Harl Timbers
Harl Timbers
 | |
| Level | 5 |
| Race | Road Halfling |
| Class | Grave Cleric 1/Theurgy Wizard 4 |
| Armor | scare armor |
| Weapon(s) | quarterstaff |
| Hometown | ? |
Appearance
Sister Sergeant Harlequinade "Harl" Pembroke Timbers
Background
Early Life
Harl's mother is a first cousin to Ma Sparrow and their families interacted several times in childhood. Harl's great-grandfather was Erky Timbers who used his history with Hadriarch Edi to grant his son Eddard Timbers a position in the newly restored cathedral and University of Wydmoor. Eddard eventually went on to become dean of School of Divinity at the University from ?-? and is still renowned as an important scholar and theologian.
Raised by sincere and well-meaning healer itinerant priests of the White Hand halfling religious caravans, occasionally in a state of extreme poverty, Harl at an early age showed a skill in magic but never had the natural charisma her parents had. Despite her name which was based on her ready laughter as an infant, as she aged she tended to dourness and was always more focused on books than people. Her parents wanted her to follow her the family history of education and ordainment through through the Wydmoor cathedral but she was the only one of her siblings to go elsewhere and instead chose the Odessan military in order to learn magic faster while still technically following a clerical path.
Odessan Military Career
After several years of successful deployments mostly against small bands of servitors, pirates, or bandits she had advanced to the rank of Sister Sergeant in direct command of 6 battle clerics providing magical healing as well as artillery capabilities for her company until in 15?? they were entirely slaughtered by an undead mob led by an evil necromancer who had remained hidden from scrying. The engagement was expected to be a small simple zombie outbreak to destroy but it proved to be much worse after the Necromancer was revealed and quickly eliminated the entire company in short order. Harl awakened to being caged and surrounded by full Doom-style gore summoning gates. The Necromancer turned out to be some vague acquaintance known as a simple local hedge magician and healer. Harl was the only survivor of her troop and was kept alive only in order to be coerced into aiding the necromancer in some foul ritual summoning of a horrible bone demon which rips through the gate made of flesh before turning into a normal-looking vulture and flying away while laughing. The necromancer in a state of insane ecstasy at having completed the ritual with Harl's help releases Harl, thanking her profusely. Amidst minutes of ranting and raving about "holes in the veil" and "opening the doors for them. they can all come back!" Harl literally stabs the necromancer in the back then flees the scene having lost religious faith/realized some key fact about divine magic and the veil/saw some fucking awful horror summoned from piles of corpses/etc.
Current Life
Harl chose to desert and let her superiors assume she was KIA along with the others. Plenty of her blood was soaking the scene and she left her bloody uniform and armor behind. She took the necromancer's spellbook and papers as well as an apparent amulet of non-detection (which shortly afterwards ceased to function) from the corpse, cut her hair and fled but kept studying magic as well as she can afford. The last couple of years Harl has made a living providing light magic support and working protection/guard details with small caravans while avoiding Odessa and Wydmoor. In general she does not admit to being a cleric and avoids healing, but will do so to save lives. She tends to swing between either strict military schedule and discipline or else heavy drinking and insomnia. Does not react well to seeing gore or vultures.
Hooks
Could meet party in any halfling gathering area of cities or caravan group on the road. would be interesting in traveling to make money to further scroll purchases or if party was involved with nature of magic or planar stuff. Would be wary of warlocks or other non-arcane magicians.
SPOILER Harl Timbers' Character Sheet SPOILER