Master Vampires

**Master Vampires**

## Introduction

Vampire Master levels are simply a convenient way to talk about how powerful a particular master has become. They move from level to level (assuming they don’t plateau at some point as most do) when they grow in strength. So, it is a designation based solely on power, not influence, wealth, intellect, or some other measurement.— *Karen Chance* ~ Louis-Cesare | Karen Chance's Ramblings

## About

Master vampires were more valued than money or land—only power was more valued. They were considered an important part of any senior master's property. Almost anything was easier to get than master vampires in your family.

Many things went into the process of vampire becoming Master level vampires. Low ranking vampires had a vary small chance of ever producing a Master vampire themselves—most stayed with their families instead of branching out on their own to make their own family that they had limited ability to protect.

### Powers & Abilities

* Some of the most powerful vamps can stand daylight in small doses if they're willing to expend a lot of energy for the privilege.

### Weaknesses

* The only thng from the old legends that works: sunlight, stakes and garlic, and the latter only if employed as part of a protection ward.
* **Dragon Blood**: causes a lot of damage, even to a vamp, and slows the healing process down. Pritkin used it on Tomas, a level one master, and his face didn't heal as normal.
* Can not do the kind magic that mages do—if a mage is turned, they lose their magic, so no vamp mages.
* Fire—Vampires are mortally afraid of fire.

### To Kill a Master Vampire

* stake him/her—with wood, not metal—then hack her head completely off, reduce the body to ashes and sprinkle them over a stream of moving water.

### Power Signatures

Power signatures serve a number of functions. Power from a particular master vampire has a recognizable form, like a fingerprint, that can be observed on his children (and therefore indicate their family line). But a power signature is useful for more than figuring out which vamps belong to which master. It also can say a lot about the vampire’s power level and/or mood. ~ Karen Chance's Ramblings #41

### Special Master Powers

* **Mind-Reading**: Mircea
* **The Veil**: Louis-Cesare — allows him to go not only invisible, but to be completely undetectable for a short time. ~ Karen Chance's Ramblings #39

### Bi-Annual Meeting

* Convocation: formal week-long Bi-Annual Meeting of Master level vampires.

### Master Feeding

* A master doesn't need tactile contact. Any of them can have drain a person from across the room, pulling their life from them in invisible, microscopic particles that wouldn't be seen or noticed by anyone else. And if they were good, there wouldn't even be a bruise or other telltale mark to show that blood had been stolen.

### Daytime for Masters

* First-level vamps aren't bound by the sun cycle and can be active at any time of day. But most still sleep in daylight, since the night is much kinder to their energy levels.

### Character / Nature

* Master vampires tend to treat their servants like pieces on a chessboard, moving them about with no concern over what  the subject might want.

### Other Details

* Many new vampires adopt their sire’s name
* A vampire can't kill his master, it's not possible, but may be possible after he is no longer his master.
* The old ones don't have temperature fluctuations based on whether they have eaten recently or not.
* There were only a few hundred first-level masters in the world, and what they could do often seemed miraculous.

## Master Levels

For an outward manifestation of a master’s power, there are markers along the way...

**Seventh level**: a vampire can make other vamps.

**Sixth level**: Taste often returns, allowing the enjoyment of food again, and other senses generally improve dramatically.

**Fifth level**: A master is often emancipated, or offered the chance at it by his master, because he is becoming difficult to control by force. Some branch out and start new families at this level.

**Fourth level**: A master can withstand very limited daylight without combustion. Also, those masters who choose to stay with their old master are often given considerable leeway/put in command of an auxiliary court. Marlowe’s upper-level masters, for instance, staff his various courts around the globe, and process the information that comes in for him. This gets powerful vampires out from underfoot, and gives them something useful to do, as well as providing a sense of automony.

**Third level**: A master can withstand more daylight without combustion, although with a significant power drain.

**Second level**: A master can withstand considerable daylight, with less of a power drain. Also, first level powers are sometimes glimpsed here. Also, much more of a chance that the vampires you turn will someday reach master level themselves.

**First level**: A catch-all term for masters above the other rankings, basically meaning very, very strong. Daylight is still a power drain, but they have power to burn so it really is not an issue any more. Special first-level abilities show up over time, sometimes more than one, which are carefully guarded secrets and “special weapons” used in cases of emergency. At the upper power levels of the first rank, senate become an option for those willing to risk the struggle for one. — *Karen Chance* ~ Louis-Cesare | Karen Chance's Ramblings

## Master Vampire Characters

* Mircea Basarab — level one
* Louis-Cesare — level one
* Tomas — level one
* Radu Basarab - level 2
* Consul, aka Cleo
* Kit Marlowe
* Augusta
* Marco Carales
* Carlos Casanova
* Tony — third level
* Rasputin
* Alejandro
* European Consul
* Dmitri
* Jules

## See Also

* Convocation
* Vampires
* Vampire Senate
* North American Vampire Senate

## Book References

1. ↑ *Tempt the Stars*, ch. 26, p. 306
2. ↑ *Touch the Dark*, ch. 6
3. ↑ *Touch the Dark*, ch. 10
4. ↑ *Touch the Dark*, ch. 10–11
5. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 5
6. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 7
7. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 13
8. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 7
9. ↑ *Touch the Dark*, ch. 9
10. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 6
11. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 1
12. ↑ *"The Day of the Dead"*
13. ↑ *Touch the Dark*, ch. 9
14. ↑ *Claimed by Shadow*, ch. 11

## External Links

* Karen Chance's Ramblings #41