There are many examples of “gods, demi-gods and heroes” listen in the final OD&D supplement written by Rob Kuntz and James Ward, but throughout the previous OD&D books there are also various clues pointing to some implied or supposed deities, belief systems, and mythologies that might be expanded upon also.
It’s evident that many of these “snippets” of information will have later been fleshed out in AD&D and the official material pertaining to the world of Greyhawk. However, it’s interesting to see what was mentioned prior to 1979 and think about how these various scraps of information might have fuelled the imaginations of the early adopters of D&D.
“Anderson, Poul (Three Hearts and Three Lions)
Blackwood, Algernon
Brackett, Leigh
Burroughs, E.R. (John Carter of Mars; et al)
Carter, Lin (Warrior of the Worlds End)
deCamp & Pratt (Incomplete Enchanter; Castle of Iron; et al)
Farmer, P.J. (Gates of Creation; et al)
Fox, G.F. (Kother the Barbarian; et al)
Howard, R.E. (Conan the Conqueror; et al)
Lanier, Sterling (Hiero’s Journey)
Leiber, Fritz (Swords of Lankhmar; et al)
Lovecraft, H.P.
Merritt, A. (Creep Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Face in the Abyss; Dwellers in the Mirage et al)
Moorcock, Michael (Stealer of Souls; Stormbringer)
Saberhagen, Fred (Changling Earth)
St. Clair, Margaret
Tolkien, J.R.R. (The Hobbit; Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Vance, Jack (Eyes of Overworld; The Dying Earth)
Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, M. W.
Zelazny, Roger (Jack of Shadows; Lord of Light; Nine Princes of Amber series)”
This list is helpful in considering what belief systems may have been floating around in Gary Gygax's earliest playtesting D&D games in his prototype Greyhawk. Notably, some of Michael Moorcock’s and Robert E. Howard's “pantheons” were included in the original publication of Gods, Demigods and Heroes, These included entries for Hyborea as well as the Elric of Melnibone storyline. Sadly these were later removed and are not included in the PDF version available on the DM’s Guild.
It is evident that Gary was using at least some Hyborean and “Lovecraftian” gods in his early games. The 9th level spell Gate listed in Greyhawk “[...] opens a cosmic portal and allows an ultra-powerful being (such as Odin, Crom, Set, Cthulhu, the Shining One, a demi-god, or whatever) to come to this plane.”
Odin is a Norse god, Cthulhu is clearly lifted from H.P. Lovecraft and Crom is of course referring to Robert E Howard’s Hyborean god, and it is likely that Set is the same, however there is also the ancient Egyptian Set to consider. The Shining One is the most ambiguous entry. It could be Baphomet, Lugh? who knows...
In Blackmoor we get an implied “Genesis” story: “In the eons past there was a great flooding of the land [...] when the ice caps were melted during a great struggle of the gods to control the planet. When the water rose some of these gods took care that representative portions of all life were preserved and returned when the waters fell and the land became fruitful again. Others sought to change the nature of life so it could adapt to the new face of the world and at the same time preserve its intelligence. On the one hand it is said that the sea elves and the mermen were created by the Great Gods of Neutrality and Law while the Gods of Chaos bent their will to create the Sahuagin.” What’s interesting about this snippet is the implication that the deities can be organised neatly into Gods of Law, Neutrality and Chaos and might equally be referred to simply as the "the Gods of Law", "Neutrality", "Chaos" and remain ambiguous entities.
Blackmoor also goes on to describe a religious order known as the Brothers of the Swamp who reside in Blackmoor’s Temple of the Frog. “For years past this “religious” order has delved into the forbidden areas of study and determined that animals have more potential to populate the world than man, who was, after all, a biological abomination which would ultimately threaten the existence of all life.”
There are also the Keepers of the Frogs, an off-shoot of the Brothers of the Swamp. “A special order, called the Keepers of the Frogs, evolved to tend the beasts in the depths of the [Temple of the Frog]. These devoted fellows have become so separated from the main order as to develop a completely different outlook on their duty from that intended. Their original high regard for their charges has, by continued close contact, developed into disdain and even hostility toward them. This was increased when only those Brothers who had failed in their duty were assigned to be keepers, ostensibly to redeem themselves, and consequently they have not retained the high principles of the rest of the order.”
It’s not actually stated who the Brothers of the Swamp or the Keepers of the Frogs specifically worship, but I can hazard a guess it’s chaotic or perhaps simply "The Gods of Chaos".
Both orders appear extremely internal and therefore it would be easy to conclude that away from their temple they would not have any influence. However, “in further efforts to increase the number of frogs, the Brothers have sought to increase the purchase of slaves for the sacrifices and raise the necessary revenue by trading their handicrafts and medicines with the outside world. These traders are recruited exclusively from among the most loyal brothers and serve for a period of no more than ten years as roving merchants. Since any outside contact with the Temple is to be avoided, these merchants further disguise themselves as traders from “far places” to avoid identification with the Brothers of the Swamp.” All this is useful information in terms of conjuring up ideas for how various religious orders may come about and how they might interact with the world at large or just be unique to a small area.
Another example of ambiguity can be seen in Eldritch Wizardry in the way it describes druids as “neutral in nature [...] more closely attuned to Nature, serving as its priests rather than serving some other deity.” The implication here is that Druids serve nature itself and so nature worship can be considered a system of belief in its own right without any need of specifics. Note how “Nature” is capitalised. The supplement also specifically says “Druids: These clerics all serve the same general deity (Nature)”. So there you have it!
Eldritch Wizardy also describes Orcus’ Wand of Death, stating that “This instrument causes death (or annihilation) to any creature, save those of like status (other Princes, High Devils, Saints, Godlings, etc.), merely by touching their flesh.” The mention of Saints implies something like Christianity is presumed to exist. Especially considering holy water and crosses are amongst the list of basic equipment. There is also the Mace of Cuthbert listed in the same supplement to consider, the mace “is a very holy relic of the times of St. Cuthbert.” So, worship of saints similar to Christianity is apparent. To parallel this there are several demons mentioned throughout the supplement, as well as the Demon Princes such as Orcus and Demogorgon. It takes little imagination to suppose a form of demon worship.
It’s evident that many of these “snippets” of information will have later been fleshed out in AD&D and the official material pertaining to the world of Greyhawk. However, it’s interesting to see what was mentioned prior to 1979 and think about how these various scraps of information might have fuelled the imaginations of the early adopters of D&D.
Implied, Supposed & Suggested OD&D Pantheons
It’s a given that D&D was heavily inspired by various works of pulp fantasy and science fiction. We are all familiar with Appendix N, but there was actually an earlier list in Dungeon Magazine #4:“Anderson, Poul (Three Hearts and Three Lions)
Blackwood, Algernon
Brackett, Leigh
Burroughs, E.R. (John Carter of Mars; et al)
Carter, Lin (Warrior of the Worlds End)
deCamp & Pratt (Incomplete Enchanter; Castle of Iron; et al)
Farmer, P.J. (Gates of Creation; et al)
Fox, G.F. (Kother the Barbarian; et al)
Howard, R.E. (Conan the Conqueror; et al)
Lanier, Sterling (Hiero’s Journey)
Leiber, Fritz (Swords of Lankhmar; et al)
Lovecraft, H.P.
Merritt, A. (Creep Shadow, Creep; Moon Pool; Face in the Abyss; Dwellers in the Mirage et al)
Moorcock, Michael (Stealer of Souls; Stormbringer)
Saberhagen, Fred (Changling Earth)
St. Clair, Margaret
Tolkien, J.R.R. (The Hobbit; Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Vance, Jack (Eyes of Overworld; The Dying Earth)
Weinbaum, Stanley
Wellman, M. W.
Zelazny, Roger (Jack of Shadows; Lord of Light; Nine Princes of Amber series)”
This list is helpful in considering what belief systems may have been floating around in Gary Gygax's earliest playtesting D&D games in his prototype Greyhawk. Notably, some of Michael Moorcock’s and Robert E. Howard's “pantheons” were included in the original publication of Gods, Demigods and Heroes, These included entries for Hyborea as well as the Elric of Melnibone storyline. Sadly these were later removed and are not included in the PDF version available on the DM’s Guild.
It is evident that Gary was using at least some Hyborean and “Lovecraftian” gods in his early games. The 9th level spell Gate listed in Greyhawk “[...] opens a cosmic portal and allows an ultra-powerful being (such as Odin, Crom, Set, Cthulhu, the Shining One, a demi-god, or whatever) to come to this plane.”
Odin is a Norse god, Cthulhu is clearly lifted from H.P. Lovecraft and Crom is of course referring to Robert E Howard’s Hyborean god, and it is likely that Set is the same, however there is also the ancient Egyptian Set to consider. The Shining One is the most ambiguous entry. It could be Baphomet, Lugh? who knows...
In Blackmoor we get an implied “Genesis” story: “In the eons past there was a great flooding of the land [...] when the ice caps were melted during a great struggle of the gods to control the planet. When the water rose some of these gods took care that representative portions of all life were preserved and returned when the waters fell and the land became fruitful again. Others sought to change the nature of life so it could adapt to the new face of the world and at the same time preserve its intelligence. On the one hand it is said that the sea elves and the mermen were created by the Great Gods of Neutrality and Law while the Gods of Chaos bent their will to create the Sahuagin.” What’s interesting about this snippet is the implication that the deities can be organised neatly into Gods of Law, Neutrality and Chaos and might equally be referred to simply as the "the Gods of Law", "Neutrality", "Chaos" and remain ambiguous entities.
Blackmoor also goes on to describe a religious order known as the Brothers of the Swamp who reside in Blackmoor’s Temple of the Frog. “For years past this “religious” order has delved into the forbidden areas of study and determined that animals have more potential to populate the world than man, who was, after all, a biological abomination which would ultimately threaten the existence of all life.”
There are also the Keepers of the Frogs, an off-shoot of the Brothers of the Swamp. “A special order, called the Keepers of the Frogs, evolved to tend the beasts in the depths of the [Temple of the Frog]. These devoted fellows have become so separated from the main order as to develop a completely different outlook on their duty from that intended. Their original high regard for their charges has, by continued close contact, developed into disdain and even hostility toward them. This was increased when only those Brothers who had failed in their duty were assigned to be keepers, ostensibly to redeem themselves, and consequently they have not retained the high principles of the rest of the order.”
It’s not actually stated who the Brothers of the Swamp or the Keepers of the Frogs specifically worship, but I can hazard a guess it’s chaotic or perhaps simply "The Gods of Chaos".
Both orders appear extremely internal and therefore it would be easy to conclude that away from their temple they would not have any influence. However, “in further efforts to increase the number of frogs, the Brothers have sought to increase the purchase of slaves for the sacrifices and raise the necessary revenue by trading their handicrafts and medicines with the outside world. These traders are recruited exclusively from among the most loyal brothers and serve for a period of no more than ten years as roving merchants. Since any outside contact with the Temple is to be avoided, these merchants further disguise themselves as traders from “far places” to avoid identification with the Brothers of the Swamp.” All this is useful information in terms of conjuring up ideas for how various religious orders may come about and how they might interact with the world at large or just be unique to a small area.
Another example of ambiguity can be seen in Eldritch Wizardry in the way it describes druids as “neutral in nature [...] more closely attuned to Nature, serving as its priests rather than serving some other deity.” The implication here is that Druids serve nature itself and so nature worship can be considered a system of belief in its own right without any need of specifics. Note how “Nature” is capitalised. The supplement also specifically says “Druids: These clerics all serve the same general deity (Nature)”. So there you have it!
Eldritch Wizardy also describes Orcus’ Wand of Death, stating that “This instrument causes death (or annihilation) to any creature, save those of like status (other Princes, High Devils, Saints, Godlings, etc.), merely by touching their flesh.” The mention of Saints implies something like Christianity is presumed to exist. Especially considering holy water and crosses are amongst the list of basic equipment. There is also the Mace of Cuthbert listed in the same supplement to consider, the mace “is a very holy relic of the times of St. Cuthbert.” So, worship of saints similar to Christianity is apparent. To parallel this there are several demons mentioned throughout the supplement, as well as the Demon Princes such as Orcus and Demogorgon. It takes little imagination to suppose a form of demon worship.
Some of the Christian elements apparent in OD&D may be inspired by Poul Andserson's fantasy novel "Three Hearts & Three Lions" listed in Appendix N and the original Dungeon #4 list. In Three Hearts and Three Lions, Poul Anderson’s fantasy world draws heavily from medieval European mythology and Christian symbolism. The protagonist, Holger Carlsen, a Danish resistance fighter, is transported to a parallel world that resembles a mythic medieval Europe, where he takes on the persona of a heroic knight. While explicit religious doctrines aren't deeply explored, the implied religion leans heavily on a kind of mythic Christianity, with elements that evoke medieval Christian values and archetypes.
The central conflict in the book is between Law and Chaos, which are personified almost as cosmic forces. "Law" has strong associations with Christian virtues, chivalry, and the protection of humanity, while "Chaos" is represented by supernatural creatures (such as faeries, trolls, and the like) that oppose these values. Holger's symbolic status as a "champion of Law" aligns him with Christian ideals, including his use of the cross as a protective symbol and references to biblical allusions and imagery.
Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone series presents a starkly different take on religion and cosmic order compared to Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions. While Anderson leans on a medieval Christian framework with a clear divide between Law (associated with human and Christian values) and Chaos (linked to supernatural and anti-Christian elements), Moorcock presents a more ambiguous, morally gray conflict between Law and Chaos.
In the Elric novels, the Eternal Champion (a recurring figure throughout Moorcock’s work) often navigates a morally complex universe where Law and Chaos are not inherently good or evil but represent two opposing cosmic forces that shape reality. Chaos in Moorcock’s world, unlike Anderson’s clearly antagonistic portrayal, is sometimes presented as a source of creativity, freedom, and power, though it also brings disorder and destruction. Law, by contrast, brings structure and stability but risks rigidity and stagnation. Both are portrayed as necessary and even complementary forces, neither entirely good nor evil.
Elric himself serves gods of Chaos, particularly Arioch, a demon lord, but he does so more out of cultural heritage and the desperation to survive than genuine devotion. Unlike the Law-centric, Christian-influenced heroism of Holger Carlsen, Elric’s morality is often self-serving and conflicted. The cosmic entities in Moorcock's work, whether of Law or Chaos, are seen as amoral beings with their own agendas, indifferent to human concepts of good and evil.
So, where Anderson’s world suggests a Christian-inspired battle between good (Law) and evil (Chaos), Moorcock’s universe suggests a more existential struggle for balance, where the Eternal Champion seeks not to defeat one side but to maintain a precarious equilibrium between them. This more relativistic, non-religious worldview reflects a departure from Christian dualism, showing Law and Chaos as both essential to existence but also sources of conflict and inner turmoil.
Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melnibone series presents a starkly different take on religion and cosmic order compared to Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions. While Anderson leans on a medieval Christian framework with a clear divide between Law (associated with human and Christian values) and Chaos (linked to supernatural and anti-Christian elements), Moorcock presents a more ambiguous, morally gray conflict between Law and Chaos.
In the Elric novels, the Eternal Champion (a recurring figure throughout Moorcock’s work) often navigates a morally complex universe where Law and Chaos are not inherently good or evil but represent two opposing cosmic forces that shape reality. Chaos in Moorcock’s world, unlike Anderson’s clearly antagonistic portrayal, is sometimes presented as a source of creativity, freedom, and power, though it also brings disorder and destruction. Law, by contrast, brings structure and stability but risks rigidity and stagnation. Both are portrayed as necessary and even complementary forces, neither entirely good nor evil.
Elric himself serves gods of Chaos, particularly Arioch, a demon lord, but he does so more out of cultural heritage and the desperation to survive than genuine devotion. Unlike the Law-centric, Christian-influenced heroism of Holger Carlsen, Elric’s morality is often self-serving and conflicted. The cosmic entities in Moorcock's work, whether of Law or Chaos, are seen as amoral beings with their own agendas, indifferent to human concepts of good and evil.
So, where Anderson’s world suggests a Christian-inspired battle between good (Law) and evil (Chaos), Moorcock’s universe suggests a more existential struggle for balance, where the Eternal Champion seeks not to defeat one side but to maintain a precarious equilibrium between them. This more relativistic, non-religious worldview reflects a departure from Christian dualism, showing Law and Chaos as both essential to existence but also sources of conflict and inner turmoil.
Taking all this into account, there may be some disparity in the way different peoples see the generic OD&D "world" then. Some may see it as a world formed by the interaction of unknown gods who work to further either law, neutrality or chaos and these gods are perhaps largely unknowable beyond that. Others may believe in the power of nature alone without persona and yet others worship the one God, revering the various mythical saints who further His cause imposing law over chaos. Yet others, recognise numerable gods who have individual names and ways of working, some of these could be based on classical Greek deities, Egyptian, or even Hyborean. Of course, if any of this is like real life you might also consider various cults who might express a belief in the divinity of certain heroes of legend many types of heroes (or anti-heroes) of this class are mentioned in Eldritch Wizardry: “Kas was said to be the mightiest swordsman of his age.” Don’t forget “the mighty lich, Vecna” or Queen Ehlissa, just to name a few. The list is not exhaustive, and there is plenty of information littered throughout the original OD&D books that can help furnish a world with interesting systems of belief that captures the essence of what the game was like in those earliest days.
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