Johann Conrad Dippel

Name	Johann Conrad Dippel
Race	Human
Type	Vampire Hunter
Faction	Free Willed
Premiere	The Anax: Call of the Cursed One
Relative(s)	N/A

Johann Conrad Dippel

"As zee good doctor has told you, I assist Mr. Van Gozen, viz his vork!"

Biography

Pre-Desideratum: Blood Bonds

Johann Conrad Dippel was a German inventor, physician, alchemist and occultist. Dippel was born at Castle Frankenstein near Mühltal and Darmstadt, and therefore once at his school the addendum Franckensteinensis and once at his university the addendum Franckensteina-Strataemontanus was used. He studied theology, philosophy and alchemy at the University of Giessen, obtaining a master's degree in theology. He published many theological works under the name Christianus Demócritus and later turned to Hermetic studies and alchemy as a key to nature. Dippel's reputation as a controversial theologian earned him both defenders and enemies throughout all of Europe. Dippel led an adventurous life, often getting into trouble because of his disputed opinions and theories.

During his stay at Castle Frankenstein, he practiced alchemy and anatomy, which led him to conjecture about the soul and life. He performed experiments with cadavers, in which he attempted to transfer the soul of one cadaver into another. This failed, but it did cause him to uncover the fact that ghosts existed as one cadaver’s spirit did appear and attack him. Instead of detouring the man, it emboldened his passions, and Dippel began analyzing what substance ghosts might consist of. He eventually came to the idea of electricity and noted that by applying it, even to completely severed limbs, he could elicit a response. Still, he could not resurrect a corpse. One day he was approached by a man claiming to have the blood of a vampire. The man offered to sell this to the inventor for a very large sum. Risking his life savings, Dippel procured the substance, and injected it into a stitched-together cadaver that he had been experimenting on. At first, nothing happened, however, after applying a large amount of electricity, the cadaver rose!

The flesh, while waxy and dead, had suddenly become elastic with rigor mortis entirely removed. The cadaver seems mentally slow, but did remember words. Dippel was ecstatic- the first step towards immortality had been taken. However, he soon learned that the creature, which he named Karloff, had a child-like temper but the strength of a dozen men. As time passed, it became clear to Dippel, even as he grew to see Karloff like a son, that the monster was far too dangerous. Attempting to smuggle Karloff out of the castle, Dippel was discovered. With the superstitious villagers gathering around, Karloff began to become agitated. He attacked the people and they fled. Dippel promised Karloff that he would be ok and would get a present, but that he needed to come with Dippel. He led the monster into the Odenwald mountains, and to a cave which Dippel used to hide items that could lead to heresy charges against him. Once Karloff was inside, Dippel triggered a trap that he had set. The cave collapsed, trapping Karloff within.

For hours, Dippel sat and cried, feeling as if he had done this to his own child. When the sun rose, he made his way back to Castle Frankenstein and found what he had expected to- an angry mob. He was eventually imprisoned for heresy, where he served a seven-year sentence. While jailed, he would sit in his cell and think of Karloff. He chose to never again experiment with the dead, and had come to conjecture if Karloff’s violence had been due to the use of “vampire blood”. As the days waned on, with only four walls to talk to, the doctor shifted blame from himself to these vampires. He swore that he would find the undead, and give them peace, at the time assuming they would be innocent like Karloff. He then started mentally designing inventions. Using the steam power of the day, he managed to think up very fanciful failures, but a few intriguing inventions as well.

Upon his release, he set to work on making his inventions a reality. Then, as he hunted for vampires, his path crossed that of Calis Van Gothen. The pair managed to fight off a small army of Nightbred in a small village. Dippel could see the fiends were nothing like Karloff and appeared truly evil. The two men formed a friendship that would last the rest of their lives. Dippel used steam power in order to work his strange inventions, and together they fought and purged Germany of all undead. Also, along his adventures, he met Theodore and Deborah Ravenhurst, and these people fought darkness side by side on occasion. Finally, they tracked down what he thought was the original vampire, a Count in Romania. There, in his middle age, Dippel, with Van Gothen, the Ravenhursts, and a few others at his side, they battled the King of Vampires, Vlad Țepeș, and succeeded in destroying the fiend’s body- yet a puddle of red blood remained behind. They tried using magic and science to destroy the substance, but not even sunlight seemed capable. Having no other options, Calis used a pump, fabricated by Dippel, to collect the unholy substance. They placed the vile ooze into a puzzle box. This box was designed by Theodore as a brain teaser and blessed by the magical enchantments of Deborah so that only someone of the bloodlines of those present could possibly open the artifact.

Sealing the mechanized puzzle box with Dippel’s help, it was entrusted into the hands of the Ravenhursts to be locked into their magical vault where they sealed cursed objects located on their studies. The box could only be activated with a key. Dippel created a pocket watch, in which to hide the key. The watch required the user to press the top three times in a row, in order to retrieve what it held inside. Theodore took the pocket watch and the box to America. There, outside of Wakefield, New York, the husband and wife sealed the box into their subterranean vault. Theodore held the key, hidden within his watch, for the rest of his life.

After defeating Vlad Țepeș, Calis and Dippel turned to the vampire lord, [[[Ivor]]. He was a Domnitor strain vampire- one brought about directly by the bite of Vlad. The team began their pursuit, yet Ivor proved to be very difficult to find. Whereas Vlad did not hide at all, always remaining in or around his castle, Ivor hid in dark places like sewers, caverns, or random abandoned buildings. Van Gothen and his vampire hunters spent weeks on fruitless snipe hunts. Little did he know that rather than playing prey, Ivor had tracked down the Van Gothen family living in Amsterdam. There, one by one, the Van Gothen family died. By the time Calis returned to his home, his family- from the youngest grandchild to his wife, had not only died, but they were now undead servants of Ivor! Ivor captured Van Gothen, and forced him to watch as Ivor fornicated with Calis’ now, very willing, corrupted undead wife! Ivor did all he could to break Calis’s spirit. However, Ivor’s pride and desire to torture the doctor turned out to be a horrible mistake.

Dippel and the Ravenhursts managed to break Calis free, and together the group decimated Ivor’s minions. With his own two hands, Calis killed his now twisted family, and swore revenge upon Ivor. Beaten and scared, the Domnitor fled across Europe with an enraged Van Gothen constantly at his heels. Suddenly, one day, Calis lost track of his foe. He could no longer find any sign of Ivor, and eventually determined that Ivor had sailed across the sea. So, true to his tenacious nature, Calis followed him there- to the United States. He tracked him to Wakefield, New York, and assumed that Ivor had learned the location of the puzzle box. It was actually Eleanora Blackwood that knew there was a treasure trove of powerful artifacts hidden in Ravenhurst Manor, and she had allied with Ivor in an attempt to gain access to the vault, the puzzle box hidden there merely a coincidence. Dippel finally met his end in a titanic battle in the Wakefield inn. He and his compatriots would have won the day, but the wicked witch Eleanora used her magic to save Ivor, and together, the two annihilated the heroes.

Desideratum: Blood Bonds

In Desideratum: Blood Bonds, Dippel is not a present character, but is referenced several times. His innovations are seen throughout the novel.

The Anax: Call of the Cursed One

In The Anax: Call of the Cursed One, the attack in Wakefield that Dippel had been a part of is explored during the second part of the novel, where you learn of Anaximanes Ravenhurst's background.

Appearance

Johann is a slightly chubby inventor. He has inventor's goggles and old style clothing, matching the time he was active.

Abilities

• Creative Curiosity
• Intense Intellect
• Steam Inventor

Notes and Trivia

Dippel is referenced several times throughout the novel, and his inventions appear in multiple places. One relevant example is the plans to creating the steam powered fighting machine that Rosaline Vaas makes.