Wolfram



Doctor Wolfram Erhard Von Ryker
"Old money, old promises, old lies."

A brilliant mind years ahead of his time. Shackled by his vices, driven by obsession.

The last tattered remnants of an exhausted noble line. Grounded in tradition, inspired by invention.

A soul sold to the devil, and dealings made with death.

A creature with more than his fair share of secrets, and more than one reason to hide.

"You cannot fault a man for his curiosity, nor for his drive to obtain the unobtainable."





Physical Description
A lanky man in his prime with neat and prominent features, dressed in the formal attire most often associated with his station and profession. Pale and gaunt, he smells strongly of potent chemicals and seems sickly, oft carrying a black doctor’s bag at his side. A kind of white textile scarf covers his nose and mouth (presumably against foul humors), and  smoked lenses are occasionally worn to conceal eyes pale gray and slightly jaundiced (as often seen in men who indulge freely.) Black Black leather gloves cover both hands, the right of which seems to sit oddly.

Profession
Doctor of (experimental) physic.

Trained chirurgeon.

Practicing alchemist and apothecary.

Related Places
Wolfram & Hardt, Apothecary and Physicians.

Located in Two Fork’s South-Eastern district.

Von Ryker Estate.

Situated on the icy banks for the Samaelion River on the border of Cinvdervale, this once-prosperous estate is now largely fallen to ruin. A relic of a better time, from before the Brightvale burned to ash, it now rarely receives visitors.

DM Information
This section contains information that is not meant to be viewed by the typical player. DM's may use this to enhance their game or settle disputes.

  Personal Effects  Items likely to be found on his person as per common course.


 * White silk scarf.  Worn about the nose and mouth.
 * Gloves. ''Two pairs.
 * Small set of medical and investigative tools bound in a leather holder.  Various.  Stainless steel and/or silver.  Scalpels, scissors, blades, needles, forceps, probes, picks, etc.
 * Notebook and pencil.  Possibly various.
 * Personal syringe.  Delicate glass-and-metal and kept in a wooden box.  Usually two.
 * Narcotics.  Personal store of various high-grade chemical substances kept in a small, flat wooden box.
 * Doctor’s bag.  If present, variable content.

 Armory  <p class="MsoNormal" style="border-style:none;padding:0cm;">''A short list of notable weaponry. This is merely what he owns, not what he might be found carrying around at all times.''


 * Ornamental single-shot blackpowder derringer. Not the most practical of weapons but small enough to go unnoticed in a pocket.
 * Ornate Six-gun.  A single-action cartridge revolver from somewhere half a world away.  Irreplaceably rare, unbelievably valuable.
 * Bolt-action hunting rifle.  Of Dwarven make.
 * Cane sword.  Black and silver, crowned with a raven’s head.
 * Spada da lato (Side Sword). A nobleman’s sword.
 * Fukiya. Collector’s piece. A short lacquered wooden blowgun of a size easily concealable within a coat, said to have belonged to a rather infamous covert agent who once slew a king.
 * Other.  A collection of various rare and unique weapons from primitive or foreign cultures, as well as remnants of the old family armory.

 Undeath  <p class="MsoNormal" style="border-style:none;padding:0cm;">A simplistic overview of the basic does and does nots as far as this character is concerned.


 * Undead are once-living creatures animated by spiritual or supernatural forces.
 * No need to eat, breathe, or sleep.  Does not preclude hunger as often observed in the undead.
 * Immunity to all external mind affecting effects. Charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns and morale effects, etc
 * Immunity to biological effects.  Poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, exhaustion, fatigue, injury, etc.  Since it is not the function of the body but rather that of the spirit that is responsible for the animation of the corpse, harm to such structures as muscles or organs are irrelevant to the undead.
 * Unable to heal or regenerate. (Exceptions apply)  Typically positive energy (ex. Healing/holy magic) weakens whilst negative energy (ex. Necromantic/death magics) bolsters.
 * Supernatural senses.  Ability to see/hear/smell, etc even with damaged or missing organs.  Darkvision.  Ability to see/sense the supernatural (ghosts, spirits, etc).  Sense of touch and feeling is muted.  Retains only a blunt, phantom sense of touch on average, more mechanical than biological.
 * Supernatural strength.  A trademark of the undead.  Easily capable of raising a grown man off his feet by one hand.
 * Corpse fire.  Unable to access or practice magic learnt in life, but if bolstered with enough energy may gain access to such magics as are exclusive to the unliving (including ghosts, wraiths and spirits).  The simplest manifestation of this magic is the conjuring of a cool, pale blue flame.
 * Ghoul. Cannibalistic in nature, ghouls are driven by a supernatural hunger to seek out and consume the flesh of corpses and other undead. This may have one or two effects.  
 * If undead, the ghoul drains the energy of its victim in this manner, and in so doing can directly bolster its own energy reserves. The more powerful the undead, the more potent the resulting effect, which can bear similarities to a cocaine-induced high. 
 * If a human corpse, consumption will fortify the ghoul but may also grant it brief visions or snippets of knowledge the victim may have held in life, on top of a gentle euphoria much like that induced by heroin. The memory fragments are always a random selection and there is no way to directly choose what information gets imparted, although some tissues are considered more potent than others.
 * Ghostly Presence. When the dead walk within the living world they leave their unnatural mark upon it, and a sense of wrongness reigns in their presence. Natural animals react strongly and often negatively to the spirit’s presence whilst electric equipment may malfunction or randomly fail around them, interfering with signals or interrupting current flow. Things that remain in proximity of the spirit for extended periods of time may eventually become corrupted by its taint, subtly degrading or corroding over time.

 Cursed Blood of a God  <p class="MsoNormal" style="border-style:none;padding:0cm;">''Resurrected by the cursed blood of a man as it was fed to his corpse, who himself was barred from ever entering the realm of the dead by Thanatos himself. Thanatos’ blood drew his spirit back from beyond the veil, trapping it in his former body.''


 * Second-hand curse. The curse is one of immortality, but it was effected upon a corpse who was never an intended target. The secondary recipient receives a weaker form of the blood curse, usually characterized by fewer benefits and more negative effects than the original.
 * Tetherless. Where most undead draw sustenance from the beyond and most living draw theirs from the physical plane, Wolfram can do neither. Death robbed him of his tether to the physical and the curse sealed off his connection to the spiritual. Unable to regenerate lost energy, what he has is what he was brought through with, or what he can manually replenish through outside means. The curse may or may not come undone if all remaining energy becomes entirely depleted.
 * Bound. The curse of immortality binding his spirit binds the spirit to the curse, but the curse itself is bound to the body to which the god’s blood was fed. As long as the curse remains active, it is impossible to completely destroy his bones, the power of the curse itself feeding their reconstruction (but nothing more). The curse binds him so he cannot leave the mortal plane.
 * Trade. Souls of the dead being returned to their proper place in the afterworld may or may not cause Thanatos to extend the time which his blood and its effects will remain active.