Paladine

After the dark days of the Cataclysm, Paladine reentered the world in the form of the befuddled old wizard Fizban the Fabulous. Fizban embodies Paladine's mage abilities. He wanders the world as a senile mage who forgets spells - and even his own name! Mishap upon mishap pile up around the flustered Fizban but, in the end, each mistake works together to form a startling victory. Fizban's true nature is mysterious: is he a heaven-touched true believer, a shell created in memory of a favorite worshipper, or merely a conduit for the god's voice? Such ontology matters little to dragons, though, for they instinctively sense the heavenly presence and show deference.

Another form not-so-commonly used is a perpetually smiling, rotund, hard-of-hearing priest who sees the best in everyone. Luckily, in his presence, the best is always drawn out. He also takes the form of an elderly warrior with a dragon on his crest. In this form, he wears a Solamnic mustache and no beard. Despite thinning hair and creaking joints, he remains youthfully nimble and intuitive when the need arises.

Paladine often intervenes in apparently minor matters but he rarely, if ever, makes war in person - no matter how dire the cause. He pushes and prods, arms and inspires his folk, but never overrides their free will.
Motivations

Following the devastation of the War of the Lance, Paladine has two main goals - to keep Takhisis in her banishment and to bring light and hope again to the beleaguered nations of Krynn. Even in the lull following the war, Paladine has returned occationally in avatar form to spur on the work of Good.

Paladine is Father of Good and Master of Law. He speaks for the gods of Good, leading them not by restriction but by example and encouragement. Paladine upholds the laws of Good, assisting the righteous and abjuring the Evil. A supreme leader, he does not interfere with the affairs of his fellow beings as long as their doings do not counter the law of good.

During the Age of Dreams, Paldine led the gods in creation. Before aught else was made, Paladine and Takhisis infused the raw fury of chaos with form and purpose. Thus they created the first material things - dragons. Takhisis, jealous that the first creations were not entirely hers, corrupted the chromatic dragons to make them Evil. Paladine replaced his fallen children with the Good, metallic dragons, but Takhisis corrupting act began the rift between Good and Evil.

Takhisis then sought to dominate the newly-created star-spirits. Thus, the rift widened into a canyon. Paladine, in righteous anger, launched the All-Saints War against the Evil gods. The war ended with both sides wounded, but the battlefield, Krynn was nearly destroyed. Paladine, saddend by the devastation, swore never again to make war on the world.

And so, Paladine learned the need for subtlety in his confilict with the Evil gods. By working through worshippers rather than in person, Paladine could bring about slow change without jeopardizing the fragile stuff of creation. Paladine counseled the other gods of Good to do likewise, and they have.

In one of history's darkest hours, though, when Takhisis loomed over the world like an inescapable plague, Paladine realized he needed a more powerful weapon in the fight for Good. Joining with his sons Kiri-Jolith - god of war, glory, honor, and duty - and Habbakuk - god of harmony and nature - Paladine created the Knights of Solamnia. They based it on the ideals of truth, justice and honor. The Solamnic Knights proved weapon enough to thwart Evil's plots for over a millennium. Then, in the throes of the third Dragon War, Paladine honed the edge of this weapon by revealing the secret of the Dragonlance.

Paladine's constellation guards Gilean's constellation (the Book of Knowledge). According to tradition, Paladine's constellation occupies this position because truth and knowledge are essential weapons in combatting Evil. During the War of the Lance, the constellations of Paladine and Takhisis both vanished from the heavens, a warning to the people of Krynn. Once the Dark Queen was defeated and banished, the constellations returned to their proper positions in the heavens.

After the Cataclysm, Paladine turned his hand back to the weary and ceaseless work of guiding fickle mortals. Paladine rules from the Dome of Creation, which surrounds the heavens. These ethereal lands are infinite and beautiful.