Master Vigilant

*"The time for contrition has passed, Magister Festus. Now is the judgement."*

## Advanced/Special

(NDM) The Colleges of Magic are loath to leave their dirty laundry to be washed in public by the Witch Hunters or other authorities. Consequently, each Order employs its own watchdogs and investigators, devoted to discretely exposing those who break their oaths and practice dark magic, necromancy, or diabolism. Since Vampires are so often students of these black arts, these observers also take pride in hunting and destroying the princes of darkness. Magisters vigilant still pay their dues to their College, as per a magister lord, but they are not expected to take apprentices. Their duties across the Empire prevent them from attaining the control of magic that many of their colleagues possess, but they have many other skills and talents useful in other sorts of situations, and they command great respect and fear amongst their own kind.

**Special Requirement:** Characters with the Dark Magic Talent or any Dark Lore cannot enter this career; the magisters will not allow it and can usually tell. Usually.

### Secondary Profile

**Skills:** Academic Knowledge (Daemonology, Magic, Necromancy), Channelling, Common Knowledge (the Empire and any one), Gossip, Intimidate, Magical Sense, Perception, Read/Write, Ride, Search, Speak Arcane Language (Daemonic, Magick), Speak Language (any two), Torture

**Talents:** Fast Hands, Lesser Magic (any four), Menacing, Mighty Missile, Schemer, Stout-Hearted, Strong-minded

**Trappings:** Trade Tools (Apothecary), two Magic Items, Silvered or Magical Blade

### **Career Exits**

Master Wizard, Spy, Vampire Hunter, Witch Hunter, Wizard Lord

## Vigilant Agents

A master vigilant rarely operates openly. To maintain his secrecy, he uses cells of trusted minions, and goes to great lengths to preserve his identity even from them. Some masters appear to their agents masked, other prefer to correspond with letters written in cryptic code. All maintain an alias.

Some agents are chosen because they possess skills useful in the pursuit of rogue wizards or vampires, others because their social class allows them to infiltrate where most cannot enter. All share one thing in common: their hatred of the enemies of the Empire, which binds them to their master.

Agents never suspect that they are working for a representative of the Orders of Magic. Many distrust the Orders as much as they despise followers of Chaos or the undead. Those that give a damn suspect that they are working for a clandestine arm of Imperial government. Most are content that their work rids the world of abominations, and do not feel the need to question their master’s motives.

## Hammer of the Witches

The curse of the master vigilant is that all his deeds must go unsung. Even among his own kind, the wizards of the Magic Orders, he must remain unknown. Only his immediate superior and the magister lord of his Order know his identity.

Thus it is that the world will never hear of Magister Bane, the most successful master vigilant of recent history. It was he who consigned to flames the tower of Magister Leidenschaft deep in the Forest of Shadows, burning the wizard on a pyre of his forbidden parchments, a fitting end for one who parleyed with daemons. It was he who uncovered the Distaff Plot, which threatened the life of the Emperor during a diplomatic voyage to Bretonnia shortly after his accession. A hag-raised storm would have swamped the Imperial fleet were it not for the intervention of the common folk Bane had roused against the witches. The master vigilant took great delight in beheading the instigator of the plot, Countess Merelda van Oust, in the boudoir of her Marienburg mansion. His silver stake reduced the vampiress to ashes.

What does Bane look like? What is his real name? Nobody knows. But without him, a dangerous world would be more perilous still.