The only daughter of Azimuth Onaxix, one of the few Avatara in history known to have a child, and Charles Naaktgeboren, owner of the Oceanic Trading Company, Ibofuris was born into a world that expected greatness in her from birth. Unfortunately, she was born with a chronic, degenerative disease (or curse, some whisper) that has proven incurable, even with magic.
Ibofuris must eat three times the normal amount of food per day. If her Dexterity, Constitution, or or Strength ever rise above their current, default values for any reason, they return to normal within a minute. She has chronic headaches, bouts of insomnia, sensitivity to sunlight, muscles and joints that get sore easily, and low blood flow in her extremities. She has a -2 penalty when making Saves vs. Paralysis or Poison.
Her condition is treated by exercise and a regimen of herbal medicine and occasional healing magic. It is degenerative in theory, but in practice it has not actually gotten worse in thirty or more years due to Ibofuris' vigilance with her treatments. It will never get any better, though.
Uninterested in politics and only semi-interested in business, she quickly tired of the expectations of her elders and peers (and the disappointed looks on their faces when she could not live up to those expectations due to either her illness or her disinterest in the plans of others). She struck off on her own as an explorer, adventurer, and mercenary as soon as her basic magical training was complete. What better way to overcome one's disability than to succeed in the least likely and most disadvantageous arena?
This definitely should have gotten her killed, but she was smart, and determined, and lucky, and most importantly, born into wealth.
Details of her early career are scant, but she made enough allies and won or borrowed enough silver to start her own business venture. She founded and led the band of adventurers/mini-company of mercenaries known as the Squad of the Blazing Swans. They rose to rapid fame when they defended the town of Sheol from a mixed group of bandits and undead lead by the notorious Ebon Necromancer. By the time the Legion arrived, the Swans had already handily defeated the besieging forces and put the Ebon One's head on a pike.
The major accomplishments of the Squad of the Blazing Swans include averting a war between the Empire and the Trow, discovering the Isles of Cata'an (both Ibofuris and her former co-Swan Gira Gywon still own rival colonies there), mapping parts of the Remote Lands across the Western Ocean, stopping two Ghol invasions, and discovering a ritual to create pendants that give limited, highly controlled, reliable access to the World Knots.
After seven years of retirement from adventuring following the breakup of the Blazing Swans, Ibofuris went on a three-year expedition to the Untamed Lands in the east, which evidently proved disastrous. She lost many companions and servants, along with all of the magical artifacts she took with her, not to mention a great deal of money. Rumor has it that she has not been the same since, and that she has developed problems with drugs, strange nervous habits, and a tendency to suddenly sink into gloom, refusing to explain why.
Her friends are abandoning her slowly, for reasons that are not entirely known. She is still wealthy, but not nearly to the degree she was. Her three-year absence from society and vague entreaties not to ask her about what happened have greatly diminished her influence. Being an apolitical individual, she claims this does not bother her, playing up the stereotype of the lone, secretive wizard in order to save face. Yet she still makes public appearances and attends social functions. Being a famous and charismatic individual, she still has her fans, even if a hint of desperation has crept into her more attention-seeking activities.
Ibofuris does not speak with her mother, but no one knows why, as there does not seem to be any bad blood between them. Her father died decades ago, and she allowed others to take control of the Oceanic Trading Company. She currently owns a country manor outside of Tandem and a cottage in White Falls.
(In my campaign, Ibofuris uses these stats: Charisma 18, Dexterity 10, Constitution 5, Intelligence 18, Strength 3, Wisdom 10. Level 20 Mage (a custom version of the Magic-User class). For a lower-powered survival horror campaign, decreasing these numbers would probably be more than appropriate.)
Plot hooks and jobs Ibofuris could provide:
1. Ibofuris thinks she may have located one of the Abraxas Stones, which could finally provide a cure for her malady. She'd like your party to go fetch it.
2. Ibofuris wants to buy back the Oceanic Trading Company, but the current owners refuse to sell. Furthermore, they've said or implied some pretty nasty things about Ibofuris. Perhaps the party could go persuade those knaves to reconsider their life choices.
3. Gira Gywon's colony has stopped competing in fair, honest ways with Ibofuris' island settlements and started to resort to underhanded, illegal, or even violent tactics. Help her beat the ruffians at their own game.
4. Ibofuris has recently sold her country manor and bought a mansion within the city limits: Greycandle Manor. It seems to be a bit weird, maybe even haunted. You look like the kind of professional folks to sort it out.
5. The local newspaper has started printing all sorts of nasty and mostly-untrue rumors and allegations about Ibofuris. Teach these newfangled gossip-mongers the value of polite silence.
6. Ibofuris would like you to spy on the secret meetings happening at the home of her distant cousin Lars Naaktgeboren every Thursday night. She thinks something sinister is going on that must be stopped, something related to what happened in the Untamed Lands.
7. Ibofuris finally got too bored and fed up to stick around in Tandem. She wants to go east again, to recover the items she lost and the earthly remains of some of her friends. Maybe even to discover something new and have at least one last adventure. Why don't you tag along? Maybe the new Blazing Swans could be as beloved and successful as the old ones?
8. Azimuth asks the party to steal a strange, foreign idol from Ibofuris, for a hefty price, of course. Don't ask what's so special about the idol. That's a state secret. Just do it for the Emperor.
9. Explorers and colonists have long noted the strange, hexagonal patterns in the features of the Isles of Cata'an. Now, they are reporting that major landmarks are shifting between islands during the nights, and odd lights, sounds, and smells are cropping up on the Isles and the ocean in between them. Ibofuris is worried, and would like the party to investigate.
10. The Ebon Necromancer has somehow returned to (un)life. Ibofuris wants some help putting him back in the ground.
11. Ibofuris finally had a nervous breakdown in public and started babbling about a horrifying city of the undead in the far east. She said it was called something like Duvan'Ku. Sounds like the kind of place that would have a lot of treasure. Surely the more fantastical details of the place are just inventions of Ibofuris' sick mind. Better check the place out before the other tomb robbers can loot the place.
12. The Trow have called in some sort of favor from Ibofuris. She wants some bodyguards and other professionals to accompany her to Rhi'Anon. The Trow live in such strange, remote places...
13. The Dwarves are calling for help from any patriots or other friends of Myrgard willing to aid them in fighting off the latest Ghol invasion. Ibofuris is bored and eager for some positive public attention, so she wants to rumble. Want to team up and go bust some evil heads?
14. Ibofuris wants to go see the latest play by Joop van Ooms. She could use some bodyguards, or just some company. It will surely be uneventful...
15. The party gets invited to...well, a party. Hosted by Ibofuris. That should be fun. Nothing strange going on here, no sirree. Don't mind the summoning circle.
16. In a small desert on one of the Isles of Cata'an, there is a newly-discovered oasis where all manner of lotus plants grow. Ibofuris would like some samples so she can devise some stronger medications for her affliction. The trouble is, people keep disappearing in and around the oasis.
17. Hey, that Ibofuris lady is rich. Let's rob her.
18. An insane fan has somehow kidnapped Ibofuris, despite her immense powers. Or maybe Ibofuris ran away and faked her kidnapping. Either way, her few friends want her back. After all, she's fun at parties and she owes them a lot of money.
19. Ibofuris has decided to get into politics after all. She wants to start small; being the mayor of Tandem should do. She promises to pass laws that make it easier for adventurers to legally claim the treasure they haul out of dungeons in the area, as well as other pro-adventurer legislation, provided the party is willing to take measures to ensure her election.
20. Ibofuris wants to auction off the standard that the Blazing Swans carried into most of their battles, so that the proceeds can be used to start a charity for people suffering from rare illnesses like her own. Unfortunately, this standard was lost in the Ziggurat of Transcendental Sin, somewhere in the jungles of the Remote Lands. The humidity wreaks havoc on her joints, so she'd like you to retrieve it. You can keep whatever valuables you find besides the standard, and she'll pay for your ship, crew, and supplies. Just watch out for Metaphysical Jaguar - the Swans didn't, which is why the standard was lost. If all else fails, try disbelieving in the Jaguar.
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