The draconic pantheon was the dragon pantheon of gods.
Members
The pantheon consisted of the gods worshiped mostly by dragons, though some of these deities also had among their worshipers half-dragons, kobolds, lizardfolk, troglodytes, spellscales, and even humans[1] and dragonborn.[2]
- Asgorath: The leader of the draconic pantheon, he (or she) was presumably not only a god, but also a primordial. Regarded as the creator of all dragonkind and, in some sources, of the multiverse. Known as Io in the Outer Planes.[3][4][1][5]
- Astilabor: Goddess of acquisitiveness and wealth.[3][4][1]
- Bahamut: Originally known as Xymor, he was the god of enlightened justice and good dragonkind. He became a member of the Faerûnian pantheon sometime after the Spellplague.[3][4][1][6][7]
- Garyx: God of fire, destruction, and renewal.[3][4][1]
- Hlal: Goddess of humor, inventiveness, and pleasure, and also the messenger of Asgorath. Known in the Outer Planes as Aasterinian.[3][4][1][8]
- Kereska: Goddess of dragon magic.[3][4]
- Kuyutha: A dragonborn demigod who served Bahamut.[9]
- Lendys: God of harsh justice.[3][4][1]
- Null: God of death and dead dragons. In the Outer Planes, it was believed that in fact Null was two different gods, Chronepsis and Falazure; or that both gods were different faces of the same two-aspected deity.[3][4][8]
- Sardior: God of gem dragons and psionics.[10][11][12][note 1]
- Tamara: Goddess of mercy and healers.[3][4][1]
- Task: God of greed.[3][4][8]
- Tiamat: Goddess of vengeance and evil dragonkind, she was also part of the Untheric pantheon and became a member of the Faerûnian pantheon during the Time of Troubles.[3][7][1][13][6]
- Zorquan: God of dragonkind and "dragonness" (the essence of what it was to be a dragon).[3][4]
Known dead powers
- Azharul: A dragon god who lived in Dragon Eyrie. Killed by Tiamat in 1371 DR.[14]
- Kalzareinad: A demigod of magic, found dead in 1358 DR.[3]
- Lernaea: A dragon god killed by Tiamat. The progenitor of Hydras.
- A deity of mating.[15]
- Odassa: the dragon god of protection of hatchlings.[15]
- A deity of vengeance upon enemies.[15]
Unknown powers
- Zotha: An unknown being mentioned in the red dragon's creation myth.[16]
History
The draconic pantheon was one of the oldest pantheons of gods on Toril, being worshiped by dragonkind since the creation of their race in −30,000 DR.[17][18] Dragons of that time were devout followers of their gods, and such devotion sparked intense wars, dubbed as the Draco Holy Wars, over philosophical differences not only between different species but also within species.[17]
Over time, draconic philosophers came to the conclusion that all of the fighting was wasteful and that gods who allowed such behavior were not worthy of their worship.[18] Some believe this behavior was influenced by the god Zorquan as a way to stop the dragon wars.[19] Whatever the truth, eventually most dragons turned away from the war and from religion in general. This started the dragon's apathy toward their gods, which lasted for thousands of years.[18] It was speculated that several members of the original draconic pantheon just died and vanished from the multiverse due to the lack of worship.[15] Only the followers of Bahamut and Tiamat didn't lost their faith toward their gods, and continued fighting in what was known as the Dragonfall War.[18]
Although members of the draconic pantheon had personal lairs and domains in many of the outer planes,[3] their own plane was the Dragon Eyrie.[20] However, this plane was destroyed by the Spellplague in 1385 DR, and the draconic deities drifted to the domains of other gods.[14][21]
Turning of the Great Cycle
It was prophesied among the few remaining worshipers of the draconic gods that a "Turning of the Great Cycle" would foretell the return of religious fervor among dragonkind.[15][22] After the last Rage of Dragons, in 1373 DR, the dragon population of Faerûn was greatly reduced in number.[22] That realization sparked the need of dragons to look for the help of their gods, marking the prophesied "turning". The dragon gods who survived the long years without worshipers received a great influx of power from their new draconic followers. However, this also threatened Faerûn with the possibility of a new battle in the Dragonfall War.[15][22]
Appendix
Notes
- ↑ Although there is no mention of Sardior in specific Realms products, according to Ed Greenwood Sardior was worshiped as a god on the Realms.
Connections
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Kolja Raven Liquette (2006). Races of the Dragon. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-3913-3.
- ↑ Steve Kenson, et al. (November 2015). Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. Edited by Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-7869-6580-9.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Dale Donovan (January 1998). Cult of the Dragon. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 120–124. ISBN 0-7869-0709-6.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 25–32. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 80. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 57–59. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 221. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- ↑ Richard Baker, et al. (November 2009). Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons. Edited by Logan Bonner, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 209. ISBN 978-0-7869-5248-9.
- ↑ Scott Brocius & Mark A. Jindra (2003-01-24). The Legend of Sardior. The Mind's Eye. Retrieved on 2016-12-12.
- ↑ Collins, Arthur W. "That's Not In the Monster Manual!" Dragon #37. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1980.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood. Ed's Twitter. Retrieved on 2016-12-13.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd, Erik Mona (May 2002). Faiths and Pantheons. Edited by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 0-7869-2759-3.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ed Greenwood (2015-02-12). Questions for Ed Greenwood (2015). Candlekeep Forum. Retrieved on 2015-02-16.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 30. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 2. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 28. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 7. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.
- ↑ Nigel Findley, et al. (October 1990). Draconomicon. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 29. ISBN 0-8803-8876-5.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 258. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 60–62. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Eric L. Boyd, Eytan Bernstein (August 2006). Dragons of Faerûn. Edited by Beth Griese, Cindi Rice, Kim Mohan. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 10. ISBN 0-7869-3923-0.