Categories
The deities are grouped into five categories:
- Core powers - Deities presented in the Player's Handbook 3.5th edition or substantially introduced in the other two core books (Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual). Most of these deities are worshipped by humans. There is a subset within this category called Additional Deities which has deities not mentioned in the core rulebooks but instead in supplements and as such considered additions to the core category.
- Alternate human pantheons - This lists the pantheons and the deities within them that are presented in the supplement book Deities & Demigods. Most are based upon real-life mythology.
- Demihuman powers - This refers to deities worshipped by core races besides humans (such as elves and dwarves).
- Monster powers - This refers to the deities of the monstrous races intended as enemies of the players rather than player races. Whether they should be considered true deities or not is debated.
- Non-deity powers - These beings would fit into the previous category, but are not actually deities, plus most of them aren't the patron of a specific monstrous race. This includes the demon princes and archdevils as well as some other godlike beings.
Note that there is some overlap between the categories. Most of the head deities of the demihuman pantheons, such as Corellon Larethian and Moradin, for example, are both obviously demihuman powers but are also mentioned in the Player's Handbook and as such core powers as well. Hence they appear on both lists.
Before third edition, there was no Core Setting, so the distinctions above are not as clear-cut. For the most part, materials which did not specify a setting were assumed to be at least compatible with the World of Greyhawk if not outright parts of the canon. As such, those prior materials are covered in the setting-specific lists of deities.
The book Monster Mythology, however, was considered to be canon for core materials for the gods of non-human races in second edition.
Read more about this topic: List Of Dungeons & Dragons Deities
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