Buddy

Art by Mariah

> *"I don't do this business for the money, mate. I take down the bad guys. If what you're saying is true, and you're not the bad guy.... Fuck it, I'll fucking capture this Façade, I don't care!"*
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> - Buddy
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**Buddy** is a member of the *Deadbeats* party. A veteran of the Bounty Hunter's Guild, Buddy deliberately seeks out the worst criminals Io has to offer to take them off the streets. Drawn to the bounty placed on the fugitive Logan Horn, he found the detective's story convincing enough to change sides and assist him in uncovering a great conspiracy. Though Buddy is grizzled, foul-mouthed and cynical, he is at odds with his own cuddly appearance and gilded heart. He is played by JoeFudge.

## Description

### Appearance

Buddy is a Cavis, a creature resembling an andromorphic Guinea Pig. He is approximately 3ft tall, overweight and covered in bright orange fur except for his face, chest and belly, which are covered in white fur. There also are some tufts of white fur in the shape of stars around his right leg. Buddy also has a number of scars along the center of his face. A pair of sharp long metal claws extend out from the tops of each of his hands, indicating that they were either surgically implanted or are simply a natural part of his body.

Buddy's main outfit is a tight-fitting half-plate breastplate with pauldrons. The breastplate is green camo with his name emblazoned near the neck. Two painted icons also adorn his torso. One the right is a large rodent skull with a bloody dagger sticking out of it, under which the words "or Story" are written. Meanwhile, on the left is a small distorted red heart accompanying the name "Hoppy". A black belt hangs around his hips, connected to the breastplate by straps, on which two small metal cylinders are secured. A weathered red headband holds back some of his fur from the top of his head. Finally, a set of dog tags on a chain hang around his neck.

### Personality

> *"Sorry, again no offense, I'm sure you're nice..."*
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> *"You can't keep saying that before you say something offensive, just fucking say the offensive thing! I'll take offense, but I'm not gonna do anything to ya!"*
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> -Dash Whiskers and Buddy
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Despite his unintentionally cute appearance, Buddy is a hardened warrior with a foul mouth and a tough attitude. Buddy has no capacity for decorum, making blunt comments and cursing up a storm in casual conversation. He makes causal threats even to his allies and doesn't take kindly to being lied to or ignored. However, Buddy is also very honest and genuine, outright admitting all his intentions to Logan Horn within hours of meeting him. His gruff cynical demeanor endeared him to Logan Horn very quickly, who sees him as something of a kindred spirit.

Buddy's experience as a bounty hunter has made him very resourceful and strategically minded. Rather than chasing down Logan and his allies, he researched them in order to locate their contacts, accurately predicting that they would return to in order to ambush them. He also chose to confront Logan alone to isolate him from his team. He also showed remarkable patience by listening to Logan's excessively long story in full to get the measure of him. Unfortunately, the same experiences have also made Buddy paranoid and trigger-happy, holding each of Logan's allies at gunpoint and demanding they remove their faces despite Logan's assurances.

However, the keystone to Buddy's character is his sense of justice and honor. Unlike most bounty hunters, Buddy tracks down criminal not for money or glory but to met out punishment to those who deserve it. He stated as much to Logan during their first meeting, and his inquires about Logan's story indicate his dedication to the truth before he goes guns blazing. He freely admits that he usually tries to hear his targets out and considers himself one of the nicer bounty hunters out there. Upon hearing of the Façade conspiracy, Buddy happily switched sides to dedicate himself to stopping Façade without any anticipation of personal gain.

Despite his grizzled demeanor, Buddy is also subject to some strange mannerisms. He tends to have little self-control around food, shifting his focus to seeking it out and consuming it. This backfired horrendously upon finding Piper's peanut butter brownies, earning himself a bad trip in the process. He also has a predilection with cigars, regularly smoking them throughout the day and night.

## History

### Background

Buddy's history is as of yet unknown. As a Starborn Cavis, it is likely that he is not native to Io, and was instead born somewhere out in the depths of space. At some point in his life, Buddy dedicated himself to becoming a bounty hunter, seeking out criminals in exchange for credits. From what Buddy has revealed so far, Buddy would go out of his way to seek out the worst criminals he could find, and, if his interaction with Logan Horn is anything to go by, would always ensure that his targets were guilty of their crimes before taking them in. Buddy also tended towards capturing his targets rather than outright killing them, mostly because their capture often lead to a higher reward.

Buddy's escapades as a bounty hunter have likely taken him all across the Jupiter System, particularly the planet of Io. He became very well-acquainted with Io's criminal underworld as a result. His career also brought him into contact with the Bounty Hunter's Guild, a group of similarly-minded professionals with somewhat less savory methods. One such member was known as the Eyetaker, a vicious hunter known to gouge out the eyes of his targets. Perhaps because of such disreputable people, Buddy continued to operate alone, flying his shardship around the system to track down his next target.

## Phase 3 Story

### Logan Horn, Dead or Alive

At some point after the murder of Ionian Senator Thalin Daiboros, a sizeable bounty was placed on a fugitive detective from Xiros. The detective in question, Logan Horn, was once a reputable prot who fell from grace after the conclusion of the Façade Murders 20 years prior. According to the notice, Detective Horn supposedly murdered the senator in retaliation to the plan of cutting the Xiros Defense Force's officers in half, with Logan being one of the causulties.

Buddy caught wind of the bounty shortly after its announcement, presumably through the Bounty Board, a radio show dedicated to circulating bounties. The bounty also identified several other individuals who Logan had either recruited or released from jail. The initial bounty was set at 8000 credits for Logan's capture. However, as most veteran bounty hunters were wont to do, Buddy waited it out until the bounty was raised before he would make his move. Not long after its initial announcement, the bounty was raised to an amount Buddy considered worth his time; 10,000 credits for alive, and 5000 credits for dead. Once Buddy received the news, he began to research Logan Horn and his associates. Identifying one of them as the prodigal son of the Hellebore Family, Buddy travelled to Llwendolyn to stake out the Hellebore Manor with the intent of ambushing Logan if he arrived.

## Mechanics

### Powers and Abilities

#### Barbarian Abilities

* *Rage*
* *Unarmored Defense*
* *Reckless Attack*
* *Danger Sense*
* *Extra Attack*
* *Fast Movement*
* *Feral Instinct*
* *Brutal Critical*
* *Beast abilities*
	+ *Form of the Beast*
	+ *Bestial Soul*

## Etymology

"Buddy" is an English word describing a friend or close acquaintance, or a partner in a shared activity. The word is possibly derived from the word "butty", a colloquial term meaning "workmate", especially in a mining environment.

## Trivia

* Buddy is the first Cavis to be seen on-stream and the first Cavis player character.
* Buddy's species, the Starborn Cavis, might be a homage to the Space Hamster, a recurring Dungeons & Dragons monster that first appeared the Spelljammer campaign setting for 2nd Edition.
* According to JoeFudge, Buddy's armor is based of a similar set worn by Hudson from the film Aliens. Similarly, his claw weapons are inspired by those of the Predator from the film of the same name.
* JoeFudge stated that Buddy's character was partially inspired by characters such as Billy Butcher from The Boys and Charles Vane from Black Sails, among other similar characters across media.

## Images

### Fan Art

1. ↑ Tweet from JoeFudge, dated 27th January, 2023
2. ↑ Message from JoeFudge in the World of Io Discord server, dated 20th January, 2023.