8.8 /10 1 Votes
Language English Media type Print (Softcover) Originally published 1976 Page count 72 Publisher TSR | 4.4/5 Goodreads Publication date 1976 Pages 72 Genre Role-playing game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Role-playing game books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes is a supplementary rulebook for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. Its product designation is TSR 2006.
Contents
Contents
The work provides information on the pantheons and constructs of the Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, Celtic, Norse, Finnish, Aztec, Maya, Chinese, and Japanese mythologies, as well as Robert E. Howard's Hyborea and the Melnibonéan Mythos from Michael Moorcock's Elric novels. The book was intended to adapt the various constructs for D&D gameplay, and is therefore not a general reference source regarding the underlying mythos.
Publication history
Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes was written by Robert Kuntz and James Ward, and published by TSR in 1976 as a seventy two page digest sized book; it was the fourth supplement to the original D&D rules. The booklet was edited by Tim Kask, and published by TSR, Inc. in 1976 for the original edition of D&D, and bears the designation "Supplement IV", following the first three supplements, Greyhawk, Blackmoor, and Eldritch Wizardry. In later editions of the game, the Deities & Demigods sourcebook superseded this volume, building upon the gameplay structures first introduced in Gods, Demi-gods, and Heroes.
The Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes supplement was reproduced as a premium reprint on November 19, 2013, as part of a deluxe, premium reprint of the original "White Box" which features new packaging in an oaken box. Each booklet features new cover art but is otherwise a faithful reproduction of the original, including original interior art.
Reception
In his 1991 book Heroic Worlds, Lawrence Schick calls this book "the least important supplement to Original D&D".
David M. Ewalt, in his book Of Dice and Men, commented that "Even though Swords and Spells is numbered 'Supplement V' on its cover, it's really supplement IV that puts the final touches on Dungeons & Dragons. Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (co-authored by TSR's Rob Kuntz and James M. Ward, a gamer and junior high teacher from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin) introduces mythology to the game and describes deities in the same manner earlier supplements described men and monsters." Ewalt continues: "At its heart, Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes represents another attempt to exert control over D&D players. Kask's foreword drips with disdain for Dungeon Masters who allow their players to advance to high levels and explains that the supplement aims to correct their misguided actions".