History Main / MadGod

* The unnamed creator of humankind in ''Literature/{{Kane}}''. He created humans from apes in order to play with them, but since he was mad, his creation inherited his madness. Then Kane rebelled against God, [[CainAndAbel killed his brother]], and [[KillTheGod set out to kill his creator]].

** In an early loop, Pinkie finds herself in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe. She [[HijackedDestiny usurps Slaanesh]] (by [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth breaking its mind]], [[BalefulPolymorph convincing it that it would be a good idea to transform into a cupcake]], [[GodEating and then eating the cupcake]]) and throws a massive party for the entire Eldar Empire. She then ascends as the Chaos Goddess of Parties and spends the rest of her time in that loop screwing with ''everyone'' else.

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' the GreaterScopeVillain, Anankos is revealed to be this. [[spoiler:His inability to fully become [[OurGhostsAreDifferent a spirit]], [[DrivenToMadness along with the burgeoning strain of his draconic nature, are what started to drive him mad]]. A bunch of misunderstandings and almost everyone turning against him in Valla only drove him further into the mad god seen in the story.]] Additionally, [[spoiler:[[GoMadFromTheIsolation It's implied that isolating himself from others]] after burning the forest by accident and being attacked by fearful humans didn't help his mental health one bit, to the point that even though he longed for companionship, his mind was being twisted in his loneliness to desire the [[KillAllHumans death of all humans]]. This plays a part in why he killed the King of Valla despite knowing he truly meant to help him.]]

* Nalar, BigBad [[spoiler: or not]] of ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'' is sometimes called the Mad God, though it's implied that even if he was sane he'd still be a GodOfEvil.
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' we get two Mad Gods: Torak is essentially this plus GodOfEvil and Mara went crazy after his people were wiped out in a war, casting illusions on the entire country that drive [[strike:everyone]] most people who do not have magic powers or divine protection insane if they dare to make even one step into his country. Then there's Issa, who fell in love with a mortal but neglected to give her immortality (which he presumably could have done, since his brother Aldur routinely does so for his disciples); his priests have for centuries been finding someone who looks sort of like his now-long-dead lover, renaming her, and installing her as queen ... apparently without Issa ever noticing. Really, mad (or at least really, really dumb) is pretty much the "hat" for gods in this series, with the (possible) exceptions of [-UL-] who is just sort of crotchety and Aldur who is mostly aloof.

* The [[TheFairFolk Faerie queens]] of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' do not have a great track record for sanity. However, [[WordOfGod Word of Jim]] points out that since madness is defined as being out of touch with reality, you can't really call someone who can warp reality to their will mad.
* Most of the deities featured in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' are quite stable... except for [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Horus]], he is crazy. Fortunately, he is [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly not really in a position to do anything damaging.]]
* Creator/HarlanEllison's short story "The Region Between" proposes that all life in the universe is formed from fragments of a god like this, which destroyed itself in its own madness. [[spoiler:In the end, it's reconstituted just long enough to kill itself for real by ending the universe.]]
** And on the subject of Ellison, AM from ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream''. God-like AI who is utterly, completely, genocidally insane.
* Geoph Essex's ''Jackrabbit Messiah'' jumps aboard this trope immediately - on the back cover blurb - and rides it all the way to the end of the line. As both the blurb ''and'' a character in the story suggest: if a guy claims to be a god, and you think he is crazy, there's always the possibility that [[BothSidesHaveAPoint you're]] ''[[BothSidesHaveAPoint both]]'' [[BothSidesHaveAPoint right]].
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' has She Who Must Not Be Named. Introduced in the last sub-series, she [[spoiler: was once the Lover, a being on par with the Creator and Lord Foul; Foul seduced her and then broke her heart in order to taint the concept of love forever, and then they were both imprisoned in the same world by the Creator (him deliberately, her by accident). Foul coped well enough, his nature as the Despiser lending itself well to the situation, but the Lover could not handle it and went a ''little'' nuts]]. She became one of the most terrifying entities in the Land, though normally quiescent [[spoiler: and in the end Linden helps her put her mind back together, at which point she helps lay a righteous divine smackdown on her betrayer, Lord Foul]].
* The unnamed creator of humankind in ''Literature/{{Kane}}''. He created humans from apes in order to play with them, but since he was mad, his creation inherited his madness. And then [[Main/CainAndAbel Kane rebelled against god and killed his brother]] and [[GodIsDead set out to kill his creator]].

* [[FaceHeelTurn Dark]] [[Franchise/MortalKombat Raiden]] in ''Fanfic/MortalKombatDesperation'' is this to a T, thanks to [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX Shinnok's corruption]]. His KnightTemplar attitude from his appearances in [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception the original]] [[VideoGame/MortalKombatArmageddon timeline]] gets cranked UpToEleven here, and he straight up [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumped off into the abyss of the]] MoralEventHorizon.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', we have [[BigBad Bill]] [[GodOfEvil Cipher]]. The fact that he looks like a yellow Eye of Providence with a cane and a top hat already says a lot about him. He is comparable to Discord (above), and both are able to create a WorldGoneMad, but unlike Discord (who has indulged in MindControl and some MindRape, but nothing lethal), Bill is far, '''far''' more malevolent, and (though we never get to see him do it) does not seem to have any qualms with outright '''killing'''.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Loup is a merger of TricksterGod Coyote and his right hand, Ysengrin. He has the powers of both, but he also has Coyote's unpredictable, manic nature and Ysengrin's emotional and rage issues. The result is a manic PychopathicManchild who tends to lash out at anyone who doesn't treat him with utmost deference.

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriegCourt'': Loup is a merger of TricksterGod Coyote and his right hand, Ysengrin. He has the powers of both, but he also has Coyote's unpredictable, manic nature and Ysengrin's emotional and rage issues. The result is a manic PychopathicManchild who tends to lash out at anyone who doesn't treat him with utmost deference.

* Crake from ''Literature/OryxAndCrake'' is functionally this. He essentially both creates a new species, and engineers the destruction of civilization. However, he is in his twisted way actually benevolent. He did this because he had become convinced that humanity and human civilization was inherently evil.

** Unfortunately most of the things he finds amusing are things that are bad for you. So you have the choice of either deliberately doing stupid things in order to be rewarded by Xom, or playing carefully and intelligently and making him BORED. Needless to say, Xom worshipers do not tend to live very long.

* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', the player is trying to prevent the world's destruction at the hands of Giygas, a powerful psychic entity from the future. Their efforts apparently spook him so badly that he overdoses on evil energy before the final confrontation, turning him into a god ([[EldritchAbomination of sorts]]) and destroying his mind. He rambles insanely during the last fight and seems barely even conscious enough to know who he is fighting.

** After being thrown into the '[[EldritchLocation Well of Eternity]]' by the [[SorcerousOverlord Knowledgeable Sorcerer]], Prince Varázsló is now somewhat insane. His vast knowledge makes him perceive things differently than even fellow divines, which makes him easily distracted and prone to going on odd, philosophical tangents at random. His psychic visions make it hard for him to separate them from reality, and it's very common for peopel to hear him muttering or screaming prophecies frequently. Being forced to bear a large portion of knowledge and magic of the universe also made him incredibly serious and [[TheStoic stoic]]. What keeps Varázsló from becoming completely mad is his strong will, which is likely how he survived being in the Well of Eternity for an unknown time. Fortunately, both Kúzelník and Golden Scepter have been helping him control his powers, and Mentálne is helping him overcome (or at least control) his worst flaws and impulses.

*** It is suggested that Jyggalag himself was also a Mad God before he was cursed into becoming Sheogorath. It is simply that Jyggalag's madness is [[SuperOCD an extreme obsession with ordering everything perfectly]], whereas Sheogorath's madness is unfettered chaos and complete disorder. Sotha Sil's priests posit that the Daedric Princes are "errors" in the structure of the universe, and that the aource of Jyggalag's insanity is the Prince of order and structure [[GoMadFromTheRevelation realizing that he is an error in reality.]]

*** It is suggested that Jyggalag himself was also a Mad God before he was cursed into becoming Sheogorath. It is simply that Jyggalag's madness is [[SuperOCD an extreme obsession with ordering everything perfectly]], whereas Sheogorath's madness is unfettered chaos and complete disorder.

* ComicBook/TheJoker, in the ''ComicBook/EmperorJoker'' series, tricked [[GreatGazoo Mr. Mxyzptlk]] into giving up the lion's share of his power, and he used it to rewrite the entire universe in his image. In the end, only his obsession with Batman (and his inability to keep his imagination from conjuring his own worst fears) stopped him (with a helpful nudge from Superman).
* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', the First of the Fallen, claims to have found the Christian God "squatting in a corner of Eternity. Clutching his genitals... and drooling." Not that he is [[{{Satan}} the most trustworthy of fellows]].
* The Christian God of ''ComicBook/TheChroniclesOfWormwood''. The only thing he does throughout his entire appearance is float in the air, grunting and constantly masturbating, and in "Chronicles of Wormwood - The Last Battle", Jesus reveals that when he ascended to Heaven after his resurrection and went to see his father, he found him making little toy houses out of his own feces.
* The Writer from the Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness arc of [[Music/CoheedAndCambria the Amory Wars]].

* The cover of ''Franchise/GreenLantern'' [[http://www.comicvine.com/green-lantern-captives-of-the-mad-god/37-33391/ issue #6]] from the nineties series describes Appa Ali Apsa, the Old Timer, the last Guardian, this way. It is a reasonable description, given his power at that point.

* Delirium from ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', what with her being the AnthropomorphicPersonification of madness. Though she is rather [[CuteMonsterGirl cute]] and generally harmless (unless you personally get on her bad side ''or'' good side, as her insanity makes it so that even when she is trying to do a favor for somebody, it may have horrible unintended consequences). And she is the baby of the family.
* ComicBook/{{Thanos}} is occasionally referred to as The Mad God.
* The Phoenix and its avatars, particularly ComicBook/JeanGrey and more recently, [[spoiler: Scott Summers]], have ended up this way, going Dark Phoenix.
* ComicBook/{{Loki}}'s mental state was always [[DependingOnTheWriter unpredictable]] but their third incarnation showed legitimate mental illness symptoms from hallucinations, to depression and suicidal thoughts (you [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers really]] do not want to be around a RealityWarper with those), which ''improved'', relatively speaking, in the case of the fourth to very strange thought processes coupled with real problems understanding people (like not getting why [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard turning someone's soul into magical jewellery]] is bad).

* PlayedWith in the song "The Gods Aren't Crazy" by Leslie Fish. She describes several Fortean events and says they happen because the Gods are drunk. [[OhNoNotAgain Again.]]

---> ''I PUT A STAR''
---> ''INTO THE WORLD'S MOUTH''
---> ''TO MURDER IT''
---> ''TEAR DOWN THE PYLONS''
---> ...
---> ''AND ORBIT ME''

** Throughout the series, there is Sheogorath, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of Madness. His condensed title, explicitly called this by some of his followers, is simply "the Mad God." Madness falls within his sphere and the insane are his subjects. He can be a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} with some GreatGazoo traits who will make it rain cheese or literal cats and dogs because [[ItAmusedMe It Amused Him]], then he'll show why you need to BewareTheSillyOnes with a sudden AxeCrazy [[KickTheDog Dog-Kicking]] or some [[ColonyDrop Celestial Body Hurling]].

*** The ''Shivering Isles'' expansion reveals that the Daedric Prince of Order, Jyggalag is a Mad God. The other Daedric Princes cursed him because they feared his growing power, and he now suffers from a split personality. His other personality is ''Sheogorath''. In his own words, he is a "broken ruler, of a broken realm". The Greymarches are merely his attempts to restore his Realm whenever he briefly regains his right mind. "Killing" him at the end of the ''Shivering Isles'' questline cures him of his madness, leaving him free to wander Oblivion to rebuild his powerbase while he passes on the mantle of the Prince of Madness to the player character.
*** If you do not complete Sheogorath's Daedric artifact quest before defeating Jyggalag, you can still do it by talking with OnlySaneMan[=/=]ServileSnarker Haskill. Haskill will congratulate the player on how well they are taking to their new role as Daedric Prince of Madness by setting a quest for themselves to complete and then rewarding themselves with an artifact that is already theirs.
*** It is suggested that Jyggalag himself was also a Mad God before he was cursed into becoming Sheogorath. However, Jyggalag's madness is [[SuperOCD an extreme obsession with ordering everything perfectly]], whereas Sheogorath's madness was chaos and disorder.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', Sheogorath's dialogue heavily implies that he is/was the [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo Champion of Cyrodiil]] from ''Oblivion''.

* ''LightNovel/NidomeNoYuusha'' takes place in a grimdark fantasy world, specifically because its goddess has multiple-personality disorder. Her personalities range from AntiVillain (the facet that saves the VillainProtagonist party) to AxCrazy (the facet that Alesia worships).

** Turns out that [[spoiler:Crona hirself toes the line when they absorb the Kishin. However, they are still pretty mortal and Crona uses hir power to seal the Kishin in the Moon along with hirself to end the madness. As for their Madness? [[ItMakesSenseInContext Madness from Breasts]]. Why? Breasts, to Crona, represent motherhood and symbolizes Chrona's former obsession in trying to please her mother, the BigBad Medusa and longing to have had a proper parent.]]

Expect the StrawNihilist to consider it AboveGoodAndEvil, or that it follows BlueAndOrangeMorality that anyone can understand... [[GoMadFromTheRevelation if you just gaze into the abyss of madness long enough.]] If especially mad and powerful, it may also be an EldritchAbomination, and even if it isn't one, it is highly likely that it will ascend into one. Can overlap with AlmightyIdiot when the Mad God is so mad that it destroys their mind. It may not cause insanity or revulsion to observers, but that's usually iffy, and depends on if it has enough presence of mind to take on [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith A Form You Are (at least mildly) Comfortable With]].

** Throughout the series, there is Sheogorath, the [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] of Madness. His condensed title, explicitly called this by some of his followers, is simply "the Mad God." Madness falls within his sphere and the insane are his subjects. He can be a CloudCuckoolander with some GreatGazoo traits who will make it rain cheese or literal cats and dogs because [[ItAmusedMe It Amused Him]], then he'll show why you need to BewareTheSillyOnes with a sudden AxeCrazy [[KickTheDog Dog-Kicking]] or some [[ColonyDrop Celestial Body Hurling]].

* ''Webcomic/KillSixBillionDemons'': Zoss' Demiurges used to be sane and philosophical, until their king, Zoss, disappeared, their old warring urges returned, and they waged a Multiverse-spanning civil war, which was undermined and won by victims of the war, seven of whom became the new Demiurges. After millennia of ruling as multiversal conquerors and tyrants, the Seven went totally over the deep end; the best of them have succumbed to [[DespairEventHorizon suicidal despair]] or [[TheFogOfAges dementia]], while the worst have become [[TheCaligula deranged narcissists]] or [[OmnicidalManiac want to watch the multiverse burn]]. Most of them spend their days on inane things like counting all their stolen wealth or destroying worlds out of boredom.

This god isn't [[GodIsEvil Evil]] in [[GodOfEvil either sense]] or even a {{Jerkass God|s}}; it is simply insane. Its mad throes create and destroy in equal measure, leading to untold chaos. That there is a universe at all is usually due to it being SealedEvilInACan, dormant, or so random that it's been less destructive over the past few aeons.

It might pose as a sane and good god because it has momentarily grown BoredWithInsanity. Of course, that doesn't usually last, as sanity tends to bore it greatly as well. If he is [[GodIsGood good]] in [[GodOfGood some sense]] he'll be the KingOfAllCosmos and fond of working InMysteriousWays.

Compare AGodAmI, a character so crazy that they only think they're gods. Contrast AGodIAmNot, where a god-like being refuses to be called a god to avoid something like this occurring.

* Deus Ex Machina from ''Manga/FutureDiary'' deconstructs this, along with JerkassGods. He is dying and summons twelve contestants in a battle royal to attain his power by killing off the other eleven contestants in a game of death; on paper, this sounds pretty awful. In practice, however, each of the candidates has aspects that would make them more or less equally valid as options, and it's made explicit if he were to put off the issue any longer or choose nobody, ''everyone'' would experience CessationOfExistence as reality itself breaks down. Rather than being a mad or dickish god, he's a fairly benevolent one who cares about his charges deeply, and is simply backed against the wall with [[MortonsFork only bad choices available to him]].
** [[spoiler:Yuno Gasai won the first tournament and became God, and immediately decided to abandon her dead world and not bother recreating it. Instead, she decided to go back in time to a new timeline, kill herself in that universe, and try to win over her sweetheart with the long game on a second playthrough. Needless to say, it becomes apparent she is functionally only after Yukiteru's attention, the universe be damned. She couldn't care less about the world itself, even allowing the second iteration of the world to fall apart completely without ever telling the truth to anyone until Yuki figures it out on his own thanks to clues from his friends and Yuno's sloppy handiwork hiding what happened.]]
* [[spoiler: The newborn "Devil" Homura Akemi]] gets furious debates within the ''[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' fandom [[AmbiguouslyEvil whether she is evil or not]], but one thing no one can deny is that she's totally insane. She can't spend two minutes without breaking out a NightmareFace ''and'' a creepy speech pattern.
* Zamasu from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', once a noble Kai, the Gods of creation, he [[FallenAngel became disillusioned with mortals]] and [[KnightTemplar viewed them as a mistake and needed to be exterminated at all costs]]. The more time passes the [[SanitySlippage more unhinged he becomes]], until he [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope jumps off the slippery slope]] and reenacts his "Zero Mortals Plan", stealing the body of Goku to become Goku Black, before teaming up with his AlternateSelf from another timeline where the two of them kill off all life [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans so they can create a utopia]]. Even more exemplified with Fusion Zamasu, who is created from Goku Black and Future Zamasu fusing together, so unstable that's he's prone to fits of rage if anything doesn't go his way. His [[OneWingedAngel final form]], Infinite Zamasu, has him lose ''all'' his rationality where he's reduced to a multiversal-spanning EldritchAbomination [[AlmightyIdiot only capable of cackling madly and killing all life on raw instinct.]] The only way to stop him was to [[SummonBiggerFish summon Zeno]] who destroys Zamasu [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill along with the entire timeline]].

* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellblazer}}'', the First of the Fallen, claims to have found the Christian God "squatting in a corner of Eternity. Clutching his genitals... and drooling." Not that he's [[{{Satan}} the most trustworthy of fellows]].

* Delirium from ''ComicBook/TheSandman'', what with her being the AnthropomorphicPersonification of madness. Though she is rather [[CuteMonsterGirl cute]] and generally harmless (unless you personally get on her bad side ''or'' good side, as her insanity makes it so that even when she's trying to do a favor for somebody, it may have horrible unintended consequences). And she's the baby of the family.

* ''ComicBook/{{Vampirella}}'': One of Vampirella's most powerful foes is the "Mad God Chaos", who rules over TheLegionsOfHell. He's usually a stand-in for Satan, but he didn't get the nickname for no reason since he's literally insane. This has also affected the way Hell is being run for the worse.

** Ares can't figure out how to be decent even when he's honestly trying as in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth'' because of the nature of war. He and his mindset shift drastically over short periods because he's tied to war and conflict and not really in full control.
** Dionysus remains incredibly dangerous to be around even if he's fond of you because he's the god of madness and revelry and in addition to reducing your inhibitions by proximity might turn you into something, [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2011 like a pig]], on whim without understanding why that might be unwanted.

* Corona, The Tyrant Sun, in ''Fanfic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''. She's not evil in the same way Tirek or Grogar are, or even crazy in the same way Discord is, but Luna alone knows how many centuries of trying to protect her ponies from the horrors of the world drove her off her rocker, and she became a ruler so despotic that her own sister was forced to bind her into the sun.

** Discord says that ''all'' loopers are ultimately like this, which is another reason he doesn't fight them: He finally has friends as crazy as he is.

** Thanos's title of "The Mad Titan" in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and its sequel is well earned. [[KnightTemplar He sincerely believes]] that he has to wipe out half of the population in the universe in order to prevent even more people from dying due to a lack of resources and overpopulation, even though [[InsaneTrollLogic that makes no sense.]] The "children" who stay faithful to him either have the blind loyalty of people indoctrinated in a cult are insane, or both, and Thanos comes off as the leader of a bunch of delusional extremists. Even though he’s committing mass genocide, he thinks of himself as a hero, and [[ObliviouslyEvil doesn't even realize he’s evil.]]

* Most of the deities featured in ''Literature/AmericanGods'' are quite stable... except for [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Horus]], he's crazy. Fortunately, he's [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly not really in a position to do anything damaging.]]

* Geoph Essex's ''Jackrabbit Messiah'' jumps aboard this trope immediately - on the back cover blurb - and rides it all the way to the end of the line. As both the blurb ''and'' a character in the story suggest: if a guy claims to be a god, and you think he's crazy, there's always the possibility that [[BothSidesHaveAPoint you're]] ''[[BothSidesHaveAPoint both]]'' [[BothSidesHaveAPoint right]].
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'' has She Who Must Not Be Named. Introduced in the last sub-series, she [[spoiler: was once the Lover, a being on par with the Creator and Lord Foul; Foul seduced her and then broke her heart in order to taint the concept of love forever, and then they were both imprisoned in the same world by the Creator (him deliberately, her by accident). Foul coped well enough, his nature as the Despiser lending itself well to the situation, but the Lover couldn't handle it and went a ''little'' nuts]]. She became one of the most terrifying entities in the Land, though normally quiescent [[spoiler: and in the end Linden helps her put her mind back together, at which point she helps lay a righteous divine smackdown on her betrayer, Lord Foul]].

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'': Invoked in the ''Series/{{Elseworlds 2018}}'' crossover. The Monitor gives Deegan [[RealityWritingBook the Book of Destiny]] knowing he's basically the worst person to have godlike powers, hoping that the insane world that he creates will be a suitable test for the heroes. This backfires when Deegan proves to be a rather incompetent god; his first attempt just switches the lives of Green Arrow and the Flash. They certainly find it annoying, but it's hardly a worthy test. The heroes defeat Deegan, only for the Monitor to arrive, teleport the book back into Deegan's hands, and tell him to do better this time.

* In ''Roleplay/TheGamersAlliance'', Shakkan isn't exactly a sane god and only cares about his children, the lizard folk. He might just as easily oppose as help the heroes depending on his mood. Dionysus is even madder than Shakkan as he's always been like that whereas Shakkan was driven nuts by his lengthy imprisonment.

** The Eldar have their own Mad God in Cegorach, the Laughing God. [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumour He probably wouldn't think twice about destroying your planet as some part of a joke on his part]].

** The Chaos gods are actually more subtle than you'd think; they're deities of good aspects horribly twisted and warped beyond recognition by fear and terror. Khorne is the god of Valor and Bravery, Nurgle is the god of Love and Mercy, Slaneesh is the god of Passion and Beauty, Malal is the god of Balance and Justice, and Tzeentch, the most frightening of all the perversions, is the God of ''Hope''.

* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 4e core setting labels pretty much all the ChaoticEvil gods as this, mainly Tharizdun, Lolth, and to a lesser degree, Gruumsh. This has to do with their redefinition of the ChaoticEvil CharacterAlignment as being about "believing only one's self matters in all reality" and "being willing and able to destroy anything and anyone that doesn't directly contribute to their interests".

* The Wyrm in ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'' was originally the force of destruction which allowed for renewal and balance in the cosmos. Unfortunately, he's gone a little nuts and now seeks to destroy or corrupt the entire world.

** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', the Tribunal and [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]], each of whom [[DeityOfHumanOrigin ascended to godhood]] after tapping into the power of the [[CosmicKeystone Heart Of Lorkhan]], the [[GodIsDead "dead" creator god]] of Mundus, the mortal plane. Dagoth Ur was much less restrained in his consumption of power from the Heart and experienced much faster SanitySlippage as a result. (Vivec, one of the [[PhysicalGod Tribunal deities]], explicitly calls him a "mad god" at one point.) However, the Tribunal did not escape with their sanity completely in-tact either. Upon completing the main quest and the ''Tribunal'' expansion, the Daedric Prince Azura states that madness would have befallen each member of the Tribunal eventually, as mortal minds simply aren't equipped to handle the rigors of godhood. In-game, [[spoiler:only Almalexia actually shows signs of this, and it seems to be the ''loss'' of her divine power which [[GoMadFromTheRevelation drove her to madness]]]]. Sotha Sil was always reclusive and Vivec, despite his [[BlatantLies lying]], {{Narcissist}}ic ways, doesn't actually seem to qualify as "mad".

* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', the player is trying to prevent the world's destruction at the hands of Giygas, a powerful psychic entity from the future. Their efforts apparently spook him so badly that he overdoses on evil energy before the final confrontation, turning him into a god ([[EldritchAbomination of sorts]]) and destroying his mind. He rambles insanely during the last fight and seems barely even conscious enough to know who he's fighting.

* Tarjan from ''VideoGame/TheBardsTaleTrilogy''. He's even ''called'' the Mad God.

* The BigBad of the flash game ''VideoGame/RealmOfTheMadGod'', the titular Oryx the Mad God. The title was given to him by the world's inhabitants as an act of spite after he doomed the Realms and sacrificed their freedom just to sate his ego and desire to dominate all. However, he leans a bit more towards GodIsEvil than the traditional insane depiction of the trope, although he's not particularly ''sane'' either.
* At least two gods in the ''VideoGame/{{Disciples}}'' series get treated to this. First we have Soloniele, the goddess of the seas and merfolk, as well as co-deity of the [[OurElvesAreDifferent elves]] with her lover Gallean. When [[TheDevil Bethrezen]] sends his Legions of Doom to the surface of Nevendaar, they happen to come out in the elven forests, sending the elves on a massed exodus to the lands of the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Mountain Clans]]. The dwarves, seeing a huge mass of elves encroaching on their lands, assume it's an invasion and strike at them. Angry, Soloniele and Gallean go to Wotan, the god of the dwarves, and demand he punish his people for this unprovoked attack. Enraged by their audacity, Wotan rips out Gallean's heart and throws it at the sun. Soloniele manages to catch her lover's heart in time but has her flesh burned off by the heat. Going mad, she renames herself into Mortis, slaughters an entire people and raises them as her Undead Hordes. After she revives Gallean, he is disgusted with what she has become and leaves. Mortis proceeds to turn on the elves, kills Gallean's son and turns him into an undead elf to mock Gallean. Gallean also goes mad and gets the elves to strike at humans, with whom they've been at peace for centuries, and personally (through his oracle) kills the dwarven queen. Needless to say, Nevendaar a CrapsackWorld. On that same note, Bethrezen himself could be considered fitting this trope, although bordering on GodOfEvil. Originally, he was the most favorite angel of Highfather, to the point where Highfather granted him the power to create. Bethrezen created Nevendaar and humans as a tribute to Highfather, with other gods creating other races and landscapes. Unfortunately, the other angels grew jealous and tricked humans into starting a war while Bethrezen was out. When Highfather saw Nevendaar, it was engulfed in war. As punishment, he imprisoned Bethrezen in the molten core of his own creation. It's obvious that anyone would go insane at this point, especially someone who didn't think he deserved punishment.

* The Storyteller from ''Blog/OffThePageAndIntoLife'' has long since [[GoMadFromTheIsolation gone crazy from loneliness]], and it ''shows''. She's more of a frightened child lashing out in any way she can most of the time, but when she loses it, ''you will know about it''. Usually in the form of people dying, or coming damn close to it.

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'': [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3004 SCP-3004]] is an insane cicada god for some now disappeared druidic cult, the Cétlaidí, operating in Ireland. When its followers were forcibly converted to Christianity in the English invasions, the resulting turn of belief and metaphysical confusion seems to have ''scrambled'' its mind. It now believes it is the Judeo-Christian God and it warps Christian ceremonies into evil rituals often involving {{Animalistic Abomination}}s and self-mutilation to [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly "feed on the faith"]]. Worse, it's actually starting to [[spoiler:''usurp the real God and break into our reality.'' The Foundation's plan in that event is to use Thaumiel-level [=SCPs=] and amnesia-inducing agents to completely erase Christianity from the historical record in an attempt to starve it. According to a researcher who communicated with it, SCP-3004 isn't ''evil'', it's just extremely deluded and doesn't understand what its worshippers really want or believe, or the harm its causing.]]

** This is one interpretation of Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna's SuperpoweredEvilSide, created from resentment towards the ponies who rejected her night in favor of Celestia's day, her [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]] (and a bit of [[TheCorruption corruption]] by dark magic) consuming her until she enacted [[TheNightThatNeverEnds eternal night]] to force ponykind into appreciating her work. She is either completely unaware or perhaps she just doesn't care that this would end all life in Equestria.

* ComicBook/{{Loki}}'s mental state was always [[DependingOnTheWriter unpredictable]] but their third incarnation showed legitimate mental illness symptoms from hallucinations, to depression and suicidal thoughts (you [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers really]] don't want to be around a RealityWarper with those), which ''improved'', relatively speaking, in the case of the fourth to very strange thought processes coupled with real problems understanding people (like not getting why [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard turning someone's soul into magical jewellery]] is bad).

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': The Greek gods have a WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity problem, which long ago caused them to split off the avatars of themselves that became the Roman pantheon. Most of them don't have to worry about this in the modern age due to their lack of worshipers, but Ares and Dionysus have pretty constant trouble:

* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' we get two Mad Gods: Torak is essentially this plus GodOfEvil and Mara went crazy after his people were wiped out in a war, casting illusions on the entire country that drive [[strike:everyone]] most people who don't have magic powers or divine protection insane if they dare to make even one step into his country. Then there's Issa, who fell in love with a mortal but neglected to give her immortality (which he presumably could have done, since his brother Aldur routinely does so for his disciples); his priests have for centuries been finding someone who looks sort of like his now-long-dead lover, renaming her, and installing her as queen ... apparently without Issa ever noticing. Really, mad (or at least really, really dumb) is pretty much the "hat" for gods in this series, with the (possible) exceptions of [-UL-] who is just sort of crotchety and Aldur who is mostly aloof.

* The [[TheFairFolk Faerie queens]] of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' don't have a great track record for sanity. However, [[WordOfGod Word of Jim]] points out that since madness is defined as being out of touch with reality, you can't really call someone who can warp reality to their will mad.

*** If you don't complete Sheogorath's Daedric artifact quest before defeating Jyggalag, you can still do it by talking with OnlySaneMan[=/=]ServileSnarker Haskill. Haskill will congratulate the player on how well they are taking to their new role as Daedric Prince of Madness by setting a quest for themselves to complete and then rewarding themselves with an artifact that is already theirs.

** Unfortunately most of the things he finds amusing are things that are bad for you. So you have the choice of either deliberately doing stupid things in order to be rewarded by Xom, or playing carefully and intelligently and making him BORED. Needless to say, Xom worshipers don't tend to live very long.

** Discord, [[GodOfChaos spirit of chaos and disharmony]] (pictured above), whose body even looks like someone [[MixAndMatchCritters chopped up half a dozen different creatures, lost most of the pieces, and tried to stick them back together]]. As a RealityWarper of near-unlimited power he [[RealityIsOutToLunch turns Equestria almost literally upside-down]], with inconsistent day/night cycles, gravity, and sanity, as well as making roads of soap and cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking without a single dollop of whipped cream to go with it]]). At one point, he collects some chocolate milk in a glass, drinks the glass, throws the [[MindScrew apparently solid (but not)]] chocolate milk over his shoulder, where it then explodes off-screen, turning the screen darker instead of lighter. He gets ''some'' sadistic pleasure out of the fact that mere mortals really don't like his chaos, but for the most part he just ignores their griping in favor of detail work on his WorldOfChaos. Overtime, he has learned to tone his chaos down and consider others' feelings more, but is still more than willing to cause mischief.

* The Mad Gods from ''TabletopGame/{{Witchcraft}}'', natch- every single one is a monster from beyond our reality, whose understanding of it is terribly limited; so when they manage to intrude here (and before, even), they begin to [[RealityWarper reshape it to a form they prefer]]. Which needless to say is very bad news for the natives (even including the angels and demons).

* The Wildlords of ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' have set their feet on a path leading to a kind of solipsistic insanity.t

** Most people overlook the fact that the other two members of the Triat are just as insane, the Wyld being an essence of creative chaos and the Weaver a manifestation of absolute order. The Wyld was always, by mortal definitions, "insane," whereas the Weaver tried to figure out why the nice things she made were broken down by the Wyrm to fuel the Wyld. Her first step was to try to define the Wyld by binding it in her webs. [[GoMadFromTheRevelation This ended... poorly]]. She then moved on to the Wyrm, which is why **it** ended up going insane.