Bootie and the Hofish

> "*Some know us as Bootie and the Hofish. Others don't know us.*"
> ― Butylene O'Kipple
>
>

**Bootie and the Hofish** is the official name of the main party of Queens of Adventure. It originally consisted of Arson Nicki, Butylene O'Kipple, Fraya Love, and Harlotte O'Scara. The name is usually used to refer to them as performers, which is often their cover for their treasure hunting for relics of the lost houses of the Age of Queens.

## History

### Early Days

The group originally formed in order to compete at the drag competition at the Wigsnatch festival. Their performance as well as their skills in vanquishing a troll that attacked the festival drew the attention of Copper Top, a servant of the House of Wunderbred. He began to hire the queens to perform, first at his master's home, and later at LaBouche Gardens.

Both of these performances led to them having adventures where they met Gnomi Malone, a researcher into the legendary drag houses of old. As the Queens had managed to find treasures of the lost houses in both adventures, he proposed a partnership with them to locate another lost treasure. After uncovering rumors of one kept in a vault on Fire Island, which needed an Ice Scepter to unlock, he suggested the queens enter the Search for the Tops competition, as the scepter was the prize. In order to enter, they needed a name, and the group chose the name Bootie and the Hofish.

### As Bootie and the Hofish

At the Search for the Tops competition, the group made the finals alongside the Tooting Oompas and metal band Crotch. The later tried to prevent the queens from reaching the finals by sending them careering down the mountain beneath the Crystal Palace in a runaway sleigh, and then sicking their bodyguards against them. The group overcame those obstacles, and not only slayed the competition to win the scepter, but brought the house down around them as an abominable snow beast followed them and destroyed the theater. This, after the House of Wunderbred, was the second time they had brought the house down.

The Ice Princess invited the group to stay for a few days and compete in a mock battle in a coliseum, the first time they had been hired to perform in a way other than musically.

In order to reach Fire Island, the group booked themselves as performers on the SS Salty Starfish cruise ship. They gave at least one performance, but could not complete their job as the ship fell under attack, first by seaspawn, and later by a Kracken which sunk the ship.

### Morale Officers of the Golden Palace

The queens found themselves on Fire Island after the shipwreck, regrouped, and found themselves at the Golden Palace casino. The island was under assault from sea spawn, and resort guests were asked to defend the casino in order to earn their keep. While wary of such an arrangement, Bootie and the Hofish agreed to it, at least temporarily. They met the owner of the resort, Belfry Ramshackle, a previous acquaintance and fellow hunter of lost house relics. She hired them to boost morale around the casino with a variety of shows and ceremonies, intermixed with sending them on quests with the goal of trying to stop the Kracken's antagonism of the island.

Their first quest was a journey to the town of Watersport to retrieve a copy of the Treaty of Fire Island. There they encounter the devil Barb, experimenting with alchemical formulas. He refused to help them unless Butylene became his assistant, so they fought him, acquired the documents, and fled.

On their return visit, they passed by a Stone shrine, that jogged their memory of their quest for the lost relic. Despite having been warned to not travel to the Glamazon, non-tourist, side of the island, the group did, taking the panfrost bridge to the central island and the obsidian ziggurat on it. They were immediately arrested.

### Trial and Kracken Priest

The Glamazons imprison the party while they judge them and find them guilty. Before sentencing, Inquirer Rigo Caylis questions the group, showing memories acquired from the glama birds who watch over the island. This leads to a sentence of death by being thrown into the ocean at high tide. The queens are dragged beneath the waves by seaspawn.

Taken to the lair of the Kracken Priest, who creates seaspawn, the party joins with other prisoners, effect an escape, and defeat the Kracken Priest, claiming his heart as a trophy. After the escape, Harlotte sneaks away into the woods, and leaves the party. The group, including the survivors, and a group of ghosts they befriend, return to the Golden Palace, where the seaspawn are attacking wildly. After using the heart to turn them back, the heart broadcasts a message from the Kracken: Bring it the treasure in the ziggurat by the full moon in fourteen days, or it will destroy the island.

### Gathering Allies

Bootie and the Hofish host a small ceremony to try and calm nerves for the survivors, with mixed results, before joining a group to help Belfry plan. They create their case to appeal for the Glamazons to help them defend the island. The next day, the party joins her in trekking to an Observatory to meet with Glamazons, who send Rigo to meet with them. As they come to agreement, Barb's boss, Carol, attacks. They defeat him, and learn this was Barb's plan to overthrow Carol. Barb and Butylene form a contract for the devil to aid the island. The Glamazons agree to provide support and invite Bootie and the Hofish to come to Glamala for training.

The next day the queens head to Glamalala and begin training, joined by a glamazon warrior, Irene Dubois. They spend three days training and learning skills and attend a Glamazon Founder's Day ceremony. Afterwards, they help defend the Ziggurat from a group of bearmit crabs, earning greater trust from the Glamazons.

Irene follows them to the Golden Palace, and the next day the new foursome journey deep into the underdark city beneath the island to find a lost group of drow warriors, cursed into driders by Lolth after they became allies of the Glamazons and tried to form their own drag house. The queens help them break their curse and brought them to the surface to join the alliance. Belfry then asks Irene to help her in securing an airship, and she leaves in the middle of the night on her new mission.

In the morning, the queens are joined by a tourist in debt to Belfry, Londyn Bradshaw. She accompanies them to the lagoon near the central island to recruit merfolk Fraya met when she first arrived on the island. Learning that the merfolk's leader, dragon turtle Alighieri, was sick, the party journey inside to help find a cure, hoping to earn the merfolk's help in response.

Journeying to the underwater city, the party discovered many of the merfolk had gone inside their dragon turtle spiritual leader, Alighieri, to find what sickness ailed him. The queens followed, exploring various illusion filled digestive track chambers before rescuing Mystie Seaport from the Kracken minion known as Dampthroat.

With the help of the merfolk and Alighieri secured, Bootie and the Hofish returned to the Golden Palace to find something amiss. The Portable Party altar and the Kracken Priest's Heart they had secured in the vault had been activated, causing a shark infestation. As the queens tried to protect the palace and stop the ritual, they found themselves agreeing to let the devil Barb shut off the altar. He instead took control of it and tried to take the whole island to one of the Nine Hells. Londyn interrupted his ritual, sending everyone instead to the Ethereal Plane.

## Alternate Continuity

The group also exists in other continuities outside the main one of the podcast.

In one, they were hired to perform at the annual Surf Queen Memorial Weenie Roast, which led to them tracking down a lost relic of the Surf Queens to try and defeat the local Yacht Club's attempt to claim the beach.

In another continuity, they performed at the Actual Tavern exhibit at AdventureCon. There they found a sentient mapcase who hired them to locate the missing pages of map that a cult was after.

In still another continuity, the group consisting of Arson, Butylene, Fraya, and Londyn Bradshaw, were hired to perform at a harvest festival in the town of Peachblossom. Upon arriving, the competition was cancelled due to poisons seeping into the town and the recent loss of several children who they had run out of town. The group decided to locate the source of the poison, find the kids, and heal the town in every way they could. Their efforts proved successful, and months later when the festival finally happened, they were happy to perform.

## Members

Founding Members:

* Arson Nicki - drow/drider warlock
* Butylene O'Kipple - tiefling alchemist
* Fraya Love - water genasi cleric
* Harlotte O'Scara - human rogue

Later Members:

* Irene Dubois - lizardfolk barbarian
* Londyn Bradshaw - firbolg druid

Alternate Continuity Members/Allies:

* Old Witch - half-elf sorceress (in a World of Wonder test)
* Bosco - shadar-kai ranger (in an adventure in Gnomengarde)

**House Aubergine**: Erika Klash - KaiKai Bee Michaels - Kitty Powers - Pollo del Mar - Rock M. Sakura
**Haus of Geek**: Fox E Kim - Jo Mama - Lucy Stoole
**Tuckernauts**: Kamaree Williams - Nocturna Lee Mission - The Other Jeannie Retelle - Utica Queen
**Others**: BenDeLaCreme - Bosco - Old Witch