For existing dnd deities: Bahamut, Sardior, and Tiamat.
For homebrew, a whole pantheon: Arceus, creator of the universe. Palkia, god of physical space. Giratina, god of the underworld. Dialga, god of time. Hey, what do you mean I'm just using pokemon?
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Pokemon Master, Hero of Hyrule, Jedi Knight, Minecrafter, Celestial Being Beyond Comprehension, Bounty Hunter, Salmon Runner, Nailmaster, Yarn Yoshi Enjoyer, Animal Lover, Math Rock Roller, Nerd King in all Aspects.
(And, of course, Dragon Tamer. It is in the name, after all)
FR: Selune, Sune, Torm and Bane are all on my favourites lists for various reasons.
DL: Kiri-jolith, the great bison headed god of justice.
Homebrews: Raios (A god of Truth, discovery), Iffrus (Humor, deception, Luck) Ashla (Conflict, Mastery), Immalia (Magic, Knowing), Idealism (literally internalizing an ideal to the point where it functions as a proto-deity).
A few of my games were in Greyhawk so I had Deep Sashelas for my wood elf tempest cleric, Clangeddin Silverbeard for my dwarf fighter, and Rillifane Rallathil for my half-elf druid. I wasn’t sure about the last one with him being a druid. Do they really have deities? But my DM said it was fine since he’s the elf god of nature.
I'm an atheist IRL, but as a Goth who loves the Pagan Aesthetic if I was to pick a deity by choice it would be Luna the Roman Goddess of the Moon. But if I was to convert this to a DnD deity, well clearly Eilistraee would be my chosen deity.
My love for lunar deities is because I'm a night person, and prefer a moonlit night over any sun any time. Might have to do with spending 40 of my 50+ in Los Angeles I'm so done with Sunny days.
For my characters, really depends on who I make. I always consider their relationship with belief when designing one. Some are agnostic, some have deep faith in usually a goddess.
Personally, I favor Ao but only my main character; who is an Alchemist who was hired by Baulderian for his Maztican expedition, worships them because I played a short 2e AD&D featuring the Sundering which shattered his faith. He totally understands Ao does not care about him or anything and is "totally fine" with that. To him it is his truth and that is that. All other characters I build for One Shots and stuff will follow other deities.
What about you all? Who is your main deity and why?
Ok, time to face the elephant in the room. I posted my answer, as honestly as possible. But can we address that you have a character who is aware of Ao? You as a human in the real world looking in, Ao is a given analogy to the God of monotheism. aka the Alpha and Omega AO.
But only the eldest of deities know about the concept of this deity, as AO created them. And those deities refuse to tell mortals about AO. Only the most Academic of College professors who study ancient histories even have an inkling of the possibility that their might be an overgod who created the Multiverse. You are a million times more likely the know of Jergal than to even have a concept that could lead to AO.
Sorry had to address this not for the human, but for your character. Saying AO as a human on Earth just means you are probably a follower of the big three world religions.
When I first started playing, it was in Greyhawk. So my deity for my characters was Boccob. When I started playing in the Realms, Torm, Mystra, Lolth and Vhaerun were the deities for my various characters. Nowadays, it's whatever fits. My latest character is an Illrigger(Architect of Ruin)/Wizard(School of Psionics homebrew), that signed his contract with Asmodeus. So I guess that would be his deity, even though he doesn't worship him as a patron.
Personally, I favor Ao but only my main character; who is an Alchemist who was hired by Baulderian for his Maztican expedition, worships them because I played a short 2e AD&D featuring the Sundering which shattered his faith. He totally understands Ao does not care about him or anything and is "totally fine" with that. To him it is his truth and that is that. All other characters I build for One Shots and stuff will follow other deities.
What about you all? Who is your main deity and why?
Ok, time to face the elephant in the room. I posted my answer, as honestly as possible. But can we address that you have a character who is aware of Ao? You as a human in the real world looking in, Ao is a given analogy to the God of monotheism. aka the Alpha and Omega AO.
But only the eldest of deities know about the concept of this deity, as AO created them. And those deities refuse to tell mortals about AO. Only the most Academic of College professors who study ancient histories even have an inkling of the possibility that their might be an overgod who created the Multiverse. You are a million times more likely the know of Jergal than to even have a concept that could lead to AO.
Sorry had to address this not for the human, but for your character. Saying AO as a human on Earth just means you are probably a follower of the big three world religions.
That is my background for the next "incarnation" if you will of my main character. They are a Human Alchemist who was hired by Baulderan to make enough Alchemist Fire to burn down the Wild Elven Forest in Northern Maztica around Fort Flame. He refused so Baulderan kicked him out of his expedition leaving him to die on the foreign continent. This simple act inadvertently saved his life as the expedition was slaughtered by the Wild Elves not long after. Being alone and not the type of company the Wild Elves were inclined to adopt as part of their own people they quickly forgot about him as he wasn't a threat. He eventually found the ingredients required to brew the Elixir of Youth prolonging his life for several centuries now. Due to this he was in Maztica when the Sundering occurred sending him to Abeir and then again for the Second Sundering pulling him back to Toril. This shattered his faith in the deities, and he became one of the Cultist of Ao who is known about but was largely disregarded by the Realms shortly after each Sundering because he completely ignored his followers. My Alchemist isn't religious but he lived through it and so he believes Ao is the true power in the Realms having seen him remove and replace the other deities (including his original deity) firsthand. Think of it sort of like he knows the answer to the question already, so he stopped thinking about it and moved on. Eventually he returned to Faerun and got married to a Drow then thrust her house into Drow nobility from the dirt. To do this he founded the largest Alchemical company in the Realms, "Big Pharma" who certified Alchemist, provided them the capital to purchase real estate in various places as "franchises", provided them a supply of potions as well as ingredients and shared profits to ensure businesses in lower trafficked areas could still thrive. Although he is one of, if not the most, talented Alchemist in the Realms the company "Big Pharma" mostly produces generic common potions, and they also wholesale them to general stores and even other non-incorporated Alchemist who rebrand and resell them on occasion. He is also a Harper having been begged by them to join which led to him taking his wife's house up into the nobility and company had board members in each faction except the Emerald Enclave. His wife took over the board after about twelve years replacing members with her own network of spies each in each faction and had already been slowly converting their products into designer drugs by repackaging and reselling them through various criminal organizations. After he fled, she began enslaving people and sending them to Maztica to work on plantations for her way out of reach of anyone who could help them, but as an added precaution also wiped all their memories. They do love each other but it is a very - toxic relationship - pun intended! He thought he could change her but instead the Drow nobility did and she slowly grew more and more evil out of necessity.
(Edit: He also created a secret lab in Menzo to test potions on monsters from the Realms without having to deal with PETA... I mean the Emerald Enclave.... on the surface. His whole MO was he believed by micro-dosing various creatures he could change their DNA making them good. Only him and his wife have access as the door to the lab is encoded to their genomes. Technically his children have access too, but this is what has kept her alive in Menzo now that he fled. She is the only person with access to everything he built.)
I'll let you read the backstory for more but each part of it was a campaign I played as them in except the Maztican plantations. I DM'd those finding groups on the forums here: Adventurers Wanted: Settle the True World! - Looking for Players & Groups - D&D Beyond General - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond- and there was also an in-person bar hop last year in Manhattan. We played during happy hour at different colonial era bars in NYC/NJ. Every player and NPC who played became one of the original enslaved families.
I chose Ao because I liked the idea of someone whose religion was utterly destroyed and although that might have never truly accepted it, they made their peace with it by accepting that it was destroyed. Having had my own religious identity destroyed in real life it speaks to me. Even if my own personal destruction came about five real life years after the character started worshipping Ao. His children being half-Drow speaks to another side of that destruction since my religious sundering is linked being identified as a half-breed and disenfranchised due to that status myself. I am still wrestling with all of it and killing goblins has helped. By far my favorite character and the Alchemist is really the best class. Especially the AD&D version. The other versions are meh, but the AD&D Alchemist is a powerhouse of awesome.
Ao both in D&D and in real life refer to pantheistic theological concepts and some would say satirical of the religions their inclusion mimic. Tough topic to discuss but when 2e AD&D was around. I think for Faerun a closer example would be the Adama whose religious ideologies mirror that of Catholism mixed with some Tibetan Buddhism. The Adama is one and all. They are a living being who have authority over the entire religion and are the only deity. All others are vein constructs and false deities which is why they fall. When the Adama dies, they are replaced by another who is believed to be the incarnate of the Adama ie same person. They gave rise to the Red Wizards of Thay both coming from pre-Bonze Age Earth but the Red Wizards of Thay pulled their powers inward focusing on themselves whereas the Adama focus on the society they built around the Adama. Both empires are pretty oppressive, but I always liked the Adama more because they were deceptively oppressive. They have a Commandment not to kill anyone so instead they use Enchantment and Illusion to troll people into murdering themselves. So, think Red Wizards of Thay and then only select spells for trollolololololing.
For existing dnd deities: Bahamut, Sardior, and Tiamat.
For homebrew, a whole pantheon: Arceus, creator of the universe. Palkia, god of physical space. Giratina, god of the underworld. Dialga, god of time. Hey, what do you mean I'm just using pokemon?
Pokemon Master, Hero of Hyrule, Jedi Knight, Minecrafter, Celestial Being Beyond Comprehension, Bounty Hunter, Salmon Runner, Nailmaster, Yarn Yoshi Enjoyer, Animal Lover, Math Rock Roller, Nerd King in all Aspects.
(And, of course, Dragon Tamer. It is in the name, after all)
HE'S BACK... AND WEIRDER THAN EVER!
Oh, well, you're going to hate me. I am a follower of the Antipasta! Zero carbs.
"Life is Cast by Random Dice"
Burn my candle twice.
I have done my life justice
Against random dice.
So I have a few:
FR: Selune, Sune, Torm and Bane are all on my favourites lists for various reasons.
DL: Kiri-jolith, the great bison headed god of justice.
Homebrews: Raios (A god of Truth, discovery), Iffrus (Humor, deception, Luck) Ashla (Conflict, Mastery), Immalia (Magic, Knowing), Idealism (literally internalizing an ideal to the point where it functions as a proto-deity).
A few of my games were in Greyhawk so I had Deep Sashelas for my wood elf tempest cleric, Clangeddin Silverbeard for my dwarf fighter, and Rillifane Rallathil for my half-elf druid. I wasn’t sure about the last one with him being a druid. Do they really have deities? But my DM said it was fine since he’s the elf god of nature.
Well, tricky question.
Several answers:
I'm an atheist IRL, but as a Goth who loves the Pagan Aesthetic if I was to pick a deity by choice it would be Luna the Roman Goddess of the Moon. But if I was to convert this to a DnD deity, well clearly Eilistraee would be my chosen deity.
My love for lunar deities is because I'm a night person, and prefer a moonlit night over any sun any time. Might have to do with spending 40 of my 50+ in Los Angeles I'm so done with Sunny days.
For my characters, really depends on who I make. I always consider their relationship with belief when designing one. Some are agnostic, some have deep faith in usually a goddess.
Chauntea. She's a gilf.
Ok, time to face the elephant in the room. I posted my answer, as honestly as possible. But can we address that you have a character who is aware of Ao? You as a human in the real world looking in, Ao is a given analogy to the God of monotheism. aka the Alpha and Omega AO.
But only the eldest of deities know about the concept of this deity, as AO created them. And those deities refuse to tell mortals about AO. Only the most Academic of College professors who study ancient histories even have an inkling of the possibility that their might be an overgod who created the Multiverse. You are a million times more likely the know of Jergal than to even have a concept that could lead to AO.
Sorry had to address this not for the human, but for your character. Saying AO as a human on Earth just means you are probably a follower of the big three world religions.
Ah, a fellow adventurer of culture I see!
I as well am I fan of the Raven Queen, though Zehir is also in my top three along with Blibdoolpoolp; all for very different reasons.
When I first started playing, it was in Greyhawk. So my deity for my characters was Boccob. When I started playing in the Realms, Torm, Mystra, Lolth and Vhaerun were the deities for my various characters. Nowadays, it's whatever fits. My latest character is an Illrigger(Architect of Ruin)/Wizard(School of Psionics homebrew), that signed his contract with Asmodeus. So I guess that would be his deity, even though he doesn't worship him as a patron.
My Alchemist 2024 Rules Background - Story & Lore - D&D Beyond General - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond
That is my background for the next "incarnation" if you will of my main character. They are a Human Alchemist who was hired by Baulderan to make enough Alchemist Fire to burn down the Wild Elven Forest in Northern Maztica around Fort Flame. He refused so Baulderan kicked him out of his expedition leaving him to die on the foreign continent. This simple act inadvertently saved his life as the expedition was slaughtered by the Wild Elves not long after. Being alone and not the type of company the Wild Elves were inclined to adopt as part of their own people they quickly forgot about him as he wasn't a threat. He eventually found the ingredients required to brew the Elixir of Youth prolonging his life for several centuries now. Due to this he was in Maztica when the Sundering occurred sending him to Abeir and then again for the Second Sundering pulling him back to Toril. This shattered his faith in the deities, and he became one of the Cultist of Ao who is known about but was largely disregarded by the Realms shortly after each Sundering because he completely ignored his followers. My Alchemist isn't religious but he lived through it and so he believes Ao is the true power in the Realms having seen him remove and replace the other deities (including his original deity) firsthand. Think of it sort of like he knows the answer to the question already, so he stopped thinking about it and moved on. Eventually he returned to Faerun and got married to a Drow then thrust her house into Drow nobility from the dirt. To do this he founded the largest Alchemical company in the Realms, "Big Pharma" who certified Alchemist, provided them the capital to purchase real estate in various places as "franchises", provided them a supply of potions as well as ingredients and shared profits to ensure businesses in lower trafficked areas could still thrive. Although he is one of, if not the most, talented Alchemist in the Realms the company "Big Pharma" mostly produces generic common potions, and they also wholesale them to general stores and even other non-incorporated Alchemist who rebrand and resell them on occasion. He is also a Harper having been begged by them to join which led to him taking his wife's house up into the nobility and company had board members in each faction except the Emerald Enclave. His wife took over the board after about twelve years replacing members with her own network of spies each in each faction and had already been slowly converting their products into designer drugs by repackaging and reselling them through various criminal organizations. After he fled, she began enslaving people and sending them to Maztica to work on plantations for her way out of reach of anyone who could help them, but as an added precaution also wiped all their memories. They do love each other but it is a very - toxic relationship - pun intended! He thought he could change her but instead the Drow nobility did and she slowly grew more and more evil out of necessity.
(Edit: He also created a secret lab in Menzo to test potions on monsters from the Realms without having to deal with PETA... I mean the Emerald Enclave.... on the surface. His whole MO was he believed by micro-dosing various creatures he could change their DNA making them good. Only him and his wife have access as the door to the lab is encoded to their genomes. Technically his children have access too, but this is what has kept her alive in Menzo now that he fled. She is the only person with access to everything he built.)
I'll let you read the backstory for more but each part of it was a campaign I played as them in except the Maztican plantations. I DM'd those finding groups on the forums here: Adventurers Wanted: Settle the True World! - Looking for Players & Groups - D&D Beyond General - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond - and there was also an in-person bar hop last year in Manhattan. We played during happy hour at different colonial era bars in NYC/NJ. Every player and NPC who played became one of the original enslaved families.
I chose Ao because I liked the idea of someone whose religion was utterly destroyed and although that might have never truly accepted it, they made their peace with it by accepting that it was destroyed. Having had my own religious identity destroyed in real life it speaks to me. Even if my own personal destruction came about five real life years after the character started worshipping Ao. His children being half-Drow speaks to another side of that destruction since my religious sundering is linked being identified as a half-breed and disenfranchised due to that status myself. I am still wrestling with all of it and killing goblins has helped. By far my favorite character and the Alchemist is really the best class. Especially the AD&D version. The other versions are meh, but the AD&D Alchemist is a powerhouse of awesome.
Ao both in D&D and in real life refer to pantheistic theological concepts and some would say satirical of the religions their inclusion mimic. Tough topic to discuss but when 2e AD&D was around. I think for Faerun a closer example would be the Adama whose religious ideologies mirror that of Catholism mixed with some Tibetan Buddhism. The Adama is one and all. They are a living being who have authority over the entire religion and are the only deity. All others are vein constructs and false deities which is why they fall. When the Adama dies, they are replaced by another who is believed to be the incarnate of the Adama ie same person. They gave rise to the Red Wizards of Thay both coming from pre-Bonze Age Earth but the Red Wizards of Thay pulled their powers inward focusing on themselves whereas the Adama focus on the society they built around the Adama. Both empires are pretty oppressive, but I always liked the Adama more because they were deceptively oppressive. They have a Commandment not to kill anyone so instead they use Enchantment and Illusion to troll people into murdering themselves. So, think Red Wizards of Thay and then only select spells for trollolololololing.
"Life is Cast by Random Dice"
Burn my candle twice.
I have done my life justice
Against random dice.