drbyronorpheus

Please let me know how I'm doing with this character. Anon enabled.

Who: Dr. Orpheus and you
Where: The fairgrounds and anywhere he's allowed to hawk his wares.
When: The whole week.
What: Dr. Orpheus, travelling medicine man goes around selling snake oil and sundry curiosities.
Warnings: Possible violence. This is the wild west.

A small cart is stopped by the side of the road, on the campgrounds, on a street corner, wherever he's allowed to park. Two canvas panels roll down each side reading: "Pharmacopeia Extraordinaire: Mender of Mysterious Maladies!" and "Dr. Orpheus' patented Elixir of Vitality: Let it Bring You to Life!"

A lean man in fine clothes that have seen better days can be seen around camping and carefully tending to his horse. He keeps a pistol on hand and a rifle in his cart, yet sometimes the pistol is unloaded.

Wherever people are gathered, he steps down off the wagon to do his patter:

"Gentlemen, Ladies, I humbly offer a staggering selection of tinctures, nostrums, ointments and powders procured from the Far East or used by the crowned heads of Europe themselves!"

He whacks a canvas panel with his cane, shaking the dust loose.

"All these and the jewel in the crown: Doctor Orpheus' Elixir of Vitality! Seventeen varieties of herb mixed to my exacting specifications from Mother Nature's own Pharmacopeia! For the lifting of the animal spirits, the restoration of health. It will put a spring in your step and a song in your heart. Yes, you sir. Even the toughest maladies are no match for it, yet the formula is compounded to be gentle enough for the most frail invalid. Restore lost youth, reverse the hands of time!

Now that is not all, for in my extensive research I have developed other formulas just as pleasing. Losing your hair? No more, I say! No longer will the scourge of Onanism haunt you! For plague, pox, or gout I have just the thing! Even-"
He lowers his voice "Even charms for gentlemen feeling the fire and passion going out of their lives. For ladies, the most recent scientific discoveries. Consultations are free!"

User Name/Nick: Elly
User DW: patina
AIM/IM: na
E-mail: patinanym@yahoo.com
Other Characters: none

Character Name: "Doctor" Byron Orpheus
Series: The Venture Brothers
Age: 40's or 50's
From When?: Just after Season 5 of the Venture Brothers

Inmate/Warden: Dr. Orpheus has been accurately described as "Mr. Rogers in a cape." He's heavily invested in using magic to do good, or at least "balancing good and evil." He also has a good basic understanding of psychology and decent emotional intelligence. Though he's sometimes too wrapped up to notice others he can be very perceptive and considerate.

Item: [A decorated skull whose eyes flash when there's voicemail.]

Abilities/Powers:
He's a "necromancer" but many of his powers are generic wizard magic powers: levitation, mindreading, illusions, astral travel, and shooting taser-like bolts of energy. He's also able to find souls, speak to ghosts, and under certain conditions even resurrect the dead.

Although he can make people think he's turned into something else, he's not able to shapeshift. Changing the true forms of others doesn't work. Changing objects seems to be possible but difficult. He can't heal faster than a normal person and he can't stop bullets. Wizards in his world can't be mindwiped (at least not by technological means) but they're extremely vulnerable to post-hypnotic suggestion.

(I intend to use his most powerful abilities sparingly: mind reading, illusions, resurrection and doing things with people's souls.)

Personality: If Dr. Orpheus is anything, he's enthusiastic about his work. There's a real sense that he thinks magic is the best thing ever and he's determined to live up to every single melodramatic wizard cliche ever. He is unrelentingly dramatic, even about the most mundane of tasks. At times his desire for "the old razzle dazzle" overcomes his common sense- he even wishes for a costumed arch-enemy at one point because it seems "romantic" to him. (Granted, in his universe villains are regulated and have to abide by codes.) More than anything Dr. Orpheus sees himself as a grand figure fighting for good.

The "magic superhero" thing has a dark side as he actually has very little life outside of his work. He has few friends and those are the people he fought crime with on his off-hours. The amount of time and discipline it took him to develop his powers led him to neglect his family. It's hinted that this is the reason his wife divorced him, something he regrets bitterly. His eagerness to join in any activities on the Venture compound seems to suggest loneliness. So does his tolerance of the caustic Dr. Venture.

He's not lacking in people skills, though. The same diligence he applied to learning magic he later applied to being a father and watching out for the Venture boys. In the last case, he showed finesse; not allowing them out of his sight, but not visibly chaperoning them so that they could feel some sense of freedom. He has well-developed empathy as well as a basically considerate nature when he makes the effort.

He tends to view others that he likes through rosy-colored glasses. Though not universally naive, he would very much prefer to believe that people are telling the truth. For instance, he's convinced himself that his daughter doesn't stay out all night drinking even though she's up very early in the morning, wearing the same clothes she wore last night and smelling of clove cigarettes.

He's not always such a soft touch though, and he's not against doing nasty things when he feels threatened: for instance, trapping the souls of two men who were interfering with his babysitting duties in a 'lil homies figurine (temporarily?). He's also done slightly disturbing things out of sheer anger, such as telling others the time and date of their future deaths.

Magic exists to be used, he believes. It's okay to use it for personal gain, entertainment, or self-defense. Orpheus considers the possible unintended effects his workings might have on others and tries not to use harmful magic without a good reason. The problem is, Dr. Orpheus is the one who defines what a "good reason" is. He's not used to oversight or criticism beyond "all magic is evil" or "magic isn't real." At times he can seem a little (or more than a little) hypocritical. For instance he is completely outraged over an innocent soul being trapped in a machine, but he's okay with briefly trapping two men who were only annoying him and getting in his way.

Finally, the flip side of his sense of responsibility is that he sometimes thinks he knows what's best for others in his care. It's not generally a big problem with him, but he has repeatedly mind wiped his daughter and subtly steered her away from magic in order to keep her safe. This is not likely to come up much with older people, but it may with younger ones or anyone he feels personally responsible for.

Barge Reactions:
Doctor Orpheus will arrive on the Barge expecting some kind of new adventure. He'll be more than eager to set off to explore ports and participate in floods and he'll willingly make friends. He comes from a world with superheroes, mutants and all sorts of oddities so he shouldn't be too surprised by any of them. He will, however, be a little saddened by the attitudes of some of the inmates who are less than appreciative of this "learning opportunity."

As a Warden, he'll work diligently to try to understand and help his inmate even if he has to overcome some of his own arrogance to do so. He'll be annoyingly persistent and fatherly.

However, he does have some abilities that are likely to worry people. Some of his illusions are pretty much temporary mind-control. He can read recent memories. What's more, even though he'll be sparing with the use of these, his justifications for using them might be questionable to the inmates and other Wardens. He's not used to having to explain and justify himself and he'll resent it a bit, but he'll ultimately see it from other people's point of view and do whatever needs to be done.

Deal: Helping others while being given room and board and opportunity to socialize should be almost enough for him. Also the Warden could persuade him to join by offering to get his daughter an art scholarship at a prestigious school.

History: Dr. Orpheus attended a local junior college in America where he majored in communication and women's studies. He is not officially a doctor, but he believes he's earned the title through his magical studies.

At one point he met his "Master" or teacher, a seemingly morally neutral trickster spirit, but knowledge of magic was not just handed to him, he had to work for it. He met and married his wife and later took an apprentice. Dr. Orpheus was deeply devoted to his work as well as to his newly founded "Order of the Triad" a group of magical superheros. His work paid well and sometimes involved resurrecting people for a very steep fee.

Eventually his wife and his apprentice fell in love and his wife sought a divorce. He gained custody of their daughter, Triana and tried to do his best as a father. Seeking office space, he moved into the Venture compound, owned by the failed super-scientist "Dr." Rusty Venture. Though slightly annoyed by Dean's crush on Triana, he did his best to help look out for Rusty's sons and to make up for some of the neglect their father showed.

Triana discovered her father's Master and had a long talk with it. It explained that her father had been wiping her memory every time she discovered the spirit and it told her that Dr. Orpheus was trying to steer her away from magic, but if she wanted to learn the best thing for her to do was to go live with her mother. She did.

Finally, the Venture compound burned down. Dr. Orpheus rescued Dean's beloved stuffed giraffe and sewed it back together before leaving to find a new place to live.

Sample Journal Entry:
Oh, hello. [A goateed man peers into the camera, fingers steepled dramatically under his chin.]
Greetings, I am known to men as Doctor Orpheus, Master of Mysticism. I have accepted a post on this interstellar vessel in order to assist in rehabilitation and to help preserve the cosmic balance. (Also, full disclosure, your Admiral offered to procure an arts scholarship for my Pumpkin.)"
[He smiles fondly.]

I hope that our journey between the worlds may be one of learning. I am a necromancer by trade, or "wizard" although I must warn you that should it be necessary, it will not be a rabbit I pull from a hat, but YOUR VERY SOUL!
[Suddenly calm again.]
I look forward to meeting all of you and learning about your worlds of origin. I understand we all come from different worlds and I must confess I find this idea fascinating.
Any inhabitants who wish to are invited to drop by the dining hall to partake of punch and cookies with me. Ta!

Sample RP: [3-5 paragraphs, 3rd Person POV. Must be Barge setting specific.]
Before he gets an inmate, Doctor Orpheus fills his free time by poking around in the library. History is a passing interest, but he mostly looks for esoteric lore. He can be found, leafing through the heaviest old books he can find and occasionally casting curious glances at other patrons.

Orpheus also be found in the hallways and cafeteria, offering friendly smiles and waves to anyone he knows, hoping to strike up a conversation. The infirmary and gym get no more than a curious peek or two, but he goes for a long stroll in the enclosure, before stopping in the art room for a personal project involving markers.

Finally, in the cafeteria he posts notices decorated with swirl motifs:
"Interested in the mystical world beyond mundane reality? Need to practice controlling or refining your magical powers? Curious? Tormented by spirits from beyond the grave? I am looking to start a discussion group on such subjects. Please contact Dr. Byron Orpheus Level 5, room 2."

Perhaps it is a bit much, or perhaps it is a sign of desperation, but he needs to get acquainted with the ship. He needs to be able to pick up the kind of inside information that is only available by knowing people. Knowing who might cause trouble or be helpful is only sensible and it has nothing to do with being lonely at all, he's fairly certain.

Special Notes: