Mintiper Moonsilver was a bard and adventurer of the North, as well as a member of the Harpers, in the mid-to-late 14th century DR.[5] His works were collected in Silverymoon and compiled into Mintiper's Chapbook.[1][7]
Description[]
Mintiper stood tall at 6 feet and 2 inches (1.9 meters),[3][5] but was noted to weigh only 142 pounds (64.4 kilograms).[5][note 3] His eyes were blue,[3][5][4] and often belied his mood, darkening when the Lonely Harpist grew angry or growing bright when excited.[4] He had black hair[3] and a distinctive burn mark lay on the back of his right hand,[4] while his left shoulder bore Alyniria's silver lip impression.[9] He carried with him spare boots, and nondescript clothing in earthy tones.[5]
Personality[]
After Moonlight's Triumph, Mintiper became increasingly embittered at the losses he suffered of people he cared about.[9] But Flamatanda Snowbow showed him a better way to live through her calm outlook on life.[10]
Later losing all fear of death after Noura's passing, Mintiper had a well-earned reputation for acts of bravery. He was reportedly seen playing his harp in the midst of banshees, completely unperturbed by the danger they posed. He in fact had no fear of death and could sometimes be found casually strolling through dungeons.[4]
Possessions[]
Mintiper owned a set of leather armor, but typically did not wear it, instead preferring to rely on his magical bracers of defense for protection. He wielded a silver-bladed +2 bastard sword, alongside a pair of longswords and two throwing knives that he hid in his boots. He wore a greenstone amulet beneath his cloak of elvenkind, though these were not his only magical items. He also had in his possession a decanter of endless water, several healing potions,[3][1] and five scrolls containing the spells contingency, remove curse, stone to flesh, teleport, and wall of stone.[1] Despite this, the instruments he carried, those being a reed-flute, a lute, and a handharp, carried no dweomers upon them.[3][1] He often had a variety of coinage and gems on his person,[3] with the former tucked into in a belt pouch and a money belt, while the latter were hidden in the hollow heels of his boots.[5] It was also rumored that he wielded The Gray Book of Mysteries, a spellbook of no small amount of power, but had hidden it someplace, as opposed to carrying it on his person.[3][4]
Relationships[]
Few humans, elves, or half-elves would attack Mintiper, either out of respect or for fear of his prowess and rumors of as-yet-unseen magic at his disposal. Mintiper was a Harper and enjoyed a sterling reputation in that organization.[4]
He was a close friend and sometimes lover of Asilther Graelor[4] and held a great amount of respect for his musical mentor Flamatanda, claiming she could "make a harp sing".[10]
History[]
Thought to have been born circa 1320 DR,[5] Mintiper's childhood was a mystery to all. Mirt claimed that his father was a Waterdhavian while his mother (Mintiper himself said her name was Maralen[9]) was a moon elf from Ardeep Forest, though Mirt accepted that his claim could be wildly erroneous. Mintiper's sometime use of the surname Silverhand could also link him to the family of Dornal Silverhand, father of the Seven Sisters. Either way, he was out on his own, living solely on his skills, at a very young age.[5]
As a mercenary, he raided the ghoul-hold of Hellgate Keep and was the only one to return alive.[5]
Mintiper had been a member of several groups beforehand, but he first came to prominence at the head of his Moonlight Men in the Year of the Gate, 1341 DR. Over the course of two years, they proved to be an incredibly capable band of mercenaries, mostly protecting caravans in the Silver Marches,[11] but also gaining renown after looting the treasures of Luskan. Unfortunately, in the Battle of Turnstone Pass, all but Mintiper and five others of that group were slain at Turnstone Pass after defeating an orc force at least 4000-strong there that threatened Everlund.[9]
Immediately afterward, Mintiper ventured south into the High Forest, parting ways with his fellow survivors (although two died atop Turlangtor before they reached the forest boundary[2]) and traversing the wood's entire length by himself thanks to the help of a clan of forest gnomes who showed him the Misty Trail.[12] His next recorded encounter was with the Wood-Riders of Turlang, whom he joined in attacking both merchant and bandit alike in the plains north of Secomber. During this time, he encountered a group of adventurers led by a remarkable spellsinger named Alyniria. Mintiper rescued her from his fellows, enraptured by her beauty and bravery, but she was already dying from the wounds that she had suffered. With her remaining time, Alyniria taught Mintiper the ancient Runetongue and with the last of her life, marked his left shoulder with an indelible silver impression of her lips, which bestowed a permanent magical blessing.[9]
After laying Alyniria's body to rest in a secret grave, an embittered Mintiper headed to the Sword Coast, where he began a career as a thief. He excelled at this role and gained a reputation for daring. He slew the mage Iniarv the Manyhanded in his tower and stole his collection of two-hundred emerald lions. Mintiper briefly joined forces with the evil Morlaug before assassins working for Calimshan's satraps (many of whom he had robbed) forced him to flee for Skaug in a Calishite ship stolen from Port Kir.[9]
At Skaug, Mintiper joined the crew of the notorious pirate Kesmer Redeyed, known as the "Coast Wolf", until a storm dashed their ship. Mintiper escaped, allegedly by using a magical green gem given to him by his mother. The sole pirate survivor of the wreck however, described a conflagration that consumed the remains of the ship and its crew, leaving no trace of Mintiper.[9]
Arriving in the Purple Hills in Tethyr, Mintiper set up in Myratma, acting as a guide to adventurers in the ruins of the First Kingdom but quickly grew bored, deciding to head back toward the High Forest.[9] Along the way though, he was caught up in several skirmishes with Bedine warriors at the southeastern edge of Anauroch. Mintiper and his group, the Company of the Striking Hawk as well as the Company of the Blue Broadaxe, at the behest of Amnian merchant interests, engaged the desert nomads for nearly three months until their camp was found at the Battle of Bones and their leader, Khytor Moramu, was killed. Five men from the two groups survived that final desperate battle: three returned to Amn where they reported success at the loss of all others while Mintiper and another man, Tassoram, continued north toward the Fallen Lands with Khytor's three daughters, whom Tassoram had taken as captives. Tassoram and two of the women died on the journey but Mintiper and the last of Kytor's daughters made it to the Far Forest. After barely surviving a fight with an owlbear using only his dagger, Mintiper and the girl, Noura, were taken in by the druids of Tall Trees. It was here that Noura persuaded Mintiper to learn to play the harp and pipes. Already a gifted singer, Mintiper found that he preferred to play the harp and lute, singing ballads, and writing songs about his own life,[1] where he commonly wrote about himself using the pseudonym Lunargent.[2] Visiting bards were drawn to him, among them, Flamatanda Snowbow who made him her apprentice and introduced him to the Harpers, of which she was a veteran member.[10] Around five seasons later, Noura went insane and died a slow death despite Mintiper's best efforts to cure her.[4]
Mintiper became a wandering bard with a reputation for fearlessness and went on many more adventures as of 1367 DR, including destroying the Ghost of Berun's Hill.[4]
Appendix[]
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Notes[]
- ↑ Page 48 of Dragon #187 instead refers to Mintiper as a half-elf.
- ↑ Page 48 of Dragon #187 again differed slightly, making Mintiper a 12th-level bard instead.
- ↑ Yet another difference on page 48 of Dragon #187 lists him as being 182 pounds.
Background[]
The works of Mintiper's Chapbook are also presented as an out-of-universe collection of web articles of the same name.[13]
Appearances[]
Novels & Short Stories
Spellfire
Video Games
Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 64. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Eric L. Boyd (2001-08-29). Part 2: Tree of Wailing Souls. Mintiper's Chapbook. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Ed Greenwood (November 1992). “The Lonely Harpist and the Lady Rogue”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Dragon #187 (TSR, Inc.), p. 48.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 68. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 65. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eric L. Boyd (June 2005). City of Splendors: Waterdeep. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 76. ISBN 0-7869-3693-2.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (2001-08-29). Part 1: Moonlight's Triumph. Mintiper's Chapbook. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (July 1988). Spellfire. (TSR, Inc.), chap. 16, p. 342. ISBN 0-88038-587-1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 66. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Ed Greenwood (September 1993). The Code of the Harpers. Edited by Mike Breault. (TSR, Inc.), p. 67. ISBN 1-56076-644-1.
- ↑ Tim Beach (1992). Gold & Glory. (TSR, Inc), p. 51. ISBN 1-56076-334-5.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (2001-08-29). Mintiper's Chapbook Part 6: Trail of Mists. Mintiper's Chapbook. Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved on 2010-08-03.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (2001-08-29). Part 1: Moonlight's Triumph. Mintiper's Chapbook. Wizards of the Coast.