Kopi Yeom

Art by DonnieDurdunkle

> *"Everything's fine, I don't know what you're talking about!"*
>
>

> -Koliapi "Kopi" Yeom
>
>

**Koliapi "Kopi" Yeom** is a member of the *Curious Curios* party*.* As a Goma Touriya, Kopi was viewed by her people as a sign of bad luck. Indeed, Kopi's fortunes did appear to be dire, as she racked up a significant gambling debt due to her reluctance to accept defeat. In addition to being a skilled warrior, Kopi is able to call upon the aid of an mysterious invisible entity she dubs Xera the Bold. She is played by Arex.

## Description

### Appearance

Koliapi Yeom is a tall well-built humanoid woman with fair skin and large golden eyes. As a Goma Touriya, she possess a pair of golden wings about the length of her forearm that emerge from both sides of her head where the ears would be on a regular humanoid. Her hair is also the same golden color as her wings, and is tied up in a voluminous updo, with long set of bangs that are swept over the left side of her face. Some of the feathers also grow along her jawline, almost giving the impression of a beard. Another deviation from humanoid anatomy are Kopi's legs and feet, which are more akin to those of avian creatures that mammals, consisting of scales and clawed talons.

Kopi's primary (and only) outfit is a magical set of armor, which she is unable to remove. A golden scale half cuirass covers her chest, from which a white padded apron covers the rest of her torso. She does not appear to possess any armor on her back. Her right arm is mostly bare with the exception of a gauntlet, while her left possesses a golden pauldron that vaguely resembles a bird's head. A pair of pendant shaped plating with a blue tortoiseshell center adorn her left elbow and left hand. A thick brown belt circles her waist, from which a pair of circular plates with the same tortoiseshell pattern hang to protect her hips. She also wears a set of white padded trousers with a blue section on the inseam, over which a pair of knee high white and gold boots, with protective metal around the knees and calves.

### Personality

Kopi Yeom is loud, brash and aggressive in just about everything she does. She has next-to-no filter, and will blurt out her thoughts forcefully, unthinking of how they will affect others. She will often jump to conclusions about those she interacts with and will openly question everything they say or do, something that was occasionally justified in the case of the Count or Brul'vek but less so in the case of Gloran. She is also very quick to anger, a trait she shares with Remo, and will often confront any perceived sleight against her or her friends. She is often quite rude and demeaning, even to those who would consider her an ally such as Moth or Kef, calling the former useless and the latter spineless. Her excessive posturing and aggressive attitude do not endear her to others and has actively fueled conflicts that could have been avoided, such as the fight with the Frostfell centaurs or the scuffle with Esal.

Perhaps Kopi's most worrying trait is her inability to accept defeat in any capacity. Kopi will do anything in her power to ignore anything that conflicts with her predicted outcomes and act as if nothing is wrong. Alternatively, when faced with adversity, Kopi will attempt to downplay the situation, often stating that the problem is not as big as believed, or that whatever has upset her is beneath her notice. It is often when faced with such circumstances that Kopi is at her most intolerant, as best seen when she angrily admonished Moth for being unable to provide the exact specifications of hot spring she wanted, despite the devil's earnest protestations that they could do so with more time.

In addition to the above, Kopi Yeom is also a compulsive gambler, something that does not pair well with her unwillingness to fold. Kopi can be drawn into any sort of risky endeavor with almost no provocation, as seen with the Gourmancer's Hard Candies. Kopi's reckless nature means that she commits fully to any sort of gambling, setting herself up to either win big or, usually, lose hard. This competitive spirit also exists outside of the remits of gambling, as she will often try and outdo her allies in combat or physical activities, particularly Remo. To make matters worse for the Toriya, Kopi Yeom is also a terrible liar. Whenever she attempts to tell falsehoods or hide her intentions, she speaks haltingly, stumbles over her words and exhibits a very noticeable eye twitch, all tells that even the most gullible individuals could see through.

Much of Kopi's ill-mannered behavior has roots in her troubled upbringing, where she was ostracized by her own people as a result of a superstition. Her over-the-top attitude and defensiveness are likely a symptom of deep-seated insecurity carrying over from her formative years. Though she often deflects when it comes to discussing her own feelings, Kopi occasionally lets these insecurities show, such as her sad reflection on her appearance and the discrimination she suffered and how flustered she got when her party insisted several individuals found her attractive and wished to date her. Perhaps as consequence of this, Kopi is heavily reliant on Xera the Bold, her guardian spirit that fights on her behalf. When Xera temporarily left her in the Shadow, Kopi immediately took off after them out of a dogged compulsion and felt useless without them by her side. Kopi also feels dutybound to assist Xera in fulfilling the restoration of their armor, though it is unclear what this responsibility is motivated by. Other odd habits Kopi has developed over the years include a compulsive need to close open doors, choosing to sleep on the floor instead of a bed and her obsession with hot springs.

In the right company though, Kopi is capable of kindness and affection, albeit in her own way. She is very protective of Olive and Kyuubi, keeping the former safe by carrying her on her back and giving Kyuubi advice (though rather rash and poor advice) to help her avoid getting into trouble. She also expressed some sympathy with Tontu upon the loss of his family, though she did not linger once she had said her piece. Kopi is also the only one of the Curious Company to communicate with the Curios Keep, which she did through something akin to praying. Kopi's ardent belief that the Keep was sentient and willing to assist them held strong even when her party members argued against such a thing, and that belief ultimately saved the group from perishing at the hands of Count Corbett Aleister.

## History

### Background

Koliapi Yeom was born into a community of Touriya, humanoids that possessed avian features. however, unlike most members of her community, Koliapi was born a Goma Touriya, possessing wings on either side of her head. The birth of a Goma Touriya was considered to be a sign of ill fortune in their society, which meant that Koliapi was to be shunned from the first moment onwards.

Not much of her childhood is known, but it is clear that this mistreatment had a lasting effect on her psyche. In addition to a crippling insecurity about her appearance, Koliapi also developed an unhealthy habit of denying failure or unfavorable circumstances, insisting things were fine when it was clearly not the case. She also developed, at some point, an overwhelming obsession with hot springs, to the point in later life where she attempted to carry hot coals to a nearby river for just a split second of warm water.

### Bonding with Xera

At some point in her life, Kopi, as she became known, came into the possession of a set of armor and a relic spear. Both the spear and armor's origins are unknown, but it is likely they are artefacts of her people. For whatever reason, Kopi put on the armor and soon discovered she was unable to remove it. Now bonded to her body, Kopi discovered the armor housed a mysterious spirit called Xera the Bold.

It is unclear how she communicated with the spirit, but the two entered into a commensal agreement wherein Xera would use their powers to assist Kopi in whatever battles she might fight. Kopi and Xera began to train together, with Kopi learning how to summon Xera to hold her spear on her behalf and direct the spirit in battle. Xera's influence would also protect Kopi through her armor and a ghostly power to harass her enemies. Though Kopi felt she commanded the spirit, there was still much she did not know about it.

### The Kopi Yeom Technique

Reaching adulthood, Kopi branched out on her own away from her people, Xera the Bold in tow. Kopi Yeom's desire for the finer aspects of life, such as hotsprings, brought her into the gambling scene, believing she could win big and prove those who thought her bad luck wrong. Unfortunately, it appeared there was some truth to her people's superstitions after all, as Kopi proved to be a poor gambler with obvious tells and a reckless streak. Unable to admit defeat or know when to fold them, Kopi began to accumulate significant debts to keep herself and her destructive new career afloat.

Eventually, Kopi's debts became too much to ignore and her creditors descended upon her looking for their dues. With this new threat looming, Kopi did the only reasonable thing she could think of: she fled from town as fast as her legs could carry her. Kopi's graceless escape brought her to the Eshonia Isles in Etropa, a tranquil but remote place where it was unlikely her creditors would find her. Without a penny to her name, Kopi managed to erect a tent just outside the village of Lundy, next to the local stream. There she would remain, constantly reiterating to herself that everything was going to turn out just fine.

## Mechanics

### Powers and Abilities

#### Barbarian Abilities

* *Rage*
* *Unarmored Defense*
* *Danger Sense*
* *Reckless Attack*
* *Extra Attack*
* *Fast Movement*
* *Feral Instinct*
* Ancestral Guardian Abilities
	+ *Ancestral Protectors*
	+ *Spirit Shield*

#### Feats

* *Bold Strikes*
	+ This is the equivalent of the *Lucky* feat, but it only applies to attack rolls.
* *Mobile*
* *Sentinel*

### Special Abilities

* *Spiritual Bond*
	+ For a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, you can apply a trait to your weapon for one minute. You regain all uses on a long rest.
	+ Available Traits:
		- *Deadly Style*: One damage dice on this weapon will always be maximized.
		- *Toxic Style*: This weapon deals an additional 1d10 poison damage once per round.

### Notable Items

* *Relic Spear* +1
* *Cloak of Protection* +1
* *Ring of Free Action*
* *Armor Fragment of the severed*
	+ As a bonus action, you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed until the end of your next turn. While flying in this manner, you are able to dive. When you dive, you move 10ft instead of 5ft. You can dive an amount equal to twice your current altitude. When you successfully hit an enemy after diving that round, you deal an extra 2 points of damage for every 5ft that you dived.

## Etymology

"Koliapi" appears to be a original name made for the Ioverse setting.

Her diminutive name "Kopi" is the same as a type of coffee brewed in Maritime Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It is also the name of a type of mourning cap made of powdered gypsum sometimes worn by Australian Aboriginals after the passing of a loved one.

"Yeom" (염) is a Korean surname which roughly translates to "salt".

The combination of both the character's nickname and surname is "Kopi Yeom", which is a play on the Internet slang word "copuim". The term is a portmanteau of the words "cope" (to attempt to process something) and "opium" (a plant latex from poppy seeds that is the source of certain analgesic drugs), and describes a metaphorical drug used by people when faced with loss, failure and defeat. The earliest known use of the word was in 2003 as the title of an album by rapper Keak da Sneak. The slang became popular in 2020 when it was coupled with an image of Pepe the Frog inhaling the metaphorical substance from a tank and has become the basis of several reaction memes across social media platforms.

## Trivia

* Kopi is the first Touriya to be seen in the Ioverse, as well as the first Touriya player character.
* Kopi Yeom's design incorporates several aspects of his player Arex's branding. Her armor is styled after a yellow bird, which is the mascot of his channel and her guardian spirit is named Xera the Bold, with "Xera" being Arex backwards and "Bold" being part of his social media handles.
* Kopi Yeom's fighting style is inspired by the popular Japanese manga and anime series *JoJo no Kimyō na Bōken* (ジョジョの奇妙な冒険) or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure in English. In the series, characters fight by channeling their inner spiritual energy into an entities call a "Stand" which possess a variety of abilities. Xera the Bold fulfills this same function for Kopi Yeom, wielding her weapon for her in response to her directions. In addition, Kopi often makes a series of dynamic poses when fighting, something the characters of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are famous for.