Introduction (MoMy)

__NOTOC__
Monster Mythology is a companion volume to AD&D® 2nd Edition Legends and Lore. Legends and Lore provided AD&D game statistics and role-playing details for dozens of deities from the pantheons of eleven different cultures, nine historical and two fictional, and some heroes, magical items, and monsters from those cultures. However, nonhuman pantheons weren't included in Legends and Lore, and this book makes good this deficit. Monster Mythology is of greatest use to readers who possess Legends and Lore, but it is also usable by those who do not. A summary of the important general rules and notes from Legends and Lore is given, and expanded upon, here. So not having Legends and Lore is no bar to using this book!
Monster Mythology has a similar style of presentation to AD&D 2nd Edition Legends and Lore. The revised Legends and Lore was a complete rewrite of the original, with an emphasis placed upon role-playing and using the gods (and their avatars and servants) in a fantasy campaign. Likewise each section of Monster Mythology describes the societies, cultures and myths of the races who worship the pantheons in question. There are some differences from Legends and Lore, however, and the strongest is that the nonhuman deities detailed in this book are not mythos specific in the same way as Greek, Japanese, American Indian or other gods. Rather, the deities here can be thought of as archetypal powers. This means that they exist as deities in any of the established AD&D game worlds or can be introduced into any other game world in which AD&D campaigns and adventures are set. Thus, Amaterasu Omikami is the Japanese sun goddess in a Japanese (based) mythos; she does not exist in any sense in the Aztec pantheon, or that of Rome, or that of Celtic Britain. But Corellon Larethian, the great creator god of the Elven race, is the head of the elven pantheon in all worlds in which elves exist, although how he is worshiped and how his priesthood is organized may differ from world to world. There will always be central themes to Corellon and his worshipers, though, and these themes form the basis for his, and other, entries in this book.
In the revised Legends and Lore, entries for gods (or Powers) are significantly lengthier than those in the original AD&D game Legends and Lore, and this is true for the 26 (or so) nonhuman deities here which appeared in the original work. However, the large majority of entries in this book did not appear in the original Legends and Lore, so there is much that is new here for all readers to enjoy.
When reading and using Monster Mythology, keep its intent and purpose firmly in mind. This book is not in any way a judgement on the validity or value of any religion in the real world. Hopefully, this should be obvious from the nonhuman nature of the gods and their followers, but it is as well to make this point quite specific.