Manual of the Planes

Normal petitioners in Hades gain only one special petitionerquality: incorporeality. But larvae have the followingspecial petitioner qualities:Additional Immunities: Cold, fire.Resistances: Electricity 20, acid 20.Other Special Qualities: Wounding, disease, noplanar commitment.Wounding (Ex): Every time a larva deals damage, thewound automatically bleeds for 1 additional point ofdamage every round until a Heal check (DC 15) is madeor magical healing is applied.Disease (Ex): Following a battle with larvae duringwhich the larvae dealt any damage, wounded charactersmust make a Fortitude save (DC 17) or contract devilchills (see Disease in Chapter 3 of the DUNGEON MASTER’sGuide, for the effects of devil chills).No Planar Commitment (Ex): Unlike most other petitioners,larvae can be removed from Hades. Often, they aretaken elsewhere to serve as food, barter, and basic “soulstuff” for fiendish projects, both demonic and devilish,that require such an esoteric component.MOVEMENT AND COMBATMovement and combat in Hades are much like movementon the Material Plane. The hateful nature of theplane makes combatants less likely to flee, even if gravelywounded. Most fights here are to the death.FEATURES OF HADESThe glooms of the Gray Waste are just that: dull graylands. The earth is gray, the sky is gray, and the petitionersare gray. Color is foreign here, as if vision itself is subverted.When visitors step into the plane, everythinggoes from color to white, black, or gray. There is no sun,no moon, and no stars above—just a bleak gray radianceemanating from the sky.This grayness affects more than vision; it is a spiritualgrayness. It reaches into the hearts of all whospend time in Hades. Those who spend more time herethan they should, such as all the petitioners, are devoidof feeling. They don’t laugh, don’t cry, and just don’tcare. All they do is despair, their hope gone and neverto return.Both the entrapping trait of Hades and the spiritualsickness called “the grays” are manifestations of the graynessof Hades.OinosThe first gloom of Hades is a land of stunted trees,roving fiends, and virulent disease. But more than anythingelse, it is a plane ravaged by war. This is the centralbattlefield of the Blood War. Fiends, warrior-slaves,trained beasts, and hired mercenaries gather here towage horrific battles on an epic scale. These battlesdespoil the already bleak terrain. The sounds of rendingclaws, clashing weapons, and screams echo acrossthe entire layer.Khin-Oin the Wasting Tower: A twenty-mile-hightower, Khin-Oin looks like nothing so much as a freestandingspinal column. Some say that’s exactly what it is:the backbone of a deity slain by yugoloths. Khin-Oinplunges as deep into Oinos’s gray soil as it ascends intothe air, so the tower’s sublevels tunnel twenty miles deep.The Wasting Tower is ruled by an ultraloth princenamed Mydianchlarus. In fact, some stories hint that theentire yugoloth race was birthed here, arising in a pit atthe absolute bottom of Khin-Oin. None but yugolothshave ever held the tower, despite the constant array offiendish armies outside.The rooms and the floors of the tower seem to have noend. Spawning vats, magical laboratories, and meditationchambers can be found here, as can orreries, suitesof rooms for yugoloths, and floors that are themselvesbattlegrounds and drill fields. Mydianchlarus rulesfrom the tower’s zenith, and the token of his rulership isthe Siege Malicious.Whoever rules the Wasting Tower is often referred toas the oinoloth. Any creature that can successfully invadethe Wasting Tower and make it to the top chamber hasthe opportunity to claim the title for himself. Claimingthe title involves defeating the current ruler, then sittingon the Siege Malicious. The Siege Malicious is a throne ofartifact-level power, and as such, it may grant powers overthe layer of Oinos.The Siege Malicious: The Siege Malicious is a majorartifact. It is a gargantuan, immovable throne carvedfrom the stone of the Wasting Tower itself. The throne isinlaid with tarnished silver, base copper, and brass. Acircular crown of rubies adorns the top of the high seat,which is just large enough to sit a Huge creature. (ManyMedium-size creatures would look ridiculous sitting onthe Siege Malicious with their legs dangling several feetoff the floor.)pqqqqrsTHE GRAYSWisdom damage dealt by “the grays” does not heal until theA spiritual poison affects any creature (including outsiders) in victim has left Hades behind. Each point of Wisdom damageHades that does not possess spell resistance of 10 or more. dealt in this fashion represents growing apathy, hopelessness,and despair.Creatures without spell resistance 10 must make a Will save(DC 13) every twenty-four hours they spend in Hades.This effect is concurrent with the entrapping trait of Hades.A failed save deals 1 point of temporary Wisdom damage Wisdom damage taken from the grays makes it harder to maketo the victim. A victim can be drained to a minimum Wisdom the weekly saving throws to resist the loss of all hope that theof 1 in this fashion. Unlike most ability score damage, entrapping trait represents.pqqqqrsCHAPTER 7:THE OUTERPLANES109