Source: Races of the Dragon, Deities and Demigods
BAHAMUT
The Platinum Dragon, King of the Good Dragons, Lord of the North Wind
Lesser Deity
Symbol: Star above a milky nebula
Home Plane: Celestia
Alignment: Lawful good
Portfolio: Good dragons, wind, wisdom
Worshipers: Good dragons, anyone seeking protection from evil dragons
Cleric Alignments: LG, NG
Domains: Air, Dragon, Good, Luck, Protection [Nobility, Storm]
Favored Weapon: Bite, Heavy Pick
Bahamut (bah-hahm-ut) is revered in many locales. Though all good dragons pay homage to Bahamut, gold, silver, and brass dragons hold him in particularly high regard. Other dragons, even evil ones (except perhaps his archrival Tiamat), respect Bahamut for his wisdom and power.
In his natural form, Bahamut is a long, sinuous dragon covered in silver-white scales that sparkle and gleam even in the dimmest light. Bahamut’s catlike eyes are deep blue, as azure as a midsummer sky, some say. Others insist that Bahamut’s eyes are a frosty indigo, like the heart of a glacier. Perhaps the two accounts merely reflect the Platinum Dragon’s shifting moods.
Dogma
Bahamut is stern and very disapproving of evil. He brooks no excuses for evil acts. In spite of this stance, he is among the most compassionate beings in the multiverse. He has limitless empathy for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the helpless. He urges his followers to promote the cause of good, but prefers to let beings fight their own battles when they can. To Bahamut, it is better to offer information, healing, or a (temporary) safe refuge rather than to take others’ burdens upon oneself.
An equally important aspect to Bahamut is his constant conflict with Tiamat. He continually stands in opposition to her world-dominating schemes. Most recently, she has begun a campaign to heavily populate the world with her spawn. Bahamut has answered this outbreak of evil by recruiting stalwart heroes to his side—the dragonborn.
In addition to the dragonborn, Bahamut is served by seven great gold wyrms that often accompany him when he visits the Material Plane.
Clergy
Bahamut has few clerics and even fewer temples. He accepts only good clerics. Clerics of Bahamut, be they dragons, half-dragons, or other beings attracted to Bahamut’s philosophy, strive to take constant, but subtle action on behalf of good, intervening wherever they are needed but striving to do as little harm in the process as possible.
Bahamut’s chief foe is Tiamat, and this enmity is reflected in the attitude of each deity’s worshipers. Followers of Bahamut respect Heironeous, Moradin, Yondalla, and other lawful good deities.
Quests
Bahamut’s worshipers are most apt to go on a quest to destroy or stop one of Tiamat’s spawn. Whenever they have a reasonable opportunity to do so, followers of Bahamut act to thwart Tiamat or her minions.
Prayers
Worshipers follow the philosophy that one should “pray with one’s deeds, not one’s mouth.” Each act that promotes the welfare of good dragonkind or thwarts the depravity of evil dragonkind is a prayer of action.
Temples
Temples to Bahamut are rare in the extreme. Those that exist are beautiful, elegant structures with clean, simple lines. The furnishings of a temple are simple, without embellishment or adornment. The building includes meeting rooms where followers can gather to worship or to plan their next campaign against Tiamat’s spawn, as well as smaller, private rooms where individuals can pray, meditate, or rest and recuperate in privacy.
Many gold, silver, and brass dragons maintain simple shrines to Bahamut in their lairs, usually nothing more elaborate than Bahamut’s symbol scribed on a wall. Bahamut is not appreciative of being honored by objects, emphasizing deeds instead.
Rites
Bahamut’s worshipers and clergy don’t have formal rituals or ceremonies. The only activity that one would call a rite is the Rite of Rebirth, by which a humanoid becomes a dragonborn.
Herald and Allies
Bahamut uses a mature adult celestial gold dragon as his herald. His allies include good dragons, half-dragons, draconic creatures, and dragonborn. If a dragonborn strays from her holy duties, Bahamut sends one of his aspects to visit her. The aspect endeavors to talk with the transgressor, and uses reason and diplomacy to remind her of the commitment she accepted when she became a dragonborn.
Bahamut in the Game World
Bahamut in World of Conflict
Bahamut is a god frequently worshipped in the good nations of the world. Ossia and Aiurdan are the two nations who pay homage to the god the most as they house the most good-natured dragons. Clerics of Bahamut in Ossia tend to wear very ornate gold and platinum colored robes, and often consort with the more friendly metallic dragons in the area. The Grand Priest of Bahamut in Ossia is a Silver dragon who maintains a temple near the Sky Stairway.
Avatars
Bahamut visits the world often, usually in the guise of an old, old man or a callow youth. He is always accompanied by an honor guard of seven great gold wyrms who take the forms of fellow travelers or animals. Bahamut keeps a wary eye out for the machinations of Tiamat, taking whatever actions he deems necessary to check the spread of her influence and to undo whatever damage she has done. Bahamut never turns his back on a lawful good creature in peril, but seldom intervenes directly if Tiamat is not involved. Instead, he offers healing, advice, or information. Bahamut is the old hermit whose subtle prophecy unlocks a great mystery (provided the players are wise enough to use and recognize the clue), or the kind stranger who offers a safe refuge or that badly needed spell.
Bahamut’s wanderings have given rise to many bards’ tales, the best known of which relates a roadside meeting with an unassuming old man and his flock of seven trained canaries. None would have been the wiser, says the tale, had a band of ogres led by an ogre mage not swept down upon the crowd.
Game Stats
BAHAMUT
Colossal Dragon
Divine Rank: 10
Hit Dice: 53d12+742 (1,378 hp)
Initiative: +4 (Improved Initiative)
Speed: 60 ft., fly 300 ft. perfect, swim 60 ft.
AC: 76 (–8 size, +10 divine, +52 natural, +12 deflection)
Attacks: Bite +76 melee, 2 claws +71 melee, 2 wings +71 melee, tail slap +71 melee; or spell +76 melee touch or +55 ranged touch
Damage: Bite 4d8+21/19–20, claw 2d8+10, wing 4d6+10, tail slap 4d6+31; or by spell
Face/Reach: 40 ft. by 80 ft./15 ft.
Special Attacks: Breath weapons, crush, tail sweep, spells, spell-like abilities, domain powers, salient divine abilities.
Special Qualities: Divine immunities, fire immunity, DR 45/+4, spontaneous casting of divine spells, understand, speak, and read all languages and speak directly to all beings within 10 miles, remote communication, godly realm, teleport without error at will, plane shift at will, blindsight 10 miles, scent, darkvision, water breathing, SR 42, divine aura (1,000 ft., DC 32).
Saves: Fort +52, Ref +38, Will +51.
Abilities: Str 53, Dex 10, Con 39, Int 35, Wis 36, Cha 35.
Skills: Alchemy +50, Animal Empathy +50, Bluff +75, Concentration +82, Diplomacy +75, Disguise +44, Escape Artist +66, Gather Information +75, Heal +51, Intimidate +75, Intuit Direction +51, Knowledge (arcana) +44, Knowledge (history) +44, Knowledge (local) +47, Knowledge (nature) +44, Knowledge (religion) +44, Knowledge (the planes) +44, Listen +81, Scry +78, Search +75, Sense Motive +79, Spellcraft +78, Spot +81, Wilderness Lore +51.
Feats: Alertness, Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Casting, Expertise, Flyby Attack, Great Cleave, Hover, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Snatch, Wingover.
Breath Weapons (Su): Bahamut has three different breath weapons.
Cold: A cone of cold 80 feet long that deals 36d10 points of damage. A Reflex save (DC 60) reduces the damage by half.
Gaseous Form: A swirling mist that fills a cone 80 feet long. Creatures within the cone are stunned and turned into gaseous form for 32 rounds. A Fortitude save (DC 60) negates the effect.
Disintegration: A beam of blue light that fills an area 5 feet high, 5 feet wide, and 160 feet long. Creatures are obliterated if they fail a Fortitude save (DC 60). Creatures who make successful saving throws still take 18d10 points of damage. The beam blows a 5-footby- 5-foot-by-160-foot hole in objects if they fail their saving throws and deals 18d10 points of damage if they make their saving throws.
Once Bahamut uses a breath weapon, he must wait 1d4 rounds before he can breathe again, no matter which breath weapon he has used.
Crush (Ex): Bahamut can land on foes as a standard action, using his whole body to crush them. Crush attacks are effective only against opponents that are Large or smaller. A crush attack affects as many creatures as can fit under Bahamut’s body. Creatures in the affected area must succeed at Reflex saves (DC 60) or be pinned automatically, taking 4d8+31 damage each round until Bahamut moves. Bahamut can maintain the pin as a normal grapple attack.
Tail Sweep (Ex): As a standard action, Bahamut can sweep his tail in a half-circle with a 40-foot diameter. Medium-size or smaller creatures within the tail sweep area automatically take 2d8+31 points of damage and must succeed at Reflex saves (DC 60) to avoid being knocked down.
Domain Powers: 10/day turn or destroy earth creatures, or rebuke or command air creatures; cast good spells at +1 caster level; 10/day reroll a die roll once after it is made; 10/day protective ward (touched subject gains +20 resistance bonus on next saving throw, maximum duration 1 hour).
Spell-Like Abilities: Bahamut uses these abilities as a 20th-level caster, except for good spells, which he uses as a 21st-level caster. The save DCs are 32 + spell level. Aid, air walk, antimagic field, blade barrier, break enchantment, chain lightning, control weather, control winds, dispel evil, elemental swarm (as air spell only), entropic shield, freedom of movement, gaseous form, holy aura, holy smite, holy word, magic circle against evil, mind blank, miracle, mislead, obscuring mist, prismatic sphere, protection from elements, protection from evil, repulsion, sanctuary, shield other, spell immunity, spell resistance, spell turning, summon monster IX (as good spell only), whirlwind, wind wall.
Divine Immunities: Ability damage, ability drain, acid, cold, death effects, disease, disintegration, electricity, energy drain, fire, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stunning, transmutation, imprisonment, banishment.
Salient Divine Abilities: Alter Form, Alter Size, Alter Reality, Avatar, Control Creatures (nonevil dragons, or any dragon with Cha of 12 or lower), Divine Air Mastery, Divine Blast, Divine Shield, Extra Domain (Luck), Extra Sense Enhancement (blindsight), Shapechange, Spell Immunity†.
†Unique ability, described below.
Water Breathing: As an extraordinary ability, Bahamut can breathe underwater indefinitely (though as a deity, he has no real need to breathe). He can freely use his breath weapons, spells, and other abilities while submerged.
Possessions: Amulet of proof against detection and location, bracers of armor +8, cloak of displacement, cubic gate, cube of force, gem of brightness, glove of storing, portable hole, ring of resistance +5, rod of alertness, rod of cancellation, and staff of power. Bahamut carries or wears these items only when he is in humanoid form. The bonuses these items grant are not reflected in the numbers given above.
Cleric Spells/Day: 6/10/9/9/9/8/7/7/7/7; base DC = 23 + spell level.
Sorcerer Spells Known (6/9/9/9/8/8/8/8/7/7; base DC = 22 + spell level):
0—arcane mark, dancing lights, detect magic, detect poison, ghost sound, light, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation;
1st— alarm, detect secret doors, grease, magic missile, true strike;
2nd—detect thoughts, knock, locate object, obscure object, shatter;
3rd—displacement, nondetection, haste, stinking cloud;
4th—arcane eye, hallucinatory terrain, improved invisibility, Otiluke’s resilient sphere;
5th–bigby’s interposing hand, cloudkill, feeblemind, telekinesis;
6th—acid fog, analyze dweomer, repulsion;
7th—forcecage, power word stun, prismatic spray;
8th—maze, mind blank, polymorph any object;
9th—foresight, time stop, weird.
Spell Immunity (unique salient divine ability): Bahamut is immune to the effect of any spell or spell-like ability of 5th level or lower.
Other Divine Powers
As a lesser deity, Bahamut may take 10 on any check. Bahamut treats a 1 on an attack roll or saving throw normally and not as an automatic failure. He is immortal.
Senses: Bahamut can see (using normal vision or darkvision), hear, touch, and smell at a distance of ten miles. In addition, he has blindsight to a range of 10 miles and can see invisible and ethereal creatures within 1,600 feet (as a see invisibility spell that is constantly active). As a standard action, he can perceive anything within ten miles of his worshipers, holy sites, objects, or any location where one of his titles or name was spoken in the last hour. He can extend his senses to up to five locations at once. He can block the sensing power of deities of his rank or lower at up to two remote locations at once for 10 hours.
Portfolio Sense: Bahamut can sense anything that affects the welfare of good dragons, so long as the event in question affects at least five hundred dragons.
Automatic Actions: Bahamut can use any of his Knowledge skills as a free action if the DC for the task is 20 or lower. He can perform up to five such free actions each round.
Create Magic Items: Bahamut can create armor and protective items, such as a ring of elemental resistance, and items that control air, such as a ring of air elemental command or a censer of controlling air elementals, as long as the item’s market price does not exceed 30,000 gp.
Aspect of Bahamut:
Aspect of Bahamut CR 12
LG Huge dragon (extraplanar)
Init +4; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; Listen +24, Spot +24
Aura frightful presence
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
AC 25, touch 8, flat-footed 25
hp 179 (12 HD); DR 5/epic
Immune cold, sleep, paralysis
Saves:Fort +16, Ref +7, Will +14
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares), fly 100 ft. (good)
Melee bite + 22 (3d6+12) and 2 claws +17 (2d6+6)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Base Atk +12; Grp +32
Atk Options Cleave, Power Attack
Special Actions breath weapon, Tempest Breath (DC 18)
Abilities Str 34, Dex 9, Con 26, Int 23, Wis 24, Cha 23
Feats Alertness, Cleave, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Tempest Breath*
*Described in Draconomicon, page 74
Skills Diplomacy +23, Handle Animal +21, Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcane) +21, Knowledge (history) +21, Knowledge (nature) +21, Knowledge (the planes) +21, Knowledge (religion) +21, Listen +24, Ride +2, Search +19, Sense Motive +22, Spot +24, Survival +9
Breath Weapon (Su) 1/day, 40-ft. cone, 12d6 cold, Reflex DC 24 half
Hook This long, sinuous dragon is covered in silver-white scales that sparkle and gleam with a light all their own. Its catlike eyes shift between the blue of an azure sky and the chill of a frozen glacier, as its mood determines.
An aspect of Bahamut is an embodiment of a small portion of the deity’s life force. Unlike the much more powerful avatars of Bahamut, an aspect of Bahamut is not an extension of the original deity. Rather than extending the deity’s personal self, an aspect is a short-lived echo of the deity’s will, a temporary biological expression of divine power.
Occasionally an aspect of Bahamut arises spontaneously on the deity’s home plane or a closely related plane. More often, aspects are called forth on other planes by magic of some kind, including the planar ally and planar binding spells or the summon aspect of Bahamut spell (see page 118). In any case, they are short-lived, usually fading back into nonexistence within a day.
Aspects of Bahamut are more willing than most divine aspects to converse with mortals. Their diplomatic skills are legendary, though they only speak from the position of superiority due them as representatives of the Master of the North Wind.
Combat
An aspect of Bahamut is a fantastically intelligent combatant. It is fearless, caring nothing for its continued existence unless its existence is strategically more important than the tactical damage it can inflict by fighting ingeniously to the death. Its coldly calculated rage, its capacity for flight, and its penchant for well-timed counterattacks make it far more dangerous than a normal dragon, whose anger and strength in combat are derived in part from its awareness of its own mortality.
Unless it suits its purposes to be surrounded, an aspect of Bahamut is quite cagey about picking off its enemies one by one. Whenever possible, it chooses the battlefield to prevent its foes from using their strengths and their prepared spells. Although an aspect cannot cast spells of its own, it is willing to team up with spellcasting allies who can provide it with powers that increase its opportunities for surprise.
Avatar of Bahamut:
As Bahamut except
Divine Rank 5;
AC 66 (touch 19, flat-footed 66);
Atk +71 melee (4d8+21/19–20, bite), +66 melee (2d8+5, 2 claws), +66 melee (4d6+10, 2 wings), +66 melee (4d6+31, tail slap), or spell +71 melee touch or +55 ranged touch;
SQ DR 40/+4, SR 37, divine aura (50 ft., DC 27);
SV Fort +47, Ref +33, Will +46; all skill modifiers reduced by 5.
Breath Weapons: As Bahamut except that save DCs are 55.
Salient Divine Abilities: Alter Form, Alter Size, Control Creatures (nonevil dragons, or any dragon with Cha of 12 or less), Divine Shield, Extra Domain (Luck), Shapechange.
Spell-Like Abilities: Caster level 15th; saving throw DC 27 + spell level.
