Deities & Demigods 1st edition

Deities & Demigods is a 1-edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons accessory. "Cyclopedia of Gods and Heroes from Myth and Legend

Provides the Dungeon Master with gods, heroes and monsters from myth, fiction and legend for use in rounding out an Advanced D&D campaign. Within this book are seventeen pantheons of divinities, each profusely illustrated. Also included are new material on clerics' conduct and their relationships with their deities, information on character mortality and immortality, and more!"

Description
Deities & Demigods presents the game statistics and background information for the gods, heroes, and legendary monsters from different mythologies. Deities & Demigods was the first print appearance of various fictional non-human deities, such as Corellon, Moradin, Gruumsh, and others, many of which have become standard features of Dungeons & Dragons and its derivatives. These deities were the creation of James Ward.

The original edition covered 12 pantheons of gods from myth and folklore, plus gods for various nonhumans, and four fictional groups: the Arthurian heroes, Fritz Leiber's Nehwon mythos, Michael Moorcock's Melnibonéan mythos, and H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. These statistics are presented in a fashion similar to that of the Monster Manual, and the statistics are accompanied by illustrations, as well as a short descriptive piece that details under what circumstances the god will appear, what the god might do if he does appear, and what his responsibilities and penchants may be. The book also details the mythoi of these religions, as well as how their clerics should behave, and describes the known planes of existence and how the afterlife applies to characters.

Later printings of Deities & Demigods, beginning in 1981, removed some material present in the 1980 printings. The Cthulhu and Melnibonéan sections were removed from the 1981 edition, making it a 128-page hardcover. In that form, it is functionally identical to Legends & Lore

Contents

 * Preface
 * Credits and Acknowledgements
 * Editor's Introduction
 * Explanatory Notes
 * Standard Divine Abilities
 * Dungeon Mastering Divine Beings
 * Clerics and Deities
 * Omens
 * Mortality and Immortality
 * Divine Ascension
 * American Indian Mythos
 * Arthurian Heroes
 * Babylonian Mythos
 * Celtic Mythos
 * Mesoamerican Mythos
 * Chinese Mythos
 * Cthulhu Mythos (first and second printings only)
 * Egyptian Mythos
 * Melnibonéan Mythos (first and second printings only)
 * Finnish Mythos
 * Greek Mythos and Heroes
 * Indian Mythos
 * Japanese Mythos
 * Nehwon Mythos
 * Nonhuman's Deities
 * Norse Mythos
 * Sumerian Mythos
 * Appendix 1: The Known Planes of Existence
 * Appendix 2: Temple Trappings
 * Appendix 3: Clerical Quick Reference Chart
 * Appendix 4: Further References
 * Index to Proper Names

Credits

 * Design: James M. Ward with Robert J. Kuntz
 * Editing: Lawrence Schick
 * Cover Art: Erol Otus
 * Interior Illustrations: Jeff Dee, Erol Otus, Eymoth, Darlene Pekul, Jennell Jaquays, Jim Roslof, David S. LaForce, David C. Sutherland III, Jeff Lanners, D. A. Trampier