Deities and Demigods

by Tony DiTerlizzi, James Wyatt, Skip Williams, et al.

Source of All Divine Power The names of Pelor, Loki, Athena, Osiris, and their kind are invoked by the devout as well as the desperate. With abilities that reach nearly beyond the scope of mortal... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786926546
• ISBN13: 9780786926541
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.5" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Tool For Ambitious 3rd Edition D & D Gamers

Deities and Demigods is a fantastic sourcebook for players and gamemasters who wish to add a lot of power and scope to their campaigns. This book (designed under 3.0 rules) goes into the different kinds of deities one may have, statistical entries for existing deities in four different pantheons (D & D, Greek, Egyptian, and Norse), and adventure ideas surrounding players' ascension to divinity. I recommend this book for any player or GM who wish to examine the possibility of having divine rank status inserted into the game, or even for those who wish to include more interaction with deities within the existing campaign world.

Very wonderful book. Must have for serious DMs.

This is a wonderful addition to Dungeons and Dragons 3E. The artwork is superb, the introductory chapters are well written, links to the Epic Level Handbook are established, and it contains full stats on four pantheons to boot. I just have a few beefs with it:1. What are they thinking, making Corellon Larethian androgynous? That puts disturbing pictures into my mind...2. The alignments and power levels for certain deities in the historical pantheons are not accurate. Example: Ares is presented as being chaotic evil. To the layman, that seems fine and dandy. But, to an (amateur) scholar of mythology, that does not tally with the historical Greek gods. Zeus does not tolerate evil. Ares is not evil per se; he simply loves to fight. Thus, he is CN. There are other, similar errors in mostly the Greek and Egyptian pantheons, but rather than bash WotC, I'll just let DMs rule 0 them.3. Set is a hippo, not a jackass.

worthwhile

The difference between this D & D 3E book and the books of the same name from earlier editions is that the older versions treated deities as monsters. This book treats them as gods. Also, this book explores the many roleplaying possibilities associated with divine beings, from "what if my players meet up with one" to "how do I even start to get a sense of how to create my own pantheon." The ideas (philosophical and game-mechanics-wise) a gamemaster needs to consider are very clearly and thoroughly presented. Very well done!

Divinity and More!

While I haven't time for an in-depth review of Deities and Demigods, I would say that I think it's one of the finest products produced for the system yet. The two major arguments I've heard against the product here are:1) Who needs stats for gods? Fair enough, but it isn't as if this book is new to the D & D system. The idea goes back a very long way indeed and has been done more than once. I think once the Epic-Level Campaigns book is released this volume will seem more accessible as well as a more natural progression from the Player's Handbook. Indeed, it seems almost as if the third part of a trilogy was released before the second, but that in no way makes this any less of a fun, useful, and enjoyable romp. For those of you that see this as only a glorified Monster Manual, I say free up your imaginations! 2) It only details four pantheons.True, but it covers them very well. I think this is preferable to having a mixed bag of gods that you can only really use if you play a truly worldly sort of campaign. My only real disappointment with the D & D/Greyhawk Pantheon was that I wanted much, much more of it than was offered. And I think if the biggest problem you have with a book is that you wanted it to be bigger, then you just have to do like I do...and pray for a Deities & Demigods II. The book is simply excellent. It begins by describing topics such as the nature of divinity (how a deity became a deity, where their power stems from, etc.), how to create your own gods, your own pantheons and so forth. There is a list of divine abilities and divine feats for fleshing out deities you create...as well as explaining the powers of those listed within. But, enough of about the nuts and bolts, because we know what everyone's waiting for...the gods!The D & D/Greyhawk Pantheon is a real plus for those of you who want a look at and description of the deities mentioned in the Player's Handbook. It also includes Tiamat and Bahamut (dragon deities), Lolth (Drow), and for some reason Kurtulmak (Kobold). The artwork is Fantastic and the stats given make perfect sense for truly far-reaching epic campaigns. As I said before...the only thing I want from this section of the book is MORE!The remaining three pantheons are Olympian (Greek), Pharonic (Egyptian), and Asgardian (Norse) and each are detailed comprehensibly. There are of course a few players missing from the deck (such as Fenrir from the Asgardian section) but with an average of 20 gods per pantheon you'll have plenty of stuff to keep you occupied and drool over. There are also original examples of monotheistic and dualistic faiths and a mystery cult. These are interesting to compare to the pantheons, especially as you're given details on creating your own, but I prefer the pantheon system as it adds more diversity. The book also includes several monsters spread throughout (cyclops, faun, greater mummy, minions of set, valkyrie, etc.), a few prestige classes and a list of "new" Domains and spells. My o

Something to believe in.

I've been a D & D player for going on 22 years now and up until the 3rd edition came out, I was a die-hard 1st edition supporter. The old Deities and Demigods opened up worlds that may not have been considered by many DM's and players but it left a lot of holes. The 3rd edition Deities book may not have as many pantheons described BUT the pantheons are finally described in VIVID detail. And the best part...it allows you to create your own deities if you wish! The artwork is beautiful throughout and the writers definately did their homework! Well worth owning by all players!