Demihuman Deities

Rating:
Summary: A truckload of information, as always...
Review: Eric Boyd truly amazes me not only with the depth of the material he presents in his sourcebooks, but also with the sheer quantity. Wholly 192 pages of very small print, Demihuman Deities certainly fulfills its role as a sourcebook; nearly anything you'd think of to ask about a deity is in there, elaborated and placed within the context of Toril's rich history. The only complaint with regard to quantity would be that the focus could not be broadened to include other non-human races, like the goblinkin...saving it for a fourth volume? What it lacks in breadth, this sourcebook more than makes up in depth; Demihuman Deities stays true to the incredible detail the Faiths and Avatar series of accessories exhibits.
At first glance, one can see the extremely powerful avatars in the book are presented for more than just show and tell. This was the first thing I noticed. Each god's avatar is fully described and ready to duke it out with the characters in any Realms campaign, which seems absurd, considering the sheer might of some (well, nearly all) of these avatars. But the Realms has ever been the place for a power-hungry, magic-happy player. While the amount of information concerning the avatars seems extraneous, it merely follows the pattern of the book itself. Little is left out; the book aims to please all. Boyd throws everything into it: over-powered avatars, a detailed history, a thorough description of the clergy, and some really smoking spells, many unique and not found elsewhere. Everything a gamer could ask for.
Well, perhaps not EVERYTHING. As a reader, albeit a selective one, of Realms novels, I would like to have seen more of the ideas introduced in some of the novels incorporated into this sourcebook. So much of the material is new and exciting that nevertheless it would be nice to see some familiar material being explored more thoroughly. For example, while the entry for Lolth was well-written and useful, there seemed only scant reference to the works of R.A. Salvatore, whose Dark Elf Trilogy practically redefined the drow in the Realms. Instead, the city of Menzoberranzan is hardly mentioned, the Quest spell Zin-Carla, which was the focus of an entire novel does not even appear. Rather, bits and pieces were taken from an earlier sourcebook, Drow of the Underdark, with little regard to the excellent material in Salvatore's novels.
Final verdict? Still an excellent book, a must-have for any demihuman campaign, with or without priests. The material is incredible and certain to add flavor and depth to any Realms campaign. With a little work (and tinkering with the avatar stats), this sourcebook can be used for any AD&D setting.

Rating:
Summary: BEWARE OF THE GODS!
Review: Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities make up for one of the BEST Forgotten Realms accessories (they are in trilogy form) ever made. The Trilogy sheds light on exactly what the title says: Gods-and there sure is lots of them! The books, which are very well written and very well presented, also focus on other areas such as each church's distinct culture, tradition, and history. As a result, they will win you over for sure!

Eric Boyd does a FANTASTIC job of presenting the different pantheons, ranging from background history, to rank descriptions, to their respective magic, thus allowing for the creation of important people and characters, to adventure hooks and encounter tables, to magical items and artifacts, to new spells and treasures. This accessory has it all and more!
Each god has his own supplementary text information, clerics' and worshippers' alignments, Specialty Priest class and their alignments, church symbols, specific spells, special abilities, dress garb, even information relating to actual temples.

For other FR references/adventures, I STRONGLY recommend: the Old Empires accessory on Chessenta, Mulhorand, and Unther, Dreams of Red Wizards on Thay, Dwarves Deep, Draconomicon, the Jungles of Chult and Moonsea accessories, the Shadowdale, Tantras, and Waterdeep adventures, the Ruins of Myth Drannor (Elven pantheon) and the Ruins of Zhentil Keep Box Sets for Bane vs Cyric material (they are Second Edition AD&D, out of print and it will take a bit of searching, but it's well worth it). For updated editions of events in the Realms, see the Third Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, which even though is quite expensive, is still very useful to all FR fans.

Moreover, for those interested in the gods, the Forgotten Realms novels to read are: The Avatar Trilogy- Shadowdale, Tantras, and Waterdeep, the Prince of Lies, and Crucible: the Trial of Cyric the Mad. In addition, the Ring of Winter is relevant to the Chultan pantheon and specifically to Ubtao, as it is the only novel set in the Jungles of Chult.

Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons, and Demihuman Deities along with the Forgotten Realms Adventures accessory, and the three Forgotten Realms Campaign Settings (one for each edition) are a "must!" They all compliment each other.
Whether you are playing in the Forgotten Realms or in the Planes, this trilogy of books will be of tremendous help in collecting all the information you'll ever need.

Rating:
Summary: The Faiths & Avatars series completed
Review: First off all, I wish to congratulate Eric L. Boyd and the whole TSR FR-Team to finally bring the FR Deities in line. I am a long-time AD&D FR player and a long time ago, there were other books which mentioned the various demihuman deities ("Dwarves Deep", for example), but the only problem was, that those accesoires were written by different authors and so there were totally different formats used for the deities. Some deities were totally over-powered, some were "underpowered" and some information was totally useless for players who wanted to be a priest of this deity. But now, that's over. With this book the players of demihuman characters can play a priest of the demihuman powers as detailed as a priest of the common human gods. And the best is, the format and relative power of the deities and avatars in this book fit completely with the rest of the Faiths & Avatars series. In each racial entry there is also a short historical overview of the accomplishments of these race in question. All in all an excellent book, which is recommended for everyone who wants to play a priest of one of those demihuman gods worshipped in the Realms, but if you have no interest in gods and their priests, this book is not for you.

Rating:
Summary: Useful for the unwilling to draw on their creative energies
Review: I don't know about you, but I can easily emulate nearly every aspect of this book with flying colors. Pantheons are probably the easiest task a DM has in his campaign - all he has to do is pick several belligerently-sounding combination of sounds, call upon his knowledge of any mythos, and, presto!, a pantheon. Giving powers to specialty priests is not the hard part - the hard part is putting the motives behind the gods, at which I can't say this book succeeds too well. Unless you have a hounding desire to perfectly comply to the letter of the Forgotten Realms materials avalable, I don't see this having much success among those who want to create rather than copy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book but some flaws
Review: This book is a must for any DM that has demi's in his or her campaign

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommend
Review: This book is absolutely amazing in the depth of information that is available. All of the playable demi-human races from FR have their faiths described in detail, from history of the deity to the actual make up of their churches, etc. This book definately is of aid if you DM or play in a group where individuals love to play demi-humans because players do not have to be priests to enjoy some of the benefits. Also, it allows priests to more closely mirror the ideals of their dieties, namely with regards to specialty priests. It has made several players in my group who viewed playing a cleric as a "medic" appreciate playing clerics again. The volume of information that is available in this book is a tad bit overwhelming at times and a few of the specialty priests are too powerful in my opinion but overall this book is definately a must have if you are running a FR campaign. It will open players up to playing clerics more often, providing them with the means to have a rich background and meaningful interactions within their faith.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommend
Review: This is the third book dealing with deities in the Forgotten Realms. This is the only book dealing with only demi-humans. If you are running a drow campaign or need information on drow gods it is here. There is also elves, halflings, gnomes, and dwarven gods presented. If there is any demi-humans in your campaign this is a must so that either the DM or PC can have a better understanding of the religions on the Realms as a whole. One problem is that is some instances they refer to the other two books (Faiths and Avatars, Powers and Pantheons) in the series. But neither is truly needed if you are running a demi-human only campaign.

Rating:
Summary: A good addition.
Review: Useful for the culture of any demihumans your group may be encountering... I don;t find it ESSENTIAL, but it IS nice to look at every now and then....