Lares at a Glance
Tradition
Roman household, neighbourhood and crossroads cult.
Divine standing
Collective guardian divinities; representative Greater Lar uses Divine Rank 5 and Campaign Divine Tier 24.
Alignment
Usually Lawful Neutral, shaped strongly by the place or community guarded.
Portfolio
Household guardianship, crossroads, neighbourhood continuity, local belonging and protected thresholds.
Domains
Protection · Community · Travel · Knowledge
Sacred places
Household shrines, street corners, crossroads, neighbourhood boundaries and places where a community regularly gathers.
Favoured weapon
Guardian staff.
Related Roman powers
Roman Pantheon · Divine Cult · Campaign Worship · Epic Mechanics
The Lares are Roman guardian divinities of households, crossroads, neighbourhoods and local communities. They are intensely particular powers: a Lar protects this house, this street, this boundary and the people whose repeated lives give that place continuity.
Divine Mechanics
Representative Greater Lar — D&D 5.5e
Medium Celestial (Divine), Lawful Neutral
CR 28 · PB +8 · Campaign Divine Tier 24
AC 24 · HP 636 · Speed 40 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 (+6) | 28 (+9) | 28 (+9) | 22 (+6) | 30 (+10) | 30 (+10) |
Saving Throws Con +17, Wis +18, Cha +18
Skills Insight +18, Perception +18, Religion +14
Damage Resistances psychic, radiant; bludgeoning, piercing and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Condition Immunities Charmed, Frightened, Poisoned
Senses Truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 28 · Languages all appropriate mortal languages; telepathy 120 ft.
Traits
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If the divine guardian fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. The divine guardian has Advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.
Divine Spellcasting
Primary spell save DC 26, +18 to hit with spell attacks. Full portfolio-domain access: Protection · Community · Travel · Knowledge. Domain spells are always prepared or available in the matching edition.
Actions
Multiattack. The divine guardian makes three Guardian Staff attacks.
Guardian Staff. Melee or Ranged Spell Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10 ft. or range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 27 (4d8 + 9) force plus 13 (3d8) radiant damage.
Household Ward (Recharge 5–6). Allies within 30 feet gain 30 Temporary Hit Points and Advantage on their next saving throw before the Lar’s next turn.
Reaction
Protect the Household. When a resident or invited guest within 30 feet is hit by an attack, the Lar imposes Disadvantage on the attack roll, potentially causing it to miss.
Legendary Actions
The divine guardian can take 3 Legendary Actions per round.
- Move. Move up to half Speed without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
- Guardian Staff. Make one Guardian Staff attack.
- Portfolio Intervention (Costs 2). Use one non-damaging portfolio ability, domain spell of 5th level or lower, or protective effect without expending a normal action.
Representative Greater Lar — Pathfinder 1e
Divine guardian; original epic campaign extension
CR 28 · AC 50 · hp 692
Fort +32 · Ref +30 · Will +33
DR 15/epic · SR 37 · Speed 40 ft.
Str 22 · Dex 28 · Con 28 · Int 22 · Wis 30 · Cha 30
Base Atk +28 · CMB +34 · CMD 73
Domain Access
Full access to Protection · Community · Travel · Knowledge in their Pathfinder-facing versions or clearly marked campaign adaptations.
Special Abilities
Household Ward (Su). Use the 5.5e effect above as the narrative baseline; Pathfinder targets make a DC 35 Will, Fortitude or Reflex save as appropriate.
Protect the Household (Su). Functions as an immediate action when its trigger occurs.
Representative Greater Lar — D&D 3.5e
Divine Rank 5 · CR benchmark 33 · DR 15/epic · SR 37 · Divine Aura 50 ft.
Str 22 · Dex 28 · Con 28 · Int 22 · Wis 30 · Cha 30
Salient Divine Abilities
Choose rank-appropriate abilities that express Lares’s established portfolio, with Alter Reality or equivalent divine intervention reserved for effects that directly serve that portfolio.
Domain Access
Lares can use every spell-like ability granted by Protection · Community · Travel · Knowledge at the caster level determined by Divine Rank.
Lares in Roman Religion
The Lares appear in several forms. Household Lares guard domestic continuity; Lares Compitales belong to crossroads and neighbourhood cult; other Lares protect communities and defined spheres. Treating every Lar as the same being misses the local character that makes them useful in play.
They are also distinct from the Penates. The two groups share domestic religious space, but the Penates are especially connected with household stores and sustenance while the Lares function as guardians.
What Are the Lares Doing Right Now?
Lares notice what grander gods can overlook: an abandoned house, a threatened alley, a family that has stopped sharing meals, a crossroads where strangers keep disappearing. Their interests are intensely local.
A Lar may appear personally as a youthful guardian figure, but dancing firelight at a shrine, cups that move before danger and footsteps crossing an empty threshold are more common signs.
Worship in the Campaign Present
The Lares are worshipped locally rather than through one central priesthood. Households maintain small domestic shrines; neighbourhoods honour crossroads guardians; workshops, streets and travelling communities may recognise their own protective Lar.
Offerings are modest and regular: food, wine, flowers, oil and the first portion of a shared meal. Neglect matters because a Lar’s authority is rooted in continued relationship with the people and place it protects.
Domains, Spells and Divine Gifts
Portfolio domains: Protection · Community · Travel · Knowledge. The Lares have access to every domain spell in the matching edition; individual household spirits may express only part of that portfolio.
Artifacts and Relics
The Key of the Household Lar
Major Divine Relic · Wondrous Item (key)
Attunement: Required by a recognised member of the household or community protected by the Lar.
5.5e
Name the Intruder (1/Day). Touch a household or neighbourhood threshold and name one supernatural creature you know by a unique name or clear identity. Until the next dawn, that creature must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma save each time it attempts to cross; on a failure it cannot cross that threshold for 1 hour.
Homeward Sense. While within 1 mile of the protected household, you always know the direction back to its principal shrine or hearth.
Pathfinder 1e
Major Divine Relic · CL 18th. 1/day: ward one household threshold against a named supernatural intruder until dawn; the creature must make DC 24 Will save to cross and cannot retry for 1 hour after failure. The attuned bearer always knows the direction to the household shrine within 1 mile.
D&D 3.5e
Major Divine Relic · CL 18th. 1/day: ward one household threshold against a named supernatural intruder until dawn; DC 24 Will save to cross, with no retry for 1 hour after failure.
Breaking the Key
The Key loses its magic if the recognised household deliberately invites the named intruder inside for the purpose of harming a guest under its protection.
The Crossroads Cup
Lesser Divine Relic · Wondrous Item (cup)
Placed at a recognised entrance to a protected neighbourhood, the Cup fills with clear water at dawn if every creature that deliberately entered through that entrance since the previous dawn lacked hostile intent toward the community. If even one entered intending harm, it remains dry. It identifies no individual.
Adventure Hooks
- Every household Lar in one street disappears on the same night.
- A crossroads shrine begins protecting criminals because they are now the only people maintaining it.
- A family inherits a house whose Lar insists an unknown resident still belongs there.
- Two neighbouring Lares feud after a boundary marker is moved.
Related Roman Powers
Penates · Vesta · Terminus · Janus · Roman Pantheon
Deep Dive
Continue through the Roman Pantheon · Penates · Vesta · Terminus · Janus · Rome · Italy · Cleric · Cleric Domains.
Sources and Rules Note
The Lares are presented as multiple Roman guardian divinities with household, crossroads and community forms, and are kept distinct from the Penates. Campaign Divine Tier is separate from Challenge Rating; Pathfinder material is a campaign extension; the 3.5e block represents an unusually powerful individual Lar rather than every household spirit.
Historical Sources and Further Reading
- Roman Household Spirits: Lares and Penates — Overview of domestic Lares, household cult and related Roman spirits.
Rules licensing. D&D 5.5e terminology derived from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 is used under CC BY 4.0 where applicable. Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e deity statistics on this page are original campaign conversions rather than official published deity stat blocks.
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