Doktor Viktor Augustus Ratzinger

[WARNING: the following is not canon.]
Ratzinger, or Doktor Victor Augustus Ratzinger as he prefers to introduce himself, is a journeyman artisan of the League of Arcane Study and a self-professed “Master of Poisons.” Although he is officially enrolled in the college, he did not enter the League until his early 20’s and had studied under various other masters before he'd received his practitioner’s license. He considers himself a student of the world, willing to go anywhere and do anything to deepen his understanding of his chosen craft. Although he has not yet been publicly recognized for his achievements, his understanding of toxicology and biology are nearly unrivaled and combines the teachings of numerous cultures. These include the works of the Medjay assassins of the Sunlands, the exotic poisoners from the land of Tian and even the drow.
As a person, Ratzinger comes off as a sophisticated eccentric with a love for his field which borders upon unhealthy obsession. He is incredibly egotistical, never hesitating to congratulate himself for his own genius and typically not associating with people who don’t share in this enthusiasm. Ratzinger can be surprisingly capable in social situations and can turn on his people skills until he gets what he wants from the people around him. He considers himself peerless, seeing his associates within the League of Arcane Study as well his other contacts as a resource to be exploited when his need arises.
Despite his personality quirks, Ratzinger is genuine and strong advocate for the study of magic. He believes that alchemy is ultimately a force of good and is the doorway to breaking down magic and delivering it to the common man. He keeps this goal at the back of his mind whenever he faced with a morale quandary. Despite being both scholarly in both build and profession Ratzinger is actually quite a capable fighter when he needs to be, but prefers to keep his knives under his sleeves until the moment is right. His weapons of choice are daggers, darts, needles, his alchemical inventions, and of course his catalog of rare and exotic homemade poisons.
His greatest fear is believing that his life's work may never get the recognition it deserves and that his legacy will end with him.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Ratzinger has a general sickly appearance about him, his face covered in large blemishes and scars, and has a physical condition that seems to randomly improve or worsen at random. The experiments Ratzinger performs on himself have taken a permanent toll on his health, making him appear both thin and pale, and sometimes even malnourished. He has even spent entire days out of commission to let his body recover from its ordeal. A part of his degrading health is due to a concoction he forces himself to drink every morning, which he simply refers to as "medicine". In reality, it is a cocktail made up of a small doses of his own toxic concoctions meant to inoculate him and prevent his own death by accidental self-poisoning, a fate share by many of those within his field. In recent times he often finds himself too ill to administer the concoction to himself, leaving its preparation in the hands of his assistant.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

In the Sunlands

During his many expeditions across Galea in search of new inspiration, Ratzinger found himself in the Barony of Jyari Khadesh in the Sunlands. To his surprise, he was invited to feast with the Sultan of Baj'Surat himself and would be surrounded by many powerful individuals in this region of the world. The subject of his poisons were not a verboten subject at the table, and were instead embraced with great enthusiasm. This meeting with the Sultan Jyari and his contemporaries inspired Ratzinger to explore more of this foreign land to learn what he could from their culture; so steeped in the ancient and mystical arts of assassination.
Eventually Ratzinger made his way to a Bedouin outpost known colloquially as Rattown to purchase some of the exotic venomous species sold in this region. What Ratzinger instead found here was a depressing heap of substandard living conditions, filled with thieves, con-artists and literal snake oil salesmen. Before parting from Rattown, Ratzinger came across a slave auction; a number of grim-faced humans, elves and even certain monstrous humanoids being counted among their merchandise. He caught the eye of one slave in particular, a bright-eyed young girl who seemed quite ordinary for a Masiy, but was soon to expire due from their conditions. On a whim Ratzinger used nearly all the gold he'd brought with him to market that day to purchase this girl from the slaver. He learned that she'd never been given a name, and so Ratzinger chose one that was convenient for him to remember: "Holly", a nearly benign member from a genus of shrub plants.

Assistant Holly

To maintain his appearances around his peers about his having purchased a slave, Ratzinger officially claims Holly to be his newest apprentice; stating that he's always needed an extra set of hands to help with mundane tasks, such as handling and feeding his animals and to helping carry his heavy laboratory equipment. In the year(s) since they started working together Holly has proven to be an asset, proving capable of learning even complex and dangerous methods of poison extraction under Ratzinger's tutelage.

Accomplishments & Achievements

Ratzinger has made a number of discoveries within the field of alchemy. Some of these discoveries, like many great inventions, were made accidentally; a stepping stone during a process in which Ratzinger attempted to bridge the various fields of science and magic towards a different goal altogether. An incomplete list of his alchemical breakthroughs include:

• The Tumor Familiar - As unpleasant as it sounds, it's name is scientifically accurate. Ratzinger first began working on a theory with the often taboo subject of alchemical homunculi and tried to combined it with the functionality of a spellcaster's familiar. The result was a benign growth made from one's own body that could serve the same purpose as a wizard's familiar. Ratzinger used this same process to remove his own inflamed appendix, animating it before the organ could rupture and potentially kill him. He still refers to his familiar as "appendix" and affectionately refers to the time that it almost killed him; the closest has has ever come to dying.
• The Goz Mask - A powerful filtration device built into a complete face mask which serves to protect against many deadly airborne vapors. The eyepiece of the mask has the uncanny ability to see through fog, smoke, and other obscuring particulates.
• The Ratzinger Method of Toxin Concentration - A secret to everyone but himself and his closest allies. This is Ratzinger's homebrew method for concentrating the efficacy of nearly any poison or toxin, done by simply mixing large quantities of material with his own secret recipe of reagents. The result is a far more powerful and irresistible poison, able to transform benign house centipede venom into an instantly fatal concoction. This discovery is by Ratzinger's own account his most prominent and important, and is the very culmination of all of his studies in the field of toxicology.
• The Ratzinger Method of Antivenom Synthesis - A highly dangerous but incredibly effective method of creating antivenoms which involves injecting quantities of a poison into an individual with powerful antibodies. Using alchemical methods it is possible to synthesis a cure from the blood cells that successfully fought against the foreign toxin. Although effective, this method is officially undocumented as Ratzinger trusts only his own immune system to forge these poison cures.
• The "Celestial Poison" - A method of mixing poison with elements of divine spellcasting. Using reagents of a spiritual nature, Ratzinger can synthesis a "poison" which is effective against entities which are typically unaffected by his usual arsenal of virulent toxins, most notably the shambling hordes of the undead. He adapted this method from a supposed warlock living among the citizens of Rattown located in the Sunlands, whose superstitious denizens believe demons still walk the realm. He has not published this method to the League due to its taboo nature, as it bridges the gap of arcane and divine studies.

Failures & Embarrassments

To Ratzinger's chagrin many of his self-professed achievements, especially those as a poisoner, have gone completely unnoticed by the public eye due to the paradoxical nature of attempting to gain notoriety in such a clandestine field. That has not stopped him from attempting to claim that his subtle, masterful poisons are actually responsible for the deaths and disappearances of many notable individuals. None of which, of course, can ever be confirmed due to the very nature of the poison's he himself claims are virtually undetectable. It is for this purpose that Ratzinger has taken on his apprentice, Holly, so that he may pass on his knowledge to someone younger to carry on his legacy.

Social

Hobbies & Pets

Ratzinger's number one, and really only hobby is exotic pet keeping, primarily for the purpose of venom and poison milking. Typically Ratzinger keeps and trains large quantities of different creatures, and does so even while traveling so that he may extract poisons while on the road. This is in large part due to the steep cost and inconvenience that replenishing store of poisons and alchemical stores has been in the past. Among these creatures kept are:

• Several jars of common house centipedes,
• Vipers from the Sunlands,
• His own tumor familiar "Appendix",
• And a very opinionated Tianese Psuedodragon by the name of Wushe, whom Ratzinger purchased from an exotic animal merchant.

Wushe, in particular, requires a lot of maintenance and doesn't particularely care for Ratzinger as a person, so he often leaves him in the care of his Assistant Holly.

Eyes

Blue

Hair

Medium Length, Dirty Blond

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale, blotchy with several scars.

Height

5'8"

Weight

150

Known Languages

Common, Tian, Andoran, Undercommon, Draconic. His familiar grants him the ability to speak to snakes.