Traveling in WotC's New Divided Core...

[onmyoji]

Hey all!

Since more than a few of us are dismayed by the idea of independent domains in the forthcoming new and fractured 5E Core, I thought I'd just ask and see if anyone had thought of any creative ways to move from one domain to another if they're all separated now.

I don't mean just "walk into the Mists and hope you end up in XYZ domain." I'm looking for potential lore-based ideas.

Like, in "Fair Barovia" (4E) , one of the houses in Vallaki is the one that Frantisek Markov lived in before becoming a darklord. I wouldn't be surprised if some Dark Powers nonsense might allow someone who ventured into that house a means of transporting to Markovia. I plan on using a method like this to involve Markov with the exploits of the Abbot in Curse of Strahd, since they both make "broken ones," and the Abbot happens to be at the Abbey of St. Markovia. (I'm planning a ruse where the Abbot has a giant statue of Markov instead of the real St. Markovia and it's just a big lie to the people of Krezk.)

So yeah, any other cool ways of getting from place to place if you can't just walk? Obviously the Vistani can probably do it, but I'm kinda looking for more than just that.

— onmyoji

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Perhaps if you make the appropriate knowledge check to connect place A to personality B, you could create a "resonance ritual" that brings about a temporary Mistway with excellent reliability.
The trick is, you'd need to find out enough about someone and somehow know they're in another domain -- and that they're significant over there.

Maybe the Mistway loses some of its reliability if the person you're tracking is lower in level.

[onmyoji]

Perhaps if you make the appropriate knowledge check to connect place A to personality B, you could create a "resonance ritual" that brings about a temporary Mistway with excellent reliability.
The trick is, you'd need to find out enough about someone and somehow know they're in another domain -- and that they're significant over there.

Maybe the Mistway loses some of its reliability if the person you're tracking is lower in level.

That's a neat idea! Though, now that you say "mistway," it occurs to me that if one happens to be in Barovia, they might be able to find the lost notebooks of Azalin with the rituals that caused the Mordent situation. That sounds like another good way to go. But where would those notes be, and who would have them?

— onmyoji

[tomokaicho]

Pay the Vistani to travel in their vardos through the mists. If that is OK that is, and passes the Hasbro sensitivity readers because it might portray the Vistani (*cough* "Roma" *cough*) as a money grubbing stereotype.

[onmyoji]

I get the racial insensitivity thing, though from what I read, the only part they really changed in Curse of Strahd is to avoid portraying the Vistani as lazy or drunk. As far as I can tell, everything about the "culture" or "ethos" that they have has remained unchanged.

— onmyoji

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Perhaps if you make the appropriate knowledge check to connect place A to personality B, you could create a "resonance ritual" that brings about a temporary Mistway with excellent reliability.
The trick is, you'd need to find out enough about someone and somehow know they're in another domain -- and that they're significant over there.

Maybe the Mistway loses some of its reliability if the person you're tracking is lower in level.

That's a neat idea! Though, now that you say "mistway," it occurs to me that if one happens to be in Barovia, they might be able to find the lost notebooks of Azalin with the rituals that caused the Mordent situation. That sounds like another good way to go. But where would those notes be, and who would have them?

— onmyoji

I'd say it would be either Strahd or Azalin (maybe each has some volumes of the whole set), and the rituals involved would probably be very high-level.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I get the racial insensitivity thing, though from what I read, the only part they really changed in Curse of Strahd is to avoid portraying the Vistani as lazy or drunk. As far as I can tell, everything about the "culture" or "ethos" that they have has remained unchanged.

— onmyoji

I wasn't around for the earliest renditions of Ravenloft, so I don't know how the Vistani were originally portrayed.
As far back as I can recall, they weren't shown as lazy drunks at all. The worst you could say about them as a people - that I noticed - is that they were extremely pragmatic and focused on the needs of their own people; a Vistana might dally with a giorgio, but at the end of the day the needs of the Vistani superseded any giorgio's happiness... or life. The Vistani could and would sell out a PC if that was necessary to secure their own safety, even if they felt the occasional pang about it later.
As for money... well. Giorgios still hold all the land and a lot of goods - like staple foods, which Vistani can't grow on the go. Without money, you can't get a giorgio to part with the goods. Not unless you don't mind getting chased by law enforcement and stereotyped as thieves by hateful giorgios even more than you already are.

[Five]

A Charon-like character? A Mist Ferryman, or, ferrymen? Dread Possibility: this is the Dark Powers themselves, or a reflection of; a dreadfully silent guide to the maze of morality, their terms laid out in a scroll contract...

Question then is: what is the price to pay for their services? Ashes of Strahd? Skull of Azalin? The traveller's soul as a down-payment for the "game" they are about to play?

Or, a book, detailing the history (loose term) of another domain, that sucks in the person reading it and all those in their vicinity, that then dumps them into the land in question.

A cave, found after a fall down a steep hillside, that leads from one domain to another. One way, or two way, after certain conditions are met.

Throw a Quantum Leap type spell or curse on your party and have them transported to a domain to accomplish a specific goal, then once it's complete they're off to the next domain. If your players are cool with it, include superficial bending (gender, cultural, racial, etc), but give them options. Whatever body they end up with (or in) they keep their stats. Or they re-roll stats for every jump, keeping only abilities. Etc.

[Mephisto of the FoS]

Since now everything all domains are Islands of Terror...

Mist Ferrymen Ritual from Islands of Terror

When the lord of a domain or a powerful denizen of Ravenloft desires the presence of certain folk, he attempts to summon forth a Mist Ferryman. To accomplish this, he makes an entreaty of the land on a misty night, spilling the freshly harvested blood of innocents into the fog choked air. There is a base 5% chance Ravenloft will answer, with an additional 5% per innocent slain. If it works, the closest Mist Ferryman comes to the lord to receive its instructions. When it has received its orders, it rides the Mists to wherever the intended target is, sometimes even from the demiplane itself. It brings the Mists with it, ensuring that its target travels to Ravenloft. The Ferryman is able to control the destination of the Misty sojourn, and so guarantee that the victim will get to the summoning lord.

Unfortunately, the Ferrymen have voracious appetites, so a traveler cannot always be sure of a summoned Ferryman's intentions. If one subdues a Ferryman in combat, it is possible to force it to take one to a desired destination within Ravenloft. There is no way to make a Ferryman take someone from the plane if the creature does not desire to leave.

[Zilfer]

Another thing to note, is the Vistani probably have a much more booming business of shepherding people from domain to domain. Not sure exactly what it would do for trade. It boggles the mind to think that across the same misty border you might be able to easily get goods from other domains as easily as another. (Would probably shake up any sort of markets that deal in foreign goods quite a bit.)

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Maybe some merchants have standing contracts with the Vistani to either guide their caravans or else to make deliveries and collect payment in their name.
The latter seems less likely, due to the common prejudice that all Vistani are thieves, but you never know.

Magically-gifted Darklords and rulers might pay to set up portals as per Misty Summons.

[Zilfer]

Not sure how prevalent that line of thinking is in all domains. Vistani always seem to ride a line between mistrusted and respected at least in my head/campaigns. I had thought somewhere it was mentioned though that people were already hiring Vistani to get through Mist Ways without getting lost. (most of the time. Read: DM's Choice) So I think there is already precedent for it. (Though maybe i've just read too many campaign journals where that has happened.) If I recall correctly there's only one sect of the Vistani tribes that actually has that sterotype stemming from? Been awhile since I looked into that stuff though since most Players don't get into the nitty gritty of oh the Vistani in Barovia are the Zarovan and now in Nova Vaasa we're talking with the Equarr!

[Mephisto of the FoS]

I was thinking Misty Summons (then I saw that Rock had already mentioned it), it is one way though people are summoned you cannot enter the portal and travel to the targeted space.

Other mistwalkers are the Anchoritesof Ezra (maybe this is mentioned too, but I wrote it anyway).

My favourite mistway by the way is "Song of Obscene Hunger" (Black Spire) that connects Hazlan with Bluetspur

[Wolfglide of the Fraternity]

My favourite mistway by the way is "Song of Obscene Hunger" (Black Spire) that connects Hazlan with Bluetspur

The Oak of Screams is probably the most gruesome mistway.

[Manofevil]

I wonder if Vistani mistwalkers shouldn't be lone specialists similar to coyotes on the Mexican border leading parties of fugitives across the various borders to other lands.