Shargaas (SHAR-gas)

Shargaas was the orcish god of the cold, the dark, and the night, patron of orcs that acted stealthily in the shadows. The brooding Stalker Below plotted the death of the living from the lightless realms deep beneath the surface. The Night Lord was also their god of undeath, though not death itself, and an embodiment of their fears—the fear of the unknown, and the fear of what lurked in the night below.

Personality

Secretive, murderous, and frightfully cruel, Shargaas was the smartest of the orc gods. He was more cunning than even the general Ilneval, and his scheming was more cold and calculated than any of the others. Though it didn't manifest as the traditional berserker fury of the orcs, Shargaas was nonetheless a hateful being, seemingly despising all non-orc forms of life. However, the Night Lord's hatred of non-orcs went deeper than that, and was rooted in a basic hatred for life itself; in his glowing eyes, the orcs were little more than useful implements for killing that he would eventually discard once they outlived their usefulness.

His hatred of life extended to divine life as well, for Shargaas despised all other deities. Shargaas hated even his own life, and spent much of his time bemoaning his very existence, striking out (typically after careful consideration) at anyone who made it more unbearable, which included practically everyone in existence. Existence itself did not escape the hatefulness of the Night Lord, for Shargaas loathed the very forces of creation that brought him into being. In Shargaas's mind, the best way to avenge oneself upon creation was to steal everything creation held dear, and the vile deity took great glee in using his powers of undeath.

Worshipers

Shargaas was worshiped as the patron of orcish (including half-orcs) bandits and thieves, and any among their kind that did their wicked work under the cover of darkness. He was considered by most orcs to be a god of pariahs, weaklings, and other outcasts, those that for whatever reason (injury, infirmity, ineptness, malnutrition, or seniority) were unfit for proper roles in the tribe. While this was somewhat true for the followers of Yurtrus as well, who also joined the cult of their god to avoid daily shame, banishment, or death, those under Shargaas were even greater rejects, deemed unsuitable to serve as custodians of the dead. Seen even by their fellow orcs as debased, dishonourable skulkers in the shadows, those forced into the deep darkness of the tribe would either be brought into the cult or Shargaas or sacrificed to the Night Lord.

The priests and shamans of Shargaas were sneaking killers who constantly honed their skills, often supplementing their clerical skills by training as assassins, blackguards, divine seekers, rogues or shadowdancers. Pickpocketing, hiding in the darkness, and assassination were skills that every follower needed to learn. Joining the cult required sufficient levels of dexterity, and clerics gained the ability to create continual darkness and cast a version of cloak of fear combined with the darkness spell (which the priest could see through).

Elite among the assassins and thieves of the cult were the Red Fangs of Shargaas, who used a combination of intense training and magic granted by the Night Lord to perform covert operations. They saw through the darkness, quickly slayed unprepared foes, and could cast darkness without material components, a move known as the Veil of Shargaas. Red Fangs rode an animal sacred to Shargaas, giant bats, with most enclaves having a rookery where such creatures were nurtured. By using secret tunnels in the back of orc layers (typically ending in a cliff face from the main lair), they conducted stealth raids and assassinations. The giant carnivorous bats silently entered enemy territory and echolocated hidden enemies, before swooping down, snatching the victims, and going back through the tunnels. Captives were either fed to a brood of giant bats or kept as slaves for work or barter.

Divine Domains

Darkness, Trickery

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Physical Description

Specialized Equipment

Shargaas's cloak was a magical one that protected him from harm and allowed him to cast cone of cold once each day. He also employed an enchanted quarterstaff.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Shargaas hated all beings, not all of them equally, and his choice to ally with the other orc deities, who he tried to manipulate into serving his own despicable ends, was a purely pragmatic one. In particular he maintained a cold alliance with Yurtrus, the mouthless orc deity of death and disease, who silently backed Shargaas in his efforts to subtly counterbalance the warmongering influence Gruumsh, Bahgtru, and Ilneval. Ilneval loathed the two of them for their underhanded and cowardly approached, but the War-Maker was smart enough to utilize both their skillsets effectively when fighting other pantheons. Conversely, Shargaas secretly revealed the ambitious lieutenant's treacheries to Gruumsh to undermine him while cementing his own position in the pantheon.

Gruumsh didn't always look kindly on subterfuge and sabotage given that the traditional orc way of getting what one wanted was to do so directly. However, even the One-Eyed God found Shargaas's secretive services needed from time to time, and despite wanting to ignore the eternal war between orcs and goblins, Shargaas had little choice but to give him assistance. At Gruumsh's command, Shargaas would send teams of assassins to "dispose" of generals in the goblinoid forces before withdrawing so far into his realm not even Gruumsh himself could contact him for over a year. Shargaas was dangerous to all beings but Gruumsh, but the Night Lord still regarded the pantheon leader with vengeful hatred for all the indignity he put him through.

To express this hatred towards Gruumsh, Shargaas heaped abuse on his favourite proxy, Turgren the Half-Blind, so called because he was blind in one eye. Despite bearing no personal hatred towards Turgren, the sight of the orc reminded him of his bitter experiences with Gruumsh, so he nonetheless mistreated the unfortunate servant. Turgren abused anyone lesser then him, whether they were an actual subordinate or complete stranger, in turn, using his skills in physical and mental torment.

Outside his own pantheon, Shargaas was without allies, though his enmity for the dwarf, gnome, and goblin gods was greater than any other loathing.

Divine Classification

Lesser deity

Religions

• Orc pantheon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Night Lord
The Blade in the Darkness
The Stalker Below