The Black Rose

[Sareau]

Soth sticks by the Measure as a strength of personality thing-his dark will beating down the centuries by adhering to precepts that have no meaning to him now. It proves he's Soth and not some demon inhabiting a corpse, you see?
Point on the Knights of Takhsis taken, though I still like the idea of Soth luring a few evil-doers into the Orders just to mock them as undead minions of his own later-and I always wanted to beef Soth with a dark Court mocking his former status.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

That's what the banshees were for, and he probably didn't enjoy that so much, as he needed it to stay focused on who and what he was.

[Sareau]

The banshees were attendants of his wife, cursed to serve Soth-he could control them, at least Hickman has him silence them so Kitiara can sleep, but they largely prophesied his failures and sang of his sins.
His skeleton warriors, bereft of personalities and just serving as super-zombies, is a lot closer. In keeping with the Measure, however, Soth should punish evilloers somehow-and trapping them in unlife seems ironic, even if they just sit and refuse to rot in his dungeons.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Hey, Soth knew it sucks to be undead.

In Specter of the Black Rose, at least, he subjects prisoners in Nedragaard Castle to what passes for the due process of the law. Unfortunately, he's the one who makes the law. People with money are ransomed (i.e., heavily fined), and others are put to work. Unless, of course, someone does something that merits killing under Soth's law.

It was interesting to note that in The Rigor of the Game, Soth showed a capacity to respect the 'local law', even when it was maintained within an establishment in his own demesne.

[Manofevil]

According to the first two trilogies of DragonLance novels, which I've probably read a half dozen times, the elven banshees were, in fact, the devotees of the Kingpriest (who caused the Cataclysm which Soth was on his way to prevent) who told Soth that his wife was cheating on him inducing him to fly into a rage and charge back to his castle and accuse his wife in time for the Cataclysm to kill them both etc. etc. etc. It was never revealed if they followed him all the way back to Dargaard Keep or not. At least not in any of the novels I've read. Tho I haven't gotten to Soth's novel in the Warriors series yet.

[The Giamarga]

though the three Dark Orders might be viable classes, especially since Knight of the Black Rose has him kicking out Bigby's Hand spells left and right.

!?! Really ?!?

I remember fireballs and Power Words but those are part of the spellcasting powers of the 1E/2E Deathknight.

[The Giamarga]

My own retrocon of Soth had him as 4th cleric, 3rd Crown, 3rd Sword, 6 Rose. The issue with the whole paladin/fighter/cleric levels stems from most players believing the cleric is a priest. The cleric class was based on the warrior orders of the Crusades (The Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon were a monastic order primarily) and not on the priesthoods of the Middle Ages. I had no difficulty with Soth's clerical levels.

On the other hand, I gave him no blackguard levels, as he didn't meet the qualifications of the class, specifically, peaceful contact with an evil outsider.

I agree. The higher level class features do not fit him anyways.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

@ Rotipher: Soth. Care about the state of his minions. Or even about his own condition, once his dander is up? o_o Soth. I suppose it could happen if he had a minion he cared about as much about keeping as he used to want Kitiara, I guess. And maybe, after battle was done, he might perform the necessary maintenance to his skeletal warriors.

You don't have to "care" about your minions to recognize that they're assets. Soth was, and remains, a trained military commander. He'll recognize the value of keeping his troops in proper fighting condition, even if he doesn't personally give a damn how much they suffer.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

though the three Dark Orders might be viable classes, especially since Knight of the Black Rose has him kicking out Bigby's Hand spells left and right.

!?! Really ?!?

I remember fireballs and Power Words but those are part of the spellcasting powers of the 1E/2E Deathknight.

In Knight of the Black Rose, I remember Soth using one of the Bigby's Hand spells to open a huge door. So yes, really. It was quite impressive! ^^

[Dion of the Fraternity]

[Rock of the Fraternity]

The poor bastard... They dragged him back in for 4e, of all things!

[Dion of the Fraternity]

Well it's unofficial anyway, and I used the Adventure Tools program to build it.

Coming soon: Ravenloft domain lords. In 4E.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

That's it, then. o_o The final proof for the most dreadful theory of all: the Dark Powers are in charge of WotC and TSR...

[Sareau]

That's it, then. o_o The final proof for the most dreadful theory of all: the Dark Powers are in charge of WotC and TSR...

Was there any doubt?

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Let us have a moment of silence for the poor bastards who spent the best years of their life and undeath scaring the pants off of us, horrifying us and outright frustrating us when they curb stomped us into paste. Here's to the Darklords, those poor sods, who have become victims of 4e. *bows head*