Herr Doktor Professor Emeritus Klaus Scholz is a distinguished, elderly man, apparently in his late 70s (his actual age is almost 100) with white hair and a neatly trimmed white beard. He is still mobile but prefers to walk with a cane. He shows no signs of senile decay, and in fact has a piercing, almost mesmerising gaze. He speaks English with a strong Germanic accent. His hands are stained by chemical exposure during his career, and so he frequently wears gloves. He wears an ankh on a chain around his neck, usually hidden under his shirt. His clothes always have pockets; on particularly hot days, he will wear a photographer’s vest (if asked, he says that at his age, if he puts small things down, he can never remember where they are). He currently resides in Perth, Western Australia, claiming (if anyone asks) that he chose to retire here from Berlin for “zer warmth and zun”. In actuality, he moved here to become head of the Inner Order. He has now retired from actively running the order, but is still consulted about important decisions, and enjoys the title Chancellor Emeritus of the Fraternal Order of Librarians. He is unmarried and has no children, but is regularly visited by his nieces and nephews and their children, who appreciate having an amiable elderly relative living close to an Australian beach.
Background
The 1920s and 30s were a turbulent time, for humanity and for the Mythos (see Chaosium’s entire 1920s catalogue). Seeking to document as much as possible, the Great Race of Yith sent back not only the individual who possessed Professor Dyer of Miskatonic University, but another observer who possessed a penniless youth, living as a petty drug dealer, in turbulent post-war Germany named Klaus Scholz. When the Yithian left him, Klaus found himself in possession of a modest fortune and a secure job (provided by the FOL) as a lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Berlin, but also entangled with the Thule Gesellschaft and other sinister occult groups that the Yithian had been investigating. Klaus resented this “monstrous imposition” and found the FOL’s blind service of the Great Race inadequate justification for the danger in which he found himself. He was unexpectedly compensated, though in a way which placed him in even more danger, when the aftereffects of Yithian mind-transfer unlocked his capacity to Dream. With philosophies of racial destiny and consciousness very much in vogue at the time, Klaus made the connection between the survival of human culture and the survival of the Dreamlands, and began seeking out other members of the Inner Order who might share his more self-interested mindset.
However, his plans to dominate the Dreamlands have hit a seemingly impassable snag. Klaus is simply not a great artist. He is more creative than the average person, and is supernaturally strong-willed, but comparing his imaginative talent to that of a true Dreamlands ruler like King Kuranes is like comparing August Derleth to Edgar Allen Poe. Aware of his inferiority, Klaus eventually came to the conclusion that where talent and finesse was lacking, raw power might suffice, and began to seek an entity that could provide him with that power. He found Hypnos.
Now
Today the self-styled Herald of Hypnos is a skilled alchemist and Dreamer, a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Berlin, the Chancellor Emeritus of the Inner Order and the head of the Secret Order. As the end of his natural life approaches, bringing with it the time he must move to the Dreamlands on a permanent basis, he has become increasingly obsessive, unscrupulous and desperate in his quest to ensure eternal immortality. He has lost patience with persuasion, and is planning to use his now considerable command of magic (including Imprison Mind, which would prevent the Yithian from escaping) to kidnap and torture the next visiting Yithian until it agrees to retrieve and turn over a Stasis Cube, in which he and the Secret Order can place their hoard of cultural treasures, ensuring their permanent survival.
Klaus’ SAN is now quite low as the result of adherence to the more-or-less random demands of Hypnos (Although Hypnos is not actively malign in the manner of an Outer God or Great Old One, he is linked to the human unconsciousness and can thus make very strange demands of his worshippers – just ask Sigmund Freud). He has committed murder at least once as a human sacrifice to the God, an event he used to fashion his cane. His actions at the end of WW II, when he secured the foundations of his art collection from Nazi troves, also make him an accessory to war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, his high POW and air of age, dignity and learning helps him maintain self-control and present an acceptable face to his colleagues.
Because Klaus managed to disentangle himself from the Thule society before the outbreak of war, he is unaware of the existence of the Karotechia. Should he somehow become aware of the new Fourth Reich, he would certainly consider allying himself with them (and given his memories as a resident of Pnakotus plus his command of time magics, Klaus could plausibly be aware of anything the Keeper desires).
Klaus’ Goals and Plans:
Complete his treatise on the ecology of time-travelling species.
Raise his POW as high as possible before dying.
Obtain more cultural treasures.
Obtain a Stasis Cube.
Ensure the Secret Order is in good hands after his death.
Kill Anton Merriweather.
Exterminate the Great Race (not really possible right now, but Klaus figures he’ll have all eternity to work on it).
Buy icecream for his favourite grand-nephews and nieces.
Klaus’ spells:
All those in The Pnakotic Manuscripts, plus Assess Significance (see below), Bless Blade, Cloud Memory, Create Dream Drug, Contact Hypnos, Dream Vision, Enchant Cane, Enchant Knife, Heal, Imprison Mind, Nightmare, Perfection, Summon/Bind Nightgaunt, and Vanish, plus various Dreamlands spells. Although he knows all the Pnakotic spells, there are many he has never seen the need to cast (e.g. Contact Hound of Tindalos), so his castings should not automatically succeed.
Assess Significance (new spell): This spell costs 1 MP and 1 SAN. If cast while holding an object, it enables the caster to assess the significance of the object to the collective unconsciousness of humanity, as represented by the Dreamlands. The result is a complex, synaesthesia-like experience of the work, which varies in intensity according to the object’s significance. The spell requires a Dream Lore roll and a relevant skill roll to interpret the spell’s result correctly (an Art History role if the spell was used upon a work of art, etc).
Notes on Klaus
Klaus owes his longevity to repeated uses of the Heal and Perfection spells, plus a vegetarian diet and regular Yoga. Paranoid investigators might realise that the only circles in which yoga, vegetarianism and other Hindu concepts were popular in pre-war Germany were occult ones.
Klaus is never without his enchanted Cane (which drains POW from those it touches and grants Magic Points to Klaus on a one-to-one basis, as per the spell), a Hypatian Ankh, and a selection of alchemical powders (Suleiman, Ibn-Ghazi, etc). If he is expecting any unusual social interaction (e.g. being interviewed by the PCs) he will have cast Voice of Ra and Sekhmenkenhemp’s Words on himself beforehand, which makes him very difficult to outwit or disagree with. Likewise if he is expecting any Mythos-related or violent incident, he will bring his enchanted Knife (made of silver and in the form of a switchblade (which are illegal to possess in Australia), it has both Bless Blade and Enchant Knife cast upon it) as well as his Cane. After possession by a Yithian and years of casting Augur and Dream Vision spells, Klaus is very good at expecting things. Still, he would prefer to avoid outright violence, and if physically threatened by the PCs would probably appear to give way, then later summon Nightgaunts to carry them off, rather than retaliate physically. If faced with antagonists with law-enforcement capacity, he would summon Nightgaunts to immobilise them, reduce their POW and hence magic resistance with his cane, and cast Cloud Memory to cause them to forget him. Less significant threats will be sent Nightmares until they desist.
A pantry in Klaus’ house has been converted into a refuge against Hounds of Tindalos. It is sealed (but not airtight) and well stocked with food and drink. He can escape to this room at any time by using his Vanish spell.