Lucifer in chainmail

Pets in Purgatory

Denizens of the IDUniverse have mostly managed to keep their personal lives concealed from us humans, interacting only in the domain of whatever battle styles befit their stations. While some (Abominations and Skellies) are focused on little else, one of the unexpected discoveries from our study of afterlife literature is that many have hobbies, passions, and relationships.

You may have wondered about pets, since they never appear in the game. It turns out that there are strict rules about this; indeed, Sir Raymond of Gurb was subjected to ruinous degradation for bringing his foul-tempered cur, “Mudgeon,” into battle… and the Abyss is still replacing statuary damaged in the Manticore Incident. Knights with dogs and cats have learned to keep a low profile, their beasts hidden from the prying eyes of nosy neighbors and gossiping witches.

It was thus fascinating to acquire this little self-published flyer, well-produced but released without attribution. It caters to warriors who love their fur babies, and the anonymous cover photo of “Lucifer” is precious.

The text is short, with health tips and suggestions for choosing naturally stealthy breeds, but they make it clear that there will likely come a time when even one’s beloved pets may be deployed against invading humans (given the increasing popularity of the IDU “game”). They go into detail about armor design including Dragonscale and European 4-in-1, hinting at the existence of Purgatory blacksmiths who can be hired to produce light but effective chainmail for your four-legged warrior.

It is a worthwhile addition to the library, and we’ll be watching for more clues about the private lives of our adversaries.


This is part of the In Death: Unchained literature collection by Steven K. Roberts.