of Demons, but that was a rare and much more focused exception." : 320Īppelcline also mentioned that Gamescience bought the back catalog of Little Soldier Games in 1978, "which included several board games and a half-dozen "generic" fantasy supplements of very early pedigree. It would be 1977 or 1978 before "generic fantasy" supplements intended for D&D really started to proliferate, but even then, most would fit into the categories defined by these early publishers: accessories (like The Character Archaic), adventures (like Palace), monsters manuals (like Little Soldier's Books), and setting books (like City State)." : 320 Appelcline added that TSR was publishing rules expansion supplements in the early days of D&D which "included new classes, new spells, new artifacts, and generally new rules - and almost none of the third-party publishers were duplicating them. Shannon Appelcline noted that Dungeons & Dragons was the clear market leader among about a dozen RPGs available by early 1977, by which time "third parties had begun supplementing the game, with the most notable early supplements including Wee Warrior's The Character Archaic (1975) and Palace of the Vampire Queen (1976), Little Soldier's The Book of Monsters (1976) and The Book of Demons (1976), and Judges Guild's City State of the Invincible Overlord (1976+) and Dungeon Tac Reference Cards (1976). : 294 Gamescience later included The Book of Demons in the 1990 compilation The Fantasy Gamer's Compendium. In 1978, Phoenix Games bought Little Soldier Games, and signed over the rights to the Little Soldier back-catalogue to Gamescience after Gamescience paid the printing costs for Phoenix's first two products. The illustrations and cover art were done by Bob Charrette. They used Phil Edgren, who owned a bookstore around the corner from their shop, to write the text for their first book, The Book of Monsters they then asked Edgren to write a second book, The Book of Demons. ![]() Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and an Arthurian role-playing game called Knights of the Round Table, Konstant and Perez decided to supply third-party supplements for the new role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. After an abortive attempt at a role-playing game based on J.R.R. Little Soldier Games had been founded in 1975 by Ed Konstant and David Perez. With the range of difficulty levels, the use of cards to built a character's skill sets, and the charming visual elements, this should serve as a nice intro to the dungeon crawling genre or provide a retro challenge to those hunting for a very good hack 'n slash adventure.The Book of Demons is a supplement of rules for demon conjuration, and contains descriptions of 85 demons. Book of Demons is certainly pleasing, and the throwback gameplay is welcomed. ![]() There are different kinds of levels, but the goal's always the same - get from one end to the other and kill anything that comes at you. And while the game play is randomly generated, this is a game that relies on the wash, rinse, repeat format with little variety in the core elements. Perhaps where the game falters a bit is that players are kept to one path and aren't allowed to roam freely around the level maps. ![]() Violence may be a key component, but the game doesn't dwell on bloodshed or bodies laying about, because monsters crumble and then disappear when killed. Book of Demons uses a two-dimensional paper pop-up art style in the city, which creates a bit of eye candy. Increase the game time and the rewards go up as well. For example, a small experience is eight minutes, and provides some rewards, 3% of the experience needed to level up the character and some gold. The Flexiscope is also a unique,wonderful element, which allows players to customize their game experience, setting game time lengths to maximize sessions, with each time period attached to what can be earned hacking and slashing through the dungeon. There's one playable character to start (the warrior), but the mage and rogue are unlocked once you reach level 5. Book of Demons borrows gameplay mechanics from the original Diablo, even down to the pools that regenerate health, but tosses in deck building with cards that add to skill sets. New features, added to old-school adventure gaming, creates a fresh and entertaining experience. ![]()
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