The Road To Hell

In the ancient city at the heart of Hell, built atop an island in a luminous ocean under the fading light of long-dead stars, the Devil’s cracked stone throne stands empty. The lord of Hell is dead, the demons of his court scattered.

The people of Hell travel to the throne room to decide on a future together.  As they travel, they discuss, they debate, and they imagine a new kind of world. But the old barons of Hell walk among the people, swaying them to support their own visions of Hell.

What kind of place could Hell be, freed from the Devil’s mastery? Could something new be about to dawn, or will the fading scions of the old ways secure a new throne for themselves?

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The Road to Hell is a storytelling game for 4 to 8 players designed in less than 48 hours for Game Dunk 2022.

You and your friends will use a standard deck of playing cards to tell the story of a road trip through a haunted landscape while you imagine a better world free from oppression and cruelty. But one, some, or none of you might not be acting in good faith... Can you spot the imposter and create a better world for the lost denizens of Hell?

Prompt: “The Devil You Know”
Featured bonus prompts: Class warfare, cravats and vests
Featured bribes: The City in the Sea, by Edgar Allen Poe (1845)

Content warning:
This game contains horror and supernatural themes, references to violence and harm, and references to gore. This game also asks players to engage in political discussion.

The Game Dunk version of this game is available for free. This version is what was submitted to the Game Dunk jam, and is available as a plain text .pdf only. This version does not receive additional content or updates.

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I respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri people and the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nations as the traditional owners of the land on which the majority of my work takes place. I pay respects to elders past, present, and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.