Going to #&!!
Ruminations on the Netherworld
I like what he has so far.
I have been going on a similar path myself:
Going (Up) to Hell? Cosmology
Post 666
Let's be honest here. Hell is interesting. It is the ultimate mega dungeon Everything there can be killed and not only that, it is a good thing to do!
What I have been struggling with though is cosmology.
IF there is a multiverse in my game (and there is) then does each world have it's own Hell? Or do all Hells connect to each other.
Obviously one answer is that in the core of my world there is my Hell and in the core of the Land of Nod there is another Hell and so on... Another is they are all the same place, just different points of view and different access points.
The other issue I still have is how to get Hell and the Abyss to work together. Sur eI could make the same place and have the demons be the thralls of the devils, but that robs them of some of their chaotic power.
I should figure this out soon. The Dragonslayers are about to get a copy of the Demonomicon and I want to do an whole arc where they fight Orcus.
Could the Antechamber of Hell/Limbo also be the Abyss? Is it big enough to support all the demons I need? The Earth currently is home to almost 7 billion people. How many demons then are there? According to many of the myths of the time there is anywhere from 6,666 to 133 million demons, with up to 72 demonic leaders.
According to the 4th ed Manual of the Planes Hell is a planet that is 7,000 in diameter. If my world is roughly the same size as Earth then Hell can be inside the Earth with 460 some odd miles between the the two surfaces. The deepest part of the Earth is under 7 miles deep and I recall reading somewhere that the deepest we have ever dug is 2 miles. So plenty of room for demons, devils and all sorts of beasties.
Even if the Underdark is 10 miles deep that is still a lot of room.
So I think I have enough room. Now where to put them all.
Other useful links:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/dra/400ninehells
http://kotgl.blogspot.com/2010/01/kill-planes-abyss.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell
I like this, especially since I've already opted to get rid of the Ethereal and Astral Planes, turning "ethereal" and "astral" into states. Anyone who can become ethereal or astrally project can descend into Hell.
ReplyDeleteIt also gives a good rationale for a Mythic Underworld-style megadungeon: it started as a simple construction project that accidentally broke into an upper outpost of Hell, and now it's been populated and expanded by monsters.
Your stuff man & Hod's seems like the sort of thing one would find in some of the best Dragon Magazines about hell! Jeez now I'm jonesing for Trey to do something with the Hell syndicates! Ideas just keep floating around these blogs! Anyhow awesome stuff! All of my hellish best!
ReplyDeleteGood timing! I was just reading up on Underworld stuff (which apparently includes the realms of Sleep and Dream in some traditions).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links!