"Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present"

— from The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

The Prince of the city is a man of a singular vision, that of being in control. He has been in charge since Prince Calebros, who took over after the late Prince Michaela, Baldassare took over after he stepped down, quickly moving into place to seize the reins when the Nosferatu stepped down. Some say he had plans on taking over before Calebros, even. Whatever the case New York is now his city.

The rumors about him are many, the most prominent being that he is either a favored childe of Michaela or her lover, or both. Some claim that his name is a hint to the Italian renaissance, and that he is much older than he seems, and thus not Michaela’s childe.

Whatever the facts are, he was dear to Michaela throughout her existence, often seeking his counsel on matters, and allowing him leeway to do as he pleased. Baldassare always states that he warned her against meeting with then Archbishop Polonia, but most believe this to be a lie, some even going so far as to state the Prince was in league with Polonia, though those words should never be uttered where the Prince or his spies can hear you.

It should be noted, enemies of Prince Baldassare are lucky if they manage to flee New York with their unlives, and most are simply not heard from again. It is not a kindred who suffers his enemies to live, though he has been forced to accept loyal opposition within his city.

He has, in some ways, inherited the previous Sheriff, but they see eye to eye on matters of the Traditions, which means they work well together. The Primogen council was also inherited, thus his adding of the "Advisors to the Prince". He named his supposed "sibling" Hellene Panhard as Seneschal, a move that surprised many, as it's no secret she desires to be Prince. This has of course fanned the rumors that they are in fact of a shared lineage.

The Prince also has a ghoul commonly referred to as his "wife" (if polite, there are of course several impolite ways to refer to her) This woman seems to be of some special value to the Prince, as she has far more freedom than most ghouls. Plenty of rumors surround the woman known only as Sorcha, there's little information to find about her anywhere, or what she actually does for the Prince.