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Excerpts from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Tiamat, Demon Queen of Dragons |
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Posted on Wed, April 17, 2002 by Dogadmin |
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grodog writes "Tiamat. A name that inspired terror among the Lords of the Abyss. Tiamat. Mother of Dragonkind, and first consort of Abraxus. Slain in the year 589 CY by a mortal adventurer, who crushed the mystique and awe of the Firstborn into derisive contempt forever-after. Or so it seems . . . .
Author: grodog
Excerpts from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv:
Tiamat, Demon Queen of Dragons
by grodog
Copyright 2002 by Allan T. Grohe, Jr. Used with Permission. Do not repost without obtaining prior permission from the author.
Tiamat's name is legendary among human- and demonkind alike. Queen of the Abyss, with Abraxus at her side, Tiamat is one of the primal forces of the multiverse. And, contrary to popular belief, she is not dead . . . .
Tiamat assumes forms as her whims dictate, but she uses the following three most often:
- a comely Flan female, with short, black hair, a dark complexion, and silver or red eyes
- a great and sprawling dragon, with a varying number of necks and heads (from eight to eighteen have been reliably reported); her scales are silvered black, and her translucent wings an amber-gold; her slitted and cat-like eyes smoulder the midnight blue of Dark Night, with white pupils (sometimes with stars for pupils, sometimes with no pupils at all)
- Tiamat's final favored form is that of disembodied motes of color, which orbit within a shifting mist (often the color of fog, but sometimes tined in a variety of hues)
Tiamat can shift forms at will. In her human form, Tiamat prefers to politic, to seduce mortals, to lead and command, and to experience mortal senses and sensations. She often dresses in flowing silks, brocaded velvets, and other rich and sensuous garments. Tiamat employs her draconian form for intimidation and attack, for impressing the masses, and to fly the planes. She appears in her mote form when dealing with equals, or when granting visions to her most- favored worshippers. Tiamat has no known physical attack in her mote form, though she may freely employ her magic.
Tiamat's magic is ancient and strong. She is possibly surpassed in power by a few of her children (Chandorah, Demogorgon, Dementhrus, Lolth), and by her sister Alrunes, but none combine her physical prowess and magical ability. Tiamat has unrestricted usage of the Dragon Magic spell listing (see The Dragon 15, June 1978), and may employ any druidical or magical spell once per day; these powers are in addition to her Firstborn standard demonic abilities. Tiamat can summon from 3-5 consorts to her aid, or whim, within 1-5 rounds; in addition, she maintains close contact with her siblings, and can call upon them if she so desires.
Tiamat is obsessed with finding Abraxus and Obox-ob, whom she believes to have found her brother and joined him (wherever he may be). To this end, Tiamat often explores the rims of creation, and is rarely found within the proper of Mendenein's Spheres. Tiamat holds no Abyssal court, though she has a particular fondness for several planes, among them the 101st, 532nd, and the various volcanic and tropical/jungle levels. When she returns to the Abyss from her nearly-endless searchings, Tiamat often favors the lords Astaroth, Baphomet, and Shabriri with her company.
Tiamat's broods are the legendary Abyssal Dragons---part dragon, part demon, and all trouble. It is from these creatures that Oerth's terrestrial dragons are descended (or, perhaps they're all demonic dragons, too . . . . ).
Tiamat has a human cult, "The Cult of the Dragon" (also known as "The Dragon Cult," "The Esoteric Order of the Dragon," "The Scaly Sect," etc.), which honors her and her children. This cult is basically as outlined by Ed Greenwood's article in Dragon 110 (June 1986), though much less lawful in intent. Tiamat's symbol is a small, metallic dragon claw, clutching a star-burst (or a color-mote). It is worn around the neck, typically, in additon to being worked into clothing, painted on armor/shield, etc.
To many demons, Tiamat is dead, slain by Trillz the Dark and his cohorts in the year 589 CY. Trillz still wears the famous Ti-Armor, made from Tiamat's hide. This information is, in fact, both false and true. Tiamat has never been slain. However, over three millennia ago, during one of Tiamat's more-extended forays to the fringes of the multiverse, one of her brood named Miatta (a great-great-great-great grand daughter) had begun to impersonate the Queen of Dragons. Miatta had successfully fooled her draconian kin into the belief that she was, in fact, Tiamat, due in part to her chromatic, multi-headed nature, and strong magical powers. Perhaps only Gresil and Alrunes knew the truth (though Astaroth and Shabiri may have suspected that something was amiss), though they likely didn't particularly care. Once slain by Trillz, the glory of the Firstborn faded from memory, forgotten. Since 589 CY, Miatta's consorts have disbanded, and her court on the mountainous 85th plane has been sacked. Nearly all of demonkind consider Tiamat to have been slain (and by a mortal, at that). It is worth noting that Tiamat's cultists know that Tiamat survives in some fashion, since their petitions and prayers for spells continue to be granted. None-the-less, in the aftermath of Trillz's declaration, the cult confirmed the death of their goddess. They have therefore denounced Trillz as the Black Heresiarch, have hunt him across the planes.
Notes
Many of the references and background for Tiamat draw upon specific backstory elements, mythic history, and mythic geography from my campaigns, such as the mentions of Alrunes, Abraxus, etc. Feel free to disregard, modify, or otherwise ignore them if you decide to incorporate my version of Tiamat into your own game.
First Edition Stats for Tiamat follow, and I may update them to Third Edition (but probably not anytime soon).
Frequency: Unique (Very, Very Rare)
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: -10
Move: 18"/48" (MC:C)
Hit Dice: 278 Hit Points (62 HD)
% in Lair: 01%
Treasure Type: An alphabet soup
No. of Attacks: at least 10
Damage/Attack: 16-44 by claw (4d8+12), 1-12 by wing claw/buffet, 3-18 by either tail, plus bite damage as ancient/great wyrm
Special Attacks: Dragon breaths; on a natural 19 or 20 bite attacks swallow whole (up to cloud giant size; victim dies in 1-4 rounds); tail constriction on 18-20 for 6-15 damage per round (3d4+3); see below
Special Defenses: +3 or better weapon to hit; immune to dragon breath attack forms; regeneration (4 hp/round); see below
Magic Resistance: 91%
Intelligence: God-like
Size: Absolutely Huge (100 feet long, 150 foot wingspan)
Psionic Ability: VI
Level/XP Value: XI/I can't count that high
==== END FILE ====
Note: Firstborn, demon"
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Re: Excerpts from the Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Tiamat, Demon Queen of Dragons (Score: 1) by MerricB on Wed, April 17, 2002 (User Info | Send a Message) http://merricb.com | Allan, you mention the "Firstborn" - what was their glory, and who/what were they?
Good article, though. I think Tiamat's 3E statistics are in both Manual of the Planes and Deities and Demigods; so you've got a choice depending on whether you consider her a deity or not.
How important is Tiamat in your personal campaign?
Cheers,
Merric
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