Friedrich von Glower

Baron Friedrich Von Glower is the charismatic founder of the Royal Bavarian Hunting Lodge, a men's social club and hunting lodge.

Background
An observer, Von Glower spares little detail about his personal life and history, preferring to glean what information he can regarding Gabriel's personal life and intentions. He immediately takes a shine to Gabriel, taking him under his wing despite criticism from the club members, particularly Von Zell. Von Glower is governed by a philosophy similar to Primitivism and Hedonism, and chooses each club member by how well he believes they will adapt and adhere to the philosophy.

Baron Friedrich Von Glower is the antagonist of The Beast Within:A Gabriel Knight Mystery. He was born in 1738 to the von Ralick family. Being born after his father was turned into a werewolf due to a gypsy curse, he therefore was born a werewolf. Some time after his family fled to Buenos Aires, von Glower began exhibiting the symptoms of werewolfery. After growing up, he re-entered Prussian society as Paul Gowden (probably in the 1850s) and made himself useful to chancellor Bismarck, eventually being rewarded in 1863 with the noble title Baron von Glower. In 1864 as "Louis von Glower" he was sent to Bavaria and became the lover of Ludwig II. Von Glower turned Ludwig into a beta werewolf during a hunting trip at Schachen in 1872. It is not made clear whether von Glower did this out of genuine desire for Ludwig's companionship or at the behest of Otto von Bismarck.

In 1970 von Glower, by now using the name Friedrich to disguise his longevity, established the The Royal Bavarian Hunting Lodge in Munich. He hoped to use the lodge to find someone who could handle the process of turning into a werewolf. One candidate for this was Baron Gar Von Zell, an excellent hunter. However, von Zell became erratic after being made a beta, threatening to expose von Glower with his brazen murders in the heart of the city. When von Glower met Gabriel he saw an opportunity to correct his mistake, believing that the Schattenjager would be able to weather the change better, and also be capable of killing von Zell, something von Glower could not do himself.

It is strongly suggested that von Glower carried out wanton murder from 1970 until the events of the game, eating the victims. An investigation of newspaper articles nearby the lodge's hunting locations reveals an increase in the disappearances of people, never to be found. Komissar Lieber investigated one such case early in his career, though it was never solved.

When Gabriel tells von Glower that von Zell is eating human flesh, von Glower blocks his ears and sets out with Gabriel to hunt von Zell down, eventually exhorting Gabriel to shoot him. When Gabriel is bitten by von Zell, he becomes another of von Glower's betas. Von Glower leaves Gabriel at the Huber farm, and returns the Ritter talisman to Gabriel with a letter that asks Gabriel for forgiveness.

Von Glower attends the premier of "The Curse of Englehart" at the Wittlesbacher Theatre, oblivious to the fact that it was produced in part by Ludwig as a means to both reveal his true form to the public and kill him. At the premier he is seated in the Mittel Loge in the theater next to Kriminalkommisar Leber, on orders of Grace, with the exit sealed with a rope. Although the plan fails, Gabriel manages to force von Glower to turn by howling. Von Glower, unable to escape the Mittel Loge, is forced to jump down into the ground floor in front of the other members of the audience and escape into the basement. When Gabriel chases him to the basement with the furnace he with the aid of Grace pushes him into the fire, killing him and breaking the werewolf curse.

Behind the scenes
He is listed under Baron Friedrich von Glower in the character glossary in the back of the The Beast Within: Official Player's Guide.