Anu — High God of Heaven, Divine Authority & Kingship

Game Mechanics

The following statistics are campaign adaptations for direct divine manifestations, not official rules material.

5.5e / 2024 — Direct Divine Manifestation

Huge Celestial (Greater Deity), Lawful Neutral. AC 30; HP 1,080; Speed 40 ft., fly 120 ft. (hover); CR 40; PB +11. STR 32, DEX 24, CON 38, INT 36, WIS 40, CHA 38. Saving Throws Con +25, Int +24, Wis +26, Cha +25. Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning, thunder; Damage Immunities poison, psychic, radiant. Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, stunned. Truesight 300 ft.; telepathy 2 miles.

Greater Divine Nature. Anu requires no food, drink, air or sleep and cannot be transformed against his will. Legendary Resistance (5/Day). Magic Resistance.

Allot Divine Function. At the start of each round Anu chooses one ally within 240 feet. Until the start of Anu’s next turn that ally gains one of the following: +3 AC; Advantage on all saving throws; an additional Reaction; or +2d8 radiant damage on one attack per turn.

Source of Kingship. A creature Anu recognises as a rightful ruler or appointed leader cannot be Frightened or Charmed while within 120 feet of him, and allies who can see that creature add 1d6 to saving throws against fear and compulsion.

Decision of Heaven. Once per round when a creature within 180 feet succeeds on a d20 Test, Anu may force it to reroll and use the second result if the action directly violates a judgement Anu pronounced during the encounter.

Actions — Sceptre of the High Heaven. +22 to hit, reach 15 ft.; 4d10+10 bludgeoning plus 7d8 radiant. Sentence of Anu (Recharge 5–6). One creature within 180 feet makes a DC 32 Charisma saving throw; on a failure it is Banished until the end of its next turn and one spell or magical effect it created ends. Open the Firmament (1/Day). A 60-foot-radius cylinder of star-bright force descends from above within 300 feet. Enemies make DC 32 Dexterity saves, taking 88 radiant plus 44 force damage on a failure, half on success; chosen allies instead regain 45 hit points.

Legendary Actions (5/round). Heavenly Step; Sceptre Strike; Grant Office (2 actions), allowing one ally to take the Help action and move up to half its Speed; Revoke Privilege (2 actions), suppressing one resistance or immunity until the start of Anu’s next turn on a failed DC 32 Charisma save; Final Decision (3 actions), immediately use Decision of Heaven without waiting for a trigger.

Cleric themes. Order, Knowledge and War all represent facets of Anu. A campaign High Heaven Domain might use command, guiding bolt; zone of truth, see invisibility; clairvoyance, daylight; divination, guardian of faith; commune, geas.

Pathfinder 1e — Campaign Adaptation

CR 40 / MR 10; Huge outsider (divine, lawful). AC 62; hp 980; Fort +39, Ref +31, Will +44; DR 20/epic; SR 51. Allot Divine Function (Su): as a swift action each round grant an ally within 120 ft. +4 sacred AC, +4 on saves, an extra immediate action that round, or +4d6 sacred damage on one attack. Heavenly Decision (Su): 3/day force a reroll of a successful attack, save or skill check that opposes one of Anu’s declared judgements. Domains: Air, Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Weather.

D&D 3.5e — Campaign Adaptation

Greater Deity; Divine Rank 18; Outsider 20 / Cleric 30; Lawful Neutral; suggested CR 57. DR 30/epic; SR 71; divine aura 18 miles. Salient divine abilities: Alter Reality, Avatar, Divine Shield, Divine Spellcasting, Know Secrets, Power of Truth, Supreme Initiative and additional portfolio abilities governing authority and kingship. Domains: Air, Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Weather.

What Is Anu Doing Right Now?

Anu is adjudicating rank among gods and kings who have grown accustomed to acting without remembering who once granted their offices. New temples do not interest him as much as old claims: a recovered royal title, a priesthood asserting precedence, a god demanding recognition as supreme in a city where another deity once held that place.

His interventions are rare and therefore alarming. When Anu appears in a dream, it is seldom to offer comfort. It is to ask who authorised an action, which oath created an office or why someone has taken a power that was never allotted to them.

Appearance & Manner

Anu appears as an elder horn-crowned king clothed in deep blue and black robes patterned like the night sky. He is distant without being absent-minded. Mortals often feel that he is looking not only at them but at the office, ancestry, oath and consequences standing behind them.

Heaven, Kingship & the Senior Divine Order

Anu belongs to the oldest generation of the Mesopotamian gods and was once the supreme deity of the pantheon. His defining functions are authority, decision and progenitorship. He allots roles to other gods, can elevate their standing and confers kingship on earth.

Later theology gives more active supremacy to Enlil and, in Babylon, Marduk, but Anu never becomes irrelevant. His seniority survives because divine hierarchy is not only about who acts most often; it is also about who possesses the authority from which other offices descend.

Divine Relationships

Enlil. A younger supreme power whose active authority over decree and kingship eventually surpasses Anu’s in many traditions without erasing Anu’s seniority.

Enki/Ea. Another member of the highest divine order, governing wisdom, magic and the subterranean sweet waters.

Inanna/Ishtar. Her traditions repeatedly place her in close relation to Anu’s authority; she can seek, receive or challenge powers within the divine hierarchy rather than existing beneath it passively.

Papsukkal. In later tradition, Papsukkal serves as Anu’s minister and gatekeeper, controlling access to the high god’s court.

Worship & the Court of Heaven

Anu’s cult attracts rulers, senior priests, judges, astronomers and officials concerned with legitimacy. His temples are places of precedence: who enters first, whose seal outranks whose, who may speak in council and which title is older than another.

Uruk is especially important to his worship. In later periods Anu’s cult there flourishes again with elaborate temple institutions and astral learning, reinforcing his identity as a high celestial authority even after centuries in which other gods dominated imperial theology.

Omens, Favour & Displeasure

Anu’s favour appears as a horned crown seen in a dream, an old title recognised by rival courts, a star remaining visible through cloud or a dispute ending because everyone suddenly remembers the correct order of precedence. He dislikes usurpation without responsibility, fraudulent titles, forged appointments and lesser powers claiming authority they were never given.

Encounters & Adventure Use

Divine Realm — The High Heaven

Anu’s realm stands above Celestial Uruk as an immense court of star-dark stone, open terraces and audience halls whose ceilings cannot be seen. The closer a visitor approaches the central throne, the more every title, oath and office they hold becomes visible as light around them.

Relics & Sacred Objects

The Crown of the High Heaven. It cannot make an unworthy creature king, but it reveals every oath of office the wearer has broken.

The Tablet of Allotment. A divine record naming the rightful holder of one office, temple duty or sacred title. Ordinary magic cannot alter it.

The Seal of Anu. When pressed into clay, it records the exact identity and authority of every witness present.

Historical & Mythological Context

An/Anu is the Mesopotamian sky god and one of the supreme deities. ORACC describes him as belonging to the oldest divine generation, originally occupying the highest place in the pantheon and functioning as authority figure, decision-maker and progenitor. He confers kingship and assigns roles to other gods. Later Enlil and Marduk rise to more active supremacy, but Anu retains exceptional status.

The direct divine statistics, relics, current activity and detailed heavenly realm above are campaign adaptations.

Sources & Licensing

Historical foundation: ORACC — An/Anu. Game mechanics and campaign material are original adaptation. See the Mesopotamian Pantheon for the wider divine hierarchy.