Harlan Deepcoin

History

Harlan Deepcoin was born to a modest family of merchants in Waterdeep’s North Ward — successful enough to live comfortably, but far from the marble halls of nobility. His father restored antiques and nautical instruments; his elven mother managed the ledgers and the clients.

He grew up in the back of their small restoration workshop, surrounded by maps, broken sextants, and the smell of polished brass. His parents expected him to inherit the business, not ignite it.

Then came the accident.

While cleaning an old brass compass salvaged from a shipwreck auction, a surge of wild energy erupted from his hands. The blast shattered the workshop and flung him through a window. The compass cracked down its center and began to glow faintly in rhythm with his pulse.

The incident terrified his parents. His father called it possession; his mother prayed for a cure. When healers and mages failed to “fix” him, shame replaced fear. They sent him away quietly — a small purse of gold, a letter of apology, and instructions never to return until he “was normal again.”

Background

As a Half-Elf, Harlan had always felt caught between worlds — too emotional for elves, too strange for humans. But after the compass, he found himself trapped between two others: the mundane and the magical.

“This untamed power was both a curse and a strange freedom. The incident shattered my family’s expectations, forcing me from my predictable life to adventure — not for glory, but to understand and control my powers, and to find a place where a half-elf sorcerer truly belongs.”

He joined his childhood friend Helven Torrigar, an ambitious young trader determined to open new routes between Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and Saltmarsh. The venture promised profit — and perhaps a path back to respectability.

Aboard The Crescent Star, Harlan noticed a cloaked figure shadowing Helven. He tried to follow, but collided with Torr Harrowfield, a ranger distracted by a dragon silhouette over the horizon. The strange man escaped, leaving only a faint sense of unease.

Associates

• Helven Torrigar: Late friend and business partner; ambitious and idealistic.
• The Deepcoin Family: Middle-class artisans; practical, not cruel. They disowned him out of fear of scandal, not hatred.
• Torr Harrowfield: Ranger met aboard The Crescent Star. Their accidental collision let the assassin escape.
• The Brass Compass: His cracked focus, faintly humming when emotions surge. Sometimes it feels alive — or aware.

Titles & Reputation

• The Compass Cursed — whispered by those who remember the blast that destroyed a workshop.

Traits & Beliefs

• View of Magic: “It’s like breathing — until it burns your lungs.”
• View of Wealth: “I lost everything once. I’ll never be poor again.”
• View of People: “Everyone’s selling something. Some of us just admit it.”
• View of Nobility: “Titles are armor for the weak. I still want one.”
• View of the Compass: “It’s broken — like me. Maybe that’s why it still works.”
• Ideal: Profit. Not as greed — as proof that I still matter.
• Bond: “The workshop where I learned my trade is the most important place in the world. I’ll rebuild it — or die trying.”
• Flaw: Greed and guilt blur together until he can’t tell which drives him.

Current Chapter

Now imprisoned in Hallow Gate Jail, accused of murdering his closest friend, Harlan dreams of the life he lost — and the wealth he still craves. Each night, when torches fade, the compass hums softly in the dark, as if trying to remember something he has forgotten.

He doesn’t yet know that others in these cells — cursed, hunted, and broken — share his path toward redemption or ruin.