Lord Soth
Encyclopedia
Lord Soth, the Knight of the Black Rose (full name: Lord Loren Soth of Dargaard Keep), is a fictional character
in the fantasy realms of Dragonlance
and later Ravenloft
. He is a death knight and fallen Knight of Solamnia
from the world of Krynn
.
According to Tracy Hickman
, he needed a powerful character for the Heroes of the Lance to fight at the High Clerist's Tower, and Lord Soth suddenly came into his mind with a complete history and personality. The popularity of Lord Soth as a character has defined what a Death Knight means to the writers of the Dungeons & Dragons game over the years. Soth was also named as one of the greatest villains in D&D history in the final print issue of Dragon
.
s and rose
s, leaving only a charred black rose on the breastplate
, which had become Soth's symbol. A long purple cloak
hangs heavily on his shoulder, draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair tops his helm
, as worn and ancient as the rest of his armor. A sword
black with the blood of countless victims hangs sheathed on his hip. Of the death knight himself, only two flaming dots red as blood shine from the eye slits on the helm. His voice seems an echo from the depth of a bottomless cavern. Like all death knights, there is always an aura of freezing unearthly cold around Soth, the demeanor so terrifying that even kender
have been known to be frightened.
When traveling, Soth is usually mounted on a nightmare
, a demonic steed with ebony skin and flaming feet.
, and fights honorably. He will never ambush an opponent from behind, nor does he strike before his enemy can ready his weapon. Aside from these facts, however, Soth is a terrible enemy. An undead abomination, Soth has inhuman strength, which is further enhanced by his skill with the sword; something that he learned as a former Knight of the Rose. Soth also can cast various type of spells, including huge fireballs, magical words which stun or kill enemies, ice walls, cone of cold, etc. With a single word, Soth can snuff the life out of a red dragon
(thus Power Word: Kill), or shatter the great city gate of Palanthas, which was formerly known as the "Unconquered City."
, and married. He and his wife, Lady Korrine of Gladria, tried over and over to have a son to be Soth's heir but had no positive results. While on a trip with his loyal retainers they encountered a band of ogre
s attacking elven
priest
esses. They slew the ogres but Soth fell in love with the fairest priestess, the Silvanesti Elf
Isolde Denissa, and eventually managed to seduce her, bringing her back to Dargaard Keep as a friend in the eyes of the public and his wife. Soth's wife and her Lady in Waiting then visited a witch to help her with this problem who then agreed, but warned that the child would be a representation of Soth's soul. Thinking Sir Loren Soth pure of heart, the wife had no fear of this warning aside from knowledge of Soth's intimacy with the elf.On the day Soth's wife gave birth the labor was very painful as it was throughout the pregnancy. After hours of childbirth the "child" came to be. It had the face similar to that of dragon-kin with two arms on one side and a leg on the other. The last leg was placed at the bottom of the buttocks as if a tail. Soth raged thinking his wife had been disloyal to him with some kind of demon and then slaughtered her and the abomination. Soth then asked Caradoc, his lieutenant to get rid of the evidence and reveal the news of the deaths as difficult childbirth. Soth's indiscretion was discovered when the elf-maid's mistress and former Lady of the Keep's Lady in Waiting, Mirrel Martlin, revealed to his superiors that Isolde was pregnant with Soth's bastard son. Soth was brought to Palanthas, where he was brought before the Court of High Justice. Soth told his story of his Wife and child passing in childbirth and that the remains were burned for fear of disease. the Court then called upon Istvan the healer of Dargaard Keep who had birthed the child. Istvan mirrored Soth's story. The court had said to let his word be the deciding factor and Soth agreed. The High justice then asked Istvan to partake in an experiment. Istvan agreed to let the court test his story. The court then had a mage cast a spell over Istvan the Healer. The spell forced Istvan to speak only the truth. He revealed that both the "son" and mother were alive and well after the birth, and was asked to leave by Soth. The only person to enter in to the room was Soth. Soth was found guilty of murder and stripped of his rank, condemned to be beheaded and was banished from the Knighthood. He would have been executed had not his retainers spirited him away from his execution to his home, Dargaard Keep.
by finding the Rod of Omniscient Wisdom and forcing it into the Kingpriests' hands (it would take many tries, each time he was killed he'd rise with greater power). As a reward, he would be redeemed. However, because of the great power of the Kingpriest, he would die in the attempt. Isolde told Soth about her vision. He then set out on this quest. Soth and 13 knights found the rod in an adamantite coffer in volcanic caverns in the Dargaard Mountains. The coffer was cursed and by taking the rod Soth left his soul. He was now a type of lich
. While his original body was still alive his soul's new body was the coffer (his phylactery) He was astrally projected back into his original living body (but the astral cord still attaches to the phylactery). Soth was unaware of his new state. On the way to Istar he encountered a group of three elf-maids. They poisoned Soth's mind with lies about his wife's infidelity. They told him that he was sent out on the quest because his wife knew he would die, which was her purpose all along. Enraged, Soth turned from his quest and confronted his wife just as the Cataclysm began. A chandelier
fell upon his wife and new-born son, setting her aflame. His wife begged for him to save their child, but Soth stopped himself from doing so, as to prevent his own son growing up as Loren had. As her life ended she cursed him, "you shall live the lifetime of every soul that you have caused death today", and upon pronunciation of the curse the fire engulfed the entire keep, seemingly slaying Soth, his retainers, and the rest of the inhabitants of the Keep. But Soth did not die. He became a Death Knight, and his followers became skeleton warrior
s. The three elf-maids became banshee
s, cursed to remind him of his folly every night.
launched the War of the Lance to conquer Krynn and wanted Lord Soth to assist her armies. Soth informed Takhisis he would only be willing to serve the Dragon Highlord (Takhisis's top generals) with enough courage and strength to survive one night in Dargaard Keep. Only the Dragon Highlord known as the Blue Lady, Kitiara Uth Matar, accepted this challenge. Kitiara survived the night, winning Soth's service.
Lord Soth would soon prove an invaluable ally to Kitiara. It was Soth that prevented Emperor Ariakas from executing Kitiara for the defeats she suffered in the Vingaard Campaign, and it was Soth that affected the successful kidnapping of Laurana
, the Golden General of the Good Armies (who also happened to be Kitiara's romantic rival for the heart of Tanis Half-Elven.)
Soth became obsessed with Laurana, whose radiant elven beauty reminded him so much of Isolde, so he entered into a conspiracy with Kitiara where he would help her obtain the Crown of Power from Ariakas in exchange for her having Takhisis grant him the soul of Laurana, who would then suffer in undeath with him for all eternity. Thus at the Council of Highlords in Neraka, Soth personally carried the captive Laurana, who had been tightly wrapped into a cocoon of winding cloth, to Kitiara. The Dragon Highlord then cut Laurana out of the cocooon, offered her up as a gift to Takhisis and received Takhisis's blessing for the elfmaid's soul to be granted to Lord Soth.
However, Soth's desire would be frustrated when Tanis Half-Elven assassinated Emperor Ariakas and then Laurana escaped as the Dragonarmies began fighting amongst themselves. Soth eliminated the Green and Black Dragon Highlords, Kitiara's potential rivals for the Crown of Power, during this fighting but failed to obtain Laurana's soul, as Kitiara allowed Tanis and Laurana to escape. Soth mocked Kitiara for this apparent act of mercy, but Kitiara then told the death knight she did it only so she would always live in Tanis's heart, which would forever taint his relationship with Laurana. Soth accepted this answer and then presented Kitiara with the Crown of Power while vowing his undying service to her.
. Under his command, a great number of undead creatures (including his skeletal warriors and banshees with wyvern
-carried chariot
s) breached Palanthas the Unconquered City. However, Soth had his own motivations. He had become completely obsessed with Kitiara (whose self-serving nature and survival-instinct had somehow rekindled his undead heart), and decided to make her become his eternal consort. Thus Soth waited until the dark elf wizard, Dalamar, struck Kitiara down during the fighting and then claimed Kitiara's body. Once Soth had Kitiara's body, he had his forces withdraw from Palanthas. Without their undead allies, the rest of Kitiara's forces were soon defeated by the Palanthians. However, due to the treachery of one of Soth's servants, Caradoc, his plan to obtain Kitiara's soul failed. The computer role-playing game Death Knights of Krynn
which Soth was featured in also happened during this era.
.
; wanting to return to Krynn, Soth sought out Strahd von Zarovich
, the ruler of the domain, in the hope Strahd would help him. Strahd tried to use Soth to his advantage but this only cost him a red dragon which was one of his castle guardians. After a series of adventures with the Vistani
girl, Magda, and the were-badger Azrael Dak, Soth had found out that Strahd was hiding Caradoc from him. Soth attacked Strahd unceasingly and the vampire had no choice but to release Caradoc in order to keep his domain in one piece. Soth then pursued Caradoc until he finally caught him at the edge of the mists.
Soth was then given the domain Sithicus ("land of spectres" in the elven tongue) in Ravenloft
by the Mists who stole his vengeance on Caradoc. His new castle, Nedragaard Keep (Solamnic, meaning: "not Dargaard"), was made as mockery of Dargaard in Krynn with a continually changing form so Soth could not maintain the military order he was accustomed to. During the Grand Conjunction he briefly returned to his Krynn body.
Soth's experiences in Sithicus had changed him only slightly. Throughout his time in the Dread Realm, Soth found himself entering mirror worlds, each which contained a portion of his past. Through these he lived in worlds of fantasy, ignoring the world beyond his keep. It is believed that his refusal to face his past sins and his willingness to suffer his curse led to his release from the Mists; Soth simply withdrew and ignored Sithicus until he was released.
The story of his ascension is told in Knight of the Black Rose, the story of his temporary release is told in World of Krynn, and the story of his final release is told in Spectre of the Black Rose.
, attempted to recruit Soth to lead the Dark Queen's armies. Soth had spent too long alone, however, time enough to come to peace with himself and to think about the wife and child he wronged. He refused the goddess' invitation and, in retaliation to this insult, Takhisis, in her ignorance, granted Lord Soth one final blessing: She restored his mortality. Lord Soth then destroyed his keep, crushing him to death under the rubble. The fallen knight perished with his honor restored, vowing that he would forever search for the elf maid and his son in the afterlife, and in that search, he would be redeemed.
is a topic of debate. The creators of Soth argue that they did not give their permission for Soth to be used in the Ravenloft
Campaign setting
. However, they had no legal ownership of the character and, at the time Soth was moved, were not associated with TSR or Wizards of the Coast
.
Wizards of the Coast
has been vague on the subject but the last official word on the subject was that Soth did indeed enter Ravenloft
but that the Mists returned him to Krynn
at the very instant he was removed.
It is also mentioned in one of the Dragon Magazine articles before the publication's ceasing that the new dark lord of Sithicus is plagued by a mockery of Lord Soth. This "White Knight" version of Soth shows how anyone can be redeemed and is an anathema to that Dark Lord's corrupting influence on the land.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the fantasy realms of Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
and later Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
. He is a death knight and fallen Knight of Solamnia
Knights of Solamnia
In the fictional Dragonlance universe, the Solamnic Knights are a chivalric order, a "brotherhood forged when Krynn was young". The Solamnic Order is dedicated to the forces of light and live by a strict code of honor...
from the world of Krynn
Krynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
.
According to Tracy Hickman
Tracy Hickman
Tracy Raye Hickman is a best-selling fantasy author, best known for his work on Dragonlance as a game designer and co-author with Margaret Weis, while he worked for TSR...
, he needed a powerful character for the Heroes of the Lance to fight at the High Clerist's Tower, and Lord Soth suddenly came into his mind with a complete history and personality. The popularity of Lord Soth as a character has defined what a Death Knight means to the writers of the Dungeons & Dragons game over the years. Soth was also named as one of the greatest villains in D&D history in the final print issue of Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
.
Appearance
Soth stands 6'5" or taller, wearing a full suit of Solamnic plate mail that is of ancient design. Damage from many battles mars the delicate ornamentation on his armor, obscuring its intricate carvings of kingfisherKingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
s and rose
Rose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
s, leaving only a charred black rose on the breastplate
Breastplate
A breastplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing.- Armour :...
, which had become Soth's symbol. A long purple cloak
Cloak
A cloak is a type of loose garment that is worn over indoor clothing and serves the same purpose as an overcoat; it protects the wearer from the cold, rain or wind for example, or it may form part of a fashionable outfit or uniform. Cloaks are as old as human history; there has nearly always been...
hangs heavily on his shoulder, draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair tops his helm
Helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
, as worn and ancient as the rest of his armor. A sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
black with the blood of countless victims hangs sheathed on his hip. Of the death knight himself, only two flaming dots red as blood shine from the eye slits on the helm. His voice seems an echo from the depth of a bottomless cavern. Like all death knights, there is always an aura of freezing unearthly cold around Soth, the demeanor so terrifying that even kender
Kender
Kender are a type of fantasy race first developed for the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game published by TSR Inc. in 1984. The first kender character was created by Harold Johnson as a playable character in a series of role-playing adventures...
have been known to be frightened.
When traveling, Soth is usually mounted on a nightmare
Nightmare (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the nightmare is an outsider that comes from the Gray Waste of Hades.-Publication history:The nightmare was introduced to the D&D game in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons....
, a demonic steed with ebony skin and flaming feet.
Combat
Although evil and filled with an intense hatred for all living creatures, most of the time Soth retains a semblance of the pride he held as a Solamnic knightKnights of Solamnia
In the fictional Dragonlance universe, the Solamnic Knights are a chivalric order, a "brotherhood forged when Krynn was young". The Solamnic Order is dedicated to the forces of light and live by a strict code of honor...
, and fights honorably. He will never ambush an opponent from behind, nor does he strike before his enemy can ready his weapon. Aside from these facts, however, Soth is a terrible enemy. An undead abomination, Soth has inhuman strength, which is further enhanced by his skill with the sword; something that he learned as a former Knight of the Rose. Soth also can cast various type of spells, including huge fireballs, magical words which stun or kill enemies, ice walls, cone of cold, etc. With a single word, Soth can snuff the life out of a red dragon
Dragon (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game , dragons are an iconic type of monstrous creature used as adversaries or, less commonly, allies of player characters...
(thus Power Word: Kill), or shatter the great city gate of Palanthas, which was formerly known as the "Unconquered City."
Life as a Knight
Soth was a Knight of the Rose, the most esteemed rank of knight in the Knights of SolamniaKnights of Solamnia
In the fictional Dragonlance universe, the Solamnic Knights are a chivalric order, a "brotherhood forged when Krynn was young". The Solamnic Order is dedicated to the forces of light and live by a strict code of honor...
, and married. He and his wife, Lady Korrine of Gladria, tried over and over to have a son to be Soth's heir but had no positive results. While on a trip with his loyal retainers they encountered a band of ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
s attacking elven
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
esses. They slew the ogres but Soth fell in love with the fairest priestess, the Silvanesti Elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
Isolde Denissa, and eventually managed to seduce her, bringing her back to Dargaard Keep as a friend in the eyes of the public and his wife. Soth's wife and her Lady in Waiting then visited a witch to help her with this problem who then agreed, but warned that the child would be a representation of Soth's soul. Thinking Sir Loren Soth pure of heart, the wife had no fear of this warning aside from knowledge of Soth's intimacy with the elf.On the day Soth's wife gave birth the labor was very painful as it was throughout the pregnancy. After hours of childbirth the "child" came to be. It had the face similar to that of dragon-kin with two arms on one side and a leg on the other. The last leg was placed at the bottom of the buttocks as if a tail. Soth raged thinking his wife had been disloyal to him with some kind of demon and then slaughtered her and the abomination. Soth then asked Caradoc, his lieutenant to get rid of the evidence and reveal the news of the deaths as difficult childbirth. Soth's indiscretion was discovered when the elf-maid's mistress and former Lady of the Keep's Lady in Waiting, Mirrel Martlin, revealed to his superiors that Isolde was pregnant with Soth's bastard son. Soth was brought to Palanthas, where he was brought before the Court of High Justice. Soth told his story of his Wife and child passing in childbirth and that the remains were burned for fear of disease. the Court then called upon Istvan the healer of Dargaard Keep who had birthed the child. Istvan mirrored Soth's story. The court had said to let his word be the deciding factor and Soth agreed. The High justice then asked Istvan to partake in an experiment. Istvan agreed to let the court test his story. The court then had a mage cast a spell over Istvan the Healer. The spell forced Istvan to speak only the truth. He revealed that both the "son" and mother were alive and well after the birth, and was asked to leave by Soth. The only person to enter in to the room was Soth. Soth was found guilty of murder and stripped of his rank, condemned to be beheaded and was banished from the Knighthood. He would have been executed had not his retainers spirited him away from his execution to his home, Dargaard Keep.
Undead curse
Besieged by the other knights, Soth's mood turned black, even striking his new wife, Isolde on one occasion. When he realized the monster he had become, he prayed to the deity Paladine for help. His wife prayed to the deity Mishakal. Mishakal showed her the future and the destruction that the arrogant Kingpriest of Istar was about to call upon Krynn. She was told that Soth could stop the CataclysmCataclysm (Dragonlance)
In the Dragonlance books, the Cataclysm was a catastrophic event that occurred when the Kingpriest of Istar demanded to be given godlike powers in order to eliminate evil from the world.-Background:...
by finding the Rod of Omniscient Wisdom and forcing it into the Kingpriests' hands (it would take many tries, each time he was killed he'd rise with greater power). As a reward, he would be redeemed. However, because of the great power of the Kingpriest, he would die in the attempt. Isolde told Soth about her vision. He then set out on this quest. Soth and 13 knights found the rod in an adamantite coffer in volcanic caverns in the Dargaard Mountains. The coffer was cursed and by taking the rod Soth left his soul. He was now a type of lich
Lich
In modern fantasy fiction, a lich is a type of undead creature. Often such a creature is the result of a transformation, as a powerful magician or king striving for eternal life uses spells or rituals to bind his intellect to his animated corpse and thereby achieve a form of immortality...
. While his original body was still alive his soul's new body was the coffer (his phylactery) He was astrally projected back into his original living body (but the astral cord still attaches to the phylactery). Soth was unaware of his new state. On the way to Istar he encountered a group of three elf-maids. They poisoned Soth's mind with lies about his wife's infidelity. They told him that he was sent out on the quest because his wife knew he would die, which was her purpose all along. Enraged, Soth turned from his quest and confronted his wife just as the Cataclysm began. A chandelier
Chandelier
A chandelier is a branched decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture with two or more arms bearing lights. Chandeliers are often ornate, containing dozens of lamps and complex arrays of glass or crystal prisms to illuminate a room with refracted light...
fell upon his wife and new-born son, setting her aflame. His wife begged for him to save their child, but Soth stopped himself from doing so, as to prevent his own son growing up as Loren had. As her life ended she cursed him, "you shall live the lifetime of every soul that you have caused death today", and upon pronunciation of the curse the fire engulfed the entire keep, seemingly slaying Soth, his retainers, and the rest of the inhabitants of the Keep. But Soth did not die. He became a Death Knight, and his followers became skeleton warrior
Skeleton warrior
Skeleton warriors are a common fictional monster archetype common in western fantasy literature, television, and video games. They consist of animated human skeletons with human weapons and armor such as swords and shields. Because they are already dead, skeleton warriors can be very difficult to...
s. The three elf-maids became banshee
Banshee
The banshee , from the Irish bean sí is a feminine spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld....
s, cursed to remind him of his folly every night.
War of the Lance
Several centuries later, the evil goddess TakhisisTakhisis
Takhisis is a fictional character from the Dragonlance universe. She is the main goddess of evil and head of the Dark Pantheon.- Titles and forms :...
launched the War of the Lance to conquer Krynn and wanted Lord Soth to assist her armies. Soth informed Takhisis he would only be willing to serve the Dragon Highlord (Takhisis's top generals) with enough courage and strength to survive one night in Dargaard Keep. Only the Dragon Highlord known as the Blue Lady, Kitiara Uth Matar, accepted this challenge. Kitiara survived the night, winning Soth's service.
Lord Soth would soon prove an invaluable ally to Kitiara. It was Soth that prevented Emperor Ariakas from executing Kitiara for the defeats she suffered in the Vingaard Campaign, and it was Soth that affected the successful kidnapping of Laurana
Laurana
Laurana may refer to:*Francesco Laurana , Dalmatian-born sculptor and medalist*Luciano Laurana , Italian architect and engineer*Laurana Kanan, a fictional character from the Dragonlance fantasy series...
, the Golden General of the Good Armies (who also happened to be Kitiara's romantic rival for the heart of Tanis Half-Elven.)
Soth became obsessed with Laurana, whose radiant elven beauty reminded him so much of Isolde, so he entered into a conspiracy with Kitiara where he would help her obtain the Crown of Power from Ariakas in exchange for her having Takhisis grant him the soul of Laurana, who would then suffer in undeath with him for all eternity. Thus at the Council of Highlords in Neraka, Soth personally carried the captive Laurana, who had been tightly wrapped into a cocoon of winding cloth, to Kitiara. The Dragon Highlord then cut Laurana out of the cocooon, offered her up as a gift to Takhisis and received Takhisis's blessing for the elfmaid's soul to be granted to Lord Soth.
However, Soth's desire would be frustrated when Tanis Half-Elven assassinated Emperor Ariakas and then Laurana escaped as the Dragonarmies began fighting amongst themselves. Soth eliminated the Green and Black Dragon Highlords, Kitiara's potential rivals for the Crown of Power, during this fighting but failed to obtain Laurana's soul, as Kitiara allowed Tanis and Laurana to escape. Soth mocked Kitiara for this apparent act of mercy, but Kitiara then told the death knight she did it only so she would always live in Tanis's heart, which would forever taint his relationship with Laurana. Soth accepted this answer and then presented Kitiara with the Crown of Power while vowing his undying service to her.
Blue Lady's War
Several years after the end of the War of the Lance, Lord Soth would again assist Kitiara during the Blue Lady's WarBlue Lady's War
The Blue Lady's War is a fictional war set on the continent of Ansalon on the world of Krynn, as told in the Dragonlance novels, specifically the Dragonlance Legends. The war itself featured only one true battle; The Battle of Palanthas...
. Under his command, a great number of undead creatures (including his skeletal warriors and banshees with wyvern
Wyvern
A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
-carried chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
s) breached Palanthas the Unconquered City. However, Soth had his own motivations. He had become completely obsessed with Kitiara (whose self-serving nature and survival-instinct had somehow rekindled his undead heart), and decided to make her become his eternal consort. Thus Soth waited until the dark elf wizard, Dalamar, struck Kitiara down during the fighting and then claimed Kitiara's body. Once Soth had Kitiara's body, he had his forces withdraw from Palanthas. Without their undead allies, the rest of Kitiara's forces were soon defeated by the Palanthians. However, due to the treachery of one of Soth's servants, Caradoc, his plan to obtain Kitiara's soul failed. The computer role-playing game Death Knights of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn
Death Knights of Krynn is the second in a three-part series of Dragonlance Advanced Dungeons & Dragons "Gold Box" computer role-playing games, published by Strategic Simulations, Inc...
which Soth was featured in also happened during this era.
.
Rule in Ravenloft
The Mists of Ravenloft plucked Soth and Caradoc from Krynn while the two battled. His soul was brought to the domain of BaroviaBarovia
Barovia is the oldest domain in Ravenloft.It was formed from a part of the ancestral lands of Strahd von Zarovich at the time when he murdered his brother Sergei to win the hand of the beautiful Tatyana in the year 351 of the Barovian Calendar....
; wanting to return to Krynn, Soth sought out Strahd von Zarovich
Strahd von Zarovich
Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popular Advanced Dungeons and Dragons adventure module I6: Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in followup modules, novels, and a campaign setting called...
, the ruler of the domain, in the hope Strahd would help him. Strahd tried to use Soth to his advantage but this only cost him a red dragon which was one of his castle guardians. After a series of adventures with the Vistani
Vistani
The Vistani are the Gypsies as popularly imagined, represented in the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Since their introduction in the original Ravenloft module as fortune-tellers, they became a unifying element in the Ravenloft and Victorian Age Red Death campaign settings, which...
girl, Magda, and the were-badger Azrael Dak, Soth had found out that Strahd was hiding Caradoc from him. Soth attacked Strahd unceasingly and the vampire had no choice but to release Caradoc in order to keep his domain in one piece. Soth then pursued Caradoc until he finally caught him at the edge of the mists.
Soth was then given the domain Sithicus ("land of spectres" in the elven tongue) in Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
by the Mists who stole his vengeance on Caradoc. His new castle, Nedragaard Keep (Solamnic, meaning: "not Dargaard"), was made as mockery of Dargaard in Krynn with a continually changing form so Soth could not maintain the military order he was accustomed to. During the Grand Conjunction he briefly returned to his Krynn body.
Soth's experiences in Sithicus had changed him only slightly. Throughout his time in the Dread Realm, Soth found himself entering mirror worlds, each which contained a portion of his past. Through these he lived in worlds of fantasy, ignoring the world beyond his keep. It is believed that his refusal to face his past sins and his willingness to suffer his curse led to his release from the Mists; Soth simply withdrew and ignored Sithicus until he was released.
The story of his ascension is told in Knight of the Black Rose, the story of his temporary release is told in World of Krynn, and the story of his final release is told in Spectre of the Black Rose.
War of Souls
In the 2002 book Dragon of a Vanished Moon, upon his return to Krynn, Mina, Chosen of TakhisisTakhisis
Takhisis is a fictional character from the Dragonlance universe. She is the main goddess of evil and head of the Dark Pantheon.- Titles and forms :...
, attempted to recruit Soth to lead the Dark Queen's armies. Soth had spent too long alone, however, time enough to come to peace with himself and to think about the wife and child he wronged. He refused the goddess' invitation and, in retaliation to this insult, Takhisis, in her ignorance, granted Lord Soth one final blessing: She restored his mortality. Lord Soth then destroyed his keep, crushing him to death under the rubble. The fallen knight perished with his honor restored, vowing that he would forever search for the elf maid and his son in the afterlife, and in that search, he would be redeemed.
Debate
Soth’s tenure in RavenloftRavenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
is a topic of debate. The creators of Soth argue that they did not give their permission for Soth to be used in the Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
Campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
. However, they had no legal ownership of the character and, at the time Soth was moved, were not associated with TSR or Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
.
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
has been vague on the subject but the last official word on the subject was that Soth did indeed enter Ravenloft
Ravenloft
Ravenloft is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. It is an alternate time-space existence known as a pocket dimension called the Demiplane of Dread, which consists of a collection of land pieces called domains brought together by a mysterious force known only as "The Dark...
but that the Mists returned him to Krynn
Krynn
Krynn is the fictional world of the Dragonlance novels, co-written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It has also been used in many other books, set in the Dragonlance universe. It is also used as the main setting in the Dragonlance campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing...
at the very instant he was removed.
It is also mentioned in one of the Dragon Magazine articles before the publication's ceasing that the new dark lord of Sithicus is plagued by a mockery of Lord Soth. This "White Knight" version of Soth shows how anyone can be redeemed and is an anathema to that Dark Lord's corrupting influence on the land.