God of Light
Paladine is one of the gods of Krynn, part of the Dragonlance setting. He is the chief god of goodness among the Dragonlance pantheon and opposes evil in all its forms, especially the goddess of evil, Takhisis. He is also one of the original creators of the dragon race.
When he walks among mortals, Paladine often uses the form of an old, doddering, human mage known as Fizban as his alias. He is the husband of Mishakal and has 3 children; Kirijolith, Habbakuk and Solinari.
Information About Paladine
| Characteristic | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Paladine |
| Titles | Dragonlord, Dragon Father, Emperor of Dragons, Fizban the Fabulous, The Platinum Dragon, Skyblade, Whizbang |
| Domains | Order, Hope, Light, Redemption, Good Dragons, Kingship |
| Gender | Male |
| Pantheon | Dragonlance (Krynn) |
| Alignment | Lawful Good |
| Symbol | Silver Triangle, Platinum Dragon, Pine Tree, Anvil |
| Abode | Towers of Night (formerly the Tower of Loss) |
| Allies | Branchala, Habbakuk, Kiri-Jolith, Majere, Mishakal, Solinari |
Personality
Paladine is an honourable god, one who keeps his word and cares for his people. He is also willing to sacrifice for what he knows to be good and right like when he became mortal himself to balance the punishment inflicted on Takhisis when she was also made mortal for her crimes.
When operating as his avatar, Fizban the Fabulous, he appears as a doddering old human and appears regularly forgetful. While some of this can be chalked up to his unfamiliarity with his mortal form (such as forgetting how to cast spells or how deadly a fireball might be to those in close proximity), much of this seems to be a guise with him occasionally revealing himself as much wiser than he at first seems. Often, he will seek simply to nudge people in the right direction rather than outright guiding them.
In his mortal form as an elf known as Valthonis, Paladine became a wanderer, renowned for his great wisdom and leadership and for spreading the word of peace. Many flocked to learn from him and though he continued to live on for many ages, he always had a shifting retinue of followers known as the Faithful that stayed with him.
History
The Age of Creation
During the first age of Krynn, the Age of Creation, the gods all aligned themselves with the 3 primary deities; Paladine, Gilean and Takhisis. The good gods aligned themselves with Paladine, the neutral gods aligned themselves with Gilean and the evil gods aligned themselves with Takhisis. Besides these 3 groups, there was also Chaos who works with no other god and seeks only destruction.
Between these groups of gods, they created Krynn as well as the dragons. Paladine loved the his dragon creations (the first being the chromatic dragons of red, green, blue, white and black) but Takhisis corrupted them turning them evil. In his grief, Paladine had Reorx build monuments to these first dragons and then transformed them into the first metallic dragons of gold, silver, bronze copper and brass. Even now, most metallic dragons remain loyal to Paladine and are good-aligned.
Following the All-Saints War, the other races were also created on Krynn after an uneasy truce was made between the gods. Each group of good, neutral and evil gods had the opportunity to bestow gifts upon the new races that were being created. Paladine and the gods of good bestowed a physical form, the gods of evil gave them ambition and desire and the gods of neutrality gifted them with free will. From these gifts, the races of elves, humans and ogres were created.
The Cataclysm
Prior to the Cataclysm, when the peoples of Krynn had turned from the gods, the Kingpriest of Istar sought to aggrandise himself above all others and perform a ritual that would transform him into a god. This event caused the Cataclysm to rain down on Krynn, destroying much of the planet and tearing large parts of the land apart.
Paladine attempted to prevent the Kingpriest from going through with this great blasphemy by sending Lord Soth on a quest to stop the Kingpriest. Soth agreed and took 3 of his best knights to stop the Kingpriest, but on the way, Soth met with elven maidens who shared lies of his wife’s adultery. Enraged, Soth abandoned the mission and went to confront his wife instead. The Cataclysm struck while Soth confronted his wife and he abandoned her and his newborn son, dying beneath a fallen chandelier for which his wife, Isolde, cursed him.
Like the other gods, following the Cataclysm, Paladine remained silent in the affairs of men, but about 300 years later, when the people’s of Krynn were ready again to accept the true gods, and when Takhisis threatened the whole of Ansalon and beyond with her roving dragon armies in the War of the Lance, Paladine returned as his avatar, Fizban. As Fizban, he helped the Heroes of the Lance and the people’s of Krynn to fight against Takhisis’ dragon armies.
Paladine’s Mortality
When Takhisis was stripped of her immortality as a punishment for her crimes, Paladine sacrificed his own immortality to balance the scales. He walked Krynn as the mortal elf Valthonis, a name that means exile (for his exile from the heavens).
Many of the people of Krynn sought Valthonis out for his great wisdom, whether they were gnomes seeking help with inventions or knights seeking guidance on a quest, Valthonis often found himself surrounded by eager followers.
Later in his mortality, Paladine was approached by the minotaur warrior, Gladar. He was to lead Paladine to a meeting with Mina, his confused daughter who had been in a slumber for centuries who was now being primed to take the place of Takhisis as god of evil. Following a fit of rage on Mina’s part, Paladine was able to help console her and offer her wisdom. As she gained greater clarity, she was able to see what she must do and returned to Godshome, taking her place as both the god of good and evil to serve the balance, leaving Valthonis to continue on in mortality.
Paladine Appearances
Paladine features often in the Dragonlance books, first appearing in the Dragons of Autmn Twilight book as Fizban the Fabulous as his helps the Heroes of the Lance. He also appears in the Dragons of Autmn Twilight animated movie as Fizban as well. There’s also a good chance Paladine will feature in the new adventure being released by Wizards of the Coast in late 2022 called “Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen”.