While many ghouls are little more than unquestioning slaves, your character enjoys the benefit of a special relationship with her regnant, which goes be-yond the simple master-servant boundary. Your character can rely on her regnant to provide information, extra Vitae, equipment or even to personally intervene on her behalf. Conversations with your character’s regnant might be genuine interpersonal dialogue rather than the simple dispensation of orders, and you might even find him turning to your character for true companionship. This doesn’t suggest that the ghoul is anything remotely like an equal to her regnant, just that she isn’t necessarily made to feel like a lowly, servile nonentity.

There are a variety of beneficial relationships with regnants. One ghoul might enjoy service to a generous master who isn’t significantly influential, while another is sheltered by her regnant’s status without receiving any special attention from him. The advantages of this Merit are split into three factors — power, favor and trust. Players who choose this Merit must also choose how to allocate these three factors when spending points. For instance, the first dot might go toward Regnant Power with two more going toward Regnant Favor. Each one of these characteristics has a limit of five dots, and the fifth dot costs two dots to purchase.

A ghoul with a powerful regnant finds that her dealings with local Kindred and their ghouls are, while not simple, at least a bit easier. Her compatriots (and regnant’s compatriots) know who she serves, and probably won’t be eager to impede her, especially if the news of such interference reaches her regnant’s ears. A regnant represented by several dots in Power might hold a significant position in the city (such as a respected Primogen, Priscus or Prince), while one represented by just a couple could be an acknowledged member of a powerful covenant. Each dot of Regnant Power confers a +1 die bonus on Persuasion, Intimidation and Socialize rolls when in conflict with a local ghoul or Kindred. Regnants whose ghouls have no dots allocated thus are local bottom-feeders.

Note that Regnant Power need not be a simple reflection of title or position. A Priscus regnant might actually earn very little respect from the local Kindred, while an unaligned vampire without ties to the local vampire community might be so old and dangerous as to be feared by all.

Regnant Favor reflects the master’s willingness to provide her ghoul access to Vitae, resources and equipment. It doesn’t necessarily reflect an emotional bond between the regnant and ghoul as much as it does a measure of generosity. Each dot of Regnant Favor could reflect an additional hit of Vitae (one at a time) that a ghoul may request from her regnant per month without risking his wrath. Alternatively, Regnant Favor could be used in place of Resources to determine whether a ghoul can afford to secure equipment. A ghoul with three dots in Regnant Favor could requisition a heavy pistol from his regnant, while one with five dots could take one of his regnant’s sports cars from the vast warehouse-like garage. Regnants without any dots allocated to this category are typically tight-fisted with their resources (and Vitae) and not likely to give any gifts without some real convincing.

Regnant Trust is a measure of the extraordinary quality of the relationship your character enjoys with her regnant. Some ghouls are simply well liked by their regnants and are more likely to be afforded some breathing room with respect to their performance. The Kindred knows that his trusted ghoul will perform whatever job has been set before her, so he’s willing to let some minor early setback slide. An especially trusting regnant might even gift his ghoul with tidbits of forbidden information, which might prove infinitely more valuable than a gun or a car. Each dot of Regnant Trust confers a +1 die bonus on Persuasion rolls in dealings between your character and her regnant. Regnants who are represented by having no dots allocated to this category don’t necessarily dislike their ghouls, they just fail to see any reason to be friendly with them.

Note that ghoul characters may not share the Regnant Merit. If several players wish to have their ghoul characters serve the same Regnant, they should all spend the same amount on Regnant Power. The favor and trust aspects of the Merit reflect personal relationships, however, so they can be different for several characters in service to the same master. They can also change in time as the various characters demonstrate their worth.