Dahak

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Dahak

(Deity)

Titles

The False Wyrm
Sorrowmaker
The Endless Destruction
The Great Darkness

Adjective

Dahak

Realm

Adamantine Morass, Caina, Hell

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Areas of Concern

Destruction
Dragons
Evil
Treachery

Worshipers

Evil dragons

Edicts

Kill metallic dragons, destroy things at your whim

Anathema

Spare a foe after you have chosen to kill them, forgive a slight

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Scalykind, Trickery

Subdomains (1E)

Catastrophe, Deception, Demon, Dragon, Rage, Thievery

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Destruction, Fire, Wyrmkin, Zeal

Favored Weapon

Bite, jaws, or whip

Symbol

Falling burning scale or star✝

Sacred Animal

None

Sacred Colors

Chromatic colors

Images of Dahak

Source: Inner Sea Faiths, pg(s). 34–39 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 130 (2E)

Dahak is the patron deity of evil dragons, particularly the chromatic dragons. He is a god of destruction, chaos, rage, and draconic greed, the polar opposite of his father, Apsu the Waybringer. However, he is a patient god capable of civility when the situation calls for it, biding his time until the time is right to slay his father in their final battle on Golarion.

History

Apsu battles Dahak.

One draconic creation myth claims that when Dahak shattered his siblings and created the first dragons from their remnants, some saw him as their creator and were devoted to him while others remained faithful to Apsu. The first group became the chromatic dragons, while the second became the metallic dragons.

Some dragons however chose to flee the conflict between the two gods altogether, scattering throughout the multiverse and becoming the ancestors of the other draconic families.

During the Age of Creation Dahak learned of the Immortal Ambulatory, a roaming demiplane that his father created, and had prepared to assault it until Apsu suddenly came to Golarion to battle Rovagug, and Dahak followed him. Dahak engaged in battle with Rovagug and initially intended to betray his father to the Rough Beast, but when he recognised Rovagug's threat to the Great Beyond, he changed his mind and committed fully to aid the other gods against Rovagug, despite his destructive nature.

After Rovagug was defeated and contained in the Dead Vault, Apsu spoke to his son, expressing his surprise at how Dahak did not betray him. Dahak then vowed to kill Apsu, who declared that Golarion would be their battlefield; the battle between Apsu's and Dahak's followers still rages on Golarion. Apsu remains worried that, should Dahak win this battle, his reckless destruction could potentially weaken the chains binding Rovagug.

In -5280 AR, amid the destruction wrought by Earthfall, Dahak saw a chance to wreak havoc on Golarion without drawing his father's wrath. After several years of research, he discovered a flaw in a portal of Alseta's Ring and managed to manifest himself on Golarion. He carefully invested the manifestation with just enough power to avoid rousing Apsu. Before Dahak could finish the job started by Earthfall, in -5277 AR he was stopped by the Ekujae elves, who managed to turn Dahak's own power against his manifestation at a great cost of lives, trapping it without a body in the spaces between the portals of Alseta's Ring.

Home

Dahak burns a city.

Dahak's divine realm is the Adamantine Morass, a tunnel network stretching throughout the depths of Caina, Hell's eighth layer. Dahak is known to control a powerful item known as the Well of Venoms that is capable of destroying the artifacts collectively known as the orbs of dragonkind and it is believed the well is kept within the Adamantine Morass. This network of tunnels runs deep throughout the lowest depths of Caina. Dahak enjoys chasing intruders through the complex tunnel system for his own enjoyment. Those not able to provide a good enough chase are inevitably captured and tossed into the Well of Venoms to die.

Appearance

The only descriptions of Dahak tell of him as ugly, scarred, and covered in spikes, with a burning hatred in his eyes for his father, Apsu. When he manifests on the Universe, his avatar causes numerous destructive events known as dragonstorms, which incorporate the breaths of all five chromatic dragon species: acid rain, lightning bolts, toxic fog, firestorms, blizzards and enormous hailstorms. In addition, all dragons caught nearby are infected by Dahak's fury, filling them with rage and causing them to lash out at the environment.

In artwork, Dahak is depicted as a chromatic dragon of titanic size. His scales are a combination of dark crimson and black. His body is covered from tail to snout in spines, and Dahak's massive tail seems to be as long as the rest of his body is. He is usually portrayed breathing fire.

Church of Dahak

There are few dedicated cults of Dahak, partially because his worshipers mostly consist of serpentfolk and especially evil dragons, with humanoid followers being a rarity. Worshipers have been known to wear their religious symbols proudly, safe in the knowledge that few people would even recognise their religion. The greatest sacrifice his followers can hope to make is that of a metallic dragon, and these cults often dedicate themselves to this task above all else.

Most dragons view Dahak with hate, but some evil dragons choose to serve after being offered power and immortality. Alongside his father, Dahak is one of the most popular deities on Triaxus, particularly among dragons and dragonkin.

Some believe that Dahak created wyverns and drakes in an effort to create his own draconic servitors, although others point out that this act of creation contradicts his destructive aspect. He is nevertheless worshiped by wyverns and drakes as their creator.

Long after Dahak's rampage in the Mwangi Expanse, his influence lingers. Many cults of Dahak, most recently the Cinderclaw Cult, continue to wreak havoc, seeking to bring back their god so he can finish his job.

Adventurers who follow Dahak tend to be barbarians, bloodragers, rangers, and warpriests. They can be civil with others up until the point of combat, when they erupt into a vicious rage against their enemies. These servants of Dahak differ from the nihilistic followers of Rovagug in that they can maintain self-control, usually saving their anger for those who provoke them or truly deserve it. His followers tend to dress in a variety of colors, with blue, green, and red being most dominant, though red and black are more common due to clothing being singed by fire or stained by blood. Dahak's religious text is The Pyre of Dahak, written by the insane gold dragon prophet Gunnarrex.

Relationships

Dahak and his father Apsu are arch-enemies, the two having battled countless times across history. They once worked together to imprison Rovagug, but Dahak has no intention of ever doing this again and focuses his entire existence on the eventual final battle against Apsu.

Calistria is said to have tried to court Dahak once and received a scar for it. She now teaches her followers to be wary of him, while trying to manipulate them into vengeful acts when necessary.

Dahak originally received his divine realm from the archdevil Mephistopheles, and crafted the quill Visineir for Mephistopheles in return, but there is no binding contract between them. Asmodeus is cordial with Dahak; it is rumoured that he has offered to weaken both Apsu for Dahak and Dahak for Apsu, making his true intent unclear. Some devils believe that Asmodeus and Mephistopheles are ensuring Dahak's continued existence for some nefarious purpose.

After the death of Gorum, the empyreal lord Smiad recruited Gorum's servant Saint Fang, the Armored Dragon, to his cause of killing evil dragons. The two proceeded to slaughter dozens of dragons within a few days before drawing the ire of Dahak, who swiftly slew Smiad before slowly consuming Saint Fang alive.

References

Paizo published a major article on Dahak in Inner Sea Faiths.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.