List of Forgotten Realms deities

This is a list of Forgotten Realms deities. They are all deities that appear in the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.

Contents

Forgotten Realms vs. core D&D

The deities of other Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings, including those of the default (or "core") setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game, are not generally a part of Forgotten Realms. However, there is some overlap, especially among the deities of nonhuman races. Lolth, the principal deity of the drow in the Forgotten Realms, is specifically described as being the same deity as Lolth in other campaign settings.[1] No mention is made as to whether other deities shared between Forgotten Realms and other campaign settings are intended to represent the same divine entity.

Deities are included in this list only when documented in a Forgotten Realms-specific source[1][2] or otherwise clearly indicated as existing in the setting. For deities in the core setting, see List of deities of Dungeons & Dragons.

Overdeity

Lord Ao is the Overdeity of the Forgotten Realms. He alone can allow new deities to join the pantheons of Forgotten Realms. However, he does not have mortal worshippers or grant spells, interacting with mortals only during the most unusual of circumstances, such as the Time of Troubles.[1] However, it is made clear that even Lord Ao has his own master at the end of The Avatar Series.

Circle of Greater Powers

The Circle of Greater Powers consists of all the greater gods in the AD&D Forgotten Realms theological pantheon. Created by Lord Ao, the greater gods have a duty to preserve the balance between Chaos and Order. The Circle of Greater Powers have always come together to meet for important reasons such as the capture of Kezef the Chaos Hound for the preservation of the balance or for the trial of another god for not carrying out the duty under their portfolio such as the trial for Cyric the Mad.

Human deities

Faerûnian pantheon

The Faerûnian pantheon includes most deities worshipped by humans in Faerûn, the continent that forms the primary focus of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Many deities in this pantheon originated in separate human cultural pantheons which have since blended and combined, while others are mortals ascended to divinity or arrivals to Abeir-Toril from other worlds or settings through magical means.[1]

Greater deities

Intermediate deities

Lesser deities

Demideities

Quasi-deities

Kara-Turan pantheon

Most people in the far eastern lands of Kara-Tur follow one of the two philosophical religions called "The Path of Enlightenment" and "The Way". In the island kingdom of Kozakura the worship of a large number of spirits collectively called "The Eight Million Gods" is predominant. The people of Shou Lung believe in the Celestial Bureaucracy headed by the

who is served by the Nine Immortals:

They in turn are aided by the Lesser Immortals, namely Jade Ladies, Rice Spirits, Moon Women, Spirit Warriors, Ladies of Compassion, the Lords of Karma and the Sages.

Maztican pantheon

Maztica, across the Trackless Sea from Faerûn, has its own unique set of deities.[31]

All deities in the Maztican pantheon have aspects that rule over related concepts and ideas. These aspects are worshipped as a large number of individual deities, including Micat, an aspect of Zaltec representing certain kinds of snake venom.[31] There has been no published effort to list such aspects.

Mulhorandi pantheon

Worshipped almost exclusively in Mulhorand, Thay, and Unther, these deities came to Abeir-Toril when their worshippers were transported from another world.[1][26] The members of the Mulhorandi pantheon are based on deities from Egyptian mythology.

Sharess was formerly a member of the Mulhorandi pantheon, under the name Bast. Now worshipped in wider Faerûn, she is considered a part of the Faerûnian pantheon.

Zakharan pantheon

The deities of Zakhara, to the southeast of Faerûn, differ from other deities in the Forgotten Realms because they do not have a precise portfolio. Instead, each Zakharan deity exemplifies a single characteristic or trait.[32] One common faith in Zakhara is the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, which is honoring every deity that has ever existed or will exist in the future rather than worshipping any one specific deity.[33]

Additionally, there are an untold number of local deities and demigods, sometimes worshipped in an area as small as a few miles across.[32] More prominent among those are:

Nonhuman racial deities

Former Archdevil

Mephistopholes: Became a god after absorbing the divine essence of Erevis Cale.

Dragon deities

Tiamat is also worshipped by dragons, but her human following in Chessenta places her in the Faerûnian pantheon.

Drow deities

Collectively, the drow deities are known as the Dark Seldarine.[10]

Dwarven deities

Collectively, the dwarven deities (except Deep Duerra and Laduguer) are known as the Morndinsamman.[1]

Elven deities

Collectively, the elven deities are known as the Seldarine.[1]

Giant deities

Collectively, the giant deities are known as the Ordning

Gnome deities

Collectively, the gnome deities are known as the Lords of the Golden Hills.[1]

Halfling deities

Collectively, the halfling deities are known as Yondalla's Children.[1]

Orc deities

Other races

Nondeity powers

Some powerful extraplanar creatures are able to grant power to their followers without actually being deities. Cults worshipping archdevils or demon princes are not unknown.[1] Comparably powerful celestial beings, while not typically subjects of worship, can bestow their favor on virtuous mortals in a similar manner.[42]

Archdevils

Gargauth was once an archdevil, but is now a deity in the Faerûnian pantheon.

Demon princes

After being cast out of the Seldarine, Araushnee became the demon princess Lolth before reclaiming her divinity as leader of the Dark Seldarine.[26]

Paragons

Archon

The archon paragons, collectively known as the Celestial Hebdomad, are the celestial embodiment of the lawful good alignment. In the Forgotten Realms, they work most closely with the god Tyr.[5]

Eladrin

The eladrin paragons, collectively known as the Court of Stars, are the celestial embodiment of the chaotic good alignment.

Guardinal

The guardinal paragons, Talsid and the Five Companions, are the celestial embodiment of the neutral good alignment. In the Forgotten Realms, they take a more subsidiary role than in other campaign settings due to the larger number of nature deities.[5]

Dead deities

Deities in the Forgotten Realms can at times be slain, fade away from lack of worship, or have their power usurped by others.

Untheric pantheon

The people of Unther and their deities (based on Babylonian and Sumerian mythology) arrived at the same time and in the same manner as the Mulhorandi, but war between those two empires and against orcish hordes have claimed most of the Untheric pantheon, now the largest identifiable group of dead deities. The remaining members of the pantheon, Assuran (now Hoar), Ishtar (as Isis), and Tiamat, have survived by finding wider worship elsewhere in Faerûn.[26]

Others

References

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  3. ^ Last chapter of the 3rd book of Avatar Series.
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  45. ^ cite book | Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Philip Athans,Richard Baker, Rob Heinsoo, Brian R. James, Chris Sims |title=Forgotten Realms® Campaign Guide|year=2008 |publisher=TSR |isbn=978-0-7869-4924-3
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External links