Sharwyn

Sharwyn was a human bard originally from the city of Neverwinter in the mid–14 century DR.

Personality
She had a relatively neutral outlook on the world and was fascinated with music and stories.

History
Sharwyn was the daughter of a widow who squandered her father's fortune for her love of a wealthy lifestyle. Sharwyn's mother attempted to set her up to seduce her way into a lord's bed, but Sharwyn instead fell in love with a poor bard at a party for the lord. After some time in a secret love affair, they were discovered and forced to flee. Sharwyn did see her mother since then, but her mother hated her as she felt she'd abandoned her. However, as her mother later went to her deathbed, Sharwyn felt the need to cure her by seeking the celestial elixir.

Afterward, they traveled the countryside for many years before being summoned to the castle of a famous king and queen. While the king was a portly man who cared nothing for music, the queen was a beautiful young woman who took a shine to the bard. As they continued to perform, and eventually moved into the castle, Sharwyn began to suspect that her lover was having an affair with the queen, especially once he began to be summoned for private shows. Eventually, Sharwyn's suspicions were confirmed, and she ran away. Her lover continued to live in the company of the queen, but Sharwyn later discovered the reason for his infidelity was a magic spell cast by the queen to make herself look young; in reality, she was old and rather fat. Sharwyn vowed to free the bard and expose the queen, and for this she needed a lock of nymph's hair to break the spell. Nevertheless, she was over the bard, and no longer cared for him—her vendetta against the queen was solely for vengeance.

In the, Sharwyn was in Neverwinter during the outbreak of the Wailing Death plague. She might've met the Hero of Neverwinter and became involved in the subsequent investigation and conflict with Luskan. During this, Sharwyn sought a tale to tell. She would attempt, unsuccessfully, to tell the stories of the Hero of Neverwinter and of Aribeth de Tylmarande. Eventually, Sharwyn told the story of an elven man Tamorlyn 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 Tamorlyn 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. Sharwyn searched for the actual transcript of Tamorlyn's song.

Gameplay
Sharwyn is available as a henchman in Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark.

Throughout the game, it is possible to flirt with Sharwyn if the player is a male character. When Sharwyn speaks of the beauty of the queen her lover left her for, player can respond with "Well, you aren't exactly a hobgoblin yourself." Giving her the transcript in Chapter 3 has her refer to the player as a friend, after which the player can admit wishing to be more than that. Finally, if the player takes 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 depend on the player-character's Charisma.

Appearances

 * Neverwinter Nights
 * Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark