Baravar Cloakshadow
Cleric Alignments: CG, LG, NG

Baravar Cloakshadow The Sly One, Master of Illusion, Lord in Disguise
Lesser Gnome Deity
Symbol: Cloak and dagger
Home Plane: The Golden Hills
Alignment: Neutral good
Portfolio: Illusions, deception, traps, wards
Worshipers: Adventurers, deceivers, gnomes, illusionists, rogues, thieves
Cleric Alignments: CG, LG, NG
Domains: Gnome, Good, Illusion, Protection, Trickery
Favored Weapon: "Nightmare" (dagger)

aravar Cloakshadow (bair-uh-vahr clohk-sha-doh) is a crafty, vengeful deity who specializes in deceptions. He is unforgiving of any creature who threatens his charges, and he feels no compunction against acting against those who have earned his enmity. Although he shares Garl's love of a good practical joke, Baravar's jests and tricks may cause no little discomfort to the victims. He is also a thief and enjoys using illusions to confuse creatures before robbing them. Often, Baravar steals out of boredom as much as for any other reason. The Sly One sends celestial agents to harass goblinoids from a distance even before the gnomes are threatened: "Do unto them before they have a chance to do unto you" is a philosophy he often acts upon. His level of vigilance and layers of illusion have led many to believe that he is verging on paranoia. Much of his time recently has been spent working on a master illusion spell that would prevent a gnome from ever being detected unless he or she wanted to.

The church of Baravar is only loosely organized, for the veil of secrecy that surrounds it also shields its members to some degree from one another. Baravar's clergy is deeply involved in experimenting with and refining the art of creating illusions. A sizable fraction of the clergy are adventurers, charged with tracking down and acquiring new spells and magic items that allow the creation and control of effects from the school of illusion. Other clerics work as researchers, ever-refining their magical craft. Clerics of Baravar are generally sneaky, smart gnomes, and they serve their communities as spies and investigative agents and by teaching skills such as disguise, camouflage, and hiding. Clerics of Baravar pray for their spells at dusk, as the cover of night begins to conceal their activities.

The clergy of Baravar venerates the Sly One in a monthly ritual known as the Cloaking. Although these rituals are always observed on the night of the new moon, the exact location and nature of the ceremony varies every time. The Cloaking is often held in public places, and attendees consider it a point of honor that outsiders never detect such assemblies. This practice has led to a common joke among the Forgotten Folk that any unexplained gathering of two or more gnomes must be "another meeting of the Illusory." Baravar's clerics make offerings to their god by creating illusions of items they saw, heard, or otherwise sensed. The greater the realism of such deceptions, the more the deity is pleased. Most clerics multiclass as illusionists, and many multiclass as rogues.

History/Relationships: Baravar is closely allied with the other nonevil gods of the gnome pantheon, and, despite his somewhat vengeful nature, he follows Garl's lead in emphasizing trickery over strength. Other allies include Azuth, Brandobaris, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Erevan Ilesere, Mystra, Sehanine Moonbow, Tymora, and Vergadain. Baravar has a genuine antipathy for deities of many goblinoid races, particularly the deities of the goblin and kobold pantheons, and, unlike the other gnome gods, he is none too restrained about expressing this. Baravar and Leira were once closely allied, and the apparent death of the Lady of Mists at the hands of Cyric has earned Dark Sun Baravar's eternal enmity. Other foes include Abbathor, Mask, and of course Urdlen.

Dogma: The world is a dangerous place, and the only sure defense is to cloak oneself in the shadows under a web of deception. Strive to master the art of illusion and the game of deceit for therein lies security. Trust no one that has not proven trustworthy to your satisfaction. In war, use the crafts of illusion and camouflage to make sure your side wins. Devote yourself to your art and those you love with equal fervor, for one must have a reason to live beyond mere survival.