Harpers Faction

The Harpers

Membership

Common Descriptors: Benevolent, knowledgeable, secretive

Primary Classes: Bards, wizards

Alignments: CG (primary), NG, LG, LN, N, CN

Locations

Moongleam Tower (Everlund, the North)

Ranks

• Watcher: Rank 1. You are a watcher for the Harp, recording interesting or strange things you see or hear, and passing them onto your Harper associates. You may be called upon to help a Harper in peril, providing shelter or other aid in emergencies. • Harpshadow: Rank 3. You are an agent of the Harp, taking missions and tasks to accomplish their aims. You are in contact with a Brightcandle of the faction. You are a long-term agent, tasked with responsibilities that range from long-term assignments to immediate missions. You are expected to cultivate a network of Watchers. • Brightcandle: Rank 10. You are the head of a cell of Harpers in your local area. You are in contact with a Wise Owl, to whom you answer, and are expected to insulate that figure from your cell. You receive missions and train Harpers, though may be called upon to tend to such missions yourself occasionally as well. • Wise Owl: Rank 25. You are a figure of tremendous renown among Those Who Harp, and you are in contact with the upper echelons of the organization. You collate and disseminate information among multiple cells, and have a body of operatives that work closely to achieve the aims you set them. • High Harper: Rank 50. You are one of the High Harpers, the smattering of figures who run the Harpers. You have access to the whole of the body of information gathered by the organization (though it is not unknown for one or more within the Harpers to keep aside their own archives), and you help make decisions about its goals.

“Down with tyranny. Fairness and equality for all.”
A scattered network of spellcasters and spies, the Harpers advocate equality and covertly oppose the abuse of power, magical or otherwise.

Overview

The Harpers are an old organization that has risen, been shattered, and risen again more than once. Its longevity and resilience are the result of its decentralized and secretive nature, and the near-autonomy of its members. The organization consist of cells and lone operatives throughout Faerûn, interacting and sharing information with one another only as needs warrant. The Harpers’ ideology is noble, and members of the order pride themselves on their integrity and incorruptibility. Harpers do not seek power or glory— only fair and equal treatment for all.

Goals and Philosophy

Harpers gather information across Faerûn, discerning the political dynamics within each region or realm, and promoting fairness and equality by covert means. Members of the order oppose tyranny—as well as any leader, government, or group that grows powerful enough to threaten tyranny. They aid the weak, the poor, and the oppressed while maintaining the order’s legendary secrecy, acting openly only as a last resort.

Harper agents adhere to a strict Code of the Harpers, focusing on a number of tenets as they pursue their goals:

• One can never have too much information or arcane knowledge.
• Too much power leads to corruption. In particular, the abuse of magic must be closely monitored.
• No one should ever be powerless.

Activities

Harper agents are trained to act alone and rely on their own resources. When they get into scrapes, they don’t count on their fellow Harpers to rescue them. Nevertheless, Harpers are dedicated to helping one another in times of need, and friendships between Harpers are nigh unbreakable. Masterful spies and infiltrators, they use various guises and secret identities to form relationships, cultivate their information networks, and manipulate others into doing what needs to be done. Most Harpers prefer to operate in the shadows, though a few members of the order become well known. Quests undertaken by agents of the Harpers might include the following:

• Secure an artifact that could upset the balance of power in a region.
• Gather intelligence on a powerful individual or organization.
• Determine the true intentions of a powerful political figure or spellcaster.

Perks

Harpers in good standing might receive the following benefits:

• Network of Agents: Rank 1+. All Harpers learn the methods for contacting and getting information to the Harpers. The use of certain songs, signs to look for, identifying phrases - all the techniques that Harpers use to find one another in a cold and dangerous world.
• Song Training: Rank 2+. By the time a Harper has spent some time as part of the organization, training in music is an inevitability. Harpers use music for a great many things - to subtly identify themselves to one another, to pass coded messages back and forth, and even the use of musical metaphor in their interactions. The Harper of this Rank may choose proficiency in a musical instrument or the Performance Skill for singing.
• Harper's Pin: Rank 3+. Harpers who are regarded as Harpshadows within the organization receive a Harper's pin from their sponsor. (See below for details)
• Harper Lore: Rank 3+. Harpers gain access to repositories of arcane lore - spells known only to Harpers. These are taught by mentors or provided as spell-scrolls.
• Song Training: Rank 5+. Harpers of this degree of experience within the group have continued their training in music, choosing another musical instrument to be proficient in. They may also choose proficiency in a disguise kit, herbalism kit, or poisoner's kit.
• Magic Caches: Rank 8+. Senior Harpshadows are given access to small caches of magical items whose contents change occasionally. They are expected to take only a single item at a time, and return it when done.
• Harper Intelligence: Rank 10+. Harpers of this ranking receive all manner of intelligence regarding their local area. It is given to them to act upon as much or as little as they see fit, but all of it is expected to be passed to their superiors in the organization.

Harper Pin

Harper Pin

Wondrous Item, rare (attunement)
Wrought by certain finesmiths and enchanted by Harper magicians, the Harper pin provides a number of benefits to the attuned wearer. The wearer gains advantage on all saves against being charmed, and immunity against all magics that would read the wearer's thoughts. The pin itself cannot be detected by detect magic or any other spell, either - this does not extend to the wearer, but only to the pin. Finally, a Harper pin absorbs all magic missiles launched at the wearer, and grants the wearer resistance to lightning damage.

Important Members

• Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun: High Harper (Rank 50). One of the senior Harpers, Khelben does not interact overmuch with the Waterdhavian cell. His vision must encompass something larger than the immediate locale he dwells in, so he often seems aloof from the activities of local Harpers.

Waterdeep Cell

• Jhandess Millomyr: Brightcandle (Rank 15). The head of the Waterdhavian cell, Jhandess is a bard and harp-maker. She operates as a craftswoman out of Millomyr Harps, on Whaelgond Way in the North Ward. The attics of her shop are accessible through a small secret passage in roof of the building, which is magically sealed unless the opener bears a Harper pin.

Silverymoon Cell

• Daemera of the Bow: Harpshadow (Rank 8). A senior agents of the Silverymoon cell, Daemera is a half-elven priestess of Mielikki, and frequently called away from her duties in the Grove of Mielikki to tend to Harper business.