Church of the Platinum Dragon

Assets

Temples to Bahamut were extremely rare, as the Platinum Dragon didn't appreciate being honored by objects, taking into account deeds instead. Many gold, silver, and brass dragons maintained small shrines to Bahamut in their lairs, usually nothing more than Bahamut's holy symbol engraved on a wall. The few temples that were made to honor him were beautiful and elegant buildings with simple furniture and no embellishment or adornment. Those temples had meeting rooms where followers could gather to plan their next campaign against Tiamat, and a few smaller rooms where individuals could pray, meditate or rest in privacy.

Tenets of Faith

Bahamut's dogma was based on justice, nobility, protection, and honor. He taught his followers to always uphold the highest ideals of honor and justice; to be constantly vigilant against evil and to oppose it from all fronts; and to protect the weak, liberate the oppressed, and defend just order. Bahamut advocated a "greater justice" that included fighting against evil and toppling oppressive regimes. He also liked to reward strength of purpose and character in his followers. His dragon adepts followed the Ptarian Code, a draconic code of honor created by the gold dragon Ptaris in the ancient past. The Ptarian Code eventually was adopted by many gold and silver dragons. The Ptarian Code was similar to the codes of chivalry adopted by knightly orders of humanity. The major precepts were:

Justice and Good above all.

Honor and Fealty to the King.

Honor and Respect to Righteous Innocence.

Honor and Duty to the Justicemaker (Bahamut).

Honor and Protection to the Lesser Races.

Honor and Correction to the Enemies of Justice and Good.

Honor and Forbearance for oneself.

Worship

The majority of Bahamut's worshipers are metallic dragons. While he was revered by all good dragons, gold, silver, and brass dragons held him in particularly high regard. His worship grew over time, as non-dragons begin to take interest in his teachings. Typical worshippers include Good dragons, anyone seeking protection from evil dragons, Metallic dragons, etc. Bahamut's worshipers and clergy had no formal rituals or ceremonies. Those who followed the Platinum Dragon believed in the philosophy of "praying through their deeds". The only activity that was considered as something like a ritual was the Rite of Rebirth, the magical process by which non-dragon humanoids transformed themselves into Dragonborn.

Priesthood

Clergy: Bahamut accepted only clerics of good alignments. Whether they were dragons, dragonborn, half-dragons, or other beings attracted to his philosophy, clerics of the Platinum Dragon always had to strive to take constant but subtle actions on behalf of good while trying to do as little harm in the process as possible. Dragon clerics were usually nurtured from birth, trained by a senior dragon cleric, usually a parent or close friend of their parents, although it was not unusual that a dragon of any age heard the call of Bahamut and sought out clerical training. As with any dragon deity, dragons who wanted to become clerics of Bahamut had to first acquire an appropriate holy symbol. This holy symbol became the most prized item of their hoards after that, as it was a symbol of their status in dragon society and of the cleric's devotion to Bahamut, and to lose it was considered blasphemy. If a dragon cleric didn't try to recover a stolen or lost holy symbol, he or she would lose their investiture. Usually, a dragon had to acquire his or her holy symbol on their own, but Bahamut also bestowed a holy symbol to a dragon he wanted to be his cleric. The holy symbol used by dragon clerics of Bahamut was a small dragon claw (about the size of a human hand) usually made of platinum or some other metal plated with platinum, although younger (and relatively poorer) dragons made theirs of their own metal type. They carried their holy symbol at all times, usually around their necks on a stout chain. One of the main goals of a dragon cleric was to acquire their most preferred type of holy symbol; in the case of Bahamut's worshipers, this was one made of platinum. In some instances, Bahamut blessed some of his clerics for services rendered by upgrading their holy symbol to one made of platinum. Bahamut was known to work with his clerics more often than other dragon deities, and he asked his clerics to oppose the greatest weaknesses of dragonkind, which in Bahamut's point of view were the tendency of good dragons to perform questionable acts because of greed or cowardice, the chance to be subdued (something all dragon gods frowned upon), and the existence of evil dragons. Like the dragon clerics of the other dragon deities, clerics of Bahamut were expected to perform three key functions alongside any other tasks he asked them to do: to act as role models for other good dragons, to function as emissaries of Bahamut in a given area, and to spread Bahamut's will to other dragons in that area while collecting sacrifices from Bahamut's worshipers. Those sacrifices were usually a small part of their dragon hoards, and dragon clerics were allowed to take a small share of this sacrifice as well, making this third function the favorite of many dragon clerics. Dragon clerics were also expected to sacrifice a part of their treasure to Bahamut once every year. If a dragon cleric transgressed Bahamut's dogma, committed questionable acts, or was subdued, either voluntarily or by force, he or she would lose favor with him and would need to atone by sacrificing part of their treasure or by performing special tasks, or they would lose part of their clerical powers. Repeated transgressions would earn them the loss of all their clerical abilities, a merciful punishment compared to how other dragon gods, such as Tiamat, punished their failed clerics. Non-draconic clerics of Bahamut typically learned his teachings at the foot of a wyrm, usually a gold or silver dragon in humanoid form. Teachers and students often traveled to see the effects of injustice and cruelty firsthand. Bahamut's wanderings gave rise to many bard tales about an unassuming old man with canaries who helped people on the roads that were well known among his faithful, and many of his human and demihuman priests undertook pilgrimages in the company of trained canaries, seeking to emulate their god.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Followers of Bahamut often took quests to oppose the schemes of Tiamat and to stop or destroy her followers. They were allies of worshipers of Moradin, Yondalla, and other lawful good deities.

Sects

The Talons of Justice was an order of dragon paladins dedicated to Bahamut that followed the Ptarian Code. No one knew exactly how many Talons there were, but the group probably numbered in the scores. Group members were spread throughout Agnesia, many living in human and demihuman form in cities and towns of other races. The Platinum Cadre was an order of Dragonborn knights who believed that not all dragons were evil, and that Dragonborn were the ancient children of Bahamut.