Starcrossed: A Ravenloft Comic Discussion

[Isabella]

TURN UNDEAD! (Is Worthless)

[NeoTiamat]

....that explains quite a bit.

So Santine (original) is Father Desmarais's daughter, and Santine (Current) is Desmarais's attempt at doing it right this time? (Since S(o) died young, it seems.)

[Nathan of the FoS]

Either that, or Santine is a daughter he didn't know he had, and something really weird is going on here. After all, AFAWK, it was Fr. Marsanne who conducted the ritual that began the story, and Fr. Desmarais really didn't know what had happened or who the girl was. (It's possible he (Desmarais) was involved somehow--certainly he's a lot less shocked and horrified than Benoit--but he doesn't say anything to indicate he knows what happened, much less that he did it himself.)

[Rotipher of the FoS]

I kind of doubt if it's anything that convoluted. Isabella wouldn't go back on something with that much dramatic impact, IMO. (Brrrr!) And Misroi did ask if Desmarais was "still mad" at him, which, given the former's status as Souragne's god of death, strongly suggests Father D has lost someone dear to him under tragic circumstances.

[Kaitou Kage]

Isabella, the little touches of color you provide here and there (Desmaris's scarf, Samedi's collar and hat) are excellent touches that really bring some nice flavor and emphasis to the pictures.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but Samedi is a vodoun loa of death in the real world, right? I'm sure the connection is intentional (and this is probably a stupid question anyway).

[Isabella]

Yes. Miroi is one of those "Who are you trying to fool" darklords (or, more likely, a "just different enough to give enough deniability in case someone gets offended". I, on the other hand, have already assumed that someone is going to get mad at me over the course of the comic, and figure sky's the limit).

[Rock of the Fraternity]

If Desmarais has true love for the new Santine, as he seems to have had for the old ... he'll tell Misroi to go to Hell and go down fighting here. This is a bum deal; Misroi will demand something awful in return, it's his m.o.

[Isabella]

If Desmarais has true love for the new Santine, as he seems to have had for the old ... he'll tell Misroi to go to Hell and go down fighting here.

"Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Well, if Misroi turns his corpse into some kind of super-zombie, I suppose that's kind of true. And hey, Desmarais' spirit might become a kind of martyr of Ezra, so ... Sure? But otherwise, Desmarais either has to flee or die, or he needs to get immediate and powerful backup, methinks.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Well, if Desmarais really ticks Misroi off, the darklord can easily trap the outgoing ship in his domain anyway. So I don't think that a last stand is going to achieve what the no-longer-quite-so-Good Father wants, even if he dies a hero.

Better to swallow his pride and yield Misroi the satisfaction of watching him suffer, IMO. That's what the guy in the creepy make-up probably wants, anyway.

[DocBeard]

Really, Misroi has more in common with Kalfu than the actual Baron Samedi; he's a jealous, obsessive man who fixates on appearing to be more powerful than he is and takes pleasure in destroying anything resembling a happy relationship because, well, he isn't together enough to be in one himself.

Visually, yes, very Baron S, but the manipulative master of dark magic isn't the Baron in traditional voudoun. On the other hand, a mortal magician trying to become a Loa very much fits in with some schools of voodoo and hoodoo mysticism, and I really think that's how I prefer to see Misroi the Darklord-someone who is trying to be something he is not. Then again, that could be because Misroi's mortal backstory is one of my favorites; the whole getting dragged down into the quicksand angle is...

...oh, hey. I see what you did there. Nice one, Izzy.

Further comments; This is how a confrontation between a Darklord and an experienced adventurer/PC should go. Desmaris is smart enough to be immediately and absolutely on the defensive, and the Darklord's using his knowledge of his Domain to brutal advantage. The expression work is particularly good-you do a lot with a sort of minimalist approach to things, letting facial expressions tell as much of the story as you can get away with. The whole, 'I made your daughter a zombie!' angle is borderline hokey, I think, if only because it's such a classic, but on the other hand it fits Misroi's character particularly well.

[ewancummins]

Misroi= win! Good use of one of my favorite darklords.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

This raises some rather horrible questions about Santine's true nature, however. What is she, that an arrogant Darklord like Misroi thinks she's out of his league?

[NeoTiamat]

Fact of the day: I'M RIGHT! SANTINE IS THE DEVIL CHILD!!!!

*ahem* Sorry about that.

Also.... our heroes are scarier than our villains. I still think Gravois is sinister and cool, but Santine is scaring me.

*ahem*

[DocBeard]

He could also be implying that Santine's been 'dibsed' by one of the stronger Darklords on the Core for whatever reason. Even Misroi isn't going to challenge a presence like Strahd or Azlain. Alternatively, another evil force, like the Gentleman Caller, or a similar conduit of the Mists, could have similarly marked our girl as a potential person of import.