Realms Personalities: Lirela Drumsinger, Master Harper

Realms Personalities

07/02/2003

Lirela Drumsinger, Master Harper
By Skip Williams and Ed Greenwood

Lirela comes from a merchant family of some standing in the city of Procampur, in the Vast. Her parents operated a coster that moved goods from the Moonsea port of Mulmaster south by road into the Vast and thence by ship to many ports on the Sea of Fallen Stars. Lirela showed a talent for music at an early age and was the apple of her father's eye.

Shortly after her 12th birthday, she accompanied her father and several older siblings on a buying trip to Mulmaster. Lirela was delighted to travel at her father's side and found herself fascinated by the wandering bards her group met on the road. Lirela's joy, however, was soon cut short. On the return trip, little more than a day from Mulmaster, a swarm of bandits led by a powerful wizard attacked Lirela's caravan. The caravan's guards were cut down or slain by magic within moments, and Lirela was forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on her back and one small drum (a birthday gift from her father) clutched in one hand. Lirela turned out to be the caravan's sole survivor. Cold, hungry, and frightened, she made her way back to Mulmaster to seek help from her father's business partners. Alas, Mulmaster can be a cruel place, and there was no succor there for a fatherless, penniless girl.

Though born to a fairly comfortable life, Lirela was no softie, and she soon learned to sing for her supper. Even in stony-hearted Mulmaster, music is appreciated. Before long, Lirela traded her talents as an entertainer and able young girl to secure passage for herself on a caravan bound for Procampur. The trip proved long and difficult, but at last she was home. Once again, Lirela was in for a big disappointment. In her absence, all her surviving family had been slain by business rivals from Mulmaster. Lirela eventually learned that her parents had offended some very powerful individuals, including at least one Cloak of Mulmaster, by refusing to deal with them on terms that would have been unfair to themselves and to other merchants in Procampur. The Mulmaster merchants decided to make an example of Lirela's whole family.

Left with few other options, Lirela embraced the bardic profession and took to the road, wandering over most of the Vast and much of the eastern half of the Moonsea, always on the lookout for a chance to confront her family's killers. In time, Lirela tracked down the ringleaders and returned them to Procampur for trial. Some inner sense of justice kept her from seeking revenge. Her efforts -- and especially her passion for justice in the face of so much personal tragedy -- earned her the respect of the Harpers, who had quietly assisted in her personal quest. After her Mulmaster business was concluded, Lirela was unsure what to do with her life, and that's when the Harpers introduced themselves and offered her a place in their ranks. Lirela has since played a role in several Harper ventures, most of them aimed at defeating the clandestine activities of evil spellcasters.

Lirela doesn't look much like a hero. The lean times of her youth, coupled with years of wandering through the country and wilderness, has left her skin wrinkled and leathery. After knowing what true hunger is like, she never spares herself good food, and she has become downright portly. Years of singing in smoke-filled inns and windswept campsites have roughened her voice. Lirela is only 32, but she looks and sounds 20 years older. When on a mission, she can easily pass as an old washerwoman, goodwife, or grandmother. She's a skillful musician, however, and her singing voice has a rich and pleasant texture that consists of pure notes sung from the heart.

[Note: This article uses D&D version 3.0.]

Lirela Drumsinger: Female human Bard 9/Master Harper 4; CR 13; Medium-size humanoid; HD 9d6+9 plus 4d6+4; hp 58; Init +5; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 15; Atk +11/+6 melee (1d6/18-20, +1 icy burst rapier), or +11 ranged (1d8/19-20, masterwork light crossbow); SQ bardic knowledge +11, bardic music (countersong, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire courage, inspire greatness, suggestion) 10/day, craft Harper item, Eldath's landtouch, Harper knowledge +15, Harper secret, Mielikki's truth; AL NG; SV Fort +6, Ref +12, Will +13; Str 8, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 20.

Skills and Feats: Balance +3, Bluff +17, Diplomacy +17, Disguise +17, Escape Artist +13, Hide +9, Intimidate +7, Jump +1, Knowledge (local) +14, Listen +7, Perform +21, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +12, Spot +2, Tumble +7; Alertness, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Luck of Heroes**, Weapon Finesse (rapier).

Bardic Knowledge: Lirela may make a bardic knowledge check with a +11 bonus to see whether she knows some relevant information about local notable people, legendary items, or noteworthy places.

Bardic Music: Lirela can use her song or poetics to produce magical effects on those around her.

Countersong (Su): Lirela can counter magical effects that depend on sound by making a Perform check for each round of countersong. Any creature within 30 feet of her who is affected by a sonic or language-dependent magical attack may use the Lirela's Perform check result in place of his or her saving throw if desired. Countersong lasts for 10 rounds.

Fascinate (Sp): Lirela can cause a single creature within 90 feer that can see and hear her to become fascinated with her. Lirela's Perform check result is the DC for the opponent's Will save. Any obvious threat breaks the effect. Fascination lasts for 9 rounds.

Inspire Competence (Su):An ally within 30 feet who can see and hear Lirela gets a +2 competence bonus on skill checks with a particular skill for as long as he can hear the music.

Inspire Courage (Su): Each ally who can hear Lirela receives a +2 morale bonus on saves against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls The effect lasts for 5 rounds after the ally can no longer hear her.

Inspire Greatness (Su): After hearing Lirela sing for a full round, a creature within 30 feet gains +2 Hit Dice (d10s that grant temporary hit points), a +2 competence bonus on attacks, and a +1 competence bonus on Fortitude saves. The effect lasts until 5 rounds after the creature can no longer hear her.

Suggestion (Sp): Lirela can make a suggestion (as the spell) to a creature she has already fascinated. A successful Will save (DC 18) negates the effect.

Craft Harper Item (Ex): Lirela has the limited ability to create magic items. The ability works like the Craft Wondrous Item feat, except that it allows Lirela to create magic musical instruments, Harper pins, and certain potions (Charisma, cure light wounds, delay poison, detect thoughts, gaseous form, glibness, neutralize poison, nondetection, speak with animals, tongues, truth, vision, and water breathing). This ability replaces the need for any other item creation feat for these items, but all other normal requirements and rules apply. Lirela's caster level for such items is her spellcaster level at the time she crafts the item.

Eldath's Landtouch (Su): Lirela can sense the direction and approximate distance of the nearest drinking water, cave connected to the surface world, or Harper refuge. Each of these three things can be sought once per day. Lirela senses anything amiss (for example, the water is tainted, the cave is unsafe or occupied, or the refuge is damaged, occupied, trapped, or watched over by hostile beings).

Harper Secret (Ex): Lirela has chosen an extra daily use of bardic music as her first Harper secret.

Mielikki's Truth (Su): Lirela can correctly identify trees, shrubs, and herbs by their leaves, and forest creatures by sight or by their spoor (tracks, and so on). If the creature, leaf, or plant is or was magically disguised, altered, summoned, or created, this is revealed -- together with some impression of when and where this was done. This ability has a range of 60 feet, or the limit of Lirela's sight (whichever is less). Lirela must use a standard action to study her subject.

Bard Spells Known (3/5/4/4/3/1; save DC 15 + spell level): 0 -- detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, read magic; 1st -- cure light wounds, herald's call*, hypnotism, magic weapon; 2nd -- cat's grace, detect thoughts, nightmare lullaby*, sound burst; 3rd -- clairaudience/clairvoyance, dispel magic, displacement, wounding whispers*; 4th -- dimension door, hold monster, improved invisibility, shout; 5th -- contact other plane, summon monster V.

*Spell from Magic of Faerûn.

**Feat from Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.

Possessions:+1 icy burst rapier, 2 daggers, masterwork light crossbow, 20 bolts, potions of Charisma (2), potion of tongues, wand of see invisibility (26 charges), +2 amulet of natural armor, +3 bracers of armor, disguise kit, masterwork mandolin, snare drum, 2 drumsticks, 2 smokesticks, tanglefoot bag.

About the Author

Skip Williams has been active in the game industry since 1974, when he took up wargaming and roleplaying in high school. He soon got an after-school job at TSR, Inc., the original publisher of the D&D game, and the rest (as they say) is history. Skip is the co-author of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book. He is currently a freelance game designer.