Most heroes in Deadlock want something. The Drifter is there because he enjoys it. His wish is a bonus; the carnage is the point.

A force of nature

The Drifter is an ancient vampire who has roamed America for centuries. He goes only by that name and doesn't think of himself as a person at all, but as a force of nature. He rejects vampire finery, titles and laws, which has made him a marked man across the North American baronies. Elders and viscounts want him executed.

He says he once played vampire politics himself, chasing power. Now he calls the whole vampire nation a Ponzi scheme.

Who hunts him

  • Vampire society, including Viscount Simon
  • The Baxter Society
  • The Swords of Saint Benedict
  • Silver

The OSIC isn't hunting him, though it would like him dead.

Sadistic by choice

The Drifter enjoys murder and torment, especially killing his victims' loved ones to make them suffer. He likes to steal his victims' coats, and it's no fun if they hand them over. Killing machines, the already dead and mercy killings don't satisfy him. In his words, killing is no fun if someone is telling you to do it: you have to feel it in the moment, like jazz.

Old friends and old enemies

  • Shiv was his friend. Together they were responsible for a lot of deaths, and Silver tried and failed to stop them. Then Shiv left him for the Baxter Society, which the Drifter resents.
  • Silver has haunted him ever since. She thinks she has a better chance now that he doesn't have Shiv's backup.
  • Grey Talon is his longest feud. Talon has tried to kill him over and over and failed. The Drifter calls him Wesley, respects him, and enjoys tormenting him through the people he loves. After Talon's family died, Talon suspected the Drifter, who denies it.
  • Venator thinks hell is too good for him and promises a stake through the heart after the ritual. The Drifter says he has killed Venators before.
  • Oathkeeper, the spirit bound to Lady Geist's arm, is an old friend. He can't understand why she locked up someone so fun.
  • Mina is terrified of him.
  • Holiday gets told to drop her obsession with the troubadour, a killer he says he has never met.

What the patrons offer

The patrons give him exactly what he wants. The Hidden King calls the massacre a gift, and asks only that the Drifter summon him in return.

The short version

Centuries old, hunted by every order that hunts monsters, and whistling a lullaby while the lights go out. He isn't here for a wish. He's here because he likes it.