Religion in Dragonia
Religion in Dragonia
Dragonia is a world set apart from gods. The powers that hold sway over other worlds from on high in the outer planes have no influence on Dragonia. But that does not mean the people of Dragonia are without religion. The Elder Dragons themselves are worshiped by all manner of creatures on Dragonia, not just dragons. And although the Elder Dragons prefer to act through their agents, be it the dragonborn or otherwise, their power over the world is as real as any god’s.
While each of the Elder Dragons has its own alignment, interests, and aims, all are the Children of Io, and submit themselves wholly to Io’s will. Io, in turn, cares for all of his children equally and the world of Dragonia as well, although his will is often inscrutable to the mortal races. Io recognizes that his children bicker amongst themselves constantly, and he permits this, but it seems he has largely prevented them from acting directly against each other, the results of such a confrontation being so cataclysmic that it would likely spell doom for many denizens of Dragonia, if not the entire world. In addition, it is widely supposed (and there is good evidence for this), that Io has established a rule that the number of dragonborn allowed to serve each individual Elder Dragon is set and cannot be changed. The exact limit (if it exists) is not known, but this limit upon the number of dragonborn servants is speculated to be the same for all Elder Dragons, although the dragonborn of some Elder Dragons are certainly more visible than most. Io himself has no dragonborn servants. All dragonborn serve the Elder Dragons, and in turn Io, thus it is believed that Io sees no need for his own dragonborn, but like many so-called “facts” about Io, the reasons for this can only be hypothesized.
There are temples and places of worship to all the Elder Dragons throughout Dragonia. Some are more visible than others. Those Elder Dragons of lawful alignment seem to draw the largest numbers of organized worshipers, but this should not be mistaken as some Elder Dragons necessarily having more power than others. In fact, many philosophers believe that, like the limitations upon dragonborn, Io has limited the number of worshipers each of his children may have at any one time. It is also true that those who follow good or neutral Elder Dragons generally operate more in the open than those of evil alignment. But let there be no mistake that countless followers of Falazure, Garyx and Tiamat operate in great numbers under cover of darkness. In some places, particularly the massive city of Dracos, there are even open temples to Tiamat, often considered the most brazen of the evil Elder Dragons. Temples to Io are uncommon. Aside from the adorned Ivory Citadel of Dracos, places of worship for the faithful of Io are rare indeed, though occasional shrines may be found dotting the landscape in many various places. It seems that Io’s attitude towards his most devoted followers is as dispassionate and incomprehensible as his attitude towards most other things.
Temples devoted to good Elder Dragons are often responsible for the welfare of the common people. The faithful of Tamara are best known for this, their healers being world-renowned for their selfless devotion and compassionate hearts. The church of Bahamut has a more martial aspect, training its followers to combat evil wherever they see it, providing for the common defense, and in particular hunting down the followers of Tiamat wherever they may lair. The only exception to this is in the city of Dracos, where Io has forbidden combat of any sort between the two rivals. Though they respect this truce, they do so uneasily, and only in Dracos. Temples to Hlal are perhaps the least common among those of the good Elder Dragons, but she is no less worshiped for it. As a matter of fact, her worshipers are perhaps the most likely folk travelers will encounter, as many of them are wandering bards, tavern and shop owners, and carnival people who make their living either abroad or catering to those who do.
Those Elder Dragons who are neither evil nor good are more numerous than their siblings, and their places of worship often hold special places in the societies where they are found. Perhaps the most widely recognized are the Justice Houses of Lendys, where judgment is meted out for crimes of all sorts. Clerics and adepts of Lendys use spells like detect thoughts, zone of truth, and discern lies to divine the truth in all things and ensure that justice is served. These places have a reputation for cold-heartedness, but they are nevertheless efficient and effective. Chronepsis has few clerics or temples, but his dispassionate watchers are renowned as sources of oracular wisdom and information, though they have a tendency to be quite cryptic. Aasterinian likewise has little in the way of organized worship, but she is very commonly revered by races such as the gnomes, who value her cunning and illusionary power. Astilabor is a capricious quantity, and her followers reflect this. She is commonly worshiped by entire merchant houses and respected by both criminals and honest businesses alike.
As noted, apart from the grand city of Dracos, there are few open temples to any of the evil Elder Dragons. The followers of Garyx act with little cohesion, large groups of followers often held tenuously together by a strong, charismatic leader only as long as his horde’s appetite for destruction is sated. Falazure has no temples, but he is worshiped by a great many who practice the dark arts of necromancy and those who dabble in the summoning, control, and even embracing of undeath. This devotion is usually private, but it is not unheard of for his worship to be forced upon entire communities by a single mad necromancer or powerful undead creature. Tiamat is the most feared of the evil dragons both because of the organization of her worshippers and their zealous tenacity. They seek to spread evil and tyranny with the same amount of fervor as the followers of Bahamut seek to stem its tide.
All divine casters derive their power from the Elder Dragons in some form or fashion, be they true worshipers or not. It is said that Io himself grants divine spellcasting ability to any who have not specifically devoted themselves to a particular Elder Dragon. The fact that Io is capable of having clerics of any alignment lends some creed to this belief. But there is also the theory that those divine casters who claim no devotion are secretly sponsored in some way by an Elder Dragon whose beliefs and goals align with the divine caster. No one knows which is the truth; it may actually be a blending of the two. But everyone is certain that because Dragonia is cutoff from the divine forces of the multiverse, the Elder Dragons and Io are most definitely the source of all divine power on Dragonia.
Aside from the alignment domains, all Elder Dragons have a unique selection of cleric domains, granting the servants of each Elder Dragon certain exclusive powers. In addition, any dragon cleric (including those with the dragonblood subtype) may select the Dragon domain as one of his domains. Dragonia is also unique in that only druids seem able to tap into the power of the elemental domains. All druids select a single elemental domain (Air, Earth, Fire, Water) upon attaining 1st level in the class. This choice cannot be changed. Like a cleric domain, the druid may prepare one spell each day for each level that she is able to cast from her domain. Her choice also limits the type of elementals she is able to summon with summon nature’s ally and the form of the elemental she is able to take with her wild shape ability. Why Io lets this be so is unknown, but there is a general belief that Io has gifted the druids a special bond with elementals that he does not allow to other divine casters.
The Elder Dragons, their alignments and their domains are given below.
Aasterinian (CN): Chaos, Charm, Illusion, Trade
Astilabor (N): Cavern, Metal, Wealth
Bahamut (LG): Good, Luck, Nobility, Pact, Storm
Chronepsis (N): Fate, Planning, Time
Falazure (NE): Darkness, Evil, Undeath
Garyx (CE): Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Madness, Renewal
Hlal (CG): Chaos, Good, Rune, Trickery
Io (N): Knowledge, Magic, Strength, Travel, Spell
Lendys (LN): Death, Law, Protection, Retribution
Tamara (NG): Family, Glory, Good, Healing, Sun
Tiamat (LE): Evil, Greed, Hatred, Law, Scalykind, Tyranny
The Elder Dragons otherwise follow the alignment restrictions and guidelines set forth in the Draconomicon.
