Girl Genius!

[BRC]

Yeah, yeah, I get that now. I went back and reread that portion and I realized what a dunce I was being :smallredface: . Thanks for rubbing it in :smallcool: .

Edit: Hey, I'm an orc now. That means I am spending entirely too much time on this site.

You think YOU are.
Look at my title
Now look at my join date.

[Ganurath]

Well, he's a guy, so geisterehrenman, I guess...{table]|Singular|Plural
Female|Geisterdame|Geisterdamen
Male|Geisterherr|Geisterherrn[/table]

[Nerd-o-rama]

You think YOU are.
Look at my title
Now look at my join date.*TWFs the noobs to death*

[Ganurath]

*TWFs the noobs to death*Three cheers for Lightning Mace + Crushing Strike + Two-Weapon Rend!

[Oracle_Hunter]

Ultimate Coffee:

Compare (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1122) and contrast (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070625). :smallbiggrin:

[chionophile]

Considering that it makes him sick in the next strip because he's lactose intolerant, I think Agatha's wins. Although mochas are pretty damn good.

[Rockphed]

Agatha's is better. The mocha didn't turn the silly man into a quivering wreck. It merely opened his mind, which probably isn't that hard for most people.

[Midnight Lurker]

Is it wrong of me to want Phil to do a special Girl Genius XXXenophile story, with Agatha, Zeetha, and Gil? :smallredface:

[Oracle_Hunter]

Is it wrong of me to want Phil to do a special Girl Genius XXXenophile story, with Agatha, Zeetha, and Gil? :smallredface:

Yes. It is very wrong.

Now if you had said a special Girl Genius / Buck Godot crossover XXXenophile story with Agatha, Zeetha and Lou...

[Midnight Lurker]

All right then, how about Agatha, Zeetha, and Bang?

(While Gil, Tarvek, and Othar are in the corridor outside, dueling with chainsaws as their primitive ancestors did to see which one gets in.)

[Nerd-o-rama]

In the words of my generation: FUND IT!

[Porthos]

Gil: This means -
Zeetha: It means that when you get her alone in the dark, you make darn sure that she keeps that locket on!
Gil: -
Gil: I am reasonably sure there are more important considerations than that-
Zeetha: Not if you want to avoid kissing The Other. Ewwwww.

<Plus all of the great stuff afterwards. :smallcool: >

Zeetha seems to have her priorities in order. :smallbiggrin:

[FoE]

Before anyone asks "How did he not notice he was naked?", let's all keep in mind that this is fairly common behaviour among Sparks. Notice Exhibit A (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031124).

Also, if Agatha and Gil could forget due to their excitement that they were in a falling airplane, it's reasonable to assume that Gil could forget whether or not he was clothed in the heat of the moment. :smalltongue:

[Lord Iames Osari]

Zeetha's expression in panel 4 is priceless.

[FoE]

I like it whenever she smiles. She's got those sexy wolf-fangs going on.

Actually, I like panel 2, if only because it's so ... goofy.

[John Campbell]

Oh, man... sooooo many hilarious alternative ways to fill the speech bubbles in those first couple panels.

[dogmac]

rotfl!!

Poor Gil.

But yes, kissing the other. Eeeew!

[Tirian]

But yes, kissing the other. Eeeew!

I'm reminded of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:

Henry: I'm as human as the next man.
Indy: *I* was the next man!

[sihnfahl]

Hm, I wonder if Zeetha will tell Agatha the juicy details.

Charisma 18, indeed...

[Gez]

Zeetha's expression in panel 4 is priceless.

I also like her goofy-yet-smug grin in panel 6.

[Tirian]

Hm, I wonder if Zeetha will tell Agatha the juicy details.

I can't imagine that would go well. I also can't imagine that will stop Zeetha.

[eMpTy Kay]

All right then, how about Agatha, Zeetha, and Bang?

(While Gil, Tarvek, and Othar are in the corridor outside, dueling with chainsaws as their primitive ancestors did to see which one gets in.)

I think we have our Girl Genius Radio Drama for after the Weasel Queen gets wrapped up...

[Nikolai_II]

Oh, man... sooooo many hilarious alternative ways to fill the speech bubbles in those first couple panels.

Anything better than "Puppets"? :smallbiggrin:

(I mean it - any good suggestions? :smallwink: )

[Moxana]

newbie here!:smallbiggrin: heehee i can't wait for the next comic:smallbiggrin: zeetha and gil are gonna get on juuust fine . . .

[Oracle_Hunter]

Anything better than "Puppets"? :smallbiggrin:

(I mean it - any good suggestions? :smallwink: )

How about "COLD!"

Go on, think about it for a few seconds... :smallwink:

[chionophile]

Interesting... female jagers don't have an accent. How odd.

[memnarch]

Poor Wilhelm. :smallamused:

[Ganurath]

Lucky Gil. :smallamused:I fixed dot up goot vor ya.

Edit: You tink dot Gil iz Vilhelm? Vilhelm iz da goyl in de kessle.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Female Jaegers are the most disturbing thing I've seen that I haven't repressed having a memory of.


:eek:

[FoE]

Interesting... female jagers don't have an accent. How odd.

No, that's not it. Jenka (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070326) is a female Jagermonster and she speaks with the accent. What's more, these don't look quite like Jagers ... they have the teeth and the hats, but not the blemished skin colour.

Perhaps they're half-Jagers? Or maybe very young ones, and their bodies haven't mutated as much as the others?

Actually, if they were young Jagers, that would prove a theory of mine: that Jagers don't necessarily speak with an accent because of who they are, but because they're so long-lived that their way of speaking German (or whatever people in Europa speak) is very antiquated.

[Eco-Mono]

Interesting... female jagers don't have an accent. How odd.But then what about Jenka?

Now I'm confused...

[FoE]

Female Jaegers are the most disturbing thing I've seen that I haven't repressed having a memory of.

I tink zey are cute. They sort ov look like dollz — dollsh vit really zharp teeth, mind you, but dollz all de same.

I like how zer eyez are all pointink down. Oh, doz naughty Jagers. :smallamused:

[Ganurath]

Female Jaegers are the most kinky thing I've seen that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting.


:cool: Fixed dot too.

[Moxana]

poor gil . . . he is so gonna freak out when he turns around . . . :smallbiggrin:
uh . . . female jaegers . . . i could have lived without seeing them . . .


:eek:

[Gez]

The interesting thing to note is that none of them wear the Wulfenbach insignia. So they're clandestine Jägerfraue. May explain too why they aren't as Jäger-looking as the others we've seen until now. The two that accompany Gkika, give them civilian clothes and tell them to keep their mouth shut, and who could tell they're Jäger?

[battleburn]

I don't believe that these are young Jaegers. If that was the case, then it would mean that Agatha has a much larger potential army than we on this thread anticipated. We thought that the Jaegers lived these years without Heterodynes, so they had no one to repair them. Fewer and fewer would be left.

This mother figure must be someone that is able to repair Yaegers, but building new ones???

On the other hand...
The hyve engines can make new wasps even after 20 years, or how long is the other gone?
So it is possible that there is a machine that can still produce new Jaegers.

[Moxana]

hey! i just realized there's 3 of them! one for each of da boyz . . .

[North]

No, that's not it. Jenka (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070326) is a female Jagermonster and she speaks with the accent. What's more, these don't look quite like Jagers ... they have the teeth and the hats, but not the blemished skin colour.

Perhaps they're half-Jagers? Or maybe very young ones, and their bodies haven't mutated as much as the others?

Actually, if they were young Jagers, that would prove a theory of mine: that Jagers don't necessarily speak with an accent because of who they are, but because they're so long-lived that their way of speaking German (or whatever people in Europa speak) is very antiquated.

Hmm that could make some sense actually. These are the equivalent of teenage girls for the Jagr...?

[chionophile]

I don't believe that these are young Jaegers. If that was the case, then it would mean that Agatha has a much larger potential army than we on this thread anticipated. We thought that the Jaegers lived these years without Heterodynes, so they had no one to repair them. Fewer and fewer would be left.

This mother figure must be someone that is able to repair Yaegers, but building new ones???

On the other hand...
The hyve engines can make new wasps even after 20 years, or how long is the other gone?
So it is possible that there is a machine that can still produce new Jaegers.

Jagers can reproduce with humans (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060726).

[Moxana]

These are the equivalent of teenage girls for the Jagr...?

Almost definatly. jenka isn't quite so . . . giggly:smallbiggrin: so i would say these are teenagers

[Oracle_Hunter]

Jagers can reproduce with humans (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060726).

Not necessarily. According to the GG Wiki (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Jaeger), Jaeger are Constructs of the "Mr. Hyde" variety - an alchemical solution provides the basis for the transformation, rather than being reanimated, stitched together, or grown. As such, Ognian may have merely noticed a distant family resemblance and concluded that one of his pre-transformation children had N-great grandsired them.

TFHA Theory on the Jaegerfrauen
An interesting point from the Wiki is that the Jaegerdraught is necessary, but not sufficient to make a Jaeger. As such, Mama Gkika may not be a full Jaeger (which is why she's allowed inside Mechanicsburg despite the oath (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070326)) but may instead merely be a physical Jaeger - and not a mental one.

While I support the "Jaegers speak archaic European because they're old" thesis, it may be the mental conditioning that makes a Jaeger also warps their speech pattern. If so, the half-Jaegers may have higher mental faculties than the standard Jaeger, which would make them ideal if you needed to have trained Jaeger Doctors who could do field repairs on Jaegers to keep them running until a Heterodyne has time to see them.

This is attractive because Mama Gkika clearly has access to Secret Medicine (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071219)... and someone needs to be the keeper of the secret Jaegerdraught recipe - and who better than a Jaeger?

[Eco-Mono]

Not necessarily. According to the GG Wiki (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Jaeger), Jaeger are Constructs of the "Mr. Hyde" variety - an alchemical solution provides the basis for the transformation, rather than being reanimated, stitched together, or grown. As such, Ognian may have merely noticed a distant family resemblance and concluded that one of his pre-transformation children had N-great grandsired them.

TFHA Theory on the Jaegerfrauen
An interesting point from the Wiki is that the Jaegerdraught is necessary, but not sufficient to make a Jaeger. As such, Mama Gkika may not be a full Jaeger (which is why she's allowed inside Mechanicsburg despite the oath (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070326)) but may instead merely be a physical Jaeger - and not a mental one.

While I support the "Jaegers speak archaic European because they're old" thesis, it may be the mental conditioning that makes a Jaeger also warps their speech pattern. If so, the half-Jaegers may have higher mental faculties than the standard Jaeger, which would make them ideal if you needed to have trained Jaeger Doctors who could do field repairs on Jaegers to keep them running until a Heterodyne has time to see them.

This is attractive because Mama Gkika clearly has access to Secret Medicine (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071219)... and someone needs to be the keeper of the secret Jaegerdraught recipe - and who better than a Jaeger?
That theory has the interesting side-effect of justifying the "Mama" honorific as well. Hmm.

[Tirian]

The interesting thing to note is that none of them wear the Wulfenbach insignia. So they're clandestine Jägerfraue.

Since they are not wearing Wulfenbach or Heterodyne insignia, and since they are evidently living in a non-Heterodyne-lead Mechanicsburg, it seems safer to assume that they are not Jager at all. The Jager don't surrender their Heterodyne loyalty lightly, and when they did it evidently wasn't to scatter to the four winds. In the absence of any other evidence, I'll guess that they're constructs from other Great Families over the ages, gathered under Mamma Gkika's pro-construct aegis.

The question now is whether Mamma wouldn't like (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071219) Gil's presence because he's a Wulfenbach or because the Jagers would have to enter the city, ... or if because Gil is a man and Mamma is running a nursery nunnery convent .

[Robg54]

I'm thinking the Jagerkin can have kids. I don't think it would be as complicated as all that. If he thinks it's his great great grandson, then I'm inclined to agree...

Any speculation why the Baron thinks Zeetha will try and kill Gil? What do you think? The Baron did seem to seak to Zeetha in Skifander... maybe his wife is from there? We never really see Gil's mom, do we?

Also, you really think that it is Gil dressed as a Geisterdamen in the portal? I never thought so because DuPree positively identified Agatha, but fails to identify Gilgamesh. She knows him, so why would she call the "These people"? Why wouldn't she tell the Baron it was his son. The fact that she would fail to identify Gil seems ridiculous to me...

BTW, where does this Jagerdought speculation come from?

[Wolf53226]

Also, you really think that it is Gil dressed as a Geisterdamen in the portal? I never thought so because DuPree positively identified Agatha, but fails to identify Gilgamesh. She knows him, so why would she call the "These people"? Why wouldn't she tell the Baron it was his son. The fact that she would fail to identify Gil seems ridiculous to me...

Yes, she did identify him. (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040128)

Dupree: Weird thing was, one of them looked like gil all dressed up like one of the ghost ladies.

[sihnfahl]

Any speculation why the Baron thinks Zeetha will try and kill Gil? What do you think? The Baron did seem to seak to Zeetha in Skifander... maybe his wife is from there? We never really see Gil's mom, do we?
There's been speculation about it. And yes, the supposition is that Gil's mom is from Skifander; heck, maybe even a member of the Royal family (which would warrant a kill order; who'd care about the peons?)

And, no, we don't know who his mom is. Yet.

[Robg54]

DUH. Stupid me. :)

So, do you think that was possessed Agatha or free Agatha?

Does she somehow take control of the Geisterdamen or does the other somehow take over Gil?

[sihnfahl]

So, do you think that was possessed Agatha or free Agatha?
Free Agatha. Gil is using 'mistress'; he's feigning. She's also helping von Zinzer locate his friends using the time viewer; does that sound like something the Other would do?


Does she somehow take control of the Geisterdamen or does the other somehow take over Gil?
There are Geister who aren't loyal to the Other.
So while there are Geister who would follow Agatha because she 'sounds' right but is NOT the Other, the Geister loyal to the Other would have to be fooled.
And we know Agatha can act...

[Wizard Guy]

One thing I don't get is what ever happened to The baron being taken over by a slaver wasp (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061206).

[Robg54]

Well, he was taken over, right? I wonder if there is any ay to reverse it...

But it seems like it was the new breed of slaver wasps that only takes control when given an order by Lucrezia (Or maybe Agatha).

She did sorta tell him he was infected, but I don't think she had actually given him any orders yet. I wonder if he wrote it off as being a bluff, doesn't want to tell Gil or what.

I also wonder, if Agatha's necklace will supress Lucrezia, could it maybe suppress those enslaved?

[slayerx]

One thing I don't get is what ever happened to The baron being taken over by a slaver wasp (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061206).

It's still there, waiting...
The way those kind of revenants work is that the wasp doesn't actually show itself to take on any-kind of effect until the other starts giving the revenant orders. Klaus will be unable to fight against the other's orders, but as long as he does not hear her he can remain himself...

The real question is what Klaus is gonna do about it... He has to make sure he stays away from Agatha, as he thinks she is the other and can now control him... He will want to push foward with research to remove the wasp... the best thing he may need to do is temporarily give up control of his empire to Gil in order to make certain that, if the other contacts him she will not be able to control the empire through Klaus; that is until he finds a way to destroy the wasp in his head... this could be why he is planning on telling Gil EVERYTHING when he gets back... he'll need to know if he's gonna lead this fight

[Gez]

Revenants aren't mindless zombies (well, usually (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050713)). They've still got free will, until they receive an order (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040326) which overrides it.

As long as the Other (either Lucreziagath or Lucrezianevka) isn't around to give him orders, the Baron is as he always were, in full control of himself.

[Wizard Guy]

The fact that the Barron is himself until given an order sort of doesn't go with the way he ordered his soldiers to kill Agatha and her friends even though the Other never told him to.

I did actually come up with an idea for a way to keep revenants from obeying the Other. Infect the revenants with another slaver wasp with instructions to force the revenants to ignore all commands given by the Other encoded in its DNA.

[Oracle_Hunter]

BTW, where does this Jagerdought speculation come from?

Not speculation, so much as fact (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070228) (Center bottom).

The other stuff from the GG Wiki seems to be generally extracted from other cannon sources - they keep the TFHA-style theories on a discussion page.

So, we know there is a "Jaegerdraught" from the cited panel. It makes sense that said draught (an elixir of sorts) is instrumental in creating Jaegers, in some fashion.

As for Jaegers having kids... well, I don't know about you, but if there are half-Jaegers running around, they should look more like Gkika's gang (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080421) than Phil the Minstrel (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060726).

Re: Gkika's Gang
I dunno about them being random constructs. They have Jaeger Teeth, and so far Phil has kept all of his constructs looking distinctly different. Considering that the Jaegers are so friendly with them, I think it has to be the case that at least one of the band is half-Jaeger (or a crypto-Jaeger of some sort), since Jaegers don't seem to think much of other constructs (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031024).

[Gez]

It's a bit low-res if you see what I mean, but doesn't the emblem on Green Gurl's hat (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080421) remind you of the one on Minsk's hat (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031024), General Zog's loincloth (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031027), and André's hat (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031105)?


The fact that the Barron is himself until given an order sort of doesn't go with the way he ordered his soldiers to kill Agatha and her friends even though the Other never told him to.


The Other didn't order him not to do it. What did we say? Revenants have free will. 100% complete free will. Unless they're given a direct order. Then they can't disobey it. Until the effect (of this order, not of slaver wasp possession) wears off.

[stm177]

It could be a Jagerbrothel, and Mamma Gkika is the madame. It's an Old West movie trope that the injured white hat gets taken to the local brothel when he needs to hide.

[Sampi]

Revenants aren't mindless zombies (well, usually (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050713)). They've still got free will, until they receive an order (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040326) which overrides it.


I think you should link to the actual order given (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040310) here, not just the results.

Also, on revenantsand slaver wasps: it's nonreversible, even a child (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030905) knows (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030908) that.

[chionophile]

Not speculation, so much as fact (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070228) (Center bottom).

The other stuff from the GG Wiki seems to be generally extracted from other cannon sources - they keep the TFHA-style theories on a discussion page.

So, we know there is a "Jaegerdraught" from the cited panel. It makes sense that said draught (an elixir of sorts) is instrumental in creating Jaegers, in some fashion.

I would disagree with your hard and fast statements here. That entire page was one rumor piled on top of another. Common townsfolk don't know all that much about Jagers; Agatha thought that the one who escorted her home in one of the very early strips wanted to eat her. If that's the only reference to jaegerdraught in the comic, I wouldn't take it as being for sure yet. Not until we get another mention from a more reliable source.

[Eakin]

EDIT: Nevermind, wrong spot.

[slayerx]

I would disagree with your hard and fast statements here. That entire page was one rumor piled on top of another. Common townsfolk don't know all that much about Jagers; Agatha thought that the one who escorted her home in one of the very early strips wanted to eat her. If that's the only reference to jaegerdraught in the comic, I wouldn't take it as being for sure yet. Not until we get another mention from a more reliable source.

They aren't "common townsfolk", They are common "Mechicsburg Townsfolk". Big difference right there between Agatha and them. People outside of mechanicsburg don't know how things work and only know of the fear and carnage the jagers caused under the old heterodynes (and now the fear they spread under wulfenbach)... The people of Mechanicsburg however have had generations to learn how things work, especially those who worked in the castle as servants; this would easily include stuff like the basics of how a jager is created... hell, some of them are even decedents of people who became jagers...

Also, the GG wikia is put together using Canon sources... thing is their are canon sources outside of the webcomic, many of which people do not keep close track of... For instance, there is the blog that lists the daily on going adventures of Othar... i believe everything on that blog is canon yet i do not know how many people keep up with it.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I would disagree with your hard and fast statements here. That entire page was one rumor piled on top of another. Common townsfolk don't know all that much about Jagers; Agatha thought that the one who escorted her home in one of the very early strips wanted to eat her. If that's the only reference to jaegerdraught in the comic, I wouldn't take it as being for sure yet. Not until we get another mention from a more reliable source.

I'm pretty sure the People of Mechanicsburg (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070302) are pretty well informed about Jaegers. Particularly since Mechanicburg has been a party to Heterodyne violence since time immemorial (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070601).

If there is no such thing as a "Jaegerdraught" I would be very, very surprised.

EDIT: I see that Slayerx has used the Sneaky Gate to get here before me. Bah!

[Gez]

For instance, there is the blog that lists the daily on going adventures of Othar... i believe everything on that blog is canon yet i do not know how many people keep up with it.

I do. It's not updated very often, so you can just take a look every couple of months and catch up in five minutes.
http://twitter.com/Othar

[Robg54]

Damn. I was wrong again. Lucrezia did give him an order. She told him to be silent.

And well, he was. She never said anything after that, except "NOOOOOO". I would think, if he was still under her control, that he would have to stay silent?

And I think the fact that a slaver wasp "cannot be reversed" is probably the surest sign that it will be. After all, it only takes a strong Heterodyne 2 hours to truly warp the laws of nature. (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070608)

Man, you guys are pretty on top of these things. Having read the whole comic twice, I feel like I need to reread it again cause I feel like I'm still missing things. Yeah, they do mention Jagerdrought. However, what jagerdrought IS and what it DOES is certainly still speculation.

[slayerx]

I would think, if he was still under her control, that he would have to stay silent?

Not necessarily... For one thing we don't know the full details about hows these kind of revenants work... most people who are infected don't even realize they are infected... Do they loose freewill the moment they are ordered, or do they get it back after awhile? we don't know. Another thing to take into account is that fact that the wasp was only just starting to take over Klaus's mind... as such, the lasting effects of the others orders may be effected as Klaus still has some control left and is able to fight it.

[Aquillion]

The fact that the Barron is himself until given an order sort of doesn't go with the way he ordered his soldiers to kill Agatha and her friends even though the Other never told him to.Um, it sort of does go with it. He didn't know Agatha was 'cured' (in fact, he probably simply thinks that she was always Lucrezia from the beginning, now, and was never anyone else. The simplest thing for him to conclude is that 'Agatha' is simply a sparky disguise.)

So he ordered her killed as soon as he found he'd regained his voice, hoping to kill her before she could give him another order. (Actually, he tried to execute her on the spot while she was 'distracted' by the necklace, but you get the idea.)

Obviously, if he wasn't allowed completely free will when he wasn't under orders, he wouldn't be allowed to try and kill Lucrezia, which is what he thought he was doing. "Don't attack Lucrezia" would be the most basic built-in order imaginable, and it plainly isn't there.

[Rockphed]

If there is no such thing as a "Jaegerdraught" I would be very, very surprised.

As would I. But I would also be surprised if it did exactly what you are suggesting.

[Oracle_Hunter]

As would I. But I would also be surprised if it did exactly what you are suggesting.

So... you don't think the Jaegerdraught is involved in making Jaegers?

Perhaps, then, it is the product of a centuries-old beer brewing recipe which is tasty only to Jaegers? Or perhaps a drink made out of Jaegers? I'm honestly having a hard time thinking of an alternate purpose of something that:
1) Is named "Jaegerdraught" and
2) Would be bad for the Baron to drink and
3) Would be something that a Heterodyne would want him to drink.

I'm happy to hear other theories, but this is just something which not only seems straightforward, but helps to explain much about the variations between Jaegers and the (very) large number of them.

[Robg54]

I dunno, I actually would not be suprised at ALL to hear it was a beer only tolerable by Jagers...

Also, weren't Klaus and the Heterodine boys friends? I guess you are talking about a Heterodyne heir, who would need to deal with the Baron... But f that is the case, it seems likely to me they were talking about wht put the baron in the hospital. Maybe drinking Jagerdrought has an effect on humans roughly equivalent to having a flying circuis cart dropped on you. Seems likely a drought that is for Jagers rather than one that MAKES THEM.

Anyway, I do agree that your exlanation is a possible reading of that line and not less likely than other readings, but please remember that you are using this as evidence that Jagers cannot reporduce, despite direct indication from a Jager that he is the great great grandfather of a human who looks quite similar to him...

It is one word in a small bubble. Yes, you can infer several things from it to a certain degree. But could it just have been a small thing the author invented? Yes. At the very least, any discussion of the effects of Jagerdrought is speculative (as I originally said).

Personally I would prefer to take what the author has provided as evdence that Jagers can have kids, and that they can interbreed with humans. I will Take the speculation regarding the Jagerdrought as evidence that there are alternative theories, but at the moment I see nothing to tell me that this is even likely, especially seeing how much it contradicts what we are explicitly given...

Personally, I don't like the idea of Jaers being mutated humans who speak that way cause they are old. We'll see. Three character were just introduced who will likely have a lot of info to provide.

[Robg54]

I dunno, I actually would not be suprised at ALL to hear Jagerdrought was a beer only tolerable by Jagers...

Also, weren't Klaus and the Heterodine boys friends? I guess you are talking about a Heterodyne heir, who would need to deal with the Baron... But f that is the case, it seems likely to me they were talking about wht put the baron in the hospital. Maybe drinking Jagerdrought has an effect on humans roughly equivalent to having a flying circuis cart dropped on you. Seems likely a drought that is for Jagers rather than one that MAKES THEM.

Anyway, I do agree that your exlanation is a possible reading of that line and not less likely than other readings, but please remember that you are using this as evidence that Jagers cannot reporduce, despite direct indication from a Jager that he is the great great grandfather of a human who looks quite similar to him...

It is one word in a small bubble. Yes, you can infer several things from it to a certain degree. But could it just have been a small thing the author invented? Yes. At the very least, any discussion of the effects of Jagerdrought is speculative (as I originally said).

Personally I would prefer to take what the author has provided as evdence that Jagers can have kids, and that they can interbreed with humans. I will Take the speculation regarding the Jagerdrought as evidence that there are alternative theories, but at the moment I see nothing to tell me that this is even likely, especially seeing how much it contradicts what we are explicitly given...

Personally, I don't like the idea of Jagers being mutated humans who speak that way cause they are old. We'll see. Three character were just introduced who will likely have a lot of info to provide.

[thorgrim29]

Funny, my first impression was that this was a Jäger brothel..... We'll see I guess, unless the Foglios decide to switch back to Agatha before saying it.

[SnowballMan]

Personally, I thought that this (http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5027/jager002sl9.jpg) was a Jaggerdraught.

[Robg54]

Not speculation, so much as fact (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070228) (Center bottom).

As for Jaegers having kids... well, I don't know about you, but if there are half-Jaegers running around, they should look more like Gkika's gang (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080421) than Phil the Minstrel (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060726).



You know, assuming he is the great great grandson, that would make him a LOT less than 1/2 Jaeger. If one's great great grandfather was a Jaeger, that would mean he was 1/16th Jaeger. I don' see the fact that he looks mostly human is an indication of anything.

[Oracle_Hunter]

You know, assuming he is the great great grandson, that would make him a LOT less than 1/2 Jaeger. If one's great great grandfather was a Jaeger, that would mean he was 1/16th Jaeger. I don' see the fact that he looks mostly human is an indication of anything.

Of course, you'll then have to assume that Oggie either got some poor woman really drunk, or raped her, since I don't see a lot of voluntary relationships between bloodthirsty Jaegers and frightened townies - even Mechanicsburgers.

And then you'll need to find a wife for Oggie's son - who is going to look half-Jaeger.

Perhaps Jaegers can reproduce, but I doubt many of them had, for a wide variety of reasons. I think that's the last I'll say of this.

Also: will people stop saying Jaegerbrothels! It's really squicking me out! :smalleek:

[Lord Iames Osari]

Also: will people stop saying Jaegerbrothels! It's really squicking me out! :smalleek:

But it's FUN to say "Jaegerbrothel"! :smalltongue:

... Okay, I'll stop.

Jaegerbrothel.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Of course, you'll then have to assume that Oggie either got some poor woman really drunk, or raped her, since I don't see a lot of voluntary relationships between bloodthirsty Jaegers and frightened townies - even Mechanicsburgers.Have you seen Eastern European men? At least, compared to the women?

Also, Jaegerbrothels

[Gez]

Of course, you'll then have to assume that Oggie either got some poor woman really drunk, or raped her, since I don't see a lot of voluntary relationships between bloodthirsty Jaegers and frightened townies - even Mechanicsburgers.
And, as if to prove you right, Maxim haz neffer luffed (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061016).

Still, the Jägers are awesome and I'm sure they have many fangirls, just as I am sure Jenka has many fanboys.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Maxim's not the issue here, though, it's Oggie. And Maxim seems rather like the Jaeger equivalent of a womanizing fop, at least in his manner of dress. Of course he's neffer luffed. Also, Firefox says "luffed" is a word. Who knew?

[Lord Iames Osari]

Jenka is hot. Although that may be because her mouth is covered, so we don't see her fangs. Jaegerbrothels

I knew "luffed" was a word.

[Gez]

Also, Firefox says "luffed" is a word. Who knew?

Nautical jargon. Don't remember exactly what it means, but any dictionary should have it.

[chionophile]

And, as if to prove you right, Maxim haz neffer luffed (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061016).

Still, the Jägers are awesome and I'm sure they have many fangirls, just as I am sure Jenka has many fanboys.

I love that page. Carry on.

p.s. luffing is when you've got your boat pointed directly into the wind and the sail is flapping. Not very effective if you want to go anywhere and it can be difficult to get moving again.

[BRC]

I love that page. Carry on.

p.s. luffing is when you've got your boat pointed directly into the wind and the sail is flapping. Not very effective if you want to go anywhere and it can be difficult to get moving again.
So, could this infact mean that Maxim is just a skilled boatman?

[Robg54]

Btw, I hope it didn't seem like I attacked you Oracle. I certainly do not mean to disrespect your arguments:) Just positing an alternative viewpoint and it's backing.

I have been checking the GG wiki and I do indeed see the theory that Jagers were created through a drink, but I don't really see the justification for such a theory. In fact, I didn't even see the same justification you provided.

Probably this is due to my newbieness with wikis...

[BRC]

Btw, I hope it didn't seem like I attacked you Oracle. I certainly do not mean to disrespect your arguments:) Just positing an alternative viewpoint and it's backing.

I have been checking the GG wiki and I do indeed see the theory that Jagers were created through a drink, but I don't really see the justification for such a theory. In fact, I didn't even see the same justification you provided.

Probably this is due to my newbieness with wikis...
During the "Rumors In Mechanisburg" comic a "Jaegerdraught" is mentioned, which implies it might create Jagers. Or maybe it's just a drink that only Jagers like

[Oracle_Hunter]

Btw, I hope it didn't seem like I attacked you Oracle. I certainly do not mean to disrespect your arguments:) Just positing an alternative viewpoint and it's backing.

I have been checking the GG wiki and I do indeed see the theory that Jagers were created through a drink, but I don't really see the justification for such a theory. In fact, I didn't even see the same justification you provided.

Probably this is due to my newbieness with wikis...

Oh no, no problem.

I just do my best to avoid lengthy debates on the Internet, so I make sure to cut myself off when I don't think I can make any more useful comments.

Re: Jaegerbrothels

GAH!
:eek:

[stm177]

There isn't a lot of info in the comic about the creation of Jagerkin, so if the Foglios change their minds, it will be easy to retcon away any small inconsistencies.

I'm still of the opinion that it's a Jagerbrothel, but those must be some darn lonely Jagerhookers.

My alternate WMG is that the Mamma has something to do with converting people to Jagerkin for the Heterodynes, and the three Jagergirls are recent "emergency" conversions. The three could have had a contagious disease, or have been infected by slaver wasps. Before the infection had converted them to revenants, Mamma Gkika gives the three girls the Jagerdraught.

She can't let them leave her secret lab, so she has them work for her, since she doesn't want new wild Jagers drawing any attention or curiosity from Wulfenbach forces.

Since they are recent conversions, they don't speak in an archaic accent like the soldiers currently working for the Baron.

[BRC]

I don't think those are neccissarily Jagergirls, they don't have the accent at all. We know Jager Females have the accent because of Jenka

[FoE]

p.s. luffing is when you've got your boat pointed directly into the wind and the sail is flapping. Not very effective if you want to go anywhere and it can be difficult to get moving again.

My Internet sarcasm meter is on the fritz, so forgive me if you aren't being serious, but when Maxim says he has never "luffed," I'm pretty sure what he really means is he has never "loved." Say "loved" in a bad German accent and it comes out like "luffed." Which is also why he looks kind of sad in that panel.

But you know, just because he has never loved doesn't mean Maxim has never had sex. He may just have had a string of brief affairs, or perhaps he spends all his time at the Mechanicsburg Jaegerbrothel. :smalltongue:

Actually, a Jaegerbrothel would make some sense. Throughout history (more so in ancient times) it's been common for prostitutes to follow armies as they marched to battle, and the Jaegermonsters of old couldn't have spent ALL their time on the battlefield; they must have had ... umm, "recreational pursuits" when they weren't fighting.

It's a given that most human women would find Jaegers frightening, but I think most Jaegers would find human women too fragile. (Remember, these creatures were all desirous of Von Pinn. Von Pinn, for God's sakes!) So therefore ... Jaegerbrothels.

NOTE: This brain-staining broadcast comes courtesy of the Face of Evil. When you want an image that will forever haunt you, there's no one better than good old FoE!

[Oracle_Hunter]

Listen, just because Jaegerbrothels (*shudder*) make perfect sense doesn't mean that they can't my mind.

Go on, think about what a Jaegerbrothel would entail. The kind of girls... the kind of "entertainments..."

Gah!

Am I the only one super-squicked out just thinking about it? Is this just a weird button that has been pushed?

I hope that this isn't actually a Jaegerbrothel... but the chance that it is is just too great. :smallfrown:

[Ganurath]

Am I the only one super-squicked out just thinking about it?Emphatic yes.

[Tirian]

I hope that this isn't actually a Jaegerbrothel... but the chance that it is is just too great. :smallfrown:

It doesn't make much sense. A Jaegerbrothel in Mechanicsburg really hasn't been economically viable for the past generation.

I can believe that it is a Home for Wayward Female Constructs, who would be at risk from both the mundane humans and male constructs. They're obviously a hospital, and there is every possibility that there is also a need to fill as a nursery. Potentially, they're into breeding as well, but who can say? Maybe we'll find out more in an hour. :smallsmile:

[slayerx]

Listen, just because Jaegerbrothels (*shudder*) make perfect sense doesn't mean that they can't my mind.

Go on, think about what a Jaegerbrothel would entail. The kind of girls... the kind of "entertainments..."

Gah!

Am I the only one super-squicked out just thinking about it? Is this just a weird button that has been pushed?

I hope that this isn't actually a Jaegerbrothel... but the chance that it is is just too great. :smallfrown:

What would entail?... *thinks*... heh, kinky...

Oracle, let me put your mind at ease...
There is one major flaw in the jagerbrothel theory... Those three girls are WAY over dressed to be part of a brothel... especially when you look at how the foglios portray brothel girls in Buck Godot (they don't even where normal clothing when their on the street)... So ya, Jagerbrothel, this is likely not

We see three Jager girls in military uniform who work for "mama" and our first conclusion is brothel? really now...

if this were a jagerbrothel, those girls would probably wear something more in the way of scanty black leather, and with certain "tools" hanging around the room; y'know for "this" (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040503) and "that" (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031107), cause that's how jagers like it (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040528)... opps... maybe i should have stopped one sentence sooner =p

[edit]hey speaking of jagerbrothels, anyone ever notice what the generals got hanging on their wall (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031031)

[Lord Fullbladder, Master of Goblins]

.....

The Fullbladder approves of Jagerbrothels.

I do, however, have no worthy crackpot theories as to the fangful females prominantly positioned in this thoroughly crazy comic. I'll just have to do with Deegan-style alliteration.

[FoE]

Maybe it's a former Jaegerbrothel? :smalltongue:


Go on, think about what a Jaegerbrothel would entail. The kind of girls... the kind of "entertainments" ..."

Oh vey, dunt get me all hot und bothered tinking about it! :smalltongue:

@V: Ze prevailin' theory iz zat dese are yung Jagers, und vey do not haf ze odd skin colour or de hevy accent becuz ze ver vecently-made.

[LurkerInPlayground]

Are these girls Jaegers?
They have normal skin tones.
They don't have the heavily accented speech like Jenka or the other Jaegerkin.
About all they have is the sharp teeth.

Maybe they're some other kind of construct?

[Lord Fullbladder, Master of Goblins]

Apparently they're girls dressed as Jaegers. Perhaps with a few extra modifications.

Except maybe the pink one. She seems too delightfully Jaeger-ish.

I am still harshly disappointed.

[chionophile]

My Internet sarcasm meter is on the fritz, so forgive me if you aren't being serious, but when Maxim says he has never "luffed," I'm pretty sure what he really means is he has never "loved." Say "loved" in a bad German accent and it comes out like "luffed." Which is also why he looks kind of sad in that panel.


Oh, I was being dead serious. However, I was posting in response to the people commenting that "luffed" was a real word, outside of the context of the comic. I know that Maxim was using the word as a distortion of "loved", I was just defining "luffed" to be helpful.

Edit: oh, and yeah, new page is up confirming that these three aren't jagers. Mamma Gkika, on the other hand...

[Oracle_Hunter]

I am relieved that:
1) the hostesses are not real Jaegers
2) this is not a brothel for Jaegers

However, it turns out the lady in pink was not Mama Gkika... unless she is very good at disguising her accent.

I hope she really is Mama Gkika though - her form is far too Jaeger-like for it to be otherwise. If she isn't... then the real Mama Gkika will probably drop me down a few SAN at least.

Also: Those prosthetic teeth are ludicrous. Their jaws must ache from having those in their mouths all day.

[FoE]

Oh vell ... I suppoz ve Jaegerbrothel vas too goodt to be true. Anyvay, I hear vat's dey got Clanks for dat kind unt ting. :smallwink:

"Professor Strout's Guide to Scientific Monstrosities." Priceless!

@^: I would bet money that the pink-uniformed barmaid is not Mama Gkika, so I would get prepare yourself for some Nightmare Fuel. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NightmareFuel) I can't wait! :smallamused:

[Aquillion]

Also: Those prosthetic teeth are ludicrous. Their jaws must ache from having those in their mouths all day.Who said anything about prosthetics? It's amazing what you can do with a simple file...

[stm177]

Well, my other guess was that the three girls were Oggie, Maxim, and Dimo in drag. :smallbiggrin:

[Eco-Mono]

And just when you thought you'd gotten a complete explanation, an authentic Jäger accent enters stage left...

[Gez]

Well, the Mamma herself may not be a Jäger, but she's as Jäger as a woman can be.

The fun thing is, is turning to regain some modesty in front of the pseudo-Jägers, Gil is revealing his muscled backside once more to Zeetha, who is probably enjoying the view...

Post scriptum for Oracle Hunter: Notice how Mamma retorted she doesn't drink? Think about it. :smalltongue:

[Doc Filth]

Nice to see they've finally updated the chapter headings - when did that happen?

[Nerd-o-rama]

So, it's not a Jaegerbrothel.

It's a Jaeger-fetish brothel.

Why does this bother you less, OH?

[Oracle_Hunter]

So, it's not a Jaegerbrothel.

It's a Jaeger-fetish brothel.

Why does this bother you less, OH?

Um... slightly, since Mama Gkika/the Lady in Pink have replaced the white whale in my nightmares and it was mainly imagining a whole brothel of her that was killing me.

Plus, y'know, her with other Jaegers. That is the truest representation of "bumping uglies" that I can imagine while still (mostly) sane. At least the other girls are not, well, Jaegers all over. :smallredface:

But I know that Mama Gkika's is A TRAP and that Friday will only cause me to go slightly more crazy than I already am. I both look forward to and seek to flee from that update.

[Tirian]

Nice to see they've finally updated the chapter headings - when did that happen?

Only just now. And, yes, blissful.

And I think that Mamma is going to be freaky construct city. Her speech bubble has those little floaties and she isn't upset, that's a foreboding omen. Jager generals meets Von Pinn. I'm kind of girding myself because I think that she is going to look like a Jager madam and then we'll have to peel OH the rest of the way off the ceiling.

[Talyn]

No way. Those are definitely jaegerkin, if not full jaegers. Look at the teeth! No human has got teeth like that... and, even in the (ahem) well-endowed and cartoony Foglio art style, no human has a build like those girls, either, particularly Miss Pretty-Terrifying-in-Pink.

They are lying, plain and simple - maintaining the legal fiction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_fiction)that jaegers are not allowed into Mechanicsburg.

[FoE]

My theory? Mama Gkika is the progenitor of the Jaegermonster race. The tavern is just a front for her hiding place.

[Gez]

Too bad the cast page has not been updated with them.

[stm177]

Just like a circus of Heterodyne players is the best place to hide minor sparks, a fake Jagerbar is the best place to hide Jagergurls. They'll have their real job back when the Jagerkin soldiers return to Mechanicsburg. (Jagerbrothel!)

[Rockphed]

That hand does not belong to the pink one. It is the wrong color. Thus, the pink one is not Mama Ghika.

[North]

The second to last panel the brunette looks realllly cute :smallsmile:

[FoE]

Ah. Mamma Gkika. Yowza.

You know, when you look at false female Jagers and real ones ... wow, you wonder how we got fooled so easily. There ... there really is a big difference. Just ... wow.

Is it wrong that I think she's kind of sexy? :smalltongue:

[Ryuuk]

So we finally got to see her, and here I thought she'd look a bit closer to the three generals in the castle.

[Tirian]

Is it wrong that I think she's kind of sexy? :smalltongue:

Why on earth would that be wrong? GG is about fanservice for everyone, even pervy Jagerfrau fanciers like you. :smalltongue:

It is a nice dress, but I'll stick with Jenka.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Is it wrong that I think she's kind of sexy? :smalltongue:

I'm still really disturbed by the Lady in Pink... even moreso now that it's clear she's not actually a Jaeger.

But that Phil, he has a talent for making things sexy... kind of like this artist (http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/skinhorse/series.php?view=archive&chapter=27154) can make anything cute.

Still... do I call Phil on making all female Jaegers sexy evil, while standard Jaegers are just ugly evil? Or do I sit back and admire his conversion of blue-haired elf chick into a sexy/scary killing machine?

I... I think I'll just admire it for now.

And think about a Gkika-Von Pinn catfight.

[Nerd-o-rama]

For some reason, I'm reminded of Chicago.

[Tirian]

And think about a Gkika-Von Pinn catfight.

If Klaus hadn't intervened, Von Pinn would have killed Bang, and that was after dismembering Punch and Judy. I'm sure Mamma can hold her own in a saloon brawl, but Von Pinn would elevate "catfight" to "death match" without a moment's hesitation and that would be the end of it.

[Ganurath]

Gkika is just plain sexy. But since she's Momma Gkika, that makes her a MILF.

[Rutee]

But that Phil, he has a talent for making things sexy... kind of like this artist (http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/skinhorse/series.php?view=archive&chapter=27154) can make anything cute.

*Has stars in her eyes* YAY! Shaenon's back <3

[FoE]

Her torso is really thick and kind of square, but I really like her face. The red eyes that look like a rat's eyes, the long, slanted ears, the green hair and the rows of needle-like fangs ... I don't know, but it's all oddly alluring. Cannibal elves do it for me, I guess (along with red-headed rogues). :smalltongue:

Say what you want, but I think Jagerfraus are much better than the weirdly sexual Dolls, like the Storm King's Muses or good old Anevka. ( http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20051102 ) Not that I'm against Robot Girls (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RobotGirl), mind you, but these versions a bit creepy.


Why on earth would that be wrong? GG is about fanservice for everyone, even pervy Jagerfrau fanciers like you. :smalltongue:

In fairness, I still prefer psychotic pirate queens. (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040121) :smalltongue:

On that subject, I added Girl Genius to the TV Tropes section on Fetish Fuel. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FetishFuel) Seemed fair.

EDIT: Hey! I just checked that section again, and the Giant in the Playground forum is mentioned for the House of Fanservice and House of Horrors threads! Cool, we're perverts!

[Oracle_Hunter]

*Has stars in her eyes* YAY! Shaenon's back <3

Huzzah! I'm glad I actually did some good with my random cross-linking.

Re: Von Pinn
I have to say, I've always been a little surprised at the sheer power that Von Pinn put out in that fight (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040816). I mean, Punch and Judy were the standard muscle that the Heterodyne Boys brought along on their missions, and they even earned the respect of the Jaegers (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050914).

We're talking Legendary Constructs here.

And yet, Von Pinn - an easily forgettable nursemaid (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070820) is able to make mincemeat out of them. I know why the story makes it necessary to make Von Pinn epic, but it's always bothered me.

...and Bang could totally have put up a good fight, if Klaus didn't interrupt

I still think a catfight would be hot

[Rutee]

EDIT: Hey! I just checked that section again, and the Giant in the Playground forum is mentioned for the House of Fanservice and House of Horrors threads! Cool, we're perverts!

Whaaat? That better have the Freedom Stone forums. The entire damn forum is fanservice, sex, lewd innuendo, and lest I forget, Fetish obsession.

[FoE]

I have to say, I've always been a little surprised at the sheer power that Von Pinn put out in that fight (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040816). I mean, Punch and Judy were the standard muscle that the Heterodyne Boys brought along on their missions, and they even earned the respect of the Jaegers (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050914).

We're talking Legendary Constructs here.

And yet, Von Pinn - an easily forgettable nursemaid (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070820) is able to make mincemeat out of them. I know why the story makes it necessary to make Von Pinn epic, but it's always bothered me.

...and Bang could totally have put up a good fight, if Klaus didn't interrupt

1) Von Pinn is a Construct herself, and one created by Lucrezia. Lucrezia. Her genius was on par with the Heterodyne boys, and Von Pinn was probably pretty scary even before she went bat**** insane after the destruction of Castle Heterodyne. Which she survived.
2) Von Pinn had the Jagermonsters' respect as well. :smallwink:
3) Bang was all out of fight when the Baron threw that gas grenade. Von Pinn was about to kill her. Or did you forget that whole "impaling her hand on Bang's sword" business?

I predict we'll see Von Pinn again someday, when the Other re-surfaces. She's still obedient to Lucrezia, after all.

[Oracle_Hunter]

3) Bang was all out of fight when the Baron threw that gas grenade. Von Pinn was about to kill her. Or did you forget that whole "impaling her hand on Bang's sword" business?

Woah, woah, woah.

All out of fight? Did you miss the stiletto poised for backstabbery (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040906) in Bang's left hand? That lady's not out of fight so long as she's conscious.

That said... yeah, Bang couldn't win that fight... 'cause she didn't have her shock-gauntlets (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041231) on.

[BRC]

Well Well Well, Mamma Gikka IS a Jager. This is interesting

[Tirian]

And yet, Von Pinn - an easily forgettable nursemaid (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070820) is able to make mincemeat out of them. I know why the story makes it necessary to make Von Pinn epic, but it's always bothered me.

I think it's a question that deserves to be asked. But, in my mind, if you're Bill Heterodyne and the Other just sacked your castle and killed your son, you've got a lot of grief and anger and an unprecedented motivation to upgrade your nursemaid. Remember when Agatha had the sparky desire to protect the circus (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050427) -- now triple the Spark and multiply the need by a hundred and that's Von Pinn.

I'm not wild about the fight with Punch and Judy either. One could argue that Punch was overconfident (perhaps not being familiar with the upgrade) and Judy was distracted with rescuing Agatha, and they were designed with an eye for reanimation instead of invulnerability. But Bang was justifiably outclassed, especially after killing one of Von Pinn's charges. If anything, D-class sleeping gas shouldn't have been enough to neutralize the fury of her second failure.

[Gez]

On that subject, I added Girl Genius to the TV Tropes section on Fetish Fuel. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FetishFuel) Seemed fair.

Why is it that everyone feels the need to comment on the size of female characters' chests as if it had more relevance than being simply Phil Foglio's style, yet nobody ever says anything about the miniature noses? Seriously. Look, for example, at this page (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040830). The profile of Zulenna is a perfect example of what I mean. Her face is perfectly plat. The typical character's nose is smaller than a single of their phalanxes.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I figured the comic was more geared toward a domination fetish (between the Sparks, Von Pinn, and Zeetha), and noted such.

[FoE]

Why is it that everyone feels the need to comment on the size of female characters' chests as if it had more relevance than being simply Phil Foglio's style, yet nobody ever says anything about the miniature noses? Seriously. Look, for example, at this page (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040830). The profile of Zulenna is a perfect example of what I mean. Her face is perfectly plat. The typical character's nose is smaller than a single of their phalanxes.

I remember reading What's New With Phil and Dixie when I was young, and I'll concede that he just draws his female characters with large cup sizes. Also the tiny noses. Still, you can't argue that there isn't a lot of cleavage on display.

[Johnny Blade]

Ah. Mamma Gkika. Yowza.

You know, when you look at false female Jagers and real ones ... wow, you wonder how we got fooled so easily. There ... there really is a big difference. Just ... wow.
Yeah, you can really lose yourself in those eyes. *sigh*

:smallwink:

[GGfan]

And yet, Von Pinn - an easily forgettable nursemaid (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070820) is able to make mincemeat out of them. I know why the story makes it necessary to make Von Pinn epic, but it's always bothered me.

Von Pinn was constructed to raise and presumably protect the Heterodyne Heir. Naturally, she'd be given the ability to withstand/ignore massive amounts of pain and the strength/insanity to take on any and all attackers.

RE: nose size. It's incredibly difficult to draw regular size noses without making them look huge. In fact, go look in your mirror for a moment, focusing on your nose. In a moment or two, it's going to start to look REALLY LARGE to you. Why? Most of the time noses are pretty much ignored. When you look at a person for the first time you don't notice their nose unless they've done something to MAKE you notice it- like get a piercing, or removing it.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I think it's a question that deserves to be asked. But, in my mind, if you're Bill Heterodyne and the Other just sacked your castle and killed your son, you've got a lot of grief and anger and an unprecedented motivation to upgrade your nursemaid. Remember when Agatha had the sparky desire to protect the circus (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050427) -- now triple the Spark and multiply the need by a hundred and that's Von Pinn.

I doubt Bill did any upgrading on Von Pinn, since she went berserk immediately after the Attack (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070820).

No, Lucrezia built her strong to start (or maybe Dr. Mongfish).

[Prince_of_Blades]

I was reading the thread (from page 15, actually. Yes, I was bored.), specifically the theories on the Other's attack on the castle, when I was struck with one of my own crazy, impossible ideas.

Klaus Wulfenbach is Agatha's older brother.

Consider this: Gil goes back in time to prevent the Other's attack on the castle. He knows when and where the attack is, so he should be able to prevent it, right? A secondary mission, whether he's aware of it or not, would be to rescue Klaus Heterodyne.

What if the Other had left the castle much earlier? That is, the Other was never really involved on the attack. Then, when Gil arrives, Lucrezia is already gone. Gil would have to do something to set the Heterodyne Boys on their way to find the Other, because that's how history worked out. Thus Gil would have to perform the attack on the castle to point to where Bill and Barry would go next to find more clues about the Other and set them on their historical path. Gil would also have to destroy the equipment created by Lucrezia, to prevent anyoneelse from using it. It made the Other. What else could it do?

Furthermore, at this point he has to do something about the Heterodyne heir, little Klaus, so the timeline isn't altered. The seneschal(sp?) could have died in the destruction of Lucrezia's lab. Knowing that the child had to disappear to preserve the timeline, Gil could have taken him with him out of pity. At either this point or later, it could be realized that Klaus the Heterodyne and Klaus the Wulfenbach. To keep the timeline intact, the Heterodyne Klaus would have to disappear into the past to become the Wulfenbach. Bill might have even figured it out, and that's the reason for his insistence on the name Klaus.

This sequence of events would explain quite a lot, including:
a.) Barry's distrust of Wulfenbach: Since styles may run in families, it could seem to Barry that the attack on the castle might have been caused by Wulfenbach.
b.) The rise of Baron Wulfenbach: I know that somewhere someone says that before the Baron, House Wulfenbach was only a minor house. Since Klaus is really a Heterodyne, that would explain his and his heir's sparkiness.
c.) Why young Klaus Heterodyne "died" in "the Other's" attack on the castle: He needed to go into the past to preserve the timeline.
d.) Why Lucrezia's equipment was destroyed in the attack: Why would the other want to destroy her own lab?

I'll admit that Gil's reasoning to take the young Heterodyne through time are probably the weakest part of this theory.

[Robg54]

I will second or third the comments of really disliking how easily von pin dealt with Punch and Judy... Easily my least favorite strip of the entire series.

And I do wonder how Mama Gikka would stack up to Dupree and or Von Pinn. And I would guess that she is A. pretty old (even for a Jager) and B. Quite good in a fight. I would not be suprised if she could stand up to either...

And, Prince of blades,


I have heard theories regarding young Klaus Heterodine and the possibility that it is a Wulfenbach. I think I have heard people suggest that it was Gil, but I think your Idea that it is really the Baron himself makes more sense, but still isn't true. I can't say for sure, but it doesn't sit right with me...

Anyway, if anyone goes back in time, it will be Agatha... I think Agatha will cause a decent amount of the destruction of the castle in her fight with the other on that night.

[Gez]

I was reading the thread (from page 15, actually. Yes, I was bored.), specifically the theories on the Other's attack on the castle, when I was struck with one of my own crazy, impossible ideas.

Klaus Wulfenbach is Agatha's older brother.


Squicky. Consider your theory again, keeping in mind the relationship between Gil and Agatha.

[FoE]

I was reading the thread (from page 15, actually. Yes, I was bored.), specifically the theories on the Other's attack on the castle, when I was struck with one of my own crazy, impossible ideas.

Klaus Wulfenbach is Agatha's older brother.

That's ridiculous. Everyone knows that Agatha is a parallel for Jesus and Gilgamesh is Judas. Also, Klaus is Darth Vader, Zeetha is Wonder Woman and Krosp is Optimus Prime. Plus, they're all in the Matrix, and the Other is really a metaphor for human evolution. Stop spouting your insane theories.

[Lord Iames Osari]

That's ridiculous. Everyone knows that Agatha is a parallel for Jesus and Gilgamesh is Judas. Also, Klaus is Darth Vader, Zeetha is Wonder Woman and Krosp is Optimus Prime. Plus, they're all in the Matrix, and the Other is really a metaphor for human evolution. Stop spouting your insane theories.
But who is Haruhi Suzumiya?

[Gez]

But who is Haruhi Suzumiya?

Tarvek, but only on even days. On odd days, he's François Vatel.

[Rockphed]

Squicky. Consider your theory again, keeping in mind the relationship between Gil and Agatha.

Consider the relationship between Klaus and Lucrezia! Can you say "Ewwwwww:smalleek: !"

[Robg54]

Those of you who think that the ridiculousness of the love interests is proof that it cannot be have maybe not read xxxenophile?

Some of that stuff was pretty off the wall.

Haha. I guess would still be pretty messed up even by his standards.

[FoE]

Just like ripping off a band-aid. :smalltongue:

Interesting. Mamma Gkika only has the pointed ear on the one side. And are we about to get an insight into the dark secret of where Klaus disappeared to all those years ago?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Mama Gkika is terrifying :smalleek:

What is it with Phil and Dominatrices? Is that a question really better left unasked?

Also: Gil has super-regeneration! Maybe he can become the Deadpool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadpool_(comics)) of GG.

[Eco-Mono]

Interesting. Mamma Gkika only has the pointed ear on the one side.That's not totally clear, given that we've only seen one side of her. ;)

[hajo]

Just like ripping off a band-aid. :smalltongue:
That makes me wonder, how many other cyber-parts Gil has installed, and what did this part do ?

[slayerx]

That makes me wonder, how many other cyber-parts Gil has installed, and what did this part do ?

I'm thinking that it's some kind of old heterodyne medical device... part of how she's able to fix up injured people like Gil real fast. Perhaps it was made to speed up the reproduction of new blood cells or something; like for when someone loss a lot of blood but you don't have a donor to give more... And apparently Gil seems to have healed faster than expected.

[GGfan]

Only the heterodynes would think of turning a meat thermometer into a medical device...

[Nikolai_II]

That makes me wonder, how many other cyber-parts Gil has installed, and what did this part do ?

Actually I think it is nothing more than a meat thermometer. Or in this case a "Health-check-o-mat"

And I don't think he's gotten any more "cyber". Dad would see it as a weakness that could be exploited, and Mamma is probably along the same line..

[Oracle_Hunter]

So... did anyone else notice Gkika's comment that Klaus stole more Jaegertech than he let on? And used it on Gil? This implies that Gil may be eligible for the "Jaegerblood" prestige class :smallbiggrin:

That sort of boosting would explain why Gil often seemed superhuman, despite not having an obvious modification.

[Lord Iames Osari]

I noticed. And you're right, that could explain some of it, although I'm not going to rule out "he's just that Sparky" as an explanation just yet.

Although, what incidents are you referring to when Gil "seemed superhuman"?

[Oracle_Hunter]

Although, what incidents are you referring to when Gil "seemed superhuman"?

This looks like a job for the Gil Action Montage!

These range from the semi-realistic (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030317) (the whole escaping-a-grapple-and-leaving-a-coat combined with teleporting-away-to-dramatic-pose is not as easy as you'd think) to the action-hero-esque (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070611) (I don't care how skilled a swordsman you are, leaving a pile of bodies that astounds DuPree (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070720) take a lot of endurance) to the probably superhuman (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080229) (despite Vole's exhibition of the Worf Effect (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWorfEffect), it should not be possible for an unenhanced human to go toe-to-toe with a Jaeger and knock them down, unarmed... particularly if they're severely wounded (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080425)).

Now, the nice thing about the Foglios is that they kept Gil's heroics down to a dull roar. Unlike Klaus (who can Offhand Backhand (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OffhandBackhand) a Jaeger (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040730) and toss people through sheet metal (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040225)), Gil has been kept relatively normal for the setting, with some opportunities to appear like a Badass Normal (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BadassNormal) with an additional power boost thanks to his Training From Hell (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TrainingFromHell) with super-clanks (and a Sink or Swim Mentorship (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SinkOrSwimMentor) from his father). This helps to minimize power creep (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoLastSeason), and get us to empathize with him as an individual, and not just a Badass. The Foglios do the same with Agatha, likely for similar reasons.

The nice thing here is that a less skilled writer (http://www.dominic-deegan.com/) might use this kind of plot development as Scotch Tape (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HandWave?from=Main.ScotchTape) to explain Gil's past exploits and/or allow for him to Re-Power (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RePower) in the future. But here? The introduction of Jaegertech into Gil not only intensifies the WMG (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WMG/WildMassGuessing?from=Main.WildMassGuessing) surrounding Gil's & Klaus's origins/history, but it is a delicious factoid that tempts us to figure out exactly how much Mama Gkika knows, and why she knows it.

EDIT: I just checked, and my total for links-in-posts is now clearly OVER 9000 (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MemeticMutation)!

[Occasional Sage]

So... did anyone else notice Gkika's comment that Klaus stole more Jaegertech than he let on? And used it on Gil?

I did, yes. What I thought was particularly interesting in the subtext was the level of savvy and sophistication Gkika shows with it.

Jagers, so far, have shown *no* technological savvy. They're obviously smart, but every Jager we've seen so far (correct me if I'm wrong please) has carried generic melee or low-tech projectile weapons; a whole group of them were excited to get to try the clank gun for the first time. This has always suggested to me that Jagers have no technical aptitude.

Gkika, though, not only can identify Jager-oriented technology, but knows waht Jagertech Klaus uses and has admitted to stealing. She's head-and-shoulders above any other Jager we've seen in scientific knowledge, and upsets some of my assumptions of the race.

Very interesting....

[BRC]

I don't think that "our secrets" refers to technology created by Jagers, I think it refers to the technology that CREATED Jagers. Gikka makes that comment after she see's how fast Gil healed up. Personally, I think that Klaus stole some of the tenology that made the Jagers and used parts of it on Gil.

[BRC]

I don't think that "our secrets" refers to technology created by Jagers, I think it refers to the technology that CREATED Jagers. Gikka makes that comment after she see's how fast Gil healed up. Personally, I think that Klaus stole some of the tenology that made the Jagers and used parts of it on Gil. In short, Gil is on Jageroids! I think that Klaus tempered it enough to give Gil some of the physical benefits (increased strength/speed, faster healing) without the mental detriments.


Also, Ive noticed that the fem-Jagers weve seen so far tend to be abit smarter and more level headed than male Jagers. Maybe the Last female heterodyne perfected the Jaeger-making process and created a few (Like Mama Gikka and Jenka)

[Talyn]

This looks like a job for the Gil Action Montage!



That post was amazing. You win the internet. If you are a guy, we need to go out for drinks some time. If you are a girl, I think I'd like to buy you a drink for an entirely different reason. :smallcool:

*ahem*

Back on topic. I can't agree that the appearance of Mama Gkika has "proven" that the other girls of the jagerbrothel are, in fact, human - as evidence, I'd like remind everyone that the jagergirls have pointy teeth and pointed ears. Now, the pointed teeth have occasionally shown up on humans when they are being particularly fierce, but the pointed ears (and we've seen no evidence that subtle prosthetics exist, as most of the sci-fi tech has been huge and cumbersome in classic steam punk fashion) are unique to jagers.

[Oracle_Hunter]

That post was amazing. You win the internet. If you are a guy, we need to go out for drinks some time. If you are a girl, I think I'd like to buy you a drink for an entirely different reason. :smallcool:

Holy crap, did they kill the gender indicator all over the forum? I'm too young to live in a post-gender world! :smalleek:

aaaanyhow, thank you for the praise :smallredface:

@Bloddyredcommie
Exactly! Jaegertech makes Jaegers - the Jaegers break stuff, not make stuff :smallbiggrin:

I bet Gil has no idea that his father boosted him while he was a kid... or maybe he transfered Gil's infant brain into a different constructed body! :smalleek:

Let the WMG begin!

[BRC]

Holy crap, did they kill the gender indicator all over the forum? I'm too young to live in a post-gender world! :smalleek:

aaaanyhow, thank you for the praise :smallredface:

@Bloddyredcommie
Exactly! Jaegertech makes Jaegers - the Jaegers break stuff, not make stuff :smallbiggrin:

I bet Gil has no idea that his father boosted him while he was a kid... or maybe he transfered Gil's infant brain into a different constructed body! :smalleek:

Let the WMG begin!
You know, maybe this explains Gil falling in love with agatha so easily (Besides the whole Designated Love Intrest thing). Jagers are institivly loyal to the house of heterodyne, now due to the nature of Gil's Quasi-Jagerness it dosn't manifest as a complusion, but instead as an intense good impression.

[slayerx]

You know, maybe this explains Gil falling in love with agatha so easily (Besides the whole Designated Love Intrest thing). Jagers are institivly loyal to the house of heterodyne, now due to the nature of Gil's Quasi-Jagerness it dosn't manifest as a complusion, but instead as an intense good impression.

I'd doubt that actually... i'd say the jagers are loyal to the heterodynes much in the same way the people of mechanicsburg is loyal to them. The Jagers have each lived for many years under different houses and with eachother; that builds a very strong bond between the each of the jagers and a bond to the heterodynes. they don't need any kind of modification or mind control to be loyal... they just are... Its part of how Vole was able to become a non-jager... if he had somekind of modification it would have been harder for him to resist

[Eco-Mono]

I bet Gil has no idea that his father boosted him while he was a kid... or maybe he transfered Gil's infant brain into a different constructed body! :smalleek:I wouldn't be surprised. Klaus is a construct too, after all.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I wouldn't be surprised. Klaus is a construct too, after all.

True, but word on the street (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ) is that Klaus was constructed out of three individual Wulfenbach brothers, so he wasn't a construct by choice, per se.

As such, he might not want to recklessly engage in wholescale body modification, up to and including crafting a new (possibly failure-prone) body for his perfectly healthy half-Skifander son. After all, Klaus himself uses primarily clockwork soldiers despite his natural ability with biological sparkery.

But, if Gil is, in fact, in a Construct body, then the Klaus Barry Heterodyne = Klaus Wulfenbach time travel hypothesis becomes much less squicky, since Gil would not technically be Klaus's "natural son."

That last paragraph was awesome to write.

[Eco-Mono]

True, but word on the street (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ) is that Klaus was constructed out of three individual Wulfenbach brothers, so he wasn't a construct by choice, per se.Sweet logic! I thought I was just wild-mass-guessing there!

Man, I need to read the wiki before making pronouncements.

EDIT: While reading the aforementioned FAQ page, I notice that the possible Gil/Agatha family relationship has been disclaimed via Word of God. Too bad, that conversation was just getting good. :D

[Gez]

Back on topic. I can't agree that the appearance of Mama Gkika has "proven" that the other girls of the jagerbrothel are, in fact, human - as evidence, I'd like remind everyone that the jagergirls have pointy teeth and pointed ears. Now, the pointed teeth have occasionally shown up on humans when they are being particularly fierce, but the pointed ears (and we've seen no evidence that subtle prosthetics exist, as most of the sci-fi tech has been huge and cumbersome in classic steam punk fashion) are unique to jagers.

The lady in pink has pointed ears (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080423).

[Nikolai_II]

The lady in pink has pointed ears (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20080423).

That said, I'd more believe that she's had otoplastic surgery than her being a Jäger :smallcool:

[TeChameleon]

As a random aside concerning Klaus' construct-ness...

Anybody else notice that he's stronger than three Jagermonsters put together?

If you look here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030430), it took three Jagers to lift/aim a "Klenk Gon", and they couldn't handle the recoil.

If you look here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119), Klaus is weilding one (last panel- if you check the next page, it's pretty clearly the same sort of gun) with one hand.

[BRC]

True, but word on the street (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ) is that Klaus was constructed out of three individual Wulfenbach brothers, so he wasn't a construct by choice, per se.

As such, he might not want to recklessly engage in wholescale body modification, up to and including crafting a new (possibly failure-prone) body for his perfectly healthy half-Skifander son. After all, Klaus himself uses primarily clockwork soldiers despite his natural ability with biological sparkery.

But, if Gil is, in fact, in a Construct body, then the Klaus Barry Heterodyne = Klaus Wulfenbach time travel hypothesis becomes much less squicky, since Gil would not technically be Klaus's "natural son."

That last paragraph was awesome to write.
I think Klaus preffers to use war clanks instead of Constructs because he dosn't like using pieces of people to build soliders, I think all his construct soliders were likely inherited from somebody else.

[Tirian]

EDIT: While reading the aforementioned FAQ page, I notice that the possible Gil/Agatha family relationship has been disclaimed via Word of God. Too bad, that conversation was just getting good. :D

The ability to travel back in time makes too many things possible, especially when it is a mad scientist with the ability. It probably deserves to be emphasized that they were only looking back in time -- at best, they could pass information into history (which is significant enough) but we haven't seen any evidence of physical material going through the window.

And, oh my gosh, I just read the Secret Blueprints last night. Not quite spoilerific, but it definitely settles any number of lingering questions in my mind.

[John Campbell]

Gil did seem mildly concerned that Bang could shoot through the window.

[slayerx]

As a random aside concerning Klaus' construct-ness...

Anybody else notice that he's stronger than three Jagermonsters put together?

If you look here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030430), it took three Jagers to lift/aim a "Klenk Gon", and they couldn't handle the recoil.

If you look here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119), Klaus is weilding one (last panel- if you check the next page, it's pretty clearly the same sort of gun) with one hand.
I think that's actually a bit of inconsistency...
When you look at it the gun that Klaus is using is considerably smaller (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070122) than the one those jagers were using... though he does still a high level of strength with the way he tosses around othar (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040225)...

Grant it, the gun things is either an inconstancy, or their are two different sizes of the same clank gun... however, i don't recall seeing a clank large enough to use the gun the jagers were using... the ones we've seen had guns more the size of the one klaus was using... could be an early mistake on the foglios part in the early days of the comic, where they enlarged the size of the gun just for the sake of making the joke


I think Klaus preffers to use war clanks instead of Constructs because he dosn't like using pieces of people to build soliders, I think all his construct soliders were likely inherited from somebody else.
Actually, i think its simply that clanks are just easier to build in large numbers... you could build a factor that can keep making clanks, but you might need a doctor/scientist/spark to work on making a good construct; thus they are harder and take more time to create... hence why the constrcuts he uses are inherited, because someone else already took the time to make them, he just needs to maintain them...

Also, with clanks you know they will always follow orders no matter what; it's a sure thing... some constructs have some free will, and as such are not as reliable when it comes to following an order

[Gez]

I think that's actually a bit of inconsistency...

Not me. The smaller clank gun is simply the fix for the leedle recoil problem. Wulfenbach strongly believes in technological progress (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030113).

[slayerx]

Not me. The smaller clank gun is simply the fix for the leedle recoil problem. Wulfenbach strongly believes in technological progress (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030113).
That doesn't explain the clear difference in the actual size of the guns. The gun that those jagers are using is like 3 times the size of the gun that Klaus was using... and all the wulfenbach clanks we've seen from the beginning look like they are using guns similar to the size that klaus uses; none of them seem to use one as big as the one the jagers were using

[Gez]

Yes it does.

"Wulfenbach Armory Report #0001459:
The use in the field of Massively Oversized Clank Guns has proved these weapons are not suitable for infantry unit. Discontinue project and concentrate on the smaller Strongly Oversized Clank Guns."

[Thrawn183]

Ok, coming in a little late on the thread.

Can anybody give me an explanation for Tarvek? I've read the comic multiple times and that tangled web of betrayal, politics and intrigue still leaves me confused regarding him and in his intentions.

[Gez]

Tarvek's goal was to woo and bed Agatha. He was all about that old fairy tale prophecy about the marriage of the Storm King and the Heterodyne, remember?

But, there were Problems. Problem #1 was that Agatha was currently being possessed by the Other, and that Tarvek's castle was completely in the hand of the Other's forces; namely, Lady Vrin's Geisterdamen. Problem #2 was that Baron Wulfenbach, who had his reasons to oppose the fulfillment of Tarvek's dream, was really really much stronger than his forces were.

So, Tarvek walked a fine line, trying to collaborate with the Other until he could find a way out from them, freeing Agatha from her possession, proving himself a worthy heir of the Storm King by revealing his lineage and showing how he could repair and build new Van Rijn constructs, marrying Agatha to fulfill the prophecy and secure his legitimacy.

In the meantime, he was trying to get the Other and the Baron fight each others so they'd be too busy to deal with him while he was preparing his set up.

This was a complicated and difficult plan, one that was made probably a bit too hurried up to work, and it was foiled by several factors, resulting in a grievously wounded Gil being shot at point blank range with a stun bullet.

He can be presumed dead, but the laws of drama say he survived. He was resurrected by Lucreziagatha when she said, upon learning the Wulfenbach troops used nonlethal weapons, "Then Tarvek might...".

[stm177]

Re: Gil

I can see Klaus creating a serum that gives Gil regeneration and improved reflexes. Sort of a steampunk Captain America serum based on the Jagerkin serum. Jagerkin aren't constructs, at least in my opinion. They are more like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde monsters, than constructs like the Clays.

I'm wondering if sparky science can be divided up into three broad categories:

1) Mechanical: Clanks, fliers, guns, zeppelins,
2) Biologicals: Constructs, serums, slaver engines, Jagerkin
3) Exotic: death rays, invisibility devices, C-gas, D-gas,

Am I missing anything? Agatha is strong in category 1, while Klaus has a bit of all three. With the right materials, I imagine Agatha's clanks are better than those of Klaus. Lucrezia is extremely strong in biological sparkiness.

Re: Tarvek

I'm expecting Tarvek to show up in this volume, since the first pages of this volume had an info-dump about the Stormking.

[Dorizzit]

I had mostly put it into the first two categories, with the third primarily falling under one. All sparks would have some degree of skill in both, but many specialize (and one seems to be the more common one).

[Lord Iames Osari]

And, oh my gosh, I just read the Secret Blueprints last night. Not quite spoilerific, but it definitely settles any number of lingering questions in my mind.

Where did you find the Secret Blueprints?

[MeklorIlavator]

I think one limit on sparks is that the later two categories seem to require special equipment(if only to protect the practitioner), so only upper class sparks could afford some of that stuff.

[Tirian]

Where did you find the Secret Blueprints?

I found them here (http://web.archive.org/web/20060328092005/www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/secretblueprints/vol001/01.html). The few pictures that are linked will make you long for all the ones that aren't.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Tarvek is almost (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061113) certainly (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061124) alive, and probably escaped during the confusion (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070402). I, for one, am waiting for the epic Tarvek v. Gil duel for the mantle of the Storm King. It should be Epic.

Re: Mad Science
It's probably easiest to classify them under the normal scientific categories, since they all seem to be that way. Although "construct" is something you'd like to apply merely to Frankenstein's Monsters, it's hard not to call the Lakya (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031024) constructs as well, even though they are almost certainly human in origin.

And let's not forget the Wasp Weasels (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060317).

[BRC]

Tarvek is almost (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061113) certainly (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061124) alive, and probably escaped during the confusion (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070402). I, for one, am waiting for the epic Tarvek v. Gil duel for the mantle of the Storm King. It should be Epic.

Re: Mad Science
It's probably easiest to classify them under the normal scientific categories, since they all seem to be that way. Although "construct" is something you'd like to apply merely to Frankenstein's Monsters, it's hard not to call the Lakya (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031024) constructs as well, even though they are almost certainly human in origin.

And let's not forget the Wasp Weasels (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060317).

Actually, the Lakya are super-engineer sqvirrles or sumtink

[BRC]

I ran across this in the GG wiki, and it game me the theory that at least one of Wulfenbach's people is obviously a construct powered by theoretical atomic physics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson)

[stm177]

The Unstoppable Airman Higgs?

[Nerd-o-rama]

What do you think makes him so Unstoppable? He can jump through subspace.

Man, that was really obscure...

[FoE]

Gilgamesh almost looks bestial in the third-to-last panel ... I wonder if he'll calm down when he finds out he's only been unconscious for a few hours ...

[Tirian]

I don't think he's going to calm down until she rips his arm off, and then he'll pass out again.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Yeah, Gil is looking scary, and he's already into Phase 2 (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/The_madness_place).

But do we really know that he's only been out for a few hours?

[FoE]

It's an assumption based on how quickly he's healed, since Mama Gkika is obviously surprised.

[dogmac]

Bets on

"Hyu need sum cloves"?

[Tirian]

Yeah, Gil is looking scary, and he's already into Phase 2 (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/The_madness_place).

The last panel is making me think that he skipped over Phase 3 and went straight into "... and now whenever Gilgamesh Wulfenbach grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs."

[chionophile]

Hoo boy. Mamma Gkika may not make it through the weekend at this rate.

[BRC]

I have a feeling my "Gilgamesh is on Jaeger-Roids" Theory will soon see some evidence.

[Nikolai_II]

I'm pretty sure that frame one on the next page will have Mamma Gkika displaying a faceful of Jäger-mouth. And a considerably louder "Raagh" than the one Gil let out.

That should then pause him for long enough to be let go and talked to before he recovers and goes completely loco. I think. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: About differing sizes of Clank Gun - maybe same word for "rifle" as for "hand cannon". Gil held a rifle, or even a clank officers pistol, the jägers had liberated a heavy assault weapon?

And Lackya - the jägerkin guesses squirrel base.. my guess is snake base, given the long "sssssss", and the stiff attack pose when angry in the comic linked to. And hey, squirrel and snake both begin with an s. (And snakes are not lazy. Especially not gene-twinked ones)

[FoE]

Hoo boy. Mamma Gkika may not make it through the weekend at this rate.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about her. She's going to calm him down one way or another, either through her words or a beating.

Heh. The second-to-last panel confirms what I said before. Mama only has one slanted ear.

[Oracle_Hunter]

I'm betting on Gkika getting thumped by Gil in an attempt to escape before Gkika responds with a "Get A Hold of Yourself (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GetAHoldOfYourselfMan)" via head trauma.

...at which point more Jaegertech will be explained and more hints will be dropped about the suspicious interaction of experimental Wulfenbach Jaeger-boosts with Heterodyne-Class medtech.

No, Gil hasn't been out for days; after all the Jaegers went to Mama Gkika's to get him healed quickly (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20071219).

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Heh. The second-to-last panel confirms what I said before. Mama only has one slanted ear.

I actually remembered you mentioning that, and I look closely at it. I think that the fact her hair-do covers that half is important. Sure, the pointy bit should peek out if she had it, so I agree she is missing it, but I have a feeling that she's actually missing the whole ear (an overzealous "client", maybe?) and that she combs to hide the mess that is left.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

[FoE]

Could be right. But it's not unusual for Jagers to have incomplete sets of ... things. Oggie has only one horn, after all.

[North]

She could be half human :smallwink:

[Revlid]

Gil Smash!

[TeChameleon]

I'm pretty sure that frame one on the next page will have Mamma Gkika displaying a faceful of Jäger-mouth. And a considerably louder "Raagh" than the one Gil let out.

That should then pause him for long enough to be let go and talked to before he recovers and goes completely loco. I think. :smallbiggrin:

Edit: About differing sizes of Clank Gun - maybe same word for "rifle" as for "hand cannon". Gil held a rifle, or even a clank officers pistol, the jägers had liberated a heavy assault weapon?

And Lackya - the jägerkin guesses squirrel base.. my guess is snake base, given the long "sssssss", and the stiff attack pose when angry in the comic linked to. And hey, squirrel and snake both begin with an s. (And snakes are not lazy. Especially not gene-twinked ones)

Hrm... the different-sized-guns theory could work, except for a couple of things. First off, the guns in the comics I linked are identical down to the rivets- I don't think that's accidental.

Also, people tend to underestimate (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040906) just how big (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041213) Klaus really is (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061220). The Baron is huge! Easily topping eight feet, possibly more. Bear in mind that the clank carrying him in the first link is the one that normally uses those guns- we've never seen any hint that the generic Wulfenbach War Clanks come in more than one size.

Don't forget, too- Klaus has knocked out a Jager with one punch (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040730). The Foglios may not have played it up the way they have with the Jagers, but it sure looks like Klaus is very, very strong.

We've also seen hints that Gil is... more than he appears... as well, when he was going through his grieving process of trashing wasteland clanks during the period he thought Agatha was dead- and, given Mama Gkika's offhand comment, maybe the Baron has incorporated some Jagertraits... or even improved Jagertraits... into both himself and his son; after all, the Baron is supposed to be a generalist- taking the work of other Sparks and incorporating it together, refining and improving it.

It's going to be interesting to see what happens next- Zeetha could probably take Gil out (she was holding her own one-on-one with the Baron, after all), but whether or not she could restrain him without mauling him is open to question. Hmm. Then again, with both Mama and Zeetha there (and, I'd suspect, the boyz hanging about within shouting distance), I doubt Gil's gonna get too far, GIL SMASH! or no.

[Gez]

The Baron is huge (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040806)!

Fixed it for you. :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, I know it's allegorical.

[eMpTy Kay]

I always thought the Large Clank Gun came from Mr. Clock (The huge Clank that Beetle had built), and the Clank Gun the Baron was using was the standard Wulfenbach Clank Gun.

[Silver2195]

While we're on the subject, could Othar be part-construct? He claimed to be uncertain whether he was human, but as far as we know only humans can be Sparks. He looks human, but he has that weird visor and apparently very hard to kill.

[FoE]

While we're on the subject, could Othar be part-construct? He claimed to be uncertain whether he was human, but as far as we know only humans can be Sparks. He looks human, but he has that weird visor and apparently very hard to kill.

The visor is removable, as we saw in his encounter with the Weasel Queen.

I think his unwillingness to "just die already" is more of an in-joke than anything. You know, because he's a "hero," he can do impossible things. Plus, he's really annoying to the main characters, which pretty well ensures his durability. :smallwink:

[Lord Iames Osari]

While we're on the subject, could Othar be part-construct? He claimed to be uncertain whether he was human, but as far as we know only humans can be Sparks. He looks human, but he has that weird visor and apparently very hard to kill.
Actually, since the Baron is both a construct and a Spark, we know that human-based constructs, at least, can have the Spark.

Evidence (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061211) of (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070103) the (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070112) Baron's Sparkiness (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119).

[Oracle_Hunter]

The Baron is huge!

Nice links, but you missed this one (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061218) by one page. See how, even stretched out, Zeetha would probably only reach mid-chest for the Baron? Well, Zeetha is plenty tall herself (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061016)!

Of course, I think Klaus gains size when he is being awesome. Compare here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061127) and here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061208), for instance.

[FoE]

(Sniff sniff) Not feeling too good right now, but GG takes away some of the sting.

You know, all this talk of how tall Klaus is, and no one bothers to note this strip (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061208) right here. Agatha is standing up at this point.

EDIT: No, wait, Oracle Hunter did. Missed that.

[chionophile]

(Sniff sniff) Not feeling too good right now, but GG takes away some of the sting.

You know, all this talk of how tall Klaus is, and no one bothers to note this strip (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061208) right here. Agatha is standing up at this point.

EDIT: No, wait, Oracle Hunter did. Missed that.

I'd say that that particular strip actually makes it harder to judge his height. He's leaning over and forward as he begins his downswing. Agatha is most likely somewhere around 5'10"-6' and she is barely coming up to his chest in that picture. I'd say that there's at least another foot between the two of them, plus any that may be lost by his position. Comparing to other pictures of him, I'd say 7'6" to 8' is probably about right. That man is ridiculous.

Perspective in these comics is a bitch.

[FoE]

I don't think he's leaning over, chioniphile. I think he's risen to his feet and is at his full height. His arm is at that point where you've drawn your sword back and pause for a millisecond before bringing it down.

But yeah, I would put his height as somewhere as around seven to eight feet.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Actually, since the Baron is both a construct and a Spark, we know that human-based constructs, at least, can have the Spark.

Evidence (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20061211) of (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070103) the (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070112) Baron's Sparkiness (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070119).

Actually, the Baron sparkiness has never been in question - he is obviously an excellent spark, one whose plan to take over the world (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TakeOverTheWorld) has actually succeeded, but whose only pleasure (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040114) is his research.

What I find harder to believe is that he is a construct. As far as I can tell, all the evidence we have is his ample stitching - but we know that he has been very damaged in the past (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070706), so those stiching could be from putting him back together, and from having to mess around inside him to fix any organs that were ruptured, crushed, sliced, etc. in the festivities. I see him like a GG version of the Discworld Igors - very much into self improvement. That would also explain how he can tower over everyone else.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

[lord_khaine]

What I find harder to believe is that he is a construct. As far as I can tell, all the evidence we have is his ample stitching - but we know that he has been very damaged in the past, so those stiching could be from putting him back together, and from having to mess around inside him to fix any organs that were ruptured, crushed, sliced, etc. in the festivities. I see him like a GG version of the Discworld Igors - very much into self improvement. That would also explain how he can tower over everyone else.

Hope that helps,


but in the GG univers the igors would also have been considered constructs, if they have managet to improve enough on themself, since the term construct covers a lot of things, and people who startet out as humans can easely end up as constructs there.

try and read the secret blueprints, they explains a lot of things

[Gez]

I actually wouldn't say Klaus is a construct, more that he is a reconstruct. He wouldn't be a baron if he hadn't been born as a normal boy.

[lord_khaine]

I actually wouldn't say Klaus is a construct, more that he is a reconstruct. He wouldn't be a baron if he hadn't been born as a normal boy.

well the jaegers are constructs, but apperently they startet out as humans as well, before they drank some secret elixir.

and when you considder that Klaus more or less startet out with himself and a ruined castle, and endet up the supreme ruler of "europe", then im pretty sure he can call himself whatever he wants.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

but in the GG univers the igors would also have been considered constructs, if they have managet to improve enough on themself, since the term construct covers a lot of things, and people who startet out as humans can easely end up as constructs there.

try and read the secret blueprints, they explains a lot of things

I tried; the image wouldn't load. Besides, I'm fairly sure they're spoiler-full, and I'd rather stay away from spoilers as a general rule.

And I think we are working with two different definitions of construct here. I picture them as a frankenstein monster - made up of dead chunks of people, animated through spark science. You are defining it as some kind of fuzzy boundary of surgery: if someone gets slashed with a sword, and patched, you wouldn't consider them a construct, but at some point enough surgeries would make them a construct? Very fuzzy indeed.

Obviously, if you are sticking to that definition (no real reason not to, that I can think), then we *are* talking different concepts and by your definition the Baron is indeed a construct - and every Igor, and (in Discworld), everyone in Überwald that's needed help from an Igor for anything worse than a lost finger.

By my definition, it takes quite a bit more - I'm think frozen brain and amalgam of body parts. So the Baron may have been reduced to chunks at some point, but if they just stitched back his pieces together, I wouldn't consider it a construct. If, on the other hand, his brain was removed from his destroyed body, frozen (or stored in a time capssule or some other sparky gadget, of course), and a new body built for him from scratch, then yes, that would be a Baron construct. Which brings me back to my point about the lack of evidence: all we know is he has plenty of scars. I admit that his phenomenal Punch-like strength is a point towards it, but on the other hand, to my knowledge, he bleeds red (unlike Punch).

But as I say, it comes down to the definition of construct, a definition not stated anywhere in canon to my knowledge, so I supose, in this case, to each our own.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

[Lord Iames Osari]

But it is clearly not the case that all constructs are Frankensteinian monsters. Look at Krosp; he's a self-described construct (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040315), but he clearly doesn't fit your definition.

[Eco-Mono]

Is... is that...
O_O

[dogmac]

OK, I was wrong about "Hyu need cloves"

Very impressive healing stuff. One does have to wonder what other side effects it has.

[Prometheius]

try and read the secret blueprints, they explains a lot of things

Where are these secret blueprints? I'd like to read them.

[FoE]

Gkikamon used Calming Punch!
It was super effective! :smalltongue:

Did you see the size of her fist? Gil's lucky his head didn't pop off.


Very impressive healing stuff. One does have to wonder what other side effects it has.

A bad German accent and a thing for hats? :smalltongue:

[Porthos]

Quick comment about Klaus being a construct. The card game Girl Genius: The Works shows that Klaus is a construct. Now the game ain't exactly cannoical, but it's a good supporting piece.

It was also the first place, I believe, we saw the "Construct Scars" all across Klaus' body.

As for what type of construct he is, well, haven't you folks heard of self improvement? :smalltongue:

@ Grey Wolf: I don't feel like trawling through the mailing list right now, but at some point Kaja said just what was a construct and what was a clank. The mailing list actually had quite a few usefull nuggets in it when the Foglio's were still participating. For instance, the mailing list was the first place we heard about the "It's more like: 'Here, Drink this.'" as the origins of the jägers, as well as why there are so few female jägers.

For those curious, the Heterodynes wanted to be able to control who got jägerized and who didn't - and they were concerned that female jägers might lead to... well... the Heterodynes no longer being able to control the process. :smallwink: As for why there are any female jägers in the first place. Well Kaja put it this way: The Heterodynes usually gave the jägerbrew to their best soldiers. And it wasn't exactly unheard of for women to masquerade as men to serve as soldiers in wartime. In otherwords, accidents happen. :smallbiggrin:

[stm177]

Battledraught: Slightly better than death!

Nice slogan

[Gez]

Where are these secret blueprints? I'd like to read them.

They were online once upon a time, apparently; but that was long before the server change, so the link I found is dead.
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/secretblueprints.html

[Porthos]

They were online once upon a time, apparently; but that was long before the server change, so the link I found is dead.
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/secretblueprints.html

You can find most of the pages via the Wayback Machine (http://www.archive.org/), although I haven't found any of the images. It's a bit of a hunt-n-peck since the Wayback is ineaxact in the best of times. But with a bit of effort, you should be able to find them all. :smallsmile:

[Gez]

I will second or third the comments of really disliking how easily von pin dealt with Punch and Judy... Easily my least favorite strip of the entire series.


Von Pinn is an extremely well-made construct, much stronger and more difficult to damage than Adam or Lilith Clay.
There you have it.

[lord_khaine]

and should then also mention that adam and lilith was the first real constructs the heterodyne brothers made, they are student work.

[Porthos]

There you have it.

I see you found a decent link in the Wayback. :smallcool:

Well done and salutations in your directions, sir. :smallsmile:

Since we are waaaaaaaay past the time that anything in the Secret Blueprints would be considered a spoiler, everyone really should look through them. If only for the background material. :smallsmile:


and should then also mention that adam and lilith was the first real constructs the heterodyne brothers made, they are student work.

Like this piece of info, for example. :smallwink:

Also, there was rampant specualtion about Klaus and the fate of his missing kin. (http://web.archive.org/web/20051216123822/www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/secretblueprints/vol001/09.html) Whether it will ever be brought up in the main strip, or if that ship has long since sailed is anyones guess.

[Porthos]

BTW: Page 4 is missing in that Archive, so here is a link to it. Since it's about The Other, and the state of the world after "he"* left the scene, it's a tad important. :smallwink:

Secret Blueprint, Page 4 (http://web.archive.org/web/20030101-20050101re_/www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/secretblueprints/vol001/04.html)

And an important piece of the puzzle concerning, "if the world has so many Super Inventions that have come into existence, why is it still so backward in many respects" is on that page:


The Gifted have always preferred to keep their knowledge proprietary. Machines and creatures must be built (or at least finished) only by the Masters and information is too great a weapon to be casually shared. There is great disregard for the state of the common people, and thus most scientific breakthroughs of the last hundred years or so have resulted not in a higher standard of living for all, but in new and interesting ways to smash your neighbor’s castle. Most people outside of the main urban centers still live in a pre-industrial world made strange by the addition of cannibalized parts of discarded machines and the danger of real monsters lurking in the wilderness that surrounds traditional towns. Travel, although simple for those with airships or giant walking battle clanks, is a serious undertaking for the majority of ordinary people who must still use foot or animal transport on bad or nonexistent roads. One exception is the railway system of the Corbettite Monks, but this serves a limited area and has its own dangers. Even without the ravages of the Long War, life is uncertain.

This is the state of the World at the time of our story.

* NB: Remember when people don't know the idenity of someone, they tend to slap He/Him as a Universal Pronoun. This was, IMO, a rather nice piece of early misdirection (along with the Othar/Other thing) on the Foglio's part.

[Justyn]

Jägermonster Battledraught: Slightly better than death.

What a wonderful advertising campaign!

[Gez]

For ease of use, here they are all. Spoilered for length, not for content. In fact, except for the big, dramatic, and absolutely unpredictable that the heroine, Agatha Clay, is actually Agatha Heterodyne, heir to a prestigious house and fated to be a heroine, you can read this before even starting to read the comic and not be spoilered at all.

1: The Secret Blueprints
And there you have it. Now remember, This book is meant for all of the loyal fans who have been wondering about the mysterious “new project” that we have been dropping hints about for the last six years, and for everyone else out there with a great love of picky details. We don’t want you getting all nervous and thinking that if you don’t read this book you won’t know what is going on in the comic, and we promise that we won’t ever test you on it. Unless we think it would be funny.

2: Sparks & the Long War
As alchemy grew into science there developed a powerful enough body of knowledge that those with the Spark were able to seize power from older warlord lineages. This early technological elite became the basis for the later Great Houses, in which the Spark often ran (sometimes explosively) through family lines. It was a perfect combination of the old saws “might makes right” and “knowledge is power”.New empires coalesced around the Great Houses and lasted only as long as the power of the Spark in residence remained strong.

Unfortunately, those with the Spark usually get along like wet cats. With some notable exceptions, they tend to find each other interesting and hard to stay away from, but quickly begin to squabble. In these circles of mad geniuses, tempers can run high over even small matters of politics. The effect of such disagreements is negligible when the opponents are botanists who study genetic variation in pea plants, but can be devastating when one or both are botanists capable of growing armies of giant carnivorous pea plants with ambulatory stalks.

The Long War was inevitable. How it started is unknown. There were always conflicts between rival Houses, so keeping track of who was fighting or not fighting at any given time became confusing and ultimately pointless. Eventually everybody was simply fighting everybody else. This simplified things greatly.

At last, all of the Great Houses were involved. Monstrosities both mechanical and biological laid waste to town and country, altering the very landscape as a result of their conflicts. Major migrations took place as people caught between aggressors attempted to flee the zones of destruction, or as various Houses recruited workers for their factories and soldiers for their armies. The conflicts ranged across the globe and in some places continue to this day.

3: The Heterodynes
One Great House was that of the Heterodynes—a family in which the Spark ran true for generations. Evil despots to a man, the Heterodynes ravaged the countryside and destroyed their enemies with a more than usual ferocity. What is more, they very obviously took a great delight in their work. The Heterodynes were hated and feared, and the people unlucky enough to live in their shadow prayed for a vast supply of enemies to keep them busy at war... far away.
Then what seemed to be a miracle occurred. One of these vicious Heterodynes took to wife the daughter of a conquered house. Her good behavior was bought with the continued health of her family. She proved to be an extraordinary woman who, when her children were born, saw to their education with a strength of purpose that defied all of her husband’s efforts to pass on family tradition. Finally she found her chance and poisoned her husband, ridding her people of the ancient scourge and becoming a minor folk hero (and, unfortunately, martyr) into the bargain.

The Heterodyne Boys, as they came to be known, carried the Spark in spades. At a young age, they took their place among the most powerful of the Great Houses. And they used this power for Good. The Heterodyne Boys’ one mission was to stop the ravages of the Long War and clean up the damage left by the fighting. So extraordinary were their abilities that they were able to erase the evil history of their family in one generation. Now when people talk about the Heterodynes, it is as Heroes on the scale of King Arthur—Great Ones who will someday return to bring peace to the world.
For twenty-three years, the Heterodyne Boys travelled the globe negotiating peace, stopping monsters and shutting off doomsday devices. Along the way they collected an extraordinary group of like-minded companions, all of whom took their places in the growing body of folklore surrounding these remarkable people. It was a golden age of adventure.

4: The Other
Then came a sudden, dramatic shift in the pace of the Long War. A mysterious new player had entered the game. The “Other,” as he came to be known, seemed to have no interest in conquest, land, resources or subjects. His only goal appeared to be the total extermination of other Sparks. The Other followed none of the unwritten rules by which the other Houses fought. There was no negotiation, no exchange of hostile missives, indeed, no communication at all, just sudden and devastating attack. Dozens of the Great Houses fell in the space of a few months. The Other’s methods were direct and cataclysmic. Entire countries were laid waste. Mountains were destroyed. Thousands of people were enslaved or worse. These extreme measures brought results. The numbers of those with the Spark, never that high to begin with, were reduced drastically. Those not eliminated directly were often destroyed by their own people in an attempt to avoid the disastrous attention of the Other.

This raising of the stakes had the temporary effect of uniting the remaining Houses, and for a brief time the usual rivalries were put aside. The world looked to its favorite heroes for salvation, and after a brief period of research and preparation, the Heterodyne Boys set out to see what they could do about the Other. They were never heard from again. Roughly a year after their departure, The Other suddenly went quiet. There was no indication of cause. Stories and rumors ran wild. Many people were certain that the Heterodyne Boys had been successful in their quest, but others felt that whatever made the Heterodynes disappear must be terrible indeed, and was probably still out there.

The remaining Houses, mostly minor powers, resumed squabbling immediately, but a darker mood prevailed. Most of the Great Sparks were missing or dead. In many cases, their creations and machines remained to trouble a countryside already ravaged by the Other’s attacks. People feared and resented the Great Houses even more than usual. To this day it is not uncommon for children who begin to display the signs of the Spark, (or indeed any abnormal behavior) to be killed, sometimes even by their own families. The World, already in a state of turmoil, plunged ever deeper into a dark age with little communication between regions.

Into this scene stepped Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. No one knows his whereabouts for the duration of the Other’s attack, but his dramatic return is well documented. Exploding forth with a terrifying array of machines and creatures, he engineered a series of conquests that quickly absorbed most of what was Eastern Europe. Within the borders of his empire, Klaus has achieved an end to the Long War. The Great Houses that remain independent try to keep a low profile and dream of his downfall. Klaus is not loved, but he is respected and feared, and those who violate his peace are put down swiftly and permanently.

5: Agatha Clay/Agatha Heterodyne
Agatha has no memory of her parents or of how they died, only that she has always been told that they did die. Her earliest memories are of her Uncle Barry, with whom she travelled extensively in her early years. Uncle Barry was a tinker and machinist and, despite the fact that these were skills highly in demand, they moved about frequently. The only island of stability during this time was a married couple who had been family servants in better days—the Clays. Uncle Barry frequently left Agatha in their care while he vanished on mysterious errands. The year Agatha was seven, he left her with the Clays for what was to be a four month trip. He has yet to return.

Agatha was raised in Beetleburg, the town surrounding Transylvania Polygnostic University, and has attended classes there since she was fifteen. Her life at the University has been difficult and frustrating. She is very smart, but her mind has a strong tendency to wander. She also suffers severe headaches whenever she gets upset, something that happens all too frequently. She has persevered mainly due to an extreme stubborn streak and the encouragement of “The Tyrant”—Dr. Beetle. Beetle is the head of the University and absolute ruler of the small city state surrounding it. Dr. Beetle has always been interested in Agatha and has acted as her mentor and protector.

Because of the Tyrant’s patronage, Agatha’s presence at the University is tolerated. Most of the staff simply assumes that every mad scientist needs a weird assistant, and Beetle just got a prettier one than usual. This does not mean that she is liked. She is oblivious to the academic politics that swirl about any such institution and thus has few allies.
Agatha’s trilobite locket is a common design throughout the Known World. Originally it was worn by the Heterodyne Boys and their retainers, but it has come to be a badge of hope in
troubled times. Large deposits of these fossils are found near Castle Heterodyne and the brooches have become a sort of pilgrimage badge and souvenir of a visit to the birthplace of the popular heroes. Although many people wear the badge, Agatha’s is a real family heirloom.

6: Adam and Lilith Clay
The Spark follows certain patterns. One fairly predictable trait is the early urge to tamper with the stuff of life or to “build a man”. This can manifest in as many ways as there are mad scientists, but in the Heterodyne Boys it followed fairly traditional lines and the result was this pair of constructs. In early years, Adam and Lilith were well known as part of the Heterodyne team. Later they tired of the constant action and dropped out of sight. Since descriptions of them tend to exaggerate their monstrous qualities, they have little trouble leading a quiet life. Townsfolk may guess that one or both are constructs, but this is not unheard of in a town run by one of the Gifted. Few would connect the gentle town blacksmith and his wife with the larger-than-life heroes of twenty years ago. Adam and Lilith are obviously student work, and no one nowadays would believe the legendary Heterodynes capable of anything less than perfection.

The pair were not built to have children, and Agatha has been their closest concern since she was tiny. Charged with her protection, Adam and Lilith have stayed put as long as possible, passing Agatha off as their daughter and seeing to her education. They have mixed feelings concerning her. On one hand they love her and are happy to have had a child to raise, but on the other they are increasingly worried. Eleven years ago, Beetleburg was an independent city-state ruled by Dr. Beetle, an old friend and mentor of Barry’s. Beetle was the only other person who knew who Agatha was, and the only person in the Known World they could trust to handle the problems that would arise if her Spark became too powerful for the inhibiting device that she wore. Beetleburg has now become an island surrounded by Wulfenbach lands. Beetle is aware that his power is eroding and there is an air of desperation about him that makes Adam and Lilith uneasy.

Adam serves as a machinist and blacksmith to the townsfolk and the local farmers, and his machine shop is conveniently located near the city’s walls. Lilith keeps the books for the shop and gives piano lessons.

Both Adam and Lilith generally wear clothing that conceals their obvious stitch marks and skin tone variations. Lilith disguises her oversize left eye with special glasses.

7: Dr. Tarsus Beetle & Transylvania Polygnostic
A powerful Spark in his own right, Beetle has been instructor to many of the Gifted, including both the Heterodyne Boys, Klaus Wulfenbach and Agatha’s Mother. Beetle rules the city-state around Transylvania Polygnostic University. He was not with the Heterodynes on their last expedition, and still feels bad about this. He is one of the trusted few who knows that Barry Heterodyne returned from the trip alive, and that he did so with Agatha in tow.

When Barry left Agatha with the Clays, it was for a trip either so unimportant or so secret that he never bothered to tell anyone where he was going. Beetle is worried, but his first care is his University, which he will not leave vulnerable by his absence. He has not yet sent out a search party, since to do so would require him to betray his friend’s trust. Barry was very clear that no one should know that he was still alive, in fact took great pains to foster the rumor of his death. For many years, Beetle felt that he knew the Heterodynes well enough to trust that Barry could take care of himself, and that a long delay might not call for interference. Later he began to actively collect rumors and information about unusual activity in the outside world, hoping to get some kind of clue as to Barry’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, there have been no leads worth following.

Transylvania Polygnostic is one of the Grand Old European Schools, worthy of comparison to The Great Universities in Paris, Wittenburg and Oxford. The town and lands around the University make up the town of Beetleburg, which has been ruled by a continuing line of Tyrants since the founding of the College. Beetle’s students are terrified of him, a state that he encourages, but he is a brilliant administrator and is adored by town and University alike. He is the most beloved Tyrant in the history of the University despite (or possibly because of) his ruthlessness in putting down lawbreakers.

Although Baron Wulfenbach’s holdings have grown to surround Beetle’s territory, Klaus has so far left Beetleburg alone out of deference to his old teacher. In return, Beetle is expected to send full reports of any student that exhibits signs of the Spark. Such people are unusual, potentially dangerous and of acute interest to the Baron. Beetle is also required to immediately report and turn over any unusual machines or creatures that the University ground crews may discover. Artifacts from the Long War still litter the landscape, and some are still quite dangerous. Artifacts of the Other are of special danger and importance, and Klaus has left strict instructions as to the treatment of such items. At this time, Beetle is hiding several forbidden items in hopes that they might give him a weapon against Klaus in what he sees as an inevitable conflict.

8: Dr. Silas Merlot & Dr. Hugo Glassvitch
Dr. Silas Merlot is Beetle’s second-in-command. Short-tempered, efficient, with a mind for details, Merlot is disliked almost as much as Beetle is loved. More astute students have pointed out that the provision of a “Bad Guy” to carry out unpleasant tasks may be a trick of Beetle’s meant to maintain his own personal popularity. Merlot studied at the College of Alchemical Inquiry at Wittenburg before coming to work for Beetle, where he was the first in his class, outdoing even a few minor Sparks. (Being a genius does not always guarantee high marks.) He came to Transylvania Polygnostic in hopes of a position of power.

Merlot sees the power and prestige of those with the Spark and desperately wants this for himself. Sadly for him, he has yet to produce any work of great worth or creativity. He is a fine assistant, but is not the type to handle power well, so it is probably for the best that he has not Broken Through, and probably never will. Sparks of his personality type tend to be vindictive and cruel when they come to power.

Merlot hates Agatha, mostly because her clumsy unworkable devices remind him of his own failed attempts at greatness. Dr. Hugo Glassvitch studied in Paris, then came to Transylvania Polygnostic. He has worked with Beetle ever since. He is the Chief of Research for the University, a much more interesting and desirable job than that of Second-in-Command/Scapegoat. Merlot knows and resents this, but Glassvitch is his closest colleague and the nearest thing that he has to a friend, so he tries to be civil. For Merlot, this is a real effort.

Glassvitch is a brilliant scientist, although apparently without the Spark. He is perceptive enough to understand some of Merlot’s unhappiness and kind enough to tolerate the man, mostly out of pity. Merlot knows and resents this too, but not enough to relinquish the one friend that he has.

Glassvitch has a great heart and is kind to everyone around him, but he genuinely likes Agatha. She has been a student in some of his classes over the years and he can see that, for all her difficulties, she really does possess a deep love of Knowledge. He feels sorry for her constant frustration with her work, and tries to give encouragement whenever possible.


9: Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
Wulfenbach was originally a minor house in Eastern Europe. Klaus’ parents were both Gifted scientists who ran their small holdings well, used their talents for the good of their people and for the most part kept out of the politics so common amongst the Gifted. This couple is said to have had three sons, all Sparks of varying degrees who worked in the lab alongside their parents. Klaus is the only one that anyone has seen in years. Rumors abound as to the fate of the other two, but there is no one who knows for sure.

Klaus is one of the most powerful of the Gifted in known history. The Sparks tend to be specialists. They produce giant insects, or flying warships, or surgically enhanced super-soldiers. Klaus’ genius lies in his ability to absorb and integrate the work of others, and usually improve upon it. His primary interest, however, has always been the nature of the Spark itself.

Klaus spent much of his early adulthood adventuring with the Heterodyne Boys. He believed that their unique idealism could solve the problems that fueled the Long War. The friendship changed with the addition of Lucrezia Mongfish, the daughter of a truly evil mad scientist that the group went up against on several of their expeditions. Although she had initially been helping her father in his plans, Lucrezia was eventually convinced of the error of her ways and joined the group of heroes. A tense love triangle developed that ended with Lucrezia’s marriage to Bill Heterodyne and Klaus’ disappearance. It was generally assumed that he, as the defeated rival, withdrew for a time to forget the girl who rejected him.

Klaus was not heard from at all during the years when the Other was active. Many people whisper that Klaus himself was the Other and the devastating attacks were a hideous revenge directed at the Heterodynes. Klaus returned only after the Other’s attacks had ceased, and he returned in a very bad mood. His early idealism had vanished and his new strategy was simple. He drew a circle on the map and declared everything within it his territory. Every year the circle grew. Aside from a few basic rules, things were to stay the same. The ruling Sparks would stay in power, but no hostilities whatsoever were allowed. Any breach of this Peace was met with ruthless conquest and the swift removal of the aggressors. At first no one took this very seriously, and many of the Gifted rose to challenge Klaus. He wound up in control of much of Europe in just a few years.

Even though he stopped the fighting, Klaus is not popular. The surviving Great Houses want their power back, and the common people believe him to be responsible for the ruin of the Heterodynes. In stories, folksongs and plays, Klaus is usually portrayed as a traitor, always as a villain. Few people bother to point out that it speaks well for his rule that no retaliation is ever made for such amusements.

Even though they dislike and fear him, the people know that the Baron’s Peace will most likely only last as long as Klaus himself. On account of this, there are many wishes for his continued good health—at least until the Heterodynes return.

10: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
Gil is Baron Wulfenbach’s only son.

No-one knows who his mother was. The most prevalent rumors claim that he is the son of Klaus and Lucrezia Mongfish, or that he is a Gifted youth that Klaus has secretly adopted, or that he has no mother and Klaus, in need of an heir, simply built him in the laboratory.

What is known is that for the last several years Gil was living under an assumed name in Paris, where he was a student at the University. When his time at the University ended, he was brought back to Castle Wulfenbach openly as Klaus’ son and heir. This has caused a tremendous stir in the Known World, and great disappointment to those who had hoped for an eventual end to Baron Wulfenbach’s rule. More optimistic rivals point out that there are few who could hold Klaus’ empire, and there is no reason to believe that this new heir is one of those few.
For the last month Gil has been travelling with his father. Klaus seems to be taking pains to annoy his son and keep him off balance, setting up elaborate tests with seemingly pointless results. Most witnesses agree that the idea is to test the strength of Gil’s Spark, but some have suspicions that the Baron may have some other goal in mind. All the rumors currently circulating conclude with the opinion that if the Baron is not satisfied with the results, things will not go well for the young man.

Gil has heard these rumors.

He was happy as a student in Paris and is miserable now. He is beginning to feel like a piece of luggage dragged from place to place, he isn’t allowed to do anything but tag along with his father and watch, and he is getting very annoyed with the constant testing. He wants very much to please his father, but simply cannot figure out what Klaus is looking for. To make matters worse, Klaus is always right. Always. This quality never sits well with those with the Spark, and it is beginning to grate tremendously with Gil. In an effort to keep from going mad with boredom, Gil has begun making a game out of trying to catch his father in any kind of mistake at all. This has proven to be a bad idea, since he hasn’t managed it yet and the failure is only making him more irritable.

Gil sees little in his future besides a life trapped on the Castle (Wulfenbach’s giant airship) as the heir of a ruler who, in his opinion, is unlikely to ever allow himself to die. Recent experience suggests that Gil will not be allowed to take any serious risks or go anywhere unattended. He has a lab of his own on the Castle, but his father has kept him too busy with tests to do much in it as yet.

Gil is not a bad person by nature, but he is beginning to think that becoming one might prove extremely useful. Or at least provide a change.

11: Boris Vasily Konstantin Andrei Myshkin Dolokhov
Boris began life with two arms and an eidetic memory. He spent a happy youth as a student librarian in the palace library before he came to the attention of his Duke, an evil genius of the first water who forcibly modified Boris in an attempt at building the ultimate juggler. In addition to the extra arms, he was given enhanced speed, strength and balance. The experiment was a success, and Boris spent several miserable years as court jester before his master sent an army of giant land squid to attack a neighboring Principality. Klaus Wulfenbach, who had just begun to impose his Baron’s Peace upon that part of the World, took this as an official Breach of said Peace, and promptly absorbed both Duchy and Principality, ending hostilities immediately.

Klaus has a sharp eye for talent, and could tell that Boris’ strength did not lie in the field of entertainment. Boris became Klaus’ secretary, and soon rose to the level of second-in- command. He is a fine administrator and is
completely loyal to Klaus, whom he views as the man who saved him from a life of undignified slavery.

Boris has little imagination and practically no sense of humor. He is prissy and easily annoyed, and anything that is not orderly gets on his nerves. He hates the Jägermonsters for their noisy, chaotic nature and for what he claims to see as their extraordinary stupidity. The truth is that there is no one else quite like Boris. He has no family. The Jägermonsters’ camaraderie and gristly good humor inspire a deep envy in a man who feels very much alone. The Jägermonsters, in turn, pick on Boris at every opportunity. They find his preoccupation with his own personal dignity to be so easy a target that it would be positively wrong not to make a joke of it. This does not help the secretary’s mood toward them at all, and Boris’ obvious annoyance merely serves as encouragement.

Boris has worked with Klaus for many years now, and has been attacked by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know more times than he cares to remember (even though he actually can remember, and if you ask him, the number is 356. Unless you count the time Dr. Migstrom hit him with a radish pie, which he hardly thinks qualifies.) He still hasn’t got used to it, but it’s better than a stupid hat with bells on.

If you pour enough vodka into Boris, he will preform his special party trick—juggling the hors d’oeuvres while playing the balalaika. He does not like to go to parties, but he gets invited a lot.

12: The Jägermonsters
This band of manic construct soldiers was created by Agatha’s Ancestor—Warlord Vlad Heterodyne the Blasphemous—as his personal companions and guard. They look back on the days before the Heterodyne Boys as a Golden Age when they rode with their masters starting wars and terrorizing the populace. Life was exciting then, with fun (their kind) and action (carnage) every day. The Heterodyne Boys themselves were never completely comfortable with the Jägermonsters as retainers, but the concept of releasing them upon an innocent world was unacceptable. Thus they were used primarily for defense. Many of them learned to knit at this time. The Jägermonsters grumbled under Bill and Barry’s leadership, but when the Heterodyne Boys disappeared, they were at a true loss. Mechanicsburg, the seat of the Heterodynes, was all but destroyed by the Other. After a time of waiting for their masters to return, they hired out as mercenaries to Baron Wulfenbach.

Klaus uses the Monsters primarily for scare tactics, and they are still fairly bored, but at least they have a job and get to fight once in a while. The Jägermonsters are practically indestructible, and many of the original company are still around. They are used to relying on their Gifted master to patch damage and sew on new parts, but they will not let Klaus touch them. They view the details of their creation asproprietary information and would rather go without parts than let an outsider discover their secrets.

13: Clanks
The term “clank” is usually used to denote any self-propelled, semi-autonomous machine. They are not all based on the human form, but most scientists favor humanoid or animal shapes. The development of the perfect clank is an ongoing rivalry among the Gifted, and clanks are often used alongside foot soldiers in military endeavors.

The clanks built by Klaus Wulfenbach have so far proven superior to every other type currently being used, including those of his old instructor, Dr. Beetle, who has been a leader in this area for years.

14: The Castle Wulfenbach Airship
When Klaus returned from his long absence, he found his ancestral home in ruins.

Instead of rebuilding, he began work on a giant airship which was named in honor of the old castle. This is the administrative seat of Klaus’ empire, and it is the only capital city in the Known World with the unsettling habit of looming over the horizon in times of trouble.The Castle has a staff of hundreds of domestics, laboratory assistants and bureaucrats which is entirely separate from the large crew that actually runs the vessel.

The Castle itself is very slow, travelling continually from place to place in a stately tour of the Empire. When speed is needed, one of the smaller auxiliary airships is used. The Castle either catches up eventually or the smaller ship simply returns home when its business is completed. Each smaller airship has its own crew and its own captain, as does the main ship. The Castle’s Captain is the ultimate authority on board, excepting Klaus and Boris, who rarely interfere with the day-to-day running of the ship.

Although the Castle is huge, Klaus tries to keep all but the most essential laboratories and offices in various towns and Universities on the ground. His own labs and quarters are on board the Castle, as are the new quarters set up for the use of his son.

The Castle never lands, and many people on board haven’t set foot on the ground in years.

15: VonPinn
Von Pinn is a construct, but beyond this little is known about her past. She came to work for Klaus years ago, but her prickly nature has kept her from making any friends aboard the Castle. She seems to prefer this situation, and encourages rumors about her bad temper and viciousness. Actually, she doesn’t encourage them, per se, she simply is bad-tempered and vicious, and word gets around.

One of the more interesting groups on board the Castle is the collection of “Pupils” overseen by Von Pinn. Many parts of the Empire are still administered by their original rulers, who answer to Klaus in a relationship that is frankly feudal. Klaus has adopted the Roman Emperor’s custom of keeping the firstborn of each Great House in his power. The polite explanation is that they are being raised in an ideal situation to learn the craft of ruling, but everyone knows that they are also hostages kept to ensure the good behavior of Klaus’ vassals.

This group of children and young adults is a very important group of people, and Von Pinn’s job is to make sure that nothing happens to them. She takes her job very seriously and is fiercely protective of her charges. In her mind, everyone is a potential threat and is to be treated accordingly. People on board the Castle have learned to be very careful around any of the Pupils, to treat them kindly and with respect. Von Pinn doesn’t usually stop to ask questions when she is angry. She has even been known to snarl at Klaus on occasion, although her loyalty is unquestioned.

Von Pinn is an extremely well-made construct, much stronger and more difficult to damage than Adam or Lilith Clay. Although her existence is not generally known outside the Castle, on board the airship she is the most speculated-about person in the Known World. There are more rumors about her amongst the crew and domestic staff than about Klaus himself. It is said that she isn’t a construct at all, but actually a princess from a kingdom on the Moon (ridiculous), that she is the reanimation of a dead Lucrezia Mongfish (an interesting idea) or that she is a construct built by Klaus to replace his lost love (unlikely). The latest rumor to go around is that she is Gil’s mother, but others maintain that as an infant Gil was found in a giant speckled egg in an extinct volcano, so the jury is still out. Whatever her relationship to Gil, it is obvious that Von Pinn considers him her prize student and she is even more insanely protective of him than of her usual charges.

The Jägermonsters are all in love with Von Pinn. She has already put three of them in the hospital for getting too familiar. This of course only makes the rest of them worship her more and they follow her around trying to be impressive whenever she is unwise enough to come near their barracks. The Jägermonsters are very bored and Von Pinn gives them something to think about. She is beginning to think that she will have to kill one of them to get the message across, but worries that this will backfire and that she will then never get rid of them.

16: Ardsley Wooster
The effects of the Long War were dramatic. In many places, the very landscape was altered on a massive scale. Possibly the best-known example of this is the terrible tragedy of Britain, which is now several fathoms below the surface of the Atlantic. This was brought about in the last century by the rather poorly thought out plan of a would-be conqueror. Today post-submergent England is stronger than ever, and controls much of the ocean thanks to an extraordinarily resourceful Queen and an ever growing submarine fleet.

Wooster was raised in the Glass City section of London, and though only a few years older than Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, has traveled extensively. The Queen of England has decreed that all British children should visit the surface world, a policy which has resulted in a remarkably cosmopolitan populace.

Though Wooster does not have the Spark, he showed a remarkable aptitude for science along with diverse other useful traits, and has been schooled at the Oxford College of Non-Intuitive Mechanics as well as the Paris Institute of the Extraordinary. It was here that he met the incognito Gilgamesh, who quietly recommended him as a lab assistant aboard Castle Wulfenbach. He proved himself extremely capable in his first two years on the Castle, and was recently surprised and pleased to find himself assigned as First Assistant to the heretofore unknown Wulfenbach heir. Surprise turned to astonishment when said heir returned home and Wooster discovered that this mysterious person was in fact his old acquaintance from school.

The two young men have an easygoing, but still professional, relationship. Wooster performs his duties well, and Gil enjoys hearing about Wooster's travels. It is an arrangement that, for different reasons, both find quite satisfactory.

17: His Royal Highness Krosp I
To put it in the context of folklore, Krosp is the King of the Cats.

Krosp began life as an experiment aboard Castle Wulfenbach. His creator, a scientist with the Spark, had a muddled idea that it would be a good idea to create a leader that could command armies of animals. After all, there are cats everywhere, in practically every barn and alley. If only they would rise up and do his bidding!

Part of the brain of a great general was used in the construction, and the military genius of this man carried over to the subject, just as the creator hoped. Krosp does indeed have great leadership skills, a strong sense of logic and a brilliant mind. His knowledge of strategy and tactics has been perfected through two years of intense study. The problem was in the idea behind the experiment. Cats, and indeed some other animals, do recognize that this is a seriously major double-alpha cat, they just don’t care. Although Krosp possesses an extraordinary human intelligence, the intelligence of his “subjects” is, well, that of cats. They don’t understand complex commands. They don’t form armies. They don’t remember even simple instructions for long. What they do is sleep. The experiment was a failure, and Krosp was ordered destroyed.

Before this order could be carried out, Krosp escaped. The lab assistant responsible for his termination made no report of the mistake, and the experiment was duly logged and forgotten. Krosp was able to hide on board the Castle, but he couldn’t get off the giant airship. After months of frantic studying as he tried to figure out how to fly one of the smaller lifeboat airships, he finally came to the unhappy conclusion that although he now knew how to fly the craft, his stubby arms and feet wouldn’t reach the controls. Then he met Agatha.

His great loves are military history, strategy games and good food. He has human-style thumbs and is bipedal—walking on all fours hurts his back after a while—but he is in every other way still a cat. He considers Agatha to be both his friend and his Very First Real Subject (she is the first person who ever actually responded favorably to one of his requests) and is protective to a fault.

18: Othar Tryggvassen
Because of the danger and difficulty of travel, stories of the outside world generate serious interest in almost all towns and cities. Rumors about who is building what to send against whom achieve tremendous importance if you’re town happens to lie between the players in question, plus it is just downright entertaining. The suspicion accorded to travellers is usually softened by the locals’ interest in the news they carry. And the best place to hear these rumors is in the taverns and inns that those brave enough to travel (there are more of them than you might think) frequent.

Stories of Othar have been making the tavern rounds for the last few years. Not a lot is known about him, but rumor is rapidly assigning him a place in folklore as a young hero on the model of the Heterodyne Boys. Some even say that he is a lost Heterodyne heir. This idea is suspect even in villages where the wildest rumors circulate, since there have been many claimants to that title in the past, and so far all have proven false.

Nevertheless, Othar has a growing reputation as a Serious Good Guy, and the storytellers are delighted. Tales of Othar defeating monsters, rescuing whole towns and stopping the nefarious plans of any number of evil villains have become almost as popular as the old favorites about the Heterodyne Boys, and people who can tell them (and embellish them in interesting ways) are eating well in every town. People love their entertainment.

Othar attended school in the city of Oslo. It is also known that he spent some time in Paris, where he is believed to have been acquainted with Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. This is probably true—Othar is a brilliant scientist and a powerful Spark, and although he would have been a few years ahead of Gil, it is likely that the two students would have had much in common. Othar is also said to have actually been in Oslo when it was destroyed, which makes him one of the few survivors of the tragedy. The populace gets a lot of mileage out of this one, saying that it is this terrible experience that inspired him to become the hero that he is today. Since no one can agree what exactly this terrible experience was, the storytellers are free to make up whatever suits the story.

One of the strangest, most contradictory things about the Gifted is that although most people want to kill or control them (or, in the case of most sane people, get out of their way) there are always those who want to help them. The Spark almost inevitably attracts followers, assistants and lackeys and often inspires fanatical loyalty. Many think that this is some actually some mystical side effect of the Gift, but it is probably just human nature.

Othar has already attracted a small group of loyal companions who only help to reinforce comparisons to the vanished Heterodynes.

19: Bangladesh Dupree
Bang’s father was a ship captain whose vessel was captured by a band of pirates. The leader of the pirates was the exiled Queen of an island city, who found the young captain amusing and kept him as a member of her court.

After assuming power, Bangladesh led the pirates to gory plunder for two years, slowly building up power and resources. Her plan was to regain control of her mother’s lost city and take her rightful place as ruler. Her plans were carefully laid and the time was nearly right. She eagerly looked forward to the bloody reign of terror that would provide retribution for her people’s disloyalty.

Her plans collapsed when she returned from a solitary excursion to find her fortress a smoking ruin. Every last pirate was dead and the munitions and supplies that she had stockpiled in preparation for the attack were destroyed. There was no trace of the attacking army, and no hint of who was behind the destruction.

Left alone and with nothing but the clothes she wore and the supplies she carried, Bang made a solemn oath before her family’s very unpleasant God to find and destroy whomever was responsible for the ruin of her plans. Then to find their families. Then their friends. Then anyone else who might be handy. Then a few more random people just for fun. And THEN... (she can go on like this at length, but we’ll stop here.) Only then would she regain her city and make the inhabitants REALLY wish they had never been born.

But first, she needed a job.

Although Bangladesh has a talent for finding things and people, she has not yet managed to discover much about the attack on her fortress. She hired on as a secondary airship captain for Klaus Wulfenbach with the idea that news of such matters must eventually come to the ears of the largest Power on the continent. Klaus knows who she is and what she is looking for, and part of the price of her services is the promise of information should any come to light. Although he finds her distasteful, Klaus is a good judge of talent and finds it useful to employ a wide range of personality types. He knows how to use even the most alarming of his people to his best advantage.

Bang is very good at the things she does and she enjoys her work. Of course, if she ever does find her enemy and set out to take up her old pirating ways, she will have to be dealt with, but that is a problem for the future. For now she is useful, and that is all that matters.

20: Moloch & Omar von Zinzer
The Baron’s Peace has been in effect in some areas for years, and the area of influence grows year by year. There are always dissidents, especially among the newly absorbed areas along the borders of the Empire. Occasionally, even someone within a well-established area will get overconfident and attempt an attack on a rival or even a rebellion against Klaus. This doesn’t tend to last long.

Moloch and Omar von Zinzer are the last of a group of nine brothers who set out to seek their fortune as soldiers in the army of the Mad Duke d’Omas. This was, in hindsight, a terrible idea, but the uniforms were great and the pay was good. Many young men found themselves making the same decision in order to try to escape the chaos and lawlessness of the Outlands. The von Zinzer brothers single biggest mistake was in not fighting for the House of Wulfenbach.

When d’Omas went to war against Klaus, Moloch and his brothers were part of the crew of the walking gunboat Vienna. The gunboat was big, impressive, and like the rest of d’Omas’ fleet, didn’t stand a chance. The army was scattered and the brothers found themselves stranded deep within the wilds of Wulfenbach territory. Moloch and Omar are to their knowledge the only survivors.

Now that it is just the two of them, things are getting a little tense between the brothers. Used to being in the center of a large, loud family, they are unused to the concept of being alone with their thoughts. Add to this the fact that they are wandering in the lands of a frightening enemy, and you get very nervous people indeed. Omar is handling the situation marginally better than Moloch, as he is a born opportunist and enjoys the excitement. Moloch is wishing that he had never left home, and is discovering that his older brother is really kind of an awful person and that he actually doesn’t like him very much. He finds this depressing.

The pair is in the process of walking home, but aren’t really sure where home is.

21: The Hopefully Unnecessary Glossary
To Break Through—to reach the point where it is obvious from one’s work or behavior that one has the Spark. Some say that the Spark does not exist in potential, and that Breaking Through is that point atwhich the Spark develops. This is a dangerous time for one of the Gifted, when their existence is known but they may not yet have built up the power or ability to defend themselves.

Clanks—robots, autonomous mechanical devices, usually, but not necessarily, somewhat anthropoid.

Constructs—usually organic creations, Frankenstein-type monsters, etc.

The Gifted—another polite term for the Mad Scientists

Madboys/Madgirls—a not so polite term for the Gifted, used by the general public.

Mimmoths—tiny verminous mammoths. Originally somebody’s experiment, they escaped and quickly populated most of Europe. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live alongside them. They get into machinery and push things around with their tusks, wreaking havoc.

Mummers—also referred to as revenants. People and animals that the Other has taken over. They retain their own consciousness and are usually allowed to go about their daily business, but are under the complete control of the Other, should he choose to exercise it. Their life is in many ways a living hell, as they are always aware of a master force in their head. There is no known cure except death.

The Outlands—the wild areas outside of the main cities. Even though these areas might lie within someone’s domain as you see it on the map, they tend to be dangerous to traverse.

Slaver Wasps—the transport form for the controlling mechanics of the Other. Nasty things whose purpose is enslavement, but will kill if resisted. Extremely fast and dangerous, they usually appear in swarms. None have been seen for years.

The Spark—whatever it is that makes Mad Scientists what they are. A poorly understood concept that identifies and incorporates a batch of personality traits shared by those who have it. Also referred to as the Gift, the Touch, the Curse, the Madness, the Doom, &c. Also referred to as his or her Spark, in this case a personal quality. Also used as another term for a Mad Scientist—you would say that someone is a Spark if they have the Spark.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

But it is clearly not the case that all constructs are Frankensteinian monsters. Look at Krosp; he's a self-described construct (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040315), but he clearly doesn't fit your definition.

Actually, he fits my definition perfectly: "Part of the brain of a great general was used in the construction, and the military genius of this man carried over to the subject, just as the creator hoped.", from the secret blueprints page on Krosp. I am not talking about frankestein monsters from the movies, but the concept of "body on one side of the room, brain on the other, put together, apply liberal amounts of electricity". The whole "brain and body are not meant to go together, I feel, is the key.

That said, reading the page on the Baron on the blueprints, I can see that they are at least hinting he is a construct of the three Wulfenbach brothers, probably with sections of the brain of all three, which would explain Klaus lack of "theme" and his ability to adapt other spark's work. It also raises the creepy concept that when Klaus finds the bits of the brain that confer sparkiness, he adds those bits to himself.

I am still not particularly convinced that he is a construct (all that in the previous paragraph? castles in the sky), but now I see how he could be one, even under my definition.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

[Grey_Wolf_c]

For ease of use, here they are all. Spoilered for length, not for content. In fact, except for the big, dramatic, and absolutely unpredictable that the heroine, Agatha Clay, is actually Agatha Heterodyne, heir to a prestigious house and fated to be a heroine, you can read this before even starting to read the comic and not be spoilered at all.

1: The Secret Blueprints
And there you have it. Now remember, This book is meant for all of the loyal fans who have been wondering about the mysterious “new project” that we have been dropping hints about for the last six years, and for everyone else out there with a great love of picky details. We don’t want you getting all nervous and thinking that if you don’t read this book you won’t know what is going on in the comic, and we promise that we won’t ever test you on it. Unless we think it would be funny.

2: Sparks & the Long War
As alchemy grew into science there developed a powerful enough body of knowledge that those with the Spark were able to seize power from older warlord lineages. This early technological elite became the basis for the later Great Houses, in which the Spark often ran (sometimes explosively) through family lines. It was a perfect combination of the old saws “might makes right” and “knowledge is power”.New empires coalesced around the Great Houses and lasted only as long as the power of the Spark in residence remained strong.

Unfortunately, those with the Spark usually get along like wet cats. With some notable exceptions, they tend to find each other interesting and hard to stay away from, but quickly begin to squabble. In these circles of mad geniuses, tempers can run high over even small matters of politics. The effect of such disagreements is negligible when the opponents are botanists who study genetic variation in pea plants, but can be devastating when one or both are botanists capable of growing armies of giant carnivorous pea plants with ambulatory stalks.

The Long War was inevitable. How it started is unknown. There were always conflicts between rival Houses, so keeping track of who was fighting or not fighting at any given time became confusing and ultimately pointless. Eventually everybody was simply fighting everybody else. This simplified things greatly.

At last, all of the Great Houses were involved. Monstrosities both mechanical and biological laid waste to town and country, altering the very landscape as a result of their conflicts. Major migrations took place as people caught between aggressors attempted to flee the zones of destruction, or as various Houses recruited workers for their factories and soldiers for their armies. The conflicts ranged across the globe and in some places continue to this day.

3: The Heterodynes
One Great House was that of the Heterodynes—a family in which the Spark ran true for generations. Evil despots to a man, the Heterodynes ravaged the countryside and destroyed their enemies with a more than usual ferocity. What is more, they very obviously took a great delight in their work. The Heterodynes were hated and feared, and the people unlucky enough to live in their shadow prayed for a vast supply of enemies to keep them busy at war... far away.
Then what seemed to be a miracle occurred. One of these vicious Heterodynes took to wife the daughter of a conquered house. Her good behavior was bought with the continued health of her family. She proved to be an extraordinary woman who, when her children were born, saw to their education with a strength of purpose that defied all of her husband’s efforts to pass on family tradition. Finally she found her chance and poisoned her husband, ridding her people of the ancient scourge and becoming a minor folk hero (and, unfortunately, martyr) into the bargain.

The Heterodyne Boys, as they came to be known, carried the Spark in spades. At a young age, they took their place among the most powerful of the Great Houses. And they used this power for Good. The Heterodyne Boys’ one mission was to stop the ravages of the Long War and clean up the damage left by the fighting. So extraordinary were their abilities that they were able to erase the evil history of their family in one generation. Now when people talk about the Heterodynes, it is as Heroes on the scale of King Arthur—Great Ones who will someday return to bring peace to the world.
For twenty-three years, the Heterodyne Boys travelled the globe negotiating peace, stopping monsters and shutting off doomsday devices. Along the way they collected an extraordinary group of like-minded companions, all of whom took their places in the growing body of folklore surrounding these remarkable people. It was a golden age of adventure.

4: The Other
Then came a sudden, dramatic shift in the pace of the Long War. A mysterious new player had entered the game. The “Other,” as he came to be known, seemed to have no interest in conquest, land, resources or subjects. His only goal appeared to be the total extermination of other Sparks. The Other followed none of the unwritten rules by which the other Houses fought. There was no negotiation, no exchange of hostile missives, indeed, no communication at all, just sudden and devastating attack. Dozens of the Great Houses fell in the space of a few months. The Other’s methods were direct and cataclysmic. Entire countries were laid waste. Mountains were destroyed. Thousands of people were enslaved or worse. These extreme measures brought results. The numbers of those with the Spark, never that high to begin with, were reduced drastically. Those not eliminated directly were often destroyed by their own people in an attempt to avoid the disastrous attention of the Other.

This raising of the stakes had the temporary effect of uniting the remaining Houses, and for a brief time the usual rivalries were put aside. The world looked to its favorite heroes for salvation, and after a brief period of research and preparation, the Heterodyne Boys set out to see what they could do about the Other. They were never heard from again. Roughly a year after their departure, The Other suddenly went quiet. There was no indication of cause. Stories and rumors ran wild. Many people were certain that the Heterodyne Boys had been successful in their quest, but others felt that whatever made the Heterodynes disappear must be terrible indeed, and was probably still out there.

The remaining Houses, mostly minor powers, resumed squabbling immediately, but a darker mood prevailed. Most of the Great Sparks were missing or dead. In many cases, their creations and machines remained to trouble a countryside already ravaged by the Other’s attacks. People feared and resented the Great Houses even more than usual. To this day it is not uncommon for children who begin to display the signs of the Spark, (or indeed any abnormal behavior) to be killed, sometimes even by their own families. The World, already in a state of turmoil, plunged ever deeper into a dark age with little communication between regions.

Into this scene stepped Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. No one knows his whereabouts for the duration of the Other’s attack, but his dramatic return is well documented. Exploding forth with a terrifying array of machines and creatures, he engineered a series of conquests that quickly absorbed most of what was Eastern Europe. Within the borders of his empire, Klaus has achieved an end to the Long War. The Great Houses that remain independent try to keep a low profile and dream of his downfall. Klaus is not loved, but he is respected and feared, and those who violate his peace are put down swiftly and permanently.

5: Agatha Clay/Agatha Heterodyne
Agatha has no memory of her parents or of how they died, only that she has always been told that they did die. Her earliest memories are of her Uncle Barry, with whom she travelled extensively in her early years. Uncle Barry was a tinker and machinist and, despite the fact that these were skills highly in demand, they moved about frequently. The only island of stability during this time was a married couple who had been family servants in better days—the Clays. Uncle Barry frequently left Agatha in their care while he vanished on mysterious errands. The year Agatha was seven, he left her with the Clays for what was to be a four month trip. He has yet to return.

Agatha was raised in Beetleburg, the town surrounding Transylvania Polygnostic University, and has attended classes there since she was fifteen. Her life at the University has been difficult and frustrating. She is very smart, but her mind has a strong tendency to wander. She also suffers severe headaches whenever she gets upset, something that happens all too frequently. She has persevered mainly due to an extreme stubborn streak and the encouragement of “The Tyrant”—Dr. Beetle. Beetle is the head of the University and absolute ruler of the small city state surrounding it. Dr. Beetle has always been interested in Agatha and has acted as her mentor and protector.

Because of the Tyrant’s patronage, Agatha’s presence at the University is tolerated. Most of the staff simply assumes that every mad scientist needs a weird assistant, and Beetle just got a prettier one than usual. This does not mean that she is liked. She is oblivious to the academic politics that swirl about any such institution and thus has few allies.
Agatha’s trilobite locket is a common design throughout the Known World. Originally it was worn by the Heterodyne Boys and their retainers, but it has come to be a badge of hope in
troubled times. Large deposits of these fossils are found near Castle Heterodyne and the brooches have become a sort of pilgrimage badge and souvenir of a visit to the birthplace of the popular heroes. Although many people wear the badge, Agatha’s is a real family heirloom.

6: Adam and Lilith Clay
The Spark follows certain patterns. One fairly predictable trait is the early urge to tamper with the stuff of life or to “build a man”. This can manifest in as many ways as there are mad scientists, but in the Heterodyne Boys it followed fairly traditional lines and the result was this pair of constructs. In early years, Adam and Lilith were well known as part of the Heterodyne team. Later they tired of the constant action and dropped out of sight. Since descriptions of them tend to exaggerate their monstrous qualities, they have little trouble leading a quiet life. Townsfolk may guess that one or both are constructs, but this is not unheard of in a town run by one of the Gifted. Few would connect the gentle town blacksmith and his wife with the larger-than-life heroes of twenty years ago. Adam and Lilith are obviously student work, and no one nowadays would believe the legendary Heterodynes capable of anything less than perfection.

The pair were not built to have children, and Agatha has been their closest concern since she was tiny. Charged with her protection, Adam and Lilith have stayed put as long as possible, passing Agatha off as their daughter and seeing to her education. They have mixed feelings concerning her. On one hand they love her and are happy to have had a child to raise, but on the other they are increasingly worried. Eleven years ago, Beetleburg was an independent city-state ruled by Dr. Beetle, an old friend and mentor of Barry’s. Beetle was the only other person who knew who Agatha was, and the only person in the Known World they could trust to handle the problems that would arise if her Spark became too powerful for the inhibiting device that she wore. Beetleburg has now become an island surrounded by Wulfenbach lands. Beetle is aware that his power is eroding and there is an air of desperation about him that makes Adam and Lilith uneasy.

Adam serves as a machinist and blacksmith to the townsfolk and the local farmers, and his machine shop is conveniently located near the city’s walls. Lilith keeps the books for the shop and gives piano lessons.

Both Adam and Lilith generally wear clothing that conceals their obvious stitch marks and skin tone variations. Lilith disguises her oversize left eye with special glasses.

7: Dr. Tarsus Beetle & Transylvania Polygnostic
A powerful Spark in his own right, Beetle has been instructor to many of the Gifted, including both the Heterodyne Boys, Klaus Wulfenbach and Agatha’s Mother. Beetle rules the city-state around Transylvania Polygnostic University. He was not with the Heterodynes on their last expedition, and still feels bad about this. He is one of the trusted few who knows that Barry Heterodyne returned from the trip alive, and that he did so with Agatha in tow.

When Barry left Agatha with the Clays, it was for a trip either so unimportant or so secret that he never bothered to tell anyone where he was going. Beetle is worried, but his first care is his University, which he will not leave vulnerable by his absence. He has not yet sent out a search party, since to do so would require him to betray his friend’s trust. Barry was very clear that no one should know that he was still alive, in fact took great pains to foster the rumor of his death. For many years, Beetle felt that he knew the Heterodynes well enough to trust that Barry could take care of himself, and that a long delay might not call for interference. Later he began to actively collect rumors and information about unusual activity in the outside world, hoping to get some kind of clue as to Barry’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, there have been no leads worth following.

Transylvania Polygnostic is one of the Grand Old European Schools, worthy of comparison to The Great Universities in Paris, Wittenburg and Oxford. The town and lands around the University make up the town of Beetleburg, which has been ruled by a continuing line of Tyrants since the founding of the College. Beetle’s students are terrified of him, a state that he encourages, but he is a brilliant administrator and is adored by town and University alike. He is the most beloved Tyrant in the history of the University despite (or possibly because of) his ruthlessness in putting down lawbreakers.

Although Baron Wulfenbach’s holdings have grown to surround Beetle’s territory, Klaus has so far left Beetleburg alone out of deference to his old teacher. In return, Beetle is expected to send full reports of any student that exhibits signs of the Spark. Such people are unusual, potentially dangerous and of acute interest to the Baron. Beetle is also required to immediately report and turn over any unusual machines or creatures that the University ground crews may discover. Artifacts from the Long War still litter the landscape, and some are still quite dangerous. Artifacts of the Other are of special danger and importance, and Klaus has left strict instructions as to the treatment of such items. At this time, Beetle is hiding several forbidden items in hopes that they might give him a weapon against Klaus in what he sees as an inevitable conflict.

8: Dr. Silas Merlot & Dr. Hugo Glassvitch
Dr. Silas Merlot is Beetle’s second-in-command. Short-tempered, efficient, with a mind for details, Merlot is disliked almost as much as Beetle is loved. More astute students have pointed out that the provision of a “Bad Guy” to carry out unpleasant tasks may be a trick of Beetle’s meant to maintain his own personal popularity. Merlot studied at the College of Alchemical Inquiry at Wittenburg before coming to work for Beetle, where he was the first in his class, outdoing even a few minor Sparks. (Being a genius does not always guarantee high marks.) He came to Transylvania Polygnostic in hopes of a position of power.

Merlot sees the power and prestige of those with the Spark and desperately wants this for himself. Sadly for him, he has yet to produce any work of great worth or creativity. He is a fine assistant, but is not the type to handle power well, so it is probably for the best that he has not Broken Through, and probably never will. Sparks of his personality type tend to be vindictive and cruel when they come to power.

Merlot hates Agatha, mostly because her clumsy unworkable devices remind him of his own failed attempts at greatness. Dr. Hugo Glassvitch studied in Paris, then came to Transylvania Polygnostic. He has worked with Beetle ever since. He is the Chief of Research for the University, a much more interesting and desirable job than that of Second-in-Command/Scapegoat. Merlot knows and resents this, but Glassvitch is his closest colleague and the nearest thing that he has to a friend, so he tries to be civil. For Merlot, this is a real effort.

Glassvitch is a brilliant scientist, although apparently without the Spark. He is perceptive enough to understand some of Merlot’s unhappiness and kind enough to tolerate the man, mostly out of pity. Merlot knows and resents this too, but not enough to relinquish the one friend that he has.

Glassvitch has a great heart and is kind to everyone around him, but he genuinely likes Agatha. She has been a student in some of his classes over the years and he can see that, for all her difficulties, she really does possess a deep love of Knowledge. He feels sorry for her constant frustration with her work, and tries to give encouragement whenever possible.


9: Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
Wulfenbach was originally a minor house in Eastern Europe. Klaus’ parents were both Gifted scientists who ran their small holdings well, used their talents for the good of their people and for the most part kept out of the politics so common amongst the Gifted. This couple is said to have had three sons, all Sparks of varying degrees who worked in the lab alongside their parents. Klaus is the only one that anyone has seen in years. Rumors abound as to the fate of the other two, but there is no one who knows for sure.

Klaus is one of the most powerful of the Gifted in known history. The Sparks tend to be specialists. They produce giant insects, or flying warships, or surgically enhanced super-soldiers. Klaus’ genius lies in his ability to absorb and integrate the work of others, and usually improve upon it. His primary interest, however, has always been the nature of the Spark itself.

Klaus spent much of his early adulthood adventuring with the Heterodyne Boys. He believed that their unique idealism could solve the problems that fueled the Long War. The friendship changed with the addition of Lucrezia Mongfish, the daughter of a truly evil mad scientist that the group went up against on several of their expeditions. Although she had initially been helping her father in his plans, Lucrezia was eventually convinced of the error of her ways and joined the group of heroes. A tense love triangle developed that ended with Lucrezia’s marriage to Bill Heterodyne and Klaus’ disappearance. It was generally assumed that he, as the defeated rival, withdrew for a time to forget the girl who rejected him.

Klaus was not heard from at all during the years when the Other was active. Many people whisper that Klaus himself was the Other and the devastating attacks were a hideous revenge directed at the Heterodynes. Klaus returned only after the Other’s attacks had ceased, and he returned in a very bad mood. His early idealism had vanished and his new strategy was simple. He drew a circle on the map and declared everything within it his territory. Every year the circle grew. Aside from a few basic rules, things were to stay the same. The ruling Sparks would stay in power, but no hostilities whatsoever were allowed. Any breach of this Peace was met with ruthless conquest and the swift removal of the aggressors. At first no one took this very seriously, and many of the Gifted rose to challenge Klaus. He wound up in control of much of Europe in just a few years.

Even though he stopped the fighting, Klaus is not popular. The surviving Great Houses want their power back, and the common people believe him to be responsible for the ruin of the Heterodynes. In stories, folksongs and plays, Klaus is usually portrayed as a traitor, always as a villain. Few people bother to point out that it speaks well for his rule that no retaliation is ever made for such amusements.

Even though they dislike and fear him, the people know that the Baron’s Peace will most likely only last as long as Klaus himself. On account of this, there are many wishes for his continued good health—at least until the Heterodynes return.

10: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
Gil is Baron Wulfenbach’s only son.

No-one knows who his mother was. The most prevalent rumors claim that he is the son of Klaus and Lucrezia Mongfish, or that he is a Gifted youth that Klaus has secretly adopted, or that he has no mother and Klaus, in need of an heir, simply built him in the laboratory.

What is known is that for the last several years Gil was living under an assumed name in Paris, where he was a student at the University. When his time at the University ended, he was brought back to Castle Wulfenbach openly as Klaus’ son and heir. This has caused a tremendous stir in the Known World, and great disappointment to those who had hoped for an eventual end to Baron Wulfenbach’s rule. More optimistic rivals point out that there are few who could hold Klaus’ empire, and there is no reason to believe that this new heir is one of those few.
For the last month Gil has been travelling with his father. Klaus seems to be taking pains to annoy his son and keep him off balance, setting up elaborate tests with seemingly pointless results. Most witnesses agree that the idea is to test the strength of Gil’s Spark, but some have suspicions that the Baron may have some other goal in mind. All the rumors currently circulating conclude with the opinion that if the Baron is not satisfied with the results, things will not go well for the young man.

Gil has heard these rumors.

He was happy as a student in Paris and is miserable now. He is beginning to feel like a piece of luggage dragged from place to place, he isn’t allowed to do anything but tag along with his father and watch, and he is getting very annoyed with the constant testing. He wants very much to please his father, but simply cannot figure out what Klaus is looking for. To make matters worse, Klaus is always right. Always. This quality never sits well with those with the Spark, and it is beginning to grate tremendously with Gil. In an effort to keep from going mad with boredom, Gil has begun making a game out of trying to catch his father in any kind of mistake at all. This has proven to be a bad idea, since he hasn’t managed it yet and the failure is only making him more irritable.

Gil sees little in his future besides a life trapped on the Castle (Wulfenbach’s giant airship) as the heir of a ruler who, in his opinion, is unlikely to ever allow himself to die. Recent experience suggests that Gil will not be allowed to take any serious risks or go anywhere unattended. He has a lab of his own on the Castle, but his father has kept him too busy with tests to do much in it as yet.

Gil is not a bad person by nature, but he is beginning to think that becoming one might prove extremely useful. Or at least provide a change.

11: Boris Vasily Konstantin Andrei Myshkin Dolokhov
Boris began life with two arms and an eidetic memory. He spent a happy youth as a student librarian in the palace library before he came to the attention of his Duke, an evil genius of the first water who forcibly modified Boris in an attempt at building the ultimate juggler. In addition to the extra arms, he was given enhanced speed, strength and balance. The experiment was a success, and Boris spent several miserable years as court jester before his master sent an army of giant land squid to attack a neighboring Principality. Klaus Wulfenbach, who had just begun to impose his Baron’s Peace upon that part of the World, took this as an official Breach of said Peace, and promptly absorbed both Duchy and Principality, ending hostilities immediately.

Klaus has a sharp eye for talent, and could tell that Boris’ strength did not lie in the field of entertainment. Boris became Klaus’ secretary, and soon rose to the level of second-in- command. He is a fine administrator and is
completely loyal to Klaus, whom he views as the man who saved him from a life of undignified slavery.

Boris has little imagination and practically no sense of humor. He is prissy and easily annoyed, and anything that is not orderly gets on his nerves. He hates the Jägermonsters for their noisy, chaotic nature and for what he claims to see as their extraordinary stupidity. The truth is that there is no one else quite like Boris. He has no family. The Jägermonsters’ camaraderie and gristly good humor inspire a deep envy in a man who feels very much alone. The Jägermonsters, in turn, pick on Boris at every opportunity. They find his preoccupation with his own personal dignity to be so easy a target that it would be positively wrong not to make a joke of it. This does not help the secretary’s mood toward them at all, and Boris’ obvious annoyance merely serves as encouragement.

Boris has worked with Klaus for many years now, and has been attacked by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know more times than he cares to remember (even though he actually can remember, and if you ask him, the number is 356. Unless you count the time Dr. Migstrom hit him with a radish pie, which he hardly thinks qualifies.) He still hasn’t got used to it, but it’s better than a stupid hat with bells on.

If you pour enough vodka into Boris, he will preform his special party trick—juggling the hors d’oeuvres while playing the balalaika. He does not like to go to parties, but he gets invited a lot.

12: The Jägermonsters
This band of manic construct soldiers was created by Agatha’s Ancestor—Warlord Vlad Heterodyne the Blasphemous—as his personal companions and guard. They look back on the days before the Heterodyne Boys as a Golden Age when they rode with their masters starting wars and terrorizing the populace. Life was exciting then, with fun (their kind) and action (carnage) every day. The Heterodyne Boys themselves were never completely comfortable with the Jägermonsters as retainers, but the concept of releasing them upon an innocent world was unacceptable. Thus they were used primarily for defense. Many of them learned to knit at this time. The Jägermonsters grumbled under Bill and Barry’s leadership, but when the Heterodyne Boys disappeared, they were at a true loss. Mechanicsburg, the seat of the Heterodynes, was all but destroyed by the Other. After a time of waiting for their masters to return, they hired out as mercenaries to Baron Wulfenbach.

Klaus uses the Monsters primarily for scare tactics, and they are still fairly bored, but at least they have a job and get to fight once in a while. The Jägermonsters are practically indestructible, and many of the original company are still around. They are used to relying on their Gifted master to patch damage and sew on new parts, but they will not let Klaus touch them. They view the details of their creation asproprietary information and would rather go without parts than let an outsider discover their secrets.

13: Clanks
The term “clank” is usually used to denote any self-propelled, semi-autonomous machine. They are not all based on the human form, but most scientists favor humanoid or animal shapes. The development of the perfect clank is an ongoing rivalry among the Gifted, and clanks are often used alongside foot soldiers in military endeavors.

The clanks built by Klaus Wulfenbach have so far proven superior to every other type currently being used, including those of his old instructor, Dr. Beetle, who has been a leader in this area for years.

14: The Castle Wulfenbach Airship
When Klaus returned from his long absence, he found his ancestral home in ruins.

Instead of rebuilding, he began work on a giant airship which was named in honor of the old castle. This is the administrative seat of Klaus’ empire, and it is the only capital city in the Known World with the unsettling habit of looming over the horizon in times of trouble.The Castle has a staff of hundreds of domestics, laboratory assistants and bureaucrats which is entirely separate from the large crew that actually runs the vessel.

The Castle itself is very slow, travelling continually from place to place in a stately tour of the Empire. When speed is needed, one of the smaller auxiliary airships is used. The Castle either catches up eventually or the smaller ship simply returns home when its business is completed. Each smaller airship has its own crew and its own captain, as does the main ship. The Castle’s Captain is the ultimate authority on board, excepting Klaus and Boris, who rarely interfere with the day-to-day running of the ship.

Although the Castle is huge, Klaus tries to keep all but the most essential laboratories and offices in various towns and Universities on the ground. His own labs and quarters are on board the Castle, as are the new quarters set up for the use of his son.

The Castle never lands, and many people on board haven’t set foot on the ground in years.

15: VonPinn
Von Pinn is a construct, but beyond this little is known about her past. She came to work for Klaus years ago, but her prickly nature has kept her from making any friends aboard the Castle. She seems to prefer this situation, and encourages rumors about her bad temper and viciousness. Actually, she doesn’t encourage them, per se, she simply is bad-tempered and vicious, and word gets around.

One of the more interesting groups on board the Castle is the collection of “Pupils” overseen by Von Pinn. Many parts of the Empire are still administered by their original rulers, who answer to Klaus in a relationship that is frankly feudal. Klaus has adopted the Roman Emperor’s custom of keeping the firstborn of each Great House in his power. The polite explanation is that they are being raised in an ideal situation to learn the craft of ruling, but everyone knows that they are also hostages kept to ensure the good behavior of Klaus’ vassals.

This group of children and young adults is a very important group of people, and Von Pinn’s job is to make sure that nothing happens to them. She takes her job very seriously and is fiercely protective of her charges. In her mind, everyone is a potential threat and is to be treated accordingly. People on board the Castle have learned to be very careful around any of the Pupils, to treat them kindly and with respect. Von Pinn doesn’t usually stop to ask questions when she is angry. She has even been known to snarl at Klaus on occasion, although her loyalty is unquestioned.

Von Pinn is an extremely well-made construct, much stronger and more difficult to damage than Adam or Lilith Clay. Although her existence is not generally known outside the Castle, on board the airship she is the most speculated-about person in the Known World. There are more rumors about her amongst the crew and domestic staff than about Klaus himself. It is said that she isn’t a construct at all, but actually a princess from a kingdom on the Moon (ridiculous), that she is the reanimation of a dead Lucrezia Mongfish (an interesting idea) or that she is a construct built by Klaus to replace his lost love (unlikely). The latest rumor to go around is that she is Gil’s mother, but others maintain that as an infant Gil was found in a giant speckled egg in an extinct volcano, so the jury is still out. Whatever her relationship to Gil, it is obvious that Von Pinn considers him her prize student and she is even more insanely protective of him than of her usual charges.

The Jägermonsters are all in love with Von Pinn. She has already put three of them in the hospital for getting too familiar. This of course only makes the rest of them worship her more and they follow her around trying to be impressive whenever she is unwise enough to come near their barracks. The Jägermonsters are very bored and Von Pinn gives them something to think about. She is beginning to think that she will have to kill one of them to get the message across, but worries that this will backfire and that she will then never get rid of them.

16: Ardsley Wooster
The effects of the Long War were dramatic. In many places, the very landscape was altered on a massive scale. Possibly the best-known example of this is the terrible tragedy of Britain, which is now several fathoms below the surface of the Atlantic. This was brought about in the last century by the rather poorly thought out plan of a would-be conqueror. Today post-submergent England is stronger than ever, and controls much of the ocean thanks to an extraordinarily resourceful Queen and an ever growing submarine fleet.

Wooster was raised in the Glass City section of London, and though only a few years older than Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, has traveled extensively. The Queen of England has decreed that all British children should visit the surface world, a policy which has resulted in a remarkably cosmopolitan populace.

Though Wooster does not have the Spark, he showed a remarkable aptitude for science along with diverse other useful traits, and has been schooled at the Oxford College of Non-Intuitive Mechanics as well as the Paris Institute of the Extraordinary. It was here that he met the incognito Gilgamesh, who quietly recommended him as a lab assistant aboard Castle Wulfenbach. He proved himself extremely capable in his first two years on the Castle, and was recently surprised and pleased to find himself assigned as First Assistant to the heretofore unknown Wulfenbach heir. Surprise turned to astonishment when said heir returned home and Wooster discovered that this mysterious person was in fact his old acquaintance from school.

The two young men have an easygoing, but still professional, relationship. Wooster performs his duties well, and Gil enjoys hearing about Wooster's travels. It is an arrangement that, for different reasons, both find quite satisfactory.

17: His Royal Highness Krosp I
To put it in the context of folklore, Krosp is the King of the Cats.

Krosp began life as an experiment aboard Castle Wulfenbach. His creator, a scientist with the Spark, had a muddled idea that it would be a good idea to create a leader that could command armies of animals. After all, there are cats everywhere, in practically every barn and alley. If only they would rise up and do his bidding!

Part of the brain of a great general was used in the construction, and the military genius of this man carried over to the subject, just as the creator hoped. Krosp does indeed have great leadership skills, a strong sense of logic and a brilliant mind. His knowledge of strategy and tactics has been perfected through two years of intense study. The problem was in the idea behind the experiment. Cats, and indeed some other animals, do recognize that this is a seriously major double-alpha cat, they just don’t care. Although Krosp possesses an extraordinary human intelligence, the intelligence of his “subjects” is, well, that of cats. They don’t understand complex commands. They don’t form armies. They don’t remember even simple instructions for long. What they do is sleep. The experiment was a failure, and Krosp was ordered destroyed.

Before this order could be carried out, Krosp escaped. The lab assistant responsible for his termination made no report of the mistake, and the experiment was duly logged and forgotten. Krosp was able to hide on board the Castle, but he couldn’t get off the giant airship. After months of frantic studying as he tried to figure out how to fly one of the smaller lifeboat airships, he finally came to the unhappy conclusion that although he now knew how to fly the craft, his stubby arms and feet wouldn’t reach the controls. Then he met Agatha.

His great loves are military history, strategy games and good food. He has human-style thumbs and is bipedal—walking on all fours hurts his back after a while—but he is in every other way still a cat. He considers Agatha to be both his friend and his Very First Real Subject (she is the first person who ever actually responded favorably to one of his requests) and is protective to a fault.

18: Othar Tryggvassen
Because of the danger and difficulty of travel, stories of the outside world generate serious interest in almost all towns and cities. Rumors about who is building what to send against whom achieve tremendous importance if you’re town happens to lie between the players in question, plus it is just downright entertaining. The suspicion accorded to travellers is usually softened by the locals’ interest in the news they carry. And the best place to hear these rumors is in the taverns and inns that those brave enough to travel (there are more of them than you might think) frequent.

Stories of Othar have been making the tavern rounds for the last few years. Not a lot is known about him, but rumor is rapidly assigning him a place in folklore as a young hero on the model of the Heterodyne Boys. Some even say that he is a lost Heterodyne heir. This idea is suspect even in villages where the wildest rumors circulate, since there have been many claimants to that title in the past, and so far all have proven false.

Nevertheless, Othar has a growing reputation as a Serious Good Guy, and the storytellers are delighted. Tales of Othar defeating monsters, rescuing whole towns and stopping the nefarious plans of any number of evil villains have become almost as popular as the old favorites about the Heterodyne Boys, and people who can tell them (and embellish them in interesting ways) are eating well in every town. People love their entertainment.

Othar attended school in the city of Oslo. It is also known that he spent some time in Paris, where he is believed to have been acquainted with Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. This is probably true—Othar is a brilliant scientist and a powerful Spark, and although he would have been a few years ahead of Gil, it is likely that the two students would have had much in common. Othar is also said to have actually been in Oslo when it was destroyed, which makes him one of the few survivors of the tragedy. The populace gets a lot of mileage out of this one, saying that it is this terrible experience that inspired him to become the hero that he is today. Since no one can agree what exactly this terrible experience was, the storytellers are free to make up whatever suits the story.

One of the strangest, most contradictory things about the Gifted is that although most people want to kill or control them (or, in the case of most sane people, get out of their way) there are always those who want to help them. The Spark almost inevitably attracts followers, assistants and lackeys and often inspires fanatical loyalty. Many think that this is some actually some mystical side effect of the Gift, but it is probably just human nature.

Othar has already attracted a small group of loyal companions who only help to reinforce comparisons to the vanished Heterodynes.

19: Bangladesh Dupree
Bang’s father was a ship captain whose vessel was captured by a band of pirates. The leader of the pirates was the exiled Queen of an island city, who found the young captain amusing and kept him as a member of her court.

After assuming power, Bangladesh led the pirates to gory plunder for two years, slowly building up power and resources. Her plan was to regain control of her mother’s lost city and take her rightful place as ruler. Her plans were carefully laid and the time was nearly right. She eagerly looked forward to the bloody reign of terror that would provide retribution for her people’s disloyalty.

Her plans collapsed when she returned from a solitary excursion to find her fortress a smoking ruin. Every last pirate was dead and the munitions and supplies that she had stockpiled in preparation for the attack were destroyed. There was no trace of the attacking army, and no hint of who was behind the destruction.

Left alone and with nothing but the clothes she wore and the supplies she carried, Bang made a solemn oath before her family’s very unpleasant God to find and destroy whomever was responsible for the ruin of her plans. Then to find their families. Then their friends. Then anyone else who might be handy. Then a few more random people just for fun. And THEN... (she can go on like this at length, but we’ll stop here.) Only then would she regain her city and make the inhabitants REALLY wish they had never been born.

But first, she needed a job.

Although Bangladesh has a talent for finding things and people, she has not yet managed to discover much about the attack on her fortress. She hired on as a secondary airship captain for Klaus Wulfenbach with the idea that news of such matters must eventually come to the ears of the largest Power on the continent. Klaus knows who she is and what she is looking for, and part of the price of her services is the promise of information should any come to light. Although he finds her distasteful, Klaus is a good judge of talent and finds it useful to employ a wide range of personality types. He knows how to use even the most alarming of his people to his best advantage.

Bang is very good at the things she does and she enjoys her work. Of course, if she ever does find her enemy and set out to take up her old pirating ways, she will have to be dealt with, but that is a problem for the future. For now she is useful, and that is all that matters.

20: Moloch & Omar von Zinzer
The Baron’s Peace has been in effect in some areas for years, and the area of influence grows year by year. There are always dissidents, especially among the newly absorbed areas along the borders of the Empire. Occasionally, even someone within a well-established area will get overconfident and attempt an attack on a rival or even a rebellion against Klaus. This doesn’t tend to last long.

Moloch and Omar von Zinzer are the last of a group of nine brothers who set out to seek their fortune as soldiers in the army of the Mad Duke d’Omas. This was, in hindsight, a terrible idea, but the uniforms were great and the pay was good. Many young men found themselves making the same decision in order to try to escape the chaos and lawlessness of the Outlands. The von Zinzer brothers single biggest mistake was in not fighting for the House of Wulfenbach.

When d’Omas went to war against Klaus, Moloch and his brothers were part of the crew of the walking gunboat Vienna. The gunboat was big, impressive, and like the rest of d’Omas’ fleet, didn’t stand a chance. The army was scattered and the brothers found themselves stranded deep within the wilds of Wulfenbach territory. Moloch and Omar are to their knowledge the only survivors.

Now that it is just the two of them, things are getting a little tense between the brothers. Used to being in the center of a large, loud family, they are unused to the concept of being alone with their thoughts. Add to this the fact that they are wandering in the lands of a frightening enemy, and you get very nervous people indeed. Omar is handling the situation marginally better than Moloch, as he is a born opportunist and enjoys the excitement. Moloch is wishing that he had never left home, and is discovering that his older brother is really kind of an awful person and that he actually doesn’t like him very much. He finds this depressing.

The pair is in the process of walking home, but aren’t really sure where home is.

21: The Hopefully Unnecessary Glossary
To Break Through—to reach the point where it is obvious from one’s work or behavior that one has the Spark. Some say that the Spark does not exist in potential, and that Breaking Through is that point atwhich the Spark develops. This is a dangerous time for one of the Gifted, when their existence is known but they may not yet have built up the power or ability to defend themselves.

Clanks—robots, autonomous mechanical devices, usually, but not necessarily, somewhat anthropoid.

Constructs—usually organic creations, Frankenstein-type monsters, etc.

The Gifted—another polite term for the Mad Scientists

Madboys/Madgirls—a not so polite term for the Gifted, used by the general public.

Mimmoths—tiny verminous mammoths. Originally somebody’s experiment, they escaped and quickly populated most of Europe. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live alongside them. They get into machinery and push things around with their tusks, wreaking havoc.

Mummers—also referred to as revenants. People and animals that the Other has taken over. They retain their own consciousness and are usually allowed to go about their daily business, but are under the complete control of the Other, should he choose to exercise it. Their life is in many ways a living hell, as they are always aware of a master force in their head. There is no known cure except death.

The Outlands—the wild areas outside of the main cities. Even though these areas might lie within someone’s domain as you see it on the map, they tend to be dangerous to traverse.

Slaver Wasps—the transport form for the controlling mechanics of the Other. Nasty things whose purpose is enslavement, but will kill if resisted. Extremely fast and dangerous, they usually appear in swarms. None have been seen for years.

The Spark—whatever it is that makes Mad Scientists what they are. A poorly understood concept that identifies and incorporates a batch of personality traits shared by those who have it. Also referred to as the Gift, the Touch, the Curse, the Madness, the Doom, &c. Also referred to as his or her Spark, in this case a personal quality. Also used as another term for a Mad Scientist—you would say that someone is a Spark if they have the Spark.


There is a second spoiler, about the revenants, that is not put into the comic until here (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20060317), but yes, I agree that there is nothing earth-shaking that we don't already know from the comic. Very interesting background info, too. Thanks for posting it.

Grey Wolf

[Eco-Mono]

Huh. So Zeetha and Bang are fated nemesis to each other.

That's interesting.

[stm177]

Thanks for that Gez. I've wanted to see those for a while.

[slayerx]

For ease of use, here they are all. Spoilered for length, not for content. In fact, except for the big, dramatic, and absolutely unpredictable that the heroine, Agatha Clay, is actually Agatha Heterodyne, heir to a prestigious house and fated to be a heroine, you can read this before even starting to read the comic and not be spoilered at all.

1: The Secret Blueprints
And there you have it. Now remember, This book is meant for all of the loyal fans who have been wondering about the mysterious “new project” that we have been dropping hints about for the last six years, and for everyone else out there with a great love of picky details. We don’t want you getting all nervous and thinking that if you don’t read this book you won’t know what is going on in the comic, and we promise that we won’t ever test you on it. Unless we think it would be funny.

2: Sparks & the Long War
As alchemy grew into science there developed a powerful enough body of knowledge that those with the Spark were able to seize power from older warlord lineages. This early technological elite became the basis for the later Great Houses, in which the Spark often ran (sometimes explosively) through family lines. It was a perfect combination of the old saws “might makes right” and “knowledge is power”.New empires coalesced around the Great Houses and lasted only as long as the power of the Spark in residence remained strong.

Unfortunately, those with the Spark usually get along like wet cats. With some notable exceptions, they tend to find each other interesting and hard to stay away from, but quickly begin to squabble. In these circles of mad geniuses, tempers can run high over even small matters of politics. The effect of such disagreements is negligible when the opponents are botanists who study genetic variation in pea plants, but can be devastating when one or both are botanists capable of growing armies of giant carnivorous pea plants with ambulatory stalks.

The Long War was inevitable. How it started is unknown. There were always conflicts between rival Houses, so keeping track of who was fighting or not fighting at any given time became confusing and ultimately pointless. Eventually everybody was simply fighting everybody else. This simplified things greatly.

At last, all of the Great Houses were involved. Monstrosities both mechanical and biological laid waste to town and country, altering the very landscape as a result of their conflicts. Major migrations took place as people caught between aggressors attempted to flee the zones of destruction, or as various Houses recruited workers for their factories and soldiers for their armies. The conflicts ranged across the globe and in some places continue to this day.

3: The Heterodynes
One Great House was that of the Heterodynes—a family in which the Spark ran true for generations. Evil despots to a man, the Heterodynes ravaged the countryside and destroyed their enemies with a more than usual ferocity. What is more, they very obviously took a great delight in their work. The Heterodynes were hated and feared, and the people unlucky enough to live in their shadow prayed for a vast supply of enemies to keep them busy at war... far away.
Then what seemed to be a miracle occurred. One of these vicious Heterodynes took to wife the daughter of a conquered house. Her good behavior was bought with the continued health of her family. She proved to be an extraordinary woman who, when her children were born, saw to their education with a strength of purpose that defied all of her husband’s efforts to pass on family tradition. Finally she found her chance and poisoned her husband, ridding her people of the ancient scourge and becoming a minor folk hero (and, unfortunately, martyr) into the bargain.

The Heterodyne Boys, as they came to be known, carried the Spark in spades. At a young age, they took their place among the most powerful of the Great Houses. And they used this power for Good. The Heterodyne Boys’ one mission was to stop the ravages of the Long War and clean up the damage left by the fighting. So extraordinary were their abilities that they were able to erase the evil history of their family in one generation. Now when people talk about the Heterodynes, it is as Heroes on the scale of King Arthur—Great Ones who will someday return to bring peace to the world.
For twenty-three years, the Heterodyne Boys travelled the globe negotiating peace, stopping monsters and shutting off doomsday devices. Along the way they collected an extraordinary group of like-minded companions, all of whom took their places in the growing body of folklore surrounding these remarkable people. It was a golden age of adventure.

4: The Other
Then came a sudden, dramatic shift in the pace of the Long War. A mysterious new player had entered the game. The “Other,” as he came to be known, seemed to have no interest in conquest, land, resources or subjects. His only goal appeared to be the total extermination of other Sparks. The Other followed none of the unwritten rules by which the other Houses fought. There was no negotiation, no exchange of hostile missives, indeed, no communication at all, just sudden and devastating attack. Dozens of the Great Houses fell in the space of a few months. The Other’s methods were direct and cataclysmic. Entire countries were laid waste. Mountains were destroyed. Thousands of people were enslaved or worse. These extreme measures brought results. The numbers of those with the Spark, never that high to begin with, were reduced drastically. Those not eliminated directly were often destroyed by their own people in an attempt to avoid the disastrous attention of the Other.

This raising of the stakes had the temporary effect of uniting the remaining Houses, and for a brief time the usual rivalries were put aside. The world looked to its favorite heroes for salvation, and after a brief period of research and preparation, the Heterodyne Boys set out to see what they could do about the Other. They were never heard from again. Roughly a year after their departure, The Other suddenly went quiet. There was no indication of cause. Stories and rumors ran wild. Many people were certain that the Heterodyne Boys had been successful in their quest, but others felt that whatever made the Heterodynes disappear must be terrible indeed, and was probably still out there.

The remaining Houses, mostly minor powers, resumed squabbling immediately, but a darker mood prevailed. Most of the Great Sparks were missing or dead. In many cases, their creations and machines remained to trouble a countryside already ravaged by the Other’s attacks. People feared and resented the Great Houses even more than usual. To this day it is not uncommon for children who begin to display the signs of the Spark, (or indeed any abnormal behavior) to be killed, sometimes even by their own families. The World, already in a state of turmoil, plunged ever deeper into a dark age with little communication between regions.

Into this scene stepped Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. No one knows his whereabouts for the duration of the Other’s attack, but his dramatic return is well documented. Exploding forth with a terrifying array of machines and creatures, he engineered a series of conquests that quickly absorbed most of what was Eastern Europe. Within the borders of his empire, Klaus has achieved an end to the Long War. The Great Houses that remain independent try to keep a low profile and dream of his downfall. Klaus is not loved, but he is respected and feared, and those who violate his peace are put down swiftly and permanently.

5: Agatha Clay/Agatha Heterodyne
Agatha has no memory of her parents or of how they died, only that she has always been told that they did die. Her earliest memories are of her Uncle Barry, with whom she travelled extensively in her early years. Uncle Barry was a tinker and machinist and, despite the fact that these were skills highly in demand, they moved about frequently. The only island of stability during this time was a married couple who had been family servants in better days—the Clays. Uncle Barry frequently left Agatha in their care while he vanished on mysterious errands. The year Agatha was seven, he left her with the Clays for what was to be a four month trip. He has yet to return.

Agatha was raised in Beetleburg, the town surrounding Transylvania Polygnostic University, and has attended classes there since she was fifteen. Her life at the University has been difficult and frustrating. She is very smart, but her mind has a strong tendency to wander. She also suffers severe headaches whenever she gets upset, something that happens all too frequently. She has persevered mainly due to an extreme stubborn streak and the encouragement of “The Tyrant”—Dr. Beetle. Beetle is the head of the University and absolute ruler of the small city state surrounding it. Dr. Beetle has always been interested in Agatha and has acted as her mentor and protector.

Because of the Tyrant’s patronage, Agatha’s presence at the University is tolerated. Most of the staff simply assumes that every mad scientist needs a weird assistant, and Beetle just got a prettier one than usual. This does not mean that she is liked. She is oblivious to the academic politics that swirl about any such institution and thus has few allies.
Agatha’s trilobite locket is a common design throughout the Known World. Originally it was worn by the Heterodyne Boys and their retainers, but it has come to be a badge of hope in
troubled times. Large deposits of these fossils are found near Castle Heterodyne and the brooches have become a sort of pilgrimage badge and souvenir of a visit to the birthplace of the popular heroes. Although many people wear the badge, Agatha’s is a real family heirloom.

6: Adam and Lilith Clay
The Spark follows certain patterns. One fairly predictable trait is the early urge to tamper with the stuff of life or to “build a man”. This can manifest in as many ways as there are mad scientists, but in the Heterodyne Boys it followed fairly traditional lines and the result was this pair of constructs. In early years, Adam and Lilith were well known as part of the Heterodyne team. Later they tired of the constant action and dropped out of sight. Since descriptions of them tend to exaggerate their monstrous qualities, they have little trouble leading a quiet life. Townsfolk may guess that one or both are constructs, but this is not unheard of in a town run by one of the Gifted. Few would connect the gentle town blacksmith and his wife with the larger-than-life heroes of twenty years ago. Adam and Lilith are obviously student work, and no one nowadays would believe the legendary Heterodynes capable of anything less than perfection.

The pair were not built to have children, and Agatha has been their closest concern since she was tiny. Charged with her protection, Adam and Lilith have stayed put as long as possible, passing Agatha off as their daughter and seeing to her education. They have mixed feelings concerning her. On one hand they love her and are happy to have had a child to raise, but on the other they are increasingly worried. Eleven years ago, Beetleburg was an independent city-state ruled by Dr. Beetle, an old friend and mentor of Barry’s. Beetle was the only other person who knew who Agatha was, and the only person in the Known World they could trust to handle the problems that would arise if her Spark became too powerful for the inhibiting device that she wore. Beetleburg has now become an island surrounded by Wulfenbach lands. Beetle is aware that his power is eroding and there is an air of desperation about him that makes Adam and Lilith uneasy.

Adam serves as a machinist and blacksmith to the townsfolk and the local farmers, and his machine shop is conveniently located near the city’s walls. Lilith keeps the books for the shop and gives piano lessons.

Both Adam and Lilith generally wear clothing that conceals their obvious stitch marks and skin tone variations. Lilith disguises her oversize left eye with special glasses.

7: Dr. Tarsus Beetle & Transylvania Polygnostic
A powerful Spark in his own right, Beetle has been instructor to many of the Gifted, including both the Heterodyne Boys, Klaus Wulfenbach and Agatha’s Mother. Beetle rules the city-state around Transylvania Polygnostic University. He was not with the Heterodynes on their last expedition, and still feels bad about this. He is one of the trusted few who knows that Barry Heterodyne returned from the trip alive, and that he did so with Agatha in tow.

When Barry left Agatha with the Clays, it was for a trip either so unimportant or so secret that he never bothered to tell anyone where he was going. Beetle is worried, but his first care is his University, which he will not leave vulnerable by his absence. He has not yet sent out a search party, since to do so would require him to betray his friend’s trust. Barry was very clear that no one should know that he was still alive, in fact took great pains to foster the rumor of his death. For many years, Beetle felt that he knew the Heterodynes well enough to trust that Barry could take care of himself, and that a long delay might not call for interference. Later he began to actively collect rumors and information about unusual activity in the outside world, hoping to get some kind of clue as to Barry’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, there have been no leads worth following.

Transylvania Polygnostic is one of the Grand Old European Schools, worthy of comparison to The Great Universities in Paris, Wittenburg and Oxford. The town and lands around the University make up the town of Beetleburg, which has been ruled by a continuing line of Tyrants since the founding of the College. Beetle’s students are terrified of him, a state that he encourages, but he is a brilliant administrator and is adored by town and University alike. He is the most beloved Tyrant in the history of the University despite (or possibly because of) his ruthlessness in putting down lawbreakers.

Although Baron Wulfenbach’s holdings have grown to surround Beetle’s territory, Klaus has so far left Beetleburg alone out of deference to his old teacher. In return, Beetle is expected to send full reports of any student that exhibits signs of the Spark. Such people are unusual, potentially dangerous and of acute interest to the Baron. Beetle is also required to immediately report and turn over any unusual machines or creatures that the University ground crews may discover. Artifacts from the Long War still litter the landscape, and some are still quite dangerous. Artifacts of the Other are of special danger and importance, and Klaus has left strict instructions as to the treatment of such items. At this time, Beetle is hiding several forbidden items in hopes that they might give him a weapon against Klaus in what he sees as an inevitable conflict.

8: Dr. Silas Merlot & Dr. Hugo Glassvitch
Dr. Silas Merlot is Beetle’s second-in-command. Short-tempered, efficient, with a mind for details, Merlot is disliked almost as much as Beetle is loved. More astute students have pointed out that the provision of a “Bad Guy” to carry out unpleasant tasks may be a trick of Beetle’s meant to maintain his own personal popularity. Merlot studied at the College of Alchemical Inquiry at Wittenburg before coming to work for Beetle, where he was the first in his class, outdoing even a few minor Sparks. (Being a genius does not always guarantee high marks.) He came to Transylvania Polygnostic in hopes of a position of power.

Merlot sees the power and prestige of those with the Spark and desperately wants this for himself. Sadly for him, he has yet to produce any work of great worth or creativity. He is a fine assistant, but is not the type to handle power well, so it is probably for the best that he has not Broken Through, and probably never will. Sparks of his personality type tend to be vindictive and cruel when they come to power.

Merlot hates Agatha, mostly because her clumsy unworkable devices remind him of his own failed attempts at greatness. Dr. Hugo Glassvitch studied in Paris, then came to Transylvania Polygnostic. He has worked with Beetle ever since. He is the Chief of Research for the University, a much more interesting and desirable job than that of Second-in-Command/Scapegoat. Merlot knows and resents this, but Glassvitch is his closest colleague and the nearest thing that he has to a friend, so he tries to be civil. For Merlot, this is a real effort.

Glassvitch is a brilliant scientist, although apparently without the Spark. He is perceptive enough to understand some of Merlot’s unhappiness and kind enough to tolerate the man, mostly out of pity. Merlot knows and resents this too, but not enough to relinquish the one friend that he has.

Glassvitch has a great heart and is kind to everyone around him, but he genuinely likes Agatha. She has been a student in some of his classes over the years and he can see that, for all her difficulties, she really does possess a deep love of Knowledge. He feels sorry for her constant frustration with her work, and tries to give encouragement whenever possible.


9: Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
Wulfenbach was originally a minor house in Eastern Europe. Klaus’ parents were both Gifted scientists who ran their small holdings well, used their talents for the good of their people and for the most part kept out of the politics so common amongst the Gifted. This couple is said to have had three sons, all Sparks of varying degrees who worked in the lab alongside their parents. Klaus is the only one that anyone has seen in years. Rumors abound as to the fate of the other two, but there is no one who knows for sure.

Klaus is one of the most powerful of the Gifted in known history. The Sparks tend to be specialists. They produce giant insects, or flying warships, or surgically enhanced super-soldiers. Klaus’ genius lies in his ability to absorb and integrate the work of others, and usually improve upon it. His primary interest, however, has always been the nature of the Spark itself.

Klaus spent much of his early adulthood adventuring with the Heterodyne Boys. He believed that their unique idealism could solve the problems that fueled the Long War. The friendship changed with the addition of Lucrezia Mongfish, the daughter of a truly evil mad scientist that the group went up against on several of their expeditions. Although she had initially been helping her father in his plans, Lucrezia was eventually convinced of the error of her ways and joined the group of heroes. A tense love triangle developed that ended with Lucrezia’s marriage to Bill Heterodyne and Klaus’ disappearance. It was generally assumed that he, as the defeated rival, withdrew for a time to forget the girl who rejected him.

Klaus was not heard from at all during the years when the Other was active. Many people whisper that Klaus himself was the Other and the devastating attacks were a hideous revenge directed at the Heterodynes. Klaus returned only after the Other’s attacks had ceased, and he returned in a very bad mood. His early idealism had vanished and his new strategy was simple. He drew a circle on the map and declared everything within it his territory. Every year the circle grew. Aside from a few basic rules, things were to stay the same. The ruling Sparks would stay in power, but no hostilities whatsoever were allowed. Any breach of this Peace was met with ruthless conquest and the swift removal of the aggressors. At first no one took this very seriously, and many of the Gifted rose to challenge Klaus. He wound up in control of much of Europe in just a few years.

Even though he stopped the fighting, Klaus is not popular. The surviving Great Houses want their power back, and the common people believe him to be responsible for the ruin of the Heterodynes. In stories, folksongs and plays, Klaus is usually portrayed as a traitor, always as a villain. Few people bother to point out that it speaks well for his rule that no retaliation is ever made for such amusements.

Even though they dislike and fear him, the people know that the Baron’s Peace will most likely only last as long as Klaus himself. On account of this, there are many wishes for his continued good health—at least until the Heterodynes return.

10: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
Gil is Baron Wulfenbach’s only son.

No-one knows who his mother was. The most prevalent rumors claim that he is the son of Klaus and Lucrezia Mongfish, or that he is a Gifted youth that Klaus has secretly adopted, or that he has no mother and Klaus, in need of an heir, simply built him in the laboratory.

What is known is that for the last several years Gil was living under an assumed name in Paris, where he was a student at the University. When his time at the University ended, he was brought back to Castle Wulfenbach openly as Klaus’ son and heir. This has caused a tremendous stir in the Known World, and great disappointment to those who had hoped for an eventual end to Baron Wulfenbach’s rule. More optimistic rivals point out that there are few who could hold Klaus’ empire, and there is no reason to believe that this new heir is one of those few.
For the last month Gil has been travelling with his father. Klaus seems to be taking pains to annoy his son and keep him off balance, setting up elaborate tests with seemingly pointless results. Most witnesses agree that the idea is to test the strength of Gil’s Spark, but some have suspicions that the Baron may have some other goal in mind. All the rumors currently circulating conclude with the opinion that if the Baron is not satisfied with the results, things will not go well for the young man.

Gil has heard these rumors.

He was happy as a student in Paris and is miserable now. He is beginning to feel like a piece of luggage dragged from place to place, he isn’t allowed to do anything but tag along with his father and watch, and he is getting very annoyed with the constant testing. He wants very much to please his father, but simply cannot figure out what Klaus is looking for. To make matters worse, Klaus is always right. Always. This quality never sits well with those with the Spark, and it is beginning to grate tremendously with Gil. In an effort to keep from going mad with boredom, Gil has begun making a game out of trying to catch his father in any kind of mistake at all. This has proven to be a bad idea, since he hasn’t managed it yet and the failure is only making him more irritable.

Gil sees little in his future besides a life trapped on the Castle (Wulfenbach’s giant airship) as the heir of a ruler who, in his opinion, is unlikely to ever allow himself to die. Recent experience suggests that Gil will not be allowed to take any serious risks or go anywhere unattended. He has a lab of his own on the Castle, but his father has kept him too busy with tests to do much in it as yet.

Gil is not a bad person by nature, but he is beginning to think that becoming one might prove extremely useful. Or at least provide a change.

11: Boris Vasily Konstantin Andrei Myshkin Dolokhov
Boris began life with two arms and an eidetic memory. He spent a happy youth as a student librarian in the palace library before he came to the attention of his Duke, an evil genius of the first water who forcibly modified Boris in an attempt at building the ultimate juggler. In addition to the extra arms, he was given enhanced speed, strength and balance. The experiment was a success, and Boris spent several miserable years as court jester before his master sent an army of giant land squid to attack a neighboring Principality. Klaus Wulfenbach, who had just begun to impose his Baron’s Peace upon that part of the World, took this as an official Breach of said Peace, and promptly absorbed both Duchy and Principality, ending hostilities immediately.

Klaus has a sharp eye for talent, and could tell that Boris’ strength did not lie in the field of entertainment. Boris became Klaus’ secretary, and soon rose to the level of second-in- command. He is a fine administrator and is
completely loyal to Klaus, whom he views as the man who saved him from a life of undignified slavery.

Boris has little imagination and practically no sense of humor. He is prissy and easily annoyed, and anything that is not orderly gets on his nerves. He hates the Jägermonsters for their noisy, chaotic nature and for what he claims to see as their extraordinary stupidity. The truth is that there is no one else quite like Boris. He has no family. The Jägermonsters’ camaraderie and gristly good humor inspire a deep envy in a man who feels very much alone. The Jägermonsters, in turn, pick on Boris at every opportunity. They find his preoccupation with his own personal dignity to be so easy a target that it would be positively wrong not to make a joke of it. This does not help the secretary’s mood toward them at all, and Boris’ obvious annoyance merely serves as encouragement.

Boris has worked with Klaus for many years now, and has been attacked by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know more times than he cares to remember (even though he actually can remember, and if you ask him, the number is 356. Unless you count the time Dr. Migstrom hit him with a radish pie, which he hardly thinks qualifies.) He still hasn’t got used to it, but it’s better than a stupid hat with bells on.

If you pour enough vodka into Boris, he will preform his special party trick—juggling the hors d’oeuvres while playing the balalaika. He does not like to go to parties, but he gets invited a lot.

12: The Jägermonsters
This band of manic construct soldiers was created by Agatha’s Ancestor—Warlord Vlad Heterodyne the Blasphemous—as his personal companions and guard. They look back on the days before the Heterodyne Boys as a Golden Age when they rode with their masters starting wars and terrorizing the populace. Life was exciting then, with fun (their kind) and action (carnage) every day. The Heterodyne Boys themselves were never completely comfortable with the Jägermonsters as retainers, but the concept of releasing them upon an innocent world was unacceptable. Thus they were used primarily for defense. Many of them learned to knit at this time. The Jägermonsters grumbled under Bill and Barry’s leadership, but when the Heterodyne Boys disappeared, they were at a true loss. Mechanicsburg, the seat of the Heterodynes, was all but destroyed by the Other. After a time of waiting for their masters to return, they hired out as mercenaries to Baron Wulfenbach.

Klaus uses the Monsters primarily for scare tactics, and they are still fairly bored, but at least they have a job and get to fight once in a while. The Jägermonsters are practically indestructible, and many of the original company are still around. They are used to relying on their Gifted master to patch damage and sew on new parts, but they will not let Klaus touch them. They view the details of their creation asproprietary information and would rather go without parts than let an outsider discover their secrets.

13: Clanks
The term “clank” is usually used to denote any self-propelled, semi-autonomous machine. They are not all based on the human form, but most scientists favor humanoid or animal shapes. The development of the perfect clank is an ongoing rivalry among the Gifted, and clanks are often used alongside foot soldiers in military endeavors.

The clanks built by Klaus Wulfenbach have so far proven superior to every other type currently being used, including those of his old instructor, Dr. Beetle, who has been a leader in this area for years.

14: The Castle Wulfenbach Airship
When Klaus returned from his long absence, he found his ancestral home in ruins.

Instead of rebuilding, he began work on a giant airship which was named in honor of the old castle. This is the administrative seat of Klaus’ empire, and it is the only capital city in the Known World with the unsettling habit of looming over the horizon in times of trouble.The Castle has a staff of hundreds of domestics, laboratory assistants and bureaucrats which is entirely separate from the large crew that actually runs the vessel.

The Castle itself is very slow, travelling continually from place to place in a stately tour of the Empire. When speed is needed, one of the smaller auxiliary airships is used. The Castle either catches up eventually or the smaller ship simply returns home when its business is completed. Each smaller airship has its own crew and its own captain, as does the main ship. The Castle’s Captain is the ultimate authority on board, excepting Klaus and Boris, who rarely interfere with the day-to-day running of the ship.

Although the Castle is huge, Klaus tries to keep all but the most essential laboratories and offices in various towns and Universities on the ground. His own labs and quarters are on board the Castle, as are the new quarters set up for the use of his son.

The Castle never lands, and many people on board haven’t set foot on the ground in years.

15: VonPinn
Von Pinn is a construct, but beyond this little is known about her past. She came to work for Klaus years ago, but her prickly nature has kept her from making any friends aboard the Castle. She seems to prefer this situation, and encourages rumors about her bad temper and viciousness. Actually, she doesn’t encourage them, per se, she simply is bad-tempered and vicious, and word gets around.

One of the more interesting groups on board the Castle is the collection of “Pupils” overseen by Von Pinn. Many parts of the Empire are still administered by their original rulers, who answer to Klaus in a relationship that is frankly feudal. Klaus has adopted the Roman Emperor’s custom of keeping the firstborn of each Great House in his power. The polite explanation is that they are being raised in an ideal situation to learn the craft of ruling, but everyone knows that they are also hostages kept to ensure the good behavior of Klaus’ vassals.

This group of children and young adults is a very important group of people, and Von Pinn’s job is to make sure that nothing happens to them. She takes her job very seriously and is fiercely protective of her charges. In her mind, everyone is a potential threat and is to be treated accordingly. People on board the Castle have learned to be very careful around any of the Pupils, to treat them kindly and with respect. Von Pinn doesn’t usually stop to ask questions when she is angry. She has even been known to snarl at Klaus on occasion, although her loyalty is unquestioned.

Von Pinn is an extremely well-made construct, much stronger and more difficult to damage than Adam or Lilith Clay. Although her existence is not generally known outside the Castle, on board the airship she is the most speculated-about person in the Known World. There are more rumors about her amongst the crew and domestic staff than about Klaus himself. It is said that she isn’t a construct at all, but actually a princess from a kingdom on the Moon (ridiculous), that she is the reanimation of a dead Lucrezia Mongfish (an interesting idea) or that she is a construct built by Klaus to replace his lost love (unlikely). The latest rumor to go around is that she is Gil’s mother, but others maintain that as an infant Gil was found in a giant speckled egg in an extinct volcano, so the jury is still out. Whatever her relationship to Gil, it is obvious that Von Pinn considers him her prize student and she is even more insanely protective of him than of her usual charges.

The Jägermonsters are all in love with Von Pinn. She has already put three of them in the hospital for getting too familiar. This of course only makes the rest of them worship her more and they follow her around trying to be impressive whenever she is unwise enough to come near their barracks. The Jägermonsters are very bored and Von Pinn gives them something to think about. She is beginning to think that she will have to kill one of them to get the message across, but worries that this will backfire and that she will then never get rid of them.

16: Ardsley Wooster
The effects of the Long War were dramatic. In many places, the very landscape was altered on a massive scale. Possibly the best-known example of this is the terrible tragedy of Britain, which is now several fathoms below the surface of the Atlantic. This was brought about in the last century by the rather poorly thought out plan of a would-be conqueror. Today post-submergent England is stronger than ever, and controls much of the ocean thanks to an extraordinarily resourceful Queen and an ever growing submarine fleet.

Wooster was raised in the Glass City section of London, and though only a few years older than Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, has traveled extensively. The Queen of England has decreed that all British children should visit the surface world, a policy which has resulted in a remarkably cosmopolitan populace.

Though Wooster does not have the Spark, he showed a remarkable aptitude for science along with diverse other useful traits, and has been schooled at the Oxford College of Non-Intuitive Mechanics as well as the Paris Institute of the Extraordinary. It was here that he met the incognito Gilgamesh, who quietly recommended him as a lab assistant aboard Castle Wulfenbach. He proved himself extremely capable in his first two years on the Castle, and was recently surprised and pleased to find himself assigned as First Assistant to the heretofore unknown Wulfenbach heir. Surprise turned to astonishment when said heir returned home and Wooster discovered that this mysterious person was in fact his old acquaintance from school.

The two young men have an easygoing, but still professional, relationship. Wooster performs his duties well, and Gil enjoys hearing about Wooster's travels. It is an arrangement that, for different reasons, both find quite satisfactory.

17: His Royal Highness Krosp I
To put it in the context of folklore, Krosp is the King of the Cats.

Krosp began life as an experiment aboard Castle Wulfenbach. His creator, a scientist with the Spark, had a muddled idea that it would be a good idea to create a leader that could command armies of animals. After all, there are cats everywhere, in practically every barn and alley. If only they would rise up and do his bidding!

Part of the brain of a great general was used in the construction, and the military genius of this man carried over to the subject, just as the creator hoped. Krosp does indeed have great leadership skills, a strong sense of logic and a brilliant mind. His knowledge of strategy and tactics has been perfected through two years of intense study. The problem was in the idea behind the experiment. Cats, and indeed some other animals, do recognize that this is a seriously major double-alpha cat, they just don’t care. Although Krosp possesses an extraordinary human intelligence, the intelligence of his “subjects” is, well, that of cats. They don’t understand complex commands. They don’t form armies. They don’t remember even simple instructions for long. What they do is sleep. The experiment was a failure, and Krosp was ordered destroyed.

Before this order could be carried out, Krosp escaped. The lab assistant responsible for his termination made no report of the mistake, and the experiment was duly logged and forgotten. Krosp was able to hide on board the Castle, but he couldn’t get off the giant airship. After months of frantic studying as he tried to figure out how to fly one of the smaller lifeboat airships, he finally came to the unhappy conclusion that although he now knew how to fly the craft, his stubby arms and feet wouldn’t reach the controls. Then he met Agatha.

His great loves are military history, strategy games and good food. He has human-style thumbs and is bipedal—walking on all fours hurts his back after a while—but he is in every other way still a cat. He considers Agatha to be both his friend and his Very First Real Subject (she is the first person who ever actually responded favorably to one of his requests) and is protective to a fault.

18: Othar Tryggvassen
Because of the danger and difficulty of travel, stories of the outside world generate serious interest in almost all towns and cities. Rumors about who is building what to send against whom achieve tremendous importance if you’re town happens to lie between the players in question, plus it is just downright entertaining. The suspicion accorded to travellers is usually softened by the locals’ interest in the news they carry. And the best place to hear these rumors is in the taverns and inns that those brave enough to travel (there are more of them than you might think) frequent.

Stories of Othar have been making the tavern rounds for the last few years. Not a lot is known about him, but rumor is rapidly assigning him a place in folklore as a young hero on the model of the Heterodyne Boys. Some even say that he is a lost Heterodyne heir. This idea is suspect even in villages where the wildest rumors circulate, since there have been many claimants to that title in the past, and so far all have proven false.

Nevertheless, Othar has a growing reputation as a Serious Good Guy, and the storytellers are delighted. Tales of Othar defeating monsters, rescuing whole towns and stopping the nefarious plans of any number of evil villains have become almost as popular as the old favorites about the Heterodyne Boys, and people who can tell them (and embellish them in interesting ways) are eating well in every town. People love their entertainment.

Othar attended school in the city of Oslo. It is also known that he spent some time in Paris, where he is believed to have been acquainted with Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. This is probably true—Othar is a brilliant scientist and a powerful Spark, and although he would have been a few years ahead of Gil, it is likely that the two students would have had much in common. Othar is also said to have actually been in Oslo when it was destroyed, which makes him one of the few survivors of the tragedy. The populace gets a lot of mileage out of this one, saying that it is this terrible experience that inspired him to become the hero that he is today. Since no one can agree what exactly this terrible experience was, the storytellers are free to make up whatever suits the story.

One of the strangest, most contradictory things about the Gifted is that although most people want to kill or control them (or, in the case of most sane people, get out of their way) there are always those who want to help them. The Spark almost inevitably attracts followers, assistants and lackeys and often inspires fanatical loyalty. Many think that this is some actually some mystical side effect of the Gift, but it is probably just human nature.

Othar has already attracted a small group of loyal companions who only help to reinforce comparisons to the vanished Heterodynes.

19: Bangladesh Dupree
Bang’s father was a ship captain whose vessel was captured by a band of pirates. The leader of the pirates was the exiled Queen of an island city, who found the young captain amusing and kept him as a member of her court.

After assuming power, Bangladesh led the pirates to gory plunder for two years, slowly building up power and resources. Her plan was to regain control of her mother’s lost city and take her rightful place as ruler. Her plans were carefully laid and the time was nearly right. She eagerly looked forward to the bloody reign of terror that would provide retribution for her people’s disloyalty.

Her plans collapsed when she returned from a solitary excursion to find her fortress a smoking ruin. Every last pirate was dead and the munitions and supplies that she had stockpiled in preparation for the attack were destroyed. There was no trace of the attacking army, and no hint of who was behind the destruction.

Left alone and with nothing but the clothes she wore and the supplies she carried, Bang made a solemn oath before her family’s very unpleasant God to find and destroy whomever was responsible for the ruin of her plans. Then to find their families. Then their friends. Then anyone else who might be handy. Then a few more random people just for fun. And THEN... (she can go on like this at length, but we’ll stop here.) Only then would she regain her city and make the inhabitants REALLY wish they had never been born.

But first, she needed a job.

Although Bangladesh has a talent for finding things and people, she has not yet managed to discover much about the attack on her fortress. She hired on as a secondary airship captain for Klaus Wulfenbach with the idea that news of such matters must eventually come to the ears of the largest Power on the continent. Klaus knows who she is and what she is looking for, and part of the price of her services is the promise of information should any come to light. Although he finds her distasteful, Klaus is a good judge of talent and finds it useful to employ a wide range of personality types. He knows how to use even the most alarming of his people to his best advantage.

Bang is very good at the things she does and she enjoys her work. Of course, if she ever does find her enemy and set out to take up her old pirating ways, she will have to be dealt with, but that is a problem for the future. For now she is useful, and that is all that matters.

20: Moloch & Omar von Zinzer
The Baron’s Peace has been in effect in some areas for years, and the area of influence grows year by year. There are always dissidents, especially among the newly absorbed areas along the borders of the Empire. Occasionally, even someone within a well-established area will get overconfident and attempt an attack on a rival or even a rebellion against Klaus. This doesn’t tend to last long.

Moloch and Omar von Zinzer are the last of a group of nine brothers who set out to seek their fortune as soldiers in the army of the Mad Duke d’Omas. This was, in hindsight, a terrible idea, but the uniforms were great and the pay was good. Many young men found themselves making the same decision in order to try to escape the chaos and lawlessness of the Outlands. The von Zinzer brothers single biggest mistake was in not fighting for the House of Wulfenbach.

When d’Omas went to war against Klaus, Moloch and his brothers were part of the crew of the walking gunboat Vienna. The gunboat was big, impressive, and like the rest of d’Omas’ fleet, didn’t stand a chance. The army was scattered and the brothers found themselves stranded deep within the wilds of Wulfenbach territory. Moloch and Omar are to their knowledge the only survivors.

Now that it is just the two of them, things are getting a little tense between the brothers. Used to being in the center of a large, loud family, they are unused to the concept of being alone with their thoughts. Add to this the fact that they are wandering in the lands of a frightening enemy, and you get very nervous people indeed. Omar is handling the situation marginally better than Moloch, as he is a born opportunist and enjoys the excitement. Moloch is wishing that he had never left home, and is discovering that his older brother is really kind of an awful person and that he actually doesn’t like him very much. He finds this depressing.

The pair is in the process of walking home, but aren’t really sure where home is.

21: The Hopefully Unnecessary Glossary
To Break Through—to reach the point where it is obvious from one’s work or behavior that one has the Spark. Some say that the Spark does not exist in potential, and that Breaking Through is that point atwhich the Spark develops. This is a dangerous time for one of the Gifted, when their existence is known but they may not yet have built up the power or ability to defend themselves.

Clanks—robots, autonomous mechanical devices, usually, but not necessarily, somewhat anthropoid.

Constructs—usually organic creations, Frankenstein-type monsters, etc.

The Gifted—another polite term for the Mad Scientists

Madboys/Madgirls—a not so polite term for the Gifted, used by the general public.

Mimmoths—tiny verminous mammoths. Originally somebody’s experiment, they escaped and quickly populated most of Europe. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live alongside them. They get into machinery and push things around with their tusks, wreaking havoc.

Mummers—also referred to as revenants. People and animals that the Other has taken over. They retain their own consciousness and are usually allowed to go about their daily business, but are under the complete control of the Other, should he choose to exercise it. Their life is in many ways a living hell, as they are always aware of a master force in their head. There is no known cure except death.

The Outlands—the wild areas outside of the main cities. Even though these areas might lie within someone’s domain as you see it on the map, they tend to be dangerous to traverse.

Slaver Wasps—the transport form for the controlling mechanics of the Other. Nasty things whose purpose is enslavement, but will kill if resisted. Extremely fast and dangerous, they usually appear in swarms. None have been seen for years.

The Spark—whatever it is that makes Mad Scientists what they are. A poorly understood concept that identifies and incorporates a batch of personality traits shared by those who have it. Also referred to as the Gift, the Touch, the Curse, the Madness, the Doom, &c. Also referred to as his or her Spark, in this case a personal quality. Also used as another term for a Mad Scientist—you would say that someone is a Spark if they have the Spark.


I take some particular interest for Bang since their is some more info in there than what's in the wikia... made me think of something of how things are gonna go down; which i'm sure some others already thought of

Zeetha will follow Gil back to the Baron so that she can learn what he knows about Skifandir. After sometime, Zeetha will tell Klaus and gil her story of the real reason why she is there; how she got lost and can't find her way back; this includes the destruction of entire pirate fortress. Bang will here this break the wiring that keeps her mouth shut and then Zeetha vs Bang!

man i can just imagine the shocked look on Gil's/Klaus' faces when they think "wait... did you just say... you destroyed a pirate fortress?"... and that's when they look over to Bang.


The wiki includes Bang loosing her fleet and speculating that Zeetha was involved, but it did not mention the details... like that the fleet was stationed in a huge fortress and that it was wiped out without any sign of any attacking army. No tot mention Bang's promise to hunt down the ones responsible and to kill them and all they know and love.

[Robg54]

I wonder if this is the infamous Jager Draught that Agatha Made the Baron Drink (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20070228) and which conseqquenty resulted in a trip to the hospital.

I will deffinately read the blueprints thing when I don't have finals coming up. I guess that means next friday...

[Grey_Wolf_c]

The wiki includes Bang loosing her fleet and speculating that Zeetha was involved, but it did not mention the details... like that the fleet was stationed in a huge fortress and that it was wiped out without any sign of any attacking army. No tot mention Bang's promise to hunt down the ones responsible and to kill them and all they know and love.

Huh, really? I always thought the connection was obvious: we know that it was DuPree's ships (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041101)* that captured her, so it is logical that they took her DuPree's castle. I admit I had not made the connection between the incidence and DuPree having to work for the Baron, but that is a very minor detail.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

*Note: I admit that there isn't a spelled-out connection, but seriously, look at the ridiculous preponderance of skulls everywhere (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041103). The ones in the uniforms, particularly.

[Oracle_Hunter]

Did you know, that as of next Wednesday, Gil will have been absolutely naked for an entire month?

The More You Know! (tm)

[slayerx]

Huh, really? I always thought the connection was obvious: we know that it was DuPree's ships (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041101)* that captured her, so it is logical that they took her DuPree's castle. I admit I had not made the connection between the incidence and DuPree having to work for the Baron, but that is a very minor detail.

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

*Note: I admit that there isn't a spelled-out connection, but seriously, look at the ridiculous preponderance of skulls everywhere (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041103). The ones in the uniforms, particularly.

Well, no i never caught that...
Probably because a skull is the most common symbol for a pirate in ANY story... Bang herself only wears a small one on her forehead, which isn't very eyecatching; very easy to overlook... frankly, since there isn't anything very unique about the skull i just read it off as being "pirates just like skulls"... Dupree's emblem does not identify nearly as well as the emblems of wulfenbach, heterodyne, or any of the other great houses; all of which are very unique.

Also, in the comic (not the wiki), i never was explained how Bang came to wulfenbach's service... before the wiki, i was kinda thinking that Klaus beat her down, but instead killing her decided to make use of her

[Talyn]

For ease of use, here they are all. Spoilered for length, not for content. In fact, except for the big, dramatic, and absolutely unpredictable that the heroine, Agatha Clay, is actually Agatha Heterodyne, heir to a prestigious house and fated to be a heroine, you can read this before even starting to read the comic and not be spoilered at all.

1: The Secret Blueprints
And there you have it. Now remember, This book is meant for all of the loyal fans who have been wondering about the mysterious “new project” that we have been dropping hints about for the last six years, and for everyone else out there with a great love of picky details. We don’t want you getting all nervous and thinking that if you don’t read this book you won’t know what is going on in the comic, and we promise that we won’t ever test you on it. Unless we think it would be funny.

2: Sparks & the Long War
As alchemy grew into science there developed a powerful enough body of knowledge that those with the Spark were able to seize power from older warlord lineages. This early technological elite became the basis for the later Great Houses, in which the Spark often ran (sometimes explosively) through family lines. It was a perfect combination of the old saws “might makes right” and “knowledge is power”.New empires coalesced around the Great Houses and lasted only as long as the power of the Spark in residence remained strong.

Unfortunately, those with the Spark usually get along like wet cats. With some notable exceptions, they tend to find each other interesting and hard to stay away from, but quickly begin to squabble. In these circles of mad geniuses, tempers can run high over even small matters of politics. The effect of such disagreements is negligible when the opponents are botanists who study genetic variation in pea plants, but can be devastating when one or both are botanists capable of growing armies of giant carnivorous pea plants with ambulatory stalks.

The Long War was inevitable. How it started is unknown. There were always conflicts between rival Houses, so keeping track of who was fighting or not fighting at any given time became confusing and ultimately pointless. Eventually everybody was simply fighting everybody else. This simplified things greatly.

At last, all of the Great Houses were involved. Monstrosities both mechanical and biological laid waste to town and country, altering the very landscape as a result of their conflicts. Major migrations took place as people caught between aggressors attempted to flee the zones of destruction, or as various Houses recruited workers for their factories and soldiers for their armies. The conflicts ranged across the globe and in some places continue to this day.

3: The Heterodynes
One Great House was that of the Heterodynes—a family in which the Spark ran true for generations. Evil despots to a man, the Heterodynes ravaged the countryside and destroyed their enemies with a more than usual ferocity. What is more, they very obviously took a great delight in their work. The Heterodynes were hated and feared, and the people unlucky enough to live in their shadow prayed for a vast supply of enemies to keep them busy at war... far away.
Then what seemed to be a miracle occurred. One of these vicious Heterodynes took to wife the daughter of a conquered house. Her good behavior was bought with the continued health of her family. She proved to be an extraordinary woman who, when her children were born, saw to their education with a strength of purpose that defied all of her husband’s efforts to pass on family tradition. Finally she found her chance and poisoned her husband, ridding her people of the ancient scourge and becoming a minor folk hero (and, unfortunately, martyr) into the bargain.

The Heterodyne Boys, as they came to be known, carried the Spark in spades. At a young age, they took their place among the most powerful of the Great Houses. And they used this power for Good. The Heterodyne Boys’ one mission was to stop the ravages of the Long War and clean up the damage left by the fighting. So extraordinary were their abilities that they were able to erase the evil history of their family in one generation. Now when people talk about the Heterodynes, it is as Heroes on the scale of King Arthur—Great Ones who will someday return to bring peace to the world.
For twenty-three years, the Heterodyne Boys travelled the globe negotiating peace, stopping monsters and shutting off doomsday devices. Along the way they collected an extraordinary group of like-minded companions, all of whom took their places in the growing body of folklore surrounding these remarkable people. It was a golden age of adventure.

4: The Other
Then came a sudden, dramatic shift in the pace of the Long War. A mysterious new player had entered the game. The “Other,” as he came to be known, seemed to have no interest in conquest, land, resources or subjects. His only goal appeared to be the total extermination of other Sparks. The Other followed none of the unwritten rules by which the other Houses fought. There was no negotiation, no exchange of hostile missives, indeed, no communication at all, just sudden and devastating attack. Dozens of the Great Houses fell in the space of a few months. The Other’s methods were direct and cataclysmic. Entire countries were laid waste. Mountains were destroyed. Thousands of people were enslaved or worse. These extreme measures brought results. The numbers of those with the Spark, never that high to begin with, were reduced drastically. Those not eliminated directly were often destroyed by their own people in an attempt to avoid the disastrous attention of the Other.

This raising of the stakes had the temporary effect of uniting the remaining Houses, and for a brief time the usual rivalries were put aside. The world looked to its favorite heroes for salvation, and after a brief period of research and preparation, the Heterodyne Boys set out to see what they could do about the Other. They were never heard from again. Roughly a year after their departure, The Other suddenly went quiet. There was no indication of cause. Stories and rumors ran wild. Many people were certain that the Heterodyne Boys had been successful in their quest, but others felt that whatever made the Heterodynes disappear must be terrible indeed, and was probably still out there.

The remaining Houses, mostly minor powers, resumed squabbling immediately, but a darker mood prevailed. Most of the Great Sparks were missing or dead. In many cases, their creations and machines remained to trouble a countryside already ravaged by the Other’s attacks. People feared and resented the Great Houses even more than usual. To this day it is not uncommon for children who begin to display the signs of the Spark, (or indeed any abnormal behavior) to be killed, sometimes even by their own families. The World, already in a state of turmoil, plunged ever deeper into a dark age with little communication between regions.

Into this scene stepped Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. No one knows his whereabouts for the duration of the Other’s attack, but his dramatic return is well documented. Exploding forth with a terrifying array of machines and creatures, he engineered a series of conquests that quickly absorbed most of what was Eastern Europe. Within the borders of his empire, Klaus has achieved an end to the Long War. The Great Houses that remain independent try to keep a low profile and dream of his downfall. Klaus is not loved, but he is respected and feared, and those who violate his peace are put down swiftly and permanently.

5: Agatha Clay/Agatha Heterodyne
Agatha has no memory of her parents or of how they died, only that she has always been told that they did die. Her earliest memories are of her Uncle Barry, with whom she travelled extensively in her early years. Uncle Barry was a tinker and machinist and, despite the fact that these were skills highly in demand, they moved about frequently. The only island of stability during this time was a married couple who had been family servants in better days—the Clays. Uncle Barry frequently left Agatha in their care while he vanished on mysterious errands. The year Agatha was seven, he left her with the Clays for what was to be a four month trip. He has yet to return.

Agatha was raised in Beetleburg, the town surrounding Transylvania Polygnostic University, and has attended classes there since she was fifteen. Her life at the University has been difficult and frustrating. She is very smart, but her mind has a strong tendency to wander. She also suffers severe headaches whenever she gets upset, something that happens all too frequently. She has persevered mainly due to an extreme stubborn streak and the encouragement of “The Tyrant”—Dr. Beetle. Beetle is the head of the University and absolute ruler of the small city state surrounding it. Dr. Beetle has always been interested in Agatha and has acted as her mentor and protector.

Because of the Tyrant’s patronage, Agatha’s presence at the University is tolerated. Most of the staff simply assumes that every mad scientist needs a weird assistant, and Beetle just got a prettier one than usual. This does not mean that she is liked. She is oblivious to the academic politics that swirl about any such institution and thus has few allies.
Agatha’s trilobite locket is a common design throughout the Known World. Originally it was worn by the Heterodyne Boys and their retainers, but it has come to be a badge of hope in
troubled times. Large deposits of these fossils are found near Castle Heterodyne and the brooches have become a sort of pilgrimage badge and souvenir of a visit to the birthplace of the popular heroes. Although many people wear the badge, Agatha’s is a real family heirloom.

6: Adam and Lilith Clay
The Spark follows certain patterns. One fairly predictable trait is the early urge to tamper with the stuff of life or to “build a man”. This can manifest in as many ways as there are mad scientists, but in the Heterodyne Boys it followed fairly traditional lines and the result was this pair of constructs. In early years, Adam and Lilith were well known as part of the Heterodyne team. Later they tired of the constant action and dropped out of sight. Since descriptions of them tend to exaggerate their monstrous qualities, they have little trouble leading a quiet life. Townsfolk may guess that one or both are constructs, but this is not unheard of in a town run by one of the Gifted. Few would connect the gentle town blacksmith and his wife with the larger-than-life heroes of twenty years ago. Adam and Lilith are obviously student work, and no one nowadays would believe the legendary Heterodynes capable of anything less than perfection.

The pair were not built to have children, and Agatha has been their closest concern since she was tiny. Charged with her protection, Adam and Lilith have stayed put as long as possible, passing Agatha off as their daughter and seeing to her education. They have mixed feelings concerning her. On one hand they love her and are happy to have had a child to raise, but on the other they are increasingly worried. Eleven years ago, Beetleburg was an independent city-state ruled by Dr. Beetle, an old friend and mentor of Barry’s. Beetle was the only other person who knew who Agatha was, and the only person in the Known World they could trust to handle the problems that would arise if her Spark became too powerful for the inhibiting device that she wore. Beetleburg has now become an island surrounded by Wulfenbach lands. Beetle is aware that his power is eroding and there is an air of desperation about him that makes Adam and Lilith uneasy.

Adam serves as a machinist and blacksmith to the townsfolk and the local farmers, and his machine shop is conveniently located near the city’s walls. Lilith keeps the books for the shop and gives piano lessons.

Both Adam and Lilith generally wear clothing that conceals their obvious stitch marks and skin tone variations. Lilith disguises her oversize left eye with special glasses.

7: Dr. Tarsus Beetle & Transylvania Polygnostic
A powerful Spark in his own right, Beetle has been instructor to many of the Gifted, including both the Heterodyne Boys, Klaus Wulfenbach and Agatha’s Mother. Beetle rules the city-state around Transylvania Polygnostic University. He was not with the Heterodynes on their last expedition, and still feels bad about this. He is one of the trusted few who knows that Barry Heterodyne returned from the trip alive, and that he did so with Agatha in tow.

When Barry left Agatha with the Clays, it was for a trip either so unimportant or so secret that he never bothered to tell anyone where he was going. Beetle is worried, but his first care is his University, which he will not leave vulnerable by his absence. He has not yet sent out a search party, since to do so would require him to betray his friend’s trust. Barry was very clear that no one should know that he was still alive, in fact took great pains to foster the rumor of his death. For many years, Beetle felt that he knew the Heterodynes well enough to trust that Barry could take care of himself, and that a long delay might not call for interference. Later he began to actively collect rumors and information about unusual activity in the outside world, hoping to get some kind of clue as to Barry’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, there have been no leads worth following.

Transylvania Polygnostic is one of the Grand Old European Schools, worthy of comparison to The Great Universities in Paris, Wittenburg and Oxford. The town and lands around the University make up the town of Beetleburg, which has been ruled by a continuing line of Tyrants since the founding of the College. Beetle’s students are terrified of him, a state that he encourages, but he is a brilliant administrator and is adored by town and University alike. He is the most beloved Tyrant in the history of the University despite (or possibly because of) his ruthlessness in putting down lawbreakers.

Although Baron Wulfenbach’s holdings have grown to surround Beetle’s territory, Klaus has so far left Beetleburg alone out of deference to his old teacher. In return, Beetle is expected to send full reports of any student that exhibits signs of the Spark. Such people are unusual, potentially dangerous and of acute interest to the Baron. Beetle is also required to immediately report and turn over any unusual machines or creatures that the University ground crews may discover. Artifacts from the Long War still litter the landscape, and some are still quite dangerous. Artifacts of the Other are of special danger and importance, and Klaus has left strict instructions as to the treatment of such items. At this time, Beetle is hiding several forbidden items in hopes that they might give him a weapon against Klaus in what he sees as an inevitable conflict.

8: Dr. Silas Merlot & Dr. Hugo Glassvitch
Dr. Silas Merlot is Beetle’s second-in-command. Short-tempered, efficient, with a mind for details, Merlot is disliked almost as much as Beetle is loved. More astute students have pointed out that the provision of a “Bad Guy” to carry out unpleasant tasks may be a trick of Beetle’s meant to maintain his own personal popularity. Merlot studied at the College of Alchemical Inquiry at Wittenburg before coming to work for Beetle, where he was the first in his class, outdoing even a few minor Sparks. (Being a genius does not always guarantee high marks.) He came to Transylvania Polygnostic in hopes of a position of power.

Merlot sees the power and prestige of those with the Spark and desperately wants this for himself. Sadly for him, he has yet to produce any work of great worth or creativity. He is a fine assistant, but is not the type to handle power well, so it is probably for the best that he has not Broken Through, and probably never will. Sparks of his personality type tend to be vindictive and cruel when they come to power.

Merlot hates Agatha, mostly because her clumsy unworkable devices remind him of his own failed attempts at greatness. Dr. Hugo Glassvitch studied in Paris, then came to Transylvania Polygnostic. He has worked with Beetle ever since. He is the Chief of Research for the University, a much more interesting and desirable job than that of Second-in-Command/Scapegoat. Merlot knows and resents this, but Glassvitch is his closest colleague and the nearest thing that he has to a friend, so he tries to be civil. For Merlot, this is a real effort.

Glassvitch is a brilliant scientist, although apparently without the Spark. He is perceptive enough to understand some of Merlot’s unhappiness and kind enough to tolerate the man, mostly out of pity. Merlot knows and resents this too, but not enough to relinquish the one friend that he has.

Glassvitch has a great heart and is kind to everyone around him, but he genuinely likes Agatha. She has been a student in some of his classes over the years and he can see that, for all her difficulties, she really does possess a deep love of Knowledge. He feels sorry for her constant frustration with her work, and tries to give encouragement whenever possible.


9: Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
Wulfenbach was originally a minor house in Eastern Europe. Klaus’ parents were both Gifted scientists who ran their small holdings well, used their talents for the good of their people and for the most part kept out of the politics so common amongst the Gifted. This couple is said to have had three sons, all Sparks of varying degrees who worked in the lab alongside their parents. Klaus is the only one that anyone has seen in years. Rumors abound as to the fate of the other two, but there is no one who knows for sure.

Klaus is one of the most powerful of the Gifted in known history. The Sparks tend to be specialists. They produce giant insects, or flying warships, or surgically enhanced super-soldiers. Klaus’ genius lies in his ability to absorb and integrate the work of others, and usually improve upon it. His primary interest, however, has always been the nature of the Spark itself.

Klaus spent much of his early adulthood adventuring with the Heterodyne Boys. He believed that their unique idealism could solve the problems that fueled the Long War. The friendship changed with the addition of Lucrezia Mongfish, the daughter of a truly evil mad scientist that the group went up against on several of their expeditions. Although she had initially been helping her father in his plans, Lucrezia was eventually convinced of the error of her ways and joined the group of heroes. A tense love triangle developed that ended with Lucrezia’s marriage to Bill Heterodyne and Klaus’ disappearance. It was generally assumed that he, as the defeated rival, withdrew for a time to forget the girl who rejected him.

Klaus was not heard from at all during the years when the Other was active. Many people whisper that Klaus himself was the Other and the devastating attacks were a hideous revenge directed at the Heterodynes. Klaus returned only after the Other’s attacks had ceased, and he returned in a very bad mood. His early idealism had vanished and his new strategy was simple. He drew a circle on the map and declared everything within it his territory. Every year the circle grew. Aside from a few basic rules, things were to stay the same. The ruling Sparks would stay in power, but no hostilities whatsoever were allowed. Any breach of this Peace was met with ruthless conquest and the swift removal of the aggressors. At first no one took this very seriously, and many of the Gifted rose to challenge Klaus. He wound up in control of much of Europe in just a few years.

Even though he stopped the fighting, Klaus is not popular. The surviving Great Houses want their power back, and the common people believe him to be responsible for the ruin of the Heterodynes. In stories, folksongs and plays, Klaus is usually portrayed as a traitor, always as a villain. Few people bother to point out that it speaks well for his rule that no retaliation is ever made for such amusements.

Even though they dislike and fear him, the people know that the Baron’s Peace will most likely only last as long as Klaus himself. On account of this, there are many wishes for his continued good health—at least until the Heterodynes return.

10: Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
Gil is Baron Wulfenbach’s only son.

No-one knows who his mother was. The most prevalent rumors claim that he is the son of Klaus and Lucrezia Mongfish, or that he is a Gifted youth that Klaus has secretly adopted, or that he has no mother and Klaus, in need of an heir, simply built him in the laboratory.

What is known is that for the last several years Gil was living under an assumed name in Paris, where he was a student at the University. When his time at the University ended, he was brought back to Castle Wulfenbach openly as Klaus’ son and heir. This has caused a tremendous stir in the Known World, and great disappointment to those who had hoped for an eventual end to Baron Wulfenbach’s rule. More optimistic rivals point out that there are few who could hold Klaus’ empire, and there is no reason to believe that this new heir is one of those few.
For the last month Gil has been travelling with his father. Klaus seems to be taking pains to annoy his son and keep him off balance, setting up elaborate tests with seemingly pointless results. Most witnesses agree that the idea is to test the strength of Gil’s Spark, but some have suspicions that the Baron may have some other goal in mind. All the rumors currently circulating conclude with the opinion that if the Baron is not satisfied with the results, things will not go well for the young man.

Gil has heard these rumors.

He was happy as a student in Paris and is miserable now. He is beginning to feel like a piece of luggage dragged from place to place, he isn’t allowed to do anything but tag along with his father and watch, and he is getting very annoyed with the constant testing. He wants very much to please his father, but simply cannot figure out what Klaus is looking for. To make matters worse, Klaus is always right. Always. This quality never sits well with those with the Spark, and it is beginning to grate tremendously with Gil. In an effort to keep from going mad with boredom, Gil has begun making a game out of trying to catch his father in any kind of mistake at all. This has proven to be a bad idea, since he hasn’t managed it yet and the failure is only making him more irritable.

Gil sees little in his future besides a life trapped on the Castle (Wulfenbach’s giant airship) as the heir of a ruler who, in his opinion, is unlikely to ever allow himself to die. Recent experience suggests that Gil will not be allowed to take any serious risks or go anywhere unattended. He has a lab of his own on the Castle, but his father has kept him too busy with tests to do much in it as yet.

Gil is not a bad person by nature, but he is beginning to think that becoming one might prove extremely useful. Or at least provide a change.

11: Boris Vasily Konstantin Andrei Myshkin Dolokhov
Boris began life with two arms and an eidetic memory. He spent a happy youth as a student librarian in the palace library before he came to the attention of his Duke, an evil genius of the first water who forcibly modified Boris in an attempt at building the ultimate juggler. In addition to the extra arms, he was given enhanced speed, strength and balance. The experiment was a success, and Boris spent several miserable years as court jester before his master sent an army of giant land squid to attack a neighboring Principality. Klaus Wulfenbach, who had just begun to impose his Baron’s Peace upon that part of the World, took this as an official Breach of said Peace, and promptly absorbed both Duchy and Principality, ending hostilities immediately.

Klaus has a sharp eye for talent, and could tell that Boris’ strength did not lie in the field of entertainment. Boris became Klaus’ secretary, and soon rose to the level of second-in- command. He is a fine administrator and is
completely loyal to Klaus, whom he views as the man who saved him from a life of undignified slavery.

Boris has little imagination and practically no sense of humor. He is prissy and easily annoyed, and anything that is not orderly gets on his nerves. He hates the Jägermonsters for their noisy, chaotic nature and for what he claims to see as their extraordinary stupidity. The truth is that there is no one else quite like Boris. He has no family. The Jägermonsters’ camaraderie and gristly good humor inspire a deep envy in a man who feels very much alone. The Jägermonsters, in turn, pick on Boris at every opportunity. They find his preoccupation with his own personal dignity to be so easy a target that it would be positively wrong not to make a joke of it. This does not help the secretary’s mood toward them at all, and Boris’ obvious annoyance merely serves as encouragement.

Boris has worked with Klaus for many years now, and has been attacked by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know more times than he cares to remember (even though he actually can remember, and if you ask him, the number is 356. Unless you count the time Dr. Migstrom hit him with a radish pie, which he hardly thinks qualifies.) He still hasn’t got used to it, but it’s better than a stupid hat with bells on.

If you pour enough vodka into Boris, he will preform his special party trick—juggling the hors d’oeuvres while playing the balalaika. He does not like to go to parties, but he gets invited a lot.

12: The Jägermonsters
This band of manic construct soldiers was created by Agatha’s Ancestor—Warlord Vlad Heterodyne the Blasphemous—as his personal companions and guard. They look back on the days before the Heterodyne Boys as a Golden Age when they rode with their masters starting wars and terrorizing the populace. Life was exciting then, with fun (their kind) and action (carnage) every day. The Heterodyne Boys themselves were never completely comfortable with the Jägermonsters as retainers, but the concept of releasing them upon an innocent world was unacceptable. Thus they were used primarily for defense. Many of them learned to knit at this time. The Jägermonsters grumbled under Bill and Barry’s leadership, but when the Heterodyne Boys disappeared, they were at a true loss. Mechanicsburg, the seat of the Heterodynes, was all but destroyed by the Other. After a time of waiting for their masters to return, they hired out as mercenaries to Baron Wulfenbach.

Klaus uses the Monsters primarily for scare tactics, and they are still fairly bored, but at least they have a job and get to fight once in a while. The Jägermonsters are practically indestructible, and many of the original company are still around. They are used to relying on their Gifted master to patch damage and sew on new parts, but they will not let Klaus touch them. They view the details of their creation asproprietary information and would rather go without parts than let an outsider discover their secrets.

13: Clanks
The term “clank” is usually used to denote any self-propelled, semi-autonomous machine. They are not all based on the human form, but most scientists favor humanoid or animal shapes. The development of the perfect clank is an ongoing rivalry among the Gifted, and clanks are often used alongside foot soldiers in military endeavors.

The clanks built by Klaus Wulfenbach have so far proven superior to every other type currently being used, including those of his old instructor, Dr. Beetle, who has been a leader in this area for years.

14: The Castle Wulfenbach Airship
When Klaus returned from his long absence, he found his ancestral home in ruins.

Instead of rebuilding, he began work on a giant airship which was named in honor of the old castle. This is the administrative seat of Klaus’ empire, and it is the only capital city in the Known World with the unsettling habit of looming over the horizon in times of trouble.The Castle has a staff of hundreds of domestics, laboratory assistants and bureaucrats which is entirely separate from the large crew that actually runs the vessel.

The Castle itself is very slow, travelling continually from place to place in a stately tour of the Empire. When speed is needed, one of the smaller auxiliary airships is used. The Castle either catches up eventually or the smaller ship simply returns home when its business is completed. Each smaller airship has its own crew and its own captain, as does the main ship. The Castle’s Captain is the ultimate authority on board, excepting Klaus and Boris, who rarely interfere with the day-to-day running of the ship.

Although the Castle is huge, Klaus tries to keep all but the most essential laboratories and offices in various towns and Universities on the ground. His own labs and quarters are on board the Castle, as are the new quarters set up for the use of his son.

The Castle never lands, and many people on board haven’t set foot on the ground in years.

15: VonPinn
Von Pinn is a construct, but beyond this little is known about her past. She came to work for Klaus years ago, but her prickly nature has kept her from making any friends aboard the Castle. She seems to prefer this situation, and encourages rumors about her bad temper and viciousness. Actually, she doesn’t encourage them, per se, she simply is bad-tempered and vicious, and word gets around.

One of the more interesting groups on board the Castle is the collection of “Pupils” overseen by Von Pinn. Many parts of the Empire are still administered by their original rulers, who answer to Klaus in a relationship that is frankly feudal. Klaus has adopted the Roman Emperor’s custom of keeping the firstborn of each Great House in his power. The polite explanation is that they are being raised in an ideal situation to learn the craft of ruling, but everyone knows that they are also hostages kept to ensure the good behavior of Klaus’ vassals.

This group of children and young adults is a very important group of people, and Von Pinn’s job is to make sure that nothing happens to them. She takes her job very seriously and is fiercely protective of her charges. In her mind, everyone is a potential threat and is to be treated accordingly. People on board the Castle have learned to be very careful around any of the Pupils, to treat them kindly and with respect. Von Pinn doesn’t usually stop to ask questions when she is angry. She has even been known to snarl at Klaus on occasion, although her loyalty is unquestioned.

Von Pinn is an extremely well-made construct, much stronger and more difficult to damage than Adam or Lilith Clay. Although her existence is not generally known outside the Castle, on board the airship she is the most speculated-about person in the Known World. There are more rumors about her amongst the crew and domestic staff than about Klaus himself. It is said that she isn’t a construct at all, but actually a princess from a kingdom on the Moon (ridiculous), that she is the reanimation of a dead Lucrezia Mongfish (an interesting idea) or that she is a construct built by Klaus to replace his lost love (unlikely). The latest rumor to go around is that she is Gil’s mother, but others maintain that as an infant Gil was found in a giant speckled egg in an extinct volcano, so the jury is still out. Whatever her relationship to Gil, it is obvious that Von Pinn considers him her prize student and she is even more insanely protective of him than of her usual charges.

The Jägermonsters are all in love with Von Pinn. She has already put three of them in the hospital for getting too familiar. This of course only makes the rest of them worship her more and they follow her around trying to be impressive whenever she is unwise enough to come near their barracks. The Jägermonsters are very bored and Von Pinn gives them something to think about. She is beginning to think that she will have to kill one of them to get the message across, but worries that this will backfire and that she will then never get rid of them.

16: Ardsley Wooster
The effects of the Long War were dramatic. In many places, the very landscape was altered on a massive scale. Possibly the best-known example of this is the terrible tragedy of Britain, which is now several fathoms below the surface of the Atlantic. This was brought about in the last century by the rather poorly thought out plan of a would-be conqueror. Today post-submergent England is stronger than ever, and controls much of the ocean thanks to an extraordinarily resourceful Queen and an ever growing submarine fleet.

Wooster was raised in the Glass City section of London, and though only a few years older than Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, has traveled extensively. The Queen of England has decreed that all British children should visit the surface world, a policy which has resulted in a remarkably cosmopolitan populace.

Though Wooster does not have the Spark, he showed a remarkable aptitude for science along with diverse other useful traits, and has been schooled at the Oxford College of Non-Intuitive Mechanics as well as the Paris Institute of the Extraordinary. It was here that he met the incognito Gilgamesh, who quietly recommended him as a lab assistant aboard Castle Wulfenbach. He proved himself extremely capable in his first two years on the Castle, and was recently surprised and pleased to find himself assigned as First Assistant to the heretofore unknown Wulfenbach heir. Surprise turned to astonishment when said heir returned home and Wooster discovered that this mysterious person was in fact his old acquaintance from school.

The two young men have an easygoing, but still professional, relationship. Wooster performs his duties well, and Gil enjoys hearing about Wooster's travels. It is an arrangement that, for different reasons, both find quite satisfactory.

17: His Royal Highness Krosp I
To put it in the context of folklore, Krosp is the King of the Cats.

Krosp began life as an experiment aboard Castle Wulfenbach. His creator, a scientist with the Spark, had a muddled idea that it would be a good idea to create a leader that could command armies of animals. After all, there are cats everywhere, in practically every barn and alley. If only they would rise up and do his bidding!

Part of the brain of a great general was used in the construction, and the military genius of this man carried over to the subject, just as the creator hoped. Krosp does indeed have great leadership skills, a strong sense of logic and a brilliant mind. His knowledge of strategy and tactics has been perfected through two years of intense study. The problem was in the idea behind the experiment. Cats, and indeed some other animals, do recognize that this is a seriously major double-alpha cat, they just don’t care. Although Krosp possesses an extraordinary human intelligence, the intelligence of his “subjects” is, well, that of cats. They don’t understand complex commands. They don’t form armies. They don’t remember even simple instructions for long. What they do is sleep. The experiment was a failure, and Krosp was ordered destroyed.

Before this order could be carried out, Krosp escaped. The lab assistant responsible for his termination made no report of the mistake, and the experiment was duly logged and forgotten. Krosp was able to hide on board the Castle, but he couldn’t get off the giant airship. After months of frantic studying as he tried to figure out how to fly one of the smaller lifeboat airships, he finally came to the unhappy conclusion that although he now knew how to fly the craft, his stubby arms and feet wouldn’t reach the controls. Then he met Agatha.

His great loves are military history, strategy games and good food. He has human-style thumbs and is bipedal—walking on all fours hurts his back after a while—but he is in every other way still a cat. He considers Agatha to be both his friend and his Very First Real Subject (she is the first person who ever actually responded favorably to one of his requests) and is protective to a fault.

18: Othar Tryggvassen
Because of the danger and difficulty of travel, stories of the outside world generate serious interest in almost all towns and cities. Rumors about who is building what to send against whom achieve tremendous importance if you’re town happens to lie between the players in question, plus it is just downright entertaining. The suspicion accorded to travellers is usually softened by the locals’ interest in the news they carry. And the best place to hear these rumors is in the taverns and inns that those brave enough to travel (there are more of them than you might think) frequent.

Stories of Othar have been making the tavern rounds for the last few years. Not a lot is known about him, but rumor is rapidly assigning him a place in folklore as a young hero on the model of the Heterodyne Boys. Some even say that he is a lost Heterodyne heir. This idea is suspect even in villages where the wildest rumors circulate, since there have been many claimants to that title in the past, and so far all have proven false.

Nevertheless, Othar has a growing reputation as a Serious Good Guy, and the storytellers are delighted. Tales of Othar defeating monsters, rescuing whole towns and stopping the nefarious plans of any number of evil villains have become almost as popular as the old favorites about the Heterodyne Boys, and people who can tell them (and embellish them in interesting ways) are eating well in every town. People love their entertainment.

Othar attended school in the city of Oslo. It is also known that he spent some time in Paris, where he is believed to have been acquainted with Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. This is probably true—Othar is a brilliant scientist and a powerful Spark, and although he would have been a few years ahead of Gil, it is likely that the two students would have had much in common. Othar is also said to have actually been in Oslo when it was destroyed, which makes him one of the few survivors of the tragedy. The populace gets a lot of mileage out of this one, saying that it is this terrible experience that inspired him to become the hero that he is today. Since no one can agree what exactly this terrible experience was, the storytellers are free to make up whatever suits the story.

One of the strangest, most contradictory things about the Gifted is that although most people want to kill or control them (or, in the case of most sane people, get out of their way) there are always those who want to help them. The Spark almost inevitably attracts followers, assistants and lackeys and often inspires fanatical loyalty. Many think that this is some actually some mystical side effect of the Gift, but it is probably just human nature.

Othar has already attracted a small group of loyal companions who only help to reinforce comparisons to the vanished Heterodynes.

19: Bangladesh Dupree
Bang’s father was a ship captain whose vessel was captured by a band of pirates. The leader of the pirates was the exiled Queen of an island city, who found the young captain amusing and kept him as a member of her court.

After assuming power, Bangladesh led the pirates to gory plunder for two years, slowly building up power and resources. Her plan was to regain control of her mother’s lost city and take her rightful place as ruler. Her plans were carefully laid and the time was nearly right. She eagerly looked forward to the bloody reign of terror that would provide retribution for her people’s disloyalty.

Her plans collapsed when she returned from a solitary excursion to find her fortress a smoking ruin. Every last pirate was dead and the munitions and supplies that she had stockpiled in preparation for the attack were destroyed. There was no trace of the attacking army, and no hint of who was behind the destruction.

Left alone and with nothing but the clothes she wore and the supplies she carried, Bang made a solemn oath before her family’s very unpleasant God to find and destroy whomever was responsible for the ruin of her plans. Then to find their families. Then their friends. Then anyone else who might be handy. Then a few more random people just for fun. And THEN... (she can go on like this at length, but we’ll stop here.) Only then would she regain her city and make the inhabitants REALLY wish they had never been born.

But first, she needed a job.

Although Bangladesh has a talent for finding things and people, she has not yet managed to discover much about the attack on her fortress. She hired on as a secondary airship captain for Klaus Wulfenbach with the idea that news of such matters must eventually come to the ears of the largest Power on the continent. Klaus knows who she is and what she is looking for, and part of the price of her services is the promise of information should any come to light. Although he finds her distasteful, Klaus is a good judge of talent and finds it useful to employ a wide range of personality types. He knows how to use even the most alarming of his people to his best advantage.

Bang is very good at the things she does and she enjoys her work. Of course, if she ever does find her enemy and set out to take up her old pirating ways, she will have to be dealt with, but that is a problem for the future. For now she is useful, and that is all that matters.

20: Moloch & Omar von Zinzer
The Baron’s Peace has been in effect in some areas for years, and the area of influence grows year by year. There are always dissidents, especially among the newly absorbed areas along the borders of the Empire. Occasionally, even someone within a well-established area will get overconfident and attempt an attack on a rival or even a rebellion against Klaus. This doesn’t tend to last long.

Moloch and Omar von Zinzer are the last of a group of nine brothers who set out to seek their fortune as soldiers in the army of the Mad Duke d’Omas. This was, in hindsight, a terrible idea, but the uniforms were great and the pay was good. Many young men found themselves making the same decision in order to try to escape the chaos and lawlessness of the Outlands. The von Zinzer brothers single biggest mistake was in not fighting for the House of Wulfenbach.

When d’Omas went to war against Klaus, Moloch and his brothers were part of the crew of the walking gunboat Vienna. The gunboat was big, impressive, and like the rest of d’Omas’ fleet, didn’t stand a chance. The army was scattered and the brothers found themselves stranded deep within the wilds of Wulfenbach territory. Moloch and Omar are to their knowledge the only survivors.

Now that it is just the two of them, things are getting a little tense between the brothers. Used to being in the center of a large, loud family, they are unused to the concept of being alone with their thoughts. Add to this the fact that they are wandering in the lands of a frightening enemy, and you get very nervous people indeed. Omar is handling the situation marginally better than Moloch, as he is a born opportunist and enjoys the excitement. Moloch is wishing that he had never left home, and is discovering that his older brother is really kind of an awful person and that he actually doesn’t like him very much. He finds this depressing.

The pair is in the process of walking home, but aren’t really sure where home is.

21: The Hopefully Unnecessary Glossary
To Break Through—to reach the point where it is obvious from one’s work or behavior that one has the Spark. Some say that the Spark does not exist in potential, and that Breaking Through is that point atwhich the Spark develops. This is a dangerous time for one of the Gifted, when their existence is known but they may not yet have built up the power or ability to defend themselves.

Clanks—robots, autonomous mechanical devices, usually, but not necessarily, somewhat anthropoid.

Constructs—usually organic creations, Frankenstein-type monsters, etc.

The Gifted—another polite term for the Mad Scientists

Madboys/Madgirls—a not so polite term for the Gifted, used by the general public.

Mimmoths—tiny verminous mammoths. Originally somebody’s experiment, they escaped and quickly populated most of Europe. They fill the same niche as mice and tend to live alongside them. They get into machinery and push things around with their tusks, wreaking havoc.

Mummers—also referred to as revenants. People and animals that the Other has taken over. They retain their own consciousness and are usually allowed to go about their daily business, but are under the complete control of the Other, should he choose to exercise it. Their life is in many ways a living hell, as they are always aware of a master force in their head. There is no known cure except death.

The Outlands—the wild areas outside of the main cities. Even though these areas might lie within someone’s domain as you see it on the map, they tend to be dangerous to traverse.

Slaver Wasps—the transport form for the controlling mechanics of the Other. Nasty things whose purpose is enslavement, but will kill if resisted. Extremely fast and dangerous, they usually appear in swarms. None have been seen for years.

The Spark—whatever it is that makes Mad Scientists what they are. A poorly understood concept that identifies and incorporates a batch of personality traits shared by those who have it. Also referred to as the Gift, the Touch, the Curse, the Madness, the Doom, &c. Also referred to as his or her Spark, in this case a personal quality. Also used as another term for a Mad Scientist—you would say that someone is a Spark if they have the Spark.


That should definitely be spoilered for content, too. This... this is the Holy Grail. Is anyone here a part of the GG Wiki? Because all this needs to be wiki'd, post haste. I've never heard of 99% of this, and it's all amazing, solid gold stuff.

I love the Foglio's - they are the Avatars of "The Dev Team Thinks of Everything." Well, them and Tolkien, and he's dead.

[Gez]

Did you know, that as of next Wednesday, Gil will have been absolutely naked for an entire month?

The More You Know! (tm)

Naked, and in the company of five women, most of them good-looking. And he's been drinking strange beverages that aren't considered safe for human consumption.

Gil knows how to party.

[Tirian]

Well, no i never caught that...
Probably because a skull is the most common symbol for a pirate in ANY story... Bang herself only wears a small one on her forehead, which isn't very eyecatching; very easy to overlook... frankly, since there isn't anything very unique about the skull i just read it off as being "pirates just like skulls"... Dupree's emblem does not identify nearly as well as the emblems of wulfenbach, heterodyne, or any of the other great houses; all of which are very unique.

Also, in the comic (not the wiki), i never was explained how Bang came to wulfenbach's service... before the wiki, i was kinda thinking that Klaus beat her down, but instead killing her decided to make use of her

It's Chekhov's Gun. Bang's a pirate, Zeetha destroyed a band of pirates, and since the world isn't overrun by pirates there must be an association. (Honestly, before reading the Secret Blueprints, I assumed it was her father's pirates. I'm very impressed to discover that it was her own band!) And it was clear from her first scene that she was looking for important information from Klaus, and the only thing so important to her could have been what army deserves her vengeance.

I think the interesting question at this point is whether Zeetha recognized Bang's significance when they crossed paths at the circus, and whether that is what drove her to train Agatha.

[slayerx]

It's Chekhov's Gun. Bang's a pirate, Zeetha destroyed a band of pirates, and since the world isn't overrun by pirates there must be an association. (Honestly, before reading the Secret Blueprints, I assumed it was her father's pirates. I'm very impressed to discover that it was her own band!) And it was clear from her first scene that she was looking for important information from Klaus, and the only thing so important to her could have been what army deserves her vengeance.

Well, i wouldn't expect the world to be overrun with pirates, not with how Baron runs his empire... all pirates within the wulfenbach empire would have probably been wiped out in order to keep the peace... if any pirates exist, they likely run around in the farther reaches of the empire if not outside of it; where the baron is less likely to go or beyong his jurisdiction... and considering how little we have seen of outside the wulfenbach's empire, i would not expect to hear of those pirates; frankly, i wouldn't be surprised if we hear about pirates when we see the non-wulfenbach parts of europe.

So ya, i figured: Bang was a former pirate that joined the baron for previously unknown reasons, that the pirates that Zeetha wiped out were another group of pirates, and that their are other crews of pirates flying/sailing around in parts of europe and there has been little reason for the foglios to tell us about them since they have little relevancy to the story; kinda like how they have mentioned nothing about religion despite their being 7 popes...


I think the interesting question at this point is whether Zeetha recognized Bang's significance when they crossed paths at the circus, and whether that is what drove her to train Agatha.

That depends... unless Bang was the type to keep portraits of herself hanging around her fortress, Zeetha won't recognize her face... There was no way for Zeetha to know she was a pirate... so it would all come down to if Zeetha reconize the tiny tattoo on Bang's head... If we add in the fact that Zeetha thought she killed anyone that might have known where her airship was attacked, i feel safe to say Zeetha has not made the connection

Though i don't see how it would play a role in driving Zeetha to train Agatha.... i mean, Zeetha would not know about Bang's desire to kill everyone she knows and loves; if anything, Zeetha would see Bang as HER problem... not to mention Zeetha was never given a reason to think that Dupree was stronger than her; Bang was Zeetha's problem and she can handle it, no need to train Agatha for a fight she won't need to take part in

[hajo]

Jägermonster Battledraught: Slightly better than death.
What a wonderful advertising campaign!
That would look nice on one of those cigarette-warning-labels :smallbiggrin:

I'm curious what the real sideeffects of the draught are.

[FoE]

You know, the whole 'kidnapped by pirates' story could be real without being connected to Bangladesh Dupree. It may just be an explanation as to why Zeetha can't return to Skifander.

[Lord Fullbladder, Master of Goblins]

Maybe, but do you really believe that, FoE? Can you really say that this is anywhere near unlikely?

[lord_khaine]

I wonder if this is the infamous Jager Draught that Agatha Made the Baron Drink and which conseqquenty resulted in a trip to the hospital.


i suspect the Jager Draught they are talking about here is the one that turns "normal" humans into Jagermonsters, the one that Agatha actualy made the Baron drink, was in the shape of a hourse to the head, and thats what sendet him to the hospital.

[TeChameleon]

Maybe, but do you really believe that, FoE? Can you really say that this is anywhere near unlikely?
... I don't know about FoE, but the Bang's-Pirates-Captured-Zeetha bit is strictly Fanon at this point; it's logical, it fits, and it's something that the Foglios have thus far studiously avoided commenting on. Outside of the Blueprints, have they even revealed why Bang is working for the Baron? In the actual strip, I mean?

Don't forget, this is Girl Genius, and the Professors Foglio appear to take a perverse delight in upsetting our expectations at every possible turn, from Gil taking A(n extremely irritable) Level in Badass to Krosp actually catching a mouse to Othar being perceptive enough to pick up on Agatha's 'hero instincts' to Dr. Sun intimidating the bejeebers out of Bang, a woman who could kill him with a wedge of cheese. Personally, I'd say just hang on and enjoy the ride.

[Gez]

Gil taking A(n extremely irritable) Level in Badass
Gil has been irritated and badass since the first volume.

Krosp actually catching a mouse
How was it surprising? Krosp's a cat. Cats catch mice. Krosp just needed a little training because he wasn't used to hunt on the zeppelin.

Othar being perceptive enough to pick up on Agatha's 'hero instincts'
Othar has in common with Elan a perfect knowledge of how things are supposed to work.

Dr. Sun intimidating the bejeebers out of Bang, a woman who could kill him with a wedge of cheese.
And Dr. Sun could kill Bang just by staring hard enough at a pressure point.

[Nikolai_II]

Othar has in common with Elan a perfect knowledge of how things are supposed to work.

And Dr. Sun could kill Bang just by staring hard enough at a pressure point.

Judging by the ending of Veasel theatre part two, Othar knows a little too much, or not enough ;)

And Dr Sun did also not doubt for a second that he could give Gil a "sound trashing", so we already knew that he was hardball by the time he talked to Dupree.

[Beguilement]

Did you know, that as of next Wednesday, Gil will have been absolutely naked for an entire month?

The way he reacts to it surprises me. They said he was supposed to be a playboy in Paris, and they also depict him as a very goal-orriented person. Hell, I empathize with Gil a ton (besides this point), so I don't get it:

(Besides for plot/humor reasons:) Why is Gil so uptight about sexuality and nudity?

---

Just to say, about the characters in general...
Most of the characters seem to be of the view that everything will turn out alright as long as they do something. They can take their time and no worry; it'll be okay!

Agatha is a step better than this, as she's getting motivated.
Gil's a step better than that, as he's really getting motivated.
The Baron is the best in this respect, as he's already taking care of business.
(Dr. Sun is arguably good in this respect, too. He's a little over concerned about immediate medical conditions, but then again, hey, he's a doctor.)

Really, with so much on the line, Gil's one of the few characters I respect for his determination to not just let events run their course haphazardly. It's pretty comical that others in the comic are putting him down for not sharing their lax nature!

[Dorizzit]

"Playboy" doesn't necessarily mean "run-around-naked-in-front-of-a-girl-you-don't-know-at-all-and-and-act-totally-normal-boy."