Merilee Markuza (NPC)

Merilee Markuza is a villainous NPC presented in the game accessory Darklords, though she herself is the only character profiled in that source to not be a darklord. She is unique in that she is a vampire but trapped in the body of a young child. Because she is physically weak, she has focused on developing her mental abilities.

Background

Born in the Krynnish city of Caergoth, Merilee Markuza, also known as The Child Vampire, or The Last Markuza, was orphaned and nearly killed by roving bandits as a young girl. As an act of twisted mercy, a vampire named Keesla immortalized the young girl into a vampire, thus trapping Merilee at that age for eternity. Merilee later got her revenge by betraying her master and destroying her. Merilee then tracked down each of the bandits, tortured, and killed them. The Mists responded and brought her to the Demiplane of Dread.

Later, Rudolph van Richten and Claudia DeShanes went on a hunt for Merilee. The hunters were not successful in destroying her. Instead, Merilee killed Claudia DeShanes and eluded Rudolph van Richten. Van Richten's account of this is given in the Darklords accessory.

Current Sketch

Merilee is an excellent manipulator, able to masterfully prey on the sympathies of her victims. Her mental abilities beat those of many other vampires. Though she is unable to create more of her kind, her vampiric charm powers are much more potent.

She has been known to keep company with Adam; the two of them appear to have a rapport based on both feeling alienated from 'normal' society.

Merilee is described in detail in the netbook article Merilee Markuza (Article). She has been known to write scholarly work under the alias, Tempus LaMark.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Darklords
		Darklords - p61 The Created - p13
		Darklords - pp62-63
		Darklords - pp60-62 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - p23
		The Child Vampire