Vhaeraun
What is it like to be a Priest of Vhaeruaun?

Within Vhaeraun's priesthood is mostly male and practices passive opposition to Lolth's priests. They are active in the Night Above, and preach of heresy of the unity of elven races and their need to work together for dominion. They specialize in intrigue, trickery, and treachery and dormost disobedience and rebellion among males in drow communities where Lolth's reign is supreme. Often Vhaeraun's priests will disguise their allegiance to work amist Lolth's followers.
His followers, well clergy are known simply as The Masked, due to his symbol of the half black mask. Novices of Vhaeraun are simply known as the Uncloaked, as all the other members of the clergy are known as Nightshadows. The titles that the Masked Lord's priests carry varies from temple to temple, but typical names such as Ascendant Darkness, Black Moon, Dark Mantle, Deep Rogue, Enveloping Night, Raven's Caw, Shadow Hunter, Silent Sable, and Twilight's Herald, but those of a higher rank have unique individual titles. Specialty priests are known as Darkmasks, and traitorous priestesses of Lolth are known as Masked Traitors. Within the Masked one's clergy are: priests (55%), thieves (25 %, even included nonpriests), clerics (10%), cleric/theives (7%), crusaders (2%), and masked traitors (1%).
A Masked Traitor is a priestess who pretends to serve Lolth but secretly serves Vhaeraun. They are very rare, but greatly feared in Lolth-fostered drow folklore. The reverse is almost unknown, though the estructive potential of such an individual keeps the idea a dark and secret dream that fires a glint in the eyes of many a high priest. Finding suitable candidates and steering them alive through the perils of prepartion is highly dangerous, yet the glory for training and placing one is very great.
A double agent priest or priestess continues to advance in Lolth's service and to gain spells normally. If the individual's loyalty to Vhaeraun is ever discovered, Lolth typically alerts nearby drow, and refuses to grant any further spells to the traitor--but does not strip the drow of any presently memorized spells. If the drow survives long enough to flee Lolth's worshipers and any community they control, she or he continues at the same cleric level and spell power, losing only access to spells specifically and only granted by the Spider Queen (note that the Conceal Item spell is granted by other deities than the Spider Queen, and there may well be other Lolth-granted spells that have been granted in parallel for, by rival deities). The double agent becomes a cleric or specialty priest of Vhaeraun (although the dress and manners of a Lolth worshiper may be retained for use as a disguise), and typically travels to near-surface drow holdings or trading communities used by several races (such as Skullport). Drow tend not to speak the names or want to remember such traitors--their Houses disown them for safety's sake, and other drow are urged by the Yochlol not to remind people of treachery to Lolth by keeping alive names of those who have so sinned.
Vhaeraun in truth is not so much less powerful than Lolth. He simply uses his power in subtle hidden, behind-the-scenes ways, not in the tyrannical, exultant, and brutal force manner so loved by Lolth. Where he does have worshipsers and can find any opportunity for a private audience with the wavering Lolth worshiper. Vhaeraun manifests as a shadowy black face mask, and telepathically speaks to this individual. If the individiual is discovered or attacked by others, The Masked Lord typically leaves after using spells to destroy the beings who discovered or attacked his intended faithful. In doing this he manifests a sign of his power over Lolth and preserves the intended worshiper for another attempt at conversion later.

Daily Duties: Priests of Vhaeraun must encourage, lead or aid bands of drow and allied 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 to lessen the power of and frustrate the plans of Lolth priests and continually foment rebellion or disobedience among drow males. Drow thieves in need must be aided, even if females, healed, bailed out of prison or jails, or forcibly rescued. Cruelities against drow men must be avenged.
Contact and marriages with other elven races are encouraged. Half-drow usually breed true back into the drow race; The Masked Lord sees this as a practice of raising drow numbers in the surface realm. Every priest works to establish some sort of permanent drow seelement on the Night Above. Either support that settlement's needs personally or make is self-supporting. Poison use, manufacture, and experimentation is also common. Especially effective spells, poisons, and tactics devised by a priest are to be shared with Vhaeraun and all his clergy.

Priestly Vestments: Those of Vhaeraun's clergy often 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 blade someplace on their person. Preistly of Vhaeraun need only to be within a mile of their holy symbol to use the spells of Vhaeraun. 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 priest of the Masked Lord are permitted to wear any sort of armor except leather armor, and dark garb. His clergy are encouraged to use daggers, short swords, and long swords. Typically they prepare several varieties of drow poisons of widely varying onset times, methods of application, and strengths before embarking on a dangerous undertaking.

Manifestations: Vhaeraun prefers to appear in his Avatar form but only comes when summoned by a magic ritual. (In fact, he forbids his priests to use spells of the summoning variety as they are only to summon him.) When he cannot send his Avatar (in other words, when the ritual of summoning has not been performed), he sends a flitting black shadow. It cloaks a favored being about the face like a half-mask and remains for 9 rounds. During that time, the favored being is empowered with True Seeing; empowered to strike creatures normally hit with only the most powerful magic weapons (i.e. upto +5), even if the weapon employed is not magical; unable to fall, fumble, or miss it's footing or a leap or catch; able to move silently and Pass Without a Trace; and healed of 2d4 points of current damage. This manifestation never favors the same being more than once per day.
Vhaeraun also acts through the appearance or prescence of mephits (air, smoke, and earth), shadow dragons, shadow fiends, yeth hounds, and undead shadows. More commonly he sends a region of absolute, impenetrable darkness, black cats, ravens, dead spiders, agni manis, black opals, black sapphires, black-hued chalcedony, crown of silver, hematite, horn, coral, black-hued jasper, jet, black-hued pearls, ravenar, or samarskite to show his favor or displeasure and as a sign to inspire his faithful.

The shadows of Vhaeraun must cast off the tyranny of Lolth and forcibly reclaim their birthright and rightful place in the surface realm. The existing drow matriarchies must be smashed, and the warring practices of the twisted Spider Queen done away with so that the drow are welded into a united people, not a squablling gaggle of backstabbers that exist in 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 eqality between male and female.

In the Underdark, Vhaeraun is worshiped in deep caverns cloaked in multiple, overlapping Darkness spells. Such temples are typically natrual amphitheaters, with soaring ceilings studded with sparkling beljurils spaced to resemble stars. In the Night Above, the Masked Lord is venerated in shallow woodland caves cloaked by layers of leaves of deep forest canopies that allow little light to reach the forest floor. Such shrines are typically located near or in small communities of surface-dwelling drow who seek the return of the drow to the Night Above as the Masked Lord has called for. One such temple and community may be found in the western fringes of the High Forest, just two days south of the River Dessarin's headwaters near the Lost Peaks.
Clergy of Vhaeraun may not cast any spell of the summoning variety that does not directly summon the Avatar of the Masked God of Night or request his favor (such as Blessing of Vhaeraun). Spells that are directly of the Conjuration school are permitted.
Vhaeraun is little known on the surface world among non-drow or in the Lolth-dominated cities of the dark elves in the Underdark. Among those non-drow aware of the activities of his followers in the surface, the Masked Lord is often confused with the human god of thieves, Mask. Very few surface dwellers appreciate the threat Vhaeraun and his followers represent to the established order. In the wilds of the Underdark, the faith of Vhaeraun is seen to be slowly expanding in power and influence, and the followers of the Masked Lord are viewed with fearful respect. To priests of Lolth, priests of Vhaeraun are the enemy, to be hunted down by any means possible (torture of suspected drow is a favorite tactic) and eradicated on the altars of Lolth to earn the maximum glory of the goddess and drive the most personal enjoyment out of one's efforts. To dissatisfied, city-dwelling drow, particularly males, who somehow learn of the Masked Lord, Vhaeraun's faith is seen to offer a means of escape from the enslavement of the Spider Queen.

The most important attacks, negotiations, and other activities of the clergy mostly occurs during the night. Priests of Vhaeraun utter prayers to the Masked God of the Night whenever they wish to further his aims. They often offer wealth and weapons of those they destroyed (enemies of the Drow, or regalia from Lolth's female priestesses). Those weapons are then melted in black, bowlshaped altars. Offering of magic and wealth are made on a regular basis. The more valuable, the more Vhaeraun is pleased. He favors daily diligence more than rare huge hauls.
Midwinter Night is known among the Masked Lord's clergy as the Masked Lord's Embrace. This is the most sacred time of the year for followers of Vhaeraun. This annual holy day is celebrated by the Masked Lord's followers with daylong introspective rituals of total sensory deprivation. Each worshipper 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 the Masked Lord 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 from Vhaeraun.
In the Night Above, nights of the new moon are considered sacred to the followers of the Masked Lord. Such occassions are observed with midnight stag hunts that range over miles of shadowy woodlands. For example of such woodlancs would be the Forest of Lethyr, Forest of Mir, Forzen Forest, Lurkwood, Rawlinswood, Trollbark Forest, and Winterwood. Packs of the Masked Lord's worshippers, mounted atop their chosen rides of lizards brought up from the Underdark run down a noble hart and then sacrifice the creatures rack of antlers and still-beating heart to their god in dark rites that pervert the ancient ways of the surface elves.

One of the largest concentration of Drow on the surface of Faerun is found in the northern reaches of Sarenestar, also known as the Forest of Mir, on the border of Tethyr and Calimshan.Ê The Drow that reside within this great timberland concentrate on three separate settlements, all connected by tunnels and caverns created during the Night Wars. Each city consists of a few buildings dotting the surface and caverns below. Unlike the egalitarian Holldaybim where both males and females rule, most of the Drow who inhabit Dallnothax and Iskasshyoll are arden Vhaeraun worshippers
Both patriarchal societies have been engaged in a centuries-long conflict with Lolth's followers in Guallidurth, a Drow city deep beneath Calimshan from which their ancestors escaped long ago. As part of this unending, intermittent conflict, the small temples to the Masked Lord found within Dallnothax and Iskasshyoll--The Hall of Midnight Bloodshed and the Onyx Labyrinth, repectively--have been sacked on several different occasions by the Spider Queen's worshipers. Both shrines serve their true purpose, by diverting attacks on the true center of Vhaeraun's worshiip in that region, a vast underground temple hidden beneath the flanks of Mount Sarenegard known collectively as the Vault of Cloaked Midnight. Under the able leadership of Envenomed Edge Masoj Naerth, the southern Nightshadows have recovered much of their strength since the disintegration of the Calishite-based cells of the Dark Dagger in the Darkstalker Wars of the Year of the Serpent (1359 DR)

The Dark Dagger composed of drow who venerate Vhaeraun is a whispered name of growing weight in the dark allies around the Inner Sea lands. Individually powerful but few in number, Dagger agents habitually use poison. Active in Skullport, 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 coast cities all are the Sea of Fallen Stars. They like to take control of local thieving guilds and fellowships behind the scenese, hire skilled human and humanoid agents, and establish hidden temples to Vhaeraun, whose symbol is nearly identical to that of Mask, the Lord of Shadows.

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