Nina Jaribu's page

If Nina Jaribu wanted to suffer fools, she would have stayed at home. With an arrogant husband and four stubborn sons, she doesn't get flustered easily.

Canonized roleplay:
#1-01: Nina discovered that she enjoys a goblin drink, pickle brine. DC 15 Fortitude save vs vomiting, with the DC lowered with each success. Nina’s current DC is 9.
#1-10: Nina throws snowballs when she's bored. She pretends other people threw them. She has not yet been caught.
#1-05: Nina taught orcs human manners in her downtime. One attendee was Aktuh (2358909-2006).
#1-23: Nina lied about Vidrian honoring past agreements in an Iruxi court, and then stayed to teach Iruxi about Vidrian manners. This did not affect Iruxi opinion much, but was the last straw for several nobles at home.
Level 4 (APG Rebuild): Nina's eyes have begun glowing. This is a result of her previously-unknown aasimar heritage, but taken as a bad omen. Nina's changing physical appearance, coupled with her continued adventuring with "outsiders" (Pathfinders), led several of the prominent families to plot against her. Nina uses pest form to spy on her enemies, and has learned both Iruxi and Draconic in an effort to court personal allies from the societies around her.
#2-02: A coup has dethroned Nina. Her husband is dead, and her sons are missing. She is currently gathering power to retake her throne, and her alignment has shifted from NG to N to represent a darker, angrier side that she has manifested. She uses dream message to send messages to her sons, but they have yet to arrive in Absalom where she is waiting for them.
#2-06: Nina has found her youngest son, Mtoto, at the Monestary of the Unbreaking Waves. A crow led him there.
#1-16/#1-17: Nina has found her oldest son, Nita, amongst the Bhopanese. A woman with a feathered cloak led him there.
#2-00: Andoletta has reached out to Nina, telling her she needs to atone for her sins by defeating Qxal.
OS2: Nina has hired Takemiru to locate her two missing sons.

Casting: Kerry Washington (Kay Amin from Last King of Scotland)

Theme Song: Neon Hitch, "Gold"; Angel Haze, "Battle Cry"

Character Inspiration: Nina's nonchalant responses to tomfoolery or even idiocy raging around her is directly lifted from my mother.

Nina watched her husband, Nili Jaribu, flail wildly in front of the assembled onlookers. This is embarrassing, she thought to herself. Three months of study, five hundred gold bringing the scholars of Thuvia and Geb, and he can barely produce a small flame.

And it's out of control again, she noted. The flame spiraled wildly, striking one of the lords on the arm. Nina quickly waved two fingers, healing the damage that her husband caused. Her husband may not have mastered the spells, but she sure did. While the emir was clearly not good, it was an admirable effort for a man of limited talent to begin with, so the court clapped. While they fawned on him, they ignored his wife, seated politely and quietly in the corner of the room, using her magical talents to protect and heal her guests from afar.

That night, Nili made an announcement at dinner. "I will be back in two weeks. I will bring back the head of a green dragon and gold beyond imagine."

Nina calmly put her fork down and excused the children. The assembled waitstaff also took this as their cue to leave the dining room. "Nili," she said sternly, "We agreed you weren't going to do this. This is beyond idiotic."

"I have been trained by the best!" Nili protested.

"But you haven't learned very much," Nina retorted.

"You can't tell me what to do, you dumb bi-" Nili stopped the insult mid-sentence as Nina shot him an unnaturally frightening look. He felt a trickle of urine soaking into his pants as she stared daggers into his very soul. And then, she slowly held up her hand in a claw and said the most terrifying word he had ever heard in his life - "Fala!" His mind clouded over and he felt himself unable to move. His last thought as he lapsed into unconsciousness was the realization that his wife had learned his magic lessons far better than him.

Several weeks later, Nina made an announcement at dinner. "I will be back in two weeks," she explained to her family. "And I won't be fighting any dragons. At least not yet." Her husband, having watched his wife demonstrate her considerable powers as a wizard - no, sorcerer, as his tutors (now her tutors) had explained several times - beamed with pride.

Nina does still let Nili light the candles at dinner with the only spell he can reliably cast, produce flame.

Outside of brief periods of adventuring with the Pathfinder Society, Nina's life is primarily defined by her status as an emira. Historically, this was defined as bearing as many male children as possible. Nina has four sons, and she frequently talks about them, as she would have done if she were in court.

Nili is her husband and emir. Nili has known nothing beyond the confines of the royal court, and even then, often relies on Nina's guidance to navigate through the worst situations. Nili was trained in the old ways, and is an expert combatant - but in times of peace, struggles to find leadership. Level 5 update: Nili is confirmed to have died in the coup.

Nita is her oldest son, and when he Ascends next year, will become an emir in his own right. He is betrothed and engaged to Bwana Asifiwe, the eldest daughter of the Iomedaen priestess. Nita has shown interest, as well as aptitude, in the magical arts, and in addition to his royal studies, is also training to be an Iomedaen priest himself. #1-17 Nita was led to Bhopan by an old woman with a crow-feathered cloak. He chose to remain to teach the Bhopanese about Iomedae.

Siti is her second son, three years from Ascension. He is betrothed to Mavi Ngombe, the eldest daughter of the largest cow herding family in the emirate. Siti is being groomed to be Minister of Commerce, and is an expert at mathematics as well as economics. #1-17: Nita reported that Siti did not flee Jaribuni with the others, and that he and Mavi may have fled into the hills.

Tatu is her third son, five years from Ascension. He is betrothed to Mia Moja, the eldest daughter of the Royal Guard's centurion officer. Tatu is being groomed to be Minister of Defense, and is an expert at warfare. He has studied both ground and naval warfare, although the emirate does not currently have a navy. Tatu's whereabouts are unknown

Mtoto is her fourth son, eight years from Ascension. Nina broke tradition by not arranging for any betrothal for her fourth, and likely youngest, son. She also broke tradition by attending to him herself, rather than letting the wet nurses feed him. This has caused some waves of surprise within the emirate, and in some circles, some waves of dissent. #2-06 Mtoto was led to the Monestary of Unbreaking Waves by a crow.

The House of Jaribuni has known over 80 years of peace, and the extended period of peace has affected cultural expectations throughout the emirate. When wars depleted the male population, polygyny was common, and considered mutually beneficial for men (who were able to sire children at a faster rate) and women (who were not often able to live independently). High rates of infant mortality meant that women aimed to have ten or more children in order ensure at least one male would survive.

Nina was born first daughter to a prominent family in the emirate, and her family arranged for her to be the emira as soon as she weaned. She was schooled with the women of the royal family, and sat in court even prior to her Ascension. She has seen the folly of the court on full display, with bickering nobles fighting over minutiae while mismanagement and corruption sap the vitality of the emirate. Nina does not enjoy any formal power within the emirate, but has leveraged everything within her control to affect change.

As soon as she Ascended, Nina had the privilege - and responsibility - of inviting members to social events. Tradition dictated that prominent families, regardless of their contributions to society, were invited. Nina broke this tradition by additionally inviting those she considered new contributors to society, even if they were artisans, smiths, or even farmers. This change was grudgingly accepted by the court as the fleeting whims of a new emira. Only too late did they realize she was stacking the court with people who would be loyal to her.

When Mtoto was weaned, Nina informed the royal court that she and Nili would intentionally limit the number of children they had. As all four of their children were expected to survive, four competing heirs would be more than sufficient. A legal debate ensued, eventually resolved in the emira's favor.

Soon after, Nina informed the royal court that she would not arrange a betrothal for Mtoto. Instead, Mtoto would follow an ancient, nomadic tradition of selecting his own mate. Dissent that had been simmering quickly boiled over, primarily from prominent families who were vying for Mtoto's betrothal, but again, the royal court had to assent given the historical connection.

When Nina revealed that she was more skilled in magic than her husband, several members of the royal court began to plot against her. Her leaving the court, even for a short time, to adventure with outsiders was seen as a deep betrayal by several and usurping of traditional male roles. Nina has Ascended for 15 years, and is well skilled in the art of manipulating the royal court through deception, diplomacy, and intimidation. However, in response to plots (real or imagined) against her, Nina is secretly learning how to transform into animals to spy on her enemies.

"Mtoto, my precious child, I wait for you in the city of Absalom. You must be strong, you must carry on the House of Jaribuni. At sunset, I wait at the High Tide Tavern in the Puddles for you and your brothers."

Every night for the previous four weeks, Nina had whispered those words while kneeling at a makeshift altar to Iomedae in her squalid room. Casting dream message, those words were carried to her children, whose whereabouts are unknown after a group of assassins were let into the palace by her political enemies. Nina believed her children were unlikely dead - their charred bodies were not paraded around the streets, as her husband's had been.

Every sundown, Nina waited at the High Tide Tavern, fending off drunken lots who assumed she was one of the prostitutes - more than once, words did not suffice and she made her point with a dagger and a fear spell. Even the bartender stopped asking her questions weeks ago. When the darkness had swallowed the sun, Nina pulled up her hood and slipped into the night, returning to her spartan room to say her dream messages before bed.

Blessed Inheritor, guide our paths and protect our family.

Those were the next words. She opened her mouth to speak them, but couldn't. Sixteen years of devotion to Iomedae, and in Nina's time of greatest need, Iomedae offered her less than the mercenaries of Achaekek. In a fit of fury, Nina sent the contents of the altar crashing to the floor, ending the spell and sending the partial message.

She slept better that night than she ever had since she had left Jaribuni. She dreamed of the hanging gardens, somehow untouched by fire that rained from the sky. The air smelled of ash, of charred bodies being paraded through the streets, but the lavender petunias of House Jaribuni were in full bloom.

"Mother!"

Nina awoke with a start. Mtoto's voice was just part of the dream ... or was it? Nina frantically searched her mind for the afterglow of her final vision - a vision of her youngest son, in Vudrani robes, fleeing from the shadows.

The next morning - earlier today - she met with her contact from the Red Mantis Assassins again. She pulled a satchel of gold out of her cloak, and silently put it on the table in front of him. The unnamed tiefling pulled his mouth into an unnaturally wide grin. "Do you have a little tiefling in you?" he cackled. Nina left without responding.

Wandering down to the docks, Nina inquired about passage to Jalmeray. Only one ship was headed there, and the captain resisted wild-eyed Nina's attempts to bribe her way on board, even when she drew her dagger menacingly. "You'll have to talk to the Pathfinder Society," he quickly blurted. "They're the ones that hired me. But Gozreh have mercy on us all if they let a psychopath like you on board."

The sun set over the Puddles district, and the city came to life. The nightly bloom of activity masked the various minor - and major - infractions.

A Mwangi woman entered a tavern, intentionally unnamed to avoid notice by the authorities. She took a seat in the corner and purified her mulled wine with a spell before consuming it. A few minutes later, a tiefling wearing a red cape took the seat across from her, and they argued for a bit in Infernal.

"You should have thought of that before you paid us," the tiefling announced, in Common. "Things are already in motion."

Nina grabbed his arm as he stood up to leave. "I'm not asking for my money back. I'm asking you to call it off."

The tiefling drew a serrated blade and pointed it at Nina's face. "You're lucky that I don't kill for free, or you'd already be dead," he growled. He pulled the collar up on his cloak and rushed out the door.

Nina rushed out the door after him. A brilliant flash of light lit up the street, and then a second. When the green faded from peoples' eyes, a red-cloaked tiefling lay face down in the mud.

1.1. #1-01 The Absalom Initiation
1.2. #1-10 Tarnbreaker's Trail
1.3. #1-06 Lost on the Spirit Road (GM)
2.1. #1-07 Flooded King's Court (GM)
2.2. #1-12 Burden of Envy (GM)
2.3. #1-05 Trailblazer's Bounty
3.1. #1-14 Lions of Katapesh (GM)
3.1.1. Q10 The Broken Scales
3.2.1. #1-18 Lodge of the Living God (GM)
3.3.1. #1-23 The Star Crossed Court
4.1.1. #1-22 Doom of Cassomir
4.1.2. Q7 A Curious Claim (GM)
Rebuild
4.1.3. Q1 The Sandstone Slide (GM)
4.1.4. Q5 The Dragon Who Stole Evoking Day (GM)
4.3. #2-02 The Mountain of Sky and Sea
5.1. #2-06 The Crashing Wave
5.2. #1-16 The Perennial Crown, Part 1: The Opal of Bhopan (GM)
5.3. #1-17 The Perennial Crown, Part 1: The Opal of Bhopan (GM)
6.1. #2-00 The King in Thorns
6.2. One-shot: Sundered Waves (pregen)
6.3. #2-15 A Dirge for Sarkoris
7.1. #2-16 Freedom for Wishes
7.2. #1-24 Lightning Strikes, Stars Fall
7.3. One-shot: Dinner at Lionlodge (pregen)
8.1. #3-99 Fate in the Future
8.2. #3-17 Dreams of a Dustbound Isle
8.3. #4-09 Killer in the Golden Mask

globe of invulnerability (U)
kukri (U, 0.6 gp)
mambele (U, 0.6 gp)
communication bangle (U, 1 gp)
katana (U, 2 gp)
lesser dwarven daisy (U, 3 gp, limit 5)
writ of authenticity (U, 5 gp)
onyx panther talisman (discounted, 6 gp)
vermin repellent agent (U, 8 gp)
invisibility potion (U, 20 gp, limit 3)
book of translation (Tien) (U, 25 gp)
formula for adamantine buckler (U, discounted, 50 gp)
formula for adamantine shield (U, discounted, 50 gp)
lesser camp shroud (U, 65 gp)
brine shark elemental gem (Level 8, 100 gp)
body recovery kit (U, 101 gp)
lady's knife (U, 200 gp) LOGB required
gold nodule aeon stone (U, 230 gp)
clandestine cloak (U, 230 gp)
bloodletting kukri (U, 240 gp)
alluring scarf (U, 415 gp) LOGB required
adamantine chunk (U, 500 gp)
snowshoes of the long trek (U, 550 gp)
Razmiri wayfinder (U, discounted, Level 10, 810 gp)
Numerian steel breastplate (R, Level 10, 900 gp, limit 1)
Level 10: greater salve of antiparalysis (Level 12, 325 gp)

Seasoned Diplomat: You have navigated the courts of Ekkeshikaar, honing your skills as a diplomat and researcher. You may check the box next to this boon at the beginning of an adventure to become trained in Diplomacy and Society for the duration of that adventure. If you are already trained in one of these skills, you instead become an expert. If your proficiency level is higher than expert in either of these skills, you treat any critical failure rolled with that skill as a failure and any failure as a success for the duration of the adventure.

Amateur Adjuster: Whenever you attempt a check to Gather Information, Decipher Writing, or Create a Forgery, you can check a box next to this boon to gain a +1 circumstance bonus on the check. If the check involves interacting with a Druman business or a Druman bureaucracy, you instead gain a +3 circumstance bonus on the check. [ ]

Big Game Hunter: Whenever you roll a critical failure on a check to Track an animal, you can check a box next to this boon to get a failure instead. [ ] [ ] [ ]

Blast from the Past: You chose to deliver the undead Marcon Tinol to Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng, trusting in the experienced Pathfinder’s ability to deal with the undead safely. This boon will have unique benefits and consequences when slotted in a future scenario.

Doom Averted: In defeating a growing cult of Groetus in Cassomir, your spirit is filled with a renewed resistance against the same prophecies of doom that his priests shout from the rooftops. When your dying value is increased to exactly the amount that would kill you, this boon automatically activates. Check the box that precedes this boon and decrease your dying value by one. [ ]

Experienced Mountaineer: When this boon is slotted, you treat mountainous terrain and other steep slopes as difficult terrain, rather than as greater difficult terrain.

Fey Influence: The character with this Chronicle sheet gains access to the following ancestry feat.
FEY INFLUENCE FEAT 5 (Rare)
You have been exposed to powerful fey magic. You become trained in primal DCs and spell attack rolls. You gain the fey
trait and one of the following features which grant an innate primal spell that can be used once per day.
• Anteater You can launch your tongue forward as a deadly attack, gaining grim tendrils.
• Dryad Your body is covered in elegant vines, granting you summon plants and fungi.
• Gremlin You have long, bat-like ears and gain bane.
• Monarch You have vestigial, insectile features and gain spider sting.
This feat gains the trait appropriate for your ancestry (human for human, goblin for goblin, etc.)

Friends on the High Seas: You encountered the former crew of the Brass Bird in their travels around the world. You may check the box preceding this boon to use one of the 5th-level pregenerated characters from Sundered Waves instead of an iconic pregenerated character of appropriate level. You must bring a copy of their character sheet with you to the table, and otherwise follow all rules for using a pregenerated character as detailed in the Guide to Organized Play. [ ]

Narsen's Web: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to Sense Motive when dealing with anyone hiding their features behind a mask or disguise (including magical disguises and polymorph effects that change the person's appearance to something unrecognizable).

Sewer Dragon Recruit: Any kobold character you create may take the following background.
SEWER DRAGON BACKGROUND
Prerequisites Kobold ancestry
You are one of the Sewer Dragons, born in Absalom’s sewers, strengthened by a life defending your territory. Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost. You’re trained in the Crafting skill and the Kobold Lore skill. You gain the Snare Crafting skill feat.

Society Connections: Check the box that precedes this boon when you Earn Income during Downtime to attempt a task of level 3. If you critically fail the check, you still earn the result of a failure for that task. [X]

Spark of Life: A seed has been planted in the fey demiplane known as the Lodge of the Open Road. Inside this seed is a tiny spark of your essence. If you die during an adventure, check the box next to this boon to reduce the gold or material cost of a raise dead ritual to restore you to life by 50%. This ritual automatically succeeds (but cannot critically succeed). This boon does not stack with other boons which affect raise dead. [ ]

Time Traveler: You gain access to the rare background Time Traveler (Secrets of Magic 31) for all of your Pathfinder Society characters. You must meet all ownership requirements as normal. Keep a copy of this boon with any character you create using this background.

Traveler of the Spirit Road: Whenever you would critically fail a check to Hide, Sneak, Sense Direction, or Track while in a forested area, you may check a box next to this boon as a free action to treat that check as a failure instead. [ ] [ ] [ ]

Valais’s Assurance: You may check a box next to this boon and spend an action to use the champion focus spell lay on hands, heightened appropriately for your level. This does not cost a Focus Point. [ ] [ ]

Bring Them Back Alive (2 Fame): You are able to leverage your connections within the Society to raise funds for your allies’ resurrection, ensuring that everyone lives to see another adventure. You and your allies treat your effective character levels as 1 lower for the purpose of the raise dead spell and the resurrection ritual. This applies to both the level of the spell or ritual required, as well as to calculating the cost of the diamonds necessary to cast the spell or perform the ritual.

Eager Protege (4 Fame): Once per adventure before you attempt a skill check or attack roll, the ally successfully Aids you, granting you a +1 circumstance bonus to the triggering check. Tally the amount of XP you earn while this boon is slotted. Once you have tallied 60 or more XP in this way, you can encourage your protégé to set off on their own on new adventures. When this happens, you can no longer slot this boon; however, you can expend the boon when creating a new character to begin the character at 2nd level with 12 XP, 12 Fame, 30 gp, and 12 Reputation to distribute among any number of legal factions. Once expended in this way, this boon provides no other benefits. XP Earned: 3.3.1 [4 XP], 4.1.1 [4 XP], 4.1.2 [1 XP], 4.1.3 [1 XP], 4.1.4 [1 XP], 4.3 [4 XP], 5.1 [4 XP], 5.2 [4 XP], 5.3 [4 XP], 6.1 [4 XP], 6.2 [4 XP], 6.3 [4 XP], 7.1 [4 XP], 7.2 [4 XP], 7.3 [4 XP], 8.1 [4 XP], 8.2 [4 XP], 8.3 [4 XP]. Current: 60/60 XP

Harmonic Wayfinder (2 Fame): You have modified your wayfinder to resonate with your allies’ actions, allowing you to better help them in times of need. When you slot this boon, you apply its benefits to one wayfinder in your possession, granting you a special free action ability when the wayfinder is invested and in your possession. You can activate this ability as a free action before you Aid an ally. If you roll a success on the check to Aid, you instead get a critical success. You can safely use this benefit once per adventure. You can attempt to use it a second time, overcharging the wayfinder at the risk of destroying it. When you do so, roll a DC 10 flat check. On a success, the wayfinder is broken. On a failure, the wayfinder is destroyed. If anyone tries to overcharge a wayfinder that’s already been overcharged, the item is automatically destroyed (even if it has been repaired) and does not provide the activated benefit.

Heroic Inspiration (4 Fame): Your most momentous actions can inspire your allies to follow suit. When you use a Hero Point to reroll a check and succeed at the check, your allies gain a +1 circumstance bonus to checks of the same type for 1 round (such as attack rolls, Will saves, or Perception checks).

Hireling: You have recruited a non-combat hireling who can assist you with a certain set of skill checks. This ally performs the selected skills with a total modifier equal to 2 + your level, and they are considered trained in the skills. You must expend any actions and be in range to perform the action yourself, and any consequences of these actions affect you (such as falling when using Athletics to Climb). The hireling doesn’t have or use its own ability modifiers and can never benefit from item bonuses, status bonuses, or fortune effects. Abilities that grant you a circumstance bonus do not grant that circumstance bonus to your hireling even though you are using your action to attempt the check. You cannot aid your own hireling. You cannot use the hirelings skills except recall knowledge in combat, and the hireling cannot be affected by, or affect combat, and cannot be harmed unless willfully endangered, and has no effect other than performing the selected skill checks. When you purchase this boon, you select one skill as well as one Lore skill. The hireling can perform only these skills checks.

Hireling, Expert: When you gain this boon, select one Hireling boon you possess. The selected ally’s proficiency for their selected skills improves to expert, and their modifier to skill checks increases to 4 + your level.

Hireling, Professional: When you gain this boon, select one Hireling boon you possess. The selected ally adds a second Lore skill to the list of skill checks they can attempt. In addition, select one skill feat whose prerequisite is being trained in one of the hireling’s selected skills. The hireling gains the benefits of that skill feat when attempting skill checks.

Hirelings:
• Expert, Professional Hireling (16 Fame): doula (Athletics, Midwifery Lore; Lamashtu Lore, Lead Climber)
• Expert, Professional Hireling (16 Fame): personal trainer (Acrobatics, Circus Lore; Cat Fall, River Lore)
• Expert, Professional Hireling (10 Fame, 0 AcP): mob boss (Thievery, Labor Lore; Subtle Theft, Legal Lore)

Improved Envoys' Alliance Champion (4 Fame): You gain one additional boon slot during the adventure. You can use this additional boon slot only for a boon whose prerequisite includes an Envoys’ Alliance faction tier of 1, 2, or 3.

Skilled Mentor (2 Fame): While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you provide vital advice to sharpen your newer colleagues’ skills. For any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours, you increase the Level Bump’s modifier to skill checks to 2.

Society Recruiter (0 Fame): The Envoys’ Alliance celebrates your efforts to recruit new talent. If you bring a new player to a table—a player without a Pathfinder Society character or someone playing their first Pathfinder Society session—you earn 2 additional Fame and Reputation with the Envoys’ Alliance faction.

Treasure Bundle Insurance (4 AcP): Even when your careful searching doesn’t uncover all of a site’s valuables, you’re able to appraise, repair, and certify what you did recover to maximize their value. You can check a box that precedes this boon at the end of a scenario when you and your allies recovered 9 or fewer of the adventure’s Treasure Bundles. Increase the effective number of Treasure Bundles recovered by 1 for the purpose of calculating the group’s gold piece rewards. The total number of additional Treasure Bundles provided by this boon cannot exceed the adventure's maximum (10, for a typical scenario) [ ] [ ] [ ]