PERSONALITY: Viktor is generally unassuming; a soft-spoken person with a reserved temperament who actively eschews attention. He seems every bit a fussy academic: professional, emotionally guarded, and a little icy. Much of this outward demeanor is a function of being an outsider–he’s well aware of his tenuous position within Piltover’s rigid social structure, and conducts himself accordingly, at least on the surface.
This all falls away fairly quickly as soon as he meets a like-minded individual in Jayce. Exhibit similar moral convictions, and he becomes much friendlier, though not without a dry sense of humor and penchant for taking egoists down a peg. He is passionate, intellectually curious, and excited by the prospect of scientific innovation, appreciative of forward-thinking, results-focused mindsets. Viktor is quietly ambitious, adamant that he did not become a scientist to be someone’s assistant and expressing a desire to spearhead positive change. He is highly self-reliant and independent, having learned from an early age that he is the only person on which he can depend, and he approaches most roadblocks accordingly. If nobody is going to believe in him, whether that’s due to his Undercity origins, his disability, or lack of resources, then he’s just going to have to believe in himself. This bootstraps mentality is what secures him a place at the Academy, and being consistently underestimated and overlooked affords him the ability to take substantial risks for high reward. When an opportunity presents itself, he takes what he wants. This involves, more often than not, a flagrant disregard for rules (and, later, in a more dire situation, basic safety procedures): Viktor steals research notes, breaks and enters, trespasses, smuggles illegal substances, and eventually conducts dangerous experiments on his person.
None of this is without reason, at least. Viktor is a highly empathetic individual who firmly believes that the purpose of scientific advancement is to end (or at least mitigate) human suffering. This is personal to him–he’s actively succumbing to a degenerative illness brought about by the polluted living conditions of his childhood, and wants to ensure that his work prevents these kinds of tragedies in the future. He walks out on his first mentor when he encounters an unethical vision of progress, rejecting amorality at a young age, and as an adult, is an idealist and pacifist who speaks out against the potential weaponization of technology while others around him waver. Viktor holds fast to the precept that his work is meant to “improve lives, not take them”, insisting that “there is always a choice” when it comes to enacting violence. Even when crossing the lines of scientific ethics, he only ever intends to harm himself.
This is a noble aim, but it speaks to his naiveté. Viktor believes that his work is what’s important, and that its benefits are self-evident, in the process rejecting most interpersonal relationships and the quid-pro-quo under which Piltover operates, even when indulging both might help further his goals. He is so thoroughly disinterested in political machinations and social games (perhaps believing he has no chance to navigate them) that his efforts to enact real change are continuously sabotaged and stymied by various special interests. When his health declines, he is forced to grapple with how much effort he’s wasted by trying to act within the confines of a society that doesn’t care about him, and after years of watching his vision of progress hindered by people who only want to enrich themselves, he despairs about his lack of legacy and what he perceives to be fleeting contributions that will eventually be rendered meaningless by an impenetrable status quo.
This brings out the worst in him. Under duress, Viktor is an obsessive workaholic with no patience for a cautious approach and little thought for his personal needs, chasing after advancement at any cost once he’s run out his clock. Faced with his impending death brought about by the very living conditions he once hoped to change, Viktor’s reckless tendencies only compound as he withdraws into his research, disregards basic safeguards, and meddles with unknown forces he doesn’t understand and can’t control. As selfless as he believes himself to be, he is afraid to die, and as a result conflates curing his illness with his larger vision of societal betterment in order to justify his desperate, dangerous actions. Unable to cope with his failure to fix the system from within it, Viktor barrels towards an event horizon, willing to further ostracize himself and sacrifice his humanity in a bid to leave some kind of lasting mark.
✵ The clothes he is wearing. ✵ Leg brace, back brace, and his crutch, which has a hollow handle for convenient smuggling. ✵ One vial of Shimmer, a drug that, when injected, accelerates healing and temporarily enhances the strength, stamina, and general constitution of a person. Viktor has a “variant” of the substance, implying a more refined version of the addictive and degenerative street drug that’s commonplace in Zaun. ✵ One blood-stained handkerchief, for coughing into 8))))
NOTES: Viktor is shown to have used a cane since childhood to compensate for his right leg. At his current canon point, he uses a crutch, leg brace, and back brace, but seems to be fairly self-sufficient: working (more than) full-time in his lab, disappearing for days at a time on various errands, making solo trips down to the Undercity, etc. As long as he’s able to hitch a ride in a cart or something when the PCs travel I don’t anticipate needing huge accommodations for this in particular (unless an event has no non-combat options or the entire world is made of stairs). He’s also fairly resourceful and it’s not out of the question that given in-game means he would figure out ways to defend himself in more action-oriented scenarios.
The more pressing issue is the terminal illness, which presents as basically The Consumption/lung cancer brought about by prolonged chemical exposure as a child, but the show avoids outright stating how much time he has left (literally, he asks and the scene immediately cuts away). Although I do plan to play out his continued deterioration, I may need to be a little hand-wavey about the exact timeline, especially if he’s actively seeking medical attention (if available) or otherwise exploring his options. He’s fairly desperate to stay alive and is about to start experimenting on himself in order to do so, and in the absence of the Hexcore will continue that work in-game with whatever else he can get his hands on. So, maybe he will improve, and not die! Maybe he will do bad things to himself with forces unknown (I would like to do this maybe)! We will see. I hear we have a whole contingent of terminally ill friends around these parts, so probably he’s in good company.
IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Plot-heavy will be cool but I am flexible!
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Viktor is generally unassuming; a soft-spoken person with a reserved temperament who actively eschews attention. He seems every bit a fussy academic: professional, emotionally guarded, and a little icy. Much of this outward demeanor is a function of being an outsider–he’s well aware of his tenuous position within Piltover’s rigid social structure, and conducts himself accordingly, at least on the surface.
This all falls away fairly quickly as soon as he meets a like-minded individual in Jayce. Exhibit similar moral convictions, and he becomes much friendlier, though not without a dry sense of humor and penchant for taking egoists down a peg. He is passionate, intellectually curious, and excited by the prospect of scientific innovation, appreciative of forward-thinking, results-focused mindsets. Viktor is quietly ambitious, adamant that he did not become a scientist to be someone’s assistant and expressing a desire to spearhead positive change. He is highly self-reliant and independent, having learned from an early age that he is the only person on which he can depend, and he approaches most roadblocks accordingly. If nobody is going to believe in him, whether that’s due to his Undercity origins, his disability, or lack of resources, then he’s just going to have to believe in himself. This bootstraps mentality is what secures him a place at the Academy, and being consistently underestimated and overlooked affords him the ability to take substantial risks for high reward. When an opportunity presents itself, he takes what he wants. This involves, more often than not, a flagrant disregard for rules (and, later, in a more dire situation, basic safety procedures): Viktor steals research notes, breaks and enters, trespasses, smuggles illegal substances, and eventually conducts dangerous experiments on his person.
None of this is without reason, at least. Viktor is a highly empathetic individual who firmly believes that the purpose of scientific advancement is to end (or at least mitigate) human suffering. This is personal to him–he’s actively succumbing to a degenerative illness brought about by the polluted living conditions of his childhood, and wants to ensure that his work prevents these kinds of tragedies in the future. He walks out on his first mentor when he encounters an unethical vision of progress, rejecting amorality at a young age, and as an adult, is an idealist and pacifist who speaks out against the potential weaponization of technology while others around him waver. Viktor holds fast to the precept that his work is meant to “improve lives, not take them”, insisting that “there is always a choice” when it comes to enacting violence. Even when crossing the lines of scientific ethics, he only ever intends to harm himself.
This is a noble aim, but it speaks to his naiveté. Viktor believes that his work is what’s important, and that its benefits are self-evident, in the process rejecting most interpersonal relationships and the quid-pro-quo under which Piltover operates, even when indulging both might help further his goals. He is so thoroughly disinterested in political machinations and social games (perhaps believing he has no chance to navigate them) that his efforts to enact real change are continuously sabotaged and stymied by various special interests. When his health declines, he is forced to grapple with how much effort he’s wasted by trying to act within the confines of a society that doesn’t care about him, and after years of watching his vision of progress hindered by people who only want to enrich themselves, he despairs about his lack of legacy and what he perceives to be fleeting contributions that will eventually be rendered meaningless by an impenetrable status quo.
This brings out the worst in him. Under duress, Viktor is an obsessive workaholic with no patience for a cautious approach and little thought for his personal needs, chasing after advancement at any cost once he’s run out his clock. Faced with his impending death brought about by the very living conditions he once hoped to change, Viktor’s reckless tendencies only compound as he withdraws into his research, disregards basic safeguards, and meddles with unknown forces he doesn’t understand and can’t control. As selfless as he believes himself to be, he is afraid to die, and as a result conflates curing his illness with his larger vision of societal betterment in order to justify his desperate, dangerous actions. Unable to cope with his failure to fix the system from within it, Viktor barrels towards an event horizon, willing to further ostracize himself and sacrifice his humanity in a bid to leave some kind of lasting mark.
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NOTES: Viktor is shown to have used a cane since childhood to compensate for his right leg. At his current canon point, he uses a crutch, leg brace, and back brace, but seems to be fairly self-sufficient: working (more than) full-time in his lab, disappearing for days at a time on various errands, making solo trips down to the Undercity, etc. As long as he’s able to hitch a ride in a cart or something when the PCs travel I don’t anticipate needing huge accommodations for this in particular (unless an event has no non-combat options or the entire world is made of stairs). He’s also fairly resourceful and it’s not out of the question that given in-game means he would figure out ways to defend himself in more action-oriented scenarios.
The more pressing issue is the terminal illness, which presents as basically The Consumption/lung cancer brought about by prolonged chemical exposure as a child, but the show avoids outright stating how much time he has left (literally, he asks and the scene immediately cuts away). Although I do plan to play out his continued deterioration, I may need to be a little hand-wavey about the exact timeline, especially if he’s actively seeking medical attention (if available) or otherwise exploring his options. He’s fairly desperate to stay alive and is about to start experimenting on himself in order to do so, and in the absence of the Hexcore will continue that work in-game with whatever else he can get his hands on. So, maybe he will improve, and not die! Maybe he will do bad things to himself with forces unknown (I would like to do this maybe)! We will see. I hear we have a whole contingent of terminally ill friends around these parts, so probably he’s in good company.
IF ACCEPTED, WOULD YOU WANT A PLOT-LIGHT OR PLOT-HEAVY CUSTOM INTRO? Plot-heavy will be cool but I am flexible!