Deity


 * For a complete list of deities, see Portal:Deities

Abilities
Deities had a number of native and learned skills just like any other sentient creature. Such abilities grew in potency as a deity grew in divine power, yet they were in no way omnipotent, though superhumanly powerful and skilled in a chosen area and those related to it. For example, it wasn't the case that just because Mystra was a greater deity, that she was also a master huntress like Malar, the lesser deity of hunting, or a genius merchant like Waukeen, the demigoddess of trade. Mystra's abilities started and ended with magical abilities and those related to magic.

A prime example of how divine status wasn't always the determining factor between deities was the fight between Vhaeraun and Selvetarm during the Silence of Lolth. Vhaeraun, the lesser drow deity of thievery, tried to kill the comatose Lolth, which Selvetarm, the drow demigod of battle prowess, tried to hinder, leading to an open frontal battle between the two. This competition of battle prowess ended with Vhaeraun, the god with the second largest following among the drow faiths, being driven off, effectively with Selvetarm's, whose church was so small to the point of practical nonexistence, victory.

Special Abilities
Deities of a higher rank gained increasing magical powers, both in terms of strength and potency.

Pantheons
A pantheon was a grouping of deities, often with overlapping worshipers. All of them were based on races or cultures, usually with strong geographic ties. Ao ensured that no two deities in the same pantheon could claim the same portfolio