Harpers

The Harpers is an old organization that has risen, been shattered, and risen again several times. Its longevity and resilience are largely due to its decentralized, grassroots, secretive nature, and the near-autonomy of many of its members. The Harpers have “cells” and lone operatives throughout Faerûn, although they interact and share information with one another from time to time as needs warrant. The Harpers' ideology is noble, and its members pride themselves on their integrity and incorruptibility. Harpers do not seek power or glory, only fair and equal treatment for all.

“We are the Harpers. We are the Lord Protectors of the Realms, Fools, all―but the Gods look down and smile glory upon us. Weep for us, watch for us, and hope in us. We shall not fail thee.” — Harper Chant, composed by Ailadrea Stars-in-mist.

Harper agents are trained to act alone and depend 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. Although most Harpers prefer to operate in the shadows, there are exceptions.

Beliefs

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

Harper Code

“I shall do no less.”
— The response given to the Harpers' watchwords.

The code of the Harpers was a series of outwardly simple statements that were in truth exceptionally difficult to maintain in earnest. They were not written down in any book or tome, but were expressed as a series of 'watchwords' used to swear in new members, an occasion known as the ritual of recognition. In the late 15th century DR, however, the Harper code was written in a book, upon which new members would swear their oaths. They would keep a copy as reminder.

• Harpers work against villainy and wickedness wherever they find it, but they work ever mindful of the consequences of what they do.
• All beings should walk free of fear, with the right to live their lives as they wish.
• The rule of law aids peace and fosters freedom, so long as the laws are just and those who enforce them lenient and understanding.
• No extreme is good. For freedom to flourish, all must be in balance: the powers of realms, the reaches of the cities and the wilderlands into each other, and the influence of one being over another.
• Whatever it takes, a Harper will do. Pride never rules the deeds of a true Harper.
• Freedom is a multiversal right, though Harpers can spare themselves less freedom than those they work to protect when the need presents itself.
• Harpers police their own. A Harper who hears the call of personal power can no longer hear the sweet song of the harp. A Harper who seizes power, and holds it above all else, is a traitor to the harp. Traitors must die for freedom to live.
• Without a past, no being can appreciate what they have, and where they may be going.

Structure

The Harpers as an organization was actually anything but organized. Rather, it was a confederation of individuals from contrasting cultures and backgrounds who bonded over the shared goals of maintaining peace, preserving knowledge, and protecting the downtrodden. Some Harper agents worked in small groups—often alongside friends and close allies—while others operated as lone operatives, who kept only informal ties with the group at large. Throughout the many years it endured, the Harpers had disbanded and fallen apart several times, only to reform later in some new iteration.
The Harpers' informality and lack of formal structure lent to its continuance as true secret society. Some members took on specific roles, such as 'spymasters', 'handlers', and 'agents', but maintained no hierarchy or ranking over their fellows. It was said that nothing could be truly "official" within the Harpers; the group was poorly defined, with contradictory operational standards, no formal roster, and a public face that was inconsistent from one locale to the next.
There did remain one consistent representation of the Harpers across the Realms, however: their symbol. The Harpers' symbol comprised a silver harp and crescent moon, set upon a field of black or royal blue.

Branches

“Two roads taken to the same gate; one seen more often, the other never late.”
— The Bard Alither of Telflamm, regarding the two branches of the Harpers.

For much of its history, the Harpers were separated into two branches, each of which operated on either half of Faerûn's Heartlands. The western branch of the Harpers―the Order of the Silver Moon and Harp, headquartered in Berdusk―maintained a formal hierarchy, and orchestrated far-reaching plots many months in advance of their execution. The eastern branch―known as the Senior Harpers or Harpers in the Shadows, based out of Shadowdale―preferred instead to sponsor parties of young adventurers, wielding subtle influence rather than taking direct action. Both branches strived to achieve the same goals, and regularly shared intelligence with their comrades across the Realms. Beyond their operational differences, the collective members of the two branches each held contrasting attitudes and world-views.
For a few decades, there existed an offshoot branch of the Harpers, known as the Moonstars. This splinter sect acted separately from the two branches of the Harpers, operating in the sprawling metropolis of Waterdeep, and at times undermining the efforts of true Waterdhavian Harpers.

Titles

High Harpers

The only true leadership of the Harpers was a small governing council known as the High Harpers. They were responsible for setting and planning most of the group's long-term plans and goals. Members were elected through the means of secret ballots among the other High Harpers, with the criteria of long-term service and extreme discretion in the execution of their plans.

Master Harpers

While the Harpers held no formal hierarchy, some members did enjoy the distinction of being named Master Harpers. These select few were blessed by the goddess Mystra and bestowed with divine boons associated with the Goddess of Magic and other deities that were present at the First Reformation.

Ranks

These are the ranks from lowest to highest within the Harpers.

• Watcher
• Harpshadow
• Brightcandle
• Wise Owl
• High Harpers

Culture

It was said that the secretiveness of the Harpers extended beyond the organization as a whole, trickling down to its individual members and their personal lives. While often boisterous and lighthearted in public, Harpers tended not to share genuine sentiments with others–save for occasions when they were alone with their comrades.
Overall, the Harpers were one of the most tolerant factions of the Realms. They accepted people from all walks of life, even those with unsavory pasts, so long as they swore the Harper Code and did not violate its tenets.

What it is to be a Harper...

Right, then, good Lady Shandril, I shall try to tell thee something of what it is to be a Harper. A Harper holds peaceful sharing of the lands above all other goals. By sharing, we mean all the races living in and under the land, where each prefers to live, trading together where desire and need stir them to, and respecting each other's holds and ways—without the daily bloodletting that all too often holds sway in the Realms today.

True, we must fight, it seems often enough to keep our swords and our tempers both sharp enough. Yet, know ye; all of us fight when we must, or die. Moreover, ye only hear of blades drawn and death and spells hurled, and never know of the many, many times that a quiet word or a skillful deal has turned enemies aside from each other, forced a way clear where none was before, or distracted foes from the eager task of tearing each other's throats out. That is the true Harper way: subtle and quiet, behind the shouting. Trust and wisdom, and outfoxing others is what we deal in.

-Mirt the Moneylender explaining the Harper's purpose to Shandril Shessair

Public Agenda

The Harpers believed in the power of the individual over that of the sprawling kingdoms with laws that oppressed individual liberty. They sought to maintain balance between all things, civilization and nature, societal order and personal liberty. They considered the elven city of Myth Drannor, with its rich culture, celebration of the arts, and promotion of education to be the most ideal expression of this balance by the free peoples of the Realms. They sought among other things to spread that belief, and recreate the world in the lost city's image.
While they strived eliminate tyranny and foster "goodness" in the Realms, not all Harpers agreed on how it was defined. Despite these differences of opinion, they did share the belief that current events could only be fully understood with a comprehensive knowledge of the history that preceded them.

History

“There are many power groups, big and small, in Faerûn. Some aspire to conquest, and others long to defend the weak against such conquest. Of the latter category, I declare that none are as enigmatic (or as frustrating) as the Harpers.”
— Mendryll Belarod.

Accurate knowledge regarding the founding of the Harpers was said to be rather nebulous, and the history of the order overall was so convoluted that Elminster referred to it as "The Hidden Tale". The original concept of the the Harpers was first conceived in the fabled city of Myth Drannor, by elven military leaders that worked in collusion with a few trusted Human rangers and druids. The mage Dathlue Mistwinter agreed to lead such a group in the Year of Freedom's Friends, 324 DR, at the head of a council that also included a (relatively) young Elminster Aumar. They took for their symbol Mistwinter's family crest—a silver harp between the horns of a crescent moon—and met at twilight at secret locations in the Elven Court, earning them their moniker: the Harpers at Twilight.
The Harpers at Twilight dwindled in number over the next four centuries, victims of attrition at the hands of their enemies: bandits, slavers, drow, illithids, orcs, and evil spellcasters attracted to Myth Drannor's success. The final blow to the fabled City of Song was struck in the Year of the Lost Lance, 712 DR, at the culmination of the Weeping War when the Army of Darkness overwhelmed the defenders of Myth Drannor. In just one battle, more than half their number was lost. By the end of the conflict, Dathlue herself was slain, killed alongside a dozen of her fellow Harpers-at-Twilight.

First Reformation

On the 27th of Flamerule in the Year of the Dawn Rose, 720 DR, a large congregation of dryads arrived at the Dancing Place Druid grove in High Dale. Their arrival occurred at a time when dusk fell earlier than it should have and a bright moon shone when no moon should have been visible. The dryads bid the druids welcome the prizests of many different gods who started to arrive before finally Elminster appeared to explain why they had all been called.
The elves had called for the support of the priests assembled to help fight back against the faithful of Bane, Bhaal, Loviatar, Malar, and Myrkul, who were coming from the south and attacking the elves and performing abhorrent deeds. The priests argued but their deities—Corellon, Mielikki, Mystra, Oghma, Selûne, Silvanus, and Tymora—directly possessed them and spoke through them, voicing their support in person and extending their blessings to this effort. This night thus became known as the Gathering of the Gods.
The remaining Harpers-at-Twilight set about recruiting new members and expanding their influence, though they did so very slowly and lost around twenty new recruits to conflict with their enemies. Over that time though, these new Harpers established an incredibly effective information network, and earned the respect of religious leaders by using that network to help their causes. In return, they were granted the use of fortified temples and monasteries wherein members could train and recuperate between missions.

Long Years

“To be a Harper is to sacrifice a part of yourself for the greater good―to be the pebble in the charger's path, the knife that frays the hangman's rope, the barking dog that draws the Hunter's eye. We do not act for glory, but for the good of all.'”
— Anonymous.

The next few centuries were known as the "Long Years" within the organization. During late 9th century, in the Year of the Fell Firebreak, 886 DR, the Harpers erected the wards around Hellgate Keep to prevent fiends from overwhelming the surrounding lands. While the protections unfortunately lasted for only a few years, the Harpers spread rumors that attracted local adventuring groups to help slay the fiends that made it out of the ruins.
Some decades later, in the Year of the Sinhala, 916 DR, Harpers worked with clerics of Lathander to slay Sammaster, founder of the Cult of the Dragon. The Harpers' increasingly public actions brought them into more frequent conflict with the church of Bane and the nation of Thay.
In the Year of the Disfiguring Scar, 996 DR, the Harpers founded the Heralds of Faerûn to prevent the unscrupulous from blaming others for their misdeeds. The Heralds also used their power to provide Harpers with cover identities.
When the Harpers eradicated the Wearers of the Skull and drew the ire of the church of Myrkul, the Lord of the Dead's followers dispatched liches to seek out and assail the Harpers. The Undead spellcasters were turned away and subsequently destroyed. The church then raised armies to hunt down them and the remaining Harper agents. The Harpers were finally forced to go underground in the Year of the Howling Axe, 1021 DR.

Second Reformation

After the loss of many members during the previous year, Elminster and Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun decided in the Year of the Wandering Wyvern, 1022 DR, that new recruits were needed and that the revitalized Harpers would be an "underground army of adventurers". Recruits who met the pair's standards took time to be found, but eventually Elminster happened upon the Wanderers of Espar, a band of a dozen bards, druids, and rangers led by Finder Wyvernspur and Ulzund Hawkshield in Cormyr. Through a series of manipulations, these adventurers were introduced to surviving Harper veterans and ended up successfully battling many of the Harpers' enemies.
The fates aided the Harpers in these efforts in the Year of the Watching Wood, 1065 DR, when they acquired significant treasure after successfully delving into the lair of the undead dragon Alglaudyx, and destroyed the mighty Dracolich. They used their newfound riches to make wise investments, purchasing properties and buying up businesses in cities all along The Sword Coast.
The group continued to be quietly manipulated by Elminster and Khelben, who appointed certain members as "Master Harpers". These Harpers received directions from the duo, via dreams bestowed on them by Mystra, that led them to a cache of Harper pins in Gochall's Tomb. Elminster then traveled across the Realms with two of Mystra's children, the sisters Dove and Storm Silverhand, to bolster the ranks of the Harpers. They posed as traveling minstrels, cultivated an air of mystique about the order, and attracted new members with their music.
Over time, the Harpers re-established their information network but were drawn into ever more public fights with evil churches, the Cult of the Dragon, and the nation of Thay, and other malign forces. Casualties began to mount again and, to avoid a repeat of history, Khelben and Elminster had all senior Harpers go into hiding.
At some point, the legendary Harper Bard Finder Wyvernspur was corrupted by his own vanity and hunger for artistic immortality. The "Nameless Bard," as he was known, was put on trial before the Harpers, who found him guilty of allowing his pride to bring harm to others and imprisoned him within the Citadel of White Exile.
In the Year of the Empty Scabbard, 1116 DR, seeing the Harpers no better than cultists of Bane, the Heralds decided that they could no longer be openly associated with the Harpers and split from them.
Meanwhile, junior members grew tired of the new, low-key direction the group was headed in and started getting themselves killed in foolish fights. In the Year of the Tomb, 1182 DR, Elminster gave them a unified direction—by pulling them into his ongoing conflict with malaugrym, horrific shapechangers native to the Plane of Shadow. The Harpers' ongoing secret war with the malevolent outsiders came to be known as the Harpstar Wars. Only around forty of the Harpers involved in the war survived it and when they returned, they found their organization had strayed in a completely different direction.

Corruption of the Harper King

A Harper bard named Rundorl Moonsklan had convinced himself that Elminster, Khelben, and the Harpers they'd taken with them during the Harpstar Wars had gotten themselves killed fighting on other planes and that senior Harpers in hiding had actually permanently retired. His ambition, therefore, was to replace the organization's leadership and reshape it to his own ends. He desired to be the power behind every throne in the North and while planning how to achieve this he happened to meet one Szass Tam, a Red Wizard of Thay.
The two came to an agreement: Szass Tam would funnel Rundorl information on his rivals in Thay and Rundorl would gain prestige by sending Harpers to win victories over them. To justify this focus on Thay, a land previously neglected by the Harpers, Rundorl spread the story of "the spell of Undeath". According to information he'd 'discovered', the Red Wizards were developing a new spell capable of instantly turning the populations of whole cities into undead slaves with a single casting to quickly produce armies and threaten and enslave all of Faerûn. According to Rundorl, the only things stopping them were some issues in implementation—and the Harpers. The plan went perfectly, Rundorl led and sent his fellows into battle against those Red Wizards and even zulkirs whom he claimed had involvement in "the spell of Undeath" and both he and Tam advanced in power.
Eventually, though, more Harpers were dying than Thayans and Rundorl led a reluctant retreat out of Thay. His exhausted men were being assassinated and reanimated as undead, however, and Rundorl rightly suspected that Tam had betrayed him. Rundorl broke off the alliance, then appealed to another Lich named Thavverdasz. He promised the Harpers' services in return for his help defeating his reanimated comrades. Thavverdasz agreed, but then dominated Rundorl's mind and read his thoughts, mockingly took for himself the name "Harper King" after learning of Rundorl's ambition, and made the man his undead minion. The undead Harpers were easily wrested from Tam's control but Thavverdasz betrayed his other allies, the Cult of the Dragon.
It was this situation that the surviving Harpstar veterans encountered when they returned to Faerûn in the Year of the Horn, 1222 DR. The Cult of the Dragon had raised an army and sent it against Thavverdasz's Harpers while Szass Tam challenged the Harper King directly. Thavverdasz used a powerful magic item to defeat Tam, but Elminster surprised and assassinated the Harper King shortly thereafter.

Third Reformation

Grimly, Storm and Dove set about replacing their massive losses while Khelben and the remaining veterans licked their wounds. Elminster pulled strings among the Wychlaran in Rashemen to keep the Thayans busy and turned the lair of the Harper King into a deathtrap to destroy the inevitable Cult of the Dragon reinforcements. Luckily, the Harper information network remained intact and largely ignorant of the organization's recent corruption.
In the Year of the Long Watch, 1230 DR, the Harpers helped defend the great city of Silverymoon, when it was threatened by a rampaging hoard of orcs. An apprentice of the city's High Mage by the name of Sepur was appointed as Silvermoon's new ruler, but only served for two years before abandoning its people. Five years after Sepur's ascension, the Black Horde of orcs assailed the city, while warlords and mages vied for rule over the city. Master Harpers Storm and Alustriel Silverhand led the Harpers in a second battle in defense of Silverymoon and emerged as a heroes of the city. Alustriel was elected by the Silvaeren people to rule as High Lady Mage.
In gratitude for the Harpers help in defending the city, Storm Silverhand was granted permission to build Moongleam Tower in Everlund. It was around that time that Storm took on leadership of the Harpers' eastern branch.
It was in the Year of the Moat, 1269 DR, that the Harpers first received intelligence about an emerging threat in northern Faerûn—the Zhentarim. Over the course of the next century, the Harpers and the Zhentarim would all but wage war on each other. Each faction seemed to gain an edge for a time, before the other struck back once again. While Khelben took over as leader of the Harpers on the Sword Coast, Elminster was left to counter the Zhentarim threat alone, engaging in a long-standing feud with Manshoon.
However, in the Year of Chains, 1321 DR, Khelben sponsored the Harpstar veteran Cylyria Dragonbreast in her bid to become High Lady of Berdusk, and gave over to her leadership of the western branch of the Harpers. The Harpers of Twilight Hall, as they were colloquially known, acted openly against the Zhentarim and Amnian interests and even came close to crippling the Rundeen. While these actions brought on open hostilities against the city of Berdusk, they also attracted many folks to join the Harpers organization, swelling its ranks with new members.
In the Year of the Bridle, 1349 DR, Harper agents managed to put an end to the Rundeen's financial stranglehold over Chult. They disrupted the organization's major operations in Calimshan and killed three of their leaders.
They suffered tremendous loss a few decades later, however. In the Year of the Worm, 1356 DR, Syluné Silverhand―eldest of the Seven Sisters―and several Harpers were slain when a flight of dragons was called down upon Faerûn.[34] But her spirit persisted in the mortal world as one of the group's famed spectral harpists, and would appear when summoned to certain Harpers in times of peril.

Early Era of Upheaval

“Tis more important that the Shadowmasters have no benefit from what I've left undone than that the Harpers or Shandril―or Toril itself―gain strength by what we do.”
— Elminster the Sage.

In the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, the Avatar Crisis struck Faerûn when the gods above were forced to walk the Realms as mortals. Amidst the numerous conflicts and catastrophes, the Harpers fought to defend Shadowdale against the invading armies of the Zhentilar, particularly in the Battle of Swords Creek. Elminster and the spectral Syluné led a band of Harpers in a series of skirmishes against the Shadowmaster and his sect of the malaugrym. These events however led to many deaths among the ranks of the Harpers. The aftermath of the crisis saw the return of Finder Wyvernspur to the Realms and his subsequent rise to godhood. It also led to much disruption among the Zhentarim, which brought enough of a reprieve for the Harpers to replace their losses.
Over the following decade, the Harpers engaged the Zhentarim in skirmishes across Faerûn. They fought an open war against the Zhents in the Sunset Vale, and helped unite the Bedine people against Black Network agents in the oases of the Anauroch desert. A few years later, Harper agents were systematically tracked down and slain by an individual known as the "Harper Assassin". In time, the Harpers discovered the deaths were the work of a disgruntled sun Elf who had been working in league with the Zhentarim. Conflicts between the two groups broke out in cities across the Heartlands, from Iriaebor to Hluthvar and even Baldur's Gate.
While the Harpers remained engaged in conflict with nefarious groups, it was observed by some they had been failing in their role as lore-keepers for quite some time. In the Year of the Wave, 1364 DR, the disgruntled former Harper Iriador Wintermist―who subscribed to this belief―used a powerful magical instrument to curse the Harpers, altering the tales they told and ballads they sang. She focused her vengeance against the city of Waterdeep and its archmage, Khelben Arunsun. Fortunately for the storytellers and balladeers of Faerûn, her plot was foiled by Khelben and his Harper apprentice Danilo Thann. As misguided as it was, Iriador's message was received in earnest by the people of Waterdeep. Soon after these events they refounded the bardic college of New Olamn in the City of Splendors.
That same year the Harpers were forced to face off with the Cult of the Dragon yet again, in a series of engagements that culminated in a massive battle in the city of Elversult. They struck out against the cult a few years later, working to prevent the cult from establishing a dracolich as the monarch of the politically unstable nation of Chessenta.
With the downfall of Bane and the rise of Cyricism―and its subsequent entanglement with the Zhentarim―new foes developed evil plots to which the Harpers could not ignore. Harper agents acted against the followers of the Dark Sun as they sought after murderous artifacts on the Sword Coast, and chased down Cyric's chosen in order to bring him to justice.
In the Year of the Gauntlet, 1369 DR, the Harpers were able to put an end to a major threat that imperiled much of the North. Their members utilized powerful magic to destroy Hellgate Keep, and send back to the Hells nearly all the baatezu that remained within.

Harper Schism

The Harpers were not safe from strife, however. In the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, investigators discovered evidence that implicated Khelben in the theft of an artifact, the Scepter of the Sorcerer-Kings, which had then found its way into the hands of the Zhentarim. Khelben admitted to all of the charges set against him. Khelben and Laeral both left the Harpers, along with Alustriel, who felt she could not uphold her commitment to the group, as High Lady of the Silver Marches. and many of Khelben's closest friends and allies, founding their own group: the Moonstars.
The government of Waterdeep refused to help the Harpers of Twilight Hall prosecute Khelben, so the Harpers proceeded to ward their stores against Khelben and Laeral, while Khelben erected a ward that prevented any Harper from approaching Blackstaff Tower. Influenced by Bran Skorlsun, the Harpers of Twilight Hall went on a witch hunt to purge their ranks of perceived traitors while Storm's eastern branch tried to carry on with their business regardless of events in the west.
When the church of Bane reformed with the Zhentarim—following the wane of Cyricism and the return of Bane to godhood―the Harpers were once again targeted by agents of their longtime foes.
The Harpers were overwhelmed as a whole during the Wailing Years, a series of disasters that followed the Spellplague that wracked the Realms in the Year of Blue Fire, 1385 DR. Many Harpers died while others vanished. Those who survived were cut off from one another, so they focused solely on the perils that menaced their homes and neighbors. While the original organization was divided and its members scattered across the continent, the hope of returning the Harpers to their former glory didn't die.

Fourth Reformation

“Yet I very much doubt it will surprise any of you to learn that the Harpers did not, in fact, cease to exist. An extremely secretive, underground fellowship of some two dozen Harpers continued―as they do to this very day.”
— Oskrul Meddanthyr, 1479 DR.

One bastion of Harper strength remained, however: Moongleam Tower. As of the Year of the Empty Necropolis, 1419 DR, Eaerlraun Shadowlyn re-founded the group as the "Harpers of Luruar" to secretly counter the forces of returned Netheril, hoping to keep the Harper ideals alive. Following their example, other Harper cells formed throughout the Realms. Some of these groups were collectives that adopted the Harpers' name and traditional ideology, while others comprised former Harpers that had survived the collapse and had gone underground before returning to action. Notable among the latter were the "Harpers of Waterdeep" and Storm Silverhand's "Harpers of Cormyr and the Dales", which many felt were the spiritual successors of the original organization.
Several other groups who called themselves Harpers appeared in the following years. The "Harpers of Athkatla" worked against the Council of Five and other Amnian authorities, but although they claimed to share the ideals of the Harpers of old, they did not and merely claimed to in order to gain support. The "Harpers of Selgaunt" and the "Harpers of Ormpur" were also rebels who did not really cleave to Harper ideals.[250] These new Harpers brought with them enemies of their own, such as the Abolethic Sovereignty, Szass Tam's Thay, the Zhentarim, and the Warlock Knights of Vaasa.
At some point, Harpers seem to have acquired or stolen the horn of beckoning death that had been used by Szass Tam to turn much of the population of Thay into undead servants some years before—not unlike the false "spell of Undeath" story spread by Rundorl Moonsklan before the rise of the Harper King. They stored it within the vault of Korinn's Keep, far from the lich's reach.
By the Year of the Final Stand, 1475 DR, the "Harpers of Luruar" had managed to cripple the efforts of the Netherese in significant ways. Unfortunately, Eaerlraun was killed by shadovar assassins and the Harpers were forced to act in complete secrecy to prevent the loss of more members.
Within four years, the Harpers of Waterdeep were led by a Harper agent known as Aron "the Fisher" Vishter, who was actually a double agent working for the Zhentarim to undermine Harper operations. Although Tam Zawad and other Harpers were able to bring the Fisher to justice, he did great damage to the Harpers of Waterdeep. Even after seven years, Zawad was still dealing with corrupt Harpers within his Harper cell.
The Harpers of Neverwinter also suffered a devastating blow that same year. The group's leader Cymril was in the middle of aiding the Sons of Alagondar openly oppose the rule of Dagult Neverember. Cymril was slain when her group was ambushed by Mintarn Mercenaries. After the attack, it was revealed that she was also working for Neverember. After her treachery was revealed, the reputation of the Harpers of Neverwinter significantly tarnished for some time.
In the time of Mystra's Return, in the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR, Storm Silverhand began to revitalize the Harper organization in Cormyr. She sought out people from all walks of life: smiths, merchants, leather workers, and even those who worked in brothels. Her revitalizing actions were known and tolerated by the War Wizards of Cormyr. The Harpers prevented the assassination of King's Lord Lothan Durncaskyn who was sheltering Mirt's lady, Rensharra Ironstave. Since then, the Harpers became an active organization across the Realms again.

Second Sundering Era

In the years following the Second Sundering—which occurred over the course of the 1480s DR―the Harpers bolstered their numbers, recovered their resources, and once again embarked upon secret missions to better the Realms.[255] The network of spies and adventurers held no leadership as before, but remained scattered across the breadth of Faerûn. They focused their efforts on their long-standing mission to oppose tyrants and other purveyors of injustice.
The Harpers in the Moonsea region began investigating a series of raids and kidnappings in Hillsfar and the surrounding farmlands. They successfully helped foment rebellion in the city, to overthrow its cunning First Lord, Torin Nomerthal. Meanwhile, in Hillsfar, they became aware of strange happenings in the Underdark. They helped forge an alliance between the people of Hillsfar and the drow of Szith Morcane to meet the emergent danger of Graz'zt and other prominent demon lords, all appearing on Toril at once.

Down with tyranny. Fairness and equality for all.

Founding Date

324 DR

Type

Information Network

Alternative Names

Those who Harp

Demonym

Harpers

Leader Title

High Harpers

Location

Faerûn

Related Ranks & Titles

• High Harpers

Notable Members

• Krowen Valharrow
• Leosin Erlanthar
• Nesim Waladra
• Remallia Haventree
• Thwip Ironbottom