Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 2, 2019 19:12:02 GMT -5
Many posts ago, it was established that "the Story game" and the "main game" were part of the same canon. In The Story game it was established that 3WSR's underworld is modeled after Dante's Inferno (which, put frankly, is far more interesting than "a basement full of fire" if you will)
So, for those who don't want to take the time to read one of the most celebrated pieces of Italian Literature, here's a breakdown of the Underworld of the 3WSR canon:
(DISCLAIMER: CURRENTLY IN DRAFT PHASE)
......
Hell has been ascribed many purposes; the home of demons, the place where evil human souls are tortured, etc. In 3WSR lore, "Hell" is the latter; the spirits of those who were evil in life are damned to this location, and tortured by hell-demons whose purpose is to... well, torture them.
It is broken into several areas; the deepest parts of hell are where those who committed the worst evil are held. The areas are as such:
Circle One: Limbo
No active torture goes on here; historically this was where the "virtuous pagans" resided. Some call this area reminiscent of the Asphodel Meadows, and others a "deficient form of heaven." However, for reasons no one quite understands, some centuries ago, the God in 3WSR realized that it didn't matter what religion anyone practiced; everyone worshiped the same God, just in different ways. So, the virtuous pagans were welcomed into heaven, and now Limbo is mainly home to... well... the *ssholes. People who, while they didn't commit acts that warranted imprisonment in lower levels, they also did not do enough good to offset the bad they had done. So, they go here.
Hell Proper starts with Circle Two; before the Gates of Hell resides King Minos, who judges the souls that come before him and sends them to their appropriate punishments.
Circle Two: Lust
The "carnal malefactors" are condemned to be forever stuck in the winds of a violent storm, with no rest or respite. Said to symbolize " the power of lust to blow needlessly and aimlessly," comparatively speaking their fate is not as bad compared to other levels.
Circle Three: Gluttony
The gluttonous "wallow in a vile, putrid slush produced by a ceaseless, foul, icy rain." Cerberus guards over them, ensuring they do not escape from their fate.
Circle Four: Greed
Guarded over by Plutus, the classical God of Wealth, they are divided into two groups. The miserly on one side, and the spendthrifts on the other. While not harmful in and of themselves, those punished here are those whose ways caused great, irrevocable harm to others. The two groups joust each other with heavy weights as weapons. Over time, their individuality and identity are lost, to the point where the spirits are impossible to distinguish from one another.
Circle Five: Wrath
Here is the River Styx. A swampy, stinking river where the actively wrathful viciously fight each other on the surface, while the passively wrathful lie sullen underneath the waters, withdrawn in a state where they find no joy in anything in the Universe.
Circle Six: Heresy
As it turns out, in the 3WSR canon God doesn't have any problems with those who have beliefs contrary to those of well established religious doctrine; people are allowed to have free will and think and ask questions. The spirits who reside here, however, are the heretics whose ways caused great harm onto others. These spirits are forever sealed in flaming tombs, perhaps a metaphor for the idea that the soul dies with the body.
Circle Seven: Violence
This circle is divided into three areas-
The Violent against neighbors/others are forcibly submerged in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood and fire. Spirits are forcibly submerged at levels relative to the intensity of their sin, and the Spirits of Centuars, commanded by Chiron and Pholus, patrol this area; shooting arrows at those who emerge higher out than allowed.
Those who were violent against the self, i.e. suicide, are transformed into trees and fed upon by harpies (the ugly kind). Strictly speaking, suicide in and of itself is neither evil nor good; those who committed it out of depression are not punished. Rather, those who are here are those who committed suicide to escape justice; i.e. killing oneself before being arrested and held accountable for their acts.
Those who were violent against God, Art and Nature are broken into groups among a great plain of burning sand: The blasphemers are forcibly stretched upon the burning sand, while those who committed violent against against the world of Nature are forced to run in circles nonstop. Usurers lay huddled and weeping, as flaming sand rains down upon them.
Circle Eight: Fraud
This circle is divided into ten groups:
Bolgia 1: The Panderers and seducers are forced to march for eternity, while being whipped by horned demons
Bolgia 2: The Flatterers are forcibly steeped in excrement, as they fight among themselves
Bolgia 3: Those who committed Simony have their heads forced into holes in the rocky ground which resemble baptismal fonts, as flames burn the soles of their feet.
Bolgia 4: The souls of sorcerers, fortune tellers, diviners, astrologers, and other false prophets reside here. In 3WSR canon, this specifically refers to the con artists who exploited others by pretending to be any of these... as well as the malicious mages who used powers like these for their own gain at the expense of others. Their heads are now backwards, and they are forced to march backwards for all eternity.
Bolgia 5: Corrupt politicians are forcibly submerged in a lake of boiling pitch, guarded over by a specific group of demons, the Malebranche, who attack the spirits if they try to escape from the pitch
Bolgia 6: The hypocrites aimlessly walk around, weighed down by heavy, leaded cloaks
Bolgia 7: Malicious thieves are tortured by having serpents and various other reptiles attack and bite them. With each bite or scratch, random, painful transformations take place, thus the very identity of the thieves is stolen from them
Bolgia 8: Advisers and counselors who advised others to engage in fraudulent activity are trapped within individual flames for eternity
Bolgia 9: The Sowers of Discord are hacked apart by large demons with large swords; as they run around the area their "bodies" heal, only to be hacked apart again. Those who founded new religions and political parties are not necessarily fated here; rather, those who acted with malicious intentions where the consequences lead to violent schisms in whatever aspect of society are punished here.
Bolgia 10: The falsifiers, for being "a disease upon society" are stricken with various, awful diseases as punishment for their maliciousness. Includes counterfeiters, imposters and perjurers
Circle Nine: Treachery
The massive, frozen lake known as Cocytus, is guarded over by the Spirits of Titans and Giants. The traitors are divided into four groups:
Caïna is home to those who betrayed their kin. Only their heads and necks are out of the ice; the rest of the bodies immobile and frozen solid
Antenora is home to those who betrayed their country. Only their heads are above the ice; so unlike those in Caïna they cannot move their heads; they are stuck in a single position
Ptolomaea is home to the traitors to their guests. Only their faces are not covered in ice; but even then their tears freeze in their eye sockets, "denying them event he comfort of weeping"
Judecca is home to those who betrayed their lords and benefactors. The whole region is silent, for these beings are completely covered and frozen in ice, in all sorts of twisted, distorted bodily positions.
In the very center of hell is the one known as Satan himself. "A giant, terrifying beast trapped waist-deep in the ice, fixed and suffering. He has three faces, each a different color: one red (the middle), one a pale yellow (the right), and one black (the left)." Though frozen in ice, he eternally beats his six giant, bat-like wings, forever creating the icy winds that permeate the area.
So, for those who don't want to take the time to read one of the most celebrated pieces of Italian Literature, here's a breakdown of the Underworld of the 3WSR canon:
(DISCLAIMER: CURRENTLY IN DRAFT PHASE)
......
Hell has been ascribed many purposes; the home of demons, the place where evil human souls are tortured, etc. In 3WSR lore, "Hell" is the latter; the spirits of those who were evil in life are damned to this location, and tortured by hell-demons whose purpose is to... well, torture them.
It is broken into several areas; the deepest parts of hell are where those who committed the worst evil are held. The areas are as such:
Circle One: Limbo
No active torture goes on here; historically this was where the "virtuous pagans" resided. Some call this area reminiscent of the Asphodel Meadows, and others a "deficient form of heaven." However, for reasons no one quite understands, some centuries ago, the God in 3WSR realized that it didn't matter what religion anyone practiced; everyone worshiped the same God, just in different ways. So, the virtuous pagans were welcomed into heaven, and now Limbo is mainly home to... well... the *ssholes. People who, while they didn't commit acts that warranted imprisonment in lower levels, they also did not do enough good to offset the bad they had done. So, they go here.
Hell Proper starts with Circle Two; before the Gates of Hell resides King Minos, who judges the souls that come before him and sends them to their appropriate punishments.
Circle Two: Lust
The "carnal malefactors" are condemned to be forever stuck in the winds of a violent storm, with no rest or respite. Said to symbolize " the power of lust to blow needlessly and aimlessly," comparatively speaking their fate is not as bad compared to other levels.
Circle Three: Gluttony
The gluttonous "wallow in a vile, putrid slush produced by a ceaseless, foul, icy rain." Cerberus guards over them, ensuring they do not escape from their fate.
Circle Four: Greed
Guarded over by Plutus, the classical God of Wealth, they are divided into two groups. The miserly on one side, and the spendthrifts on the other. While not harmful in and of themselves, those punished here are those whose ways caused great, irrevocable harm to others. The two groups joust each other with heavy weights as weapons. Over time, their individuality and identity are lost, to the point where the spirits are impossible to distinguish from one another.
Circle Five: Wrath
Here is the River Styx. A swampy, stinking river where the actively wrathful viciously fight each other on the surface, while the passively wrathful lie sullen underneath the waters, withdrawn in a state where they find no joy in anything in the Universe.
Circle Six: Heresy
As it turns out, in the 3WSR canon God doesn't have any problems with those who have beliefs contrary to those of well established religious doctrine; people are allowed to have free will and think and ask questions. The spirits who reside here, however, are the heretics whose ways caused great harm onto others. These spirits are forever sealed in flaming tombs, perhaps a metaphor for the idea that the soul dies with the body.
Circle Seven: Violence
This circle is divided into three areas-
The Violent against neighbors/others are forcibly submerged in Phlegethon, a river of boiling blood and fire. Spirits are forcibly submerged at levels relative to the intensity of their sin, and the Spirits of Centuars, commanded by Chiron and Pholus, patrol this area; shooting arrows at those who emerge higher out than allowed.
Those who were violent against the self, i.e. suicide, are transformed into trees and fed upon by harpies (the ugly kind). Strictly speaking, suicide in and of itself is neither evil nor good; those who committed it out of depression are not punished. Rather, those who are here are those who committed suicide to escape justice; i.e. killing oneself before being arrested and held accountable for their acts.
Those who were violent against God, Art and Nature are broken into groups among a great plain of burning sand: The blasphemers are forcibly stretched upon the burning sand, while those who committed violent against against the world of Nature are forced to run in circles nonstop. Usurers lay huddled and weeping, as flaming sand rains down upon them.
Circle Eight: Fraud
This circle is divided into ten groups:
Bolgia 1: The Panderers and seducers are forced to march for eternity, while being whipped by horned demons
Bolgia 2: The Flatterers are forcibly steeped in excrement, as they fight among themselves
Bolgia 3: Those who committed Simony have their heads forced into holes in the rocky ground which resemble baptismal fonts, as flames burn the soles of their feet.
Bolgia 4: The souls of sorcerers, fortune tellers, diviners, astrologers, and other false prophets reside here. In 3WSR canon, this specifically refers to the con artists who exploited others by pretending to be any of these... as well as the malicious mages who used powers like these for their own gain at the expense of others. Their heads are now backwards, and they are forced to march backwards for all eternity.
Bolgia 5: Corrupt politicians are forcibly submerged in a lake of boiling pitch, guarded over by a specific group of demons, the Malebranche, who attack the spirits if they try to escape from the pitch
Bolgia 6: The hypocrites aimlessly walk around, weighed down by heavy, leaded cloaks
Bolgia 7: Malicious thieves are tortured by having serpents and various other reptiles attack and bite them. With each bite or scratch, random, painful transformations take place, thus the very identity of the thieves is stolen from them
Bolgia 8: Advisers and counselors who advised others to engage in fraudulent activity are trapped within individual flames for eternity
Bolgia 9: The Sowers of Discord are hacked apart by large demons with large swords; as they run around the area their "bodies" heal, only to be hacked apart again. Those who founded new religions and political parties are not necessarily fated here; rather, those who acted with malicious intentions where the consequences lead to violent schisms in whatever aspect of society are punished here.
Bolgia 10: The falsifiers, for being "a disease upon society" are stricken with various, awful diseases as punishment for their maliciousness. Includes counterfeiters, imposters and perjurers
Circle Nine: Treachery
The massive, frozen lake known as Cocytus, is guarded over by the Spirits of Titans and Giants. The traitors are divided into four groups:
Caïna is home to those who betrayed their kin. Only their heads and necks are out of the ice; the rest of the bodies immobile and frozen solid
Antenora is home to those who betrayed their country. Only their heads are above the ice; so unlike those in Caïna they cannot move their heads; they are stuck in a single position
Ptolomaea is home to the traitors to their guests. Only their faces are not covered in ice; but even then their tears freeze in their eye sockets, "denying them event he comfort of weeping"
Judecca is home to those who betrayed their lords and benefactors. The whole region is silent, for these beings are completely covered and frozen in ice, in all sorts of twisted, distorted bodily positions.
In the very center of hell is the one known as Satan himself. "A giant, terrifying beast trapped waist-deep in the ice, fixed and suffering. He has three faces, each a different color: one red (the middle), one a pale yellow (the right), and one black (the left)." Though frozen in ice, he eternally beats his six giant, bat-like wings, forever creating the icy winds that permeate the area.