Zorquan the High One

Zorquan is the deity who embodies what it is to be a dragon, representing those features all dragons share. His primary concern is with the survival of the dragon races as a whole rather than individual dragons.

Zorquan (PDF Version)
(The High One, the Greatest Wyrm)
Intermediate Power of the Outlands, N

Portfolio:  Dragonkind, dragonness, true dragons, preservation of dragons as a race, excellence
Aliases:  None
Domain Name:  Outlands/Dragonpeak
Superior:  Io
Allies:  Aasterinian, Arcanic, Astilabor, Bahamut, Chronepsis, Elemtia, Garyx, Hlal, Kereska, Lendys, Rais, Sardior, Tamara, Task, Tiamat
Foes:  Faluzure, Kalzareinad (Dead)
Symbol:  Black circle superimposed on a larger concentric white circle
Wor. Align.:  Any

The mightiest of Io’s great children is Zorquan (ZORE-kwan) the High One. Where the Ninefold Dragon is the progenitor and patron of all dracoforms, Zorquan embodies the essence of what it is to be a true dragon. He embodies the pride and power that all dragons have in abundance, and encourages dragons to be the best of their species by improving themselves and gaining status. Despite this, Zorquan has little interest in the fate of individual dragons, being concerned with the well-being of each species as a whole.

Zorquan’s power is drawn from the veneration and worship of virtually every species of dragon. He maintains his place in the pantheon primarily by taking no sides in the individual rivalries and battles that plague both mortal and divine dragons. As such, he can rely on the other members of the pantheon to aid him on the rare occasions he needs it, just as they can rely on him in the face of external conflicts. When he speaks, the other deities listen, if only begrudgingly. Not all members of the pantheon can be considered his ally, however. Zorquan’s strained relationship with Nathair Sgiathach, the diminutive patron of faerie dragons, stems from the Prankster’s irreverent disposition and general disregard for the affairs of the draconic races as a whole and preferred company of the Seelie Court. Their relationship has no malice, however, and is unlikely to ever become hostile. The same cannot be said for the High One’s relationship with Faluzure and the now-deceased Kalzareinad. It is said that the two deities collaborated on creating the first dracolich, an act that Zorquan sees as an abominable desecration of Io’s creation. Whatever the truth, the High One and the Night Dragon now hold an eternal enmity for each other that is not likely to end before the death of one or the other.

Draconic myth is inconsistent on Zorquan’s origins. On some worlds, he is said to be the eldest of Io’s children, and father of all mortal dragons. In other myths, he was the greatest of the early mortal dragons, and upon his death he was elevated to godhood by Io. Typically, these latter myths also portray him as a member of the myth-teller’s species. Beyond these stories, little is said of him, and he rarely plays a part in the myths of the other draconic gods; however, his omnipresence as the epitome that all dragons should strive for goes unquestioned.

Zorquan has little to do with the deities of lesser races, although it is said he has warned them off when the actions of their followers threaten a world’s dragons. He mostly keeps to himself in his realm of Dragonpeak in the Outlands, overlooking the Gate-Town of Faunel. His rare excursions tend to be hunting trips to the Beastlands, although he has never been known to use the gate in Faunel. He holds court in his vast lair with his proxies, paragons of each true dragon species. His most powerful proxy is the Supreme Iron Dragon, Gruaghlothor, who serves both Zorquan and Lendys equally. While he pays close attention to the affairs of dragons on the Prime Material Plane, he prefers to send his proxies to handle threats and dangers rather than utilize avatars; his preference is that dragons work together to deter threats faced by all. However, when dragons face threats outside the hands of mortals, including extreme natural disasters and the depredations of other deities, Zorquan will dispatch an avatar to handle the situation.

Zorquan’s Avatar (32-HD Great Wyrm Dragon, Wizard 32, Priest 32)
Zorquan appears as a perfectly formed dragon of any species, and can shift form instantly from one round to another. Regardless of his form, his eyes glow and crackle with electricity; occasionally his eyes shed arcs of electrical energy that flash and crackle around his whole body. He draws his spells from all schools save necromancy and all spheres save law and chaos.

AC −11; MV 18, Fl 60 (A), Br 12, Jp 6; HP 310; THAC0 −9; #AT 3+special
Dmg 1d12+13/1d12+13/4d10+12 (claw/claw/bite)
MR 90%; SZ G (460 feet—body 200 feet, tail 160 feet)
Str 22, Dex 22, Con 22, Int 23, Wis 23, Cha 23
Spells P: 14/13/13/12/11/10/8, W: 7/7/7/7/7/7/7/7/7
Saves PPDM 2; RSW 3; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 4

Special Att/Def: Zorquan avoids physical combat, preferring to use his magical powers and breath weapon. He uses the breath weapon of his current dragon form; regardless of the form, it deals 24d12+24 points of damage and is 50% larger. Once every three rounds, he is able to unleash a 200-foot long 20-die lightning bolt from his eyes. The High One swallows a man-sized creature whole on a bite attack that succeeds with a natural roll of 11 or better, irrevocably destroying the victim and all equipment. Zorquan can use whatever spell-like abilities are available to his form, with no limit on uses and double the range.

Zorquan’s aura of dragon fear extends to a radius of 160 yards. Creatures up to 5 HD/levels who catch sight of him are automatically affected (as well as all noncarnivorous, nonaggressive creatures with fewer than 25 Hit Dice) and flee for 4d6 rounds. Trained war mounts of 4 HD or more, organized military units, and single creatures with more than 5 HD or levels do not automatically flee. Rather, they are entitled to a saving throw vs. petrification at a −5 penalty. If they fail this saving throw, they fight with a −2 penalty to attack and damage rolls. No one save another deity is automatically immune to his fear effect.

Zorquan is immune to all spells below 6th level. He is immune to all forms of poison, paralysis, petrification, death magic, mind-affecting and controlling spells and psionics, and limited wishes that attempt to alter him directly (i.e. a limited wish couldn’t wish him back to his home plane or wish his wings crushed, but it could create a firestorm that would affect him). Zorquan takes half damage from cold-, fire-, and electricity-based attacks, as well as all dragon breath weapons. He is immune to weapons of less than +3 enchantment.

Other Manifestations
Zorquan most commonly manifests his power as an intense electrical glow emanating from the eyes of a dragon as an indicator the dragon speaks for the High One on a matter of importance. For the duration of this manifestation, a dragon so affected gains a +4 bonus to Charisma with regards to reaction adjustments from other dragons and draconic creatures. On occasions when Zorquan takes a direct interest in a dragon completing a physical task, he has been known to grant the spells call upon faith or draw upon holy might to a dragon, usable up to three times per day. This manifestation rarely lasts longer than a week. Finally, he sometimes manifests as a dragon-shaped electrical discharge in the sky; such appearances are omens indicating that a dragon should be vigilant against a potential threat or that they have missed one and need to re-evaluate recent events and observations.

Zorquan rarely acts through creatures, instead favoring appearances of his proxies, who are all perfect specimens of their dragon species. Discoveries of perfectly formed, flawless gems and metal nuggets appropriate to the dragon making the find heralds his favor, while discoveries of deeply flawed and worthless specimens show his disfavor.

The Church
Clergy:                      Specialty priests
Clergy’s Align.:      N
Turn Undead:           SP: Yes, at priest level −2
Cmnd. Undead:         SP: No

All specialty priests of Zorquan receive religion (draconic) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency.

Zorquan is worshiped as the embodiment of draconic perfection. He epitomizes every trait, both physical and mental, that sets true dragons apart from other beings. He guides individual dragons towards excellence, encouraging them to be the best example of their breed that they can be. Dragons call upon him when they wish to better their own draconic skills, including flight, breath weapon precision, magical abilities, combat skills, and many others. He is also seen as the guardian of the draconic races as a whole, working to preserve them from wholesale destruction. He is called upon for aid when whole draconic races are threatened due to natural disasters or war, regardless of whether the conflict is with non-dragons or other dragon races. At the extreme, his most zealous followers hunt down those creatures seen as abominations of the draconic shape, such as undead dragons, half-dragons, or crossbreeds such as dracolisks and dracosphinxes, and most rarely even true dragons that deviate from the common form (faerie dragons, dracohydras, etc.).

Zorquan’s temples are sinuous tunnels ending in a great vaulted cavern. The temple complex is decorated with the finest of draconic artwork, depicting great draconic heroes of the present and past, scenes from draconic mythology, and representations of the various true dragons. The central chamber contains a statue of the High One in a watchful pose, magically enchanted to shift form through all the varieties of true dragons known on the world. Zorquan’s temples are considered neutral ground, where problems or conflicts can be resolved under specific rules determined by the unbiased priests. Such resolutions can involve duels or combat, but no unsanctioned combat is allowed, and breaking these edicts are considered a grave insult to the draconic pantheon. Generally, no more than one temple of Zorquan will be found per continent, although worlds where dragons are common or hold rulership over other creatures may have a more dense arrangement. In addition to the clergy, such temples will always have between two and six dragons between the ages of Juvenile and Adult in residence, attempting to improve themselves under the guidance of the priest, and paying for the opportunity by guarding the temple. Dragons of any species may be found there, and are required to put aside any racial hatred they have for the duration of their stay.

On most worlds, dragons do not form organized priesthoods, as there are too few of them, and they are far too individualistic. Only worlds with very dense dragon populations or very structured dragon cultures will develop hierarchical priesthoods, and the form they take are likely to be unique to those worlds. Zorquan’s priesthood consists solely of specialty priests, known as exemplars. Dragons from virtually any race that may become priests are drawn to his priesthood in roughly equal numbers, although aquatic dragons (amphi, brine, sea, etc.), albino wyrms, dracohydras, faerie dragons, and weredragons are never called to his service. Intelligent undead dragons (i.e. dracoliches) may never join his priesthood. Iron dragons are especially drawn to his worship.

Dogma: True dragons are the most powerful creatures known to creation. Amongst all the mortal creatures of the planes, the true dragons are the nearest to perfection. Preserve the dragon races from destruction. Do not let petty squabbles threaten the wellbeing of dragonkind. Excel at your draconic skills and become an example to all other members of your race.

Day-to-Day Activities: Priests of Zorquan spend their days much as any dragon does. They are more vigilant towards threats to the race as a whole, often using divination magic and other methods to investigate potential threats that they detect. They warn other dragons of the danger, although their concern is with the preservation of the species, not every single individual; should they be ignored, they will move on to warn another dragon. They tend to be somewhat more active than their brethren, making sure their physique and all of their skills are in top shape. A small number spend significant amounts of their active periods ensuring their territory is free of non-dragon dracoforms such as wyverns, dracolisks, and the like.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Where Zorquan’s faith is well known, dragons typically associate a specific constellation within the plane of the ecliptic with him, or with dragons in general. Holy days are usually related to celestial events involving this constellation, typically when a planet or other wandering celestial object appears within a specific section of the constellation. For the duration of this conjunction, known as Time of Introspection, dragons are expected to ponder ways to improve their skills and observe the world for threats to dragonkind they may have missed. While conflict between dragons isn’t taboo at this time, it is frowned upon by the faithful.

Major Centers of Worship: Most worlds with significant and varied populations of dragons contain temples of Zorquan, but the world of Golot in Golotspace was an exception until recently. With the defeat of the most powerful dragon on the planet by Vulkaran, the Vodoni Emperor, worship of The High One has seen a resurgence amongst the younger dragons who see his faith as a means to destroy the Emperor’s hold over the sphere. These young dragons have gathered to construct a temple, called Gathering Hall of Draconic Might, within an isolated peak in the temperate zone of the largest continent.

On the world of Toril in Realmspace, the only known temple of Zorquan lies amongst the northwestern peaks of the Osraun Mountains. Tended by the bronze wyrm Ragmornaugh, this temple is called the Congress of Dragons. Once a place of meetings between the ancient dragon lords who ruled the lands of Faerûn eons ago, visitations have grown fewer and fewer over the centuries. Ragmornaugh currently has no acolyte at this time, but is ever vigilant for a young dragon with the interest and devotion to take on the duties of the temple upon his passing.

North of the lands of Sunndi, in the Glorioles Mountains on the world of Oerth, can be found a temple called the Exalted Hall of Wyrms. This temple is home to an ancient amethyst dragon named Nythix, with his two juvenile acolytes, a blue dragon and a mist dragon. As with the temple on Toril, few dragons use this temple as a meeting place, although it is more well-known than the aforementioned temple.

On the air world of Coliar in Realmspace, the tenets of Zorquan are especially popular, which is one of the reasons the majority of dragonkind on that world have shifted towards neutrality. One of the earth islands floating about within this world is home to a large temple complex dedicated to Io, Chronepsis, and Zorquan, called the High Halls of Draconic Might. Run by a family of blue dragons, this temple complex serves as a meeting place amongst the dragons, and a de facto assembly area where issues pertaining to all the dragon races are discussed.

Affiliated Orders: None.

Priestly Vestments: The holy symbol used by Zorquan’s clergy is a disk of pure black jadeite, magically fused within a ring of pure white jadeite, creating a single, solid disk.

Adventuring Garb: None.

Specialty Priests (Exemplars)
Requirements:          Intelligence 13, Wisdom 13, Charisma 13
Prime Req.:                Wisdom, Charisma
Alignment:                N
Weapons:                   Any, but normally a dragon’s natural weaponry
Armor:                       Any, but normally a dragon’s natural armor
Major Spheres:         All, charm, creation, divination, elemental air, guardian, healing, protection, numbers, summoning, sun, thought
Minor Spheres:         Animal, time, wards
Magical Items:         Same as dragons, clerics
Req. Profs:                Etiquette
Bonus Profs:             Reading/writing (High Draconic)

  • Exemplars may be any true dragon capable of becoming a priest, except dracoliches and other intelligent draconic undead. Should an exemplar become a dracolich, it immediately loses all priestly abilities. While aquatic dragons (amphi, brine, sea, etc.), albino wyrms, dracohydras, faerie dragons, and weredragons can technically become exemplars, there are no known cases where any have done so.
  • Exemplars are not allowed to multiclass.
  • Exemplars normally turn undead as if they were two levels lower. Against undead dragons, however, they turn as if they were four levels higher. In addition, they are able to turn dracoliches using the Special category.
  • Exemplars can cast call upon faith (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per day.
  • At the 2nd Age Category, exemplars can cast breath control (as the 1st-level priest spell) twice per day.
  • At the 3rd Age Category, exemplars can cast draw upon holy might (as the 2nd-level priest spell) once per day.
  • At the 4th Age Category, exemplars gain a bonus to one of their natural attack modes. Each different attack mode can be used immediately, even if they are normally not of an age category to do so. If using the Council of Wyrms rules, the exemplar gains a free proficiency in the chosen attack mode if they do not have it already. Attack modes that can be chosen are: claw, bite, kick, plummet, snatch, stall, tail slap, and wing buffet. If the Council of Wyrms rules are used, then the roll, tail mace, and wing spurs attacks can also be chosen. The exemplar gains a +1 bonus to their attack roll and +2 bonus to damage with their chosen attack mode. If the chosen attack mode requires victims to make a saving throw or ability score check, that check is made with an additional −1 penalty. If stall is chosen, the dragon is allowed a Strength check at half their Strength to return to forward momentum.
  • At the 5th Age Category, exemplars can cast wings of Zorquan (as the 3rd-level priest spell) once per day.
  • At the 7th Age Category, exemplars can cast magnify breath weapon (as the 4th-level priest spell) once per day. They can cast it an additional time per day for every two levels above 7th (so twice at 9th and three times at 11th).
  • At the 9th Age Category, exemplars can cast alter breath weapon (as the 6th-level priest spell) once per day.
  • At the 11th Age Category, exemplars can shapechange (as the 9th-level wizard spell) once per day into any other true dragon, except aquatic dragons (amphi, brine, sea, etc.), albino wyrms, dracohydras, faerie dragons, and weredragons.
  • At the 12th Age Category, exemplars can scribe a symbol of persuasion (as the 7th-level priest spell) once per day. Once per year, they can choose to make the symbol permanent.

Zorquanite Spells
1st Level
Breath Control (Pr 1; Alteration)
Sphere:                    Numbers
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 Special
Casting Time:          4
Area of Effect:         Special
Saving Throw:        None

When cast, breath control enables the dragon to exercise a measure of control over a variable number of breath weapons it releases after the spell’s casting. Essentially, the spell enables the dragon to improve a breath attack’s low-end efficiency by decreasing its high-end capacity—an exchange that ensures more uniform and reliable breath weapon damage potential.

For example, a blue dragon’s breath weapon uses a d8 base for damage purposes. When the affected breath weapon is issued, damage dice rolls of 1 are counted as 2, while rolls of 8 are counted as 7. All other dice results, ranging from 2–7, remain unchanged. This model is equally applicable to a higher or lower damage dice base, as per the dragon type in question. A controlled breath weapon still permits the usual saving throw to reduce the damage by half, of course.

The dragon can affect a number of breath weapon attacks equal to its age category; thus, breath control affects five breath attacks when cast by a Young Adult dragon, six breath attacks when cast by an Adult dragon, seven for Mature Adult, and so forth, up to twelve controlled breath attacks for Great Wyrms. In all cases, however, the spell affects breath weapons in consecutive order—its effects will not skip over one breath attack to influence a subsequent breath attack.

Only damage-inflicting breath weapons can be altered with this spell. Non-damaging breath weapons (such as paralyzation, sleep gas, and so forth) count against the number of affected breath weapons the spell allows but are not altered by the spell. Breath control spells are not cumulative; a subsequent casting merely negates and replaces a previous casting.

Breath control can be negated by a successful dispel magic or similar power; otherwise, it remains active until the dragon releases the appropriate number of breath attacks.

The material component of this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

2nd Level
Adopt Ability (Pr 2; Alteration)
Sphere:                    Summoning
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 Special
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        None

By means of this spell, the caster is able to utilize a natural spell-like ability of any true dragon. Only abilities that the caster has personally witnessed can be adopted, and the caster must be of an age category where he would be able to use the ability if he were of the species in question. Inherent immunities, such as the black dragon’s immunity to acid, cannot be adopted. For example, a Venerable red dragon could adopt the inherent water breathing ability of a black dragon, or the ability to summon insects that black dragons gain upon reaching the Venerable age category, but not the black dragon’s ability to charm reptiles, which is gained upon reaching Great Wyrm status. The spell-like ability adopted is used as if the caster were a dragon of the specified type; thus a Venerable red dragon would use the black dragon’s summon insects ability as if he were a Venerable black dragon where duration, area of effect, damage, and the like are concerned. For abilities that are inherent and always operating, the duration is 1 turn plus 1 turn per spellcasting level of the priest.

The material components for this spell are the priest’s holy symbol and a single scale from the dragon type whose ability the priest wishes to adopt.

3rd Level
Wings of Zorquan (Pr 3; Invocation/Evocation)
Sphere:                    Summoning
Range:                     0
Components:           V
Duration:                 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          6
Area of Effect:         The caster
Saving Throw:        None

With this spell, the caster calls upon a small portion of Zorquan’s skill at flight to temporarily improve their own speed and maneuverability. For the duration of this spell, the caster’s movement speed is increased by 9 and their maneuverability class becomes one step better. Thus, a red dragon whose flight movement speed is normally 30 gains a movement speed of 39, and his maneuverability class becomes B. This extra speed and skill also imparts a +1 attack roll bonus with any airborne attacks, including dive attacks. All other rules for dragonflight still apply.

4th Level
Magnify Breath Weapon (Pr 2; Alteration, Evocation)
Sphere:                    Combat
Range:                     0
Components:           V
Duration:                 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          5
Area of Effect:         Special
Saving Throw:        None

Magnify breath weapon provides a temporary boost to a dragon’s breath attacks. In game terms, the breath weapon’s base damage dice is bumped up one damage dice category. Thus, for the spell’s duration, breath weapons with a d4 base operate with a d6 base, those with a d6 base operate with a d8 base, and so forth. Victims still receive a saving throw vs. breath weapon to reduce the damage by half.

Like breath control, this spell has no effect on nondamaging breath weapons, though such breath weapons do not negate the spell. Magnify breath weapon can be negated early if subjected to a successful dispel magic or similar effect. Otherwise, the spell lasts for the full duration, regardless of the dragon’s wishes.

Magnify breath weapon cannot be combined with a breath control spell; instead, whichever of the two spells is cast second replaces and negates the other. Similarly, this spell cannot be stacked with itself to boost the breath weapon further. Subsequent castings simply extend a previous casting’s duration accordingly.

Note that the wizardly version of this spell that some dragons randomly gain is a lower level spell than this priestly version.

The material component of this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

6th Level
Alter Breath Weapon (Pr 6; Alteration)
Sphere:                    Combat
Range:                     0
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 rd./level
Casting Time:          1 rd.
Area of Effect:         Special
Saving Throw:        None

With this spell, a dragon’s breath weapon takes on the appearance and properties of the breath weapon of another type of dragon. For dragons who possess multiple breath weapon forms, only one is changed by the spell. In any case, the spell causes an actual change, not an illusion. Furthermore, the amount of damage caused by the altered breath weapon is the same as that of the dragon’s true breath weapon; only the type, not the power, of the breath weapon is changed.

For example, a red dragon can use this spell to change its fiery breath weapon into a cloud of chlorine gas (as used by green dragons) but with a damage potential equal to its usual flame breath weapon. By using this spell, the dragon is able to harm creatures that are normally immune or resistant to its fiery breath (for example, another red dragon). Of course, a creature immune to chlorine gas or to dragon breath weapons in general is still unharmed by the attack.

Alter breath weapon can be ended prematurely with a successful dispel magic or similar effect or by silent will of the dragon. However, the spell does not permit the dragon to shift through multiple types of breath weapons; once a particular type of breath weapon is chosen for a particular casting of the spell, it cannot be changed, save to revert back to the dragon’s true breath weapon, thus ending the spell. Likewise, multiple alter breath weapon spells cannot be in effect at the same time. If a second alter breath weapon is attempted before the first expires, both spells are immediately negated.

The material component of this spell is the priest’s holy symbol.

 

9 Responses to Zorquan the High One

  1. Alzrius says:

    A few typos that I noticed:

    In Zorquan’s Portfolio line, “dragoness” should be “dragonness.” The former refers to a female dragon, while the latter refers to the quality or state of being a dragon.

    In this sentence. “Typically, these later myths also portray him as a member of the myth-teller’s species.” The word “later” should probably be “latter,” since the two myths aren’t described as one predating the other.

  2. Barastir says:

    Have you corrected the PDF, as well? I think you forgot correcting the PDF in Annam’s entry, and I’d like to have both corrected. :)

  3. Shandrath says:

    In the 4th paragraph, you have: “His most powerful proxy is the Supreme Iron Dragon, Gruaghlothor, who servers both Zorquan and Lendys equally.” Servers should be serves.
    Also, in the 12th Age Category for Exemplars, you say: “Once per year, they can choose to make the symbol.” That sentence needs to be finished.
    Keep up the fantastic work! It really is awesome that a D&D scholar as skilled as you has taken on such a labor of love!

    • AuldDragon says:

      Thanks, I made both corrections. Not sure what happened with the second one, as it is correct in the PDF. Must have been a copy/paste error. I appreciate the second eyes!

  4. Ford Prefect says:

    Any chance you’d be interested in doing a write-up for Zorquan’s 5e stats? (Or for their remains, in the Astral realm)?

    • AuldDragon says:

      I don’t know enough about 5e to do it (I’ve neither played nor read it), but spells are pretty similar from what I’ve seen so they might be easy to convert, and priests aren’t as detailed so that shouldn’t be too much trouble to make fit. Most of the rest doesn’t really rely much on the rules. :)

Leave a Reply to Barastir Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *