The Gray Wastes are the plane of Neutral Evil among the Outer Planes and the native home of the Gloomfiends. The plane is divided into four layers known as glooms: Othrys, Porphatys, Agathys, and Minethys. Their environments differ considerably, but all share the colorless skies and gradual erosion of emotion for which the Gray Wastes are known.

Gloomfiend civilization extends throughout the plane, from established settlements and trade centers to isolated strongholds and mercenary holdings. Vorandor the Defiler has also been confined to the Gray Wastes since the defeat of the Triad, though he holds no authority over its native inhabitants.

Structure and Environment

Color is almost entirely absent throughout the Gray Wastes. The land, water, vegetation, buildings, and sky appear in shades of gray, black, and pale white. Objects brought from elsewhere initially retain their normal appearance, but prolonged exposure gradually drains their color as well.

There is no visible sun or moon and no ordinary seasonal cycle. Conditions grow increasingly desolate through the four glooms, beginning with the unhealthy but still living landscapes of Othrys and ending in the near-total stillness of Minethys.

Movement between the glooms occurs through planar passages rather than ordinary geographical borders.

The Drain of the Wastes

The Gray Wastes affect those who remain there as well as the environment around them. Strong emotions gradually become harder to sustain, including affection, enthusiasm, anger, and fear.

The process often begins as fatigue or indifference and deepens with continued exposure into apathy and resignation. A traveler may remain physically capable of leaving while gradually losing the motivation to do so.

Native creatures are generally more resistant to this influence, though prolonged exposure still affects them. More severe spiritual and physical degradation has also been associated with the Wastes, and some accounts connect that process to the larvae found throughout the plane. The nature of that relationship remains disputed.

Gloomfiends

Gloomfiends are the principal organized fiends of the Gray Wastes. Older planar texts sometimes refer to them as yugoloths.

Their society is strongly transactional. Agreements, information, services, and access all carry value, while cooperation usually lasts as long as the parties involved continue to benefit from it. Reputation and future advantage often matter more than personal loyalty.

Power is widely distributed between settlements, companies, influential individuals, and other institutions. No single ruler or empire governs Gloomfiend society as a whole.

Gloomfiends possess humanoid bodies formed from dense, smoke-like planar substance. Their bodies are fully corporeal despite appearing indistinct where exposed, and the layered wrappings, robes, and armor characteristic of their clothing give their forms much of their visible definition.

Size, build, equipment, and occupation distinguish the major Gloomfiend forms.

Gloomfiend Forms

Mezzoloths are widely employed as soldiers and mercenaries, while the larger Nycaloths serve as elite warriors and commanders. Nycaloths possess no wings and move through the air by their own planar power.

Arcanaloths tend toward scholarly and magical work and are commonly recognized by their layered robes and professional tools. Ultroloths are among the most powerful Gloomfiends, usually appearing tall and spare with unusually smooth features and striking eyes.

Merrenoloths are ferrymen and navigators closely associated with the River Styx. Yagnoloths more often occupy positions of wealth and authority within Gloomfiend companies and settlements.

Rare specialists known as Oinoloths possess extensive knowledge of disease and contamination. Their traditions have been shaped in part by centuries of studying the illnesses of Othrys and the effects associated with Vorandor, though they have no inherent allegiance to him.

Movement and Travel

Travel conditions change sharply between the glooms. Othrys supports ordinary overland travel and receives considerable traffic through the River Styx, while Porphatys and Agathys demand specialized protection against their harsher environments.

Minethys presents different difficulties. Its scarcity of landmarks and resources makes long journeys difficult even where the terrain itself offers little resistance.

The absence of color complicates navigation throughout the plane, and experienced travelers commonly rely on established routes, dependable records, or local guides.

Connections to Other Planes

The Gray Wastes can be reached through the Astral Plane and through established planar portals. The River Styx passes through Othrys and provides one of the most important connections to the other Lower Planes.

Merrenoloths operate many of the vessels that travel the Styx and possess extensive knowledge of its crossings and hazards. Other portals are found throughout the glooms, particularly around established settlements and major routes.

Othrys

Othrys is the first gloom, consisting of gray plains, unhealthy woodland, stagnant wetlands, and stretches of barren ground. Life remains widespread, though disease is common throughout the environment and outsiders often require magical or alchemical protection.

The River Styx passes through Othrys and makes it the busiest of the four glooms. Settlements and fortified trading sites are especially common along the routes leading toward the river.

The Styx Market

One of the largest trading settlements in Othrys stands along the River Styx. Commonly known as the Styx Market, it draws merchants, mercenaries, travelers, and other visitors from across the Lower Planes.

Almost anything with sufficient value can change hands there, including information, magical goods, contracts, passage, and hired service. Larvae are among the market's most infamous commodities, with night hags particularly associated with their trade and transport.

The origins and ultimate nature of larvae remain matters of religious and planar debate.

The Withered Spire

The Withered Spire, divine realm of Vorandor the Defiler, rises in a remote region of Othrys. Disease and contamination become increasingly severe around it, and few living creatures approach the surrounding lands without extensive protection.

Vorandor is confined to the Gray Wastes as a whole and may travel elsewhere within the plane. The Spire serves as his divine realm within it.

Porphatys

Porphatys is the second gloom and is covered almost entirely by a shallow, bitterly cold ocean. Its water is strongly acidic and can severely injure exposed flesh or damage ordinary materials, making unprotected travel through it extremely dangerous.

Low islands rise above the surface, many containing extensive cave systems that provide the safest sites for permanent settlement. Other structures stand on reinforced platforms above the water where suitable land is unavailable.

Black snow falls frequently across Porphatys and is corrosive like the sea below. Heavy falls can damage exposed material, reduce visibility, and make travel across the open water considerably more dangerous.

Agathys

Agathys is the third gloom and is covered almost entirely in black ice. The cold is severe enough to endanger unprotected travelers quickly, while prolonged exposure makes equipment brittle and physical exertion increasingly difficult.

The air is thin, natural shelter is scarce, and remaining still for too long creates another danger. Ice can gradually form around creatures and objects left in one place, eventually trapping them within the surface.

Permanent settlements are uncommon and usually occupy deep excavations or heavily protected structures where heat can be maintained. The gloom's isolation attracts those who value distance from the rest of the plane.

Minethys

Minethys is the fourth and most desolate gloom. Dark volcanic stone covers much of its surface, though there is no known active volcanism and the layer appears almost completely geologically still.

There is no natural wind and almost no ambient sound. Air moves noticeably only when something passes through it, while tracks and abandoned structures can remain unchanged for extraordinary lengths of time.

Life is extremely scarce, forcing travelers to carry almost everything they require. Minethys presents fewer immediate environmental threats than some of the other glooms, but its emptiness and lack of natural resources make prolonged travel difficult.

Tower Arcane

Tower Arcane stands within Minethys and is among the oldest surviving institutions of Gloomfiend civilization. Arcanaloths are prominent among its custodians, maintaining records concerned with agreements, mercenary affairs, planar intelligence, magical research, and Gloomfiend history.

The stillness of Minethys makes the gloom well suited to long-term preservation. Access to the archives is carefully controlled, and information is treated as a commodity whose value depends heavily on who needs it and why.

Tower Arcane is highly influential but holds no authority over Gloomfiend society as a whole.

The Crawling City

The Crawling City is one of the largest Gloomfiend settlements in the Gray Wastes and possesses no permanent location. It moves slowly through established planar routes, appearing in different regions and even different glooms over time.

Its movements are closely followed by those seeking trade, contracts, employment, or political contacts. Rival companies and powerful individuals maintain holdings within the city, which has become an important meeting place for Gloomfiend interests from across the plane.

The city's mobility makes long-term control difficult, and no single faction has maintained permanent authority over it.

Inhabitants

Gloomfiends form the most visible organized civilization of the Gray Wastes, while night hags, other fiends, mercenaries, exiles, and isolated communities also inhabit the plane.

The harsher glooms support fewer permanent populations, and the creatures that remain there are generally well adapted to the conditions around them. Minethys supports little native life beyond its established settlements.

Natural Hazards

The dangers of the Gray Wastes extend beyond the environments of the individual glooms. Color loss makes visual signals and navigation more difficult over time, while prolonged exposure to the plane gradually weakens emotional attachment and motivation.

Travelers undertaking long expeditions often keep written records of their purpose and establish clear plans for departure before entering. Continued exposure can eventually weaken the desire to follow those plans even when the route home remains known.

Survival

Preparation for the Gray Wastes depends heavily on the gloom being entered. Othrys demands protection against disease, Porphatys against its corrosive waters and cold, and Agathys against severe exposure. Minethys requires travelers to provide for themselves in an environment offering very little support.

Safe food and water cannot be assumed anywhere in the plane. Longer expeditions must also account for the emotional drain of the Wastes, whose effects are harder to guard against than ordinary environmental hazards.