Umbra, Goddess of Shadow

The Lady of Shadows, The Mistress of Thieves

Symbol: Closed eye on black background
Home Plane: Eternal Dark
Alignment: NE
Portfolio: Shadows, thievery, assassination, intrigue, deception
Worshipers: Rogues, assassins, criminals
Cleric Alignments: CE, LE, NE
Domains: Darkness (SC), Evil (PH), Greed (SC), Trickery (PH), Wealth (SC)
Favored Weapon: “Shadowstrike” (Rapier)
Dogma: Fear not the shadows and use them to your advantage. But learn to operate in the light as well for hiding in plain sight is the true mastery of shadow. Increase your wealth each day by taking what is valuable. Wealth belongs to those who can acquire it. Shy away from brute force. Subtle manipulation and stealth are your most valuable tools. The world belongs to the quick-witted, smooth-tongued, and nimble-fingered.
History/Relationships: Umbra was born the illegitimate child of Vita, Goddess of Life, and Mortem, God of Death. To avert the scandal that was sure to surround their affair like the scandal that surrounded Luna, Goddess of the Moon, and Mundus, God of Nature, Vita and Mortem kept the pregnancy and birth of their child secret for as long as they could. Eventually, when the truth was revealed, the impact caused their daughter to retreat into the darkness, away from the judging eyes of the gods, becoming Umbra, Goddess of Shadow. Since then, Umbra has reconciled with her father, who revealed to her that he was always opposed to keeping her birth a secret, but only acquiesced to appeaser her mother. For this, Umbra has never forgiven Vita. Apart from her father, Umbra holds all other gods in contempt.
Clergy and Temples: Temples of Umbra are funded primarily from stolen goods. Many thieves work directly for the church or indirectly through thieves’ guilds that tithe to Umbra. Umbra’s clergy often rise to positions of power within thieves’ guilds and help control their operations. In most civilized lands, temples of Umbra are kept hidden for obvious reasons. In those few lands where they are tolerated, their façade is focused on the goddess’ aspects of shadow and intrigue, rather than on thievery and assassination. Behind the scenes, though, these things are their primary goals. Temples, hidden or open, are dark places with many shadows, secret vaults and hidden caches. Many clerics of Umbra multiclass as rogues. Some eventually take the assassin prestige class. The church of Umbra has no strict hierarchy and her sects all act independently. Ironically, a “high temple” exists in Church, the City of Truth. This temple is dark and gloomy, and clergy can rarely be found within. Whenever they are found there, they say very little, ignoring those who come in with prying questions.
Holidays:
None.
Known Temples:
The Shadowed Vault (Inderlin, Anthaal)
The Hall of Shadows (Niadara, Anthaal)
The Whispering Cathedral (Elester, Barosk)
The Abbey of Stealth (Southpoint, Barosk)
The Shadowed Temple (Church)
The Holy Honor Among Thieves (Pearl)