Demon Hunters RPG (2008)

Demon Hunters Role Playing Game – Corebook is produced by Dead Gentlemen Production and Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd and Sponsored in part by Cobbler’s Crystals, “Now that’s a ga#d@mn cup of coffee!”

Demon Hunters RPG is written in a slightly tongue-in-cheek style for experienced and mature gamers with heavy emphasis on Storytelling. It is presented as a table-top simulation for the actual order itself, but I am sure that is just a clever marketing ploy. Demon Hunters RPG seems well suited for a group looking for a change of pace from the standard dungeon crawl and encourages role play. Again, this book is not intended or suited for a group of new role-players looking for an introduction into the hobby (er, I mean table-top simulation). The time-frame of the game itself takes place in a modern setting just before the events of the original film, Demon Hunters.

As a Demon Hunter, a player belongs to the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch as a vanilla human or any number of supernatural variations and augmentations. The Brotherhood ensures our world remains safe from all manner of evil, up to and including their nemesis group, the Order of the Infernal Scepter.

The Demon Hunters RPG Corebook lives up to its name by providing everything within its covers to play the game including this author’s favorite: Chapter 6 How not to die. Within this book is also the Purple Ninja’s choose your own adventure mini-game! Two games in one! The only thing a player needs is dice and her imagination.

Contained within are quotes and wisdom from the greatest demon hunter of all time, the Purple Ninja, to help new recruits in their battle against evil. Every single one of these quotes is timely and should be heeded by all of the Brotherhood. Here is an example, “To err is human. To wet your pants and hide under table is also human. Try not to be too human.”

Included within the book is the excellent Demon Hunters Orientation Video DVD(also taking place before the events in the Demon Hunters film) with many Dead Gentlemen regulars, several filling in for the original Demon Hunters film actors including Scott C. Brown as a strangely frightening and intense Sam Hell (replacing Matt Armbrust) as well as a few new characters unseen in the films and is a must for fans.

The only thing which could have possibly made this more of a complete game Corebook is the inclusion of a short story set in the Demon Hunters universe by none other than R.L. McSterlingthong (a known fan of Dead Gentlemen Productions and, well, himself). Though this far inferior writer suspects a deal is already in the works for the highly anticipated Second Edition of the game.