January 9, 2020 Andrew E.

DnD 5e Deities

The Gods and Goddesses of the Forgotten Realms

I think we’ve all rolled up a cleric at one time or another and just picked a god that matched the domain you want, there’s no shame in it. But D&D gods have a lot of history, iconography, and lusciously crafted flavor that you can sculpt your entire persona around. D&D deities come in all shapes, sizes, and temperaments, building off a history dating back all the way to the beginning of D&D.

Forgotten Realm Pantheon

With the prevalence of homebrew pantheons and all the numerous worlds you might end up in, this dnd gods list is in no way comprehensive. Instead the following list of dnd deities encompasses all the Forgotten Realms deities, or at least the current forgotten realms deities, since the pantheon has shifted from edition to edition. We’re also including a little cliff note section, just to give you a better overview of what each deity is all about.

Forgotten Realms Pantheon

Deity	Alignment	Suggested Domains	Symbol	Cliff Notes
Auril, Goddess of Winter	NE	Nature, Tempest	Six-pointed snowflake	Lots of human sacrifices on icy altars, for evil and ice themed characters only.
Azuth, God of Wizards	LN (Lawful Neutral god)	Arcana, Knowledge	Left hand pointing upward outlined in fire	Stereotypical old bearded wizard elevated to godhood, for characters who love them some wizarding.
Bane, God of Tyranny	LE	Order, War	Upright black right hand, with thumb and fingers together	Lord of being generically evil, think black knights and big evil churches.
Beshaba, Goddess of Misfortune	CE	Trickery	Black antlers	Think Jinx from “Teen Titans” elevated to godhood, loves bad luck and assassins.
Bhaal, God of Murder	NE	Death	Skull surrounded by a ring of blood droplets	Blood for the blood god, murder for the murder god. Bhaal just loves him some killing.
Chauntea, Goddess of Agriculture	NG	Life	Sheaf of grain or a blooming rose over grain	Cornucopias and good harvests, she’s the obvious pick for former farmer characters.
Cyric, God of Lies	CE	Trickery	White jawless skull on black or purple sunburst	Mad god that successfully pissed off literally everybody, pick at your own risk, nobody is going to like you.
Deneir, God of Writing	NG	Knowledge	Lit candle above an open eye	Nerdier and weaker brother of Oghma, good for the nerdy underdog characters.
Eldath, Goddess of Peace	NG	Life, Nature	Waterfall plunging into still pool	Pacifist lake goddess of healing, good choice for healers and druids.
Gond, God of Craft	N	Forge, Knowledge	Toothed cog with four spokes	If your character’s whole deal is making stuff, then Gond is a good bet.
Helm, God of Protection	LN	Life, Light, Protection	Light Staring eye on upright left gauntlet	Knight god who defends the weak, especially children.
Ilmater, God of Endurance	LG	Life, Protection	Hands bound at the wrist with red cord	Martyr god who’s all about persevering for a better future, good for particularly selfless paladins.
Kelemvor, God of the Dead	LN	Grave, Death	Upright skeletal arm holding balanced scales	Somber but not evil, dutiful guard of the dead and bastion against undeath.
Lathander, God of Birth and Renewal	NG	Life, Light	Light Road traveling into a sunrise	The morninglord, pure chad energy, kind of vain but great for paladins and artists.
Leira, Goddess of Illusion	CN (Chaotic Neutral)	Trickery	Point-down triangle containing a swirl of mist	She likes mists, masks and lies, not a bad option for sneaky characters.
Lliira, Goddess of Joy	CG	Life	Triangle of three six-pointed stars	Imagine if a “manic pixie dream girl” became a goddess. Fun bard pick.
Loviatar, Goddess of Pain	LE	Death	Nine-tailed barbed scourge	Quite literally the dominatrix goddess, super kinky.
Malar, God of the Hunt	CE	Nature	Clawed paw	One of the more tolerable evil gods, a good choice for evil druids.
Mask, God of Thieves	CN	Trickery	Black mask	If your edgelord rogue became a god he’d become Mask, and he’s a genuinely still a good pick for edgelord rogues.
Mielikki, Goddess of Forests	NG	Nature	Unicorn’s head	Think Artemis or any other “Huntress goddess” and you’re right on the money, good for rangers.
Milil, God of Poetry and Song	NG	Light	Five-stringed harp made of leaves	The bard god of bards for bardic reasons who loves bards.
Myrkul, God of Death	NE	Death	White human skull	Death god in decidedly evil spooky skeleton flavor.
Mystra, Goddess of Magic	NG	Arcana, Knowledge	Circle of seven stars, or nine stars encircling a flowing red mist, or a single star	Magical lady devoted to keeping magic from getting out of hand and blowing everybody up.
Oghma, God of Knowledge	N	Knowledge	Blank scroll	God for bards who are about spreading stories and information rather than mischief.
Savras, god of Divination and Fate	LN	Knowledge	Crystal ball containing many kinds of eyes	Magic god who loves crystal balls and scrying, major occult mystery vibes.
Selûne, Goddess of the Moon	CG	Knowledge, Life	Pair of eyes surrounded by seven stars	Goddess whose moods change with the phases of the moon, particularly honored by sailors.
Shar, Goddess of Darkness and Loss	NE	Death, Trickery	Black disk encircled with a border	Shadoweaver, knife lady who loves the dark, great for a character who hates the “good” gods.
Silvanus, God of Wild Nature	N	Nature	Oak leaf	I am Silvanus and I speak for the trees! Exclusive pick for druids and tree enthusiasts.
Sune, Goddess of Love and Beauty	CG	Life, Light	Face of a beautiful red-haired woman	Vanity personified, good for characters who want to embody thot energy.
Talona, Goddess of Disease and Poison	CE	Death	Three teardrops on a triangle	Loves making people sick and die, only right for characters who want to spread some plague.
Talos, God of Storms	CE	Tempest	Three lightning bolts radiating from a central point	Talos is basically a eviler Thor who loves wrecking up the place with storms.
Tempus, God of War	N	War	Upright flaming sword	Fights for the fight god, Tempus just loves fighting without any rhyme or reason.
Torm, God of Courage and Self-sacrifice	LG	Protection, War	White right gauntlet	Basically, the god of paladins, if you want a stereotypical paladin, this is your god.
Tymora, Goddess of Good Fortune	CG	Trickery	Face-up coin	Literally lady luck who favors the bold and the risk takers.
Tyr, God of Justice	LG	Order, Protection, War	Balanced scales resting on a warhammer	Literal Viking god of extremely lawful goodness, only for those characters committed to real lawful good.
Umberlee, Goddess of the Sea	CE	Tempest	Wave curling left and right	Called the bitch queen for a reason, spiteful sea witch perfect for both evil and sea themed characters.
Waukeen, Goddess of Trade	N	Knowledge, Trickery	Upright coin with Waukeen’s profile facing left	The golden lady, an embodiment of laissez faire trade and a favorite of smugglers.

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Classic Pantheons of Gods:

You can find a full list of all of the Pantheons from the real world in the links below. This includes symbols, alignments, and suggested domains for fifth edition.

Patron Deities

In addition to the main pantheon of d&d gods, there are several deities that act as patron gods for specific races, either acting as their progenitors or their guardians. It’s not impossible to worship these deities as a member of a different race, but most of their worshipers belong to the race they claim patronage over. You may need to construct a considerable backstory to explain why your character has such a religious affiliation to this patron deity.

Racial Patron Deities

Deity	Alignment	Suggested Domains	Symbol	Cliff Notes
Bahamut, Dragon God of Good	LG	Life, Protection, War	Dragon’s head in profile	God of all good dragons and a lot of people who think dragons are cool.
Blibdoolpoolp, Kuo-toa Goddess	NE	Death	Lobster head or black pearl	Big lady with a lobster head, created by the literal insane power of the Kuo-toa.
Corellon Larethian, Elf Deity of Art and Magic	CG	Arcana, Light	Quarter moon or starburst	Creator of all elves, practically a “Mary Sue” of good elf qualities.
Deep Sashelas, Elf God of the Sea	CG	Nature, Tempest	Dolphin	Maker of sea elves and all things pretty under the water.
Eadro, Merfolk Deity of the Sea	N	Nature, Tempest	Spiral design	Maker of the merfolk and the locathah and pretty much only concerned with keeping them safe.
Garl Glittergold, Gnome God of Trickery and Wiles	LG	Trickery	Gold nugget	Gnome prankster god, but genuinely funny and not mean spirited.
Grolantor, Hill Giant God of War	CE	War	Wooden club	If you’re attacked by giants, Grolantor is often the reason why, he’s painfully dumb and hates non-giants.
Gruumsh, Orc God of Storms and War	CE	Tempest, War	Unblinking eye	Orcish motivation for a lot of orc ways, especially hating elves.
Hruggek, Bugbear God of Violence	CE	War	Morningstar	Extremely simple god of bugbears, he likes combat and he likes his bugbears.
Kurtulmak, Kobold God of War and Mining	LE	War	Gnome skull	Creator of the kobolds and hater of gnomes.
Laogzed, Troglodyte God of Hunger	CE	Death	Image of the lizard/toad god	Just a big hungry rotting lizard, his only literal motivation is hunger.
Lolth, Drow Goddess of Spiders	CE	Trickery	Spider	The spider queen has a ton of history in D&D and even more spiders, sacrifices, and slaves.
Maglubiyet, Goblinoid God of War	LE	Order, War	Bloody axe	Chop chop, Maglubiyet loves chopping off heads for sacrifices and little else.
Moradin, Dwarf God of Creation	LG (Lawful Evil)	Forge, Knowledge	Hammer and anvil	Creator of the dwarves, everything you know about dwarves is true for Moradin ten times over.
Rillifane Rallathil, Wood Elf God of Nature	CG	Nature	Oak	Basically, the world tree smashed together with that magic tree from “Avatar”.
Sehanine Moonbow, Elf Goddess of the Moon	CG	Knowledge	Crescent moon	Like the other moon goddess but far less interesting and with more elf imagery.
Sekolah, sahuagin god of the hunt	LE	Nature, Tempest	Shark	Basically, just a gigantic magical shark, he loves seeing the bloodlust in his little sahuagin minions though.
Semuanya, Lizardfolk Deity of Survival	N	Life	Egg	Big lizardman who’s almost stupidly neutral, he only mildly prefers that the lizardmen live rather than die.
Skerrit, Centaur and Satyr God of Nature	N	Nature	Oak growing from acorn	Big centaur who’s all about keeping the balance and keeping nature communities safe.
Skoraeus Stonebones, God of Stone Giants and Art	N	Knowledge	Stalactite	Great big stone giant who believes that all stone belongs to the giants, which naturally causes some conflicts.
Surtur, God of Fire Giants and Craft	LE	Knowledge, War	Flaming sword	Big old fire giant who loves the “purifying fire” and wants to arm his people for “the fight at the end of the world”.
Thrym, God of Frost Giants and Strength	CE (Chaotic Evil)	War	White double-bladed axe	Big aloof ice giant who only respects strength and doesn’t give a damn.
Tiamat, Dragon Goddess of Evil	LE	Trickery	Dragon head with five claw marks	Pretty much the most iconic D&D deity, this 5-headed dragon is worshipped by evil dragons and people who think evil dragons are cool.
Yondalla, Halfling Goddess of Fertility and Protection	LG	Life, Protection	Shield	Creator of the halflings and is super protective of them, feels responsible for them.

Deities 5e FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

How do you kill a god in D&D?

The short answer is you can’t unless that’s the story’s plot. Earlier editions of D&D have given actual stat blocks and abilities to dd gods and deities, but at least currently they’re still in an amorphous weight class simply labeled “stronger than you”. Gods in 5e aren’t unkillable, but throughout most of the lore gods are typically only killed by other gods or occasionally demon lords. There isn’t any sort of “magic bullet” established in the lore either, gods died through regular old combat, though at a mythical scale. If your adventure seems to be leading up to a fight against a deity, expect for there to be some extenuating circumstances or a mcguffin of deity slaying, because otherwise any deity should be able to wipe the floor with even level 20 adventurers.

How many gods are there in D&D?

This is a big question, but let’s shrink it down a bit by assuming 5th edition D&D, counting out the real world pantheons like the Norse and Greek pantheons, and assuming the Forgotten Realms setting. There’s a bit of debate on whether a few should count as deities or not, but by my count there are currently 61 gods in D&D.

How do I make a god in D&D?

This is surprisingly easy to do in 5th edition D&D, as there’s not much to do mechanically. In no time you can be adding a god to the dd pantheon!

Firstly, don’t worry about making stats for your god. Gods are in an ethereal category of “very powerful” and nobody should be expecting to duke it out with a deity in fifth edition unless your dungeon master is very forgiving.

The first thing to really do is figure out your lore. Very little of this will have any mechanical meaning, so just work on how they interact with your world. What does this deity care about? Do they care for their followers, or are they pawns to be used? How do their followers accept or interpret their teachings? What are their places of worship like? What sort of little trinkets and rituals do their followers keep? Are they grandiose golden proclamations of the god’s glory or are they simple marks and shrines by the roadside? Are there certain creatures associated with this god? Like ravens, spiders, etc. What does their holy symbol look like? Gods are often closely tied to a setting’s worldbuilding and while I could go on for volumes about world building, just try to figure out this deity’s role in your world. Understanding all the little parts that make up d&d religions can help you make a divine power that fits within the pantheon seamlessly.

Now that you have lore, there’s only a few little details you’ll need to nail down for your players to work with: Name, Alignment, Domains, and Symbol.

The Name you should already have, but if you’re listing it out for your players, you’ll want their full title.

The Alignment is important thematically so your players can quickly get an idea of your deity’s disposition. It’s not nearly as important as it was in earlier editions, but still make sure to include an alignment for your deity.

The Domains are probably the most important mechanical part. These domains will determine many of the powers and abilities of the clerics that follow your new deity. A lot of deities have only one domain, but 2 or even 3 domains are acceptable if your deity really sits between multiple domains.

Finally, each dd deity should have a Symbol, this can be anything really, but simpler is easier to remember. A green flaming eye for example is easier to work with and remember than 9 emerald eyes surrounded by rainbow flames with a leaping two-headed liger. You can also make your god’s symbol a specific type of weapon, which adds flavor for clerics and paladins wielding the favored weapon of their god.

Once you have all that put together, you should be ready to introduce your new deity to your players for your next campaign!

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The Gods and Goddesses of the Forgotten Realms