The essential wrapper around the World of Hellmouth is one of horror. With that said though, its also a world filled with steampunk, fantasy and mythological elements. The purpose of the setting isn’t to throw horrific scenarios at the protagonists until they can’t do anything but cower in the corners of their rooms, stripped of any will to be heroic in a world that needs heroes.

Moody descriptions filled with the possibility of a greater evil always watching and ready to strike is often enough to convey a moderate amount of trepidation in a party while they go about their quest, but most importantly is that heroes still have room to be heroes in a time of darkness.

Encroaching Evil

In the World of Hellmouth it’s obvious who the enemy is–for the most part–and that’s the point of applying some of the elements of a good horror tale and leaving room to still surprise the heroes with twists that always leave them guessing. The obvious enemy of course is the essence of the Hellmouth: its entity, its influence, its fiends and cult devotees.

In the world of horror, things are commonly very black and white. Either something is good, or it’s evil. This makes it very easy for a hero to be a hero. The World of Hellmouth is rarely that clear, and the voids of gray happen enough to put heroes on edge each time they encounter what could possibly be the next big threat to humanity. What happens when a fiendish leader of a township uses its influence to protect the population from territorial dragons or renegade celestials that believe the whole town to be corrupt of evil and a blight on the land? Who do the heroes side with then? Having the heroes in these questionable scenarios opens up many opportunities for them to develop their character in ways they might not have predicted. This unpredictability should be just as exciting for all involved as the conclusion of the adventure’s plot itself.

In the World of Hellmouth, the truth of the matter is closer to the modern horror tactic of having the menace survive at the end of the tale. The Hellmouth will always exist. As daunting as that sounds, heroes will be heroes in this settling for their tenacity to never give up. A small win against a menace influenced by the Hellmouth is one victorious step against defeating the Hellmouth as a whole.

Sometimes defeating a high powered menace is possible, but only at great risk–and sometimes even sacrifice. The common convention is that evil will be defeated and characters will gain more power through surviving the experience. It is encouraged to make some plots hang on seemingly overwhelming odds that might actually terminate the life of a character during the climactic battle. Hellmouth can not be feared if these kinds of dangers do not present themselves, and heroes can not be heroes without great lose at times.