Masked Lord

The Lords of Waterdeep were only seen in public when sitting in the Lord's Court or when appearing every four years at Shieldmeet Council when the Lord's Rule is reaffirmed. The identities of the Lords, other than the Open Lord, were not supposed to be known to the public, although they were known to each other. The intent of this was to ensure that the Lords were free of coercion and could be drawn from any social strata within the city. While the masked Lords were considered to be equal to the Open Lord in authority, some executive authority was reserved for the Open Lord, including the vetting and selection of new Lords, the naming of the next Open Lord, and determining the needed number of Lords.

Accoutrements & Equipment

All Masked Lords wore black formless robes and spoke through the Open Lord, in order to keep their identities secret. These magical items—known as the Lord's ensemble or "Lords Effects"—included illusion-enhanced robes, a heavily enchanted helm, the numerous magical Lord's Rings, and the Lord's Amulet.