Paladine

Paladine is a fictional major deity from the Dragonlance fantasy series of novels and role playing games, originally published by TSR, Inc. and later by Sovereign Press under the d20 Open Gaming License developed by Wizards of the Coast.^[1]

Paladine is the leader of the faction of good deities in the Dragonlance campaign setting.^[2] Among his other duties, he is the patron deity of the Order of the Rose, a prestigious order of knighthood. He is also credited with the creation of the elven race in the Dragonlance campaign world. His colors are silver and white. In keeping with his role as a major deity, he holds dominion over several concepts, which form his divine portfolio. Among these concepts are Charity, Redemption, Leadership, Law, and Light.

Paladine is described as being the elder brother of Takhisis and Gilean, the major deities of Evil and Neutrality, respectively. He and Mishakal are the parents of Kiri-Jolith, Habbakuk, and Solinari, who are all lesser deities of good, and of Mina,^[3] a lesser god standing apart from Good, Evil and Neutrality.

Character background

In the very early stages of the character's development, Paladine and the character Huma Dragonbane were regarded as interchangeable - however, Tracy Hickman soon moved to using the character of Fizban as Paladine's avatar.^[4] Thus when Paladine is first encountered in the novels, albeit incognito, in the preface to Dragons of Autumn Twilight, he calls himself "Fizban" and represents himself to be a clumsy and absent-minded wizard.^[5] The character of Paladine continues to present himself as "Fizban" through most of the series, although it becomes increasingly evident that Fizban is more than what he appears to be. Eventually, his friendship with the kender character Tasselhoff Burfoot becomes so strong he declares the "Fizban" avatar to be his favorite.^[6]

Paladine in his mortal form, Fizban on the left

After the events of the War of Souls, Paladine voluntarily gives up his divine status and becomes Valthonis, a mortal elf,^[7] with the goal of defeating his sister, Takhisis, who was forced to become mortal as well through his actions.^[8]

Symbols and titles

The pantheon of deities in the Dragonlance mythos is divided into three factions; the Good, the Evil, and the Neutral deities. Each of these groups has several deities of varying influence. Paladine is the head of the deities that represent the forces of Good. There is nothing inherently better about the position, it is simply a hierarchy to establish and enforce order.

Paladine is also called Draco Paladin, E'li, the Platinum Dragon, Dragonlord, Valiant Warrior, The Dragon's Lord, Bah'mut (strikingly similar to the Dungeons & Dragons platinum dragon Bahamut), the Great Dragon, Skyblade, Platinum Father, and Thak the Hammer.^[1] After the conclusion of the War of the Lance, the deity himself became known as Fizban among the fictional race of kender; thus, referring to "Fizban" by kender can be somewhat ambiguous.

His symbols include the anvil, a silver triangle, a pine tree, and the platinum dragon. In the night sky of Krynn, he can be viewed as the constellation known as the Valiant Warrior, sometimes referred to as the Platinum Dragon. In the first chapters of Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Raistlin Majere notes that this constellation, as well as the constellation for Takhisis, were missing, suggesting that both deities were physically present on Krynn in their avatar forms. This is later proven to be the case when Raistlin meets Paladine's avatar Fizban in person. The idea that the constellation disappears when the god takes mortal form is reinforced when Paladine and Takhisis both become mortal at the end of Dragons of a Vanished Moon which concluded the War of Souls.

Dragonlance movie

Actor Neil Ross voiced Fizban (Paladine) in the animated Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight movie,^[9] directed by Will Meugniot, written by George Strayton and produced by Toonz Animation, Commotion Pictures, Epic Level Entertainment, Kickstart Entertainment and Paramount Pictures. It was released January 15, 2008.

Comparisons with other fictional characters

Weis and Hickman later introduced a similar character in the Death Gate Cycle named Zifnab, and in The Mantle of Kendis-Dai named Zanfib. Both names are anagrams of Fizban, and both characters bear strong similarities to him. Tracy Hickman notes that the character of Fizban belongs to TSR, Inc. (and presumably transferred to Wizards of the Coast), while the characters of Zifnab and Zanfib are owned by himself and Margaret Weis.^[10]

Paladine (in his Fizban aspect) has drawn comparisons with the character of Gandalf in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Both serve as guides and mentors to the other characters in the stories. But while Gandalf guides through his wisdom and legendary status, Fizban is far more awkward and seemingly senseless, constantly putting the characters into worse trouble than they were in before. Nevertheless, in the end Fizban, as with Gandalf, is revealed to be much more than was initially apparent.^[11]

See also

• Dragonlance portal

References

• Wolf, Nadine (2010). Religious Concepts in Fantasy Literature. GRIN Verlag. ISBN 978-3640661428. 
• Holy Orders of the Stars
• Dragonlance Campaign Setting
• Dragonlance.com