Sir Malcolm Murray from 'Penny Dreadful'

” There was another thought when she was so very close to me, a strange working of memory. I thought of a particular lion hunt many years ago. Moving through the tall grass, getting a glimpse at the prey, the shoulders mostly, the mane. You prepare your rifle. You're very quiet. And then there's a moment. The wind changes, the grass stops swaying. The lion turns, looks at you. The moment you realize you're no longer the hunter, you are the prey.

I won’t like about my love of Penny Dreadful

, it was probably my favorite show of the last decade and although John Logan claimed it was meant to end after three years, I did not necessarily agree with that. I could do an entire month on just characters as represented, and several may appear during this month (at least two more), but I thought that rather begin with the obvious choice I would instead begin with Sir Malcolm Murray.

The Father of Mina Murray and one of England’s greatest explorers, Malcolm Murray is relentless, single-minded, deeply flawed, and incredibly dangerous. It is Murray’s sheer will that often makes him formidable….and monstrous.  If you haven’t checked out Penny Dreadful

I cannot recommend it enough.

Sir Malcolm Murray

Sir Malcolm Murray

F: Ex (20)

A: Rm (30)

S:  Gd (10)

E:  Rm (30)

R: Gd (10)

I: Rm (30)

P: Ex (20)

Health: 90

Karma: 60

Resources: Rm (30) Resources – See Below

Popularity:  20 – Malcolm is an explorer of note.

Talents:

Malcolm Murray has several talents built around decades of adventure, exploration, and travel. These talents include:

Firearms

Marksman*

Sharp Weapons
Blunt Weapons

Brawling

Knowledge: Gunsmith*

Knowledge: African Exploration

Knowledge: Multi-Lingual

Knowledge: British Society

Knowledge: Navigation

Knowledge: African Cultures

Knowledge: The Culture of India

Knowledge: The Culture of Arabia

Knowledge: Hunting

Knowledge: Survival

Knowledge: History

Knowledge: Academia*

Knowledge: Victorian Culture

Knowledge: Human Nature (See Notes)

First Aid

Heir to Fortune* (See Notes)

Resist: Domination*

Occult Lore: Basic

 Powers:

While Sir Malcolm is a normal man, he has displayed several key abilities which are power-like. These include:

Iron Will:

Although not the traditional power of Iron Will, Malcolm has shown to be able to take tremendous amounts of harm both physical and mental and continue going. Malcolm’s will allow him to remain conscious, focused, and even allows him opportunity to shake off magical charms and mind control when the situation presents itself with an opportunity (usually, Malcolm must know he is under such a charm). When Malcolm takes damage and/or requires an Endurance or Psyche FEAT to remain conscious or focused and fails, he may then make another check on Rm (30) intensity. Malcolm’s will is significant enough that he was able to thwart a major thrall of Dracula’s, shake off ultimately a long-time enchantment placed upon him by Madame Kali/Evelyn Poole, and ignore the personal and private costs his actions have had.

Well-Connected:

Sir Malcolm is well-known in English society and well-connected. Malcolm is able to draw upon his status and wealth to find contacts when necessary in a variety of different fields and locations (such as first encountering Dr. Frankenstein, Knowing Abraham Van Helsing, or even knowing when to look for an expert like Ferdinand Lyle). Sir Malcolm’s connections are in a variety of different walks of life and he can refer to his connections at any time, Judge’s discretion.

Always Armed:

For the most part, Sir Malcolm is always armed with pistols, knives, and a concealed sword cane. When Malcolm expects trouble he will add to his arsenal ranging from rifles to innovative weaponry (like the automatic prototype of the Mauser pistol). As such, Malcolm is considered prepared most of the time for whatever threat is present.

Wealth:

Through both a family fortune and his activities as an explorer, Malcolm is extraordinarily wealthy. While his Resources are set at Rm (30), Sir Malcolm lives in a different era where his equivalent fortune would be around In (40) in modern times. Malcolm maintains a manor in the country as well as the city home in London, as well as being able to mostly finance his expeditions himself.  Malcolm is well-positioned with his wealth to be able to make most the more difficult Resource FEATS with a simple green, always having readily available resources when necessary.

Reputation:

Sir Malcolm’s reputation is well-known to most walks of life in England as well as Africa, India, America, and the Middle East. In London, Malcolm’s reputation allows him to open doors fairly easily, and Malcolm’s knighthood will allow him access where others cannot. In addition, Sir Malcolm’s reputation is becoming fairly known in the Demimonde.

Contacts:

Sir Malcolm has many, many contacts throughout the world. Sir Malcolm’s closest contacts are usually those he deals with regularly – Ethan Chandler, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Ms. Vanessa Ives, and Sembene.

Limitations:

Sir Malcolm is a man with many limitations, based around his own nature, actions, and activities. Malcolm’s limitations include:

 Dark Secret: Sir Malcolm carried on a decades long affair with his neighbor’s wife, and may or may not be the father of Vanessa Ives.

Dark Secret: Sir Malcolm abandoned his son in order to gain glory for himself, a fact he reveals very privately and was used successfully as part of the goals of Evelyn Poole.

[Obsessed: Sir Malcolm’s driven nature makes him obsessed to the point of foolishness at times, such taking chances in the search for his daughter. Malcolm can become narrow-minded in his goals, which has hindered him often.

Loyalty to Vanessa Ives: Although initially more out of a need to find his daughter Mina, Malcolm becomes very protective of Vanessa to the point of risking his immortal soul to help her.

Violent: Sir Malcolm is a dangerously violent man when provoked, which takes some effort. When provoked Malcolm suffers a -1cs to Psyche FEATs, mirroring his obsessive qualities.

Guilt: Malcolm feels a great deal of guilt for his actions (especially losing his son and daughter), and feels a deep sense of private remorse for his activities. When encountering those who can use his guilt, Malcolm suffers a -2cs to his Psyche (again, like Evelyn Poole did).

Notes:

Sir Malcolm’s FASERIP is something I toyed with for a while. Clearly Malcolm’s natural abilities are far above those in the society around him, and his Endurance is significant, not slowing or dropping in his later years. I set Malcolm’s Fighting and Agility as I did based on the descriptions in the Penny Dreadful Companion

as he is equally adept in combat with melee or ranged weaponry. Secondly, I placed Malcolm’ Intuition as high as I did based on his ability to hunt and stalk successfully vampires, witches, and other related creatures. I was tempted to set Sir Malcolm’s Psyche higher, but I felt that it was high enough to represent where he was at between Season 2 and 3. I think that Malcolm’s willpower and tenacity increase, but only if he directly is aware of such things, which makes Evelyn Poole so dangerous. Finally, I think the power-like effects are the best representations of how easily Sir Malcolm functions within his world. Malcolm develops a better sense of the occult as the show progresses, and as such I felt that to include a basic level of occult lore would be necessary and appropriate.