 Shar
| |
|---|---|
| Alias(es): | Mistress of the Night, Lady of Loss, Dark Goddess |
| Power: | Greater deity |
| Pantheon: | Faerûnian pantheon |
| Symbol: | Black disk surrounded by a lavender halo |
| Alignment: | Neutral evil |
| Cleric alignment: | CE, NE, LE |
| Portfolio: | Caverns, dark, dungeons, forgetfulness, loss, night, secrets, the Underdark |
| Worshippers: | Anarchists, assassins, avengers, monks (Dark Moon), nihilists, rogues, shadow adepts, shadowdancers |
| Domains: | Darkness |
| Favoured weapon: | Short sword |
| Allies: | Talona |
| Enemies: | Selûne, Mask, deities of light and fire such as Lathander and Kossuth |
After Lord Ao created the universe, the swirling chaos coalesced to form twin deities; Selûne, a being of light and creation, and Shar (Shahr), a power of darkness and destruction. Shar's existence, paradoxically, is tied to the shrouded nothingness that existed prior to Ao's act of creation.
Loss is the nature of Shar. One of the Dark Gods, she is a deeply twisted and perverse being of ineffable evil and endless petty hatred and jealousy. She rules over pains hidden but not forgotten, bitterness carefully nurtured away from the light and from others, and quiet revenge for any slight, no matter how old. She is said to have the power to make her devout followers forget the pain, yet what occurs is that they become inured to the loss, treating it as a common and natural state of being. The basic inanity of life and foolishness of hope are the cornerstones of Shar's being.
Shar is the mortal enemy of Selûne and battles her ceaselessly on many planes trough mortal worshippers and servitor creatures. The undying enmity between the two goddesses is older than recorded time.
Like Mystra (who was part of Selûne's essence at the beginning of time) Shar provides a conduit that enables mortal spellcasters and magical crafters to access the raw forces of magic. Unlike Mystra's Weave which is freely accessible and generally unbiased towards good or evil, law or chaos, Shar's Shadow Weave is tainted by the darkness which is Shar, and the goddess exercises a much tighter control about who uses the Shadow Weave and for what purpose.
The Church
The church is made up of independent cells that have strong, authoritarian rulers. Few adherents know the real names of others in the local cult, and almost no one knows the name of the leader of the larger. regional organization. In areas where Shar’s cult is strong, wars of assassination against Selinites are common. This keeps the church fairly small, since many Sharrans die in these attacks or are put to death by local magistrates shortly afterward. Temples to Shar vary in description but usually double as a place of business or residence, Most feature at least one room bathed in deeper darkness, which is-used in religious ceremonies and ritual killings.
Shar’s clergy revel in secrets. In civilized lands, they frequently establish exclusive social clubs or false cults to further corrupt the foundations of mannered society. Cultists work to overthrow governments, promote vengeance, organize cabals, and foment unrest through calumny and sedition. Sharrans believe that all that matters is the freedom to live by one’s own dictates; the state exists to limit freedoms and is hence an inherently immoral institution that should be crushed. To them everything deserves to perish, and their duty in life is to encourage the process of destruction.
Dogma
Reveal secrets only to fellow members of the faithful. Never follow hope or turn to promises of success. Quench the light of the moon (agents and items of Seltine) whenever you find it, atid hide from it when you cannot prevail. The dark is a time to act, not wait. It is forbidden to strive to better your lot in life or to plan ahead except when directly overseen by the faithful of the Dark Deity. Consorting with the faithful of good deities is a sin except in business dealings or to corrupt them from their beliefs. Obey ranking clergy unless it would result in your own death.