Divine Rank

Divine Rank is a ranking system used to rank the power of the gods in D&D.

As far as I understand it, the ranks were best fleshed out in 3rd-edition D&D. That's (see: I think) when they were given numbers. In a nutshell, the ranks (3e and earlier) go: hero-god, demigod, lesser god, intermediate god, greater god, and overgod. The numbers range from 0 (hero-god) to 20 (greater god)—anyone beyond 20 is an overgod.

In 4e, the ranking system seemed to be completely scrapped, but then they came back (somewhat changed and simplified) in 5e. In 5e, it goes: quasi-god, lesser god, greater god.

I prefer 3e's system, personally.

Ranks in 5e

From the DMG, p. 11:

DIVINE RANK

The divine beings of the multiverse are often categorized according to their cosmic power. Some gods are worshiped on multiple worlds and have a different rank on each world, depending on their influence there.

Greater deities are beyond mortal understanding. They can't be summoned, and they are almost always removed from direct involvement in mortal affairs. On very rare occasions they manifest avatars similar to lesser deities, but slaying a greater god's avatar has no effect on the god itself.

Lesser deities are embodied somewhere in the planes. Some lesser deities live in the Material Plane, as does the unicorn-goddess Lurue of the Forgotten Realms and the titanic shark-god Sekolah revered by the sahuagin. Others live on the Outer Planes, as Lolth does in the Abyss. Such deities can be encountered by mortals.

Quasi-deities have a divine origin, but they don't hear or answer prayers, grant spells to clerics, or control aspects of mortal life. They are still immensely powerful beings, and in theory they could ascend to godhood if they amassed enough worshipers. Quasi-deities fall into three subcategories: demigods, titans, and vestiges.

Demigods are born from the union of a deity and a mortal being. They have some divine attributes, but their mortal parentage makes them the weakest quasi-deities.

Titans are the divine creations of deities. They might be birthed from the union of two deities, manufactured on a divine forge, born from the blood spilled by a god, or otherwise brought about through divine will or substance.

Vestiges are deities who have lost nearly all their worshipers and are considered dead, from a mortal perspective. Esoteric rituals can sometimes contact these beings and draw on their latent power.

Ranks in 3e

Rank 0 (quasi-deities)

These are called quasi-deities or hero-gods. They're sometimes half-gods. They have a few worshipers. They're "sort of but not really" deities. They're mostly just super strong and immortal. They can't even grant spells.

Examples:

• Bane
• Bhaal
• Murlynd
• Myrkul

Ranks 1-5 (demigods)

Called demigods. Apparently in D&D "demigod" means a low-level god and not a half-god.

These are the weakest of the real deities. They have anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand worshipers.

Examples:

• Iuz
• Kilva

Ranks 6-10 (lesser gods)

These are called lesser gods. They have between a few thousand worshipers to tens of thousands of worshipers.

Examples:

• Azuth

Ranks 11-15 (intermediate gods)

These are called intermediate deities. They have hundreds of thousands of worshipers.

This is about as powerful as a deity can hope to get without pulling some shenanigans.

Example:

• Lolth
• Pholtus
• Sashelas
• Wee Jas

Ranks 16-20 (greater gods)

These are called greater gods. They have millions of worshipers. The mightiest among them rule over other gods like mortal sovereigns rule over common folk.

Divine Rank 19 is the cutoff for most beings. This is the DR that the heads of the greatest pantheons have, such as Corellon Larethian, Moradin, Ra, Zeus, and Odin.

Only one god in D&D has a DR of 20, and that's Taiia.

Ranks 21+

Beings above DR 21 are called overgods, overdeities, or overpowers. They're far beyond our understanding. We know next to nothing about them. In the direct words of the 3e SRD:

These entities are beyond the ken of mortals and care nothing for worshipers. They do not grant spells, do not answer prayers, and do not respond to queries. If they are known at all, it is to a handful of scholars on the Material Plane. They are called overdeities. In some pantheistic systems, the consent of an overdeity is required to become a god.

And here's how the Forgotten Realms wiki describes them:

An Overgod, also called an over-power, was a type of deity that existed beyond the normal ranking of the gods and of concepts such as alignment. Such beings existed beyond the bounds of the normal cosmology.

There are very few examples in D&D. The only confirmed one is Ao.

Some speculate that entities such as the Lady of Pain, Fate from the Zakharan pantheon, Maztica, the Jade Emperor, the chained god Tharizdun, the Serpent Mok'slyk, the High God known to the people of Krynn, the World Serpent known to the sarrukh, and the dragon god Io belong in this category.

It might be worth noting that Ao himself answers to an even higher power known as the Luminous Being. Take that how you will.

Ranks in PF

As far as I know, there is no ranking system for divinity in PF. The only distinction in power level that I'm aware of is the difference between a god and a demigod. A demigod in PF is a being that lies somewhere in between a mortal and a god. The empyreal lords and rakshasa immortals are examples of demigods in PF.

See also

• Demigod