Nestled between the Realm of Summer and Winter, a garden of crimson roses sits underneath the eternal twilight sky. Bushes nearly ten-feet all encircle the garden, delicate roses laced through them but dark, black thorns rest underneath to deter any wanton interlopers. If one managed to traverse through the harsh thorns and spikes, an eerie calm falls within the verdant labyrinth where fallen pedals blanket the forest floor.
For our Valentine’s Day special, we bring you a very special creature all the way from the Feywild!
Mizzerene, the Black Rose!
Background
Mizzerene, the Black Rose is a greater fey that was conceived from the darkest corners of my mind, serving as a powerful fey patron for Team BAJA’s enemy: the Dollmaker. In previous episodes, the Dollmaker uses zombie corpses as his puppets, often times the zombies are either the size of children or young teens. The Dollmaker has a very strong pact with the Black Rose, bringing and luring young children to her to be drained of their blood. The Dollmaker gets to keep the corpses and use them as his little puppets, which entertains Mizzerene from time to time. It’s a fair exchange between of the two of them, and big trouble for Team BAJA.
While the players have yet to explore who or what the Dollmaker really is, they know he can cast spells and controls the undead. In truth, he is a modified Fey pact Warlock. The players saw Mizzerene way back at the end of their big showdown with the Dollmaker back in Season 1 (click here for episode story). I felt that it was time to share Mizzerene, who is often depicted as a black rose and roses are synonymous with Valentine’s Day though black ones are tied to death usually.
Mizzerene was a greater fey of the Summer Court who found a mortal lover, until said lover abandoned her for the Summer Queen (ouch) and as a result she cursed the man by transforming into a rose (reverse Beauty and the Beast perhaps?) Mizzerene’s anger and bitterness began to take a toll on her delicate form, and ultimately she realized that blood from young children or teens could replenish some of her beauty back. The need for fresh blood from the innocent has driven her mad and obsessed in her quest for eternal beauty.
We have Mizzerene all stat up and ready to be viewed by everyone! Check her full spread and story at the DMs Guild page here as a Pay As You Want.
Don’t forget to check out our previous article about roleplaying the fey here.
Adventure Hooks
- Children and teens have been going missing in a nearby village, the villagers wish to find the children’s whereabouts.
- A forest nearby has a legend that people enter and never return, or only their bones are found.
- A rose garden nestled in the center of an ancient forest is said to possess a cure to any ailment.
- A foul curse has fallen on the people of a nearby village, but when investigated, there were no bodies found and only roses everywhere.
- Something is luring children from the village and into the woods, the children say that a beautiful lady made of roses has promised them eternal joy and love.
- Something odd has befallen the children of a nearby village, they are unresponsive and sometimes seemed aloft
- A forest recently has been covered with thorns, travelers have gone missing in it
- A handsome traveler has been staying in a town for several days, the villagers want you to get him to leave.
There are just some story ideas that can be used to lure your adventurers and face Mizzerene and her minions. Her minions can be fey of various creeds, corrupted nymphs designed to lure men to their lonely deaths, pixies that trick children and spirit them away from home. Mizzerene is a Challenge Rating 20 fey creature, as such, she is not designed to be fought at early levels, but like Curse of Strahd, she can be played as a powerful entity that does not perceive the party as a threat until they start meddling too much.
Ways to play Mizzerene
- Have her toy with the party from time to time, reminding them of her power and display it often as well
- Killing the party is easy, tormenting with pain is better
- Revenge is necessary in life, dish out vengeance whenever possible
- Cursing the players is a sport to Mizzerene
- Taking things of value away from the party brings her joy
- She does not like confrontations, relying on minions and cohorts for that.
- Dish out pain and suffering wherever allowed, nothing is beyond the cover of mercy
- Mizzerene despises couples and those who profess “true love”, willing to destroy their illusions of it
- Loves the sound of innocents screaming in pain
The Garden of the Black Rose
The preferred setting is in the Feywild, the imagery should be a rose garden of elaborate design. If you wish to make a dungeon crawl of out it, include a labyrinth of rose bushes. Various plant matter can act as traps instead of the traditional spiked trap, and there are plenty of creatures to choose from to include as obstacles. But deep at its center, is the place where Mizzerene resides; a reflecting pool to scry into, a black rose on a pedestal in a glass case. Yes I know it eerily sounds like something trademarked, but it’s a suggestion so you’re more than free to change it. You can even have the black rose be a sort of phylactery to Mizzerene, and therefore have it hidden somewhere in the rose garden. Destroying the black rose or removing its curse will release Mizzerene from her madness and possibly destroy her.
I hope this helps gives you some ideas for your next big Fey encounter. Here’s Mizzerene in all her stated glory. 
You can find the full colored version as a Pay As You Want at the DMs Guild here.
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