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The Draconic Pantheon

Started by Fox², Sep 17, 2023, 10:32 PM

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Fox²

The Draconic Pantheon

The draconic pantheon consists of the gods worshiped mostly by dragons, though some of these deities also had among their worshipers half-dragons, kobolds, lizardfolk, troglodytes, and even humans.

  • Aasterinian (Aspect of Hlal)
  • Asgorath (Aspect of Io)
  • Astilabor
  • Bahamut
  • Chronepsis
  • Falazure
  • Garyx
  • Hlal
  • Io
  • Lendys
  • Sardior
  • Tamara
  • Tiamat (Technically a member of the Faerunian pantheon, but linked here for convenience.)

Of the draconic deities and their aspects, only the following accept non-dragon worshipers:

  • Aasterinian
  • Hlal
  • Bahamut
  • Falazure 
  • Garyx 
  • Sardior 
  • Tamara 


Retired.

Fox²

Aasterinian
Messenger of Io, Aspect of Hlal

Demigod
Symbol: Grinning dragon's head
Home Plane: Outlands
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Learning, invention, pleasure
Worshipers: Chaotic dragons, free thinkers
Domains: Charm, Chaos, Luck, Travel, Trickery [Charm], [Dragon], [Illusion], [Trade]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, CE
Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

Aasterinian is a cheeky deity who enjoys learning through play, invention, and pleasure. She is Io's messenger, a Huge brass dragon who enjoys disturbing the status quo.

Dogma:

Aasterinian is flighty and quick-witted. She encourages her followers to think for themselves, rather than relying on the word of others. The worst crime, in Aasterinian's eyes, is not trusting in yourself and your own devices.

Clergy and Temples:

Aasterinian's clerics are typically wanderers who travel in disguise or secrecy. Temples to the goddess are rare in the extreme, though simple shrines dot the landscape--quiet, hidden places where worshipers can rest peacefully on their travels.

Her followers enjoy friendly relations with those of Garl Glittergold and similar deities.
Retired.

Fox²

Astilabor
The Acquisitor, Hoardmistress

Lesser Deity
Symbol: A 12-faceted gem
Home Plane: Outlands
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Acquisitiveness, status, wealth
Worshipers: Dragonbloods, those who seek wealth
Domains: Protection, Metal, [Cavern], [Dragon], [Wealth]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE
Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

Astilabor represents the natural draconic desire to acquire treasure and power. She dislikes the naked greed displayed by Tiamat and her followers. She appears as a Huge dragon who shimmers with all the chromatic and metallic colors of dragonkind.

Dogma:

Astilabor values wealth and power, but without any stigma of greed. She instills in dragonkind the innate need for collecting and protecting the hoard. She claims that she cannot abide theft of any kind from her worshipers, but often turns a blind eye if such acts are performed in the name of building one's hoard.

Clergy:

Astilabor accepts only clerics with an element of neutrality in their alignment, the better to remain pure to the goal of acquiring and protecting the hoard. Her clerics prefer not to become involved in confl icts between dragons, but often reward those whose hoards become large and valuable. Astilabor is revered by dragons of all types and alignments, but actively worshiped by few. Most at least scratch out her symbol as a protective ward over their hoards. Astilabor's worshipers are friendly toward those of Moradin and Garl Glittergold (since those gods respect the value of a gem or coin as much as anyone), but they distrust followers of Olidammara, whom they believe to be thieves at heart.
Retired.

Fox²

Bahamut
The Platinum Dragon, King of the Good Dragons, Lord of the North Wind, Bahamut

Lesser Deity
Symbol: Star above a milky nebula or a draconic eye set on a gold rectangle
Home Plane: Unknown
Alignment: Lawful Good
Portfolio: Good dragons, wind, wisdom
Worshipers: Good dragons, anyone seeking protection from evil dragons
Domains: Air, Good, Luck, Protection, [Dragon], [Nobility], [Storm]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG (does not allow LN clerics)
Favored Weapon: Bite (heavy pick)

Bahamut is revered in many locales. Though all good-aligned dragons pay homage to Bahamut, gold, silver, and brass dragons hold him in particularly high regard. Other dragons, even evil ones (except perhaps his archrival Tiamat), respect Bahamut for his wisdom and power. In his natural form, Bahamut is a long, sinuous dragon covered in silverwhite scales that sparkle and gleam even in the dimmest light. Bahamut's catlike eyes are deep blue, as azure as a midsummer sky, some say. Others insist that Bahamut's eyes are a frosty indigo, like the heart of a glacier. Perhaps the colors merely reflect the Platinum Dragon's shifting mood.

Dogma:

Bahamut is stern and very disapproving of evil. He brooks no excuses for evil acts. In spite of this stance, he is among the most compassionate beings in the multiverse. He has limitless empathy for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the helpless. He urges his followers to promote the cause of good, but prefers to let beings fight their own battles when they can. To Bahamut, it is better to offer information, healing, or a (temporary) safe refuge rather than to take others' burdens upon oneself. An equally important aspect to Bahamut is his constant conflict with Tiamat. He continually stands in opposition to her world-dominating schemes. Most recently, she has begun a campaign to heavily populate the world with her spawn. Bahamut has answered this outbreak of evil by recruiting stalwart heroes to his side--the dragonborn. In addition to the dragonborn, Bahamut is served by seven great gold wyrms that often accompany him when he visits the Material Plane.

Clergy and Temples:

Bahamut accepts only good clerics. Clerics of Bahamut, whether they are dragons, half-dragons, or other beings attracted to Bahamut's philosophy, strive to take constant but subtle action on behalf of good, intervening wherever they are needed but striving to do as little harm in the process as possible. Bahamut's chief foe is Tiamat, and this enmity is reflected in the attitude of each deity's worshipers. Followers of Bahamut respect Moradin, Yondalla, and other lawful good deities.
Retired.

Fox²

Chronepsis
The Silent, The Watcher

Lesser Deity
Symbol: An unblinking draconic eye
Home Plane: Outlands
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Fate, death, judgement
Worshipers: Dragons, those who would observe
Domains: Death, Knowledge, [Dragon], [Fate], [Planning], [Time]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: TN
Favored Weapon: Claw (scythe)

Chronepsis is neutral--silent, unconcerned, and dispassionate. He is the draconic deity of fate, death, and judgment. His form is colorless and without luster, marking him as an outsider to the struggles of the chromatic and metallic dragons.

Dogma:

Chronepsis is a passionless observer of the world. He passes judgment on all dragons when they die, deciding where their souls go in the afterlife. Unlike Lendys, Chronepsis is uninterested in justice: he merely observes what is and is not. He is also singularly uninvolved in the activities of the living, and strives to remain so. It is said that only a cataclysm of world-shaking proportions could rouse Chronepsis from his disinterest

Clergy and Temple:

Chronepsis has very few active worshipers and even fewer clerics, since most dragons don't possess the balanced outlook to avoid interfering in the events they observe. The followers of Chronepsis count other faiths neither as allies nor enemies.
Retired.

Fox²

Falazure
The Night Dragon

Lesser Deity
Symbol: Draconic skull
Home Plane: Hades
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Portfolio: Decay, undeath, exhaustion
Worshipers: Evil dragons, necromancers, undead
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: TN, LE, NE, CE
Domains: Darkness, Death, Evil, [Dragon], [Undeath]

Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

The terrifying Night Dragon, Falazure, is neutral evil. He is the lord of energy draining, undeath, decay, and exhaustion. Some claim he has a decaying skeletal form, but others believe that he looks like a decrepit black dragon whose flesh is pulled tight over his bones.

Dogma:

Falazure teaches that even a dragon's long life span need not be the limit to a dragon's existence. Beyond the world of the living is another realm, one of undeath eternal. It is generally accepted that Falazure created (or had a hand in the creation of ) the first undead dragons, such as dracoliches, vampiric dragons, and ghostly dragons.

Clergy and Temple:

Among the draconic gods, perhaps only Bahamut and Tiamat have more non-dragon worshipers than Falazure. Many necromancers of all races revere the Night Dragon, as well as intelligent undead such as liches and, especially, dracoliches.

Temples to Falazure are always deep beneath the earth, cloaked in darkness and far from the sun and fresh air of the surface world.

The followers of Falazure count all members of good-aligned faiths as their enemies.
Retired.

Fox²

Garyx
Firelord, All-Destroyer, Cleanser of Worlds

Lesser Deity
Symbol: Reptilian eye superimposed over a flame
Home Plane: Pandemonium
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Portfolio: Fire, destruction, renewal
Worshipers: Dragons, sorcerers, warlords, some druids
Domains: Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire, [Dragon], [Renewal]
Nature Deity: Yes
Cleric Alignments: CN, NE, CE
Favored Weapon: Claw (sickle)

Garyx the All-Destroyer symbolizes the sheer power and destructive force of dragonkind. Some argue that Garyx is actually insane, as a result of his long occupation of the Windswept Depths of Pandemonium. He appears much like a great wyrm red dragon.

Dogma:

Garyx teaches by example, periodically traveling to the Material Plane to wreak unholy swaths of destruction across the landscape. Those who revere him follow this example, using their power to bring ruin and devastation.

Clergy and Temples:

Garyx pays little or no attention to his clerics and worshipers, but they care not. They believe that he grants them the power to perform acts of destruction, and that is enough. Perhaps curiously, some druids also revere the renewal aspect of Garyx, knowing that some devastation is always necessary for rejuvenation to occur.

Few temples to Garyx are known to exist, though his worshipers often carve his symbol near their handiwork.
Retired.

Fox²

Hlal
The Jester, The Keeper of Tales

Lesser Deity
Symbol: An open book
Home Plane: Dragon Eyrie
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Portfolio: Humor, inspiration, messages, storytelling, tricks
Worshipers: Dragons, bards, performers
Domains: Chaos, Good, Trickery, [Dragon], [Rune], [Scalykind]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: NG, CG, CN
Favored Weapon: Claw (short sword) or spear

Hlal is a sleek, copper-colored dragon with a ready grin and a happy glint in her eye. Of the dragon gods, she is the most friendly to nondragons (even Aasterinian enjoys a reputation of playful danger).

Dogma:

Hlal enjoys sharing stories and songs with those who appreciate such things, regardless of the listener's race or background. She has little use for tyrants--even well-meaning ones--and even less patience for cruelty or bullying. She teaches that one must be free of restraint, whether real or psychological, in order to freely express one's opinions.

Clergy and Temples:

Hlal's clerics are often multiclass cleric/bards, using music, poetry, and tall tales to spread the faith. Places of worship to Hlal are usually simple shrines, which can be packed up and moved to the next town or dragon lair at a moment's notice.
Retired.

Fox²

Io
The Concordant Dragon, The Great Eternal Wheel, Swallower of Shades, The Ninefold Dragon, Creator of Dragonkind

Intermediate Deity
Symbol: A multicolored metallic disk
Home Plane: Outlands
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Dragonkind
Worshipers: Dragons, Draconic humanoids, some members of the reptilian races
Domains: Knowledge, Magic, Strength, Travel, [Dragon], [Spells], [Wealth]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: Any
Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

Io the Ninefold Dragon is neutral, for he encompasses all alignments within his aspects. He can (and does) appear as any dragon type, from the smallest pseudodragon to the largest great wyrm.

Dogma:

Io cares only for his "children," the dragons, and their continued existence in the world. In some cases, this means taking the side of the dragons against other races. In other situations, Io may actually help non-dragons fight against a dragon who would otherwise jeopardize the ongoing survivability of the species as a whole. He prefers to remain uninvolved in conflicts between dragons, though if such a conflict threatens to escalate he may step in (either personally or by dispatching Aasterinian or some other servitor).

Clergy and Temples:

Io has even fewer clerics or shrines than most of the other draconic deities, since his outlook is so broad and all encompassing. Still, even the most devoted cleric of Bahamut, Tiamat, or any other dragon deity pays at least a modicum of homage to the Ninefold Dragon. He also occasionally finds clerics or adepts among the reptilian races, such as kobolds and troglodytes. Io counts no other faiths as his enemies, knowing the value of neutrality in outlook. Even those of greatly varying alignment can find common cause under the banner of the Ninefold Dragon.
Retired.

Fox²

Lendys
Scale of Justice, The Balancer, Weigher of Lives

Lesser Deity
Symbol: Sword balanced on a needle's point
Home Plane: Mechanus
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Portfolio: Balance, justice
Worshipers: Dragons
Domains: Destruction, Law, Protection, [Dragon], [Retribution]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: LG, LN, TN, LE
Favored Weapon: Claw (longsword)

Unlike Chronepsis, who judges the life of a dragon only after its death, Lendys metes out justice during a dragon's life. His scales are a tarnished silver, some say because he cares more about judging others than tending to himself.

Dogma:

Lendys is the arbiter of dragonkind, serving as judge, jury, and executioner alike. When a dragon has committed an injustice against dragonkind, Lendys (or one of his trio of great wyrm silver dragons) is dispatched to deal out appropriate justice. Punishments are severe, and appeals unheard of.

Clergy and Temples:

The clerics and paladins of Lendys are justice-bringers as well, often serving as arbiters for local communities. In some cases, towns even rely on the local draconic worshiper of Lendys to parse out justice.
Retired.

Fox²

Sardior
The Ruby Dragon, Master of the Gem Dragons

Lesser Deity
Symbol: A ruby with an inner glow
Home Plane: Prime Material Plane
Alignment: Neutral
Portfolio: Neutral dragons, night, psionics, secrets
Worshipers: Neutral dragons, psions and psychic warriors
Domains: Knowledge, Trickery, [Scalykind], [Dragon]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: NG, LN, TN, CN, NE
Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

Sardior (sar-dee-or) is known in a few small circles. Even though he is the Master of the Gem Dragons, in reality he does not require much from his followers, and he does not try to guide their decisions. The gem dragons, in return, look upon him as the ideal and strive to be more like him.

In his natural form, Sardior is a long sinewy dragon covered with deep ruby red scales. At a distance, he might be mistaken for an ancient red wyrm, but the playful expression seen in his eyes makes him very much unlike the reds. He is also known to be a great conversationalist, and the unguarded had best be prepared for his sharp wit.

He makes his home in a huge floating castle, which orbits the world and stays forever in the shadows from the sun. On the nights it can be seen, viewers mistake it for a small red moon.

Dogma:

Sardior just wants to learn more. The more you know, the better off you will be, but just learning for learning's sake is not what Sardior stresses. No, gaining knowledge should not just be reading from books. The trick for Sardior is to get someone else to read the book, then tell him all about it. He also has a fondness for gems of all kinds, especially rubies.

Clergy and Temples:

Sardior has few clergy, and even fewer temples. Temples dedicated to him tend to be located in high areas with clear views of the night sky and close to a community of some sort. Most gem dragons keep a ruby on a small pedestal in their lairs as a shrine to him.

His clergy generally dress in the appropriate fashion for the area in which they reside. They then embellish the look with an abundance of jewelry in their everyday wear.

Many seek out the clergy as sources of knowledge, and most of the clergy could be considered sages on various subjects. The temple gains its wealth from the charges from these services.

The prominent members of a temple are also on the list for an invitation to social functions. They are personable, knowledgeable, and great storytellers. They also appear to have little interest in politics, which makes those around them less concerned with the information they reveal to the clergy.
Retired.

Fox²

Tamara
Her Beneficence, Her Mercy

Lesser Deity
Symbol: Seven-pointed star on field of black
Home Plane: Elysium
Alignment: Neutral Good
Portfolio: Life, light, mercy
Worshipers: Good dragons, healers, those desiring mercy
Domains: Good, Healing, Strength, Sun, [Dragon], [Family]
Nature Deity: No
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG, CG, TN
Favored Weapon: Claw (scimitar)

Tamara is the kindest and most benevolent of the draconic deities. Some mistake this quality for weakness, though such beings don't make the same error twice. She appears as a luminously beautiful silver dragon, her eyes shining with the brightness of the sun itself.

Dogma:

Tamara believes in mercy, both in life and in death. Not only does she heal the sick and tend the injured, she delivers a merciful end to those dragons nearing the end of their natural lives. She fiercely detests those who artificially prolong the life of a dragon, particularly when it is against that dragon's will.

Clergy and Temples:

Tamara's clerics are healers, but also deliverers of death to those who try to escape it. They prefer to destroy any undead they encounter, particularly draconic undead (such as dracoliches). Though a peaceful and merciful faith, the worshipers of Tamara do not hesitate to stand against evil or tyranny.
Retired.