History Characters / DungeonsAndDragonsRealWorldDeitiesAtoF

The Babylonian god of darkness.

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Chant is that Apep is beginning to rear its head again. This creature of myth used to assail Manjet in an effort to destroy the sun and return the Egyptians to chaos. The pantheon drove the serpent off eventually, but the stirrings in the desert beneath Heliopolis seem to show that it's not dead yet.

Apshai is a great praying mantis, able to shape change at will and call an insect plague on a person, town, or country. He can control any type of insect (of a non-divine nature). His bite does 6-60 points of damage and he never misses his prey.

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This hero of legend was the warrior/necromancer/high priest ruler of his land. He is noted for going out and getting things done when others were unable. While his +2 mace is able to hit with brutal force (2-20), Gilgamesh loves to attack by wrestling, and stories abound of him wrestling a mighty bull or god to destruction. Gilgamesh is a great king, noted for his tyrannical rule. Although he governs well and maintains peace, he uses his authority to satisfy his personal pleasures. He is a great lover of all types of earthly pleasure. He is stubborn and prefers the direct method for solving problems whenever possible. He is a great wrestler, using this attack mode in preference to all others. Gilgamesh has a great fear of death. If he learns of any way to avoid death, he will do whatever is required to gain it. One oddity, however, is that his fear of death seldom occurs to him when facing a terrible foe. At such times, his courage will hearten him and he will fight without wavering.

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What the Finns do revere are their heroes. The ones they're particularly fond of are the ones who succeed, and they imagine that degradations and villainies befall the ones who fail. Sure, it's a pragmatic way of looking at the world, but then again, the Finns lead a dangerous life, what with the cold and lack of food and everything else. They just don't have the time or inclination to romanticize their heroes or their deities.

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* JerkassGods: _Deities & Demigods_ states that he will torment his worshippers with destructive flames “whenever a whim takes him”, so you may not be safe from his wrath even if you do make regular sacrifices to him.

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* MakeThemRot: According to _Deities and Demigods_, one of the types of rain that he can summon rots all fruit.
* SituationalDamageAttack: _Deities and Demigods_ states that his lightning bolt deals more damage based on how many clothes the target is wearing: its damage is lowest against people who are completely naked, highest against fully armored targets, and normal against people who are just wearing clothes.
* WeatherManipulation: As his pantheon’s designated rain god, he can call down four different types of rain, only one of which is good for his worshippers.

Tlaloc, "he who makes things grow", is the god of rain and moisture, who presided over the Third Sun. He is a cruel deity who delights in the torture of helpless innocents. Given his evil nature, it seems strange that Tlaloc has created Tlalocan, a gay paradise reserved for the victims of death associated with water (such as drowning or being broken on the rocks by a great wave). Tlaloc makes his home on the tops of the highest mountains, and resembles a man with a snake-like head, save that he has tusk-like teeth and white rings around his eyes. He is married to Chalchihuitlicue.

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Tlaloc has four pitchers of water which he may pour over areas of the Prime Material Plane as indications of his mood. He uses the first pitcher, which contains good water, only when his priests have performed their rites with the proper zeal. The other three he uses to express his displeasure: the second pitcher contains water filled with spider eggs and webs that bring blight, the third with water that turns to frost, and the fourth with water that causes fruit to rot. Other omens of Tlaloc's displeasure include too little or too much rain, drought, and floods. %% Come back to this paragraph.

Tlaloc's Avatar appears as a man with a snake-like head and armed with a magic, razor-sharp sword of pure obsidian. He has access to the all, animal, elemental, healing, plant, and weather spheres.

An air maiden appears as a winged human with a sword, garbed in flowing robes, and glowing with a brilliant light. Only one air maiden will appear at a time. Each maiden is armed with a +3 frost brand sword. When a devout follower of Ukko calls his name, he is likely (30%) to send an air maiden: first to advise the worshiper as to the best course of action (using telepathy), and then, if necessary, a maiden will enter combat thereafter to rescue the imperiled believer. These powerful warriors will be sent by Ukko only when his worshipers face certain death at the hands of demons, devils or very powerful evil characters.

Although having few magical abilities, each maiden is 50% magic resistant, and may fly (at up to 48") without tiring. Should an air maiden be slain before her mission is completed, another will immediately appear. If a maiden is slain, she and all her possessions (including the sword) will vanish.

The Finns don't have a particularly strong pantheon. Perhaps that's because they don't focus on the prevalence of gods in their lives. The people aren't really active in the worship of their gods, instead simply accepting the deities as a given in their day-to-day existence. This ain't to say the Finns don't revere their deities; it's just that they're not as fervent in their beliefs as many of the other mortals in the multiverse. For the Finns, it's not a matter of faith, it's just the way things are.

The stories of this mythos are magnificently told in ''The Kalevala'', the Finnish national epic. These tales focus on the exploits of the heroes, rather than the gods. The heroes of ''The Kalevala'' are very powerful; they possess abilities beyond those of mortal men, and most have divine ancestors. They even have brushes with the gods (though only Vainamoinen is powerful and skillful enough to successfully meddle with the gods).

The core of the epic is the continuing conflict between Kalevala, the land of good heroes, and Pohjola, the land of evil and wizardry. All of the heroes are great bards, and make mighty magics with their songs. The clerics of the gods consider themselves above normal men, and are generally well-respected and/or feared. They have no qualms about using spells to chastise those who offend them or threaten their power.

Ukko is the chief god of the pantheon, but he keeps himself aloof from affairs unless those he loves are threatened. Usually, only extreme danger to the Prime can rouse him from his meditations on existence, and even then he sends one of his air maidens to set things right. Some say that it's Ukko's "guidance" that's causing the pantheon to fade from sight.

Ukko is represented as an old man. He is very supportive of all the good heroes in the mythos. While he usually uses a magic attack, when hard pressed in battle he uses a flaming sword that does 3-30 points of damage and has the power to slay anything it hits (as a death spell; saving throw at -6 applicable).

Ukko is master of the sky and air, and supports the world. He thus is responsible for all weather and protects all avian life.

His realm's known to be in the layer of Shurrock on Bytopia, but no person knows where to find it. Apparently, Ukko desires solitude.

Ahto, the water god of the Finns, takes little interest in the matters of the world. He's more content to keep himself occupied in his realm, pondering the matters of wave and current. Still, he can be roused from his contemplation by suitable sacrifice, and if he's moved to action, he sends either Alanoin or the Water Dwarf to take care of matters.

His realm, known as Curling Wave, is a place of flickering blues and greens, filled with fish and orcas. Larger whales occasionally slide through the realm on their way to deeper pastures. Sea elves are infrequent visitors, and in fact, the only regular humanoids there are Ahto's water-breathing petitioners, who build undersea castles out of coral and shell. But their number is slowly waning as their god absorbs them.

Hiisi's a basher with no care for the scurrying creatures of mortal life span; he's preoccupied with evil, and uses other sentients only as a means to further his wicked visions. He can empower any evil creature as his proxy, and they have only one chance to resist him (by making a saving throw versus spell at -4). Truth is, though, Hiisi doesn't keep permanent proxies. He kills them before long to reclaim every last drop of his strength, the god hates doling out energy.

He always appears as a huge, richly robed man with coarse features. His giant club does 4-40 points per strike. He constantly aids evil creatures, but does not like to directly enter battle, preferring to sit on the sidelines while sending in a group of 1-10 evil heroes. Evil beings are unable to do any damage to him either directly or indirectly.

Hiisi's realm resembles nothing so much as the underside of a tree-covered hill, and it appears on the Prime whenever he believes the other deities aren't watching him. Roots dangle from the ceiling, water constantly drips someplace just out of eyesight but always within earshot, and the smell of rotting, dank earth fills a person's nose. It's a dreary place, and indescribable creatures (Hiisi's petitioners) drag their way through the lower reaches of the realm. Most people who come here never leave again. It ain't pretty.

Ilmarinen is a blacksmith of great magical power, with the ability to create mighty magic items of many sorts. He is a massively built man who wears +4 leather armor and wields a +4 hammer that strikes for 1-10 points of damage. He has a magical sledge that pulls itself at a rate of 21" and can travel over land or water. When traveling incognito or among enemies, Ilmarinen will yoke deer to the front of this sledge to conceal its magical nature.

Ilmatar is the mother of the greatest hero of Finnish legend, Vainamoinen, and is described as the Daughter of the Air. Chant says the other deities of the pantheon have such respect for her son (and owe her so many favors) that there's nothing Ilmatar can't get from them. She's too honorable to use that influence unduly, but there are times when the mortals under her protection need her help.

She has a hand-sized ball that she carries in a copper box. This ball has written upon it all of the legends of creation and the spells used in that formation. She is able to use this thing to know all of the powers and abilities of any being that ever existed. She also has a sledge that moves by itself on the land, air, and water at a rate of 24".

Her realm exists only within her aura. She travels across the lands of her worshipers, seeking to alleviate the pains of motherhood and answering any call she can. If summoned unnecessarily, Ilmatar visits bad luck on the person who called her. Otherwise, she performs her service (in disguise) and vanishes into the place whence she came.

Kiputytto is able to cast a sickness (saving throw applicable) that will take away 5 hit points from its victim per turn until dead or cured. Anything that touches her will rot away, including swords, armor, claw, or fang. She is very fond of floating above a battle invisibly and affecting those that have minor wounds and are forced to retreat. She appears to the world most often as a black skinned, twisted old crone with a scarred face. The members of her cult seem to have all suffered from some wasting disease and bear the marks on their faces.

Kullervo is the foil of the good heroes of Kalevala. He is doomed to eventually betray Kalevala and become evil, and acts as if he knows it. Kullervo wields a +2 axe of sharpness (as the sword of the same name) that strikes for 1-10 points of damage. In addition to his other spell abilities, Kullervo can shape change. He is immune to fire-based attacks.

Lemminkainen is jovial and reckless, constantly getting himself into serious scrapes. He has mastered the art of shape changing, and bears and wolves will not attack him. He is immune to poisons of all types. In combat he has use of the following weapons: a +3 javelin of distance with a range of 36"; a +3 bow with a quiver of animal slaying arrows; and his +5 sword is both a sword of sharpness and a flaming sword. He has a +3 dagger, uses a girdle of frost giant strength, and wears +4 chainmail. He has been known to wear a pair of snowshoes of speed and traveling that enables him to proceed at a rate of 24" on snow-covered ground. He has a magical brush which he leaves at home when he goes on an adventure. This brush sheds blood when Lemminkainen is in trouble, by which token his mother (a mighty magic-user in her own right) knows that she should send aid.

Louhi rules the evil land of Pohjolo with an iron hand. She opposes all of the good heroes of Kalevala, and works continuously for their downfall. Louhi can summon four invisible fighters at will to defend her; two will guard her while two attack the enemy. Louhi is very adept at the creation of poison and sleep potions, which she uses on guests she wants to eliminate.

Loviatar, described as a beautiful cold maiden, is usually dressed in white silks, and when she speaks a cold wind blows. Her main concern is the inflicting of pain. She owns a dagger of ice that makes her immune to all magical spells. When she is attacked or magic is used against her, the attacker will once again re-experience the worst pain he or she has ever suffered. In other words, if the worst thing that ever happened to a character was to take 49 hit points of damage from a fireball, then that will happen to him or her again (no saving throw). A second attack on the part of this character would result in the second most painful thing hurting him, etc.

Loviatar's one of the two Finnish gods making an effort to stay vital. Both she and Mielikki have sworn not to give into the wasting apathy that seems to afflict the other deities of the pantheon, and both have wormed themselves into the hearts of mortals on the prime-material world of Toril. There, Loviatar is a lesser goddess, not a demigoddess, and her heightened strength in that crystal sphere may eventually cause her to abandon the Finns for good.

As the mistress of pain, Loviatar relishes in the feel of the knife sliding between layers of skin, muscle, and bone, and the cold caress of the freezing wind from the sea. She's cruel and capricious, and she can make any person who offends her instantly re-experience the worst suffering they've ever known.

Her realm's called ondtland, and it's a wasteland of ice and snow, filled with carnivorous caribou and packs of dire wolves. It ain't a place for the unprepared, and while it's got its beauties (such as the aurora over Loviatar's palace), a person'd do well to remember the nature of the goddess here.

The goddess is always dressed in a green gassamer gown, even in the coldest of winters, and is always surrounded with summer songbirds. She watches over rangers and all creatures of the forest (especially dryads). There is a l% chance that she will aid her dryads when they are in extreme danger within the bounds of the forest. There is a 5% chance that she will attack those that try to destroy her domain, for whatever reason. Because of this, men like woodcutters must plant two trees for every one that they cut down, or eventually face her wrath. She automatically negates all charm-type spells within a 30 yard radius of her body. No creature that lives in the wilds is able to hurt her, even if controlled. She is not affected by clerical spells of any type. When magic has failed to hurt her enemies, she has been known to summon huge packs of wolves and flights of hawks to attack despoilers of the forest.

It's said that Mielikki used to have no true realm, that she hid in the forests of the Prime and came out only to put down despoilers of nature. Well, she's apparently managed to move up in the world; she now shares a realm on the Beastlands with Ehlonna of Oerth.

The land, the Grove of the Unicorns, is far bigger on the inside than out. The realm's just a grove of trees that pops up in the midst of a forest. If a person's a friend of nature, they might spy a unicorn lapping up water from a pool in the center of the grove; if they do, the lush realm opens itself to them in full (animal petitioners of the plane whisper about strange burgs within the Grove, but the truth of that's still unknown). A person who's not worthy won't ever see the unicorn, and they can walk into the grove and right out again without ever knowing where they are.

Obviously, Mielikki watches over rangers, druids, and their ilk. Like her relative Loviatar, she's joined the Faerûnian pantheon in an effort to keep herself strong, for Toril has many nature-lovers. And it seems to be working, to the people of Toril, Mielikki is an intermediate goddess.

This son of Louhi was a leader of the people of Pohjola and a savage enemy to Lemminkainen and the other good heroes of Kalevala. His sword does 2-20 points of damage per strike and is a +3 weapon. His mother has given him a giant wolf that obeys his every command.

Surmo often appears as a slightly aging warrior in leather buckskins and red boots. He uses a club in battle that strikes for 3-30 points of damage; only Surma can wield this weapon.

Surma's a wandering god of Carceri, imprisoned on the plane by Ukko in an effort to keep him at bay. Ever since, Surma's been slowly slipping into obscurity, and that fuels his rage all the more. He can't escape unless Ukko sets him free, and he's not likely to gain any more strength, the other Finnish deities do a fine job of keeping Surma's name from being spoken on the Prime.

Surma roams the first layer of Carceri, challenging every basher he meets to a fight, leaving undead in his wake. If a challenge is refused, Surma tracks the "coward" down later and kills him in his sleep. Some day, though, the demigod'll either run into someone too tough for him, or else just drift off onto the Astral to keep company with the corpses of other failed gods.

The wife of Tuoni, Tuonetar appears to the world as an incredibly ugly old crone. Any creature that comes within 30' of her must save vs. spells or be affected by her fear aura, fleeing until exhaustion sets in. Tuonetar's merest touch inflicts 4-40 points of damage.

Along with her husband, she maintains a residence in Tuonela, the Land of the Dead. It's a place of gray mists and shrieking winds, a joyless realm among the already bleak caverns of Pandemonium. She and her husband are afflicted with the same apathy that pervades the rest of the pantheon, and their realm reflects this, full of people who've lost all desire and sense of purpose or meaning.

Perhaps Tuonetar and Tuoni're better suited to life on the Gray Waste, but they're jealous of their domain. She's Vainamoinen's most hated foe (or vice versa). Either way, the Crone of Death goes out of her way to make life difficult for the proxy and son of Ilmatar.

This god is usually dressed in dark furs. At will he can constantly shape change and cast death and prismatic wall spells. He is immune to all death and charm-type spells. The god will always appear as if in a vision when a being who worships the Finnish pantheon is raised from the dead, and there is a 1% chance that he will actually come in person to reclaim the raised person's soul.

His club (which only he can lift) does 3-30 points of damage, and always disenchants one randomly-determined magic item on the being hit (no saving throw).

Tuoni's clerics go about the battlefield and aid those that are near death to reach the land of the dead. They have been noted for sending the near dead off a bit too soon. After they administer these rites, they take the dead perron's valuables as recompense for their aid in helping the person to go to the land of the dead.

It's said that Tuoni (who oversees spirits journeying to their final reward) occasionally travels to the prime to reclaim a dead person that's been taken from Tuonela.

Untamo is the lord of sleep for the Finns, and it's said that anyone who enters his Outlands realm (near Tvashtri's workshop) falls instantly into the god's dream, to be released only when Untamo wills it. For some, the dream ends quickly. For others, it never does and never will.

Clearly, Untamo doesn't like to be disturbed, and he punishes anyone with the temerity to do so, unless they agree to serve him and his whims for a year. Those who agree are usually granted the power to cast sleep as a mage of 10th level, four times a day.

This god is very mild in all of his actions and dislikes being summoned for any reason. He cannot be hurt by any being that has not recently slept for 13 hours or more, as they will otherwise go to sleep instantly in his presence. His club strikes for 3-30 points of damage and those that do not make their saving throw vs. spells will fall instantly asleep.

The ancient Egyptians developed a culture lasting over 3,000 years. It is only natural that their faith would undergo a change in that time. Their deities aged, with Ra starting as the ruler and growing senile and Osiris taking over after being killed by Set and being brought back to life. The pantheon presented is one with Ra in prominence only because there are more beings of power in this early grouping.

The true origins of the Egyptian pantheon are dark, its history hidden. Some claim that Ra gave life to the other gods. Others mark Ptah as the high-up, and still more put forth that the mysterious Eight Fathers and Mothers of Light and Life were the true creators. A person can believe what they like, but the Eight (if they existed) have vanished into the mists of time, and Ptah's been relegated to the position of a minor deity, his heart and tongue silenced (or at least muted).

Perhaps the people who believed in Ptah lost their faith, or maybe he never really had any power in the first place. Whatever the truth, the histories now call Ra the father of the pantheon, and claim that those who weren't born from his line came from elsewhere, either rejected from other pantheons or formed whole from the fabric of the multiverse. And only eight deities came from Ra. His first act, in fact, was to bring forth his children, Shu and Tefnut, who in turn gave birth to Geb and Nut. This second couple brought forth the couples of Osiris and Isis, and Set and Nephthys.

Every day, Ra rises above Manu (the hill of sunrises) aboard his great boat Manjet and looks down upon the world with his blazing eye (the sun). Manjet is a large war galley
that was constructed from solar flames and is sheathed in an aura of fire that will inflict 40 points of damage each round (no saving throw) to any being that touches the craft without Ra's permission. At night, Manjet transforms itself into Mesektet, a funeral barge, and Ra guides it back across the waters of the underworld, so that he may once again cross the sky in the morning. In both forms, the craft radiates an anti-magic shell that prevents anyone but Ra from employing spells. In addition to its obvious ability to fly, the craft can become invisible, assume a wraithform, or plane shift when commanded to do so by Ra. Thrice per day Ra can command Manjet (but not Mesektet) to deliver a bolt of solar fire at any target in his sight. This bolt always hits and inflicts 100 points of damage (no saving throw and no defense).

Ra's home on Arcadia is the First Realm of Heliopolis, a place of blistering light and bright sand, where the sun shines as long as Ra guides his barque, Manjet, across the sky. At night, the light fades, the temperature drops dramatically, and the creatures of the desert stir across the land. Lions, scorpions, and serpents prowl the sands, foraging for prey and seeking respite before the sun returns once more. Though Ra is a lawful god, he also demands attention to the natural world, and woe to any person who forgets the dangers of the desert. 'Course, people can always find some slight refuge in the tent-filled city of Thekele-re.

Anhur lives on the same Ysgardian earthberg as Bast, but the two rarely have anything to do with each other. Bast's dominion is trickery and the subtleties of felines; Anhur's is that of war and carefully crafted wisdom. His realm is one of adobe and narrow canyons, where chariots race through the streets and defiles. The land is cool and temperate, ideal for fighting. But Anhur's followers don't struggle against each other, preferring instead to storm the Gray Waste and the Abyss to wage war on evil. They don't even have the assurance that Anhur will save them from permanent dissolution.

Apshai is the demigod of insects, but there just aren't that many who follow its teachings. Sure, farmers pray to Apshai to keep fields clear of infestation, but that's about it. Though the god can retain its status as a demigod, there's little chance of it going anywhere within the Egyptian pantheon.

As for its realm, the Hive lies somewhere below the Outlands, a "safe" distance from the tunnels of Ilsensine and Gzemnid. The spot's marked by a huge tower crawling with ants, and beneath the soil lies a maze where insects of all varieties swarm over each other, devouring and destroying.

The tunnels of the Hive are said to lead to every prime-material world that's home to followers of the Egyptian pantheon. 'Course, no one knows for sure how it works, because no person that's ever gone down into the Hive has ever emerged again. Whether they're devoured, transported, or even transformed, none can say.

Bast's realm is called Merratet, the central point of which is an ancient city lost in the deserts of her earthberg. Every building is covered with vines, incredible age evident in every crack and crumbled wall. The sun beats down with a lazy heat on the rolling terrain and dense thickets of the rest of the realm, where fat animals roam and fall, terrified, beneath the claws of mighty cats that stalk the land.

It's said that Bast's dreams echo throughout the realm, their images of the hunt and bloody feasts playing through the heads of everyone in Merratet. Those who appreciate the dreams are supposedly safe from the cats in the night; people who don't find themselves prey before too long.

The grotesque but cheerful Bes appears as a stunted, round-bodied and bow-legged human, about 4 feet tall, sporting a bushy beard and tail and wearing the skin of a
panther. He is a god of luck as well as a protector of women in childbirth. A powerful and squat figure, Bes roams the Outlands and influences the laws of fate. He is said to be so ugly that his visage scares evil spirits away, and many followers of the Egyptian gods keep statues of Bes in their homes to keep ill luck away. Bes is married to Hathor, who shares his interest in music and luck.

Geb's realm is one of the few places on the plane where a person can assume the walls won't collapse on them. Winding tunnels cut through the earth, and vast spaces filled with the night sky (courtesy of Nut) create the illusion that a person's out in the open. The realm holds several towns, each with tens of thousands of swarthy brown petitioners whose color darkens as they draw closer to union with Geb. The petitioners are, like their god, jovial, friendly, and curious, and sometimes just a little naive.

The goddess shares the rule of Heliopolis with Osiris and Ra, her portion of the realm a sloping land covered with thick grass and fig trees. The River Isis, filled with holy water, runs only through the city of Gizekhtet. The burg's a matriarchy ruled by Lamia Nightblossom, and it's a place where everything's in balance. None of the people are too rich or too poor, too hungry or too sated, to the petitioners, it's utopia.

But Isis has a second realm, one that she can call her own: Quietude, a small town on Elysium that isn't much more than a village set on a plateau. Isis' proxy Sirian Goodwife keeps the peace there, but that's not a hard job, the community's home to married couples and spellslingers working toward a better understanding of the multiverse and its secrets. Though Heliopolis is the home of her husband, Isis seems to prefer Quietude for its research value.

Daughter of Geb and Nut and twin sister of Isis, She was once married to Set and bore
him one child, the twisted crocodile god Sobek. Longing for a normal marriage and child, she got Osiris drunk and seduced him, bearing Anubis as a result, and provoking
Set's murder of his brother. After Set killed Osiris, Nephthys abandoned her husband and joined with Isis (Osiris' wife) to recover the dead god's body, mummify him, and secure his place as lord of Tuat. Because of this, she often acts as a guardian of the dead.

She lives among the deserts of Amun-thys, scorning visitors and discouraging whimsical travelers. She's a rather miserly goddess, hoarding wealth and expecting her worshipers to sacrifice theirs to her. Some call her unfriendly, but the truth of it is just that she doesn't want to get bobbed.

This attitude extends to the petitioners of her realm, who've learned that all items in the land seem more precious than they are. The natives are peery of visitors; they've seen the sharp side of a sword from people looking to fill their own pockets. And they go to great lengths to protect the crypts and mausoleums from looters, with help from Nephthys, of course.

Set sometimes sends proxies to Amun-thys with gifts and smooth words for Nephthys; she takes the offerings but pays their pleas no mind, usually tossing the people out on their ears. But the goddess turned the tables on her former husband when Bentresh arrived; Nephthys talked the half-elf into throwing Set over and staying on as ''her'' new proxy.

Truth to tell, Amun-thys is little more than dunes, with scattered temples, tombs, and necropoli. The small city of Scarab lies near Nephthys' palace, and huge carcasses of titans litter the surrounding desert (some say they go to the realm to die). Beyond that, a person's better off looking someplace else for wealth and glory.

Having fled Heliopolis eons ago, she now maintains a small realm on Elysium, in Belierin, the layer magically sealed by the guardinals. Though Nut realizes that she's still not beyond Ra's reach, she nonetheless finds solace in her solitude.

Her realm is like the starry sky, a dark land where there's no up or down, only the sensation of movement through the night. No corporeal beings live here; the petitioners of her realm are the stars themselves. As Nut draws them to herself, they flare up and then die out entirely.

Osiris' chilly realm in Heliopolis is both above and below the ground, and former mortal kings can keep their memories of rulership to provide keen knowledge of the law. Undead walk freely in Memphiria, the City of the White Crown, at least as long as they are free of evil in their hearts.

Having supposedly stepped down in favor of the more vital and active Ra, it's well known that Ptah wanders the Ethereal now, and that he's even approachable by mortals. But a person'd best tread carefully around him, the god seems to feed off of the Ethereal, and he can send a person literally anywhere in the planes. A tiefling who claims to have suffered from this relocation says that Ptah can even drop a person in another god's realm without that deity's permission (Then again, people know how trustworthy tieflings are).

Obviously, Ptah's a popular name to invoke among Ethereal and inner-planar travelers. But as he's the source of inspiration and creativity, lovers of art and beauty call upon Ptah as well.

Cousin to Shu, Seker appears as a rather ordinary man. This god is relentless in his efforts to destroy all evil and undead on the earth. He's one of the gods of the afterlife, and the undead are, in his eyes, simply dead people who don't realize their true state. If they won't follow Osiris' rule, Seker destroys them with shafts of light from his hands.

His realm, Ro Stau, varies between two layers of Elysium, wavering back and forth as he desires. In Amoria, Ro Stau is a remarkably beautiful marble palace with immense colonnades rising above the surrounding desert. In Thalasia, it's a pleasure house along the banks of a thundering river, the halls of which are filled with incense and peaceful sunlight streaming in every crack.

Wherever Ro Stau is, its petitioners are attractive, relaxed (some say lazy) people who glow with an inner light. But when it comes to undead, they're fanatical in their hatred, much moreso than Seker. Fact is, the people just can't get it through their heads that not all undead are evil, destructive monsters. But they've got to learn to let go of their bias if they hope to achieve union with their god.

Set is the brother of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys, and was married to Nephthys before he murdered Osiris. Nephthys bore him a single child, Sobek. Now and again Set sends proxies to her realm to try and win her back. 'Course, he also lusts after Isis, and its no secret that, if given the chance, he'd put Osiris and Horus in the dead-book. The evil god just plain hates Osiris (after all, Set killed him once before), but his anger toward Horus stems from the fact that Horus was granted a throne Set desired.

Set's realm in Baator is called Ankhwugaht, a burning desert in the midst of the snow of Stygia. The center of the realm boasts a huge black pyramid that seems to cast a shadow across the entire land. The petitioners are completely untrustworthy, but they have a strange sense of honor, and they won't go back on their sworn word. 'Course, getting them to swear in the first place is another matter entirely.

Shu, brother and husband of Tefnut, father of Geb and Nut, has been charged by Ra to keep Nut and Geb apart from each other, and this Shu does admirably. As the atmosphere, he keeps the ground (Geb) from ever touching the sky (Nut), and thus the two lovers are separated. Shu and his wife Tefnut were Ra's first children and he has great affection for them both.

Shu's realm, Desert Wind, is pure breeze and sky; still, it's noticably different from the rest of the Elemental Plane of Air. The air is warmer and glitters with gold, and it's filled with the scent of cinnamon and sand. It's said a visitor to the realm can move with the simple power of his mind.

Sure, storms can rise up unexpectedly, but Desert Wind is usually a place of peace and gentle breezes. That's what the petitioners are, mostly, warm, caressing winds, though some take the form of golden shafts of sunlight.

Tefnut, wife and sister of Shu, embodies the moisture of the atmosphere. She's a goddess of mercurial moods and changing disposition. Those who can read the weather can sense the changes in her mood, beneath the seeming chaos, there lies a deeper order, that of storms and lightning. Tefnut can be gentle and kind one minute, and thundering and harsh the next. She's not cruel and won't destroy without cause, but people who incur her fury know it right away.

Tefnut's realm, Windwrath, sits on one of the many mountains of Bytopia, pummeled by winds and rain. The petitioners hide from the storms inside village-caverns; the largest settlement, Ston-khat, is guided by the proxy Dyalotep the Lame. The natives spend their time aiding passersby and serving their goddess. Though the wind rarely ceases and the rain lets up only occasionally, the natives love Windwrath, and most people who come here do as well.

Thoth is said to have accumulated as much knowledge as the gods Ilsensine and Gzemnid combined, and to use it in a much more selfless fashion. Isis may know everything that's happening in the multiverse ''now'', but Thoth knows everything that's happened in the past. As the custodian of the Great Library, Thoth allows scholars in its hallowed halls to research whatever may be on their minds. It is said that Thoth maintains a set of three great books in which all knowledge is recorded. These books are locked away at the heart of a great crypt.

!!Minor Gods and Goddesses
Other Gods that did not contribute much to Egyptian mythology are listed below.

* Amset: God of the south. Amset looks like an extremely short man. His main power is to be unaffected by anything sent at him from a southerly direction. This power also lets him turn any force directed at him from the South back at its sender, double force. He also shapechanges.
* Apesh: God of greed and evil. Apesh looks like a dragon turtle. Its main attribute is the power to summon 1-4 of any evil creature per day to fight for it. In battle it relies on its shapechanging power to kill its enemies. It is very fond of allowing maps to its many treasures to be found by lawful beings and then taking a personal hand in killing them when they try to take the gold.
* Hapi: God of the north. Hapi is an extremely short dwarf. His main power is to be unaffected by anything sent at him from a northerly direction. This power also lets him turn any force directed at him from the North back at its sender, double the force. He too can shapechange.
* Qebhsennuf: God of the west. Qebhsennuf looks like a man with a hippo's head. He has his cousins' directional powers and can shapechange.
* Renenet: Goddess of good fortune. Renenet looks like an ordinary woman and when looking upon another being gives them the Luck of the Gods. The being will make their saving throw every time, will always hit their enemies, and will never be struck by their foes. She never fights in battle, but will stand in astral form above a fight using her power on any lawful being she favors.
* Taumautef: God of the east. Tuamautef has the same powers as his 2 cousins of the North and South working in an easterly direction. He appears as a man with a crocodile head.

The Aztec and Maya presented the world with an interesting set of closely related gods, goddesses and creatures that have a moral background similar to that of other ancient mythoi. The beings are just as evil or just as
good; the difference seems to be that they are not moved by anything resembling human thoughts and feelings, unlike the deities of other mythoi. They act only upon their own inscrutable motives.

These beings are said to have come from the stars, and their "plane of origin" is not the same as other mythologies. For the purposes of this work, we will assume that these gods come from the Prime Material Plane of a parallel universe. Commune or gate spells used by the clerics of these deities will only connect with this parallel universe and the plane where their gods dwell. There is no way that others can summon these deities if they do not know the special ceremonies used in contacting them. Also, these deities' unusual nature makes it impossible for them to travel on any planes but the ones that they have worshipers on.

This human-appearing god is able to see the past and future of any being and put this information to use in his own way. He is not allowed to kill any being, but he can look into that being's past and discover what force caused the most physical damage to that being, and then recreate that force exactly to again do the same amount of damage. If the proper sacrifices are made in precious metals in an amount of 500,000 gold pieces or more, there is a 25% chance that the god will look favorably upon the sacrificer and do what he can to help for a short period. The sacrifice is always cast into the beyond by the most powerful means available (i.e. a random teleport spell, a limited wish, or the like). In the presence of any light, Camaxtli regenerates 5 hit points per melee round.

Physically, Huhueteotl appears to be a demon with a humanoid body, reptilian facial features, flames shooting all around him, and hair patches where his red gem armor does not cover him.

The god requires frequent human sacrifices and will punish his erring worshipers with destructive flames whenever a whim takes him. Sacrifices are in the form of valuable articles of clothing or gems and jewels, and they are always thrown into molten areas in mountains. Sacrifices are usually made in the waning of the moon.

The god may cast a beam of searing light once per round that does 50 points of damage per strike and has a range of 2 miles.

The god is also in charge of keeping time in motion, and in this capacity must have a special sacrifice of gems, feather robes, and humans every 52 years. During the fifty-second year, the god has the ability to stop the motion of any one thing in any single day. In this stopped state, that thing cannot be harmed by any force in the Prime Material Plane.

Mictlantecuhtli's avatar resembles an emaciated human being with a skull-like head and bulging eyes. He has access to the combat, divination, elemental, or necromantic spheres.

Also known as Kukulcan, or (in his capacity as wind god) Ehecatl, this god appears in a bewildering number of forms, and while he usually acts as per his alignment, there are times when he works in evil ways (making it very hard to align him). He appears occasionally on our plane and works closely with his worshipers against other gods. When in battle, the god will usually assume a monster form and use that to attack with, but if he suffers a great loss of hit points, he will take the form that he had assumed at the beginning of the battle and quadruple its powers and reattack. He fights until his side has won the battle or until he has been personally defeated in combat.

He cannot be hurt by creatures of the same form he is using; in other words, when he is in the form of a dragon, he cannot be hurt by any dragon type, and when he is in the form of a magic-user, he cannot be hurt by magical spells.

Quetzalcoatl was the mightiest god of the mythos, though his claim is disputed by the followers of Tezcatlipoca, his arch-enemy.

With his great tusks and goggle eyes, Tlaloc's appearance is quite impressive. He wears all black but for a garland of white feathers.

At each full moon, a priest of Tlaloc sacrifices a child or baby to Tlaloc. Once a year, there is a great festival held in his honor. Numerous babies are bought or taken from the populace. These babies are sacrificed to Tlaloc, after which the priests cook and eat them. If the babies cry during the sacrifice, this is taken as a good sign that rain will be abundant during the coming year.

If pressed hard in battle, Tlaloc will summon a bolt of lightning, and he will fight with this against all comers. The bolt of lightning will do 40 points of damage to all those in armor, 30 points of damage to all those wearing clothes, and 20 points of damage to all naked flesh it hits. He uses the lightning bolt as if it were a weapon instead of a spell.

Tlaloc has four pitchers of water which he may pour over areas of the Prime Material Plane as indications of his mood. He uses the first pitcher, which contains good water, only when his priests have performed their rites witn the proper zeal. The other three he uses to express his displeasure: tne second pitcher contains water filled with spider eggs and webs that bring blight, the third with water that turns to frost, and the fourth with water that causes fruit to rot. Other omens of Tlaloc's displeasure include too little or too much rain, drought, and floods.

This god appears as a huge bat and is always found with 1,000 normal bats flying around him. He may be tempted to comply to a summom by a being that offers many insects for his followers. Priests can actually appease this deity by offering him insect plagues.

His claws do 2-20/2-20 and a save is necessary versus (paralytic) poison; his bite does 3-30 with the same save. Any weapons cast in the darkness at him will not touch or harm him.

The twin brothers are legendary for their thirst for revenge. Their father was killed by beings of the underworld and so they went down and defeated these beings in games and battle. They were expert with the blow gun and could shoot their darts up to 200 yards away with accuracy (short range = 50 yards, medium range = 135 yards).

In hand-to-hand combat they use axes which inflict 1-10 points of damage, but they try hard not to get close enough to be forced into that situation. They are resistant to cold and fire so that one point is subtracted from every die of damage they take.

Itzamna normally appears to men in the guise of a toothless old man, with sunken cheeks and a Roman nose, leaning on a crooked staff. However, he may also assume the form of light in one of its myriad aspects, e.g. a blazing globe, a fading ember, or a dusty moonbeam, and when in this guise he may take on any size. Itzamna often travels in the world of men. He may see everything that transpires in the world if there is a light source present, much like a wizard eye spell.

Itzamna is the friend and benefactor of men, instructing mankind in medicine, drawing and letters. He is often called upon by his clerics to intercede for man with the other gods in times of calamities and sicknesses. In his dealings with the other gods he rarely relies on the strength of his arms, using his wits to cause his fellow deities to react favorably towards man.

Itzamna is the son of the sun-god, Tezcatlipoca, and tries to temper his father's harsh dealings with man. If Itzamna is ever in a desperate situation he will call upon his father for help. The god of medicine is by no means a weakling and if battle is forced upon him he will strike with either his staff or with scintillating beams of light (depending upon his form) for 3-24 points of damage. Whenever he is attacked he will become surrounded by a nimbus of light which acts as a protection from evil 6" radius and as a robe of scintillating colors. In light form, ltzamna is intangible, and it requires +2 or better magical weapons to strike him. He is also capable of drawing any one symbol per round in the air.

Clerics of Itzamna will deal only with spells to bless and heal (abjuration and necromancy) or spells of a written nature (symbols). They are friends to all good creatures and are loath to do combat unless there is no other recourse. These Clerics wear few garments or just a coarse robe and carry a staff and medicine pouch. Often they may be identified by a necklace with a red hand ornament. They are usually excellent scribes.

Ceremonies to Itzamna are held throughout the year, particularly in relation to the planting of crops. Sweet balsam is burned and squirrels are sacrificed to him.

The Chinese image of the Heavens is that of a great bureaucracy. Many of the deities exist to perform a special task and watch over a special area of life. Each god is supervised by a more important deity, who is responsible for seeing that things are done correctly. Every being is accountable to the Emperor of the Heavens. Every year the gods send reports to their supervisors, and it is not uncommon to be promoted or demoted for work done during the year.

Clerics play several roles in this master plan. They support the existing mortal government and preach the divinity of their emperor. The emperor in every case is not only the head of the state, but also the head of the church (thus gifted with high priest powers by the gods). The atonement for all sins by both the clerical staff and mortal worshipers is a matter of sacrificing items of value commensurate with the improper act. If the deed was severe enough (judge's option as to this in AD&D terms) the atonement might even be death. Clerics must travel about the countryside preaching to rich and poor alike.

Shang-Ti looks down on the "barbarous" deities of the planes, and won't deal with any of them, not even the leaders of other pantheons, except for Primus, the patron of the modrons. Primus is the only outsider, it seems, who's lawful and orderly enough to tumble to the workings of the Celestial Bureaucracy.

This god appears as a very muscular man with bright red skin. He wears special +3 scale mail that does not interfere with the use of his monk abilities. He rides a giant flying tiger into battle. This god is able to travel from plane to plane with however many beings he wishes. He strikes with a spear of power for 10-60 points of damage.

This god has fiery red skin resembling scales, a black demonic head with tusks, elephant ears, a large set of leathery wings with a span of 40 feet, a humanoid body, and cloven hooves. With his bow he can hit any target within sight, and is able to reverse any weapon thrown through the air at him and send it back at its caster.

His bow is magicked so that use of it by anyone else will cause the arrows to fly at the user. The god can shape change at will and wears green +4 plate mail in battle. His arrows inflict 2-20 points of damage when they hit and his sword strikes for 2-24 points in hand-to-hand combat.

It is the duty of Chih-Chiang Fyu-Ya to avenge offenses against the gods, particularly desecration of temples.

This god appears as a very muscular man. He always wears a blue war helm, giving him the power of constant haste and flying at twice the speed he could attain by himself (i.e., 48"). He prefers to ride a storm cloud that travels at 24" and is able to support up to 10 beings of any size. Like Shang-Ti, he can create weather of any type upon command. His suit of +3 scale mail appears to be badly rusted, and when any other metal touches it, that metal completely rusts away (no saving throw). His +3 mace strikes for 3-30 points per hit.

These beings appear as men. They use plus 2 armor in battle with lightning bolt swords that have no plus in hitting power but strike for 2-20 points of electrical damage. They ride a piece of the wind which travels 24" per turn and cannot be hit by anything. They have a large sack from which winds (as a staff of wizardry) blow whenever an opening is made.

Though he's often called the god of war, Kuan-Ti, also known as Huan-Ti, is more truly a power for peace. His real love is for diplomacy, for the carefully worded deals that bring the greatest happiness to each side of a disagreement. It's only when two factions can't reach a compromise (a sad day, in his eyes) that he becomes a war god, and even then, he judges which side is more worthy to win.

Chant is Kuan-Ti's set his sights on resolving the Blood War, that he's working to make the baatezu and tanar'ri cease their fighting and come to a mutually profitable agreement, and, naturally, he's trying to keep the fiends from sacking the Upper Planes once it's done. If he could manage this, his fame would spread far and wide; it might even win him a promotion.

Kuan-Ti's realm on Elysium is called Valorhome. A serene air pervades the tree-lined streets, the pattern of which is laid out in a cunning mosaic in the center of the realm. Any disagreements here must be talked out; it's physically impossible for a body to draw a weapon or strike out in anger here.

The god's realm is a place of sound and fury centered around his dark fortress, the Firecracker Palace, which floats on a great storm cloud through Acheron. Many sods go there to escape the wars raging across the iron cubes of the plane, but Lei Kung's petitioners are hard, suspicious folk. They like nothing better than to spy on others and punish them for acts of wrongdoing. Fact is, the petitioners sometimes leave the realm on missions of vengeance, taught that they'll still merge with Lei Kung if they're killed while on such a quest. It may or may not be true, but the petitioners certainly believe it.

This god has 3 demon-like heads, 6 arms ending in claws, and green scaled skin. He has a look of death about him and an odor of putrescence. His main attribute is the ability to cast a rotting sickness as a spell that will kill his enemies who fail to make their saving throw versus poison in 2 melee rounds. Besides his damage done by clawing, his touch causes the Red Fever that will subtract 3 hit points from those hit every melee round until cured.

He never wears armor because all wounds instantly close themselves after being made (i-e., Lu Yueh regenerates, at a rate of 25 points per round), and those hitting him from less than 10 feet away will suffer the rotting sickness (no saving throw applicable).

He can wave his hand and cast a sickness in a cloud 3" x 3" x 3" that will cause the Red Fever to all who breathe it.

Lu Yueh bestows gifts on those he deems evil enough. This is decided whenever an evil act affects more than 500 people. If the god is watching (on a 1% chance) there is a 5% chance he will give the evil being a disease-causing present with no strings attached.

This god has a roc's body with the oversized head of a man. He has 2 main attributes: the power to raise up a hurricane wind (doing 5-50 points of damage per melee round) and the power to call forth any creature of the sea (of non-divine nature) to do his bidding. His wind force if said to be able to last a full day when "great wrath is upon the deity". His summoning power will seem to create beings from the very water.

One spell attack against Shan Hai Ching per round will be turned back upon the caster. If multiple spells are cast, the one turned is chosen at random.

The god and his cleric serve all beings using the sea, and any trip out into the oceans requires a sacrifice to this deity for good winds and the like.

These minions of the wind gods can be summoned by them in numbers of up to 100 every day. They have black skin, large bat wings, clawed feet (which they use in battle), and a tusked monkey's head. They exist to fight for the gods, attacking as 11 hit dice monsters.

As the patron of thieves, the many-armed god has made a living of stealing things, and one of his favorite acquisitions is space from the realms of other gods. That's right, Sung Chiang actually steals small pieces from other gods' realms, tiny parts they'd never miss, and converts them into space in his majestic Teardrop Palace.

Any berk who approaches the nautiloid palace gets a distinctly uncomfortable feeling, because, at the same time, he seems to shrink and the huge pagoda seems to grow. Petitioners must enter the palace to make their sacrifices, but the structure's only part of the realm. The rest of it includes two smaller shrines to Sung Chiang's proxies, and a busy marketplace where it seems everything in the multiverse is for sale (though naturally, all goods've been stolen from their original owners). Massive gates guarded by golems delineate the outer limits of the realm.

Tou Mu appears on the earth with 16 massive arms, 3 eyes in her barely human head, and red scaly skin. She uses many weapons in battle: a magical bow that never misses anything within 100 yards, the arrows of which do 1-10 points of damage per strike; a +3 spear that hits for 3-30 points per strike; a +3 dancing sword; a large red flag that projects 3 death spells from its folds every melee round; a living red dragon's head that breathes fire as a normal dragon with 80 hit points; a piece of the moon that is able to block any single hit directed at her person in any given melee round; and a lotus flower that heals all wounds at a touch. Her free claws do 1-10 points of damage per hit. She may make up to 8 attacks per melee round.

She has 5 chariots at her disposal that fly through the air at 24" and move at her command even though there is no visible force to pull them. The chariots are all of adamont with gold figures of dragons decorating the sides of each. The chariot tongues appear to be made of solid diamond and are 32 feet long. The wheels are of unbreakable green jade and sparks fly from them whenever they are used to run over beings in battle. This overrun inflicts 2-12 points of damage.

Wen Chung has 3 eyes in his head and a massive dark-skinned body. He summons weather for Lei Kung and for his chaotic worshipers. His third eye can cast a 20 point lightning bolt to a range of 180 yards or closer (ten times a day) and his +3 sword does 3-30 points of damage. Wen Chung is totally immune to lightning, cold, or light attacks.

'Course, whenever Yen-Wang-Yeh travels to Mechanus to present his records to the Celestial Bureaucracy, many spirits end up breaking free and roaming about in places they shouldn't. The deity's assistants just aren't up to doing the job on their own, and the sods often get replaced (though Pao, who keeps excellent records of each spirit's assignment, serves his master well).

The Palace of Judgment is a huge, sprawling affair, filled with offices, cubicles, and paperwork. Ogre magi and other fell beasts serve as enforcers and examiners of the spirits, and no visitor's allowed to walk around without an official guide (or guard). The realm is stultifyingly boring, though, and it gets so bad that the petitioners occasionally make a break for it.

It's said that something lurks in the heart of every soul, a space that thrills to the sound of geese calling at night, to the whispering wind through the pines, to the unexpected red of mistletoe on an oak, and it is in this space that the Celtic gods dwell. They sprang from the brook and stream, their might heightened by the strength of the oak and the beauty of the woodlands and open moor. When the first forester dared put a name to the face seen in the hole of a tree or the voice babbling in a brook, these gods forced themselves into being.

As one of the children of Danu, the Daghdha has existed for longer than most gods, and seems to have a better idea of where the pantheon should be headed than anyone would give him credit for. Even his name distances him from the pack, most folks call him "''the'' Daghdha" as a sign of respect for his station.

Sods who just say "Daghdha" are usually those who can't imagine him as a responsible fellow. See, the god likes to play the trickster and buffoon, and some figure that any berk who likes jokes that much can't be worth a tinker's cuss. But most cutters love him; it's hard not to enjoy someone who's so irreverent.

The Daghdha's realm, Mag Mell (the Fields of Happiness), is a place where bodies work when they feel like it and play when they don't. The work still gets done in the end, and there's scarcely ever a sharp word. Wood and farmland cover the rolling terrain in a seamless transition from one to the other. At the center of Mag Mell is the Grove of the Daghdha, where the god occasionally manifests and holds court. The Grove also boasts a mystical cauldron from which the deity can pull forth any object he desires. Naturally, the cauldron works only for him (or for berks lucky enough to be on his business).

Arawn controls all the power of life and death in the Celtic pantheon, and while he himself is one of the few evil powers of the group, he feels his job is to preserve and maintain good. Without evil, he says, goodness couldn't shine as brightly.

Truth to tell, Arawn's not a bad sort, at least, not for a god of death. He's got a job to do, and he's simply quite good at it. He rewards loyalty and steadfast character, and punishes liars and berks who are clumsy in their cunning. His justice is harsh but fair.

His rocky realm, called Annwn or the Ten Isles of the Cursed, sits in the midst of a vast ocean in the second layer of the Gray Waste. The sods who come here are those who couldn't make it into the Isles of the Blessed or Tir na Og. Some of them come by choice to be with their loved ones, but most are ne'er-do-wells, the scoundrels and cross-traders of society.

Sadly, Diancecht and Arawn don't always see eye to eye on what makes a body dead, and they've nurtured a rivalry over the millenia. Diancecht can't bring a Celtic follower back from the dead without Arawn's permission, but he ''can'' snatch back a sod who hasn't yet completed the journey to Annwn.

Dunatis, one of the minor deities of the pantheon, lives on a vast mountain on the fringe of Tir na Og. Chant is he's probably the most approachable of the Celtic deities. After all, there's not much call for a god of mountains (except, perhaps, among climbers), and Dunatis likes to spread his word himself. He even claims to have created the infinite Spire at the center of the Outlands, and he is revered by some of the rilmani that live there. Dunatis appears as a normal cutter, but an aura of divine power clings to him no matter how much he tries to mask it.

His realm, known as the Pinnacle, is a single mountain, though the terrain varies considerably all over the surface, from nearly flat to sheer, steep rock. Trees cover its slopes, and wild animals gambol, not caring a whit about humans.

The entrance to Goibhniu's realm, the Great Smithy, sits at the base of an exposed hill, its ruddy light casting out over Tir na Og. The thunder of hammers from his case never ceases, whether the noise issues from the god himself or from the army of smiths under his tutelage. The realm extends deeper into the hill than is readily apparent from the outside and holds vast veins of raw ore used by the smiths.

Like his brother Diancecht, Lugh travels constantly, seeking new knowledge and new experiences. Here's the dark of it: Lugh looks for excellence and finds it in everything he does. Some of his faithful claim that when he finally finds an action he can't perform, he'll settle down.

Fact is, Lugh hardly spends any time at all in Tir na Og, having explored it to his heart's content long ago. He returns only when he wants the company of his fellow Celts; when he visits, his case is the home of whatever goddess will take him for the night.

As the sole power in Tir fo Thuinn, Manannan mac Lir is a god to be reckoned with. His undersea realm is full of petitioners who go about their daily lives much like air-breathers, with both obvious and subtle differences. For example, they herd fish instead of cattle or sheep, but a body also needs to know that they're callous when it comes to travelers who fall on hard times. Tir fo Thuinn's not far from Tir na Og, but it's not truly part of the rolling realm. Petitioners from the Land of Youth can't breathe the water in mac Lir's realm, and they die there just as permanently as if they'd left the Celtic dominion entirely.

Fact is, without mac Lir's say-so, nobody breathes the waters of Tir fo Thuinn. Sure, he might grant the ability to travel in his realm to a sod who asks nicely, but he'll take it back if he thinks it's being abused. He also has absolute control over spells and magical items that allow water-breathing, and he doesn't mind shutting them down, either.

Truth is, it's worth staying on mac Lir's good side. Tir fo Thuinn is truly a beautiful realm. Strewn with shells and fleaming with aquamarine and turqoise, there's no part of the place that doesn't open up to a stunning undersea vista. Chant is Manannan mac Lir keeps strange monsters in eerie grottos to use as mounts; some say the creatures are his children. Whatever's down there, the caves are dark and gloomy, and the currents slam a body into the rough walls if he ain't careful. But no one's seen any mounts for a good long time, and it's thought they're just rumor and myth, but wise bloods know that within every myth is an element of truth.

Some gods of magic are generous with their wondrous gift, spreading it to bloods all over the planes, hoping they'll teach the art in turn and make every berk a spellslinger. Not Math Mathonwy.

He is, like Diancecht, fiercely possessive of his skills. Unlike the god of medicine, though, Mathonwy uses his abilities freely only for himself and his family, withholding his touch from others. But he's fascinated by any new type of magic and might be persuaded to part with some of his secrets in exchange for a truly new spell.

His realm is called Corriegrave. It's on the first Mount of Gehenna, nestled under an overhang of pure obsidian. Lava freshets pour over the ledge occasionally; a traveler to Corriegrave must keep careful watch when entering and leaving the realm to avoid a shower of lava.

A cutter who ducks the magma must then travel along a long tunnel. Eventually, he'll reach Corriton, an ancient city that seems open to the air above. A high castle sits atop a twisted hillock overlooking the burg, and Mathonwy sits within, his feet always in the lap of a beautiful maiden. But Corriegrave is free of Gehenna's usual volcanoes, lava, and steam. Fact is, a visitor might think he'd stepped through to another plane.

The realm's air is gray and charged, as though awaiting an impending explosion. Anyone versed in magic can recognize the feeling as the essence of magical energy. 'Course, the essence is clearly marked as the property of Math Mathonwy; any berk who tries to use magic in the realm draws the immediate wrath of the god himself.

This goddess' full name is Morrigu Morrigan, but many folks call her "''the'' Morrigan" (much like they do the Daghdha, though in her case it's not so much respect as fear). She takes the form of a shapely young woman, though she has a hideous crone's face and is given to fits of maniacal laughter. She's deeply and keenly interested in battle, and she has even been heard to call the Daghdha a coward for daring to make peace with other pantheons.

Her realm is called the Bloody Field, and it's far too much like Ysgard for the comfort of the petitioners of Tir na Og. Sods who aren't warlike steer clear. But for bashers with battle in their spirits, the Bloody Field's a great place. The Morrigan's petitioners can fight and fight, every single wound regenerating come noontime. If they die, they come back to life.

The same doesn't apply to visitors; they go straight to the dead-book and stay there. What's more, any berk who doesn't have a warrior's heart (in other words, anyone who doesn't fight for the sheer pleasure of battle) suffers damage that takes ''twice'' as long to heal if they take part in the Bloody Field's carnage.

The realm has no towns or buildings, just a bundle of caves (the Caverns of Woe) that're more often used as an extension of the battleground. A canny traveler knows to find a few trustworthy bashers and have 'em guard his back while he sleeps. 'Course, it ain't considered sporting to kill a berk while he dozes, but that doesn't stop the Field's more bloodthirsty petitioners.

Long, long ago, when the Tuatha De Danann were still struggling to establish a foothold in the hearts and minds of their followers, Nuada led the charge against those who'd tried to dethrone the new gods, most notably, the deities of the giant-kin. In battle, one of his fomorian foes struck off Nuada's right hand, and the budding deity was forced to retreat from the field of combat. The healer Diancecht fashioned Nuada a hand of silver, stronger and better than his old one. With the aid of this hand, Nuada drove the firbolgs and fomorians from the lands coveted by the Celts.

Now, Nuada rules over Mag Tuireadh, also called the Plain of Pillars, a vast, flat realm dotted with standing stones and menhirs of incredible height. Chant is the pillars are actually the guardians of the realm, each containing the spirit of one of Nuada's warriors. If true, the guardians take their duties seriously. The menhirs roll to menacing life whenever marauding creatures enter Mag Tuireadh. They can move twice as fast as a human can walk (a movement rate of 24), plowing furrows through the ground and falling on the offending berks. The stones might just be activated by Nuada's will; no one really knows the dark of it.

The Plain of Pillars is usually covered by a thin mist that clings without being uncomfortable, obscuring vision beyond a few hundred feet. The grass underfoot is clean and green, growing up to about shin-height.

In the center of the realm lies a low, rambling hall, and in the center room of the hall rests a stone upon which only Nuada or his rightful heir may sit. But though he's searched long and hard, Nuada just can't find a worthy successor. And he really does want to, he feels he'll move on to the next stage of existence as soon as an heir assumes the duties of his portfolio.

He might be right, too. Nuada certainly draws plenty of strength from his petitioners. Truth is, his essence so permeates the realm that every worthy petitioner merges with the god immediately. Those who aren't worthy wander out of Mag Tuireadh, never to return.

Oghma's called "the Binder" because he has the ability to see a creature's true name. What's more, he can force fiends into a prison of his own choosing until he decides to release them.

In the deepest reaches of Tir na Og, the vegetation grows thick and feral, the canopy of leaves overhead so dense that it seems all light must surely be blotted out. Here grow the greatest of all trees, and here, in the realm called Summeroak, the god Silvanus makes his home.

Silvanus doesn't seem to have any allies or enemies. He cares only for the balance of nature, and the maneuvers of gods and mortals alike hold no fascination for him. This wins a lot of druids, especially, to his side; they similarly place nature above everything else (even their own lives).

In the lands of the merciless sun, baked soil, and cool mountains and forests, in the places of strife and early learning, the Babylonian deities hold sway. These are truly ancient powers, forgotten by most, yet they still have a certain influence among young cultures on prime-material worlds. The Babylonian pantheon is most popular among folks who live in emerging cultures and those in fertile river valleys.

The deities are harsh with their priests and their people, demanding unswerving obedience under threat of punishment. But of late, they've fallen out of mortal favor. 'Course, part of the reason could be because they're so strict, but it's doubtful the Babylonian gods would admit it, much less change their ways.

Chant says that Anu created the heavens and the earth, and it is his strict guidance that keeps the other powers of the pantheon in check. Some've said that it's his guidance that's also driving the pantheon from the mortals, and that some of the lesser powers might be considering pooling their strength to overthrow him.

See, Anu is just, but his justice is grim and unyielding, with harsh sentences for even the smallest infractions. Those who serve him strive to avoid breaking his laws, and that suits him perfectly.

Anu's realm is an enormous gear of orderly lines and clay brick buildings, and he lives in a huge palace covered with windows. The swarthy-skinned petitioners are of a uniform appearance, wear azure kilts, and show no apparent signs of gender. All of them possess the same memory and knowledge and are probably as close as people can get to being modrons.

In a place where the howling winds of Pandemonium have died to the merest whisper, a black clay brick wall seals off the entrance to Anshar's dark realm. No matter how much light a body shines in the area, it never illuminates more than 5 feet of the wall in any direction, so the structure seems endless, and perhaps it is. Only a berk who's a friend to the night can find a door in the wall, which opens into the City of Eternal Darkness. No light may be lit in the realm, and those who try draw the immediate attention of Anshar's avatar.

The god himself is said to be easily angered and given to fits of blackest moods, Chant is he once had a great deal more strength than he does now, but he surrendered (or lost) it to Anu. The Cerilian goddess Eloéle shares the City of Eternal Darkness with Anshar; some say it's to bolster his sagging power, while others think it's so she can wrest the realm from him when he finally goes down for the count.

One thing is clear: Those who tread near the City had best go carefully. There's no telling what might set Anshar off, and he's not likely to have any sympathy for sods who get lost in Pandemonium's maddening tunnels.

Druaga's known as the ruler of fiendish lands, and that's true, at least as far as the Babylonian pantheon goes. However, in the grander scheme of things, he's just another deity who's made his home in Baator. The Lords of the Nine tolerate his self-imposed title and even allow him to force baatezu to his bidding. But they won't let him change the workings of the plane.

Whenever a follower of the Babylonian pantheon summons a baatezu, Druaga decides which fiend to send to the Prime. What's more, the first time a follower sets foot on Baator, he has to enter through Druaga's vile palace, a place of pillars and smoky hazes, with vaulted ceilings that can barely be seen from the ground. The palace sprawls across Druaga's entire realm; no corner's spared the touch of its shadows and stirrings.

The Undying Flame, Girru's realm on Mount Celestia, is a place sculpted entirely of fire. But the only sods who need to worry about being burned by the flame are those whose thoughts are impure, or those who tend naturally toward evil. Other may sojourn as they will, eating the flaming fruits from the fiery trees and strolling among the everchanging (but always orderly) statues of Gilurra, the realm's major town.

Girru, a flame-bearded god, despises the taint of evil and won't tolerate it in his realm. He's a crusader, sending priests and archons on missions to destroy sources of malevolence. Sure, he knows that evil is necessary to achieve a multiversal balance, but it's Girru's nature to fight wickedness, and so he does, to his last breath.

Ishtar's City of the Star is a community where deep passion underlies everything. A place of beauty and vitality, the City of the Star is filled to bursting with the joys and loves of its people and its power. A realm of white marble and narrow streets, of fantastic colonnades and exquisite desire, the city covers all of Ishtar's territory. It's said to be one of the most beautiful places in the multiverse.

The goddess herself, born from the Sumerian goddess Inanna, always appears as a beautiful woman, and wherever she moves through her realm, a carpet of flowers and grass springs up behind her. Despite being the goddess of war, Ishtar engenders life by her very existence and advocates war only when it furthers the cause of life.

Marduk's realm is an arid land of sun and sky, with the god's vast marble and adobe city, also named Marduk, in the exact center. The rivers Luar and Kath flow through the realm and the city, keeping the burg cool even on the hottest days. Outsiders to the realm are watched carefully, but as long as they don't violate the law, they're left alone.

Marduk the god is concerned with justice, law, and the movements of his opposite: Tiamat, queen of evil dragonkind. Marduk usually appears as a four-eyed, four-eared blood with reddish skin, and he shoots fire from his mouth when he speaks. But he doesn't stroll through his realm too often. Fact is, he generally leaves the rule of the land up to the mortals, just to see how well they adapt and hold to his precepts.

Nergal's realm is a dark, gray city of black basalt, with a mist that swirls around everything in the dim land. The circular burg consists of seven domes, and its streets are filled with the shades of the dead (who move on missions known only to them and their god). The shades never speak, so any berk looking to pick up the chant must talk to one of the living sods, evil warriors mostly, brought in to serve Nergal directly.

The god broods on his throne of basalt, plotting ways to spread his doctrine and his influence ever further. He has no special enmity for any gods, except when their interests conflict with his own. 'Course, Nergal helped to murder the Sumerian god Enki in cold blood, so his definition of "conflicting interests" might be looser than most.

Ramman's realm is a castle of clouds, a gauzy palace where a body can shape whatever he needs out of vapor (though the stuff evaporates if taken out of the realm). It wanders through the Outlands, bringing rain and storms to areas that need it. Some say the plane itself dictates the realm's movements, while others think Ramman helps to control the needs of the Land. Whatever the truth, the god always moves his realm to where it'll do the most good.

''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClasses Character Classes by Edition]]:'' 1st to 3rd ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFirstToThirdEditionCoreClasses Core]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherPreThirdEditionClasses Pre-3rd]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesOtherThirdEditionClasses 3rd Other]]) | 3rd & 3.5 ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThirdEditionPrestigeClasses Prestige Classes]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesThreePointFiveEditionNPCClasses NPC Classes]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFourthEditionClasses 4th]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsClassesFifthEditionClasses 5th]]\\
''[[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreatures Creatures]]'': General ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesA A]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesB B]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesC C]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesD D]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesE E]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesF F]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesG G]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesH H]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesIToL I to L]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesM M]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesNtoQ N to Q]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesR R]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesS S]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesT T]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsCreaturesUToZ U to Z]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsDragons Dragons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiends Fiends]] ([[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDemons Demons]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsDevils Devils]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsFiendsYugoloths Yugoloths]]) | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsUndead Undead]] | [[Characters/DungeonsAndDragonsSettingSpecificCreatures Setting-Specific Creatures]]\\

''Campaign Settings:'' Characters/{{Dragonlance}} | Characters/{{Eberron}} ([[Characters/EberronDragonmarkedHouses Dragonmarked Houses]] | [[Characters/EberronFaiths Religions]] | [[Characters/EberronNations Nations]]) | Characters/ForgottenRealms ([[Characters/ForgottenRealmsGods Gods]] | [[Characters/ForgottenRealmsFactions Factions]] | ''Characters/TheLegendOfDrizzt'') | Characters/{{Greyhawk}} ([[Characters/GreyhawkDeities Deities]]) | Characters/{{Planescape}} ([[Characters/PlanescapeFactions Factions]] | [[Characters/PlanescapeRaces Races]]) | Characters/{{Ravenloft}} ([[Characters/RavenloftDarklords Darklords]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheCarnival The Carnival]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheKargataneOfVallaki The Kargatane of Vallaki]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheFraternityOfShadows Fraternity of Shadows]] | [[Characters/RavenloftTheGreatFamilies Great Families of the Core]] | [[Characters/RavenloftGods Faiths]]) | Characters/{{Spelljammer}} ]] -]]]