Paladine, the Dragon's Lord    Paladine is Father of Good and Master of Law. During the Age of Dreams, Paladine led the gods in creation. Paladine and Takhisis, Queen of Darkness, infused the raw fury of chaos with form and purpose, creating the first material beings dragons. Takhisis, jealous the first creations were not entirely hers, corrupted the chromatic dragons to evil. Paladine replaced his fallen children with the good, metallic dragons, but Takhisis's act began the rift between good and evil.

Before creation, the High God wrote the Tobril - the book of all knowledge and true names - to lay down the designs of the universe. But none among the gods he made was trustworthy enough to guard the Tobril. So the High God found Gilean, a scribe so scrupulous as to have never penned an error. The High God brought Gilean back to the dawn of creation and entrusted him with the Tobril, saying: "Read those passages you may. Their knowledge will make you a god equal to the others. But guard this knowledge, for on the day another reads of it, you shall surely die." Gilean has guarded the book ever since.

Influences: knowledge. Symbol: an open book. Colour: grey.

Gilean's Avatars: Gilean takes the form of a book toting scholar of middle age, intent on a particular topic and absent-minded about everything else. This male or female avatar may appear as a human, elf, dwarf, or kender. Although apparently self-absorbed, Gilean slyly tests the preconceptions of folk he encounters. Those who learn from such tests gain a bit of secret knowledge or an answer to a troubling question.
 

Sirrion, god of creative flame and natural power, sculpts fire into beautiful forms. He controls every flame, from the blazing sun to the low burning wick, channelling and filtering the feral power into useful forms. Sirrion is not always tame: he sometimes sparks forest fires to clear rotten trees and allow young forest to grow; he also burns children who play with candle flame, teaching them to respect fire. Though he desires to make fire useful, he wishes even more to make it beautiful. Sirrion's companion is Shinare, goddess of wealth and commerce. They quarrel because Sirrion is temperamental and artistic while Shinare is practical and opportunistic.

Influences: flame, natural power, change, and transformation. Symbol: a multicoloured fire. Colours: bright red and yellow.

Sirrion's Avatars: Sirrion prefers to appear in fire and auguries of smoke or ash. When he does take an avatar form, Sirrion is a tall man with flaming hair, beard, and eyebrows. His robe periodically changes colour the way flames do. In battle, he wields a two-handed flame tongue sword that no mortal can touch.

Reorx, Forge    The dwarves of Ansalon consider Reorx - god of manufacture, technology, and metallurgy - to be the greatest of gods. Humans see him as merely the rotund helper of Kiri-Jolith. Reorx tames chaos to forge the world. His second greatest creation, the Greystone of Gargath, led to the emergence of dwarves, gnomes, and kender. Many consider the forge god father of these races.  Influences: dwarves, weapons, and technology. Symbol: a forging hammer, or a dwarven hammer (Thorbadin). Colours: slate grey and red.

Chislev is nature incarnate. According to legend, the seasons change with her moods: her fear brings the fall, her despair the winter, her hope the springtime, and her joy the summer. In addition to mortal worship, Chislev receives the praise of every beast: every blade of grass turns toward her as toward the sun.

Influences: nature, wilds, beasts. Symbol: a feather hued with her three colors. Colours: brown, yellow, and green.

Chislev's Avatars: Chislev usually appears as a beautiful human or elven woman. In either form, her hair glows like golden sunlight, and her clothes appear to be made from living plants. She carries a living wooden staff. On occasions when she does not wish to speak with anyone, she appears as a unicorn.
 

Zivilyn, god of all wisdom, is the celestial Tree of Life. His branches and roots extend into all times and places. Much as Gilean holds the knowledge of the universe, Zivilyn holds its wisdom. He acts not according to the dictates of his mind, but according to those of his heart. Because wisdom is incomplete without knowledge and knowledge is incomplete without wisdom, Zivilyn and Gilean work closely together. Zivilyn is the companion of Chislev; most mortals view this relationship as a perfect marriage.

Influences: wisdom. Symbol: a great green or gold tree, sometimes a valenwood. Colours: green and gold.

Zivilyn's Avatars: Zivilyn assumes many different forms. Some have seen him as an old, balding man with a long beard. Though sighted, his eyes appear as twin windows looking out into space. Persons who gaze into those eyes learn their future, including the circumstances of their death. Others report Zivilyn as a prophetic child with black skin, white hair, and eyes of quicksilver. Recently, several scholars have even proposed that the ageless Astinus of Palanthas is a branch of Zivilyn. After all, Zivilyn may maintain several avatars at one time, and Astinus may be one of them. In whatever form, Zivilyn wields a simple wooden cane that obeys any command it is given.
 
 

Takhisis, Queen of Darkness   In the Age of Dreams, Takhisis was Paladine's mate and consort. But when they forged the first beings, the dragons built of chaos, Takhisis grew selfish. Jealous she had to share the power of creation, the Dark Queen corrupted the dragons. She quitted Paladineand consorted with Sargonnas, a god of fury and vengeance. They had two offspring: Nuitari and Zeboim. The passion between between Takhisis and Sargonnas vacillates between insatiable lust and rancorous loathing. Takhisis bore one other child, Artha, demi-goddess of wanton lust and greed. Believed to be a child from a passing liaison with Chemosh, Artha was in truth sired by Hidukkel.

Influences: night, evil dragons, hatred, intrigue, and chaos. Symbol: a black crescent. Colours: black of utter darkness and iridescent black of beetle wings. Other names: Dragon Queen (Ergoth, Silvanesti), Tii'Mut (Istar), She of the Many Faces (Hylo), Mai-tat (Tarsis), Nilat the Corruptor (Icewall), Tamex the False Metal (Thorbadin), Lady Chaos (Mithas), Darklady (Ogres), Mwarg (Hobgoblins).

Takhisis's Avatars: Takhisis can assume any form, but her two favorites are a five-headed chromatic dragon and a beautiful temptress of human or elven stock. Rumors claim she also appears as a giant serpent and any multiheaded creature such as a hydra or leviathan. For three millennia after Huma's victory, and again after the recent Whitestone Council that ended the War of the Lance, Takhisis's avatar was banished from Ansalon. Even so, she can act through agents and her offspring.
 

Little is known about Takhisis's consort. He is the brooding, sometimes explosive god of vengeance, rage, deserts, and volcanoes. Sargonnas embodies the destructive passion of fire. His greatest ally, Takhisis, is also his greatest enemy, and he routinely plots both for and against his Queen.

Sargonnas is a fuming and treacherous god. Occasionally, he works his revenge through insidious means. Plotting for years, even centuries, he presents a calm and diabolically magnetic personality ~a mask of the fire within. More often, Sargonnas erupts with fury, consuming everything in his path. He always anticipate similar deceits. He is, in a word, paranoid.

Influences: vengeance, destruction, intrigue, volcanos, fire, and deserts. Symbol: a stylized red condor, or a red fist (Thorbadin, Istar). Colours: red and black. Other names: Argon (Istar, Ergoth), The Firebringer (Hylo), Misal-Lasim (Tarsis), Gonnas the Willful (Icewall), Sargonax the Bender (Thorbadin), Kinthalas (Silvanesti), Kinis (Qualinesti), Destroyer (Mithas).

Sargonnas's Avatars: Sargonnas prefers the form of a red condor with a silky, enticing voice. He also appears as a fire elemental of lava with a roaring voice that sounds like a dwarven blast furnace. Occasionally, he takes the form of a human, kender, or minotaur warrior, but he is loathe to do so.
 

Morgion, god of disease and decay, refuses the company of the other gods and does not discuss plans with them. Those unfortunate enough to encounter this reclusive god see a rotting humanoid corpse ~neither male nor female~ topped with a goat's head. Secrecy is Morgion's way. Morgion despises all healthy things, striving to destroy or corrupt them with disease and decay.

Influences: disease, decay, plague, weakness, and plotting. Symbol: a hood with two red eyes, an upside-down axe (Thorbadin), or a rat's claw (Hylo). Colours: deep brown and black. Other names: H'rar (Ergoth, Istar), Gormion (Tarsis), Morgi (Icewall), Morgax the Rustlord (Thorbadin), Pestilence (Mithas), Anthrax Goatlord (Hobgoblins).

Morgion's Avatars: Morgion has two favorite avatars: a thick, roiling black cloud with glowing red eyes, and a priestess or executioner wearing a black hood and veil. Morgion speaks in a harsh whisper.
 

As lord of false redemption, Chemosh offers "eternal life": the takers spend immortality in an undead and eternally corrupted body. Chemosh rarely explains this when making a pact. Before his victims can reconsider, they find themselves his minions. Dead and dying creatures fascinate Chemosh. The desperate, thrashing movements, the hoary rattle of water in the lungs, the smell of decay all delight him. Even so, he plans never to experience death himself, growing in power and longevity with each minion he gains.

Influences: ravagers, undead, and all nemesis. Symbol: a yellow skull. Colours: black and sickly yellow. Other names: Aeleth (Ergoth), Dron of the Deep (Tarsis), Chemos Joton (Icewall), Khemax (Thorbadin), Lifebane (Mithas), Orkrust (Hobgoblins).

Chemosh's Avatars: Chemosh appears as either a rakishly handsome man in a black robe or as a lich (an undead sorceror) clad in rotting finery. In either guise, he bears a small obsidian sickle. The sickle directs him to the target with the fullest lifeforce. Chemosh's true form is a bloated satyr with a goat skull head.
 

Zeboim the Sea Queen is the impetuous and volatile daughter of Takhisis and Sargonnas. Her unpredictable tempers make her a dangerous foe and lethal friend. She wars against Habbakuk, god of marine life, for control over the seas. She provides her followers the vast wealth of lost treasure ships.

Influences: sea, storms, tempests, weather, undead sea races, and jealousy. Symbol: a turtle shell pattern. Colours: green and red. Other names: Rann (Ergoth), Zyr (Tarsis), Zebir Jotun (Icewall), Bhezomiax (Thorbadin), Maelstrom (Mithas).

Zeboim's Avatars: Though Zeboim can assume a human form, she favors the form of a giant sea turtle with a human female face.
 

Hidukkel, god of ill-gotten wealth and deals, is patron god of evil business men and dishonest merchants. A cunning deal-maker, Hidukkel trades in living souls. Some say Hidukkel can ever barter with Takhisis and come out ahead. Hidukkel controls all ill-gotten wealth, using it to corrupt honest and greedy men alike. Greed and mishief drive all his transactions. One of his deals resulted in the creation of the Graygem, an artifact that wreaked havoc on Krynn.

Influences: evil business practices, damned spirits, greed, slavery, and betrayal. Symbol: a broken merchant's scale. Colours: red and bone. Other names: Betrayer (Mithas), Usk-Do (Hobgoblins), Hitax the Flaw (Thorbadin), M'Fistos (Istar).

Hidukkel's Avatars: Hidukkel prefers to appear as an obese man with cold, beady eyes and an oily smile. He drapes his expansive girth with the finest brocade and his knuckles are knobbed with false gemstones. Hidukkel avoids physical combat, relying on spells and hired monster bodyguards.
 

Nuitari, god of black magic, drew his evil nature from his parents, Takhisis and Sargonnas. The black moon, also called Nuitari, which is his symbol cannot be detected unless it eclipses the other stars and moons. While wandering Krynn in avatar form, Nuitari founded the wizardry Order of the Black Robes. This order espouses Nuitari's belief that magic should be secret and coveted.

Nuitari is perhaps the most approachable of the evil gods. His love for magic trancends his evil nature. An intense and quiet god, Nuitari displays a scholar's love for the magical arts. He continually researches new spells to grant his priests and wizards, seeking the universe's arcane secrets. But black magic comes at a price; though it grants its users incredible power, it also slowly takes control of them. Nuitari observes in wry amusement as those who try to master his art are overcome by its dark power.

Influences: black magic. Symbol: a black circle or sphere. Colour: black. Other names: Nightreaver (Mithas), Darkness (Elian), Black Hand (Balifor), Ungod (Thorbadin).

Nuitari's Avatars: Nuitari favors the form of a quiet, intense young man with jet-black hair and a long black robe. He also appears as a wicked child.