Go to Hell. Go Directly to Hell. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect 200 Larvae.

[Lonely Tylenol]

*looks around* Eh, it's not so bad.

The origins of the concept of hell : it was originally called Sheol in Hebrew
meaning "Pit of Ashes" which wasn't necessarily a nasty place, it was just a place where
your body was burned and that was devoid of <insert your deity here.>

When the Hebrew and Greek cultures combined, Sheol was merged with Hades
and this is where the pits of fire, etc. came from.

I'm not sure about that. Hades is generally described as being a place of ultimate boredom, in which the spirits of the dead, grey and washed out to transluscence, mill about aimlessly for all time. I think that the fire & brimstone thing was added in the renaissance, but I might be wrong about that.

A professor of mine translates Sheol to mean something more like "rubbish pit". As in, once you're used up and done, you get chucked into a hole and forgotten about. A happy afterlife was a late addition to the mythology, and so many ancient prayers run along the lines of "preserve me and don't throw me in the pit." Long life was the most you could really ask for.

One thing I've never really understood is, if the devils got thrown out of heaven, and launched into hell, why do they hate humanity so much? In Dante, it's because humanity doesn't know what they're missing, but I don't see any reason why the devils wouldn't want to establish their own paradise, under their own rules...which must have been the impetus to revolt in the first place. So you'd think they'd come across like time-share salesmen, rather than wicked tempters. They'd want to offer "all the fun and pleasure you'd expect from eternal paradise, with none of the starchy rules! It's like Club Med without the hangovers!" And then once they've got the bulk of humanity having a grand ole time in "hell", wondering why they ever considered following the rules that would get them into heaven, the devils could spend eternity gloating over their victory of ideals.

Humanity isn't a foe to torment for failure to serve the enemy's purposes, but rather a neutral party that exists only to provide bragging rights to the side who can claim the larger group of supporters. Humanity tests the ideals that the two opposing philosophies espouse, and whoever gets the lions share of humanity also gets the right to claim that their philosophy was obviously the better one.

At least, that's what I'd do if I were the devils. And since I'm the DM...

 

[Kemrain]

Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be by AC/DC

Sounds like a guy trying to date a Succubus. Hell, if it works for you... At least the nookie's good. Yeesh.

- Kemrian the Amused.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Sounds like a guy trying to date a Succubus. Hell, if it works for you... At least the nookie's good.

Yeah, well, one makeout session and suddenly you're back to 1st level. I don't even want to know what happens if you get to second base.

 

[Kemrain]

At least, that's what I'd do if I were the devils. And since I'm the DM...

I very much like this. Fits into my "Hell is a pyramid scheme" idea nicely. Angels and Demons aren't ancient enemies, they're opposing philosophers. Hell, they probably go out for beers together every friday night. Very cool idea. Thank you, Dr. Awkward. You are the man.

Anyone else care to be the man, too? We have many 'the man' positions available. Optional the woman positions available to taste.

- Kemrain the Entertained.

 

[Kemrain]

Yeah, well, one makeout session and suddenly you're back to 1st level. I don't even want to know what happens if you get to second base.

In Nethack sleeping with a Succubus/Incubus can actually gain you a level. Food for thought.

- Kemrain the Drained.

 

[shilsen]

This is one of the better treatments for fantasy I've seen, and draws heavily from Milton. The idea that demons, booted from the party because they tried to take over the DJ table, are plagued by memories of perfect bliss and get twisted by those memories is a compelling one.

Makes demons three dimensional villians that the PCs can feel truly sorry for once they're done dusting them.

Milton was also pulling off existing theories. Take a look at Mephistopheles from Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Faustus, who is fairly dumb for such a supposedly smart guy, argues with Mephistopheles that Hell can't actually exist, since devils can't leave Hell and Mephistopheles is with him. The devil replies that Hell is with him perpetually, since he takes the memory of what he has lost with him wherever he goes.

 

[Darkness]

Yeah, well, one makeout session and suddenly you're back to 1st level. I don't even want to know what happens if you get to second base.

The SRD gives a good indication of what severe drain can do to you:

A character with negative levels at least equal to her current level, or drained below 1st level, is instantly slain. Depending on the creature that killed her, she may rise the next night as a monster of that kind. If not, she rises as a wight.

 

[Turjan]

A lot of very different ideas. Hell as a place of suffering, as a place of penance, it's very interesting to see what people think. I'd love to see more answers, and especially mroe answerd about my other question. What are the inhabitants of Hell like? People are focusing on the place, and generally not going into terrible detail about Demons, while both are the point of the thread.

Okay, you want to know about demons. IMC, they have something in common with gods: they are immortal, and thus the gates to heaven are closed to them, as death is the ticket. What distinguishs them from gods is that they are usually not powerful enough to pass the barrier to the prime, except under special conditions. They can see the prime if they want, but they begrudge the mortals their passion in their short lives without being able to take part. Immortality is boring.

But the demons get their chance when those ambitious souls that have always gone the selfish way arrive after their deaths. Then the demons will try to steal that ambition and passion from them, and this is not nice.

 

[Staffan]

and Pratchet has two Hells: a sort of Lovecraftian one, the Dungeon Dimension, that has little to do with mortals (you go there and get eaten, not tortured). Then there's reincarnation: if you were bad, you often go back as a bug or a funny shaped root.

Well, the Dungeon Dimensions aren't "hell" in the classical sense of the world, in that it's not where you go when you die (you might very well go there before you die, if you get my drift). And as for afterlives in Pratchett's books, it usually (but not always) amounts to "You get what you think you deserve" - I belive Death says as much in Mort (or maybe Reaper Man), basically he's too busy to pass judgment on people, so he lets them do it themselves. The only instance I can think of of a mandated afterlife-Hell in Pratchett's books is toward the end of Pyramids, when Death says "You've ever heard the saying, 'Hell is other people'? You'll find that that's wrong."

Oh, and there are definitely demons around as well in the dimensions surrounding the Disc. I think it's in FaustEric where they say "If there's any power in demonology, it lies with the demons." Though those might be Dungeon Dimension demons, it's been a loong while since I read FaustEric.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

she rises as a wight.

That is so not worth second base.