Johann Weltmann was frustrated filmmaker turned into a Malkavian vampire living in Chicago in the twentieth century.
Biography[]
Johann praised the last few moments of his life as the lay on his deathbed in Chicago for that very reason: he was on his deathbed. Though extremely talented, Johann had a vision of the world which outran what the people the early 1900s could decipher. The physical agony of the last moments of his mortal life was little compared to the decades of isolation and misunderstanding he had suffered during his entire film-making career.
But the Cainite who came to his deathbed within moments of Johann passing from his troubled world expected to doom him to an eternal life that would break his spirit and rend his human soul. In short, she intended to transform him into a Malkavian.
At first it was too much for Johann to stomach, but he quickly came to an intellectual understanding of the potentials of his condition. The world would be boring if popular understanding ever drew even within his remarkable insight, but now he had centuries to work his art and transform human culture. Yes, his insanity was embedded in this vision, a vision he has since learned to temper, but this ultimate optimism in mortals served him well during his search for Golconda.
Wise investments in the later years of his mortal life, the years after he was laughed out of film, created a fortune upon which Johann could draw to execute his plans. Since then he has accumulated an unreasonable amount of money, but his artistic desires will never be satiated. Black and white filming is still his preferred method of presenting his unique visions, but the advances of the future may well convince Johann to adopt some other format.
The twenty or so years since his Embrace have been marked by a number of extraordinary events which have proven Johann to be an exceptional individual. First, he managed to slay his sire, but more importantly, some of the secrets of Golconda are known to him. Some of the gossips among the Kindred claim he has actually achieved this exalted state.
These circumstances combine to make Johann one of the more independent vampires outside of the Inconnu, and probably the most uncontrolled one in Chicago. No one controls his thoughts or commands his actions. This is essential to Johann's existence, but he does hold the fear that his very independence is perhaps a tool for those methuselah who can predict his responses and set him up to further their ends. This is the major reason why he stays his hand even in situations where his conscience demands interventions.
His fate following the War of Chicago is unknown, but he is in all likelihood destroyed.
Character Sheet[]
References[]
- VTM: Chicago by Night, p. 94-95
- VTM: The Anarch Cookbook, p. 56 (Example)
- VTM: Chicago by Night Second Edition, p. 60