List of Dungeons & Dragons nonhuman deities

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This is a list of nonhuman deities of Dungeons & Dragons, defined as those fictional deities worshipped in the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) roleplaying game primarily by nonhuman races. Religion is a fundamental element of the D&D game because it is required to support both the cleric class and the behavioural aspects of the ethical alignment system. Most of these deities appear in both the Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms campaign settings, and each setting has nonhuman gods which do not appear in the other setting.

Contents

Publication history

The first two nonhuman deities described in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons were creations of Gary Gygax: Lolth in the adventure D1 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1978), [1] and Blibdoolpoolp in D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa (1978). [2] The original Deities and Demigods (1980) by James M. Ward presented a section with over 20 nonhuman deities from races such as bugbears, centaurs, dwarves, elves, giants, gnomes, goblins, halflings, hobgoblins, kobolds, kuo-toa, lizard men, locathah, mermen, ogres, orcs, sahuagin, and troglodytes, and introduced gods such as Moradin, Corellon Larethian, Vaprak, and Gruumsh. [3] Roger E. Moore expanded the demihuman pantheons by four to five deities each in Dragon magazine in 1982, featuring the dwarves in Dragon #58, [4] the halflings in Dragon #59, [5] the elves in Dragon #60, [6] the gnomes in Dragon #61, [7] and the orcs in Dragon #62; [8] these new gods were reprinted in the original Unearthed Arcana (1985). [9] In Dragon #63, Moore also added a deity each to the kobold, goblin, hobgoblin, and gnoll pantheons. [10]

In second edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the book Monster Mythology (1992) by Carl Sargent covered more than 100 nonhuman deities, including nearly all of those introduced previously, as well as making gods out of the dragons Bahamut and Tiamat and demon lords Demogorgon, Juiblex, and Yeenoghu – all five from the original 1977 Monster Manual , and the demon lords Baphomet and Kostchtchie from the original Monster Manual II (1982). Monster Mythology more than doubled the count of nonhuman deities from first edition, and detailed new gods for Underdark races such as beholders, illithids, myconids, and svirfnebli, new undersear gods, new draconic gods, and new faerie gods. [11] Rillifane Rallathil, an omission from the book, was detailed in Dragon #191 (1993). [12] Chris Perry expanded the elven pantheon in Dragon #236, [13] and Dragon #251. [14]

Bahamut and Tiamat appeared in a preview article for the third edition, in Dragon #272 (June 2000). [15] In third edition Dungeons & Dragons, Corellon Larethian, Garl Glittergold, Gruumsh, Moradin, and Yondalla were made part of the core pantheon of deities presented in the Player's Handbook (2000), [16] and were more fully detailed in Deities and Demigods (2002), along with Bahamut, Tiamat, Lolth, and Kurtulmak. [17] The priesthoods of these gods were detailed in Complete Divine (2004). [18] Some of the pantheons were detailed again, some with completely different compositions, including the dwarvish and gnomish pantheons in Races of Stone (2004), [19] the elvish and halfling pantheons in Races of the Wild (2005), [20] and the draconic pantheon in Races of the Dragon (2006). [21]

In fourth edition Dungeons & Dragons, Corellon, Gruumsh, and Moradin remained part of the core pantheon presented in the Player's Handbook (2008), and Bahamut, Tiamat, and Sehanine was added. [22]

Greyhawk

In Dragon #92 (December 1984), Gary Gygax indicated many of the demihuman deities as legal for the Greyhawk setting. [23] From the Ashes (1992) by Carl Sargent detailed some the nonhuman gods active in the second edition Greyhawk setting, [24] while the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer did the same for the third edition. [25]

Forgotten Realms

Dwarves Deep (1990) by Ed Greenwood detailed the dwarven pantheon as it appeared in the Forgotten Realms setting, and added four new gods. [26] The Forgotten Realms version of the draconic pantheon first appeared in the original Draconomicon (1990). [27] The Drow of the Underdark (1991) by Greenwood detailed the drow pantheon of the Forgotten Realms, introducing three new gods as well. [28] The drow, dwarven, elven, gnomish, and halfling pantheons were given very details description for their role in the Forgotten Realms in the second edition book Demihuman Deities (1998), [29] and were revisited along with the orcish pantheon in the third edition book Faiths and Pantheons (2002). [30]

Planescape

The nonhuman deities made appearances throughout the Planescape line, but were heavily detailed in On Hallowed Ground (1996) by Colin McComb. [31]

Categories

  1. Demihuman powers - This refers to deities worshipped by core races besides humans (such as elves and dwarves).
  2. Monster powers - This refers to the deities of the monstrous races intended as enemies of the players rather than player races. Whether they should be considered true deities or not is debated.

Demihuman deities

Demihuman deities refers to the gods of the core races besides humans (E.G... Elves, Dwarves, ETC. Note that Goliaths, Illumians and Raptorans are special, additional core races that were described in the Races of Stone, Races of Destiny and Races of the Wild supplement books respectively. An article does not currently exist for any of these races.)

Dwarven deities

Elven deities

Most of the elven deities (other than Corellon Larethian) are found in the Races of the Wild supplement. They are organized in a pantheon called the Seldarine — a term which originated in Dragon magazine issue #60, but has been most widely used in the Forgotten Realms setting.

Gnome deities

Halfling deities

Monster deities

Monster deities refers to the gods of the monstrous races; in other words, those of races that are primarily to fight and are not generally intended as player characters. Not all of these beings are actually gods. The dividing line between a god-like being and a true god in the D&D cosmology really seems to be the ability to grant divine spells to cleric worshipers and other divine casters. Most of the beings listed below are actually just very powerful extra-planar beings, though many have designs on godhood. [43]

Dragon deities

Bahamut and Tiamat are described in the primary materials for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd and 3.5th editions. Other draconic deities are described in sources such as Draconomicon and Races of the Dragon.

Drow deities

The deities of the Drow, an evil, underground-dwelling subrace of true Elves, are arranged in a corrupted version of the Elven pantheon called the Dark Seldarine.

Fey deities

The deities of fey and other mystical, nature-loving creatures are arranged in a pantheon called the Seelie Court. The Seelie Court is its own planar realm that travels between the various Upper Planes as its members desire, most frequently on the Beastlands, Ysgard, and Arborea. It is divided into two circles. The Inner Circle is closely associated with Queen Titania, and includes her consort Oberon, their children Damh and Verenestra, their court jester Squelaiche, and Eachthighern, their steed. The Outer Circle is more loosely allied, and either do not consider Titania to be their liege, as Skerrit does not, or spend most of their time away from the court, as Fionnghuala does. Still, Titania bears them as much love as she does the members of the Inner Circle.

Evil-aligned fey venerate a dark, corrupted version of the Seelie Court called the Unseelie Court. This consists of only one member, who was exiled from the Seelie Court due to her evil ways:

Giant deities

Goblin deities

Lycanthrope deities

Orc deities

Other deities

Goliath deities

The gods of the goliaths are mentioned in Races of Stone :

Illumian deities

The gods of the illumians are mentioned in Races of Destiny :

Raptoran deities

The gods of the raptorans are mentioned in Races of the Wild :

See also

Related Research Articles

Drow race in Dungeons & Dragons

The drow or dark elves are a generally evil, dark-skinned, and white-haired subrace of elves in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game.

Lolth Fictional goddess from Dungeons & Dragons

Lolth is a fictional goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Lolth, the Demon Queen of Spiders, is the chief goddess of drow elves. She is also known as the Spider Queen and the Queen of the Demonweb Pits.

The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, is a fictional time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game. Taking place during the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, the Time of Troubles was a cataclysmic period during which the gods of Faerûn were forced to walk the earth in their mortal avatar forms. However, unlike when a god usually sends an avatar and its true form resides usually on one of the Outer Planes, the gods were all demoted and this was the only form they had at the time, making them very vulnerable. Several major deities died during the Time of Troubles, and a handful of mortals rose to divinity.

Tiamat is a supremely strong and powerful 5-headed draconic goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The name is taken from Tiamat, a goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. She is the queen and mother of evil dragons and a member of the default pantheon of Dungeons & Dragons gods. Her symbol is a five-headed dragon. Tiamat was also named as one of the greatest villains in Dungeons & Dragons history in Dragon #359, the magazine's final print issue. David M. Ewalt of Forbes calls Tiamat "the most fearsome dragon in D&D's history".

Moradin

Moradin is the chief deity in the dwarven pantheon in the Dungeons & Dragons game and is a member of the default D&D pantheon. In 3rd edition, Moradin's domains are Creation, Earth, Good, Law, and Protection. The 5th Edition Players Handbook include Knowledge as a suggested domain. His titles include Soul Forger, Dwarffather, the All-Father, and the Creator. He created the first dwarves out of earthen materials and tutored them in dwarven ways.

Gnome (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) race in Dungeons & Dragons

In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play as player characters. Some speculate that they are closely related to dwarves; however, gnomes are more tolerant of other races and of magic, and are skilled with illusions. Gnomes are small humanoids, standing 3–3.5 feet (91–107 cm) tall.

In the World of Greyhawk campaign setting and in the default pantheon of deities for the third edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Ehlonna is the goddess of Forests, Woodlands, Flora, Fauna, and Fertility. Ehlonna is known to the elves as "Ehlenestra." Her holy symbol is a rampant unicorn or a unicorn's horn.

Elf (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) fictional humanoid race from Dungeons & Dragons

An elf, in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, is a humanoid race, one of the primary races available for player character. Elves are renowned for their grace and mastery of magic and weapons such as the sword and bow. Becoming physically mature by the age of 25 and emotionally mature at around 125, they are also famously long-lived, capable of living more than half a millennium and remaining physically youthful. Possessed of innate beauty and easy gracefulness, they are viewed as both wondrous and haughty by other races; however, their natural detachment is seen by some as introversion or xenophobia.

Bahamut (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>)

In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) role-playing game, Bahamut is a powerful draconic deity, who has the same name as Bahamut from Arabic mythology.

The legion of fictional deities in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game covers an extensive range of spheres of influence, allowing players to customize the spiritual beliefs and powers of their characters, and as well as giving Dungeon Masters a long list of gods from which to design evil temples and minions. Although the Greyhawk campaign world, when it was merely a home game, started with no specific gods, the value of having deities available for both players and game plot purposes was quickly realized. The number of deities has varied with each version of the campaign world that has been published, but for many years numbered a few dozen. It has only been since 1999 that the number of gods increased dramatically to almost 200, due to the volume of newly published material that was subsequently integrated into the campaign world.

Halfling (<i>Dungeons & Dragons</i>) Race in Dungeons & Dragons

The halfling is a fictional race found in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Halflings are similar to humans, but about half their size. The original Dungeons & Dragons included hobbits, but later the game began using the name "halfling" as an alternative to "hobbit" for legal reasons.

The half-elf is a player character race featured in Dungeons & Dragons and related material.

Corellon Larethian

In the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Corellon Larethian is the leader of the elven pantheon, and the god of Magic, Music, Arts, Crafts, Poetry, and Warfare. Corellon is also considered a member of the default D&D pantheon. Corellon is the creator and preserver of the elven race, and governs those things held in the highest esteem among elves. Corellon's symbol was originally a crescent moon; in the 4th edition Corellon's symbol is a silver star on a blue field.

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