View source for Vistani Plot Hooks

[[Category:Plot Hooks]][[Category:DM Tools]]
The Vistani are a lot of fun to roleplay. I chose to play most of them with the attitude (and accent) of the gypsies from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. ([https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/7cp9vr/lessons_from_running_curse_of_strahd_road_to/])

Another fun element of the Vistani is their culture's agelessness - they have seen hundreds of adventurers come and go, and the current party is just another spot of amusement as they wait to see what tales and stories may come of it. My PCs enjoyed, but were somewhat unnerved by the Vistani's relatively mirthful telling of the tragedy of the unnamed wizard who led a rebellion against Strahd. Really drive home that the Vistani view the PCs not as heroes, but as dead men walking who will nevertheless provide excellent fodder for future tales. ([https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/7cp9vr/lessons_from_running_curse_of_strahd_road_to/])

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=== Arriving at [[Tser Pool Encampment]] ===
The PCs should get to Tser Pool right around dusk. They might approach the camp cautiously, but the moment a Vistana catches sight of the group, they call out and exclaim like they've just seen a long lost friend. The PCs are ushered into the camp and seated by the campfire where they're given food and wine.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

Meeting the Vistani should be quite unlike anything the PCs have encountered thus far. They've seen the horror of the Death House and the bleak, depressing Village of Barovia. Suddenly, they're thrust into a world of color, music, and laughter. You're players will love the Vistani.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

==== Conversations Around the Campfire ====
Go ahead and make one or two Vistana be the main NPCs in the camp. These NPCs will do the main talking with your players and make the role-play more streamlined, instead of trying to act out a whole group of Vistani at once. I personally had Arahja, a larger-than-life boisterous man whose laugh boomed and Rina, a quieter woman who spoke little, but what she did say was often profound and full of mischief. Arahja acted as my main speaker and every so often, Rina would bounce an idea or comment into the mix.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

===== Where are you from? =====

This is the first topic that's likely to come up. The Vistani will ask your players about themselves and where they're headed. Feel free to answer your player's questions through the Vistani about the land and Strahd.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

===== The Story of the Vistani and Strahd =====

The Vistani are happy to tell about how their understanding with Strahd came to pass. Do your best to show that the Vistani don't really have an opinion of Strahd and usually just keep out of his way.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

===== The Vistani from the Blood on the Vine =====

If the PCs mention the three sisters from the Village of Barovia, the Vistani spit on the ground and proclaim, "Mortu!" They advice the PCs to stay away from filth like that.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

Do NOT mention [[Old Bonegrinder]] in these conversations.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

You're doing a lot to build false trust in the hags. Don't ruin that by making the Vistani warn the players about the windmill. Also, the windmill's name in ominous in and of itself.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

===== Trapped in Barovia =====

Through one conversation or another, the Vistani should make a passive joke about how the PCs are now trapped in Barovia. "Look at this one, Rina! His skin is so tan! Almost like Vistani, himself, eh?" "Yes, show it off while you can, Giorgio. The coming years without sunlight are sure to steal it from you."[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

This should worry to the PCs enough to ask why and the Vistani will somberly tell them that no one leaves Barovia. Once in the mists, you're here forever. "So welcome to your new home!"[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

The PCs will likely try to clarify and eventually the conversation will land on how one might escape this land. The Vistani NPCs don't know how, but they recommend the PCs go see Madam Eva. If there's a chance for them to get out of Barovia, Madam Eva will know it.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

===Madam Eva===
When the PCs approach Madam Eva's tent, she calls for them to enter before they even announce themselves. She addresses all the PCs by name without having to be introduced, and uses their full name instead of nicknames. If you have a PC named Samantha but goes by Sam, Eva calls them Samantha. If you have a PC named Reginald, but goes by Batz, she calls him Reginald.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

When everyone has been ushered inside and is sitting around her table, she proclaims, "Took you all long enough! I have been expecting you. Are you ready to learn your fate?"[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

If the players are super insistent on how she knows them, Madam Eva tells them that her cards grant her sight into the Threads of Fate that bind us all. They told her that champions were coming to the land and that she would guide them on their path.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]

{{:Tarokka Reading}}

==== On the Road Again ====

After the fortune reading, Madam Eva shoos the party from her tent and tells them to go and have fun. The night proceeds nicely, with more wine and laughter. If you didn't remind your party about the Dream Pies when they stayed in the Village of Barovia, now's your last chance to do so! The Vistani then happily provide their guests with some bedrolls under one of their tents. The next morning the party sets off for Vallaki again... but not without coming across Old Bonegrinder first.[https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/8ymg7y/fleshing_out_curse_of_strahd_tser_pool_the/]