Elder Gods is a category introduced by August Derleth, representing higher cosmic powers that are benevolent or opposed to the Great Old Ones and Outer Gods. Nodens is the most frequently cited exemplar. Derleth used this division to impose a moral dualism upon the Mythos.
This is disputed by purists, who note that Lovecraft's Nodens functions merely as a convenient rescuer without moral characterisation, and that his universe is conspicuously indifferent to human morality.