| “ | The most important thing, the only reason to exist, is the work. | ” |
Dr. James "Mortius" Howitt is a Tremere stationed within the Milwaukee chantry. Although he is merely an apprentice within the Clan, he has a powerful mentor and Carna, his Regent, is advised to hear him out. The Ashe experiments started as one of Mortius’ trivial hobbies, after he discovered what the Duskborn could do with this drug, but have borne surprising fruit. While his initial studies indicated there may be some resonant force present in vampire remains, the capacity to transfer memories from victim to Ashfinder opened his mind to new possibilities. Ashe, therefore, is a whole new dimension of learning, and the current users are simply test subjects. Mortius is playing the long game with this drug and eagerly notes its long-term effects in consideration of how to refine them.
The doctor in modern nights is constantly in pursuit of “the work,” but only Mortius knows what this work entails. He seeks to bend, twist, and burn the Blood in vampire bodies, subjecting it to every force, every element, and every chemical compound to see what reacts. He wants to understand the Blood, master it, and eventually, learn all the secrets behind its manipulation. Mortius doesn’t hold stock in the Caine myth. He believes all things in this world — vampires included — are subject to science and physical principles, and are therefore tools waiting for the hands of learned masters.
Biography[]
| “ | Nobody else must know of my work. It is a secret, a secret.
It's very important. Everything I do is very important. You understand that, don't you? What we have here may be the most important magic I've ever studied. That's why the Elders chose me to figure it out. I've always been the one they turn to. I've made many important discoveries in my life. In fact, it was a discovery I made when I was alive that attracted the great Tremere Elders' attention. They thought no mere mortal could duplicate the magic they had used for so long, but I did! They thought they had a monopoly on magic after the other Magi disappeared, but I rediscovered it. That's why they Embraced me. Now I have all eternity to work magic. I've seen sights that would drive even your supernatural brain mad—worlds within worlds, realities within realities, whole new laws to uncover. This "null zone" may only be a small part of it, but the wonders it may help me understand are beyond your imagination. |
” |
Mortal Days[]
Raised by monks among the ranks of other orphans, his parents having succumbed to plague in his youth, James Howitt never knew the warmth of kin or the care of a loving mother. He was a perpetual loner in life, working harder than the other children and rejecting their calls to play. He earned praise from the brothers at the monastery for his candlelit writings and illuminations, despite never seeking a pat on the head from one of the venerable masters. His sole love and focus was “the work,” as he called it, and in that he excelled.
Where many of his peers went on to join the monastery or priesthood, James departed on his 14th birthday and never again looked at religion as anything but a distraction from the work. He translated texts from around the known world, penned his own treatises on sciences, sorceries, and beliefs, and earned many a wealthy patron through his efforts. For many years, he occupied a tall stone building in Edinburgh as a city elder, unaffiliated with any order but famed for his intellect and skill in academic pursuits.
James was in his 40s when he first became aware of blood magic. A dabbler in alchemy and, according to some, a hedge wizard, it came as little surprise to Edinburgh’s small Tremere contingent when James started probing for insight into the arts of the Blood. He was taken on as a ghoul, and to every Warlock’s great surprise, showed more skill with the clan’s Thaumaturgy than many of the city’s Kindred.
Mesita — the Tremere Regent of Edinburgh — came to Howitt one night during his studies, and offered him life eternal to continue studying the world’s great mysteries and become more than an apprentice in the field of Blood Sorcery. James took his time to consider the offer before accepting, despite the inkling that Mesita was deliberately cutting off his advancement by ending his natural life.
Kindred Nights[]
James never stopped his research or practice. He was determined to become what he called “a master of destiny and life” through studying every avenue of sorcery, philosophy, and alchemy. With an eternity, it seemed easy. Mortals might discover one or two things in a short lifespan. He was convinced he could achieve more than any living being with immortality stretching out before him.
Among his grand works were his translation of the Book of the Grave-War, a tome said to contain information enabling the breaking of the Blood Bond; the creation of dozens of minor and major Rituals utilized by the Tremere all over the world in the modern nights; the establishment of research chantries in various cities, including Shanghai and Milwaukee; and the co-development of the Ashe drug with the thin-bloods of the Cinder Institute, informally known as “the Ashfinders.” Still, he feels his work isn’t done. “The work” is not yet finished.
James wasn’t in Milwaukee when the city’s Tremere Regent — Carna — broke her bonds to the clan and formed her own house. He returned to the wreckage, however, and the few vampires who know him well say he seemed elated. He spends most of his time these nights wandering, sometimes teaching, most often researching, but always pursuing the work so important to him.
James was supposed to be one of the attendees at the great convention in Vienna, when the assault on the Prime Chantry saw the clan’s highest levels annihilated or sent to torpor. He opted at the last minute not to attend, and hasn’t spoken of the event since. As Clan Tremere found itself fragmented in multiple splinters, James informally broke from the core faction and aligned with House Ipsissimus, due in most part to their eagerness to research, expand mental horizons, and avoid the Camarilla hierarchy, which doesn’t interest him in the slightest. His defection angered prominent members of House Tremere and House Carna, but he really couldn’t care less, having been apolitical his entire existence.
Appearence[]
Mortius is a stooped old man with a beard and grey skin marked where he suffered the pox as a child. He rarely makes eye contact and speaks mostly in a mutter. He was Embraced in his 60s, which at the time was a venerable age, and it shows in his appearance and manner. James took on the name “Mortius” in the 19th century as a flight of fancy. He has no great connection to the Clan of Death, nor is he particularly morbid — though he is studious and stuffy — but the name keeps people guessing. It doesn’t serve as an effective Mask, however, due to the strangeness of the name. It hasn’t occurred to him yet to change it.
Character Sheet[]
Note: Mortius' retainers are ghouls who protect him and help him when Lupines attack. As such, they die frequently, but Mortius is glad to replace them. Still, they are always skilled fighters.
Image: A stooped old man with a beard, hunchback, and mottled skin, Embraced in his twilight years, Mortius tries to hide his form with nondescript clothing at all times. He avoids other Kindred and, when he has to converse with them, avoids eye contact and often seems to be drifting off while listening.
Roleplaying Hints: You seek praise as much as possible, and if characters somehow convince you to talk to them, you will spend half the time showing them interesting (but useless) magical gadgets you have created. Most of your trinkets have been superseded by technology—like the long tube that lets you see far away, the equivalent of a 30x30 telescope.
Haven: Mortius has a Haunted House near Marquette.
Influence: Mortius has a good deal of influence within the Tremere, especially through his Mentor, an Elder of the Clan. Carna is under orders to abide by his wishes.
Backgrounds Sheet[]
Marquette University Campus
(Contacts 3, Haven 3, Herd 2)
Mortius spends much of his existence moving between domains, but often returns “home” to Milwaukee, the city in which he spent much of the 20th century. He keeps a body of contacts among Marquette faculty and a fringe religious group known as the Cult of Isis, but feels increasingly drawn to Embrace students just to drain them, which intrigues him as a grand new experiment of the Blood. The domain has plentiful occult phenomena to study, so he’s happy remaining there for months at a time. Unfortunately, the current Prince of the city is prone to persecuting vampires who move in and out of Milwaukee without contributing to its defenses.
(Mawla 2)
Mortius is the hidden head behind the Cinder Institute, though he has less interest in its operation than he does in the results of Ashe usage. The majority of its members are — to his mind — junkies and lab rats. However, the cult also acts as a group that offers guidance and aid when James needs it, so as their sponsor, he looks out for them and they look out for him.
(Allies 3, Retainers 3)
This cult of mortal witches and vampires linked to the Bahari operates in many domains across the world, tending toward spaces afflicted with severe occult phenomena, such as Cairo, Thessaloniki, Edinburgh, and Milwaukee. Though their membership is entirely non-male, James lends them his research in exchange for their acting as his sometime bodyguards and spies.
Trivia[]
- As one of the pioneers of Ashe ingestion, and one of the drug’s biggest promoters, Amber is a curious test subject for Mortius. He sponsors her, gives her advice, supplies her with Ashe, and watches the dominoes fall while taking notes, as her followers fall deeper and deeper into addiction. He has no real affection for the young vampire.
- What Mortius tells people is that Carna stole his research and used it inappropriately to form her hellish cell of Kindred. What actually happened is, while Mortius translated the Book of the Grave-War and practiced its Blood Bond-breaking Rituals, he never got them to work. Believing the book incomplete or inaccurate, he moved on to other things. He greatly resents that Milwaukee’s puppet Regent — Carna — somehow cracked the code without telling him, and wants to know how she did the deed.
- James has remained apolitical for most of his existence, aligning with the Camarilla because it suited him, and falling within the core of Clan Tremere because they schooled him, and sent him books, students, and blood for study. His break from Schrekt’s wing of the clan was meant to be quiet, but apparently the head of House Tremere is livid Mortius just walked away with hundreds of years of research, especially as the doctor was supposed to attend Vienna when the attack on the Chantry took place. Mortius is deathly afraid of what will happen if Schrekt catches up to him.
- Mortius knows how fucked up the users of Ashe are going to be and doesn’t care at all. He’s poisoning them to eradicate thin-bloods and form a new case study.
- Mortius and another Kindred scientist named Netchurch often exchange notes, sometimes acting as peers, other times as rivals. Both are detached from compassion.
- Mortius knew exactly what was going to happen in Vienna, which is why he didn’t make the journey and why he’s so scared of Karl Schrekt.
Gallery[]
References[]
- VTM: Milwaukee by Night, p. 52-53
- VTM: Bloody Hearts: Diablerie Britain, p. 7, 57
- VTM: Beckett's Jyhad Diary