Dr Von Dread
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
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| Doing what Vampyri do best | |
| Dr Von Dread | |
| Player: @Heba of Felwithe | |
| Origin: | Science (Cover up Origin) |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Mastermind |
| Threat Level: | 50 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Beecher |
| Known Aliases: | Doc, Mr. Creeps, Thriller, Big Guy |
| Species: | Vampire (Under wraps) |
| Age: | 2056 |
| Height: | 6'3" |
| Weight: | 115lbs |
| Eye Color: | None (Eyes have rotted out) |
| Hair Color: | None |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | German |
| Occupation: | Council Vampyri Archon (Port Oakes Division) |
| Place of Birth: | Bad Harzburg Germany |
| Base of Operations: | Port Oakes |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Known Relatives: | All dead |
| Known Powers | |
| Powers inherent to all Vampyri (Dark and slight psi) | |
| Known Abilities | |
| ' | |
| Equipment | |
| Standard issue Council Vampyri uniform, goggles, assortment of upkeep tools kept inside of his abdomen | |
| Dread is a of dual origin, the original of the two the magical cause for his undead state, the second scientific and dealing with his Vampyri treatments | |
Dr Von Dread is a long time veteran of 5th Column and Council both, respecting duty before all else and expecting the same loyalty of his men. In polite conversation he is humorous and a gentleman, but on duty he becomes a perfect example of efficiency and focus.
Contents |
Character History
"Science has promised us truth. It has never promised us either peace or happiness." - Gustave Le Bon
Beecher Von Dread is a man of science, said simply. He begins his life a plain German citizen in the dark ages, just a man trying to get by in the dangerous world of medieval violence and disease. As a man with a scientific mind he often went out into the world seeking experimentation, digging up bodies in a local grave yard and hauling them back to his simple medieval laboratory for dissecting and scientific documentation. Dread became enamored with the anatomic science of humanity, developing a great respect for medical science as a whole and devoting most of his mortal time researching it.
As it would be said, curiosity kills the cat... or the over curious scientist. Dreads quest for knowledge led him out of the grave yards and out further into the world. Exploring uncharted medieval lands, lands rumored to be dark and creeping with evils far beyond the capacity of mortality and reason. As a man with a scientific mind he did not heed the warning of such folk lore, and as he perceived it, uneducated superstitions. As far as he was concerned, science was the only real truth and anything "unexplainable" by these means was foolish. As fate would have it, exploring in these phantom lands led directly to his unfortunate demise. He was seized upon and bitten late in the night, sealing his immortality and labeling him forever as a "creature of the night".
His life immediately took a turn downward, spiraling him into medieval scandal. Vampires were not popular at that time, seen as heinous monsters deserving little more than a swift execution. It was then that Beecher experienced injustice, a precursor that would lead to a long line of wrong-doing in his future. Banished from the ranks of polite society made him angry, scheming, and envious. He reasoned with himself that science was the only solid thing to cling to in life, it became his all consuming purpose. He would take what he needed by any means necessary, even if it meant killing to get it. The series of stealing and killing repeated itself over the years, all fueling Beecher’s quest for knowledge. Through the eyes of immorality and malice he watched the ages of human greatness rise and pass, colonial era, revolutionary era, the ages of exploration and expansion. He watched great inventors such as Franklin, the Wright Brothers, Gram Bell, all bring glory to the name of science and humanity.
Beecher lived quietly in a loud world, bustling with a growing population and a thirst for politics. At the dawn of World War Two he could no longer live in the shadows, as a "nobody". Human violence had come to Europe, a war so bloodthirsty that no man was left unturned. Beecher was drafted into the German Military, where he proved his medical worth and was put to work in Germany's infamous medical experiment programs. He experienced a new type of violence, a violence with order. No longer would he stalk the shadows and take what he could get h is hands on, the military would supply him and even help him with his researching. He admired this efficiency. When the war ended he was decommissioned, Germany dismantled its war machine and he was left without a job. The taste of military might left him reluctant to go back to a civilian "nobody". Searching for a way to continue his new way of life led him to joining the infamous 5th Column that was stationed in Germany. Signing on he was exposed to all the perks of a military force, earning an official medical degree and gaining officer ship.
A short time later he discovered Nosferatu's Vampyri experiment. At that time it was a work in progress, not yet perfected and often resulting in participant death. The idea of scientifically created vampires took Beecher’s attention, he immediately signed on. Undergoing the Vampyri treatment proved a blessing and a curse in his case, strengthening his already dark inherent powers and granting him whole new ones. It did not come without a price, his already deathly flesh was now tainted and corroded. Unable to recover and unable to die, Beecher now remains in a state of constant decay. Working many years as a ranking Vampyri officer in the 5th Column, when the Council took over he was given two options - be transferred or be decommissioned. He was transferred into Council, given a job similar to his previous one as a Vampyri Scientist.
Today Beecher remains in Council, professionally he is a medical doctor seeing to the creation of other Vampyri and doctoring the wounded. On the side Dread has expanded his scientific research to that of robotics, and even to that of magic. Robotics is a fairly new science in respects to how log he has been alive, he obviously has grown curious about this new field and has begun dabbling in it. His new growing interest in magic stems from a long life of hating his vampire roots, once living in denial of it he has now faced himself and begun exploring his dark livelihood.
(NOTE: Dread is ashamed and secretive of his vampire origin, he does not speak about it with those he does not consider close)
Personality
"Well sure he’s smiling when your looking, that’s the point" - Sergeant Prentice
As his complex origin suggests, Beecher is also a personally complex man. He is a man who has been around the block more than once, a man who knows how people and the world work. When socializing he is humorous and jovial, often appearing as funny and even poorly educated. This is his chosen tactic, the age old method of deceit and exploiting peoples trust. In serious conversation and business he will reveal his true nature, a man of discipline and focus. This tactic has never failed him, as paving the way with happy lies gives him an easy road to travel when it comes to taking advantage of people. In all, he has not abandoned his principle ways of thinking, that is science and duty above all else.
Abilities
Dr Von Dread is a Council Vampyri Archon, and thus most of his powers will follow the Vampyri norm. His dark inherent powers due to his magical origin, stacked with his Vampyri powers. Beecher is a doctor, of course aiming his powers to aid him in his dealing with wounded. This aspiration has led him to the perfection of "resurrecting" via the mastery of the dark arts. He considers his affinity with the dark powers his greatest strength. His lesser psychic abilities were granted by Vampyri treatment, he considers them a descent guard tactic against mental invaders and nothing more. Dread does not possess the capacity to harm anyone’s psyche in any way, however his granted powers pose an almost impenetrable mental wall. Very few have seen the true mind of Doctor Von Dread, to date only one man has been able to tear down his mental defenses - Mind Lord Heba.
As mentioned earlier, Beecher has taken an interest in the science of robotics. When taking care of business separate from that of Council agenda he relies on his tinkered Mech Men.
((NOTE: Player does not mind telepaths, but please ask before assuming you can go probing))
Limitations and Weaknesses
Due to his vampire nature Beecher does not have many weaknesses, but he will be the first to say "there is no such thing as immortality". It is hard to tell what a vampires weakness is these days, with so many types and tribes out there. Weaknesses include the normal things like silver, garlic, holy water. Beecher himself acknowledges one true way to end his existence, something he will not share with even his closest compatriots. Though he is impenetrable to things like fire, ice or bullets, Beecher can not withstand the effects of time on his corroding anatomy. Due to his experience with Vampyri serum his body is in a constant state of decay, forcing him to find and graft new body parts onto himself. If he did not constantly renew his organs it is likely he would eventually waste away to nothing.
A less obvious weakness is that of "family". Just recently he has found companionship that he truly enjoys, that of Sergeant Prentice and Archon Einhman. Their friendship is reminding Beecher of what family used to feel like before his down-slide into villainy.
Affiliations and Relationships
Dr Von Dread does not consider many people "friends", only people he can use to obtain his goals. Very rarely will he ever take a relationship passed the capacity of professional.
Allies
Archon Einhman "Dread... is that a tooth brush? What are you going to do with... NO! OH GOD! THE HUMANITY!" - Another friendship born of violence. Einhmann and Beecher have been on bad terms for years, the obvious were-wolf vs. vampire disagreements. A ironic twist of fate put them both in the Council working close quarters with one another. The state of their living closeness has forced them to get to know each other, both of them discovering the other isn’t as bad as they thought. As time passed the friendship grew stronger.
Wraith Prime DREAD! To seh lab! - Quite possibly Dreads best friend in the Isles. Wraith is just about as crazy as he is, and probably double the fun. Dread enjoys his maniac partnership with the man in his endeavors in the Isles, especially when it comes o the IBAES.
Lt. Eatherage Dylan Eatherage, or as Dread calls him, "Eath". One of his first recruits and a well respected soldier. Dread has helped him overcome his passed and shaped him into a Council killing machine. Eatherage is only one of few who Dread truely likes passed a professional end.
Irmine Irmine is considered an ally in crime and nothing more. Dread sees her as a stepping stone to achieve his professional and personal goals, and has more or less come to terms with doing business with her. Dread does not see her behavior as offensive as most people do, merely looking passed it for the sake of what she has to offer in the way of business.
Patrick Craft A genius man in the eyes of Dread. Sharing robotics and science has led Beecher to have a sort of respect for the man.
Queen Xena Xena, Queen of the Vegan race, has been a long standing ally of Dread and the Council. Although ties have weakened between the two of them, Dread still considers her a first rate friend.
Enemies
Raid Engineer Harper A man Dread dispises. In an attempt to recover stolen property from Sky Raider base, Dread and Prentice did battle with Christopher Harper. In the end Harper had killed Prentice and made away with the stolen property, kicking off a long and bloody line of violence between the two of them. Although time has passed and Harper has come to friendly terms with Prentice, Dread still harbors negative feelings toward him. Dread very openly dislikes him, and will show no restraint in showing it.
Johnny Prototype Another man Dread considers an enemy. Johnny stole valuable information from Dreads base, embarassing himself and his men. In the end his stolen property was returned, Johnny being severely punished. Dread still maintains hostile feelings toward the man.
Mind Lord Heba The only man Dread hates more than Harper. A man of great magic and power in the ways of the mind and psyche. The bad blood between Beecher and Heba was started upon Dreads kidnapping of Harper.The end result being Harpers rescue and a trip to the hospital for Dread. To this day Dread and Heba are at odds, though normally the scraps between them end in Hebas victory.
Run Riot ...Need we say more?
Villain Group - Requiem's Decree
Allied Villain Groups -
Ghost Hound - Quite Possibly Dreads closest ally. Although the two groups stand for seperate things, a love of science has brought most of them together.
Survivors of Vega - A very strange allyship, the Vegans needed technical help to get off the planet and Council was very helpful in achieving this goal.
