Underworld of Hades

Underworld of Hades

The Underworld of Hades is the place of final rewards and endless suffering. Although many believe Hades is literally beneath the ground, in truth the plane is distinct from the mortal world, reachable only via magical means, hidden pathways, or by death. The souls of all dead sapient creatures awake on the Ethereal Plane as spirits and souls. They are then ferried by merren-oloths to the Underworld, passing through the Nether Sea before the River Styx plunges into the depths of Hades. Those unable to pay for the service of the merrenoloths are left on the Ethereal Plane and fall into madness, dispair, and even anger.

Most imagine the Underworld’s wards as being stacked atop one another, but their actual relationships defy mortal understanding. While the River Styx reaches each ward, Phylias is typically defined as the entry to the Underworld, while Tizerus is farthest from this entrance. The other wards hold their own equal places in between. Regardless, souls destined for each realm reach their destinations with equal efficiency and permanency.

Each distinctive ward of Hades is effectively infinite in scale, with the space between noteworthy locations endlessly expanding and contracting. Traveling between locations is typically impossible on foot. Secret paths that defy mortal logic, magical steeds, and the intervention of powerful Underworld denizens all might speed one’s travels, though. Attempting to escape the Underworld is an entirely different, nearly impossible matter, though.

Other than souls of the dead, the plane is filled with yugoloths using souls to further their plots or as bartering systems. While other creatures do hold sway in Hades, the yugoloth hierarchy eventually suppresses all.

Geography

LAY OF THE LAND

Unlike other planes, Hades' "layers" are laid out horizontally, with each ward seemingly infinite. Many of the inhabitants that are not merely the soul of a dead person actually originate from Nyx in Elysium, as the stories of living humanoids shaped the understanding of the afterlife and Nyx brought these stories and dreams into reality.
Agonas
Agonas is the last home of warriors and soldiers who battled in life without honor, as well as the souls of cowards, mercenaries, and others who lived by the sword. Their cries of pain and triumph echo on the faintest wind, stirring bloodlust in all who hear them.
The clash of weapons echo over every ridge and canyon of Agonas’s rocky expanse. Great stadiums and platforms rise from the arid landscape, some carved from the remains of titanic ruins, others hanging from massive, rusting chains. The many theaters of battle blend with dwellings carved into natural rock towers, forming an extensive network of arenas and errant fortifications. At the ward’s heart thrums the Stadium of Dishonor. Here fierce soldiers test their blades against one another and against the teeth and claws of vicious monsters.
Upon arriving, dishonorable souls relegated to Agonas are met by oreads, the souls of other dead champions, and cyclopes, who guide them to the scene of their endless battle.
Ilysia In Ilysia the souls of heroic mortals and of those who died unjustly find eternal rest and comfort. It is said that Ilysia is actual a part of Elysium that was taken from the plane.
Ilysia is a sanctuary of peace and tranquility. Majestic temple-palaces stand amid lush forests, the colorful vegetation draping luminous marble in living mantles of flowers and sweet fruit. At the ward’s heart towers the Citadel of Destiny, where heroic souls gather to honor the gods, trade tales of glory, and feast with worthy companions. They also hold elaborate physical contests in which any Ilysian soul is welcome to participate.
When the worthy dead arrive in Ilysia, they are welcomed by dryads, majestic chimeras, or the souls of legendary heroes.
Nerono
Nerono is the final home of souls haunted by their memories and of mariners who were lost at sea.
Vast oceans fill Nerono, a realm dotted by lonely islands and crisscrossed by aimless ships. Titanic ruins and great, algae-slick chains rise out of the sea, as do the weathered hulls of legendary shipwrecks. The sky is a misty blur of color that hangs over water as still as glass. Despite the ocean’s normally placid appearance, mighty storms often arise from nowhere, casting souls into waves and whirlpools by the scores. Somewhere within the great oceans hides a twisting tangle of tides and winds called the Labyrinth of Memories. This maze of waterways confounds unwary travelers and twists their course into an inescapable path for eternity.
When a soul reaches Nerono, sirens, naiads, or sphinxes might guide them into the ward.
Phylias The souls that occupy Phylias were uninspired and didn’t strive for greatness in life. They plodded through existence and left no mark upon the world through their deeds or their deaths. In the afterlife they perform repetitive tasks in close quarters with others just like themselves, all in a mockery of a living community.
Artless architecture of plain, gray stone gives Phylias an outward appearance of normalcy at first glance. But the buildings are titanic, blocky masses of hodgepodge construction erected seemingly without plan. Although the structures might be impressive in size or number, they are cold and hollow, derelict monuments in an endless slum.
Those who arrive in Phylias are met by no one. They are simply left to wander away and slip into a place among the shuffling masses.
Tizerus
The deepest ward of the Underworld, Tizerus is the final punishment of murderers and those who committed unforgivable offenses against the gods themselves.
Unlike the other wards of Hades, the Tartarian Depths of Tizerus is argued by planar scholars to be its own separate plane aside from Hades: a prison plane whose sole entrance is within the very bowels of the Underworld.
When souls damned to Tizerus arrive, they quickly find themselves dragged away in a whirlwind of pain and terror. Demons, Underworld harpies, lamias, and nightmares compete for the chance to haul the doomed away to their own personal punishments.
This ward is discussed in higher detail in the next chapter.

Ecosystem Cycles

CYCLE OF TIME

There is nothing in Hades to mark the passage of time. Everything seems suspended in a moment of grim hopelessness – the sky alternately looks like twilight or pre-dawn but without the promise of day or night. A feeling of agitated anticipation soaks the landscape and robs time of its meaning. No day or night, no stars, only a perpetual gray cloudiness churned by the occasional passage of monstrous fiendish forces or the will of some morose deity of death.

Localized Phenomena

HAZARDS & PHENOMENA

The Underworld has an insidious way of getting under the skin of travelers and infecting them with the need to stay in the ward they are in, or making is impossible to leave.
The Graying In every ward in almost every realm, all colors have been leeched away, leaving only shades of gray over the entire landscape – the skies, the ground, the hills, everything. The River Styx’s normally blood-red color dulls to near black while it flows through Oinos.
Anything brought into Hades eventually discolors to a shade of gray, an effect known as the graying. Brighter and more vibrant colors can take a full week to lose their original shade while duller colors take less time. This effect is largely cosmetic, and there are wizards in planar trading cities that specialize in restoring lost color to things found or left on Hades too long.
Agonas: Bloodlust War and combat are constant states in Agonas. One strong reason for this is a natural bloodlust that fills creatures as they fight and defeat opponents. Planar scholars are torn as to whether this phenomena is caused by something in the hazy sky of the layer, an ambient power from the nature of the ward itself, or something else entirely.
On Agonas, a creature gains temporary hit points equal to its number of hit dice or level whenever it reduces a hostile creature to 0 hit points. This bloodlust keeps the soldiers and warriors of the countless armies struggling and fighting against one another in the near-constant ring of steel on steel.
Ilysia: Blessed Fields Many planar scholars argue that Ilysia was once a part of Elysium, not only due to the similarities in names, but also the effects bestowed upon creatures that visit the ward and the parallels between the landscapes of Ilysia and the land-scapes of Amoria and Tethys.
Creatures in Ilysia are subject to the same Hazards & Phenomena of Elysium as discussed in Chapter X.
Nerono: Memory Leech The gray waters of Nerono are vast and endless. The gray of the sea merges with the varying shades of gray that is the sky, making the realm impossible to navigate without a merrenoloth or an aged soul that has thus far resisted the insidious power of the ward, which steals away memories from travelers. It is argued by planar scholars that the waters of the River Styx make up the oceans of Nerono, but is a more diluted form, and thus does not cause the instant separation of memory from body.
After every long rest on Nerono, creatures must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw. On a failure, they lose memories dear to them – friends and family are forgotten, hometowns hold no special meaning, and even the reason for coming becomes vague and undefined.
After a creature has failed four of these saving throws they lose all memories and are drawn to kill themselves by drowning to join the lost souls that have already been destined to carry out the rest of their days here.
It is possible to restore lost memories. They return on their own, slowly regenerating, over a period of time based on how many failures the victim accumulated. Memories lost over one failure come back after 1 day outside of Nerono, while two failures require 1 week and three failures require 1 month. If a creature that has failed four saving throws can somehow be directed outside of Nerono, they remain memoryless for 1 year.
Phylias: Despair of the Dead An intangible but omnipresent feeling of dread and despair hangs over all of Phylias. Creatures entering it from the Material Plane feel it immediately – an oppressiveness, as if the darkness had weight and was pressing in from all sides. It’s been described as suffocating and insufferable. For characters, spending too much time in Phylias risks an effect known as despair of the dead.
After each short rest spent in Phylias, characters must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the character is affected by fell despair. Roll 1d20 and consult the following table to determine the fell despair effect.
1d20 Despair of the Dead Effect 1 Clumsy. Whenever you roll a 1 on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check, you fall prone. 2 Distracted. You suffer disadvantage on initiative. 3 Drowsy. You cannot make opportunity attacks. 4 Fatalistic. You suffer disadvantage on death saving throws. 5 Hopeless. You suffer -2 on all saving throws. 6 Indifferent. You cannot use Inspiration. 7 Lethargic. You suffer disadvantage on Constitution saving throws. 8 Sluggish. Your speed is reduced by 5 feet. 9 Unconcerned. You suffer disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws. 10 Craven. You suffer disadvantage on Strength-based ability checks. 11 Insomnia. You regain only half normal hit points from Hit Dice spent. 12 Mistrustful. You cannot move through allies’ spaces. 13 Paranoid. You suffer disadvantage on Wisdom saving throws. 14 Forgetful. You suffer disadvantage on Intelligence-based ability checks. 15 Jealous. You cannot take the Help action. 16 Squeamish. You suffer disadvantage on your first attack in a round against an opponent who is at or below half their starting hit points. 17 Delusional. You suffer disadvantage on Wisdom-based ability checks. 18 Jittery. You suffer disadvantage on Dexterity-based ability checks. 19 Quarrelsome. You suffer disadvantage on Charisma-based ability checks. 20 Surge of Hope. You gain a point of Inspiration. If a character is already suffering a despair of the dead effect and fails the saving throw, the new despair effect replaces the old one. Removing a despair of the dead effect requires spending half of the character’s Hit Dice during a long rest and succeeding at a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. The calm emotions spell removes despair, as does any spell or other magical effect that removes a curse.
River Styx: Soul Sever A creature that comes into contact with the River Styx has its mind separated from its body, creating an Eidolon (mind) and a Returned (body). When such an event occurs, the Eidolon is immediately whisked away by the river to a random location within the Underworld.
When this happens, the DM should be prepared to take the affected player aside and explain this to them, as this will not only have an effect on the character's abilities, but also their attitude and personality. They must be prepared to watch and play as their characters as an empty vessel.
A sentient creature that comes into contact with the River Styx gains the following benefits and deficits:
Its type is Undead, in addition to any other types. It has advantage on saving throws against any effect that would turn you. It has resistance to poison damage and advantage on saving throws against poison. It is immune to nonmagical disease. It can be restored to (un)life with the animate dead spell in addition to normal revivification spells. It has advantage on Charisma (Deception) checks and other creatures have disadvantage on Wisdom (Insight) checks made against you. It has no memory of its former life up until coming into contact with the river. It has no innate desire to gain its memories back. It shows little to no emotion other than anger and sorrow. Random Encounter Tables The below tables can be used by the Dungeon Master as a source of inspiration when a party of characters are traveling through the Underworld of Hades. Though each ward has its own unique flora and fauna, the table below can be used on almost any of the layers to throw challenges at a band of characters. Look at each one as a springboard for new adventure ideas, or as a means of highlighting the nature of the plane for the players.
1d100 Underworld of Hades Encounter 01-05 Phylaskia guarding an entrance to the Underworld 06-10 A thundering herd of nightmares 11-15 A night hag hunting for eidolons 16-20 A succubus watching with hungry eyes 21-25 A yagnoloth agent of the Oinoloth on a mission 26-30 A brigade of mezzoloth deserters 31-35 A night hag in a carriage being pulled by minotaurs 36-40 A hydroloth enjoying basking on a rock 41-45 An arcanaloth accompanied by a group of mezzoloths cataloguing events 46-50 A piscoloth commander ordering mezzoloth troups in drills 51-55 Bestial minotaurs gone savage and insane 56-60 An eidolon weeping by the River Styx 61-65 A cerberus looking for its next meal 66-70 A group of adventurers looking to bring the spirit of their dead group member home 71-75 A woe strider hunting for a hero 76-80 A soul who insists they were place in the wrong ward 81-85 A merrenoloth ferrying a soul to a ward 86-90 An eryinyes searching for an oathbreaker that has hidden somewhere in the Underworld 91-95 Two nycaloths flying through the air 96-00 The General of Agonas

Tourism

GETTING THERE

Hades is one of the most accessible planes in all the multiverse. The River Styx flows through between each ward and through other planes. Portals and gates spontaneously appear throughout the multiverse to the Underworld.
Portals leading out of Hades are a bit rarer. They appear as spinning obols, shining brightly in the gray twilight. The color of each roughly determines its location – golden coins almost always lead to Tizerus while copper ones lead to the Material Plane. Silver coins are more random and can lead to any other plane, and rare platinum coins lead directly to the Astral Plane. Most of these portals are fixed permanent features of the plane, making them prime hunting grounds for the monsters of Hades.

SURVIVING

There are plenty of dangers across the glooms of Hades. Living mortal creatures that enter the Underworld seem to be sniffed out by all manner of creatures there, from souls wanting to escape to yugoloths wanting new toys to play with.
Additionally, the individual wards offer distinct dangers including the bloodlust of Agonas, the memory leech of Nerono, and the despair of the dead of Phylias.

TRAVELING AROUND

Hades is a depressing plane of gray gloom but moving around isn’t directly hampered by natural effects. While within a ward, traveling is mostly easy. While there may be a battle in the direct path of some adventurers in Agonas or a violent storm may rise up in Nerono, such delays will pass.
On the other hand, traveling between wards can be quite difficult, as one must cross the River Styx. Without the aid of flying magic or mounts, or a bought-out merrenoloth, the only way to cross is by swimming and losing all one's memories.

Alternative Name(s)

Gray Waste of Hades

Type

Dimensional plane

Location under

Outer Planes