Azuth
Encyclopedia
Azuth is a fictional deity
in the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting of D&D. He is the god of mages. His alignment is lawful neutral. The appearance of Azuth seems to be somewhat indistinct, he often manifests simply as an elderly voice or shimmering blue luminescence.
Azuth is known as the god of all mages
and wizards
in the realms. This would seem to make his portfolio conflict with that of Mystra
, however she is the goddess of all magic, while Azuth specializes on practitioners of magic. Azuth is one of Mystra's subordinates but he is also known to be a friend and advisor to her. During the Time of Troubles
1358DR he spent much of his time caring for part of Mystra's power and guarding a statue of her at the Pool of Yeven in Battledale.
created Azuth for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, inspired by the version of the Nehwon
deity Aarth found in the original Deities & Demigods
book.
#54 (October 1981). Azuth is introduced as the High One, patron of magic users
, a lawful neutral demigod from the plane of Arcadia
. The article notes that "Azuth serves Mystra
." Azuth is most commonly worshipped by magic-users of any alignment.
Azuth later officially appeared as one of the major deities for the Forgotten Realms
campaign setting
, in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).
(1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars
(1996).
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).
Azuth is described as one of the good deities that celestials
can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).
(2002).
consumed his essence to become a fully-fledged god.
Details regarding the Azuthian clergy are few and far between. What is known is that they mainly eschew any formal titles and wear his holy symbol upon their chests. A magical aura emanates from this symbol, the color denoting an individual's rank in the church. Blue is the most common color.
Clerics of Azuth pray for their spells at dusk. Whenever a mage ascends to the rank of Magister, Azuth's church celebrates a holiday. His clerics recognize few other holidays of note, though liturgical readings at meal times play an important role in honoring the Lord of Spells. Texts composed by famous wizards make up the bulk of the church's canon. Clerics of Azuth commonly multiclass as arcane devotees or wizards.
Azuth controls Savras the All-Seeing and Velsharoon the Vaunted
among the lesser Gods and associates with Deneir the Lord of Glyphs, Oghma the Scribe and Leira
the Lady of Mists. Azuth's greatest enemy, perhaps his nemesis, is Bane
, god of strife, kin to Bhaal
and Myrkul
.
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting of D&D. He is the god of mages. His alignment is lawful neutral. The appearance of Azuth seems to be somewhat indistinct, he often manifests simply as an elderly voice or shimmering blue luminescence.
Azuth is known as the god of all mages
Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
and wizards
Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
in the realms. This would seem to make his portfolio conflict with that of Mystra
Mystra (goddess)
Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.She is the Mistress of Magic and Mother of Mysteries who guides the Weave of magic that envelops the world. She tends to the weave constantly, making possible all the...
, however she is the goddess of all magic, while Azuth specializes on practitioners of magic. Azuth is one of Mystra's subordinates but he is also known to be a friend and advisor to her. During the Time of Troubles
Time of Troubles (Forgotten Realms)
The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, is a fictional time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game...
1358DR he spent much of his time caring for part of Mystra's power and guarding a statue of her at the Pool of Yeven in Battledale.
Publication history
Ed GreenwoodEd Greenwood
Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer and editor who created the Forgotten Realms. He invented the Forgotten Realms as a child, as a fantasy world in which to set the stories he imagined, and later used this world as a campaign setting for his own personal Dungeons & Dragons playing group...
created Azuth for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, inspired by the version of the Nehwon
Nehwon
Nehwon is the fictional world created by Fritz Leiber in which his heroes, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, adventure. It is notable for the city of Lankhmar."Nehwon", the reverse spelling of "No When", alludes to Erewhon.-Ilthmar:...
deity Aarth found in the original Deities & Demigods
Deities & Demigods
Deities & Demigods , alternatively known as Legends & Lore , is a reference book for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game . The book provides descriptions and game statistics of gods and legendary creatures from various sources in mythology and fiction...
book.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition (1977-1988)
Azuth first appeared within Dungeons & Dragons as one of the deities featured in Ed Greenwood's article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#54 (October 1981). Azuth is introduced as the High One, patron of magic users
Wizard (Dungeons & Dragons)
The wizard is one of the standard character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. A wizard uses arcane magic, and is considered less effective in melee combat than other classes.-Creative origins:...
, a lawful neutral demigod from the plane of Arcadia
Arcadia (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Arcadia or more fully, the Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia, is a lawful neutral/lawful good-aligned plane of existence...
. The article notes that "Azuth serves Mystra
Mystra (goddess)
Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.She is the Mistress of Magic and Mother of Mysteries who guides the Weave of magic that envelops the world. She tends to the weave constantly, making possible all the...
." Azuth is most commonly worshipped by magic-users of any alignment.
Azuth later officially appeared as one of the major deities for the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
, in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Sets "Cyclopedia of the Realms" booklet (1987).
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition (1989-1999)
Azuth was described in the hardback Forgotten Realms AdventuresForgotten Realms Adventures
Forgotten Realms Adventures is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
(1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars
Faiths & Avatars
Faiths & Avatars is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign expansion book. The book was designed by Julia Martin with Eric L. Boyd, and additional design by Ed Greenwood, L. Richard Baker III, and David Wise...
(1996).
His role in the cosmology of the Planescape
Planescape
Planescape is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, originally designed by Zeb Cook. The Planescape setting was published in 1994...
campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).
Azuth is described as one of the good deities that celestials
Celestial (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, celestials are a class of creatures and monsters known as outsiders who are of wholly good alignment....
can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.0 edition (2000-2002)
Azuth appears as one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), and is further detailed in Faiths and PantheonsFaiths and Pantheons
Faiths and Pantheons is a campaign accessory for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons, for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.-Contents:...
(2002).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition (2008-)
Azuth is mentioned has having been destroyed in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2009). When Dweomerheart exploded with the death of Mystra, Azuth fell through the cosmos into the Nine Hells, where AsmodeusAsmodeus (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, Asmodeus is an Arch-Devil: a lord of the game's version of Hell . There he is the Overlord of the Dukes of Hell...
consumed his essence to become a fully-fledged god.
Worship of Azuth
Azuth and his faithful, the Azuthans, concern themselves with the way in which mages behave, not simply magic itself. Because Azuth is concerned mostly with wizards, Azuthans mainly feel that it is best to approach magic with logic and reason. For the Azuthian clergy caution and clear focus are the order of the day. The clerics of Azuth teach wisdom and restraint. This means that Azuth is often not the favoured god of sorcerers with their fiery, instinctual use of magic, and bards with their somewhat fanciful approach to it.Details regarding the Azuthian clergy are few and far between. What is known is that they mainly eschew any formal titles and wear his holy symbol upon their chests. A magical aura emanates from this symbol, the color denoting an individual's rank in the church. Blue is the most common color.
Clerics of Azuth pray for their spells at dusk. Whenever a mage ascends to the rank of Magister, Azuth's church celebrates a holiday. His clerics recognize few other holidays of note, though liturgical readings at meal times play an important role in honoring the Lord of Spells. Texts composed by famous wizards make up the bulk of the church's canon. Clerics of Azuth commonly multiclass as arcane devotees or wizards.
Azuth controls Savras the All-Seeing and Velsharoon the Vaunted
Velsharoon
Velsharoon the Archmage of Necromancy, also known as the Vaunted, is a fictional deity of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. Velsharoon is the undead demigod of necromancy, necromancers, evil liches, lichdom and undeath...
among the lesser Gods and associates with Deneir the Lord of Glyphs, Oghma the Scribe and Leira
Leira
Leira may refer to:*Leira, Oppland, in Nord-Aurdal municipality, Norway*Leira , a river in Oppland and Akershus, Norway]]*Leira, Ørsta, Møre og Romsdal, Norway*Leira, Sør-Trøndelag, in the municipality of Rissa, Norway...
the Lady of Mists. Azuth's greatest enemy, perhaps his nemesis, is Bane
Bane (god)
Bane , is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny and one of the main evil gods in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms....
, god of strife, kin to Bhaal
Bhaal
Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a deity of the fictional Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.-Publication history:Ed Greenwood created Bhaal for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in the Forgotten Realms....
and Myrkul
Myrkul
Myrkul was the fictional Lord of the Dead in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting based upon the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Further aliases of Myrkul include the Reaper and Old Lord Skull. His symbol is a skull against a black field, known to occur in nightmares of many of the...
.
Dogma of Azuth
Reason is the best way to approach magic, and magic can be examined and reduced to its component parts through study and meditation. Maintain calm and use caution in your spellcasting and magic use to avoid making mistakes that even magic cannot undo. Use the art wisely, and always be mindful of when it is best not to use magic. Teach the wielding of magic and dispense learning throughout Faerûn that the use and knowledge of magic may spread. Live and teach the idea that with magical power comes grave responsibility. Learn every new spell you discover and make a copy for the temple library. Do not hoard your knowledge, and encourage creativity in magic in all ways and at all times.Saints of Azuth
- Hobark: one of the few recognized saints in all the realms and now adopted as a saint of Mystra as well.
Additional reading
- Reynolds, Sean K.Sean K. ReynoldsSean K Reynolds is a professional game designer who has worked on and co-written a number of D&D supplements for Wizards of the Coast, as well as material for other companies. He does not put a period after his middle initial.-Background:...
, Duane Maxwell, and Angel Leigh McCoyAngel Leigh McCoyAngel Leigh McCoy is a game designer and fiction writer based in Seattle, Washington.-Early life and education:Originally from the Midwest, Angel Leigh McCoy grew up delving into fantasy and horror novels and won her first essay contest in 6th grade...
. Magic of FaerûnMagic of FaerûnMagic of Faerûn is an accessory for the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the 3rd edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.-Contents:...
(TSRTSR, Inc.Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
, 2001).