Mask, the Shadowlord

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Alignment: NE
Domains: Darkness [Shadow], Envy, Evil, Luck, Sloth, Trickery [Greed, Thievery]
Favored Weapon: Longsword

Mask was the deity of intrigue along with being the patron of thieves and god of shadows, but his disastrous perusal of the Cyrinishad led to Cyric being able to steal this aspect of his portfolio from him. One school of thought believed the god totally destroyed after reading the Cyrinishad and having his Godsbane avatar form destroyed by Cyric, another held that Mask was totally subsumed by Cyric, and a third school believed that Mask, engaged in his own intrigues, faked his loyalty to Cyric and later his own death. The truth is that Mask survived the enslaving effects of the Cyrinishad and the destruction of a major avatar form at great cost, losing much of his godly power in the process. For a brief time after the destruction of Godsbane he was but a demipower. Only recently has a resurgence of his faith brought him back to a lesser power, and he and his faithful doggedly aim to regain the portfolio of intrigue stolen from him.

Dogma: All that occurs within shadows is in the purview of Mask. Ownership is nine-tenths of what is right, and ownership is defined as possession. The world belongs to the quick, the smooth-tongued, and the light-fingered. Stealth and wariness are virtues, as are glibness and the skill to say one thing and mean another, twisting a situation to your advantage. Wealth rightfully belongs to those who can acquire it. Strive to end each day with more wealth than you began it, but steal what is most vital, not everything at hand. Honesty is for fools, but apparent honesty is valuable. Make every truth seem plausible, and never lie when you can tell the truth but leave a mistaken impression. Subtlety is everything. Manipulation is better than force, especially when you can make people think they have done something on their own initiative. Never do the obvious except to conceal something else. Trust in the shadows, for the bright way makes you an easy target.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Find or create an area of shadow. While sitting within it, count what you have gained from the day before — be it by theft or by guile — and make that your measure to determine what you shall aquire in the day ahead. Gain a +4 sacred bonus to AC against attacks whenever you are denied your Dexterity bonus (such as in a surprise round or when paralyzed).

Boons
1: Dark Seeds (Sp) shadow weaponUM 3/day, death knell 2/day, or deeper darkness 1/day
2: Shadow Travel (Sp) You are one with the shadows, using magic to move easily through the daylight world. You gain the ability to cast shadow step three times per day, as well as shadow walk once per day, using your hit dice as your caster level.
3: Shadow Army (Sp) Once per day, you can cast shades as a spell-like ability, using your hit dice as your caster level. The save DC for this ability is Charisma-based.

For Followers of Mask

Archetypes: Scourge of Shadows† (Rogue), Shadow Scion† (Rogue), Shadow Savant† (Vigilante), Umbral Stalker† (Inquisitor).

Specialty Priest: Demarch† (Cleric) (credit to Ascension Games’ shadow priest)

  • The Demarch (Demarchess if female) chooses either the Darkness domain or Shadow subdomain; he does not gain a second domain.
  • The Demarch Loses medium armor and shield proficiency.
  • The Demarch gains Bluff, Disable Device, Sleight of Hand and Stealth as class skills, and gains 6 skill points per level.
  • Gift of Subterfuge (Ex): The Demarch adds her Wisdom bonus to Bluff, Disguise, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks.
  • Spellcasting: A Demarch adds the following spells to her spell list, and they are treated as cleric spells for the purpose of spell completion and spell trigger items, and she may freely prepare them in her cleric spell slots. This alters the Cleric’s spellcasting:
  • Channel Darkness (Su): At 1st level, a Demarch, rather than channeling positive or negative energy, instead channels the power of darkness from the shadow plane. This ability functions as channeling negative energy, but instead of healing undead and dealing damage to living creatures, this blast of shadowy power can only harm living creatures with negative energy, or create an area of divine darkness. This channel is still a standard action which creates a 30-foot burst centered on the Demarch, and usable with either effect a number of times per day equal to 3 +  her Charisma bonus, and counts as channel energy for prerequisites, feats, abilities, and other effects that modify the ability. Instead of harming living creatures in the radius with a burst of negative energy, a Demarch can use channel darkness to snuff out light sources within the burst. Non-magical light sources such as torches, lanterns, or sunrods are automatically extinguished. Any 0th-level spell with the light descriptor in the area is dispelled (as an area dispel magic effect). The level of light spells that can be dispelled with channel darkness increases by 1 for every two levels beyond first, up to being able to dispel 9th level or lower light spells at 19th level. The illumination level in the area drops by 1 step, as the spell darkness, which is cumulative with the results of any light effects being dispelled. At 10th level, the light level drops by 2 steps. At 15th level, any areas of dim light or darkness become supernaturally dark (as deeper darkness). The darkness effect is treated as a darkness spell equal to the level of light spell it can dispel, for the purposes of determining if a light effect can dispel it. This profane darkness lasts a number of rounds equal to the Demarch’s level. This replaces the standard Cleric’s channel energy ability.
  • Penumbral Casting (Su): At 8th level, whenever a Demarch casts a spell while she is in dim light, darkness, or supernatural darkness, the spell takes effect at +1 caster level. This bonus increases to +2 at 16th level. In addition, if the Demarch prepares a spell with the darkness or shadow descriptor or of the shadow subschool that has one or more metamagic feats applied, she reduces the total level adjustment to the spell by 1 (minimum 0).

Feats: Bravery in Action, Conversion Channel, Fearsome Finish, Fateful Channel, Shadow Dodge, Shatter Resolve, Unbound Bravery, Undaunted Bravery.

Magic Items: Black Alibi, Flask of the Reaper, Silent Blade Vest

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained), Divine Seeker, Shadow Adept, Shadow Mask†

Spells: Lose the Trail, Night of Blades, Secret Speech

Traits: Agent of Chance, Call for Help, Cheat Death, Denial of Fate, Opportunistic Grace, Reckless Luck, Secret Knowledge, Shadow Caster, Shadow Whispers, Stoic Optimism, Thrill-Seeker.

Unique Spell Rules

  • Invisibility can be prepared as a 2nd-level Cleric spell
  • Invisibility, Greater can be prepared as a 4th-level Cleric spell
  • Mage Hand can be prepeared as an Orison
  • Prestidigitation can be prepared as an Orison

Other Unique Rules

All divine followers of Mask can understand and use Thieves Cant.

Clergy & Temples

The followers of Mask have been reduced to their central core: thieves and their guilds. Many guilds still have their shrines to the god, and in those regions where thievery is not actively frowned upon, temples to Mask survive. The priesthood of Mask is independent in each major city or region to prevent the frequent actions against one thieves guild or temple from spilling over and affecting others. Most outsiders view the faith as little more than an organized guild of rogues cloaked in the veneer of religion—a surprisingly accurate depiction. In political circles, the Lord of Shadows’ reputation for intrigue lingers on, and astute observers have noted that his church often acts as a network of spies for hire as well.

In areas with a single strong thieves guild, the temple or shrine to Mask is usually connected to the guild hall via underground tunnels. In large cities with competing guilds, the temple is in an underground location and is recognized as neutral ground by all sides. Maskarran strive to keep hidden these days, sometimes holding services of worship in underground shrines (often cellars reached by old sewers) and often keeping hidden inside local thieves guilds. It is to the advantage of such seasoned conspirators as Maskarran that many folk of Faerûn think Mask is dead, and his worship reduced to scattered, bewildered cults.