Vhaerun
VHAERAUN The Masked Lord, the Masked God of Night, the Shadow, The Masked Mage, The Lord of Shadow
- Symbol: Black Half-mask
- Home Plane: Colothys & Ellaniath
- Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Portfolio: Thievery, Drow males, territory, evil activity on the surface world,
- Worshippers: Assassins, male drow and half-drow, poisoners, rogues, shadowdancers, thieves
- Favoured Weapon: Shadowflash (short sword)
- Cleric Alignment: CN, NE, CE
- NWN Domain: Chaos, Evil, Travel, Trickery
History Relationships: Vhaeraun is the god of thievery and the furthering of drow aims, interests, and power in the Night Above, as the surface world is known to the faithful. He is also the god of drow males opposed to the matriarchy of Lolth, teaching that males are as skilled and valuable as females, and thus passively opposing the teachings of Lolth's clergy on this point. He believes that drow should work with the other elven races for common advancement and never associates or trade with Duergar, Svirfneblin, or other Dwarven and Gnome races. (Humans and Halflings can be tolerated, however).
Vhaeraun is vain, proud, and sometimes haughty, bears grudges of legendary length, and never forgets slights or deceptions. Any underhanded means and treachery is acceptable to him if it furthers his aims or is done in his service--but if others so treat him or his people, it is a deep sin that cannot go unpunished. He actively involves himself in drow affairs and moderately often sends an Avatar to assist the work of his priests if the proper rituals are performed and the need is genuine.
Vhaeraun is the brother of Eilistraee and the son of Araushnee, who was cast out and became Lolth, and Corellon Larethian. The Masked Lord was cast out of the Seldarine and banished from Arvandor, along with is mother and sister, when his complicity was revealed in Araushnee's plot to destroy Corellon. While he hates all of the Seldarine, Vhaeraun harbors a particular enmity for Sehanine Moonbow, who escaped the Masked Lord's prison at great cost to herself and unmasked the culpability of both Vhaeraun and Araushnee. Likewise, the Masked Lord nurtures an abiding hatred of Eilistraee. The Dark Maiden always held Corellon's favor more than her hateful brother, and she thwarted Vhaeraun's early efforts to bring all the Ilythiiri (southern, dark skinned elves) under his sway, enabling Lolth and Ghaunadar to make great inroads among those who would become the drow. Vhaeraun reserves his greatest hatred for the Spider Queen who gave birth to him long ago. The Masked Lord lacks the strength to challenge Lolth directly, so he works against her in shadow, undermines her in silence, and looks to unite the other drow powers against her
Dogma: The shadows of the Masked Lord must cast off the tyranny of the Spider Queen and forcibly reclaim their birthright and rightful place in the Night Above. The existing drow matriarchies must be smashed, and the warring practices of twisted Lolth done away with so that the drow are welded into a unified people, not a squabbling gaggle of rival Houses, clans, and aims. Vhaeraun will lead his followers into a society where the Ilythiiri once again reign supreme over the other, lesser races, and there is equality between males and females.
Clergy of Vhaeraun must encourage, lead, or aid bands of drow and aligned chaotic evil creatures in thievery and instigate plots, intrigues, and events to continually increase drow influence and real power in the surface Realms. They must manipulate trade, creatures, and intrigues designed to lessen the power of and frustrate the plans of drow priests (particularly those who serve Lolth), and continually foment rebellion or disobedience among drow males. Drow thieves in need must be aided (even if female): healed, bailed out of jail, or forcibly rescued. Drow men oppressed or under attack by drow women must be physically aided in any circumstances. Cruelties against drow men must be avenged.
Day-to-Day Activities: Vhaeraun's priesthood is nearly exclusively male and practices passive opposition to Lolth's clergy. They are also active in the surface world, and some preach a heresy of the unity of elven races and their need to work together for dominion. They specialize in intrigue, trickery, and treachery, and foment disobedience and rebellion among males. In drow communities, Vhaeraun's clergy often disguise their allegiance, for obvious reasons.
Contact and marriage with other elven races is encouraged. Half-drow in such unions usually breed true back into the drow race; Vhaeraun sees this practice inexorably raising drow numbers in the surface lands. Every cleric seeks to establish some sort of permanent drow settlement on the surface world, and either support that settlement's needs personally, or (preferably) make it self supporting.
Poison use, manufacture, and experimentation is also common. Especially effective spells, poisons, and tactics devised by a cleric are to be shared with the Masked Lord--and thence, all clergy.
Holy Days/Important Ceremonies: The most important attacks, negotiations, and other activities of the clergy must occur at night. Clerics of Vhaeraun utter prayers to the Masked God of Night whenever they accomplish something to further his aims. Offerings of the wealth and weapons of those they vanquish (enemies of the drow, or regalia of female drow priests) are to be melted in black, bowl-shaped altars. Offerings of magic and wealth are made regularly. The more and the more value, the more Vhaeraun is pleased, though he favours daily diligence more than rare, huge hauls.
Midwinter Night, known to Vhaeraun's followers as the Masked Lord's Embrace, is the most sacred time of year to the followers of the Masked Lord. This annual holy day is celebrated by the Masked Lord's followers with daylong introspective rituals of total sensory deprivation. Each worshiper is expected to cloak himself in a region of magical Darkness and Levitate at the middle of the effect for a full 24 hours while contemplating Vhaeraun's teachings and dreaming up schemes to advance the Masked Lord's goals in the coming year. All followers of Vhaeraun who wish to perform this ritual are granted the ability to employ both spell-like effects on this day, with the necessary extended duration, by a special boon of the Masked Lord himself.
In the Night Above, nights of the new moon are considered sacred to the followers of the Masked Lord. Such occasions are observed with midnight stag hunts that range over miles of shadowy woodlands, such as the Forest of Lethyr, the Forest of Mir, the Frozen Forest, the Lurkwood, Rawlinswood, the Trollbark Forest, and the Winterwood. Packs of Vhaeraun worshipers, mounted on riding lizards brought up from the Underdark, run down a noble hart and then sacrifice it's rack of antlers and still-beating heart to the Masked Lord in dark rites that pervert the ancient ways of the surface elves.
Affiliated Orders: The Dark Dagger, composed of drow who venerate Vhaeraun, is a whispered name of growing weight in the dark alleys around the Inner Sea lands. Individually powerful but few in numbers, the Dark Dagger agents habitually use poison (which they are largely immune to, thanks to lifelong incremental dosage procedures). Active in Skullport (in Undermountain, beneath Waterdeep), in Turmish and the Vilhon Reach, and to a lesser extent in Amn and Calimshan, the various Points of the Dagger are now beginning to infiltrate coastal cities all around the Sea of Fallen Stars. They like to take control of local thieving guilds and fellowships behind the scenes, hire skilled human and humanoid agents, and establish hidden temples to Vhaeraun. They recruit disaffected half-elves and humans to worship the Masked Lord, whose symbol is nearly identical to that of Mask, Lord of the Shadows.
Very rare, but greatly feared in Lolth-fostered drow folklore and among living clergy of Lolth, is the traitor priest who serves Lolth and another deity (usually Vhaeraun). It is for this reason that male drow who aspire to be priests in Lolth's service seldom rise very far in levels: even if they overcome the hatred and resentment of any female drow clergy they must work with, the Spider Queen simply does not trust them--they tend to end their days quickly, being used as temple enforcers or guards. In this role they face many spell battles with intruders (such as drow trying to settle grudges with enemies in the clergy) or priests who are rebellious, or feuding, or who have succumbed to insanity under the pressures of their station or contact with lower-planar creatures. There are priests who serve Lolth on the surface and Vhaeraun underneath. The reverse is almost unknown, though the destructive potential of such a one would be very great, but finding suitable candidates and steering them alive through the perils of preparation without losing their loyalty to Lolth and to their handler is unlikely in the extreme--and so far, as far as it is can be told from the news of the Underdark, so unlikely as to be unknown.
Priestly Vestments: Vhaeraun's clergy garb themselves in half-masks, loose silk shirts, form-fitting pants, and leather boots, all of which are jet black. They are never without at least one black-edged bladed weapon on their persons, and most are bedecked with half a dozen or more such weapons. The god's holy symbol is a black half-mask that can, of course, be worn and used like any mask. Clergy of Vhaeraun need only be within a mile of the holy symbol to use it in working spells given to them by the Masked Lord. It need not ever be on their persons (except when they first wear it to become attuned or linked to it) or brandished in spellcasting or dealing with undead.
Adventuring Garb: No clergy of Vhaeraun can wear any type of armour except leather armour, and dark garb is always preferred. Vhaeraun's clergy favour daggers, short swords, and long swords, but they always select the most appropriate weapon for the task at hand. The Masked Lord's clergy are well versed in the use of poisons, and typically prepare several varieties of wildly varying onset times, methods of application, and strengths before embarking on a dangerous undertaking.
