The Author Would Like to Disclaim Any Trauma Or Phobias Which Come With

The author would like to disclaim any trauma or phobias which come with undertaking this task in the Demiplane of Dread, specifically the undead and swampy horrors that come in Sourgane. Anyone on the Demiplane of Dread are beyond help.

Sample file Introduction ife in Souragne is for most, never pleasant. The A stranger came to Souragne one day, boasting of wares temperatures are thick and heat is constant. which can help bring a person to what ails them and make all The lands are against the people as the majority their miseries disappear. People often bought small things of the Island of Terror is swamps filled with all within their meager means, curing their woes and reversing manner of deadly plants and creatures. fortunes. The smaller things he offered were paid for in coin, Civilization itself is not a release from this as but greater wares required trade or perhaps favors to be Lthe divide between rich and poor is very wide, called in at a later time. with the former usually allowed to do almost anything they With many of the elite interested in his wares, Romuald want to the latter. Then of course comes the creatures of the brought himself to meet the mysterious merchant and to view night, numerous undead who wander the swamps, attacking his wares. In meeting the merchant, Romuald found himself anything which they come across if not somehow controlled telling the strangely charismatic man about his woes. The otherwise. merchant replied he had the means for Romuald to see his All of this grim life lays directly in the hands of Souragne's beloved Ameline's healthy face once again. Darklord, Anton Misroi, otherwise known as the Lord of the Romuald couldn't offer to pay for such a means from the Dead. His word is law in Souragne and the masses of the merchant fast enough. His price was the harvest of what he Island of Terror revere him as one of the spirits of the island, a would sow by taking his product. Romuald still obeyed, eager Loa of the dead and afterlife. Although he can never leave the for the chance to see his bride's face. For his word written in a swamps which surround his plantation, his influence and contract, Romuald took possession of what seem to be a small authority is felt all over the island. seed. His instructions were to plant it into his reanimated Fortunately for the citizens of Souragane, unlike many wife's body and keep it close, but to keep feeding it. Darklords, Anton does not rule with either a heavy hand nor Romuald obeyed, immediately getting a group of workers to harsh expectations on them. Instead, he is content to let each hunt down his reanimated wife. Fortunately, they didn't have settlement govern itself while he deals with issues which to go far. Her body had wandered to a weeping willow island affect the whole of Souragne. While this has spared the in the swamps, where she usually went to enjoy serenity and people of his more malicious activities more often than not, it (secretly) pray to the Loa. Romulad had his men pin her body also leaves them to deal with their own issues of dangers of down before he cut open a hole int he zombie corpse, still the night, not including the undead as well as their own relatively intact, and planted the seed inside of her before corruption within. The most glaring example of this was the pinning the walking corpse to the ground. incident in Marais d'Tarascon which had the unofficial town Over time, a tree grew from the corpse, albeit slowly. At first leaders nearly destroy their hamlet with a hoard of zombies. Romuald was impatient for the tree's growth, but was startled Once again, another threat to the people is rising and much when he witnessed the tree kill another zombie which was like before, they do not even know it. relatively recent, roots piercing the body for the blood. This Romuald Marchant is one of Souragne's rich elite. His caused a spurt in the tree's growth. plantation stretches for miles and produces much of the Romulad quickly began herding more zombies he could Island of Terror's cotton crops. To all who look in from the find, ones which would still have blood in them, within the outside, the estate seems to be doing well and is prosperous range of the tree where it would strike them down and devour as far as the standards in Souragne go. the blood. Eventually, fruit on the tree began to appear, taking In truth, the plantation is on the brink of falling apart. The the form of small heads which would gasp and groan. To cotton is not selling as quickly as the plantation's costs are Romuald's shock, one of the first was the perfect likeness of piling up. The swamp is infringing on the lands, risking the his departed bride Ameline. crops themselves. The workers have been attacked by undead Believing that the fruit which looks like his wife could be lately, having them afraid to come back and work. the means of reviving her. The healthier the tree is, the more These professional problems only seem marginal compared likely the fruit can become his wife in his mind. An idea which to Romuald's personal woes. He had been married for a time was reinforced when the head began to speak in Ameline's to a beautiful woman named Ameline Landry, daughter of voice and gasp for help. So to that end, he began to lure the another plantation owner. The marriage was pleasant and the downtrodden and homeless of Souragane (of which there are couple were planning to have their first child and heir to the many) to his plantation where he murders them before he plantation. throws their bodies to the tree so their blood can feed it. Sadly, this was not to be. During an excursion near the The tree is now close to ripening and the multiple heads swamps, Ameline fell victim to the undead of the swamps. gasp for more help. She was slain and left in the bogs. Her funeral was held and the customary four days before internment, but to Romuald's despair, her body reanimated as a zombie and wandered out into the bogs. Something in Romuald snapped that day. He began to grow angry Sampleand more prone to snapping into fits of rage and abuse. file Still, it would have only stayed at that if it weren't for the following events. The Island of Terror, Souragne ouragne is an island nation which is more than 50% bogs and swamps. It used to be part of the The Mists of Ravenloft world of Oerth, or at least based off of it. What Like every land within the Demiplane of Dread, Souragne is beauty it had was quickly changed for decay and surrounded by thick and unnatural fog which prevents people terror after Anton Misroi became its Darklord. He from leaving, or at least make leaving that much more is the absolute authority on the island even if he difficult. Even creatures which fly are subject to the affects of Sdoesn't exercise it very often. the fog. Usually Anton Misroi keeps his borders open, only Although natives of Oerth would recognize the area as closing them if he feels someone within has wronged him and similar to Sasserine, the two areas are very different from one he wants them captured without escaping. When the mists another. Souragne was made by the Dark Powers when they close the border, the effects are as follows. pulled Anton Misroi into their collection. It is similar enough to Sasserine than Anton can rule effectively, but clearly A creature that starts its turn in the fog must succeed on a different so that he knows that he is not in his birth lands. DC 20 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion (see Appendix A in the Player's Handbook). Souragne has one ocean which it's exports are sent into the This exhaustion can't be removed while the creature is in mists through, called the Murky Sea which is the source of the fog. Souragane's meager fishing industry. It's main source of No matter how far a creature trvels into the fog, or in income and trade comes from the plantations which can be which direction it goes, it gets turned around so that it found mostly on the dry portions of Souragne. They grow eventually finds itself back in Souragne. cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, and other The area within the fog is heavily obscured (see "Vision crops unique to the swamplands. and Light" in chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook). Like many other domains of Ravenloft, the Vistani can come and go through the mists as they please. Anton allows them to do so since they do not disrupt the peace nor do they Sunlight in Souragne do anything to try and turn against him. So long as they The Dark Powers control many if not all of the aspects of continue to show him proper respect, Anton will continue to Ravenloft outside of the people. The weather is no exception. let them come and visit his lands Sunlight never fully shines over the Demiplan except in a few Native Souragniens fear and revere the Loa they call the cases. For Souragne, the sunlight is partially hidden by dark Lord of the Dead, a spirit who embodies death. It is him who clouds and potential storms which come from their wet is responsible for so many undead wandering around the ecosystem or it is somehow muted. It can be bright, but it isn't island. This is true, as Anton can reanimate any dead body on considered sunlight for the purpose of effects or the island if he fesls like it. Despite this, the people know how vulnerabilities. Magical sunlight still retains this effect, but the to avoid or repel such threats and remain in their settlements. natural sunlight does not. Lay of the Land Alterations to magic Souragne is under a constant oppression of wet heat and Souragne and the rest of Ravenloft resides in their own humidity, making just being in Souragne a trial. The swamps demiplane. It is a different world and with it come different have a constant air of death and decay in them despite the rules of magic. No spell, not even wish, allows someone to ecosystems. escape from the demiplane. All spells such as astral Over half of Souragne is bogs and swamps which make up projection, teleport, or plane shift likewise fail along with the island, infested with all sorts of dangerous animals and spells which banish creatures. This effect also applies to more of the undead who serve Anton's interests. In the center magic items and artifacts. The only exception is transit into of the bogs is Lac Noir where the Maiden of the Swamps the Border Ethereal such as the etherealness spell or abilities resides in the center, a forlorn woman who regrets an act of of creatures able to go there such as incorporeal undead. charity she gave to the wrong person. In the south is Anton However, anything which enters the Border Ethereal from the Misroi's plantation where he resides, dealing with his Dmeiplane of Dread is pulled back to the domain they left business. There are only two centers of civilization. One is the from once leaving that plane. port city of Port d'Elhour and the hamlet of Port d'Tarascon. For spells that change effects across or are blocked by There exist smaller villages in the swamps populated by the planar boundaries, each domain is considered its own native Souragniens, using their loa to repel the wandering domain, preventing magical communication across domains. dead which Anton leaves to their own devices. Somewhere in Magic effects which summon creatures work properly, but the the swamps is Chicken Bone, a voodan shaman who has creatures fall under the same spell restrictions. some kind of personal ties to Anton, able to guide people right Creatures which receive spells from deities or otherworldly to him and give introductions for those who wish to meet him. patrons continue to do so. Spells which can make contant with beings of other planes are allowed, but with the provision Samplethat the Darklord can view the message,file know when it is cast, and can make themselves the recipient of the spell provided they know magic. Resurrection The Law In Souragne, Anton has absolute control over anyone that Souragne has the typical laws of any society. It outlaws typical dies. If a character dies, unless it is in swamps, the characters crimes, various misdeeds, and enacts appropriate will be forced to not touch the bodies of their comrades for punishments. Everything a society expects to be illegal. Anton four days. Is is an absolute law which can be punished was mostly satisfied with those laws and didn't need to severely if it is broken. If a character attempts to revive a dead change anything to fit his rule. The only exceptions were the character through magic, Anton will immediately become two laws he created which were enforced with the force of aware of them. Unless the spell used was done by a cleric, or iron and the people do not dare break them. is a necromancy spell, Anton will mark the user as a criminal The first law which Anton placed was the custom which and have his agents within Souragne begin hunting them for would have anyone deceased to not be interred, cremated, or breaking the law. any funerary preparation done four four days after they die. The reason for this law is in place for Anton's personal use. He knows when someone dies and when they do, looks at his Souragniens own assets and considers reanimating them. If he decides he The people of Souragne have two very clear and distinct needs more workforce assets, he reanimates the corpse (his ethnicities in their populations. The first are native power lets him do this from anywhere on the island) and has it Souragniens who first populated the island. They have dark wander to his plantation to join his workforce. Usually this skin and dark hair and speak with a deep voice and accent, happens during the midst of funerary memorials, making for which has elements of the Dementlieu language. The other distressed family and relatives. If after the four days Anton are fair skinned with hair colors ranging from brown to does not wish to reanimate the corpse, he will not since he blonde and even red. These fair-skinned folk are thought to be likely does not need it. If this law is broken, the people will descendants of Dementlieu social elite who enslaved the usually deal with the one responsible swiftly and decidedly, natives. Although slavery was outlawed some time ago, this not wishing to have Anton's ire turned onto them. divide is still very clear and the former slaves are so deep in The second law is the ban on almost every kind of magic. debt their free status does not matter much. The only kinds of magic which are allowed to be used are the There is a very clear divide between Souragniens, but not magic of clerics, which is often used by the voodan shamans because of race. Instead, the divide is primarily between the of the island, or necromancy. Clerical magic is allowed both rich and the poor. Anyone who has their own business or even because it is an ingrained style of the island, but also because a small parcel of land is considered one of the upper class. Anton knows it well and it's general use towards healing so he Although anyone who has some business or land is feels it is no threat to him. Necromancy is likewise allowed considered upper class, the ones who truly control the upper since Anton feels that compared to his own necromantic class are the plantation owners, descendants of the first powers, he has nothing to fear from another necromancer he Dementlieu settlers, who created their wealth with founding could easily crush. the cash crop plantations. Anton forbids other magic because he knows so little about These wealthy elite are old money and they do not like to it. Although he is experienced in some magic with so much of see anyone from the lower classes uplifted and often take it he doesn't know, he feels it may be a possible threat to him. steps to keep anyone from rising to their elite ranks. Often With his law in place, he can keep other magic users from when someone not one of their bloodlines manages to earn causing trouble for him. The law he enforces personally. He land or a business, they take steps to take or ruin it so they has agents in all settlements in Souragne and he can see can keep their monopoly and their own status. Of course, the through the eyes of all his undead minions, meaning even if plantation owners and other elite often risk putting cast in the swamps, he will know about it. He will then mark themselves into poverty as they spend recklessly to keep up the offenders as criminals, forcing them to flee settlements their appearances of wealth and hold parties to impress their and find no respite in the swamps, where Anton's minions or fellows. the local wildlife will hunt them until they themselves are The truly ironic thing is the economic reality of Souragne dead. compared to the rest of Ravenloft. What the Souragniens consider their upper crust would be considered more of the middle class by the other domains. Sample file Using the knowledge of magic he gained from the Maiden Darklord Anton Misroi of the Swamps, Anton enacted several rituals and spells. With it, he bound his spirit to the swamps, becoming a loa of death Any visitor to Souragne must know at least about Anton and managing to reclaim his human form. Although by Misroi, the undisputed ruler of the island. Although the sidestepping his punishment from the Dark Powers, he only characters are unlikely to meet him in this adventure, his trapped himself. He can no longer leave the swamps, leaving influence is unmistakable and inescapable so long as they the dry portion of his island and it's main settlements forever remain in Souragne. barred from him. It annoyed Anton, but it was acceptable as Anton was born in the world of Oerth (World of Greyhawk) he reclaimed his former properties and took proper lordship within the region of Sasserine. He grew up the heir of a of his island. massive plantation known as Maison d'Sablet. Although he grew up wealthy and with the fine things in life, Anton was a cold and hard person who was utterly ruthless in anything he Current Sketch did. He did not tolerate people crossing him or those who Anton lives in his plantation mansion and is mostly content were insubordinate, although that definition was grossly with his situation. His power as the Lord of the Dead allows exaggerated in Anton's mind. He held everything to his him great magical might and his authority on Souragne is standards and his wrath was devastating. unquestioned. He is somewhat annoyed at his limitations, but To keep his enemies out of the way and his underlings in he has learned to accept them and make the most of it. line, Anton would keep a gang of thugs on retainer. When his He lives alone in his mansion, maintained by an undead wrath was stoked, he would have them capture those who workforce. He spends his time reading books or sending crossed them and have them thrown into the swamps to be letters to do business with what produce his own plantation devoured by alligators for his viewing pleasure. All of these grows. Despite the limited economy of Souragne, it still works dark deeds put him in the eyes of the Dark Powers, but he had and he is content with what he has. Still, Anton Misroi is a not crossed the final line...yet. cruel and heartless man who will not hesitate to murder and Anton's downfall came when he one day caught his wife in maim. He just controls those impulses until someone crosses the arms of another man. She had been weeping over her him. Then he unleashes the monster within that made him a miserable marriage with Anton and the gentleman from Darklord. another plantation was merely comforting her. Anton saw differently and fell into his deepest rage yet. He gathered his Powers thugs and captured both his wife and the man, dragging them Anton has many powers afforded to him as a Darklord. He can into the swamps. He tossed them both into the quicksand and control any undead on the island as well as reanimate any dismissed his thugs, wanting to watch them die in a private dead bodies within his borders. He is intimately aware of show. both, so they are unable to be hidden from him. He can see The man begged Anton's wife to use him as leverage to through the eyes of any zombie he wishes and can even escape as he sank beneath the mire, although Anton's wife project his spirit to view other lands and areas, although this could not do such. As she begged for her life, Anton merely had led him to disdain the rest of Ravenloft and it's chaos and took a pole and began pushing her beneath the mire. Angrily, hidden evil. she cursed him before she too sank beneath the muck with a His willpower is not to be underestimated. During an event few bubbles announcing her death. Anton was satisfied and called the Grand Conjunction, a devastating event which saw prepared to leave, but the quicksand exploded as the Ravenloft reshaped and nearly destroyed, Souragne would zombified pair erupted out and began dragging Anton back in normally have been merged with the other lands to form The with them. Anton begged for his life, pleading the gods of Core, Ravenloft's main continent. Anton however, disdaining Oerth to not let him die as he sank beneath the mud. the rest of the demiplane, had no desire to be part of it and The gods did not reply, but the Dark Powers did. with sheer force of will and perhaps his own magic to back it Anton erupted from the quicksand, but he was no longer up, he mentally resisted Souragne from joining the larger human. He had been transformed into a zombie lord, an landmass, keeping it's isolation and independence. intelligent zombie which could control others. He tried to get back to his estate, but his servants recoiled in fear and drove him back into the swamps where the Mists of Ravenloft whisked him away. Anton wandered for years, watching his servants take over his estate. Although he had command over every undead on the island, and the ability to make more as he would kill his traitorous servants from the shadows, he could not enjoy the life he had before. This was his punishment given to him by the Dark Powers, his eternal damnation. This is how Anton would have stayed were it not a point of luck. In his swamps, he met the Maiden of the Swamps, a loa of life in the swamps. She mistook Anton as one of her fellow loa, oneSample who had misused his powers. From her, Anton file learned about the nature of the swamps, Souragne, and Ravenloft itself. This made him one of the few Darklords who were even aware of the Dark Powers and why he was in his new land.