| Game background | |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | The Masked Lord, the Masked God of Night, the Shadow |
| Home plane | Carceri/Colothys/Ellaniath; Demonweb Pits (3e FR) |
| Power level | Lesser |
| Alignment | Chaotic Evil |
| Portfolio | Thievery, drow males, evil activity on the surface |
| Domains | Chaos, Drow, Evil, Travel, Trickery |
| Superior | Lolth |
| Design details | |
Vhaeraun ( /veɪˈrɔːn/ vay-rawn), also known as the Masked Lord and the Masked God of Night, is the drow god of thievery, drow males, and evil activity on the surface world in many Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings.
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Vhaeraun was first detailed in the book Monster Mythology (1992), including details about his priesthood.[1] His role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).[2] He received a very detailed description for his role in the Forgotten Realms in Demihuman Deities (1998).[3]
Vhaeraun's role in the Forgotten Realms is revisited in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).[4]
Vhaeraun resides in his deific domain Ellaniath on Carceri's layer of Colothys. It's said that no one can find it without his permission.
Vhaeraun's worshipers include assassins, male drow and half-drow, poisoners, shadowdancers, rogues, and thieves.
The church of Vhaeraun is loosely organized, mainly due to persecution from the priestesses of Lolth who rule over the majority of the drow race. Vhaeraun's clergy is almost entirely male, and they practice a passive opposition to Lolth. Aside from that, Vhaeraun strives to reclaim the surface world from which he was forced to flee. This leads to frequent conflicts with the clerics of Eilistraee, benevolent dark elves who strive to live in peace with the surface folk and gain redemption for the evil ways of their kind.
Some priests of Vhaeraun advocate unity of the elven races in order to more easily dominate the surface world. Most, however, view this as heresy.
In the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, Vhaeraun is the son of Corellon and Lolth and the brother of Eilistraee. He is allied with Mask, Shar, and Talona. He was cast out of the elven pantheon, along with his mother (Lolth), after his and his mother's betrayal was discovered.
In the revised 3e FR cosmology Vhaeraun resides in the Demonweb Pits, where he has a territory permitted to him by Lolth.
Organizations of Vhaeraun in the Forgotten Realms' include House Jaelre, the Jaezred Chaulssin, and the Dragon's Hoard.
House Jaelre is a former house of Menzoberranzan, driven away from the city for being a house of heretics. (Menzoberranzan is a holy city of Lolth.) They are currently based in Minauthkeep, an abandoned elven fort in the forest of Cormanthor on the surface world.
The Jaezred Chaulssin is a patriarchal house of skilled part shadow dragon assassins. Their goal is to rid the drow of the tyrannical rule of Lolth and her priestesses. They are "based" in the ruined drow city of Chaulssin, from which they got their name. In truth, they only visit Chaulssin to hold highly secret meetings. They are actually spread throughout the Underdark in each major drow city. Recently, with the silence of Lolth, they have decided to let their major plans unfold. They have already destroyed the city of Ched Nasad, their duergar allies quite literally sending it crashing to the bottom of the V-shaped cavern from which it was suspended on calcified webbing. The Anointed Blade of the Jaezred Chaulssin, Nimor Imphraezl, created an alliance with the duergar Crown Prince Horgar of Grackelstugh, the half-demon marquis cambion warlord Kanyrr Vhok and his Scourged Legion of tanurruks (demon-orcs), and Lord Dyrr of House Agrach Dyrr (Fifth House of Menzoberranzan). After winning a battle at the Pillars of Woe, these combined forces besieged the great city of Menzoberranzan. However, when Lolth returned, the Vhaeraunites abandoned their plan and the armies allied with them were forced to retreat.
The Dragon's Hoard is a merchant band that has formed a small community on the surface. Their main base, however, is in a deep dragon's lair in the notorious Underdark trade city of Skullport, situated beneath the great human city of Waterdeep. They later turned into a sort of mercenary band and were almost completely obliterated by a group of Eilistraee's followers led by a priestess named Qilué. Among this group of Eilistraeen followers were Liriel Baenre and her human companion, Fyodor of Rashemen.
In Lisa Smedman's Sacrifice of the Widow (Wizards of the Coast, 2007), Vhaeraun is believed to have been killed by his sister, Eilistraee, when he attempted to enter her realm and assassinate her. His portfolio now belongs to her, and she is presently impersonating him for the purpose of slowly turning his followers towards good. Many Vhaeraunites claim that the opposite is true and that the Masked Lord was victorious. A growing sect believe that the two deities are equally merged and the so-called Masked Lady is the true god. This is supported by the Eilistraeen clerics becoming more ruthless in nature, while the Vhaeraunites become kinder.
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