[Debate] What would Wraeclast "Underworld" be like? (4.0/4.5 wish list)

Hi,

every mythology (~ancient society) got their Underworld: Nordics/Germanic got Hel(heimr) & Niflhel, Arabic's got Hell, Babylonia got Irkalla. Japanese got three: Yomi 黄泉, Ne-no-Kuni 根の国, Jigoku 地獄. Chinese got Diyu 地獄.[1]

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Diyu is typically depicted as a subterranean maze with various levels and chambers, to which souls are taken after death to atone for the sins they committed when they were alive. The exact number of levels in Diyu and their associated deities differ between Buddhist and Taoist interpretations. Some speak of three to four "courts"; others mention "Ten Courts of Hell", each of which is ruled by a judge (collectively known as the Ten Yama Kings); others Chinese legends speak of the "Eighteen Levels of Hell". Each court deals with a different aspect of atonement and different punishments; most legends claim that sinners are subjected to gruesome tortures until their "deaths", after which they are restored to their original state for the torture to be repeated.

btw An island overcrowded by dead HC characters would be too cheap (Hello POE Cow Level ;p ), or even the 1% version of this ... Hall of Grandmasters.

What character, with what characteristics, should rule over it. Who sent him or her there, when and why. Are there rivalries? Two, three characters competing over the dominion of said Underworld. To decide who gets redemption for their sins and who has to die over and over again, or work themselves to death just to do it over again the next day (Sisyphus), or sacrifice him or herself to something or something of him or herself.

How would one be able to redeem him or herself? Would reincarnation be a thing?[2]

Could we find Nessa (the Mermaid) and Piety roaming this Underworld? If not even Kitava himself?



[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mythological_places & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underworld & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyu

& https://pathofexile.gamepedia.com/History_of_Wraeclast

& Lore Compilation https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yCRtKx6m-vkIHDRLfHGPWumKTU7-PMwy/view

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying-and-rising_deity

We got Devourer's bro.

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RPGNoobANKA wrote:

What character, with what characteristics, should rule over it. Who sent him or her there, when and why. Are there rivalries? Two, three characters competing over the dominion of said Underworld. To decide who gets redemption for their sins and who has to die over and over again, or work themselves to death just to do it over again the next day (Sisyphus), or sacrifice him or herself to something or something of him or herself.

How would one be able to redeem him or herself? Would reincarnation be a thing?[2]

Could we find Nessa (the Mermaid) and Piety roaming this Underworld? If not even Kitava himself?

Likely the underworld, if such a thing existed, would be somehow tied into the Delve scheme: A literal physical underbelly of Wraeclast, forgotten by later generations and teeming with danger.

We do know that there are several Gods/Goddesses mentioned in Path of Exile that have not been slain by the Exile yet. Most of these are Karui, but of particular interest to this thread is Prospero, the Ezomyte God of the Underworld and all its contents (gems, minerals, gold).

With current knowledge applied, it is likely that Prospero has been brought back by The Beast's destruction, and He may yet linger somewhere below Wraeclast's surface. Perhaps if Delve goes core, it could be introduced in a later Act where the Exile is removing the remaining pantheon members. This would be a good way to include it in the game for newer players so the content does not overwhelm them early on prior to maps.

But that's as far as I'm willing to theorize, concerning PoE and a lore-friendly "Hell" in 4.0-4.5.

Regardless of an underworld's inclusion, I am hopeful about Ezomyte God/Goddess expansions, and leaving the ruins of the old empire behind to journey over the mountains where the original Ezomyr came from, from which it is said they brought their Gods with them.

I'm going for alternate realities (breach as the Upside Down, beyond closest to a "hell") extended to wormholes (harbinger).

Seems like an upside down atlas is a distinct possibility, so they'll have more space to add maps as the current one is crammed.

It would be fun. And it would be fun if the gutter areas of Wraeclast like Sarn slums are actually the entrance to it with the locals who were actually in the loop about it because they never went "too deep into the sewers". Maybe that's where our malformed sarn buddy went after his adventure so he can warn us about it.

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pr13st wrote:

I'm going for alternate realities [...]

Seems like an upside down atlas is a distinct possibility [...]

Alva Valei and Zana get together? Zana asking Alva if she could help her, time traveling into the past, trying to save her father, preventing her father at all helping High Templar Venarius.[1]

But, this new kind, one-off, portal that they created/opened together became unstable and opened a permanent gateway to Wraeclast's "Underworld."

This storyline ("Underworld", a Part 3 with a handful of Acts) could begin after you won your first Elder fight.

For one, we have to find Zana. We will encounter Zana's father again, and others. I don't know how long said Part 3 should be, as Zana's Quest Line in the Atlas (getting the memory fragments et cetera), won't be able to be continued because Zana is gone/missing.

btw POE main storyline & interactions is heavily relying on the same fantasy/literature trope[2]; first Nessa, then Piety, then Nessa gain, then Zana, ... and Zana again (the "Underworld" Story I just made up).

The only one that sticks out for me is Innocence.

I do hope we could get more "diversity & representation" in the future (4.0/4.5)


[1] P. 116 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yCRtKx6m-vkIHDRLfHGPWumKTU7-PMwy/view

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_tropes

end game story acts? i can throw my wallet at that.

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pr13st wrote:

end game story acts? i can throw my wallet at that.

Would the end game be an end game if it was a direct part of the story? :P

Personally, I hope that 4.0 brings huge QoL improvements to guilds and the social aspects. Guilds have so much potential, but is, as a lot of other things, half done.

The game has so much content right now, especially when Incursion gets added into core, and if Delve goes core. I think it's time to really start pushing QoL improvements in every corner of the game. In-game ladders, in-game leaderboards, in-game trading (no, not a direct AH) and guild improvements. PoE is a brilliant game, but in many aspects, it still feels like a "foundation" more than a finished product. But I guess it will always feel that way with their business model.

Reminds me of the Underdark from Dungeons & Dragons.