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This is a partial list of the real-world inspired deities which have appeared in Dungeons and Dragons.
Though gods plucked from real world mythologies have existed in Dungeons & Dragons since the days of AD&D, they have rarely received the same degree of focus as the franchise's original deities and don't play a big part in most campaign settings. Nevertheless, they do exist, and enterprising adventurers can seek them out—either to worship them, or to (try to) beat the tar out of them.
In General
The gods worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia, and a few gods from other faiths that were erroneously grouped with them. They are descendants of a sort of the Sumerian pantheon, with whom they don't get along.In the Forgotten Realms, the Babylonian and Sumerian gods are worshipped as a single pantheon by the people of Unther due to their ancestors being slaves brought to Toril from another world by the Imaskari.
- Divine Conflict: The Babylonian gods hate their Sumerian forbears and want to destroy them. The feeling is mutual.
- Fantastic Racism: According to 1st edition, the Babylonian gods teach their clerics that all intelligent creatures other than humans are unholy demons and that communicating with them for any reason is sacrilege.
- Kill the God: In the Forgotten Realms, many of the Untheric gods were slain by the Orcish gods during the Orcgate Wars. Some have since been resurrected, though not all of them have regained their divinity.
- Order Versus Chaos: The Planescape sourcebook On Hallowed Ground states that the Babylonians were born from the Sumerian people's desire for order, which they were not getting from their original gods.
Anu
The chieftain and supreme authority of the Babylonian pantheon, a strict and uncompromising god who dwells in the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus.
- Assimilation Plot: Anu strips away his petitioners' individuality and molds them into identical, genderless entities with a Hive Mind, making them "as close as people can get to being modrons".
- Blow You Away: As a god of the sky, Anu has power over the air, and the wind blows strongly in whatever direction he faces.
- Compelling Voice: According to Deities & Demigods, his divine authority is so great that people are magically compelled to obey his spoken commands.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Chuck something at him, for any reason, and you risk being disintegrated.
- Dragon Tamer: He can magically call forth dragons to fight alongside him.
- Felony Misdemeanor: Deconstructed. Anu believes that even the smallest of infractions deserve harsh sentences, and his draconian notions of justice have created a society full of people terrified of breaking the law while also driving away potential worshippers.
- God of Order: While order isn't one of his domains, Anu is nevertheless a god who believes in imposing order on society and the world, creating codes of law that he passed down to his clerics and priest-kings. Unfortunately, Anu's idea of order is strict and unforgiving.
- Reduced to Dust: He can disintegrate people who throw things at him, along with whatever they threw.
- Top God: The king and highest authority of his pantheon.
Anshar
The Babylonian god of darkness. He dwells in the City of Eternal Darkness on the chaotic plane of Pandemonium.
- Anti-Regeneration: The damage inflicted by his darkness beam cannot be healed by any means, including regeneration.
- Casting a Shadow: Deities & Demigods gives him the ability to shoot a beam of flesh-rotting darkness.
- Dark Is Evil: A god of darkness who appears as a dark-skinned man, only shows up in dark areas or in the dead of night, and who has an evil Character Alignment.
- God of Darkness: He is his pantheon's god of darkness and the night, and he has many powers relating to such.
- Kill the God: He teamed up with Nergal to kill the Sumerian god Enki.
- Nocturnal Mooks: Deities & Demigods states that he will only appear during the night or in deep darkness, and his teleportation can only bring him to places that are shadowy or dark.
- Power Parasite: He can physically grab an incoming spell and absorb it like a ring of spell storing, saving it for future use. Enemy spellcasters will quickly find that Anshar is turning their own spells against them.
Dahak
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Druaga
A multiarmed, shapeshifting fiend who rules "the devil world". He dwells in a dark and foreboding palace on Dis, the second layer of the Nine Hells.
- Beast with a Human Face: His monstrous true form has the head of a beautiful boy.
- Reforged into a Minion: Anyone struck by Druaga's mace who doesn't succeed on a saving throw against magic turns into a devil which immediately falls under his command.
- Sadly Mythtaken: No such deity exists in actual Babylonian myth. Druaga might be an interpretation of the Zoroastrian concept of Drujnote , or he might have been made out of whole cloth by the game designers.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Druaga calls himself ruler of the fiendish world, he is the only Babylonian deity who can summon and command devils, and his abode is where evil Babylonian mortals end up when they first visit Baator. All this may sound impressive, but in the grand scheme of D&D's cosmology, he is just one of the many, many evil gods who reside in the Nine Hells, and he has no influence over the diabolical bureaucracy that runs the place.
- Shapeshifter Default Form: While Druaga can take on any form he likes, his true form is a reptilian creature with eight arms, four legs, masses of live snakes in place of feet, and a human head.
- Soul Jar: He has a "soul object" which functions much like a lich’s phylactery, in that it will start generating a new body for him whenever his current body is destroyed.
Gilgamesh
The eponymous protagonist of The Epic of Gilgamesh. Though Gilgamesh is Semi-Divine in actual myth, AD&D makes him a mere hero.
In the Forgotten Realms, he is known as Gilgeam, and succeeds Enlil as leader of the Untheric pantheon.
- Back from the Dead: Gilgeam was killed by Tiamat during the Time of Troubles, only to later be restored to life.
- God-Emperor: On Toril, Gilgeam is god-king of the nation of Unther.
- Immortals Fear Death: Much like in the original source material, Gilgamesh has a deep fear of death and will go to great lengths to find ways to avoid it. The only place this fear doesn’t grip him, ironically, is in the heat of battle.
- Wrestler in All of Us: Though Gilgamesh is a skilled fighter with his mace, he much prefers to wrassle his enemies into submission.
Girru
The righteous Babylonian god of fire. He dwells on the slopes of Mount Celestia in a domain called the Undying Flame.
- Flaming Hair: He has a fiery beard according to the On Hallowed Ground sourcebook.
- Kill the God: His Forgotten Realms incarnation was one of the many Untheric gods to perish during the Orcgate Wars.
- God of Fire: Doy. The 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that he can cast all fire spells at a level greater than any mortal pyromancer and gives off an aura of damaging heat.
- Poisoned Weapons: He carries a mace covered in poisonous barbs which break off and embed themselves in his target's flesh with every strike.
- Sacred Flames: His divine realm is composed entirely of flames that burn only the wicked and the unrighteous, leaving those of good character unharmed.
Ishtar
The Babylonian goddess of love and war, Ishtar was born of the Sumerian goddess Innana. She dwells in the City of the Star, a vibrant and beautiful realm located on the Neutral Good-aligned plane of Elysium.
- Fertile Feet: On Hallowed Ground states that "a carpet of flowers and grass springs up in her wake" wherever she goes.
- Hot God: Befitting a love goddess, her true form is a beautiful woman.
- Magic Staff: She carries a blue crystal rod which lets her convert magical energy into kinetic force. In other words, she can spend spells slots to deal tremendous damage with her physical attacks.
- Passing the Torch: The Untheric version of Ishtar eventually decided to abandon Toril, but before she left, she passed her portfolio and identity over to Isis, letting the Mulhorandi goddess receive worship in Ishtar's name.
- Power Copying: In 1st edition, she wears a magical headdress which lets her copy the abilities of her opponent.
Marduk
The four-eyed, four-eared, fire-breathing hero god of Babylon. He is an enemy of the dragon goddess Tiamat.
- Deity Identity Confusion: The Untheric version of Marduk is really an aspect of the dragon god Bahamut, who joined the pantheon in this guise to gain humanoid worshippers and grow his powerbase.
- Egopolis: The capital of Marduk's domain is a city named after himself.
- Inescapable Net: His signature weapon according to Deities & Demigods is an indestructible magical net. So long as Marduk is within 50 feet of the net or is holding onto it, nothing can escape from it.
- Power Copying: He can "borrow" the powers of his fellow Babylonian deities and use them as he sees fit, though he can only borrow one power at a time.
- Weather Manipulation: He can change the weather as he pleases and call down dozens of lightning bolts at once to smite his foes.
Nergal
The brooding Babylonian god of the underworld. He holds court over the dead in Nergaltos, a dour city located in the Gray Waste of Hades.
- Armor of Invincibility: Nergal's black shield carries a boatload of defensive enchantments that make fighting him a difficult proposition. It prevents people from attacking him from behind, surrounds him with a deadly aura that can instantly kill nearby foes, and protects him from all but the mightiest of spells.
- Kill the God: He conspired with Anshar to kill the Sumerian god Enki.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: In 1st edition, Nergal wields a magical black shield for both defensive and offensive purposes.
Ramman
The Babylonian god of rain and storms. He dwells in a literal cloud castle that floats above the Outlands. In real life, he is more commonly known as Adad.
- Arch-Enemy: The Untheric version of Ramman was bitter enemies with Assuran, a.k.a. Hoar, the Faerunian god of vengeance and poetic justice. The two fought to the death during the Time of Troubles, with Hoar emerging victorious.
- God of Thunder: His role in the pantheon, and the basis of his combat abilities in 1st edition. He can throw out lightning bolts like nobody's business and electrocute all nearby foes whenever anyone strikes him.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Untheric version of Ramman was mortally wounded by his own lightning bolts, courtesy of Assuran reflecting them back at him during their final duel.
- Precision-Guided Boomerang: He wields a magical mallet which always returns to his hand after being thrown.
- Resistant to Magic: In 1st edition, Ramman is immune to any spell of 4th level or less in addition to having the innate magic resistance that most deities possess.
- Solid Clouds: His domain is a castle made of clouds solid enough to walk upon.
- Take Up My Sword: When Ramman was mortally wounded by Assuran during the Time of Troubles, he gave his divine portfolio to the Mulhorandi god Anhur so his powers wouldn't pass to his hated enemy.
In General
[This description was copied in violation of our Plagiarism policy. Please replace it with original writing.]The Celtic gods are as often served by druids as by clerics, for they are closely aligned with the forces of nature that druids revere.
The Daghdha
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- Healing Shiv: In 1e, his club can be used to resurrect the dead in addition to bashing people’s brains out.
- One-Hit Kill: The business end of his club can instantly kill someone as if they had been targeted by a death spell.
- Self-Duplication: According to Deities & Demigods, the Dagda can split himself into twelve identical copies that can all act independently.
- Super-Strength: The 1e Deities & Demigods sourcebook lists the Dagda's strength as 25 and states that he is strong enough to break anything in his hands.
Arawn
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On resurrecting any individual, there is a 2% chance per level of that individual that Arawn will intervene. He will either send his avatar to reclaim the body or (25% chance) he will attempt to bargain. He will offer some other similar character from the legions of the dead provided he can keep the original character. Refusal of his offer will be met with force.
Balor
Once a huge monster, this creature is now nothing but a 30 foot tall head. When the eyes of this head are forced open, all beings looking at it will die (no saving throw applicable).Belenus
Belenus is a god of the sun and of fire, a patron of the druids. He has the ability to control the heat and light from fires and from the sun, bringing them into focus to destroy or blocking them off to freeze when he wishes. In May, the Celts drive cattle through special Beltain fires while Belenus watches with favor and raises the overall quality of the livestock. Belenus encourages the construction of standing stones to measure the progress of his sun and sacred groves where his druids may meet and build great bonfires to him.
Belenus sends his avatar to the world of men frequently to visit with chieftains and court the ladies of the Celts. He can look unfavorably upon a particular village and cause the sun to stand still or never come up for some period of time. With such powers, he can easily bring otherwise powerful chieftains in line with his thinking.
The Lord of Light resides alongside the goddess Brigantia in the realm known as the Isles of the Blessed, the resting place of mortal heroes who've actively sought to do good in their lives. The realm's almost constantly sunny, and when night comes, it's brief and cool. Legends says that night arrives only when Belenus has stepped away from the realm to do the bidding of the Daghdha (though it might arrive early if petitioners or visitors offend him in some way). The center of the realm (and the home of the deities) is a clear hillock called the Sunswatch.
Brigantia
Brigantia is the Celtic goddess of the rivers and rural life, she watches over animals and waterways. She was raised on the milk of a creature of the otherworld, a white, red-eared cow. She is worshipped by the great Celtic queen Cartimandua (women in positions of power are not at all uncommon among the Celts) and by the pastoral villages and towns. She is the protector of flocks of geese and herds of cattle, seeing that they flourish to help feed her hungry worshipers. Her dominion over the rivers allows her to use their waters for therapeutic purposes. She often wears a crown and is depicted in Celtic art sitting atop a globe. She is also sometimes outfitted for war, wearing a breast plate and carrying a spear.
Brigantia is of a relaxed, peaceful nature. She rejoices in the slower, quieter ways of the country folk, and never ventures into large towns or cities. Her tending of animals is compulsive, and she will often keep to that task even when other pressing matters are brought to her attention.
She resides alongside the god Belenus in the realm known as the Isles of the Blessed, the resting place of mortal heroes who've actively sought to do good in their lives. The realm's almost constantly sunny, and when night comes, it's brief and cool. Rivers crisscross the land, sparkling blue reflecting into the sky and echoing though the air. And despite the fact that sheep, cattle, and their keepers are common throughout the realm, it very much seems as though a body's alone in the land, that it exists for him and him alone. The center of the realm (and the home of the deities) is a clear hillock called the Sunswatch.
Brigit
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Cu Chulainn
Cu Chulainn is the greatest hero of the Celts, a fine warrior who has dealt with mortals and immortals on their ownterms. Originally named Sedanla, the young man is reputed to have travelled to the land of Emhain Mhacha and defeated (singlehandedly) 150 other youths. When he approached the lands of the great smith Culann, he encountered and defeated the smith's huge guard dog with his bare hands. Enraged, Culann forced Sedanta to guard his lands in the dog's place, and thus Sedanta became known as Cu Chulainn, or "dog of Culann".
Cu Chulainn underwent a series of initiations into heroic stature. He was forced to fight many other heroes and creatures, put through exotic rituals throughout Celtic lands, and finally learned strategies and magical tactics that have rendered him all but invincible.
Cu Chulainn is known throughout the lands of the Celts, by mortals and gods alike. He never travels in disguise, so cannot help but be noticed. Cu Chulainn has a particular hatred of giants and will seek them out to destroy them whenever possible. He travels the Celtic lands to stamp out injustice and has a reputation for appearing just in the nick of time.
Diancecht
As the Celtic god of healing, Diancecht cares for the sick and wounded without regard to their worship. He is so insanely obsessed with being the best healer in the multiverse that he even slew his own son Miach in a fit of jealousy, afraid that the boy might have grown to become a better healer than his father. Still, Diancecht seeks only the best for the greatest number, and he'll put himself in severe danger to bring life to others.
Diancecht has healed the other gods, as well, fashioning at one time a silver arm to replace one lost, and using a cat's eye to replace a lost eye. He has a magical bath that can instantly and completely heal any mortal or god. Diancecht often uses his powers to enforce his notion that any wound is the responsibility of the inflictor to heal, or at least pay for. In combat, Diancecht will heal himself, friends, and enemies alike, for he is unable to control his penchant for medicine.
His avatar is forever wandering the world of men searching for those who need his skills. Whenever confronted, Diancecht will seldom involve himself in a situation that does not require him to heal.
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Dunatis
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Goibhniu
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Lugh
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Manannan mac Lir
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Math Mathonwy
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Morrigan
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She is a fearsome warrior, causing great fear in her opponents, driving home her own battles with a spear in either hand. She is terribly ugly, laughs a maniacal laugh, and has dreadful manners. She expects all Celts and especially her followers to fight constantly, encouraging petty wars where there otherwise would be none. She can shape change to fool her opponents, and often calls upon four minor goddesses of war to fight by her side. At one time, the Morrigan tried to seduce the hero Cu Chulainn, but on her failure she turned against him and nearly killed him.
The Morrigan is bent on warfare at every turn. She will readily pick fights, preferring to get mortals to fight each other by whatever means. She will use her many forms to trick otherwise peaceful parties into conflict. The Morrigan often observes battles and will not tolerate fear among her followers, she will strike dead any follower that turns and flees from a battle she is watching.
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Nuada
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Oghma
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Silvanus
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The Wild Hunt
The Wild Hunt appears in the world of men as a huge pack of magical dogs led by a great man. The man has dark skin and can either be on foot or at the reins of a two-horse chariot. He carries an enormous spear and wears a metal and leather helmet with antlers. The dogs of the pack are huge beasts that can, at one instant appear as normal (albeit huge) canines and then transform into ferocious, magical animals with green flame coming from their mouth and eyes. When the Wild Hunt approaches, the weather turns for the worse, the winds howl and thunder booms from the heavens. The Wild Hunt fights evil with evil's weapons, namely fear and ferocity.
Celts or other good beings who encounter the Hunt on the move may be swept up by it. All Celts or characters of good alignment who see the Hunt must make a save versus spells or become part of the Wild Hunt and its mission, accepting the Master as their leader. Persons so caught up might have to act against their own alignment at the behest of the Master, fighting against those they might otherwise ignore, etc. As it tears across the countryside, the pack will raise a terrifying ruckus, attracting followers and warning evil of its approach.
On any given night there will be only one Wild Hunt, provided there is sufficient evil to warrant it. Once the pack has caught up with the source of evil, it will attack. The pack and the master will fight to the death against the evil. If they are slain, they will appear fresh for a new hunt the following night. If they do not destroy the evil they pursue, the Wild Hunt will return until their prey is driven from Celtic lands or slain.
The Wild Hunt has been known to fight against demigods and heroes who have manifested evil among the Celts. Sometimes destroyed themselves, they have always returned to renew the battle. The forces that seek out evil to destroy it are eternal, and the Wild Hunt can never be completely annihilated.
In General
The gods worshipped by the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. 1st edition lumped them all together in a single pantheon, which we have subdivided by civilization for convenience’s sake.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: 1e Deities & Demigods states that, while the Central American gods hew to the same character alignment as any other creature in the D&D cosmology, "they are not moved by anything resembling human thoughts and feelings" and "act only upon their own inscrutable motives".
- Our Gods Are Different: 1st and 2nd edition present these deities as being qualitatively different from most other gods in certain respects. They don't dwell on the inner or outer planes of the multiverse, instead inhabiting planets and stars within a material planenote . This makes it difficult for people to contact these gods without prior knowledge of the necessary rituals and limits the gods' ability to travel the multiverse. It also means that any crew of idiots with a Spelljammer can rock up to a Central American god's home star and knock on the door, which the gods are unlikely to appreciate.
Aztec Pantheon
Ometeotl
The supreme god of the Aztec pantheon, an invisible being that embodies the duality of existence in all respects.
- Anti-True Sight: Ometeotl's invisibility is total and absolute, and it is impossible to see or detect him by magical means.
- Invisible Monsters: The only part of Ometeotl's avatar that can be seen is its obsidian sword. The avatar is otherwise totally invisible. The god itself has never been seen either, so there are no statues or depictions of his likeness.
- Magic Knight: His 2nd edition avatar has the spellcasting abilities of an 18th-level wizard and the martial skills of an 18th-level fighter.
- The Power of Creation: Ometeotl has the power to create whatever he wants with but a thought, even sapient beings. His avatar can magic a single mid-level fighter into existence to fight alongside him.
Axayacatl
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Camaxtli
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Centeotl
The goddess of agriculture and maize, who nourishes her crops with lives of young men.
- Food God: The goddess of corn, which was a staple food for the Aztecs. Her clerics are likewise tasked with planting and harvesting the stuff.
- Green Thumb: Her avatar has access to the plant sphere and can cast any spell from it at will.
- Human Resources: She fertilizes her cornfields with the corpses of young men that she kills herself. Her clerics must be ready to offer themselves up for this purpose in times of famine.
- Out with a Bang: Her second edition writeup strongly implies that she kills her sacrificial offerings while having sex with them, "allowing them to experience indescribable but total bliss in her avatar's arms before dying".
- Portent of Doom: To see Centeotl's avatar is to know that some terrible personal calamity will soon befall you, even if you manage to resist her charms and avoid being made into fertilizer.
- The Vamp: She lures in men with promises of pleasure so she can kill them and use them as fertilizer.
Chalchihuitlicue
The benevolent Aztec goddess of water and childbirth, whose kindness and goodwill help balance out the cruelty of her husband Tlaloc.
- Cast from Money: A person who wishes Chalchiuhtlicue to intervene on their behalf can secure this by sacrificing their most expensive piece of jade jewelry. The odds of her showing up are depressingly low, howevernote .
- Forced Transformation: She can transform hundreds of people at once into any animal she desires.
- God Couple: She is married to her fellow water deity Tlaloc.
- Orphanage of Love: She tasks her clerics with giving shelter and succor to orphans, so her temples often double as these.
- Person with the Clothing: Her name literally means "she of the jade skirt". Sure enough, she wears a petticoat made of green jade, which doubles as her holy symbol.
- Retcon: She went from a lesser goddess to an intermediate one between 1st and 2nd edition. Her husband Tlaloc was similarly bumped down from greater god to intermediate, putting them on the same level.
Huhueteotl
The Aztec fire god, a capricious deity who takes the form of a flaming lizardman.
- God of Fire: The resident fire god of his pantheon.
- Jerkass Gods: 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.
- Light 'em Up: Deities & Demigods gives him the ability to shoot beams of searing light which can strike targets from up to two miles away for high damage.
- Lizard Folk: He looks like an armored humanoid with the head of a reptile.
- Time Master: He has the power to stop time for one thing per day, though he can only use this ability during every 52nd year.
Huitzilopochtli
The patron god of the Aztec people, a fearsome warrior strongly associated with hummingbirds.
- Attack Reflector: Anyone who tries to attack Huitzilopochtli from behind will find themselves getting hit with their own attacks.
- Possessing a Dead Body: 1st edition states that he joins his worshippers on the battlefield by possessing the corpse of one of their fallen. This incidentally brings the person he possessed Back from the Dead, and they will continue to live a long and healthy life after he abandons their body.
- No-Sell: His avatar shrugs off hits from non-magical weapons and is immune to lightning.
- Retcon: He was a lesser god in 1st edition but became an intermediate god in 2nd. His alignment also shifted toward evil, and his weapon of choice changed from an axe to a javelin.
- Shock and Awe: In second edition Huitzilopochtli can call down a Bolt of Divine Retribution to deal tremendous damage to anyone or anything, and his avatar wields a javelin that transforms into a lightning bolt when thrown.
- War God: War is one of his divine domains, and in 1st edition he is known to spontaneously appear in the heat of battle to fight alongside his worshippers. His clerics are likewise warriors.
Ixtlilton
The god of medicine, who tirelessly works to cure the sick and promote healthiness.
- Answer to Prayers: Of the 2nd edition Aztec gods, Ixtlilton is the most likely to intercede in mortal affairs in response to prayers. All a sick person needs to do is pray, and there is a high chance that Ixtlilton will send his avatar to cure what ails them. You don't even need to worship him for him to come, though he is far more likely to visit his worshippers than random nonbelievers.
- Healer God: The designated god of healing, with a particular emphasis on curing diseases.
- Healing Hands: His true form's touch can cure even the deadliest disease.
- The Needless: Ixtlilton empowers his clerics so they can subsist entirely on holy water.
- No Cure for Evil: Downplayed. Ixtlilton can and will visit sick people of any alignment if they pray for it, but he is far more likely to respond to the prayers of a good or neutral person than he is to those of an evil person.
Metzli
The Aztec moon goddess, a paradoxical being who brought daylight to the world and encourages animal growth, but also acts as a patron to the horrors of the night.
- Armor-Piercing Attack: Her avatar's white sword can cut through armor with remarkable ease, which is mechanically represented as her attacks treating the target's Armor Class as being 5 points worse than its actual value.
- Color Motif: She is strongly associated with the color white. Her avatar is an albino warrior woman who wields a white sword, while her true form is a ghostly woman made of silvery moonlight.
- God of the Moon: She personifies and lives on the moon.
- Immune to Fire: Her avatar is immune to fire damage.
- Intangibility: Her avatar can become an insubstantial wraith at will.
- Make My Monster Grow: She has the power to make any animal grow up to five times its normal size. Her avatar has a similar power which duplicates the effects of the animal growth spell.
Mictlantecuhtli
The Aztec god of the dead, a ghastly ghoul who claims the souls of they whose deaths weren't covered by another Aztec god's sphere of influence. He rules his dreary underworld alongside his wife Mictanchihuatl.
- Blood Magic: In 2nd edition, Mictlantecuhtli demands a small blood sacrifice from his clerics whenever they cast raise dead and will stop the spell from working if this sacrifice is not made.
- Brown Note Being: In 1st edition, anyone who touches Mictlantecuhtli needs to succeed on a saving throw or die. In 2nd edition, anyone who looks at his avatar's face is forced to make a saving throw or be paralyzed with horror for up to a minute.
- Everybody Hates Hades: While hardly a ray of sunshine, the mythological Mictlantecuhtli was by no means evil. 1st edition gives him a Lawful Evil alignment. 2nd edition subverts the trope by shifting his alignment to True Neutral.
- Necromancer: The 1st edition version of Mictlantecuhtli can summon dozens if not hundreds of undead to serve him, and even those undead he doesn't summon are compelled to obey his commands.
Nezahualcoytl
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Nezahualpilli
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Quetzalcoatl
The feathered serpent god of Mesoamerican myth. 1st edition presented him as a greater god and the head of the Central American pantheon, but the 2nd edition Legends & Lore book bumped him down to the level of an intermediate god and gave his position to Ometeotl.
- Determinator: According to Deities & Demigods, Quetzalcoatl will not give up the fight until his side is victorious or he has been personally defeated.
- Deity Identity Confusion: The 1st edition Deities & Demigods conflates Quetzalcoatl with Kukulkan, a very similar Mayan god.
- Feathered Serpent: The Quetzalcoatl of real Aztec myth is strongly associated with feathered serpents, and the D&D version is no exception. Legends & Lore states that a feathered serpent is his preferred avatar form.
- No-Sell: When Quetzalcoatl shapeshifts into a particular type of creature, other creatures of that type cannot harm him. For instance, if he were to turn himself into a red dragon, he would be impervious to the claws, teeth, and fiery breath of any other red dragon.
- Retcon: In addition to being demoted a divine rank and losing leadership of his pantheon, 2nd edition changed Quetzalcoatl's alignment from Lawful Neutral to Chaotic Good.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: He can take on any form he likes according to Deities & Demigods, and in combat he usually takes the form of various monsters.
Tezcatlipoca
The Aztec god of treachery and the night, a duplicitous trickster who conspires to undermine his own pantheon. he is bitter rivals with Quetzalcoatl.
- Animal Motif: Jaguars. His avatar can take the form of an immense black jaguar, and being trailed by jaguars is considered one of his omens.
- Arch-Enemy: He hates Quetzalcoatl and works to undermine the other god at every opportunity.
- Bad Boss: Legends & Lore paints Tezcatlipoca as treating his priests like shit. He scares them by suddenly appearing in the surfaces of nearby mirrors to bark orders at them, he punishes minor failures and transgressions by sending thieves to rob them, and if they screw up royally enough, he sends his avatar to kill them.
- Disabled Deity: His true form is a man with a missing foot, which he has replaced with an obsidian mirror.
- Magic Mirror: The obsidian mirror which replaces his foot is magical, though its effects depend on whether it is attached to his leg. when it's attached, the mirror allows Tezcatlipoca to scry on any mortal on the material plane. When it's detached, the mirror sucks any creature who looks directly at it into an extraplanar prison.
- Poisoned Weapons: When his avatar is in human form, it wields a unique poisoned dagger.
- Quantity vs. Quality: When it comes to his worshippers, Tezcatlipoca falls firmly on the "Quantity" side. He expects each of his clerics to convert at least one new follower every six days, with harsh punishments for anyone who fails to meet this quota.
- Sinister Surveillance: Tezcatlipoca uses his Magic Mirror to keep tabs on his clerics, punishing their transgressions as quickly as possible.
- Stealth Expert: His 2nd edition avatar is a high-level thief with the ability to blend into shadows so thoroughly that he becomes invisible, and he makes no noise when moving.
Tlaloc
The Aztec rain god, a googly-eyed monster man whose goodwill toward his worshippers is contingent upon child sacrifices. The delight he takes in the suffering of the innocent contrasts sharply with the paradisical nature of his realm Tlalocan, where the souls of those who died by drowning and similar water-related deaths go. He is the husband of the far more beneficent Chalchiuhtlicue.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: In combat, he can summon a lightning bolt to his hand and wield it like a melee weapon against his foes.
- God Couple: He is married to his fellow water deity Chalchihuitlicue.
- Make Them Rot: According to Deities and Demigods, one of the types of rain that he can summon rots all fruit.
- Ouroboros: His 2nd edition holy symbol is a snake biting its own tail to form a square hoop.
- Religion of Evil: Legends & Lore rather bluntly describes the worship of Tlaloc as such. The "Duties of the Priesthood" section of his entry is a single sentence which reads as follows: "The duties of Tlaloc's clerics include kidnapping, torture, and other tasks of his vile worship." The other evil-aligned Aztec gods featured in the same book are given more nuance, making this rather jarring by comparison.
- Retcon: 2nd edition dropped Tlaloc from a greater god down to an intermediate one. His wife Chalchihuitlicue was elevated from a lesser goddess to an intermediate one in the same edition, putting them on the same level.
- Situational Damage Attack: 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.
- Snake People: His 2nd edition avatar is a man with the head of a snake. The artwork used to represent him in 1st edition gives him a somewhat snakelike head as well.
- Weather Manipulation: 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. In combat, his 2nd edition avatar can bombard a large area with destructive hailstones.
- Would Hurt a Child: He demands this of his priests, commanding them to sacrifice a child once every full moon. The more the children suffer during these rites, the better the odds that Tlaloc will bestow good rains upon his worshippers.
Tlazolteotl
The beautiful but cruel goddess of pleasure and vice.
- Devious Daggers: Tlazolteotl is a duplicitous temptress who uses her feminine wiles to test the resolve of good men, and she uses an invisible dagger to murder most of those who fail the test. Her priestesses, who are expected to emulate her in seducing and ruining men, carry poisoned daggers for the same purpose.
- Eat That: She forces her priestesses to eat disgusting things like garbage and offal, revoking their powers if they refuse or fail to do so.
- Hot God: Her avatar/true form (it depends on the edition) is a stunningly beautiful woman, able to "inspire desire in any male and jealous respect in any female" according to the 1st edition Deities & Demigods.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: In 1st edition, she relies heavily on magic in battle and seldom attacks her foes physically. If she finds herself up against an enemy that's immune to magic, she will teleport herself to safety.
- Love Goddess: A dark example. Tlazolteotl is specifically the goddess of guilty love, which she both encourages and punishes.
- Master of Illusion: In both 1st and 2nd edition, Tlazolteotl is a high-level illusionist who regularly conceals her true form with the glamour of a repulsive, monstrous crone.
- One-Hit Kill: Her 2nd edition avatar carries an invisible dagger which can instantly kill whatever she stabs with it.
- The Vamp: Her whole shtick. She delights in using her feminine wiles to tempt good men into sin and then destroying them once they fall, either by murdering them outright or exposing their indiscretions to ruin their reputations. She expects her clerics to do the same, seducing a man at least once every three months.
Xochipilli
The Aztec god of beauty and fortune, a mercurial gambler whose gifts are quickly bestowed and quickly revoked. He is the twin brother of Xochiquetzal.
- Absurdly High-Stakes Game: As the god of luck and gamblers, Xochipilli expects his clerics to "wager all they own on some trivial event at least once a year".
- Always Accurate Attack: In 1st edition, Xochipilli cannot miss while attacking with his axe. He also inverts the trope by making it so that any attack made against him which could miss will miss.
- Butter Face: A male example. Xochipilli has the body of a handsome young man, but his head is that of a rotting corpse.
- Lady Luck: He is the Aztec god of good and bad luck, with abilities that reflect this. Any action he takes is either guaranteed to succeed or has increased chances of succeeding, while any action his opponents take against him is either guaranteed to fail or has increased chances of failing. He can further bestow good luck on any worshipper fortunate enough to catch his attention.
- Luck Manipulation Mechanic: In 2nd edition, Xochipilli's avatar can reroll any failed attack roll or saving throw. He also forces his enemies to roll twice whenever they want to attack him or make a saving throw against one of his spells, and both dice must come up successful for the attack or saving throw to succeed.
- Retcon: He was a lesser god with a True Neutral alignment in 1st edition, but 2nd edition elevated him to an intermediate god and shifted his alignment to Chaotic Good.
Xochiquetzal
The Aztec goddess of flowers and romantic love, a spritely woman who brings joy to all. she is the twin sister of Xochipilli.
- Charm Person: Her true form is so beautiful that any man who looks upon her will instantly fall in love with her.
- The Dulcinea Effect: Her 2nd edition avatar induces this effect in any men who look upon her, forcing them to make a saving throw or become dedicated to protecting her from all harm for the rest of their lives.
- Green Thumb: She is the goddess of flowers, and one of the omens associated with her is the sudden blooming—or wilting—of flowers.
- Love Goddess: This is her role in the Aztec pantheon. Xochiquetzal can make any man and woman fall in love with each other, her clergy consists solely of couples whose only duty is to remain loving and faithful to one another, and she has a 1-in-10 chance to show up when a loving couple asks for her aid. However, she does not condone relationships that are secretive or illicit, as those are the domain of Tlazolteotl.
Maya Pantheon
Camazotz
A monstrous bat-god from Mayan myth.
- Bat Out of Hell: An evil underworld god who looks like a giant bat.
- Food as Bribe: He loves to eat insects and priests can curry favor from him by casting the insect plague spell.
- No-Sell: Deities & Demigods states that he is impervious to "any weapons cast in the darkness at him", which is a fancy way of saying that ranged weapons won’t hurt him while he’s in the darkness.
- Odd Job Gods: What else can you call the god of bats?
- The Paralyzer: His claws and fangs carry a paralytic venom.
Hunapu and Xbalanque
The twin protagonists of the Popol Vuh.
- Damage Reduction: They are resistant to cold and fire damage in 1st edition, shaving 1 point of damage off each damage die they get hit with from such sources.
- Long-Range Fighter: The 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that they prefer to avoid melee combat, attacking enemies from a distance with their blowguns instead. And they can hit things from quite a distance, too: their maximum range is 200 yards.
- Poisoned Weapons: They use their blowguns to shoot poisonous darts.
- You Killed My Father: Their father died at the hands of the denizens of the underworld, so Hunapu and Xbalanque went down there and kicked their asses to avenge him.
Itzamna
A Mayan god of medicine, who is largely benevolent toward mankind and acts as their intercessor with the other Central American gods.
- Crossover Cosmology: Deities & Demigods claims that he, a Mayan god, is the son of Tezcatlipoca, an Aztec god.
- God of Knowledge: Deities & Demigods credits him with teaching humanity the secrets of writing and medicine.
- Healer God: Itzamna is a god of medicine, and the spells he grants to his clerics that don't focus on symbols focus on healing.
- Light 'em Up: He can turn himself into an intangible being made of light and zap foes with scintillating light beams.
- Light Is Good: A benevolent deity with a strong association with light.
In General
[This description was copied in violation of our Plagiarism policy. Please replace it with original writing.]Shang-Ti
The head of the Celestial Bureaucracy and highest authority of the Chinese pantheon. Shang-Ti rules from the Jade Palace, an orderly domain located on the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus.
- Attack Reflector: 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that any physical ranged weapons fired at Shang-Ti will turn in midair to strike their shooters. 2nd edition Legends & Lore ascribes the same power to his avatar.
- Cultural Posturing: Shang-Ti views any deity that isn't part of the Chinese pantheon as an uncivilized barbarian unworthy of his time or attention. Even the Top Gods of other pantheons are beneath him.
- Grandpa God: His true form is a bald, elderly man with a long white beard. His avatar has a similar appearance.
- Light 'em Up: In combat, he can smite anyone within sight with a damaging shaft of light.
- Mortality Ensues: He can strip any of his subordinate gods of their divinity and immortality, a punishment he reserves for the most corrupt officials or the most royal of screwups.
- Top God: As head of the Celestial Bureaucracy, Shang-Ti is the highest authority of his pantheon.
Chao Kung Ming
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Ch'eng Huang
Minor deities that preside over specific locations, such as a bridge or village.
- Deity of Human Origin: They are the spirits of distinguished officials that have been elevated to godhood by the Celestial Bureaucracy as a reward for their service and leadership in life.
- Intangible Man: One trait common to all the Ch'eng Huang is that their avatars can assume an insubstantial "wraithform" at will.
- No-Sell: Their 2nd edition avatars are universally immune to any weapon that doesn't have at least a +1 bonus.
- Odd Job Gods: Each of these guys is the patron god of a specific place, which they are charged to protect.
Chih-Chiang Fyu-Ya
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Chih-Nii
The goddess of weavers and spinners, who fell in love with a mortal man against the wishes of her father Shang-Ti. She is based on the female protagonist of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.
- Anti-Magic: Her 2nd edition avatar has a nasty variant of this. Anyone who dares cast a spell or wield a magic weapon against her will either find themselves permanently losing the ability to cast that spell or find that their fancy magic weapon has become a nonmagical one.
- Forced Sleep: Her 2nd edition avatar carries a magic dagger which puts anyone it cuts to sleep.
- Love God: Because of her personal circumstances, Chih-Nii watches out for spinsters who found love late in their lives and punishes men who would jilt such women. She also tasks her clerics with sheltering and aiding women who are Star-Crossed Lovers.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: She and her love are separated by the entire span of the Milky Way and can only be together on the seventh day of the seventh month of each year.
Chih Sung-Tzu
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Chung Kuel
The god of testing and truth, an ascended mortal who diligently watches over exam takers for signs of cheating.
- "Blind Idiot" Translation: The god this guy is based on is named Chung Kwei, but the "i" was written as a lowercase L in the 1st edition Deities & Demigods sourcebook. The typo stuck when he reappeared in the Legends & Lore sourcebook for 2nd edition.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: He exists to enforce this trope. If Chung Kuel catches you cheating on an exam, and he probably will, he punishes you by setting fire to your papers.
- Deity of Human Origin: He was a mortal scribe whose diligence and academic excellence earned him a position in the Celestial Bureaucracy, where he eventually worked his way up to the head of the ministry of truth.
- Driven to Suicide: As a mortal, he tried to throw himself into the sea after the emperor refused to acknowledge his flawless exam record because of how ugly he was.
- God of Knowledge: He is the god of truth. 1st edition states that he has a magical well from which he can draw up whatever knowledge he requires to succeed on a given test, and that he sometimes travels the material plane in mortal guise to test people's knowledge by asking them riddles.
- The Grotesque: He's a fundamentally good and brilliant man, but he's also quite ugly. His 2nd edition avatar is so repulsive, in fact, that people who look at him must succeed on a saving throw or be forced to avert their gaze.
- Odd Job Gods: His duties include overseeing the examination process, effectively making him a near-omniscient exam proctor.
- Playing with Fire: He punishes cheaters by making their exam papers spontaneously combust in their hands.
Dragon Kings
A quartet of Semi-Divine dragons who rule the world's seas and bring rain to wherever it is needed. Their names are Ao Ch'in, Ao Kuang, Ao Jun and Ao Shun.
- Breath Weapon: They can exhale cones of scalding steam.
- Dragons Are Divine: These dragons are aloof but generally benevolent demigods.
- God's Hands Are Tied: They can only bring rain if Shang-Ti orders them to do so. If there's a drought going on but the Celestial Bureaucracy's head honcho hasn't given the Dragon Kings authorization to end it, their suffering worshippers are shit out of luck.
- Lord of the Ocean: Each dragon king is sovereign over one of the four seas that surround the world, and the creatures of the deep serve as their ministers, courtiers and soldiers.
- Weather Manipulation: They can conjure rain, which is the main reason surface-dwellers would worship them.
- Weredragon: They can assume a human form if they so desire.
Fei Lien and Feng Po
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.
Fu Hsing
The god of happiness, an ascended mortal whose duty is to spread good cheer throughout the world.
- Deity of Human Origin: He used to be a magistrate named Yang Cheng, who won the approval of the gods by protecting the people from harsh tax levies.
- For Happiness: His mission is to bring joy to all who deserve it. He is highly likely to respond to the prayers of the unhappy by appearing before a party of adventurers in avatar form and asking them to help the unhappy person out. His clerics are likewise tasked with cheering up the despondent and spreading happiness wherever they go.
- Magic Music: His avatar can cast wizard spells by strumming his lute.
- Technical Pacifist: Fu Hsing doesn't allow his clerics to start fights, and they are only permitted to fight in self-defence or to protect others.
Kuan-Ti
The god of fortune telling and war, who paradoxically does everything in his power to prevent war. He dwells in Valorhome, a peaceful city on the Blessed Fields of Elysium.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Both his true form and his avatar look like a man with red skin.
- Enlightened Self-Interest: On Hallowed Ground states that Kuan-Ti is trying to find a peaceful solution to the Blood War between the Chaotic Evil demons of the Abyss and the Lawful Evil devils of the Nine Hells. He figures that if he can broker a peace treaty between these fiends (and keep them from turning on the Upper Planes after the fact), the resulting multiversal fame will net him a promotion.
- Genius Bruiser: Kuan-Ti is a scholarly deity who enjoys fortune-telling and tries to resolve conflicts through diplomacy. He is also a War God who takes the form of an incredibly muscular man. His avatar reflects this, being a hulking high-level Fighter with high physical and mental ability scores.
- Seers: Legends & Lore states that he is an adept fortune-teller and can accurately predict the future.
- Violence Is Not an Option: Enforced. The supernatural rules which govern his domain of Valorhome make it physically impossible for a person to draw their weapons or strike out in anger, meaning that any disputes must be resolved through talking.
- War God: A very unusual example. He works to prevent wars from breaking out whenever possible, and if war is inevitable, he acts as a neutral arbitrator between the two sides, adjudicating which one should deserve the victory. His clerics must likewise be skilled warriors tempered with reason, who put the needs of others before their own.
Kuan Yin
The benevolent goddess of mercy and childbirth, who strives to bring new life into the world and ease the suffering of those living within it.
- Friend to All Children: As a goddess of childbirth, Kuan Yin loves all children and is deeply protective of them. Whenever someone treats children with violence, there is a low chance that she will send her avatar to protect the children and punish the offender. Her clerics are likewise tasked with caring for homeless kids.
- Mystical Pregnancy: Legends & Lore states that any woman who steals a pair of slippers from one of Kuan Yin's temples will become pregnant. Since Kuan Yin is the goddess of childbirth, her clerics keep their temples stocked with lots of slippers for this exact purpose.
- No-Sell: 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that acts of violence cannot be directed toward Kuan Yin by anyone or anything, while 2nd edition Legends & Lore states that no physical weapon can strike her avatar. In either case, this makes trying to fight her a difficult proposition. In both editions, she can also negate any one violent act made toward another person per round.
- Technical Pacifist: Kuan Yin abhors violence and killing, and while she has combat statistics in both 1st and 2nd edition, the former states that she will never use her magical powers to harm someone, while the latter states that her attacks can only knock someone unconscious and are otherwise incapable of killing anyone. She likewise commands her clerics to fight only in defense of the helpless and to never kill.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Kuan Yin does not tolerate killing for any reason, and she forbids her clerics from intentionally taking lives. Even an accidental killing will result in the cleric being stripped of their powers until they atone for the act.
K'ung Fu-tzu
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Lao Tzu
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Lei Chen Tzu
Lei Chen Tzu stands 10 feet tall, has green scaled skin, 2 large tusks in his one head, an overly long nose, red spotted wings with a span of 30 feet, has the strength and the damaging power of a Storm Giant, and his 2 eyes act as a Mirror of Life Trapping. Anyone daring to kill this darling boy will suffer the revenge of Lei Kung.
Lei Kung
The head of the Celestial Bureaucracy’s Ministry of Thunder, a deity whose monstrous appearance is a perfect match for his sadistic personality. His domain is the Firecracker Palace, which floats atop a storm cloud in the war-torn plane of Acheron.
- All Crimes Are Equal: It doesn't matter what crime you committed to end up on Lei Kung's punishment list, because he doles out the same punishment to all: a fatal braining with his hammer and chisel.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin is "smoking black" in 1st edition and blue in 2nd edition.
- God of Thunder: His primary role in the pantheon. He oversees the Ministry of Thunder, working with his subordinate gods to produce rain, lightning, thunder, and other types of inclement weather as required.
- No-Sell: His 2nd edition avatar cannot be harmed by attacks based on sound, electricity, or water.
- Sadist: He loves killing people, whether they deserve to die or not. His role as a god of vengeance gives him a convenient excuse to indulge in his murderous impulses.
- The Scourge of God: In addition to being the god of thunder, Lei Kung is also his pantheon's god of vengeance. He tracks down those who have escaped justice and punishes them for their crimes with a deadly blow of his hammer and chisel. Unfortunately, he's a sadist who only cares about bashing people's heads in. If he's worked through his list of guilty people that need to be punished, he'll start chasing people that are merely rumored to have done wrong just so he can get his murder fix.
- Thunder Drum: He carries a set of drums which he uses to create thunderstorms. When he plays them in combat, they produce destructive magical effects which vary based on edition.
- Thunder Hammer: Lei Kung is a thunder god whose holy symbol is a hammer and chisel, and in 1st edition, that hammer deals large amounts of lightning damage to whatever it strikes. Curiously, his hammer has no such electrical powers in 2nd edition: it's just an incredibly deadly blunt instrument.
- Winged Humanoid: Lei Kung has a pair of batlike wings.
Liu
The overworked Superintendent of the Five Cereals that make up the staple crops of the Chinese diet.
- Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Liu's job requires him not only to oversee the gods who manage each of the five cereals but also to schmooze and negotiate constantly with gods of various other natural phenomena to ensure that the harvest cycle goes off without a hitch. Because of this, he is massively overworked and unlikely to intervene in mortal affairs even if a massive agricultural disaster is threatening the harvest cycle.
- God Is Displeased: Legends & Lore states that it is very easy to offend Liu by failing to follow the proper rites, which may result in him punishing the offending persons with a poor harvest.
- Food God: He's the god of crops and the harvest cycle, producing the food which everyone needs to survive. His clerics are expected to do their part in planting fields and overseeing harvest ceremonies.
- Green Thumb: His 2nd edition avatar can cast control plants at will and cast various spells from the plant sphere as a high-level druid.
Lu Hsing
The patron god of bureaucrats, who ensures that honest functionaries and crooked ones alike get what they deserve.
- Animal Motifs: Deer. His holy symbol is one, and his 2nd edition avatar is a man riding a stag.
- Deity of Human Origin: He was a mortal man whom Shang-Ti elevated to godhood as a reward for a lifetime of honest work.
- Divine Punishment: He has no tolerance for corrupt officials who try to game the system solely to benefit themselves, and if he notices someone engaging in corrupt practices, he will try to correct their behaviour with a series of increasingly severe and unsubtle punishments.
- No-Sell: His avatar is immune to weapons that don't have at least a +2 bonus.
- Odd Job Gods: The god of salaries and functionaries. Only in China.
Lu Yueh
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Pa Hsien
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Shan Hai Ching
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Shou Hsing
The god of longevity, who tracks the allotted lifespans of all living things in his stone tablets.
- Cane Fu: His 2nd edition avatar's only weapon is a magical walking stick. Considering how powerful it is, it's all he needs.
- Father Time: As a god of longevity, Shou Hsing has powers relating to time. He prolongs his clerics' lifespans by slowing their aging process before stopping it altogether, and in combat, his avatar can inflict Rapid Aging on his opponents by striking them with his walking stick. His most powerful priests can make other people into The Ageless by sacrificing their own Constitution points.
- Grandpa God: Both his true form and avatar are elderly men with bald heads and fulsome white beards.
- Rapid Aging: Anyone struck by his avatar’s walking stick will instantly age up to 50 years. More generally, Shou Hsing sends omens of his displeasure by making people age prematurely.
- Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Shou Hsing's tablets hold the prophesied dates of every person's death. These dates are supposedly immutable, but he has been known to fudge them for people who get on his good side, giving them extra time.
Spirits of the Air
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Sung Chiang
The many-armed, multi-headed god of thieves. In 1st edition he is known as No Cha. His base of operations, the Teardrop Palace, lies in Gehenna.
- Black Market: On Hallowed Ground states that his divine realm contains a marketplace where stolen goods from throughout the multiverse can be bought and sold.
- Deity of Human Origin: He was an extremely prolific thief in life. After death, he used his crimes to expose the corruption of his provincial government to the Celestial Bureaucracy, who rewarded him by elevating Sung Chiang to godhood.
- Devious Daggers: The sneaky, duplicitous patron god of thieves wields a poisoned dagger while in avatar form.
- Intangible Theft: As the god of thieves, this is to be expected. He expands his domain by stealing tiny, unremarkable pieces of other deities' domains and incorporating them into his own.
- Money Mauling: One of his most dangerous attacks in 1st edition is to chuck a small gold brick at his opponent. Said brick does a massive amount of damage and can bean targets from up to a hundred yards away.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: In his true form, he has eight arms. 1st edition takes advantage of this by giving him half a dozen distinct attack options, each of which is implied to be tied to one of his hands.
Tai Yang Ti Chun
This God appears as a noncorporal column of light that stands 20 feet tall and 4 foot wide. He can teleport and coming within 60 yards of his body causes the being to suffer 25 points of heat damage. Any weapon plus 4 or less will melt when hitting him. He fights with a shah or white light that hits for 30 points of fire damage.
Tou Mu
The monstrous, three-eyed, multiarmed goddess of the North Star. The only sourcebook to feature her has little to say about her beyond her combat statistics.
- Always Accurate Attack: Her bow can't miss targets that are within 100 yards.
- Bling of War: She owns a fleet of war chariots with tongues that look like solid diamond and wheels made of jade.
- Fire-Breathing Weapon: The severed dragon's head that she lugs around is still alive and can breathe fire on her command.
- Improbable Weapon User: In addition to more mundane weapons like spears and bows, Tou Mu wields such bizarre weapons as a dragon's still-living severed head and magical flag that launches death spells every time she swings it.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: She has sixteen arms, carries a small arsenal of weapons in most of them, and can rake foes with the claws of her free hands.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Apart from the many arms and the association with chariots, D&D's Tou Mu has little in common with her mythological inspiration
. The latter is a benevolent creator goddess, while the former is a monstrous, low-ranking demon goddess worshipped solely by evil beings.
Wen Chung
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Yen-Wang-Yeh
The god of the dead, a dour official who judges the souls of men and sends them to their fates with maximum efficiency. He works from the Palace of Judgment, a sprawling but stultifying bureaucratic complex located in the Outlands. In the real world, he is better known as Yama.
- Eye Beams: 1st edition states that he can shoot literal death rays from his eyes, at will.
- God of the Dead: He oversees those departments of the Celestial Bureaucracy which handle the spirits of the dead and personally decides whether a person gets reincarnated or goes to Hell. Legends & Lore states that he personally approves every resurrective spell cast by any worshipper of the Chinese pantheon and can veto a person's resurrection should he feel so inclined. He has no tolerance for the undead, by contrast, and may send his clerics to pacify restless spirits.
- Hades Shaded: The Chinese pantheon's resident death god is a man with ebony skin.
- The Paralyzer: In both 1st and 2nd edition, anyone who touches Yen-Wang-Yeh must succeed on a saving throw or become paralyzed.
- Scaled Up: He can turn himself into an oriental dragon during combat in 1st edition.
Yu Shih
Yu Shih looks like a man wearing plus 3 armor which seems to be rusting off of his body. This armor has the property of rusting completely any metal touching it. He wears a blue helm giving him the powers of teleportation and flying. He prefers to ride a storm cloud, at 24" per turn, that supports 10 beings of any size.
In General
Christianity overwhelmingly replaced European paganism during the Dark Ages, with aggressive missionary efforts from Rome and Constantinople convering most of Eastern Europe during the Ninth and Tenth Centuries. Pagan enclaves managed to survive along the Baltic coast for a few centuries more, but their old religions passed away under the military domination of their Christian neighbors.Instead of presenting separate pantheons for the Slavs, Eurasians, and Balts, their most prominent deities are presented as a whole. Several gods held a regional appeal that crossed cultural boundaries, which should not be too surprising considering the polytheistic nature of pagan Europe. Not all of the divinities listed below were worshiped throughout all of Eastern Europe, but any geographic restrictions are noted.
Slavic Gods
Dazhbog
Dazhbog is the sun god of the Eastern Slavs. Depicted as either an aspects of the great creator god Svarog or as one of Svarog's sons, Dazhbog is quite popular, especially in Kiev, where he joins a select group of deities that form the pantheon of Vladimir's pagan state religion. Legends state that he rides across the sky in a diamond chariot. Dazhbog might have inherited Svarog's title of the Bright Sun, as well as his symbol, a symmetrical cross within a circle.
The role of Dazhbog's priesthood involves their participation in the major religious festivals throughout the year. They serve a god that is the antithesis of darkness, death, and evil, making them ideal adventurers. They are perfect for serving as advisors, judges, and diplomats. Dazhbog is worshiped by many, but farmers pay him particular reverence.
Death Crone
A goddess common to many Indo-European cultures, the malicious and predatory Death Crone uses her wiles and sorcery to collect souls. Worshiped by few, most mortals try to avoid her attention. She serves as the patron of necromancers, other evil spellcasters, and outcasts from society. The Crone has sharp teeth and nails, which she uses to rend flesh from bone. She wears black, ragged robes. Her symbols are skulls and ravens.
If one of her clerics is present in a community, it is hoped the cleric's presence will keep the Death Crone appeased. They can sometimes be found serving an evil lord, but they are just as likely to keep their own counsel.
Jarilo
Jarilo appears as a young man riding a white horse, wearing a white cloak, and carrying sheaves of wheat (a fertility symbol). Chaotic neutral in alignment, he is given to indulging his passions, and his influence is seen in any number of rash actions, even if they are not directly related to love or other affairs of the heart. His death is mourned every fall, and his return is celebrated every spring.
Farmers, lovers, warriors, and others who take rash actions or desire fertility pay homage to him.
Mokosh
Moist Mother Earth governs fertility, home, and healing. Her favor is sought for good harvests and healthy herd animals by the community as a whole, and by women in particular in regards to childbirth and rearing. Mokosh might have Finnish or Iranian origins, and Moist Mother Earth is a title that might have applied to other, similar deities before Mokosh became preeminent. The cult was most active in Russia. Her favored weapon is the sickle.
Perun
The most universal god of the Slavs, the Thunderer is worshiped throughout Eastern Europe. He is the Slavic manifestation of the numerous Indo-European thunder gods and closely resembles Thor of Norse mythology. All Slavs seek his blessing, for without his rains the crops wither away. Warriors also revere him for his strength and power, although he is not a war god. Like Thor and other storm gods, Perun is the enemy of the World Serpent (Zmiya, in Slavic mythology) and evildoers. Perun is a creator and an enforcer; he gives life like other creator gods, but he also dispenses harsh justice to mortals and immortals alike.
Perun appears as a middle-aged man, and his wild hair and beard are a fiery copper or wiry black. His emotions sway between brooding and fearsome anger. He flies across the skies in his chariot, pulled by goats. Perun creates thunderbolts when he throws his axe, his favored weapon. His symbol is a six-spoke wheel, which represents his thunder chariot. Oak trees are sacred to the cult and the god's totem animal is the bull (it is sometimes said that a pair of bulls, instead of goats, pull his chariot).
The priesthood serve as leaders in their community, offering judgments in any kind of dispute. The Thunderer's clerics should do well for themselves in pagan Kiev, as Perun was Vladimir's favorite god. Perun's clerics have a special dislike for oath breakers. Priests of Perun are excellent candidates for the adventuring life, and it is not uncommon to find them on military expeditions.
Rod
Rod is a deity of fertility of the Eastern Slavs, and he serves as the protector of the family. The rozhanitsy, minor deities of birth and fate similar to the norns of Scandinavian mythology, serve him. A festival dedicated to them was celebrated in September after the harvests were gathered. His favored weapon is the quarterstaff.
Stribog
Stribog is the god of winter, known as the Master of Winds and the Scatterer of Wealth. Those who worship this malevolent god seek to appease his frigid wrath and to ritually observe his dominion over their lives. Stribog appears as an old man. Cold winds constantly ruffle his cloak and white hair. His favored weapon is the spear.
The small priesthood dedicated to Stribog seek to gain power for themselves and to exert harsh influence over their communities, mirroring winter's brutal subjugation of life during its season. Stribog is another one of the select patron gods of Vladimir's Kiev, joining Perun, Dazhbog, and Mokosh. His clerics should benefit from this prestigious position within the Kiev community. Stribog's priesthood is busiest with their duties in winter; the rest of the year Stribog's clerics might engage in any kind of venture.
Svarog
Svarog rules the heavens and gives light and life-giving warmth to the earth. He is known for his ability to assume many forms, preferring to appear as a falcon, wolf, horse, or whirlwind. Several lesser deities are credited as being Svarog's sons, such as Svarozic, the god of earthly fire, and Stribog, the god of winter. These deities could also be considered personifications of Svarog's many aspects, and this interpretation has been used in determining his clerics' domain selections. The longspear is his favored weapon.
Svarozic
Svarozic rules earthly fire. Like Dazhbog, he is either considered to be one of Svarog's sons, or the manifestation of one of his aspects, in this case, the celestial fire brought to earth. He occupies a role similar to Gabija the hearth goddess. Besides the obvious need for fire for warmth and cooking, fire is also associated with healing, and people and animals ritually pass between bonfires to ward away or cure diseases. Svarozic's favored weapon is a longsword, and his symbol is a flame.
His priesthood is very popular with common people, and his influence is a part of everyday life. The fire god's clerics do little outside of the community out of their own initiative, but as they usually ally with the cults of some of the most prominent deities, they assist those cults as needed.
Volos
Volos is the god of horned animals, crops, and wealth. Although subordinate to Svarog and Perun in overall power, Volos is very popular in his specific role as the protector of horned beasts. As the East Slavs began to develop trading settlements, his influence expanded to the protection of merchants and tradesmen, possibly because many of them relied on animals for transport. His worship was very active in Novgorod and Rostov, although his cult ranged throughout Eastern Europe.
Although the well-being of the community's herd animals is of great importance to everyone, merchants and craftsmen especially seek the god's favor. He appears as a shepherd, and his favored weapon is a quarterstaff. Symbols associated with the cult are sheaves of grain, cattle, and oxen.
The priesthood serves the community by ensuring the health of its herd animals and by blessing its marketplace. Volos' clerics are sought as arbitrators in trade disputes and it is wise to have one accompany any trading venture, especially the long and dangerous journey to Constantinople.
Baltic Gods
Gabija
The goddess of hearth and home, Gabija protects the family and its animals, and helps preserve the hearth fire. She is popular with commoners, especially women responsible for maintaining and nurturing their families. The flame is her symbol, and her favored weapon is a dagger.
It is hard to imagine her priests as adventurers, but it is possible. The goddess' priests are mostly concerned about the welfare of the local village. Gabija's cult might have an easier time surviving in places that have converted to Christianity than the cults of some of the more dramatic gods.
Jurate
Jurate is the Sea Mother of the Baltic Sea. Balt sailors and fishermen revere the goddess, and seafaring Slavs, Finns, and Scandinavians pray for her blessing.
She appears as a beautiful mermaid and lives in an amber palace at the bottom of the sea. The amber deposits found along the Baltic coast are said to be her tears, shed for the loss of a mortal lover exiled or killed by Perun for breaking the boundary between the mortal and immortal. She depends on her enchantments to defend herself, but if a weapon is needed, she chooses a dagger. A perfectly shaped piece of amber is her symbol.
Jurate's clerics are most prevalent in coastal communities, obviously. These priests are suited for adventures on the sea, and they are always welcome aboard a ship.
Meness
Meness is the moon god of the Baltric tribes. He protects those who travel at night and serves as a patron to warriors and rogues. He appears as a young, regal-looking man wearing a crown and a cloak decorated with stars. He wields a diamond sword and rides across the sky in a chariot pulled by a gray horse. Meness is married to Saule, and their children are the stars. He is a rival of Perun, who struck his face with a lightning bolt as punishment for lusting after another goddess. Evidence of this conflict is seen during the monthly phases of the moon. A moon and stars are commonly painted on the shields of Baltic warriors.
Meness' clerics are, socially, almost as important as Saule's clerics, although in matters of hunting and war they are superior. Although most worshipers revere both Meness and Perun, the moon god's clerics harbor some resentment against the Thunderer's priests. Fights between the faiths are uncommon, but Meness' clerics tru to outdo Perun's whenever the two groups have mutual interests in public affairs.
Saule
A sun goddess of the Balts, Finns, and some Eurasian nomads, Saule is also known as Saules Mate, and her names translate into "Sun" and "Mother Sun". As a sun goddess, she is responsible for nurturing life, but her portfolio also includes childbirths, weaving, and music. She has universal appeal to the cultures that revere her, with bards especially seeking her patronage. Saule is depicted as golden-haired, dressed in golden robes, pouring sunlight out of a jug. She rides across the sky in a golden chariot drawn by two white horses. Her symbol is an eight-spoked wheel, representing the rays of the sun and the wheels of her chariot. Her favored weapon is a shining short-sword. She is married to Meness, the Baltic moon god.
Her cult is an essential part of any community, and its priests serve as leaders, healers, and protectors. Saule's clerics might also extend their influence beyond a local village, providing their services to a larger region, especially the more martial priests.
Svantovit
The god of war and bounty, Christian writers reported that he ruled over the other Slavic gods, although this might be due to the particular influence his cult had in the few surviving pagan strongholds in the Baltic during the twelfth century. The Baltic Slavs might have considered Svantovit more important than the other gods because they were often at war with their Christian German and Slavic neighbours.
Svantovit is the god of prosperity for the Baltic Slavs. He is responsible for good fortune with both harvests and military ventures, as both are very important sources of a tribe's wealth and survival. The worship of Svantovit draws the veneration and offerings of pagan Scandinavians (primarily Danes) seeking the god's blessing in trade and war. Svantovit rides a white horse and uses a longsword in battle. His symbol is a cup and a greatsword.
As the pagan Baltic tribes find themselves under increasing pressure from their Christian neighbours, the war god's priests seek to bolster the morale of a people at the edge of defeat and to encourage resistance from those who are already under military and religious domination. Svantovit's clerics also encourage war as a means of obtaining loot and slaves. During more peaceful times, the cult is very active in trading centers.
Eurasian Gods
Lunt-Ater
A sun god of the Eurasian steppes, the Gander Chief is also known as the World Surveyor Man, because he learns the secrets of the earth as he travels across the sky on his daily journey. He is a powerful shaman and uses his magical powers to aid mankind against such threats as plagues and famine. As his name implies, he often takes the form of a gander (which is one of his symbols), but his normal form is that of a man dressed as a tribal shaman carrying a staff.
The Gander Chief's clerics normally function as one of the tribe's shamans, presiding over religious ceremonies and providing divinations and healing for the clan. Outside of the confines of the nomad tents and wagons, these clerics play a supporting role in military matters. They are quite useful in diplomatic missions.
In General
The largely benevolent, mostly animal-headed gods worshipped in Ancient Egypt. In the Forgotten Realms setting, they are worshipped by the people of Mulhorand due to their ancestors being actual ancient Egyptians that had been brought to Toril by the magocratic Imaskar Empire to serve as slave labor.Most of the Egyptian gods dwell in Heliopolis, a domain on the plane of Arcadia. Others have carved out private realms for themselves on other planes or wander the planes with no fixed abode.
- Artifact of Death: Inverted in 1st edition, where all Egyptian gods possess a divine "true ankh" which they can use to bring the dead back to life.
- Holy Is Not Safe: In 1st edition, the Egyptian gods carry divine relics called "true ankhs". In the hands of an Egyptian god, a true ankh can resurrect the dead. In the hands of anyone who is not a god, a true ankh is a one-way ticket to a fiery death.
Ra
The hawk-headed progenitor of the Egyptian pantheon. Ra tows the sun across the sky every day with his sacred barge and bestows mortal pharaohs with their divine right to rule.
In the Forgotten Realms setting, he goes by the slightly different name Re.
- Anti-Magic: In 1st edition, Ra is under the effect of a permanent antimagic shell which prevents any other person's magic from affecting him, but which doesn't interfere with his own spells. In 2nd edition, this shell is instead a property of his barge.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Ra doesn't bother to carry weapons, and his 2nd edition avatar fights with his fists whenever he isn't using his Eye Beams.
- Cool Boat: Ra's barge is a flying craft forged from the fires of the sun itself. It changes between a war galley and a funereal barge depending on the time of day, it emanates a fiery aura which will burn anyone who tries to touch or board the ship without Ra's consent, and it has a boatload of other magical properties.
- Hand Blast: In 1st edition, Ra fights primarily by shooting heat rays from his hands.
- Power of the Sun: It's Ra, so this should go without saying. The 1st edition Deities & Demigods book gives him the power to bring forth light whenever he pleases and shoot rays of damaging heat which cannot be resisted, while his 2nd edition avatar from Legends & Lore can shoot Eye Beams made of "solar flame". His barge is also stated to be made of solidified solar fire.
- Take Up My Sword: The Forgotten Realms version of Re was mortally wounded by Gruumsh during the Orcgate Wars. The dying Re transferred his power and authority to Horus, elevating the latter to head of the Mulhorandi pantheon as Horus-Re.
- Top God: He is the primogenitor of most of the Egyptian gods and the one the rest of them look to for guidance and authority.
- Turn Undead: His 2nd edition avatar can use the power of his ankh to instantly obliterate any undead he's facing, provided that these undead are not native to whatever plane of existence where the fight is taking place.
Anhur
The god of war, a powerful and fearsome deity who reserves his wrath for the wicked. His divine realm is Netaph, a temperate place of martial training located on the first layer of Ysgard.
- Animal Motifs: Falcons. The bird of prey is his holy symbol, and some sources state that he takes the form of a man with a falcon's head.
- Deity Identity Confusion:
- On Hallowed Ground states that Anhur's proxy is Montju, with whom he often quarrels and occasionally trades places. In the real world, Montju was a separate Egyptian god of war.
- The Mulhorandi version of Anhur is also worshipped as Ramman in Unther, due to the latter god passing his name and divine portfolio to Anhur after being mortally wounded by Assuran.
- On Hallowed Ground states that Anhur's proxy is Montju, with whom he often quarrels and occasionally trades places. In the real world, Montju
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Deities & Demigods states that Anhur normally has two arms, but during combat he prefers to shapeshift into forms with more arms so he can wield more weapons at once. Legends & Lore cuts out the middleman and states that he naturally has four arms to better wield his mighty lance.
- No-Sell: His 2nd edition avatar can't be harmed by weapons that don't have at least a +3 bonus.
- The Power of the Sun: An indirect example. Anhur's lance is tipped with a literal fragment of the sun, giving the weapon tremendous power.
- Turn Undead: In 1st edition, Anhur's lance has the power to destroy all undead within 50 yards of him.
- War God: His role in the Egyptian pantheon. Anhur wages war against the forces of darkness and evil, and he does not attack those of good or neutral alignment unless they attack him first. His priests and clerics are skilled warriors who act as military advisors or commanders.
Anubis
Anubis appears as a male human with the head and long tail of a dog or jackal. A neat mane of straight black hair falls over his shoulders. He dresses in a white knee-length kilt, a decorative scale mail breastplate of glittering gold, and a number of bracers and armbands. He typically carries either a scepter or a true ankh. He can use his Shift Form ability to take on the form of a jackal. Anubis is the son of Osiris and Nephthys.
Anubis guides the souls of dead mortals to the halls of judgment, supervises their weighing on the scales of Ma'at, and protects them on their journey. In addition, he guards cemeteries from grave robbers and other defilers. Anubis helped his mother Nephthys and his aunt Isis mummify Osiris (his father), applying his knowledge of herbs and medicines. He is also a keeper of magical knowledge, particularly that related to necromancy. Despite his knowledge of necromancy, he does not condone animating or controlling undead creatures, with the exception of mummies established as tomb guardians.
Followers of Anubis practice rigorous disciplines to hone their minds and spirits, preparing themselves for the eventual journey to the afterlife. The Judge of the Dead has few devotees, but he is often worshiped at funerals, where his clerics typically officiate.
- Animate Inanimate Object: He can animate statues of himself according to Deities & Demigods.
- Berserk Button: According to Deities & Demigods, Anubis cannot stand thieves, particularly those who'd rob tombs bearing his iconography. There’s a 1 in 20 chance that he will show up in person to terminate any such tomb robbers with extreme prejudice.
- God of the Dead: He is the guardian of the dead. Planescape exaggerates this trope by making Anubis the guardian of dead gods: he keeps watch over the lifeless husks drifting through the astral plane to ensure they aren’t disturbed or desecrated.
- Man Bites Man: Deities & Demigods states that his preferred tactic is to bite people to death with his powerful jaws.
- Non-Human Head: As in real Egyptian myth, his true form is a man with a jackal's head.
- Psychopomp: He is tasked with ferrying souls to the afterlife, which can cause problems for players if they're trying to resurrect someone who worships the Egyptian gods.
Apep
Apep (also called Apophis) is an evil creature of the underworld and an enemy of the gods (though sometimes an ally of Set). He is the living embodiment of evil in Egyptian myth. Apep appears as a giant serpent, 100 feet long. He is served by hordes of demons, most of them sharing serpentine and fiery qualities.
Apep is reviled, not revered, in the temples of the Egyptian pantheon. Officially, according to the priests of Re-Horakhty and the other deities, Apep has no worshipers, no temples, and no creed but destruction and evil.
Those deranged, corrupt, and otherwise evil souls who devote themselves to Apep agree, at least in part. He has no creed but destruction: destruction of all the Egyptian gods, their temples, their clerics, their worshipers, and even the world they created and the creatures that inhabit it. The followers of Apep, not as few as the priests of other deities would like people to believe, do not strive for a world dominated by evil; they strive for the end of the world.
[This description was copied in violation of our Plagiarism policy. Please replace it with original writing.]
Apshai
An odd duck in the Egyptian pantheon, Apshai is a demigod of insects who takes the form of a giant praying mantis. It dwells in the Hive, a warren of tunnels running beneath the Outlands.
- Always Accurate Attack: Its bite attack cannot miss in 1st edition.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: It is a giant, nonanthropomorphic mantis.
- Portal Crossroad World: Apshai's divine realm, the Hive, supposedly connects to every world on the material plane where the Egyptian pantheon is worshipped.
- Pest Controller: The 1e Deities & Demigods states that Apshai can control any non-divine insect and unleash devastating insect plagues on entire countries.
- Sadly Mythtaken: The name "Apshai" does come from ancient Egyptian religious texts, but it isn't the name of a god; it's a mummy-munching carrion beetle. The concept of Apshai being a god was made up whole cloth for D&D.
Bast
The cat-headed goddess of pleasure and cats. Her divine realm of Merratet, located on the plane of Ysgard, is a cat-infested savannah with the overgrown ruins of an ancient city at its heart.
The Mulhorandi version of Bast is better known as Sharess, the Faerûnian goddess of pleasure and sensuality.
- Animorphism: Her 2nd edition avatar can shapeshift into any sort of feline at will.
- The Beastmaster: As the goddess of cats, Bast holds authority over felines of every sort. Her 2nd edition avatar can command cats to do her bidding, and even if she doesn’t, no cat will ever attack her or act against her.
- Deity Identity Confusion: The Faerunian goddess Sharess is the Mulhorandi version of Bast after having absorbed the divine portfolios of two other gods from unrelated pantheons and fostered cat and/or pleasure cults throughout the continent. Most people worship her as Sharess, the people of Mulhorand still revere her as Bast, and she is occasionally worshipped as the two gods she absorbed, Felidae and Zandilar the Dancer.
- Forced Transformation: When Bast's avatar rakes someone with her claws in 2nd edition, that person must succeed on a saving throw or be transformed into a big cat.
- The Hedonist: Bast is fond of sampling the world's physical pleasures and requires her clerics to do the same.
- Holy Hand Grenade: In 2nd edition, her avatar's claws deal extra damage to evil creatures.
- No-Sell: If someone tries to attack Bast with a weapon in 1st edition, there is a high chance that the weapon will shatter harmlessly against her skin, doing no damage.
- Psychic Dreams for Everyone: People who visit Bast's realm will invariably have visceral dreams of big cats stalking and killing prey while they sleep. These dreams come from Bast herself, and how a person reacts to the dreams when they wake up determines whether the local big cats leave them alone or put them on the menu.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: On Hallowed Ground states that Bast is bitter rivals with the cat lord, a supernatural entity which claims to be the sovereign and protector of all felines. Since Bast is the goddess of cats, she views the cat lord as an upstart and a rival for the affection of her feline subjects.
- Teleport Spam: Deities & Demigods states that Bast frequently teleports around the battlefield between slashing enemies with her claws.
Bes
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.
Even more so than Bast, Bes is a chaotic deity who cares little for dogma. He loves gambling, and gamblers alternately bless and curse his name, depending on their fortunes. Some've said that the greater the risk, the more likely Bes'll tip the scales on the part of the bettor, as long as the person doesn't make too brash a wager. He also delights in small children. People believe that a baby's unexplained smile is an indication of Bes' invisible presence, making faces that only the infant can see. Almost everyone calls on Bes at one time or another for luck, and Bes does not care about the morals or ethics of those who implore him for aid. He acts on whims, handing out good fortune as it pleases him and delighting like a child in the gifts offered to him.
Geb
The personification of the earth, a powerfully built and jovial man deeply in love with his sister Nut. He dwells in the Caverns under the Stars, a subterranean facsimile of the surface world located deep within the Elemental Plane of Earth.
- Artificial Outdoors Display: Geb's divine realm is a sprawling network of subterranean caverns. Thanks to Nut's influence, the largest of these caverns have a night sky covering their roofs, creating the illusion that a person is aboveground rather than surrounded by countless miles of solid rock in all directions.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: In 1st edition, Geb's bare fists are deadly weapons that deal more damage than most of the divine weapons wielded by his fellow Egyptian gods.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Geb is the god of earth, and in 2nd edition his avatar carries a magical quarterstaff which can duplicate the effects of any spell or magic item which involves the manipulation of the earth. His true form has such a great mastery over the earth that he can stop other people from casting earth-manipulating spells.
- Divine Incest: True to the source material, Geb is deeply in love with his sister Nut, and is himself the product of incest between the sibling gods Shu and Tefnut.
- Healing Factor: Geb's staff lets him regenerate lost hit points in 1st edition. 2nd edition makes this an innate property of his avatar, contingent upon his being in contact with the ground.
- No-Sell: Geb cannot be harmed by any weapon while he's in contact with the ground. His 2nd edition avatar is immune to any weapon that doesn't have at least a +3 bonus.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Geb and his sister Nut deeply love each other, but Ra has forbidden their union, and their father Shu does everything in his power to keep them apart.
- Summon Magic: Geb can innately summon numerous earth elementals to fight for him each day, and in 1st edition, his crown allows him to summon a further eight monsters of random types.
Hathor
The benevolent deity Hathor appears either as a human woman with the head of a cow, as a human woman with cow's ears or horns, or simply as a large cow. She is a deity of music and dance, art and inspiration. Her broad portfolio also includes influence over love and motherhood, the moon, and fate. Hathor is one of the daughters of Re-Horakhty and is married to Bes.
Hathor's essential teaching commands people to savor life and all the good aspects of it, beauty, art, music, love, and family. Hathor's clerics teach that these things are divine gifts, meant to be enjoyed and protected. There is no evil in enjoying these simple blessings; it is evil to deny them to another or to destroy them.
Horus/Re-Horakhty
The hawk-headed son of Isis and Osiris, who helped his mother carry out the ritual to resurrect his father and prevented Set from interfering.
In 3rd edition, Horus was combined with Ra to become Re-Horakhty (or Horus-Re, as he is known in the Forgotten Realms).
- Anti-Magic: In 1st edition, Horus's sword protects him from hostile spells of 5th level or lower.
- Good Is Dumb: On Hallowed Ground paints Horus as an impulsive meathead who can easily be tricked, but he is nevertheless a steadfast foe of evil.
- Took a Level in Badass: Horus was depicted as a lesser god of little import in 1st and 2nd edition. Following his Fusion Dance with Ra, Re-Horakhty is now a significantly more powerful god and the new head of the Egyptian pantheon.
- War God: War falls under his divine sphere of influence both as Horus and as Re-Horakhty.
- Weapon of X-Slaying: In 1st edition he wields a ridiculously long spear that can instantly kill any shapeshifter which isn't in its true form.
- You Killed My Father: He hates Set because the latter murdered his father. He looks favorably upon those who set out on epic quests to avenge their own family members, so much so that he may send his avatar to assist them on such a quest.
Imhotep
Imhotep is the only ascended mortal in the Egyptian pantheon, an advisor to kings, builder of pyramids, and paragon of knowledge who rose to become the god of healing and science. He appears as a normal human dressed in a white robe and carrying a staff. (As an ascended mortal, Imhotep does not have outsider Hit Dice as other members of the pantheon do).
Imhotep's key doctrine is that knowledge, science, and magic should be used to help humanity. While Thoth teaches the collection of knowledge for knowledge's sake, and Anubis guards secrets of herbalism and magic, Imhotep insists that knowledge is only useful if it is used, and it must be used for the good of all. Though Imhotep is not a god of magic, his doctrine applies to magic as much as to the science of engineering. The appropriate use of magic is to help others, not harm them. While not explicitly pacifistic, Imhotep places much more emphasis on healing than on warfare, in stark contrast to other Egyptian deities.
Isis
The benevolent goddess of motherhood and magic, Isis is the daughter of Geb and Nut, the sister-wife of Osiris, and the mother of Horus. She rules one-third of Heliopolis and has a private residence in Quietude, a small village in the Blessed Fields of Elysium.
- The Archmage: As a goddess of magic, Isis is naturally a superlatively skilled spellcaster. The 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that she can spam high-level magic to her heart's content, while 2nd edition Legends & Lore states that her avatar can cast spells from any school or sphere with no restrictions.
- Brought Down to Normal: In 2nd edition, anyone foolish enough to try to cast harmful spells upon Isis are liable to find themselves stripped of their magical abilities for up to twenty days.
- Compelling Voice: Her 2nd edition avatar's voice has a supernatural charm effect which is impossible to resist.
- Divine Incest: Like her parents and grandparents, Isis is married to her sibling.
- God of Knowledge: Of the "God of Magic" subtype. Isis is knowledgeable of many subjects, with a particular emphasis on the workings of magic, and is always eager to learn more or to impart her knowledge to mortals.
- No-Sell: Isis's 2nd edition avatar cannot be harmed (or even affected) by magic unless she wishes otherwise, and any magical item or weapon that gets used against her promptly becomes non-magical.
- Protective Charm: 1st edition states that Isis is the undisputed master of crafting charms that protect their bearers from harmful magic. In fact, there's a 1 in 20 chance that she’ll approach a random person to give them a charm which protects them from a specific type of spell, purely on a whim.
Nephthys
The goddess of wealth, Nephthys is a daughter of Geb and Nut and the sister and former wife of Set. She dwells in Amun-thys, a desert sub-realm of the Olympian Glades of Arborea.
- All That Glitters: On Hallowed Ground states that the dusty ruins of Nephthys's realm are filled with "treasures" that seem far more valuable than they truly are. This makes Amun-thys a magnet for greedy treasure hunters who don’t know any better, to the consternation of Nephthys’s petitioners.
- The Almighty Dollar: Wealth is part of her divine sphere of influence. She can bestow great wealth upon those who earn her favor, but she also expects her worshippers to annually fork over most of their cash and worldly possessions as a sign of their devotion.
- Deadly Gaze: Both Deities & Demigods and Legends & Lore state that Nephthys can strike people dead just by looking at them.
- Eye Beams: The 1st edition Deities & Demigods states that she can fire literal death rays from her eyes.
- Inconsistent Spelling: 2nd edition sourcebooks consistently spelled her name as Nephythys, with two "y"s. Prior and subsequent editions use the more conventional Nephthys spelling.
- The Scrooge: 2nd edition sources consistently paint Nephthys as a miserly goddess who hoards wealth and fills her coffers with severe annual tithes from her worshippers.
Nut
The personification of the sky, who is deeply in love with her brother Geb and bore him several children before Ra forced them to separate. She dwells in self-imposed isolation within the Refuge of Night, a divine realm on the Blessed Fields of Elysium.
- Celestial Body: Her true form is a beautiful woman whose skin resembles a starry night sky.
- Divine Incest: True to Egyptian myth, Nut is married to her brother Geb and is herself the product of incest between the siblings Shu and Tefnut.
- God of Darkness: While darkness isn't part of her divine portfolio, Nut nevertheless has a strong association with darkness and the night. This overlaps with The Sacred Darkness, as she is a benevolent goddess.
- No-Sell: Her 2nd edition avatar is immune to any spell that involves the manipulation of air or earth.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Ra has forbidden Nut from being with her brother-husband, and their father Shu works to keep them apart. Nevertheless, they remain faithful to one another. She looks kindly upon women who find themselves in similar circumstances to her own and may send her avatar to lend them a helping hand.
Osiris
Osiris is nearly the greatest god in the Egyptian pantheon, hindered only by the fact that he is dead. Had his brother Set not murdered him, Osiris would occupy the throne of the gods now held instead by his son Re-Horakhty. Osiris rules over the world of the dead as his son rules the living.
Osiris can also appear as a human mummy swathed in strips of linen. He wears the crown of rulership over the dead and holds a scepter and a flail, symbolizing his kingship and his power over the forces of nature. These include the cycle of crops and vegetation and the primal elemental forces of air and earth, control of which Osiris inherited from the elder deities.
Having himself endured death and risen to reign in the afterlife, Osiris promises a place in the same afterlife to those who follow him. All who die must face Osiris' stern judgment, however. Osiris demands adherence to basic principles of order and goodness in order to win admission into the Offering Fields. Each soul that appears in his Hall of Truth must recite a long confession, proclaiming, "I have not sinned against others. I have not wronged my family. I have not done wrong instead of right. I have known no worthless folk..." and so on. The monster Ammit, a servant of Anubis, devours those who fail in Osiris' judgment.
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Ptah
Ptah is a mysterious creator deity, related to the rest of the Egyptian pantheon only by marriage (to Re-Horakhty's daughter Bast), not by birth. Legends suggest that Ptah existed before even Ra and Apep, and that he may have created them, and even other gods in other pantheons. Despite his marriage to Bast, he remains aloof from the struggles and rivalries of the Egyptian pantheon, spending his time wandering the vast expanses of the planes.
Ptah's law is the order of the universe. Everything has a place in the cosmic scheme, and everything fits together to work for a purpose that is beyond mortal understanding. Ptah may have set this intricate cosmic machinery in motion, and it seems quite likely that he is the only one who knows its purpose or eventual result. His followers generally act as though they're in on the secret, but certainly none of them know as much as Ptah himself. Mortals can simply do their best to fill the part they're supposed to play, not overstepping their place or spreading disorder in the well-ordered world.
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Seker
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Set
The main evil god of the Egyptian pantheon, Set is the brother of Osiris and the ex-husband of Nephthys. He murdered Osiris out of jealousy, which really did not work out for Set in the long run. He dwells in a black pyramid at the heart of his divine realm Ankhwugaht, which is in the Nine Hells of Baator.
- Abhorrent Admirer: On Hallowed Ground paints Set as this toward Nephthys. He regularly tries to buy his way back into his ex-wife's good graces, not understanding that she wants nothing to do with a fundamentally evil guy who callously murdered his own brother.
- Cain and Abel: With his brother Osiris. Set is the Cain in their relationship, having murdered Osiris in a petty act of jealousy.
- Deity Identity Confusion: Certain nations in the Forgotten Realms setting worship him under the name Typhon, while the Yuan-Ti worship him under the guise of Zehir.
- Evil Virtues: Loyalty. Set is a cruel, ambitious backstabber of a god, but he legitimately cares for his followers and would not abandon them or screw them over. He also forbids said followers from betraying each other and expects them to work together as a "brotherhood".
- Fetus Terrible: Legends & Lore states that Set violently tore his way out of Nut's womb and was evil and repulsive from the moment of his birth.
- God of Evil: His primary role in the Egyptian pantheon. Set is the designated bad guy who does evil things just because he can. He can even force a person's alignment to become Lawful Evil in 1st and 2nd edition.
- Hailfire Peaks: Set's divine realm of Ankhwugaht is a scorching desert located right in the middle of Stygia, which is the coldest layer of the Nine Hells and a literal icy hellscape.
- Heel–Face Brainwashing: Inverted. Set has the power to turn even the most upstanding and good person evil just by touching them (in 1st edition) or meeting their gaze (2nd edition).
- Irony: Set has been painted as his pantheon's God of Chaos from the word go, but his official alignment in 1st through 3rd edition sourcebooks was consistently Lawful Evil. 5th edition recognized the paradox of this and made him Chaotic Evil instead.
- One-Hit Kill: Set's 2nd edition avatar has a poisonous bite which can cause instant death.
- Poisonous Person: 1st and 2nd edition sourcebooks state that he has poisonous skin which can instantly kill anyone who touches him.
- Reforged into a Minion: According to the 1st edition Deities & Demigods, Set can transform people into shapeshifting supernatural entities known as the Minions of Set just by touching them. As their name implies, these Minions are fanatically loyal to Set and act as his servants.
- Retcon: Exactly what kind of animal head he has varies by edition. In 1st and 2nd edition it was a jackal's head, but from 3rd edition onwards it's a donkey's head.
Shu
Firstborn of Ra's children, Shu is the personification of the atmosphere and brother-husband of Tefnut. He dwells in Desert Wind, a particularly warm and gentle subsection of the Elemental Plane of Air.
- Blow You Away: As a god of the atmosphere, Shu possesses great power over the wind and air. Legends & Lore states that his true form is surrounded by swirling winds which can become raging cyclones with but a thought, and his avatar carries a magical sword that unleashes a powerful gale upon striking a foe, literally blowing the victim miles away.
- Counter Spell: Anyone foolish enough to try casting a spell that manipulates wind against Shu will discover that the god can negate such spells effortlessly.
- Divine Incest: As in actual Egyptian myth, Shu is married to his sister Tefnut.
- Hot God: Legends & Lore states that Shu looks like a divinely handsome man in both his true form and his avatar form.
- Make Them Rot: The 1st edition Deities & Demigods book states that Shu's touch makes things decay at impossible speed.
- Number Two: Legends & Lore states that Shu steps in to lead Heliopolis whenever Ra is absent, implying that Ra treats him as his second-in-command.
- Parental Marriage Veto: He is divinely mandated to keep his children Geb and Nut from being together, which he does by physically holding them apart.
- Summon Magic: He can conjure up numerous air elementals to fight for him in both first and second edition.
Sobek
The misshapen son of Set and Nephthys, Sobek is a crocodile-headed deity whose humanoid body is covered with thick, tough scales. He has a thick, crocodilian tail and heavy, clawed hands and feet. He also sometimes appears as a crocodile.
Sobek's essential creed is "eat or be eaten". His followers strive to carve out their own place in a world that is hostile to their continued existence, to win recognition from the Egyptian pantheon and its church, and, barring any realistic possibility ofcrushing their opposition, to survive the opposition of the good deities and their servants. Sobek's church is a cult acutely aware of how little power it actually holds. It clings to as much strength as it can muster, obeys the laws of the land when necessary to keep the full wrath of the authorities from falling upon it, and struggles to survive.
Tefnut
The twin sister-wife of Shu, Tefnut is the mercurial, lion-headed goddess of moisture and storms. Her divine realm is Windwrath, a storm-wracked section of the slopes of Bytopia.
- The Beastmaster: Her 2nd edition avatar is accompanied by lionesses who obey her commands and fight alongside her in combat.
- Divine Incest: She's married to her twin brother Shu and had two children with him.
- God of Thunder: She's a storm goddess with power over rain and lightning.
- Mood-Swinger: Tefnut's personality is as tempestuous and mercurial as the elemental forces she commands. She can go from gentle to harsh and back again at the drop of a hat.
- Shock and Awe: As a storm goddess, this is a given. She fights primarily by hurling lightning bolts at her foes in 1st edition, while her 2nd edition avatar can shoot lightning bolts from its eyes and wields a sword that can become a bolt of lightning on command.
Thoth
The mysterious deity Thoth appears as a slender human with the head of an ibis. He is the inventor of writing and arithmetic, and the god of scribes, sages, libraries, and knowledge in general. Thoth is not related, even by marriage, to any other deity in the Egyptian pantheon, and his origins are not clear. Some legends say that he was present at creation, recording the events of Ra's birth as they occurred. Others say he is a son of Ra, brother of Shu and Tefnut. Thoth is very close to Isis, Osiris, and Horus.
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Followers of Thoth collect knowledge for knowledge's sake, striving to better themselves through learning. Some hope to better the world as well, while others hope to gain the means to impose their will on the world through their knowledge. For Thoth himself, knowledge is all that matters. Thoth is not generous with his knowledge, but neither is he covetous of it. For those who work long and hard at research and science, he is a faithful source of information. Thoth is truly omniscient.
In General
[This description was copied in violation of our Plagiarism policy. Please replace it with original writing.]Ukko
Chief of the Finnish pantheon. An aloof deity who spends his time in solitary meditation, rousing himself only when evil threatens to destroy the world.
Ahto
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Air Maiden
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Hiisi
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Ilmarinen
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Ilmatar
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Kiputytto
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Kullervo
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Lemminkainen
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Louhi
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Loviatar
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Mielikki
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Son of Pohjola
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Surma
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Tuonetar
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Tuoni
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Untamo
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Vainamoinen
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