Post by Wilhelm von Hesse on Mar 30, 2018 8:37:35 GMT
Character Name: Wilhelm Karl Georg Julian von Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld (Wilhelm will do just fine, thanks.)
Player Screen Name: Zalthus
Character Type: Primary
Supernatural Type: Vampire
Concept: Late modern noble scion.
Nature: Competitor
Demeanor: Director
Morality: Path of Humanity, 7
Clan: Ventrue
Sect: The Anarch Movement
Titles: N/A
Physical Appearance:
Personality:
Biography:
Attributes:
Charisma: 4 (Approachable)
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 4 (Cute)
Perception: 2
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 3
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 2
Abilities:
Expression: 4 (Debate)
Leadership: 4 (Enlightened Monarch)
Grace: 2
Intimidation: 2
Empathy: 2
Persuasion: 2
Subterfuge: 2
Bureaucracy: 2
Law: 2
Politics: 3
Finance: 2
Linguistics: 2 (English, French, German [native])
Etiquette: 3
Melee: 2
Performance: 1
Backgrounds:
Age: 3
Generation: 4
Domain: 3 (Roeststadt Medical Center)
Haven: 4 (Luxury, Location, Staff, Guards, Security, Size)
High Influence: 2 (City Hall, Roeststadt Medical Center)
Status: 1
Resources: 4
Herd: 2
Disciplines:
Presence: 2
Dominate: 3
Virtues:
Conscience: 3
Self-Control: 4
Courage: 3
Willpower: 4
Maximum Blood Points/Blood per turn: 14/2
Current Experience: 0
Merits:
Natural Leader (-1)
Enchanting Voice (-2)
Paragon: Follower (-3)
Johann Wolfgang Peltzer, Rating 5, Ventrue:
Low Influence: 2 (Human Traffickers, Prostitutes)
Herd: 1
Domain: 1
Specializations: Medicine, Streetwise, Expression, Alertness, Etiquette.
Flaws:
Bad Sight (+1)
Deep Sleeper (+1)
Dark Secret (+1)
New Arrival (+1)
Sleeping With the Enemy (+3)
Prey Specificity (Ventrue Flaw): Young (13-40) French women.
Player Screen Name: Zalthus
Character Type: Primary
Supernatural Type: Vampire
Concept: Late modern noble scion.
Nature: Competitor
Demeanor: Director
Morality: Path of Humanity, 7
Clan: Ventrue
Sect: The Anarch Movement
Titles: N/A
Physical Appearance:
Not an unattractive man, if a bit boyish, Wilhelm sports short dark hair and a clean shave, always in perfect condition. While not exceptionally fit, he generally does not appear unhealthy, with only the pallor of undeath truly marking him as anything exceptional. 176 Centimeters, 60 Kg, and certainly anything but imposing at first glance, Wilhelm nonetheless possesses some ineffable quality that draws both Kindred and Kine to make his acquaintance.
Often dressing in the latest fashion, Wilhelm prides himself on his wealthy appearance. Dark suits, tuxedos, and ostentatious accessories are donned with great regularity.
Often dressing in the latest fashion, Wilhelm prides himself on his wealthy appearance. Dark suits, tuxedos, and ostentatious accessories are donned with great regularity.
Personality:
Despite his intensity and ambition in regard to Sect policy, Wilhelm is actually a rather bright person to be around. Cheerful, humorous (if a little acerbic), and exceedingly polite, he seems somehow averse to the stodgy self-importance of many Ventrue, instead preferring a more “down-to-earth” method of attaining and strengthening affection or loyalty. While this doesn’t work nearly as often as he’d like with other Kindred, he seems determined to maintain it regardless.
A decidedly nonviolent vampire, Wilhelm is even hesitant to forcefully feed, instead preferring the seductive routes. He has been considered naive for most of his unlife, and this isn’t necessarily untrue, however he is not incapable of rendering retribution for slights committed. Indeed, he considers courtesy and respect for other Immortals to be paramount to the good of all, and is more than willing to exert force to ensure that others understand their missteps.
While he is considered an Anarch by the majority of the Camarilla, Wilhelm himself does not wholly subscribe to this title. He believes himself a Camarilla, certainly, and is heavily devoted to ensuring the defense of the Traditions, believing them, at their core, to be an invaluable Code of Conduct and basis for a System of Law amongst the Kindred. His Anarch status comes primarily from his opposition to specific phrases within those Traditions, and their interpretation by the greater majority of Camarilla devotees. Specifically, Wilhelm takes issue with the idea of “Elder” being inherently a superior title, believing that efficacy and ability should be the primary considerations for advancement, rather than the amount of time an individual has simply failed to die.
A decidedly nonviolent vampire, Wilhelm is even hesitant to forcefully feed, instead preferring the seductive routes. He has been considered naive for most of his unlife, and this isn’t necessarily untrue, however he is not incapable of rendering retribution for slights committed. Indeed, he considers courtesy and respect for other Immortals to be paramount to the good of all, and is more than willing to exert force to ensure that others understand their missteps.
While he is considered an Anarch by the majority of the Camarilla, Wilhelm himself does not wholly subscribe to this title. He believes himself a Camarilla, certainly, and is heavily devoted to ensuring the defense of the Traditions, believing them, at their core, to be an invaluable Code of Conduct and basis for a System of Law amongst the Kindred. His Anarch status comes primarily from his opposition to specific phrases within those Traditions, and their interpretation by the greater majority of Camarilla devotees. Specifically, Wilhelm takes issue with the idea of “Elder” being inherently a superior title, believing that efficacy and ability should be the primary considerations for advancement, rather than the amount of time an individual has simply failed to die.
Biography:
Born in late April, 1878, to Prince Wilhelm von Hesse-Phillippsthal-Barchfeld and his niece and second wife, Princess Juliane von Bentheim-Steinfurt, Wilhelm was the second of twins, and was rather unanticipated, though hardly unwelcome. His father, the younger brother of the last Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, had entered into a rather unfortunate debt to the Primogen of House Ventrue, and had therefore been forced to agree to whatever terms the Undead Lord proposed for him. The Vampire in question was a particularly inquisitive and perfectionist creature, and rather than look for any distinct temporal remuneration, demanded instead the Prince’s next son. Of course, he was initially refused, but a simple demonstration of the Dominate ability was more than ample, and on the 1st of September, 1878, the swaddled babe was delivered to a quaint country estate and left with an hospitable elderly woman of significant bearing. For the next 26 years, the boy would be cloistered away in the household of his Vampiric master, learning all that he could garner of the Shadow Courts and their intrigue. While the other Noble boys learned letters and athletics, Wilhelm learned of Camarilla politics, international conspiracies, and the intangible webs of intrigue that crisscrossed the globe with malicious and insidious influence.
While the Vampiric Lord did bear no small amount of criticism and controversy for his young mortal, his position as chosen of the Princess made him relatively unassailable, and he was free to pursue his experiment with little interruption. The premise was simple. Why draw from the mortal classes when one can simply sculpt the childe one desires? After all, there’s no way a Noble Ventrue can rely on Kine, even those of pedigree and stock, to properly train and educate their progeny for their Unlife. And why should a Ventrue of status be forced to waste their valuable time and effort on the Agoge of one so needlessly uneducated? In short, is there a method to allow a Kindred of significant means to meaningfully reduce the impact of Siring a Childe on their nightly duties? The answer, of course, was yes. Formally Presented to the Gerousia of Frankfurt in June of 1905, Wilhelm came as the herald great success, both in his final trial and in his Sire’s experiment, presented to the Board in a 48 page academic treatise entitled “On the Advancement of Clan and Kindred.” Almost immediately, the young Neonate was targeted by the Elders of several German States. However, as soon as he established himself in Bavaria, he found far less success than he was used to. Finding his advance within the Clan stymied by his youth and relative “inexperience,” he began to grow frustrated at the lack of recognition for his efforts.
By the outbreak of the War, Wilhelm had accomplished a great deal, advancing both his own and his Clan’s ambitions in Bavaria and the greater German Empire. However, he saw little reward for these efforts, on many cases even being forced to smile and congratulate his “superiors” on his own accomplishments, for which they were lauded. Taking a keen interest in the Great War itself, Wilhelm made the first of his unlife’s major missteps, as he adopted a vocal and passionate support for the German Empire, going so far as to recommend and request that Clan and Sect resources be directed towards German victory. Even as the Clan and, indeed, the Kindred community as a whole gradually shifted its support towards the Allied Powers, Wilhelm himself remained a firm advocate for the Kaiser, garnering himself few allies and more than a few enemies. Many in the Council looked upon his behaviour as being simply naivete, born of inexperience. As his Champion fled the Empire in 1918, leaving behind a shattered nation lost to infighting and fury, Wilhelm also found his faith profoundly shaken. Having been abandoned by the majority of his former allies, and despairing of the state of the world (perhaps he was too closely a mortal, despite his upbringing), he slunk away to Britain, where he would remain for almost a full century.
Taking up residence in York, Wilhelm remained in a state of lethargy and melancholy, advancing his station only so much as was absolutely required to keep from incurring repercussion by the greater Clan. Observing closely the rise of Fascism in Europe, and already wary of the Soviet Union, he was distinctly unsurprised by the outbreak of the Second World War in the late 1930’s. However, it was during this war that he would begin to recover from his post-imperial torpor, and rekindle his ambition. By 1942, Wilhelm had begun a path of advancement within the Court of York, gaining Boons and taking on greater responsibilities, all the while expanding his Domain and even gaining stewardship over the Elysium of the Grand Opera House. By 1950, he was a well-respected Quaestor in the city. However, at this point, he again began to run up against that most intractable of obstacles, his own youth. While he had advanced from a relative nonentity to a well-respected Kindred of York in less than a decade, for the next 20 years he would advance no further, obtaining only pittances and vague congratulations in response to his efforts. Growing ever more frustrated, Wilhelm began to associate himself far more closely with local Anarchs. While he tended towards the Moderate in regards to his ideology, he nonetheless maintained a distinct passion for reform within the Camarilla. Which, of course, caused his opportunities for advancement to shrink yet further.
Following the catastrophic and highly volatile False Gehenna, Wilhelm has determined that rather than attempt to reform the Camarilla from its most long-standing of strongholds, he should instead establish a model by which to compare his reforms with those of other Anarch groups, and more importantly, with the Camarilla itself. Upon purchasing (and revitalizing) the Roeststadt Medical Center in Oddhaven, outside of the traditional Camarilla power base, he has begun positioning himself to take up residence there and begin his experimentation.
While the Vampiric Lord did bear no small amount of criticism and controversy for his young mortal, his position as chosen of the Princess made him relatively unassailable, and he was free to pursue his experiment with little interruption. The premise was simple. Why draw from the mortal classes when one can simply sculpt the childe one desires? After all, there’s no way a Noble Ventrue can rely on Kine, even those of pedigree and stock, to properly train and educate their progeny for their Unlife. And why should a Ventrue of status be forced to waste their valuable time and effort on the Agoge of one so needlessly uneducated? In short, is there a method to allow a Kindred of significant means to meaningfully reduce the impact of Siring a Childe on their nightly duties? The answer, of course, was yes. Formally Presented to the Gerousia of Frankfurt in June of 1905, Wilhelm came as the herald great success, both in his final trial and in his Sire’s experiment, presented to the Board in a 48 page academic treatise entitled “On the Advancement of Clan and Kindred.” Almost immediately, the young Neonate was targeted by the Elders of several German States. However, as soon as he established himself in Bavaria, he found far less success than he was used to. Finding his advance within the Clan stymied by his youth and relative “inexperience,” he began to grow frustrated at the lack of recognition for his efforts.
By the outbreak of the War, Wilhelm had accomplished a great deal, advancing both his own and his Clan’s ambitions in Bavaria and the greater German Empire. However, he saw little reward for these efforts, on many cases even being forced to smile and congratulate his “superiors” on his own accomplishments, for which they were lauded. Taking a keen interest in the Great War itself, Wilhelm made the first of his unlife’s major missteps, as he adopted a vocal and passionate support for the German Empire, going so far as to recommend and request that Clan and Sect resources be directed towards German victory. Even as the Clan and, indeed, the Kindred community as a whole gradually shifted its support towards the Allied Powers, Wilhelm himself remained a firm advocate for the Kaiser, garnering himself few allies and more than a few enemies. Many in the Council looked upon his behaviour as being simply naivete, born of inexperience. As his Champion fled the Empire in 1918, leaving behind a shattered nation lost to infighting and fury, Wilhelm also found his faith profoundly shaken. Having been abandoned by the majority of his former allies, and despairing of the state of the world (perhaps he was too closely a mortal, despite his upbringing), he slunk away to Britain, where he would remain for almost a full century.
Taking up residence in York, Wilhelm remained in a state of lethargy and melancholy, advancing his station only so much as was absolutely required to keep from incurring repercussion by the greater Clan. Observing closely the rise of Fascism in Europe, and already wary of the Soviet Union, he was distinctly unsurprised by the outbreak of the Second World War in the late 1930’s. However, it was during this war that he would begin to recover from his post-imperial torpor, and rekindle his ambition. By 1942, Wilhelm had begun a path of advancement within the Court of York, gaining Boons and taking on greater responsibilities, all the while expanding his Domain and even gaining stewardship over the Elysium of the Grand Opera House. By 1950, he was a well-respected Quaestor in the city. However, at this point, he again began to run up against that most intractable of obstacles, his own youth. While he had advanced from a relative nonentity to a well-respected Kindred of York in less than a decade, for the next 20 years he would advance no further, obtaining only pittances and vague congratulations in response to his efforts. Growing ever more frustrated, Wilhelm began to associate himself far more closely with local Anarchs. While he tended towards the Moderate in regards to his ideology, he nonetheless maintained a distinct passion for reform within the Camarilla. Which, of course, caused his opportunities for advancement to shrink yet further.
Following the catastrophic and highly volatile False Gehenna, Wilhelm has determined that rather than attempt to reform the Camarilla from its most long-standing of strongholds, he should instead establish a model by which to compare his reforms with those of other Anarch groups, and more importantly, with the Camarilla itself. Upon purchasing (and revitalizing) the Roeststadt Medical Center in Oddhaven, outside of the traditional Camarilla power base, he has begun positioning himself to take up residence there and begin his experimentation.
Attributes:
Charisma: 4 (Approachable)
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 4 (Cute)
Perception: 2
Intelligence: 3
Wits: 3
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Stamina: 2
Abilities:
Expression: 4 (Debate)
Leadership: 4 (Enlightened Monarch)
Grace: 2
Intimidation: 2
Empathy: 2
Persuasion: 2
Subterfuge: 2
Bureaucracy: 2
Law: 2
Politics: 3
Finance: 2
Linguistics: 2 (English, French, German [native])
Etiquette: 3
Melee: 2
Performance: 1
Backgrounds:
Age: 3
Pretty straightforward. Was Embraced in 1904. Old enough to be noticeable, not enough to cause much of a ruckus. Certainly not as much as he would like to cause.
Generation: 4
Wilhelm's Sire was an ancient and venerable member of Clan Ventrue.
Domain: 3 (Roeststadt Medical Center)
Having purchased the hospital in late 2003, and investing heavily in its restoration, Wilhelm currently holds 78.4% of the Corporate shares, making all other shareholders mathematically insignificant, and giving him effectively unquestionable authority within the hospital and its adjoining properties.
Haven: 4 (Luxury, Location, Staff, Guards, Security, Size)
In addition to the exhaustive restoration and revitalization of the Medical Center, Wilhelm arranged for the top 3 floors to be renovated into what was ostensibly a luxury health spa. In reality, this gorgeous two-tiered home is the residence of Wilhelm, a few select live-in staff, and his Herd. Initially designed for opulent views of the night cityscape, the plan was abandoned when Wilhelm was sent images of his prospective view. While still luxurious, featuring all the amenities expected of a luxury health club (including an Olympic swimming pool, wraparound balcony, luxuriant rooftop gardens [both moonlight and Japanese], sauna, whirlpool, massage facilities, etc), the Haven does distinctly suffer from its lack of large windows. In addition, the rooftop was heavily modified to accomadate both the aforementioned pool and gardens, though the helipad for hospital operations does remain in use.
Wilhelm has employed three Ghouls, each of which he refers to as "Gerhardt," for the purpose of security within his Haven. Specifically, their responsibility is the keeping and security of his Herd, and are divided into three 8-hour shifts on a daily basis. Obviously, "Day Gerhardt" is the least important of the three, and tends to be more companion to the ladies than protector.
Day Gerhardt: Rank 1, Specialty Empathy.
Evening Gerhardt: Rank 2, Specialty Alertness, Awareness
Morning Gerhardt: Rank 2, Specialty Alertness, Awareness
Wilhelm has employed three Ghouls, each of which he refers to as "Gerhardt," for the purpose of security within his Haven. Specifically, their responsibility is the keeping and security of his Herd, and are divided into three 8-hour shifts on a daily basis. Obviously, "Day Gerhardt" is the least important of the three, and tends to be more companion to the ladies than protector.
Day Gerhardt: Rank 1, Specialty Empathy.
Evening Gerhardt: Rank 2, Specialty Alertness, Awareness
Morning Gerhardt: Rank 2, Specialty Alertness, Awareness
High Influence: 2 (City Hall, Roeststadt Medical Center)
Having found that cultivating favor and influence in the local political power structure always results in greater reward than the alternative, Wilhelm has been sure to immediately engender himself and his staff with the current inhabitants of the various appendages of City Hall. In addition, since his purchase of Roeststadt Medical Center, he has established a healthy level of influence with the medical community of the Isles, specifically those under his employ.
Status: 1
While somewhat known in Europe for his outspokenness in regard to reform, his reputation has only begun to take hold in the Kindred community of Oddhaven. This is due mostly to the fact that he has been heavily investing in the city for a time, and rumours abound that he plans to relocate there.
Resources: 4
Over the course of his century-and-some of unlife, Wilhelm has established a powerful and expansive stock portfolio, specializing in medical centers and supply. With the medical boom in full swing, he has seen his fortunes shift from “comfortable,” to “enviable” in spectacular fashion.
Herd: 2
Monique (38), Isabelle (33), Adrienne (28), Julie (25), Céline (20), Zoé (19), and Lucie (17). All fair young maidens, all but the two eldest virgins. Collected from varying walks of life, but kept in luxury and abundance, watched over always by their “kind” and “benevolent” security officer. While Monique is no longer used for feeding, she remains as friend and companion to the others, who view her with all the torpid affection they can muster. Having been initially seduced, purchased, or otherwise coerced into Wilhelm's extended presence, his unnatural magnetism and force of personality (along with a few well-placed applications of his Presence) drove each of them, eventually, to a state of near-reverence, strikingly similar to a cult of personality. It must be noted, however, that each of these women dealt with that transition differently, their psyches all noticeably distorting in order to rationalize this new state of being. Lucie in particularly isn't even entirely convinced that Wilhelm exists, half-believing him to be some psychological placeholder for her lost family.
Disciplines:
Presence: 2
Dominate: 3
Virtues:
Conscience: 3
Self-Control: 4
Courage: 3
Willpower: 4
Maximum Blood Points/Blood per turn: 14/2
Current Experience: 0
Merits:
Natural Leader (-1)
Enchanting Voice (-2)
Paragon: Follower (-3)
Johann Wolfgang Peltzer, Rating 5, Ventrue:
Low Influence: 2 (Human Traffickers, Prostitutes)
Herd: 1
Johann has established a small group of persons from whom he can feed without fear of significant repercussion, at the behest of Wilhelm. Prostitutes willing to accept payment for a mysterious incidence they can't particularly remember well. He has also been instructed, in no uncertain terms, to ensure that any potential Breaches are dealt with immediately.
Resources: 1Domain: 1
Small apartment in Roeststadt district. Well-kept, far from luxurious.
Contacts: 1 (Medical Staff)Specializations: Medicine, Streetwise, Expression, Alertness, Etiquette.
Johann Peltzer, youngest scion of the family Peltzer, was one of the servants of Wilhelm's York Household, much as his family had been for 3 generations. Initially serving as assistant to his father, Heinrich Peltzer, Wilhelm's personal tailor, young Johann was accepted to Medical School in 1984, much to the joy of his parents (Wilhelm actually paid for the lavish going-away party thrown by the elder Peltzers). Graduating in 1989, he returned to York, where he served simultaneously as Resident physician at York Hospital and Consultant physician to Wilhelm's household. When he was Embraced by a Ventrue childe belonging to one of the Court's more volatile members, Wilhelm saw to it that his longtime employee made it into his care (helped, of course, by the fact that the wayward childe was slaughtered by his Sire as punishment). While he did not directly manipulate the new Kindred, he wasn't entirely honest in the benefits and long-term effect of partaking in his blood. Wilhelm was sure to stop just short of a full blood-bond, believing it to be unnecessary and somewhat unethical, but he has ensured that Johann is a step away. Since his reintroduction to, and indeed, significant promotion within, Wilhelm's household staff, he has become near-indispensable, serving as his seneschal and representative in many instances. While his most important responsibility is expanding and maintaining medical care for Wilhelm's Herd, he also serves as his direct representative in most dealings with the Kine. In fact, he has served so often in this role that certain groups are under the impression that he is in fact Wilhelm, rather than his chief employee.
Flaws:
Bad Sight (+1)
Deep Sleeper (+1)
Dark Secret (+1)
Unbeknownst to all but himself, Wilhelm was directly responsible for the death of the former Prince of Darmstadt in 1916. Whilst serving as a low-level Aedile in Nuremberg, he was apprised of several security vulnerabilities in the Prince's schedule and Elysium. Having been insulted by the Prince at a gathering in Augsburg (who mocked his claims to Hessian nobility), Wilhelm would go on to exploit those vulnerabilities in December 1916, slaughtering the Prince as he slept. While Wilhelm was initially suspected, it was determined that he lacked the influence necessary to be of use to such a plot. He has maintained this secret, and indeed, does regret having been involved.
New Arrival (+1)
Sleeping With the Enemy (+3)
Wilhelm has, much to his own disappointment, been repeatedly involved in a passionate and decidedly volatile relationship with a Lasombra Pack Ductus. Initially of Edinburgh, the Pack has, unknown to them, been directed closer to Wilhelm on numerous occasions. Wilhelm, as well as his lover, have been exceedingly careful to remain as secretive as possible, as their mutual destruction as traitors to their respective causes is an eventuality neither particularly wishes to come to pass. While he plans to relocate to the Forlorn Isles, the Pack has moved before, and it's not entirely unreasonable to assume that they might chase him yet further.
Prey Specificity (Ventrue Flaw): Young (13-40) French women.