D&D General Forgotten Realms: Real World Gods Still Present in the Old Empires

[Zeromaru X]

Bahamut is unmentioned. I might have suspected that the Dragonborn insertion into the Forgotten Realms setting, was being targeted.

While Bahamut is unmentioned in these books, he has been mentioned in all the relevant books lately, including the 2024 DMG and The Book of Dragons (that includes a lot of updated Realmslore for dragons). So, he still exists in the 2024 "canon". He and Corellon aren't given the spotlight in the new books because they are not part of the Faerûnian pantheon, just as the Egyptian gods are just name dropped in the Mulhorand entry and nothing else (including the non-accurate "Horus-Re" name that gives me OCD, lol).

The only one who seems to be completely non-canon for 5e is Enlil, as he is not mentioned in any of the 5e sourcebooks (not 2014, neither 2024). But, this kind of makes sense, as the novels he appears in seem to have been ignored in the new books.

As for the other stuff, it seems that 5e 2024 is kinda deemphasizing/sanitizing the religious aspect of the gods, but that's with all gods, not just the racial ones. Even the entries in the 2024 DMG are scarce.

 

[Parmandur]

I am unsure what is going on with the Forgotten Realms gods. Maybe there is some quiet restructuring.

Enlil is unmentioned even tho his presumed location is mentioned; his involvement or absence notable. Bahamut is unmentioned. I might have suspected that the Dragonborn insertion into the Forgotten Realms setting, was being targeted.

But then even elven Corellon was unmentioned, except in passing as a name drop for Orc "lore".

Is there a step away from "statting" gods? The references to the Forgotten Realm gods are a simple list. Most of the descriptions are about the Humanoid adherents, including how divine magic works in this setting, rather than about each god per se.

Is 2024 undoing the earlier editions having "race gods", like elf Corellon, gnome Glittergold, dwarf Moradin, etcetera, and by extension Bahamut and Enlil as race gods of Dragonborn.

If Corellon does make a future appearance they will probably be in the context of a multispecies religious tradition.

If any of these gods are mentioned, are their adherents just the one species, or are any species intended?

Seems like a reset to the original AD&D, pre-Time of Troubles more subtle take on divinity.

 

[Yaarel]

Corellon aren't given the spotlight in the new books because they are not part of the Faerûnian pantheon,

I didnt realize Corellon was not Forgotten Realms. Especiallly when Lolth became so prevalent.

(including the non-accurate "Horus-Re" name that gives me OCD, lol).

LOL. That combination gave me pause.

Seems like a reset to the original AD&D, pre-Time of Troubles more subtle take on divinity.

Is there a complete list of all the Realms gods before the Time of Trouble?

 

[Amphytrion]

Bahamut is unmentioned. I might have suspected that the Dragonborn insertion into the Forgotten Realms setting, was being targeted.

Bahamut is unmentioned but got an easter egg, I think. His seven gold canaries are eminently noticeable in one of the early pictures, followed by a pegasus. A spirit dragon is nearby.

The species section is mostly based on the SCAG text, which hits all the same notes, sometimes using the exact same wording. I don’t think Enlil was mentioned there either.

But then even elven Corellon was unmentioned, except in passing as a name drop for Orc "lore".

Corellon is mentioned a handful of times; including in the entries for Lolth and Eilistraee. He is described as an elven deity.

Moradin is also mentioned as the chief dwarven god.

They don’t have entries (which is a shame) but the text clearly acknowledges them.

Is 2024 undoing the earlier editions having "race gods", like elf Corellon, gnome Glittergold, dwarf Moradin, etcetera, and by extension Bahamut and Enlil as race gods of Dragonborn.

Very unlikely, considering Bahamut, Corellon and Moradin all got entries in the DMGlore glossary.

 

[Zeromaru X]

I didnt realize Corellon was not Forgotten Realms. Especiallly when Lolth became so prevalent.

Corellon and Lolth are part of the "non-human" deities group, that is "multispheric" (multiversal), and so they exist in almost all the D&D worlds. Lolth is prominent in the Realms because to the Drizzt's novels, but she is not exclusive of the Realms, or even originated there.

 

[Parmandur]

I didnt realize Corellon was not Forgotten Realms. Especiallly when Lolth became so prevalent.

The "racial gods" all come from early Dragon magazine articles about Greyhawk, and Greenwood just rolled them into his pastiche merrily.

Is there a complete list of all the Realms gods before the Time of Trouble?

Probavly, but I am not referring to the enumeration of God's, but how they are viewed as interacting with the world.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

While Bahamut is unmentioned in these books, he has been mentioned in all the relevant books lately, including the 2024 DMG and The Book of Dragons (that includes a lot of updated Realmslore for dragons). So, he still exists in the 2024 "canon". He and Corellon aren't given the spotlight in the new books because they are not part of the Faerûnian pantheon, just as the Egyptian gods are just name dropped in the Mulhorand entry and nothing else (including the non-accurate "Horus-Re" name that gives me OCD, lol).

The only one who seems to be completely non-canon for 5e is Enlil, as he is not mentioned in any of the 5e sourcebooks (not 2014, neither 2024). But, this kind of makes sense, as the novels he appears in seem to have been ignored in the new books.

As for the other stuff, it seems that 5e 2024 is kinda deemphasizing/sanitizing the religious aspect of the gods, but that's with all gods, not just the racial ones. Even the entries in the 2024 DMG are scarce.

Notably, the Lost Library of Lechaunthos adventure consistently mentions a "god of pestilence" but avoids naming Yurtrus despite him being very relevant to the events of the adventure.

 

[Azzy]

The "racial gods" all come from early Dragon magazine articles about Greyhawk, and Greenwood just rolled them into his pastiche merrily.

That's not entirely accurate. The heads of the racial pantheons (Corellon, Gruumsh, etc.) were in the setting-neutral 1e Deities & Demigods (later, Legends & Lore), and Roger E. Moore elaborated the rest of the pantheons over the course of several issues of Dragon magazine. Then both Gygax and Greenwood incorporated them into Greyhawk and the Forgotten Realms after the fact.

 

[Yaarel]

Very unlikely, considering Bahamut, Corellon and Moradin all got entries in the DMGlore glossary.

I mean, Corellon would be a god who is an Elf, not a god of Elves; Moradin a god who is an Dwarf not a god of Dwarves, Bahamut a god who is a Dragon not a god of Dragons, and so on.

It surprises me that such a famous figure as Corellon lacks entry in the list. Yet their themes are universal beyond elven cultures, to encourage a pursuit of both magical power and artistic esthetics - a duty to beautify the multiverse. There is no sense to restrict these themes to only elven cultures, since any Humanoids can appreciate these values.

Regarding the gods list, it seems mainly the "race" gods are the ones that are missing. If they do resurface, I expect their sacred traditions to be more inclusively multispecies.

 

[Yaarel]

Then again, my personal preferences would be, they dont resurface as "gods" (with priests and temples), but rather as animistic nature beings (with shamanics and identical with specific sacred natural features). Corellon would be the life of magic itself, Moradin the life of mineral deposits and patterns. Especially figures as dwarven Moradin and elven Corellon might easily be Archfey, or even Border Ethereal manifestations, rather than Celestial. I would expect Fey-Celestial Crossings in their vicinity in any case.

(The Astral aspects might relate more explicitly with language, analogous to the runic alphabet.)

The beings of nature would be aspects of the Material Plane itself. Albeit these objects of nature would manifest soul, sometimes humanlike that sometimes travel elsewhere. I have always viewed Corellon as an Elf and the ancestor of other Elves, rather than any kind of "creator" of Elves, and this family dignity is more animism.