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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 04:56:01 PM

Title: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 04:56:01 PM
So the longest D&D campaign I've ever written is a massive Apocalyptic, journey through the Infernus and close the gate to Hell thing that I wrote off and on from the late 1980s until 2010 or so.  A couple groups have started it and one got fairly far into the Infernus, but nobody's finished it.  My conceptualization of the Infernus was originally heavily based on AD&D, though I intermixed devils and demons and never adopted the lame ass Blood War from 2e.  Over the past few years, as I've picked up various supplements I've thought about revising, updating, and expanding it.  Earlier this year when we decided to go more or less full bore into Swords & Wizardry, I decided to reskin it as a classic Law vs. Chaos struggle and add more Infernal content from varied sources and cultures, including Asia as I have lots of descriptions of Asian Hells handy.  And, as I recall, Pathfinder has a bunch of monsters from Asian netherworlds that I might go ahead and convert to S&W.

So my new, very basic cosmology is this: you have the Infernus, which comprises all the Chaotic realms (Abyss, Hades, Hells, etc.) that intertwine like a helix; the Astral & Ethereal Planes that connect the inner and outer planes respectively; the Elemental Planes; Limbo, which is the Plane of Balance; and Paradise, which constitutes the various Lawful realms.  There is no supreme force for good or evil, but various entities aspire to such posts.

And then today I stumbled across this, which looks pretty cool: https://acheronstore.com/inferno/

I'm doing the prime material section of the campaign now, but sketching out ideas for how I'll redo the Infernus. 

So what is your vision of Hell/Infernus/Abyss or whatever?  What are some sources that inspire you?
Title: Re: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Chris24601 on May 24, 2023, 07:24:36 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 04:56:01 PM
So what is your vision of Hell/Infernus/Abyss or whatever?  What are some sources that inspire you?
You remember 2020?

That.

More seriously, my vision of hell is essentially being starving and alone, locked outside a home with a roaring fire, friends and endless food inside... in an endless subzero moonless night and no one within is even aware you're there... forever.

There's a reason Hell in my setting is called The Outer Darkness.
Title: Re: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Eric Diaz on May 24, 2023, 08:47:59 PM
If you are into 5e stuff, Avernus looks pretty cool despite being railroady.

One big inspiration from me is Lost Gods by Brom (!).

https://methodsetmadness.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-absence-of-god.html

I'm trying to develop this setting but still on early stages.
Title: Re: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 10:17:19 PM
No interest in 5e whatsoever; I'm just interested in what they did with Dante.  And it's a 3rd party product thankfully, not WOTC trash.

I'll convert anything I get over to Swords & Wizardry anyhow.  So I might even go back and grab cheap Pathfinder 1e monster books to get more fiends, as they've got a ton of them.

And yeah, I've read that Brom novel.  Has its moments.
Title: Re: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Jam The MF on May 24, 2023, 10:40:03 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 10:17:19 PM
No interest in 5e whatsoever; I'm just interested in what they did with Dante.  And it's a 3rd party product thankfully, not WOTC trash.

I'll convert anything I get over to Swords & Wizardry anyhow.  So I might even go back and grab cheap Pathfinder 1e monster books to get more fiends, as they've got a ton of them.

And yeah, I've read that Brom novel.  Has its moments.

Mephistopheles and Charon, etc; are in Bestiary 6.  I have all 6, plus the Monster Codex.
Title: Re: Don't Panic, We're Getting Satanic
Post by: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 11:14:03 PM
Quote from: Jam The MF on May 24, 2023, 10:40:03 PM
Quote from: Persimmon on May 24, 2023, 10:17:19 PM
No interest in 5e whatsoever; I'm just interested in what they did with Dante.  And it's a 3rd party product thankfully, not WOTC trash.

I'll convert anything I get over to Swords & Wizardry anyhow.  So I might even go back and grab cheap Pathfinder 1e monster books to get more fiends, as they've got a ton of them.

And yeah, I've read that Brom novel.  Has its moments.

Mephistopheles and Charon, etc; are in Bestiary 6.  I have all 6, plus the Monster Codex.

I have all the AD&D books plus the Dragon magazines detailing unique creatures of the Hells, Abyss, etc., but I'm interested in getting the Divs, Asuras, oni, qlippoths, extra daemons, demodands, etc. from Pathfinder.  I just found all 6 bestiaries in a bundle for a good price (digest sized) so I think I'll grab them.  Still trying to find Book of the Damned for a decent price.  I could break down & get the pdf, I guess.