Summary
- Tyr excels in maintaining law and order, upholding justice with powerful law spells.
- Mystra, the goddess of magic, favors order, balance, and wields unmatched magical power, casting powerful spells rapidly.
- Tharzidun, the Chained God, is a primal evil deity of madness, feared by others, seeking to break free and spread destruction.
The worlds of Dungeons & Dragons are filled with monsters, magic, wonder, and adventure, all guarded or observed by one deity or another. There is a wealth of varying gods and goddesses among the various pantheons, some of which might be recognizable, featuring names such as Osiris from Egyptian mythology, or the Norse goddess Freya.
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9
Tyr
Excels In Maintaining Law & Order
- Domain(s): Order, War
- Portfolio(s): Justice
- Home Plane: House of Triad
Tyr, otherwise known as the Maimed God for the visibile injuries to his eyes and hand, is one of the most powerful gods. Though he failed to protect the Tablets of Fate, hence his wounds, this does not deter the power at his absent fingertips.
Though blind, he is able to immediately see through invisibility, spot thieves, and detect lies, which fits well in his dogma surrounding upholding everything righteous and lawful. Any spells within the law sphere are tripled in power to better help him uphold the law. As a god of justice, he is not against doling out harsh punishments to those who step a toe out of line.
8
Shar
Claimed The Portfolios Of Many Other Gods
- Domain(s): Death, Trickery
- Portfolio(s): Darkness, Loss, Night Secrets, Forgetfulness
- Home Plane: Towers of Night
Eternal rival to her sister Selune, the dark goddess Shar has many abilities and has hoarded various portfolios over the ages, claiming them from other deities she slayed, including those that belonged to the underground god Ibrandul. She even had the means to create a weave that was the dark counterpart of Mystra’s spell weave that was meant to be used as a weapon before the Spellplague.
7
Mystra
The Reigning Goddess Of Magic Itself
- Domain(s): Arcane, Knowledge
- Portfolio(s): Magic, Spells, The Weave
- Home Plane: Dweomerheart
Though Mystra eventually met her end at the hands of Helm during the Time of Troubles, the goddess of magic is still no minor mantle, even if it was only donned for a short amount of time. Taking up the position after her predecessor sacrificed herself, Mystra took her role as the goddess quite seriously.
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Whereas Mystryl favored change, Mystra believed order and balance were the way forward, becoming the manifestation of the Cosmic Balance. Her ability to cast many powerful spells only a minute apart, Mystra is, unsurprisingly, unmatched when it comes to wielding magic. Thankfully for Faerunians, she has no interest in waging war against mortals, as they would all fall at her hands.
6
Lolth
Lords Over The Drow With Cruelty & Oppression
- Domain(s): Trickery, War
- Portfolio(s): Drow, Spiders
- Home Plane: The Abyss
Those who dare step foot into the Underdark will behold all sorts of things that verge into the strange, as well as the outright dangerous. Passing through a cave of glowing mushrooms might lead wanderers right into the midst of a drow ambush, who might just be the cruelest creatures one could have the misfortune of encountering, but they are no more cruel than the Spider Queen herself, Lolth.
Transformed into a half-spider hybrid after absorbing power, Lolth shaped and manipulated the drow in her own wicked and oppressive nature, resulting in a race that values tradition, strength, cruelty, and hierarchy. Any who fall beyond Lolth’s teaching suffer from her wrath and may become a dreaded drider — a drow spider hybrid monstrosoty — which is a sick sort of ironic fate.
5
Bahamut
Has Strength Enough To Rival Tiamat
- Domain(s): Life, War
- Portfolio(s): Justice
- Home Plane: Celestia
Even dragons have a god to call their own, and for the good metallic dragons, it is Bahamut. The only platinum dragon in existence, his existence is rare and forever threatened by his tyrannical sister, Tiamat.
Fortunately for Bahamut, he is a powerful deity, and one of the few gods who could potentially match her strength. Despite his aversion to combat and preference to use diplomacy, he is far more than capable of defending himself, with two separate breath weapons, a roar that could wither foes into dust, and a special breath that could heal or revive fallen allies.
4
Vecna
Ascended To Godhood
- Domain(s): Arcane, Death, Knowledge
- Portfolio(s): Evil Secrets
- Home Plane: Domains of Dread
Vecna is a household name in Dungeons & Dragons, having appeared in various editions, campaign books, and works even outside of D&D, such as Dead by Daylight. He is one of the most popular villains to use in campaigns thanks to the quality of his character and just how much of a challenge he presents to even a strong and balanced adventuring party.
He began his life as a humanoid and rose to lichdom after years spent in the pursuit of immortality and greater power. He eventually ascended to the status of demi-god after amassing enough followers. It is rather admirable that he worked for his place in the D&D pantheon, but this does nothing to right all the atrocities he has committed across the ages, and it does not detract from just how dangerous a foe Vecna is.
3
Tiamat
A Fearsome, Five-Headed Dragon
- Domain(s): Trickery
- Portfolio(s): Chessenta, Evil Dragons, Evil Reptiles, Greed
- Home Plane: The Nine Hells
One of the most feared and famed of all D&D boss monsters is Tiamat, a dragon that has not only one head, but five heads of different colors, with the corresponding breath weapons to match. She had her moment in the spotlight in the Tyranny of Dragons campaign book, but her winged shadow has long loomed over all of D&D for years now.
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As an evil goddess, she is not the type to lend favor or boons to her followers, but she has still earned herself a devoted cult who would see their queen rise from her prison in hell. But, were she ever to escape, it would mean certain death for thousands at the hands of this dangerous and hateful deity. Her five heads would be more than enough to raze scores of villagers to the ground, and it would take the mightiest of heroes to send her back from whence she came.
2
Tharzidun
A Mighty Threat Other Gods Fear
- Domain(s): Trickery
- Portfolio(s): Eternal Darkness
- Home Plane: Unknown
Tharzidun, otherwise known as the Chained God, is an evil deity whose villainy transcends the petty moral trappings of mortals, his nature so primal that it goes beyond all law and reason. His portfolio is that of madness, an infliction all his followers seem to share in.
He was not only evil, but greatly selfish, unsatisfied by the realization he would share the multiverse with other gods. Tharzidun wished to be the god. The threat of his existence drew the attention of the other gods and primordials, who combined their efforts to bind him deep in the abyss, but those chains won’t hold him forever, and it is only a matter of time until he breaks free and spreads destruction across the entire multiverse.
1
Lord Ao
Legendary Powers Even Among Gods
- Domain(s): N/A
- Portfolio(s): Creation of Deities, Maintaining Cosmic Balance
- Home Plane: Unknown
If there is to be a single contender for the strongest god among gods in D&D, that lauded accolade might have to be bestowed upon Lord Ao, the Overgod with power over all the others — even those from other planes than the one he rules.
He is one of the lesser known deities, his existence only coming to light among the denizens of Faerun because of his involvement in the Time of Troubles. His wrath was certainly something to behold, as he condemned gods to walk among mortals, leading many to be slain, and he uplifted mortals to fill the voids of godhood. But, this power over the gods is just a fraction of what Lord Ao can do, as he is also credited as the very creator of the cosmos.
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