I both love and hate Hellbound: The Blood War (1996).

The production values are through the roof. It is just jam packed with good looking stuff, not the least of which is Tony DiTerlizzi’s Visions of War booklet, which is basically in the vein of the visual handouts book from Tomb of Horrors, but by DiTerlizzi, and depicting fun stuff on the lower planes. It’s a highlight for sure.

Unfortunately, I just hate the Blood War. I don’t mind that it exists as a socio-political event in the lower planes, really, it makes for good background. But as a setting for a big plotline? No thanks. Players who think getting involved in the Blood War is a good idea are insane and this box set is massively silly for encouraging that particular self-destructive urge. The result of the plot is daft, too — devils and demons lose their ability to shift planes? My eyes are rolling out of my head.

There is still something cool about the box. I like how much focus is put on the Yugoloths (old schoolers know them as Daemons) and the fact that the plot gives them miles of credit for manipulating both the devils and the demons. There is a lot of neat stuff in the books its just…like Faction War. Planescape contains infinite possibilities, but the big event adventures mostly seem so painfully prosaic. Jot them down on paper and the magic vanishes.