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This week's COTWs are a matched pair designed for a
steampunk campaign: the first is a detached doctor, a
pioneer in the field of prosthetics...
Michel "Dutch" Hoogstraaten, MD; experimental physician
(c) copyright 2000 Volker Bach
Total Points: 120 Points
Age 54; 5'10"; 145 pounds; a tall, gangly, dignified
gentleman with greying dark hair and side whiskers, dressed
somberly and carrying a silver-topped cane.
ST 9 [-10] - thrust 1d-2, swing 1d-1, fatigue
10
DX 10 [-] - basic speed 5, move 5, dodge
5
IQ 14 [45] - vision 12
HT 10 [-] - hit points 9
WL 12 [-]
ADVANTAGES: Gadgeteer [25]; Reputation +2 (excellent
surgeon, to the "upper crust") [5]; Status 1*
[0]; Unfazeable [15]; Wealth (Very Wealthy)
[30].
*free from Wealth
DISADVANTAGES: Bad Sight (Nearsighted, correctable)
[-10]; Delusion (Having no emotions is a desirable
thing) [-5]; Obsession (Give the world a logical,
unemotional ruling class) [-10]; Weak Will -2
[-16].
QUIRKS: Watches machines at work the way other people watch
theatre or opera; Thinks corn flakes are the health food of
the future; Never drinks alcohol; Uncomfortable around
animals; Atheist. [-5]
SKILLS: Area Knowledge (New York)-13 [.5];
Biochemistry/TL(5+2)-14 [8]; Chemistry/TL5-12
[1]; Computer Operation/TL(5+1)-13 [.5];
Diagnosis/TL5-14 [4]; Engineer/TL(5+2)
(Prosthetics)-18 [12]; Mathematics-14 [4];
Mechanic/TL(5+2) (Prosthetics)-14* [0];
Physician/TL5-15 [6]; Savoir-Faire-13 [.5];
Surgery/TL(5+2)-16 [16]; Telegraphy-13 [.5];
Veterinary/TL5-12 [1].
*default from Engineer
LANGUAGES: English (native)-14 [0]; French-13
[1]; Latin-12 [.5]; Greek-12
[.5].
EQUIPMENT
Dr. Hoogstraaten never leaves home without his 'black bag'
containing - along with a full set of surgical instruments
and medical equipment - a Fine toolkit for working on his
prosthetics (+1 to Mechanic Skill). His clothes are usually
meticulous and conventional, but unimaginative and
unchanging. Disdaining physical violence he never goes
armed, but in case of danger will be accompanied by Peter
Collier (who has no such inhibitions).
BIOGRAPHY
Michel Hoogstraaten was born to a genteel Albany family of
Dutch extraction and grew up in the blend of luxury and
privation only 'Old Money' can provide. His mother died soon
after the boy's birth and his father never much cared for
the idea of 'family', leaving Michel to the tender mercies
of the household staff until the boy could be sent to an
expensive boarding school. For many aristocrats this worked
out reasonably well - for young Michel, it did not; he came
away emotionally scarred. Rejected by the humans of his
environment and mercilessly bullied at school, he discovered
his love for the emotionless world of science and
technology, machines and mathematics. He disciplined his
first-rate mind rigidly and by the time he graduated he was
first in his class in every subject except Art, History, and
English.
Michel wanted to become an engineer, a working-class
occupation to which his father - a lawyer and politician -
violently objected. Eventually a compromise was reached and
the young man launched on the only respectable scientific
career of his day - medicine. He went to Edinburgh
University (at his father's insistence) where he graduated
First Class in spite of spending much of his time in the
company of Scots engineers and artificers and, after a brief
spell at Charing Cross Hospital, returned to New York to
establish a practice. The Civil War intruded rudely upon the
life of the young physician who - again at the insistence of
his family - volunteered for medical service with the Army
of the Potomac, his father's influence gaining him a Major's
rank. Four years of unrelenting butchery scotched what
little emotion he had left, leading him to the conviction
that violence, suffering and death could only ever be
avoided if people controlled their feelings - hadn't it been
rampant irrationality that unleashed this horror?
After the end of the war, Michel Hoogstraaten returned to
New York with a Colonel's brevet rank and a reputation as
one of America's finest surgeons. His dedication was given
entirely to the development of better prosthetics to repair
the ravages of the war, and his modern, efficient clockwork
hands, arms and legs earned him a small fortune in
royalties. However, this was not enough for Michel
Hoogstraaten. He retreated almost completely from the
practice of medicine, leaving the treatment of most patients
to his junior partners, and devoted himself to the
development of his greatest invention - the Clockwork Heart.
THE CLOCKWORK HEART
Michel Hoogstraaten has created a technological wonder far
beyond what even some Steampunk settings would consider
credible. He can implant patients a metal heart that
duplicates the action of the organ exactly, driven by
clockwork and wound up with a key from the outside. Wearers
of a Clockwork Heart have a small metal plate embedded in
their chest through which they have to rewind the mechanism
every 48 hours. This device allows them to lead a reasonably
normal life.
There are side effects, however. The Clockwork Heart cannot
match the rhythm variations of the natural organ. Joy, fear,
exertion or arousal can topple the delicate balance between
the cold metal machine and the natural organs of the
patient, with possibly lethal results. To prevent this, Dr.
Hoogstraaten developed 'The Elixir', a cocktail of
psychotropic drugs that effectively inhibit these emotions.
Patients have to take a dose of Elixir daily or run the risk
of death.
Implanting a Clockwork Heart is a very delicate and
dangerous surgical procedure. Any surgeon not familiar with
it in detail should not attempt it - he will be at -12! Even
Dr. Hoogstraaten has not yet perfected his technique fully
(roll vs. Surgery-4 to see whether an operation in play is
successful). Patients have to roll vs. HT to see whether the
Clockwork Heart is accepted by their body. If the roll is
successful, the patient lives. If not, he dies.
Having a Clockwork Heart and regularly taking Elixir imparts
the Fearlessness +7 [14] and Unfazeable [15]
Advantages. Wearers also accrue the following disadvantages:
Dependency (Elixir, infrequent, daily) [-60], Low
Empathy [-15], No Sense of Humor [-10] and
Very Unfit [-15]. Any Advantage or Disadvantage
related to their emotional life becomes null and void. The
total point cost for a Clockwork Heart is -71 points. The
monetary cost for the Clockwork Heart is $10,000, plus $5
per day for the Elixir. It is available only from Dr.
Hoogstraaten.
ENCOUNTERED
Dr. Hoogstraaten is not easy to meet. He prefers to spend
his time alone, with his machines and books. He corresponds
with fellow researchers and occasionally even meets them,
but never attends congresses or lectures. Would-be patients
will have to get past his junior partners since he never
does a first consultation. Anyone foisting his company upon
him will find him curt, dismissive, even rude (though never
loud or angry), especially if he has nothing to say that
would interest the good doctor. It is possible to get past
this, but PCs would have to prove exceptionally
interesting.
However, there are two ways to get on Dr. Hoogstraaten's
good side: science and money. Anyone who shares (or pretends
to share) his enthusiasm for machinery and engineering will
find him eager to converse. He is not visibly enthusiastic,
tending to be quiet and controlled at all times, but careful
observers can spot the 'child-with-a-new-toy' expression on
his face. If anyone can offer him a chance to try out a new
surgical technique or improve some prosthetic gadget, he has
a favor to call in. The only other way to get in touch with
Dr. Hoogstraaten is by an offer of money (or influence in
the right circles). He is ready to treat the rich and
famous, for the right price, when his expertise is called
for, but resents being a 'fashionable doctor' to be
consulted for a spot of the flu. In the case of serious
surgery, however, Dr. Hoogstraaten is one of the best
addresses in New York.
Dr. Hoogstraaten is a punctilious man, carefully phrasing
his every sentence to be precise, concise, and unambiguous.
He dresses carefully, purely out of habit, and walks with an
economy of movement reminiscent of an engine. He never
displays any kind of emotion, always keeps his distance, and
resents any intrusion into his private life.
CANONICALITY
Dr. Hoogstraaten uses the optional ST=HP/HT=FT rule
suggested on p.Ci9. He has been given a total of 41 points
in Disadvantages, 1 point above the suggested maximum.
His Gadgeteering ability - while requiring 'realistic'
development times and costs - has allowed him to construct a
device that is arguably "miraculous" in nature, and two Tech
Levels advanced in concept. As such, his skills that pertain
directly to his Clockwork Heart are at TL(5+2); divergent
Tech Levels are explained on p.STM9. Dr. Hoogstraaten's
skills which are "divergent" but not as advanced as his
Clockwork Heart are at TL(5+1), and his non-divergent skills
are basic TL5. All of this is in keeping with the Steampunk
genre, of course, but even so a good case could be made for
giving Dr. Hoogstraaten the 50-point version of the
Gadgeteer advantage, or perhaps even the High Technology
advantage if he invents other truly fantastic devices.
WHAT IF?
Dr. Hoogstraaten is a character so Steampunk it's almost
inconceivable he should translate into any other genre. It
would be just barely conceivable to make him a magician with
an advanced spell to save those dying from heart attacks,
but this would require no similar spells to exist in the
setting. Normal magical or psionic healing makes the
Clockwork Heart unnecessary.
Perhaps more interesting would be the question what else Dr.
Hoogstraaten has built. He is a Gadgeteer after all, and he
has worked in the field of prosthetics for the last 25
years. Most of his designs would have been simple substitute
limbs, but for that genuine Cyberpunk feel, who else would
know how to integrate a derringer, a microscope or a
difference engine instruction key into a Kyberprosthetic?
ADVENTURE SEEDS
Dr. Hoogstraaten is a nebulous, weird and very influential
figure behind the scenes of the upper classes between Boston
and Washington. The first question that any GM will have to
answer is "how powerful?". Is his plan to steer the ruling
class of America away from emotion towards an absolute,
coldly mechanical reason the harmless foible of an eccentric
genius or the nefarious scheme of a deranged criminal
mastermind? If it is the former, he can serve as a source of
mystery (whatever happened to Mr. Morgan? He's not himself
any more...), background flavor and very advanced medical
equipment for various purposes. If the latter, he is as
dangerous opponent protected by a tightly knit network of
protection and denial orchestrated by some of the world's
richest men, all of whom could owe him their lives.
...It Belongs To Humanity!: The PCs are approached by a
physician of their acquaintance who has heard - through
friends and colleagues - of the Clockwork Heart. He is
appalled that Dr. Hoogstraaten has kept such a breakthrough
to himself. After all, this gadget, even if limited to those
who can afford it, could save thousands of lives and make
its inventor a fabulously rich man. The PCs job is to find
out whether the Clockwork Heart exists, why Dr. Hoogstraaten
keeps this mysterious silence, and whether he can be
persuaded to stop. If not, they may choose to steal the
invention. For the greater good of humanity, of course.
Indisposed: The President of the United States has cancelled
a number of appointments for "medical reasons". Observers
have spotted Dr. Hoogstraaten calling repeatedly at the
White House. Something is afoot... In fact, the President
has suffered a near-fatal heart attack and has agreed to
allow Dr. Hoogstraaten to implant a Clockwork Heart. There
are considerable concerns given the dependence on the Elixir
this operation will create. The PCs are called in - perhaps
by some editor, perhaps by a major political figure - to
sound out his real intentions.
- written by Volker Bach (bachv@paganet.de)
- editted and formatted by andi jones
(andi@angelwerks.com)
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