Hades Hades , also known as the Gray Waste , was an Outer Plane in the Great Wheel cosmology model , home of the daemon s . Located at the midpoint of the Lower Planes , it was a plane of evil balanced between Law and Chaos . Description . The three layers of Hades were called " glooms " for good reason ; they were realms devoid of emotion , hope , and peace . Gray land and gray sky throughout , with no sun , moon or seasons to break the monotony . Any color other than shades of gray would be obvious against the background but would fade to gray in a week or two . And like bright colors , beings would begin to fade also . At first they would feel the drain of emotions leaving only sadness , ennui , and defeatism . In a tenday or two they would be trapped in Hades and their existence would begin to fade until finally they became larvae . Hades was a unique plane , as described by the Great Wheel cosmology model , because it not only joined to adjacent planes in the Great Wheel , it also held the foundation of Mount Olympus and the roots of Yggdrasil the World Ash . These two planar artifacts connected Hades to Olympus / Arvandor and Gladsheim respectively , allowing travel between Hades , the Upper planes , and Alternate Prime Material Plane s without going through the Astral Plane , much like the World Tree in the World Tree cosmology . Oinos . The first layer of Hades was named for the lord of the daemons ( the Oinodaemon ) , Anthraxus the Decayed . Oinos was the land of disease with stunted and withered plants amid gray rocky terrain . The river Styx flowed through this layer and there were portals to Tarterus , Gehenna , and Concordant Opposition that looked like huge spinning metal coins , visible for miles / kilometers , often guarded by iron fortresses . Anyone walking this land or floating on the river Styx had a chance of contracting a major disease . Many of the daemons and some of the other creatures from the lower middle planes who were immune to disease made their home here . Niflheim . Compared to Oinos , the terrain in the second layer was rougher , like foothills , with cooler temperatures , healthier vegetation including pine trees , and no disease . Everything was cloaked in dreary fog and mist , limiting vision to about a hundred feet ( thirty meters ) . Yggdrasil ' s roots reached Niflheim , connecting it to Asgard in Gladsheim . The goddess Shar once maintained an abode here . Pluton . The lowest level of Hades contained the base of Mount Olympus , a direct conduit through the Astral Plane to the plane of Olympus / Arvandor . The gray motif continued throughout this layer but most of the vegetation was black willow trees and dry , dying poplars . Inhabitants . The daemon s were the presumed rulers of Hades , but were actually outnumbered by the bird - like diakk and the greater powers had no trouble carving out realms for themselves . Factions of demodand s carried on a low - level insurgency , sniping at the daemons but generally avoiding large - scale conflict that might attract the attention of the resident deities . Also known to inhabit all layers of Hades were achaierai , nightmare s , mephit s and night hag s . Afterlife . Souls that arrived in Hades became larvae — sickly , human - headed worm - spirits — that were harvested by the night hags as a commodity for Lower Plane commerce .