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Harper pin

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Harper pins, also called harp pins,[1] were enchanted brooches worn by members of the Harpers.[2][3][4][5][6] Two main types were known, lesser and greater;[4][5] the greater was often considered the standard Harper pin.[2][3]

Description[]

Both lesser and greater Harper pins were typically made of silver.[2][3][4][5] They displayed the Harper symbol called the Moon and Lyre,[7] a crescent moon and harp.[8][6] Circa 1479 DR, Harper pins were often appeared to be cheap, somewhat tarnished common brooches.[6]

Powers[]

Lesser Pins[]

The lesser Harper pin bestowed on the wearer the same abilities as a ring of mind shielding,[4] that is, shielding them from detect lies and detect thoughts, as well as any magical effect that would reveal their alignment.[9]

Greater Pins[]

A more heavily enchanted version, the standard or greater Harper pin provided the wearer with significant protection against specific hazards.[2][3][4][5]

First, it greatly aided the wearer in resisting charm and enchantment spells and similar psionics[2][3] or in other terms all mind-affecting magic and effects.[4][5] Moreover, it completely shielded against magical and psionic attempts to read the wearer's mind or their alignment,[2][3] granting the effect of an undetectable alignment spell.[4][5]

Next, it shielded the wearer from being scryed or detected by magical means,[2][3] effectively granting a permanent nondetection effect.[4][5] The wearer was simply "not there."[3] Similarly, the Harper pin itself could not be detected, though a locate object targeting another item in the wearer's possession would still function.[2][3]

Finally, it protected the wearer from all magic missiles and granted a permanent resist elements versus electricity.[2][3][4][5] It absorbed the energy into itself.[3]

The silver used in greater pins was magically treated to be everbright so would never tarnish[3] and to make it as hard as steel[4] or even adamantine.[3][5] Resistant to many effects, it could not be damaged by magical attacks.[2][3]

Anyone could wear a Harper pin, as they did not need attuning to their wearer[2] and were not made to be attuned to specific members.[3] However, if an evil creature should happen to wear a greater Harper pin, then some of them would turn black and produce loud and discordant jangling sounds, similar to a metal-stringed harp being played badly and even angrily. Naturally, this made it hard for the miscreant to sneak about. This continued until the villainous wearer removed it, after which it would quickly return to its normal hue.[2][4][5]

Late 1400s Pins[]

Harper Agent 4e

A Harper agent blatantly and proudly displaying where her loyalties lie in Neverwinter of 1479 DR.

Harper pins in use in Neverwinter circa 1479 DR carried one, two, or three blessings from the goddesses: Lliira, goddess of joy; Mielikki, goddess of rangers; and Tymora, goddess of luck. Beginner Harpers had access to one of their choice, experienced Harpers two, and veteran Harpers all three. These blessings protected the wearer from harm or aided them against a foe. Lliira bestowed joy and grace to help a Harper strike surely, lest they miss in an attack; Mielikki granted endurance to pain, so they could shrug off an injury; and Tymora gave luck to help them evade ill effects and magic. Furthermore, if injured, the wearer received a healing boon from their Harper pin.[6]

Special Pins[]

Some Harpers had pins with special powers. For example, Obslin Minstrelwish of Twilight Hall had one with the power of telekinesis, giving him the power to shift up to 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of materials.[10]

Related Powers[]

The reading of a Scroll of the Harpers would turn all Harper pins in range into real magical harps.[11] A Harper pin was also the only magic item left unaffected by the playing of Jolora's harp.[12]

Usage[]

Standard Harper pins were used by many senior members of the Harpers and by the Master Harpers, who, if they did not have one on their person, could readily acquire one.[2] Those Harpers who possessed Harper pins carried them everywhere, except when entering a situation where, if it was discovered, would give away their identify and threaten their mission. However, they would only wear them openly[13] when needing to be recognized by other Harpers,[6] when at Harper meetings,[13] or when in Harper bases.[14] Given the risk of Harper enemies finding them out, they usually kept their Harper pins hidden beneath their clothes or under their trims, inside gloves or sashes, or in special pouches inside their boots or bracers.[15] Nevertheless, some, like Mari Al'maren, would wear them openly and proudly on their collar when they could[16] and the Harper druid Galvin showed his even when wild shaped, with it appearing as a silvery crescent moon marking on his fur or feathers.[17] It was also not necessary to wear a Harper pin, particularly if the Harper in question had no true body, such as the firetail known as Flamedancer.[18]

“
See this? It means I'm one of the good guys. Secret mission. Hush-hush.
”
— "Stevie Nickelplate", aspiring bard and "Harper agent" flashing her Harper pin.[19]

In addition to their magical protections,[4][5] Harper pins could be used to prove one's affiliation with the order or to gain favor with their sympathizers.[20][21] They were practically a necessity for non-elves to enter Evereska.[22]

Furthermore, Harper pins functioned as keys that would bypass the magical wards of Harper caches and safehouses,[6] as strongholds and storehouses.[23][24]

Creation[]

Requiring quality craftsmanship and a high level of expertise in item enchantment,[2] fashioning a Harper pin called for training in the making of magic items and an array of spells, including nondetection, protection from elements, resistance, shield, and undetectable alignment, as well as detect evil and ghost sound (only required for those that turned black).[4][5] Notably, it was blessed by no less than three goddesses: Lliira, Mielikki, and Tymora.[6]

Creators were often specialized in such unique Harper items as these.[25] The smiths who crafted Harper pins worked in secret and only provided them to certain senior Harpers they knew well, not to anyone who came around seeking them. Circa 1367 DR, they were based in Deepingdale, Evereska, Everlund, Evermeet, High Horn, Lyrabar, Mintarn, Neverwinter, Shadowdale, Silverymoon, Starmantle, and Waterdeep.[3] One was Jhenna Iliathor, at the Leaves of Learning temple in Highmoon, Deepingdale.[25]

Availability[]

Harper Recruiter

A Harper recruiter bestowing pins on new members.

New members of the Harpers were granted a lesser Harper pin only after joining the order[4] and completing missions to the satisfaction of senior Harpers,[26][27] and finally being accepted as a true Harper.[28] A pin could never be asked for, only earned.[26] The one who gave them their pin was considered their sponsor, and was responsible for bringing them to justice should they go rogue.[28] Nevertheless, this could be a personal affair—Bran Skorlsun sponsored his daughter Arilyn Moonblade and gave her his own pin.[29] On occasion, a dying Harper had granted their pin and an unfinished quest to another, and that person could ultimately be accepted.[26] Merely bestowing one with a witness was enough to mark one as a fellow Harper, as when Finder Wyvernspur, a founding member of the Harpers, gave his Harper pin to Olive Ruskettle, the so-called first halfling bard.[30][31]

The market price for a lesser pin was 8,000 gp.[4] A standard or greater pin was valued at a base price of 75,750 gp,[5] and one that turned black was valued at 78,750 gp[5] to 79,000 gp.[4] Their rarity, value, and difficulty to acquire made them more expensive than the norm. However, anyone who attempted to sell a Harper pin would find themselves in serious trouble if a Harper learned of it, with capture and interrogation or even a swift attack in the offing. The Harpers hated for them to come into the possession of outsiders and enemies, who might use them for infiltration or sabotage. Nevertheless, collectors craved them for how hard they were to get a hold of.[14] Needless to say, Harpers made sure to recover Harper pins from the bodies of the fallen.[27] The simpler Harper pins of 1479 DR were valued at only 680 gp, but were no less treasured by their users.[6]

Reputation[]

Bearing great power and significance,[6] the Harper pin was the most important possession of a Harper. It was also the most famous to many people in Faerûn, who believed all Harpers had them.[1]

History[]

The first harp pins were crafted by Elminster and Khelben Arunsun in the first century after the Harpers' re-founding in the Year of the Wandering Wyvern, 1022 DR. Their pair appointed certain members as Master Harpers via dreams bestowed on them by Mystra then provided directions that led these Harpers to a cache of harp pins in Gochall's Tomb, which were arranged in a crescent atop the stone slab. Later dreams bade them to find skilled smiths and wizards to make more of them and that all true Harpers, and only true Harpers, should have them.[32]

The murderous Amril Zoar of Waterdeep somehow acquired numerous Harper pins on which he layered no end of enchantments to use as traps.[33] In the Year of the Harp, 1355 DR,[34] he slew Masked Lords Resengar[35] and Tamaeril Bladesemmer[36] in the same night, and left a Harper pin on Resengar.[33] This pin was later examined by Laeral Silverhand, who was nearly blown to bits by a trap laid on it.[37] In the same night, Amril used a gate to rush into the Yawning Portal but before he could attack Durnan he was fought back into the portal by Tamsil Dryndilstann and Mhaere Dryndilstann, dropped another trapped Harper pin before he left.[33] Afterwards, he was ambushed by Storm Silverhand, who used a special spell to teleport herself to any Harper pin that had been tampered with in Waterdeep. They were soon joined by Elminster, Piergeiron Paladinson, Asper, and Mirt, and they swiftly defeated and immobilized Amril Zoar, who confessed to his plan to slay the Lords of Waterdeep. Before they could kill him, Storm pleaded for them to have mercy on him as he was apparently worthy of becoming a Harper, and swore that she would kill him herself if he returned to his murderous ways.[38]

When the Moonstars split from the Harpers in the Year of the Tankard, 1370 DR, they stopped using their Harper pins and adopted Teukiir badges instead.[8]

Following the Spellplague of 1385 DR, the Harpers became legend, and it became popular for adventurous nobles of Waterdeep to don fake Harper pins. The situation became so bad that, by 1486 DR, High Harper Tam Zawad discouraged the wearing of Harper pins altogether among his agents, warning that if they were captured, then the pins would be easily discovered and stolen. Instead, it became increasingly common for Waterdhavian Harpers to wear magical tattoos instead, which could be concealed or displayed by uttering a secret phrase. Despite this, a few traditionalists still favored their pins.[39]

Korinn's Keep break-in

When Harpers go bad. Edgin wearing his old pin to break into Korinn's Keep.

In the mid-1490s DR,[note 1] the ex-Harper bard Edgin Darvis led his team of thieves to Korinn's Keep, a Harper stronghold filled with magic items seized from their villainous enemies. For this robbery, he donned his old Harper uniform, cloak, and Harper pin, which was needed to pass the magical ward and gain admittance to the building. It glowed as it did so.[23][24]

Appendix[]

Notes[]

  1. ↑ The Honor Among Thieves movie and its tie-ins are as yet undated. As discussed here, from the condition of Castle Never and Dagult Neverember's reign, this wiki estimates a date of the late 1490s DR for the main events of the movie. Prequels and flashback scenes are set up to 11 years before this.

See Also[]

Appearances[]

Adventures

Curse of the Azure Bonds

Novels & Short Stories

The Adversary • "The Bargain" • All Shadows Fled • Azure Bonds • Cloak of Shadows • Crypt of the Shadowking • The Dream Spheres • Elfshadow • Elfsong • Elminster in Hell • Honor Among Thieves: The Junior Novelization • The Howling Delve • Lesser Evils • The Lost Library of Cormanthyr • The Ring of Winter • Shadow's Witness • Spellstorm • Stormlight • Thornhold • Under Fallen Stars • The Veiled Dragon

Film & Television

Honor Among Thieves

Video Games

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

Organized Play & Licensed Adventures

Pool of Radiance Resurgent • Raiders of the Twilight Marsh • Rotting Roots • Unusual Opposition • The Vampire of Skullport

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 102. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Dale Donovan, Paul Culotta (August 1996). Heroes' Lorebook. (TSR, Inc), p. 140. ISBN 0-7869-0412-7.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 104. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy (August 2001). Magic of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 152, 153, 159–160. ISBN 0-7869-1964-7.
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 Jim Butler (October 2000). “Forgotten Realms 2000 Survival Kit”. In Erik Mona ed. Polyhedron #144 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 15.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Matt Sernett, Erik Scott de Bie, Ari Marmell (August 2011). Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Edited by Tanis O'Connor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 25. ISBN 0-7869-5814-6.
  7. ↑ Jeff Grubb and George MacDonald (April 1989). Curse of the Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 978-0880386067.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Elaine Cunningham (September 2005). “New Olamn Bard College”. In Erik Mona ed. Dragon #335 (Paizo Publishing, LLC), p. 26.
  9. ↑ Monte Cook, Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams (July 2003). Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 232. ISBN 0-7869-2889-1.
  10. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  11. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 105. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  12. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 112. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 11. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  15. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 118. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  16. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 53. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  17. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 56. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  18. ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 150. ISBN 978-0786906574.
  19. ↑ Jeff Grubb and George MacDonald (April 1989). Curse of the Azure Bonds. (TSR, Inc.), p. 51. ISBN 978-0880386067.
  20. ↑ John Terra (November 1997). Four from Cormyr. Edited by Kim Mohan. (TSR, Inc.), p. 50. ISBN 0-7869-0646-4.
  21. ↑ Christopher Perkins, James Haeck, James Introcaso, Adam Lee, Matthew Sernett (September 2018). Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Edited by Jeremy Crawford. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7869-6625-7.
  22. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 91. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley (2023). Honor Among Thieves. (Paramount Pictures).
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 David Lewman (February 28, 2023). Honor Among Thieves: The Junior Novelization. (Random House Worlds), chap. 3, pp. 23–25. ISBN 0593647955.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Eric L. Boyd (2002-05-29). The Leaves of Learning (Zipped PDF). Web Enhancement for Faiths and Pantheons. Wizards of the Coast. p. 8. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved on 2018-09-08.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 122. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Matt Sernett, Erik Scott de Bie, Ari Marmell (August 2011). Neverwinter Campaign Setting. Edited by Tanis O'Connor. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 24. ISBN 0-7869-5814-6.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 40. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  29. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 57, 60. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  30. ↑ Eric L. Boyd (September 1997). Powers & Pantheons. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 15. ISBN 978-0786906574.
  31. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 59. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  32. ↑ Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 26. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9, pp. 148–152. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  34. ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. Realmslore, p. 2. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  35. ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 9, p. 126. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  36. ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 7, pp. 115–120. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  37. ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 10, pp. 153–156. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  38. ↑ Ed Greenwood (August 2001). Elminster in Hell. (Wizards of the Coast), chap. 10, pp. 157–165. ISBN 0-7869-1875-6.
  39. ↑ Erin M. Evans (December 2013). “The Harpers of Waterdeep”. In Steve Winter ed. Dragon #430 (Wizards of the Coast), p. 38.
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