There are many religious systems you can use in Dungeons & Dragons. There are gods that make up the D&D multiverse, just as there are domains, and the like. But how do you know the ranking of a god? Where does one god fall in comparison to another? When does a demigod become a god?

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All of this is answered thanks to Divine Rank. Divine Rank is a way of measuring and assigning different levels to each of the gods included in the Dungeon Master's Guide and easily inserting any homebrewed celestial (or infernal) beings you've created. But what is it, and how do you use that information in your campaign?

What Is Divine Rank?

An aasimar Wizard by Martina Fa Ckova.

In a simple sentence, Divine Rank is the ranking system used to categorize the different divine beings from those believed dead and gone to those thriving and worshiped by many. It's a very easy way to understand and keep track of thegods standing with one another, too. Depending on how much your campaign touches on religion, it offers a way to have dynamic celestial situations shift and change in the background or to explain why an evil demigod could rise and threaten the greater deities who have held power over their domain for millennia.

There are three levels in this system:

Ranking (Low to High)

Description

Quasi-deities

Vestiges, titans, and demigods. While all are considered quasi-deities, they all have different origins.

Lesser deities

These are gods that may be encountered or contacted by mortals and often have a direct link to the mortal planes. They may interfere more with mortal goings-on.

Greater deities

These deities can not be summoned and are beyond understanding. They rarely interfere with mortals or their realms and planes.

Divine Rank is featured on page 11 of the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide.

What Are Greater Deities?

A Miraculous Priest of Divine Power by Michael Broussard.

These gods stand apart from all others for a variety of reasons. They have amassed the most followers to the point that they are these massive forces of power that no longer need to play with the lives of mortals. After all, they are the most powerful of all celestial and infernal beings. What more would there be to gain?

That doesn't mean that they never make an appearance. But they do so by way of avatars. Sending a symbol of themselves that is more like a lesser deity. This avatar can move about, be seen, and interact with mortals. However, this keeps the god protected. A slain avatar doesn't wound the god that created it.

Similar to when a character may scry. You create an invisible sensor. If the sensor is destroyed by some powerful magic, the spellcaster doesn't lose their eye.

What Are Lesser Deities?

Lolth, Spider Queen by Tyler Jacobson

Lesser deities tend to live somewhere on the planes, and they can be accessed by mortals. They still have a significant number of worshipers and are still incredibly powerful beings, but they don't rise to the level of the greater deities and gods.

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These gods can answer prayers and give out magic and spells to their followers. They do try to influence things in the mortal planes and can be at war with one another. Some examples are Lolth and Lurue.

What Are Quasi-Deities?

Dungeon Master's Guide Cover Art via Wizards of the Coast

Quasi-deities, in one way or another, are touched by the divine or were once divine in origin. They may have also been created by the lesser and greater gods that hold so much more power than they do. There are three types of quasi-deities:

  • Vestiges
  • Titans
  • Demigods

Vestiges

Seance by Robson Michel 

These may have been powerful gods at one point, but they have since lost nearly all of their worshipers. They may have also suffered a fate that left them dead in the minds of mortals. That's not to say they are without power.

However, their power is much more dormant than the readily available divine strength that all the other gods and deities possess. They can be contacted and even grant what power they do have to mortals. However, this is often at the cost of a ritual.

Titans

Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance by Joseph Weston.

Titans are made by the higher deities. There are numerous ways that are listed for a titan to be born in the Dungeon Master's Guide, and there are many more ways that you can come up with. They could have been birthed, crafted, or even been incidental.

One example given is that a titan can be created when the blood of a god is spilled. This would mean that the god may not have actually decided to take part in the creation process, but instead made the titan through this very involuntary situation.

Demigods

A Devout Warrior of Sacred Oaths by Michael Broussard

Below titans and vestiges are demigods. These tend to be made through the union of a deity and a mortal. This means that they can have some divine powers or something that sets them apart from other mortals, however, they are considered the weakest of the quasi-deities.

This is attributed to their mortal parent. They have too much of the mortal lineage that removes them from the divine realms and their origin.

Can You Use Divine Rank In A Campaign?

Daylight, by David Astruga

While the Dungeons Master's Guide doesn't explain the exact details of how a god rises or falls in power, using this ranking system can aid you in your religious designs. After all, it gives you a powerful base to work from.

If you'd like your campaign to focus on the shifting of the power dynamic between gods, with your players trying to help as they can on the ground, then knowing that a demigod is seen as lesser than any of the other deities, and why that might anger them to the point of wanting to topple titans, gain favor from vestiges until they could challenge and defeat lesser gods is helpful in guiding your story.

Archivist of Oghma, by Stella Spente

Or, it could come about differently. Your cleric and warlock could be fighting over which of their deities is stronger. Or your warlock could unknowingly pledge to help a vestige they made a pact with to bring them back and give them more power. A paladin could discover the cruel nature of a lesser god and vow to strip their powers away, turning them into a vestige instead.

There are endless ways you can use Divine Rank in your campaign. It could play a part in the main story or simply be background information that your players know about their religion-based characters.

Just like with all of D&D, what is most important is how you decide to use the information that lives within the different sourcebooks. This is just another tool to give life to your gods and differing belief systems.

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