D&D: So Who is Amaunator Anyway? An Adventurer’s Guide
There are many gods of the sun in D&D. And Amaunator has been at least two of them. Here’s what you need to know.
When it comes to sun deities, the Forgotten Realms is chock full of ’em. And it’s little wonder why—the sun is a big part of our day-to-day life. Lathander, Horus-Re, Apollo, Elebrin Liothel, and more represent the great big orb of fire in the sky. And though they have waxed and waned throughout the ages, as the gods are wont to do in Faerun, Amaunator is an interesting one, as he has been two different deities.
But it all begins in Netheril.
Amaunator’s Netheril Days
In the high days of ancient Netheril, the Netherese revered Amanautor. The Netherese saw Amaunator as the solar deity of order, law, and time. Amaunator was considered harsh, but fair, and many rulers looked to his example.
He was the Keeper of Eternal Sun, and his strengths and weaknesses are well-documented. Perhaps owing to the frequency with which the Netherese tried to kill their gods. He is said to have been able to discern whether someone was a thief or lawbreaker with a glance. He could also shoot rays of sunlight from his eyes. He was immune to light, fire, and heat, as well as illusions, phantasms, cold, and darkness.
So how did he die?
The answer comes during Karsus’s Folly. This event wrecked the ancient empire of Netheril. Karsus challenged the gods, and the backlash destroyed Netheril. Amaunator’s worshippers shrank. Only the lower and middle class of Netheril survived the cataclysm, and his faithful saw a god who allowed the empire to fall and did nothing to stop it.
Over the next several hundred years, Amaunator lost worshippers, moving from greater to lesser deity. And then to dead power.
However, gods and death get along about as well as comic books and death. And in some ways, belief in Amaunator lived on. One group believed in At’ar, a merciless god of law. Another group revered the dead god. And a third group had a whole heretical schism in the church of Lathander. They hailed Lathander as the reincarnated Amaunator—even though Lathander had been around for a while, pre-dating even ancient Netheril.
Rebirth
But eventually, Clerics and Paladins of Lathander received divine messages for a “Deliverance.” A fire genasi cleric believed in the Lathander heresy and tried to take over the church of the Morninglord. And then, just after the Spellplague, Lathander was unmasked as Amaunator reborn.
But even this is confusing. Amaunator, reborn, found that most people who worshipped him still worshipped him as Lathander. And over a very short period of time–just 16 years–Lathander and Amaunator were back to being two separate deities again. And nobody knows how that happened. Not even the gods, necessarily.
And that’s Amaunator, Keeper of the Eternal Sun
