War God: Difference between revisions

''But thy father loves the clashing of broadsword and of shield: He loves to drink the steam that reeks from the fresh battlefield: He smiles a smile more dreadful Than his own dreadful frown, When he sees the thick black cloud of smoke Go up from the conquered town.''|Sir Thomas Macaulay ''Lays of Ancient Rome''}}

This character is regarded as a deity or manifestation of war (or battle, murder, conflict, etc.). They're most likely a member of the setting's ruling pantheon, but could be any character (including a mortal) who is regarded by other characters as a god(dess) of war. The [[War God]] in question often exemplifies either the physical or strategic aspects of war, although they can embody both.

** While he is decisively not a god, [[Archangel Michael]] is officially the [[The General|Archistrategos of the Heavenly Host]], patron saint of soldiers and all military people, and an all-round badass.

* In [[Egyptian Mythology]] there was Neith, Sekhmet, Set, Horus, and a slew of lesser-known gods associated with war, due to different gods being worshiped from town to town.

* In [[Celtic Mythology]] there was Lugh, the Morrighan, and quite a slew of others.

* The Babylonian Ishtar was a goddess of love ''and'' war. Cynics might argue that those aren't all that inappropriate together, though; and as would Shakespeare and a number of others say, "All's fair in love and war."

== Literature ==

* A more benevolent example would be Guan Yu from ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'', who was often referred to as 'The God of War' due to his nigh-inhuman courage and combat-skills. It gets mentioned a lot in the ''[[Dynasty Warriors]]'' games as well. (Amusingly, he's still worshipped as a god in parts of China today... a God of Wealth and Commerce, that is, due to his equally-legendary frugality and wisdom).

* In ''[[Discworld]]'', War married a Valkyrie and has become a [[Henpecked Husband]] who doesn't want to ride out when [[Death]] comes for him.

* Bananach from ''[[Wicked Lovely]]''.

== Live-Action TV ==

** During an excursion to an [[Alternate Universe]] where Ares is the God of Love, Cupid acts as the God of War. Ares calls him a maniac.

** Gruumsh, the [[Top God|patron deity]] of the [[Our Orcs Are Different|Orcs]] in the default pantheon, also doubles as their god of war, [[Always Chaotic Evil|unsurprisingly]]. His son, Bahgtru, is the god of strength and combat, while his [[The Dragon|lieutenant]] is the god of warfare and leadership.

*** Other pantheons in the default setting have their own war gods. Drow have Selvetarm, god of war and bloodshed. Elves have Corellon Larethian, who has warfare among his many fields of influence as the leader of elvish gods. Dwarves have Clangeddin Silverbeard, The Father of Battles. Gnomes have Gaerdal Ironhand, the god of defenders and warriors. Even the normally peaceful Halflings have Arvoreen, god of protection, vigilance and war.

*** Tempus himself, however, while listed as [[Chaotic Neutral]], generally respects the rules of war and firmly believes that war for its own sake is pointless; the only thing that gives it meaning is the peace that follows.

*** Tempus also has three subordinate deities that specialize in specific aspects of war. [[Lady of War|The Red Knight]] is the demigoddess of strategy and tactics, [[The Captain|Valkur]] specializes in naval warfare, and [[Axe Crazy|Garagos]] is the demigod of bloodlust and destruction (only avoiding a [[Chaotic Evil]] alignment in 3E because he's a virtually nonsentient personification of rage).

** To say nothing of Gork and Mork, Orcish/Orky gods of brutal cunning and cunning brutality (one hits you when you're not looking, the other hits you ''really hard'' when you are.. Arguing over which is which is yet another excuse to fight each other.

* ''[[Pathfinder]]'' has several deities associated with war. The first is Gorum, the actual god of war and battle. He's [[Chaotic Neutral]] and cares nothing for the causes that people fight for; as long as there is war, Gorum will be there to aid the good and the evil alike. He is chiefly concerned with the physical aspects of battle, and is worshipped by frontline soldiers in particular. Torag is the Dwarven god of [[The Strategist|strategy]]; where Gorum is the footsoldiers' god, Torag is the generals' god. [[Lawful Good|Iomedae]], [[Church Militant|militaristic]] [[Lady of War|goddess]] of [[The Paladin|honour and justice]] is often worshipped as the patron of just wars, though she herself would prefer to lose that title. [[The Brute|Moloch]], [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|archdevil]] of war, fires, and [[Lawful Evil|obedience]] is the [[Four-Star Badass|general]] in charge of [[The Legions of Hell]], and is concerned with the regimented nature of the army itself, while [[Chaotic Evil|Demon Lord]] Nurgal governs senseless wars that should not have been fought in the first place. Finally, there is [[Fallen Angel|Szuriel]], [[Neutral Evil|archdaemon]], and [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse|Horseman of War]]. Essentially what happens when a divinity adopts the mentality of a [[Psycho for Hire]], Szuriel represents war's [[War Is Hell|most negative aspects]]--societal breakdown, [[Obligatory War Crime Scene|war crimes]], [[Rape, Pillage and Burn|rape and looting]], and [[Final Solution|genocide]]. Essentially the personification of [[War Is Hell]], her few followers are inevitably [[Sociopathic Soldier|Sociopathic Soldiers]], [[General Ripper|General Rippers]], or fellow [[Psycho for Hire|Psychos For Hire]].

== Video Games ==

* [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse|War]] in the recent ''[[Darksiders]]'' video game.

* In ''[[Fall From Heaven]]'', the Four [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse]] also make an appearance, including Buboes, the Horseman of War and Stephanos, the Horseman of Conquest... and, on top of them, the Avatar of Wrath, a colossal manifestation of concentrated anger and bloodlust.

* Balthazar in ''[[Guild Wars]]''.

* In ''[[Soul Calibur]] 3'''s ''Chronicles of the Sword'' mode, one chapter begins with the player character museing about how they heard someone call them War God(dess) once ([[One-Man Army|Which is not an unreasonable claim]]).

== Webcomics ==

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