The Pantheon / The "Old Gods"
"The Pantheon" is the general label, alongside the slightly more derogatory "Old Gods", to refer to the pantheon of gods that are thought to have created the Eldar in the first place. The Pantheon of divinities are thought to be distantly observing the progress of the world, though whether in judgment or keen interest is not clear. The Gods have made no presence felt in Azgaarnoth in recorded history, although the clerics who worship them receive spells and (according to those clerics) guidance, suggesting that the Pantheon is every bit as real as the Eldar were (or are).
Each member of the Pantheon has sway over one or more particular domains, and while some have a wide number of followers, others seem to be more obscure and only known to a few. While most of the Pantheon is fundamentally of a "good" cosmic perspective, whispers of "evil" gods are always present, and if these gods exist, their worshippers (and temples and ceremonies) are buried deep in society. This is not to say the evil gods do not exist--they simply are not worshipped openly. (Ugly rumors persist that the Dread Emperor has offered a home to many of the darker or more evil Pantheonic religions, in exchange for their service to his throne, but nothing has been proven, and certainly the Dread Emperor himself will not say.)
Among the known gods/goddesses of the Pantheon (and their associated domains) are:
Gods of Azgaarnoth (detail pages trump this summary in case of conflict)
| Deity | Description | Alignment | Domains | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arawn | God of life and death | NE | Black star on gray background | |
| Auril | Goddess of winter | NE | Six-pointed snowflake | |
| Azuth | God of wizards | CG | Left hand pointing upward, outlined in fire | |
| Bahamut | Dragon god of good | LG | Dragon’s head in profile | |
| Brigantia | Goddess of rivers and livestock | NG | Footbridge | |
| Cat Lord | God of curiosity and lore ^1 | CN | Cat's paw | |
| Cyric | God of murder, lies, intrigue, deception | CE | A black sun over an empty field | |
| Daghdha | God of weather and crops | CG | Bubbling cauldron or shield | |
| Diancecht | God of medicine and healing | LG | Crossed oak and mistletoe branches | |
| Ehlonna | Goddess of woodlands | NG | Unicorn horn | |
| Gond | God of craft, trade, and merchants | N | Toothed cog with four spokes | |
| Gruumsh | God of storms and war | CE | Unblinking eye | |
| Heironeous | God of chivalry and valor | LG | Lightning bolt | |
| Hextor | God of war and discord | LE | Six arrows facing downward in a fan | |
| Larethian | Deity of art and magic | CG | Air, Light, Moon | Quarter moon or starburst |
| Lathander | God of birth and renewal | NG | Fertility, Light, Protection | Road traveling into a sunrise |
| Lugh | God of arts, travel, and commerce | CN | Knowledge, Life, Protection | Pair of long hands |
| Lyssa | Goddess of madness and ecstasy | CN | Madness, Desire, Trickery | Hands clasped to a screaming face |
| Lythtzu | God of battle | LN | War, Desire, Order | A gleaming blade in the light |
| Maglubiyet | God of goblingkind | LE | War, Order, Unity | Flaming eyes set against darkness |
| Malar | God of the hunt | CN | Hunt, Chaos, Shadow | Clawed paw |
| Milil | God of poetry and song | NG | Desire, Illusion, Trickery | Five-stringed harp made of leaves |
| Onatar | God of craft | NG | Fire, Forge, Knowledge | Crossed hammer and tongs |
| Pelor | God of sun, summer, and time | LG | Light, Life, Time | Blazing sunburst |
| Sashelas | God of the sea | CG | Ocean, Tempest, Water | Dolphin |
| Savras | God of divination and fate | LN | Time, Order, Peace | Crystal ball containing many kinds of eyes |
| Sekolah | God of torture, pain, and death at sea | CE | A trident | |
| Silvanus | God of wild nature | N | Hunt, Nature, Luck | Oak leaf |
| Talos | God of storms | CE | Air, Tempest, Zeal | Three lightning bolts radiating from a central point |
| The Keeper | God of death and undeath | NE | Death, Grave, Vengeance | Obsidian tome against a backdrop of a headstone |
| The Traceless | Deity of illusion | N | (No symbol) | |
| The Traveler | Deity of chaos and change | CN | Chaos, Twilight, Trickery | Four crossed, rune-inscribed bones |
| Tiamat | Dragon goddess of evil | LE | Dragon, Trickery, Shadow | Dragon head with five claw marks |
| Wee Jas | Goddess of magic and death | LN | Arcana, Death, Order | Red skull in front of fireball |
^1: The Cat Lord, while worshipped by some tabaxi, is not considered a god to most other religious scholars. However, clerics worshipping him do get their prayers answered, and the religious scholars aren't quite sure what to make of that, either.
Other gods and goddesses are openly worshipped as well; in fact, many scholars of the divine believe that a deity's power varies directly with the number (and fervor) of those who worship them, so the power and influence of dieties waxes and wanes as they gain or lose followers. Others scoff at this notion, but it does seem to hold some weight, in that certain gods and goddesses rise to some level of widespread influence, then slowly fade over time to be replaced by others.
It's important to note that many theologians in Azgaarnoth are convinced that many of the old gods worshipped as separate entities are, in fact, different facets of the same entity, such as Baravar Cloakshadow (the goddess of illusion and deception worshipped mostly among the gnomish communities) and Brandovaris (the god of adventure and thievery to many halflings) are both facets of the same trickster god (The Traveler). If this were true, it could suggest that far fewer old gods actually exist, but since clerics of each of those dieties keep having their prayers answered, this is hard to prove or disprove. Presumably only the old gods themselves know the truth, and they're not telling. Because of the many overlaps, it is not uncommon for non-clerical devotees of a god to find themselves workshipping alongside others of like mind, even if the diety has different names.
Additionally, some of these gods are known beyond Azgaarnoth; this should not surprise, given that the Material plane comprises a near-infinite number of worlds, and the gods are extraplanar creatures.
Most Pantheon worship is decentralized, with scattered temples and buildings across Azgaarnoth, usually close to the physical expression of the god's domain. Some temples consist of the home of a cleric living within a village, or a concrete building attended by villagers on a regular basis; it depends greatly on the domain, the cleric, and the village.
Becoming a cleric of a Pantheon god (often known as being a "Patheonite") is usually a matter of finding an existing cleric willing to take on an apprentice/acolyte, then engaging in study and worship, and if the god finds the individual worthy, that individual finds "the god's voice" and hears the call of the god's wishes for the future.
All 107 deities from D&D
Forgotten Realms
Auril – Neutral Evil goddess of winter Azuth – Lawful Neutral god of Wizards (Arcana, Knowledge) Bane – Lawful Evil god of murder Beshaba – Chaotic Evil goddess of misfortune Bhaal – Neutral Evil god of murder Chauntea – Neutral Good goddess of agriculture (Life) Cyric – Chaotic Evil god of lies Deneir – Neutral Good god of writing (Knowledge, Arcana) Eldath – Neutral Good goddess of peace (Life, Nature, Peace) Gond – Neutral god of craft Helm – Lawful Neutral god of protection (Life, Light) Ilmater – Lawful Good god of endurance (Life, Twilight) Kelemvor – Lawful Neutral god of the dead Lathander – Neutral Good god of birth and renewal (Life, Light) Leira – Chaotic Neutral goddess of illusion Lliira – Chaotic Neutral goddess of joy (Life) Loviatar – Lawful Evil goddess of pain Malar – Chaotic Evil god of the hunt Mask – Chaotic Neutral god of thieves Mielikki – Neutral Good goddess of forests (Nature) Milil – Neutral Good god of poetry and song (Light) Myrkul – Neutral Evil god of death Mystra – Neutral Good goddess of magic (Knowledge, Arcana) Oghma – Neutral god of knowledge Savras – Lawful Neutral god of divination and fate Selune – Chaotic Good goddess of the moon (Knowledge, Life) Shar – Neutral Evil goddess of darkness and loss Silvanus – Neutral god of wild nature Sune – Chaotic Good goddess of love and beauty (Life, Light) Talona – Chaotic Evil goddess of disease and poison Talos – Chaotic Evil god of storms Tempus – Neutral god of war Torm – Lawful Good god of courage and self-sacrifice (War) Tymora – Chaotic Good goddess of luck (Trickery) Tyr – Lawful Good god of justice (War, Order) Umberlee – Chaotic Evil goddess of the sea Waukeen – Neutral goddess of trade
Greyhawk Beory – Neutral goddess of nature Boccob – Neutral god of magic Celestian – Neutral god of stars and wanderers Ehlonna – Neutral Good goddess of woodlands Erythnul – Chaotic Evil god of envy and slaughter Fharlanghn – Neutral Good god horizons and travel Heironeous – Lawful Good god of chivalry and valor Hextor – Lawful Evil god of war and discord Kord – Chaotic Good god of athletics and sport Incabulos – Neutral Evil god of plague and famine Istus – Neutral goddess of fate and destiny Iuz – Chaotic Evil god of pain and oppression Nerull – Neutral Evil god of death Obad-Hai – Neutral god of nature Olidammara – Chaotic Neutral god of revelry Pelor – Neutral Good god of the sun and healing Pholtus – Lawful Good god of light and law Ralishaz – Chaotic Neutral god of ill luck and insanity Rao – Lawful Good god of peace and reason St. Cuthbert – Lawful Neutral god of common sense and zeal Tharizdun – Chaotic Evil god of eternal darkness Trithereon – Chaotic Good god of liberty and retribution Ulaa – Lawful Good goddess of hills and mountains Vecna – Neutral Evil god of evil secrets Wee Jas – Lawful Neutral goddess of magic and death
Eberron Arawai – Neutral Good goddess of fertility Aureon – Lawful Neutral god of law and knowledge Balinor – Neutral god of beasts and the hunt Boldrei – Lawful Good goddess of community and home Dol Arrah – Lawful Good goddess of sunlight and honor Dol Dorn – Chaotic Good god of strength at arms Kol Korran – Neutral god of trade and wealth Ollandra – Neutral Good goddess of good fortune Onatar – Neutral Good god of craft The Devourer – Neutral Evil god of nature’s wrath The Fury – Neutral Evil goddess of wrath and madness The Keeper – Neutral Evil god of greed and death The Mockery – Neutral Evil god of violence and treachery The Shadow – Chaotic Evil god of dark magic The Traveler – Chaotic Neutral deity of chaos and change The Silver Flame – Lawful Good deity of protection and good The Blood of Vol – Lawful Neutral philosophy of immortality and undeath Cults of the Dragon Below – Neutral Evil deities of madness The Path of Light – Lawful Neutral philosophy of light and self-improvement The Undying Court – Neutral Good elven ancestors The Spirits of the Past – Chaotic Good elven ancestors
Bahamut – Lawful Good dragon god of good Blibdoolpoolp – Neutral Evil kuo-toa goddess Corellon Larethian – Chaotic Good elf deity of art and magic Deep Sashelas – Chaotic Good elf god of the sea Eadro – Neutral merfolk deity of the sea Garl Glittergold – Lawful Good gnome god of trickery and wiles Grolantor – Chaotic Evil hill giant god of war Gruumsh – Chaotic Evil orc god of storms and war Hruggek – Chaotic Evil bugbear god of violence Kutrulmak – Lawful Evil god of war and mining Laogzed – Chaotic Evil troglodyte god of hunger Lolth – Chaotic Evil goddess of spiders Maglubiyet – Lawful Evil goblinoid god of war Moradin – Lawful Good dwarf god of creation Rilifane Rallathil – Chaotic Good wood elf god of nature Sehanine Moonbow – Chaotic Good elf goddess of the moon Sekolah – Lawful Evil sahuagin god of the hunt Semuanya – Neutral lizardfolk deity of survival Skerrit – Neutral centaur and satyr god of nature Skoraeus Stonebones – god of stone giants and art Surtur – Lawful Evil god of fire giants and craft Thrym – Chaotic Evil god of frost giants and strength Tiamat – Lawful Evil goddess of evil Yondalla – Lawful Good halfling goddess of fertility and protection