Bahamut (Classic)

Bahamut is the dragon god of justice and law. He is a member of the Draconic pantheon, as a deity of good dragons, metallic dragons, wisdom, and enlightened justice (justice tempered with mercy and punishment with forgiveness). His natural form was that of a platinum dragon, said by many to be the only one of his kind. He was also the rival of his sister Tiamat, queen of the chromatic dragons.

## Description

In his natural form, Bahamut was a massive dragon approximately 180 feet (55 meters) long, with a tail the same length as his body, with platinum scales tougher than any shield (said by some to be virtually indestructible) that glowed with a faint blue sheen, and blue eyes, the exact color of which was hard to specify and may have depended on Bahamut's mood.

When he wished to wander the mortal world, he usually took the appearance of an old human or demi-human wizard dressed in peasant robes accompanied by seven canaries or other songbirds. Some sages believed Bahamut used this humanoid guise to not frighten non-dragon beings. They also believed that while Bahamut was fond of his old man guise, he had other guises as well. Other recorded guises included that of a prince with a carriage drawn by seven horses, an urchin accompanied by seven friends, a beggar followed by seven dogs, a humble fisher or a young monk who bears the title of the "Grandmaster of Flowers".

## Realm

Myths claimed that the great fortified castle that Bahamut called home was somewhere "behind the east wind" and many scholars believed Bahamut's castle was located on the Elemental Plane of Air. Others believed his palace was located "behind the north wind", this being the origin of his "Lord of the North Wind" title. However, Bahamut’s Palace was actually located on the plane of Celestia.

Bahamut was originally restricted to the first four layers of Celestia, and his palace was usually seen in Mercuria, but he was able to move his castle between the first four layers of Celestia at will. For those friendly to the Platinum Dragon, the palace was an alternative method for traveling the first layers of the plane without using the common paths.

Bahamut's Palace was also connected to the Elemental Plane of Air by four portals named after the four winds, each guarded by a warden Archon. The guardian of the gate to the North Wind was Yonel, the guardian of the gate to the South Wind was Kerkhoutha, the guardian of the gate to the West Wind was Moriel, and the guardian of the gate to the East Wind was Ruhiel.

## Personality

Bahamut was stern and very disapproving of evil. He accepted no excuses for evil acts, and didn't tolerate even minor offenses by evil creatures.

In spite of his stance, he was also considered one of the most compassionate beings in the multiverse. He had limitless empathy for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the helpless. He usually preferred to polymorph those who had offended him instead of killing them, although it was also said that Bahamut loathed to sully himself with the blood of evil creatures.

By draconic standards, Bahamut was neither vain nor desirous of treasure. He valued wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and songs instead. He used the great wealth he had amassed over the ages to help those in need, while using the magic items he had gathered to further his goals. However, he also pursued viciously (usually sending his champions and followers) those who tried to steal the hoard from his palace as, after all, he was a god of justice.

Bahamut also liked to prove the strength and worthiness of his followers by battling against them in his dragon form, halting the combat when his followers were injured or when they overcame him. However, he was prone to get carried away by his zeal, and had powerful healers on hand in case he had gravely injured one of his followers in those battles.

While his court comprised only gold dragons, Bahamut enjoyed the company of all good dragons, delighting in their differences and varied personalities.

## Activities

Bahamut spent half of his time traveling the Material Plane in the guise of an old man. In this form, he traveled from one place to another with no apparent purpose and was quick to offer advice, information, or assistance to other travelers he encountered on the road. He always tried to assess the worthiness—viewed through a lens of justice, nobility, and honor—of everyone he met while traveling. Some said that Bahamut had visited every known world and plane during these travels at least once in his lifetime. When Bahamut assumed the form of the old man, he was usually accompanied by seven gold great wyrms polymorphed into canaries or some other small animal form, always ready to attack anyone foolish enough to threaten their god.

He spent the rest of his time holding court in his shining palace on Celestia. Powerful good-aligned clerics and paladins sometimes took pilgrimages to his castle, seeking to receive the blessings of the Platinum Dragon.

Bahamut was ever watchful against the machinations of Tiamat, and never interfered in the affairs of mortal creatures unless his actions could also stop her evil schemes. When he confronted her, he always took the necessary actions to stop the spread of her influence and to undo whatever damage she had done.

Bahamut was unable to turn his back on any good creatures that were in need, however, even if Tiamat wasn't involved. But he preferred to help them in indirect ways, such as giving them useful information, needed advice that bordered on prophecy, a safe refuge, or healing and bolstering them with his powerful magic.

## History

For ages, sages debated whether Bahamut originally was a deity or not. Many believed he was the archetype of good dragonkind, the avatar of another deity, or even a mortal dragon so powerful that other dragons revered him like a god. Whatever he was, sages knew for certain that he was powerful, was venerated by many good dragons as their king, and was even respected by evil ones.

According to sages of the 14th century BCE, Bahamut was actually a god. He came into existence alongside the rest of the draconic pantheon when the first dragons were born. However, sages of the 15th century BCE suggest that, while Bahamut is divine in nature, since his origins are tied with those of the Material Plane, he is ontologically different from the gods that hail from the Outer Planes.

His actual origins were highly conflicting, however, as there were many accounts about how he came into being. In the more commonly accepted traditions, he was the Aspect of Asgorath and brother of Tiamat and Null.

According to the ancient draconic myth Elegy for the First World, Bahamut and Tiamat both coalesced from the primordial chaos at the beggining of time.

Whatever the truth, his cult grew rapidly in the communities of metallic dragons, especially among young gold dragons. Some sages speculate that this was because gold dragons believed Bahamut was once a gold dragon whose great goodness caused him to transcend his golden form and become a unique dragon breed.

## Creation of the First World

According to Elegy for the First World, after Bahamut and Tiamat awakened from the primeval chaos they partnered and worked together to create a world, that later was known as the Prime Material Plane, but in the poem was known as the First World. After the creation of the First World, they created the dragon god Sardior to help them to create the rest of the dragonkind: the first metallic and chromatic dragons.

## Relationships

Bahamut's allies include good dragons, half-dragons, dragonborn, and other draconic creatures. Bahamut's antithesis was Tiamat, as both of them represented opposing values, and this enmity was reflected in the attitude of each deity's worshipers as well. He was also at odds with his brother Null.

## The Seven Gold Wyrms

A council of seven ancient gold dragons comprised Bahamut's court. They were Bahamut's closest servants and friends. Each one worked on specific tasks, and served as Bahamut's emissaries in tasks that didn't demand the god's personal attention. They also advised Bahamut on matters of honor and acted as a jury when the god was judging evildoers—often apprehended by his champions.

Some claimed these wyrms were reincarnations of dead kings, renowned for their sense of justice and returned to life to serve the Platinum Dragon. Gold dragons, however, believed that Bahamut chose among the most noble and courageous among them to serve him in this capacity, and they considered a position in his court to be the most prestigious of all. According to gold dragon traditions, Bahamut chose them through secret, elaborate, and dangerous tests that challenged their mettle. Once appointed to a position in his court, that gold dragon served Bahamut until dead or until it was too old or infirm to aid their god.nIt was unknown if there was some form of hierarchy among them.

## Worshippers

The majority of Bahamut's worshipers prior to the sundering of the First World were metallic dragons. While he was revered by all dragons, gold, silver, and brass dragons held him in particularly high regard. His worship grew in the centuries following the Era of the Gods, when he regained his divine status, as non-dragons began to take interest in his teachings. Followers of Bahamut often took quests to oppose the schemes of Tiamat and to stop or destroy her followers. They were allies of worshipers of Izona, Moradin, Tyr, and other lawful good deities.

## Clergy

Bahamut accepted only clerics of good alignments. Whether they were dragons, dragonborn, half-dragons, or other beings attracted to his philosophy, clerics of the Platinum Dragon always had to strive to take constant but subtle actions on behalf of good while trying to do as little harm in the process as possible.

Dragon clerics were usually nurtured from birth, trained by a senior dragon cleric, usually a parent or close friend of their parents, although it was not unusual that a dragon of any age heard the call of Bahamut and sought out clerical training. As with any dragon deity, dragons who wanted to become clerics of Bahamut had to first acquire an appropriate holy symbol. This holy symbol became the most prized item of their hoards after that, as it was a symbol of their status in dragon society and of the cleric's devotion to Bahamut, and to lose it was considered a blasphemy. If a dragon cleric didn't try to recover a stolen or lost holy symbol, he or she would lose their investiture. Usually a dragon had to acquire his or her holy symbol on their own, but Bahamut also bestowed a holy symbol to a dragon he wanted to be his cleric.

The holy symbol used by dragon clerics of Bahamut was a small dragon claw (about the size of a human hand) usually made of platinum or some other metal plated with platinum, although younger (and relatively poorer) dragons made theirs of their own metal type. They carried their holy symbol at all times, usually around their necks on a stout chain. One of the main goals of a dragon cleric was to acquire their most preferred type of holy symbol; in the case of Bahamut's worshipers, this was one made of platinum. In some instances, Bahamut blessed some of his clerics for services rendered by upgrading their holy symbol to one made of platinum.

Bahamut was known to work with his clerics more often than other dragon deities, and he asked his clerics to oppose the greatest weaknesses of dragonkind, which in Bahamut's point of view were the tendency of good dragons to perform questionable acts because of greed or cowardice, the chance to be subdued (something all dragon gods frowned upon), and the existence of evil dragons.

Like the dragon clerics of the other dragon deities, clerics of Bahamut were expected to perform three key functions alongside any other tasks he asked them to do: to act as role models for other good dragons, to function as emissaries of Bahamut in a given area, and to spread Bahamut's will to other dragons in that area while collecting sacrifices from Bahamut's worshipers. Those sacrifices were usually a small part of their dragon hoards, and dragon clerics were allowed to take a small share of this sacrifice as well, making this third function the favorite of many dragon clerics. Dragon clerics were also expected to sacrifice a part of their treasure to Bahamut once every year.

If a dragon cleric transgressed Bahamut's dogma, committed questionable acts, or was subdued, either voluntarily or by force, he or she would lose favor with him and would need to atone by sacrificing part of their treasure or by performing special tasks, or they would lose part of their clerical powers. Repeated transgressions would earn them the loss of all their clerical abilities, a merciful punishment compared to how other dragon gods, such as Tiamat, punished their failed clerics.

Non-draconic clerics of Bahamut typically learned his teachings at the foot of a wyrm, usually a gold or silver dragon in humanoid form. Teacher and student often traveled to see the effects of injustice and cruelty firsthand. Bahamut's wanderings gave rise to many bard tales about an unassuming old man with canaries who helped people on the roads that were well known among his faithful, and many of his human and demihuman priests undertook pilgrimages in the company of trained canaries, seeking to emulate their god.

## Temples

Temples to Bahamut were extremely rare, as the Platinum Dragon didn't appreciate being honored by objects, taking into account deeds instead. Many gold, silver, and brass dragons maintained small shrines to Bahamut in their lairs, usually nothing more than Bahamut's holy symbol engraved on a wall.

The few temples that were made to honor him were beautiful and elegant buildings with simple furniture and no embellishment or adornment. Those temples had meeting rooms where followers could gather to plan their next campaign against Tiamat, and a few smaller rooms where individuals could pray, meditate, or rest in privacy.

## Dogma

Bahamut's dogma was based on justice, nobility, protection, and honor. He taught his followers to always uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice; to be constantly vigilant against evil and to oppose it from all fronts; and to protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order. Bahamut advocated a "greater justice" that included fighting against evil and toppling oppressive regimes. He also liked to reward strength of purpose and character in his followers.

His dragon adepts followed the Ptarian Code, a draconic code of honor created by the gold dragon Ptaris in the ancient past. Originally intended as a code of conduct for the lords who attended the King of Justice, the Ptarian Code eventually was adopted by many gold and silver dragons. The Ptarian Code was similar to the codes of chivalry adopted by knightly orders of humanity. The major precepts were:

* Justice and Good above all.
* Honor and Fealty to the King.
* Honor and Respect to Righteous Innocence.
* Honor and Protection to the Lesser Races.
* Honor and Correction to the Enemies of Justice and Good.
* Honor and Forbearance for oneself.

## Rites

Bahamut's worshipers and clergy had no formal rituals or ceremonies. Those who followed the Platinum Dragon believed in the philosophy of "praying through their deeds". The only activity that was considered as something like a ritual was the Rite of Rebirth, the magical process by which non-dragon humanoids transformed themselves into dragonborn.

### Rite of Rebirth

The Platinum Dragon rejected the thought of breeding creatures to oppose the aberrant creations of Tiamat. He instead sought out humanoid volunteers of any non-draconic race who had shown strong determination and the will to work against vile draconic creatures. A potential recruit's past didn't matter to Bahamut while the candidate had demonstrated the commitment to oppose Tiamat and her spawn. Even wrongdoers found redemption and purpose in becoming Bahamut's servants.

Usually, Bahamut called those humanoids he had chosen before adolescence, but sometimes adults heard the call of the Platinum Dragon as well. The call was a courteous mental question, asking in the hearts and souls of those deemed worthy if were willing to undertake the duty to protect the world from the spawn of Tiamat, giving up all that they were until that moment of their lives for a life of hardships and sacrifices. Not all those who were called answered, but those who did it underwent a magical process known as the Rite of Rebirth.