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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  02:23:09  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote  Delete Topic
Is there an official family tree for the Harpell Family floating around anywhere? I tried a web search, and found that Krashos and Boyd had discussed putting one together on Realms-L back in 2004. I couldn't find where anything came of it, but they pointed to a couple of Harpell references in official lore. I also found some more by looking through the FR Timeline. This is what I have:

Shardra, c. 1042 -- Founder of Longsaddle. (Timeline.)
Authrar, c. 1131 -- Grandson of Shardra. (Timeline.)
Darnathal, c. 1245 -- Slew Ordrar Talonmist of Westbridge. (Timeline.)
Arathur, c. ? -- Temporarily had possession of Orjalun's Arbatel in Longsaddle. Slain by Marune. (PftM, p.88)
Usk, c. 133? -- Temporarily had possession of the sword "Susk" in Longsaddle, but was slain the same night. Described as a "local bully."

Anymore Harpells out there? If there's no official family tree already, any speculation on how it should be fleshed out?

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Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php

Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  03:26:10  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Malchor (NG male Illuskan human wizard 20/archmage 5, CoS:Waterdeep) -- Member of Tel Teukiira

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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Lady Fellshot
Senior Scribe

USA
379 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  03:48:24  Show Profile  Visit Lady Fellshot's Homepage Send Lady Fellshot a Private Message  Reply with Quote
There's Harkel Harpell and Bidderdoo Harpell too
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High

Australia
31701 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  04:13:15  Show Profile Send The Sage a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed's shared some tidbits on the Harpells in his both his '05 and '06 scrolls.

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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  18:08:13  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ErskineF

Anymore Harpells out there? If there's no official family tree already, any speculation on how it should be fleshed out?

The following is a list of Harpell characters who have been featured in the works of R.A. Salvatore. Their precise genealogical connections remain mysterious.

  • Regweld Harpell - surly portly hybrid animal breeder (Streams of Silver, P2:C8); now deceased (Siege of Darkness, P5:C27)


  • Harkle Harpell - genial principal representative of the Ivy Mansion and all-around buffoon (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Chardin Harpell - the enchanter of the stream and confused gazer of the Under-/Overbridge (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Unnamed female stable attendant (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Unnamed male barkeep at the Fuzzy Quarterstaff (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Unnamed male musical composer at the Fuzzy Quarterstaff (SOSi, P2:C8);
    later named Harghondrahn Harpell (<The Hooded One's first post on 23-MAR-2006>, "Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006)")


  • DelRoy Harpell - the eldest (SOSi, P2:C8); now deceased (<THO's post on 07-OCT-2006>, "Questions for Ed Greenwood (2006)")


  • Matherly Harpell - the wizard-turned-statue (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Bidderdoo Harpell - the wizard-turned-dog; Harkle's second cousin (SOSi, P2:C8); beginning transformation back to human (SOD, P3:C13); silver werewolf (SOD, P5:C27)


  • Unnamed male invisible-wall-&-ladder workman (SOSi, P2:C8)


  • Malchor Harpell - resident of the Tower of Twilight (The Halfling's Gem, P1:C1)


  • Bella don DelRoy Harpell - daughter of DelRoy (SOD, P3:C13)


EDIT, 30-DEC-2008: Added "deceased" note to Regweld's entry.

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">

Edited by - BEAST on 30 Dec 2008 15:35:17
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 29 Dec 2008 :  21:24:42  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Thanks, Beast.

A lot of nuts in that tree. *sigh* I've been working on a customization of Longsaddle that eliminates the (imo) silliness of the place. I guess I might as well prune the family tree while I'm at it.

--
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2008 :  15:37:55  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ErskineF

Thanks, Beast.

A lot of nuts in that tree.

YW.

And aye.

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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Ashe Ravenheart
Great Reader

USA
3240 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2008 :  16:24:44  Show Profile Send Ashe Ravenheart a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ErskineF

Thanks, Beast.

A lot of nuts in that tree. *sigh* I've been working on a customization of Longsaddle that eliminates the (imo) silliness of the place. I guess I might as well prune the family tree while I'm at it.



But if you eliminate the 'silliness', then it just becomes one more hamlet on the travels north.

With the silliness, you have creatures and bandits avoiding the town for a hundred miles simple on superstition that magic will warp and turn them into something unnatural based solely on the Harpell's reputation. I mean, in The Pirate King, it's noted that the Harpells are now responsible for introducing the Vorpal Bunny to the Realms. A bunny that rips the heads off people? That would make sure that my characters would give the town and it's area a wide berth!

I actually DO know everything. I just have a very poor index of my knowledge.

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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2008 :  18:45:54  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Stay the Hells away from those Longsaddle speed traps. You never know what sort of sentence the judge might throw at ya...

<...like this...>

<...or even this!>

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 30 Dec 2008 :  19:20:35  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message  Reply with Quote
As Malchor was a player character in Ed's home campaign (created and named by Ed), he had a fragmentary family tree (plus a birthplace, Longsaddle [named, I believe, by player Victor Selby]) from his first moments. That family tree remains unpublished so Bob could have full freedom in his fiction, so I doubt you'll manage to cajole it out of Ed now.
love to all,
THO
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 31 Dec 2008 :  00:59:00  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Ashe Ravenheart

But if you eliminate the 'silliness', then it just becomes one more hamlet on the travels north.


a) that's not necessarily a bad thing.

b) the challenge when writing up a place is to make it interesting while staying within the limits of credulity. IMO, the interest should come from the interrelationships and intrigues of the NPCs.

The official Longsaddle is a great place for comic relief, but I think its usefulness in that capacity is very limited.


quote:
With the silliness, you have creatures and bandits avoiding the town for a hundred miles simple on superstition that magic will warp and turn them into something unnatural based solely on the Harpell's reputation. I mean, in The Pirate King, it's noted that the Harpells are now responsible for introducing the Vorpal Bunny to the Realms. A bunny that rips the heads off people? That would make sure that my characters would give the town and it's area a wide berth!




I deal with the stories about the Harpells as rumors begun by the local inhabitants who find it amusing to pull the legs of passing travelers. I'm afraid the vorpal bunny would be a deal-killer. The locals would lose their audience if they tried out such a story. The backwards flowing stream is nothing to it. :)

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Erskine Fincher
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Faraer
Great Reader

3308 Posts

Posted - 31 Dec 2008 :  02:45:50  Show Profile  Visit Faraer's Homepage Send Faraer a Private Message  Reply with Quote
For me, the slapstick Harpells don't fit the Realms any more believably than Bob's other comic-relief characters do, and it beats me why he couldn't have made up his own wizard family rather than overwrite Ed's.
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 31 Dec 2008 :  03:52:32  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't have a problem with them in the books. What works in a novel doesn't necessarily work as campaign material though.

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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 04 Jan 2009 :  11:04:54  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Found another:
  • Ardanac Harpell (spelled "Adanac" on p.61) - the chief elder, a member of the Lord's Alliance (The Savage Frontier, "Cities, Towns, and Villages: "Longsaddle": p.30); Volo explains the name discrepancy by saying that Adanac was the father, and Ardanac is the current son (Volo's Guide to the North, "The Dessarin": "Longsaddle": p.53); however, as Harkle is now described as the family's de facto "patriarch", Ardanac may be deceased (The Pirate King, P1:C8)

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">

Edited by - BEAST on 04 Jan 2009 11:39:24
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ErskineF
Learned Scribe

USA
330 Posts

Posted - 05 Jan 2009 :  03:44:44  Show Profile  Visit ErskineF's Homepage Send ErskineF a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by BEAST

Found another:
  • Ardanac Harpell (spelled "Adanac" on p.61) - the chief elder, a member of the Lord's Alliance (The Savage Frontier, "Cities, Towns, and Villages: "Longsaddle": p.30); Volo explains the name discrepancy by saying that Adanac was the father, and Ardanac is the current son (Volo's Guide to the North, "The Dessarin": "Longsaddle": p.53); however, as Harkle is now described as the family's de facto "patriarch", Ardanac may be deceased (The Pirate King, P1:C8)




Cool. Thanks for the additional info.


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Erskine Fincher
http://forgotten-realms.wandering-dwarf.com/index.php
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The Hooded One
Lady Herald of Realmslore

5056 Posts

Posted - 05 Jan 2009 :  19:50:05  Show Profile  Visit The Hooded One's Homepage Send The Hooded One a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Adanac's father was Feldraman, and Adanac's son was Ardanac. Both Adanac and Feldraman enjoyed very long lives (for Harpells).

Herewith, directly from Ed's updating-for-4e notes:

Ardanac died quite recently of a winter fever that also carried off the other "old bear" of the Harpells, Gathgaerig, leaving Gathgaerig's nephew Anharkle ("Harkle" to one and all) as the unofficial patriarch of the clan. ("Unofficial" because the younger generations don't go for the formal titles and powers that earlier generations tolerated . . . largely due to far too many nasty, needling, nosy and "disapproving of everything" Harpell aunts - - now largely and happily deceased.)


So saith Ed.
Whom I seem to remember from our 'home' Realmsplay had several "run far from Longsaddle" lone Harpells scattered across the Heartlands of the Realms and points south, as innkeepers or cooks.
love to all,
THO

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BEAST
Master of Realmslore

USA
1714 Posts

Posted - 06 Jan 2009 :  15:48:14  Show Profile  Visit BEAST's Homepage Send BEAST a Private Message  Reply with Quote
TY so much, THO.

And please let me say again that when I post my lists of info from RAS's novels with such lines as "first cited in", "first appearance", etc., I am in no way trying to undermine or claim undue credit for Bob. I am simply presenting my research based on his books because those are what I know best. But I simultaneously acknowledge that his stories were not the end-all, be-all, start-all of...well, it all. Just filling in some of the details from the perspective of a fan of one of the members of the team. Not trying to do anything more than that.

Once again, TY ED & THO.

"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)

<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works">
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader

USA
7106 Posts

Posted - 07 Jan 2009 :  01:46:25  Show Profile  Visit Rinonalyrna Fathomlin's Homepage Send Rinonalyrna Fathomlin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
"Anharkle"--I like that name.

"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
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BlackAce
Senior Scribe

United Kingdom
358 Posts

Posted - 16 Jan 2009 :  22:58:04  Show Profile Send BlackAce a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin

"Anharkle"--I like that name.



Some poor child is surely doomed.
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Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
Great Reader

USA
7106 Posts

Posted - 20 Jan 2009 :  02:12:26  Show Profile  Visit Rinonalyrna Fathomlin's Homepage Send Rinonalyrna Fathomlin a Private Message  Reply with Quote
I don't like it that much.

"Instead of asking why we sleep, it might make sense to ask why we wake. Perchance we live to dream. From that perspective, the sea of troubles we navigate in the workaday world might be the price we pay for admission to another night in the world of dreams."
--Richard Greene (letter to Time)
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Thmpr
Acolyte

USA
8 Posts

Posted - 02 Aug 2012 :  04:15:35  Show Profile  Visit Thmpr's Homepage Send Thmpr a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Tamar Harpell Wands [CG illuskan male wizard1] 3.5 City of Splendors pg 24

Edited by - Thmpr on 02 Aug 2012 04:16:27
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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 23 Dec 2019 :  10:56:51  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Auglyth Harpell (died in 1355 DR, The North: The Wilderness, p74, VGttN, p 216)

Authrar Harpell (defeated an orc horde, died long ago, The North: Cities, p11, VGttN, p 52)

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ericlboyd
Forgotten Realms Designer

USA
2065 Posts

Posted - 23 Dec 2019 :  19:09:26  Show Profile  Visit ericlboyd's Homepage Send ericlboyd a Private Message  Reply with Quote
Ed mentioned he thought Bob Salvatore had published a partial family tree of the Harpell Clan. Anyone know where?

Eric

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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
Moderator

USA
36779 Posts

Posted - 23 Dec 2019 :  20:37:02  Show Profile Send Wooly Rupert a Private Message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by ericlboyd

Ed mentioned he thought Bob Salvatore had published a partial family tree of the Harpell Clan. Anyone know where?

Eric



I would think it was in one of the early trilogies, but I've not read any of those books in a very long time.

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