Mask

Master of All Thieves, Lord of Shadows, the Shadowlord

Mask is a trickster god, the patron of ne'er-do-wells, spies, and thieves. All that occurs within shadow is in the purview of Mask. People whisper a prayer to Mask whenever stealth is required or intrigue is afoot. Courtiers and diplomats invoke the god's name in hopes of a smooth negotiation.
Those who favor Mask usually pursue thievery and other forms of acquisition of what belongs to others, such as pickpocketing, burglary, mugging, and con games. Ordinary folk pray to him to avert his eyes from their valuables, but the cautious sometimes employ "Mask's purse," a small, cheap cloth pouch worn in plain sight (thus easily cut or lifted) containing a small offering of coin. By convention, a pickpocket pilfers Mask's purse when encountering another person wearing one, and considers the gain a gift from the god, while the one who lost the purse is grateful to the Lord of Shadows for accepting a respectful sacrifice of a small portion of his goods. Of course, nothing prevents another pickpocket from targeting someone who has lost Mask's purse, but anyone with the ill luck to attract multiple pickpockets in a single outing has probably earned Mask's ire anyway.
Priests of Mask are usually thieves by profession, and often serve as higher-ups in the local underworld or criminal syndicate. They go by the title of demarche or demarchess, and wear veil-masks when acting in their priestly capacity.

Divine Domains

Trickery

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Black velvet mask tinged with red

Tenets of Faith

All that which occurs within shadow is in the purview of Mask. Ownership is nine-tenths of what is fight, and if a person happens to currently have something, it is his or hers. Previous ownership does not count. Therefore, the day belongs to the quick, the smooth-tongued, and the light fingered. Stealth and wariness are virtues, as are glibness and the ability to sound smooth-tongued and conciliatory while taking control of a situation or twisting it to your advantage. (Needless to say, the writings of a true follower of Mask can be read in many ways.)
The Unproven in the church of Mask are charged as follows: "Wealth rightfully belongs to those who can acquire it. Strive to end each day with more material wealth than you began it with, but steal what is most vital, not everything that is to hand. Honesty is for fools, but apparent honesty is a very valuable thing. Make every untruth seem plausible, and never lie when you can cleave to the truth but leave a mistaken impression—a bridge burned means much rebuilding if you need to cross over there again. Subtlety is everything. A bribe is the least subtle of the tools Mask gives to us.
"Never force someone to do something when you can manipulate them into doing it and thinking the decision and the deed are entirely their own free willed work. Never do the obvious, except to conceal a secondary or tertiary deed or arrangement. Spin secrets atop secrets, but do so unconcernedly, not with the sly excitement of untutored youth. Trust in the shadows, for the bright way makes for easy targets."

Holidays

There are no calendar-related rituals in the Church of Mask, but at every full temple of the god, the Ritual of the Unseen Presence is celebrated at least once a month. This ritual is an acknowledgment in chanted verse, hymns, and offerings of wealth—coinage stolen by the faithful that is melted down in altar-flanking braziers or crucibles— of the constant regard of Mask, who sees all deeds, however well hidden.
Lay worshipers and Maskarran also participate in daily Sunset Prayers, in which they kneel, proffer coins to the clergy and worship before the Altar of the Masked God. Praying junior clergy members give coins to senior clergy members, and the highest-ranking priest of a holy house of Mask gives his or her coin to the lowest-ranking priest present in recognition of the wry humor of Mask, who so often makes the high low, and the low high. The Altar of the Masked God is always a massive stone block over which floats an enspelled black velvet, fur, or silk mask of giant size (6 feet across or more) or which has a mosaic in inlaid precious gemstones of a similar giant mask behind it.
The Church of Mask has darker rituals associated with the elevation of clergy members in rank known only to the initiated. These secret observances and the Ritual of the Unseen Presence are always guarded by shadows spells cast by senior clergy members to slay or keep away eavesdroppers.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Day-to-Day Activities

Maskarran are perhaps the wealthiest clergy in the Realms, second only to those of Waukeen. They able to call on untold wealth stolen in the past and hidden away in secret places. Maskarran do not hoard and gloat over their takings like dwarves croon over gold; they actively use it to buy agents, bribe officials, sway agreements, and manipulate folk to do thus and so, working behind the scenes to achieve mysterious ends. The mark of a successful priest of Mask is to state to a superior that this or that end (in international politics or the doings within a realm) will be worked toward and achieved within such-and-such a time—and then fulfill this promise. Maskarran who fail in their promises seldom rise far in the hierarchy, though several attempts at bringing something about are perfectly acceptable so long as none of them too obviously reveal the priest at work behind the scenes.
From day-to-day Maskarran typically tend to their plots and provide support to and collect tithes from individual thieves and thieves' guilds. Each church of Mask has its own policy about reporting "rogue" thieves to the guild of a region: Some provide aid but covertly inform the local guild, others refuse aid and inform, and still others provide aid to whoever pays the proper tithe and inform no one.

Priestly Vestments

Ceremonial Maskarran dress consists of tunics and trousers in a bright motley. The tunics sport ballooned sleeves and cuffs and bright embroidery, displaying wealth. The entire outfit is covered with a full-length, hooded gray cloak that can be drawn shut to hide the bright color beneath. A black cloth mask is worn beneath the hood. In some areas where Mask has fallen on particularly hard times, the gray cloak and mask only are worn as a symbol of the Shadowlord's favor.
Inside a temple of Mask, the masks are of black gauze and do not conceal the identity of the wearer; in public, such masks are usually thick, black wool or heavy, double-thick silk and extend to cover most of the face in an effective disguise. (A bearded priest, for example, would have a mask that extended well down over the chin.) There is a saying that "the degree of law in a town can be seen on the face of a priest of Mask."

Adventuring Garb

Priests of Mask are encouraged to hide their true nature and masquerade as other priests or commoners. Normal dress for clerics of Mask is similar to that of any merchant, craftsperson, or adventurer in the area or similar to that of any armored battle cleric or itinerant adventuring cleric of any faith. Specialty priests of Mask usually dress as thieves in leather or other light armor or assume the guise of typical peasants one might meet on any town's or village's streets.

Symbol: Black velvet mask tinged with red
Home Plane: The Shadowfell, Shadowkeep
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Portfolio: Thieves, thievery, shadows
Worshipers: Assassins, beggars, criminals, rogues, shades, shadowdancers
Cleric Alignments: CE, CG, CN, N
Domains: Trickery
Favored Weapon: “Stealthwhisper” (longsword)
Allies: Beshaba, Leira, Shar, Sharess, Sune
Enemies: Helm, Torm, Tyr, Cyric, Selune, Waukeen

Divine Classification

Lesser Power