I was just wondering (and hoping) that, if it wasn't too much trouble, some kind soul wouldn't mind statting him up for me, perhaps with a bit of a backstory as to his identity, his connections to the Red Death etc.
And, as much as I know that beggars can't be choosers, if possible, I'd like to keep him human, as I always thought that the brutality of the Ripper nicely embodied the evil that men where quite capable of doing on their own, without any supernatural powers.
Somebody? Pretty please with sugar on?
Dedicated to his work, he teaches medical students and regularly performs educational autopsies in surgical theaters. Unlike most senior doctors, he is very liberal in his theories and even proposes experimentatal procedures for heart and brain surgery - so liberal that a less respected man might be derrided as a quack. As of late, his work in brain surgery has led him to make many connections with the alienists and asylum of London.
Friends say Dr. Lang is tireless is his pursuit to improve humanity. They are mystified as to the force that drives him. Indeed, little does anyone suspect what dark currents flow beneath his clam surface.
Few people know that Lang is the bastard of an unknown gentleman, and was raised by his mother, who was suspected to be insane. Lang commited his first murder as a teenager - killing his insane hateful mother with a carving knife. As he would later write in his journal, he felt a sense of perfect clarity as he transended into a state of grace. To cover the murder he burned his house down and invested the remaining inheritance in his education.
Thoughout his life he would commit murders and cover up the remains; his victims always female. For years he has hidden his work, but as of late, he has recieved a vision. Motivated by works, such as those of Nische, Lang is trying to improve mankind by freeing the killer within. Though his murders, he is attempting to give birth to the modern man - a man free of laws, free of constraint.
To give birth to this modern man he must give birth as only a man can - by cutting the infant free of the womb. To this end, Lang will cut a bloody swathe through London, thwarting the law and taunting the inferior authorities. Through this act of grace, he will precipitate the fall of civilized man and give rise to an age of freedom, an age of wild savagry, the modern age.
There are several approaches to the JtR topic in RL/MotRD:
- *Red Jack* a module from the old 2e MotRD box, where the ripper hunts London and then Boston and turns out to be the vengeful ghost of a woman that is jealous for her husband...
- *Hour of the Knife*, a 2e Ravenloft adventure set in Paridon (but easily transformable to any MotRD campaign)
-*Shadow of the Knife*, the freely available Kargatane adventure, a sequel to *Hour of the Knife*, also set in Paridon.
http://www.hallofhero.com/PC/ViewPressClass.cfm?IDPC=15
I think it's a conversion of the wizard kit the Complete Necromancer`s Guide, though it works with a non spellcaster too and IMO it works better for the Ripper. (The RL one gains henchmen and some wierd grafting powers...)
For scalpels i would use the stats of a (masterwork) straight razor (1d4 20/x3). Add in Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization (from the anatomist), perhaps Impr Critical if you can get it.
Start with Expert and/or Aristocrat. Some Rogue levels for sneak attack are a must.
The charm of "Saucy Jack" was in the thrill of the chase - the players, who represent law and order, are chasing down the murderer, who represents the wild savage man. Jack the Ripper is the wolf in sheeps clothing, preying on the flock and vanishing before the watch dogs can stop him. In fact, that is why the Ripper is so immortal as a villian - because in the end, he really did get away.
I might suggest that the typical encounter with the Ripper is a chase - the players always just out of reach of him, and just when they think they've caught him...
Someone opens a door into an alley, just after the Ripper, thus blocking the players and resulting in some damage
He ducks out of the alley and vanishes into a crowd - perhaps a power there?
He turns the corner, and suddenly vanishes from a deadend
I would make Jack something more than an average man, definately having received some strange talents from the Red Death. Like ScS has mentioned, some ability to aid his escape or allow him to blend into a crowd is a must. he could just kill his victim and then wander only a short distance, then return to the crime scene to watch the police in action. Inwardly he is amused that they are as baffled as ever as to who the murderer is. Some levels in the Physician class is a must, even if he isn't a professional i nthe field, he is an ametuer with some knowledge inthe field.
I would also give him a sword can in case he did have to fight, but quickly allow him to make an exit (through seemingly conventional means).
In was then that the coroner decided to take things into his own hands, to give birth to a new age, an age that wouldn't, couldn't be so bias.
All he had to do was absolutely horrify the public into submission, and together their fear, their anger, their demands would set into motion a system that would set things right.
He would target prostitutes simply for the fact that he despised the overflowing orphanages and back alley abortions that were products of these dregs of society, and he would target five in total: one for each time his words fell on the deaf ears of city officials, people who know better and who should've cared to make society better.
If not the right way, then those dogs would learn the hard way, even if he has to become a martyr in the process.
Let the lesson begin...
Note: Originally I had said my take on Jack had him a mortician, but I was wrong in that I dropped the wrong profession. I had meant coroner, and I have edited this post to include this correction.
Professionally, mortician just didn't make as much sense as coroner.
Any Jack the Ripper type villian needs to be combat light:
The charm of "Saucy Jack" was in the thrill of the chase - the players, who represent law and order, are chasing down the murderer, who represents the wild savage man. Jack the Ripper is the wolf in sheeps clothing, preying on the flock and vanishing before the watch dogs can stop him. In fact, that is why the Ripper is so immortal as a villian - because in the end, he really did get away.
I might suggest that the typical encounter with the Ripper is a chase - the players always just out of reach of him, and just when they think they've caught him...
Someone opens a door into an alley, just after the Ripper, thus blocking the players and resulting in some damage
He ducks out of the alley and vanishes into a crowd - perhaps a power there?
He turns the corner, and suddenly vanishes from a deadend
I agree.
With some Rogue and Doctor levels and the anatomist being originally a wizardy PrC (d4 HD) this fits. He´s able to wield his scalpels quite well, but has a low BAB/HD/AC. With his (basic) sneak attack he won`t be able to catch most PCs anyways. Only a few levels each but they do yield lots of skill points. Put those into disguise, bluff, hide, etc. Feats: skill focus in any of the above, shadow, stealthy, persuasive, perhaps run/fleet of foot?, Iron Will?
Jack himself isn't so tough himself in this version. He may just be a level "X" Dandy with a failed powers check or two (with a gift and a compulsion). But the age is named for Queen Victoria for a reason, making an enemy of the most powerful court on Earth has to be just slightly better than getting directly into Big Red's gunsights.
-Eric Gorman
Whatever motivations for the grusome killings might just as easily have effected a woman as a man. Most importantly come the anomynity
At the height of the killings White Chapple was in a panic. The street-walkers were warry, and the mob was out in force. One swiss tourist was almost beaten to death when he showed his knife to impress a lady-friend. How could prostitutes be so easily fooled towards the end of the spree? How could a man, carrying his bag o' tools, dripping in blood from his victim, escape the notice of so many people looking for exactly that?
But a woman.... perhaps one posing as an abortionist? Such a murderess could easily brandish her vile implements, even stroll about in Whitechapple, without getting a second glance. More importantly, she would have the oppertunity - even a streetwise prostitute would not suspect a thing - until it was too late.
Perhaps that would be a twist to play on PCs? Let the Ripper slip through their fingers just by changing her clothes? Perhaps lead the PCs to place the next potential victim in the hands of the friendly neibourhood midwife, never suspecting...
Perhaps that would be a twist to play on PCs? Let the Ripper slip through their fingers just by changing her clothes? Perhaps lead the PCs to place the next potential victim in the hands of the friendly neibourhood midwife, never suspecting...
And a very good twist at that. If you've used that before I'd like to know how it went.
That's not a bad theory- but my personal fav was the Jill the Ripper theory.
At the height of the killings White Chapple was in a panic. The street-walkers were warry, and the mob was out in force. One swiss tourist was almost beaten to death when he showed his knife to impress a lady-friend. How could prostitutes be so easily fooled towards the end of the spree? How could a man, carrying his bag o' tools, dripping in blood from his victim, escape the notice of so many people looking for exactly that?
But a woman.... perhaps one posing as an abortionist? Such a murderess could easily brandish her vile implements, even stroll about in Whitechapple, without getting a second glance. More importantly, she would have the oppertunity - even a streetwise prostitute would not suspect a thing - until it was too late...
Jill the Ripper works quite well as a MotRD adventure - I like the old Red Jack adventure. Historically though its probably inacuuracte. Either the 4th or 5th victim was seen earlier in the evening with a very well dressed gentleman who was reported as saying (more or less - working from memory) "yes you'll do fine." She was found dead later that night. Possibly another man (or woman) later killed the unfortunate woman but it seems somewhat improbable.
You are quite right about the panic the killings created, but the Victorian mindset has a lot of predjudices alien to modern times. Its still an age where people believe widely that you can judge a persons character by the physical attributes of their face. A person of "quality" is almost by defination above suspicion...only a degenerate of the species could possibly perform such diabolic actions (to say nothing of those who indeed did believe the killer was supernatural or even an escaped circus animal). To my knowledge the prostitutes were worried about lower class customers.
Just a bit of trivia. A serial Killer is someone who kills at least 5 people. The number for this dubious catagorization is because Jack - the first recorded - killed 5.
-Eric Gorman