Otto
Otto is 44, 5'10" tall, 332 lbs., with long, curly brown hair and green-hazel eyes. He usually wears voluminous rich robes of purple and gold, and several gem-set rings. Hugely fat, the sociable and ebullient Otto travels widely, claiming to be a merchant, and trading in luxuries, especially foodstuffs. Otto is a gourmet, and what he doesn't know about good food isn't worth knowing. He has been writing a book on special dishes and good places to eat for some ten years, and is looking forward to visiting many more fine hostelries still. Otto's cornucopia of blissful satiation is an item which provides him with three gourmet meals per day, but these must be ones which Otto has eaten before, and no particular dish can be reproduced more than once per year by the coruncopia-hence Otto's desire to eat as many wonderful (and different) dishes as possible on his travels. Otto is also a very cultured man, with a love of all arts, especially music.
Otto began life as an acolyte of Boccob in the Prelacy of AJmor, but despite his enthusiasm he did not make good progress. His superiors suggested switching to a career as a mage, and Otto has never looked back. Possibly due to some wry assistance from Boccob-or more likely Zagig-Otto made extraordinarily rapid advancement (gaining experience levels very quickly), but in a very special manner. It is Otto's keen musical sense which has assisted his study of magic. Otto is always ready (when he drops the cover of being a merchant and is known for what he is) to wax lyrical about the similarities between the structure of musical forms and the structures of the laws of magic, and believes the two to be closely linked.
In addition to his own personal spells using alterations of sound accompanying, or causing, magical effects, Otto is notorious for his bizarre singing fireballs and for casting magic missiles which leave a sound wave of polyphonic chanting behind them as they streak through the air. One Frost Barbarian who incurred Otto's wrath is reported to have said, "I have been struck by that which the foul dabblers in sorcery call an ice storm before, but never before by one which yodelled as it hailed down on my head."
Otto is well-liked among the rulers of Almor, and has a large town house there. If he needs to carry out magical research, he uses the resources of the Wizards' Guild in Chathold, or those at Tenser's fortress. He spends most of his time in Almor, where he learns much of what is happening in the Great Kingdom and the troubled lands of the Bone March and Ratik, information carefully studied by the Circle of Eight. He is also known to assist druids and rangers and their friends in the Adri Forest, and generally his neutral alignment is tinged with good tendencies.
Otto is a frequent visitor to the City of Greyhawk and keeps a well-appointed town house there 0ocation G2). He visits to see Tenser, to trade, but mostly to attend major cultural events in Greyhawk, especially the opera. Otto has been in love with Aestrella Shanfarel for years, and adores listening to her. He has showered her with flowers, gems, and gifts of all sorts, and has even dined with her twice (as her way of acknowledging the funds he has donated to the Grand Theatre and Opera House). He has no idea, of course, of her true nature (see Chap ter 5). Otto greatly enjoys the excellent food in Greyhawk, and often stays at The Golden Phoenix, talking to the chefs and swapping hints and gossip. On his most recent visit, Otto was able to add kraken steaks stuffed with fillets of rare star-eel, poached in Celene nectarwine and served with a mousse of moonberry and lemon, to his vast store of culinary experiences. He will travel far and wide to enjoy such rarities, and will pay well for recipes he has not already recorded in the many books which fill his bag of holding.
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