D&D 5E Dragons as Gods (+)

[pukunui]

I really like the idea of dragons as gods. But I’d work up a custom pantheon of dragon gods from across editions instead of trying to fit existing gods to a new paradigm.

The hard part is names and lore. But you don’t need much to get by. Start with the chromatics. Red: fire & greed. Blue: sky & lightning. Black: death & decay. Green: trickery & poison. White: winter & cold. And move down the list. Metallic. Etc. But you cannot forget the catastrophic dragons, though. Blizzard, earthquake, and volcanic.

Yeah, I’d much rather have the catastrophic dragons than the others, to be honest. I had hoped they’d be included in Fizban’s.

I mean, metallic and gem dragons at least have an earthy, material world theme, which makes sense with the whole “dragons are innately tied to the Material Plane” thing. The chromatics are just a random assortment of colors. I suppose we could call them fire, ice, swamp, forest, and desert dragons instead. I’d want to change their colors, though.

 

[pukunui]

For fun, and because it’s good practice, I’ve attempted to map out the full Theros pantheon as dragons:

• Athreos: topaz?
• Ephara: silver
• Erebos: Fizban’s says black dracolich but I think gold shadow dragon makes more sense since Erebos was “born of Heliod’s shadow”
• Heliod: gold
• Iroas: bronze
• Karametra: not sure, since there are no agriculture-themed dragons; maybe silver?
• Keranos: blue
• Klothys: amethyst or sapphire?
• Kruphix: amethyst?
• Mogis: red or white
• Nylea: no idea, since again the only nature-oriented dragons are the pacifist moonstone dragons and the prankster faerie dragons, neither of which fit the theme of a huntress
• Pharika: green
• Phenax: green shadow dragon?
• Purphoros: unsure, since again there are no forge/creation themed dragons; maybe bronze since Purphoros is partially covered in the stuff?
• Thassa: dragon turtle

There are a few potential double-ups, which I’d really rather avoid, but perhaps it can’t be helped.

 

[Minigiant]

I have as setting that no group ever chooses where the dragon deities are migrants from another world. Them being powered by the echoes of greatwyrms of other worlds is good hook on why they successfully mitigated and still had enough power to maintain ranks.

 

[pukunui]

The Sovereign Host of Eberron already has the “they might be dragons” hook, but the dragons associated with each of the deities seems pretty random to me. I get that dragons in Eberron aren’t forced into the strict alignment/personality types of regular D&D, but why would anyone associate the goddess of feasts and good fortune with a skull-faced, swamp-dwelling black dragon? That makes no sense to me.

I think if you really want to make it so a dragon’s appearance doesn’t really mean anything, then you need to not have any dragons that look obviously evil (or majestically good).

 

[RoughCoronet0]

I have several dragon gods on my world, who’s most devout and powerful servants are greatwyrm dragons who can use their dragon sight to watch the rest of the multiverse through their echoes without those echoes ever knowing, since my world is meant to be the First World my group's multiverse and as such the greatwyrms of my world are the originals.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

For a hypothetical setting I've drafted up, I decided to make a "dragons are divine" cosmology/theogony.

As a preliminary note: gender in general is...a difficult thing with dragons, even the lesser, "ordinary" dragons (which hold a position similar to angels--loyal or fallen--in other cosmologies). That is, in a very real sense, every dragon is both male and female, and neither and both, and more and less than any of those options, and all of them and none of them, all at the same time. Any given dragon may choose to use particular forms or expressions, but these things are just that, choices, closer to liking a certain color when deciding what clothes to wear. I will sometimes use gendered terms, but formally speaking this is an error, I'm just doing it because it's easier or smoother English.

Io is the Allfather(/Allmother), the Last who became First, the final and original seed.

The cycle of creation is one of great division and diversity, through which knowledge, magic, wisdom, skill, and power rise and accumulate, until in the end, a transcendent final form is achieved, encompassing all that the universe has achieved, whether united by force, diplomacy, or mere survival. Io is that being from the previous universe, the Ultimate Wyrm, vast and "complete." But Great Io knew that it was still possible that something was missed, something left out, that true perfection might still elude. So, carved from his(/her) own flesh, Io crafted the universe anew, to see, to discover, to build, to be, because Io alone could not grow or change anymore.

Greatest among Dead Io's creations were Tiamat and Bahamut, her chosen children, leaders among those carved-off parts of himself of greatest power, the dragons. Tiamat, Whose-Guile-Is-Power, was the leader of the two, set to be Child, Hunter, Ruler (or, as Tiamat often chooses a female aspect, Daughter, Huntress, Queen); the second, the advisor, the guide, Sibling, Teacher, Priest, Bahamut, Whose-Might-Is-Wisdom, made to match Tiamat just as Tiamat was made to match Bahamut. Tiamat, leader of the Prismatic brood, glittering gems, supported and protected by Bahamut, leader of the Metallic brood. Their younger siblings, the other gods, in colors and materials beautiful and brilliant.

Unfortunately, some horrible rift tore open between Monarch and Priest, some utterly unbridgeable gap. In the fall, Tiamat was twisted and corrupted, mind shattered into the seven colored pieces of her likewise-fallen brood: no longer ruby and emerald and diamond, but red, green, white, black, and blue. Whence her Topaz and Amethyst children--and, indeed, those facets of herself--have gone, none can say. In her madness and grief, she has torn great gashes across the world birthed from Io, and Bahamut has struggled mightily to lead the other dragons in her absence, filling a role that he was never meant to fill, aching always for the love he was designed to cherish and be held by.

That is why the world is rent, why evil claws at its edges, why wisdom quails before the enormity of its task, why the line of queens and princes shall ever be tempted to darkness.

=====

I actually have a ton of incidental details written about these gods, but since I doubt much of that will be very interesting (stuff like magic numbers and such) I'll keep it relatively brief. In each case, the "Whose-X-Is/Are-Y" is in some sense their "true" name, while the other name is more like a "personal" or "courtesy" name. (I have my own alternate names for Io, Tiamat, and Bahamut, should I ever decide to publish anything.)

Spoiler: Dragon Things

Io, Whose-One-Is-All, all domains. (Material: all. Literally, Io's body was the material from which the universe was [re]created.)
Tiamat, Whose-Guile-Is-Power, former (pre-fall) domains: Ambition, wealth, individuality, passion, freedom, space, and home. (Material: crystals.)

Post-fall, domains: Pride, greed, selfishness, destruction, entropy, prison. (Material: none, just colors.)​

Bahamut, Whose-Wisdom-Is-Might, domains: Luck, justice/law, magic, protection, glory, time, and adventure. (Material: metals.)
Atalesh, Whose-Laugh-Is-Cutting, domains: Joy, independence, luck, death, plant. (Material: amber.)
Kereska, Whose-Eyes-Are-Dorways, domains: Magic, travel, knowledge, transformation, industry. (Material: opal.)
Narex, Whose-Fire-Is-Change, domains: Fire, earth, death, life, sun. (Material: tektite, sometimes molten.)
Llydenne, Whose-Culling-Is-Kind, domains: Death, justice, wealth, redemption, shadow. (Material: ivory.)
Korr, Whose-Breath-Is-Storm, domains: Air, water, weather, war, strength. (Material: smoky agate.)
Oridas, Whose-Light-Is-Guiding, domains: Light, shadow, air, stars, knowledge. (Material: glass.)
Neriph, Whose-Law-Is-Wild, domains: Animal, protection, strength, freedom, moon. (Material: moonstone.)
Pavask, Whose-Labor-Is-Forever, domains: Industry, fire, home/hearth, war, time. (Material: flint.)
Xyllona, Whose-Soul-Is-Music, domains: Art, medicine, language, friendship, whimsy. (Material: sunstone.)
Urunak, Whose-Step-Is-Regal, domains: Nobility, ancestors, deception, mind, loyalty. (Material: iolite.)

Most domains should be represented by two deities, offering different perspectives on the core concept.

 

[pukunui]

I suppose I could make it so the archdevils and demon lords are also secretly dragons, though.

I decided to give this a go. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:

Devils:
*Admodeus: blue dragon or corrupted gold dragon
*Baalzebul: corrupted bronze dragon
*Dispater: corrupted brass dragon
*Fierna: corrupted copper dragon
*Geryon: corrupted bronze dragon
*Glasya: corrupted gold dragon
*Levistus: white dragon
*Mammon: corrupted gold dragon
*Mephistopheles: corrupted amethyst dragon
*Zariel: corrupted bronze dragon

Demons:
*Baphomet: white dragon or corrupted sapphire dragon
*Dagon: sea serpent
*Demogorgon: red dragon or maybe corrupted gold dragon
*Fraz-Urb’luu: green or maybe corrupted emerald dragon
*Graz’zt: silver shadow dragon
*Juiblex: black dragon
*Lolth: corrupted moonstone dragon
*Yeenoghu: feels redundant with Baphomet so I’ve just skipped him
*Zuggtmoy: deep dragon

 

[cbwjm]

I haven't made dragons gods in my world, but the dragon elders are close, being just a step below (and steps above great wyrms) which makes them a threat to the gods. Rather than having them all tie into the draconic colours, these elder dragons ended up spawning different dragonflights so that one may have spawned both red and gold dragons. They also spawned the various draconic races such as dragonborn and kobolds, things that still exist in the myths of these races millennia later.

 

[pukunui]

I really like the idea of dragons as gods. But I’d work up a custom pantheon of dragon gods from across editions instead of trying to fit existing gods to a new paradigm.

I’ve been giving this a go, but it’s proving to be a lot harder than I thought it would!

The chromatics are definitely the easiest. The metallic dragons are a bit harder, especially brass dragons - it seems their whole schtick is conversation.

The gem dragons are even trickier!

Amethyst could be a generic knowledge god, with maybe magic and science thrown in?

Crystal is pretty random: stars, divination/fate but also fun times, hospitality, healing. They’re like a typical Greek god!

Sapphire seems to be strategic warfare. Not much else besides underground + anti-Far Realm. Vigilance maybe?

Emerald is all about illusion and misdirection in order to observe unseen. So like a wildlife scientist and/or spy.

Topaz is the weirdest dragon, with its backwards wings and all. A god of decay in terms of renewal (whereas a black dragon just likes to watch things decay and isn’t interested in rejuvenating the soil afterwards or whatever).

Tricky stuff!

 

[SkidAce]

I’ve been giving this a go, but it’s proving to be a lot harder than I thought it would!

The chromatics are definitely the easiest. The metallic dragons are a bit harder, especially brass dragons - it seems their whole schtick is conversation.

The gem dragons are even trickier!

Amethyst could be a generic knowledge god, with maybe magic and science thrown in?

Crystal is pretty random: stars, divination/fate but also fun times, hospitality, healing. They’re like a typical Greek god!

Sapphire seems to be strategic warfare. Not much else besides underground + anti-Far Realm. Vigilance maybe?

Emerald is all about illusion and misdirection in order to observe unseen. So like a wildlife scientist and/or spy.

Topaz is the weirdest dragon, with its backwards wings and all. A god of decay in terms of renewal (whereas a black dragon just likes to watch things decay and isn’t interested in rejuvenating the soil afterwards or whatever).

Tricky stuff!

Pick two of the three categories.

Or mix them all up so metallic/chromatic/gem is irrelevant.

This would let you build the Pantheon as you see fit.