Gods (Gods and Men Supplement)

Religion in the Time of Gods and Men

Religion in the Ancient World was very immediate in people's lives. They believed that the Gods were constantly among them, and paid homage to all Gods (though they often still had patron deities). Thus, even the most devout priests of Pallas Athena would honor Poseidon before a sea voyage.

This has two major impacts. First, fortune or misfortune were often directly attributed to gods ("We must have lost the battle because Ares came among their army and inspired their warriors to greatness..."). The Gods were seen as being "among" the people constantly. Secondly, sacrifices to the Gods were not only common, but indeed were necessary. Without a sacrifice to the Gods (or at least a small libation or thoughts of praise), any venture was sure to meet with misfortune.

Finally, magic was entirely inseparable from the working of the gods. To the ancients, divine magic and arcane magic are the same entity. Thus, wizards know they unlock their power through study, but nonetheless believe that the ultimate source of that power is from the Gods; they simply access it in a less direct manner than clerics do (through prayer).

Sacrifice

Any major venture that doesn't begin with homage being paid to the proper deities has a 50% chance of being significantly set back in some way (the Gods, whom are displeased, make this so). The proper sacrifice to each god is usually an animal, but very rarely a deity will demand a human sacrifice.

Environmental Interference

The Gods, as a sign of their pleasure or, more commonly, displeasure, often interfere with the weather in many ways. This includes all sorts of Evil Weather, as well as dramatically planned eclipses, droughts, rains of frogs, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, firestorms, pillars of salt or gold arising from the ground, etc.

List of Major Deities

Mycenae

The Mycenaean deities are far more human and flawed then most other gods, being distinct characters with their own personalities as well as forces of nature. They are all the patron of something, and each has their own legends and tales surrounding them.

Mycenaean and Trojan Deities

Name	Alignment	Domains	Favored Weapon	Description
Aphrodite	CG	Chaos, Good, Luck, Trickery	Whip	Goddess of love and beauty.
Apollo	NG	Good, Healing, Knowledge, Sun	Longbow	God of the sun (light), reason, music, healing, prophecy, and poetry. The brother of Artemis.
Ares	NE	Destruction, Evil, Strength, War	Longspear	God of war and bloodshed.
Artemis	CG	Animal, Chaos, Earth, Good	Longbow	Goddess of hunting and archery, sister of Apollo.
Athena	LG	Good, Knowledge, Law, War	Longspear	Goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war.
Demeter	NG	Earth, Good, Plant, Water	Mace	Goddess of agriculture, grain, harvest and earth.
Dionysus	CN	Chaos, Luck, Plant, Trickery	Quarterstaff	God of wine, agriculture, and the theatre.
Hades	LN	Death, Earth, Law, Magic	Longsword	God of the Dead and lord of the Underworld.
Hephaestus	LN	Fire, Knowledge, Law, Strength	Warhammer	God of fire and the forge (smiths).
Hera	LG	Good, Healing, Law, Protection	Whip	Goddess of marriage, family, and motherhood.
Hermes	NG	Air, Good, Luck, Travel, Trickery	Dagger	God of travel, thieves, and commerce.
Hestia	NG	Fire, Good, Healing, Magic	Sap	Goddess of the hearth and domestic life.
Nemesis	LN	Death, Destruction, Law, Trickery	Longsword	Goddess of Revenge.
Pan	CG	Animal, Chaos, Luck, Good	Sickle	God of flocks and sheep.
Poseidon	CN	Chaos, Strength, Travel, Water	Trident	God of the sea.
Zeus	N	Air, Destruction, Magic, Protection	Longspear	God of air, thunder and lightning.

Egypt

The Egyptian gods have far less personality then their Mycenaean counterparts, and their roles changed over time as different cities gained and lost power.

Egyptian Deities

Deity	Alignment	Domains	Favored Weapon	Description
Re-Horakhty	LG	Good, Law, Sun, War	Khopesh	The falcon-headed God of the Sun.
Anubis	LN	Law, Magic, Repose*	Mace	The jackal-headed God of judgement in the afterlife and embalming.
Apep	NE	Evil, Fire, Sand*	Heavy pick	The snake God of darkness, who battles Re-Horakhty every night.
Bast	CG	Chaos, Destruction, Protection, Strength, War	Spiked gauntlet	Lion-headed warrior Goddess who was also protects the pharoahs.
Hathor	NG	Protection, Good, Luck	Longsword	Cow-headed Goddess of childbirth and miners.
Imhotep	NG	Earth, Healing, Knowledge, Rune*	Quaterstaff	Early human engineer and physician who became a God after death.
Isis	NG	Good, Magic, Protection, Water	Quaterstaff	Goddess of motherhood, magic, and fertility. She is the wife of Osiris.
Nephthys	CG	Chaos, Good, Protection, Repose*	Mace	Goddess of funerary rites who is the nurse and protector of the Pharoah. She is Isis' sister and the wife of Set.
Osiris	LG	Air, Earth, Good, Law, Plant, Repose*	Light flail	Green-skinned judge and lord of the dead, who is in charge of the underworld agency that grants all life.
Ptah	LN	Knowledge, Law, Travel	Mace	Green-skinned God that called the world into being, and god of craftsmen.
Set	CE	Air, Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Strength	Spear	Typhon-headed God of the desert, storms, darkness, and chaos. Like Apep, he is said to fight Re every night.
Sobek	LE	Animal, Evil, Water	Shortspear	Crocodile-headed God of the Nile and the reptiles that live in it.
Thoth	N	Knowledge, Magic, Rune*	Quaterstaff	Ibis-headed God of the heart and tongue, who is a mediator between disputes of good and evil.

Persia

The Persians are unique in that they only have one god: Ahura Mazda, who is Lawful Good. He is the upholder of truth, and is omniscent(but not omnipotent). The domains he is associated with are Destruction, Good, Law, and Protection. Those who don't adhere to him will pray to his antithesis: Angra Mainyu, the All-encompassing evil. His domains are Destruction, Evil, Chaos and Death.

Babylonia

The Babylonian deities have less personality then other gods, but all resemble humans. In fact, Gilgamesh himself used to be a human.

Babylonian Deities

Deity	Alignment	Domains	Favored Weapon	Description
Anu	LG	Air, Knowledge, Law, Protection	Mace	Sky-God, lord of heaven and all other gods. He also judged those who committed crimes.
Anshar	NE	Evil, Magic, Trickery	Dagger	God who used to be lord of the sky, but was usurped by Anu.
Dahak	CE	Chaos, Death, Evil	Scimitar	A cruel, evil god who only seeks war.
Druaga	LE	Evil, Law, Trickery	Mace	Druaga is the evil god of the underworld and of Devils.
Enlil	NG	Air, Good, Luck, War	Heavy Pick	God of wind, breath, loft, and breadth.
Enki	LN	Earth, Magic, Water	Mace	God of crafts, seawater, lakewater, intelligence, and creation.
Gilgamesh	NG	Good, Strength, Travel, War	Mace	Being who is two parts god, one part man. He later ascended to heaven, where he is the god of strength and war, among other things.
Girru	LG	Fire, Good, Law, Magic	Morningstar	The god of light and fire.
Ishtar	N	Magic, Strength, Summer*, War	Light flail	The Goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. Her worshippers often practice sacred prostitution, and though she has many lovers, she treats all of them cruelly.
Ki	N	Animal, Luck, Plant	Quarterstaff	Mother goddess of the earth and fertility.
Marduk	LN	Air, Law, Protection	Net	50-named god who is the patron deity of Babylon.
Nanna-Sin	CG	Chaos, Luck, Good	Battleaxe	God of the moon and mischeif.
Nergal	NE	Death, Earth, Evil	Longsword	A god of the underworld who causes war and pestilence.
Utu	CG	Chaos, Fire, Good, Sun	Scimitar	The firey god of the sun.

Hatti

• Domains marked with a * appear in Chapter 5 of the Sandstorm Supplement.

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Campaign Settings → The Time of Gods and Men->Gods.