Many organizations active in the North and across the face of Faerûn aren’t bound by strictures of geography. These factions pursue their agendas without regard for political boundaries, and their members operate anywhere the organization deems necessary. These groups employ listeners, rumormongers, smugglers, sellswords, cache-holders (people who guard caches of wealth or magic for use by the faction’s operatives), haven keepers, and message drop minders, to name a few. At the core of every faction are those who don’t merely fulfill a small function for that organization, but who serve as its hands, head, and heart.
Founded more than a millennium ago, disbanded and reorganized several times, the Harpers remain a powerful, behind-the-scenes agency, which acts to thwart evil and promote fairness through knowledge, rather than brute force. Harper agents are often proficient in Investigation, enabling them to be adept at snooping and spying. They often seek aid from other Harpers, sympathetic bards and innkeepers, rangers, and the clergy of gods that are aligned with the Harpers’ ideals.
As a loyal Harper agent your mission, should you choose to accept it is to uphold your organizations beliefs while carrying out dangerous missions on their behalf.
- Skill Proficiencies: Insight and one Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma skill of your choice, as appropriate to your class.
- Tool Proficiencies: Three of your choice: Thieves' Tools, Disguise Kit, Forgery Kit, Alchemist's Supplies or Tinker's Tools.
- Languages: Two of your choice.
- Equipment: A pin signifying your rank as a Harper, a code-book with a list of Harper agents and friendly hideouts sorted by location, a set of travelers clothes, and a pouch containing 15 gp
As a member of the Harpers, you have access to a secret network of agents and operatives who can provide assistance on your adventures. You know a set of secret signs, symbols and passwords you can use to identify such operatives, who can provide you with access to a hidden safe house, free room and board, items or even assistance in finding information. These agents never risk their lives for you or risk revealing their true identities unless the mission is of vital importance.
Suggested Characteristics
Use the tables below as the basis for your traits and motivations, modifying the entries when appropriate to suit your identity as a Harper agent. (For instance, choose options that fit the type of agent you might be. Spy, scholar, tracker etc.)
Your bond might be associated with other members of the Harpers, or a location or an object that is important to them. The ideal you strive for is probably in keeping with the tenets and principles of the Harpers, but might be more personal in nature.
| d12 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I had an encounter that I believe gives me a special affinity with a supernatural creature or event. |
| 2 | A signature piece of clothing or distinct weapon serves as an emblem of who I am. |
| 3 | I never accept that I’m out of my depth. |
| 4 | I must know the answer to every secret. No door remains unopened in my presence. |
| 5 | I let people underestimate me, revealing my full competency only to those close to me. |
| 6 | I compulsively seek to collect trophies of my travels and victories. |
| 7 | It doesn’t matter if the whole world’s against me. I’ll always do what I think is right. |
| 8 | I have morbid interests and a macabre aesthetic. |
| 9 | I have a personal ritual, mantra, or relaxation method I use to deal with stress. |
| 10 | Nothing is more important than life, and I never leave anyone in danger. |
| 11 | I’m quick to jump to extreme solutions. Why risk a lesser option not working? |
| 12 | I’m easily startled, but I’m not a coward. |
| d12 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Adrenaline. I’ve experienced such strangeness that now I feel alive only in extreme situations. |
| 2 | Balance. I strive to counter the deeds of someone for whom I feel responsible. |
| 3 | Bound. I’ve wronged someone and must work their will to avoid their curse. |
| 4 | Escape. I believe there is something beyond the world I know, and I need to find it. |
| 5 | Legacy. I must do something great so that I’m remembered, and my time is running out. |
| 6 | Misdirection. I work vigorously to keep others from realizing my flaws or misdeeds. |
| 7 | Obsession. I’ve lived this way for so long that I can’t imagine another way. |
| 8 | Obligation. I owe it to my people, faith, family, or teacher to continue a vaunted legacy. |
| 9 | Promise. My life is no longer my own. I must fulfill the dream of someone who’s gone. |
| 10 | Revelation. I need to know what lies beyond the mysteries of death, the world, or the Mists. |
| 11 | Sanctuary. I know the forces at work in the world and strive to create islands apart from them. |
| 12 | Truth. I care about the truth above all else, even if it doesn’t benefit anyone. |
| d12 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | I desperately need to get back to someone or someplace, but I lost them to another plane of existence. |
| 2 | Everything I do is in the service of a powerful master, one I must keep a secret from everyone. |
| 3 | I owe much to my vanished mentor. I seek to continue their work even as I search to find them. |
| 4 | I’ve seen great darkness, and I’m committed to being a light against it—the light of all lights. |
| 5 | Someone I love has become a monster, murderer, or other threat. It’s up to me to redeem them. |
| 6 | The world has been convinced of a terrible lie. It’s up to me to reveal the truth. |
| 7 | I deeply miss someone and am quick to adopt people who remind me of them. |
| 8 | A great evil dwells within me. I will fight against it and the world’s other evils for as long as I can. |
| 9 | I’m desperately seeking a cure to an affliction or a curse, either for someone close to me for myself. |
| 10 | Spirits are drawn to me. I do all I can to help them find peace. |
| 11 | I use my cunning mind to solve mysteries and find justice for those who’ve been wronged. |
| 12 | I lost someone I care about, but I still see them in guilty visions, recurring dreams, or as a spirit. |
| d12 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I believe doom follows me and that anyone who gets close to me will face a tragic end. |
| 2 | I’m convinced something is after me, appearing in mirrors, dreams, and places where no one could. |
| 3 | I’m especially superstitious and live life seeking to avoid bad luck, wicked spirits, or the Mists. |
| 4 | I’ve done unspeakable evil and will do anything to prevent others from finding out. |
| 5 | I am exceptionally credulous and believe any story or legend immediately. |
| 6 | I’m a skeptic and don’t believe in the power of rituals, religion, superstition, or spirits. |
| 7 | I know my future is written and that anything I do will lead to a prophesied end. |
| 8 | I need to find the best in everyone and everything, even when that means denying obvious malice. |
| 9 | I’ve seen the evil of a type of place—like forests, cities, or graveyards—and resist going there. |
| 10 | I’m exceptionally cautious, planning laboriously and devising countless contingencies. |
| 11 | I have a reputation for defeating a great evil, but that’s a lie and the wicked force knows. |
| 12 | I know the ends always justify the means and am quick to make sacrifices to attain my goals. |