Religion is a key element of the D&D game, since it is required to support both the cleric class and the behavioural aspects of the ethical alignment system – 'role playing', one of three fundamentals.
[3] D&D draws inspiration from a variety of mythologies, but takes great liberty in adapting them for the purpose of the game.
The first official publication to detail god-like beings for use in the Dungeons & Dragons game was Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes, published in 1976 as the fourth supplement for the original edition.
[citation needed] The Babylonian, Finnish, nonhuman, and Sumerian content were removed to allow room for expansion of the remaining mythoi.
The book Monster Mythology, however, was considered to be canon for core materials for the gods of non-human races in second edition.
Deities in Dungeons & Dragons have a great variety of moral outlooks and motives,[8] which have to be considered by cleric player characters.
[9] In some editions of the game, deities were given statistics, allowing mighty player characters to kill a god like a powerful monster.
[11]: 104 This edition had pared-down content in comparison to the original; the sections on Babylonian, Finnish, Sumerian and non-humanoid deities were wholly excised.
Although some of these originally come from the Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, or Eberron campaign settings, each one is mentioned at some point in a non-setting-specific source.
At their introduction in Fiend Folio (1981) reviewer Ed Greenwood considered them "worthy additions to any campaign".
[33] Artist Tony DiTerlizzi became fascinated by Primus and the other modrons when he got the challenge to redesign them from their first edition appearance for the Planescape campaign setting.
[34] Reviewer Scott Haring found the process successful as the "once-silly Modrons" were "given a new background and purpose that makes a lot more sense".
[35] "Titans are closer to the well spring of life and thus experience more pronounced emotion including Deity-like fits of rage.
In ages past some rebelled against the deities themselves..."[36] The Lady of Pain is an enigmatic being who oversees the city of Sigil[37]: 253 in the plane of the Outlands.
They are untouchable by even the most powerful deities although they can be summoned and used by the weakest mortal through pact magic and binding.
The supplement Dragon Magic, by Rodney Thompson and Owen Stephens published in September 2006, introduces this vestige: Wizards of the Coast created these vestiges online: These are the deities for the non-Greyhawk default campaign setting of 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons (informally referred to as the "points of light" setting).
The list includes long-time D&D establishments from Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms, as well as several original gods.
Although some gods are patrons of specific races, they are worshipped by all, and racial pantheons do not exist in this edition.
[46] The sourcebook Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020), which is the official adaptation of the Exandria setting from the web series Critical Role for 5th Edition,[47] uses a variation of the Dawn War pantheon.