Vistani (5e Race)

Vistani

Physical Description

Simon Raskina

The Vistani are, regardless of how their time in the Shadowfell has changed them, humans and appear as such. Most Vistani have tan or darker skin tones, lean features, and black hair, except those lightened by age, often worn long on both men and women. They also tend to stand slightly taller than the average human. Vistani among their caravans often wear vibrant colors of layered clothing and jewelry that contrast with the drab realms they wheel across.

History

The true origins of the nomadic Vistani are unclear, even to themselves. All that they can be pretty certain of is that they were once wandering people on some unknown world in the material plane, possibly the same one Barovia originates from, before wandering into the mists of the Dread Domains. For reasons unknown, the Vistani alone are able to traverse the various dark domains with little to no interference from the Dark Powers and only being stopped by the Darklords when they actively close the borders of their prisons. Not only that, the Vistani can use the mists to enter or leave the interconnected demiplanes or even the Shadowfell all together with no more difficulty than a long drive. They can even take non-Vistani with them if they choose, rendering them one of the only reliable ways of entering or escaping the realms of horror, at least as far as the plane mechanics go.

Society

The Vistani, called Vistana in the singular tense, generally live tribal or familial groups that wander the Domains of Dread and beyond in their sturdy wagons, living off the land and occasionally interacting with friendly locals open to trading with their exotic wares. Most Darklords tend to tolerate if not favor the Vistani as their less moral members can act as their mercenary agents beyond the borders of their kingdoms and their many generations of travelling the varied domains have imparted the Vistani with queer mystic knowledge and abilities. Most strange of all being their Tarokka decks which only the Vistani can use to describe, or perhaps prescribe, the future.

Most denizens tend to be more wary of the strange folk from beyond their misty borders with some even resorting to violence to drive them off, those these foolish pickets usually find their dark existences cut short by the Vistani’s many curses and knives, and those that do survive usually wish they didn’t cross the mist’s favored trekkers. The Vistani are particularly infamous for their versatile evil eye which can enthrall outsiders with but a glance.

When not engaged in the defense of their wagons, the Vistani tend to be a welcoming people, especially to fellow travelers, if only for a chance to seduce and/ or fleece their guests. As long as such visitors do nothing to offend the nomads, intentionally or accidently, they rarely have anything to fear beyond a hangover. In some cases, Vistani elders have been known to help those trapped by the mists navigate its horrors and oppose the Darklords, often proving vital sources of information for any survivors of the Domains of Dread.

For more information, see Van Richten’s Guide to the Vistani, though many Vistani claim much of the information the good doctor recorded was outdated or incorrect, likely shared as a prank.

Vistani Names

Vistani have their own naming conventions distinct from the realms they inhabit

Male: Abisai, Clopin, Khulai, Quidico, Wesh

Female: Corauni, Eva, Ezmerelda, Marousia, Zujenia

Vistani Traits

Nomads of the nightmare lands Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2 and your Wisdom score increases by 1. Age. Vistani reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century. Alignment. Vistani tend toward chaotic alignments. Size. Your size is Medium. Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Caravan Life. You have proficiency with Land Vehicles and Playing Cards.

Curse of the Vistani. You can cast the hex spell with this trait. When you cast hex, you can change the spell’s damage to psychic instead of necrotic. Once you cast hex with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell when you cast it with this trait (choose when you select this race).

Evil Eye. You know the friends cantrip. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the animal friendship spell with this trait. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the hold person spell with this trait. These spells can all be cast without spell components, but if their target succeeds on its initial saving throw when you cast them with this trait, you are blinded until the end of your next turn. Once you cast animal friendship or hold person with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a short or long rest. You can also cast either of those spells or hex using any spell slots you have of the appropriate level. These spells use the same spellcasting score you chose for Curse of the Vistani.

Heart of the Cards. When you create this character, you gain a Tarokka Deck bound in silk and securely stored in a tiny wooden box weighing 1 lb. You can use this deck as the material component for the augury spell. Rules for the Tarokka Deck are on page 243 of Curse of Strahd. When you complete a long rest, you can shuffle and draw a card from the deck. Before the start of your next long rest, you can expend the card and shuffle it back into your deck to add its value to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw depending on its suit in the Common Deck table below (no reaction needed). The value of suit masters equals 10. If you draw a card from the high deck, each can be expended to reroll a specific type of ability check, attack roll, or saving throw with advantage in the High Deck table below. You can expend a card after you make a d20 roll, but before you know whether it succeeded or failed. The drawn card is shuffled back into your Tarokka Deck when you begin a long rest if unused. Alternate Rules. Instead of drawing from a Tarokka Deck, you can roll a d4 when you finish a long rest to determine the suit of the card drawn. Before the start of your next long rest you can add a d10 to an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw based on the result in Common Deck table below. You can ignore the High Deck table.

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Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common, Patterna, and one other language of your choice. Patterna is the secret language of the Vistani used for different bands to communicate with each other through markings and coded messages left in their wake.

Common Deck

d4	Suit	d20 Test
1	Coins	tool ability checks
2	Glyphs	saving throws
3	Stars	skill ability checks
4	Swords	attack rolls

High Deck

d20	Card	d20 Test
1	Artifact	Intelligence ability checks
2	Beast	Strength ability checks
3	Broken One	Constitution saving throws
4	Darklord	Death saving throws
5	Donjon	Strength saving throws
6	Executioner	Melee attack rolls
7	Ghost	Charisma saving throws
8	Horseman	Dexterity ability checks
9	Innocent	Wisdom saving throws
10	Marionette	Intelligence saving throws
11	Mist	Dexterity saving throws
12	Raven	Ranged attack rollss
13	Seer	Wisdom ability checks
14	Tempter	Charisma ability checks

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
5′ 0''	+2d8	100 lb.	× (1d10) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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