[RPG] Are the Old Deities coming back for D&D 5e’s Forgotten Realms

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I was surfing on the internet, and I have encountered rumours that in the 5th edition of DnD in Forgotten Realms world, the Old Deities will come back (Bhaal, Myrkul, Leira etc.) What is more, I have heard that Bhaal is confirmed.

Is this true, and are there any official sources that confirm this?

Best Answer

Yes, the old deities are really coming back. Along with the list of old deities in the Forgotten Realms section of the gods listed in the updated basic rules, (and the gods listed amongst many pantheons in the Player's Handbook) there is also the "Sundering" story line. The Player's Handbook lists 39 deities for the Forgotten Realms setting with their domains and symbols. And 24 "non-human deities" which are shared between Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms.

During the Sundering the worlds of Toril and Abeir (which were united during the Era of Upheaval) are being separated from each other. During this time, the various gods are creating "chosen" mortals who are intended to bring power to the gods, in the hope that when "things are settled" these gods will have the power required to remain a god. There seems to be confusion amongst the gods as to what Ao actually has in mind as he re-writes things.

Noted events during the Sundering are the diminishing of Spellplague effects, magic changing its nature to the way it worked in the past, such that old spellbooks work and recent ones do not. "The Weave" has new prominence, and most importantly for this question, various gods are found to either not be dead, to be re-united, or to be recreated through various events. It seems that in the various divine schemes to "get enough followers" all divine who have a "chosen", get chosen to remain a god, in a fun twist of the meaning of the "chosen".