Laudna Briarwood

“Too bad I thought the one that deserted was with this group… She’ll come back one day.”

Basic Information

RaceElf
AppearanceGreen eyes, red hair with white streaks
ResemblanceLooks like an older version of Ariameia
StatusUnclear — turned into a doll when killed; scryed alive afterward

Appearance

  • Elf with green eyes, red hair, and white streaks
  • Looks like an older version of Ariameia
  • The connection between them is one of the campaign’s deepest mysteries

Abilities

  • Creates doll copies of party members that fight for her
  • Can turn into a puddle of blood
  • Noxious gaze — debilitating eye attack
  • Slicing tentacles — melee tendrils
  • Transforms into a doll upon death (may indicate she cannot truly die, or regenerates)

Encounters

The Obsidian Prison

Dying Words

“Too bad I thought the one that deserted was with this group… She’ll come back one day.”

This strongly implies she was referring to Ariameia as “the one that deserted.”

After Death

  • Turned into a doll when killed
  • Korin threw the doll away while cursing

Crystal Ball Scrying (Post-Death)

  • Seen in a stone temple underground
  • Noticed the scrying and laughed maniacally
  • Suggests she survived or reconstituted after being “killed”

The Plague

Laudna Briarwood is the creator of the unnatural plague that devastated Korin’s village near Nicodranas when he was twelve. The creeping blight withered life and was incurable by conventional means. The Dwendalian Empire’s response — quarantining and razing the village — killed Korin’s parents (Marcus Oakhart and Elara Oakhart) and separated him from his sister Faye.

The Empire’s own investigation eventually confirmed Laudna as the plague’s architect. Captain Eva Rostova uncovered this truth independently and revealed it to Korin on his eighteenth birthday, setting him on his path of vengeance.

Although Laudna shares the infamous Briarwood name — the same family that seized Whitestone before being defeated by Vox Machina — Korin has no idea of any connection between them. Delilah Briarwood is already dead by this point in history.


Relationships

  • Ariameia — Looks like a younger version of Laudna. The dying words suggest a deep, unresolved history between them.
  • Korin — Laudna destroyed his village and family. He has devoted his life to hunting her. The name “Briarwood” drives his search.
  • Dristuul — Delivered the killing blow.
  • Varkath — Fought alongside him in the Obsidian Prison.
  • Marcus Oakhart — Killed indirectly through her plague.
  • Elara Oakhart — Among the first victims of her plague.