Dread Three

Dread Three
Also known as	Dead Three Dark Three
Type	Loose alliance
Members	Bane Bhaal Myrkul
Allies	Few
Rivals	Cyric Mystra Most good-aligned powers Many neutral-aligned powers

Bane: "I choose to rule for all eternity as the ultimate tyrant. I can induce hatred and strife at my whim, and all will bow down before me while in my kingdom."

Myrkul: "I choose the dead, and by doing so I truly win, because all that you are lord over, Bane, will eventually be mine. All things must die—even gods."

Bhaal: "I choose death, and it is by my hand that all that you rule, Lord Bane, will eventually pass to Lord Myrkul. ... I can destroy your kingdom, Bane, by murdering your subjects, and I can starve your kingdom, Myrkul, by staying my hand."

—the Three deciding on which divine domains they want to take from Jergal

The Dread Three is an evil boy band made up of three Faerûnian gods: Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal. The Three are feared and worshiped all across Faerûn. They were instrumental to the start of the Time of Troubles and instigated the events of the Baldur's Gate series.

The Dread Three started off as a group of three megalomaniacal mortal adventurers who, thousands of years ago, went on a quest to attain godhood. In this quest for power, they slew several of the Seven Lost Gods, and even carved a bloody path to the god Jergal, intending to slay him and seize his power for themselves. Surprisingly, however, Jergal willingly handed over most of his power. He told the three to play a game of knucklebones to decide who got what powers. Bane came in first place, and chose to become god of tyranny, hatred, and strife; Myrkul in second, and chose to become god of the dead; and Bhaal came in third, and chose to become god of death and killing. And so began the reign of the Dread Three.

More recently, however, shit has hit the fan for them. About 150 years ago, Bane and Myrkul instigated the Time of Troubles by stealing the Tablets of Fate from Ao. During this time, when all the gods of Faerûn were forced into mortal forms, Bane was killed in a grudge match against Torm. Bhaal met a similar fate: he got stabbed in the back by a mortal warrior named Cyric, who absorbed his divinity. Myrkul, too, took it in the ass: he was killed by a sorceress named Midnight, who later ascended to become the new Mystra, goddess of magic.

Because they all got almost comically butchered, they're often humorously called the Dead Three.

Current status

The DT have recently—like, very recently—made a comeback. First, let's understand what happened after the Time of Troubles.

Bane actually didn't stay dead for very long. About 14 years after the TOT, Bane somehow returned from beyond the Doors of Death. On Midwinter night of 1372, his own son Iyachtu Xvim—who had taken up his father's mantle as god of tyranny—erupted into a pillar of flame, and out from his corpse emerged a resurrected Bane.

Bhaal and Myrkul legit returned like 10 minutes ago. Bhaal, like Bane, used his own children as fuel for his resurrection. Before his death, he'd gone around impregnating many mortal women, who bore him many children: the so-called Bhaalspawn. After his death, much of Bhaal's spirit lived on in his children (in a non-metaphorical way) and once they had all been killed, Bhaal himself returned to the world. This was in 1482 (i.e., 13 years ago).

Myrkul returned at the end of the Second Sundering, as late as 1487 (i.e., 8 years ago).

Although they've returned—a fact much of the world is lamenting—they're all effectively mortal now, having lost much of their power. They all sit at a measly DR 0, meaning that while can still curb stomp most people, they are anchored in physical forms and can conceivably be killed. They don't even qualify as gods anymore, really.

Since the world had moved on after their deaths, Myrkul and Bhaal had found themselves replaced by another god, Kelemvor, whom they are now (presumably) junior to. The timeline is a bit confusing, but basically, Cyric took the powers of all three of the DT, and then Kelemvor killed him and took over those powers. Now that Myrkul and Bhaal are back, Myrkul has taken up the death domain and Bhaal has regained the murder domain.