Gods, in general, tend to be gods of something in particular — in both fictional and real-life pantheons, each god is assumed to have some aspect of reality they rule over or are responsible for. When inventing a Fantasy Pantheon, there are a number of god archetypes that seem unavoidable — gods of the sun, the sea, war, knowledge and so on are almost always present. Maybe because their role is convenient for the story, easily understandable due to familiarity with Real Life mythologies, or simply that there are only so many domains a god can have and still be taken seriously.
These arrangements tend to draw of Classical Mythology — and to a somewhat lesser extent Egyptian Mythology and Norse Mythology as well — due to the prominent place this has in Western culture; other cultures' pantheons tend to play a lesser role in inspiring fictional assemblages of gods, unless a creator is deliberately basing their worldbuilding on other cultures... or, of course, the work in question originates outside of Western culture to begin with.
Note that when a work directly adapts a mythology, there is a high risk of Flanderisation. Not only Sadly Mythtaken is at work, but non-fictional gods tend to have multiple domains whose relations may be hard to grasp, though there is generally a good amount of Fridge Brilliance behind it.
The more common ones are:
- A Top God, that allows the combination of a Fantasy Pantheon with the presence of a monotheistic god Expy. Generally lives up in the heavens. Chances are, he (and it's almost always "he") will come in two flavors:
- A Grandpa God, that generally serve as the Reasonable Authority Figure (although a subversion, generally inspired by Zeus or Odin, is to present him as a jerkass or even outright evil). Expect Crystal Dragon Jesus in full force.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen, either because he left or he's hiding (at least from the mortals, though sometimes the other gods don't even have the privilege to see him), or because You Cannot Grasp the True Form. This is more in accord with a deism stance
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- When the Top God is a Top Goddess, she is usually a combination of The High Queen and Cool Old Lady with a touch of Mother Nature. Whereas a benevolent male top god is usually depicted as a glorious king in fantasy pantheons, a benevolent female top god is usually depicted as an inexhaustably nurturing mother or grandmother for the planet.
- A Creator God, a god with the Power of Creation. Expect them to have the starring role in the Creation Myth. Their purview could range from creating an entire place to creating an entire species. If they are of an antagonistic nature, expect them to be a Demiurge or Mother/Father of Monsters. Commonly lumped together with the Top God, but not always.
- A Destroyer God, a god with the power to cause the End of the World as We Know It. Often seen as the Big Bad, specially if the Creator God is seen as the Big Good. However, If not antagonistic, they could be seen as part of the Eternal Recurrence, destroying the old world to make way for the new one. May have a beast that works for them, or possibly some horsemen.
- A God of Evil, typically the Big Bad of a setting. May be an Omnicidal Maniac, eager to Take Over the World, in it For the Evulz, or a combination of those elements. This type of character tends to overlap with the Satanic Archetype and/or The Anti-God. Similarly to the above, he is either physical or abstract as:
- A Physical God, sometimes a Big Red Devil, sometimes some kind of Black Knight on a greater scale.
- An Eldritch Abomination, a personification of The Dark Side.
- A God of Balance Between Good and Evil, is repeatedly a mediator of some sort.
- A God of Good, that is, more compassionate than the other gods. May be a Messianic Archetype (Perhaps literally), or simply the Token Good Teammate among Jerkass Gods. Common forms include:
- A god of justice, usually inclined towards order instead of chaos.
- A god who alleviates suffering.
- A God of Chaos, which may be a primal force of no particular moral leaning, Trickster God or, if Chaos Is Evil, a major villain. Depending on the work in question, "chaos" may encompass randomness, potential, entropy, destruction or disordered creation, which will determine the precise nature of the God of Chaos' purview.
- A God of Order, serving as the God of Chaos' counterpart. They may represent the more beneficial sides of order, such as structure, knowledge and civilization; alternatively, they may be an amoral or villainous figure seeking stasis or the creation of a predictable, clockwork universe.
- Nature Gods, often associated with Elemental Powers. Sometimes, they're not true deities, but simply "rulers" of this particular aspect of nature, or of Elemental Embodiments. A personification of Earth (the world, not the element), or of nature in general, is popular. In this case, beware her (and it's almost always "her") vengeance.
- A God of Light: As the sun was worshiped by many notorious real world religions, most fictional pantheons tend to include solar deities. In terms of elemental magic, they are often tied to fire and light. May overlap with any of the categories above except God of Evil (barring rare occasions). May or may not have a lunar counterpart whom they contrast.
- A Lord of the Ocean: Big, strong, prone to mood swings like a raging storm and as mercurial as the tides. Often wield the Prongs of Poseidon and unleash Sea Monsters, are worshiped by Pirates and Superstitious Sailors, and are usually Chaotic Neutral at best. In many cases, these deities draw on Poseidon to varying degrees.
- A God of Thunder: Big one in the house, likely source of Bolt of Divine Retribution. Likely to be Top God and overlapping with Everybody Loves Zeus. In many cases, these deities draw on Thor and/or Zeus to varying degrees.
- A Fertility God: A subtype of "nature god" that can cover a number of different areas, specifically around creating life. Their spheres of influence range from agriculture to sex to childbirth.
- A God of Fire: These deities command fire and/or volcanoes. They can either be volatile and destructive or warm and nurturing.
- A God of Darkness: A deity who controls darkness, the night and shadows. They can be good, evil or anything in-between. They tend to overlap with gods of the moon, chaos, evil, and death.
- A God of the Moon: Moon gods are often portrayed as mercurial and everchanging, mirroring the constantly changing face of the moon itself. They may also have ties to madness, illusions, and mystery. Expect them to overlap with gods of the night.
- A Harvest God: A subtype of nature deity themed around agriculture, upon whom mortals depend on for food and livelihood. Appeasing this god is often believed to be integral to a bountiful harvest. Usually a Food God.
- A Hunting God: A subtype of nature god affiliated with animals and the wilderness. Usually has a bow. They usually are The Beastmaster or is at least friends with them. Killing their sacred animals is good way to get on their bad side. Artemis is a common example.
- A War God. May be good, evil or neutral, but almost always highly chaotic and, naturally, violent. Rank Scales with Asskicking is probably at full effect here, making him (or her, which in this case is a literal Lady of War) one of the most badass characters in the setting. If there is a Proud Warrior Race somewhere, they generally have this god as their patron, or at least pay him due respect.
- A Love Goddess (or Love God, but the former is more common, when it isn't a Gender Bender or of Ambiguous Gender). If portrayed positively, may be The Heart among the gods and the embodiment of The Power of Love. If portrayed negatively, may represent Lust and be The Corrupter. Often based on Aphrodite.
- The Ultimate Blacksmith. Gods associated with the crafting of weapons and other... uh, crafts. Classic forge gods are usually associated with fire, as the invention of fire was what led to the refinement and casting of metals, and are often inspired by Hephaestus. Examples used for The Modern Gods focus on the "technology" angle.
- The Dream Weaver. Lord of dreams and sleep. They grant rest to the restless and allow them to live out their fantasies for a brief night. The good see their lost loved ones again. Offend them and prepare to experience your worst nightmares.
- A Cool God, that is, cool to hang around with. Generally has less flashy powers than the other divinities, or at least a more down to earth attitude. May be the only one of them treating mortals seriously. Likely to be a Cool Old Guy, a Sentimental Drunk, or The Stoner if male, a Cool Old Lady or Apron Matron if female. Dionysos is a common model.
- A God of the Arts. A rather versatile type of deity, their domains consisting of arts such as painting, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry, theatre, and dance. This could expand to things such as entertainment, festivities, celebrations, and storytelling. They tend to be the Life of the Party. Apollo, Dionysus, and the Muses are usually a source of inspiration.
- A God of Knowledge. Basically The Smart Guy with divine powers, and as such, can express a wide variety of flavors: can be a god of magic in general (and in this case, likely The Archmage), of science, of cunning (in which case it may be a Trickster God as well), or some combination of the three. If there are two versions of this god in the same setting, one of them tied to magic and the other to science, expect them to be rivals. Probably thanks to divinities such as Athena or Isis, the role is largely gender equal, in spite of Mother Nature, Father Science.
- A Healer God. The ultimate healer who can cure anyone, or else they're incurable. Often a goddess such as Isis when she cured Osiris.
- A Magic God. A God of Magic, Mana, and the Arcane. Could either by the source of magic or the reason magic exists. Hecate is a common source of inspiration.
- An Oracular God. A God of Prophecy, Divination, and Oracles. May be covered by the Magic God since magic and prophecy often overlap. Likely the originator of the Prophecy of The Chosen One or the deity that warns of a cataclysm that must be prevented, often relayed to their followers, usually in the form of oracles. May overlap with the Dreamweaver God if the visions are sent through dreams. Apollo is often a source of inspiration for this type of deity.
- A God of the Dead. May be charged with searching for the dead (as The Grim Reaper), leading them to the afterlife (as a Psychopomp), judging them, or ruling the setting version of the afterlife if it is distinct from Heaven and Hell. If it's only the latter, expect this god to have underlings to do the former. Death being such a fearsome thing, and the popular imagery of this other ruler of the underwold, it is no wonder than this god may likely be portrayed as evil (see Everybody Hates Hades), or at least not a very fun guy. But subversions exist, portraying the personification of death as a good or at least neutral figure (see Don't Fear the Reaper), as an unyieldingly strict arbiter of life and death, or giving it some Perky Goth tendencies. Hades is a common inspiration, for good or ill. These figures' relationship with undeath can vary; some will be served by legions of the walking dead, while others will consider undeath an unnatural abomination and command their followers to destroy it.
- A Trickster God, that may overlap with God of Knowledge or God of Messengers. An almost universal figure, this guy is very much the god of Magnificent Bastard. Probably too much of a precocious Wild Card to be entirely trusted, he's still often indispensable to other gods or mortal heroes.
- A Messenger God: Always on the move, and useful for providing divine messages to from the pantheon to the non-immortal characters. Classical Mythology's Hermes/Mercury is a common template.
- A Wealth God. The Almighty Dollar has no gender, and can be represented by male, female, or even non-humans like cats or Dragons. Deities with the power of money, wealth, prosperity and abundance, often the patron of merchants or shopkeepers. History has examples where wealth gods overlap with Trickster God, Food God, and Love Goddess. Money's power is close to True Neutral and can swing the balance between good, evil, law, and chaos.
- A Luck God. God (or goddess, most are female) of luck, chance, and fate. Can overlap with the Wealth God (both care about good fortune) or Trickster God (both are unpredictable).
- A Household God: A protector of Homes and the families that reside. Not usually as flashy with their divinity and tend to have a more subtle influence over the mundane affairs of domestic life. Usually aren’t in on much of the action compared to the other gods, but are just as revered. More often than not, they are a divine equivalent of an Almighty Janitor. Hestia is a prime example.
See also The Modern Gods.
Examples:
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Comic Books
- The Sandman (1989): The main character is a member of "The Endless", a family of ageless, god-like beings who are a Fantasy Pantheon. His name is Dream/Morpheus/Sandman, and he is an example of The Dreamweaver.
- His sister Death is a death god, Psychopomp, and Egyptian female version of The Grim Reaper. She is beloved and so subverts Everybody Hates Hades. But officially she is a personification of death itself rather than a death god, and she has some arrangement with death gods.
- Their brother Destruction is a War God among other things.
- Their sibling Desire is both male/female, and inspires desire mortal and immortal alike. Desire has the powers of a Love Goddess, but pranks other like a trickster, particularly their brother Dream.
- The oldest brother, Destiny, and youngest sister, Delirium, might be related to knowledge gods. Destiny knows everyone's path, but his youngest sister knows things he doesn't. Destiny and Delirium also seem like a matched set in terms of Order Versus Chaos. Destiny's realm has many paths, but he lives an orderly life. Delirium seems the most chaotic of the Endless. During the series Season of Mists, Destiny acts as a mediator for the Endless, which is a Balance Between Good and Evil function.
Fanfic
- For the Love of the Gods involves a group of gods, each based off of extended Rise of the Brave Tangled Dragons characters.
- Nature Gods
- Elsa, Goddess of Winter and the Northern Winds
- Merida, Goddess of the Hunt and the Wilds, and matron of Hunters and Explorers.
- Rapunzel, Goddess of the Sun and matron of healers.
- Earth Mother: Elinor, Goddess of Childbirth and Motherhood, matron of wives and mothers and mother to Merida.
- Mavis, Goddess of Night
- Love Goddess: Anna, the Goddess of Love. Sister to Elsa, Goddess of Winter.
- Top God: North, King of the Gods.
- War God: Heather, Goddess of War
- Ethel (nicknamed "Gogo"), Messenger Goddess
- Dream Weaver: Sanderson, God of Dreams
- Ultimate Blacksmith: Hiccup was a blacksmith for his village back when he was human. Having been elevated to godly status, Hiccup became the new God of the Forge, complete with his own Volcano Lair.
- Nature Gods
Literature
- Tolkien's Legendarium: The Valar, who generally fall somewhere between gods and archangels, fill a lot of the traditional deific roles. Tolkien being Tolkien, however, he has some variation:
- Top God: In this case, the absolute Top God is Eru Ilúvatar, a God of Gods who is probably supposed to be, well, God. The Christian God, to be exact.
- Nature Gods: Most of the Valar fall under this category.
- Manwë: Deputy Top God/"King of the Gods", but mostly King of Air and the Sky and lord of the Eagles.
- Varda: Manwë's wife, Queen of the Stars and the night sky.
- Ulmo: King of Water.
- Yavanna: Queen of Earth in the sense of dirt, plants, and animals.
- Oromë: King of forests and the hunt.
- Vána: Queen of blossoming flowers, spring, and youth/growth.
- Nessa: Not quite. A dancer, deer follow her around.
- God of Good: A few of these:
- Estë the healer.
- Nienna, the Lady of Mercy. She supported releasing Morgoth after his first imprisonment, incapable of seeing his evil.
- God of the Forge: Aulë, the lord of metalcraft and smith of the Valar who created the dwarves so as to have someone who would share his love of creating beautiful things.
- God of Knowledge: The closest is Lórien, the giver of visions. A few of the Maiar, minor gods/angels may qualify, particularly Olórin, better known as Gandalf.
- God of Death
- Mandos, keeper of fate and lord of the dead.
- Vairë, his wife, the weaver, who records the history of the world in the halls of the dead.
- War God: Tulkas, plain and simple.
- A Lord of the Ocean: Ulmo, the brooding and tempestuous lord of the seas.
- God of Evil: Melkor/Morgoth.
- The Gods of Pegāna: Lord Dunsany was even earlier than Tolkien. You might say that Tolkien is the Trope Codifier here but Lord Dunsany is the Trope Maker (unless William Blake counts).
- Top God: MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI. The God of Gods, who made all small gods. Some say that the worlds and the suns (and perhaps even the gods) are but dreams that rise in the mind of MANA-YOOD-SUSHAI.
- A Lord of the Ocean: Slid (Whose Soul is the Sea).
- The Dreamweaver: Yoharneth-Lahai, the God of Little Dreams and Fancies.
- God of Death: Mung, Lord of All Deaths between Pegāna and the Rim.
- God of Knowledge: Hoodrazai, who alone of the gods knows the wherefore of their making, or else Dorozhand, the God of Destiny.
- The Sundering has the seven Shapers.
- God: Uru-Alat, who created the Shapers by dying.
- Top God / God of Knowledge: Haomane, Lord of Thought; Shaper of the sun and thought, creator of the Ellylon. His gift is intelligence.
- Love Goddess: Arahila the Fair; Shaper of the moon and love, creator of humans. Her gift is love.
- Love God: Satoris the Sower, the Sunderer, Banewreaker. His gift is lust / sexual desire / reproduction. Did not create a race directly, but is the indirect creator of all the subsequent generations of the races except those of the Ellylon. Also the antagonist of the other Shapers, and considered a God of Evil despite not being all that evil.
- Nature Gods
- Neheris-of-the-Leaping-Waters, Shaper of the mountains and rivers, creator of the Fjelltroll.
- Meronin, Shaper of the seas and oceans, creator of a marine race.
- Yrinna of the Fruits, shaper of plants, creator of the Dwarves.
- The Sun Sword and related works have a pantheon whose members fit many of these roles (with some overlap) and are about as active as their separation from the mortal plane allows:
- God of Good: Most of the pantheon, particularly Cormalis, Reymalis, and the Mother (who between them are also generally considered Top Gods); Bredan, god of oaths and contracts, also fits here somewhat, though he's more of a God of Law.
- God of Evil: Allasakar, Lord of the Hells
- God of Knowledge: Teos is god of knowledge; Reymalis is god of the closely related wisdom
- War God: Cormalis is god of justice, including just war; violence for its own sake appears to fall more strongly under Allasakar's dominion.
- Love Goddess: The Mother, albeit more of a goddess of familial rather than romantic or sexual love.
- God of Death: Mandaros, though as this is a setting where reincarnation is in play he merely receives, judges, and sends onward the souls of the dead rather than actually ruling them.
- Nature God: Bredan wasn't one originally, but became one after his covenant with the Breodani people turned him into the Hunter God in addition to his usual role as god of oaths.
- Trickster: The nameless god, possibly; we don't know much about him (her? it?) but he's certainly extremely mysterious and plays a very long game; recurring mentor and chessmaster Evayne the Seeress is his emissary and daughter.
- The Yuuzhan Vong pantheon from the New Jedi Order covers most of these bases, including a Top God/Creator (Yun-Yuuzhan), a War God (Yun-Yammka), a Trickster (Yun-Harla), paired Love Gods (Yun-Txiin and Yun-Q'aah), plus Yun-Shuno and Yun-Ne'Shel, who have portfolios fairly specific to the Vong's caste system as the guardian of the lower castes and the goddess of the Shapers respectively, but fall roughly under God of Good (and by extension Token Good Teammate) and God of Knowledge.
- Discworld:
- The Disc has thousands of known gods (and research theologians keep discovering new ones), but a sort of default pantheon of the more significant ones has developed. These include:
- God of Thunder: Blind Io, who has made a point of muscling in on any belief in a thunder god on the Disc (sometimes wearing a false nose), and has therefore managed to maintain a position as the Top God.
- Love Goddess: Astoria. Little is known about her, except that Om thinks she's "a complete bubble-head".
- Trickster God: Hoki the Jokester, who was banished from Dunmanifestin for the exploding misteltoe gag, and generally appears as an oak tree, a satyr, or a bloody nuisance.
- Nature Gods:
- The Moon Goddess, worshipped by druids.
- Topaxci, God of the Red Mushroom, worshipped by shamans.
- Herne the Hunted, God of Prey Animals, mostly worshipped by them, although it doesn't seem to help much.
- The Ultimate Blacksmith: Named as Neoldian in Discworld Noir, but possibly named as Dennis in The Last Hero, which says every organisation need, to its regret, one member who knows how things work.
- God of Order: Fate, Lawful Neutral with Evil tendencies and the opposite number to:
- God of Chaos: The Lady, Chaotic Neutral with Good tendencies. There's also Pippina, the lady with the Apple of Discord.
- Cool God: Bibulous, God of Wine and Things on Sticks. The Discworld being what it is, knowing he's the Cool God means that in his brief appearance he actually comes across as a bit obnoxious and smug.
- Messenger God: Fedecks, complete with winged helmet.
- Food Gods: Many, including Epidity, God of Potatoes, Grune, God of Unseasonal Fruit, and - inevitably - an unnamed God of Cabbages.
- The Djelibeybian pantheon in Pyramids has multiple gods for each position, because Djelibeybi never throws away a god that might come in useful later.
- The troll pantheon is mentioned in Moving Pictures:
- God of Knowledge: Gigalith, who gives trolls wisdom by hitting them on the head with a rock.
- Love Goddess: Chrondite, who makes trolls fall in love by hitting them on the head with a rock.
- God of Luck: Silicarous, who gives trolls good fortune by ... yeah.
- Dwarfs only seem to have one god, Tak, who is a God of Knowledge. He also isn't exactly worshipped. "Tak does not require that we think of Him, only that we think."
- No actual death gods appear, presumably because Death himself appears often enough to mortals that they’d seem superfluous. Death is not a god, but something more cosmic; although the gods occasionally negotiate favors from him, they may know that he can and will come for any of them when their time is up, making him rather disturbing to the egotistical and petty Discworld deities. (The Discworld Roleplaying Game suggests that if any do exist, they’re probably a rather sleazy bunch, despised by Death himself.)
- The Disc has thousands of known gods (and research theologians keep discovering new ones), but a sort of default pantheon of the more significant ones has developed. These include:
- The Faraway Paladin mashes up several of the archetypes.
- According to myth, the creator deity was killed by the evil gods long ago after speaking them into existence with the Language of Magic by accident, so the current Top God is Volt, god of rulership and lightning. He is married to Mater, the Earth Mother and Fertility Godess, and by her is the father of Gracefeel, the kindly goddess of the cycle of death and rebirth. The other "good" godsnote include Blaze, god of fire and craftsmanship (creator of the dwarves); Rhea Silvia, goddess of wildlands (creator of the elves); Whirl, the "Cool God" of winds, travel, and freedom (creator of the halflings); and Enlight, the god of knowledge.
- The evil side of the pantheon largely consists of three deities. Illtreat, the god of war and chaos and creator of the goblinoid races, is the Evil Twin of Volt, whose wife Mater supports him against her brother-in-law. Dyrhygma, god of dimensions, is the ruler of Hell and the patron god of the demons. Lastly, Stagnate is the goddess of The Undead, who directly opposes Gracefeel and, a la Volt and Illtreat, is in fact her estranged sister.
Mythology & Religion
- Classical Mythology:
- Top God: Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus.
- God of Evil: Kakia, the goddess of vice and moral badness.
- God of Balance Between Good and Evil: Adrestia, the goddess of just retribution, revolt, and maintaining the equilibrium between good and evil.
- God of Good: Hestia, the goddess of family and the home, was the kindest and most beloved deity among the Greek pantheon. While Hestia was probably the nicest of the gods, Herakles was probably the closest to a God of Good of the more prominent gods in Greek Mythology. His cultic titles included custos (The guardian), kallnikos (triumphant), promachos (champion) and alexikakos (The averter of evil). As Herakles Kallnikos, he was invoked as a protector from evil spirits, bandits, tyranny and all sorts of dangers. Also, as a protector from war. When he married Hebe, she produced two sons. Anicetus (unconquerable) and Alexiares (he who wards off war).
- God of Chaos: Eris, the goddess of discord and strife.
- God of Order: Zeus was the patron god of law, order, and justice. Rather ironic, considering his own hedonistic ways.
- Nature Gods: Almost too many to list, but Pan embodied nature as a whole, along with mountains, shepherds, and male sexuality.
- Sun God: Helios was the personification of the Sun, riding a horse-drawn chariot across the sky each day.
- Lord of the Ocean: Poseidon, the god of the sea, along with storms, earthquakes, and horses.
- God of Thunder: Zeus, along with his other titles, was also the god of thunder, lightning, and the sky.
- Harvest God: Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, agriculture, and fertility of the lands in general. Also Cronus, the titan of the harvest, to a lesser extent.
- Hunting God: Artemis, goddess of the hunt, the moon, wilderness, and chastity.
- War God: There were plenty of war gods, but Ares embodied war in general, specifically the darker aspects like bloodshed and violence.
- Love Goddess: Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality.
- The Ultimate Blacksmith: Hephaestus, the god of the forge, blacksmiths, and technology.
- The Dreamweaver: Split between Hypnos and Morpheus. Hypnos was the god of sleep, while Morpheus represented dreams.
- Cool God: Dionysus was the god of wine, fertility and drunken debauchery. He embodied the most hedonistic urges of humanity and was content to hold parties and orgies. But he's not above driving people insane if they invoke his wrath.
- God of Knowledge: Athena, the goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and tactical warfare.
- Healer God: Asclepius was the god of medicine, healing, and physicians.
- God of Death: There were plenty of death gods, but Hades was the lord of the underworld and ruling over the dead.
- Trickster God: Hermes was the god of thieves and wit, and was known for tricking various members of the Greek Pantheon.
- Messenger God: Hermes also delivered messages for the gods and was able to travel freely between Olympus and the world of humanity as their herald.
- Wealth God: Plutus, the god of wealth and earthly goods. Hermes also fills this role as the god of commerce.
- Norse Mythology:
- Top God: Odin, the head of the Aesir.
- God of Thunder: Thor, god of storms and thunder.
- Lord of the Ocean: Njord, god of the sea, sailors, and fishing.
- Love Goddess: Freyr and Freyja, god and goddess of love, beauty, sex, and fertility.
- War God: Several, but Odin, Freyja, and Tyr are prominent examples.
- Fertility God: Also several examples, but Frey and Njord stick out.
- God of Knowledge: Odin yet again, the god of wisdom.
- God of the Dead: Hel, goddess of death and graves.
- Messenger God: Hermod, messenger of the gods. Gna, goddess of winds, also served this role.
- Trickster God: Loki, arguably the Trickster God.
- The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European pantheon had a few, given that it was the source for a lot of the above.
- God of Light: The Sun God (who may have had a daughter, the Sun Maiden, who might have been the source for Helen of Troy) and the Dawn Goddess. Their sky god Dyeus was also considered a god of daylight, and the sun was occasionally called his lamp or his eye. He might have had a night-sky counterpart, though this is uncertain. Derivatives of the Sun God/ess include Helios (Greek), Sol (Roman), Hvare-Khshaeta (Zoroastrian), and Surya (Vedic). Derivatives of the Dawn Goddess include Eos (Greek), Aurora (Roman), and Ushas (Vedic). Dyeus's derivatives include Zeus (most famously), Jupiter, Dei-Patrous (Illyrian) and Dyeus (Vedic).
- God of the Moon: One existed, paralleling the Sun Goddess. Derivatives include Mani (Norse) and Selene (Greek).
- A God of Thunder who wielded a hammer and was associated with oak trees. His most famous derivative is Thor, but the Vedic Parjanya and the Lithuanian Perkunas also probably descend from this god.
- Mother Nature: An Earth Goddess who covered both the earth and underworld, being associated with the duality of fertility/life and death/decay, with Gaia and Demeter being possible derivatives. Often portrayed as a counterpart to Dyeus. There was also a pastoral god who protected herds and roads, whose best-known derivatives are Pan (Greek- it's also thought that Hermes was originally an epithet for Pan, making Hermes an indirect derivative of the pastoral god) and Pushan (Vedic).
- Possibly a God of Fire, with Agni (Vedic) and Enji (Albanian) as derivatives. There was also a goddess who personified hearth fires.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: No name can be reconstructed, but they probably had one.
- Love Goddess: Again, no reconstructable name.
Video Games
- The Elder Scrolls series has a wide variety of divine beings, most prominently with the Nine Aedric "Divines" and the 17 Daedric Princes. Both groups were originally et'Ada, "original spirits" who formed from the spilled blood of Anu and Padomay. The Aedra are the et'Ada who helped Lorkhan to create Mundus, the mortal world, sacrificing large portions of their divine power to do so. The Daedric Princes made no sacrifices, leaving them at full power with their Complete Immortality in tact, but they suffer limitations on their ability to interact with Mundus as a result. Additionally, there are many other deities who don't neatly fit into either group. For more details on them all, see the Elder Scrolls: Divine Beings character page. To note here (going by their most common names and traits for the sake of brevity):
- Top God:
- Anu best fits the God of Gods version. He is the Anthropomorphic Personification of the primordial force of stasis/order/light. Along with his "twin brother", The Anti-God Padomay, who represents the force of change/chaos/darkness, their interplay led the creation itself. After fighting over creation, Anu pulled Padomay outside of time. From their spilled blood rose the et'Ada. Anu's spirit "lives" on as Anuiel, the "Soul of All Things", very lightly influencing the events of reality.
- Akatosh fits as the Top God itself, being the chief deity of the Aedric Nine Divines pantheon. He is the draconic God of Time and is said to have been the first being to emerge out of the raw energy of the early universe.
- In esoteric lore-speak, the "Godhead theory" posits there's also a greater God of Gods, namely the Sleeping Godhead who hallucinates everything in the Aurbis (which, given the rather bizarre cosmology of TES, could easily fall under Leaning on the Fourth Wall). Breaking through the thick metaphor, the Godhead is implied to be the player and/or the developers of the series.
- God of Evil:
- Sithis, the remnant of Padomay, currently an Eldritch Abomination embodying nonexistence and represented by a Great Void. However, Sithis doesn't act directly. Sithis is said to have "begat" Lorkhan to disrupt the "stasis" of Anuiel. All that can be known for sure is that Sithis represents chaos and change, in contrast to Anuiel's order and stasis, and whether Sithis is good or evil depends on one's point of view on Order Versus Chaos.
- Some of the more malevolent Daedric Princes fit. While all are beings Above Good and Evil who operate on their own Blue-and-Orange Morality beyond mortal understanding, how their actions impact mortals typically gets them classified as either good or evil. The two who most commonly get this title are Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of Domination and Corruption, and Mehrunes Dagon, Daedric Prince of Destruction. While most Daedric Princes have some redeeming qualities, or at least moral grey areas, Molag Bal seemingly has none while Dagon has very few.
- God of Balance Between Good and Evil: Azura, the Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk, is usually considered one of the "good" Daedric Princes and has some traits along these lines. Some lore texts paint her as maintaining a sort of metaphysical "balance", with her being more of a True Neutral whose actions just so happen to benefit mortals more often than not.
- God of Good:
- Throughout much of Tamriel, all of the Aedra are considered this. They are seen as an almost uniformly benevolent group who are worshiped by a Saintly Church. Some groups, like the Dunmer, see them instead as "false gods" and prefer their traditional worship of the "good Daedra" and their ancestors.
- Some of the typically considered "good Daedra" may qualify here, such as Azura and Meridia. Good Is Not Nice is in full effect with both, while Azura can be a Manipulative Bastard and Meridia can be a Knight Templar about it.
- Nature Gods:
- Kynareth for the Aedra, being the Goddess of Air with a Friend to All Living Things slant.
- Namira, the Daedric Prince of the Grotesque, covers some of the darker aspects of nature, such as decay.
- Y'ffre is the forest god of Valenwood. He (sometimes She) was one of the strongest of the et'Ada and was the first to transform into the Ehlnofey, the "Earth Bones", which allowed for the laws of physics, nature, and life on Nirn. Y'ffre is the most important deity to the Bosmer (Wood Elves).
- War God:
- Talos, the Deity of Human Origin who joined the Aedra as the Ninth Divine, covers this as well as being the god of "good governance". In some circles, especially the Nords, he may have even surpassed Akatosh as the top god and even if he hasn't, Talos may be more popular.
- Zenithar, the Aedric Divine God of Work and Commerce, is also described as a "warrior god", but "one who is reserved and restrained in times of peace".
- Boethiah, the Daedric Prince of Plots, Consiparacy, and Betrayal, has aspects of this. Malacath, the Daedric Prince of the Spurned and Ostracized was formerly this as the Aldmeri deity Trinimac. However, Boethiah "ate" Trinimac, tortured Trinimac in his/her belly, and then excreted Trinimac's remains. Those remains became Malacath.
- Love Goddess:
- There are two among the Aedra - Mara, who represents platonic love, compassion, and family - and Dibella, who represents beauty and erotic love.
- "Love" is a stretch, but Mephala, a Daedric Price whose true sphere is unknown to mortals, has an association with sex. Primarily, the manipulative aspects of the act, including its use to spin "webs" and spread lies.
- The Dreamweaver: Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of Nightmares and Terror. She does not represent any of the positive aspects of the trope.
- The Cool God: Many could qualify but it largely depends on who you speak to in-universe.
- A major one, at least for the races of Men, is Lorkhan (aka Shor, Shezarr, etc.) Lorkhan is the et'Ada who convinced those who would become the Aedra to create Mundus, and as a punishment, they "killed" him, tore out his divine center ("heart"), and cast it down into the world he made them create where his spirit is forced to wander. Historically, his spirit has been known to take physical manifestations (known as "Shezarrines" after his Imperial name) which most often show up during times of great turmoil for the races of Men. He usually helps them out by killing many, many Elves. Be warned if you want to "hang out" with a Shezarrine though, they're often berserkers with Fantastic Racism toward non-humans and a Berserk Button for being associated with the divine that will lead to them killing you for suggesting it. He may have re-ascended to full godhood as part of a Merger of Souls and/or Becoming the Mask situation with Talos.
- Among the Daedra, Sanguine fits the bill, being the Daedric Prince of pleasure, debauchery, and hedonism (and clearly an Expy of Dionysus). Though he enjoys humiliating people, is associated with the Seven Deadly Sins, and is The Corrupter, he's also nicer to humans and significantly less evil than some of the other Daedra.
- God of Knowledge:
- Julianos for the Aedra, being the God of Wisdom and Knowledge with a particualar associate with schools.
- Hermaeus Mora is the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, specializing in eldritch lore.
- God of Death:
- Arkay for the Aedra, but he avoids Everyone Hates Hades for the most part by being the god of death and life. He is known to protect the souls and bodies of the dead. The Nords, however, villify him as "Orkey" or "Old Knocker", and blame him for giving them shorter lifespans than their hated rivals in the elves.
- Mannimarco, the God of Worms, is another Deity of Human Origin who works to circumvent Arkay's laws. Whenever he eclipses Arkay, it leads to the "Necromancer's Moon", during which Grand Soul Gems can be converted to Black Soul Gems, allowing for the trapping of sapeint souls otherwise protected by Arkay.
- Great Gazoo:
- Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness is a major one. He's not just insane, he is insanity incarnate. He's also a patron of the arts, though this doesn't come up as often. He's also the same being as Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order, cursed with insanity by the other Daedric Princes to keep him under control. The Shivering Isles expansion to Oblivion involves dealing with this situation.
- Sanguine is the Daedric Prince Debauchery and Hedonism. His actions are mostly limited to playing with and/or annoying mortals. He's certainly one of the less serious deities of the series.
- The Trickster: Back to Lorkhan again. Even the religions which paint him in a positive way still maintain his "trickster" elements.
- Top God:
- Pillars of Eternity hits most of the high points.
- God of Evil: Rymrgand, god of death, famine, plague, or simple bad luck, and Skaen, god of secret hatred, resentment, and violent rebellion.
- God of Good: Eothas, god of light and redemption. To hear your Eothasian party member Eder tell it, he also qualifies as a Cool God, being one who seemed to understand mortals better than the others. Too bad he got blown up. One would think Woedica would fall here too as a goddess of law and rightful rulership, but in practice she hews too much towards the vengeance part of her portfolio.
- Nature Gods: Galawain, god of the hunt, Hylea, goddess of birds and the sky, and Ondra, goddess of water and the moon.
- War God: Magran, goddess of fire and war, whose priests frequently employ firearms and created the Godhammer Bomb that killed Waidwen and apparently Eothas in the Backstory.
- God of Knowledge: Abydon is a craftsman god, Wael handles dreams, secrets, mysteries, and revelations, while part of Woedica's portfolio includes memory.
- God of Death: Both a good death god — Berath, god of cycles, doors, and death — and a bad death god — Rymrgand, god of death, famine, plague, and bad luck.
- The Dark Parables have a smaller pantheon than some franchises, but as the series continues, more of them start coming out of the woodwork.
- God of Evil: The Shadow God embodies this trope.
- God of Good: The Sun, Moon, and Maiden Goddesses are depicted this way, with the Moon Goddess being particularly attached to the Player Character.
- Nature Spirit: Flora is a sort of generalized nature goddess, while Thalassa is explicitly the Sea Goddess. Both are described as being of neutral disposition; Flora is a True Neutral figure who can occasionally be persuaded to lean toward Neutral Good, while Thalassa is very Lawful Neutral.
- Kid Icarus:
- Top God: Dyntos is mentioned to be the most powerful of the gods, although he mostly remains neutral between the various factions.
- Destroyer God: The Chaos Kin, while not referred to as a god, is a monster that's just as powerful as them and relishes in causing destruction and disaster. It was sealed away by the Forces of Nature until Pit accidentally frees it, which leads to it possessing Palutena and waging war against humanity.
- God of Evil: Hades is the leader of the Underworld Army and commands his forces to slaughter humanity so he can harvest their souls to create more soldiers for his army.
- God of Good: Palutena is the ruler of Skyworld and the only god who actually tries to defend humanity from the forces of the Underworld. She serves as the Big Good for the series and is Pit's patron goddess.
- God of Chaos: The Chaos Kin lives up to it's name, spreading chaos and destruction everywhere it can as soon as it's freed.
- Nature God: Viridi is the leader of the Forces of Nature and priortizes protecting the planet above all else. Her forces are opposed to both the Underworld Army and humanity, with Viridi firmly believing that Humans Are Bastards because of the damage they do to the environment.
- God of Light: Palutena is the goddess of light and is opposed to the dark forces led by the Underworld Army. Pyrrhon is also shares the role, being the "self-described" god of the Sun.
- Lord of the Ocean: Poseidon is the god of the sea and is typically a neutral figure in the war, although he assists Pit and Palutena in reaching Thanatos's underwater palace by parting the seas.
- God of Thunder: Phosphora is one of the generals for the Forces of Nature and can summon lighting in her fights against Thanatos and Pit.
- God of Fire: Pyrrhon, being the god of the Sun, is entirely bathed in flames and primarily uses fire to attack any foe that comes in his way.
- God of Darkness: Medusa is the goddess of darkness and opposed to Palutena, the godess of light. She initially appears to be the leader of the Underworld Army, but is eventually revealed to be a puppet leader created by Hades.
- God of the Moon: Arlon the Serene is one of commanders of the Forces of Nature and is charge of protecting the Lunar Sanctum, a moon-sized fortress that contains the Chaos Kin.
- The Ultimate Blacksmith: Dyntos is the god of the forge and responsible for creating the Three Sacred Treasures, as well as most of the other weapons Pit uses throughout the game.
- God of the Dead: Hades is the ruler of the Underworld, where all souls go when they die. But Thanatos himself is the god of death, even if he still remains subserviant to Hades.
- Trickster God: Pandora, the goddess of calamity, uses spells and illusions to deceive her opponents.
Web Original
- Metamor Keep: One of the major religions is a Fantasy Pantheon of nine good-leaning gods called Aedra and nine evil-leaning gods called Daedra. Note that some Aedra and Daedra are neutral, and may even hinder or help the heroes if it furthers their own interests.
- Top God: Kammaloth. Both for being the king of the gods, and only rarely appearing in-person to his followers.
- God of Evil: Ba'al. Basically the Evil Counterpart to Kammaloth.
- God of Good: Akkala. The maternal, loyal, sympathetic goddess of healing and light, who sometimes breaks contracts to do what's right.
- God of Chaos: Klepnos. Well-known as a trickster, a shapeshifter, and a god of insanity. In fact, he sees past and future alike and as one, and his speech and actions reflect that.
- Nature Spirit: Artela and Lilith are the good and evil versions of this, respectively. Artela represents nature as a balanced, self-regulating order; Lilith represents nature as a competitive, bloodthirsty world of monsters and savagery.
- Oblineth also counts, as the Daedra goddess of ice and winter. Rarely interacts with the others, though.
- Sun God: Yajiit, complete with fire powers and flight.
- Lord of the Ocean: Wvelkim, who has the typical mood swings and Chaotic Neutral alignment of an ocean god.
- Harvest God: Dvalin, god of good weather for farming, and good wine for drinking.
- War God: Dokorath and Revonos, another good/bad pairing. Dokorath represents chivalry and honorable warfare; Revonos represents rage and treachery.
- Love Goddess: Velena and Suspira, yet another good/bad pairing. Velena is the goddess of truth and true love; Suspira is the goddess of Lust and desire.
- Dreamweaver: Nocturna. Her realm of dreams is where the virtuous Lothanasi go to die, before they pass into the unknown. The least evil of the Daedra, but still shares the stigma among mortals.
- God of Knowledge: Samekkh. He is so dedicated to the cause of knowledge, in fact, that he generally avoids sharing his knowledge with mortals, preferring to let them reason it out.
- God of Death: Tallakath, also the god of sickness and rot. It's nothing personal, he's just fascinated by death, being someone who can never experience it.
- Wealth Power: Agemnos, a Man of Wealth and Taste and Daedric Con Man. He prefers targeting the clever and conniving, as they make for more satisfying marks.
