Oghma (Forgotten Realms)

Publication history

Ed Greenwood created Oghma for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, based on version of the Celtic mythological figure Oghma from the Deities & Demigods.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)

Oghma first appeared within Dungeons & Dragons as one of the deities featured in Ed Greenwood's article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in Dragon #54 (October 1981). Oghma was introduced as the Binder, god of knowledge, invention, and the patron of bards, a neutral greater god from the plane of Concordant Opposition. Oghma's alliances among the gods are also detailed: "Oghma is served by Gond on one hand, and by Milil and Deneir on the other," and "Mystra and Selune have a mysterious connection ... and Mystra often works with Oghma and his gods." Oghma is most commonly worshipped by any bards, as well as character employed as sages, artisans, smiths, and alchemists.

Oghma later officially appeared as one of the major deities for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set's "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)

Oghma was described in the hardback Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars (1996). His clergy was further detailed in Warriors and Priests of the Realms (1996), and Prayers from the Faithful (1997).

His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).

His relationships with the nonhuman deities in the Forgotten Realms was covered in Demihuman Deities (1998).

Oghma is described as one of the good deities that celestials can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).

Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)

Oghma appears as one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), and is further detailed in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008- )

Oghma appears as one of the major deities (or "Greater Gods") of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (2008), and is further detailed in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2008). He plays largely the same role in the setting as in previous editions, and is still associated, for the most part, with the same gods. His alignment under the new system is Unaligned.

History and description

Within the Forgotten Realms he is an interloper deity, who like Silvanus, is active in more than one plane of existence.

He is leader of the Deities of Knowledge and Invention (including Milil, Deneir and Gond), and his homeplane in the 3rd Edition world is the House of Knowledge. His symbol is a Scroll and his favourite weapon is Mortal Strike (a longsword).

He grants the domains Charm, Knowledge, Luck, Travel and Trickery. His worshippers are artists, bards, cartographers, inventors, loremasters, sages, scholars, scribes and wizards — archivists (a generalist cleric prestige class) as well as erudites (variant-psion embracing all psionic knowledge) might pray to him, too. They can be of any alignment, unlike most neutral gods.

After the debacle in Zhentil Keep that saw Cyric take a blow to his power, he entrusted Rinda with the Cyrinishad, a book Cyric had her pen that converted anyone who read it or heard a reading of it to a fanatically loyal follower of Cyric. He also gave her a diamond amulet to render her invisible to all the gods, even Oghma himself.

Oghma's allies are the Deities of Knowledge and Invention. His most common foes are Mask, Cyric and Bane. His old nemesis, Leira, is now dead and an aspect of Cyric.

Orders

The Companions of the Silver String are heroic bards who acted valiantly at risk of their own lives in the service of the church of Oghma.