Tiamat
Tiamat, known as the Scaled Tyrant or the Undying Queen, is a powerful deity classified among the Betrayer Gods of the realm. Unlike the Prime Deities who are openly revered as beneficial or neutral protectors of order, Tiamat is worshipped in shadow. She represents a destructive force of absolute avarice, power, and malice.
Following the catastrophic war known as The Calamity, the Prime Deities constructed the Divine Gate—a barrier sealing themselves and the Betrayer Gods away from the Material Plane to protect their mortal creations. Under this divine hierarchy, Tiamat stands among the most reviled of the sealed pantheon, opposite her eternal brother Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon.
Divine Domains and Attributes
Tiamat reigns as the Queen of the chromatic dragons and is the goddess of:
- Greed
- Envy
- Hoarded wealth
- Evil-aligned dragons
In the ancient legends, her endless greed is remembered through verses passed down through the centuries:
“The dragons had come, the world becoming undone. The scaled tyrant’s desire, her greed to acquire.”
Tarot Representation
In the traditional fortunes of the land, Tiamat corresponds to The Tower tarot card. Her presence carries specific symbolic meanings:
- Fortune: Greed, Envy, Corrupted Majesty, Vanity
- Custom Card Imagery: A crumbling tower, atop which perches a dragon with five heads.
History of the Chromatic Dragons & The Dragon Masks
Three hundred years ago, a devastating faction of chromatic dragons coordinated a massive assault on the Sword Coast, laying waste to much of the North, including the early cities of Luskan, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Baldur’s Gate. Luskan chose to capitulate, providing the dragons with tribute, while the other cities (along with Silverymoon) united to form the Lord’s Alliance.
With the aid of a legendary band of heroes, the alliance pushed back the draconic threat. To achieve this victory, the heroes constructed five Dragon Masks—one for each chromatic color—which allowed the bearers to influence and control the minds of dragons of the corresponding color. Through these masks, the heroes convinced the Black, Red, and Blue dragons to fly away and never return. The remaining chromatic leaders were scattered across the corners of the world:
- Cryovain, the Everfrost (White Dragon) was influenced by the White Dragon Mask and fled north to the Throat of the World. He eventually chose to abandon his lair and flew south to the Sword Mountains.
- Skaldreth, the Red Rage (Red Dragon) was among those who fled.
- Barakis, the Sandstorm (Blue Dragon) fled.
- Nocturne, the Dread Prince (Black Dragon) fled.
However, the Green Dragon Mask failed against the smartest and most wily of the group, Virethas, the Jade Queen (also known as Villathas, Villethas, or the Jade Serpent). She had to be dealt with directly and was slain outside Neverwinter by Lady Tanager Alagondar, who died in the process.
The Legendary Heroes of the Lord’s Alliance:
- Elminster Aumar (The Sage of Shadowdale / The Sage of Waterdeep): Still alive, serving as one of the leaders of the Harpers, and last seen in Waterdeep. He wrote extensively about the Pact of Phandelver and helped seal the memories of his allies.
- Lady Tanager Alagondar of Neverwinter: Deceased. Buried with her legendary Dragon Slayer sword in the Dragon Barrow where she slew Virethas.
- Hrothgar Hillsfar (Farwald): A Firbolg cleric and skald from Kuldahar who had his memory heavily modified and was polymorphed into the human “Farwald” by Elminster to protect the secret locations of the Dragon Masks. He has recently recovered his memories.
- Esfaloth Nightbreeze (The Fey Touched): A powerful druid who grew furious with mortals and chose to lock the Neverwinter Wood away from a world he no longer trusted.
- Gorion of Candlekeep: A member of the Zhentarim, now deceased (killed by Sarevok in the years following the war).
- Kiara Shadowbreaker (Mistress of the Hunt): A Harper from Keoland.
- Uther Vendrock (The Silvered Star): A Platinum Dragon, now deceased and buried on Stormwreck Isle.
Cults, Allies, and Conspiracies
- The Prophetic Dream: A few nights before the events at Dragon Barrow, Gilmore Stork experienced a horrific prophetic nightmare. He saw his sister Elire fall from their home tower into darkness, where her corpse was swarmed by ravens chanting “The Undying Queen.” A five-headed scaled worm emerged from her skull’s empty eye socket, sprouting leathery wings and lunging at him while a booming infernal voice proclaimed: “You cannot save her. She will be mine soon. Undying. Undying. Undying.” This dream came to pass when Tiamat claimed Elire’s soul, tying it to a monstrous, multi-headed dragon-worm.
- The Resurrection of Virethas: The Cult originally planned to raise Virethas as a Dracolich. In a dark cavern deep beneath Dragon Barrow—which was revealed to be the actual skeletal remains of the Jade Queen herself—the Cult of the Dragon successfully executed a resurrection ritual. When Gilmore Stork drew the Dragon Slayer sword, it broke the ancient ward powering the prevention of the dragon’s return. Sidorna, the Green Wyrmspeaker, used a soulstone containing the soul of Gilmore’s sister, Elire Stork (who had willingly joined the cult and donned the Green Dragon Mask), to fuel the ritual. Sidorna taunted Gilmore through Elire, calling him “the second son, the one not expected to matter,” and asserting “there is no good or evil, only power.” Though disrupted by the adventuring party “The Magnificent Five” (who blinded Sidorna with a summoned giant frog and heavily damaged the chanting ranks), Sidorna threw the Green Dragon Mask to the last remaining cultist who stepped into the ritual circle as a final sacrifice. The ritual concluded at 66% strength, and Virethas was reborn as a weakened adult shadow dragon, fused with Elire’s soul and the Green Dragon Mask itself, which acts as the dragon’s internal controller.
- Dragon-Mask Cultists: These fanatical agents advance their draconic masters’ interests. Elire Stork was originally thought to have been slain by these cultists, but was instead corrupted and integrated into their ranks, eventually serving as the final sacrifice to anchor the dragon’s rebirth.
- The Wyrmspeakers: Powerful leaders of the Cult of the Dragon who coordinate with other dark factions. Sidorna possessed a cracked blue sending stone used to communicate across continents before the link was severed from the other end. The Jade Wyrmspeaker allied with the Drider Nezznar to locate the legendary Forge of Spells, seeking to claim its magical item bounty.
- The Underdark Pact: Operating from the shadows of Wave Echo Cave, the Drider Nezznar (the Spider) leveraged an alliance with Tiamat’s followers, bargaining that the “Dragon ones” could rule the surface world while his spider-aligned faction dominated the Underdark.
- Dragon-Tattooed Sorcerers: Mysterious spellcasters bearing many-headed dragon tattoos have been active in the ruins of Conyberry. They traded a massive, valuable golden bell salvaged from an abandoned temple of Ioun to “The Magnificent Five” in exchange for secrets regarding the final resting place of Virethas, the Jade Queen.