#Buddhist 8 Hells GM Guide - Not Punishment, But Mirror

Contents

Core reference: Zone Gimmick Catalog (區域仕掛圖鑑)

This file is not a doctrinal text. It is five cards placed in the GM's hand: Reviving, Black Rope, Screaming, Scorching Heat, and Avici. The five hells are five mirrors. When a PC stands before a mirror, this tool helps the GM decide what to show in it.

#0. Design Philosophy - "Not Punishment, But Mirror"

The Buddhist 8 Hells are not punishments handed down by a judge. Each hell is a state created by a sentient being's own karma, and a place that reflects that state like a mirror. This guide converts that doctrinal essence into a principle for play.

#Meaning Of The Mirror

When a PC enters Reviving, Reviving does not try to punish the PC. It only reflects the "impulse to cut and cut again" that already exists inside the PC. If that impulse is not inside the PC, Reviving is only an iron-colored plain, and nothing happens.

This principle creates three results for GM operation.

Result 1. A hell's intensity is proportional to the PC's inner life. A PC full of wounds is endangered by Reviving, and a PC full of bondage is endangered by Black Rope.

Result 2. The same hell is experienced differently by each PC. One scene in Reviving can be terror to one PC and liberation to another.

Result 3. The hell itself is not evil. A hell is a state, and a state is a mirror. This affects the GM's descriptive tone - hell is not so much "cruel" as "precise."

#5-Chapter Mapping Principle

In this guide, the five hells are mapped to the 5 chapters of the main Konsei Reiyotan campaign, or to its 5 major phases. Use this as a reference when arranging the campaign structure in hell order.

The GM does not need to follow this mapping. Rearrange the order to fit the campaign context. However, preserve the doctrinal essence of each section below, because it is the hell's inherent character.

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#1. Reviving (等活) - The Mirror That Cuts And Cuts Again

#Doctrinal Essence

Reviving is the first of the 8 Hells. In Sanskrit, "Saṃjīva." Its translation means "living again." Those who committed the karma of killing cut one another's bodies, and each time they are cut, their bodies "live again." The pain has no end, because death is not allowed.

The core of Reviving is not repetition, but "revival." Pain resets. A wound heals and opens again. Something believed to be over once begins again.

#Reviving As Mirror

States Reviving reflects in a PC:

• Wounds they tried to forget return again and again
• Unfinished vengeance
• A feeling that "once is not enough"
• Cycles of self-harm or self-blame

When an affected PC enters Reviving, the landscape reacts accordingly. A PC without such wounds can simply pass through Reviving's iron-colored plain.

#Unique Gimmick - Cadence of Revival (刻)

A rule that operates at Reviving depth 2 or higher. When a PC takes physical harm, that harm heals on the next round, and then the same harm recurs in the same body part on the following round. This cycle continues until the PC acknowledges the cause of that pain.

"Acknowledgment check": Mental Save, Target Number 11. On success, the PC recognizes the source of the pain and the cycle breaks. This check is separate from Exposure modifiers.

The Cadence of Revival stops operating once the PC returns to the domain, but the trace, the memory of the wound, remains. In a long campaign, that trace becomes an axis of the PC's story.

#5-Chapter Mapping - Chapter 1, Chapter of Wounds

Early campaign, when PCs first make contact with the Spirit Realm. Reviving is the beginner's hell. The landscape is not dramatic; one or two quiet blades simply lie on an iron-colored plain. But the longer the PCs remain, the more the Cadence of Revival activates.

#Scent Presentation Tip

Reviving's scent is "iron." A cold, metallic smell. Imagine adding a slight smell of iron to benzoin incense used in actual rites. If the GM says during play, "The incense is a little heavy - iron is mixed into it," players intuit that north is close.

#PCs This Hell Fits

• PCs not fully recovered from past wounds
• PCs with recurring nightmares
• PCs who cannot forget revenge
• PCs who cannot forgive themselves

#PCs This Hell Cannot Reflect

• PCs who have already sublimated their wounds
• PCs who are not bound to the past

For such PCs, Reviving is only an iron-colored plain. The GM does not force an effect. A mirror reflects only when there is something to reflect.

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#2. Black Rope (黑繩) - The Mirror Of Binding Oneself

#Doctrinal Essence

The second hell. Sanskrit "Kālasūtra." Translated as "black thread" or "black rope." Those who committed the karma of killing and theft are cut apart by black ropes. However, this guide places Black Rope's essence less in "being cut apart by another" and more in "being bound by oneself."

Black Rope's core is binding, and the agent of that binding is ultimately oneself. No one binds the PC. The PC binds their own hands with their own hands. This self-binding is Black Rope's mirror.

#Black Rope As Mirror

States Black Rope reflects in a PC:

• A PC trapped in rules they set for themselves
• A PC who converted others' expectations into self-binding
• A PC crushed by "I must"
• A PC who limits action through guilt

Black Rope is the hell that asks, "How do you become free?" The beginning of this hell is not being bound, but recognizing that one is bound.

#Unique Gimmick - Self-Binding (自結)

Operates at Black Rope depth 2 or higher. When a PC tries to perform a specific action, and that action conflicts with their own "principle," black thread wraps around their wrist. Rule effects:

A "principle" is a value or vow declared by the PC's player during PC setup. The GM notes each PC's principle at the start of the session and applies it in Black Rope scenes. Self-Binding does not operate on PCs who have no defined principle.

To undo Self-Binding, the PC must reconsider the principle itself, or abandon it. This process itself becomes drama.

#5-Chapter Mapping - Chapter 2, Chapter of Binding

The stage where PCs begin Spirit Realm exploration in earnest. Each PC's principles and restraints come into view. Black Rope scenes externalize the rules inside the PC.

#Scent Presentation Tip

Black Rope's scent is "pine resin" and "hemp." Pine resin smells sticky and sweet when burned; hemp smells like rough cloth. When the two scents mix, they become a "binding smell." The GM signals approach with, "The incense is strangely sticky - northeast."

#PCs This Hell Fits

• PCs with strict self-discipline
• PCs bound by others' expectations
• PCs who treat past promises as heavy burdens
• PCs trapped in their own roles

#Warning - Player Agreement

Black Rope's self-binding rule can be sensitive for a PC's player. The experience is that a principle they set for themselves restricts them mechanically. Before the session, the GM tells players this rule exists and agrees on whether to enter Black Rope.

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#3. Screaming (叫喚) - The Mirror That Does Not Cool

#Doctrinal Essence

The fourth hell. Sanskrit "Raurava." Translated as "screaming" or "boiling cauldron." Those who committed the karma of killing, theft, and sexual misconduct enter boiling water or are thrown into boiling oil.

Screaming's core is "boiling." Not cooling. Something that became hot once remains hot forever. Emotion does not cool, anger does not cool, longing does not cool.

#Screaming As Mirror

States Screaming reflects in a PC:

• A PC with anger that does not cool
• A PC who cannot let go of old longing
• A PC who fails at emotional regulation
• An awareness that "I cannot calm down"

Screaming is the hell that asks, "Why does it not cool?" The temperature of emotion is the PC's pain.

#Unique Gimmick - Boiling (沸騰)

Operates at Screaming depth 2 or higher. When a PC feels strong emotion, the surrounding environment's temperature synchronizes with that emotion. Specifically:

Emotion intensity is determined by the player's roleplay. The GM does not set it arbitrarily, but responds to the player's description. This interaction is the core of Screaming's presentation.

When the state reaches Extreme, physical harm occurs within 2m of the PC, at the level of light burns. Allied PCs may also be affected.

To stop Boiling: Mental Save, Target Number 11 (emotion suppression). Or spend incense 3 sticks (emotion cooling). Or wait until the emotion naturally settles.

#5-Chapter Mapping - Chapter 3, Chapter of Heat

Mid-campaign. The PCs' emotions have accumulated and conflicts intensify. Screaming scenes externalize those emotions into the environment.

#Scent Presentation Tip

Screaming's scent is "steam." Not an incense smell, but the smell of vapor. The faint mineral smell of steam rising from hot water. The GM signals approach with, "The air is wet. Like hot breath."

#PCs This Hell Fits

• PCs with intense emotions
• PCs with old grudges
• PCs with excessive passion, even in a positive sense
• PCs who perform calm while boiling inside

#Note On Great Screaming (大叫喚)

The fifth of the core 8 Hells, "Great Screaming," is an expanded form of Screaming. This guide does not treat it in detail, but it is fine to read Screaming depth 5, the Heart (心) stage, as similar to Great Screaming. If the campaign demands it, Great Screaming can be expanded into a separate hell; in the basic 5-hell structure, it is omitted.

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#4. Scorching Heat (焦熱) - The Mirror That Reduces To Ash

#Doctrinal Essence

The sixth hell. Sanskrit "Tapana." Translated as "burning." Those with many forms of evil karma are burned on a vast iron plate. However, the core of Scorching Heat is not "the moment of burning," but "after becoming ash."

Scorching Heat's essence is reversion. Everything returns to ash. Form disappears, meaning disappears, and even memory scatters. The true mirror of Scorching Heat is not the time while the fire is hot, but the ash left after the fire goes out.

#Scorching Heat As Mirror

States Scorching Heat reflects in a PC:

• The impulse to burn everything
• The temptation of complete annihilation
• A state of self-abandonment
• A will to "leave nothing behind"

Scorching Heat is the hell that asks, "What remains after ash?" Ash has no form, but it has a smell. That smell is the PC.

#Unique Gimmick - Ash of Reversion (還元之灰)

Operates at Scorching Heat depth 2 or higher. Items carried by the PC are gradually reduced to ash.

Reversion is gradual. If a PC sprinkles incense on an item, it is delayed (1 round delay per incense 1 stick). However, it cannot be stopped completely.

The reduced ash does not disappear, but settles thinly on the carrier's body. Ash marks the PC's hands and face. This ash remains for a certain period even after returning to the domain.

#5-Chapter Mapping - Chapter 4, Chapter of Ash

Late campaign. The point when everything built so far is tested. This stage forces PCs to face the possibility that possessions, relationships, and memories may scatter.

#Scent Presentation Tip

Scorching Heat's scent is "charcoal." The smell of something burned. Not while it is burning, but the smell "after it has burned out." The smell of a cold ash heap. The GM signals approach with, "Something smells burned somewhere. But no fire is visible."

#PCs This Hell Fits

• PCs on the edge of despair
• PCs who want to give everything up
• PCs who dream of complete closure
• PCs who have become indifferent to legacy

#Note On Great Scorching Heat (大焦熱)

The seventh hell, "Great Scorching Heat," is Scorching Heat's extreme form. It is omitted in this guide. If the campaign needs it, interpret Scorching Heat depth 5, the Heart (心), as Great Scorching Heat.

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#5. Avici (無間) - The Mirror Without End

#Doctrinal Essence

The eighth and final hell. Sanskrit "Avīci." Translated as "without interval" or "unceasing." It is the place for those who committed the gravest karma. Pain does not cease for even 1 second; time does not pass; there is no end.

Avici's core is "infinity." However, this guide interprets infinity less as "eternal pain" and more as "the absence of everything." A state without even pain - that is more frightening. Avici is the hell of silence.

#Avici As Mirror

States Avici reflects in a PC:

• A PC who cannot feel anything
• An empty PC
• A PC who has lost meaning
• A PC who has even forgotten that "there is no end"

Avici is the hell that asks, "Are you here now?" In a place without time, the PC must rediscover the sense of their own existence.

#Unique Gimmick - Sensory Erasure

Operates from Avici depth 1. As depth increases, one PC sense disappears at a time.

Erased senses recover when the PC returns to the domain, but after a long stay, some traces may remain (GM discretion, long-campaign element).

Sensory erasure gives the PC significant anxiety. This anxiety is Avici's essential pain.

#Unique Gimmick 2 - Silence of Nothingness (無)

Operates at Avici depth 5. In that scene, the GM is actually silent for 1 minute. No description at all. Even if players ask questions, the GM does not answer.

This 1 minute is the true presentation of Avici. Rule effect: during the silence, PC Exposure +2 is fixed. No other numbers. But the scene remains in the players' memory for a long time.

#5-Chapter Mapping - Chapter 5, Chapter of Endlessness

The campaign's climax. The stage where all conflicts are resolved, or remain unresolved and continue. Avici is not the hell of an ending, but the hell of "no ending."

#Scent Presentation Tip

Avici's scent is "none." In Avici, incense loses its smell. Even when lit, it produces only smoke, with no scent. The GM signals Avici's presence with, "You lit the incense. But there is no smell at all."

#PCs This Hell Fits

• PCs sunk into emotional numbness
• PCs who have experienced loss of meaning
• PCs who have explored the Spirit Realm for a long time (accumulated contamination)
• PCs detached from everything

#Escape From Avici

Avici is the hell from which self-powered escape is hardest. As depth increases, the sense of direction vanishes and return becomes difficult. The PC needs an "external connection," such as an ally's voice or the memory of incense. Alone, they cannot get out. This structure is Avici's doctrinal core - without connection, there is no salvation.

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#6. Reference - The Remaining Three Hells (Crushing, Great Screaming, Great Scorching Heat)

This guide has treated five hells in full. The remaining three hells are recorded briefly for expansion reference.

#Crushing (衆合)

The third hell. Sanskrit "Saṃghāta." Translated as "coming together" or "crushing to death." A hell where huge mountains collide from both sides and crush sentient beings.

It is not included in this guide's basic 5-hell structure. You may interpret it as placed in one of the 3 direction blank spaces, or as a depth 5 combined area between Reviving and Black Rope.

Mirror theme: a state crushed between both sides of external pressure. "Not choice, but inescapability."

#Great Screaming (大叫喚)

The fifth hell. An expansion of Screaming. In this guide, the Heart (心) of Screaming depth 5 stands in for Great Screaming.

Mirror theme: the extreme of emotion. What does not cool becomes not merely heat, but "heat that melts everything."

#Great Scorching Heat (大焦熱)

The seventh hell. An expansion of Scorching Heat. The Heart (心) of Scorching Heat depth 5 plays the role of Great Scorching Heat.

Mirror theme: ash after ash. The annihilation of annihilation. A state where there is nothing left to leave behind.

#GM Discretion

If the campaign must use all 8 Hells, place Crushing, Great Screaming, and Great Scorching Heat in the three blank-space directions. However, this guide's default structure is 5 hells + 3 blank spaces. The "inaccessibility" of blank spaces gives tension to the Spirit Realm topology.

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#7. Common Principles For Running Hells

#Principle A. Mirror First

Before entering each hell scene, the GM asks: "What does this hell reflect in this PC?" If there is no answer, the hell operates only as landscape. If there is an answer, the hell becomes drama.

#Principle B. Slow Cruelty

Each hell's pain builds slowly. A PC does not die in one scene. Instead, the influence accumulates across an entire session. The GM applies small pressure every round.

#Principle C. Restraint In Doctrinal Quotation

The GM does not directly quote Buddhist scriptures. Convey only the feel of doctrine through description. Do not explain "revival"; show the wound opening again. Explanation belongs to the players.

#Principle D. Player Agreement

Some hells handle sensitive subjects, such as self-harm, self-binding, and emotional explosion. Before the session, share the possibility of these subjects with players, and adjust entry into the relevant hell if a subject is uncomfortable.

#8. 5-Hell Circuit Campaign Structure

Recommended arrangement when using the five hells as the full campaign structure:

Between each stage, insert 1 domain-return session. This becomes a long campaign of about 20 sessions.

#Short Campaign Variants

• 3-hell circuit: Reviving -> Black Rope -> Avici (8~10 sessions)
• 2-hell contrast: Screaming <-> Scorching Heat (5~6 sessions)
• Single-hell depth: Avici depth 0 -> 5 (4~5 sessions)

#9. Hell Mixing - Multi-Direction Scenes

In advanced scenarios, elements of several hells can coexist in one scene. Example: a boundary-zone scene where Reviving's iron smell and Black Rope's pine-resin scent are sensed at the same time.

In this case, the GM alternates the presentation of the two hells. One paragraph carries Reviving's senses; the next paragraph carries Black Rope's senses. PCs experience confusion as if they have lost direction.

Rules: in a mixed scene, the Exposure modifier uses the more unfavorable modifier among the two hells.

#10. Tone And Description Density

#Description Speed

In each hell scene, the GM slows description. Fast pacing does not fit the hells' slow cruelty. Say one sentence, pause for 2~3 seconds, then the next sentence, then pause again.

#Word Choice

Each hell uses a different word cluster.

• Reviving: iron, red, opening, again
• Black Rope: cord, black, binding, knot
• Screaming: boiling, steam, scream, wetness
• Scorching Heat: ash, burning, charcoal, reversion
• Avici: none, endlessness, gray, silence

If the GM cycles these word clusters deliberately, players will identify the hell by language alone.

#Drawing Out Player Language

When the GM uses a word cluster, players also begin responding in that word cluster. This synchronization of language determines the session's immersion. The GM asks open questions such as "What does your PC feel?" to draw out the players' language.

#Performance Tips

#Incense - Incense Cards For Each Hell

The GM prepares scent descriptions for the five hells as cards. Each card has a scent name (iron, pine resin, steam, charcoal, none) and a one-sentence description. During the session, the GM flips a card when needed to check it. A tool for improvisational description.

#Law - The Mirror Question

Before entering each hell scene, the GM silently asks one sentence: "What is this hell to this PC?" If the answer appears immediately, the scene becomes strong; if it does not, the scene becomes weak. This question itself maintains the GM's focus.

#Performance Tip - Contrast Between Hells

In scenes where two hells are adjacent, contrast becomes drama. Example: when moving from Reviving (iron) to Screaming (steam), the GM explicitly marks the transition with "The iron smell thins - the air begins to grow wet." The crossing of two senses conveys the meaning of directional movement.

#Performance Tip - Hell's Silence

Each hell has a "moment of silence" that is not a rule: the quiet just after a Reviving wound, the wrist sensation just after Black Rope binding, the water surface after Screaming boiling surges once, the ash heap after Scorching Heat ash settles, and that 1 minute of Avici. The GM places these silences deliberately.

#Link - Exposure And Imprints

In a long campaign, staying in each hell leaves a trace on the PC called an "imprint." An imprint is a permanent modifier separate from Exposure, given to a PC who experiences depth 4~5 of a specific hell. The concrete rules for imprints are handled in a later section of this supplement. This guide provides the "source" of those imprints.

#11. Hell Residents As NPCs - Conversation With Yoma

Each hell has its own "residents." More than simply yoma, these are personifications of the hell's doctrine. Use the following guidelines when running them as NPCs.

#Resident Of Reviving - "Cutting (斬)"

A being that endlessly cuts itself or cuts others. Its form is not fixed: a silhouette of a person holding a blade, or the shape of the blade itself. It either does not speak, or speaks one word at a time.

Conversation approach: They do not ask "why cut?" Cutting itself is their existence. If a PC tries to give meaning to it, they disappear.

#Resident Of Black Rope - "Knot (結)"

A being that ties its own hands with its own hands. It infinitely repeats the motion of untying several knots and tying them again. Its speech is conveyed not as sentences, but as the shapes of knots.

Conversation approach: When spoken to, a knot appears instead of a question. If the PC unties the knot, the answer is untied. A knot that cannot be untied is a question without an answer.

#Resident Of Screaming - "Heat (熱)"

A being screaming in boiling water. Its form is between liquid and gas. The scream itself is its language.

Conversation approach: Communication with them occurs through emotional synchronization. The PC must reach the same emotional temperature. To do so, the PC must deliberately bring their own emotions to a boil, and this process triggers Exposure +2.

#Resident Of Scorching Heat - "Ash (灰)"

A being after it has already burned out. Its form is a lump of ash or an outline drawn in ash. Each step scatters ash.

Conversation approach: They are in a state where everything that needed to be said has already been said. When spoken to, a handful of ash falls. A sentence remains in that ash. The PC needs a Target Number 13 check to read the ash.

#Resident Of Avici - "Absence (無)"

An unseen resident. More precisely - there is no resident. But absence itself has presence. The PC senses the air in the room moving as if someone were there.

Conversation approach: Impossible. In Avici, there is no one to talk to. When a PC speaks, the words scatter into empty air. Rarely, however, the PC's own voice returns and answers. Is this a hallucination, or an answer? Unknown.

#12. Imprints Of The Hell Depths - Permanent Change

#Imprint Rules

When a PC experiences an Inner Court or Heart (心) at hell depth 4 or higher, an "imprint" is carved into them. An imprint is a permanent modifier, separate from Exposure.

Each hell's imprint:

Each imprint has two sides. A +1 in one field is accompanied by a -1 in another. This duality is the mechanical expression of the principle that "hell is a mirror."

#Imprint Accumulation

If a PC experiences the depths of multiple hells, imprints accumulate. A PC with 3 or more imprints is called a "reflective being," and stands in a special position among the people of the domain - sometimes respected, sometimes kept at a distance.

#Imprint Removal Is Impossible

In theory, imprints cannot be removed. However, some traditions say that an extremely rare rite called "Mirror Release (免鏡)" can wash away an imprint. This rite can become one of the campaign's final goals.

#13. Hell Crossings - Boundary Phenomena

When the influence of two hells coexists in one place, that place becomes a hotbed of special phenomena. Beyond simple direction boundaries, the following hell crossing phenomena exist.

#Reviving + Black Rope = "Bound Wound"

Cut, bound, cut again, bound again. This combination is a mirror of a self-abusive cycle. For the affected PC, Cadence of Revival and the self-binding rule operate at the same time.

#Screaming + Scorching Heat = "Boiled-Charred Ash"

A state where boiling evaporates and becomes ash. The point where extreme heat passes into complete stillness. This combination represents the exhaustion of emotion.

#Avici + Reviving = "Absent Wound"

A state where there is a wound, but it is not felt. A paradoxical crossing. This combination is the mirror of emotional dissociation.

These crossings may be deliberately placed by the GM in a scenario, or may occur naturally under specific tide and weather conditions.

#14. Hells And Daily Life - Hellishness Seeping Into The Domain

Even after PCs return to the domain, traces of hell remain. Small scenes inside the domain can trigger hellish sensations.

#Reviving-Tinged Daily Life

• A wound heals and opens again many times
• The same dream repeats
• Something believed resolved begins again

#Black-Rope-Tinged Daily Life

• The PC is bound by a small rule and becomes unable to act
• The PC is pressed by others' expectations
• A past promise weighs down the present

#Screaming-Tinged Daily Life

• Anger that does not cool
• Old emotion returns vividly
• Repeated failures of emotional control

#Scorching-Heat-Tinged Daily Life

• An impulse to burn something
• A desire to put everything in order
• An intention to leave nothing behind

#Avici-Tinged Daily Life

• Numbness
• Loss of the sense of time passing
• A state where daily life looks thin

These everyday sensations seep into PCs who have been to the Spirit Realm as a subtle tone. In domain scenes, the GM lets this tone soak in subtly - not by stating it, only by description.

#Performance Tips

#Incense - Incense Cards For Each Hell

The GM prepares scent descriptions for the five hells as cards. Each card has a scent name (iron, pine resin, steam, charcoal, none) and a one-sentence description. During the session, the GM flips a card when needed to check it. A tool for improvisational description.

#Law - The Mirror Question

Before entering each hell scene, the GM silently asks one sentence: "What is this hell to this PC?" If the answer appears immediately, the scene becomes strong; if it does not, the scene becomes weak. This question itself maintains the GM's focus.

#Performance Tip - Contrast Between Hells

In scenes where two hells are adjacent, contrast becomes drama. Example: when moving from Reviving (iron) to Screaming (steam), the GM explicitly marks the transition with "The iron smell thins - the air begins to grow wet." The crossing of two senses conveys the meaning of directional movement.

#Performance Tip - Hell's Silence

Each hell has a "moment of silence" that is not a rule: the quiet just after a Reviving wound, the wrist sensation just after Black Rope binding, the water surface after Screaming boiling surges once, the ash heap after Scorching Heat ash settles, and that 1 minute of Avici. The GM places these silences deliberately.

#Performance Tip - The Weight Of Declaring An Imprint

At the moment a PC receives an imprint, the GM briefly stops session time and describes only that moment. The actions of other PCs also stop briefly. An imprint is a modifier, but in presentation it is a turning point in the character's life.

#Link - Exposure And Imprints

In a long campaign, staying in each hell leaves a trace on the PC called an "imprint." An imprint is a permanent modifier separate from Exposure, given to a PC who experiences depth 4~5 of a specific hell. The concrete rules for imprints are handled in a later section of this supplement. This guide provides the "source" of those imprints.

#Links

• Previous: 03-05 Boundary Events
• Section index: 03-00 Index
• Topology reference: 03-01 Spirit Realm Topology
• Travel rules: 03-02 Travel Rules
• Tide reference (moon phase correspondence): 03-03 Spirit Realm Tides
• Weather reference (hell-specific skies): 03-04 Weather Hazards
• Core Barrier rules: 05-05 Zone Gimmicks