h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

i do not believe in heaven, hell, purgatory, and/or a God that judges us and then punishes or rewards us for eternity.
that's preposterous

but, if you must believe in such things, then you should think of Heaven and Hell, not as locations, but as STATES OF BEING.
that, at least, is not quite so absurd.

peteY out

ps: let the flaming commence

YAWN

Heaven and Hell are both different bits of the Celestial Plane, you idiots. The Celestial plane is populated by pure sould, while they also have minds in the Etheral Plane and Bodies as well on the Corporeal Plane.

now's who's the idiot.

Ah well, that explains it then!!

Naw, Heaven's Celestia and Hell is Carceri. Everyone knows that!

OK, the Celestial Realm is split into amny different layers. Most are pretty nice Heavens, but the lowest, Hell, is a place of Eternal Torment. Presumably it is different enough to warrant a different name.

naw, naw.. you've got:

celestia, bytopia, elysium, beastlands, arborea, ysgard, limbo, pandemonium, abyss, carceri, hades, gehenna, baator, acheron, mechanus, and arcadia.

In that order.

elysium: good, limbo: chaos, hades: evil, mechanus: law. and the ones between are blends of alignment.

Everyone knows that!

No, the Universe is plit into three realms, the Corporeal, Ethereal, and Celestial. The Corporeal is the physical world and the Ethereal is the mental world and dreamworld (where, incidenatly, all pagan gods reside). The Celestial realm is split into many different layers. The bottom layer is Hell, also known as the Abyss, the Pit, and the Vacuum. It is composed of a number of Principalties: Abbadon, the Archive, Beleth's Marches, Perdition, Hades, Sheol, Shal-Mari, Stygia, and Tartarus. The remaining layers are all parts of Heaven, aka Asgard, Paradise, Nirvana, and Utopia. The Higher layers of Heaven have been cut off since the Fall, but the lowest one is known to sontain several 'cathedrals' or homes of the Archangels: Blandine's Marches, the Market, the Eternal City, the meadow, the Halls of Progress, the Halls of Creation (abandoned), Yves' Library, Gabriel's Volcano, and the Battlefield (for trianing Heaven's armies).

(2 conflicting planar cosmologies... )
OUTER PLANES:
name-layers (not sure about a few)
celestia-7, bytopia-2, elysium1-3, beastlands-3, arborea-3, ysgard-5, limbo-1, pandemonium-4, abyss-infinite, carceri-4, hades-2, gehenna-3, baator-9, acheron-3, mechanus-1, and arcadia-2. :all in a ring

elysium: good, limbo: chaos, hades: evil, mechanus: law. and the ones between are blends of alignment -balances the whole thing

INNER PLANES:
Inside that you have the 4 elemental planes and 2 energy planes: positive, fire, earth, negative, water, air
: in a ring in that order.

Inside that you have the material plane. The outlands (2 of them) are above and below and border all the Outerplanes, and have in their center a spire that is very wide and extremely high and touches right near the Material Plane, topped by a huge city called Sigil.

TRANSITIVE:
The astral plane is around all of these, there's a shadow plane for every plane, the ethereal touches the material plane and as you go further out turns to the Deep Ethereal and then the Dreamscape... when you dream you skip all of the ethereal and go straight to a Dream in the Dreamscape... the plane of mirrors borders all planes with mirrors, th Plane of Faerie touches the material.

All this is in a big globe with, from the inside outward, has its outsides made from: Far Realms, Temporal Energy, a sort of shell thing,then the Void is what it all floats around in.

All these planes arte infinitely large. Go figure.




Top that!

Woah !
I have to log off for the night, But I'll have something to top that ready tomorrow.

ok, beat it now.

Been offline for a few days, but try this on for size:

Only Corporeal Realm: The Physical Universe, only place where the laws of physics always apply.

Ethereal Realm: Divided into three. Consists of almost infinity semi-realities, forming a border between the Corporeal and Celestial Realms. Mainly consist of Dreamlands. Everyone has their own Dreamscape, which disappears after they die, though Blandine and Beleth might still be able to find it. Though the Ethereal Realm is full of angels, demons, and pagans, they are far outnumbered by the nocturnal visitors.
Blandine's Marches: Area where sleepers dreams, presided over by Blandine, Archangel of Dreams, and the angels of hope. Blandine's Tower straddles the border between Heaven and the Ethereal Realm.
Beleth's Marches: Area where sleepers have nightmares, presided over by Beleth, Demon Princess of nightmares, and her demons of fear. Beleth's Tower straddles the border between the Ethereal Realm and Hell.
If a dreamer begins having a nightmare, he/she is immediately pulled from Blandine's Marches to Beleth's domain, and vice versa. Courageous angels and demons cross the fine (and some say non-existent) line that separates the two.
Far Marches: Area occupied by pagan gods, formed by the collective dreams of humanity. They claim that God was not the omnipotent, omniscient entity He is today, and that as He grew more powerful, He rewrote the history of the Universe to suit Himself. Heaven rejects this claim outright, of course. It is also the home of dragons, faeries, unicorns, and other mythical creatures, all slain in the year 745 AD by Uriel, Archangel of Purity. This act caused him to overstep his word, and he was then recalled to the higher Celestial planes. Leadership of Heaven's army then passed to Laurence.

Celestial Realm: Contains many different planes. There are many different Heavens, and not merely seven, as is commonly believed. Since the Fall of the rebel angels, the higher planes have been cut off, with only the lowest being accessible to angels and human souls rumour has it that when the War is over, the higher planes will reopen, but this is not certain. All of Hell is likewise on this lowest Celestial plane.

There are eight Choirs of angels and seven Bands of demons. The Choirs are, from most to least Holy, the Seraphim, Cherubim, Ofanim, Elohim, Malakim, Kyriotates, Mercurians, and Grigori. The Bands of demons, from most to least unholy, are the Balseraphs, Djinn, Calabim, Habbalah, Lilim, Shedim, and Impudites. Angels can visit Hell, but demons cannot access Heaven.

In the Corporeal Realm, there are a number of 'Tethers', or places linked to the Celestial Plane. The smallest is a tiny room in Tokyo and the largest is a large stretch of the Serengethi. Angels may approach an Infernal Tether, but demons may not approach a Divine Tether.

On the Celestial Plane, angels speak the Celestial Tongue, which allows them to communicate five times faster and far clearer thn any human tongue. It is also incapable of expressing falsehoods. Demons speak a bastardised version, which is capable of lying. Demons can understand the Bright Celestial Tongue, but anges cannot make head nor tail of the Dark Celestial Tongue.

In Heaven, there are currently thirteen Archangels primarily involved in the Earthly phase of the War. They are Blandine (Archangel of Dreams), David (Stone), Dominic (Judgement), Eli (Creation), Gabriel (Fire), Janus (The Wind), Jean (Lightning), Jordi (Animals), Laurence (The Sword), Marc (Trade), Michael (War), Novalis (Flowers), and Yves (Destiny). They occupy a number of 'Cathedrals', infinitely large areas of space dedicated to the worship and word of each one. If memory serves, they are: Blandine's Marches (Blandine), the Halls of Creation (Eli, abandoned since he went Outcast), the Halls of Progress (Jean), the Marketplace (Marc), Jordi's Savannah (Jordi), Yves' Library (Yves), the Halls of Worship (Laurence), the Eternal City (Dominic, David), the Concert (Novalis), the Volcano (Gabriel), and the Battlefield (Michael, Janus).

In Hell, there are currently fourteen Demon Princes involved in the Earthly phase of the War. They are: Andrealphus (Prince of Lust), Asmodeus (The Game), Baal (War), Beleth (Nightmares), Belial (Fire), Haagenti (Gluttony), Kobal (Dark Humour), Kronos (Fate), Lilith (Freedom), Malphas (Factions), Nybbas (The Media), Saminga (Death), Valefor (Theft), and Vapula (Technology). Hell consists of several 'Principalities', which are basically Infernal Cathedrals. They are: Abbadon (Saminga), the Archive (Kronos), Beleth's Marches (Beleth), Hades (Baal), Perdition (Asmodeus, Belial), Sheol (Nybbas), Shal-Mari (Andrealphus, Haagenti, Kronos), Stygia (Malphas, Valefor), and Tartarus (Vapula).


Beat That!

Righty-ho!

I'll do 5 planes in detail (not including the real Hell) and more if required.

OUTER PLANES:
There are 16 outer planes:

HEROIC DOMAINS OF YSGARD:
Alignment: CG
Layers:3
1: Also called Ysgard, contains the God of Strength Kord, elven nation of Alfheim, Plane of Ida, God of Thieves Olidammara
2: Muspelheim ribbons of floating earth continent size or larger, magma covered, contains fire giants, mountains, and a strange strucure called the Spire.
3: Nidavellir: mostly undergoung, dwarves, gnomes, Drow City of Svartalheim

EVER-CHANGING CHAOS OF LIMBO:
Alignment: CN
infinite filled with big random fluctuations of the 4 main elements, only land is earth-based chunks, 1 layer, home of the slaadi, populated by slaadi, Gith monks, chaos beasts, and lots of chaotic stuff. All of it orbits around the Spawning Stone which is the birthplace of the Slaado Race, people can shape small sections into crude structure for shelter unless you are an Anarch, then you can make all sorts of stuff, movement is thought based, contains many Githzerai Monsateries and a few cities

WIND-SWEPT DEPTHS OF PANDEMONIUM:
Alignment: CE
Layers: 4
Entirely made of undergound tunnels and caves with constant howling, chilly winds making hearing all but impossible,
1. Pandesmos: largest caves, some as large as nations, contains the Madhouse which is a waystation for travelers and the Winter's Hall which is a frost giant filled icy cavern
2. Cocytus: most tunnels smaller, winds faster, appear to have been chisled, contains Howler's Crag which appears to be a collapsed palace, Harmonica which is a place where the wind creates tones and sometimes earsplitting music
3. Phlegethon: twisting tunels, wet, less light, contains the city of banished called Windglum and the Citadel of Slaughter which is the home of Erythnul, God of Slaughter
4. Agathion: no tunnels, unconnected caverns storing many undefeatable imprisoned monsters and dangerous artifacts

INFINITE LAYERS OF THE ABYSS:
Alignment: CE
Layers: infinite
contains demons, most layers different and have their own traits
1st layer contains thousands of pits which lead to different layers, the city of Broken Reach, and the abandoned undead-filled stronghold of Ferrug
45-47: Azzagrat, home of the demon prince Grazz't, all containt he deadly River of Salt (liquified), portals between the 3 in the form of goves of viper trees and green flame ovens though some are just flames, 45th is a gray rainswept steppe, 46th is alluminated from the ground up so shadows are cast in the sky, 47th is lit by a blue sun and has purple flames
Zelatar: city on all 3 layers and has doors that open between them, home of Graz'zt, Argent Palace is visible from anywhere in the city on any of the 3 planes and has mirrored walls and 66 towers, contains Graz'zt
113th: Thanatos: lots of undead, graveyard-at-night sort of aura, fungus
Naratyr: City of the Dead, filled with ice, vampires, ruled by Orcus the Demon Prince who used to be able to slay even deities but lost the right through abusing it
6th: Realm of a Million Eyes: contains the balls of eyes known as beholders' Hive Mother, has eye-studded fleshy tunnel walls catacombing it
23rd: Ice Wastes: freezing, miles of glacier, little life, inhabited by frost gints and their demon prince Kostchtchie, Glacier CItadel holds most of the race
66th: Demonweb Pits: Home of Lolth the Spider Queen and the Drow Raace, entire plane is a huge web, Lolth's palace is a huge spider shaped thing
74th: Smargard: Home of Merrshaulk, yaun-ti (snake people) deity, contains jungles, evershifting colors, acid rain, poison, and possible no floor, just layers of jungle canopy
88th: ABYSM: Brine Flats, home of Demogorgon, Prince of Demons (most powerful demon prince), has all sorts of exotic demonic sea monsters, Demogorgon's Palace of Abysm rises over the seas as 2 serpentine towers each with skull-shaped tops, palace goes miles underwater
222nd: Slime Pits: holds Juiblex the Slime Lord and Zuggtmoy, Lady of Fungi; bubbling mass of ooze called the Amoebic Sea, contains tons of strange lifeforms
348th: Fortress of Indifference: crimson clouds, tumbling boulders, freezing winds, Fortress of Indifference is a 200 ft tall black iron tower with humanois woven into the metal, most are dead, Fortress houses all sorts of fiends, ruled by the demon Tapheon
489th: Noisome Vale: ruled by Tarnhem, acidic haze, volcanoes, ruined landscape, ravines filled with rivers of worms




TARTARIAN DEPTHS OF CARCERI:
prison plane, exiled monsters, battlescarred landscape,
Alignment: CE
Layers: 6
1. Orthrys: bogs and quicksand, River Styx, swamps or rivers everywhere, mosquitoes, Bastiion of Lost Hope: outpost for anarchist, black market center; Mount Orthrys: ridiculously high mountain, ruled by a titan deity
2. Cathrys: vile jungles and plains, razor sharp leaves, Apotheacary of Sin: deep in jungles, run by Sinmaker, makes acids, diseases, and poisons
3. Minethys: sandy/gritty, blinding, tornadoes and windstorms, people live in pits; Sand Tombs of Payratheon: city buried in sand, sometimes revealed for about an hour only to capture explorers as it is hidden again, said to contain undead creatures that can swim through the sand
4: Colothys: absurdly deep canyons and absurdly high mountains, trading by rickety bridges or cliff-hugging paths; Gardens of Malice: thousands of colorful, lethal vines and flowers, entirely alive, murderous
Porphatys: entirely a chilly ocean, mildly acidic, few islands, exiled titan palace half sunken, haunted ships float throught
6. Agathys: freezing, has black ice, red sky, Necromanteion: home of Nerull, God of Death, carved from ice, filled with undead, hundreds of altars, samll tunnels lead deep into the ice, said to contain ancient monsters.



whew!

What game's cosmology are you using?



Top that!
And it's barely a 4th of the outer planes! and then there are Inner, Transitive, and of Course the Material Plane!

Good thing I held back, then.

Corporeal Realm: The Universe, or the physical part of it, anyway. With extremely few exceptions, all beings in the Corporeal realm have Corporeal, Ethereal, and Celestial presences, or bodies, minds, and souls. It is unique in that it is the only place in all existence where the laws of physics apply whether you want them to or not. The two primary Corporeal characteristics are strength and agility.

The Corporeal realm originated with The Big Bang, when a compressed bubble energy of space-time one Planck length across and one Planck time old (both exceedingly tiny measurements) started to expand. It became the size of a grapefruit in the first split second, and is still expanding today, but ever more slowly, after what is believed to be 15 billion years.

Of course, back when the Universe was just a compressed ball of energy, God was a lot easier to contact, as He had a lot less to distract Him. Nowadays, He has a lot on His mind - by definition, He has >everything< on His mind.

The Corporeal Realm is kept in order by the Symphony, the background structure of reality. Humans have called it The Force, The Matrix, and The Mind Of God. The Symphony cannot be escaped, as it is written inside every atom and across every galaxy. To keep guard over the Symphony, Allah created the bene-elohim, or angels. These guys hold a special place in the Symphony, created from the light of divinity but clad in the firmament of reality. All angels have the ability to listen to the Symphony, but the only demons who can are those who serve Kronos, the Demon Prince of Fate, and, to a certain extent, Nybbas, Demon Prince of The Media. Other demons must make do with their own personal ones, which are nothing compared to the awesome power of the true symphony, but are shockingly effective against individual angels, who must share a single Symphony with the entire Universe.

Despite not being able to hear the Symphony, demons may still sense changes in it. A change is basically any action taken by a Celestial (angel or demon). Such disturbances include simply being in the Corporeal Realm, as they cause billions of atoms to be deflected from their ordained paths. However, something like this is very small and easily overlooked, whereas a major action, such as killing a Human, would alert every angel and demon within a few kilometres. Humans, since they are part of the Symphony, may commit any number of murders they like without making such a disturbance (though they would presumably gain the attention of the cops and the victim's family...). Undead have this bonus as well, but since their souls are inextricably bound to their Corporeal flesh, if they die, they are gone for good.

The Entire Universe is kept going by something called 'Essence'. Essence is what literally makes the world go round, and all beings have a small reservoir of it. Performing miracles takes up Essence. Angels and Soldiers of God regenerate Essence at sunrise; demons, undead, and soldiers of Hell at sunset; mundane humans at noon; and spirits and animals at midnight.


Ethereal Realm: The dream world and world of the interior of the psyche. The Ethereal Ream functions as a border between the Corporeal and Celestial Realms, composed of a near infinite number of half realities. The primary attributes of the Ethereal Realm are intelligence and precision, ie the more intelligent you are the better equipped you are to deal with Ethereal forces. Muscles have no effect on abilities in the Ethereal Realm, and one who knows how it works would have similar powers to Neo when he's in the Matrix. Any being in the Ethereal Realm has no body, and consists entirely of mind and soul.

The Ethereal Realm is divided into three: Blandine's Marches, Beleth's Marches, and The Far Marches. It is inhabited by the dead who chose not to enter Heaven or Hell but to continue dreaming, angels, demons, spirits, pagan gods, faeries, dragons, and all other mythical creatures. However, despite all these beings, the regular inhabitants are far outnumbered by nightly visitors, or dreamers. Only organics may dream, by leaving their bodies in the corporeal Realm and travelling to the Ethereal. Angels and demons are unable to dream, but may enter it from the Corporeal Realm by 'following' a human, ie using the body of a sleeping human as a link between the two Realms. Servitors of Blandine and Beleth are always in it, and others may presumably enter directly via the gates of Heaven or Hell. Each mortal has their own Dreamscape, which fades as soon as they die, though presumably Blandine and Beleth could still find it.

Blandine's Marches are presided over by Blandine, Archangel of Dreams, and is the part in which people dream good dreams. Angels in this area may enter a dream to help a person on a subconscious level, or possibly give them some sort of warning. If a person starts to have a nightmare, they are instantly transported with their Dreamscape to Beleth's Marches. Brave angels cross the invisible (and, some say, non-existent) border between the two domains to give aid to those who suffer in the dream world.

Beleth's Marches are presided over by Beleth, Demon Princess of Nightmares, and is the part in which people have nightmares. Demons in this area may enter a nightmare to further torture a person on a subconscious level, or possibly give them some sort of warning. If a person starts to have a dream, they are instantly transported with their Dreamscape to Blandine's Marches. Brave demons cross the invisible (and, some say, non-existent) border between the two domains to give suffering to those who enjoy the dream world. After Uriel, the Archangel of Purity, was recalled to the higher Celestial Realms after he overstepped his word by killing all mythical creatures on Earth and 'purifying' Blandine's side of the Marches, Beleth offered some pagan gods sanctuary in her domain, with the primary intention of recruiting some of the more nightmarish ones as allies in the War against Heaven. Though she was occasionally successful (particularly with Kronos, who is now Demon Prince of Fate), most pagan gods only pay her lip service and prefer to reside in their Pantheons in the Far Marches.

The very existence of the Far Marches is denied by both Heaven and Hell, but it definitely exists. This is the primary dwelling place of mythical creatures, dragons, faeries, and some spirits. It is also where one will find various Pantheons of gods and goddesses, formed by the collective dreams of humanity. These gods claim that Allah, the one true God, was not always the omnipotent, omniscient entity He is today, and that as He gained power He rewrote the history of the Universe to suit Himself. Obviously, Heaven rejects this claim outright. The only way to access the Far Marches is via a temple dedicated to a particular god or goddess.


Celestial Realm: the highest of the three Realms, a Realm of pure life. It is divided into many different layers, at the top of which is seated Jehovah, and presumably Jesus, Mary, Muhammed, Abraham, Buddha, and Kung Fu Tzu (aka Confucius). Below Him are numerous striated layers, and, contrary to popular belief, there are many more that merely seven. However, since the Fall of the Rebel Angels, all but the lowest Celestial plane has been cut off from the Celestials. All of Hell is likewise on this lowest Celestial plane. Beings in the Celestial Realm have no bodies or minds, and consist entirely of souls. The primary characteristics of the Celestial Realm are Will and Perception.

All Celestials (ie angels and demons) have a basic nature, or resonance. When an angel acts in accordance with their resonance, it rings out through the symphony in cool, clear tones. When they act against it, it creates jarring notes of dissonance. An angel with too much dissonance will eventually fall from grace and become a demon. Those who are lucky can rid themselves of their dissonance in time, but others seem determined to fall from grace. This explains why new demons still appear even after the fall. Interestingly, the Malakim and Grigori, the darkest and east holy Choirs of angels respectively, have never fallen. Michael, one of the darkest angels, in the one who banished the rebels, led by Lucifer, brightest of the angels.

If a demon acquires dissonance, they will eventually suffer discord, a painful fracture between the demon's soul and their personal symphony. Incidentally, this is also what happens to dissonant Malakim. There is one word for a demon full of dissonance - pitiful. While most dissonant demons are rounded up and killed, a few may survive to regain the divinity they once disdained. Heaven is only for angels, but anyone can come to Hell.

Heaven is the domain of the angels. Humans have called it Asgard, Paradise, Nirvana, and Utopia. Its inhabitants call it Heaven. In all the realms, there are seven Choirs of angels. From most to least holy, they are:
Seraphim - Nobility
Cherubim - Guardians
Ofanim - Messengers
Elohim - Balancers
Malakim - Warriors
Kyriotates - Multi-taskers
Mercurians - Friends of Man
Grigori - Watchers
The Grigori were originally sent down to Earth to observe to development of humanity and lend a helping hand where appropriate, but not to interfere too much and allow humans to develop on their own. However, they became corrupted by the pleasures of the flesh, and were exiled from the Heavenly Host. Today, their Children are one of the last major human forces opposing the flow of civilisation towards the Pit. There are other Choirs, of course, but these seven of eight are currently the most active in the Corporeal Realm and the war in general.

Every angel has a heart in Heaven, a crystal sphere ranging in size from a marble to a basketball. When an angel ascends to Heaven, they appear next to their hearts. Some angels give each other their hearts so that they will have an excuse to see each other in Heaven. It is possible to destroy an angel's heart, but to do so takes a tremendous effort of will. If this happens, they will only be able to ascend to Heaven by following another angel in the same way as they may follow a human to the Ethereal Realm.

Heaven is led by a number of Archangels. At present, thirteen of them are most active in the War. Each has a Cathedral, or domain, a place of near infinite space in which they reside, command their Servitors, and formulate new stratagems to further the cause of good and advance their word in the Symphony.
BLANDINE'S TOWER: The Cathedral of Blandine straddles the border between the Ethereal Realm and Heaven. Blandine is very likely to appear to anyone who climbs to the top. She won't be in a mood to grant favours, but if asked nicely, she might transport the climber to any point in the symphony they desire.
JORDI'S SAVANNAH: The Cathedral of Jordi, Archangel of Animals, and home for all animals who manage to attain this high level of consciousness. Though no formal buildings are allowed, there is a permanent campfire in the centre, around which Jordi and his followers meet to discuss their mutual problem, humans.
THE MARKETPLACE: The Cathedral of Marc, Archangel of Trade. Here, you can find anything for sale, either through barter or in exchange for Essence. One may also store artifacts here.
THE GARDEN: This Cathedral is central for Novalis, Archangel of Flowers. In the centre is a permanent open-air concert broadcasting a message of love and peace throughout the Symphony.
THE ETERNAL CITY: This sits at the centre of Heaven and is the main dwelling place for Dominic, Archangel of Judgement. Also in the City are the Halls of worship, where all religions are represented and respected. However, an icy silence now hangs over the Halls; Lawrence, Archangel of the Sword and leader of Heaven's army, is the patron angel of Christianity, and he will do anything to see it expand.
THE VOLCANO: Located just inside the border of Heaven, Gabriel's Cathedral is the first line of defence should Blandine's tower be breached. Since the foundation of Islam, Gabriel is rarely seen outside the Volcano after an incident with Dominic.
THE BATTLEGROUND: This forest Cathedral is home to three Archangels. David, Archangel of Stone, and his followers camp on the ground, and the Servitors of Michael, Archangel of War, are on constant manoeuvre among the tree trunks. The canopy is home to Janus, Archangel of the Wind, his Servitors, and boddhisatvas.
THE HALLS OF PROGRESS: This is the Cathedral of Jean, Archangel of Lightning. It is where all science and technology is researched and slowly doled out into the Symphony.
YVES' LIBRARY: The Cathedral of Yves, Archangel of Destiny contains all knowledge and every book ever written, an also those which were not written and exist only in the minds and dreams of the authors. Blandine does Yves a great service by finding and recording all these books. The contents are constantly rearranging themselves so that whatever book Yves touches will be the one he wants. If someone wants to find out what happened in the fourth part of The Lord of the Rings or the truth about The X-Files, they can do it here. This Cathedral also has a direct link to every repository of knowledge in the Symphony from the Vatican Library to the aisles of a video store, and even to Kronos' dark pool of wisdom in Hell. This means that Yves may take any book he wants from anywhere, whether it is the Vatican Library to the aisles of a video store. It also means that people often wander in to this section of Heaven, mostly children who get lost in big city libraries and tell tales of the kindly old man who led them out again.

While most places in Heaven are bright, bustling, happy places, the war has left its mark. The Halls of Creation, Cathedral of Eli, Archangel of Creation, now lie empty, as does the Cathedral of Uriel, Archangel of Purity, its banners somehow dimmed. There is no dust in Heaven, but clean desolation is all the sadder. Worst of all, however, are the Cathedrals of the Fallen Archangels. No angel ever goes there nowadays.

Hell is the domain of demons. It is a place of fire and torment, and so has rightly been called the Inferno. It is a system of ever descending caves, and so has rightly been called the Pit. It is a place of emptiness of hope, and so has rightly been called the Vacuum. Its inhabitants, who have better stuff to worry about, simply call it Hell.
In Hell, there are seven Bands of Demons primarily involved in the War. They are:
Balseraphs - Liars (fallen Seraphim)
Djinn - Stalkers (fallen Cherubim)
Calabim - Destroyers (fallen Ofanim)
Habbalah - Punishers (fallen Elohim)
Lilim - Tempters (never angels; all created by Lilith)
Shedim - Corrupters (fallen Kyriotates)
Impudites - Takers (fallen Mercurians)

Demons' hearts are the Infernal counterparts to angel hearts. However, in order to keep their Servitors under control, the Demon Princes tend to lock their hearts up. In all other respects, they are the exact same as angel hearts.

Hell is led by a number of Demon Princes. At present, thirteen of them are most active in the War. Each has a Principality, or domain, a place of near infinite space in which they reside, command their Servitors, and formulate new stratagems to further the cause of evil and selfishness and to advance their word in the Symphony. The Principalities are linked by tunnels and warp gates, but the Demon Princes do not like their Servitors to travel extensively.
ABBADON: The Principality of Saminga, Demon Prince of Death, and place where undead are created.
THE ARCHIVE: Hell's equivalent of Yves' Library, ruled by Kronos, Demon Prince of Fate. The only Principality with a link to every other major one.
BELETH'S TOWER: Hell's version of Blandine's tower. Anyone climbing to the top had better have great, important news, or an extremely good reason. It's owner is Beleth, Demon Princess of Nightmares.
HADES: The Principality of Baal, Demon Prince of War, where demons and lost souls battle it out for the slightly dubious honour of being selected for Hell's army.
PERDITION: A great sprawl of a city, encompassing the entire outer wall of the Inferno. Asmodeus, Demon Prince of the Game, has the HQ of Hell's secret police here.
GEHENNA: Land of fire, ruled by Belial, Demon Prince of Fire. Each day, the souls in Gehenna are put into flames until they give up some Essence.
SHEOL: Once the land of Sloth, before Haagenti devoured the demon that held that word, it has in recent years been taken over by Nybbas, Demon Prince of the Media. The souls in here are kept in a state of tranquility by forever staring at the same thing for example, an eternally bouncing ball, or a spinning top. The fear of this being taken away is enough to convince them to give up daily Essence.
SHAL-MARI: Jointly ruled by Andrealphus, Demon Prince of Lust, Haagenti, Demon Prince of Gluttony, and Kobal, Demon Prince of Dark Humour. In this Principality, they run bordellos, restaurants, and theatres showing humans being miserable respectively. Some of the damned can use hoarded Essence to buy brief 'vacations' in Shal-Mari, but these do not last very long.
STYGIA: A maze from which there is no escape except through faithful service to its rulers, Malphas, Demon Prince of Factions, and Valefor, Prince of Theft.
TARTARUS: Domain of Vapula, Demon Prince of Technology. A chaotic assortment of half-finished projects and toxic spills, which the gadget-loving Vapula likes, as any random arrangement on parts might inspire a new project. Because he lack's Jean's link to the Symphony, Vapula has been reduced to experimentation, but he has gotten very good at it. He uses human souls as guinea pigs in the most hideous experiments, but smiles encouragingly all through. Tartarus features a huge tunnel to Perdition, patrolled entirely by Vapula's infernal machines.
MALEBOLGE: The lowest level of Hell, and the home of Lucifer himself. In stark contrast to the rest of Hell, Malebolge is frozen over and the worst of the damned are encased in ice. Lucifer's black wings beat eternally, and he has three mouths containing the three worst humans ever to walk the Earth: Rufus, Cassius, and, in the centre, the one ,man judged to have sinned more than any other in the Universe: Judas Iscariot. The worst spot in Hell is reserved for those who betray.

Travelling around Hell, one might come across Lilith, first wife of Adam and Demon Princess of Freedom. She exercised her free will and walked away from the Garden of Eden, and accepted dark Essence and the word of Freedom from Lucifer. She desires to be perfectly free, but as of yet, has been unsuccessful. She commands no Servitors and control no Principality, but can do one thing better than any real demon; create Lilim, devilish temptresses. The Lilim do their job well; the attempts of other demon Princes to make temptresses have ended in failure, disappointment, disaster, or frequently all three.


Finally, who says I'm using a game?! Well, oh all right, this is based on a game called In Nomine, but it is based on numerous sources from the Bible and the Qu'ran to Hellraiser, to build up as accurate a picture of the war between Heaven and Hell as possible.

i, unfortunately, am waaay too lazy to respond fully to that.

so i'll just say what i'm using is from a number of rather large 150 page manuals.

i'm not typing that.

a lot of those names are similar...

Unfortuneatly I haven't found a copy of Paradise Lost within my tiny little price range. I have read the divine comedy though, wonderful poem. Is it just me or do some of the demons seem much cooler than most of the angels? I mean technology, freedom and most importantly, dark humor.

Hussassan: That's it? Certainly you are still holding back, maybe your next post could contain a little DETAIL. Thanks.

The Archangel Michael can beat up your god Pelor so nyah. But the god Lolth will wipe the floor with Princess Lilith. Ok first off was the extrodinarily ubsurd warring Role Playing cosmologies really necissary? I happen to like AD&D and In Nomine both but there just games.

For the record Hell is more of a state of being then a place. It's not some thing so much as the absense of God. If you ask demons what Hell is like they'll tell you the same thing(advantage of working in demonology I've heard there answer) dark.