Newsgroup: it.hobby.giochi.gdr.dnd
Titolo: QUARTA edizione 4th - Demoni e Diavoli

a me ricorda un po' l'immortal set di d&d mischiato al manual of the
planes della 1' edizione...
cmq mi sembra simpatico
In the real world, "demon" is synonymous with "devil." "Abyss" and
"hell" have a similar relationship. D&D designers have struggled with
these facts since 1977 when the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game
depicted demons and devils, the Abyss and the Nine Hells. The original
basis for the division was alignment. Aligned planes existed to
provide a meaningful afterlife for similarly aligned characters, and a
need to fill those planes with natives resulted in demons being
distinct from devils. As the game evolved, the original division
remained, but too many similarities persisted. The advent of 4th
Edition lets us accentuate the differences between the two primary
species of fiends.
Throughout demons' and devils' existence in the D&D game, resemblances
between them have been stronger and more numerous than differences.
Both species are extraplanar forces of evil that seek souls to
supplement their numbers. Each breed has wretched and implike
creatures at the bottom of the hierarchy and godlike archfiends at the
top. Each member of both species has a wide array of similar (and
often superfluous) supernatural powers. Most demons and devils are
superior to members of typical PC races in every way, including
incredible intelligence. Their purposes in the material world have
always been similar.
In the original AD&D Monster Manual, Gary Gygax admitted that devils
"somewhat resemble the demons both in their characteristics and
abilities." AD&D 2nd Edition kept the planar structure of the original
game. Demons and devils became tanar'ri and baatezu, respectively, but
little made them distinct other than their categorical names. Only a
conflict called the Blood War kept them from overrunning the material
world. However, this evil-on-evil fight didn't expand the
possibilities for typical D&D play. On the contrary, the Blood War
brought the motivations and hierarchy of demons and devils closer
together. The 3rd Edition of D&Dretained so many of 2nd Edition's
concepts that it did little to clarify the situation until the release
of Fiendish Codex I. Fourth Edition changes all that.
In 4th Edition, the Nine Hells are an astral dominion among other
deific abodes in the Astral Sea (more on that in an upcoming Design &
Development column). The resident deity is Asmodeus, who as an angel
in primeval times, led an army of his fellows against his celestial
master and murdered that god. Although Asmodeus gained divine might
from his foul deed, he and his followers also suffered their victim's
dying curse. Under the power of that malediction, all the rebellious
angels twisted in form and became devils. Worse still, the murdered
god's words transformed Asmodeus's dominion into a nightmarish place
and bound the newborn devils to it. To this day, devils plot to escape
their prison, weaving lies and corruption to ensure their eventual
freedom and to seize even greater power.
Asmodeus rules Hell with despotic pride, and all devils conform to his
strict hierarchy or face destruction. Within the chain of command,
lesser devils use whatever power they have to mimic their ultimate
leader. Devils work to gain influence in the cosmos, especially among
mortals in the world. They eagerly respond to any summons and readily
form cleverly worded pacts. They plan and build to meet their needs,
making and using all sorts of devices, tools, and weapons. A devil
might be supernaturally potent, and it might possess incredible magic
items, but its greatest assets are its shrewdly calculating mind and
eternal patience. Devils want to impose a sort of order --
specifically theirs -- on the cosmos.
Not so with demons.
In the Abyss, which gapes like a festering wound in the landscape of
the Elemental Tempest, demons teem, eternally divided among themselves
simply by their insatiable lust for ruin. Legend says that the Chained
God, Tharizdun, found a seed of evil in the young cosmos, and during
the gods' war with the primordials, he threw that seed into the
Elemental Tempest. There, the evil seed despoiled all that came into
contact with it (some say it tainted Tharizdun himself) and created
the Abyss as it burned a hole in the very structure of the plane.
Elemental beings that came too close to the Abyss became trapped and
warped. Any desire they have turns to the longing to obliterate the
gods, creation, and even one another. They became demons.
Most demons are savage and fearless engines of annihilation. Although
sometimes driven by unspeakable yearning or by horrifying demon lords
to gather in groups, demons have no real organization and no singular
aim. Demons don't negotiate, and they build nothing lasting. Most use
tooth and claw rather than artificial weapons. They care little or
nothing for souls. Even the mightiest demon lords manipulate other
demons by using threats, direct violence, or the promise of more
destruction through affiliation. Although the lords of the Abyss that
veteran D&D players know and love to hate still exist, no monolithic
hierarchy supports any demon's influence. Although a demon might want
to destroy another creature and take that creature's power, success
only results in the winning demon using and squandering what it has
seized. Demons have no regard for the responsibilities of authority,
and they care little for keeping what they acquire. They're forces of
unmaking, and a universe under them would reflect the horror that is
the Abyss, if that universe survived at all.
What does a clearer distinction between the two major species of
fiends mean for your game? If you need a devious fiend that cares
about souls and works on long-term schemes, use a devil. However,
wholesale slaughter, pointless suffering, and terrifying devastation
call for a demon. A villain or even a player character might bargain
with devils, but those who conjure demons do so only to wreak havoc on
their enemies. In short, the unambiguous division of the fiends is
another way 4th Edition makes the game easier to design for and to
play.
About the Author
Chris Sims started out working for small d20 System companies in 2003,
then became a freelance editor for Wizards RPG R&D. Wizards finally
got annoyed enough by his constant applications for positions to hire
him as a card game editor in 2005. From there, Chris wheedled his way
into RPG R&D as an editor, and finally became a story designer after
masterminding a few choice assassinations. His credits include Monster
Manual V, Secrets of Sarlona, Rules Compendium, and Eberron Survival
Guide.

 cmq mi sembra simpatico
[CUT]
Riassunto per chi non si vuole smazzare tutta quella perfida lingua  
albionica?
-- 
Manny Calavera
Mail To: anforagimailpuntocom²
Uccidete i filosofi, tenetevi riso e bacchette per voi

cmq mi sembra simpatico
preferivo la gestione della cosa fatta da planescape
e sinceramente mi piace anche chiamarli "baatezu" e "tanar'ri"
al di la dei motivi per cui si chiamano in questo modo, che affondano le
radici in un bigottismo americano anni '80 (non che ora siano meglio) e
nello stereotipo "gioco di ruolo==satanismo" voluto dalle menti stupide
di tutto il mondo, comunque era bello che avessero dei nomi *propri*
io sono dell'idea che fosse bello che loro si riferivano a loro stessi
chiamandosi baatezu, e che il termine diavoli fosse invece il termine
dato dagli umani che non conoscono il vero nome (cosi' il villico dice
"diavolo" e il saggio dice "baatezu"). idem con demoni/tanar'ri
(secondo me idem anche con gli elfi, che chiamano se' stessi Tel Qessir
(il popolo), gli halfling, che chiamano se' stessi Hin, ecc. ecc. e si
estende a moltissime razze senzienti)
ora invece trovo una noiosa tendenza a voler chiamarli diavoli/demoni, e
insistere su questo, come a voler sottolieneare la loro natura
per l'organizzazione, mi sembra sempre vogliano cambiare quello che
c'era prima per fare qualcosa di "diverso"
l'organizzazione dell'oltremondo come era fatto in planescape, la grande
ruota, i mondi infiniti affiancati, la guerra sanguinosa, ecc.
erano cose ben fatte, organizzate, strutturate non solo dal punto di
vista meccanico (che si portava appresso le meccaniche della seconda e
poi nella terza so state completamente stravolte in maniera obrobriosa)
(e se vogliamo, si rifa' moltissimo a quello che c'era prima di PS)
invece, man mano che si va avanti, c'e' sta tendenza a voler
stravolgere, cambiare, mutare. forse temono che la gente non si
comprerebbe un manuale di "conversione" dal vecchio sistema al nuovo, e
preferiscano qualcosa di comletamente nuovo?
non so, sto modo di stravolgere mi sconfinfera molto poco
ah, e come al solito, si sono scordati gli yugoloth
-- 
Dottor Divago
al secolo Fabio Cavallin
tag Wii: 1026-8990-4517-5247
«There's no place, i can be
since i found Serenity»

 ah, e come al solito, si sono scordati gli yugoloth
non e' vero, lavorano tutti per la Hasbro!

non e' vero, lavorano tutti per la Hasbro!
loool
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