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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 6197110" data-attributes="member: 6750502">Hades <img src="http://i.*****.com/RhBhCgM.jpg?1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />“My theory has always been, that if we are to dream, the flatteries of hope are as cheap, and pleasanter, than the gloom of despair.”~Thomas Jefferson    Although it does not have the infinite variety of horrors of the Abyss or the eternal warfare of Acheron, Hades is quite possibly the most dangerous of the Lower Planes.  Its unique trait robs all hope and willpower from visitors, mortal and outsider alike.  Those who fall victim to this insidious entrapment lose their memories and powers and turn into large, wormlike petitioners known as larvae.  Since the souls of larvae are the most common ingredient in magical enhancement among fiends and evil spellcasters, this makes Hades a prime location and economic powerhouse.    The Yugoloths and Night Hags, being natives of the plane, are immune to Hades’ entrapment and thus control the most territory and therefore the most souls and larvae.  Even then, Hades does not have the creature comforts of the cities of Gehenna, so most Yugoloths who live here tend to be extra-paranoid about their larvae stock, starry-eyed idealists seeking to live on their ancestral homeland, or using the plane’s features as a form of protection from interlopers.    Hades is also a massive conflict zone and the primary battlefield of the Blood War.  The Yugoloths of Gehenna pull in favors from both Demons and Devils to maintain their Plane’s “neutral” status; Carceri’s Dark Shield Project prevents most armies from occupying the plane; and Acheron and Limbo are full of multiple factions hostile to demons and devils, meaning that neither side has yet to claim them as tactical advantages.  This pretty much leaves Hades as the only place where both factions can easily occupy large swaths of the same plane.  The war is just as much about economic dominance as it is about eradication of the opposing side.  Destroying the enemy’s larva supply, or claiming territory containing larva strengthens the army’s home plane and weakens the other.  More larva equals more potential fiends, more souls to be used for the creation of magic items and undead, and less for the other guys.  The Yugoloths sell larva and land titles to both sides as well as security and protection for an extra fee.  The prices are high and the Demons and Devils know that they’re getting screwed, but Yugoloth merchants are easily capable of imposing trade sanctions on offending Demon Lords and Archdevils.  Grossly inflated prices are seen as the “lesser evil” in comparison to losing a major source of power.The Siege Malicious and the Oinoloth    In theory, the Oinoloth is the ruler of the entire Yugoloth race and his word is law.  In reality, he’s merely the absolute ruler of the Yugoloth communities of Hades.  He’s got representatives in Gehenna, but they’re more of an ambassadorial nature.  He’s headquartered in the Wasting Tower of Khin-Oin, where he sits on his throne The Siege Malicious.    The Oinoloth is merely a title, with each succession of ruler the assassin of his or her forebear.  The Oinoloth has the power to alter the landscape of Hades as though he were an Intermediate deity, and can create new forms of life.  Most Oinoloths use the latter power to create insidious diseases, which they then sell to the highest bidder.    Many Yugoloths desire the Siege Malicious for themselves and engage in cloak and dagger warfare to narrow the field of potential candidates.  However, the Demon Princes and Archdevils are aware of the throne’s power and occasionally maneuver armies to take the tower.  The Yugoloths would rather be ruled and oppressed by their own kind than another species of fiend, meaning that this scenario’s the closest thing the Yugoloths have to unity.  The last time a Demon Prince did this (Orcus), Yugoloth merchants across the Multiverse blocked off the larva trade to his layer and hired legions of mercenary demons and devils (not together, of course) to destroy his holdings.  This show of force sent a powerful message to the power players of the Lower Planes: “Do what thou wilt on Hades, but never try to claim dominion over us.”    Even then, fiendish lords aren’t known for giving up.  If the Yugoloths ever show weakness or lose their powerful status over the soul trade, then even the Oinoloth and all the Yugoloths of Gehenna may not be enough to defend the Wasting Tower.Hades' Underworld    In addition to Mount Olympus on Arborea, the Greek God Hades also has a primary home on the plane of the same name.  He claims dominion over the Underworld on the third layer, but his power and reach extend across the entire plane.  A lot of planar travelers refer to the plane as Hades’ realm, but such things should not be said around the Yugoloths, who will tell you that the Oinoloth’s the true ruler and the plane’s proper name is the Gray Wastes.    Hades’ secret weapon and reason for his dominance is due a unique trait of his realm: soul replication.  Since souls not of Neutral Evil alignment go to other planes, Hades’ status as the God of Death is not so absolute.  But, as part of his portfolio, he knows of the circumstances of the deaths of all mortal creatures.  If desired, he can create a copy of a mortal’s soul upon their death to materialize in the Underworld.  The replicated soul has the same alignment, knowledge, personality traits, and shape of the original.  The copy is, for all intents and purposes, a clone.    In addition to a huge legion of potential followers and larva conversion, Hades also has a gigantic network of information.  Anything known by any dead mortal can be found, but for a price.  Hades doesn’t part with this knowledge for raw gold or no-name adventurers; individuals must prove their worth to him by passing all manner of tests; he’s got a reputation to protect, after all.Spy Games    It’s a common saying in Sigil that only three kinds of people visit Hades: Blood War soldiers, soul merchants, and Celestial spies.  From Angels to Formians to Slaadi, any faction with a stake in the Blood War or an axe to grind against the fiends keeps an eye on events in this plane.  Trying to find out what the Archduke Bel is planning is almost impossible to do while he’s sitting in his impenetrable tower in Baator; but when he’s leading a detachment of troops on Hades, leaving the security of his home plane and fortress behind, that’s just prime opportunity for espionage.  Hades is full of neutral ground, multiple warring factions, and a cosmopolitan gathering of fiendish individuals.  With the Yugoloths as the “mediators,” it’s easier to blend in or gain a safe haven when you can sell your valuable intelligence in exchange for protection and safe passage out of the Plane.    Spies and saboteurs who don’t want to help the Yugoloths can still find plenty of work here.  The Celestials need to know what the Fiends are planning and the current situation in the Blood War; non-evil Slaadi will pay generously for adventurers who can disrupt the soul trade; Primus is always willing to expand his knowledge base; and the Formians will happy to know if there’s any safe havens or areas prime for colonization (their rarity on Hades makes the information all the more valuable).Night HagsNight Hags are a huge power player in the soul/larva trade.  Their unique abilities allow them to change any evil creature into larvae, Lawful or Chaotic.  They don't even need to die to become a petitioner of Hades!Their relationship with the Yugoloths is like that of a producer and merchant.  The Hags create the larva, the Yugoloth sell them.  The Yugoloth give the Hags a portion of their profits, part of which is used to create more larva.  The Night Hags and Yugoloth both have a mutual defense pact out of self-interest; if some planar faction attacks one group, the other will leap to their defense.The 'loths like others to think that they're the ones in control of the soul trade, but they know that they'd never have the power they have now without the Hags.  Occasionally the two groups will get into small-scale bitter conflicts over wages or contracts, but in the end both of them reach a compromise.  Hades is the biggest soul farm in the Lower Planes, and the loss of either producer or merchant will cripple their standing allow for a takeover by a Blood War faction.  Anybody with a grudge against the Yugoloths or Night Hags knows that the dissolution of this alliance is key (yet another good way to get your PCs involved in extraplanar political sabotage!).Adventure Hooks on Hades:•    It’s an open secret outside of Hades that there are extraplanar portals to the Upper Planes in the 2nd and 3rd layers (to Ysgard and Arborea, respectively).  Many Yugoloths and Night Hags have been using these portals to kidnap souls from these realms to turn into larvae.  The adventurers are tasked with rescuing the souls and returning them to the Upper Planes.  Complicating matters is the disagreement among Celestials of the portals’ maintenance.  Some argue for the portals to be closed for safety reasons, while others argue that the portals can be used as easy passage into the Lower Planes to free more innocent souls in the Lower Planes.  If the PCs take too long in their rescue operation, the former faction will close the portals and strand the PCs on the other side.•    A PC who died and got resurrected has a copy of his soul in the Underworld.  An enemy faction or individual plans on visiting the Underworld to learn of any valuable information the soul might have.  The PCs will need to convince the representatives of the deity Hades to destroy the soul, give the copy to them, or not give it to the villain.•    A patron wishes to hire the PCs to assassinate a fiendish general in the Blood War.  The general’s nearly untouchable on his home plane, but the lack of safety and presence of enemy armies on Hades means that he’ll be weaker in the next engagement.  The PCs must travel to Hades, fight their way across a desolate battlefield, and kill the general.  Unless the PCs have something valuable to give them or otherwise convince them it’s in their self-interest, it’s unlikely that the opposing force will help them (non-fiends and non-petitioners are treated as enemy spies from other Planes).</blockquote>

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