TOPIC: [R2] D&D5e Harpers Game (Bane DM)

Posted on behalf of Bane.

Starting next week and running until end of R2.

Players: Alex, Doug, Mike, Tom, Tony

PCs are members of the Harpers, and the adventure begins in Waterdeep.

Plz prepare level 8 characters for next week, magic item allowance: 2 Common items & 1 Rare item.

Alex > Rogue
Doug > Wizard/Sorcerer
Mike > Monk
Tom > Bard
Tony > Bane was adamant you should play a Fighter

The name's Harper D'Âgènt, a minstrel by trade,
The finest singer the realm ever made.
Half-elf by birth, of a mixed-blooded breed,
I can pass as a human whenever there's need.
The perfect disguise for a Harper's crusade.
My cloak shifts its hue and my tattoo the same,
With a Fochlucan Bandore, I'm top of my game.
I travel around easily without raising suspicion,
That's all down to my bardic profession.
I'll give you inspiration whenever I'm able,
From the back of a battlefield to the head of a table.
So let's grab a drink and pull up a chair,
A Harper's work starts with a toast and a prayer.

I am struggling to get excited about playing a Monk, so I am going to pivot to Ranger.

Dave looked over towards his new trainee cohort of Crow Spirit Guides... (Nar had REALLY stiched him up this time with his idea for a formal training programme for this new organisation the Mystical United Realm of Divine Ethereal Rookeries M.U.R.D.E.R. for short, Dave himself perfered B.E.A.K.: Bureau of Ethereal Augury and Knowledge, or C.A.W.S. : Council of Ancient Winged Sages but he'd been overuled as Nar had really wanted to spell murder).

"Listen, you lot. Take a breath and stop preening your feathers for a second. You see that mountain of muscle and bad decisions currently sharpening a sword the size of a dinner table? That’s Karnok.
Now, I’ve flown over a lot of 'heroes' in my time. Usually, they’re all shiny plate mail and fancy words. But Karnok? He’s different. He’s got the kind of unsubtle energy that makes even the ancient oaks of the High Forest take a nervous step back."

Dave could tell he was not engaging his audience...

"Ok... so you know how them Harpers usually prefer a whisper and a shadow, and sneaking and manipulating... Weeeelll when that fails the either give up or they call... Ghostbusters! err no strike that... they go out and look for someone if no one else can help, the call the A Team... oh bugger not that either.. err strike that too."

"Try this. You know when you carefully watch the earth, looking from them worns, you see the movement, slow and steady, you quietly flutter into posiiton, moving so slowly you you walk over a cat's testicles... and then you strike and get juicy worm? Well thats the harpers all slow and steady, but just sometimes just sometimes you need a bloody great flood to get them bugger to all come out at once then you can eat the lot! Thats him over there - a soddin great thunderclap followed by a deluge of bad attitude and judicious clobbering."

Dave looked round, the younger crows had all fluttered quietly away leaving their mentor to his thoughts. Dave's thoughts were not limited to "Why do I bloody bother" or "Jezz its them Gen Z youth not getting it", because just then, the mountain rose. It stomped across the bar attempting to look inconspicuous, banged a mailed fist on the bar and demanded "Gid Ma Beeer".

That’s him. This is going to take a lot of time... Looking round Dave continued his breifing not really caring if the other birds were paying attention.

"He doesn't much care for 'subtlety' or 'indoor voices,' and his idea of a 'secret handshake' usually involves breaking someone’s ribs. But his heart? It’s bigger than his biceps—and that’s saying something. If you’re looking for a man who can stare down a Beholder without blinking (mostly because he forgot how), you’ve found your mark."

"Just... try not to stand anywhere near him when he gets that look in his eyes. The 'red mist' doesn't distinguish between Harper agents and target practice. Anyway, I’ll be watching from the canopy. Try not to get stepped on."

Dave looked round... "Your not listening are you... Well your loss, coz what you see there is all for show! That big gasbag over there is smart. He knows stuff... This is all an act you just wait and see."

Harpers Session 1

A new group of (lvl8) heroes are summoned to the city of Waterdeep to form an elite (lol) taskforce. Lia Silverstar is a bubbly young half-elf sorlock, venturing out from the Temple of Sune for the first time in her life (how exactly she reached the lofty heights of level 8 without ever leaving the temple grounds is cause for much discourse). Karnock the Legend is a loud and brash half-orc fighter enamored with his own legacy. Fapp Longwood is a reticent wood elf ranger, uncomfortable surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the big city. Finally, Harper d'Agent (half-elf bard) is... well, tardy, arriving much later than the others, his garish, multi-coloured cloak billowing dramatically when he eventually makes his grand entrance.

Before being briefed on the real mission, our party must demonstrate they can work together by capturing the Zhentarim agent Elrond Bruhar. We scope out the Zhent safehouse and devise a cunning ruse; we gain entrance by masquerading as drug dealers looking to offload a shipment of the wacky tobaccy.

Once we are in inside however, the Zhents turn on us. Why pay for something they can steal? They are super annoyed when they realise there are no drugs. Also; level 8, bitches. We take out the Zhents without breaking a sweat. Karnock picks up a grown-ass man and smashes him into the floor until the flagstones shatter. Puny Zhent!



One guy legs it. Karnock roars at Fapp to take out the fleeing man, but Fapp lets him get away. Live and Let Live, and all that hippy BS. He immediately regrets this decision as the alarm is raised.

Fapp hangs back to deal with any reinforcements, while the rest of the party rush upstairs to apprehend Bruhar. The safehouse is a six-storey tenement, so there are a LOT of stairs. Without warning, a Lightning Bolt strikes Karnock in the chest. Bruhar looks down from a balcony overhead, flanked by a wizard (wearing a very pointy hat) and a buff-looking bodyguard. Hair still smoking, Karnock hurls the bodyguard over the balcony, then tosses the wizard off after him. It's a 60ft drop to the ground, but the bodyguard shakes off 6d6 falling damage like it's nothing. The wizard casts Feather Fall. Harper Dispels Magic. Gravity reasserts its hold on the wizard and he falls away with a despairing wail. The bodyguard charges toward Fapp. The wily ranger jumps out the nearest window, preferring 1d6 falling damage to 4x melee attacks from that brute.

Soon only Bruhar is left standing. He utters a code phrase identifying himself as an undercover Harper operative. Did our handlers already know about Bruhar's true loyalties - and if yes, why did they keep us in the dark? We bundle our target through a Dimension Door and escort him back to the Harpers HQ for our debrief.

TBC

I realised on Thursday night that although I had built a character, I had given zero thought to who Fapp was beyond a statblock and a silly name.

FAPP LONGWOOD
Wood Elf/Ranger, lvl8

Fapp previously adventured in the Triboar region with companions Horatio Hornstone (dwarf fighter), Mara Lemonrock (halfling wizard) and Brian Blessedbeard (dwarf cleric). Together, they saved the town of Phandalin from the villainous machinations of the Nezznar the Black Spider (Lost Mine of Phandelver).

The Untold Adventures of Fapp Longwood

Some time later, the party drifted apart, and Fapp spent many years protecting the elven settlements spread across the High Forest from bands of marauding orcs.

Three weeks ago, he receieved a letter from Mara, who seemed to be in some kind of vague and undefined trouble. Fapp travelled to Waterdeep with all haste, though since arriving in the city he has been unable to track down his old friend. Fapp is helping the Harpers with their objective in exchange for their aid locating the missing wizard.

Fapp is quiet and thoughtful, preferring his own company to that of strangers. Only a few stalwart companions have managed to break through his walls. An elf of few words, but keen insight. He does not enjoy the hustle of the big city, but will endure the discomfort until he finds his missing friend, and perhaps make some new allies along the way.