A much extended and updated version of the already existing Original D&D supplement (Deities, Demi-Gods & Heroes from 1976) dedicated mainly to giving descriptions and stat blocks for different gods and mythical characters from around the world, this is also a vast improvement on that pamphlet.

Before we talk about those improvements I have to say that I have some problems with vast sections of this work. Professionally I am a scholar of Religion with a PhD in the field, and seeing such simplifications of “American Indian Gods” or things like calling Kali a “Chaotic Evil” Goddess are beyond problematic, being pretty insulting to what are living religions followed by millions today. You will notice no stat blocks for Christ or the Christian God… well they should have had the same tact concerning other living religions. But it was the late 70s/early 80s and I understand that those kinds of considerations were far from the minds of the writers. 

However, this is still a pretty interesting and useful book, particularly when it comes to fictional pantheons like the Lovecraftian or the Melnibonean pantheon, and even more interesting when we get some D&D original lore concerning non-human gods, here we have the first appearances of such staples as the orc god Gruumsh, the dwarven god Moradin or the elven god Corellon Larethian, as well as bringing in gods that first appeared in adventures such as the kuo-toan goddess Blibdoolpoolp from D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa. Full of illustrations, this is a pretty great book to leaf through.