Lankhmar Pantheon

The world of Nehwon is the creation of the famous fantasy author, Fritz Leiber. In it are a vast variety of gods, goddesses, and heroes of the best and worst sort. The most famous city in Nehwon is Lankhmar, the City of Adventure.

The highest authorities known in Nehwon are Chance and the Lords of Necessity. They are to the gods as the gods are to humanity. They rule over many worlds, not just Nehwon, and are similar to overpowers.

The Lords of Necessity decreed that gods must exist in Nehwon. The capricious Chance decided that these gods would be short lived, and have many of the same weaknesses as humans. Hence, the gods of Nehwon were born, or at least the possibility.

On Lankhmar's Street of the Gods there are many temples and altars to these deities, who are referred to as the "Gods in Lankhmar." The more powerful the god the further west on the street is their temple. Several faiths have begun at the eastmost end as small tents and traveled to the west end to become huge temples of gold and marble, only to travel back again to the east end as humble tents again. The only thing that never changes is the huge, black marble temple at the very westmost part of the Street of the Gods. No one worships the gods in the temple, who are referred to as the Gods of Lankhmar.

The gods in Lankhmar (as opposed to the Gods of Lankhmar) dwell in a Realm called Godsland, which exists on one pole of the world. The world of Nehwon, as everyone knows, has four poles: North, South, Life, and Death. Godsland is on the Life Pole. The Death Pole is the location of Shadowland, where Death rules.

The Gods of and the Gods in Lankhmar include the following:

• Aarth. Aarth was once a powerful mortal wizard, becoming so renowned after his death that he became a demigod. He is currently the most popular god in Lankhmar. He was the original inspiration for Azuth.

• Beast Cults. This is actually many small gods, one for each animal known. Each worshipper takes one animal as his patron deity. See Animal Lords.

• Death. Death is responsible for all the dying that gets done in Nehwon. Although he is one of the more powrful gods in Nehwon, he is only a minor death compared to other death gods. He's given quotas by the Lords of Necessity, who require him to keep his books in order. This means he has to spread his death around fairly: for example, he might look in his books and realize that 160 peasants and savages, 20 nomads, 10 warriors, 2 beggars, a whore, a merchant, a priest, an aristocrat, a craftsman, a king, and two heroes would keep his books straight.
• Glaggerk. Glaggerk is the god of winter weather in the bitter north. His power waxes and wanes with the seasons.
• Gods of Lankhmar. Once the thirteen founding fathers of Lankhmar City, they are now mummified skeletons who dwell in a large black temple. Though no one openly worships them, all secretly believe in and fear these gods, who it is said will always rouse from their musty crypts to protect the city in times of great danger. They care only about the future of the city, however, not the welfare of its citizens. The force they use often does a great deal of damage to large sections of town. They will destroy any temple that dares to built further west than their own, as once happened to the temple of Issek of the Jug.

• Gods of Trouble. This trio is comprised of three beings of pure chaos energy that roam the world in astral form, affecting all alignments equally. Their desire is to promote Chaos in all its forms. The more Chaos, the more powerful they become. They care nothing for their worshippers. When they manifest themselves in corporeal form, they appear as bumbling wizards, seemingly helpful and friendly. When they cause an accident are extremely apologetic, and may seem to be hurt themselves.
• Hate. This god is an amorphous white mist with many eyes. It is an embodiment of all hate in the world. Hate's temple on the Street of the Gods is secretive and underground.

• Issek of the Jug. Issek is a tall, bald, supremely muscular man with broken wrists and ankles. His face is peaceful and accepting of his fate. The jug he carries holds the water of peace. He represents peace and endurance through trials and tribulations. Issek was, in life, a martyr who suffered on the rack for preaching peace. When the warrior Fafhrd decided to butch up the religion, he added a myth about Issek breaking seven racks before dying and almost strangling his executioners before relenting and twisting the jailor's metal collar into the sign of the Jug before expiring. As a result, the formally obscure faith boomed in popularity. He was the inspiration for Ilmater.

• Kos. Kos is the god of dooms, portrayed as a red-haired northern barbarian. He is the all-father of the northern gods.
• Mog. Mog is a man-sized, four-legged spider with a man's head, the god of plots and deception.

• Nehwon Earth God. In ages past this god ruled all of Nehwon until the Lords of Necessity decreed its time had past. Chance intervened and the earth god did not vanish, but merely laid dormant under the earth's crust as a dreaming piece of molten magma.
• Rat God. The rat god is worshipped as a larger than man-size rat, walking erect. Grisly ceremonies are held in his honor.
• Red God. This god is the protector of the lands of the east, where the fire magicians originated. He is pictured as a dark, red-skinned man wearing bright red leather armor and carrying a sabre.
• Shark God. This god is portrayed as a huge bull shark in constant feeding frenzy.
• Spider God. Spider God is the god of spiders, and shouldn't be confused with Mog. Spider God delights in human sacrifice.

• Tyaa. The goddess of evil birds, Tyaa is portrayed as a woman with a raven's head an dwings, wearing a black cloak.
• Vortishal. His cult is a strange one. Vortishal was a great thief who repented of his wicked past and turned his talents to the side of Good. He and his followers stole from wealthy and evil organizations. Long after his death, the belief of his followers made him a god.

Lankhmar: City of Adventure (1st edition)
Deities & Demigods (1st edition)
Legends & Lore (2nd edition)