Sharwyn

Sharwyn is a female human bard originally from the city of Neverwinter. She has a relatively neutral outlook on the world and is fascinated with music and stories. She is available as a henchman in Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark.

It is discovered, through her henchman mini-quest in Chapter 1, that Sharwyn was the daughter of a widow who squandered her father's fortune due to her love of the wealthy lifestyle. Sharwyn's mother attempts to set her up to seduce her way into a lord's bed, but Sharwyn instead falls in love with a poor bard at a party for the lord. After some time of being the bard's secret lover, they are discovered and forced to flee. Sharwyn has seen her mother since then but is hated by her for having abandoned her. However, as her mother is yet on her deathbed, Sharwyn feels the need to cure her. Giving Sharwyn the Celestial Elixir completes the Chapter 1 mini-quest.

Chapter 2 tells the story of Sharwyn and her bard lover after fleeing the lord. They traveled the countryside for many years before being summoned to the castle of a famous king and queen. While the king is a portly man who cares nothing for music, the queen is a beautiful young woman who takes a shine to the bard. As they continue to perform, and eventually move into the castle, Sharwyn begins to suspect that her lover is having an affair with the queen, especially once he begins to be summoned for private shows. Eventually, Sharwyn's suspicions are confirmed, and she runs away. To this day, her lover continues to live in the company of the queen, but Sharwyn has since discovered the reason for his infidelity was a magic spell cast by the queen to make herself look young: in reality, she is old and rather fat. By giving Sharwyn the item that can break the spell, she vows to free her lover and expose the queen (although she admits that she is over the bard, and no longer cares for him—her vendetta against the queen is merely for vengeance).

In Chapter 3, Sharwyn seeks a tale to tell. She attempts, unsuccessfully, to tell the player of the stories of the Neverwinter hero (i.e., the player), and of Aribeth's betrayal. Eventually, Sharwyn tells the story of an elven man who lived a good life with his wife and children, but felt it lacked something. He left on a quest to find the goddess of love. Upon finding her, he beseeched her to tell him the meaning of love. She agreed to tell him if he could find her three bounties. It took the elf many centuries to accomplish the task, and when he finished, he was told his family had died of a disease in his absence. The elf wailed in sorrow for his family, his cries becoming a song dedicated to love. The goddess of love descended and lifted him to Arvandor to join his wife and children in eternity. The item that Sharwyn can be given here is the actual transcript of the elf's song.

Throughout the game, it is possible to flirt with Sharwyn if the player is a male character. The journal entry "Henchman" actually refers to her as "a beautiful bard." When Sharwyn speaks of the beauty of the queen her lover left her for, players can respond with "well, you aren't exactly a hobgoblin yourself." Giving her the transcript in Chapter 3 has her refer to you as a friend, after which you can admit that you wish to be more than that. Finally, if players take Sharwyn with them in Chapter 4, in the passages of the Source Stone, Sharywn asks the player if they have any regrets. One possible response is "We've never kissed. Does that count?" While Sharwyn does not kiss the player, she says that, considering their deaths are probably around the corner, she could probably be talked into it. Exactly how often, and how successful the attempts to flirt, are vary on the player's charisma.