[Hourglass of Zihaja] Chapter 10: Adventuring

[Zeta Kai]

Nuri izr-Elaqras

Quotes

• “My company can attend to your needs, whatever they may be. Provided, of course, that proper compensation is made available.”
• “You drive a hard bargain, to be sure.”
• “Shall we shake on it, or would you rather put quill to ink, so to speak?”
• “You might say that I flatter, but I only speak the truth.”

Background
Nuri izr-Elaqras is a clever merchant prince in Fandaq, a silver-tongued trader who owns his own small shipping business called the Trailblazers. He is a mover & shaker in the mercantile politics of the City of Wonders, one whose innovative techniques & business savvy are influential to other traders. His father was a lamp dealer, & taught him the science of buying & art of selling. His father wasn’t very successful, however, & Nuri learned more from his failures than his accomplishments.

Nuri grew up to be a canny & wise merchant, able to make deals that are beneficial to all parties, & therefore can easily retain repeat customers. Even as a young man, he made a name for himself in the politics of Fandaq, which is closely intertwined with the economics of the city-state. He formed the Trailblazers in response to a need for cheap, reliable shipping services, seeing that the existing shipping magnates were charging exorbitant fees for ferry & freighter use. This has made him very rich, but it has also made him several enemies.

Personality
Unlike most other businessmen, both in Fandaq & in the world at large, Nuri is a kind, pleasant man, one who is genuinely concerned with the well-being of employees & his customers. He is fiercely dedicated to his work, staying up until the deepest hours of the night to review contracts & draft trade proposals. He often has to deal with racial prejudice, which is a sore spot for him, but he always attempts to maintain his composure & not let it interfere with his professional dealings. This is another reason that he formed the Trailblazers: in order to hide behind the name, so that people didn’t shy away from his services because of his race.

Appearance
Nuri’s skin has a warm brassy tone to it, & always appears as if he were coated with oils. He usually wears very plain, common clothes, which stand in stark contrast to this glowing eyes & hair. His teeth are sharp & pointy, especially his canines, so he rarely smiles widely, preferring a closed grin; his fingernails are long, black, & well polished.

Goals
Like any merchant prince, Nuri’s paramount goal is to become as rich as possible, amassing as much wealth & influence as he is able. He does have other, less ordinary ambitions. He would like to minimize the social stigma & bigotry that half-genies & sabi experience on a daily basis, achieving acceptance by (& equality to) more mundane races, such as gnolls, humans, kobolds, & lizardfolk. He has noted with some sense of sad irony that even less-civilized races, such as the aazlai & the desert centaurs, are better accepted among urban society than genie-kin. He has experienced this prejudice firsthand, & hopes to one day eliminate it altogether, even thought he accepts that this dream may never come true, at least within his lifetime. He aims to work toward that impossible dream through the Trailblazers, which he hopes will show the world that a half-genie can fit into normal society, succeed in it, & even act as a force for positive change at the same time.

Combat Tactics
Despite his amiable, urbane nature, Nuri is an able combatant, capable of holding his own in a fight. He doesn’t hide behind his employees or other allies, unlike many such magnates. He is skilled at using his Defending Scimitar, both for attack & defense. He will take to the sky with a potion of fly if he’s cornered, & he’s able to stay in battle by using cure light wounds often. He also has a great number of spells at his disposal for defusing fights before they begin, such as charm person, calm emotions, & herald/courier (as well as bard abilities like Fascinate & Suggestion). This is his most common strategy, as it is more subtle & acceptable than flashy skirmishes using magic.

3E Stats

Spoiler

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RACE: Half-Efreet male
CLASS: Bard 6/Expert 1
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good
DEITY: Adimas (non-practicing)
SIZE: Medium
AGE: 67 (born 288 AF)
HEIGHT: 5’9”
WEIGHT: 227 lbs.
EYES: Yellow (Glowing)
HAIR: Red (Glowing)
LANGUAGES: Aquan, Auran, Common, & Ignan
HIT DICE: 6+6d6+7 (34HP)
INITIATIVE: +3
SPEED: 30’
ARMOR CLASS: 16 (-1 Dex, +7 armor); touch 9; flat-footed 16
BASE ATTACK BONUS: +4
GRAPPLE BONUS: +4
ATTACK: +5 Defending Scimitar (1d6+1, 18-20/×2, slashing)
FULL ATTACK: +5 Defending Scimitar (1d6+1, 18-20/×2, slashing)
SPACE/REACH: 5’/5’
SAVING THROWS: Fortitude +3, Reflex +6, Will +8
ABILITIES:

• Strength 10 (+0)
• Dexterity 9 (-1)
• Constitution 12 (+1)
• Intelligence 14 (+2)
• Wisdom 13 (+1)
• Charisma 19 (+4)

SKILLS: 80 points

• Appraise +12
• Bluff +16
• Diplomacy +14
• Intimidate +16
• Move Silently +1
• Perform (Sing) +14
• Profession (merchant) +11
• Search +12
• Sense Motive +11
• Spellcraft +4
• Use Magic Device +6

FEATS: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes (bonus), Persuasive, Snake’s Tongue**
WEAPON: +1 Defending Scimitar (8,315gp, 1d6+1, 18-20/×2, 4 lbs., slashing)
ARMOR: +2 Chain Shirt (4,250, +6, maximum dexterity bonus +4, check penalty -1, 0% AFC, speed 30’, 25lbs.)
EQUIPMENT:

• 485gp
• Bracers of Armor +1 (1,000gp)
• Cloak of Charisma +2 (4,000gp)
• 4 Potions of cure light wounds (200gp)
• Potion of fly (750gp)

SPELLS: 3/4/3 (Caster Level 6th, save DC14 + spell level)

• 0th Level: bend fate**, detect magic, light, mending, skew fate**, tally**
• 1st Level: charm person, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, identify
• 2nd Level: calm emotions, herald/courier**, see enchantment**

RACIAL FEATURES:

• Outsider (Native): Half-genies are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person. They also can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be, & they need to eat & sleep.
• Genie Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-genie is considered a genie.
• Elemental Birthright, Efreet: once per day, a half-efreeti can cast produce flame &/or wall of fire (as the spells). Caster level 8th. The save DCs are Charisma-based.
• Elemental Resistance: A half-efreeti gains Fire Resistance 10.
• Magical Sensitivity (Ex): Spells cast on a half-genie character function as if they had +1 caster level.
• Darkvision 60’.

CLASS FEATURES:

• Bardic Music.
• Bardic Knowledge.
• Countersong.
• Fascinate.
• Inspire Courage +1.
• Inspire Competence.
• Suggestion.

LEVEL ADJUSTMENT: +2