Like any Time Lord, the Master’s appearance has changed over time. Unfortunately, if one were to ask him what each of his regenerations looked like, the truth would likely be that he cannot recall most of them. However, the ones that he ca recall often held many similarities in appearances.

Currently, the Master has taken to looking as he had long before he had begun to steal the bodies of others or his body had begun to degrade. Overall, he appears to look to be in his late thirties or early forties. He has a light tan that is, for the most part, natural. His hair is a dark brown, but clearly holds signs of age. Unlike his more recent regenerations, his hair is often kept neat and clean cut. Moreover, there is often quite a bit of it. His eyes are a mixture of grey and blue. As he often is, the Master is quite short, standing at only 5’ 6”.

As per usual, the Master can often be found wearing black. However, his way of dress is reminiscent to how he used to dress when he was younger than as of recent. He often appears clean cut, his beard and mustache always well groomed. Moreover, he takes to dressing formally and, on occasion, garishly. On the occasion the Master adds colour into his wardrobe, he is usually wearing dress that is common on Gallifrey.

His current regeneration holds a rather calm and serious demeanor. It is rare to see him with a genuine smile. More often than not, the Master can be seen with a frown or look of displeasure. His happiness is often expressed subtly and with words, as opposed to gestures. Chances are that this Master may appear to be cold.

The easiest way to describe the Master is as a madman and, truth be told, most people do. However, this Time Lord is not nearly as simple as most people like to think him to be. He is made up of layers and complexities, all of which lead straight to the Doctor.

The Master is not a kind man. There is little- and at one point there was none at all- to him that can be described as kind or caring. Most of these traits were destroyed by the Time Lords when he was quite young. Usually, when the Master takes to acting in a manner one might deem kind, he is doing it because he thinks the situation might work to his advantage or because the current situation is poor enough that he needs to work towards the greater good. There are only a rare, select few that this regeneration cares for and it is only these few that the Master will ever show kindness to.

It is arguable whether one would ever wish to see the Master’s kindness. Oh, he is a polite and charming enough person. In fact, he is quite good at charming others, at twisting his words so that even his lies sound like truths. However, when he truly cares, he is the sort who would be willing to see the world burn for another.

Something that has always been clear about the Master is his intelligence. Even for a Time Lord, he was quite brilliant.

The Master has never been one of the most moral of individuals and this has certainly not changed. His morality can be quite questionable at times, as he finds no regret in harming in others. In fact, much of his humour often comes, as it had hen he was younger, at the expense and even pain of others.

Unlike in the past, the Master presents a clear display, and perhaps even need, for attention. This likely comes from some of his previous regeneration’s obsession with the Doctor and apparent self-loathing. The Master quite enjoys having himself, or at least his actions, on display, even if they might be utterly detestable. After all, in his mind, if he cannot receive praise, then attention is just as good.

The Master is a highly ambitious person. This is a trait which often manifests itself both positively and negatively in his person. Sometimes, the Time Lord aims merely to achieve greatness and, quite a stubborn person, will do anything to achieve it. At the same time, doing anything to attempt to achieve it sometimes does actually mean anything.

He is quite tied to the Doctor, having, over the years, become nearly obsessed with the other Time Lord as his insanity has grown. Only in recent years has it somewhat diminished, becoming less hate filled. At the same time, one might call it just as obsessive.

Normally, the Master is polite to others, only a biting amount of sarcasm laced throughout his words. He normally keeps this demeanor to those he hates as well. However, in recent years, he has also become mildly manic, something that has likely come about from going through too many regenerations. While not as bad as his previous regeneration, the Master does occasionally switch from polite to ill of mood, his words usually becoming biting and rude. Unlike his previous regeneration, he does not tend to fall into violent moods.

The Master does have a select few that he tends to treat poorly no matter what. Like some Time Lords, he can be quite xenophobic. In particular, he has come to despise humans over the years, viewing them as stupid. Moreover, he holds the ever popular view among his people that Time Lords are a superior race. It is only in this recent regeneration that this belief has mellowed slightly and he has come to dislike his own people a fair amount, particularly for Rasillion’s actions towards him.

Born to the House of Oakdown, a prominent house on Gallifrey, the Master grew up a short distance away from the Capitol. Unfortunately, this childhood, as he now often recalls, was not one where he was allowed to actually indulge in his youth. Instead, he was presented with duties, an attitude that eventually shaped the Master’s lackluster personality.

In truth, most enjoyment could be found in the company of his then childhood friend, the Doctor. Possessing the same heritage and upbringing, the Doctor and Master possessed a deep friendship that lasted for many years. In truth, the two were actually quite different, but such differences, at the time, were quite subtle and would not be noticed for many years.

The two often played together, spending their time in the fields near his father’s estate. It was not uncommon for the two to go off and get into trouble. For instance, they commonly snuck off to the Capitol, getting into fights because of the Master. Moreover, it was the Master who taught the Doctor hypnotism when they were young.

When they were young, the two were cruelly bullied by another boy by the name of Torvic. Such bullying became savage enough that the Doctor was eventually forced to kill the boy in order to save the Master’s life. Unbeknownst to the latter, it was because of this incident that the Master was made the champion of the personification of Death after the Doctor refused to become her disciple, suggesting the Master instead.

As was proper, the Master gazed into the Time Vortex through the Untempered Schism when he was eight for his initiation. However, when he did this, a rhythm of four beats was implanted into his head. It was this rhythm that would, among other reasons, slowly begin to drive him into insanity.

During his days at the Academy, the Master was friends with The Doctor and The War Chief, the former being tutored by Borusa with the Master. It was also at the Academy that the Master was given the nickname “Koschei” and was in charge of end of the term parties.

During his time at the Academy, Koschei was part of a clique of young Time Lords called the Deca. The Doctor and Master also spent a fair amount of their time getting into trouble at the Academy. In fact, the Master spent most of his time at the Academy causing trouble. It was quite common for him to hypnotize others as a joke, an action that would go unpunished, as would other misdemeanors he would commit.

Unfortunately, the two’s friendship could only last for so long. The two’s friendship began to fray during their time at the Academy. While an overall intelligent person, the Master did not perform well at the Academy. Instead, the Doctor, who was later expelled during the Master’s time there, outperformed the latter. Jealous from the prizes and the praise the Doctor received as a result, the Master slowly began to hate the Doctor, his ambition and thirst for power becoming greater than his friendship with the Doctor.

Sometime after he graduated the Academy, the Master has claimed to have had a daughter. However, whether this is true or not is difficult to tell as it is a claim he often changes depending on the regeneration.

Sometime after his time at the Academy, the Master took advantage of a period of unrest in Gallifrey and led many students of the Academy to start a revolt against Lord President Pundat the Third. During this plot, he attempted to recruit the Doctor and convince him to take the position of President. However, the Doctor chose to stay out of the revolt. After the revolt, Pundat died of stress; however, when it was discovered that Lady Larn was being groomed to be the next president, another revolt was planned. Unfortunately, in trying to gather the Doctor to the cause, the coup was discovered and blood was shed. Believing the students ready for a second coup, the Master killed Lord President Slann. Unfortunately, he was incorrect in his assumption. As a result, he took advantage of the situation, stole a TARDIS, and fled Gallifey.

Ironically, it was on this same day that the Doctor stole his TARDIS as well.

The Time Lords had become cautious had planted a spy on Koschei to monitor his actions. The Time Lady Ailla posed as a human so that he would take her on as a companion. Unfortunately, Koschei later learned about this. The revelation that Ailla was a spy destroyed what good had been left within him. No longer was he Koshei. Now, he was the Master.

Afterwards, the Doctor would trap him in a black hole, causing the Master to swear revenge.

From thereon, the two held a game of cat and mouse. More often than not, the two were at each other’s throats. The Master would create his schemes and the Doctor would aim to foil them. However, this was not always the case, as, from time to time, the two would team up.

It was only once the Time War came that things changed. While the Time Lords wished to use the Master as a weapon, the Master held no wish to have any part in the war. Early on in the war, before the Doctor locked Gallifrey in the Time Lock but long after the Master’s parents had died, the Time Lord took to acting in a manner that he would normally criticize the Doctor of: he ran. The Master ran far, running until he reached the end of the universe. Once he was there, he used his fob watch to change his identity and rewrite his biology. Taking up the identity of the kindly Professor Yana, the Master gained the trust of the humans at the end of the universe. No longer in possession of his memories, he took to helping the humans with their project.

However, as was often the case, the Doctor eventually found him, connected as they were. As opposed to normal, he did not recognize the Lord Doctor this time around. The Doctor, Martha Jones, and Captain Jack Harkness attempted to help with the project. Unfortunately, during the process, Martha recognized the fob watch Professor Yana had on his person for what it was. Due to her actions, he was led to open the watch and remember.

His mind immediately became set back on track where it normally had been, consumed with ideals of power and ambition. However, Chantho, the assistant of the man who had been Professor Yana, recognized that she needed to stop the Master after he set the Futurekind on the Doctor and fatally harmed her. As such, she shot him, leading to the Master locking himself in Doctor’s TARDIS and regenerating.

This time around he was far younger, his mind far more insane than it had ever been before as the rhythm drummed louder than ever. Unfortunately for those around him, he might have been insane, but he was still brilliant.

The Master was lead to the 21st century, an action that was meant to work against him but worked in his favor. He took up the guise of Harold Saxon. As Harold Saxon, he seduced and married a human woman by the name of Lucy Cole, viewing her as the perfect pawn to gain the trust of other mortals. He entered the election to become the British Prime Minister, setting in place his plan to take over the world. By the time the Doctor and his companions had returned from the end of the universe, the Master had already been elected as the Prime Minister.

It was on the day that the Earth was to “meet” the Toclafane that the Master managed to capture most of the group. Aging the Doctor 100 years, he managed to capture both him and Jack. Only Martha Jones was able to escape.

In his arrogance, he did not realize that this was his undoing.

For a year, the Master ruled the Earth, planning to further his reign beyond the planet. His rule was cruel and manic, resulting in many deaths. However, it was during this time that Martha walked the world, spreading the idea of hope, of the Doctor. Through the idea, the Doctor was able to re-age to his proper age. Disarming the Master, he forgave the other Time Lord. However, the Master was unwilling to admit defeat- and, though he would not admit it, acknowledge the forgiveness. He teleported the Doctor and himself to Earth. The two got into a brief fight there. The Doctor managed to teleport them back the Valiant just as Jack destroyed the Paradox Machine within the TARDIS that had bee created by the Master. The year rewound. As a result, the year that the Master reigned became the Year That Never Was and became forgotten by most.

It was at this moment that Lucy chose to shoot the Master, having become so full of hatred once she recognized what the Master was truly like. However, this was no tragedy, not for the Master. Stubborn, selfish, and cruel, the Master refused to regenerate, if only because he believed that in breaking the Doctor’s heart had he truly defeated him for once.

As per usual, the Master would live on.

When the Doctor had him cremated, there was a woman, a member of the Disciples of Saxon, there to pick up his ring. On this ring was his biological imprint. Years later, the Disciples of Saxon brought Lucy Saxon from her prison cell so that they could resurrect the Time Lord. Using a book that had been left to them by the Master, the cult managed to bring him back, even though there were people in place to thwart the plan. Unfortunately for those working against him, the elixir that was made to counteract the potion made to bring him back merely damaged the Master, and at the cost of the lives of everyone else present.

Once again, the Master outlived another spouse.

The Master’s form became unstable, his body being torn apart. Slowly, he was dying. On the bright side, he had gained the ability to control electricity, but it had come at the cost of tearing apart his very being.

The Master had never been a quitter, though, and he was quite stubborn when it came to living.

The solution to his problem was relatively simple. He had to replace life force for life force, resulting in him eating a great amount. The Master took to disguising himself slightly, wearing far different clothing and dying his hair a slightly different colour.

As per usual, the Doctor eventually found him. This time around, things were a bit different. The Master showed him the rhythm in his head, proving that he was not hearing something that was not there.

Later, the Master was captured and taken to fix the Immortality Gate. However, he was able to easily take control of it. The Doctor came to stop him too late. Once used, everyone, every human, on the planet turned into him.

After the Doctor was able to escape because of the Vinvocci, the Master recognize that a signal was being transmitted to him, specifically from the Time Lords. Recognizing that he could bring the Time Lords out of the time lock, the Master seized the opportunity. Using the Whitepoint Star, he pulled them back through, believing that he could use this moment to benefit himself and finally gain the praise and glory he had always wished for.

Whether fortunately or not, the Master quickly realized what the situation actually was. The Time Lords had started the rhythm in his head, giving him this burden that had driven him into insanity. Moreover, they even had the gall to call him a disease.

True, unadulterated anger filled the Master, rawer than anything he had felt in years. After the Doctor destroyed the link instead of shooting him, the Master decided to return the favor. It is difficult to say why. Perhaps it was his anger, their old friendship, or even just a whim. No matter the reason, he attacked Rassilon. Unfortunately, this came with the consequence of him being pulled into the Time Lock.

Now stuck in the Time Lock, The Master was quickly locked away by the Time Lords. However, before he could be punished, he managed to escape, regaining the ability to regenerate, and escaped Gallifrey.

In all his time, the Master had never quite thought he would be happy to be back on Earth. It was such a dismal planet, filled with its thoughtless apes. It was beyond him how the Doctor loved these beings. Their intelligence was poor and they drove themselves towards destruction.

Now though, he was only glad to be off of Gallifrey. He was away from the Time War, from the chaos and destruction. How ironic that he would wish to be away from chaos and destruction. Normally, those were things he craved. Being stuck in a hopeless war was the last thing he wanted.

The Master glanced down at his hand, a gold glow beginning to emit as his regeneration began. With a mad chuckle, the regeneration began, explosively taking to destroying much of his surroundings as his stolen TARDIS took to flying.

A moment’s pause settled before the Master grasped the console and pulled himself up. Glancing at his reflection, he let out a deep, maniacal chuckle. ”Oh, now that’s a familiar face.” His gaze drifted to the console before a scowl settled across his face. ”Now to get off this wretched planet” After all, he had work to do and it certainly would not be done standing here.

Placing in the coordinates, the Master set forth to leave Earth.