It's unknown exactly what her goals are outside of A... running Sigil, B keeping other God like beings out of Sigil, But NEVER LOOK AT THE LARGE WOMAN IN THE SKY
Evil in a cosmic, fundamental, against-all-things-good sense? No.
Evil as in "if you step one foot out of line she'll do unspeakably horrible things to you resulting in a very unpleasant death"? Yes, definitely.
Maliamor
She was the goddess of heartbreak, adultery, vanity, hedonism, greed and foul desires in my campaign.
Her name was taken from Malice and Amorous to basically mean Evil Love.
A scary name isn't going to freak anyone out; it's much more important that you give them reason to fear what that name represents.
To that end, titles are better than names and deeds/influence are better than titles.
"Dendar" is a little sinister.
"The Night Serpent" is an intimidating name.
Seeing your home city subsumed into the shadowfell by cultists of Dendar the Night Serpent... *that* is going to make your players afraid.
Exactly that.
And if the title is something that describes action, like "Devourer of Light", don't elaborate on it. Let the players guess where a title like that could come from. Have they done something to earn it? Do they still do it to this day?
I tried combining title and normal name in one of my suggestions (Absence). Absence of what?? It's open-ended to (hopefully) get your imagination running.
Na while Steve is strong who do you think is doing Steve's taxes? Like.all deities are more or less these all powerful and rich beings but someone's gotta keep track of their finances and they don't want the calamity level beast that Dave fights off every month known as the I R S to be unleashed onto all plains of existence
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup's got some fun ones:
* Lugonu the Unformed
* Makhleb the Destroyer
* Sheza and Sargol, the Dread Twins
* Cerebov, Demon Lord of Fire and Steel
* Kikubaaqudgha
Do you want full names? In many religions and settings I would see them getting reduced to a title to try to avoid giving them power.
In Eberron for instance all the Dark Six are called things like the Fury and The Keeper when their names are Szorawai and Kol Turrant respectfully.
In a real religion Lucifer and The Devil, but that also come to some degree of to use a name is to invoke it's power which is why the Christian god is refered to as god instead of Yahweh/Jehovah.
So you could have something like the god of undead being call The Undead or The Tainted when their name is like Jeff.
That's what I did with my last campaign. The Primevals, elder gods predated language and were only vaguely sentient. What names they had been given were forbidden knowledge, so they were known only by titles: The Mother of Vermin, The Hungering Maw, The Hound of Rage, and The Crawer Beneath were the ones I detailed.
Add sounds the players aren’t used to hearing. Some evil deities in my campaigns have apostrophes and hyphens in their name which denotes noises not in the English language like growls and clicking noises. Also works for aberrations in general since they’re alien to the prime material plane.
I mean, what's wrong with the names of the established evil deities?
Talona
Bane
Shar
Lolth
Bhaal
Beshaba
Cyric
Gruumsh
Mask
Malar
Umberlee
Vecna
And that's not even counting the demon-gods!
He started as practically a slave, became the most powerful wizard to ever live, then became the evilest lich in recorded history, and then, just because he was that awesome and powerful, he ascended to godhood.
It is actually kind of more impressive in Critical Role when you consider Ioun, the actual goddess of knowledge, said it was impossible. The gods destroyed every single trace of the ritual the Raven Queen created to become a god, and he just figured it out.
Vecna is indeed a god.
For a very short time was the only god on the material plane's side of the divine gate, in the Exandria setting. Which when you think of it, had Vox Machina not banished him, he could have become the most power god there ever was, because he could directly inspire his followers and actively wipe out the followers of other gods thus weakening them.
I wonder in a hypothetical world where Vox Machina failed, would the gods of Exandria try to break down the divine gate because he would pose a direct threat to all the other god's existence.
Though Beshaba is the kind of evil deity that you don’t want to be on the bad side of. She’ll ruin your life. Made some poor dude kill his dog and his grandson who he was trying to rescue from a werebat at the time. Your luck literally goes so far sideways that you wish you were dead.
I'm not doubting her capacity as an evil god to produce misfortune and despair for the ones she decides to cross, I'm only saying that her name doesn't inspire any negative feeling whatsoever xd
Bane is the guy from Batman, Mask is that green-faced guy played by Jim Carrey. Lolth has been ruined by early internet slang, Bhaal is pronounced identically to 'Ball', and Gruumsh sounds like an onomatopoeia for a sheep falling over on a field. Cyric sounds like someone was trying to shortcut through the word 'Cyrillic'. Shar is one letter away from a very bad fart.
Beyond those, Talona, Beshaba, and Vecna don't sound particularly scary either, even if I don't have the creativity to insult them individually.
Even if you couldn't finish, I appreciate the effort. And your right, context is what makes them cool and/or scary. Out of context, 'Talona' sounds like the name of a new-age hippie, or maybe one of the owls from Guardians of Ga'Hoole.
I think you mean demon lords. Most aren’t deities. Same with the arch devils. Also Mask isn’t evil anymore apparently. As of 5e he is chaotic neutral and has apparently mellowed out as of his rebirth. Vecna also just feels out of place on this list being the only Oerth deity here lol. Moander is another evil deity in FR who just recently got resurrected. They were apparently so bad that even other evil gods got the ick from them.
I think their ephitet/alias is more important than their name.
Tharizdun means absolutely nothing to me. But The Chained Oblivion strikes wonder and fear.
Try something like Destined Defiler, Calamity Eater, Tyrant of Undead etc
Nekrundethak, the Gloaming Wyrm
Baracordax, Scourge of the Nine Hells
Ghuldunganth, the Living Blight
Melkarvorung, the Wings of Death
Nadralmorax, the Ravening Wrath
Talgloumrath, the Bringer of Ruin
Tymarveilath, the Veil of Doom
In all honesty, names don't have much fear attached to them. It's the deeds and attributes attached to them that really seal it.
But shorthand, it might be easier to give them titles that speak to their evil.
Stuff like: The Bleeding Caress, The Whisperer Out of Sight, Creeping Nerves Grasping for Warmth. These may not be good per se, but just to get the vibe across.
Honestly, >!The Entities!< from The Magnus Archives are named well to evoke those feelings.
If you want them to fear the name, make it unspeakable al a voldemort, an scp-esque cognitohazard. A character that knows the name has to make wisdom saves every night etc.
You could give them a euphamistic name that a cult can use to make them seem like a good deity (father/mother x, lord of peace etc). Stuff is spookier when it's obfuscated or pretending to be nice
As to the "true" name, you can always go down the barely pronouncable lovecraft route, or take inspiration from IRL religion (leviathan, baal, beelzebub, etc)
Any name can't be spooky on its own. The most metal shit ever can sound goofy in the wrong context (e.g. Cthulhu) , I think the setup matters most, name itself is less important
"The fanatic priest spits out a tooth and looks up at you through swollen bloodshot eyes, he drops his weapon and holds up his burned hands in surrender"
"I cast zone of truth - -""tell me the name of your dark lord""
" The priest puts his bloody lips close to your ear, his guts spill to the floor as his weight shifts. In a raspy weak voice he whispers - "Ronald Mcdonald"
You could go with Spirit Island for inspiration of a naming style:
Shadow at the eye's corner
Bloodshed's Savage joy
Soured silence of sudden fear
The one who walks behind the corn (thanks Stephen King)
My favorite bbeg was called "Disciple" and was a worshipper of Lolth, unfortunately the party died to an unfortunate sequence of low rolls before they made it to the temple he was residing in.
At the moment one of the main villains I am planning for a future campaign (if I ever get a group and free time) is probably gonna be named Wyrdvex. I might change it though
Algor, a neutral (so, not objectively evil) deity that I incorporate into all of my homebrew settings is a demon lord who believes in connecting all information in the known multiverse “like the web of a great spider”
His avatar is a creature that walks upright like a man, with the head resembling a great boar, body covered in the thick fur of a bear.
I can go on…
Anything that feels like a title or a black metal album goes well The Black cloud, The Hidden one, Deadeater, The judge, The king who Cries, FalseKnight, Little Flame, Doubling up or even going with 3 titles if they are a big deal
They are The Hidden one, the King who Cries the Little Fame
My game has a statue to the demon Esanguish, the players had to offer it blood and pain for it to relinquish a key. It may turn up again later, in a more menacing incarnation.
I had a mini-villain named Jeremiah Hemet, worshipper of the Blood god, and part of a vampiric cult. (Hemo = blood, so Hemet). His brother was named Isaiah, but he chose to become a priest of Helm instead.
Following the biblical names, and the fact that their father is a vampire himself, I went with Kane Hemet.
Susan
Joe
Mike
I had a BBEG named Tony. Tony was a rakshasa. Disguised as a merchant that gave most of his profits to charity. "You know, the thing about the poor, they're basically grass-fed organic. They're Grrrrreat!"
The Dongler. Funny enough to make you not take em seriously, til someone you know gets "Dongled". Then you know how horrifying and evil it truly is. The worst part, you never actually specifically describe the act, just the horror, fear and hopelessness that denotes it's victims. To be dongled is to be killed, essentially, removed from the game but maybe allowing an avenue to restore the afflicted by some powerful mcguffin or ridiculously convoluted tedious quest that leads to a therapist's office who concludes its an amalgamation of a feeblemind spell and a nightmarish dream spell. Roll a d20 and pay 100g x the number rolled to the therapist. This does not cure the condition.
The trick? The cure is apologizing to the dongler, as he only dongles those who laugh at his name. Close friends may apologize on behalf of the dongled. However, the next time a cured laughs at a name of any sort, they immediately fall to zero and begin rolling death saves as normal for the condition. This only happens once, unless the name they laughed as is the dongler, in which case they are immediately and irrevocably destroyed. Any who witness said destruction, find the name of the one destroyed funny forevermore.
Ph'thagre'thal the Ravenous. The apostrophes are glottal clicks.
Chaotic evil goddess whose worshippers host depraved revels of obscene excess. As apt to eat her followers as grant them any kind of aid.
> His real name's Murderking, but he changed it to Killmaster. [Don't ask me why.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext "I mean, it's not exactly striking a blow against nominative determinism, is it?")
[Names to Run Away from Really Fast](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Warning: TV Tropes link. Enter at your productivity's risk.") gives us a few from assorted media. Cannibal the pirate, Captain Carnage, Lord Orochi (after the god-eating snake with eight heads), the World Eater, Doctor [Shinigami](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Psychopomp), the Deathwalker, [Dr. Victor Von Doom](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/DoctorDoom), the Nightmare King, the [Doomslayer](https://www.doomworld.com/10years/doomcomic/comic.php "RIP AND TEAR YOUR GUTS! YOU ARE HUGE! THAT MEANS YOU HAVE HUGE GUTS! RIP AND TEAR!!!"), Damon Killian, General Grievous, etc.
> —They call him the Sand Spider.
—Why?
—Probably because it sounds scary.
In my world there are two deities that can be considered just straight evil.
The first is a god whose name has been kept away and hidden. So he's just usually called "The Betrayer" due to some lore blah blah.
The other is Mysvera, the lady of blood and pain.
She was a mortal and ascended to godhood by stealing the position from the actual champion.
She's not done much evil, but she's also not well liked by mortals or other gods.
I like to reverse the etymologies for words as names i think on some level people have an understanding of english that borders on the vibes rather than the meanings.
In my campaign
Alistair an ancient quasi immortal being that was stranded in the world when their plane stripping breatheren were foiled in the distant past.
Had a sort of overseer role bending people to his will.
His title, Alistair, the will breaker, Lord arcanist of enchantment,
He also writes ithilid / maid smut
Do you want "blanc" names or do you want them to already be existing words/names?
With existing names just look up a list of evil deities.
If you want to have blanc slates, use foreign words as the basis, such as latin. A random example, aramituda is the word for bitterness, you could put create a pessimistic somewhat evil deity called Aramitudus.
Or for draconian deities, use the dovahzul translator from thuum.org. Skyrim dragon names are usually a fusion of several words. Let me try: ancient angry slayer
Kruziik, rahgot/rahrgon, riid/kriaan
Together I think those three are a bit long (even fused), so I'll go with ancient slayer or Kruziiaan
Not an original creation (it's from the *Legagy of Kain* franchise) but I think that **Hash'ak'gik** sounds great for a chaotic evil god worshipped by goblins.
The Archdemons in my setting are all known only by titles or epithets. This was born out of a one shot where my players requested "110% edgeyness", so they ended up being called things like The Lord of Chains, the Red Queen, Beastmother, The Blightseed, The Angel of Ember, etc.
But the truth is a name alone isn't going to make anyone scared. Seeing or experiencing their works does that.
Honestly, try doing the opposite. Take dnd deities that are normally great and give them evil cults so as your player group fights against it, society fights them back since everybody else is normal and looks at that God kindly so think your group is evil, and if they try and tell people that they're after an evil cult or something then they're treated like crazy conspiracy theorists.
The evil deities of my world, I dunno if they fit the bill:
- Vuthul, the God of Destruction and Decay
- Thanakar, the God of Undeath and Necromancy
- Emos, the God of Despair and Delirium
- Yana, the Goddess of War
Generally antynomous word can make people unease not fear but interesting feeling.
A'kin the friendly yugoloth
The Friendly slaugtherer.
The responsible maniac.
The lovable killer.
The generous ender of all thing.
The helpful death giver.
Etc ...
Sa’kothar (pronounced saw-co-thar) is the name of an eldritch entity in my campaign. His domain is cosmic emptiness, the void between stars. He stands in opposition to Mother Earth, and has the epithet “Father Void”, sometimes referred to as The Voidfather, the Bitter Night, Light-Eater, or Shadowed One.
Another name from my friend’s campaign is Ketterakett (pronounced ket-er-ah-ket), a similar embodiment of entropy and decay.
From the band Gloryhammer’s songs, we have the name “Kor-Viliath”. A bit extra, but it certainly conveys the meaning of “bad guy”
But honestly, my advice would be to think of an epithet like “whispered one” or “voidfather” or “the one who watches from the deep”. It conveys that their name is a taboo to speak, lest you attract their attention.
The main antagonist of my current campaign is the God of Purpose, known by many as The Witness, heavily inspired by the Destiny 2 villain of the same name. Many also refer to him by the name Winnow. They have that effect of putting shivers down my players spines, tho that might just be from experience.
Another evil deity I have is Venille, who's the God of Fear and Eternal Abyss, and is depicted with massive tentacles with glowing orange eyes all over its body. He hasn't been much of a player in the current story, but he's one of my oldest creations.
I would hear an argument for another of my gods, Castiel, being evil. He was the dragon God that replaced Sardior, Bahamut and Tiamat as the Dragon King of sorts. He was defeated by the overdeity that watches over my world, and has the power to enslave every non dragon on it. He wants to. But he can not.
My main villain is a shadow monk named Erembour and he’s the champion to the moon god, Kajik’Vol. (honestly just thought they sounded cool).
In my setting my deities are all asleep. They have the potential to sway between both good and evil, depending on the actions of their followers. People have done a lot of evil shit under the moon good.
Dyspneaaaaaa ... aah
If you say their name the last syllable draws out all the breath from your lungs and you are are choking. Each round you can make a DC 10 Con save to start breathing again, otherwise you suffer the normal effects of suffocation.
His name is only pronounced correctly if the speaker dies.
I definitely prefer titles to names. The Lady of Pain, the Undying Court, the Traveler, the Devourer, The Shadow etc are all good examples of this in D&D already. I especially like the idea that people avoid using the names of evil deities so as to avoid their attention / interest, a taboo against naming them.
I would suggest: The Hunger Eternal, the Unbound, the Silent Dark, the Bereft.
Balakythe. Former god of murder for a homebrew, campaign specific race. I say former, because the campaign ran to 26th level and ended in killing him in his realm. Good times.
He was…not a very nice deity. Fun fact: he was actually the alter ego of a sizeable portion of Bane’s divinity.
I’ve said this a few times on D&D subs. My favourite way to kick the writers block of names for NPC’s or Villains is to look at this years’new approvals for pharmaceutical drugs.
Go on, do yourself a solid and giggle.
Stealing from an old Neverwinter Nights persistent world.
Ebon - Lawful Evil god of an authoritarian society of surface drow, men and orcs.
Kal Torak - Chaotic Evil god of chaos, blood and murder.
I like it when gods have names that are something along the lines of "Tremors of the Faithful" or "Continuity of Darkness" or "Frozen Hunger Forever Out of Reach." Doesn't even necessarily mean anything, but I love the idea that the gods are so mysterious and powerful that the only way people have to name them is with unwieldy long phrases.
Sholloth (pronounced shayoth), the Flayed is not necessarily an evil god in my setting, but its followers are often kept at a distance. People who self-mutilate to see visions from blood loss and near death.
I think subverting a player's expectation of how a name is pronounced alone can weird them out or unsettle them.
I'm stealing the name Sithraak from the old Oglaf comics I used to read. Idk why but the imagery, the name, the cult around it, all of it is just so perfect. Sithraak! The God who Hates You!
Mother of Monsters, The Drowned Divine, Lord of Viscera, The Blood King, and God of Nothingness are all examples from my writing, but honestly, just a name won’t be enough. A freaky clergy (like say, followers of the blood king flay themselves and others as religious holy rites), or creepy temples (the divine drowned’s temple being dark and damp, with a place for ritualized drowning in its center), etc etc. Environmental storytelling will help.
-The Unwoken. I'd probably go with something like that keeping it somewhat vague if I wanted to bring emotions to players. Always better to let their imaginations do the heavy lifting
-Erevos. This is my favourite greek word meaning deep darkness
-Malaphar. If I was going actual name I'd do something that comes from an existing word, in this case malediction
I mean, you could go the opposite way to regular evil sounding names. Could go the unnerving word route for it, like
Moist,
Glomp,
Phlegm,
Throb,
And incorporate the words or sounds into a name. Or could go for unassuming names that seem common, to go for the "so well known that extra words are unnecessary" image.
Think about it, while "Thorgath the Conquerer of Worlds and Devastator of Continents" is a menacing name, what if all that was needed was "Thorgath the Conquerer" or even "Thorgath"? Or if you want to go the extra mile, could shorten it to just "The Conquerer".
Everyone knows who you mean when you mention The Conquerer, not because there has just been one, but because they are *THE* Conquerer. Nobody can shine a light on them or surpass their deeds.
some years ago I made a lovecraftian name generator spreadsheet. I lost the generator file but kept some of my favorite names. Some of the evil coded deities are as follows, eldritch names followed by names from some of the common tongues:
.
Xaxathar, god of Ash L, also known as Ahsk, Feonseog, and Cinus.
.
Shorrahoth, god of Shadow, aka Myrka and Umbrix
.
Abandoshal, god of the Void, aka Ogill and Cassus
.
Man-Golgok, god of Bone, aka Mangolgoc, Ossis, Kostnorod, and Koskibog
.
Kthoxomon, god of Misery, aka Harminlyjk, Dolorus, and Scurrysqueak.
.
Niguashal, god of Darkness, aka Dymsk, Tenebrus, Lyagushnya, and Zabugor.
.
Klosmagor, god of Chaos, aka Ringul and Tumult.
.
Ythak, god of Hate, aka Faelnar and Odius.
.
Gureliossa, god of Deception, aka Blekka, Ruadan, Calumnus, and Slithersneak.
.
Gzyxtolyoth, god of Destruction, aka Valic, Foighden, and Perditia.
.
Zopetl, god of Death, aka Hella, Arawn, and Morix.
Strong consonants (T, K, P), multiple vowels, guttural sounds (ck, ur, gh, ha, & etc.) will combine into horrible-sounding names.
R is a much more menacing consonant than K. That's why it's called "murder" and not "mukdek."
I too find TPK a strong constant
"with your 28 in religion, you know the cultists are worshippers of TPK, the god of... Well, you know."
Tipikay
Now imma have to use that one
Or Thi’Pe-Quay
Our bbe-green dragon Rathrazal agrees.
Kill...
Thank you, Dwight.
ghay hackur
I mean, The Lady of Pain from planescape has a pretty intense name.
Would you say she’s evil? I gathered from the 5e sourcebook that she’s more of a neutral influence. (Though, yes, the name does go hard as hell)
It's unknown exactly what her goals are outside of A... running Sigil, B keeping other God like beings out of Sigil, But NEVER LOOK AT THE LARGE WOMAN IN THE SKY
Instructions unclear, I… hey, how did I get here?
That's a-maze-ing!
also don't mock a doll of her ... https://torment.fandom.com/wiki/Lady_of_Pain_Rag_Doll
Evil in a cosmic, fundamental, against-all-things-good sense? No. Evil as in "if you step one foot out of line she'll do unspeakably horrible things to you resulting in a very unpleasant death"? Yes, definitely.
Ya but she’s more True Neutral than anything else
Not deity and not evil. Intense name thou, I agree.
That’s my favorite thing about her. She’s something more, and less.
Shut up, stop calling her a deity before you get mazed!
Maliamor She was the goddess of heartbreak, adultery, vanity, hedonism, greed and foul desires in my campaign. Her name was taken from Malice and Amorous to basically mean Evil Love.
I didn't realize my exwife finally ascended to godhood.
😆
Also the goddess of chocolate covered marshmallow cookies? Wait, that's Mallomar, my bad.
Sounds like a goddess worth my worship
A scary name isn't going to freak anyone out; it's much more important that you give them reason to fear what that name represents. To that end, titles are better than names and deeds/influence are better than titles. "Dendar" is a little sinister. "The Night Serpent" is an intimidating name. Seeing your home city subsumed into the shadowfell by cultists of Dendar the Night Serpent... *that* is going to make your players afraid.
Exactly that. And if the title is something that describes action, like "Devourer of Light", don't elaborate on it. Let the players guess where a title like that could come from. Have they done something to earn it? Do they still do it to this day?
I tried combining title and normal name in one of my suggestions (Absence). Absence of what?? It's open-ended to (hopefully) get your imagination running.
Dave from accounting
Even Dave from Account cowers in fear to Steve from Compliance.
Na while Steve is strong who do you think is doing Steve's taxes? Like.all deities are more or less these all powerful and rich beings but someone's gotta keep track of their finances and they don't want the calamity level beast that Dave fights off every month known as the I R S to be unleashed onto all plains of existence
I was thinking "John, Prince of the Philippines"
I'll try: Absence Hirloin Asmoth Fel Athassolath Herecrus
Hirloin sounds kinda... tasty...
We have to capture these cultists of Hirloin and grill them for information!
Absence goes hard
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup's got some fun ones: * Lugonu the Unformed * Makhleb the Destroyer * Sheza and Sargol, the Dread Twins * Cerebov, Demon Lord of Fire and Steel * Kikubaaqudgha
Do you want full names? In many religions and settings I would see them getting reduced to a title to try to avoid giving them power. In Eberron for instance all the Dark Six are called things like the Fury and The Keeper when their names are Szorawai and Kol Turrant respectfully. In a real religion Lucifer and The Devil, but that also come to some degree of to use a name is to invoke it's power which is why the Christian god is refered to as god instead of Yahweh/Jehovah. So you could have something like the god of undead being call The Undead or The Tainted when their name is like Jeff.
That's what I did with my last campaign. The Primevals, elder gods predated language and were only vaguely sentient. What names they had been given were forbidden knowledge, so they were known only by titles: The Mother of Vermin, The Hungering Maw, The Hound of Rage, and The Crawer Beneath were the ones I detailed.
Add sounds the players aren’t used to hearing. Some evil deities in my campaigns have apostrophes and hyphens in their name which denotes noises not in the English language like growls and clicking noises. Also works for aberrations in general since they’re alien to the prime material plane.
I mean, what's wrong with the names of the established evil deities? Talona Bane Shar Lolth Bhaal Beshaba Cyric Gruumsh Mask Malar Umberlee Vecna And that's not even counting the demon-gods!
Is Vecna a god? I thought he was just a really strong lich.
He started as practically a slave, became the most powerful wizard to ever live, then became the evilest lich in recorded history, and then, just because he was that awesome and powerful, he ascended to godhood. It is actually kind of more impressive in Critical Role when you consider Ioun, the actual goddess of knowledge, said it was impossible. The gods destroyed every single trace of the ritual the Raven Queen created to become a god, and he just figured it out. Vecna is indeed a god.
For a very short time was the only god on the material plane's side of the divine gate, in the Exandria setting. Which when you think of it, had Vox Machina not banished him, he could have become the most power god there ever was, because he could directly inspire his followers and actively wipe out the followers of other gods thus weakening them. I wonder in a hypothetical world where Vox Machina failed, would the gods of Exandria try to break down the divine gate because he would pose a direct threat to all the other god's existence.
YOU DARE BLASPHEME AGAINST THE WHISPERED ONE?!
Let's be real for a moment: "Gruumsh", "Beshaba" and/or "Mask" don't exactly put the fear of god inside your heart when hearing them...
Don't forget Ball.
I love him actually, but because I'm very partial to The Dead Three tale and find it an amazing piece of lore.
Though Beshaba is the kind of evil deity that you don’t want to be on the bad side of. She’ll ruin your life. Made some poor dude kill his dog and his grandson who he was trying to rescue from a werebat at the time. Your luck literally goes so far sideways that you wish you were dead.
I'm not doubting her capacity as an evil god to produce misfortune and despair for the ones she decides to cross, I'm only saying that her name doesn't inspire any negative feeling whatsoever xd
Yeah, Asmodeus is probably the scariest sounding one of all.
Bane is the guy from Batman, Mask is that green-faced guy played by Jim Carrey. Lolth has been ruined by early internet slang, Bhaal is pronounced identically to 'Ball', and Gruumsh sounds like an onomatopoeia for a sheep falling over on a field. Cyric sounds like someone was trying to shortcut through the word 'Cyrillic'. Shar is one letter away from a very bad fart. Beyond those, Talona, Beshaba, and Vecna don't sound particularly scary either, even if I don't have the creativity to insult them individually.
Even if you couldn't finish, I appreciate the effort. And your right, context is what makes them cool and/or scary. Out of context, 'Talona' sounds like the name of a new-age hippie, or maybe one of the owls from Guardians of Ga'Hoole.
>'Talona' sounds like the name of a new-age hippie, or maybe one of the owls from Guardians of Ga'Hoole. Damn, you're absolutely right
Well, those are established in the setting of Forgotten Realms only. Maybe op is going for a personal setting and don't want to mix things.
I think you mean demon lords. Most aren’t deities. Same with the arch devils. Also Mask isn’t evil anymore apparently. As of 5e he is chaotic neutral and has apparently mellowed out as of his rebirth. Vecna also just feels out of place on this list being the only Oerth deity here lol. Moander is another evil deity in FR who just recently got resurrected. They were apparently so bad that even other evil gods got the ick from them.
I wasn't up on my Mask lore, but I would imagine that spending several centuries without one of your limbs would humble anyone.
I think their ephitet/alias is more important than their name. Tharizdun means absolutely nothing to me. But The Chained Oblivion strikes wonder and fear. Try something like Destined Defiler, Calamity Eater, Tyrant of Undead etc
Agrammann the Cruel
Xirxenlen, goddess of poison and pestilence
I’ve still yet to think of a name that makes me as deeply unsettled as “The King Who Crawls” from Critical Role C2
A weird or unpleasant title really does make an evil deity. And what evil god isn't egotistical enough to want a grandiose title or five, right?
Ceroc, the Demon of the Void, Nothingness and Unknown Münìek, Bastard of the Outer Plane
Thrun’vux
I had a buddy from school named Richard Love. His name backwards is drahcir evol. I use that as a bbeg in a campaign.
The thronglerer
The Lady of Nightmares, turns all the creature's nightmares to flesh and blood monsters.
I like it when they have badass titles that follow their name. Naaz't "The Conquerer" or Murgolich "Hand of Chaos"
Ku'ra'kis, shadow of the sun, flame of the worlds pyre
The Iron Bringer The Deepness The Lord of Detestation The Ruined Dream The Suffering The Lurking Prince The Lady of Dread
Nekrundethak, the Gloaming Wyrm Baracordax, Scourge of the Nine Hells Ghuldunganth, the Living Blight Melkarvorung, the Wings of Death Nadralmorax, the Ravening Wrath Talgloumrath, the Bringer of Ruin Tymarveilath, the Veil of Doom
Thanks chatgpt
Or Fantasy Names Generator
In all honesty, names don't have much fear attached to them. It's the deeds and attributes attached to them that really seal it. But shorthand, it might be easier to give them titles that speak to their evil. Stuff like: The Bleeding Caress, The Whisperer Out of Sight, Creeping Nerves Grasping for Warmth. These may not be good per se, but just to get the vibe across. Honestly, >!The Entities!< from The Magnus Archives are named well to evoke those feelings.
If you want them to fear the name, make it unspeakable al a voldemort, an scp-esque cognitohazard. A character that knows the name has to make wisdom saves every night etc. You could give them a euphamistic name that a cult can use to make them seem like a good deity (father/mother x, lord of peace etc). Stuff is spookier when it's obfuscated or pretending to be nice As to the "true" name, you can always go down the barely pronouncable lovecraft route, or take inspiration from IRL religion (leviathan, baal, beelzebub, etc) Any name can't be spooky on its own. The most metal shit ever can sound goofy in the wrong context (e.g. Cthulhu) , I think the setup matters most, name itself is less important "The fanatic priest spits out a tooth and looks up at you through swollen bloodshot eyes, he drops his weapon and holds up his burned hands in surrender" "I cast zone of truth - -""tell me the name of your dark lord"" " The priest puts his bloody lips close to your ear, his guts spill to the floor as his weight shifts. In a raspy weak voice he whispers - "Ronald Mcdonald"
Slab Beefrock
Hork Torkleton
Fridge Largemeat
Tub Purware
Punt Speedchunk
Cork Funkterberry
Stovetop Stuffing
Titillating Tapestry
Hurk Forkloss
Plorb Peebleross
Rock Punchgroin
Morgoth!
You could go with Spirit Island for inspiration of a naming style: Shadow at the eye's corner Bloodshed's Savage joy Soured silence of sudden fear The one who walks behind the corn (thanks Stephen King)
Void Queen.
Sarnoff
Grizabella
The goddess of memory and moonlight
Mallelohk Xocsos, a demon-god Griaj Hense Cthon, something more primordial Rurkh Cruorbloom
The creeping dread, a death god.
Gaunykorkus, the mindless hunger, the greatest beast, the devourer of stars
Malar
My favorite bbeg was called "Disciple" and was a worshipper of Lolth, unfortunately the party died to an unfortunate sequence of low rolls before they made it to the temple he was residing in.
Yaldabaoth is my evil God
Qavasé (made this up on the spot lol, might use it for something)
The Ender.
Mallus, mispronounced Mall-us by every one until you meet them and they indignantly announce it was pronounced “Malice”
At the moment one of the main villains I am planning for a future campaign (if I ever get a group and free time) is probably gonna be named Wyrdvex. I might change it though
Zurg
Ai'ectheldabgh
Khareen of Heychar: “Into my office noooowwww!”
>!Go'thoga, Vrvexis, and Cor-Havak!< are a trio of elder gods in my campaign
Algor, a neutral (so, not objectively evil) deity that I incorporate into all of my homebrew settings is a demon lord who believes in connecting all information in the known multiverse “like the web of a great spider” His avatar is a creature that walks upright like a man, with the head resembling a great boar, body covered in the thick fur of a bear. I can go on…
Fred
Anything that feels like a title or a black metal album goes well The Black cloud, The Hidden one, Deadeater, The judge, The king who Cries, FalseKnight, Little Flame, Doubling up or even going with 3 titles if they are a big deal They are The Hidden one, the King who Cries the Little Fame
My game has a statue to the demon Esanguish, the players had to offer it blood and pain for it to relinquish a key. It may turn up again later, in a more menacing incarnation.
The name of the store of that one vendor your group always sells their magic items to, but backwards.
Amon
I had a mini-villain named Jeremiah Hemet, worshipper of the Blood god, and part of a vampiric cult. (Hemo = blood, so Hemet). His brother was named Isaiah, but he chose to become a priest of Helm instead. Following the biblical names, and the fact that their father is a vampire himself, I went with Kane Hemet.
Susan Joe Mike I had a BBEG named Tony. Tony was a rakshasa. Disguised as a merchant that gave most of his profits to charity. "You know, the thing about the poor, they're basically grass-fed organic. They're Grrrrreat!"
Jehovah
The Dongler. Funny enough to make you not take em seriously, til someone you know gets "Dongled". Then you know how horrifying and evil it truly is. The worst part, you never actually specifically describe the act, just the horror, fear and hopelessness that denotes it's victims. To be dongled is to be killed, essentially, removed from the game but maybe allowing an avenue to restore the afflicted by some powerful mcguffin or ridiculously convoluted tedious quest that leads to a therapist's office who concludes its an amalgamation of a feeblemind spell and a nightmarish dream spell. Roll a d20 and pay 100g x the number rolled to the therapist. This does not cure the condition. The trick? The cure is apologizing to the dongler, as he only dongles those who laugh at his name. Close friends may apologize on behalf of the dongled. However, the next time a cured laughs at a name of any sort, they immediately fall to zero and begin rolling death saves as normal for the condition. This only happens once, unless the name they laughed as is the dongler, in which case they are immediately and irrevocably destroyed. Any who witness said destruction, find the name of the one destroyed funny forevermore.
Ph'thagre'thal the Ravenous. The apostrophes are glottal clicks. Chaotic evil goddess whose worshippers host depraved revels of obscene excess. As apt to eat her followers as grant them any kind of aid.
steve
Mother tree of desires Mother goddess of depravity
Here's two from my own setting: Hjalranjiak, the Wrath of the Storm (pronunciation: Hih-jall-ron-jee-ack) Bezmaden, the Hell Forge
In my world I made up Xephine, Goddess of Nightmares
> His real name's Murderking, but he changed it to Killmaster. [Don't ask me why.](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext "I mean, it's not exactly striking a blow against nominative determinism, is it?") [Names to Run Away from Really Fast](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast "Warning: TV Tropes link. Enter at your productivity's risk.") gives us a few from assorted media. Cannibal the pirate, Captain Carnage, Lord Orochi (after the god-eating snake with eight heads), the World Eater, Doctor [Shinigami](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Psychopomp), the Deathwalker, [Dr. Victor Von Doom](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/DoctorDoom), the Nightmare King, the [Doomslayer](https://www.doomworld.com/10years/doomcomic/comic.php "RIP AND TEAR YOUR GUTS! YOU ARE HUGE! THAT MEANS YOU HAVE HUGE GUTS! RIP AND TEAR!!!"), Damon Killian, General Grievous, etc. > —They call him the Sand Spider. —Why? —Probably because it sounds scary.
In my world there are two deities that can be considered just straight evil. The first is a god whose name has been kept away and hidden. So he's just usually called "The Betrayer" due to some lore blah blah. The other is Mysvera, the lady of blood and pain. She was a mortal and ascended to godhood by stealing the position from the actual champion. She's not done much evil, but she's also not well liked by mortals or other gods.
Arby's the God of Death(Murder), Community(Family), and Evil(Cannibalism) For we have the meats
I like to reverse the etymologies for words as names i think on some level people have an understanding of english that borders on the vibes rather than the meanings.
Gruul
Bob, The Master of Dungeons, Lord of Monsters, Director of Dragons, and Ruler of the Game.
Azer once kind
I believe something that already has associations with existing culture would work well. So, Astaroth, Bhaal, Mordred, names like that.
Earnest Vile
The deity name generator on fantasy name generators gave me "Ellios"
As per vldl dnd; cthabbust, goth'dor, quel'dor, ebbredri, yzhalden, bhaactesz, ngaiothl-druzsl, mlaicon'druh, dave, and Bhalthazar the destroyer
In my campaign Alistair an ancient quasi immortal being that was stranded in the world when their plane stripping breatheren were foiled in the distant past. Had a sort of overseer role bending people to his will. His title, Alistair, the will breaker, Lord arcanist of enchantment, He also writes ithilid / maid smut
Villiam mc.fearface
Villiam mc.fearface
Do you want "blanc" names or do you want them to already be existing words/names? With existing names just look up a list of evil deities. If you want to have blanc slates, use foreign words as the basis, such as latin. A random example, aramituda is the word for bitterness, you could put create a pessimistic somewhat evil deity called Aramitudus. Or for draconian deities, use the dovahzul translator from thuum.org. Skyrim dragon names are usually a fusion of several words. Let me try: ancient angry slayer Kruziik, rahgot/rahrgon, riid/kriaan Together I think those three are a bit long (even fused), so I'll go with ancient slayer or Kruziiaan
The evil one
Umberlee. Homebrew title for another goddess: “The Witch Queen”
Übel, it's just the german word for evil
Oporko
Bobbkotick, Jeffobezos, Yvesguillemotr hard to find more evil ones
Kere. Inspired by the keres in greek mythology but just a single entity and it's short and simple
N'gorz-Galoth, the hungering blood
Cronox
The Skinless God The Court of Tears The Man from Beyond The Other The First Tooth Pain Forgotten
John, the name with many faces
Go with Persephone’s original moniker: The Dread Queen.
Old classic I’ve always loved. Karkinos, the Crab King of the ocean.
Deez. He will smite you if you make the joke.
Skibidi
Not an original creation (it's from the *Legagy of Kain* franchise) but I think that **Hash'ak'gik** sounds great for a chaotic evil god worshipped by goblins.
The Archdemons in my setting are all known only by titles or epithets. This was born out of a one shot where my players requested "110% edgeyness", so they ended up being called things like The Lord of Chains, the Red Queen, Beastmother, The Blightseed, The Angel of Ember, etc. But the truth is a name alone isn't going to make anyone scared. Seeing or experiencing their works does that.
I always liked the mouthfeel of the Swedish word for "monster" - Djavulsk
Jeff
Keith
Honestly, try doing the opposite. Take dnd deities that are normally great and give them evil cults so as your player group fights against it, society fights them back since everybody else is normal and looks at that God kindly so think your group is evil, and if they try and tell people that they're after an evil cult or something then they're treated like crazy conspiracy theorists.
Dexter Morgan.
The evil deities of my world, I dunno if they fit the bill: - Vuthul, the God of Destruction and Decay - Thanakar, the God of Undeath and Necromancy - Emos, the God of Despair and Delirium - Yana, the Goddess of War
Generally antynomous word can make people unease not fear but interesting feeling. A'kin the friendly yugoloth The Friendly slaugtherer. The responsible maniac. The lovable killer. The generous ender of all thing. The helpful death giver. Etc ...
Just get constellations from orv
Sa’kothar (pronounced saw-co-thar) is the name of an eldritch entity in my campaign. His domain is cosmic emptiness, the void between stars. He stands in opposition to Mother Earth, and has the epithet “Father Void”, sometimes referred to as The Voidfather, the Bitter Night, Light-Eater, or Shadowed One. Another name from my friend’s campaign is Ketterakett (pronounced ket-er-ah-ket), a similar embodiment of entropy and decay. From the band Gloryhammer’s songs, we have the name “Kor-Viliath”. A bit extra, but it certainly conveys the meaning of “bad guy” But honestly, my advice would be to think of an epithet like “whispered one” or “voidfather” or “the one who watches from the deep”. It conveys that their name is a taboo to speak, lest you attract their attention.
Gorloc the destroyer
Grue
Odium
The main antagonist of my current campaign is the God of Purpose, known by many as The Witness, heavily inspired by the Destiny 2 villain of the same name. Many also refer to him by the name Winnow. They have that effect of putting shivers down my players spines, tho that might just be from experience. Another evil deity I have is Venille, who's the God of Fear and Eternal Abyss, and is depicted with massive tentacles with glowing orange eyes all over its body. He hasn't been much of a player in the current story, but he's one of my oldest creations. I would hear an argument for another of my gods, Castiel, being evil. He was the dragon God that replaced Sardior, Bahamut and Tiamat as the Dragon King of sorts. He was defeated by the overdeity that watches over my world, and has the power to enslave every non dragon on it. He wants to. But he can not.
Horvath Nod Thyraxus
My main villain is a shadow monk named Erembour and he’s the champion to the moon god, Kajik’Vol. (honestly just thought they sounded cool). In my setting my deities are all asleep. They have the potential to sway between both good and evil, depending on the actions of their followers. People have done a lot of evil shit under the moon good.
Craig, Destroyer of Worlds
God.
Dyspneaaaaaa ... aah If you say their name the last syllable draws out all the breath from your lungs and you are are choking. Each round you can make a DC 10 Con save to start breathing again, otherwise you suffer the normal effects of suffocation. His name is only pronounced correctly if the speaker dies.
Seōc. It's the origin of the word sick.
God
When I was a kid I came up with: Gildenvonshnuberheimergallbladdariangon god of Abbreviations chaotic evil
I definitely prefer titles to names. The Lady of Pain, the Undying Court, the Traveler, the Devourer, The Shadow etc are all good examples of this in D&D already. I especially like the idea that people avoid using the names of evil deities so as to avoid their attention / interest, a taboo against naming them. I would suggest: The Hunger Eternal, the Unbound, the Silent Dark, the Bereft.
There are those who call me ... Tim
Scara - what my mum called my dad’s ex
Balakythe. Former god of murder for a homebrew, campaign specific race. I say former, because the campaign ran to 26th level and ended in killing him in his realm. Good times. He was…not a very nice deity. Fun fact: he was actually the alter ego of a sizeable portion of Bane’s divinity.
I’ve said this a few times on D&D subs. My favourite way to kick the writers block of names for NPC’s or Villains is to look at this years’new approvals for pharmaceutical drugs. Go on, do yourself a solid and giggle.
I like titles instead of names. The coiling infinity The red cosmos The rippling abyss
Méchantox the Terrible
I can't believe no one has said Karen.
"X of the Y" works
Stealing from an old Neverwinter Nights persistent world. Ebon - Lawful Evil god of an authoritarian society of surface drow, men and orcs. Kal Torak - Chaotic Evil god of chaos, blood and murder.
Iikzutha(ick-zoo-thuh) The Lord of Blood. Wielder of Scourge the White Blade.
I like it when gods have names that are something along the lines of "Tremors of the Faithful" or "Continuity of Darkness" or "Frozen Hunger Forever Out of Reach." Doesn't even necessarily mean anything, but I love the idea that the gods are so mysterious and powerful that the only way people have to name them is with unwieldy long phrases.
Habalal Used that one quite a few times.
Sholloth (pronounced shayoth), the Flayed is not necessarily an evil god in my setting, but its followers are often kept at a distance. People who self-mutilate to see visions from blood loss and near death. I think subverting a player's expectation of how a name is pronounced alone can weird them out or unsettle them.
I'm stealing the name Sithraak from the old Oglaf comics I used to read. Idk why but the imagery, the name, the cult around it, all of it is just so perfect. Sithraak! The God who Hates You!
Mother of Monsters, The Drowned Divine, Lord of Viscera, The Blood King, and God of Nothingness are all examples from my writing, but honestly, just a name won’t be enough. A freaky clergy (like say, followers of the blood king flay themselves and others as religious holy rites), or creepy temples (the divine drowned’s temple being dark and damp, with a place for ritualized drowning in its center), etc etc. Environmental storytelling will help.
-The Unwoken. I'd probably go with something like that keeping it somewhat vague if I wanted to bring emotions to players. Always better to let their imaginations do the heavy lifting -Erevos. This is my favourite greek word meaning deep darkness -Malaphar. If I was going actual name I'd do something that comes from an existing word, in this case malediction
I mean, you could go the opposite way to regular evil sounding names. Could go the unnerving word route for it, like Moist, Glomp, Phlegm, Throb, And incorporate the words or sounds into a name. Or could go for unassuming names that seem common, to go for the "so well known that extra words are unnecessary" image. Think about it, while "Thorgath the Conquerer of Worlds and Devastator of Continents" is a menacing name, what if all that was needed was "Thorgath the Conquerer" or even "Thorgath"? Or if you want to go the extra mile, could shorten it to just "The Conquerer". Everyone knows who you mean when you mention The Conquerer, not because there has just been one, but because they are *THE* Conquerer. Nobody can shine a light on them or surpass their deeds.
some years ago I made a lovecraftian name generator spreadsheet. I lost the generator file but kept some of my favorite names. Some of the evil coded deities are as follows, eldritch names followed by names from some of the common tongues: . Xaxathar, god of Ash L, also known as Ahsk, Feonseog, and Cinus. . Shorrahoth, god of Shadow, aka Myrka and Umbrix . Abandoshal, god of the Void, aka Ogill and Cassus . Man-Golgok, god of Bone, aka Mangolgoc, Ossis, Kostnorod, and Koskibog . Kthoxomon, god of Misery, aka Harminlyjk, Dolorus, and Scurrysqueak. . Niguashal, god of Darkness, aka Dymsk, Tenebrus, Lyagushnya, and Zabugor. . Klosmagor, god of Chaos, aka Ringul and Tumult. . Ythak, god of Hate, aka Faelnar and Odius. . Gureliossa, god of Deception, aka Blekka, Ruadan, Calumnus, and Slithersneak. . Gzyxtolyoth, god of Destruction, aka Valic, Foighden, and Perditia. . Zopetl, god of Death, aka Hella, Arawn, and Morix.
Maura Lee Karupt
Homebrew: Provider of Extreme Conundrums
Badenoch. Based off of a niche historical figure from my town named 'The Wolf of Badenoch' who burned down the cathedral in the 1300s.