While most fantasy TTRPGs embrace pantheons of gods, few include demigods, the offspring of the union of a god and human. Yet demigods present the opportunity to bring the life of the gods down to earth and to connect PCs with the gods in a unique way.

When you think of demigods, you might think of Percy Jackson (son of Posiedon and the mortal Sally Jackson) or Hercules (son of Jupiter and Alcmena, the most beautiful mortal woman of her time). But demigods exist in many cultures besides the Greek and Romans. In fact, demigods go all the way back to the start of literature. Gilgamesh, hero of the oldest surviving epic poem, was the son of the goddess Ninsun and the human king Lugalbanda. 

How can you use demigods in your games?

  • The demigod asks for assistance: see the Quest table below.
  • The PCs need the talent of the demigod: see the Divine Gift table below.
  • The PCs seek a legendary treasure associated with a demigod: see the Treasure table.
  • A PC must prove themselves worthy by challenging a demigod to activate an item or ability: see the Divine Gift or Treasure table below.
  • The PCs need to communicate with a god and must find a demigod to act as a go-between.
  • Simply to expand the lore of your setting.

Below are some random tables to get you started with creating demigods. The demigods that inspired each choice are provided as examples for you to further develop your own.

Here’s an example of rolling on these tables—

  • Background: Daughter of a goddess
  • Divine Parent’s Domain: Law, oaths, truth
  • Mortal Parent’s Background: Monarch
  • Divine Gift: General, poet
  • Burden/flaw: Outlaw
  • Quest/goal: Exile, martial training
  • Treasure: Two quivers of inexhaustible arrows

And how I used these results:

The goddess Loghde fell in love with King Nemmus the Lawgiver and bore a daughter, Quoyoka. The king trained Quoyoka to be a poet, a weaver of words, but she preferred the poetry of ancient battle texts. When a maiden, Quoyoka ran off with a bandit, an outlaw, an oathbreaker, and was exiled from her father’s kingdom. During her exile, she devoted her time to martial training. When the king’s younger brother fomented a revolt, the kingdom divided into many factions. Quoyoka became a great general in defense of the king, and she was finally reunited with King Nemmus. While she was famous for her two quivers of inexhaustible arrows, her lost treatise, The Poetry of War, is even more famous: no one who read it has ever lost a military campaign.

Ways to use Quoyoka in play:

  • An oathbreaker seeks penance from the goddess of law but needs her to act as an intermediary
  • A queen wants a copy of The Poetry of War
  • A princess wants Quoyaka’s aid to help win a war.

Tables for Creating Demigods

Background (d6)

  1. Daughter of a goddess
  2. Daughter of a god
  3. Son of a goddess
  4. Son of a god
  5. Offspring of a goddess (nonbinary)
  6. Offspring of a god (nonbinary)

Divine Parent’s Domain (d10)

  1. Archery and war [Minamoto no Yoshiie’s father, Hachiman]
  2. Craftsmen and architects [Imhotep’s father, Ptah]
  3. Death and warfare [Sigi’s father, Odin]
  4. Earth mother, fertility [Anansi’s mother, Asase Yaa]
  5. Law, oaths, truth [Cú Chulainn’s father, Lugh]
  6. Sea, mermaids, fish [Semiramis’ mother, Atargatis]
  7. Sex, war, and longevity [Yuenü, reincarnated as the demigod Jiutian Xuannü]
  8. Sky, weather [Arjuna’s father, Indra]
  9. Wild cows [Gilgamesh’s mother, Ninsun]
  10. Underworld [Māui’s father, Makeatutara]

Mortal Parent’s Background (d6)

  1. Charioteer [Cú Chulainn’s mother, Deichtine]
  2. Hunter [Amirani’s stepfather, Sulkalmakhi]
  3. Monarch [Gilgamesh’s father, Minamoto no Yoshiie’s mother, Sæmingr’s mother]
  4. Nobles [Semiramis’ father]
  5. Princess [Arjuna’s mother, Cú Chulainn’s mother], prince
  6. Unknown [Anansi’s father, Imhotep’s mother, Sigi’s mother]

Divine Gift (d10)

  1. Archery [Arjuna]
  2. Beauty [Cú Chulainn]
  3. Found a line of kings [Sigi]
  4. General, poet [Minamoto no Yoshiie]
  5. Healing [Imhotep]
  6. Masonry [Imhotep]
  7. Monumental construction [Semiramis]
  8. Spider’s abilities (walk on water, weave webs) [Anansi]
  9. Strength [Amirani, Gilgamesh, Hercules]
  10. Transform into birds [Māui]

Burden/Flaw (d8)

  1. Arrogance [Amirani]
  2. Battle frenzy, murderous bloodlust [Arjuna, Cú Chulainn, Sigi]
  3. Envy [Māui, Sigi]
  4. Greedy [Anansi]
  5. Lustful [Semiramis]
  6. Outlaw [Sigi]
  7. Pride [Amirani]
  8. Tyrant [Gilgamesh]

Quest/Goal (d10)

  1. Acquire all stories [Anansi]
  2. Build a tomb before the king who needs it dies [Imhotep]
  3. Conquer a neighboring kingdom [Semiramis, Sigi]
  4. Defend ford or other location [Cú Chulainn]
  5. Exile and martial training [Arjuna]
  6. Fetch a magical planet or animal [Heracles]
  7. Find a blessed sword [Minamoto no Yoshiie]
  8. Immortality [Gilgamesh]
  9. Steal a boon from a god/goddess [Amirani, Māui]
  10. Win a civil war [Semiramis]

Treasure (d6)

  1. Adamantine [inspired by Amirani]
  2. Blessed sword [Minamoto no Yoshiie]
  3. Magic fish hook and fishing line [Māui]
  4. Regal belt [Heracles]
  5. Two quivers of inexhaustible arrows [Arjuna]
  6. Unbreakable chains [Amirani]

See the “list of demigods” on Wikipedia for ideas beyond the classical tradition. For further inspiration, check out Tony Dowler’s Divine Personage Generator. H/T to Lady Sapling for her suggestions.

Illustration credit: Cú Chulainn by Stephen Reid. Public domain.