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Related: What is the difference between a god and a primordial? (see section regarding Dragon gods)
Related: Where do dragon souls go after their deaths?
Related: Are there any other published attestations of Zorquan, besides Draconomicon (1990) & Cult Of The Dragon (1998)?
Related: Would Zorquan be a Unity domain patron?

Among the many planes of D&D 5e, in what part of what realm, might what aspects of Zorquan remain?

Way back in D&D 2e,
Cult of the Dragon listed Zorquan as a neutral draconic deity, largely unconcerned with individuals.
The Draconomicon stated that Zorquan decried the zealotous bloodshed of the Draconic Holy Wars.

I gather that Zorquan's followers were urged only that dragons should each be true to their own nature. Zorquan seemingly had no diametrically opposed enemies, but Sammaster & anyone who would enslave dragons or destroy all dragons, might have been the most likely to ire the ancient dragon. (?)

It appears Zorquan's primary demesnes were reputed to be on the Material Plane, and a neutral plane in the Outlands.

I've read in some sources, of theories which claim draconic deities were not "true" Gods: Instead, it is believed some "mortal" dragons gained contact with Aspects of themselves from other planes; merging, in something akin to apotheosis. However as of 5th edition, Bahamut, Tiamat, & Io, seem to be confirmed as actual Gods, presumably with all the conditionals that entails. (?)

Sounds like Ao assigns domains on Toril, though I've no idea the criteria...

Dating from the years -30,000 to -24,000 DR, Zorquan was counted as a Greatest Wyrm, a High One, & either an Intermediate or a Greater Deity "of dragonness", depending whom you asked.

In 5e, there's nothing published about Zorquan, so far.

One might presume Zorquan died, either toward the end of the Draconic Holy Wars, or thereafter. However, I find no direct indication of this.

In 5e, the mind of a god apparently leaves a corpse in the Astral plane (with potential regional effects).
Speaking purely in terms of RAW or RAI, would Zorquan be likely to have a corpse in the Astral?
(potentially with Zorquan's memories\thoughts taking tangible forms, there)

Alternatively, might Zorquan still live, somehow?

In short:
If Zorquan lives, where?
If not, what (if anything) is left?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ There’s at least one answer here that argues draconic gods are not “gods” per se in 5e, but personally I think the passage in question (which says something like “the closest thing dragons have to gods”) is describing the relationship between dragons and their deities (noting the limits on how much dragons truly “worship” anything) than it is a comment on what those deities actually are. This also tracks with my impression of previous editions’ comments on the subject; I think there’s room to argue otherwise but the most likely interpretation is that dragon deities are and always were gods. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 13:56
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan Indeed, the section calling draconic deities' godhood into question, was phrased as in-universe speculation, not stated as a factual rule. Additionally, that passage seems to give draconic "deities" more leeway, in that their contact with other aspects could shore up the deity's existence against a lack of worshippers on any one specific plane? (If most dragons now eschew fervent kow-towing to potentially power-hungry gods, I'd say that reflects well on Zorquan's legacy as a draconic god who urged dragons not to risk extinction over the rivalries of gods!?) If a god, where's home? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 14:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ If Zorquan was a god, would they now be a dead god (with a "corpse" in the astral)? If not a god, is the ancient Greatest Wyrm dragon Zorquan's soul, serving a God on another Plane, somewhere? Whether they were a "true" god or not, remaining living or not, I'm struggling to discern where Zorquan would end up having gone to, in the 5e multiverse...? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 14:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ I did also answer the question, below; is there something more you’re interested in from an answer? \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 14:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ He certainly lives on in your Username... \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 15:32

1 Answer 1

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The most likely place to find Zorquan is exactly where Zorquan always was

The Outlands (and the Material, natch) still exist in 5e;¹ absent any further information on the subject, my assumption would be that Zorquan is still there, same as ever.

On the other hand, the Astral does indeed have a “graveyard” of floating god corpses in it,² and this is an area that is little-explored.³ That means it’s pretty much always possible to add new corpses to it without conflicting with any canon, because canonically no one has a complete survey of what’s there.⁴ Zorquan could be in there without us knowing. Of course, his absence in the Outlands (or Material, if you go with that) would be noticed—though that absence was plausibly not reported as far as us, the readers.

But Zorquan was old, even by divine standards, and fairly powerful. Zorquan’s death would not happen easily, or quickly. I wouldn’t take absence of evidence here to be evidence of absence.

  1. Player’s Handbook (2014) pg. 302—note that the diagram on pg. 303 doesn’t seem to show it, but it is there.

  2. Tended to by the Guardian of Dead Gods, formerly known as Anubis. Deities & Demigods (1980) pg. 45. Note that later editions of D&D have just put Anubis in the “Pharaonic” pantheon, but this pantheon isn’t really used in official campaign settings. Even in the Forgotten Realms—where the Mulhorandi pantheon was the Pharaonic pantheon allowed into Toril by special dispensation from Ao—makes a point of Anubis not coming with,¹ to leave him available to become the Guardian of Dead Gods.

    1. Hate of the Cobra” (2005)
  3. Largely due to the aforementioned Guardian, who is very high on the “not to be messed with” scale in the D&D multiverse, much more so even than he was as Anubis.

  4. Except, maybe, the Guardian, but if he has one, he isn’t sharing it. The githyanki famously built a city, Tu’narath, on one of these god-corpses,¹ as have others,² but even they don’t know the full extent of the graveyard.

    1. Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (2018) pg. 91-92, most recent among many sources.

    2. Spelljammer (2022). Note that this book contradicts basically everything about its subject matter as found in prior editions, and should be viewed—apparently in its entirety—with extreme skepticism. No one needs a spelljammer to explore the Astral.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Re: foot note 2, the new spelljammer book (released yesterday) might be retconning what you're referencing: "The Astral Sea is also where one can find the petrified remains of gods who were slain by more powerful entities or who lost all their mortal worshipers and perished as a result. A dead god looks like a gigantic, nondescript stone statue that bears little resemblance to the divine entity it once was. Githyanki, mind flayers, psurlons, and other natives of the Astral Plane sometimes turn these drifting hulks into outposts and cities, many of which are hollowed out beneath the surface." \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 14:49
  • \$\begingroup\$ @KRyan Great analysis in this response! Excellent point that absence of evidence may not be evidence of absence. ... So, if Zorquan did still remain in the Material plane or the Outlands, what part of that plane seems a likely place to find Zorquan; or even find a temple to Zorquan? (Unlike some dragons, no firm locations for Zorq were cited in 2e.) "The north" in Faerun was as far as my guesswork got me. (Perhaps near Mirabar?) I don't know enough lore to know likely shared spaces or other draconic locales. I have no concept where such a dragon might be, in the Outlands!? Any specific idea? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 14:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov I was really hoping the new book on Forgotten Realms dragons, or the new Spelljammer books (which heavily feature the Astral), would include some scrap of language which might relate to old Zorq'; but alas, I haven't yet unearthed anything elucidating the few tidbits I gleaned from 2e... Still hoping either I missed something or WotC might still have something to say about it! \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 15:04
  • \$\begingroup\$ @ThomasMarkov I am not in the habit of treating Wizards of the Coast’s abbreviated treatment of the lore as canonically excising it. If anything, that may add to footnote 4, but seeing as the Guardian always allowed Tu’narath, it doesn’t seem that unlikely he’d allow others, so the presence of others does not imply the absence of the Guardian. (Also, what on earth?! is a Spelljammer book doing in the Astral? Spelljammers don’t interact with the Astral at all, their entire purpose is to travel the Material!) \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Aug 17, 2022 at 15:15
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ProphetZarquon The Lady of Pain is not a deity, and no deity has anything to do with her. The last deity to claim something like that got very dead, very quickly, and she has since kicked all deities out of Sigil. Zorquan, so far as I can tell, opposes worship because worshipping is not a “dragon-ish” thing to do—he instead derives the faith he needs from dragons embracing “dragonness,” including not worshipping. The Lady, by contrast, doesn’t need anyone’s faith; she just is. She outlaws worship of herself because that faith could turn her into a god—weakening her. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Aug 18, 2022 at 12:27

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