Deities & Demigods - Part 1

I have been reading through my library of old D&D books for some campaign ideas. I stumbled across Deities & Demigods, and pulled it out and sat back and began to flip through it. I really like the original AD&D book because of the history, the artwork, and detail about the characters behind each of the Mythos (Plus I have a lot of memories from reading this 35 year old book.)

What really caught my eye are the character stats for the heroes, demigods and deities. They are listed for the DM to use directly in a campaign. I have seen Tiamat in the recent Tyranny of Dragons campaign adventure book. So using my old Deities & Demigods and some other books, I converted a Demigod over for use in my campaign world (this happens to be D&D 5th edition). I plan to work out details and conversions for several Mythoi, so this is why I titled the article part 1.

I began with the Japanese Mythos, because that is where we are at in the campaign. And I first started with a demigod named Hachiman that the characters can meet. Hachiman likes to mingle with the mortals, so it should be a good fit.

Using the AD&D version, I converted the stats directly over, but the conversion for the stats was a little tricky for strength. So I created a quick rule: if the strength is between 18/01 to 18/32 = 18, 18/33 to 18/64 = 19, and for 18/66 & 18/00 = 20. And then if strength was listed over 18/00, I added 2 more points. So a 19=21, 20=22, 21=23, etc. for a maximum of 28 and above =30.

After taking into account for the ability scores, I had to convert movement speed, magic abilities, resistances, and weapon attacks. I mixed in a lot from the solar and some other monsters. This should give me a good starting point to introducing a demigod to the players, and may even be good for a level 20 one shot game. The D&D 3.0 Deities & Demigods book has some great suggestions on playing out these all powerful beings. Give it a read.

So here is the first conversion that I did, with more to come:

H A C H I M A N

tome

Hachiman, lord of fishing nets, fertile fields and war, is a changeable and flexible demigod. His symbol, the tomoe, is three teardrops circling in a vortex, signifying the forces of change and transformation that he brings to any occasion.

In legends, he could be a warrior with a topknot, a bald-headed priest, or a long-haired fisherman. As a divine protector of all social classes, he is able to shift even his divine form, becoming fat or thin, tall or short, bald or hairy, as the moment takes him. Unfortunately, he is unable to shift forms on the fly; whatever shape he takes for a given encounter, he must retain. In addition, the dove and his eight traditional banners are present wherever he goes. They are inviolable symbols of his presence.

H A C H I M A N (tutelary god of warriors) Medium Demigod, chaotic good
Armor Class 22 (leather armor) Hit Points 300 (24d10+168) Speed 90 ft.,fly 180 ft.
STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
22 (+6)	25 (+7)	25 (+7)	21 (+5)	17 (+3)	21 (+5)
Saving Throws* only on a 1 on a d20 roll will miss their save Skills Insight +12, Perception +10, Athletics +13, Acrobatics +14 Damage Resistances radiant; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non-magical weapons Damage Immunities necrotic, poison Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 20 Languages All, telepathy 120 ft. Challenge 21 (25,000 XP)
Shapechange. Shapechanges into another humanoid form at will, but must retain the shape for a period of time. Hachiman can shapechange again after a short rest. Spell resistance. Hachiman has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, and is never affected by any type of illusion. Divine Awareness. Hachiman knows if he hears a lie. Demigod Weapons. All of Hachiman’s attacks are magical. When he hits with any weapon, the weapon deals an extra 5d10 thunder damage (included in the attack) Innate Spellcasting. Hachiman’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 20). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring only verbal components: At will: command, detect evil and good, gate, geas, invisibility (self only), teleport, true seeing 3/day each: blade barrier, dispel evil and good, resurrection l/day each: commune, control weather
Actions Multi-attack. Hachiman makes two greatsword attacks, or three open hand attacks. Greatsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 5 ft ., one target. Hit: 15 (1d12 + 9) slashing damage, plus 27 (5d10) thunder damage. Other special property, see below. Open Hand. Melee Unarmed Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft ., one target. Hit: 13 (1d10 + 7) bludgeoning damage. Healing Touch (4/Day). Hachiman touches another creature. The target magically regains 80 hit points and ends blindness, deafness, and any diseases affecting the target. This has no effect on constructs or undead.
Legendary Actions Hachiman can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Hachiman regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn. Teleport. Hachiman magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space he can see. Searing Burst (Costs 2 Actions). Hachiman emits magical, divine energy. Each creature of his choice in a 10-foot radius must make a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) fire damage plus 14 (4d6) radiant damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Blinding Gaze (Costs 3 Actions). Hachiman targets one creature he can see within 30 feet. If the target can see him, the target must succeed on a DC 20 Constitution saving throw or be blinded until magic such as the lesser restoration spell removes the blindness.
Hachiman’s Sword. A +3 magical greatsword that only Hachiman can lift if he is alive and on the same plane. When you attack an object with this magic sword and hit, maximize your weapon damage dice against the target. When you attack a creature with this weapon and roll a 20 on the attack roll, that target takes an extra 14 slashing damage. Then roll another d20. If you roll a 20, then you lop off one of the target’s limbs, with the effect of such loss determined by the DM. If the creature has limb to sever, you lop off a portion of its body instead. In addition, you can speak the sword’s command word, Hikari, to cause the blade to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet. Speaking the command word again or sheathing the sword puts out the light. Hachiman’s Knife. This sharp dagger has the hilt in the form of a red dragon. You can use an action to throw the dagger at a target and speak the command word Doragon. The dagger turns into an ancient red dragon that attacks the target. If the dragon dies in battle, it will return to dagger form, otherwise being forced to change back into dagger form for a 48 hour period after 1 hour.

I’m always up for critiques, and look forward to your comments. Thank you. -Michael

References

[1E] Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Deities & Demigods: Cyclopedia of Gods and Heroes from Myth and LegendHardcover – January 1, 1980 by Rob Kuntz (Author), James M. Ward (Author), Lawrence Schick (Editor), Jeff Dee (Illustrator), Erol Otus (Illustrator), Eymoth (Illustrator), Paul Jaquays (Illustrator), David S. LaForce (Illustrator), Jeff Lanners (Illustrator), Darlene Pekul (Illustrator)

[2E] Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Legends and Lore Hardcover – November, 1984 by James Ward (Author), Robert Kuntz (Author)

[2E] Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Legends and Lore Hardcover – August 1, 1990 by James M. Ward (Author), Troy Denning (Author)

[3E] Dungeons & Dragons 3.0: Deities and Demigods Hardcover – February 1, 2002 by Rich Redman (Author), James Wyatt (Author), Skip Williams (Author)

[5E] Monster Manual (D&D Core Rulebook) Hardcover – September 30, 2014

Here are the current links to the Wuxia / Oriental Adventure Campaign World I am building:
http://tribality.com/category/settings/wuxia-oriental-adventures/
part 1. Samurai Build, Ninja Build & Ninja Clan Background
part 2. Food in Wuxia
part 3. Yakuza Chracter Class
part 4. Exotic Weapons
part 5. Wu Jen Character Class
part 6. Vanara Character Class
part 7. Deities & Demigods – Hachiman
part 8. Deities & Demigods – Amaterasu-ōmikami
part 9. Ninja Character Build – Level 5