Herman Bentz (Call of Cthulhu)

Herman Bentz, Age 27, Agency Detective, former infantryman

Herman Bentz was 18 in 1914 and joined the Army just in time to be shipped off to France.  He spent three years in the trenches and survived with only a bit of PTSD largely triggered by loud noises and thunder – he was nearly killed by artillery far too many times to walk away without getting the creeps from anything even resembling incoming fire. 

Aside from the “normal” war experiences, he found himself trapped in the basement of a wrecked building during yet another artillery barrage.  He saw something horrific down there, but can’t for the life of him remember what.  All he knows is he was found wandering around covered in blood clutching a strange piece of unknown metal with unrecognizable etching on it.  This experience gave him an interest in the occult, and he has spent the last few years trying to figure out just what in tarnation the etchings mean. 

After the war he answered an ad for private detectives.  With his skills he rose rapidly through the agency to become one of their field agents.  The agency sends him out on the weird cases whenever they come up – his odd interests have given him some unique insights over the years. 

His reason to be in a Mythos-related investigation should be obvious. 

STR 70, CON 75, SIZ 75, DEX 35, INT 85, APP 55, POW 60, EDU 75, SAN 51, Luck X, DB +1d4, Build +1, Move 7, HP: 15

Skills: Climb 50%, Credit Rating 30, Dodge 42%, Drive Auto 40%Fighting (Brawl) 50%, Firearms (Handgun) 50%, Firearms (Rifle/Shotgun) 50%, First Aid 50%, Intimidate 60%, Law 60%, Library Use 60%, Listen 50%, Occult 15%, Persuade 60%, Psychology 50%, Spot Hidden 60%, Stealth 50%

Languages: English (Own) 75%

Equipment of Note:

• M1911: his sidearm in the war.  He wears it in a holster when he’s in the field. 
• Springfield Rifle: he carried this in WWI and brought it home with him.  It sits on a shelf in his living room with other souvenirs. 

Backstory

Personal Description: 5’10”, average build, good shape.
Significant People: grandmother
Meaningful Locations: France (he was stationed there in WWI)
Treasured Possessions: weird piece of etched metal he found in France
Traits: good reputation as a dedicated professional despite his psychological issues. 

Notes: I got insanely lucky with the dice rolls for this guy.  Not that it’s likely to do him much good…  Sanity was reduced 9 points by his War Experience package.  I gave him the guns because they fit; people have been sneaking their weapons back home with them from wars since Thag realized a sharp rock was a dandy thing to terminate the guy in the next cave. They also aren’t going to make much difference once he goes up against an actual Mythos threat. If anything, he’s likely to be an early casualty simply because he’ll think he can just shoot that Shoggoth.