Baldur’s Gate 3: Most Important Deities

Highlights

• Baldur’s Gate 3 features a variety of deities from the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms lore, with some playing important roles in the game’s storyline.
• Deities like Lolth, Silvanus, Umberlee, Bane, Myrkul, Selune, Mystra, Vlaakith, Shar, and Bhaal have significant ties to key characters and plot points throughout the game.
• Players can expect intriguing interactions, quests, and battles related to these deities, as well as opportunities for interesting dialogue and character development.

Anyone who has checked out the cleric class in Baldur’s Gate 3 will find that there is an overwhelmingly large pantheon in Faerun. That’s without including some of the more obscure deities, who do make an appearance. These deities, as with most of the lore in Baldur’s Gate 3, share the lore of the Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms.

While some of these deities meld into the background world-building, and some are referenced and involved under occasional circumstances, some deities play a very important role in the Baldur’s Gate 3 storyline. The following gods are absolutely integral to the plot.

Updated December 29, 2023, by Nyah Payne: At the start of the month, Baldur’s Gate 3 proved its status as a cornerstone of gaming when it swept the 2023 Game Awards, including winning the prestigious Game of the Year award. They also brought the critically acclaimed RPG to a new audience when they released it for Xbox Series X|S. While it didn’t win the best narrative award, it doesn’t detract from how compelling the storyline is, and gods play a large role in that story. For players, new and old alike, considering a cleric run, these deities are sure to see a lot of attention.

11 Lathander

Lathander’s Presence Is Felt In The Rosymorn Monastery

• Domains: Life, Light
• Alignment: Neutral Good
• Notable Followers: N/A

Also known as the Morninglord, Lathander is the god of dawn, renewal, and new beginnings. He is a neutral good deity, representing the life and light cleric domains. While Lathander doesn’t play a particularly large role in the Baldur’s Gate 3 narrative, his presence is definitely felt, especially by players who visit the Rosymorn Monastery.

The monastery was once a holy place to Lathander but was assaulted and infiltrated by Githyanki. It does still contain a powerful relic of the deity, however. Given the symbolism of light versus dark, particularly within Act Two, playing a cleric to Lathander does provide a lot of narrative satisfaction.

10 Lolth

Players Meet A Drow Cursed By Lolth

• Domains: Trickery, War
• Alignment: Chaotic Evil
• Notable Followers: Kar’niss

In the lore of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, Lolth is the chaotic evil drow goddess. Also known as the Queen of Spiders, she represents the trickery and war domains. Lolth is not necessarily one of the most prevalent deities in Baldur’s Gate 3, but she does get mentioned a fair deal in the Underdark.

Lolth’s influence may be seen most clearly in Act Two when players encounter Kar’niss, leading a caravan through the Shadow-Cursed Lands. Kar’niss is a drider, a drow cursed by Lolth for failing her, doomed to live their lives as a maddened drow and spider hybrid.

9 Silvanus

Silvanus Receives A Lot Of Love Within The Druid Grove

• Domains: Nature
• Alignment: Neutral
• Notable Followers: Halsin, Kagha, Nettie

Silvanus may be one of the first deities that players see mentioned a lot. Silvanus is a true neutral god, representing the wilds and the nature domain. Known as the Oak Father, he is revered by the druids in the Druid Grove, one of the first major locations that players will visit.

While the companion character, Halsin, is less vocal about his religion than some companions, players who get to know him will hear the Oak Father’s blessings on occasion. While not hugely prominent throughout, interactions discussing Silvanus and his beliefs can be quite integral in Act One.

8 Umberlee

Umberlee Followers Caught In A Murder Mystery

• Domains: Tempest
• Alignment: Chaotic Evil
• Notable Followers: N/A

Umberlee is a chaotic evil sea goddess, representing the tempest domain. While she may be an evil goddess by Dungeons and Dragons standards, Umberlee has a large temple and plenty of worshipers, which players can find in Baldur’s Gate 3 in Act Three.

Umberlee and her worshipers are involved in an intriguing quest surrounding the recent death of one of her followers and a strange presence in the waters of the harbor. The temple also gives life to Umberlee as a goddess, as players can talk to the various NPCs who have come to pay their respects to the Queen of the Depths before they depart for the sea.

7 Bane

Bane’s Chosen Is One Of The Game’s Major Villains

• Domains: Order, War
• Alignment: Lawful Evil
• Notable Followers: Gortash

Bane is a prevalent deity who comes as a package deal within the Baldur’s Gate 3 storyline. Bane is a lawful evil god, representing tyrants and the domains of order and war, and he is one of The Dead Three.

Since The Dead Three are the deities who have commanded their chosen to control the Absolute to enslave Faerun in Baldur’s Gate 3, Bane is automatically a pretty important deity to the plot. His chosen, Gortash, is a primary antagonist in the game. Despite this involvement, players don’t actually get to see or hear all that much about Bane compared to some of the other gods.

6 Myrkul

Most Of Act Two Leads To The Fight With Myrkul

• Domains: Death
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Notable Followers: Ketheric Thorm

Speaking of The Dead Three, Myrkul is another god in the trio. He is a neutral evil god of necromancy and the death domain, and his chosen is Ketheric Thorm. Ketheric Thorm is the main antagonist in the second act of Baldur’s Gate 3, and interactions with him can culminate in a grand boss fight.

What makes Myrkul more prevalent than Bane is that an avatar of Myrkul himself can tag into that fight. In a sense, players get to battle the Lord of Bones himself, and it makes for a pretty intense clash.

5 Selune

The Lady of Silver Protects Those From Their Fears

• Domains: Knowledge, Life, Twilight
• Alignment: Chaotic Good
• Notable Followers: Isobel, Dame Aylin, Shadowheart (determinant), Ketheric Thorm (past)

Selune is a chaotic good moon goddess, traditionally representing the knowledge, life, and twilight domains. Within Baldur’s Gate 3, she is a very important deity, whose plot ties are flooded with spoilers. Many prominent characters follow Selune. Notably, the aasimar, Dame Aylin, is a daughter of Selune, and her partner, Isobel, is a cleric to the Moonmaiden. Isobel is the daughter of Ketheric Thorm, who also used to worship Selune before Isobel’s death.

Most important, however, is the connection between Shadowheart and Selune. As a follower of Shar, Shadowheart despises Selune. But it turns out that Shadowheart and her family were followers of Selune, and Shar stole Shadowheart away, wiping her memories with the goal of raising a Selunite to worship her instead. Given this relationship, playing as a cleric of Selune can lead to some interesting dialogue between player characters and Shadowheart.

4 Mystra

Mystra Is The Lover And Deity Of An Origin Character

• Domains: Knowledge
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral
• Notable Followers: Gale, Elminster

Mystra is the lawful neutral goddess of magic, spells, and the weave, associated with the knowledge domain. Her importance to the narrative comes from her ties to the companion character, Gale. The pair have a colorful past, with Gale being a disgraced ex-lover to the goddess.

In an attempt to regain her favor, the foolhardy wizard has managed to absorb a volatile piece of Netherese magic, capable of ending countless lives. Gale’s Netherese orb and his past with Mystra are continually relevant plot points, and players can also have some interactions with Mystra.

3 Vlaakith

Vlaakith Is Integral To The Arc Of Origin Character, Lae’zel

• Domains: N/A
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Notable Followers: Lae’zel (determinant)

Vlaakith is another deity who is prevalent due to her connection to a companion character, this time the Githyanki fighter, Lae’zel. Vlaakith is a tricky deity as, by Dungeons and Dragons lore, Vlaakith isn’t a goddess. She is the evil Lich Queen leader of the Githyanki.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, however, she is treated as a goddess and seems to have powers akin to one. To put it lightly, players should be wary when defying her avatar. Regardless of her true status, Vlaakith is an integral part of Lae’zel’s character and arc, and players can have some particularly interesting interactions with her.

2 Shar

The Dark Goddess Manipulates

• Domains: Death, Trickery
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Notable Followers: Shadowheart (determinant), Ketheric Thorm (past)

Shar is the dark sister of Selune, mentioned previously, a neutral evil deity of loss and night, and related to the death and trickery domains. Shadowheart is, as most players will be aware, a trickery cleric, and Shar is her patron. Of course, it is later revealed that Shar has stolen Shadowheart away as a child for her twisted gain. This conflict between Shadowheart, Shar, and her lost past leads to many engaging interactions throughout the storyline.

While these companion moments are wonderful, interactions with Shar are inevitable for any player. The curse that plagues the Shadow-Cursed Lands is the result of Ketheric Thorm’s grief-stricken worship of Shar, and players must progress through the Gauntlet of Shar to complete Act Two. Shar’s dark influence is felt throughout the game, even if a player neglects to get involved with Shadowheart’s arc.

1 Bhaal

Deity To Prominent Antagonists, With Connection To Dark Urge Origin

• Domains: Death
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Notable Followers: Orin, Sarevok, Dark Urge (determinant)

As close as Shar’s ties are to the main storyline, none can really top the importance of Bhaal, the final deity in The Dead Three. Bhaal is a neutral evil god of murder and the death domain. His followers are bloodthirsty and ruthless assassins, and this is embodied perfectly by his chosen, Orin the Red. Orin is a terrifying antagonist, who repeatedly ambushes and intimidates the party. She makes sure her god’s presence is felt.

While this alone may not have made Bhaal rank so highly, his prevalence only furthers if players choose the Dark Urge past for their character. It is slowly revealed that they experience these dark urges because, like Orin, they are a progeny of Bhaal. This makes Bhaal not only integral to the main storyline of Baldur’s Gate 3 but also potentially a huge part of the player character’s backstory.