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 like he needs someone who can tell him no now. 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. They offer tactics, new items, new spells worthy of fiendish warriors. In case the players wanted to roleplay this doomed and damnable struggle.

"Fiend of Nettles" is teased here (see below).

The Bargain

Jeff Grubb's tragic graphic novel, in Sandman artistic style. DiTerlizzi and Murin did the artwork, with Robh Ruppel. We just wish there was more.

This article contains spoilers! You have been warned.

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. GabrielZalatian XXIII the angeltrumpet-archon is running weapons to the devilsbaatezu. The daemons 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.