Church of Tiamat

The Church of Tiamat, also known as the Cult of Tiamat and by other names, was the primary religious organization dedicated to the worship and service of the goddess of chromatic dragons, Tiamat.

Dogma
To Tiamat, deities of all creeds and from every pantheon were inherently tyrannical, and therefore her rivals. She considered herself the only being powerful enough to defy these gods and overthrow their despotic rule, as demonstrated by her overthrowing the other Untheric deities. Her followers worked tirelessly toward her agenda of world domination. When Tiamat assumed her throne as the only goddess of the Realms, her draconic children would serve as her dukes, or so her followers believed, and her clergy struggled to gain the position of vassals when that move came. Toward this goal, Tiamat's followers must be willing to obey her commands without question and even sacrifice their own lives if necessary.

The most important thing for this faith were power and wealth, and there were very few limits to the depravities and perversions Tiamat's worshipers were wiling to commit in the pursuit of such goals.

Chromatic dragons were believed to be the spawn of Tiamat, and therefore worthy of veneration.

Activities
The clergy of Tiamat was mostly focused on two tasks: first was to acquire an ever-increasing wealth and prestige, and to sabotage the faiths of all other gods. As a result, they occupied most of their time with an unending series of thefts, assassinations, acts of vandalism, and arson. In Unther and Chessenta this meant seizing as much power as possible, while in western Faerûn, this meant to subvert the Cult of the Dragon to the service of Tiamat.

The Church believed that when Tiamat assumed her throne as the only goddess of the Realms, her draconic children would serve as her dukes, and her clergy struggled to gain the position of vassals when that time came.

Organization
The church of Tiamat was regimented by a strict hierarchy of ranks and titles. Originally, those titles were, in ascending order: Custodian of the Copper Chalice, Defender of the Silver Shield, Warden of the Electrum Mail, Guardian of the Gold Scepter, Keeper of the Platinum Crown, Scale of the White Wyrm, Horn of the Black Beast, Wing of the Green Gargantua, Talon of the Blue Baartoran, and Breath of the Red Ravager.

Acolytes were known as Wyrmfodder, while higher ranking priests were collectively known as the Dark Scaly Ones, a practice that originated in Unther.

The leader of the cult of Tiamat in Unther before the Time of Troubles was Tiglath, who disappeared during the battle between Tiamat and Gilgeam. The Untheran Church was then under the leadership of Shudu-Ab, until she disappeared during the Mulhorandi conquest of Unther. In 1374 DR, Tiglath resurfaced and took control of the organization once more.

From 1374 DR onwards, again under Tiglath's administration, the hierarchy system was simplified and this new was accepted by most branches of the Church, with only few temples using the old hierarchy system. The new organization was based on the colors of the most common varieties of chromatic dragons. Those new titles were, in ascending order: white adepts, black adepts, green adepts, blue adepts and red adepts. Only red adepts could become high priest of a temple.

Temples
Though most evil dragons honored Tiamat, few keep shrines dedicated to her in their lairs because they didn't want her gazing at their treasure hoards. Instead, they dedicate vast, gloomy caverns to their deity and kept them stocked with treasure and sacrifices.

Tiamat had more temples among her non-dragon followers. The two most prominent sites of her faith were the Altar of the Scales in Unther, and ruins of Castle Perilous.

Rites
Clerics of Tiamat prayed for their spells at dusk, in hopes she will return the sun the following morning, as part of a ritual known as Tithing. The Tithing required a small tithe, typically several gold coins or a small gem, which were hidden in the cleric's cupped hands while praying, then buried.

Tiamat's clergy also performed various other daily ceremonies in homage to their mistress. The Rite of Respect was a complicated ritual of abasement and appeasement was performed while approaching any chromatic dragon. This ceremony didn't provide any special protection from the dragon's fury, but failure to perform it was a death sentence.

In Unther, a sect of her followers known as the Dark Scaly Ones proclaimed the day of the first full moon after Midsummer a holy day dedicated to her. Known as the Festival of Vengeance, this day marked the defeat of Gilgeam at Tiamat hands. In Unthalass the day was celebrated by general anarchy, rioting, and widespread mayhem incited by the clergy and the faithful. During that day, clerics of other gods tried to contain the looting and destruction, and prominent officials were aware against assassination attempts executed by Tiamat's worshipers.

Regions
By 1374 DR, the Church of Tiamat was strongest in Unther and Threskel.

Relationships
The Church of Tiamat was opposed to every other religious organization of Faerûn, but it was especially opposed to the chruches of the other gods of the Untheric pantheon and the church of Bahamut.

Affiliated Orders
The Serpent Guards were a fellowship of Untherite warriors and crusaders fanatically devoted to Tiamat. They were charged with guarding Tiamat's cult in Unther.

The Knights of the Five-Thorned Rose were her elite five ranking crusaders, tasked with the destruction of the followers of Bahamut, especially metallic dragons.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * The Alabaster Staff