• Darkness: Bringing darkness into everything. Sleeping during the day, being active at night, hating the moon (avoiding/despising Selune is a big part of Shar's nature, and this would be required of Sharess) and all forms of illumination, even things as simple as using charcoal and dyes to superimpose blackness on everything within reach. Followers of Sharess might stalk, threaten, terrorize, sexually assault, maim, and eventually kill local chandlers and lanternmakers for sport.


• Loss: Loss of innocence. Innocence meaning more than just the obvious virginity; also loss of youthful naivete, beauty, belief in the inner good of all beings, optimism, and ultimately humanity. Cutting and self-mutilation would be common, as would mutilation of others. Followers would read scriptures and perform rituals, both magical and merely psychological, which brainwash themselves and their listeners into depression, cynicism, and believing the worst of everyone. Suicide is acceptable, but it's regarded as weak particularly in cases where loved ones have already given up or been repelled by one's behavior... suicide only has meaning when it wounds someone deeply. Superior ends are transformations (faciliated by the clergy) into ghouls, wights, ghosts, wraiths... intelligent undead, which go on suffering and spreading loss for eternity. Lycanthropy is acceptable, as it furthers loss and also serves as a slap in the face to Selune, but evil lycanthropes become closer to Malar than Shar, and for that reason Shar doesn't actively encourage lycanthropy.


• Forgetfulness: Drugs and poisons which induce loss of memory, acute melancholy and laziness, and slow deterioration of the mind. These things are to be visited upon the nonbelievers, and only rarely partaken of by the faithful. Shar wants her own servants to be sharp rather than dull.

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The true nature and identity of Sharess is unrevealed. She may be a direct part of the evil Shar, preparing her following for despair and loss. Or she may be a new thing entirely: a goddess of excess.

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• Food and/or drink: The stereotype of Romans eating and drinking themselves into a stupor that lasts for days can be brought to the Realms by the church of Sharess. They might use herbs/drugs or meditations to delay the normal consequences of overindulgence in food and alcohol. Inhaled, ingested, and imbibed equivalents of ecstacy (the drug) would be invented, perfected, and used regularly. If you have the inclination to consider fetishes, look up "feeders." Feeders/eaters are undoubtedly limited to some (maybe 5-10%) of her churches rather than being advocated by all of them.


• Wealth: Sharess got some of her following from the church of Waukeen, which suffered from the temporary disappearance of their goddess during/after the Time of Troubles. These new folks were obsessed with coin; some were just greedy, others were frugal, others were probably in it for more philanthropic purposes. Beggars want handouts, commoners want them to spend their money on public works for the enjoyment of commoners, nobles want handouts too, and hey the royalty wants their money too! Sharess is very attractive to these individuals because she actively encourages them to acquire without demanding anything from them (except that they enjoy what they have and acquire more) and without judging them or telling them what they should or should not be doing. Again, probably like 5-10% of her followers, because there aren't huge numbers of wealthy people... but a huge percentage of the wealthy in each city probably gives her great respect.


• Sexual gratification: This is really only on the list because of the later definitions of Sharess. As shown by the points above, it doesn't automatically follow from the 2e description of her. It seems that this is the direction the designers went, though... and that's fine. No judgment here. The point of Sharess is excess though, so if sex is her thing then it needs to be excessive, both in quantity and in display. Prodigious sexual appetite. Enjoyment of and heralding of extraordinarily large genitalia, not just for physical enjoyment but also for "show and tell" on the streets. Over-the-top "PDA" (public displays of affection) and deliberately public acts of lewdness. Costumes, lots of costumes, but designed to draw attention and not to conceal the interesting parts of one's physique.


• All of the above, and then some: Sharess is the goddess of "go big or go home." Be good at everything you do. Be very good. Try every new thing that comes your way, and become good at that too. When you eat and drink, do so with gusto. When you create wealth, do so with every ounce of creativity and strength you have... and actively try to increase your strength and creativity. When you have sex, do so with wild abandon. Do what brings you pleasure, and do it so enthusiastically that it becomes a religious experience, and people want to watch and participate and experience your pleasure. The only rule is break all the rules.

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Originally posted by Demzer

I know some would cringe at this, yet another "Shar is the font of evil everywhere", but i enjoy thinking about her much more as a subtle manipulator of both mortal and divine entities than as the big villain acting in full daylight with all her Shades and flying cities and airstrikes and whatnot.

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Originally posted by DrMbutu

Reading through the FR wiki's entry on Sharess, it mentions that Sharess fell under the sway of Shar after the fall of Myth Drannor, but during the Time of Troubles she was restored to her former self by Sune.

What does this mean for any game set during prior to the Time of Troubles? I assume she would be a CN or CE deity during this time?

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Sharess, a CG aspect of Shar worshipped in Calimshan, Waterdeep, and by idle rich or decadents all over the Realms. Sharess is a goddess of lust, free love, and sensual fulfillment, and is worshipped in prolonged fests with scented baths, music, good food, dancing, and other gratifications. Her symbol is a image or representation of female lips, carved traditionally from amber or ruby, and worn at wrist and ankle on thin gold chains.

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Sharess

This strange and radiant demipower is believed to have once been a part of Shar, the goddess of night and loss. She is a chaotic good deity worshipped in large urban areas such as Waterdeep, Calimport, and other cities along the Sword Coast. She is the goddess of hedonism, lust, and sensual fulfillment, the Patroness of Festhalls.

Sharess's faith is still at the cult stage, with long worship services that resemble nothing so much as extended feasts and orgies, heavy on the pleasures of the flesh and light on the teachings of the spirit.Sharess puts even Sune and Lliira to shame with her excesses.

The true nature and identity of Sharess is unrevealed. She may be a direct part of the evil Shar, preparing her following for despair and loss. Or she may be a new thing entirely: a goddess of excess. A goodly number of former followers of Waukeen who have rejected Lliira's teachings have become interested in Sharess.

Sharess's symbol is the image ot feminine lips carved from dark amber or ruby and worn on a golden chain on the wrist or ankle.

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Originally posted by dazzlerdal

Wow, best depiction of Shar I have read so far. I will have to go and rewrite all my Shar stuff with this in mind.

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Originally posted by Aldrick

Those that have been hurt by another or have been made victims, and then turn to Shar for comfort -- they are twisted in subtle ways. They begin to nurture the pain and bitterness; they see themselves as victims [...]

The other major group she goes after are those that experience loss. She twists these individuals differently than the first group. In addition to being a goddess of loss, she is also a goddess who embodies hopelessness. People turn to Shar in times of loss, because she will - at least momentarily - numb the pain. She will help you forget about it. However, in forgetting about it, she opens your eyes to an ugly truth about the world: the futility of life. She pushes you toward nihilism. She makes you realize that you will ultimately lose everything that you love and cherish, if not before you die then certainly once you die -- because you can't take it with you. You will lose the people that you love, the material possessions that you covet and already possess -- everything. She preys upon this futility of life; the temporary nature of it, and then she begins to twist the individual. If life is temporary, and you are ultimately going to lose all that you possess; then you better enjoy it now while it lasts. The boundaries between good and evil start to erode away, and you begin focusing on living life to the fullest. Eventually, you start to realize that you can do what you want. There are no laws or limitations that bind you and hold you back, they are constructed by others, and they are for people who act as if they are going to live forever. You take your pleasure and desires from where you can, always aware that it is a fleeting experience that will ultimately be taken from you completely. There is happiness and joy there, but only for the briefest moment before it is gone; then you are forced to find another way to recapture that happiness and joy. [...]

However, it is Shar viewed through this lens which makes a deity like Sharess vulnerable to being seduced by her. Sharess is a goddess of living life to the fullest. However, everything is temporary, and pleasure does not last forever. In seeking pleasure for yourself, it is easy to start forgetting about those you could be hurting in the process. Shar would twist Sharess, turning her pleasure seeking nature into almost like a drug-addicted nature. Sharess could begin to hunger for the pleasure she experiences to be ever greater than the last - to last longer, to be more wondrous. ...and in this way, Sharess is tempted into the darker realms of pleasure -- pleasure at the expense of others. [...]

Basically, this is how I see the Shar and Sharess relationship operating. Sharess started to fall under the sway of Shar. Literally. They likely had a lesbian relationship between one another. It was likely one of those relationships where you know is abusive, but you just cannot seem to get away from. Every time you think you walk away -- she finds some way to suck you right back in... it was Sune who found a way to break that cycle, and save Sharess from Shar.

Had Shar subsumed Sharess she likely would have become the goddess of dark desires, and forbidden pleasures. This would have just been another way to prey upon the vulnerabilities of mortals, and to lure them into her trap. This is why Shar would have wanted Sharess, and that is how Sharess likely fell under her sway.

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Iamar winced and buried her face in a satin pillow as the other girls of the hareem laughed at some joke one of them had made. There had been a time when she would have enjoyed the sound and even gone over to join them at play in the bath or to exchange hints on how best to wear their hair, but these days she was often too sick to be able to summon the energy even to dress in the morning. With an effort she rolled over, kicking feebly and irritably as the rich silks of her dress held her leg for a moment. Her head ached and the exotic incense that smouldered in the burner nearby threatened to choke her. With a deep sigh, she managed to rise to a sitting position oon the couch and then, with the assistance of a convenient candelabrum, pull herself to her feet. A drop of hot wax falling on her arm from one of the scented candles evoked hardly a murmur as she listlessly padded from the room and into her private chambers, closing the heavy wooden door behind her.

Making her way to the sturdy teak casket on her dressing table, she sat heavily on the brocaded stool before it and lifted shaking hands to open the lid and extract one of several small vials sealed with wax. Iamar looked at the empty golden cup on the table before her where it sat amidst the forest of perfume bottles, cosmetics and jewelled rings and bracelets, any one of which would buy a dozen slaves and leave enough left over for a banquet at which they could serve. She forced her gaze to move down the nearby curtain, across the marble floor inlaid with intricate mosaics depicting individuals, couples and groups of various compositions engaged in erotic dalliances, over a casual pile of cushions embroidered with sequins and cloth-of-gold, to a sturdy teak sideboard upon which rested a heavy silver decanter of fresh water. She stared at it for a long moment with heavy-lidded eyes, unable to summon the additional energy needed to rise and fetch the water for herself, sighing deeply in resignation of the fact that she was unable to even find the will to be disgusted at herself for her lack of volition. Instead, she looked down at the goblet and touched it with a lacquered fingernail, causing it to to slowly fill with clear water. She stared at the vial in her other hand, fingers gripping it tightly, then fumbled with the seal to open the tiny tube of powder. Her listless hands would not fully obey her, however, and the golden goblet was knocked onto its side, water spilling over her dressing table and cascading down her legs while the crystal container rolled under the table with a dull tinkling noise. Iamar moaned in frustration, her hands dropping to her lap and picking aimlessly at the sodden silks, her eyes filing with hot tears of frustration at the loss of the vial that she needed so much. She sat there for a long moment, shoulders trembling, unable to even think of how next to procceed, until a faint stirring in the air heralded the presence of someone else in the room. She tensed, hunching her shoulders, keeping her eyes fixed on the droplets of water falling slowly from the edge of the desk.

"Why, my dearest sister," came a soft yet husky voice. "Whatever has happened?" Cold fingertips touched her bare neck, causing her stomach to tighten, then rested lightly on her shoulder, the sharp nails pricking at her skin. "Dont tell me that my little Sharess has made a mess of her self?" came the mocking words, like a knife with a velvet handle. "Here, let me help you." The newcomer entered her field of vision, kneeling beside the stool. The woman was tall and pale-skinned, with long black hair that seemed almost to float around her as she casually and effortlessly tore a strip of Iamar's silken garment and used it to mop the water off the floor, leaving it in a sodden pile under the table. She looked up, purple lips and wide dark eyes set in a severe, pale face. "Oh, my sister, you are such a mess" she purred, a cruel smile parting her lips for an instant. "Tsk, tsk. Look at you. All the enthusiasm of a used-up whore. It's a wonder the syl-Pasha even bothers to come to you for your services any more. You have all the appeal of a sack of potatoes." She snorted and shook her head, reaching under the table for the tiny vial. "Is this what you're looking for? Here, let me help you with it, since you seem unable to lift a finger on your own account. " The pale woman rose with a whisper of silk and righted the golden cup with a disdainful wave of her hand. She popped the seal on the vial and sniffed at the contents before shaking the fine powder into the cup and lifting it. She passed a hand over it, causing it to fill once again nwith water, and stared at it as it begain to boil. "Dream mist, hm? Is life as the syl-Pasha's favourite concubine so drab that you need to seek refuge in this?" The pale woman held the goblet out, the tempting vapours rising from it, the attractive scent tickling Iamar's nose, and she slowly lifted her shaking hands for it, though without meeting the other's eyes. The tall woman pulled it back. "Ah ah, not just yet, my sweet. I have a favour to ask of you, one which I am sure you'll happily do for me. After all, you've turned out to be such a disappointment to so many others. I hope you wont disappoint me..."

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