You know. You really love this game. It's commendable. You really fight tooth and nail to try to keep even little things from being considered.
That said, I'm gonna try one more time.
You seem to be getting hung up on nuances and little things. A symbol is a symbol. If it was established that a ruby was a symbol of the Muslim faith, and you saw a priest with rubies on his shoulders, a big circle on his chest that looked like a ruby with a design on it, and a ruby at the very center of his forehead on a circlet, and if you knew that in order for a Muslim priest to actually be able to bless someone that he would have to have a holy symbol on him (because that's ESTABLISHED D&D FORGOTTEN REALMS LORE) then chances are you'd likely assume that the priest was a Muslim Priest.
Here's a real world example. Jade. It is firmly established that jade is symbolic of nobility and wealth in Oriental cultures. It is known as the "Gem Supreme" and the "Jewel of Heaven" and the "Stone of the Heart." Green Jade symbolized the Five Virtues of Humanity in Chinese tradition. The Jade Emperor in Chinese culture was one of the representations of the first god.
So, a person in ancient China sees a priest with jade stones on their shoulders, a jade circle on their chest that takes up about a foot diameter on their chest, AND he wears a jade stone on a circlet on his forehead. The priest even makes it clear he's a priest. Hmmm. What is he a priest of? Or... um... is he just wearing jade as jewelry? Did he just think it was pretty and put it on his clothes because it looks nice? Or... maybe... just maybe... if you succeeded in a Religion check, meaning you actually knew something about the Jade Emperor, wouldn't you then draw a connection to the Jade Emperor because you saw this guy, who you know is a priest mind you, wearing not 1, not 2, but 3 jade stones on his outfit, one on his forehead, and a big jade circle with a symbol of some kind on his chest? Jade, a stone, was commonly known in China in those days as symbolic of the Jade Emperor and of heaven. Many nobles and emperors of ancient China wore jade BECAUSE it was symbolic of heaven, and they wanted their peasants to believe that they were granted authority and power by heaven to rule over the "lesser" peoples of the world.
As for Shar walking and onyx being created, you're missing my point. I don't think the description Larian gives us in this regard is literal. The point is that even Larian is pointing out that an onyx stone is symbolic of Shar. In their description, they are telling us that onyx = Shar. So, if we know this just because it's in a random description somewhere, shouldn't our characters be given the opportunity to point it out immediately if they succeed in a Religion check? I mean, it's in the description of an onyx stone that onyx is a symbol of Shar. How can you refute that? Pull it open. Read the description yourself in the game. It relates onyx to Shar. And if it relates onyx to Shar, then if someone is a cleric and they are wearing onyx stones in their armor set, you should have the ability in the game to call Shadowheart on it. Even the look of the armor is constantly thrown in your face from the Grove murals all the way throughout Grymforge. Dark Justiciar armor with onyx stones as large as life all throughout the armor proves that Shadowheart's armor is Dark Justiciar armor.
So, let's say you create a Sage background character who is also a Wizard with high intelligence, so your Religion/History skills are high - like +5 or +6 at level 1. Shouldn't this type of character, who might have actually studied up on Sharran culture, armor, weapons, history, etc. have a shot, at least, of knowing, right away, that Shadowheart is a Sharran cleric? And wouldn't that also be true for the DEFAULT Tav character build who is a cleric of Selune who should know a great deal about Shar since Shar is her religion's ARCH-NEMESIS?
So please don't be so flippant with your $#@$$ stone comments, thank you. Those kinds of comments are just you trying to instigate fighting and debating. Please stop. I'm done with that kinda stuff. Stuff like that is why I ignored you before a couple of times now. It's really not necessary.
And yes, EVERY cleric in established Forgotten Realms and D&D lore is supposed to have a bloody, blinking holy symbol that they carry on them which enables them to cast their divine spells. This is not DOS or Dragon Age or I don't even know (do they have holy symbol requirements???) Without a symbol of Shar, she shouldn't be able to cast spells at all. So, when I see a circlet on her head, and I see no other holy symbol at all that could even potentially be being used by her, I'm assuming that in her initial character design, someone knew D&D well enough to know that she needed a symbol of Shar somewhere on her outfit for her to be able to cast cleric spells. Which then means that logically speaking it IS her holy symbol. It certainly isn't her mace or wooden shield or leather boots. It's either the onyx stones on her pauldrons or her circlet. So, yes, she has a holy symbol on her as big as day on her forehead. Your argument that you can remove the circlet and still cast spells is only valid because Larian is currently, in the game presently, ignoring established Forgotten Realms/ D&D Lore.
So, to be clear, if you look at her armor, she has 1 onyx stone on her forehead, and one on each pauldron (shoulder). Biggest ones are on the shoulders. Those could probably be used as golf balls.
And finally, as far as Disguise Self spell, yes, IF she started the game with that spell cast already, then she wouldn't LOOK like a Dark Justiciar. THEN a Religion/History check would logically not be needed UNTIL she lost concentration and the spell ended. Thus, when you see her for the first time lying unconscious on the beach, she'd be in full Dark Justiciar armor and THEN a skill check should be made because you can then see the armor as clear as day with onyx stones shimmering in the early morning light... or not, as the case may be.
Fact: The ONLY items that could be holy symbols on her are onyx stones.
Fact: She has 3 onyx stones on her gear.
Fact: She's of the Trickery Domain.
So, if I'm a brand new player who knows absolute jack poop about Forgotten Realms and I know nothing about Shar or her symbols or anything, shouldn't I be given the common courtesy of at least a skill check so that should I succeed I might learn something about this BG3 major deity and how Shadowheart is dressed like a cleric of said major deity so that by the time I get to her BIG REVEAL I don't feel like a total idiot moron who has no idea at all who Shar is and only AFTER I get to maybe Grymforge do I start to fully grasp the reality that she is some super nasty evil dark goddess of wickedness who has instructed her servants to murder and torment and kidnap countless untold numbers of people? Shouldn't I, if I succeed in said roll, have the ability to immediately make the decision, "Do I keep this crazy chick in my party who is a servant of such an evil deity, or do I kick her to the curb? I mean, I'm all alone out here. I probably need her to survive, but SHOULD I risk it?"
This is my point.
And now, I am done. Thank you and good night.
