Azu

## Azu (she/ her)

Art by @saphizzle on tumblr. Used with permission. If using this art as reference, please credit the artist.

### Affiliation

Cult of Aphrodite (Paladin)
London & Other London Outstanding Mercenary Group

## Meta Information

### Introductory episode

Proper Hospitality

Azu is an orc Paladin of Aphrodite.

## Description

### Personality

Azu is a very large, kind, strong and tender-hearted orc Paladin of Aphrodite. She can summon her trusty camel (Topaz T. Camel) at will. Azu is extremely friendly, earnest, and fond of giving comforting hugs. She wants to help people, become a better healer, and one day become the High Priestess of Aphrodite. This isn't taken seriously by the other Aphrodite paladins. Despite her charisma, she can be awkward and make situations worse, especially early on.

As time goes on, while she becomes more confident and skilled, she also struggles with guilt from losing the other party members in Rome.

### Appearance

Azu is a 6'6" brown skinned orc with kindly eyes, who wears glowing pink armor that can be "turned down" at will. She has a shaven head, and two small tusks. She carries a greataxe, a morningstar, and two throwing axes, all of which glow pink.

Has a large over-armour parka made from three furs by Hamid in episode 158. It has pockets and a hood.

### Changes in Appearance

Broken tusk from the battle with the Lads and Blokes. Described in Disappearing Acts

Eyebrow scar from getting smacked back into consciousness in Disappearing Acts

Rose tattoo on the back of one hand in Terms and Conditions.

Wild magic placed her in Meerk's body in It's OK, But It's Complicated. She recovers her own body in Mixed Blessings.

## Relationships

### Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan

As the more personable, empathetic, and open members of the team, she and Hamid always got along well. Hamid was grieving his sister when they first met, in episode 85, and she comforted and hugged him. They had a few moral disagreements around the al-Tahan family's legal issues, and had very different upbringings and attitudes to some matters. However, this didn't lead to them disliking each other as people.

After the party was trapped for 18 months in a time-distorted plane, and Grizzop and Sasha were lost on the journey back, Hamid and Azu found themselves in a new and unfamiliar world. They became very close, and the trauma from the experience made them afraid to lose each other in the same way. They try to be near each other and spend time together whenever possible.

### Sasha Racket

Azu and Sasha met when Sasha was going through a very difficult time, and Azu failed to comfort her or help her through it very much, actually making her feel worse. Azu's open expressions of emotion also clashed with Sasha's closed off personality. However, when Sasha snuck off to go wander around Cairo, in a poor mental state, Azu and Grizzop went to look for her. Sasha was annoyed when they found her and in the moment just wanted to be left alone, but in the long run the fact that they had cared about her and gone looking was meaningful to her. By Damascus, Sasha and Azu got along fairly well. As a trio, Sasha, Grizzop, and Azu spent quite a bit of time together, coming up with things like their circus-act esque pyramid, where they rode Topaz balanced on top of each other and Sasha did knife tricks.

### Grizzop drik acht Amsterdam

As a paladin of Aphrodite and a paladin of Artemis, Azu and Grizzop had a fraught relationship. Grizzop had some stereotypical and disdainful views about the Church of Aphrodite, and also openly disliked Eren Fairhands, who Azu looked up to. Azu was accidentally rude to Grizzop multiple times, and in fact when they first met tried to pick him up and carry him around against his will.

His death affected Azu deeply. She met his spirit in the Garden of Yerlik.

### Howard Carter

Azu and Carter first meet when he's cursed from attempting to rob the bank. The party is continually frustrated with him as they have to put up with him to figure out what happened with him, Barret, and Saleh, and he escapes jail to try and rob the bank again. Eighteen months later, it turns out he's part of Wilde's team, along with Zolf and Barnes. Azu doesn't like him, but they're forced to spend lots of time together. They have an entertaining, argumentative, relationship. After knowing him for a while, Azu realizes he may have some deeper reasons for behaving like he does. She tries to make amends, which goes poorly, but leaves them in a better position to understand each other. When Carter dies in the airship crash, she is the one who goes to bring him back from the dead. Carter doesn't remember what happened, but instinctively feels closer to Azu than he did before.

### Kiko

Azu and Kiko are in a romantic relationship, beginning with their date in episode 166. Azu was the one to first approach her, but Kiko is very interested and also more confident than Azu. They go on another date in episode 179 and make their relationship official.

## History

Azu grew up in a small town in the Kenyan mountains; the mountain doesn't have a name, as far as Azu knows.

About three years before the beginning of the story, a paladin came to Azu's town. Azu received a vision from Aphrodite and decided to join her, attending a seminary school. At the time, Azu was going to marry a pot-maker named Chinua, but left him amicably to follow Aphrodite; she's recently exchanged friendly letters with him. She later tried to move on, dating a woman who wasn't as serious as her. Since then, Azu's avoided romance.

She had only been in Cairo for 5 days when she met the LOLOMG in a fierce sandstorm, and decided to join them.

## Additional Information

* Looks up to Eren Fairhands, whom she considers the greatest healer in the world.
* Is bad at maths.

## Mechanics

### Traits

* **Darkvision:** Grants black and white vision up to a range of 60 feet in darkness.

### Class Features

* **Detect Evil:** Azu can use detect evil as a move action, concentrating on a single item or individual within 60 feet to determine if it is evil.
* **Smite Evil:** Four times per day, Azu can call out to Aphrodite to smite an evil creature, allowing her to add her Charisma bonus to all attack rolls and and her paladin level to all damage rolls against that creature. This does further bonus damage to outsiders with the evil subtype, evil-aligned dragons, and undead, for whom the bonus damage on the first successful attack is 2 per paladin level. Smite evil also bypasses any damage reduction that the target might have. Additionally, Azu can add her Charisma bonus to her AC against attacks from this target. Smite evil remains in effect until the target is dead or until a long rest.
* **Divine Grace:** Azu adds her Charisma bonus to all saving throws.
* **Lay On Hands:** Azu can lay on hands to heal a creature for 5d6 points of damage. Alternatively, it can be used to harm an undead, dealing 5d6 points of damage. Azu has 8 uses of lay on hands per day and laying on hands is standard action, unless she targets herself, in which case it is a swift action.
* **Mercy:** Azu has 3 mercies which automatically augment her lay on hands.
	+ Deceived: The target can immediately attempt a new saving throw to disbelieve any ongoing illusions that it failed to disbelieve within the last minute.
	+ Enfeebled: Dispels any magical effects that are reducing one of the target’s ability scores.
	+ Poisoned: Acts as the neutralize poison spell.
* **Aura of Courage:** Azu is immune to fear and each ally within 10 feet of gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability only functions while she is conscious.
* **Divine Health:** Azu is immune to all diseases, including supernatural and magical ones.
* **Channel Positive Energy:** Azu can expend 2 uses of lay on hands to channel positive energy like a cleric, healing allies and damaging undead for 5d6.
* **Spellcasting:** Azu is a prepared divine caster. Each day she must pray and meditate for an hour to choose her spells for the day.
* **Divine Bond:** Twice per day, Azu may magically call Topaz T. Camel to her side and Topaz immediately appears adjacent to Azu. Topaz functions as a druid’s animal companion, using Azu's level as her effective druid level, with the exception of having an Intelligence score of 6 instead of 2.
* **Aura of Resolve:** Azu is immune to charm spells and spell-like abilities. Each ally within 10 feet of her gains a +4 morale bonus on saves against charm effects. This ability only functions while Azu is conscious.

### Feats

* **Power Attack:** Take -3 on attack rolls in exchange for +6 damage on one-handed damage rolls or +9 on two-handed damage rolls.
* **Cleave:** Using a standard action, make a single attack against a foe within reach. On a hit, deal damage normally and make an additional attack at your highest bonus against a foe that is adjacent to the first and also within reach. This feat only allows one additional attack per round in and gives –2 to AC until your next turn.
* **Great Cleave:** Using a standard action, make a single attack against a foe within reach. On a hit, deal damage normally and make an additional attack against a foe that is adjacent to the previous foe and also within reach. On a hit, continue to make attacks against foes adjacent to the previous foe, so long as they are within reach. Each individual foe can only be attacked once during this attack action. Take a –2 to AC until your next turn.
* **Vital Strike:** As an attack action, make one attack and roll the weapon’s damage dice twice before adding other damage bonuses. The extra damage dice are not multiplied on a critical hit, but are added to the total.
* **Improved Initiative:** +4 to Initiative.

### Skills

* Heal
* Intimidate
* Knowledge: Nobility, religion
* Perception
* Profession: Airship crew
* Sense Motive
* Spellcraft
* Survival
* Use Magic Device

### Spells

Azu can prepare any spell of the appropriate level from the Paladin Spell List.

### Equipment

* Half-plate (agile): A set of bright pink half-plate armour. +8 AC, max dex bonus +0, armour check penalty -7. Due to its agile nature, the armour check penalty for climb checks and jump checks is only –4.
* Miniature replica of the Heart of Aphrodite worn on a chain beneath her armour.
* 1000 lb/453kg of marbles. Purchased in episode 161.
* More than one deck of cards. Purchased in episode 161.
* Whistles. Purchased in episode 161.
* Collapsible bathtub. Purchased in episode 161.
* A massive pair of horns. Purchased in episode 161.

#### Magic Items

* Bag of Holding: A cloth sack that opens into an extradimensional storage space.
* Ring of Protection: Gives +1 to AC. Purchased in episode 161.
* Amulet of Natural Armor: Gives +1 to AC. Purchased in episode 161.
* Cat Burglar's Boots: Give +2 on Acrobatics, Climb, and Stealth checks. Once per day the wearer may also reroll any one failed Acrobatics, Climb, or Stealth check. Acquired in episode 196.
* Cloak of Elvenkind: Helps the wearer blend in with any terrain and gives +5 to Stealth. Acquired in episode 196.
* Righteous Armor +3: Gives +3 to AC on top of regular armour AC bonus. Once per day on command, the wearer can invoke the effect of the spell righteous might, which lasts for 10 rounds. Acquired in episode 204.

#### Weapons

 **Adamantine Greataxe** | 1
 **Throwing Axe** | 2
 **Morningstar** | 1

## Quotes

"You do not pay for anything here, for we are now not only friends, but... adventure colleagues! Quest buddies!"
―**Episode 85**[src]

"It’s about healing, healing all parts of the body and soul and doing good in the world."
―**Episode 88**[src]

"You can’t protect people from their own actions. They have to be able to learn from the mistakes that they make."
―**Episode 94**[src]

"Justice means that people get what they deserve."
―**Episode 94**[src]

"Please, Sasha. I don’t want you to die."
―**Episode 111**[src]

"I'm a Paladin of Aphrodite, hearts are what I do."
―**Episode 123**[src]

"You know how it was, we began to fall and then… she left… and then I was holding Grizzop, and then Grizzop wasn’t there. And I couldn’t catch him."
―**Episode 126**[src]

"I'm not letting go of you any time soon."
―**Episode 129**[src]

"He’s the only one I’ve got left!"
―**Episode 134**[src]
## Notes

* Azubuike being her full name is not in-show, canon information yet, but was mentioned by Helen on Discord and stored here for spelling reference once it come up in show. Take or leave at your own preference.