D&D 4E No evil gods in 4e?

[Akhena]

Also the excerpt for orcs mention :

Bloodthirsty marauders and cannibals, orcs venerate Gruumsh and thereby delight in slaughter and destruction.

So my guess is that the designers removed the temptation for players to worship evil gods by placing them in the MM and maybe in the DMG as well.

 

[Jhaelen]

Evil Gods aren't in the PHB because it's assumed/recommended that characters will be non-Evil. They'll be in the DMG.

This. Unless they ARE in the PHB and have simply been overlooked.

 

[skullking]

Also the excerpt for orcs mention :

So my guess is that the designers removed the temptation for players to worship evil gods by placing them in the MM and maybe in the DMG as well.

I hope you are wrong, after all what is so wrong with PCs worshipping evil gods (and demon lords for that matter)? It does seem that 4e is making a move towards good only parties which is a kick in the teeth for those who who want to play villainous characters, despite one of the selling points in the preview books being "two words - evil paladins".

I don't want to defeat Orcus - I want to serve him : )

 

[Belorin]

I really don't think that the designers are going to spread the deities between the books, it would make more sense to have them all in one location. YMMV

Bel

 

[Staffan]

Or maybe it's that there aren't any Chaotic Evil gods in the PHB? I could definitely see that happening, if you connect CE to the Primordials. The Primordials represent opposition to the gods, and are associated with the Elemental Chaos, after all.

And that would make it possible that Tharizdun is the only CE god, and he might be covered in the DMG or MM.

 

[hong]

Actually, if there's any god who should be connected to the Primordials, it's the Raven Queen IMO. And no, that doesn't mean she should be evil or chaotic evil; it's because death is a concept that should be so timeless it predates even the gods.

 

[Fanaelialae]

I don't remember where, but I could swear I read something a while back to the effect that mainstream evil gods (like Bane) aren't viewed by the general public as evil (I think Bane's a war god as far as the majority of people are concerned, or something). Apparently Bane's got a good PR person.

It may be that the evil gods are listed as unaligned in the PHB because that is the face that they show to the public, and would thus be their most familiar aspect. You would still have dark cults that worship the darker side of an evil god, regardless. I wouldn't be too surprised if alignment is now a more subjective trait (from the PoV of the common man or low-level PC), considering that it has (allegedly) been decoupled from the mechanics of the game and therefore would no longer be an objective property of beings (as it is in 3.x).

 

[Kaodi]

Perhaps 4e takes the Biblical angle that Evil is whatever God says it is, hehehe... So, the pantheon defines the reality. Asmodeus may be a rat bastard, but he is still divine, and thus his will is " legitimate " , just as that of the other gods and goddesses.

 

[hong]

I could get behind the idea of all the gods, even the unpleasant ones, being either Good or nonaligned. It serves as another point of distinction from devils and demons, who are Eeeevil.

Well, with the exception of Asmodeus, anyway.

 

[Shemeska]

Evil Gods aren't in the PHB because it's assumed/recommended that characters will be non-Evil. They'll be in the DMG.

EDIT: That's my working assumption, anyhow.

If true, that's a big step backwards. Nothing like limiting options...

I suppose we'll know once we see solid confirmation or not.