Sylyra

Sylyra

Race: Firbolg, Class: Cleric of Eilistraee (Arcana) Background: Far Traveler, Alignment: Neutral Good Patron Deity: Eilistraee Factions: Harpers Rank 6 - Harpwright, Mentor, Brightcandle-in-Training, Promenade-in-Exile 1 • Age: 45 • DoB: 19th of Ches, 1446 (The Year of the Queen's Honor) Height: 8' 1" • Build: robust • Hair: Ankle-length Reddish Brown (Usually braided and up in a bun) • Skin: Robin Egg Blue • Eyes: Silvery-grey • Notable Features: Ruddy nose and ear tips, Long feathered eyebrows

Ability Scores

Strength 12 (+1), Dexterity 10 (-), Constitution 12 (+1); Intelligence 14 (+2), Wisdom 17 (+3), Charisma 10 (-)

Proficiencies

Bonus: +3 Saving Throws: Wisdom and Charisma Skills: Arcana (INT), Insight (WIS), Medicine (WIS), Perception (WIS), Performance (Sword Dancing/DEX) (CHA), Religion (INT) Tools: Harp, Woodcarver's Tools, Herbalism Kit, Flute Languages: Common, Alzhedo, Chondathan, Drowic, Espruar (Wild Elf Dialect), Jotun, Shaaran (Regional Common), and Sylvan Armor: Light, Medium, Shields Weapons: Simple, All Swords

Traits

Firbolg Magic, Hidden Step, Powerful Build, Speech of Beast and Leaf, Safe Haven, Spellcasting, Channel Divinity: Turn Undead, Channel Divinity: Arcane Abjuration, Arcane Initiate, Destroy Undead (CR 1/2), Arcane Banishment (CR 1/2).

Feats

Sword Dancer

Combat

Attacks: • Bastard Sword: +4, 2d4+1 (2d6+1) slashing, deadly, heavy • Greatsword: +4, 2d6+1 slashing, heavy Armor Class: 15/17, Initiative: +0/+2, Speed: 30 ft Hit Points: 39, Hit Dice: 5d8

Social

Personality Traits: • Comes across as aloof or shy. • Childlike excitement when experiencing a new magic or magic used for entertainment • Cares for her friends as if they were members the tribe she left behind. Ideals: • Eilistraee chose me to protect and promote magic among her people • Magic when used for good is wondrous. • Violence should only be used as a last resort, once you've committed to it you need to be prepared to see it through and face the consequences. • Those who's deeds harm the weave must be brought to swift justice. Bonds: • Elendar/Elerra - A Darksong Knight and my childhood friend and adult lover, from whom I learned that love isn't tied to gender. They still hold a place in my heart. • Melila - The Harper agent I was led to through visions, who traveled with me from Wealdath to Waterdeep, my sponsor into the Harpers and the one who taught me about the world outside of the forest. A lythari elf. Mentor figure and occasional lover. • Thalai Ogolakanu - A Goliath paladin who helped me get my bearings in Waterdeep. Friend, brother-like Flaws: • Often forgets to use people's names, referring to them by their deeds and actions instead. • Slightly xenophobic, not hostile but wary.

It's still magic even if you know how it's done. ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

Character Relevant Links

Harpers: Faction Info • Harpers of Waterdeep • Dusken Glade Cell
People & Places: Local Neighborhood • Dusken Glade Inn • Rivals • Promenade-in-Exile
Campaign Info: House Rules • Group Treasury

Background

          I was born on the day of balance during the third lunar cycle forty-five years ago, the 19th of Ches in the Year of the Queen's Honor (1446) by the Calendar of Harptos. I was born into a small clan of druids and forest caretakers who had made the Wealdath their home. Our clan consisted of only three firbolg families, including my own. My father was a druid who was respected by many of the other inhabitants of the Wealdath, and my mother was a skilled ranger who often traveled with the wild elves and lythari of the forest. I was the eldest of two daughters, my sister being about 10 years younger than me. One father from one of the other two families usually took care of the children of the tribe while the other adults went out to tend to the forest around us. He did not mind us wandering the forest as long as we remained near the stronghold or near one of the elven settlements.
          As a firbolg I was welcome in the camps and villages of the good natured elves in the forest, wild, silver, drow, and lythari. I made many friends with the children of all of them and could often be found playing games with them, however I was most enraptured by the dances of the beautiful drow ladies and spent a great deal of time in their settlement. Watching them was magic to me as a child, their flowing silver hair, their lithe movements, the flashing of silver weapons, the song and dance, the excitement. I longed to join them.
          Amongst the drow I met a young boy who was close to my age who I spent a great deal of time with, his name was Elendar. He told me that he hoped to one day join the Darksong Knights. He had lost his family when they had fled from Sloopdilmonpolop and had been rescued by pair of Darksong Knights and he idolized them. Not knowing who or what the Darksong Knights were, he told me about Eilistraee and her Dark Ladies and Darksong Knights. He taught me many things about the drow over the years as our friendship grew and eventually when we reached adolescence we became lovers.
          As we grew older I noticed some of my elven friends would begin to follow the paths of rangers or druids, some started focusing on their faith becoming priests of their deities. Some manifested raw magical talent while others studied and cultivated magical talent. I was happy for them all for finding their calling but sad at the same time. I yearned for the ability to perform feats of magic but no matter how much I tried, I only seemed to get headaches and tears for my efforts. When I spoke with my parents about it all they said is that a different path must lay before me and in time I would see it.
          I had continued to watch the drow dancers as I grew older, and eventually even joined in during the Circle of Song, The Sword Dance, and during one Love-Binding. The Dark Ladies always welcomed me and made me feel at home with them. Around the time most of my friends had found their path, I decided to dedicate myself to Eilistraee and became a Dark Maiden. I had decided that if I couldn't wield magic myself I would become a Sword Dancer and perform the small magics of ritual. Elendar had become a member of the Darksong Knights and renewed his vow to protect the drow settlement. It was shortly after I had become an acolyte that Elendar had asked to have the Changedance ritual performed and became Elerra for a period of time. It was a fun and exciting time of exploration for both of us. Since that time they have discovered that they are one of the Blessed of Corellon and no longer need the Changedance to switch from Elerra to Elendar.
          In the early spring of The Year of the Star Walker's Return something wonderous happened. During my evensong one night I saw the Dark Maiden atop a hill dancing to my song. No words can convey the beauty of her dance and the pure joy I felt. As my song ended she turned to me and I heard her voice in my head, "Sylyra, daughter of the forest and friend of my people, I have chosen you. My people here are safe and well protected by your love but I have need of you in the city of Waterdeep. My people there are embarking on a great undertaking and will need your support and knowledge of the Weave in the years to come. Soon one of Those Who Harp will visit the Wealdath on a mission from her masters, when she leaves you shall go with her to Waterdeep. Learn from here while she is here, and use the lessons she teaches you in my name." Then she was gone but I could still feel the touch of her divinity in me. I knew then that I could wield divine power in her name.
          I told both the priestesses and my parents of what had happened, the priestesses were slightly bewildered that I had been called but nonetheless were happy for me and told me that the lead Sword Dancer was also a cleric of Eilistraee and would help me with my newfound powers. My parents were happy for me finally finding a path of my own and told me that I knew a Harper who infrequently visited our home, Melila one of the lythari. They said that while the clan and the lythari knew of her allegiances, no one else was to know. A few weeks after my vision, Melila arrived in the Wealdath, accompanied by Frick.
          I approached her the first night of her stay and told her of my vision from Eilistraee. "Very well," she said "I will take you with me back to Waterdeep when I return. In the meantime, how do feel about joining the ranks of the Harpers?" The next several months were the busiest of my life, training with the Sword Dancers, getting instruction from Melila, and going out on missions with her and Frick. Most of the time we were quashing Rundeen slaver camps and some of the bandit camps in the Wealdath, sometimes we would help some of the local settlements of elves, and on one occasion we traveled with the lythari through one of their portals to help them against a fomorian in the Feywild who threatened their portals. Finally in the month of Hammer, Melila told Frick and I in order for us to be considered full members of the Harpers we needed to go on a mission ourselves with no help from her other than information. She told us that a group of Rundeen were conducting a business meeting with a faction of the Zhentarim outside the town of Mosstone, her informant had told her the Rundeen were selling the Zhentarim a group of genasi slaves and we were to disrupt the meeting and free the slaves. Melila's information was woefully incorrect, yes the Rundeen and Zhentarim were meeting for trade but there were no slaves involved. What was being sold was instead an artifact from an ancient Netheril city. We managed to trick the two factions into believing the other was going to betray them and they wound up fighting each other, giving us a chance to run in and grab the artifact without either side knowing. There might have been some explosions and stray magics, and Frick might have lost his hair for a little bit (I fixed it while we were returning to Waterdeeep). We brought the artifact back to Melila and reported what had transpired and she decided that it was probably time to wrap up our business and start heading back to Waterdeep.
          I said my goodbyes to my clan, my sister gifting me with a set of wooden utensils she had carved for me. I visited my friends amongst the wild and silver elves and the lythari, and finally went to the drow settlement that had been my second home in the forest. Elerra and I spent a final night together before she presented me with a silver mirror, with a carving of her mid sword dance upon the back. "I knew long before Eilistraee called you that you would eventually be leaving us, so I had this made for you. A way to remember me as the years pass." The next morning Melila, Frick and I set out north to Murann and from there up the Sword Coast to Waterdeep. Melila and I enjoyed each other's company during the trip, parting ways when she handed Frick and I over to Denabria Faez, briefing her on our exploits with her, before going off to report to a Master Harper with the artifact we had secured. Denabria took my report and then put me in touch with Ilutryl Slyrdril, who in turn arranged for me to stay with Fezelvinn & Zirisstra V'arenna, before having me meet with Leliana Vrinn and Darkflame Sanolu Fezeera. Since that time I have been trying to settle into this strange and new environment, as well as meeting the various members of our Harper cell, one of which is my dear lillebror Frick!

Traits

Spellcasting

• Maximum # of Prepared Spells: /8 cleric
• Spells per Day: Cantrips: 6(4 + 2 bonus wizard) • 1st: 4 • 2nd: 3 • 3rd: 2 • 4th: - • 5th: - • 6th: - • 7th: - • 8th: - • 9th: -
• Magic Ability: Wisdom (Cleric)
• Saving Throw DC: 13 • Spell Attack Mod: +5

Prepared Spells

Spells marked with one asterix (*) are Domain Spells; those marked with a cross (+) are rituals.

• Cantrips (4): Message*, Prestidigitation*
• 1st Level: Detect Magic*, Magic Missle*
• 2nd Level: Magic Weapon*, Nystul’s Magic Aura*
• 3rd Level: Dispel Magic*, Magic Circle*

Racial Traits

• Ability Score Increase Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.
• Languages You can speak, read, and write Common, Regional Common (Shaaran), Elvish (Espruar), and Giant (Jotun).
• Firbolg Magic You can cast detect magic and disguise self with this trait, using Wisdom as your spell casting ability for them. Once you cast either spell, you can't cast it again with this trait until you finish a short or long rest. When you use this version of disguise self, you can seem up to 3 feet shorter than normal, allowing you to more easily blend in with humans and elves.
• Hidden Step As a bonus action, you can magically tum invisible until the start of your next turn or until you attack, make a damage roll, or force someone to make a saving throw. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
• Powerful Build You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
• Speech of Beast and Leaf You have the ability to communicate in a limited manner with beasts and plants. They can understand the meaning of your words, though you have no special ability to understand them in return. You have advantage on all Charisma checks you make to influence them.

Class Traits

• Channel Divinity: Turn Undead
  • As an action, you present your holy symbol and speak a prayer censuring the undead. Each undead that can see or hear you within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
  • A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly move to a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can use only the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
• Channel Divinity: Destroy Undead
  • Starting at 5th level, when an undead fails its saving throw against your Turn Undead feature, the creature is instantly destroyed if its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold. (CR 1/2)

Specialty Traits

Eilistraee - Arcana Domain

• Arcane Initiate When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency in the Arcana skill, and you gain one cantrip of your choice from the wizard spell list. For you, these cantrips count as cleric cantrips.
• Bonus Proficiency When you choose this domain at 1st level, you gain proficiency with all swords.
• Channel Divinity: Arcane Abjuration
  • As an action, you present your holy symbol, and one celestial, elemental, fey, or fiend of your choice that is within 30 feet of you must make a Wisdom saving throw, provided that the creature can see or hear you. If the creature fails its saving throw, it is turned for 1 minute or until it takes any damage.
  • A turned creature must spend its turns trying to move as far away from you as it can, and it can’t willingly end its move in a space within 30 feet of you. It also can’t take reactions. For its action, it can only use the Dash action or try to escape from an effect that prevents it from moving. If there’s nowhere to move, the creature can use the Dodge action.
• 'Channel Divinity: Arcane Abjuration: Banishment
  • After you reach 5th level, when a creature fails its saving throw against your Arcane Abjuration feature, the creature is banished for 1 minute (as in the banishment spell, no concentration required) if it isn’t on its plane of origin and its challenge rating is at or below a certain threshold. (CR 1/2)

Background Traits

• Skill Proficiencies: Insight and Perception
• Languages: Chondathan
• Tool: Woodworker's Tools
• All Eyes on You:
  • Your accent, mannerisms, figures of speech, and perhaps even your appearance all mark you as foreign. Curious glances are directed your way wherever you go, which can be a nuisance, but you also gain the friendly interest of scholars and others intrigued by far-off lands, to say nothing of everyday folk who are eager to hear stories of your homeland.
  • You can parley this attention into access to people and places you might not otherwise have, for you and your traveling companions. Noble lords, scholars, and merchant princes, to name a few, might be interested in hearing about your distant homeland and people.

Faction Traits

• Song Training Gain Tool Proficiency: Harp
• Harper Pin Wrought by certain finesmiths and enchanted by Harper magicians, the Harper pin provides a number of benefits to the attuned wearer based on their standing within the Harpers as a faction. Pins manifest power based on their attunement to Harper bearers. An un-attuned pin is referred to as being dormant.
• Harpwright: Rank 3+. Harper finesmiths who focus on the creation of magical items for Harper agents and magic item caches. Each time a Wonderwright uses the Crafting an Item downtime activity to work for the Harpers, they are rewarded with either the schema for a magic item of the rarity they spent time creating, or the components necessary to create an item of that rarity. Upon taking this title, the Harper is immediately granted the schema for Harper's pins and one other magic item of Uncommon rarity.
• Mentor: Rank 5+. Mentors are those who have taken on the duty of training up new Harper agents by taking on an Apprentice Harper. They must spend one week of downtime per month tending to these responsibilities. In return, they are assigned a junior agent who aids them with their tasks.

Feats

Sword Dancer

You are trained in the sacred Sword Dance of the Eilistraean faith, a flowing dance with blade in hand that teaches the wielder a fighting style that relies on instinct and intuition.

• You gain proficiency with all swords, and may treat any sword that you can wield one-handed as a finesse weapon. You also have the moonfire cantrip prepared, even if you don't normally gain access to cantrips.

• When you are attacked by an enemy with a melee attack, you may spend your reaction to give yourself an AC bonus equal to your Proficiency bonus.

• When you have advantage on an attack with a sword, if both dice result in a number high enough to strike the target, that sword strike inflicts one higher die type in damage for that strike.

Resources

• Coins: 83 cp • 1506 sp • 0 ep • 320 gp • 10 pp • Other coins:
• Gems:

Magic Items

• Sentinel Shield Armor (shield), uncommon
  • While holding this shield, you have advantage on initiative rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks.
  • Guardian The item whispers warnings to its bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative if the bearer isn't incapacitated. (Common Magic Item effect)
• Harper Pin Wondrous Item, rare (attunement)
  • Wrought by certain finesmiths and enchanted by Harper magicians, the Harper pin provides a number of benefits to the attuned wearer based on their standing within the Harpers as a faction. Pins manifest power based on their attunement to Harper bearers. An un-attuned pin is referred to as being dormant.
  • Basic Abilities: No ranking. Harper pins, even those which are dormant, are themselves immune to divination magics. They never register as magical to spells or spell-like abilities.
  • Rank 1+ The Harper attuned to the pin may, as a bonus action and mere act of will requiring neither speech nor gesture, command the pin to change its shape into another piece of jewelry. It never appears to be worth more than 5gp, although this value can be for a piece that is obviously costume jewelry. If the wearer is in any way targeted by a dispel magic, even if the pin is not the target of that spell, it automatically reverts to its normal harp-and-moon shape.
  • Rank 3+ In addition to the above abilities, the pin functions as a ring of mind shielding, without the soul-retention property of that ring.

Magic Item Schema

• Access to Harper Schema
• Harper Pin - Wondrous Item, rare - 100 days, 2000gp, Magic Ingredients (CR 9-12)
• Gauntlets of Ogre Power - Wondrous Item, uncommon - 20 days, 200gp, Magic Ingredients (CR 4-8)

Equipment

Carried Equipment

• In Hand: Longsword, Sentinel Shield (+2 AC, Advantage on Initiative, +2 Bonus to Initiative, Holy Symbol)
• Worn: Half Plate (15 AC, +2 Dex Max, Disadvantage on stealth), Harper Pin (Rank 5)
• Belt:
• Backpack: Greatsword, Explorer's Pack (Includes a backpack, a bedroll, a mess kit, a tinderbox, 10 torches, 10 days of rations, and a waterskin. The pack also has 50 feet of hempen rope strapped to the side of it.), 2 flasks of holy water. Portable wooden set of utensils; cup, bowl, plate, knife, fork, and spoon. A mirror with a naked female drow holding a curved sword carved into the back.

Lifestyle

• Modest: (1 gp/day). Renting a room at A Cut Above Clothiers.

Downtime Actions

Downtime: 40/80 days

• Build Harper Connections: 10 days + 10gp. Success: +1 Investment. Complication? No.
• Build Harper Connections: 10 days + 10gp. Success: +1 Investment. Complication? No.
• Craft Magic Item: 20 days + 200gp. Created Eyes of the Eagle. Used Magical Ingredient (Banite griffon eye, CR 4) Complication? No.

Origin

• Wealdath

Important Individuals

Elendar/Elerra

Melila

Thalai Ogolakanu

• Elendar/Elerra: A Darksong Knight and my childhood friend and adult lover, from whom I learned that love isn't tied to gender. They still hold a place in my heart.
• Melila: The lythari Harper agent I was led to through visions. Her and Frick traveled with me from Wealdath to Waterdeep, and she was my sponsor into the Harpers and the one who taught me about the world outside of the forest. She is a mentor figure and an occasional lover to Sylyra.
• Thalai Ogolakanu: Thalai is a Goliath paladin of Mystra and a Mystic Fire Knight. As another giant-kin he understands what it's like to live in city designed for shorter races. They have developed a sibling-like relationship, Thalai sees Sylyra as a younger, naive sister.
• Frick: Lillebror (Lil-le-broor)

Other PCs

• Heinrich:
• Clarc:
• Psalm:
• Orion: