Tarn Urmbrusk

Born in Waterdeep in the Year of the Fist (1311 DR), Lord Tarn Urmbrusk is Daggerford’s most powerful financier. Lord Tarn is a cold, calculating snake capable of wearing almost any kind of mask. To most folk of Daggerford, he is a rich uncle, kindly but firm, willing to make loans at reasonable rates and then work with folks who have trouble repaying. However, those who cross him quickly discover that Lord Tarn is an inveterate actor, able and willing to play the concerned moneylender all the while extracting every last coin he can acquire.

Over the past decade, Lord Tarn has acquired vast tracts of land in the Duchy of Daggerford while investing in most of the town’s mercantile ventures. His ready access to capital and insistence on requiring land as collateral has resulted in the acquisition of great swaths of prime farmland for the family and left most of the merchants in Daggerford in his debt. The Dragonspear War, which ended nearly a year ago, caused many ventures in the Daggerford region to fail, leaving the Urmbrusk family (specifically, Lord Tarn) in control of more land throughout the duchy than the duke.

Lord Tarn is the unwed older brother of Lord Halam Urmbrusk of Waterdeep, reigning patriarch of the Urmbrusk clan. In the Year of the Bright Blade (1347 DR), Lord Tarn, then the Urmbrusk heir, was quietly exiled from the City of Splendors after being convicted by the Lords of Waterdeep of spying and sabotage, a crime against the city. The Lords also decreed that the Urmbrusk family lordship could not be inherited by Lord Tarn, and the position of heir then passed to Lord Halam.

After his disgrace, Lord Tarn moved south to Daggerford and began rebuilding his position and influence. Through a combination of skillful investment and careful plotting, Lord Tarn has spent the past decade establishing himself as Daggerford’s chief financier, with a hand in almost every business venture that originates within or passes through the town gates. Lord Tarn has always been one step ahead of his rivals, and his investment position at the outbreak of the Dragonspear War even allowed him to make money during that period, while others lost money hand over fist.