My guess is that Misroi's official status, amongst those in-the-know, is as the corporeal "avatar" of the loa Lord of the Dead, much like how a reigning pharaoh in ancient Egypt was considered a stand-in for the sun god. From a voodan perspective, he'd effectively be permanently "riden" (possessed) by that loa, although Souragne's been a domain long enough that the distinction between the two has been forgotten by most of the population: it'd probably require a Knowledge (religion) check for a trained voodan-adherent (like Chicken Bone) to recognize Misroi as anything less than the loa of the dead, incarnate.TwiceBorn wrote:In 2nd ed., I thought it was implied that Anton Misroi and the Lord of the Dead were one and the same. Now, DT&DL indicates that they are different beings. I think the relationship between the two should be explored in the DM's section of the gaz.
In reality, OTOH, Misroi's darklord status probably means he's not a true avatar of the Lord of the Dead; his known background suggests it's a combination of arcane necromancy and the DPs, rather than the loa, from which his power comes. The zombie lord's true relationship with the death-loa might even be an adversarial one, like Arijani's relationship with Ravana: the darklord may have usurped the Lord of the Dead's place in Souragnian theology, unbalancing the voodan pantheon (in which the LotD used to be an equal and accepted, albeit intimidating, member) and forcing the Maiden and lesser loa (which are more like fey than deities) into the role of an outgunned opposition. But he'd keep the truth that he's not really an incarnate loa a secret from mortal voodan-adherents, as being regarded as the rightful "Lord of the Dead" is such a useful intimidation-tactic.
(also from the boccoru article) Why is there a loa of foxes in the first place? Or of rabbits?Better call them loa of cleverness and cowardice, which can take those forms somehow. These loa are something akin to Saints and the spellcasting is granted by God/the gods/the DPs/whatever.
