Over our past couple of articles, we’ve spent time talking about the Draconic Pantheon – those gods of the Forgotten Realms who are worshipped by dragons and other dragon-like species. First, it was the major gods, who are most commonly worshiped throughout the Realms (A Brief Overview of the Draconic Pantheon in the Forgotten Realms (part 1)), and then it was the neutral gods (A Brief Overview of the Draconic Pantheon in the Forgotten Realms (part 2)), who might be worshiped by dragons of any color or alignment.
Dragons, whose loyalties and tendencies toward goodness or evil are clearly delineated by their type, also have good and evil gods. You’ll rarely find a chromatic dragon worshiping good gods, as you’ll rarely find a good chromatic dragon. And the same applies for metallic dragons and evil gods.
Good-Aligned Draconic Deities
The following draconic gods are good aligned.
Hlal, the Jester
Also known as Aasterinian, Quicksilver, and Avachel, Hlal is the dragon deity of humor, messengers, and pranks. Under her aliases, which are often identified by differing appearances, genders, and even alignments, she also holds domain over learning and inventiveness. Her appearances are also as varied as her names: while she can take the form of anything she wishes for the sake of her tricks, she favors a faerie or copper dragon as Hlal, a brass dragon as Aasterinian, and a mercury dragon as Avachel/Quicksilver. Whatever she looks like, however, her personality is always cheerful and impish, though not without the strain of vanity and pride endemic to dragons.
Hlal encourages her followers to learn new things and think for themselves. She is also the messenger of both Asgorath and Bahamut, and protector deity of Wild Elves, whom she befriended on her travels of the Realms.
Her symbol is either an open book or a smiling dragon. She is chaotic good.
Tamara, Her Beneficence
Lover to Lendys, and sometimes mother to Bahamut, Tamara is the goddess of mercy, forgiveness, and light. She appears as a platinum dragon with a distinct aura of warmth and love, and eyes that speak to her kindness. She is the kindest and most benevolent of the entire pantheon, focusing her efforts on bringing comfort, happiness, and forgiveness to her people, meting her consort’s tendency for harshness in his justice. However, she is not toothless – she fiercely opposes the artificial elongation of life, undeath in all forms, and tyrants of any species, and does not hesitate to send her followers against such things.
Tamara’s symbol is a star with seven points, always shown against a black field or surface. She is neutral good.
Evil-Aligned Draconic Deities
The following deities are evil aligned.
Task, the Wrester
While the goddess Astilabor governs the general acquisition of wealth, Task is the god of true, selfish, greed, and all the cruelty that one might commit in order to gain and keep wealth. He is so greedy that when he manifests, it is as a dragon so encrusted with coins and treasure that you cannot even make out his coloring.
While he rarely gives any of his vast treasure to his followers (which might put off such greedy individuals as his faithful), he does sometimes create magical items to grant them or turn them into undead hoarder dragons so they could remain with their loot after death. One favored gift is called the Shackles of Amilek, which paralyzes anyone who kills the shackles’ owner, thus stopping them from stealing anything other than their life.
Task’s symbol is five stacked coins. He is chaotic evil.
Garyx, All-Destroyer
Huge, powerful, and potentially insane, Garyx is the dragon god of destruction and renewal. He appears as either a gold or a red dragon, both of which spew fire as their breath attack, and usually uses that breath to wreak death and destruction across the entirety of the Realms.
Garyx cares for nothing but the pandemonium that he might, and does, sew. He largely ignores his followers (though they believe he gives them some measure of power), which include both red and occasionally gold dragons. The only time he ever willingly ceased his destruction was during a war against giants, when he and a giant deity agreed to settle the conflict via a strategy game, which resulted in a stalemate.
His symbol is a dragon’s eye surrounded by flames. He is chaotic evil.
Faluzure, the Reaver
The second, evil aspect of Null, Faluzure is the evil counterpart to Chronepsis, and god of death and undeath. In the Realms, he is worshipped as Null, but those in the Outer Planes know him to be a fully separate entity with his own domain, home, and goals. However, while in the Realms, he still appears in identical appearance and presence: a dragon-shaped void with a voice like the dead. Also like Chronepsis, he is arrogant, grudging, and humorless, but with a much more malicious bent, relishing, and revering death rather than merely accepting it.
As a god, he teaches that death is inevitable, and that incorporating death into everyday life makes a person or a dragon stronger and more powerful. He hates almost the entirety of his pantheon, with the temporary exception of the late demigod Kalzareinad (a once-god, then demigod of evil magic who died during the Time of Troubles). It is thought that he has the power to turn dragons into dracoliches (undead, lich dragons of terrifying power), and his followers are known to go on violent rampages during eclipses, hoping that the highest death toll will make them into his high priest for a time.
Faluzure’s symbol is a dragon skull. He is lawful evil.
Have you used any of these draconic gods in your campaigns? Did we leave anything important about them out? Let us know in the comments below!
