Susanoo — Storm Kami and Serpent-Slayer
Japanese Pantheon · Greater Deity · Storms, sea, exile, disruption and heroic renewal
Susanoo is the storm kami whose myths move from destructive upheaval to heroic action: cast out after his violence in heaven, he descends to Izumo, slays Yamata-no-Orochi, rescues Kushinada-hime and finds the sword later known as Kusanagi.
Susanoo at a Glance
Tradition
Japanese
Divine standing
Greater Deity · Divine Rank 15
Campaign alignment
Chaotic Good
Portfolio
Storms, sea, rain, disruption, exile, protection and serpent-slaying
Family
Consort
Kushinada-hime
Great deed
Slaying Yamata-no-Orochi and discovering the sword in its tail
Sacred weapon
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, discovered in Orochi and later presented to Amaterasu
Worship in the Present World
Susanoo is honoured where storms, sea travel, dangerous rivers, violent weather and protection from calamity matter. His cult is especially natural in western Japan and Izumo, where the Yamata-no-Orochi cycle is rooted in the landscape and his marriage to Kushinada-hime transforms the exile from heaven into a protector and founder of household order.
Worship does not erase the destructive part of his character. Susanoo can ruin fields, disrupt ritual and bring chaos into an ordered court. The point of his myth is that divine violence can have consequence, exile and transformation rather than being simplified into permanent moral evil.
Divine Mechanics
Campaign Divine Tier 36 represents Susanoo as a deity-scale storm power. These rules are campaign adaptations, not official published statistics.
Susanoo — D&D 5.5e / 2024
Large Celestial (Deity), Chaotic Good
CR 36 (custom epic) · PB +10 · Campaign Divine Tier 36
AC 29 · HP 850 · Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (hover), swim 80 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 (+13) | 28 (+9) | 34 (+12) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) | 34 (+12) |
Saving Throws Str +23, Con +22, Wis +20, Cha +22
Damage Immunities lightning, thunder · Damage Resistances cold, fire · Condition Immunities frightened, paralyzed, stunned
Senses truesight 180 ft., passive Perception 20 · Languages all; telepathy 180 ft.
Traits
Legendary Resistance (6/Day). If Susanoo fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Susanoo has Advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.
Storm-Born. Susanoo ignores difficult terrain caused by wind, rain, water or storms and can breathe air and water.
Serpent-Slayer. Susanoo deals an extra 22 (4d10) damage to dragons, serpents and creatures with multiple heads. This is mythic specialization, not hatred of all reptilian creatures.
Divine Spellcasting
Susanoo uses Charisma for divine spellcasting (spell save DC 30, +22 to hit). Strong portfolio links include Weather, Chaos, War and Strength. Signature spells include call lightning, control water, control winds, destructive wave, chain lightning, control weather, whirlwind and storm of vengeance.
Actions
Multiattack. Susanoo makes three Storm Blade attacks.
Storm Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +23 to hit, reach 15 ft. Hit: 46 (5d12 + 13) slashing plus 18 (4d8) lightning damage.
Orochi-Cleaving Stroke (Recharge 5–6). Susanoo sweeps a 90-foot cone. Creatures make a DC 30 Dexterity save, taking 78 (12d12) slashing and lightning damage on a failure or half on a success. Huge or larger serpentine creatures make the save with Disadvantage.
Tempest of Exile (Recharge 5–6). A 60-foot-radius storm erupts within 240 feet. Hostile creatures make a DC 30 Strength save, taking 55 (10d10) thunder damage and being pushed 40 feet on a failure, or half damage without the push on a success.
Legendary Actions
- Storm Step. Susanoo moves up to half his Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
- Blade. Susanoo makes one Storm Blade attack.
- Sea Surge (Costs 2). A 30-foot line of water erupts from a point Susanoo can see within 120 feet; creatures make a DC 30 Strength save or take 27 (6d8) bludgeoning damage and fall prone.
Susanoo — D&D 5e / 2014
Large celestial (deity), chaotic good
Armor Class 29 (divine protection) · Hit Points 850 · Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (hover), swim 80 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 (+13) | 28 (+9) | 34 (+12) | 26 (+8) | 30 (+10) | 34 (+12) |
Saving Throws Str +23, Con +22, Wis +20, Cha +22 · Skills Athletics +23, Intimidation +22, Perception +20, Survival +20
Damage Resistances cold, fire · Damage Immunities lightning, thunder · Condition Immunities frightened, paralyzed, stunned
Senses truesight 180 ft., passive Perception 30 · Languages all, telepathy 180 ft.
Challenge 36 (custom epic adaptation beyond the official 2014 CR 0–30 range)
Traits
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If Susanoo fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Susanoo has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Storm-Born. Susanoo ignores difficult terrain caused by wind, water or storms, and breathes air and water.
Slayer of Orochi. Once on each of his turns, a successful weapon attack deals an extra 22 (4d10) slashing damage against a dragon, serpent or multiheaded monster.
Innate Spellcasting. Susanoo uses Charisma (spell save DC 30, +22 to hit with spell attacks), requiring no material components. At will: call lightning, control water, dispel magic; 3/day each: chain lightning, control weather; 1/day each: storm of vengeance, gate.
Actions
Multiattack. Susanoo makes three Storm Blade attacks.
Storm Blade. Melee Weapon Attack: +23 to hit, reach 15 ft., one target. Hit: 46 (5d12 + 13) slashing damage plus 18 (4d8) lightning damage.
Orochi-Cleaving Stroke (Recharge 5–6). Creatures in a 90-foot cone must make a DC 30 Dexterity saving throw, taking 78 (12d12) slashing damage on failure or half on success. Serpentine and multiheaded creatures have disadvantage on the saving throw.
Tempest of Exile (Recharge 5–6). Hostile creatures in a 60-foot-radius area Susanoo can see within 240 feet must make DC 30 Strength saves, taking 54 (12d8) thunder damage and being pushed 30 feet on failure, or half damage without being pushed on success.
Reactions
Protector of the Exiled. When a friendly creature Susanoo can see within 60 feet takes damage, Susanoo moves up to 30 feet toward it without provoking opportunity attacks and reduces that damage by 30.
Legendary Actions
Susanoo can take three legendary actions, only one at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn, regaining them at the start of its turn.
- Stormstride. Susanoo moves up to half his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
- Blade. Susanoo makes one Storm Blade attack.
- Shield a Traveller (Costs 2). Susanoo ends one effect that is restraining or frightening a creature he can see within 60 feet.
Susanoo — Pathfinder 1e
Large outsider (air, chaotic, deity, good, water); Mythic Rank 10; campaign epic extension
CR 36 · MR 10 · AC 55 · hp 1040 · Speed 50 ft., fly 100 ft. (perfect), swim 80 ft.
Fort +40 · Ref +35 · Will +36 · DR 30/epic · SR 47
Immune electricity, sonic · resist cold 30, fire 30
Str 36 · Dex 28 · Con 34 · Int 26 · Wis 30 · Cha 34
Base Atk +36 · CMB +50 · CMD 89
Offense, Skills and Mythic Power
Init +13 (Improved Initiative); Senses true seeing, Perception +46; Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; Melee storm blade +48 (5d10+19 slashing plus 4d6 electricity); Ranged storm bolt +44 touch (10d6 electricity, 180 ft.).
Skills Acrobatics +43, Intimidate +46, Perception +46, Swim +48; Feats Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword).
Mythic Power (Su) 23/day; surge +1d12, spend one use as an immediate action after a d20 roll. The separate campaign CR 36 represents the deity’s full epic scale, not a normal mortal challenge.
Special Abilities
Storm-Born (Ex). Susanoo is unaffected by natural or magical wind short of deity-scale effects and has a swim speed equal to his land speed if magically increased.
Serpent-Slayer (Su). Susanoo’s weapon attacks deal +6d6 damage against dragons, serpentine creatures and multiheaded monsters.
Tempest of Exile (Su). Every 1d4 rounds Susanoo creates a 60-foot-radius storm dealing 18d6 sonic and electricity damage, Reflex DC 38 half, and pushing failed targets 30 feet.
Spell-Like Abilities
At will—call lightning, control water, control winds, greater dispel magic; 3/day—chain lightning, control weather, whirlwind; 1/day—gate, storm of vengeance. Caster level 30th.
Domain Access
Weather, Chaos, War and Strength-facing campaign domains.
Susanoo — D&D 3.5e
Greater Deity; Divine Rank 15; Chaotic Good Large Outsider (Air, Chaotic, Extraplanar, Good, Water)
Challenge benchmark 42 · AC 73 · hp 980 · DR 30/epic · SR 47
Speed 70 ft., fly 150 ft. (perfect), swim 100 ft. · Fort +69 · Ref +62 · Will +63
Str 36 · Dex 28 · Con 34 · Int 26 · Wis 30 · Cha 34
Combat, Aura and Divine Skills
Initiative +9; Base Attack +36; Grapple +68 (Large); Space/Reach 10 ft./10 ft.; Melee storm blade +63/+58/+53/+48 (5d10+19 slashing plus 4d6 electricity); Ranged thunder bolt +59 touch (10d6 electricity, range 180 ft.).
Divine Aura up to 1,500 feet, Will DC 37 (rank 15, Charisma +12); he may grant resolve to those he protects or awe to those who challenge him. Skills Intimidate +62, Listen +59, Spot +59, Swim +60; Feats Power Attack, Cleave, Weapon Focus (longsword).
Divine Fast Healing 35 hit points per round (20 + rank 15), qualifying his Rejuvenation power. If it applies, he returns after 10d10 days, except where the SRD restriction involving a deity of equal or greater rank prevents it.
Salient Divine Abilities. Divine Blast, Divine Storm, Divine Shield, Divine Fast Healing, Rejuvenation, Sunder and Disjoin. His storm-born might and weapon-breaking power serve his role as the slayer of Yamata-no-Orochi; the sword recovered from the serpent remains a sacred treasure, not ordinary equipment.
Portfolio Spell-Like Abilities. Weather, Chaos, War and Strength effects at divine caster level 25th.
Divine Powers, Domains and Sacred Treasure
Weather
Weather governs storm, rain and violent sky.
Chaos
Chaos reflects Susanoo’s refusal to remain contained by heavenly order.
War
War governs his direct martial power and serpent-slaying heroism.
Strength
Strength expresses the overwhelming physical force of storm and battle.
Domain Spells for Clerics
Susanoo’s clergy join storm magic with martial courage, strength and defiance of oppressive order. Each linked domain supplies the complete spell progression for its stated edition.
- D&D 2024: War is an official subclass, starting at Cleric level 3. Its progression includes Spiritual Weapon at Cleric level 3 and Steel Wind Strike at Cleric level 9.
- D&D 2014: use the 2014 War subclass, beginning at Cleric level 1. Weather, Chaos and Strength remain portfolio associations rather than additional official fifth-edition subclasses.
- Pathfinder 1e: Weather, Chaos, War, Strength supply full 1st–9th-level domain lists. Weather places Call Lightning at spell level 3; Chaos places Align Weapon at spell level 2, restricted to chaos.
- D&D 3.5e: use Chaos, War, Strength. The 3.5e Chaos list has Shatter at spell level 2. Weather also contains a distinct Greek d20 3.x list from The Lore of the Gods, available only when that source is in use.
Preparing domain spells: in 2024 and 2014, choose one subclass; its domain spells are always prepared at the listed Cleric levels and do not count against normal preparation. In Pathfinder 1e and 3.5e, an ordinary cleric selects two eligible domains and receives one extra domain slot at each castable spell level 1–9, preparing one spell from either chosen domain in that slot. Associated domains do not grant every list at once. See the Cleric class rules for the full spellcasting progression.
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi
The sword discovered in the tail of Yamata-no-Orochi and later presented to Amaterasu becomes one of the great sacred treasures of the Japanese mythic cycle. It is not Susanoo’s permanently carried adventuring weapon. In a campaign it is a deity-scale relic bound to sovereignty, reconciliation and heroic inheritance, not routine loot.
Behaviour, Relationships and Divine Politics
Susanoo is impulsive, proud and capable of terrible disruption, but his myths do not end with banishment. His descent to Izumo, rescue of Kushinada-hime and defeat of Orochi establish a second identity: protector and culture hero after exile.
Amaterasu is the relationship that defines his heavenly conflict. His violence drives her into the rock cave; later presentation of the sword from Orochi’s tail becomes part of their reconciliation. Izanagi is his parent in the purification cycle. Raijin overlaps in storm imagery but remains a distinct thunder kami.
The Storm of 1281
During the second Eastern Fang invasion of Japan, Susanoo, Raijin and coastal kami acted through the catastrophic storm that helped destroy the invading fleets. Coastal defences and prolonged resistance also mattered. The war awakened Mogaru, whose independent advance devastated invading ships and nearby settlements alike.
Where Worship Is Found
Susanoo is strongly associated with Izumo and western Japan, with shrine traditions remembering his descent, serpent-slaying and marriage. His cult also travels wherever communities seek protection from storm, epidemic, flood or destructive supernatural force.
Mountain rivers, sea roads and places linked to old serpent traditions are natural campaign sites for his worship. The strongest shrines do not hide the violence in his myth; they frame it through consequence, protection and restored order.
Omens, Cults and Adventure Use
Signs of Favour
A storm parts around a wedding procession; floodwater exposes a hidden blade; a serpent abandons a threatened household without striking.
Signs of Warning
Eight storm fronts gather around one valley; sake turns to rainwater; a sword hums whenever thunder sounds.
Orochi Legacy
A river cult claims the eight-headed serpent was never wholly destroyed and that one head still sleeps beneath each tributary.
Heavenly Dispute
A shrine of Amaterasu refuses to receive a Susanoo relic, and storms begin circling the province without rain.
Adventure Hooks
- A sword found inside a river serpent is proclaimed a lost echo of Kusanagi, drawing three rival courts and two shrine traditions.
- Eight villages along one river each report a different head of the same impossible serpent.
- A marriage sanctuary dedicated to Susanoo and Kushinada-hime is threatened by a storm that only strikes unmarried travellers.
- An exile claims Susanoo has commanded them to break a corrupt law, but the command may be genuine.
Mythological and Historical Context
The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki preserve multiple versions of Susanoo’s birth, conflict with Amaterasu, exile and descent. The Yamata-no-Orochi cycle places his heroic transformation in Izumo: he arranges the serpent’s destruction, rescues Kushinada-hime and finds a sword in the monster’s tail.
Later traditions expand and reinterpret Susanoo, but the page keeps the classical mythic core separate from later syncretic material.
Sources and Licensing
- D&D 3.5e SRD — divine ranks, salient powers and prerequisites
- Pathfinder 1e — mythic monsters, surge and mythic power
- Kokugakuin University, Encyclopedia of Shinto — Susanoo
Artwork: existing Susanoo images in the site media library; the hero uses the WordPress-sized derivative rather than loading the full 9MB original.
Rules: Full deity statistics for D&D 5.5e / 2024, D&D 5e / 2014, Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e are original epic campaign adaptations, not official published deity stat blocks. Epic CR and divine abilities extend normal monster-creation benchmarks; the GM should review extreme-power encounters before play.
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