Orly Skiffback

Orly Skiffback is a tortle bard and sailor. He was hired by the Mighty Nein to serve as the navigator of The Mistake and continued to serve as navigator after the Mighty Nein took over the Squalleater. He served as acting captain of the Nein Heroez in Fjord's absence, which Mighty Nein acquired on Rumblecusp, until the ship was sunk by minions of Uk'otoa.

As an NPC, Orly is played by Matthew Mercer.

Description
Orly is a green-scaled tortle with a long neck and head resembling a snapping turtle. He has series of magical tattoos on his arms imbued with aquamarine dust that look like swirling water. Orly's right eye is covered by a leather eyepatch engraved with a similar wave pattern to his tattoos. Has three ivory bagpipe horns emerging out of his shell, with the bag hanging to his right side.

Personality
Befitting his role as a bard, Orly is talkative and engaging. However, he does not sing; rather, he expresses his music through the bagpipes installed into his shell. He speaks with a Cajun accent and has a stutter.

Before Campaign 2
Orly served on at least five other marine vessels before he was hired by the Mighty Nein and already had a famed career known well across the Menagerie Coast. At some point, he gave an interview to the Cobalt Soul about augmentative tattooing for their archive volume of Rituals and Magic Practices of the Ki'Nau. Around 828 PD, he had his bagpipes surgically installed while on the sea.

Arc 2: The Bad Guys
The Mighty Nein first met Orly at the Wayfarer's Cove, where they bought him a drink and asked him if he knew Marius LePual. Orly told them that he did, and after being assured that they meant Marius no harm, that they could find him hanging around the docks at night.

The next day, after the Nein met Marius, commandeered The Mistake, and needed to hire a crew, Jester Lavorre sent Orly a message via Sending to hire him as a navigator. He came to the ship, where he and Fjord agreed on a rate of twenty-seven gold per week on the condition Orly got to choose his quarters.

Orly assisted Fjord navigating to the Inkclaw Reef and through the shelves to Urukayxl. After the Mighty Nein was press-ganged into working with Captain Avantika, Orly continued to act as the navigator for The Mistake as they followed the Squalleater towards Darktow Isle. On the way, Orly told Jester he learned how to create magical tattoos from gem dust during his travels around the Swavain Islands and showed her his own magical tattoo infused with aquamarine dust. He then showed her how to create non-magical tattoos.

Once at Darktow, Orly was asked by Fjord to watch over The Mistake and the crew while the Mighty Nein were getting ready to go out exploring with Avantika. If they didn't come back soon, Orly would be the new captain of the ship. Instead however, the Mighty Nein lead an impromptu mutiny against Avantika, leading to hear death when they showed proof her plans to kill Plank King Wyatt Maranoss and the Nein's exile from Darktow.

Orly and the rest of The Mistake's crew sailed away with the Mighty Nein from Darktow Isle on the damaged Squalleater and made their way towards the Diver's Grave with Orly's guidance. Once there, Fjord asked Orly to get as close as possible to the Diver's Grave in order to find the shipwrecked Tide's Breath.

After the Nein successfully recovered the Cloven Crystal from the Diver's Grace, Orly helped Fjord guide the ship, now re-named the Balleater, to Bisaft Isle to be repaired and restocked. When the Mighty Nein and the stowaway Twiggy disappeared into the "Happy Fun Ball" Orly took the ship the rest of the way and docked it there. When they returned, he helped navigate them towards Gravid Archipelago, then finally back towards Nicodranas.

When they reached the city, the party agreed, at Fjord's suggestion, to give the ship to Orly. He responded that he would simply take care of it for them, use it to earn money trading, and give them their share of the profits. Orly told Jester if they ever needed anything, she had "some of that fancy magic word stuff". Jester confirmed she would definitely use a Sending spell if they needed anything. Orly said he probably could, too, and wished them safe travels. Marius LePual handed Orly Fjord's captain hat, which he put on.

Arc 4: Swords and Angels
Several months later, the Mighty Nein returned to Nicodranas and sought out Orly, where they found him sailing away from the city on the Balleater. After calling him via Sending to return, they went aboard and greeted him. There Orly gave the Mighty Nein their cut of the Balleater's trade profits, then spent the rest of the day giving gemstone tattoos to three of the Nein: Constitution to Jester, Wisdom to Beau, and Charisma to Nott.

Arc 5: Family Ties
Later Orly sailed with the Mighty Nein on the Balleater with the Dwendalian fleet towards the peace negotiations with the Kryn Dynasty to end the War of Ash and Light. On the way, the ship was attacked in the night by agents of Uk'otoa, where Fjord and Orly were killed before the Mighty Nein ended the fight. Caduceus successfully Revivified Fjord, and Jester cast Revivify on Orly, bringing him to one hit point. Orly asked the Nein if there were any more creatures on the boat, and thanked Jester for healing him. He walked over to shout to the other ships coming to investigate the disturbance that the danger had passed.

After completing the negotiations, Fjord directed Orly to navigate south of the Inkclaw Reef towards the island of Rumblecusp for Traveler Con. On the way, the ship was chased by a dragon turtle, and once they arrived at the island, it attacked and destroyed the Balleater. Orly and the crew were camping on the beach when it happened, then made their way to Vo village.

After Traveler Con was complete, Fjord, Jester, and Caduceus used Control Water to move the Eden's Horizon out of the cave behind Heaven Falls. Orly and the crew took possession of the new ship, renamed the Nein Heroez, gave Yasha a Gemstone tattoo of Dexterity, and said their goodbyes to the Mighty Nein.

Fjord
Orly and Fjord have a strong professional relationship - he defers to Fjord and respects him as his captain, and in return Fjord entrusts Orly with command of his ships while he's away. When Fjord gave Orly custody of the Balleater for the first time, he insisted that he was only interim captain while Fjord was away. He seemed genuinely distressed when he spotted Fjord overboard in.

Marius LePual
Orly and Marius were friends since before they met the Mighty Nein. On occasion, when Marius needed a place to stay, Orly would let him crash on his couch. He was suspicious of the Mighty Nein when they began prying for information about Marius, and deliberately withheld information to protect Marius. While on Darktow, Orly and Marius were protective of the rest of the Nein's hired crew. On Rumblecusp, he joined in with the Nein's ribbing of Marius.

The Mighty Nein
Oly and the Mighty Nein have mutual respect and affection. They enjoy each others' company, and exchange warm greetings whenever they are reunited after some time apart.

Notable items

 * Surgically implanted bagpipes.

Abilities
Orly is able to infuse gem dust into his tattoo ink and, through a process taught to him by the descendants of the Ki'Nau, he is able to imbue his tattoos with magical properties that alter a person's physical capabilities.

Tortle Abilities

 * Claws
 * Hold Breath
 * Natural Armor
 * Shell Defense

Bard abilities

 * Bardic Inspiration
 * Ritual Casting
 * Spellcasting (Charisma-based)

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 2

Trivia

 * The character of Orly was created as a collaboration between Matthew Mercer and the Critter community during . Matt took suggestions from twitter polls and the live chat to decide what race, class, and special traits would that character have.
 * Matt had a stutter himself when he was younger and used that knowledge to give Orly depth.
 * Orly's enchanted tattoos are a traditional ritual of the Ki'Nau people (the indigenous natives of the islands along the Menagerie Coast), and they taught him this cultural practice during his many travels throughout the archipelago.
 * An Expositor of the Cobalt Soul interviewed Orly about this practice in Rituals and Magical Practices of the Ki'Nau.
 * Travis Willingham dressed as Orly for the Halloween 2020 episode.