Of course, I believe the criteria for Ravenloft villains has to be a tragic story in addition to being evil. Lord Soth was snagged from Dragonlance not only because he was a death knight but probably some great betrayal or something, I can't remember, but he's likely still trapped there. As far as I know Vecna is the only person to escape the Mists of Ravenloft. Anyhow, here is our newest crop of candidates for being evicted from the Greyhawk setting:
The Witch-Queen Iggwilv tops the voting with 28%. Iggy is a good choice cause everyone knows she is a schemer, manipulator, and thoroughly evil. She's the tragically abducted and indoctrinated daughter of Baba Yaga. She's also played with the emotions of Demon-Princes, wizards and demigods. This epic threat needs to be contained and where better than Ravenloft? If anyone has a chance at researching and concocting a way out of the demiplane it is also her. With so many enemies however, she might voluntarily stay a while...
Next at 26% was Ivid the Undying. Ivid is quite mad, he is an immortal animus now and he lost his kingdom disappearing in the destruction of his capital after the wars. Perhaps Ivid and his demonic relic the Malachite Throne both get shunted to the Demiplane of Dread where it caters to his fantasies of ruling again over a large kingdom. That may not be enough though, Ivid will eventually go to war with his neighboring Dark Lords. Only a band of heroes will be able to keep him from turning Ravenloft into the Dark Great Kingdom.
Speaking of tyrants, Rary the Traitor is third place with 22% of the vote. Rary is a troubled figure who is both super intelligent and a super powerful wizard. This puts him in the league as Vecna, Azalin or Iggwilv as to devising a way out of the demiplane. Rary tragically turned on his friends in the Circle of Eight, his own country and even his alignment, then moved to the Bright Desert to start his own kingdom. Those efforts haven't gone well however as his dreams of breaking the curse on the desert might be put on hold if the Mists take him away. Rary is wise so he probably wouldn't be a threat to PCs in Ravenloft, he'd probably blackmail and coerce them into doing his bidding in order to escape the demiplane.
At 13% of the vote is St. Kargoth. A lesser known figure in Greyhawk lore, Kargoth was the first death knight in the Flanaess, created by Demogorgon the Prince of Demons. Being a fallen knight, Kargoth is much like Soth in that he betrayed his order and helped in creating more undead of his ilk. Kargoth is much to dangerous to be on the loose in the world, so the mists would probably take him stealthy one day. I can see Kargoth roaming a desolate prison plane recruiting (or raising) an army for some unknown conflict. Perhaps he learns of a greater death knight nearby and feels challenged. Or maybe Karogth quests alone, hopelessly searching the mists for a way out, only to find the PCs instead...
Last but not least is Slave Lord Markessa at 8%. I don't think many fans appreciate Markessa's brand of evil or her percentage would be higher. Markessa is an evil elf, not a drow, which is tragic in itself to her people. She runs with a vile band of Slavers which she uses as a means to capture other elven females and experiment on their minds and appearance to create duplicates of herself. She is twisted,I tell ya. There is probably no woman on Oerth who deserves to be captured by the Mists more than Markessa and the irony is she would love it. The moody, dour residents of Ravenloft would be perfect fodder for her lust for surgery and brainwashing. As a Dark Lord, Markessa would be even more powerful and she'd have a domain to rule that is tailored to her needs. Well, all except for the one thing she seems to need the most. Any PCs who are female elves beware...
That's it for now. Did I miss any other good candidates? Let me know.
What about Dragotha the undead dragon from outside White Plume Mountain? I sort of remember a write-up about him being a dracolich (the only confirmed one in Greyhawk, dracoliches usually being found in Forgotten Realms) and having been a consort to Tiamat herself until she slew him and cursed him to undeath.
ReplyDeleteJohn L: Well Ravenloft certainly has never had a dracolich before! It's also had very few nonhuman dark lords IIRC. That would be interesting little domain to create.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I started with the caverns initially then pulled back thinking there is more in the land to point out. I consider the SHC the final boss stage for a protracted Iuz campaign.
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