#npc #hedgehaven #human #bard > [!npc] Bernard "The Bard" Fairheight > **Role:** Magistrate · Innkeeper · Quest Giver > **Affiliation:** [[First Quill]] (by association); independent operator > **Location:** [[The Sleepy Watery Wench]], [[Hedgehaven]] > > ## Physicality > A well-worn man of middling years who carries himself like someone who used to be impressive and still expects to be treated as such. Owns and operates [[The Sleepy Watery Wench (Tavern)|The Sleepy Watery Wench]] and serves as the de facto local magistrate of [[Hedgehaven]], a role that appears to have more to do with being the most well-connected person in the room than any formal appointment. > > > [!npc-stats]- Stat Block > > *Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral Good* > > **AC** 18 · **HP** 110 · **Speed** 30 ft. > > > > | STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA | > > | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | > > | 12 (+1) | 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 13 (+1) | 14 (+2) | 19 (+4) | > > > > **Skills:** Acrobatics +8 *(expertise)*, Athletics +5, Perception +6, Performance +12 *(expertise)*, Stealth +8 > > **Senses:** Passive Perception 16 > > **Languages:** Common > > > > > [!actions] Actions > > > ***Multiattack.*** Bernard makes two Rapier attacks. > > > > > > ***Rapier.*** *Melee Weapon Attack:* +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 9 (1d8 + 4) piercing damage. > > > > > > ***Beguiling Song.*** Bernard performs a beguiling melody. Creatures of his choice within 30 ft. that can hear him must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be Charmed until the end of their next turn. > > > > > > ***Spellcasting.*** CHA-based. Cantrips: *Minor Illusion*, *Prestidigitation*. 1st level: *Tasha's Hideous Laughter*. > > > [!npc-rumours]+ > > - Bernard has been known to use Prestidigitation to flavour the water he serves as ale at [[The Sleepy Watery Wench (Tavern)|The Wench]] the S1 party caught him doing it > > - He offered the PCs a bag of gold of undetermined size, and then notably did not produce it when they returned > > - He's the local magistrate, which seems to be a title he gave himself > > - Has connections that run considerably deeper than a small-town innkeeper should > > > [!npc-secrets]- > > ### GM Notes > > - Bernard, [[Hadrian Riggs]], and [[Stellan Quickfoot|Stellan]] were ambushed in [[The Sere]] on the return leg from the [[Academia Arcanum]], carrying a [[Builder's Dowel]] for the [[The Ashen Well Keepers|Ashen Well Keepers]]. Bernard was knocked unconscious early and didn't see what happened to the others. > > - He owes [[Tivvek Ashwell|Tiv]] a significant debt from years ago a favour involving smuggling someone out of [[Veyr's Lantern]] cleanly. The ledger isn't square. > > - He steered the S2 party toward finding [[Stellan Quickfoot|Stellan]] and [[Hadrian Riggs]] kept alive and in bed as an expository anchor. > > - His connection to the [[First Quill]] is by association through [[Tivvek Ashwell|Tiv]] and the introductions he's facilitated, not by formal membership. > > > > #### What Happened > > - **S1E1:** Hired the party to investigate the fouled stream, offering a bag of gold of undetermined size. > > - **S1E2:** Did not pay. Invited the party to lunch instead. The party caught him prestidigitating the ale. Later suggested he post guards at the top of the teleportation well after Grutok's scouting of Broden. > > - **S1E3:** Fetched by Graxim to assist with the magical inscriptions in the well. > > - **S1E4:** Listed as a social encounter a rash of thefts across town had been reported to him by the sheriff. > > - **S2E1:** Encountered at [[The Blanched Carte]] in [[Veyr's Lantern]], recovering from the desert ambush. Gave the S2 party their quest — find Stellan and Hadrian. > > > > #### Personality > > Bernard is charming, useful, and not entirely trustworthy. He is not malicious, he genuinely wants good outcomes, but he is constitutionally incapable of paying a debt when he can defer it, and constitutionally incapable of admitting he doesn't know something. He operates through implication, connection, and the careful management of who owes what to whom. He performs warmth convincingly enough that it sometimes becomes real. > > > > #### Drives > > - Keep [[Hedgehaven]] and its people safe, in his way and on his terms > > - Manage his debts without ever quite settling them > > - Stay indispensable to whoever has power in the room ## Appeared In - [[S1E1 - The Fouled Stream]] - [[S1E2 - Gobsmacked]] - [[S1E3 - Brodengate]] - [[S1E4 - Something Ratten in Hedgehaven]] - [[S2E1 - The Bride]]