The Norse pantheon, also known as the Asgardian pantheon, features

prominently in several canonical Dungeons & Dragons works. These

gods are worshiped on hundreds of worlds throughout the multiverse.

Members

The Norse pantheon is divided into two primary families: the Aesir, led

by Odin, and the Vanir, who are more closely associated with nature.

Though the two groups once warred, they eventually made peace and

intermarried. Odin, the All-Father, is the chief deity of the Aesir, and his

word is law. He and his wife, Frigga, goddess of fertility, have three

sons: Tyr, the god of bravery; Balder, the beautiful; and Hod, the blind.

Balder's son, Forseti, is the god of truth, while Odin's other son, Vidar,

represents silence.

The strongest of the Aesir is Thor, god of thunder, born of Odin and the

giantess Jord. Thor's wife, Sif, is a goddess of battle, and they have a

son, Uller, god of hunting. Thor also fathered two other sons, Modi and

Magni, with the giantess Jarnsaxa.

Among the Vanir, Njord is the god of the sea, who was once married to

the giantess Skadi. He fathered two important deities: Freya, goddess

of love, and Frey, god of agriculture. Opposing Njord is Aegir, a stormy

sea god, and his wife Ran, who dwell in Midgard's oceans.

Loki, the notorious trickster, is the son of the giants Farbauti and

Laufey. He fathered three fearsome beings with the giantess Angrboda:

Hel, the ruler of the underworld; Jormungandr, the world-serpent; and

Fenrir, the monstrous wolf. With his wife Sigyn, Loki also had two sons,

Vali and Narfi, and he notably gave birth to Odin's eight-legged horse,

Sleipnir.

Other notable figures include Hermod, the Aesir's messenger; Bragi,

god of poetry; and Idun, whose magical apples keep the gods youthful.

Surtur, leader of the fire giants, and Thrym, ruler of the frost giants, are

enemies of the Aesir. The mysterious Norns, keepers of fate, also hold

significant influence, though they are not actively worshiped.

Various other beings such as the Valkyries, giants, heroes, and mythic

creatures serve the Norse pantheon, making it a diverse and dynamic

realm of deities.

Odin reigns as the unquestioned ruler of the Norse pantheon. While the

gods of Asgard gather in council to make decisions, Odin’s vote holds

supreme power, capable of overriding the consensus.

The Norse gods are primarily worshiped in Midgard, a realm said to be

forged by Odin from the remains of the giant Ymir. These deities are

highly active in the mortal world, freely traveling between Asgard and

Midgard via the rainbow bridge Bifrost. Unlike some other pantheons,

the Norse gods have no restrictions on meddling in human affairs,

which has solidified their undeniable presence among Midgard’s

people.

Worship of the Norse gods generally occurs collectively, with temples

dedicated to the entire pantheon. These temples are grand, rectangular

halls, featuring a central fire pit and statues representing the major

gods. Despite this unified worship, cults dedicated to individual gods

also thrive. Many clerics choose a single deity as their patron, though

they still honor the pantheon as a whole.

Interestingly, the Norse gods do not depend on the devotion of their

followers to sustain their power. However, they remain vulnerable to

death in battle, a fate which even the gods cannot escape.

Legend speaks of the world's beginning as a vast emptiness known as

Ginnungagap. To the north lay the frozen realm of Niflheim, from which

the eleven rivers of Elivagar flowed from the spring Hvergelmir, while

to the south burned the fiery land of Muspelheim. As the ice from

Niflheim crept toward Muspelheim’s heat, the ice began to melt.

From this melting ice emerged Ymir, the first frost giant, and Audhumla,

a great cow whose udders provided four rivers of nourishing milk.

Ymir's sweat gave birth to the race of frost giants, and they thrived, fed

by Audhumla’s milk. As Audhumla licked the salty ice, she revealed the

god Buri, the forefather of the Aesir.

From Buri’s line and that of the frost giants came three brothers: Odin,

Vili, and Ve. These brothers rose up and slew Ymir, and the torrent of

his blood drowned all the frost giants, save Bergelmir, who became the

ancestor of the giants that followed.

Odin, Vili, and Ve then used Ymir’s body to create Midgard, the world.

His flesh formed the Earth, his bones the mountains, his teeth the

stones, and his blood the oceans. The sky was shaped from his skull, the

clouds from his brains, and his hair became the trees and plants. His

eyelashes formed a protective barrier around Midgard, separating it

from the frost giants beyond.

The brothers also built Asgard, a majestic realm for the gods. They then

returned to Midgard to create humanity. From two trees, they shaped

the first man, Ask, and the first woman, Embla. Odin gave them life, Vili

granted them consciousness, and Ve bestowed upon them physical

form. They lived safely within Ymir’s protective fence, while the frost

giants lingered outside.

According to prophecy, the Norse gods will one day face Ragnarok, a

final cataclysmic battle in which most of the gods will perish. Despite

knowing that fate is unavoidable, they face this destiny with courage.

Only six gods are foretold to survive and begin a new world.

Publication History

Original D&D:

Odin from the Norse pantheon was first mentioned in Supplement I:

Greyhawk (1975). Game statistics for the Norse gods were detailed in

Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes (1976).

Basic D&D:

Odin, Thor, and Loki were presented as Immortals in the Hollow World

Campaign Set (1990).

AD&D 1st Edition:

The Norse pantheon was primarily explored in the sourcebooks

Legends & Lore (1e) (1984) and Deities & Demigods (1e) (1980). Dragon

#110 (June 1986) included two notable articles expanding on Norse

myths: Joel McGraw’s “For Better or Norse: I: Equal Time for the

Members of the Vanir,” and Carl Sargent’s “For Better or Norse: II: New

Descriptions of Some Old Favorites.”

AD&D 2nd Edition:

The Norse gods were detailed in Legends & Lore (2e) (1990, pp.

170–188) and the Planescape sourcebook On Hallowed Ground (1996, pp. 138–149). The HR1 Vikings Campaign Sourcebook (1991) provided a

setting for the human world where they are worshiped.

D&D 3rd Edition:

The most detailed source on the Norse pantheon in 3rd edition is

Deities and Demigods (3e) (2002, pp. 167–169), which devotes 40 pages

to the topic. Twenty gods are listed: Odin, Aegir, Balder, Forseti, Frey,

Freya, Frigga, Heimdall, Hel, Hermod, Loki, Njord, Odur, Sif, Skadi,

Surtur, Thor, Thrym, Tyr, and Uller.

D&D 4th Edition:

The Norse pantheon was largely absent from this edition, as the Dawn

War pantheon was the primary deity system. Only a few Norse gods

received passing mentions.

D&D 5th Edition:

The Norse pantheon appears in the Player's Handbook (5e) (2014),

featuring the same list of twenty gods as in Deities and Demigods (3e).

Creative Origin

The Norse pantheon in Dungeons & Dragons draws heavily from the

real-world mythology of pre-Christian Scandinavia. These ancient

stories are preserved in a small number of surviving texts, most notably

the Poetic Edda, a collection of older skaldic poetry, and the Prose

Edda, a later, more organized work of Norse mythology and cosmology.

However, there are key differences between the D&D version of the

Norse pantheon and the original myths, often because of ambiguities or

inconsistencies in the old texts. For instance, in Gylfaginning (a section

of the Prose Edda), Uller is referred to as Thor's stepson, rather than his biological son. Additionally, Loki's common identification as a fire deity

in D&D is not well-supported by the original myths, save for his notable

eating contest against Logi, which translates to "fire."

As explained by Dr. Jackson Crawford, a specialist in Old Norse, the

original Norse deities were not typically viewed as "gods of" specific

domains (e.g., Tyr as a god of war). Instead, they were seen as complex

personalities, rather than beings who ruled over specific portfolios like

in modern interpretations. However, these simplified designations in

Dungeons & Dragons can be useful for players as mnemonic devices to

distinguish between the various gods.

A significant amount of Norse mythology has been integrated into

various Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks.

Tyr from the Norse pantheon features prominently as a deity within the

Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and his name also appears as a city

in the Dark Sun setting. Similarly, Surtur and Thrym are represented as

the gods of D&D's fire giants and frost giants, respectively.

Balder, often spelled Baldur, is likely the namesake of Baldur's Gate, a

well-known city in the Forgotten Realms setting and especially

recognized due to the Baldur's Gate series of computer games.

Canonically, however, the city is named after a Faerûnian hero named

Balduran, as established in Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990).

Hel, the queen of the dead in Norse mythology, served as an inspiration

for the Raven Queen, a prominent figure in the D&D 4th edition's Dawn

War pantheon.

In addition to direct representations, various creatures in Dungeons &

Dragons draw from Norse influences, including duergar, dwarves, elves,

drow, dragons, giants (notably frost giants and fire giants), linnorms, and trolls. The term "ettin" is derived from "jotun," evolving through

Old English as "eoten."

The Norse gods in Dungeons & Dragons enrich the game with their

complex myths and compelling narratives. Drawing from ancient

Scandinavian lore, these deities—like Odin, Thor, and Loki—embody

themes of fate, bravery, and conflict. Their inclusion provides players

with a vibrant pantheon that enhances storytelling and gameplay. By

integrating these legendary figures, Dungeons & Dragons not only

honors their mythological roots but also inspires epic adventures and

character development, ensuring the Norse pantheon remains a

captivating aspect of the game.