Draconic pantheon

The Draconic pantheon is a group of dragon deities who are worshipped by many true dragons and other reptilian species. Its best known members include Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon and god of the good-aligned metallic dragons; and Tiamat, progenitor of the evil chromatic dragons.

Members

See also: Category:Draconic deities

There are eleven primary members of the draconic pantheon.

• Io, the Ninefold Dragon, is the progenitor of the dragon gods. The other members of the pantheon are his offspring. All true dragons ultimately trace their lineage to Io.
• Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, is the god of the good-aligned metallic dragons. He is particularly revered by gold, silver and brass dragons, though all good-aligned dragons hold some reverence for Bahamut, and even evil-aligned have grudging respect his strength.
• Tiamat is the progenitor of the evil chromatic dragons. Green and blue dragons revere her most readily, though all chromatic dragons respect her as their creator.
• Astilabor, the Hoardmistress, is the neutral draconic god of wealth and acquisition.
• Chronepsis, the Watcher, is a disinterested neutral deity of fate and death.
• Falazure, the Night Dragon, is the neutral evil dragon god of undeath and decay.
• Garyx, Cleanser of Worlds, is a chaotic evil red dragon god of destruction.
• Hlal, the Jester, is a chaotic good copper dragon goddess of storytelling and humor.
• Lendys, Scale of Justice, is the lawful neutral god of balance and justice, whose duty is to avenge wrongs committed against dragonkind.
• Tamara, Her Beneficience, is the neutral good draconic goddess of mercy.
• Aasternian, a chaotic neutral female brass dragon, serves as messenger of Io.

Organization

Io is the chief deity of the Draconic pantheon, and its most powerful member. His primary duty is to oversee his offspring, and he rarely takes sides in conflicts between dragons.

The Draconic pantheon do not have a central plane, but are scattered across the [[Great Wheel], each to their own lair. They act largely independently from one another.

Aasternian is the weakest of the pantheon. As a mere demigod, she is more readily capable of travel to the material plane, and is often sent by Io to resolve notable conflicts between dragons.

Worship

Members of the draconic pantheon are primarily worshipped by true dragons. Unlike the common human religions, there are few organized religious practices among dragons, and individual practices vary. Worship of the entire draconic pantheon as a group is rare, and few dragons become clerics of their deity.

Not all dragons even worship a deity, although it is common for them to at least hold a level of reverence for the draconic gods, even though

Among the humanoid races, there are many cults of worship to draconic deities. Such worship is most common among reptilian species, including half-dragons, lizardfolk, and troglodytes.

Publication history

Original D&D

Bahamut and Tiamat were first mentioned, though not by name, in Supplement I: Greyhawk (1975), p.35-36. This book introduced statistics for the Platinum Dragon, called the King of Lawful (and Neutral) dragons; and the Chromatic Dragon, Queen of the Chaotic Dragons.

Basic D&D

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AD&D 1st edition

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AD&D 2nd edition

Part of the Draconic pantheon are detailed in Council of Wyrms (1994) box set and the Council of Wyrms Setting{{UnknownBook}} book, which describe a unique draconic campaign setting.

Part of Draconic pantheon are detailed, including game statistics, in DMGR4 Monster Mythology (1992), which describes Io, Aasterinian, Bahamut, Chronepsis, Faluzure, and Tiamat. These six are also listed in the Planescape sourcebook On Hallowed Ground (1996), which defines their extraplanar lairs within the Great Wheel cosmology.

The dragon deities of the Forgotten Realms are detailed in FOR1 Draconomicon (2e) (1990), which describes Asgorath, Astilabor, Garyx, Hlal, Kereska, Lendys, Null, Tamara, Taxk, Xymor, and Zorquan. Cult of the Dragon (1998), Appendix 1: Dragon Deities, attempts to reconcile inconsistencies between the AD&D 2e Draconomicon and Monster Mythology. Here are described Asgorath, Astilabor, Bahamut, Garyx, Hlal, Kereska, Lendys, Null (of whom Faluzure and Chronepsis are two aspects), Tamara, Task, Tiamat, Zorquan, and the dead god of magic Kalzareinad.

D&D 3rd edition

The six draconic deities Aasterinian, Bahamut, Chronepsis, Falazure, Io, and Tiamat are briefly described in Defenders of the Faith (2001), p.95. Note the spelling change from Faluzure to Falazure. The five are also named in the Living Greyhawk official deities list (March 2005).

The Draconic pantheon is detailed in the Draconomicon (3e) (2003), p.30-36. The term "Draconic pantheon" is used in this book to describe eleven dragon gods: Aasterinian, Astilabor, Bahamut, Chronepsis, Falazure, Garyx, Hlal, Io, Lendys, Tamara, and Tiamat. This introduces the Faerûnian dragon gods Astilabor, Garyx, Hlal, Lendys and Tamara to the core D&D pantheon.

Races of the Dragon (2006), p.149-158 also details the eleven deities of the draconic pantheon, and on page 25 lists individual meditations for each used by the spellscale race.

The eleven Draconic gods appear in the Eberron Campaign Setting (2004), p.130, where they appear as constellations in the sky. The dragon prophet prestige class in Magic of Eberron (2005) can gains power from these constellations.

D&D 4th edition

Bahamut and Tiamat are primary deities in D&D 4th edition's Dawn War pantheon.

In Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (2008), p.29-30, the draconic pantheon are reduced in status to exarchs, powerful dragons who act as servants of individual deities. This book details Aasterinian (servant of Avandra), Astilabor (servant of Corellon), Chronepsis (servant of The Raven Queen, and Falazure (servant of Falazure). Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons (2009), p.25 instead introduces four new dragons as exarchs.

D&D 5th edition

As of yet, no D&D 5th edition first-party product has detailed the Draconic pantheon in its entirety. However, Tiamat appears prominently in the adventure module The Rise of Tiamat (2014) and others. Bahamut and Tiamat also appear in the Dawn War pantheon listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.

Creative origins

Bahamut and Tiamat appear as great monsters in real-world ancient mythology. Bahamut is a sea monster appearing in Arabian mythology, while Tiamat is a primordial sea goddess of Babylonian myth.

The other draconic deities appear to be original creations of Dungeons & Dragons.

The name Io appears in Greek mythology as one of the lovers of Zeus, although there is no connection between her and the dragon deity. It may be inspired by Ao, chief of the Faerûnian pantheon, whose name in turn is likely derived from Alpha and Omega, a Biblical title of the Christian God.