Moonstars

In the fictional Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Moonstars are one of the most recent and most covert secret societies to appear in Faerûn in decades^[when?]. Born in the tumult of a fall-out between several senior Harpers, the members of the Moonstars now operate independently of the former group, though they share many of the same goals. Led by the iconoclastic Chosen of Mystra, former Master Harper, ex-Lord of Waterdeep, and incredibly powerful and knowledgeable mage, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun and his consort, the Mage Lady of Waterdeep, Laeral Silverhand, the Moonstars have spent the last few years establishing their own intelligence network, including agents, spies, informants, adventurers, and a system of portals to allow them fast access to any part of Faerûn.

Outlook

The Moonstars seek to preserve life and knowledge. They have a similar outlook to the Harpers, but apply themselves to Mystra, Oghma and Sehanine Moonbow.^[1]

Modus operandi

Khelben's first rule for any Moonstars agent is this: Don't get caught while performing Moonstars-related activities. He cares not how an agent spends her days or nights, just as long as she doesn't compromise the carefully constructed secrecy that remains to this day the Moonstars' greatest weapon. All Moonstars agents are prompted to accomplish their missions, but not to risk certain capture. Aborting a mission due to that possibility is never frowned upon. Overt actions that would require such decisions remain relatively rare for the small group at this point, however.

The majority of Moonstars "missions" are nothing more than reconnaissance of targets chosen by the Blackstaff or Laeral. Agents stealthily observe their targets and report their findings, nothing more. At times, however, action is called for and the Moonstars do not hesitate on such occasions. If the Moonstars discover a doppelganger, fiend, or other creature using magical abilities to infiltrate civilized society, the Moonstars act to kill or drive off the monster. Other Moonstars activities that some might view as questionable include the following:

• Kidnapping evil individuals for interrogation and a magical "mindwipe" to remove all memories of the questioning;
• Stealing (or planting) of magic items and even relics and artifacts;
• The “reapportioning” of profits and goods gained by the Moonstars after breaking up or destroying criminal or evil activities.

These are just some examples, and all such efforts are likely known only by the most senior Moonstars.

References

1. ^ Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger, p. 25-26. Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3

External links

• Portal of the Moonstars