Dr. Gerlach Augustus Eule ("Dr. Owl") is an Electrodyne Engineer and curator for the Museum of Oddities at the Midnight Circus. He is part of the Third Circle.
Biography[]
Quote: "A Greek god, you say? Magic, you say? All this can be explained by the rational light of science!"
Gerlach Augustus Eule was born in 1850 to a prosperous family in Frankfurt. Taken by the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau in his youth, Gerlach left the study of law (to his father's sorrow) to pursue the natural sciences. Studying first in Frankfurt and later in Vienna, young Gerlack son mastered the science and philosophy of his day. In Vienna he came under the influence of Dr. Kristian Sonne, a mage of the Electrodyne Engineer (later the Sons of Ether). Soon Gerlach, too, swore to put an end to the quasi-religious superstitions of the past. Gerlach also had friends in the Cabal of Pure Thought, a forerunner to the New World Order.
Gerlach took to the Order and its aims quickly. Settling in Paris soon after, he turned to teaching. Some friends took him to a traveling country carnival. When a few oddities were presented as Greek gods, Gerlach debunked their manager before an audience, stating that it was criminal to cloud the minds of county folk with superstitious nonsense. The Ringmaster offered the naturalist the chance to run the exhibit. To the surprise of his friends, Gerlach agreed. As Dr. Owl, he has collected and displayed the strange beings in his museum ever since.
Dr. Owl is a paradoxical figure. Worshipping at the altar of science, he himself is an accomplished mage. He would never call himself such, of course. He can explain everything by rational principles, even the miracles he performs with Mind Sphere. A current of Banality inundates his very being. further depowering his captives. Blind to the miracles and horrors that surround him, zealous in debunking the myth of magic, to him the circus is just a circus (albeit one run on peculiar scientific principles). In many ways, Dr. Owl is the prisoner of his 18th century enlightenment world-views. Rationality will wipe clean the wicked who have held sway over the ignorant masses by claiming divine favor. The Ringmaster supports his museum and his ongoing quest for new specimens because the collection feeds the infernal and Wyrm powers with vast energies.
The ultimate irony is that Owl does collect beings of great power to present as Nature's mishaps. He is blind to them, a jailor unaware of the wealth he regards as Darwinian discards. The "collection" is guarded by Husk, a large man-shaped construct of flesh, clay and wax, which Dr. Owl animates with Matter procedures. Dr. Owl calls Husk an experiment in energy displacement theory. Paradoxically, the limitations of Owl's vision are what have kept Husk alive so long.
Agenda: Continue collection and displaying specimens in the interest of public enlightenment.
Note: Dr. Owl studied under a mentor who belonged to the Electrodyne Engineers, who later split off from the Technocracy to form the Tradition of the Sons of Ether. Dr. Owl joined the circus before this split took place, and would not understand the later reasons for it. Philosophically, he is a member of the Technocracy with enough alchemy in his training to make him a proto-Son of Ether.
Appearance[]
Dr. Owl resembles everyone's picture of a mad scientist. Tall and gaunt, with white, wispy hair and hard features, Dr. Owl walks with a silver-headed cane and dresses in dark clothing, black cape billowing after him. He seldom smiles, and his laughter is unnerving. His voice is often contemptuous, and he treats others as if they were ignorant schoolchildren.
Character Sheet[]
Position: Curator of the Museum of Oddities
Nature/Demeanor: Director/Critic
Tradition: Electrodyne Engineer
Physical: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3
Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2
Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 5, Wits 3
Talents: Alertness 4, Athletics 1, Awareness 2, Intimidation 5, Subterfuge 2
Skills: Etiquette 4, Firearms 2, Leadership 4, Meditation 4, Research 3, Survival 5, Technology 2
Knowledges: Cosmology 2, Culture 5, Enigmas 5, Linguistics 3, Occult 3, Science 3
Spheres: Entropy 2, Life 4, Matter 5, Mind 4, Prime 4, Time 2
Backgrounds: Avatar 3, Destiny 4, Node 2 (the Tass takes the form of an old book titled "Griechische Kulture" kept in a portfolio behind glass)
Willpower: 9
Arete: 6
Quintessence: 3
Paradox: 6
Husk[]
A large human-shaped creature created from flesh and human parts by Dr. Owl, Husk stands behind a display case as an example of gigantism. Dr. Owl can infuse the body with life for brief periods, giving it primitive commands. Husk serves as a watchdog over the museum's exhibits. Husk was created after the first escape of the Horned Man.
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 5, Perception 3, Wits 3
Abilities: Alertness 3, Brawl 5
Willpower: 5
Health Levels: OK, OK, OK, -1, -1, -2, -5, destroyed.
References[]
- WOD: Midnight Circus, p. 47-49