Gray Waste

In the "Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy role-playing game, the Gray Waste (more fully, the Gray Wastes of Hades; also, Hades, The Three Glooms, Hope's Loss or The Nadir) is a strongly evil aligned plane of existence. It is one of a number of alignment-based Outer Planes that form part of the standard "Dungeons & Dragons" "(D&D)" cosmology, used in the "Planescape", "Greyhawk" and some editions of the "Forgotten Realms" campaign settings.

Description

The Gray Waste is the plane of strongly focused evil within the "D&D" cosmology; its main theme is that of hopelessness and despair. In the Gray Waste, colors fade to muted shades of gray (except for the occasional portal, which are colored bronze, silver, or gold, depending on where they lead) and the land itself works to remain as soulless as possible. Extended visits to the plane cause travelers to lose interest in leaving; soon after, the entrapping effect of the plane takes over, causing increased apathy and despair. Eventually their sanity and memories fade away, and they become permanent petitioners of the plane.

Inhabitants

The plane is used primarily by the Tanar'ri and the Baatezu as the battlefield for the Blood War. Native creatures include Yugoloths, Diakka, Hordlings, Larvae, and Night hags. Several Deities live here, Hades of the Greek Pantheon, Cegilune the Mother of Night Hags, and others.

Structure

The Gray Waste is a spatially infinite plane, consisting of three layers or sub-planes, sometimes referred to as the "Three Glooms". The River Styx flows through the first layer, Oinos, connecting it with the other evil-aligned "Lower Planes". The Gray Waste shares its borders with the neighbouring planes of the Tarterian Depths of Carceri and the Bleak Eternity of Gehenna; travel is possible between the Gray Waste and these planes at certain locations.

"Khin-Oin, the Wasting Tower", a fortress built and maintained by the yugoloths, can be found on the Gray Waste.

Layers

The Gray Waste has three layers, sometimes referred to as the "Three Glooms":

Oinos

Oinos is the location of a number of godly realms, including Incabulos' realm of "Charnelhouse", Kelemvor's realm of the "Crystal Spire" (formerly Myrkul's "Bone Castle"), the orc deity Yurtrus' realm of "Fleshslough", the dwarf deity Abbathor's realm of "The Glitterhell", and the urd deity Kuraulyek's realm of "Urdrest". It also holds the majority of Blood War battlefields and Khin-Oin, home to most leaders of the mercenary yugoloths.

Niflheim

Niflheim is the location of a number of godly realms, including Hel's realm of "Niflheim", after which the layer is named, Shar's realm of "The Palace of Loss", Panzuriel's realm of "Rezuriel", Mask's realm of "Shadow Keep", Arawn's realm of "Annwn, the Isles of the Cursed", and Ratri's realm of "Dark of Night". Furthermore, Yggdrasil, the World Ash, has its roots in Niflheim.

Pluton

Pluton is the location of a number of godly realms, including the hag goddess Cegilune's realm of "Hagsend", Hecate's primary realm of "Aeaea", and the god Hades' realm of "Hades, the Underworld". Furthermore, Mount Olympus is based in Pluton.

Fauna

* Gloom dragon
* Pack Fiend

Creative origins

The Gray Waste is based on the underworld of Hades in Greek mythology.

References

*Grubb, Jeff. "Manual of the Planes" (TSR, 1987).

*Grubb, Jeff, Bruce R Cordell, and David Noonan. "Manual of the Planes" (Wizards of the Coast, 2001) ISBN 0-7869-1850-0.