Deities & Demigods, first edition cover artwork by Erol Otus
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Author | Various |
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Genre | Role-playing game |
Publisher | TSR |
Publication date
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1980 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 144 (1980 edition) 128 (1981 edition) |
ISBN | (first edition) |
OCLC | 14001409 |
794 19 | |
LC Class | GV1469.62.D84 W37 1984 |
Deities and Demigods for D&D 3rd edition.
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Author | Rich Redman, Skip Williams, and James Wyatt |
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Genre | Role-playing game |
Publisher | Wizards of the Coast |
Publication date
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February 2002 |
Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
Pages | 224 |
ISBN |
Deities & Demigods (abbreviated DDG), alternatively known as Legends & Lore (abbreviated L&L or LL), is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game (D&D). The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction. The book allows dungeon masters to incorporate aspects of religions and mythos into their D&D campaigns.
The first Deities & Demigods was published in 1980 by TSR, Inc. while another book called Deities and Demigods was published in 2002 by Wizards of the Coast, which acquired the D&D brand with their purchase of TSR in 1998.
The original 1980 edition was the first print appearance of various fictional non-human deities, such as Corellon Larethian, Moradin, Gruumsh, and others, many of which have become standard features of the D&D game and its derivatives. These deities were the creation of Jim Ward. Later printings of Deities & Demigods, beginning in 1981, removed some material present in the 1980 printings.
TSR published the first version of Deities & Demigods in 1980 as a 144-page hardcover for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. This edition, by James M. Ward and Robert J. Kuntz, served to update the material they had earlier included in 1976's Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-gods & Heroes for the original D&D ruleset. The book presents the game statistics and background information for the gods, heroes, and legendary monsters from different mythologies. 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. Interior illustrations were submitted by Jeff Dee, Eymoth (Kenneth Rahman), Paul Jaquays, Dave S. LaForce, Jeff Lanners, Erol Otus, Darlene Pekul, Jim Roslof, David C. Sutherland III, and D.A. Trampier.