Dragonlance WotC Officially Confirms Takhisis and Tiamat Are The Same

It's been an issue in dispute for decades, over various editions of D&D, but WotC has officially confirmed that - at least in 5E - Dragonlance's Takhisis is, indeed, currently Tiamat. In previous editions, Tiamat has varied from being a big dragon to a minor goddess, while Takhisis has been a greater god on Krynn. At times they've been the same entity, and at others different entities. Today, WotC is putting its foot down and saying that Takhisis and Tiamat are, indeed, the same being.



Of course, this is not an opinion universally held. Dragonlance co-creator Margaret Weis emphatically stated that "TAKHISIS IS NOT TIAMAT, DAMN IT!"

Fizban's Treasuryof Dragons confirms that the beings echo across various settings.

D&D 5E - Is Paladine Bahamut? Is Takhisis Tiamat? Fizban's Treasury Might Reveal The Answer!

According to WotC's James Wyatt, Fizban's Treasury of Dragons introduces a new cosmology for dragon gods, where the same beings, including Fizban, echo across various D&D campaign settings with alternate versions of themselves (presumably like Paladine/Bahamut, or Takhisis/Tiamat). Also... the...

www.enworld.org

 

[delericho]

I feel like this conversation has been had before.

Much as I hate it (and the Great Wheel being forced on all settings, too), this shipped sailed in 2e long ago.

TSR and WotC have gone backwards and forwards on this (and the Great Wheel) many times over the years, with the answer often depending on when you asked and who you asked. I fully expect the answers to have changed again a few editions from now.

 

[Azzy]

TSR and WotC have gone backwards and forwards on this (and the Great Wheel) many times over the years, with the answer often depending on when you asked and who you asked. I fully expect the answers to have changed again a few editions from now.

True.

 

[Reynard]

You lost me here. Why, if Tiamat = Takhisis does that make her a demon lord. I am not following that logic at all. Can you clarify?

Because 5E Tiamat is a demon lord, per Descent into Avernus.

 

[darjr]

Which nostalgia is WotC chasing? It might shed some light on some of the choices. When and where before was it emphasized that they were the same?

 

[dave2008]

Because 5E Tiamat is a demon lord, per Descent into Avernus.

Per WotC the only thing that is canon is in the core books and she is a lesser god there.

PS - Where in DiA do they call here a demon lord?

EDIT: I am looking through DiA and she is not a demon lord as far as I can tell. If she is, she is an odd one with a lair in Avernus and devils at her command.

EDIT 2: She is still a goddess in DiA:

"

Ire of Tiamat​

Tiamat’s divine power is mighty enough to break the chains that bind Elturel. Arkhan the Cruel is willing to commune with his goddess to this end, but only if the characters offer him a suitably potent gift. In an inscrutable twist, Tiamat decides to aid the characters, and tells Arkhan as such. Read or paraphrase the following:"

 

[dave2008]

Because 5E Tiamat is a demon lord, per Descent into Avernus.

FYI, per Fizban's she, like Bahamut, is a god-like dragon, not a demon lord, but primordials:

Bahamut and Tiamat, the primordial dragons and the purported creators of the First World, are the closest things to gods among dragonkind. Since they share the same fundamental connection to the Material Plane as their dragon offspring, Bahamut and Tiamat are ontologically distinct from the gods that hail from the Outer Planes. But for practical purposes, they are divine—worshiped by mortal creatures, able to grant cleric spells to their followers, and both ageless and immortal. Since the destruction of the First World, both primordial dragons now dwell in the Outer Planes—Bahamut on Mount Celestia and Tiamat in the Nine Hells.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Bahamut and Tiamat, the primordial dragons and the purported creators of the First World, are the closest things to gods among dragonkind. Since they share the same fundamental connection to the Material Plane as their dragon offspring, Bahamut and Tiamat are ontologically distinct from the gods that hail from the Outer Planes. But for practical purposes, they are divine—worshiped by mortal creatures, able to grant cleric spells to their followers, and both ageless and immortal. Since the destruction of the First World, both primordial dragons now dwell in the Outer Planes—Bahamut on Mount Celestia and Tiamat in the Nine Hells.

in my own head I always imagine powerful immortals, titans (primordals) Demon/devil lords, fey lords and Gods are different but not enough so to matter

 

[darjr]

Oh! Tiamat is prominent in Critical Role. I’d forgotten about that.

The ironic thing is she’s probably in CR because of Takhisis being in Dragonlance.

 

[Rabulias]

I always thought using Bahamut and Tiamat as the primary deities in an original pantheon for a game called Dungeons & Dragons was inspired brilliance.

 

[Scribe]

Oh! Tiamat is prominent in Critical Role. I’d forgotten about that.

The ironic thing is she’s probably in CR because of her being in Dragonlance.

What? Is there a TLDR on what this relationship is?

Edit, NM I read that as Takhisis lol