Tiamat - Arelith Worship & You
Just a crash course on the Diety on Arelith, for any interested parties. Also a 100%, full on shameless recruiting publicity blurb, but hey.
Use Control + F to skip through:
[-Sec 1-] = Priests, BGs, and Favored Souls - Important pregame-info for holy classes.
[-Sec 2-] = Tiamat - A Mechanical 101 - How the diety works, the mechanics thots can look here.
[-Sec 3-] = Tiamat - A Lore 101 - Basic must-know lore.
[-Sec 4-] = Arelith Lore Basics - A general idea of Her followers in the Arelith setting
[-Sec 5] = (COMING SOON) History Compilation - for all the interested lore buffs.
Forward: it's worth noting that a lot of this info is either mechanical or well known enough to be recorded IC. Section 5, however, is a strictly OOC compilation. There'll be more info in it than, to be truthful, than people should know without investigating IC. Hence, why it's at the end.
Credit to Wizards of the Coast for the header image
All non-Arelith information is a Forgotten Realms publication, thus also property of WoTC
All non-Arelith information is a Forgotten Realms publication, thus also property of WoTC
[-Sec 1]
Priests, BGs, and Favored Souls
If you're reading this, you've taken the bold decision to aim for a clerical/zealous class RP angle with the faith and faction! Your interest is great, but there's some restrictions and quid pro quo for taking on the Tiamat RP that other dieties just don't have going.It's important to note that if you don't take the Gift of Unique Favor, regardless of any future RP or the like, you can not level as a Cleric of Tiamat. The same is true for the other two classes here, obviously. Those whom find themselves trapped in this rut will either need to remake or try a polytheistic devotion approach.
You'll not gain the typical benefits for prayer and ceremonies if you do, obviously; and a Cleric that doesn't follow his/her diety is a sorry excuse for a Cleric, indeed.
Dragons and Kobolds aren't subject to this rule, and may take Tiamat as a diety as freely as they might take Tempus or Tyr (and why shouldn't they? It makes sense for them to!)
Clerics of Tiamat typically have domains of Law, Scalykind, Trickery, Tyranny, and Dragons. As none of these but Trickery are available here, the loremongers may rest easily: It's literally impossible to expect you to pick god appropriate Domains.
[-Sec 2-]
Tiamat - A Mechanical 101
Okay okay, I'll cut to the chase, I know what you're wanting here. Why worship Tiamat anyway? What's she do for my character that Tempus won't?Tiamat, by Arelith diety designation, has the profile of War and Destruction and Hearth and Home.
Besides making her one of the few multi-portfolio deities on Arelith, this means that piety is achieved by:
> Killing things
> Casting any Healing/Restorative Spell
> Using healing potions
> Sacrifice or prayer at an altar
Tiamat, mechanically, gives her godsaves in PvM combat. There are no crafting or enchanting bonuses for Tiamat, as it's important to note.
Those that hunt often or intend to be healers will flourish as a follower, while those whom want enchanting benefits or otherwise will have to find alternative faiths.
[-Sec 3-]
Tiamat - Arelith Lore Basics
Dragons. Thank you, good night, and goddess bless Arelith.Kidding. Tiamat's a bit more complicated.
The Evil Patron of Chromatic Dragonkind, Tiamat advocates Draconic superiority, Order, and Tyranny as her core values. These are the things that most often come to mind; but she also advocates avarice (of both wealth and power (especially magical)), respect to those that bare the former (for they deserve it), the opposition of other deities, acts against existing establishment and civilization (especially elven and human), and selfless devotion.
Followers of Tiamat, therefore, are generally as likely to be malicious and vile power-hungered as they are to be bitter and dejected from the social norm. Of course, those with less 'selfish' reasons - specifically Lawful followers - are likely to take a mafia-esque 'just business', and are thus more often cold than cruel.
Her scale mail-clad clergy and her spawn, as a general rule (depending on their precise level of narcissism, that being spawn of 'any' distance from their source), believe themselves to be the inevitable rulers of the world. Her worship is most common among humans in Chessenta, Unther, members of the Cult of the Dragon, and selective portions of Mulhorand (in cooperation with followers of Set); but they're not unknown to exist elsewhere, and certainly cells exist in the Moonshaes and Sword Coast.
Her worship in realms outside Faerun is debatable to nonexistent outside Dragonkind themselves.
She's the superior to Kurtulmak - The Kobold patron and his subservients, and Garyx - the Patron of Reds. As an entity, she is allied with Bel - reigning Archduke of what was once her seat in Avernus, Orcus - the Demon prince of the Undead, Set - the Mulhorand god of decay, and Hoar - Whom helped her subversion of the Untheric Pantheon.
She's indifferent or ambivalent to the existence of the rest of the Draconic pantheon, outside of her Metallic brother Bahamut, whom she hates vehemently for his views on Dragonkind's role in Toril. Also hated are Moradin, Illmater, and those whom would give the former any quarter. Tiamat is wary of Bane for sharing her vision without her spawn atop, perhaps a little too close in their desires for her comfort.
Her domain is in The Dragon Eyrie, a plane set upon an unending, infinite mountain a-la Celestia.
-But with dragons.
Her part of this realm has a gateway directly to the Avernian plane, and she can send Abishai to and forth through this empathetic link - though she can't cross either it or the Prime herself.
She can totally keep Draconic consorts though, because lore is subjective, and has children with mortal Chromatics to be her mortal eyes.
Her single holy day is the First Full moon after Midsummer, called the Festival of Vengeance, honoring her victory against the Untheric pantheon.
Fighting her spawn unprovoked is borderline heresy, and not honoring them is frowned on.
[-Sec 4-]
Arelith Lore Basics
For those of you that are entirely obsessed with the greater lore of things, beyond what's covered above; here's some important crash-course info on Tiamat in the setting.Foremost, it's important to establish: Worship of Tiamat is never to be presumed 'accepted'. The current cell has unintentionally ensured that through activism against its foes, comparably the ISIS of Arelith; except the less zealous of the faithful are all the more rare. Surface followers should keep this in mind, and try to be secretive; while Underdark-dwelling ones will be able to speak more freely and flourish.
As a result, good factions are careful against worshippers of The Queen, as are most (especially neutral) Surface settlements; with the following exceptions:
> The Sencliff Institute
> Crow's Nest (on account of smuggler ownership)
> Sibayad
> Wharftown (as of writing this)
In terms of other parties or factions, the Abyssal Citadel has historically been ambivalent to the followers of the Dragon Queen.
The reigning cell of the Cult of the Dragon, if it exists, has not shown any hostility to the Church. Any alliances are not confirmed, if they do; nor are they denied.
The Reformed Church of Bane is not necessarily ever permanently on either side, though there've been past instances of cooperation-of-convenience between the two.
With the Zhentil leadership of Wharftown's Trade Agreement, the Zhentil Keep's representatives have taken a stance similar: not to the extent of militant cooperation or direct support, but the two groups have no current hostility.
In terms of good factions, the Harpers are/were, to date, the most active opposition of the Queen's followers; frequently buffering efforts from the Church to press upon surface civilization. The Ardent Vanguard is a close second; organized under the Knight of Bahamut, Adalbrandt.
In terms of Neutral settlements, none takes nearly so active a standpoint against Tiamat's followers as Cordor. Disallowed from citizenry, members of the Church will find no quarter in the Pax Cordoria, and recent councilors have ruled them as an enemy of the state.
The faith's most strong support exists in Andunor, which has more-or-less become the home of the Church on the Arelith Archipelago. The High Temple of the Faith is located elsewhere - to not be disclosed to preserve FOIG. However, a continuing tradition of councilors in The Sharps district currently ensures the steady welcome of her followers, and solidifies some modicum of their influence.
Set NPC, as well as PC, dragons on the isle consider the faith an ally; as frequent effort is made to keep on the good side of the Isle's Chromatic Dragons. However, it's incredibly unlikely these are the ones that your every-day adventurer has met with - often secluded, to only call/be called on at their whimsy.
The Tiamatan faith on Arelith, through development, has changed its stances/bias on some deities. Unless specified otherwise, they are to be treated as canon.
Besides what's covered above, faiths that are considered allies/frequent allies are as follows:
> Kiaransalee
> Cyric
> Gaknulak
> Shar
> Set
> Lendys
> Garyx
> Bane
Faiths to which the Church of Tiamat is either positively neutral to or ambivalent toward are as follows:
> Hoar
> Vhaeraun
> Hlal
> Falazure
> Io/Asgorath
> Astilabor
> Helm
> Moradin
Faiths to which the Church of Tiamat is currently wary (but not in direct opposition) of, due to past misgivings/their nature/inactivity, are as follows:
> Kurtulmak
> Lolth
> Tamara
> Malar
Faiths to which the Church of Tiamat is in direct and zealous opposition of are as follows:
> Bahamut
> The Triad
> Elistraee & The Seldarine (esp. Corellon Larethon)
In terms of those faiths either specified as neutral/allied, or to-be-assumed so due to non specification (unless lore says otherwise); the current Church of Tiamat both welcomes the worship of other deities, and (in the case of those non-rivaled in the Draconic Pantheon/her subservient faiths) can occasionally encourage it actively. Polytheistic followers are expected to place Tiamat first in ritual and business to be considered active members of the Church; and can not be Clerics, Favored Souls, or Divine Champions (unless those other faiths are paid only ley worship) - all three for obvious reasons.
Nothing between Arelith's Church and other nations exists directly. However, the Church is presumed to be in contact with its sister cells of the mainland - where such cults spring up. Mostly along Chessenta, as Tchzarr's Cult worshippers; and along the more shady parts of mainland civilization - as in Canon.
