Anyway, there's a description of the Bregan D'aerthe, including notes on its organization, hierarchy, and membership--along with a full writeup and "statting" of its leader Jarlaxle Baenre--at pages 250 and 251 of the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.
-I was meaning to tackle Bregan D'aerthe in Elves of Faerûn, but never finished it- I started and stopped a few times. I'll start on it soon enough.
Is this that the "cliffhanger" we were all warned about?
---
Either way, if there is nothing more in the "Underdark" sourcebook, I would have to question if the detail that is being looked for exists.
Besides, if you are Jarlaxle, do you want questions like these to be answered: I want to know things like when it was founded, what it means, things like that....
No. The less everyone knows, then the better. No source of origin, no source of vulnerability.
Besides, if you are Jarlaxle, do you want questions like these to be answered: I want to know things like when it was founded, what it means, things like that....
No. The less everyone knows, then the better. No source of origin, no source of vulnerability.
Ahh bringing up fun ol' Jarlaxle, there is only one hint as to when Bregan D'aerthe was formed that I can give, it is younger then Jarlaxle of the house Baenre.
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Members_of_Bregan_D%27aerthe
Jarlaxle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarlaxle
Ahh bringing up fun ol' Jarlaxle, there is only one hint as to when Bregan D'aerthe was formed that I can give, it is younger then Jarlaxle of the house Baenre.
As I have come to respect the majority of your wisdom, I would ask that you share. Otherwise, I'll have to hunt a bunch of rabid dogs down to eat your spleen, make you confess, then feed on your intestines.
Yes!! :evillaugh
A master plan!
As I have come to respect the majority of your wisdom, I would ask that you share. Otherwise, I'll have to hunt a bunch of rabid dogs down to eat your spleen, make you confess, then feed on your intestines.
Yes!! :evillaugh
A master plan!
:: points up to wiki link about Jarlaxle posted ::
it's all in there... in the history and then there is also this little link
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bregan_D%27aerthe
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Bregan_D%27aerthe
-Psst...There's nothing in that link.
Jarlaxle
Kimmuriel Oblodra
Berg'inyon Baenre (alternately spelt Bergynion)
Morik the RogueValas Hune
Rai-guy (in earlier publications spelt Rai'gy)
POS...for some reason cannot get the link to work...blarg
try clicking reply to look at this, then copy and paste it into word. Then make your entire post in word and just copy and paste it to your original using edit. It is also a good way to make long posts with multiple post sources
Jarlaxle
Of course, yours work now, so I don't know...
Jarlaxle is their charismatic leader whos personal montra seems to be "mutual benefit". His favorite magical weapons seem to be his daggers, which his bracers make an infinite number of. He throws streams of them at his enemy. If they get too close he'll extend them out to "long, thin blades" and start slashing people to ribbons. His fighting style has been described as "swashbuckler" but while most see this as a fault, Jarlaxle is devistatingly effective.
His second in command is Kimmuriel Oblodra, a lethal and loyal (for a drow) psion. He seems to feel very little and his effectiveness is beyond question.
I use them from time to time as a good contact for drow PCs when they pop up. I have used them now and again as information brokers as well.
(Unless you assume that the Bregan D'aerthe "deals" with death. I doubt that Jarlaxle truthfully said merchant.)
I always wondered how they would fit into the whole Kammarth/Bloodfast trade.
-Psst...There's nothing in that link.
Shush!
Muddman, make that mercenary instead of merchant and we have a deal ;)
(Unless you assume that the Bregan D'aerthe "deals" with death. I doubt that Jarlaxle truthfully said merchant.)
You're right, they are primarily a mercenary band, but I like to think of them as merchants that deal in anything - including death. It just so happens that assassins and killers is what Menzoberranzen needs most, so they don't bother doing alot of trading.
I remember a part 2/3 of the way through Road of the Patriarch when Jarlaxle was talking to the dragon woman he was bedding describing how he would use Knellict as a source on the surface to aid in trade. She looked at him strangely and said "So Bregan Dearthe is a merchant opperation?". Jarlaxle replied "First and foremost".
Ever since then I've seen them as merchants who deal in whatever, including death
Ever since then I've seen them as merchants who deal in whatever, including death
-I think this best describes Bregan D'aerthe.
-I think this best describes Bregan D'aerthe.
Methinks Jarlaxle talks much when the day is long, as we use to say over here. He tried this little trade / surface venture once before and unless I am mistaken, it did not go very well. And no matter who he is, failure is not something Bregan D'aerthe accepts easily.
Methinks Jarlaxle talks much when the day is long, as we use to say over here. He tried this little trade / surface venture once before and unless I am mistaken, it did not go very well. And no matter who he is, failure is not something Bregan D'aerthe accepts easily.
Remember though all we have is a generalization that they have contact with the surface. It could be trade in muscle...or all manner of things. All we can say is it is general.
Methinks Jarlaxle talks much when the day is long, as we use to say over here. He tried this little trade / surface venture once before and unless I am mistaken, it did not go very well. And no matter who he is, failure is not something Bregan D'aerthe accepts easily.
-Which doesn't change anything about calling Bregan D'aerthe a merchant company that deals in anything.
-Which doesn't change anything about calling Bregan D'aerthe a merchant company that deals in anything.
So far, they only traded in supplying mercenaries, scouts and the like. That, IMHO, is not "anything" and does as such not constitute a right to call them a merchant company, at least not ahead of them being called a mercenary group. Which, unless I am mistaken, is what they are called in the FRCG (again).
So far, they only traded in supplying mercenaries, scouts and the like. That, IMHO, is not "anything" and does as such not constitute a right to call them a merchant company, at least not ahead of them being called a mercenary group. Which, unless I am mistaken, is what they are called in the FRCG (again).
Merchant: a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006)
-Jarlaxle and Bregan D'aerthe sells things- be it information, mercenaries, assassins- to those who are willing to pay for it. It's a mercantile venture, if one wants to define it that way.
And if they sold nopales, they would definitely be merchants!:P
-Bregan D'aerthe is involved in Calimshan...A certain someone might have contacts among them, from when he was living there, and dealing with the city's dark underworld...
-Bregan D'aerthe is involved in Calimshan...A certain someone might have contacts among them, from when he was living there, and dealing with the city's dark underworld...
Yes, surely they could sell me the sweet, sweet fruit of the desert...
Merchant: a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006)
-Jarlaxle and Bregan D'aerthe sells things- be it information, mercenaries, assassins- to those who are willing to pay for it. It's a mercantile venture, if one wants to define it that way.
Now we are getting at the bare bones again to prove the point, are we not? When people above were "claiming" they are merchants, they were IMHO not exactly / primarily referring to "selling" soldiers, scouts, and assassins. That was the bone of contention, not their mercenary deals. The latter could, obviously, also viewed as "merchant deals".
Yes, surely they could sell me the sweet, sweet fruit of the desert...
-Perhaps.
Now we are getting at the bare bones again to prove the point, are we not? When people above were "claiming" they are merchants, they were IMHO not exactly / primarily referring to "selling" soldiers, scouts, and assassins. That was the bone of contention, not their mercenary deals. The latter could, obviously, also viewed as "merchant deals".
-Right. The point, however, is that, to claim that they are a merchant venture, there is nothing wrong with doing so. The band meets all of the criteria.
-Right. The point, however, is that, to claim that they are a merchant venture, there is nothing wrong with doing so. The band meets all of the criteria.
Surely ... with a certain stretch of imagination. ;)
-Ugh, are we going to do this dance again?
Well, the drow invented the Circle Dance (2nd level mage spell, Menzo box).
Sadly, somewhat later, some designer deigned it cool enough to spread the spell all across Faerûn.Maulorn, still no mail regarding any missing NPCs.
Bregan D'aerthe is a mercantile venture, whether they are mercenaries or merchants will highly depend on an individual's previous experiences with them.
It cannot be argued that they are some of the best mercenaries out there. However, this does not mean that's all they do. They sell poisons, and they make profitable trade occur between surface and underdark.
Essentially, Bregan D'aerthe will participate in any type of venture that expands their wealth and influence.
Lowering them to mere "mercenaries" is doing a disservice to the actual power that lies within the organization. They are a potent force that can single-handedly defeat (some) noble houses of the drow.
Lowering them to mere "mercenaries" is doing a disservice to the actual power that lies within the organization.
How so? There's nothing pejorative about the word "mercenary", all it means is that they sell their services for money. It has nothing whatsoever to do with effectiveness or power.
How so? There's nothing pejorative about the word "mercenary", all it means is that they sell their services for money. It has nothing whatsoever to do with effectiveness or power.
Maybe not by the definition, but for me (personal opinion of course) simply calling them mercenaries doesn't quite do them justice.
Maybe it's just my romantic notions of Jarlaxle, Valas, and the crew. They are some of my favorite FR characters.
18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric)
Lowering them to mere "mercenaries" is doing a disservice to the actual power that lies within the organization. They are a potent force that can single-handedly defeat (some) noble houses of the drow.
Any lorebook you find on the names and describes them as a mercenary band, full stop. A one-liner of a novel character in a novel is just that, a one-line of a novel-character in a novel. His opinion. Whether that opinion is true or not is an entirely different matter - especially as it might fairly well have been said in jest, given it is Jarlaxle we speak about.
We had something similar about Drizzt being a "Chosen of Lolth" because a priestess muses about the lad's feats on the surface and all. But essentially that's that: the musings of a novel character. It has about as much relevance on the facts as an opinion uttered hereabouts.
-I personally think Jaraxle is played out. I find him annoying. He is too hip, slick and cool. The rest of the band is alright, I don't use them.
18DELTA (Chosen of Cyric)
He's overexposed. I always saw him as a villain with the Hero Clause. Which is good when an aura of mystery surrounds him, but now that so much is known, it's not as cool anymore.
Heh. I can't say I can find anything "romantic" about this particular group, but that's just me.
I do not think I used the word "romantic" in the way you think it means :D
I do not think I used the word "romantic" in the way you think it means :D
Actually I think I understood exactly what you meant, and just disagreed with it.
I don't find Jarlaxle "played out", but I don't care for the fact that he always seems to have "just the right item" that he needs on his person. Now, that's fine if he's just a side character, I think, but not when he's the protagonist as he was in the Sellswords series.
Any lorebook you find on the names and describes them as a mercenary band, full stop. A one-liner of a novel character in a novel is just that, a one-line of a novel-character in a novel. His opinion. Whether that opinion is true or not is an entirely different matter - especially as it might fairly well have been said in jest, given it is Jarlaxle we speak about.
We had something similar about Drizzt being a "Chosen of Lolth" because a priestess muses about the lad's feats on the surface and all. But essentially that's that: the musings of a novel character. It has about as much relevance on the facts as an opinion uttered hereabouts.
I think that its simply a matter of Jaraxle's opinion of his own organization vs what others see his organization to be.
He sees Bregan Dearthe as a merchant organization, a band of agents that sell their time and services. Others see them as a mercenary band since almost all his agents are high level fighters from destroyed houses and most of their work involves killing people. If you ask Kimmuriel (Jarlaxle's chief lieutenant), I bet he'd say they are a mercenary band.
At the end of the day, if you bring enough gold to the table, then Jarlaxle will make anything happen. I think we all agree on that.
I don't find Jarlaxle "played out", but I don't care for the fact that he always seems to have "just the right item" that he needs on his person. Now, that's fine if he's just a side character, I think, but not when he's the protagonist as he was in the Sellswords series.
Valas seemed to have a lot of nifty lil tricks up his sleeve too...may just be a Bregan Daerth thing.
I don't find Jarlaxle "played out", but I don't care for the fact that he always seems to have "just the right item" that he needs on his person.
Yes but I don't think this is bad because he doesn't suddenly has those items. Instead when he first was introduced (and still was a mysterie) it was said which cool stuff he has with him and if I remeber correctly in the later Sellsword series he has the same items and what he gets new is explained in the story (like the Dracolich stone).
Jarlaxle is rumored to be covered, head to toe, in potent magical items. The known (or suspected) items include a necklace of missiles, drow boots, a cape of scintillating colors (as a robe of the same name), a hat of holding (treat as smallest bag), a rapier of wounding (+1), a main-gauche of life-stealing (+2), a wand of illumination, pouch of accessibility, continual light pebbles (in the pouch), his eyepatch of fiery fear (which acts as both a wand of fire and a wand of fear). He also carries in a special bracer five daggers of throwing +4. He always wears a ring of free action, ring of protection +3, bracers of defense AC 2 and a scarab of protection.
Yes but I don't think this is bad because he doesn't suddenly has those items. Instead when he first was introduced (and still was a mysterie) it was said which cool stuff he has with him and if I remeber correctly in the later Sellsword series he has the same items and what he gets new is explained in the story (like the Dracolich stone).
I distinctly remember him coming up with stuff out of the blue. So yeah, it's true that he doesn't always have a "surprise" up his sleeve, but I recall that sometimes he did.
*shrug*
It's also true that we've been told Jarlaxle has tons of magical items people don't know about...but I fail to see how tidbit in itself means he couldn't possibly wind up as a deus ex machina character, or (IMO) an overly well-equipped protagonist. If anything, it kind of confirms my point.
I used to speculate that he was more than just a drow with lots of magical goodies during the earlier novels. Especially with that scene where he is visited by a demon who tells him that House Baenre will prevail.
For example, he uses some magical orb to heal Entreri in "Servant of the Shard" and a wand to cast teleport in "Road of the Patriarch". I've never heard of an orb that heals or a wand that casts teleport since a wand's max level spell is 4th, not 5th. My theory is that he's in fact a fighter/wizard that uses these items to hide his true ability.
Another friend of mine had a theory that hes a fighter/bard. The bardic knowledge class feature would explain his knowledge and his ability with items as well as some limited spellcasting.
All congecture since he's listed as a Ftr 18 (Ftr 19 in the book Underdark).
Hes never sang, but so what, maybe hes just self concious
I've always theorized that Jarlaxle is in fact a Wizard/Fighter since he A) know alot about magic and spellcasting and B) seems able to cast spells from time to time through different items.
Everyone who trains in Tier Breche has to get some basic training in Sorcere and Arach-Tinilith, even if they go as fighters to Melee Magthere.
Everyone who trains in Tier Breche has to get some basic training in Sorcere and Arach-Tinilith, even if they go as fighters to Melee Magthere.
Do they? Is this said in any sourcebook or novel?
I just read it and I do not think it was in the Drizzt series...
Every graduate probably spends time in all three schools.
-That's how I've always envisioned it, too. Fighters don't go to Sorcere and learn how to cast Arcane magic, and they don't go to Arach-Tinilith to learn how to cast Divine magic. They go to the former to learn tactics against mages, and the latter to be indoctrinated.