History Main / GodOfEvil

** ''{{Pathfinder}}'' features six in the basic manual:[[{{Satan}} Asmodeus]], former [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils Archdevil]] and LawfulEvil god of tyranny, contracts, slavery and {{Pride}}; Lamashtu, former [[DemonLordsAndArchDevils Demon Lord]] and the ChaoticEvil goddess of [[AxeCrazy madness]], monsters, and nightmares; Norgorber, NeutralEvil god of poison, secrets, greed, and murder; Urgathoa, NeutralEvil goddess of [[Plaguemaster disease]], undeath, and [[VillainousGlutton gluttony]]; Zon-Kuthon, LawfulEvil god of pain, [[GreenEyedMonster envy]], darkness, and loss; and [[OmnicidalManiac Rovagug]], ChaoticEvil EldritchAbomination of wrath, disasters, destruction, and {{Nietzsche Wannabe}}s. There's also the [[FourHorsemenOfTheApocalypse Four Horsemen]] and the Oinidaemon who rule the NeutralEvil, nihilistic daemons and may well be powerful enough to count.

** Forget "rivals", the only way that Azash is different from something out of the Cthultu Mythos is that, unlike the Cthultu and his ilk who have almost no comprehension of humans, Azash [[{{Understatement}} knows plenty about humans and human desires.]] He uses greed, ambition, lust, and the darker desires of humankind to acquire his followers, and unlike some of the other gods in the series, he rewards many of his followers with immediate, tangible power, especially new converts (he immediately rewards one middle aged woman who begins worshiping him with youth, beauty, and tremendous magical power, all at the small price of her eternal worship. Oh, and her soul and her humanity...).

** Eris may count, [[DisproportionateRetribution as she started the Trojan War because she wasn't invited to a party]].

** Considering that world is a part of the ''CthulhuMythos'' and many theorise Set to be [[EldritchAbomination Yig The Serpent God.]] The being is more likely amoral rather than evil.
* Morgoth and later Sauron serve this purpose in ''TheLordOfTheRings''.

** Of course, consider who's telling the story... not exactly disinterested parties.
** Interestingly, the more fundamentalistic Christian you talk to, the more power they are likely to attribute to Satan; when the Devil is depicted as nearly all-powerful King of this World, the fear-mongering is much easier than if he's a doofus locked down in the deepest pit of Hell.

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has the God of Phyrexia, Yawgmoth, known in several cultures of Dominaria as [[IHaveManyNames the Dark Lord, the Hidden One, and the Lord of Wastes]]. It took a massive effort the took the lives of countless people, including several [[PhysicalGod Planeswalkers]], to stop him when he attempted to take over Dominaria and spread dominion over TheMultiverse. Currently, he is believed to be dead, but as with most Gods of Evil, he had only been weakened, and is currently biding his time as he recovers his strength.

* And, of course, a growing number of people insist that GodIsEvil...

*** Also Aries' companions: his sister Enyo and his sons, Phobos and Deimos.

Here are a few popular variants: Standard Gods Of Evil can take after {{Satan}}, [[TheParagonAlwaysRebels being rebels]] from [[LightIsGood The Light]] and tempting peasant and king alike. Kind of a non-denominational counterpart of CrystalDragonJesus. However, most aren't futile rebels; they are very real and threats often motivated by goals other than rebellion for its own sake. TheGrimReaper is at times represented as a God Of Evil, wanting nothing but the death of every living thing, and [[EnemiesWithDeath the protagonist in particular.]] War too may be shown this way, desiring to bring about a world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority and the weak are killed just for being weak... which begs the question of whether or not it's ironic for heroes to vanquish them by fighting. If they have any philosophy, ethos, or commandment, it's usually that MightMakesRight, that ethics and morality are mere shackles for TheFettered masses of {{Muggles}}, and that Evil represents the path to power.

* [[EverybodyHatesHades The association of the Greek God Hades as a God Of Evil]] is a [[SadlyMythTaken malapropism]], as he wasn't even a god of [[TheGrimReaper Death]] but ''"The'' Dead" and the underworld (though even Thanatos, the real Greek God of Death, wasn't so much 'evil' as a force of nature). However, in ''SaintSeiya: The Hades Chapter'' he acts like a stereotypical God Of Evil. He harbors a vaguely articulated hatred for the living and wants to end all life on Earth in "[[TotalEclipseOfThePlot the Great Eclipse]]", and he wishes that his kingdom of the dead expand with their inclusion. Either way, he and most of his lackeys manifest some of the most potent evil aura's of any enemies ever faced. Even Poseidon escapes this treatment, being a WellIntentionedExtremist.

* Hades, as portrayed in Disney's ''{{Hercules}}''. This is in sharp contrast to the original myths, where Hades was the LawfulNeutral ruler of the dead and actually one of the more consistent and dependable of the Greek Gods. The people did fear him, but that was less for who he was than for what he represented.

** Kronos seems to be taking the new role as GodOfEvil in modern works. He is more justifiable than Hades because he was an actual enemy of the Olympians, but its quite debatable if he is truly a force of evil. Being an agricultural god, he brought a Golden Age to Man when he was reigning, which ended once Zeus got to be king, which makes one wonder why someone more benevolent than the [[GodIsEvil current leader]] gets to be the villain.

* How hasn't anyone mentioned yet the works of HPLovecraft ?
** Not evil, amoral. Big difference.
** Except Nyarlathotep, he's a prick by intention rather than mindlessness.
*** Mostly in stories not by Lovecraft. Originally, he was...let's say [[EldritchAbomination complicated]].
*** In all Lovecraft's own works he acts as a guardian of hidden knowledge; sometimes he lets humans have a taste in return of sacrifices. In all that is, but the original prosaic poem ''Nyarlathotep'', where he as a figure of science grants humanity more knowledge than they can bear. [[EpilepticTrees Maybe somebody made a really big offering?]]
* [[YourMilageMayVary Arguably]] R'hllor from ASongOfIceAndFire, though this one is unusual for an evil deity due to [[LightIsNotGood his domain]].

* The GodOfDeath Oswald Leingold from ''[[Fantasia - Realm of Thanos]]'', who much prefers to be called the DemonLord.

* {{Okami}} has Yami. In contrast to Amaterasu's status as a Nature God, Yami is implied to be the originator of technology (though this doesn't necessarily mean ScienceIsBad).

In a polytheistic religion each god and goddess serves a specific role and fills a certain niche: love, life, war, death, and everything in between; be it Aardvarks or Zebras. One such incredibly vital purpose, believe it or not, is Evil.

->-- '''The Book of Charnel''', ''{{Sacrifice}}''

Here are a few popular variants: Standard Gods Of Evil can take after {{Satan}}, being rebels from [[LightIsGood The Light]] and tempting peasant and king alike. Kind of a non-denominational counterpart of CrystalDragonJesus. However, most aren't futile rebels; they are very real and threats often motivated by goals other than rebellion for its own sake. TheGrimReaper is at times represented as a God Of Evil, wanting nothing but the death of every living thing, and [[EnemiesWithDeath the protagonist in particular.]] War too may be shown this way, desiring to bring about a world where AsskickingEqualsAuthority and the weak are killed just for being weak... which begs the question of whether or not it's ironic for heroes to vanquish them by fighting. If they have any philosophy, ethos, or commandment, it's usually that MightMakesRight, that ethics and morality are mere shackles for TheFettered masses of {{Muggles}}, and that Evil represents the path to power.