Hades
Hades, the plane of evil balanced between Law and Chaos, is one of the most accessible of the lower planes. Not only is it the midpoint of the River Styx, which links the lower planes in a river of evil, but it is also the foundation of Mount Olympus, which reaches the Greek pantheon in Olympus, and the base of the Yggdrasil, the World Ash that reaches Gladsheim of the Norse Gods. Both Mount Olympus and the Yggdrasil reach the lower layers of the plane. The terrain and inhabitants are equally dangerous on all three layers.
The layers of Hades are called the glooms of Hades. This is an adequate description of the nature of evil at its worst. These are realms without joy or emotion, without hope or peace, and without good will or intentions. It is a grey land with a grey sky in all its layers. Any colors but muted blacks and whites stand out here. There is neither sun, moon, stars, nor passing of the seasons. It is merely a state of waiting, with no end to the waiting in sight.
The evil of Hades is such that those who remain within its bounds for any length of time may experience the defeatism and sadness that infects the plane. Colors slowly fade as time passes, so that the most vibrant blues and reds are muted after a week and reduced to shades of grey by the end of two weeks. Travelers who remain longer than two weeks must roll successful saving throw vs. spell or be permanently trapped in Hades, their existence fading over the next month until they become larvae (they can be rescued by another traveler who pulls them out of Hades, or by a wish or related spell).
The three Glooms of Hades derive their names from their chief inhabitants: Oinos, Niflheim, and Pluton (also referred to as Hades).
Oinos is the layer that contains many of the daemons and other creatures of the middle lower planes, as well as many of the Powers. It takes its name from Anthraxus's title as lord of the middle planes, the Oinodaemon. Oinos is a sickly land, what plants that do exist are stunted and withered. Both foliage and rocky terrain are muted greys, stretching without relief to the horizon. Oinos is the land of disease. Those who walk on its surface, or sail along the River Styx as it passes through this layer, have a 10% chance of contracting a major disease. The Yomi-no-kuni or World of Darkness that those who believe in the Eight Million Gods can be found on this layer. Izanami? rules these lands. It is said that there is a path directly to Yomi-no-kuni to be found through an ancient temple near Takeo in the Miyama province of Kozakura.
Niflheim is the second layer of Hades, the layer reached by the Yggdrasil in its course from Gladsheim. The vegetation is richer and the land cooler than Oinos, and it lacks the touch of sickness in the air. While the terrain is rougher and cloaked with pines, the atmosphere is dreary and vision beyond 100 feet is blocked by the mists and fogs that swirl through the plane. Niflheim is the abode of many creatures and powers, but is known primarily for Hel of the Norse Powers, who is acknowledged as the ruler of the layer.
Pluton is also referred to as Hades, but is spoken of here by its Roman name to avoid confusion with the plane itself and the ruler of this layer, the Greek god of the underworld. The base of Mount Olympus reaches Hades here in the grove of Persephone, at the gates of Hades' domain. It has the oppressive grey nature of the plane as well, though its vegetation consists of black willows and dry, dying poplars.
In addition to the ingress provided by the River Styx in the first layer, Yggdrasil in the second, and Mount Olympus in the third, the layers of the planes can be reached by the standard manner of portals (to the top layer) and barriers (to the second and third layers). The portals of Hades appear as great spinning coins of copper (Gehenna), silver (Concordant Opposition), or gold (Tarterus). The color and brightness of these portals make them visible for miles. Often creatures such as arcanadaemons build their red iron fortresses around portals to control the traffic into and out of their domains.
The barriers between the layers are also tightly controlled. The main barrier between Oinos and Niflheim leads to the roots of the Yggdrasil, in full view of Hel's feast hall, and the major passable barrier between Niflheim and Pluton leads to the grove of Persephone and the gates of Hades itself (with its guardian, Cerberus). Other barriers may exist that permit easy movement between the layers, but they have not been revealed. Both Hades and Hel seek to keep their infinite realms as quiet and controlled as possible. The use of viewing pools from the Astral Plane to spy upon the upper layer may be the chief reason that Hades and Hel have located their realms on lower layers). The upper layer is left to a variety of Powers, one of which is the Oinodaemon.
Features of Hades
The daemons, led by Anthraxus, rule Hades, at least in theory. Both the bird-like diakk and misshapen hordlings outnumber the daemons. In the deeper layers the Powers who rule those realms severely limit the actions of all these lesser creatures. The domains of the more powerful daemons often contain diakks and hordlings. An occasional demodand also has such servants. The demodands and daemons of Hades continually engage in a sniping war of small skirmishes and assassinations, usually avoiding the large-scale violence that might attract the attention of Greater Powers.
Anthraxus's realm in Hades is a mighty fortress (the Khin-Oin) of grey stone battlements, laced with crenellations and studded with towers and minor citadels. It towers 20 miles in height, and its dungeons burrow a similar distance below ground. The Khin-Oin, or Wasting Tower, is continually wracked with internal power struggles from other diseased great daemons who seek to displace or weaken Anthraxus. There are continual battles in the halls between the daemonic forces of one faction against another. Only the threat of an outside Power or invader is sufficient to cause the daemon masters to unite into a restless common front. When they do, they are unbeatable, for no other group has ever stormed or besieged Khin-Oin successfully. Also found on the layers of Hades are achaierai, nightmares, mephits, and night hags. The hags live reclusive lives and interfere with the local political situation only when necessary. The night hags are chiefly interested in Hades' larvae, the humanheaded worm-spirits that are found throughout the layers. The larvae are a medium of exchange in the lower planes, and the night hags seek to gather as many of them as possible. Many of the Powers of Hades were once beings of Law and justice who were assigned the task of guarding against the evil dead in the land of Hades. The millennial exposure to this plane has turned these Powers to the grey evil as well, so they are both jailers and prisoners of Hades. Only those of greater godly status can wander the Astral or visit other planes.
Hades of the third layer, Pluton, is the most powerful of the Powers of this plane, yet even he has been affected by the grey sorrow of Hades. His realm has gates and great walls surrounding the grove of Persephone, where Mount Olympus has its base and passes into the Astral Plane. The grove is filled with black willows and a single white laurel tree. The gates of Hades's realm are massive structures of beaten bronze, dented by those powerful heroes who over the ages have sought to assault the lord of the underworld's fortress. At these gates is the kennel of the three-headed dog Cerberus, whose task is both to keep the unwanted out of Hades and to keep the inhabitants of Hades within. Cerberus may be slain, but he can be returned to life by the wish of Hades. Many evil Olympian beasts and creatures dwell in Hades's domain. These have ability modifications similar to those of Olympian creatures.
Hel, ruler of Niflheim, was also assigned the task of guarding the dead, only to eventually fall to the same grey despair that overwhelms those in this realm. The Yggdrasil (and the main barrier region from Oinos) decamps at the base of a low hill. At the base of the Yggdrasil is Nidhogg, a huge, very ancient red dragon with 10 points per hit die, and that dragon's innumerable brood. Nidhogg's task is to gnaw the roots of the World Ash and eventually cut the link from Niflheim to Asgard, but the ash sets down new roots even as Nidhogg consumes them. Nidhogg can be (and has been) slain, but within a year one of her brood grows to her size and power, takes the mantle of Nidhogg, and resumes the task. Hel's domain is similar to that of Valhalla in appearance, save for the omnipresent grey and the lack of valkyries. She is served in this dominion by her own einheriar, who are evil in nature and grey in both armor and complexion. Within the wild borders of Niflheim, all manner of fell creatures similar to those found in Gladsheim roam and prey on the unwary.
The Babylonian god Nergal is also a keeper of the dead for his pantheon. He makes his realm on the first layer, ruling a wide but finite swath of the layer from Nergaltos, his circular city of seven domes. His city is laid out in rings, with each ring having an arching dome enclosing the domed rings within it. Viewing portals cannot pass through the gates of Nergaltos without Nergal's permission. Each dome is pierced by a single gate. At each gate the traveler must roll a successful saving throw vs. spell or suffer the effects of being trapped in Hades. Each dome applies a cumulative - 2 penalty to the save, so that by the time that the seventh dome is reached, the penalty is - 1 4 , so potent that Powers such as Ishtar have been trapped in his domain. The city of Nergaltos is populated by soldiers similar to the warriors of Anu in description and powers, save that they are evil in nature. In the centermost of the domes within domes, Nergal keeps the forgotten Powers whom Marduk and others of his pantheon have defeated and brought to him.
Ratri, an Indian demi-goddess, has no permanent abode, but flits from layer to layer living off what she can steal from the Greater Powers. Hers is the province of night, thieves, and robbers. She uses her abilities to remain as an unwelcome guest in the courts of Hades and Hel, and to dominate the daemons and demodands she encounters.
Abbathor lives makes his domain in a cavern complex deep within the first layer. It is said that at its deeper point it has a planar layer barrier leading into Niflheim. If this is true, it is one more treasure that the god of evil and greedy dwarves keeps hidden from others. Abbathor's realm is called the Glitterhell, for it is lined with gold that sparkles even in the grey domains of Hades. It is that lust and greed that keeps Abbathor continually on the move and unaffected by the detrimental nature of the plane that overwhelms the other powers. The true location of the Glitterhell is unknown, and Abbathor maintains several false locations of his realm to throw off the greedy men and dwarves who are always conspiring to steal his gold.
Silent Yurtrus of the ores is the orcish god of death. Whether he was assigned the position like Nergal, Hades, or Hel, or took the mantle of death and disease on his own, is unknown, for the orcish Power has no mouth and does not divulge his secrets. Yurtus's realm on the layer of Oinos is dreary and depressing even by Hades's standards. All plants die before reaching its borders. Only Yurtus and his equally silent ore spirits live within; even the daemons tread carefully through this terrain.
