AT A GLANCE: Individuals of extreme
power and disposition tend to congregate
into similar forms. Those that have
a mind towards money form the basis
of the Merchant Companies. Those
which rely upon the force of arms and
war tend towards the Mercenary
Bands. Those special individuals who
have a flair for both, and a spirit of
adventure and desire to leave their
names in the history of the Forgotten
Realms form Adventuring Companies.
ELMINSTER'S NOTES: Bands of adventurers
are many in the Realms; tolerated
in most places, they have a long
tradition. Certain lands, such as Cormyr,
require such companies to have a
royal charter if they wish to operate
therein; other lands, such as Amn, forbid
adventurers as such within their
borders (so most adventurers often
acquire mercenary company regalia or
merchant gear and cargoes before
they
cross Amn's borders).
As with merchant companies, the
number of Adventuring Companies is
large and constantly changing. Such
groups are established, vanish, and
change names and locations constantly
with the passing winters.
A partial listing of Adventuring Companies
is included below, with inclusive
notes as to known levels and abilities.
The Company of the Wolf
No relation
to the long-ago mercenary company of
the same name, this small band of
adventurers operates out of Nesmè in
the Evermoors of the North. They are
expert woodsmen and trackers, and
know the North well, tangling often
with orcs and wild beasts of the woods.
They earn their daily thumbs (silver
coins) guiding and guarding merchant
caravans to and from the
Sword Coast
and points south and the relatively isolated
Northern cities of Silverymoon
and Sundabar. At least four among this
group are expert archers. Their leader
is unknown; their spokesman is the
aged witch Umlatha of Nesmè.
The Four
A highly mercenary adventuring
band, this quartet was recently
expelled from Waterdeep by Khelben
"Blackstaff" Arunsun, ordered not to
re-enter the city upon pain of death for
their work in assassinating one noble of
Waterdeep after another (despite the
fact such assassinations were always at
the behest of this or that rival noble).
Active throughout the North and in
Tethyr, the Four is not welcome in Cormyr
or, as all such groups, in Amn, and
maintains a low profile when passing
through those lands. The Four carefully
plan their activities so as to slay any possible
enemies or those who know too
much about them (such as former
employers), and are experts in the
unseen or "accidental" death. They are
all human males, and are:
One of the few wellknown
groups of non-human adventurers,
this party is made up entirely of
halflings, who have gained notoriety
throughout the Sea of Fallen Stars for
their adventures and their con-games.
All are more than willing to take advantage
of their abilities and the natural
gullibility and greed of the Large Folks
in a number of scams which have left
some human holding a gem-bag filled
with rocks (their signature). This group
more than any other, has contributed to
the idea of halflings as dangerously
clever individuals, despite their heroism,
usually in situations where they
have no other choice, such as the
removal of the beholder Xall from
the
Haunted Halls and the destruction of a
gate to the Lower Realms in Westgate.
Halfling Inc. has been known to use
humans and other races
as agents, and
to hook up with larger adventuring
companies. Those who encounter this
wily group of halflings should be
warned that they may be trusted only
as far as their interests lie alongside
those of the party.
There is a core group of five halflings
in the organization, though there are
often others who join up for a mission
or series of adventures.
A recently-formed band of
adventurers based in Selgaunt and
active in Cormyr, Sembia, the Dalelands,
and the Moonsea area, the Hunt has
grown rapidly from eight to fourteen
members, despite some early fatalities
suffered in a brutal fight in Archendale
with some local troops. The Hunt has
recently been active in the Myth Drannor
area; its aims and character remain
largely unknown, as it seldom deals
publicly for commissions and the like,
existing (thus far) almost exclusively on
the fruits of self-directed adventuring.
The Members of the Hunt are:
Mane's Band
Originally based in Shadowdale,
this group of ten (human male) adventurers
formed around the
charismatic local warrior-hero Mane, a
black-bearded man of middle years
who was justly famed in the eastern
Realms for his feats of arms while
adventuring. Over the years one member
deserted the group and two were
slain, until the band nearly met their
collective dooms in the Yuirwood,
where they were scattered after
encounters with many fearsome beasts
and the summoners of these monsters,
a Red Wizard of Thay.
Almost a year later, the band
reformed; Boots and Tamshan had
returned to the Dales in time to take
part in the defeat of Lashan of Scardale,
and the other band members gradually
joined them, Mane last of all, for he had
wandered afar in Thay and been briefly
enslaved there. Finding a new regime in
Shadowdale and the dale arming for
continual war with Zhentil Keep, Mane
and his companions (who had been law
and order in Shadowdale, in concert
with Elminster, Sylune, Storm
Silverhand, and the innkeeper Jhaele
Silvermane while there was no Lord of
the Dale) relocated to Hillsfar, where
they were briefly involved in the
intrigue of the Council before setting
off east past Mulmaster in search of
wilder country, and adventure. The
band is believed to be still wandering in
the wilderlands east of the Moonsea,
where Mane is contemplating establishing
a stronghold, and are still all very
active adventurers.
The present roster of the group is:
Mane, Superhero (F8), CN
The Men of the Basilisk An exclusive
group of wealthy, powerful merchants
with a taste for adventure, this reclusive
society is based in Teziir, south of
the Lake of Dragons. They operate
largely in the intrigues of Cormyr, Sembia,
Westgate, and Iriaebor, preferring
the dagger in the night to blades bared
in the high sun. They meet in large
feasts at least once each winter, to hear
common business and decide on their
actions in the summer ahead. Their
exact numbers and levels are unknown.
The Nine This powerful, long-lasting
band of adventurers wandered the
Realms for over thirty winters, and is
currently thought to be on other planes
than this. The Nine were said to have
maintained a subterranean stronghold
in the woods east of Waterdeep, on the
banks of the Unicorn Run, and were led
by the 24th level mage Laeral, who is
known for the magic items she has created
in her later career. The Nine had
links to the Harpers and to the Lords of
Waterdeep, but have not adventured
?in public? for many years. They are
considered very rich and need do only
what they please, and hence have largely
vanished from public memory, save
for Laeral herself.
The Purple Flame Based in a keep
somewhere near Soubar (on the Trade
Way from Scornubel to Waterdeep),
this large band of warriors has some
magic, which they employ only seldom,
but in the main earns their golden lions
(gold coins) guarding caravans in the
dangerous lands about their abode.
One Thintel Ormbar appears to be their
leader, although Sindel, his mate, is
thought to be a sorceress of solid
power. This group clashes often with
the creatures of Darkhold, and no love
is lost between the two sides.
The Savage Seven An adventuring
band active in the North against giants
and goblinkind, the Savage Seven have
undertaken many commissions to
assassinate this or that orc chieftain,
half-orc spy, or giant ruler on behalf of
interested parties in Waterdeep, or
rivals of their targets who send word to
that city; their agent therein is the
lantern-maker Zorth Ulmaril of Presper
Street. The Seven recently slew the
giant Tyrus of the Peaks near Mirabar;
before that they guarded a caravan to
Luskan from repeated raiding attacks
from bandits hired by a rival Luskan
merchant. The Savage Seven are all
human males, and are:
l Aumrazaum, 9th level magic-user,
CN
l Rhiitel, 7th level magic-user, NG
l Tlazar, 8th level cleric of Tempus,
CN
l Thiraphel, 7th level cleric of
Tymora, CG
l Thiirus, 8th level fighter, CN
l Dzilfar, 7th level fighter, CN
l Silvar, 7th level thief, CN
The Swords of Leilon Based in the small
coastal town of Leilon, on the High
Road north of Waterdeep, this ragtag
band of local toughs has done surprisingly
well in a brief career of adventuring,
plundering (and surviving) at least
six of the Mage-Tombs in the mountains
east of Leilon, slaughtering a colony of
lizard-men in the nearby Mere of Dead
Men (gaining some strange magical
treasure thereby), and doing some carav
a n g u a r d i n g f o r m e r c h a n t s i n
Neverwinter. Recently they lost some of
their members in a bloody fight with
mage-led hobgoblins in Ironford, and
are spoiling for revenge.
The Valiant Warriors One of the longlived
adventuring groups, this group
has had a large and ever-changing roster
over the years; based in Telflamm, it
has done much to establish traderoutes
and keep the wilder areas safe
for humans in the lands north and east
of the Inner Sea, as far as Rashemen?s
western borders and beyond Impiltur?s
northern borders into Damara. Along
the way, the Valiant Warriors have tangled
with many authorities in Impiltur
(where they are no longer at all welcome)
and with duergar in the mountains
to the west of that kingdom,
where they seized an entire underground
city of the evil dwarves by the
sword, looted it, and then left it empty.
The group is spoken well of in regards
to its heroic defense of a witch of Rashemen
whom the band encountered beset
by over forty ogres in the northen
wastes, and its daring boarding of a
pirate raider that had just left the harbour
of Telflamm loaded with loot. Followers
of Tymora to a man, the
Warriors truly live life dangerously, following
the reckless path or ?the Lady?s
Way.? The present roster of the group is
male; four females in the original group
retired over twenty winters ago to raise
children and become respectable ladies
of Telflamm, where they inhabit a
sprawling palace-keep that the Warriors
still use when they are in the city
(rarely, these days).
In recent years the Warriors have
lessened their wild ways slightly, using
some of their loot to found a fleet of
merchant vessels now plying the Inner
Sea, to earn themselves (and the retired
Warriors ladies, all of whom the entire
group calls ?Mother?) some honest
money. Of course, a few trips to the
Pirate Isles, to ensure the safety of their
cargoes, have been necessary...
The Warriors currently have 12
members, and are led by the 11th level
fighter Valahar ?Swordswinger? Tethojh.
The four retired ladies are
Raetheena, a 13th level magic-user,
21
Shaelreetar, 8th level fighter; Ulravva
Thorntar, 9th level thief-acrobat; and
Mairuu Lethsatha, 10th level fighter,
and mother of two, Rauvaun and Sund
by her husband Valahar.
GAMING INFORMATION: Most of the
?dungeon-parties? the player-characters
are involved in are Adventuring
Companies, whet her they are recognized
or not. Certain regions, such as
Cormyr, require the registration of
such parties, their symbols, and their
membership to authority. In many
cases, accounts for an Adventuring
Company may be established with merchants
and traders. Finally, if the group
has attained some measure of renown
(or notoriety), this may entitle them to
special treatment by those who curry
the favor of the powerful and seek their
help in other matters. For example, if
the ?Knights of The High Moors? are
known for tithing a large amount of
their treasure to the Temples of Gond,
temples of the same faith in other cities
will be well-disposed to members of
that band, even if they had only recently
joined.
Moreso than Merchant and Mercenary
Companies, each Adventuring
Company has its own methods of doing
things, and will vary with the area, the
situation, and the people involved. A
few common situations that all Adventuring
companies deal with are:
l Leadership: Many groups, such as
the Valiant Warriors and The
Hunt, have a set, stated leader,
who speaks for the group in negotiations,
and determines group
actions. Others are run entirely on
the idea of ?one-man one-vote,?
and some go as far as declaring
?one-level, one-vote? for making
major actions.
l Treasure: One of the key reasons
for adventuring companies in the
first place is to gain magical and
monetary treasures. The methods
of splitting such treasures up differ
from group to group, and
include random choice, choice by
level, equal shares, and allocation.
Some of the longer-lived groups
set aside moneys gained for
?emergency funds,? in case of sudden
death or disapearance of a
member. Groups may split up treasure
after each adventure, or
maintain a common fund for continuing
adventures.
l Codes of Conduct: Again, this will
vary according to the alignment of
the group, and may be decided by
deferring to a leader, seeking the
advice of a sage (a needless and
wasteful expenditure of time, says
Elminster), or a democratic vote.
Often the loudest voice or the
strongest swordarm prevails, but
such groups rarely last beyond
one or two winters.
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