Tiamat - Piety System Page
Goddess of Evil dragons
It must be hard for you, gazing on perfection in physical form. If you worship me, and it amuses me, I might just let you live to gather treasure in my name. Would you like that, pet?Tiamat is the evil god of chromatic dragons. She is best known for her five headed form (one representing each type of evil dragon), her murderous vanity and her greed.
Tiamat's Champions
Alignment: Usually evil, often lawfulSuggested Classes: Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock
Suggested Cleric Domains: Trickery, War
Suggested Backgrounds: Acolyte, Soldier
Champions of Tiamat are driven by their instincts and immediate desires, taking what they want whenever they like.
Tiamat’s Favor
Tiamat is a demanding goddess who demands obedience and tribute from her followers. From her prison in the Nine Hells, she rages and shrieks impossible demands to her followers, granting them in return the power to pillage and loot treasure for her hoard.Tiamat’s scions are usually drawn from indoctrinated cults, or those who simply feel they have no other option. On rare occasions, the goddess appears in other aspects, such as the Dark Lady or the Undying Queen, to tempt otherwise reasonable people into her service.
Why did Tiamat seek you out as a champion? The following table offers a few suggestions.
| d6 | Circumstance |
|---|---|
| 1 | You became indoctrinated by a cult of Tiamat, and you’re too far in now to get out safely. |
| 2 | Your family have always been dedicated to the dragon queen, and you are just the next in line. |
| 3 | You once bargained with a chromatic dragon for your life, and this was part of the price. |
| 4 | You begged the dragon queen to spare your village. She destroyed it anyway, and chose you as a champion. |
| 5 | You are one of Tiamat’s top donors. By which I mean she killed your family and took all their gold. |
| 6 | You’ve made a deal with the dragon queen. One million gold pieces by year’s end, and she’ll spare your loved ones. |
Devotion to Tiamat
Following Tiamat means dedicating your life to fire and gold. As a follower of Tiamat, consider the ideals below as alternatives to those suggested for your background.| d6 | Ideals |
|---|---|
| 1 | Devotion. My devotion to my god is more important to me than what they stand for. (Any) |
| 2 | Wealth. The dragon goddess is queen amongst hoarders. Is there anything more sublime? |
| 3 | Hard Work. There is no shame in working for a higher power, even if you do need to kill a few people. |
| 4 | Humility. Sometimes you need to throw yourself to the ground and beg for mercy. |
| 5 | Vanity. How do I look? More gold would help, I feel. |
| 6 | Passion. I know what I want, and I know how to get it. |
Earning and Losing Piety
You increase your piety score to Tiamat when you expand the god’s influence in the world in a concrete way through acts such as these:- Gathering treasure and tribute for the goddess
- Bullying and corralling others into admiring you and rewarding you with spoils
- Destroying things out of spite
- Doing a good act for no reward whatsoever
- Allowing anyone to insult your appearance
- Allowing your servants or companions to disrespect you
Deity Traits
Favoured God: Tiamat
Piety 3+ Tiamat traitYou can Inspiration when you beg for mercy from a higher power, or have someone beg your mercy in turn.
Little Dragon
Piety 10+ Tiamat traitTiamat sends you a kobold retainer. If (and when) it dies, she sends you another. It follows your spoken commands out of fear and spies on you for her.
Chromatic Exhalation
Piety 25+ Tiamat traitYou can cast dragon’s breath with this trait, requiring no components. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.
Chosen of Tiamat
Piety 50+ Tiamat traitYou can spend an inspiration die to call evil dragons to you as if using the Call Dragons feature of an Orb of Dragonkind.
Comments