Let's Build a World: The Empire of Dragons - Gods of the Subjects

Aspects of Io

In modern religious practices among non-draconic subjects of the Empire, little survives of any pre-conquest faiths. What traditions survive have been subsumed into Ioism, albeit reluctantly. Pelor and the Raven Queen remain popular among humanoids, but the “official” stance is that both deities are just other names for Tiamat and Bahamut, acting in their respective roles as sun-god and death god. Some depictions of Pelor show evidence of another attempt to reconcile the faiths, showing Pelor driving the sun chariot and Tiamat pulling it. Although there are those that say both figures in such depictions are Tiamat. She can easily drive and pull a chariot at the same time in two separate bodies, being as she is a god.

Cultures that are not directly subject to the Empire of Dragons have their own faiths and pantheons, and the official doctrine is that those people are really worshipping various aspects of Bahamut, they just don’t realize that. Patron deities of other races are said to be Tiamat (patron of all foreigners) in various disguises.

Tiamat herself enjoys a strong following among humanoid subjects of the Empire. In her role as god of

(Created with Heromachine)

change, she has come to personify the some-would-say-revolutionary idea that all creatures can be elevated to the standing of a Dragon (more on this later). In this aspect she is depicted as a faceless, androgynous figure held aloft by a pair of mechanical wings.

Kobolds

Some kobolds worship individual dragons as gods, following them and doing their bidding. While some attempt to reconcile this with the  dominant faith, saying that by venerating Io’s greatest creation—a dragon—they are also worshipping Io. But the religious practices of dragon-worshipping kobolds have little to do with Ioism. The most zealous of dragon-worshippers’ fondest desire is to be eaten by the dragon they serve, as it means they can become completely one with their god. They will sometimes anoint themselves with delicious oils and spices and present themselves as an offering. Dragons typically do not object to the kobolds. Unless they make a nuisance of themselves, the dragons usually appreciate the extra servants and snacks.

Demons and Devils

There are small, secretive cults scattered throughout the empire, dedicated to various demons and devils. While the rules and practices for these cults vary widely, the rationale behind them is generally the same. These worshippers acknowledge Io but see Io as a demiurge and tyrant. They say Io coveted the universe and slew the nameless True Creator so that the universe could be added to Io’s horde. Each cult considers their particular patron to be the only being that stands a chance of destroying Io, and so the various fiends are worshipped as perverse saviors and the lesser of a multitude of evils.

There are whispered legends of a human empire whose rulers bred with fiends so that their offspring could be more powerful than any mortal. The empire destroyed itself from within, but it is said that had it survived, it could have destroyed even the Empire of Dragons.

Possibly I’m borrowing too much from Points of Light with this one.

They were called Tieflings—in the language of the old empire, “children of the dark”—and there are some alive today said to be their descendants. Other rumors hold that none from the old Tiefling empire survived, but that the Tieflings alive today prove that fiends still sire children in the mortal world.

Next Time: Beyond the Empire

Obligatory Alignment Post

Warning: contains excessive links to TVtropes. Click blue text at your peril.

Obligatory Alignment Batman

Gods help me, today I’m going to talk about alignment. I have seen so much fighting about this, in person in my gaming group and online. I’m hesitant to even talk about it here because it’s a little like bringing up politics at family parties—probably regrettable. Still, I think I should lay out the way I handle alignment in my own games because it informs how I’m thinking about the world-building posts and will probably come up at some point anyway.

I like the idea of the nine alignments. It makes for a compelling shorthand for defining characters, and it’s an interesting way of looking at conflicts besides the basic good-versus-evil. Plus, a lot of the people I’ve played with enjoy using the standard alignments. So I don’t want to just chuck it out.

The problem is, I don’t like playing in a universe with an objective, predefined Good and Evil. Not just because that’s not how good and evil really work, but because it makes for less interesting stories.

First off, there’s the Always Chaotic Evil problem. I always bristle when D&D fans insist that certain “races”—human-like creatures with free will and intelligence—are “always” or (worse yet) “inherently” evil. I get that sometimes it’s fun to play D&D as a morally uncomplicated slaughterfest. Sometimes you just want to slay a bunch of monsters without worrying about whether or not they deserve to be slain or not, and I can understand that. I do, however, object to the assumption that all creatures of a certain type are Evil being baked into the core game.

Obviously, individual DMs can houserule whatever they want. You can say all Orcs are Evil just as easily as I can say  all Elves are Evil. Neither of those houserules should show up in the Monster Manual. Yes it’s fantasy and yes it’s just a game, but a game that simulates slaughtering sentient beings because they look different isn’t a game I want to play. It definitely isn’t a game I want to show my friends (the whole idea of D&D “race” makes some of them uncomfortable, but that’s probably another post).

The thing is, standard un-houseruled D&D can accommodate the morally-uncomplicated hack-and-slash style without having to resort to the Always Chaotic Evil trope, either by changing the monster or changing the scale. There are plenty of standard monsters that can be unambiguously slaughtered. Unintelligent undead and constructs work great. You can also use outsiders, because even if you accidentally “kill” the one Good demon in the world, they’ll just pop back to their home plane.

And if the players really want to kill some orcs, the DM can always come up with a reason that doesn’t involve any hard thinking, but also doesn’t fall back on fantasy racism: these orcs have been raiding caravans and killing travelers, we tried to reason with them but they just won’t listen, there’s nothing to do but kill them or drive them off. Done. It’s as easy as that. I don’t have to argue over whether all orcs are “inherently” anything, you can still have your hack-and-slash fun.

The bigger issue for me, though, is that set alignments make a less interesting story. Specifically, they make for less interesting villains. With very, very few exceptions, the best villains don’t know they’re evil.

Like I said, there are exceptions. But generally, the fifth or sixth time Lord Evilodon shows up to wreck some stuff just because he’s evil, it gets sort of boring. There isn’t really a story anymore. Just a guy you’re supposed to kill before he kills you.

Great villains have to be great characters, and every great character is the hero of their own story. In a world with objective, knowable alignments, the Knight Templar never happens because every conscientious warrior of Good makes sure to get a periodic Detect Evil to make sure they haven’t gone too far (never Corrupt Corporate Executive is just trying to make a living—if some hero burst into their office with a You’re Definitely Evil light flashing, they’d probably take a step back. It doesn't mean every villain has to be tragic and misunderstood, and there's nothing wrong with Lord Evilodon if that's the game you want to play. But complexity and ambiguity can be fun too, except that alignment gets in the way of that.

How 3.5 does subtle, nuanced moral ambiguity.

mind that some pre-4e classes just straight-up lose their powers if they cross a line).

4th Edition, at least, didn't have the Detect Evil problem, although there were relics of the old alignment system in place. While it was clear that Clerics and Paladins kept their powers if they strayed from their god, Invokers were just supposed to have the same alignment as their patron. What happened if an Invoker went wrong? Could they fall? Or were Invokers' free will just limited by their god? (That would actually be a fun character to play with).

But, again, I don’t want to just chuck out alignment entirely. So here’s what I do: the Nine Alignments exist, as a concept, within my game world. People refer to themselves as “Lawful Neutral” and such. People can debate in-universe about whether the Nine Alignments refer to any sort objectively-known, metaphysical force in the universe, but on this subject nothing is known for certain. But I tell players to put whatever they want down for their alignment, or ignore the blank entirely. I’ve had players make PCs with “real” alignments, I’ve had players who don’t give a damn, and I’ve had players create their own way of expressing their character’s alignment (for instance, I had a player whose alignment was “Pirate”).

It hasn’t caused any fights so far. Players who want the standard alignments can have them, players who don’t don’t, and there’s no pesky “objective alignment” getting in the way of our stories.

Has alignment caused problems in your games? How have you handled it?