Karsten Chamberlain

Karsten Mattathias Chamberlain is the deutrotagonist of. He is a powerful Voodoo priest who has followed in the footsteps of his powerful father Mattathias Chamberlain. He is unknowingly the father of Morgan Chamberlain whose mother is his ex-girlfriend Katherine Pierce.

Personality
In the beginning, Morgan constantly categorized Karsten as being mean and angry. Karsten has a long history of violence, due to his abusive father who would claim he was making him "stronger". It was noticed that when Karsten watched Morgan sleep he felt something, presumably that he was good once.

As the series goes on, he develops a strong paternal instinct and an urge to keep Morgan safe. Karsten no longer has a sensitive side; as he no longer cares about what people in general think about him, particularly his father, with the exception of Morgan. In his new role as a parent, Karsten has gradually begun to reveal an unexpected aptitude towards the demands of fatherhood by placing his daughter's needs above his own.

Powers and Abilities
Karsten is a very powerful witch. He is a powerful voodoo practitioner capable of considerable feats of magic. Karsten is capable of performing strong Pain Infliction spells capable of taking down vampires just by looking at them. Karsten us able to light a stake with ease by simply pointing at it. He was shown to apply his practice of voodoo by using Graysin's blood to make a connection to his essence/spirit. His knowledge in herbs was evident, as he explained to Graysin and, using vervain, he tapped into Graysin's past.

Weaknesses
Karsten has the typical weaknesses of a witch.

Morgan Chamberlain
Morgan is Karsten's daughter, a fact revealed to Karsten in "In Your Blood" and revealed to Morgan in "I Want to Know What Love Is" during her self inflicted coma. The two constantly talk back and forth, with Morgan constantly commenting on Karsten being mean and angry, while Karsten flatly denies her comments. They find the best of themselves in one another; Karsten remains honest and sympathetic around Morgan, and Morgan grows stronger and more confident around Karsten.

Katherine Pierce
Katherine had been romantically involved with Karsten, though she was forced by Blackwell to break up their relationship prior to his knowledge of her pregnancy.

Mattathias Chamberlain
Mattathias Chamberlain is Karsten's father, with whom the two have a mutual estranged relationship. When Tate was convicted, Bruiser, like everyone else in the town, believed that his son was indeed the murderer. In In Your Blood, their issues are somewhat resolved after Mattathias sees that his son has changed, for the better. They part ways on good terms with the agreement that they "can do better."

Name

 * The name Karsten is a Greek baby name, meaning: Anointed.


 * The name Mattathias is a Biblical baby name meaning: The gift of the Lord.


 * The last name Chamberlain is of Old French origin, and is an occupational name for a chamberlain, that is an official in charge of the private chambers of his master; the term was later a title of high rank. The derivation of this name is from the Old French and Anglo-Norman French "c(h)ambrelain, cambrelane, cambrelen(c)", chamberlain. The Italian cognate "camerlengo" was given to a manager of a pontifical court.


 * In Voodoo in My Blood, it was revealed by Mattathias himself that he gave his son his first name as a middle name, as he believes one day he will follow in his foot-steps.

Tropes

 * Eccentric Millionaire: The loft he owns is huge and spacious and located in one of the more expensive parts of modern Los Angeles, implying that Karsten is at the very least a multimillionaire.
 * Friend To All Children: Karsten really likes kids.
 * Papa Wolf: Karsten does not take kindly to constant threats against Morgan.
 * Squishy Wizard: Has immense magical powers, but is still susceptible to physical injury. Considering how many enemies have Super Strength, Super Speed and Super Reflexes this can be a weakness.
 * Really 700 Years Old: While stated in the show to be at least somewhere over three hundred years old, Karsten's exact age has not been revealed.