Borovia, the village of borovia: it and strahds castle are all surrounded by a mist that prevents anyone/anything from leaving unless they have a potion/cure from the vistani camped there. I have both the gazeter, PHB/DMG for ravenloft 3.5 and the old module all of which cover this area. Now the question that comes to mind is this. If every living thing is affected by this poisonus cloud, and it stretches around the village and castle that means it also has to cross over a river (twice) to encircle all this (and the castle is way up on a mountain). Can you swim under this barrier on the river? How do horses, dogs, livestock, horses etc get through this? I thought of letting anything of animal int or lower be unaffected but its pretty specific the barrier effects everything but undead. So how do the worgs and what not get through? If they cant the village must be the safest place in the world save for threats from some pesky undead.
Question 2 involves the vistani. Under the vistani it talks about how they have to move every week or the rhaunie (?) (the female seers/wisewomen) get sick and can lose their powers. In the gazeter under sithicus it talks about how a tribe was held hostage there. Under the new darklord it talks about how she has to sleep in different places, something about having to stay somewhere new at least a mile away every week.
How do you hold vistani hostage in the same castle if they have to move every week and have to be at least a mile away from the previous location? How do you hold a vistani hostage at all if they have to be moved around so much. How does the vistani camp at tsar falls near the town of borovia remain there if they have to move every week (though I would guess madame eva wouldnt be affected?) I can understand the having to move around but its the vistani that don't move around thats confusing me in that how do they not move around yet keep their powers as the tribe prophetess/wisewoman?
Thanks to all those that can help
It basically encircles the entire valley that the castle and the village and surrounding farmland are located in. Anyone who breathes in the fog is fine as long as they're inside the ring, it's when they try to leave that they start to choke to death. As for livestock such as horses, I imagine one would have to buy extra potions for them. As for animals like wolves, etc., they would be affected as well, but there's plenty of woodland surrounding the village for them to inhabit, and plenty of hapless villagers for them to feed on.
As for swimming under the fog in the river Ivlis, well, most PC races will have to come up for air eventually, and it's unlikely they can hold their breath long enough to swim the entire length of the valley.
Question 2 involves the vistani. Under the vistani it talks about how they have to move every week or the rhaunie (?) (the female seers/wisewomen) get sick and can lose their powers.
Any Vistani, actually.
How do you hold vistani hostage in the same castle if they have to move every week and have to be at least a mile away from the previous location?
You don't. The Vistani have the antidote to the choking fog and come and go as they please. The campsite is more-or-less permanent, but the specific Vistani one will encounter there changes from week to week (or day to day) as newcomers arrive and those who have been around a few days move on.
It basically encircles the entire valley that the castle and the village and surrounding farmland are located in. Anyone who breathes in the fog is fine as long as they're inside the ring, it's when they try to leave that they start to choke to death. As for livestock such as horses, I imagine one would have to buy extra potions for them. As for animals like wolves, etc., they would be affected as well, but there's plenty of woodland surrounding the village for them to inhabit, and plenty of hapless villagers for them to feed on.
Actually the fog is explained a little more in Vampires of the Mists. When the cleric goes through the fog on horse back it points out only he takes the potion. I would take that to mean the fog is harmless to animals.
Actually the fog is explained a little more in Vampires of the Mists. When the cleric goes through the fog on horse back it points out only he takes the potion. I would take that to mean the fog is harmless to animals.
Ah, well...I've never read that novel :embarrass That makes sense, I guess, as Strahd uses the fog to act as a choke point for both trade and information and to keep the villagers in line...I suppose he wouldn't need to keep track of which animals are going in and out of the valley.
You don't. The Vistani have the antidote to the choking fog and come and go as they please. The campsite is more-or-less permanent, but the specific Vistani one will encounter there changes from week to week (or day to day) as newcomers arrive and those who have been around a few days move on.
I think he's refering to the fact that in Sithicus, the Black Rose held a troupe of Vistani captive.
They can be captive, because captivity only means that they have to follow The Black Rose everywhere he goes and has no choice in the matter. As you can read later in the Gazetter (end of pg 113 and start of 114) that they were 'under the proection of the Black Rose'. They just basically followed The Black Rose wherever he went.... Guess Lord Soth just had to walk around a lot to make sure the Vistani were nice and healthy.