Gerron (pronounced: /ˈgɛɑːrɒn/ GEAR-on), also called the Lord of Secrets, Keeper of the Hidden, and Patron of Spies, was a Faerûnian demipower of secrets and those who kept them, hidden knowledge and items, spies, and illusion and other magic that obscured. Gerron was also known as Leira's Hand, and Consort of the Mistshadow in reference to his service to the goddess Leira. In contrast to Shar, who also considered herself a deity of secrets, the Lord of Secrets, considered them not as tools to promote harm, but as things to be given only to the worthy. He was mainly worshiped by secret churches in the area of the Sea of Fallen Stars, and nearly unknown outside of that area.[1]
Description[]
Gerron's avatar was a man with dark purple eyes and a mane of long, black hair, wearing black leather armor. While he could assume any form easily, he always retained his black mane. At other times, he appeared as a silver wolf with purple eyes.[1]
Manifestations[]
Gerron was known to show his favor by sending a ghost ship that led the way to secret harbors and islands. Or, for adventurers seeking some great treasure or hidden passage, a purple nimbus of light that surrounded and illuminated a secret door or pathway leading to what they sought.[1]
Personality[]
Gerron was described as a dark and moody god prone to long periods of silence.[1]
Powers[]
The avatar of Gerron, and the god himself, had a number of recorded abilities akin to a mighty illusionist, thief, cleric, and fighter: he could apparently cast spells of any school or sphere, but favored illusions and other concealing magic. Moreover, he could indefinitely maintain any illusion after casting it.[1]
By his presence alone, any immunity to illusion was negated save for that of other deities, while he himself could see through any illusion, concealment, or deception; he was also immune to all enchantments and other mind-altering effects save those he allowed. Gerron could obscure any place, person, or object with a thought. He could shapechange at will, and could use the abilities and powers of whatever form he took, without his intelligence or alignment changing.[1]
Most unnervingly, Gerron know the darkness that lay within the souls of others; with this he could anticipate the motivations and actions of enemies both mortal and divine. And when he looked into the eyes of another creature, he saw the whole of their mind: everything they knew and remembered, as if he himself had experienced the events. No mortal could shield themself from that power, and even amongst deities, only those of intermediate or greater status were immune.[1]
But Gerron's most unique power was gifted to him from Leira herself. As the god of knowledge not yet known, Gerron could obscure such knowledge from discovery, even from other deities.[1]
Possessions[]
He wielded the longsword Darkbane, a powerful weapon that could absorb magical attacks or reflect them back to their source, cut through any barrier, and enhance or disrupt any illusion with but a touch.[1]
Divine Realm[]
Gerron chose to remain on the Material plane after Leira's death. He had no known divine realm[1]
Activities[]
After the Godswar, Gerron was focused on his church, though it made a steady comeback, and acquired a considerable following in Ravens Bluff. He also was known to indulge in politics. He enjoyed keeping the whisperings of both gods and mortals, but was known to reveal them at surprising moments.[1]
Relationships[]
Before her apparent death in 1358 DR, Gerron served the goddess Leira. He was also an ally to Valkur, Thoth, and Selûne; his dominion over the unknown brought him scorn from deities who loved knowledge and truth, including Oghma, Mystra, Savras, and Tyr.[1]
He counted as enemies the deities Shar, Cyric, Gargauth, Mask, and Umberlee. Mask he considered a traitor, though not for reasons many surmised, and he opposed Shar based on differing views of secrets: she delighted in keeping them for the dark harm they could cause others, while he viewed secrets as things that should only be given to the worthy.[1]
Worshipers[]
Gerron was primarily worshiped by people who had dire secrets or confidences to keep. In the Pirate Isles, he was worshiped by treasure hunters and those undertaking salvage operations.[1]
Of his clergy, fully half of them were the specialty priests known as mystifiers, while 30% were regular clerics and 20% were illusionists. In order to hinder outsiders from understanding the faith, the church did not use titles. And overall, the church had little set hierarchy because so much of it was centered around small, locally-based cults. The true leaders were those few people who had been worshipers before the Godswar.[1]
There were no knightly orders that served Gerron, but a small group of bards called the Holders worshiped him. They traveled around the Inner Sea, gathering information and suppressing knowledge best kept unknown, infiltrating guilds, and reporting the most sensitive secrets to the church.[1]
Symbol[]
Gerron's holy symbol was a triangle with a silver circle within its peak and grey mists flowing downward.[1]
Dogma[]
According to Gerron and his church, knowledge was power and thus the more knowledge one had, the more powerful one was. Blackmail, however, was the province of those who worshiped money-knowledge was to be accumulated and kept. If the knowledge someone kept hidden was better than what was commonly known, or kept from those who sought it, that was good, for it gave those seeking the knowledge motivation to keep looking and prying. For life would be boring without secrets.[1]
Rituals[]
Once each year, a festival called the Secret Seating was held that most of the priesthood attended. The time of this festival varied year to year, and the location changed every two years. During the Secret Seating, the priests walked undisguised and spoke only absolute truth as they conferred with each other and traded secrets. At the end of the festival, an election was held to decide who would host the next Secret Seating.[1]
Temples[]
Shrines to Gerron were hidden within cities around the Sea of Fallen Stars. The largest, whose location was known only to a handful of priests, was located in the Pirate Isles; this temple was where Gerron spent most of his time.[1]
Clothing[]
In secret, priests of Gerron wore dark clothing with silver trim, and wore disguises or one sort or another in daily life. Adventurers who followed Gerron concealed his holy symbol and wore a false symbol (that is, a symbol belonging to another deity) instead. This false use was not only accepted but encouraged by the Lord of Secrets as a way of protecting his priesthood.[1]
History[]
Sometime in the 1370s DR, an avatar of Gerron was active in the city of Ravens Bluff, where he was considered to be a friend of Lord Blacktree. He aided a group of adventurers hired by the Lady Katherine Blacktree by casting a strange spell on them to disguise their features and emotions while undercover for a significant length of time.[2]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
References[]
Connections[]
Azuth • Bane • Bhaal • Chauntea • Cyric • Gond • Helm • Ilmater • Kelemvor • Kossuth • Lathander • Loviatar • Mask • Mielikki • Myrkul • Mystra (Midnight) • Oghma • Selûne • Shar • Shaundakul • Silvanus • Sune • Talos • Tempus • Torm • Tymora • Tyr • Umberlee • Waukeen
Other Members
Akadi • Auril • Beshaba • Deneir • Eldath • Finder Wyvernspur • Garagos • Gargauth • Gerron • Grumbar • Gwaeron Windstrom • Hoar • Istishia • Iyachtu Xvim • Jergal • Lliira • Lurue • Malar • Milil • Nobanion • The Red Knight • Savras • Sharess • Shiallia • Siamorphe • Talona • Tiamat • Ubtao • Ulutiu • Valkur • Velsharoon