Hell? What makes Hell a hellish place? It's not the fire and brimstone, it's not the demons and devils: Hell is a place where you go because you are being punished. It should be completely unenjoyable to the person(s) being punished and should represent something they fear the most. Not "It's going to kill you!" fear, but rather pure core-shattering fright at being exposed to something you abhor for extended periods of time.
Hell could be: Standing on a slowly descending platform... As you creep towards the darkness below, you begin to notice nook and crannies in the walls, caves filled with people, people being tortured, people you know. As you go deeper and deeper, you can't help but stare and watch as everyone you ever knew, loved, suffers a miserable fate. How do you escape from a scenario such as this? The man who sacrificed so much for so many must now become the reaper. You must assault and murder a visage of the one you love the most. Then you're free to go.
Hell could be: Eternal drowning, stuck in a loop of waking up only to realize you were just dreaming, being baked in an oven by giant loafs of bread, an embassing fall from a chair and other events of humiliation in front of large audiences. I think you get the idea. Run with it. Make Hell the worst place the victims can imagine going. The idea of Adventurers in Hell isn't that the Hell will suit them, but possibly someone they need to find, or at the least everyone around them.
Nifty little article that I will surely consider for my next batch of NPCs. I think a collection of these is a grand idea. Lead the way, Val.
Very nice article. It certainly makes a lot of sense, is logical, and an easy read. I doubt it will change the way I vote much (Though I find it already creeping up on my as I vote on this one). My voting practices, like much of what I do, are nowhere near as coherent as this. I applaud and thank you for being able to write this and for taking the time to write this. Good work.
I almost love this. It reminds me of that old Attack of the Giant Leeches horror movie, a true classic, and that helps make the idea of giant man-eating leeches appear readily in my mind. I want more though. This is a great write-up, but it feels like it lacks the scope of an entire planet rules by the Leech Lords. What of thier living arrangements? Is the planet's physical appearance similar to Dagobah's? ...And similar questions should be answered. As a final thought, what I reaaaally want, is some fluff on the subject. Maybe some Leechish philosophical musings? Or an example conversation between Hume and Human? More plot hooks would be lovely as well.
It's very nice as is, the idea itself is great and useable, but I feel like it lacks the "artistic flair to set it apart."
Good work.
I have no idea what I just read. What is this? How is this to be used? Is Cain a planet? A universe? Something like Gaia, or Mother Earth, is how this feels, but we have no real idea what this is. It reads like a creation myth of religious significance, but falls short of explaining anything to a useable degree. Withholding vote until I figure this one out.
A very nice comeback post. I hope to see some more from The Mighty Ephe! in the near future.
I think this would be a very fun adventure to run with the right group and right preparation time taken. There was a slight confusion around the Crazed Yakov incident, but it only: served to make the entire thing just a little creepier, which was nice. Overall, it's a great idea and I think you really got the flavor you were shooting for. Good work.
This is just VILE!
Poop-spraying, ass-snipping, seagull-summoning, object-stealing, TOILET FROM HELL!
I like it.
Another nice piece. Fear seems play an important role in this setting. Or maybe I'm reading into it more intended. Horse-Lizards are awesome! Picturing elongated, reptilian horses, ribs exposed, gaunt, probably a sickly grey with a long tail. Nice!
Also: Death Seekers are scary.
Interesting take on an animated skull. I really made me laugh, smile and think. Good work. Very solid submission.
There's nothing wrong with this submission, but I cannot give it a 5. It has lots of nice imagery (some might say disgusting) and was an almost captivating read.
There was only one that that really put me off, and means I can't give this a 5.
The acts of the "murderers and brigands" and then called "adventuring team" were a little too evil for evil's sake. It just irked me, and as it was the foundation of the story, that irk followed me through it.
I know it is hard to avoid such things, especially when the end goal is what you desire, but I just didn't fall in love with this piece.
This is going to turn out to be an interesting setting. I really like the fear they won't call fear aspect of their relationship with Daemons. Very cool. Not much I'm longing for after reading this. They do seem reminiscent of Orcs, now that Dreamer mentions it. Not a bad thing, per se, but I can also see Echo's point about uniformity. You might have just described the archetype a little too well and it makes it easy to picture a horde of these guys with little difference other than height (and maybe wings).
Excellent creation myth. It brings a single to tear to me eye for each fallen Creator being. Keep going!
Good work, Cheka. A few very nice examples. Though, I have to wonder about #4 as it is written. I don't think you should hold back on submitting just because an idea might not be a perfect 5., I happen to prefer reading 3s or 4s, but can agree that a mass of 2s is a bad idea. If you post something and it flops big time, take a look at it, see why, and readjust/reevaluate your writing and content.
Again, good work, Cheka.
Interesting focus point for a campaign: a pair of glasses. Not the mighty sword of superness or chalice of divinity, but a humble set of spectacles with some intense powers.
What happens when one wearing them closes their eyes? As written, it suggests everything except the back of your eyelids would cease to exist to you... This could pose some problems. Who knows where you would end up each time you blink? How can we be sure you would be returned to the same world each time you open your eyes? The world must exist, to some part, in memory. And how can you know YOU exist, if you aren't looking at yourself?
This is a great starting point for a philosophical rant, but lacks the rant part which I think would be most fascinating and fun.
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The idea is a solid one: New takes on Hell. But I think the article itself could have a lot more to do with creating said Hells and offering some. I read it and thought, "Ok, there's some examples of cliche hells, then it says don't use any of that," I'll see what I can do about writing up a bit more on the subject of New Hells.
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