Bahamut

Did You Know?

• Bahamut appeared on a 2019 Screen Rant top list at #5 on 'Dungeons and Dragons: 10 Most Powerful Dragons, Ranked'.
• As an old man and a dragon, Bahamut is level 36 with over 1,600 and 1,300 hit points respectively.
• Bahamut's counterpart in Dragonlance is Paladine, though many regard the two as separate beings.

Publishing history

The name Bahamut comes from Arabic mythology, where it refers to a vast, elegant fish that holds up the world, with an angel standing on a ruby atop its head to purify the unknown of the universe. This character first appeared in the game's initial supplement, Greyhawk, released in 1975 and created by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz. In that book, he was called only the Dragon King, also known as the Platinum Dragon, and had no personal name. The first edition Monster Manual, published in 1977, gave the Platinum Dragon the personal name Bahamut.

He was then identified as a lesser god for dragons in the 1980 book Deities & Demigods. Further details appeared in Dragon #38, also from 1980, where he was called the Angel of the Seven Heavens. His role in the outer planes was explained in the first edition Manual of the Planes in 1987. Bahamut was first presented as a deity for the Forgotten Realms setting in the original Draconomicon of 1990.

The 1992 book Monster Mythology expanded on his divine status and included information about his priesthood. He was also described in Cult of the Dragon from 1998. His place in the Planescape cosmology was covered in On Hallowed Ground in 1996. The article "Spawn of Tiamat, Children of Bahamut" in Dragon #260, June 1999, introduced several of his draconic offspring.

He was listed among the good deities that celestials could serve in the 1999 supplement Warriors of Heaven. A preview for the third edition appeared in Dragon #272, June 2000, and this material was later included in the Manual of the Planes in 2001. He received further detail in Defenders of the Faith in 2000 and Deities and Demigods in 2002. His priesthood and role as a draconic deity were explored in Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons in 2003, Complete Divine in 2004, and Races of the Dragon in 2006.

For the fourth edition, he appeared among the deities in the 2008 Players Handbook and received a stat block in Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons in 2009. Options for player characters and details on his clergy as a threat were provided in the articles "Channel Divinity: Bahamut" and "Deities & Demigods: Bahamut" in Dragon #378, August 2009.

Fictional description

Bahamut is depicted as a massive, long and sinuous dragon with silver-white scales and blue, catlike eyes. The exact color is hard to specify and may depend on his mood, ranging from sky-blue to frosty indigo. About a quarter of the time, he wanders Oerth in the shape of a human or other guise, sometimes appearing as a frail old hermit with seven great golden wyrms disguised as seven canaries. The Platinum Dragon is part of the core pantheon and chiefly sees worship from lawful good paladins and clerics.

The dragonborn race reveres him as a creator god, while other races invoke him for strength and protection. Kings are crowned in his name. He takes many forms, including his draconic namesake, an old man, or a fully armed paladin warrior in shining platinum plate armor. He has a special feat called Armor of Bahamut that allows the player to cancel out an enemy's critical hit once per encounter.

His dominion in the Astral Sea is Celestia, the Radiant Throne, which he shares with Moradin and Kord. In the Forgotten Realms, a different version of Bahamut is present as a lesser deity in service to Torm.

Fictional relationships

Bahamut is one of the offspring of the dragon god Io and the sworn foe of his twin sister, the evil Tiamat. He holds in high regard deities such as Heironeous, Moradin, and Yondalla, along with other lawful good gods. While a few tales name him as the child of Lendys and Tamara, it is more widely accepted that these two are actually among his younger siblings. His other siblings include Aasterinian, Chronepsis (sometimes called his uncle), Astilabor, Hlal, Faluzure, Garyx, and Nathair Sgiathach.

The same Dungeons & Dragons edition that brought Bahamut into the game also introduced his opposite, Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon and queen of evil dragons. This opposition is central to the game's mythology, and Tiamat even appeared in the television cartoon based on the game. This pairing of Bahamut as good and Tiamat as evil has appeared in other fantasy worlds, including the original Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy VIII. Both dragons also show up in the card game Three-Dragon Ante, and plastic miniatures of their aspects have been produced.

Several non-divine dragons and dragon-like beings serve Bahamut. Medrinia is a blue-green aquatic dragon born from the first tear Bahamut shed after seeing the destruction from the initial battle between Tiamat and good dragons. She lives in the undersea palace of Sea Reach and works with dolphins, sea-horses, and other aquatic dragons. Xathanon is a golden, draconic burst of energy that embodies the Positive Energy Plane, created by Bahamut long ago.

It serves the Draco Paladin and despises Dhrakoth the Corruptor, a negative energy being made by Tiamat. Vanathor, the Golden Harpist, is Bahamut's advisor and bard. He looks like a gold dragon with rainbow colors on his chest, is a master of music, and sometimes appears as a half-elven bard. Some myths say he was a dead god revived by Bahamut.

Fictional lore

The feud between Tiamat and Bahamut began at their creation by Io, who intended them to be partners. Tiamat killed her eldest brother, Vorel, and attempted to blame Bahamut. According to many stories, Tiamat spent a long time on the Prime Material Plane, spreading evil dragons and dark magic. Eventually, Bahamut, aided by a sky or sun god—possibly Pelor or Heironeous—banished her to the Nine Hells.

Bahamut’s home, known as Bahamut’s Palace, is said to lie “beyond the East Wind.” Sages are unsure if this means it is on the Elemental Plane of Air or somewhere between that plane and the Seven Heavens or Tri-Paradises. In truth, the palace travels in a whirlwind between the first four layers of Mount Celestia. It is a dazzling fortress with windows of gems set in silver and gold, walls inlaid with copper and ivory, and floors of beaten mithril.

When not accompanying their master, Bahamut’s seven great golden wyrms care for the palace and its treasures. Inside, open, unkeyed portals connect to all four of the first four layers of the plane, as well as the Elemental Plane of Air and the Astral Plane. Nearby, four gates lead to each of the four winds, each guarded by a warden archon: Yonel guards the North Wind, Kerkhoutha the South Wind, Moriel the West Wind, and Ruhiel the East Wind. This palace is the only known shortcut to the upper layers of the celestial mountain, and Bahamut and his servants allow only the worthy to pass through.

In the 4th Edition setting, Bahamut, Kord, and Moradin reside in Celestia within the Astral Sea, each ruling a different mountain they can reshape at will. Bahamut’s palace sits on the mountain of Mertion, built from gold, platinum, and mithril, with windows of gemstones. The palace also serves as his hoard.