Paladine

DL character
name = Paladine
alias = Fizban the Fabulous
alignment = Lawful Good
title =

Draco Paladin

E'li

The Platinum Dragon

Dragonlord

Valiant Warrior

The Dragon's Lord

Bah'mut

The Great Dragon

Skyblade

Platinum Father

Thak the Hammer
race = Deity
gender = Male
creator = Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
debut = Dragons of Autumn Twilight (1984)

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.

Paladine is the leader of the faction of good deities in the "Dragonlance" campaign setting. 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.

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. [cite web
title = Interview with Jeff Grubb
work = Dragonlance Nexus
url = http://www.dlnexus.com/features/interviews/11253.aspx
date = April 29, 2001
accessdate = 2008-03-13] 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.cite book
last = DeKirk
first = Ash
title = Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry
year = 2006
publisher = Career Press] 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.cite book
last = Weiss
first = Margaret
authorlink =
coauthors = Hickman, Tracy
title = The Dragonlance Chronicles
publisher = Wizards of the Coast
date =
location =
pages = 1030
url = http://www.amazon.com/Dragonlance-Chronicles-Dragons-Twilight-Collectors/dp/0880386525/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205419723&sr=8-10
doi =
id =
isbn = 978-0880386524]

After the events of the War of Souls, Paladine voluntarily gives up his divine status and becomes Valthonis, a mortal elf. [cite book
last = Weis
first = Margaret
authorlink = Margaret Weis
last2 = Hickman
first2 = Tracy
author2-link = Tracy Hickman
title = Dragons of a Vanished Moon (Dragonlance: War of Souls, Book 3)
publisher = Wizards of the Coast
month = March | year = 2003
location = Seatle, WA
pages = 624
url = http://www.dlnexus.com/products/311.aspx
id = 178810000
isbn = 0786929502 ]

ymbols 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 traditional mythological creature Bahamut), the Great Dragon, Skyblade, Platinum Father, and Thak the Hammer.cite web
url= http://www.dlnexus.com/lexicon/13385.aspx
title= Dragonlance Nexus: Paladine - Dragonlance Lexicon
accessdate=2008-03-11
format=HTML
work=Dragonlance Nexus - Lexicon ] 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 forms. This is later proven to be the case when Raistlin meets Paladine's avatar Fizban in person.

Dragonlance movie

Actor Neil Ross voiced Fizban (Paladine) in the animated "" movie,cite web
url = http://www.dragonlance-movie.com/movie/cast/
title = Cast
accessdate = 2006-07-30
publisher = Cinemagine Media Ltd.] 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. [cite web
last = Hickman
first = Tracy
title = Frequently Asked Questions
work = Official Tracy Hickman Website
url = http://www.trhickman.com/Physic/faq.html
accessdate = 2008-03-13]

Paladine (in his Fizban aspect) has drawn comparisons with the character of Gandalf in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". Both serve as 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.cite book
last = Manni
first = Franco
title = Introduzione a Tolkien
year = 2002
ISBN = 8886792395
publisher = Simonelli Editore]

Real-world influence

Paladine, along with other Dragonlance deities, has been included in Genesis LPMud, a text-based, massively multiplayer online game whose Fantasy/Adventure theme draws heavily from several fantasy settings, including Tolkien's Middle-earth and Dragonlance.cite web |url=http://www.ansalonmud.com/new/immortals.html#Paladine |title=The Immortals of Ansalon |accessdate=2008-03-14 |format=HTML |work=Ansalon MUD ]

References

*"Holy Orders of the Stars"
*"Dragonlance Campaign Setting"
*" [http://www.dragonlance.com/ Dragonlance.com] "

ee also

*