The Harpers

"Down with tyranny. Fairness and equality for all."

The Harpers are officially an open & public facing organisation, dedicated to fighting for equality & justice for the peoples of Faerun and beyond. In reality, though there goal remains true, the official organsiation serves as a cover for their real business a clandestine network of spies who work from behind the scenes to achieve their goals. No target is too big or too powerful to be beyond their reach, having worked for centuries to bring down tyranny and oppression in all its forms, whether magical or mundane. This has brought them into direct conflict with many forces, not least the power hungry Zhentarim and over the course of its history they have faced being destroyed as an organisation. Yet, their beliefs and actions continue to draw support and its decentralised and grass roots structure has meant that even after the organisation has been destroyed, it is able to reform, rebuild and come back stronger in another form. It is no accident that the Harpers areone of Faerun's oldest factions and has out lived many of its foes.
Usually found working in groups or "cells" or as sole operatives, Harper members are primarily spies & intelligence gathers who work from the shadows to achieve their goals, employing stealth, infiltration, politics and “nudge” tactics (the odd assassination not uncommon). Information is everything to a Harper & nothing cannot be solved by its exploitation. It’s ranks are drawn from all races, classes and types – anyone who signs up to its guiding beliefs can aide in the fight for equality and justice and many of Faerun's most famous heroes have been counted amongst its ranks.

Beliefs

• One can never have too much information.
• Too much power leads to corruption.
• No one should be powerless.

In the Moonsea Region

Unlike much of Faerun, the Harpers have no formal organisation in the Moonsea – the various city states have outlawed, persecuted and tried (almost successfully) to hunt the faction into extinction and drive them from the region. At best, they are seen by the powerful as meddlers from the mainlands and at worst spies of alien powers plotting the downfall of their city states and their usurpation into colonies of the greater nations. Their actual aim is to curb the excesses & eventual downfall of many of the Moonsea’s more tyrannical powers, especially the Zhentarim who look to reclaim their former glory in the region, whilst keeping watching brief for larger threats to Faerun from both within and without.
Decades of persecution have only made the Harpers more determined in their work and even after the efforts of the official powers, a Harper contact can be found in almost every major port, town and city if you know the right persons to ask. Harpers operate a decentralised structure with a number of small, isolated cells that operate in secrecy and have various means of sharing information & contacting other cells across its wider network. It’s leadership in the Moonsea remain a complete mystery and the Zhentarim offer a handsome bounty to anyone who can provide any intelligence to their identity.
Though the Harpers may appear to lack the might and power of some of the other factions in the region, few can match their intelligence networks and sheer mount of data at their disposal. Secrets are there business, and they can use it to leverage various assets and resources in times of desperate need. However, any action has to be constantly balanced against the risk of exposure, as even the rumour of a Harper cell can bring a swift and violent reprisal.

History with the Party

• On there first ever job, the party were hired to plant a Harper pin on a suspected dragon artefact smuggler. They succeeded but the artefact was fake and they had to fend off a gang of Welcomer thugs. On returning to the Harper Agent, the party extorted him for a bigger pay day

"Down with tyranny. Fairness and equality for all."