D&D: An Adventurer’s Guide to Paladine – Dragonlance’s God of Ultimate Good
In the world of Krynn, one god embodies majesty and goodness above all else. Behold, Paladine, the Platinum Dragon.
In all of Krynn, no name was as respected or loved as that of Paladine. Sometimes known as the Platinum Dragon, because he’s a literal platinum dragon, Paladine was Krynn’s god of good. Like Takhisis, Paladine represented one axis of the D&D alignment spectrum.
And like Takhisis, Paladine was summoned to Krynn by a mysterious being known only as the High God. Paladine was majestic and glorious and genuinely loved the peoples of the world. Known as Bah’Mut, the Dragon Father, and more, Paladine carved a legend on Krynn.
As you might have guessed from the aliases listed, Paladine shares a lot in common with another Platinum Dragon, Bahamut. They both have mirrored platinum scales. They’re both champions of good. They both inspire knights and have a propensity for traveling in disguise. More on that in a minute.
But what makes Paladine different is that he is representative not just of “goodness” but of the strive to be better. He’s the kind of god that will pull up a chair and listen. He will genuinely help you figure out your problem and, worse yet, will remember it and ask you how it’s going when you run into him at a party three weeks later.
Because Paladine is also a god of redemption. At the heart of Paladine’s story is the drive to bring those who have fallen to corruption back into the light.
Paladine’s Relationships and Followers
As you might expect, this means that a lot of Paladins really dig Paladine. Again, it’s all in the name. But he was no aloof god. Even for Dragonlance, Bah’Mut was surprisingly active. He took a spouse, Mishakal, patron goddess of motherhood, and boy did they live up to that name. The two had three children, Kiri-Jolith, Habbakuk, and Solinari.
And you’d be hard-pressed to find a significant event throughout Krynn’s history that the Platinum Dragon hasn’t had a hand in. A propensity that led ultimately to his being made mortal for a time.
A Fabulous God in Human Clothing
Paladine had a special affinity for Kender. During the War of the Lance, he often took the guise of a befuddled old mage named Fizban the Fabulous. As Fizban, he helped to shove events along as they were meant to be.
And in the centuries before that, before Krynn’s great Cataclysm, the Dragon Father gave a vision of dire portent to Lord Soth (before he was a Death Knight). He gave the fallen lord a quest to retrieve an artifact and deliver it to a high priest–but ultimately that backfired. And great destruction followed.
Even so, Paladine fought on, as he ever did. Always fighting for good and looking for the best in everyone.
Happy adventuring!
