Even the dragons have gods in Faerun, and Astilabor is an illusive one indeed. Revered by all, but worshipped by few, Astilabor is goddess of wealth.
The Forgotten Realms are absolutely packed with gods; but perhaps the ones to be most wary of are the illusive gods of the dragons themselves. With domains that include concepts like harsh justice, psionics, dead dragons, and of course, fire, the draconic pantheon is a motley assemblage of dragon-sized gods. And of these, Astilabor embodies much of what makes a dragon, a dragon.
The goddess of acquisitiveness and wealth, Astilabor is usually depicted as a huge dragon with scales that shimmer like coins, glinting with all the chromatic and metallic colors of dragonkind. There’s a reason for this–Astilabor is the goddess of wealth and acquisitiveness. That is, she represents the draconic desire to acquire and treasure wealth, and in doing so, gain in status and majesty. This makes her a sort of archetype of dragonkind, but as a deity she has few active worshippers.
Perhaps this is because dragons, by their nature, don’t like to admit the drive to acquire treasure. The few dragons who do worship Astilabor might promise a share of their gains to the deity if she helped them, but ultimately never make the promised sacrifices. To do so, after all, would be to go against the principles of Astilabor.
The drive for wealth tended to attract followers with a neutral aspect–dragons and humanoids who appreciate money for money’s sake. And Astilabor accepted only clerics with some form of neutral alignment, because she demanded the pursuit of wealth. Though, it should be noted, Astilabor values wealth and power, but she is adamantly opposed to greed.
You might be wondering how such a thing is possible, after all we all know that you can’t be fiscally conservative and socially liberal, but Astilabor characterizes the difference of acquiring a hoard because the tribute is due vs. the naked ambition of those who would steal from others or who would use shady schemes and dealings to acquire wealth and power.
Astilabor believed that acquisition should be pure. Which is perhaps why she is a dragon goddess that is oft-revered but little worshipped.
Happy Adventuring!
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
