Jobal

**Jobal** is one of the merchant princes of Port Nyanzaru, and a former adventurer who initially gained his riches after a successful heist of gold and gems from an ancient ruin. After Port Nyanzaru gained its independence from Amn in 1482 DR, he became known as one of the city's princes, selling the services of many travel guides. By law, all the guides in Port Nyanzaru are required to give him a cut of their payments, regardless if those guides are sponsored by him. In the year 1490 DR, a joint operation by the Xanathar Guild and a rogue cell of the Zhentarim led to Jobal's death, though his steep riches allowed him to return to life.

Jobal was an NPC in the short adventure *All Eyes on Chult*.

## Description

Jobal is a male Chultan human with dark skin, dark brown hair, and a graying beard that betrays his age. Although it is not obvious to onlookers, his body is riddled with scars he acquired during his younger years. He stands tall at 5 feet and 6 inches (1.6 meters) and weighs about 150 pounds (68 kilograms). After he ascended to the position of Merchant Prince, Jobal has worn fine noble's clothes to set himself apart from the lower class he originates from.

## History

Born and raised on the streets of Port Nyanzaru, Jobal never seemed like he would amount to much due to his lack of wealth or business education. As a young man, he ran occasional street scams until he had enough money to learn to fight and venture past the safety of the city. For over a decade after that, he was a wilderness guide and occasional adventurer, getting terribly scarred after a large number of harrowing experiences. Then, one lucky journey led the adventuring party he was guiding to a cache of gold and jewels. Of the entire party, only Jobal survived the gauntlet of undead and dinosaur attacks, mostly due to the young Jobal never truly intending to lay down his life for them. After a long journey he returned to the city in a canoe laden with treasure, the first adventurer to come back to Port Nyanzaru alive with treasure in many years.

Jobal received many requests to guide others to dangerous ruins then, but instead of pursuing the chance for more adventure, he used his wealth to sponsor other guides and invest in other businesses. His reputation drew in outsiders looking for their own troves of treasures, and when those adventurers paid for expensive guides to lead them through the jungles of Chult, Jobal always received a cut. When Port Nyanzaru gained its independence from Amn in 1482 DR, Jobal became officially known as one of the city's Merchant Princes, allowing him to implement laws that would further expand his influence over wilderness guides, mercenaries, and adventuring expeditions.

In 1490, the Xanathar Guild of Waterdeep and a rogue cell of the Zhentarim arrived in Port Nyanzaru with the intention to smuggle out exotic goods and exert control over the Merchant Princes. Jobal was unfortunate enough to be the first prince to be targeted after the Harbormaster Zindar impounded the ship the *Wicked Gaze*. In retaliation, the dwarven smuggler Red-Eye and his men broke into Jobal's villa, seizing the Prince when he was vulnerable in the bath before holding him hostage. Zindar was kept under watch and held from acting himself, as the half-dragon knew that Jobal's life was on the line. Using the *sending* and *simulacrum* spells, he informed a group of Harpers of the situation, who would then go on to break into the villa and attempt a rescue. During their confrontation of Red-Eye, the dwarven smuggler had his thugs beat Jobal to unconsciousness, before releasing an intellect devourer onto the Merchant Prince. The Devourer consumed the Prince's brain and took control of his body.

Although the Harpers were unable to stop his death, they took care to remove the devourer before destroying it, allowing Jobal some dignity after death. Like all the other Merchant Princes, Jobal had ensured in his will that should he die an unnatural death (like one done through an assassin), his wealth would be used to bring him back from the dead. Two months after the incident, this was achieved through his lover and heir Aazon Talieri using Jobal's wealth to find a priest capable of restoring the brain-less corpse to life. This reportedly cost the Merchant Prince the sale of the *Wicked Gaze*, a ship owned by the dwarf responsible for his death.