Harper Refuge

The Ardeep Refuge

Though the terrain specifics of Harper Refuges vary based on the location, they all have a few potent magical gifts in common, blessings rendered by deities such as Silvanus, Mielikki, Eldath, and Selûne, as well as the elven deities Rillifane Rallathil and Solonar Thelandira.

The Pool

All Harper refuges have a body of water.

• Water from this pool is not only always sweet and pure, but a few drops of it can turn any liquid (including potions of up to Rare power) into normal, pure water.
• Those who bathe in these pools as a short rest may add +1d8 to any hit die-based healing.
• A drink of water taken directly from the pool acts as a lesser restoration. This effect may only be invoked once per tenday for any given creature, and only while they are within the Refuge.

Protections

For as long as a creature is within a Refuge, the following abilities apply:

• All creatures are immune to fear and fear-based effects while in the Refuge.
• All charms and mental compulsions of any sort (including psionic attacks and effects) are forever broken, and cannot be re-established while the Harper is in a refuge.
• Lycanthropes who enter or are forced to enter into a Refuge revert to their human (or at least, non-animal) forms. True lycanthropes may make Charisma saves DC 14 to throw off this effect after ten minutes if they choose; they gain such a save every ten minutes. Turned lycanthropes have their curse suppressed the entire time they are within the Refuge.

Wardings

Refuges are protected from a great deal of change or damage.

• Spells that summon lightning or otherwise inflict lightning damage do not function within a Refuge.
• The spells that manipulate or change the plants or earth of a Refuge do not function.
• Undead cannot enter a Harper Refuge, with two exception: spell-using undead may use spells to circumvent the boundary, and certain undead such as baelnorn or spectral harpists may pass freely within.
• Any attempt to use a spell that changes the shape of a target, willing or otherwise, is instead treated as though it had invoked a sorcerer's Wild Magic effect.

The Favored

Each Refuge has a set of benefits that are invocable by anyone with an attuned Harper pin, or who receives spells from or is an ordained clergy of the deity or deities who empowered the Refuge (each Refuge was created by one or two of the deities who sponsored the Harpers, or their allies). Any druid is considered aligned with Silvanus or Chauntea.

• The Favored are exempt from the effect that prohibits the casting of lightning spells.
• The Favored may innately cast faerie fire while within the Refuge once per long rest. This effect lasts its entire duration without requiring Concentration.
• The Favored may innately cast speak with plants on the plants of the Refuge once per long rest. The plants of a Refuge seem to be more cognizant and watchful than is typical for this spell, and always recognize a Harper as a close ally.
• The Favored who cast the spell protection from normal missiles (EGM) find that the magic of it expands, regardless of caster intent, to encircle the entire Refuge. All creatures within become protected from attacks that originate within or without the Refuge.
• The Favored may alter the temperature of a Refuge by up to 30 degrees, affecting the whole Refuge. This lasts until 24 hours have passed, or until someone else tries to change the temperature (with contests going first to highest-Renown Harpers). This can be enough to alter the weather within a Refuge to allow survival.
• The Favored may cause winds to either still completely, or to stage up one level. This change is a Concentration effect.
• The Favored who cast tree stride may appear at any tree anywhere within the Refuge, not just a tree of the same type.
  • Additionally, they may elect to instead vanish beneath the earth of the Refuge, as though they were imprisoned by an imprisonment spell, save that they may choose to end it at any time.
  • The caster is not in suspended animation, and can rest, pray, or perform other activities not requiring movement.
  • Eating, breathing, the advancement of poisons and diseases, and other living functions are suspended while beneath the earth, and there is no time limit to the stay beneath the earth.
  • The magic of the Refuge allows the caster to hear what is going on in the Refuge as though they were standing in the middle of the space (though such can leave them vulnerable to certain effects as a result, including area of effect thunder damage).
  • No creature other than the caster can be carried beneath the earth this way.