List of Dungeons & Dragons deities

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This is a list of deities of Dungeons & Dragons, including all of the 3.5 edition gods and powers of the "Core Setting" for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game. Religion is a fundamental element of the D&D game, because it is required to support both the cleric class and the behavioural aspects of the ethical alignment system. The pantheons employed in D&D provide a useful framework for creating fantasy characters, as well as governments and even worlds.[1] Because the Core Setting is based on the World of Greyhawk, the Greyhawk gods list contains most of the deities listed here, and many more.

Publication history

The first official publication to detail god-like beings for use in the Dungeons & Dragons game was Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes, published in 1976 as the fourth supplement for the original edition. This work was superseded by the Deities & Demigods source book, which was first published in 1980.[2] The first printing included the Cthulhu Mythos, but both this and the Melnibonéan mythos were removed by the third printing because of potential copyright issues. In 1985, the book was renamed Legends & Lore due to concerns about bad publicity. The Babylonian, Finnish, nonhuman, and Sumerian content were removed to allow room for expansion of the remaining mythoi.[3]

In 1992, Monster Mythology was published as a sourcebook for the second edition of Dungeons & Dragons. This work re-introduced detailed information on the deities of several non-human pantheons.[3] The Faerûnian pantheon for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting was more fully detailed in 1996–8 with the publication of Faiths & Avatars, Powers & Pantheons and Demihuman Deities.[3]

Categories

The deities are grouped into three categories:

  1. Core powers - Deities presented in the Player's Handbook 3.5th edition or substantially introduced in the other two core books (Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual). Most of these deities are worshipped by humans. There is a subset within this category called Additional Deities which has deities not mentioned in the core rulebooks but instead in supplements and as such considered additions to the core category.
  2. Alternate human pantheons - This lists the pantheons and the deities within them that are presented in the supplement book Deities & Demigods. Most are based upon real-life mythology.
  3. Non-deity powers - These beings would fit into the previous category, but are not actually deities, plus most of them aren't the patron of a specific monstrous race. This includes the demon princes and archdevils as well as some other godlike beings.

Before third edition, there was no Core Setting, so the distinctions above are not as clear-cut. For the most part, materials which did not specify a setting were assumed to be at least compatible with the World of Greyhawk if not outright parts of the canon. As such, those prior materials are covered in the setting-specific lists of deities.

The book Monster Mythology, however, was considered to be canon for core materials for the gods of non-human races in second edition.

Original Dungeons & Dragons

Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes (1976) included the Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, Celtic, Norse, Finnish, Aztec, Mayan, Chinese, and Japanese mythologies, as well as Robert E. Howard's Hyborea and the Melnibonéan Mythos from Michael Moorcock's Elric novels.[4]

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

The original edition of Deities & Demigods contained 17 pantheons of gods:

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition

Legends & Lore was expanded, completely revised from the 1st Edition AD&D volume, and rewritten for the 2nd Edition rules.[4] This edition had pared-down content in comparison to the original; the sections on Babylonian, Finnish, Sumerian and non-humanoid deities were wholly excised.[5] The Central American mythos was renamed the Aztec mythos, while the Nehwon mythos was retained.[5]

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition

There are over 100 deities in the Greyhawk setting, and when creating Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition Wizards of the Coast selected a subset to become iconic deities. They selected and altered deities to correspond to "iconic" aspects of core D&D. Most core deities are human deities; except for the chief gods of the demihuman races. Certain aspects of the deities were altered to make them more generic - for example: the "Core" Heironeous favors the longsword (in order to make the favored weapon of the "God of Chivalry" more traditionally knight-like), as contrasted with the original "Greyhawk" Heironeous, who favors the battleaxe.

The designation of "greater" vs. "intermediate" comes from Legends & Lore (1990). It is not used in any edition of the Player's Handbook, but it is used in Deities and Demigods (2002) and various v3.5 Edition materials.

Greater deities

Intermediate deities

  • Ehlonna, goddess of forests, woodlands, flora & fauna, and fertility.[6] [7]
  • Erythnul, god of hate, envy, malice, panic, ugliness, and slaughter.[6] [7]
  • Fharlanghn, god of horizons, distance, travel, and roads.[6] [7]
  • Heironeous, god of chivalry, justice, honor, war, daring, and valor.[6] [7]
  • Hextor, god of war, discord, massacres, conflict, fitness, and tyranny.[6] [7]
  • Kord, god of athletics, sports, brawling, strength, and courage.[6] [7]
  • Obad-Hai, god of nature, freedom, hunting, and beasts.[6] [7]
  • Olidammara, god of music, revels, wine, rogues, humor, and tricks.[6] [7]
  • Saint Cuthbert, god of common sense, wisdom, zeal, honesty, truth, and discipline.[6] [7]
  • Wee Jas, goddess of magic, death, vanity, and law [6][7]

Lesser deities

Additional deities

Although not listed in the Players Handbook, these deities are listed as part of the default D&D pantheon in new works and as such are regarded as additions to the default pantheon. Although some of these originally come from the Greyhawk or Forgotten Realms campaign settings, and the Mockery from Eberron, each one is mentioned at some point in a non-setting-specific source. The name in brackets next to each one specifies the source they are mentioned in.

Other

The third edition version of Deities & Demigods contains only four pantheons:

  • A condensed Greyhawk pantheon meant for insertion into any game world ("Core D&D Pantheon")
  • Greek mythos and heroes ("Olympian Pantheon"), among them: Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hades, Hecate, Hephaestus, Hera, Hercules, Hermes, Hestia, Nike, Pan, Poseidon and Tyche
  • Egyptian mythos ("Pharaonic Pantheon"), among them: Re-Horakthy, Anubis, Apep, Bast, Bes, Hathor, Imhotep, Isis, Nephthys, Osiris, Ptah, Set, Sobek and Thoth
  • Norse mythos ("Asgardian Pantheon"), among them: Odin, Aegir, Balder, Forseti, Frey, Freya, Frigga, Heimdall, Hel, Hermod, Loki, Njord, Odur, Sif, Skadi, Surtur, Thor, Thrym, Tyr and Uller

The third edition version of the book also discusses in detail how one would go about the creation of their own pantheon, as well as individual gods, for use in Dungeons & Dragons.

These three alternative faiths were described in the third edition Deities and Demigods book.

The Faith of the Sun

The Faith of the Sun is a fictional, monotheistic religion presented in and constructed according to the guidelines given for monotheistic religions in 3rd Edition Deities and Demigods. Being monotheistic, it of course consists of only one deity (though said deity is described as having two aspects; a creator one and a destroyer one):

  • Taiia, greater goddess of creation, destruction, mortal life and death.

Following the Light

Following the Light is a fictional dualistic religion presented in and constructed according to the guidelines given for dualistic religions in 3rd Edition Deities and Demigods. Being dualistic, it consists of two, polar-opposite deities:

  • Elishar, intermediate deity (sexless) of positive energy, light and prophecy.
  • Toldoth, intermediate deity (sexless) of negative energy, darkness and destruction.

Dennari

The faith of Dennari is a fictional mystery cult, presented in and constructed according to the guidelines given for mystery cults in 3rd Edition Deities & Demigods. It worships a single deity of the same name:

  • Dennari, lesser goddess of earth, liberation and suffering.

Nondeity powers

Similar to monster powers, these are not true deities but very powerful extraplanar beings. These however do not even profess to be gods (though many still have designs on godhood).

Demon lords of the Abyss

The single unifying feature of all demon lords (also called demon princes) is the inherent control over part of the infinite layers of The Abyss. Only the first 666 layers of The Abyss are generally known, and of those only a small fraction of the princes of those layers are a part of the D&D cosmology.

  • Baphomet, Prince of Beasts, demon prince of beasts and vengeance (also the monster power of minotaurs)[15]
  • Dagon, demon prince and patron of the deep sea.[15]
  • Demogorgon, self-proclaimed "Prince of Demons".[15]
  • Eltab, demon prince of hatred and retribution.
  • Fraz-Urb'luu, demon prince and patron of illusionists and tricksters.[15]
  • Graz'zt, demon prince and patron of rulers by force.[15]
  • Juiblex, demon prince and patron of oozes and slimes.[15]
  • Kostchtchie, demon prince of the 23rd layer of The Abyss, the Ice Wastes; patron of evil frost giants.[16] [15]
  • Lolth, demon princess of spiders, evil, darkness, chaos and assassins. (also a core power and the monster power of Drow)[13] [7] [8]
  • Malcanthet, demon queen of the succubi and patron of the hedonistic and lustful.[15]
  • Obox-ob, demon prince and patron of vermin.[15]
  • Orcus, demon prince of the 113th layer of The Abyss, Thanatos and patron of the undead.[11] [15]
  • Pale Night, demon princess and theorized mother of the demon lords.[15]
  • Pazuzu, demon prince of the 503rd layer of the Abyss.[15]
  • Sess'Innek, demon prince of civilization and dominion. (also the monster power of dark nagas and lizard kings)
  • Vaprak, demon prince of combat and greed. (also the monster power of ogres and trolls)
  • Yeenoghu, demon prince and patron of gnolls.[15]
  • Zuggtmoy, demon princess and "Lady of the Fungi".[15]
  • Numerous others.

Arch-devils of Baator

Celestial paragons

The celestial paragons are powerful unique outsiders of the Upper Planes. They are to the celestials as the archdevils are to the devils and the demon lords are to demons.

Archon paragons

The celestial paragons of the archons are known collectively as the Celestial Hebdomad. They rule the layers of the Plane of Mount Celestia.

Barachiel
ruler of the Silver Heaven of Lunia, the bottom layer of Celestia.
Domiel
ruler of the Golden Heaven of Mercuria, the second layer of Celestia.
Erathaol
ruler of Venya, the Pearly Heaven, the third layer of Celestia.
Pistis Sophia
ruler of Solania, the Crystal Heaven, the fourth layer of Celestia.
Raziel
ruler of Mertion, the Platinum Heaven, the fifth layer of Celestia.
Sealtiel
ruler of Jovar, the Glittering Heaven, the sixth layer of Celestia.
Zaphkiel
ruler of the Illuminated Heaven of Chronias, the seventh layer of Celestia.

Eladrin paragons

The celestial paragons of the eladrins are collectively known as The Court of Stars. They hail from the Plane of Arborea.

Faerinaal
oversees the defense of the Court of Stars and liberates eladrins captured by evil forces.
Gwynharwyf
Queen Morwel's loyal champion and a barbarian of unparalleled ferocity.
Morwel
the ruler of the eladrins and the Court of Stars.

Guardinal paragons

The celestial paragons of the guardinals are collectively known as Talisid and the Five Companions. They hail from the plane of Elysium.

Bharrai
the matriarch of the Ursinals, resides on Eronia, the second layer of Elysium.
Kharash
the paragon of Lupinals.
Manath
the duke of the Cervidals.
Sathia
the voice of the Avorals, and matron and muse for painters and sculptors.
Talisid
the most powerful of Leonals. Spends most of his time on Amoria, the topmost layer of Elysium.
Vhara
the duchess of the Equinals, resides on Amoria.

Archomentals

Archomentals are powerful exemplary beings of the Elemental Planes and the rulers of the elementals. Although they are not truly rulers of their planes, archomentals like to consider themselves as much and often grant themselves regal titles like Prince or Princess. They are compared in the source material to the archfiends or celestial paragons, and are considered to be the elemental equivalent of such beings.

Evil Archomentals

The evil archomentals are collectively known as the Princes of Elemental Evil. The five most famous are:

  • Cryonax, prince of evil cold creatures.
  • Imix, prince of evil fire creatures.
  • Ogrémoch, prince of evil earth creatures.
  • Olhydra, princess of evil water creatures.
  • Yan-C-Bin, prince of evil air creatures.

Good Archomentals

The good archomentals are collectively known as the Elemental Princes of Good. The five most famous are:

  • Ben-hadar, prince of good water creatures.
  • Chan, princess of good air creatures.
  • Entemoch and Sunnis, prince and princess of good earth creatures.
  • Zaaman Rul, prince of good fire creatures.

Lesser evil Archomentals

Three other archomentals are first mentioned in Manual of the Planes (TSR, 1987).

  • Bwimb, prince of ooze creatures.
  • Chlimbia, prince of magma creatures. In The Inner Planes (TSR, 1998) he is described as evil tyrant.
  • Ehkahk, prince of smoke creatures.

Slaad Lords

The Slaad Lords are the de facto rules of the Slaadi race and the plane of Limbo. Though true to their chaotic nature they often do not appear anything like other Slaadi.

Titans

"Titans are closer to the well spring of life and thus experience more pronounced emotion including Deity-like fits of rage. In ages past some rebelled against the deities themselves..."[18]

The Lady of Pain

The Lady of Pain is an enigmatic being who oversees the city of Sigil in the plane of the Outlands. Almost nothing is known about her; her origin, her race, her motives and her level of power are all obscure, although she is sometimes shown to have absolutely immense power. The Lady of Pain refuses to tolerate anyone who worships her, killing those who do so. Again; virtually nothing is known about her, apart from the fact that she has the power to slay gods who displease her.

Vestiges

These entities are outside the boundary of life, death, and undeath. They are untouchable by even the most powerful deities although they can be summoned and used by the weakest mortal through pact magic and binding. Binders are often feared and hunted down by "Witch Slayers." The list of vestiges that can be bonded with include:

Vestiges were introduced in D&D: Tome of Magic supplement by Matthew Sernett, Ari Marmell, David Noonan, Robert J. Schwalb. Wizards of the Coast (C) March 2006.

The supplement Dragon Magic, by Rodney Thompson and Owen Stephens published in September 2006, introduces this vestige:

Wizards of the Coast created these vestiges online:

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

These are the deities for the non-Greyhawk default campaign setting of 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons (informally referred to as the "points of light" setting). The list includes long-time D&D establishments from Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms, as well as several original gods. Although some gods are patrons of specific races, they are worshipped by all, and racial pantheons do not exist in this edition. Many lesser gods from previous editions (such as the Seldarine or most members of the dwarven pantheon) now have the status of Exarch, a demipower in service to a greater god.

Good and Lawful Good deities

  • Avandra - Good Goddess of Change, Luck and Travel, Patron of Halflings.
  • Bahamut - Lawful Good God of Justice, Protection and Nobility. Patron of Dragonborn.
  • Moradin - Lawful Good God of Family, Community and Creation (as in smithing). Patron of Dwarves
  • Pelor - Good God of Sun, Agriculture and Time. Seasonal God of Summer.

Unaligned deities

  • Corellon - Unaligned God of Beauty, Art, Magic and the Fey. Seasonal God of the Spring and Patron of Eladrin.
  • Erathis - Unaligned Goddess of Civilization, Inventions and Law.
  • Ioun - Unaligned Goddess of Knowledge, Skill and Prophecy.
  • Kord - Unaligned God of Storms, Battle and Strength.
  • Melora - Unaligned Goddess of Wilderness, Nature and the Sea
  • Raven Queen - Unaligned Goddess of Death, Fate and Doom. Seasonal Goddess of Winter.
  • Sehanine - Unaligned Goddess of Illusion, Love and the Moon. Seasonal God of Autumn and Patron of Elves.

Evil and Chaotic Evil deities

  • Asmodeus - Evil God of Tyranny and Domination. Lord of Devils
  • Bane - Evil God of War and Conquest. Revered by Goblins
  • Gruumsh - Chaotic Evil God of Slaughter and Destruction. Patron of Orcs
  • Lolth - Chaotic Evil Goddess of Shadow and Lies. Patron of Drow and their inseparable companions, the spiders.
  • Tharizdun - The Chained God, also known as the Elder Elemental Eye, creator of the Abyss.
  • Tiamat - Evil Goddess of Greed and Envy. Patron of the Chromatic Dragons.
  • Torog - Evil God of the Underdark. Patron of Jailors and Torturers
  • Vecna - Evil God of the Undead and Necromancy. Lord of Secrets
  • Zehir - Evil God of Darkness and Poison. Favoured Deity of the Yuan-Ti and Patron of Assassins.

Deceased/Former deities

  • Amoth - God of Justice and Mercy. Killed by the demon princes Orcus, Demogorgon and Rimmon.
  • Aoskar - God of Portals. Killed by the Lady of Pain.
  • Gorellik - God of Hunting, Beasts, and Gnolls. Killed by the demon lord Yeenoghu.[19]
  • He Who Was - A god of good and possibly peace, he was killed by his archangel and exarch, Asmodeus. Implied to be the creator of humans, the devils wiped out all knowledge of his name, which they fear is powerful enough to revive him if it is ever spoken aloud again. The Nine Hells were originally his astral domain, now a prison for Asmodeus and his devils. A holy chalice belonging to him is mentioned in Divine Power.
  • Khala - Goddess of Winter, wife of Zehir, Khala sought to trap the natural world in an eternal winter to secure power over it. Her plans convinced the primal spirits to expel gods and primordials from the world. She was killed by the other gods in a conflict called the War of Winter, who afterwards made a compact to balance darkness and light (Zehir and Pelor), and the natural seasons (Corellon, Pelor and Sehanine). Her power over winter was taken by the Raven Queen.
  • Lakal - God of Healing and Mercy who was also her own Astral Dominion. She was an impersonal deity who communicated with her chosen people, the Quom, through "ecstatic moments of personal communion." She extolled mercy and urged her followers to dedicate themselves to pursuits that benefited the whole cosmos. Lakal's death was accidental - when Bahamut battled Nihil, the Primoridial of nothingness, the pair crashed into Lakal. Bahamut was able to use the distraction to slay Nihil, but the primordial's death throes also caused Lakal to explode. The surviving quom now roam the planes, retrieving any shards of Lakal that they can find, including those unknowingly consumed by living creatures. Such creatures, including humanoids and player characters, are considered collateral damage in the quom's quest to restore Lakal. Ironically, even if the quom succeed in their quest, the restored Lakal would be disgusted with their methods.[20]
  • Maglubiyet - God of Goblinoids. Defeated by Bane.
  • Nerull - God of Death and the Dead. Killed by The Raven Queen.
  • Tuern - God of War. Killed by Bane.
  • Nusemnee - Nusemnee was the daughter of Zehir. When she failed to assassinate a high priest of Pelor, she was abandoned and then mortally wounded by a paladin’s holy blade. Expecting only death, she was surprised when the high priest healed her, showing her compassion and forgiveness. Intrigued, she decided to honor a promise to the high priest and aid him in his holy quest until a time that she could save his life in turn. Nusemnee thus became a symbol of redemption. When she finally died at the end of the high priest’s quest, she rose again, this time as a minor goddess. In this form, she opposed her father by offering redemption to all who would turn away from evil. She was later killed by a poison that could kill anything—even a deity—that was distilled from Zehir’s blood.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 7.17 7.18 7.19 7.20 7.21 7.22 7.23 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 15.11 15.12 15.13 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Monster Manual 3.5 edition
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Heinsoo, Rob, The Plane Above. (Wizards of the Coast, 2010)
  21. ↑ Dead Gods by Pierre van Rooden. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drfe/20100816b
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