Ibrandul

Ibrandul (Ih-BRAN-duhl) was a chaotic neutral lesser deity of the Underdark, caverns, and dungeons. After the Time of Troubles, he was dead, his name and following having been usurped by Shar. In Calimshan he was also believed to have power over darkness and stealth.

Description
Ibrandul was commonly depicted as a monstrous ibrandlin.

Personality
Ibrandul was chaotic in temperament, but neither good nor evil overall. He was said to aid and guide those who served them when they were in need, but he was also rather inattentive of his followers. That inattention was thought to have played a part in his eventual death.

Relationships
In life, Ibrandul was allied with Mask and Ilmater. He was an enemy of both Lolth and Shar, as both desired his dominion over caverns and the Underdark; Shar also hated his power over darkness and felt that he stole worshipers from her. He was also enemy of Lathander as their portfolios were directly opposed.

Worshipers
Ibrandul was a popular deity amongst adventurers. He was worshiped mostly in Calimshan and other parts of the Shining South, where it was believed that he watched over humans who ventured into hostile underground areas. His priests primarily proselytized to adventurers and to poor folk in cities; they were also expected to build secure temple-fortresses deep underground, to serve as sanctuaries in the night below.

Specialty priests of Ibrandul were required to be chaotic neutral and reasonably healthy. As novices, they underwent a special initiation ceremony that involved ingesting ibrandlin blood; the ceremony resulted in patches of scales appearing on their wrists, forearms, chest, back, and legs, which granted them great natural armor, but which also had a deleterious effect on their natural charisma. Such priests were also taught how navigate underground (though they had a poor sense of direction aboveground), and typically were knowledgeable about, variously: mining, training animals, local history, dwarven runes, fungi recognition, sound analysis, and/or underground survival.

Ibrandul's specialty priests were also granted the spell create ibrandlin. Their uniform was dark purple robes covered with a pattern of large, overlapping silver rings, and belted with a black sash.

History
During the Time of Troubles, Ibrandul was seen wandering in the Underdark below Undermountain; however, during that period of weakness he was, unknown to his followers, slain by Shar, who took his guise and deceived his followers. She found masquerading as him quite useful, for it allowed her to subvert the worship of Selûne without drawing attention to her own nightbringers, particularly in Waterdeep. The corpse of his avatar was believed to lie on a lost level of Undermountain.

During the events of the Second Sundering in 1486 DR, a Chosen of Ibrandul appeared, in the shape of a female drow named Ashdra. She was captured by the Red Wizards of Thay and taken to their so-called Temple of Shadows.