Tiamat is a supremely strong and powerful 5-headed draconic goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The name is taken from Tiamat, a goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. She is the queen and mother of evil dragons and a member of the default pantheon of Dungeons & Dragons gods. Her symbol is a five-headed dragon.
Publication history
Dungeons & Dragons
The character was introduced to the game in its first supplement, Greyhawk (1975), by Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz. In this book, she was only known as "the Dragon Queen" and "the Chromatic Dragon". She was described, but she did not yet have a personal name.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
The character appears in the first edition Monster Manual (1977). In this book, the Chromatic Dragon was given the personal name, "Tiamat" and is stated to rule "the first plane of the Nine Hells where she spawns all of evil dragonkind". Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon, Queen of Evil Dragonkind, is further described in Dragon #38 (1980). In the first edition of Deities & Demigods (1980) she is mentioned under the entry for the Babylonian god Marduk ("His battles with Tiamat are legendary."), formally connecting her with the Babylonian Tiamat. Tiamat's role as ruler of Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells, is detailed in Ed Greenwood's article, "The Nine Hells Part I", in Dragon #75 (1983). Tiamat's role in the outer planes is detailed in the first edition Manual of the Planes (1987).
In module H4 The Throne of Bloodstone (1988), Bahamut tells the player characters that the Wand of Orcus can only be destroyed if it is "steeped in the black and foul blood from the heart of Tiamat, the Queen of Darkness", although if killed Tiamat and the wand will be removed from the current plane of existence for centuries, but will eventually return to existence.
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition
Tiamat was detailed as a deity in the book Monster Mythology (1992). Tiamat was later detailed as a deity for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting in the original Draconomicon (1990). Tiamat is also described in Cult of the Dragon (1998). Her role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996). Several draconic children of Tiamat are described in the article "Spawn of Tiamat, Children of Bahamut," in Dragon #260 (June 1999).
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition
Tiamat appears in a preview article for the third edition, in Dragon #272 (June 2000). This information is later included in the Manual of the Planes (2001). She is also referenced in Faiths and Pantheons (2002) from the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Tiamat is further detailed as a deity in Defenders of the Faith (2000) and Deities and Demigods (2002).
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5
Tiamat's priesthood and her role as a draconic deity are further detailed for this edition in Draconomicon: The Book of Dragons (2003), Complete Divine (2004), and Races of the Dragon (2006) Tiamat's role in the Nine Hells is revisited in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants of the Nine Hells. (2006). The spawn of Tiamat were described in Monster Manual IV (2006) and Monster Manual V (2007).
Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition
Tiamat appears as one of the deities described in the Dungeon Master's Guide for this edition (2008). She is further detailed and has a stat block in Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons (2008).
Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition
Tiamat again appears as one of the deities described in the Dungeon Master's Guide (2014) for this edition. She is the main villain in the first adventure story-line season for the edition as the Cult of the Dragon attempts to bring her from the Nine Hells to Faerûn. Her potential arrival is the conclusion to the adventures Hoard of the Dragon Queen (2014) and Rise of Tiamat (2014). These adventures were updated and rereleased as a single volume, titled Tyranny of Dragons (2019), for the fifth anniversary of 5th edition. Tyranny of Dragons was released in January 2023 with new cover art that features Tiamat.