I have been working on an NPC for a homebrew WFRP adventure. He is a major patron for a party – especially if that party has a wizard’s apprentice or scholar in need of a tutor. I will provide some more details about the adventure on this site soon!

Background

Victor von Ferlangen originates from Ostland, a scion of a baronial family with holdings near the town of Ferlangen in Ostland. 

Victor is young for a Wizard. He learnt quickly from a powerful master when only a young teenager. He had an uncle, Berat von Ferlangen, who was an Illusionist of great power. This uncle took him under his wing after seeing Victor’s natural aptitude. Victor is grateful for what his uncle did for him and feels the same desire to take on his own pupils. 

Yet, his uncle also tried to teach him to use his gifts wisely and to hide his powers – that’s why his uncle chose to be an illusionist.  Victor resented this restriction as a boy – why should he not use his powers? To become rich for example? His family is poor by noble standards – their estate being inadequate to support them. 

He argued with his uncle and went his own way. His uncle retired – some think he is dead – but he’d had enough of his precocious student. He’s hidden away in the Middle Mountains. His older sister, Magritta, inherited the family’s holdings, but control of it went to her husband, Hermann von Blödhofen—an arrogant knight. Victor hated him and used magical powers to do away with him—his sister has never spoken of it but she knows that he did it for her. As a widow she runs the estate and looks after Victor’s sons. 

Victor’s wife, Franke Kauffmann—a fellow student (and Noble) he met in Altdorf—died of a chaos plague – her death lead Victor to have an interest in the forces of chaos and how they might be harnessed. He wishes he could have saved her–perhaps he can bring her back even? Does she still live in some afterlife? These mysteries interest him and he’s obsessed with finding out the workings of magic and the gods. So much so, that he’s willing to use any means to get to that knowledge and holds others’ lives in low regard. After all chaos will take us all eventually, so what does it matter? But some people (his close family for instance) are more important than that—they can transcend the forces of chaos. He knows that magic is a powerful thing and believes that the chosen can resist chaos—maybe even bend it to their will. 

But to do this he needs to get out of the mainstream of Empire life – somewhere like Rothgogen’s Tower could be an ideal place. He knows that it holds a repository of books and also, he hopes, magical items. It might be just a tad dangerous though, so if someone else can clear it out and do the dirty work, that would be ideal. If there are any scholars amongst the PCs he encounters, then he would consider taking them as pupils, if they seem pliable enough, and talented enough. His hunger for knowledge is so insatiable, he will take whatever scraps he can, however small.  

Personality 

Young and handsome, and appearing like a rich Imperial noble, at first glance Victor might appear to be a spoilt, vain young man. But there is a deeply serious side to him. He cultivates a flippant personality on purpose so that he’s not taken too seriously or perceived as a danger—his sister’s husband just thought he was a vain idiot, and look what happened to him!  

In reality he is very sharp-witted and focused on what he wants, and it excites him to come up with intricate plots to lure others in and to get his way.   

For WFRP 1st edition, Victor is a Level 3 Wizard and Level 4 Illusionist. I will add stats and spells at a later date – probably as a download, and also work out his stats for 4th edition as well!