Editing Hellbound: The Blood War

'''Hellbound: The Blood War''' is a boxed set for the 2e [[Dungeons & Dragons]] lower-planes. It details that central feature of their nature in [[Planescape]]: the conflict between [[baatezu]] and [[tanar'ri]] (devils, demons, yadda yadda). It also changes fiendish canon: the players can take away their annoying ''teleport'' abilities.

It is fucking METAL. It truly delivers on ''Planescape'''s promise to take fantasy to the edge, ''Metal Hurlant'' style.

Several [[Wizards of the Coast]] creatives had their hands in this: especially Colin McComb and [[Monte Cook]]. Ray Vallese, for the editing, because frankly Monte needed it back then. ''Not'' present: [[Lorraine Williams]]. So those guys just WENT there.

=Contents=
==The Dark of the War / The Chant of the War==
These booklets offer the DM and the Player (respectively) the basics, alongside some set-pieces where the war might strike hardest.

==The Bargain==
Jeff Grubb's tragic graphic novel, in ''Sandman'' artistic style.

{{spoilers}}
==War Games / Visions of War==
"War Games" contains three adventures: "The Field of Nettles", "Strange Bedfellows", "Squaring the Circle".
==="The Field of Nettles"===
The PCs "hunt for a fiendish General's plans for the Blood War", in the grey wastes which we're not allowed to say, "of Hades".

==="Strange Bedfellows"===
The PCs hunt for contraband, where they observe how the Blood War corrupts even Celestials if they too far into it. <s>Gabriel</s>Zalatian XXIII the <s>angel</s>trumpet-archon is running weapons to the <s>devils</s>baatezu. The <s>daemons</s> <s>Jews</s> yugoloths feel they own this market, and are set to blow the lid off the competition. The party goes off to the town Hopeless, Concordant Opposition's answer to a wild-west shithole, and face down an ambush in a dry gulch. The PCs discover the Celestial corruption and "must decide the fate of the archon's involvement".

==="Squaring the Circle"===
When people talk ''Hellbound'', this is what they're talking about. Thematically it resembles ''[[Dead Gods]]'''s main adventure - and Dan Brown - as being canon-changing, and demanding that the party venture from point A to point B to point C to point Yuzz A Ma Tuzz to figure out what's going on.

This adventure ''as an adventure'' is superior to ''[[Dead Gods]]'' on account the players know what they're doing from the start, and actually Make A Difference.

Also, it's got the Fortress of Indifference, the most METAL site in D&D history. This is literally made up of the bodies of the damned, and of the undead, chained together in barbed wire. The PCs have to step on the body-horror. It's well-nigh unplayable. Monte Cook later admitted that he'd been listening to NIN's ''Downward Spiral'' a lot.

''Visions of War'' is its [[Tomb of Horrors]]-like inset artbook, here by Tony DiTerlizzi, with Dawn Murrin's ''Evil Dead'' cover. Seems to fit the theme.

=Legacy=
It wasn't possible - for WotC anyway - to top this work in its sheer violent and horrific evil. If anything, Monte had to tone things down for the third edition of this game.

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