B3 - Palace of the Silver Princess: Expanding Rowena's role
by Marc SaindonFrom the Green B3:
"Ice Harp - The Ice Harp is a crystal lap harp which was played by the minstrel, Rowena of Haven. When Rowena left for the realm of Faerie she presented the harp to the ruler of Haven. Three particular notes played in a chord on the Ice Harp have the power to shatter the ruby Eye of Arik."
"Rowena - Rowena is a famous minstrel from Haven’s past. Her music was so enchanting that she was invited to live in the land of Faerie where time has no meaning. If a character plays the Ice Harp, Rowena will return briefly to Haven to tell the party how to destroy the ruby and why the destruction of the ruby is important."
Okay, let's consider that Rowena could have been a Bard (a retcon, since Bards aren't a class in BECMI) with fae affinity (College of Glamour?). Perhaps her role was to serve as Herald, between Gulluvia and Haven, keeping both Princesses in communication (let's make them Wonder Twins, with the Eldest inheriting the prime ancestral property, the youngest (by minutes) receiving a secondary property from House Argenta). The Ice Harp serves as an anchor to Rowena to travel back to Haven using the "faerie trods" (magical faerie roads which I'm stealing from Changeling: the Dreaming). Another treasure important to Rowena might anchor her back to the original castle. P.30 of the orange module mentions a crystal chalice worth 100 GP, so make it frosty to touch and summons Rowena briefly when a liquid is poured into the glass (the glass "drinks" as a countdown before Rowena vanishes).
Between missions, Rowena attends a Sidhe Lord of sorts. Rather than go "celtic chic", maybe tap into slavic mythology (to tie-in with Traladaran culture) and make that fae noble a "Vila" (with a fanciful name like "Lady Anastasia of the Five Forests", but better).
Rowena might serve as an informant, in later modules exploring the Dymrak Forest, especially if the made-up Sidhe Lady/Vila wants to use the PCs to counter some force like a green dragon or hags in the forest. (photo from: https://cassistaelectricharp.com/cleartones-26-string/)
(photo from: https://cassistaelectricharp.com/cleartones-26-string/)