Description:

Phenax is the masked patron of lies and cheats. He is Heliod’s ethical antithesis, governing the spheres of gambling, deception, and betrayal. Phenax was once a mortal who was trapped in the Underworld, but he learned how to forsake his identity to prevent Erebos from detecting what he was doing. He crossed back over the Rivers That Ring the World wrapped in the tattered cloak of Athreos, the River Guide, who ushers the dead to their final rest. Hidden by illusion as he was, neither Athreos nor Erebos could find Phenax and bring him back.

Able to play whatever role the situation calls for, Phenax is a consummate actor. His incisive wit and cunning enable him to read the desires of his marks, adjusting his approach to suit the moment. In his rare moments of candour, Phenax is calm and calculating, always looking toward his next scheme.

Phenax is a shadowy and mysterious figure. When appearing before mortals, he prefers the form of a willowy humanoid with ashen grey skin, clad in elegant robes. He has also been known to appear in a variety of animal forms, including the shapes of asps, mockingbirds, or rats. Regardless of his shape, a mask forever conceals the blank face of the first Returned.

Phenax’s Influence:

Subtlety and manipulation—of mind, word, and deed—are the cornerstones of Phenax’s power and his influence over mortals and immortals alike. Even gods enjoy hearing what they prefer to hear instead of the truth, and Phenax is happy to give them what they want.

He takes pleasure in finding ways to subvert or corrupt champions of law, order, and justice, turning them to his cause. Whether by feeding the hubris of a champion of Heliod or subverting the moral code of a stalwart of Iroas, he tempts mortals by confronting them with seemingly inconsequential decisions, each of which offers an opportunity for the person to compromise their principles. One by one, these acts move the needle of a person’s moral gauge by a small amount. Over time, these choices accumulate until the individual’s fall from grace is complete.

Phenax’s Goals:

Phenax doesn’t want to rule Nyx. He is the perennial outsider, existing only to disrupt the plans of his fellow gods. Every lie, every betrayal, delights him as it sows discord in the world. He respects a well-planned and executed grift or heist, sometimes rewarding able followers with opportunities to serve as his champions.

As the metaphorical progenitor of the Returned, Phenax also takes time to provide shelter and opportunities for his children to disrupt the mortal world.

Divine Relationships:

It stands to reason that the god of secrets, deception, and betrayal isn’t close with the rest of the pantheon. This is not to say that Phenax doesn’t have active relationships with others in the pantheon, but his position as the patron of lies doesn’t lead to close, lasting friendships.

Erebos and Athreos despise Phenax, which delights him to no end. Phenax revels in the fact that, as a lowly mortal, he was able to outwit both the Lord of the Underworld and the River Guide. Still bitter over Phenax’s deception, Erebos concocts ways to torment the upstart god. Were he to discover a method to slay Phenax and return him to the Underworld, the god of the dead would pursue it over all other goals.

Phenax finds Heliod and Iroas overbearing and insufferable. Both represent ideologies diametrically opposed to Phenax’s, and both have followers who regularly try to foil his schemes. In turn, Phenax does his best to upend their plans through lies and deception. After all, a fair fight isn’t worth fighting.

Nowhere is Phenax’s commitment to upending the status quo and angering his fellow gods more evident than in his role in the rise of Xenagos, the now destroyed god of revels. Xenagos’s attacks left many of the gods disconnected from their followers, inciting a panic in Nyx. Phenax, basking in the chaos of Xenagos’s plot, found myriad ways to covertly aid him until the satyr’s apotheosis. Helping another mortal ascend to godhood was, to Phenax, the ultimate subversion of authority.

Worshiping Phenax:

Every lie is an homage to Phenax. Because his most devout followers are criminals and gamblers, his influence is keenly felt in gambling halls and dens of thieves. But everyone has their own reasons to stray from the truth at times, and thus, they also find small ways to seek Phenax’s favour as they go about their daily lives.

Formal services to Phenax are conducted at night, with the most sacred rituals performed on nights of the new moon. Offerings are made to attract Phenax’s favour, with valuables from successful robberies, parchment filled with lies, or loaded dice being thrown into deep crags or buried at crossroads. Such sacrifices often vanish soon after, claimed by the god or his servants. Devout criminals often offer Phenax stolen goods as part of their preparations for premeditated crimes.

Phenax is worshiped openly in the necropoleis of Asphodel and Odunos, though the Returned who are loyal to Erebos’s agent, Tymaret, refuse to worship the god they’re hunting (see chapter 3). Sombre ceremonies are intoned to bless the golden funeral masks the Returned wear.

Phenax’s Champions:

Alignment: Usually chaotic, often neutral
Suggested Classes: Bard, cleric, monk, rogue, warlock
Suggested Cleric Domains: Trickery
Suggested Backgrounds: Charlatan, criminal, entertainer, sailor (pirate), urchin

Most champions of Phenax are exemplars of deceit, motivated by greed, revenge, or a good swindle. They have chosen to serve a mortal who ascended to godhood, possibly because they want to emulate him.

Phenax’s Favour:

Phenax expects his champions to be cunning and self-sufficient, much as he was when he escaped the Underworld. He has great respect for a sound plan that is craftily executed and might offer all manner of clever assistance to mortals he deems worthy.

What did you do to garner his attention? What set you apart in his eyes from petty schemers, grifters, and criminals? What made him think you would be a good champion?

The Phenax’s Favour table offers a handful of suggestions.

Phenax’s Favour:

1 You were born at midnight under the new moon.
2 One of your parents is a champion of Phenax.
3 You pulled off a daring theft or escaped from confinement at a young age.
4 You have proven yourself a capable liar and teller of tall tales.
5 You dedicated your life to upsetting the balance of power in a corrupt polis.
6 You have no idea why Phenax showed interest in you, and you might sometimes wish he hadn’t.

Devotion to Phenax:

Following Phenax means devoting yourself to a life of trickery and guile. To a champion of Phenax, a life without risk is no life at all. Some rules are meant to be broken, some secrets meant to be shared, and order must be upended from time to time.
As a follower of Phenax, consider the ideals on the Phenax’s Ideals table as alternatives to those suggested for your background.

Phenax’s Ideals:

1 Devotion. My devotion to my god is more important to me than what he stands for. (Any)
2 Pragmatism. The ends justify the means; I do whatever it takes to win. (Evil)
3 Duplicity. I lie when it suits me, which makes things so much easier. (Chaotic)
4 Secrecy. All deception requires secrecy, but not all secrets are meant to deceive. (Any)
5 Luck. Want more luck? Take more chances! (Chaotic)
6 Adaptability. Plans change, circumstances go awry. I must bend in response to changes, not break. (Any)