Faiths and Pantheons is a 226-page sourcebook for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition released in May 2002. It consists of information on deities of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
Official synopsis[]
RELIGION IN THE REALMS
Whether cleric or commoner, wizard or warrior, nearly everyone in Faerûn pays homage to at least one patron deity. Some of those divine powers inspire respect, while others elicit fear. Good or evil, all of them coexist within these pages. Complete information for key gods, along with the powers and abilities granted to their most dedicated followers, and descriptions of supporting deities combine to provide this look at all the gods of the FORGOTTEN REALMS® Campaign Setting.
To use this accessory, a Dungeon Master also needs the FORGOTTEN REALMS Campaign Setting, the Player’s Handbook, the DUNGEON MASTER’s Guide, and the Monster Manual.
- Over 115 gods
- 20 specialty priest prestige classes
- Maps of four temples
Content[]
It details the mechanics of the system established at the end of the Time of Troubles, in which a divine figure's relative power would be determined by the number of their worshipers.
Faiths and Pantheons also features the power levels and exact abilities of the various major deities of Faerûn (those with divine rank 15+), as of 3rd Edition, and has descriptions of the dogmas and churches of all of the intermediate deities, lesser deities, and demigods named in the setting's core rulebook. It even features the names of various monster deities and others unmentioned in the core book, with descriptions of some, as well as 20 prestige classes for player characters and non-player characters alike.
Development and release[]
Development[]
The book was written by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona. Art was provided by Brom.
This book was written by Eric L. Boyd and Erik Mona and published in May 2002. Cover art is by Brom, with interior art by Glen Angus, Carlo Arellano, Brom, Dennis Calero, Michael Dubisch, Wayne England, Mark Evans, Scott Fischer, Lars Grant-West, Michael W. Kaluta, Vince Locke, Todd Lockwood, Raven Mimura, Puddnhead, Corey Macourek, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, Wayne Reynolds, Mike Sass, Mark Smylie, Arnie Swekel, Ben Templesmith, Kev Walker, Matt Wilson, Renick Woods, and Sam Wood.
Erik Mona commented on the book's design: "The new design ethic was to focus on building the Realms into an interesting campaign setting for players and DMs, above and beyond an adherence to old material so far out of date a modern-day graduate student could have been in grade school when it first went out of print. So I did my best to infuse deities like Deneir, Selune, and even poor little Cyrrollalee with interesting, occasionally challenging ideas that they hadn't been exposed to in the long history of the Realms. When ground has been covered eleven times before, it's really tempting to just parrot older material, changing the exact wording but not worrying too much about updating the gears that make that material work. For Faiths and Pantheons, I tried to tear some of these gods (particularly some of the lamer ones) to their core concepts and build up from there. That's not to say they're so different as to be unrecognizable--they're the same deities, but some of them have new, hopefully interesting aspects to their characters and motivations that haven't been revealed until now."[2]
Release[]
Faiths and Pantheons was released by Wizards of the Coast in May 2002 for $32.95 US, or $45.95 Canadian.[1]
On March 29, 2016, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $14.99.
Reception and influence[]
Critical reception[]
Faiths and Pantheons received generally positive reviews. Online magazine Fictional Reality considered the interior artwork to stand out, and found both the mechanics and setting information useful, although concluded that it was "not a required book" for play.[3]
Reviewing a 2007 German edition, Anduin also praised the book's layout and setting information; the translated edition was considered especially beneficial to German players, because 2nd edition books with similar content (such as Faiths & Avatars (1996) and Demihuman Deities (1998) were only released in English. However, the detailed mechanical stat blocks for major deities were viewed as largely unsuccessful.[4]
As of 2023, Faiths and Pantheons reached the rank of Gold seller on DriveThruRPG.
Influence on other works[]
External links[]
- Faiths and Pantheons on DriveThruRPG
- Faiths and Pantheons on Dungeon Masters Guild
- Faiths & Pantheons at TSR Archive
- Review of Faiths and Pantheons
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Product page. Wizards.com, via Web Archive.
- ↑ Product Spotlight: Faiths and Pantheons. May 10, 2002. Archived from the original.
- ↑ D20 Product Review: Faiths and Pantheons. Fictional Reality issue 9, p. 20. September 2002
- ↑ Götter und Kulte. Anduin issue 95, p.100-101. May 2008.
| Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 |
|---|
| Core rules |
| Player's Handbook • Dungeon Master's Guide • Monster Manual • Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game |
| Supplements |
| Arms and Equipment Guide • Book of Challenges • Book of Vile Darkness • Defenders of the Faith • Deities and Demigods • Enemies and Allies • Epic Level Handbook • Fiend Folio • Ghostwalk • Hero Builder's Guidebook • Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (Gazetteer) • Manual of the Planes • Masters of the Wild • Monster Manual II • Oriental Adventures • Psionics Handbook • Savage Species • Song and Silence • Stronghold Builder's Guidebook • Sword and Fist • Tome and Blood |
| Adventures |
| The Sunless Citadel • The Forge of Fury • The Fright at Tristor • The Speaker in Dreams • The Standing Stone • Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil • Heart of Nightfang Spire • Deep Horizon • Lord of the Iron Fortress • Bastion of Broken Souls • City of the Spider Queen |