Also, it's not true, historically. Most people didn't get married until their twenties, and anything before that was normally a political marriage where they wouldn't consummate until they were of age or even actually live together until then.

That's what I thought, and it makes sense since the first one is the only one that took place primarily on Earth, but it's been a while since I read them.

Was that from one of the Elijah Bailey books? I remember reading that as a kid and thinking, "This is cool, but probably not a good idea."

Thanks for the description. From the name I just assumed he was some kind of standup comedian.

Also in D&D hell it's theoretically possible to move up in status so that it doesn't suck so bad for you, personally. Maybe not how that incentive structure should work, but it encourages them to torture other bad people, so I guess it works out in a utilitarian sense.

Was this originally about Middle-Earth and Valinor?

That's where lichdom comes in, though it doesn't help with the insanity

It has gotten worse about doing the first part as time has progressed. But, importantly, it hasn't gotten much better at the second part, certainly not enough to recommend it over anything else, and the same goes for the third part.

The process of mummification involved removing the brain, so they can't be all that smart

I haven't looked into Mothership that deeply, but that is a weird one, considering that actual old D&D had stealth mechanics from early on, if not the beginning (not sure whether they had them before Thief was added). They weren't good, but at least they had them.