Wakanga O’tamu is a merchant prince of Port Nyanzaru and a powerful arcane spellcaster—the only mage among the city’s seven ruling merchant princes. He deals in knowledge, information, lost lore, potions, and scrolls, maintaining a monopoly on minor magic items in the city.
Role and Relationships
Wakanga is a long-time friend of Syndra Silvane and offers her lodging at his villa during her stay in Port Nyanzaru. Unknown to his fellow merchant princes, he sympathizes with the Harpers and allows them to use his villa as a safe house. He welcomes adventurers traveling with Syndra and is one of the few merchant princes who will meet with unannounced visitors if they arrive in her company.
Wakanga also provides magical enhancement services to other merchant princes—notably, he places permanent enchantments on weapons and shields for Ekene-Afa to sell. His magical prowess makes him the subject of jealousy from Ifan Talro’a, another merchant prince.
Personality and Public Image
Wakanga presents himself as something of a dandy who is easily seduced by smart women, though this may be a carefully constructed public persona rather than his true nature. Despite his willingness to help end the death curse, he maintains strict business practices and rarely extends credit—all purchases must be made in coin, gemstones, or jewelry.
Services and Items
Wakanga sells various magic items at fixed prices:
- Common potions (80 gp)
- Uncommon potions (300 gp)
- 1st-level spell scrolls (100 gp)
- 2nd-level spell scrolls (550 gp)
The Wizard’s Journal Quest
Wakanga possesses a tattered, water-damaged explorer’s journal recovered from the jungle 15 years ago. The journal describes a wizard’s explorations of Chult and frequently mentions the wizard’s traveling companion: a shield guardian named Vorn. If characters befriend Wakanga, he gives them the journal and marks on Syndra’s map where it was found. The journal includes a picture of Vorn’s control amulet but no information about the amulet’s location.
As a reward for finding and retrieving both the construct and its control amulet, Wakanga offers a spellbook containing fifteen randomly determined spells.
Family Connection
Wakanga has a cousin named Bwayes O’tamu, a weretiger who lives as a recluse in the jungle near the wreck of the Narwhal. The two were close as children, and the family resemblance between them is strong enough that characters who have met Wakanga will recognize the similarity when Bwayes assumes human form.
Statistics
Wakanga O’tamu uses the mage stat block and is lawfully neutral.