Azalin Reviews: Darklrod Anton Misroi
Darklord: Anton Misroi
Domain: Souragne
Domain Formation: 635 BC
Power Level: 💀💀💀💀 ⚫ (4/5 Skulls)
Sources: Domains of Dread (2e), VRGTR (5e), Ravenloft (3e), Dance of the Dead (novel)
Anton Misroi, the so-called “Lord of the Dead” (not to be confused with me, the KING of the Dead), is the Darklord of Souragne, an insufferably humid, insect infested cypress swamp. Souragne is the Florida of the Demiplanes except instead of tourists and Disneyworld you have hordes of shambling corpses.
Souragne is an Island of Terror (though I suppose all the Domains are such in 5e lore) cut off from the Core purely because Anton REALLY didn’t want any neighbors. The western side of Souragne is dominated by the Masion d’Sablet swamp. Misroi’s tiny domain contains three settlements that are so insignificant he couldn’t bother to rule over them and the Souragiens govern themselves. The only “law” Misroi maintains is that the dead must not be cremated or buried until four days have passed. You know, just in case you were wondering where all those zombies were coming from, Anton makes it quite obvious.
Misroi has the outward demeanor of a gentle nobleman, all curtsey and smiles until one gets on his bad side. Before he was a Darklord, he was much the same. An owner of a large farmstead, Misroi was a wealthy, powerful, and cruel lord. He even had a favorite “murder spot” in the nearby swamp. Many servants he had deemed “insubordinate” met a slow end there. He also dabbled in spellsinging, which requires one to perform a dance or song to empower one’s spells. Seems an exorbitant amount of effort for little gain, I shall stick to my scrolls and books.
Misroi’s wife despised her existence and as her kindly neighbor was trying to comfort her, Anton walked in on them and assumed his wife was being unfaithful. Never one to listen to anyone but himself, Anton ignored their explanations and had them bound and dragged to his aforementioned favorite murder spot, a patch of quicksand. He had them tossed into the quicksand, then dismissed his assistant murderers so he could enjoy watching their slow death by himself.
A true gentleman, Misroi allowed his neighbor to attempt to save his wife and did not interfere when he hoisted her up onto his shoulders, but once he was completely under, Misroi pushed her down with a pole. She cursed him as the sand filled her mouth and the darkness heard her. His wife and neighbor were brought back to drag him under. Anton screamed into the void that he did not want to die and of course the Dark Power responded and turned him into a Zombie Lord.
Now an undead, rotting corpse, he was driven out of his land by his former servants. An outcast and coward, Anton hid in the swamps for years, studying the creatures and spirits that lived within. There he met the Maiden of the Swamp, the personification of life and tricked her into believing he was the same as her. She taught him the nature of life and death, of the demiplanes themselves, and workings of natural, elemental magic. Through her teaching, Anton was able to learn his own form of magic, the Dance of the Dead, which allows him to cast any Necromantic spell without having to properly learn it. He also regained his lost humanity, but in doing so, became like the spirits of the swamp. Because of this transformation, Anton is bound to the swamp and cannot set one foot outside of its boundaries.
In 5e, Souragne and Anton have a short write up, but have changed significantly. Anton is now a prison warden who’s violence led his prisoners to revolt and drown him in the swamp. He rose as an undead searching for more prisoners. Souragne is still described as being mostly dominated by swamplands, but only two of the three townships are mentioned.
A dancing, living zombie lord who doesn’t even rule his own Domain and kept his Domain separate by wishing hard enough. It was Anton that taught Larissa Snowmane the Dance of the Dead and his skills in Necromancy, though tainted by unnecessary dancing, are quite impressive. It’s fortunate he’s stuck in his little swamp.
