Greater Deity
Symbol: Black ram
Home Plane: Hades
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Death, underworld, earth, wealth
Worshippers: Necromancers, assassins, rogues, murderers
Cleric Alignments: CE, LE, NE
Domains: Death, Earth, Evil
Favoured Weapon: Longsword
Hades (hay-deez), the god of death and wealth, appears as a large, powerfully muscled man with grey skin. He has a bushy black beard and black eyes, and he wears gold jewellery symbolizing his control over wealth. While his brothers Zeus and Poseidon rule the sky and the sea respectively, Hades is the ruler of the underworld and has some control over the earth as well.
Hades is one of the six children of Cronus and Rhea, and one of the twelve Olympian deities. Unlike his fellows in the pantheon, however, he does not reside in Olympus. He makes his home in the Stygian darkness of Hades. He is married to Persephone, daughter of Demeter, but she resides with him only during the winter months.
Unlike some deities whose portfolio includes death, Hades is not particularly malicious or hateful towards the mortals whose souls come to his realm. Death, he teaches, is the lot of all mortals, the thing that sets them apart from deities, and it must be accepted even if it brings grief.
Hades’s clerics tend to share their patron’s dour, gloomy demeanor. Dressed in black, they officiate at funerals and annual rites in honour of departed ancestors. In contrast to most Olympian festivals, these are solemn affairs.
Temples to Hades are usually built underground, in caves, or at least sunken so their floors are below ground level. They tend to be dark and windowless, creating an atmosphere of gloom reminiscent of the underworld’s darkness.
Source: Deities and Demigods (Page 115)