Doctor Rupert Locke's page

Some light listening

The audit is coming and I need notes in place. Might as well play the part to its entirety. It would be a lie if I said I didn't enjoy the fruits of my labor though, especially when a family has some problem child that actually has no problem...

Day 1, Thursday March 14, 1897.
The subject has come to me in pure hysteria. They are claiming that they have dreams of monsters chasing them, and that they them self would become one. I have admitted them and told them the truth of the matter, that monsters were not real. The orderly has begun sedating them to my specifications. This should be a quick case.

Day 5, Monday March 18, 1897
It appears sedation has not worked for the subject. In their mental stupor they have claimed that the dreams have become more vivid. I am not one to believe them however, they were admitted by their own accord and I begin to wonder if they are even telling me the truth. Their state has become less stable, but I have begun the process of using a new drug that has been developed. I fear that their phantasms are a problem with their psyche.

Day 7, Wednesday March 20, 1897
The subject awoke in the middle of the night screaming. There were slash marks all along their arms. The orderly has informed me that they were still belted down firmly as per my previous instructions and fully sedated. With the new drugs I wonder how this could be the case, though a part of me begins to think that there is foul play at work here. I will command an inquisition upon the orderlies, as this kind of unprofessional-ism is not tolerated here.

Day 12, Monday March 25, 1897
My inquisition has turned up nothing on the orderlies. I am beginning to suspect something else is at work here. I got confirmation over the last week that there were no rats, though such a statement was absurd, yet this newest subject continues to receive bodily harm during the night. I fear that when modern medicine fails I must try something else. I will get permission from their guardian and begin some more... extreme treatments to remove their hysteria.

Day 15, Thursday March 28, 1897
I have begun the newest method of treatment, using electroshock therapy with hypnosis to try to figure out why their mind is so muddled. They claim that each dream continues to become more and more vivid and that the slashes and scars are becoming bigger in their dream. I attempted to tell them that it was not a dream and that they were truly getting slashed up but it only agitated them. How they had such vigor even after the electroshock therapy and the drugs is a terrifying prospect.

Day 19, Monday April 1, 1897
Four more days of electroshock therapy and I believe that my trials have had a reverse effect. The subject is now beginning to believe that reality is the dream and the dream reality. I am attempting mesmerism to break them from this somnious stupor, although I fear they may already be lost.

Day 20, Tuesday April 2, 1897
The subject has perished. It seems that the wounds that began to grow malignantly over their body began to fester. I wonder if there was something more I could do or if they were lost from the beginning. This case has stumped me and my peers and attached are my notes.

Day 22, Thursday April 4, 1897
I saw it. I saw the creature from the subject's dream. I awoke and my face began to rot much like her growths. Further research is required but I am convinced there must be something in the air here.

Day 23, Friday April 5, 1897
No. There is nothing in the air, no one else is experiencing these symptoms. What is happening? I feel like the festering is expanding...

Day 24, Saturday April 6, 1897
I saw it again. Every night. Am I losing my mind? I don't feel like I am, but would one even know? Is it my guilt? That would be impossible, I am doing work I just take an extra cut for myself. That would be unjust!

Day 25, Sunday April 7, 1897
I nearly died in my sleep. I woke up choking on blood. This is real. There is no doubt about it, I need to find some solution.

Day 27, Tuesday April 9, 1897
All of the common medicines have failed. I tried to autohypnotise and it seemed to stave it off, the flesh continues to scar however and I need something more permanent. I have taken to using a tincture of opiods to keep the sleep and unconsciousness at bay.

Day 31, Saturday April 13, 1897
They are failing me, I need something else. A priest? A witch? Perhaps there is something that can be done. I will not die here in a place like this to some unknown pursuer. I have survived the streets, I have survived scavenging, I have survived much worse than this!

Day 47, Monday April 29, 1897
I have managed to stabilize the physical wounds with various balms from an occult shop. I cannot believe that my research has brought me to such a wretched place... The creature continues to chase me in the nights, but I have begun to master hypnotizing myself into being awake while sleeping. I have control over my dream now. It is not a perfect solution but it will work. I pray it does.

Day 51, Friday May 3, 1897
It is working. But I am getting exhausted. There must be another answer, a way out of this creature's grasp. I seek such answers or I fear damnation and a torturous death is all that remains.

Should you find these notes in your dream, read them and know that the night is dark, the creatures exist, and one must never think of a dream as just a dream. Pray for me, I will seek salvation in between dream and reality. My terrible deeds have wrought judgement on myself.

Doctor Rupert Locke is a self proclaimed somnologist and parapsychologist with an intense focus on the study of the mind beneath the illness. He has been disfigured by some unknown creature from the world of dreams that has been stalking him. His studies have lead him to be able to suppress his dream-like state and his waking reality by merging them together and the once good doctor straddles the edge of sanity as he barely knows what is real anymore.

Prior to his days as a doctor, he had created a name for himself using mesmerism by travelling town to town and earning coin. Eventually he realized he had a knack that allowed him to exploit the rich and fearful of the times and with a stroke of pure fortune he happened upon a dead man with the name Doctor Locke. He wondered how such a man died and noticed that he was able to figure it out, and decided this could be an identity he could relax in for a while. The birth of 'Doctor' Locke happened and with his charlatan's tongue and his near instinctual understanding of hypnosis he quickly made a proper name for himself; fully realizing that such a thing was rife with rich patrons who were always worried and required discretion. With his ill-gotten gains he was actually able to fit into this refined society; it helped that he was quite adept at understanding people and the intricacies that made them tick. Given tenure at a sanitarium for his 'excellence in the field of parapsychology', he had begun his research and work into the mind and the study of dreams right at the height of the occult craze of the century's turn. He learned to enjoy the work, it was something far better than taking money from fools on the street with performances, and with much better reward and intangible benefits.

While some of his practices could be considered unethical, he did provide results for those who came to him, and was able to quell phobias, understand dreams, and prescribe what was needed to deal with numerous psychoses. What was good for them was good for him afterall, the results kept the money coming and kept the new doctor busy with a skill he actually started growing to enjoy.

A calculating and cold man, he has become a lot more detached from reality due to the hypnotism that he needs to undergo himself in order to escape his metaphysical pursuer. That being said he is quite intelligent, dedicated and helpful (should the stars align and he gets helped as well).

Virtue: Learned, Open to Ideas, Diligent, Versatile
Vice: Calculating, Opportunistic, Detached, Duplicitous

Belief Deep Down: "A fool and their money are easily parted, the rich have a lot of both. It's only natural that they have a predator to balance the books."

Human (charlatan: bluff, sleight of hand) Mesmerist (Dreamstalker) 3
HP 21/21 (8 + 2d8 + 3*1)
BAB +2

Fort +3 Ref +7 Will +3 (+4 Mind Affecting)
[Immune to Sleep, +4 Fatigue/Exhaustion]

AC 16 (10 + 2 Light Armor Table + 3 Dex + 1 Enhancement)
TAC 13 (10 + 3 Dex)
FF 13 (10 + 2 Light Armor Table + 1 Enhancement)

Character Traits: Precise Treatment (Magic), Forbidden Knowledge (Regional), Scarred (Drawback)

Favored Class: Mesmerist [Nagaji] [3/5] (+1/5th HD to HD related Enchantment/Illusion spells for Mental Potency)

Rolled Stats: 9, 9, 11, 14, 16, 16

Sap - +5 (1d4-2/20/2x/nonlethal)
+1 Revolver - +6 (1d8+1/20/4x/B and P) [20 feet] [Capacity 6] [Misfire 1]
--> Risky Attack - +5 (1d8+3/20/4x/B and P)

2/Round +1 nonlethal damage to a target under hypnotic stare or 1d6+1 nonlethal damage if the damage is dealt by himself.

33 Total (18 Class, 6 Background*, 6 Intelligence, 3 Skilled)
Note: Charlatan grants me Sleight of Hand and Bluff which are already class skills for the Mesmerist :(

Escape Artist +9 (3 Rank, 3 Trained, 3 Dex)
Sleight of Hand* +7 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 3 Dex)
Stealth +7 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 3 Dex)

Appraise* +2 (2 Int)
Craft* +2 (2 Int)
Heal +9 (3 Ranks, 3 Trained, 2 Int, 1 Trait)
K: arcana +6 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int)
K: dungeoneering +6 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int)
K: history* +7 (2 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int) [Can roll in place of K: Planes]
K: local +6 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int)
K: nobility* +6 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int)
K: religion +6 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int) [Can roll in place of K: Planes]
Linguistics* +6 (1 Ranks, 3 Trained, 2 Int)
Spellcraft +7 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 2 Int)

Perception +5 (3 Rank, 3 Trained, -1 Wis)
Profession -1 (-1 Wis)
Sense Motive +5 (3 Rank, 3 Trained, -1 Wis)

Bluff +9 (3 Ranks, 3 Trained, 4 Charisma, 1 Consummate Liar, -2 Drawback)
Diplomacy +10 (3 Rank, 3 Trained, 4 Cha)
Disguise -1 (4 Charisma, -5 Drawback)
Intimidate +10 (3 Ranks, 3 Trained, 4 Charisma)
Perform* +8 (1 Rank, 3 Trained, 4 Charisma)
Use Magic Device +4 (4 Charisma)

Spells, Spontaneous, Charisma

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Consummate Liar: A mesmerist adds 1/2 his mesmerist level (minimum 1) as a bonus on all Bluff checks. In addition, the mesmerist qualifies for the Improved Feint and Greater Feint feats, even if he doesn’t have Combat Expertise or an Intelligence score of at least 13. He can also ignore Combat Expertise and an Intelligence score of 13 as prerequisites for other feats that require Improved Feint or Greater Feint.

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Somnomancer: At 1st level, a dreamstalker gains the slumber hex. The dreamstalker’s effective witch level is equal to her mesmerist level, and she can activate them only by expending two daily uses of mesmerist tricks. The save DCs for her hexes are Charisma-based. She can take certain additional hexes in place of mesmerist tricks, selecting nightmares or vision at 10th level and higher, or eternal slumber at 18th level and higher.

When she would normally gain a new mesmerist trick, she can learn additional spells instead. Each time she does so, she adds two of the following spells of a level she can currently cast to her list of spells known:

1st—oneiric horror, sleep;
2nd—detect mindscape, greater oneiric horror, instigate psychic duel;
3rd—deep slumber, minor dream;
4th—create mindscape, dream, forgetful slumber, mindscape door, sleepwalk, sleepwalking suggestion
5th—cloak of dreams, dream council, dream scan, symbol of sleep, waves of fatigue;
6th—dream travel, greater create mindscape, waves of exhaustion.

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Hypnotic Stare (Su): A mesmerist can focus his stare on one creature within 30 feet as a swift action. That creature takes a –2 penalty on Will saving throws. This penalty changes to –3 at 8th level. A mesmerist can maintain his stare against only one opponent at a time; it remains in effect until the mesmerist stares at a new target, the opponent dies, the opponent moves farther than 30 feet away, or the mesmerist falls unconscious or dies. The mesmerist can remove the memory of his stare from the target’s mind; the creature doesn’t remember that it was affected (nor does it realize that it is currently being affected) unless the mesmerist allows it. The hypnotic stare is a psychic effect, and relies more on the mesmerist’s focus than the target’s perception of his stare. It can’t be avoided in the same ways a gaze attack can. The mesmerist can use this ability even while blinded, but must succeed at a DC 20 concentration check to do so. Staring at a creature requires the mesmerist’s focus, so if he uses a gaze attack or similar ability, he must target the subject of his hypnotic stare or voluntarily end the stare. The penalties from multiple mesmerists’ stares don’t stack, nor do they stack with penalties from witches’ evil eye hexes. This is a mind-affecting effect.

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Dreams of Pain (Su): When an attack that deals damage hits the target of a mesmerist’s hypnotic stare, the mesmerist can cause the target to take an amount of additional nonlethal damage equal to 1/2 the mesmerist’s class level (minimum 1). The mesmerist can use this ability as a free action, and can use it even if it isn’t his turn. If the mesmerist uses this ability to increase his own damage, the additional damage increases by 1d6 points for every 3 class levels the mesmerist possesses. This damage is precision damage and is not multiplied on a critical hit. A mesmerist can trigger this ability only once per round, but a single creature can take damage from multiple mesmerists’ painful stares in a round.

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Sleepless (Ex): At 2nd level, a dreamstalker gains immunity to sleep effects and a bonus equal to her Charisma bonus on saving throws against fatigue and exhaustion. She loses both benefits when under an effect that would prevent her from providing an emotion component.

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Bold Stare (Su): At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, a mesmerist’s hypnotic stare imposes a further effect upon its target. The mesmerist chooses one option each time he gains a new bold stare improvement, and the choice can’t be changed later. The mesmerist can’t choose the same bold stare improvement more than once unless otherwise noted. All of the mesmerist’s bold stare improvements affect the target as long as it is affected by the mesmerist’s hypnotic stare.

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Touch of Night (Su): At 3rd level, the mesmerist can help allies shake off harmful conditions—especially those that affect their minds—by channeling psychic energy through his healing hands. He can use touch treatment a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. Using the ability is a standard action (or a swift action if the mesmerist uses it on himself ), and the mesmerist must be able to touch his target. He can remove one condition from one target each time he uses this ability. At 3rd level, he can remove any condition on the minor conditions list. At 6th level, he can remove any condition on the minor or moderate conditions list, and at 10th level, he can remove any condition on the minor, moderate, or greater conditions list.

Minor Conditions: Fascinated, fatigue, sleep.
Moderate Conditions: Confused, dazed, staggered
Greater Conditions: Exhausted, stunned.

A 14th level, the mesmerist can instead expend one use of touch treatment to replicate the effects of break enchantment. This targets only one creature the mesmerist is touching and follows all other restrictions of touch treatment.

Psychic Inception (Occult Adventures pg. 43): The hypnotic stare and its penalty can affect creatures that are mindless or immune to mind-affecting effects (such as an undead or vermin). The mesmerist can also partially affect such a creature with his mind-affecting spells and abilities if it’s under the effect of his hypnotic stare; it gains a +2 bonus on its saving throw (if any), and if affected, it still has a 50% chance each round of ignoring the effect. Ignoring the effect doesn’t end the effect, but does allow the creature to act normally for that round.

1st - Slumber (Su) - Costs 2 Trick uses, Charisma for the save, otherwise functions as a Witch hex of my Mesmerist level.

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2nd - Unwitting Messenger (Su): The mesmerist describes a recipient to the subject while implanting this trick, then recites a verbal message no longer than five words per mesmerist level. The subject of unwitting messenger has no memory of the message or the target recipient. When the subject encounters the specified recipient, she repeats the message verbatim, but does not recall speaking the message or its contents. The message remains buried in the subject’s subconscious for 24 hours, after which time it disappears if not delivered. The subject of unwitting messenger can be fooled by mundane disguises or illusions, causing her to deliver the message to the wrong recipient.

* Taken in place of a Mesmerist Trick via Dreamstalker

0th - Lullaby, Detect Psychic Significance, Detect Magic, Dancing Lights, Message, Daze
1st - Hypnotism, Deja Vu, Sleep, Mental Block

HD 1: Steadfast Personality
Hu 1: Intimidating Glance
HD 3: Manifold Stare

Note: +1 Level due to low magic

2nd - Resistance +1
3rd - Weapon Attunement +1, Armor Attunement +1