Domain of the Month: Invidia

[KingCorn]

Yep. Still doing this. We return to the core to visit the land of the dukkar, Invidia.

[Mischief]

....
I have never fought a duel of honor before. My one attempt to initiate prior was rebuffed on account of cowardice disguised as misogyny.

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Duels. A character who offends a noble or person of “gentle” birth may provoke a duel. A duel is a formal, premeditated challenge to settle a quarrel by combat or some other mutually agreed-upon means. Grievances may include defaming statements, dishonorable conduct, caning another noble, competing for a love interest, and insult to a gentleperson’s companions or guests. Each side of a duel has a Principal – the offended party – and their chosen Second who exchanges communication and negotiates terms for their Principal. Seconds may also fight on behalf of the Principal, especially if the Principal is royal or otherwise incapable of fighting themselves.
Beyond the pragmatic benefits of restoring honor, removing rivals, making a point, and tangible reward, dueling is an opportunity to demonstrate social prowess. Duels are a favorite highlight of the high life, and the combatants’ social savvy and style are evaluated as much as their sword-arms. Duels allow those with lesser wealth, assets, and titles to leap up the hierarchy. The nouveau riche risk death to earn prestige or a chance to marry up, while waning aristocrats can shore-up their rank by squelching upstarts.
A traditional duel begins when the Principals’ Seconds exchange formal letters explaining their Principal’s cause for outrage. These lavish declarations are as exquisitely written as possible – combatants may hire a witty bard and calligrapher to assist in the drafting. Principals with cash to burn may deliver documents with additional hostile flourishes. On the modest end, the opposite is given a beautiful bouquet with a hidden floriographic meaning. An extreme might be tickets to a chartered opera with costumes and dialogue redesigned to outrage.
The Seconds then meet to negotiate combat terms (to the blood, to the death, magic, no magic, weapons allowed, etc.) and draft a formal writ of challenge– this document proves the duel legal. Certain patriarchal domains like Darkon and Mordent generally only recognize duels between members of the same sex. Orospero and Invidia allow duels between any two who agree. Duels can end if both combatants declare satisfaction or when one side voluntarily gives-up by declaring “craven”. Unless forbidden, it is expected that healing potions and magic will be used to save the dying at the duel’s conclusion.
DMs should challenge PCs to appropriate social checks and reward them for following polite protocol. PC performance during the run-up may result in bonuses or penalties to the combat aspect – perhaps as bonus dice and temp HP which the opponent may also have equal to their own performance! Someone who loses in combat can still inflict total social defeat on their opponent.
In contrast to a duel, a rencounter is an informal, illegal, impromptu streetfight. Rencounters between wellborn are dishonorable. Wellborn rarely duel commoners or respond to their challenges; caning them in a rencounter is acceptable.
</Greybox>

Invidia. The Vistani are the largest minority group in Orospero. Speroese leadership forbids Vistani pogroms and uniformed Invidian inquisitors, but the gendarmes don’t prioritize the undercover inquisition’s low-level terrorism campaigns. Capturing Castelo Valiero on the Isle of Avenir could be called the Inquisition’s Eldorado, but Invidia has no sea border and thus no navy. They settle for propaganda campaigns instead. Obvious Speroese in Invidian land, especially those with a hair tone lighter than their skin, should expect to be scrutinized and interrogated.

S- has a dumpster for a stomach in this revision, so I have been slowly making a list of bizarre local foods for her to try as a not-expected-to-be-completed side project.

Invidian winter fish. Landlocked Invidia is a poor destination for fresh fish. Ordinary river carp wouldn’t warrant a place on this list of oddities if not for the peasants’ holiday custom. Barovian fishmongers pack live fish into rain barrels and roll through each hamlet. Families come with copper and their largest washbasin of water to bring one home. Children tend to their scaly pet for several days until the night of winter’s dinner feast. [Invidia is relatively alpine in this map]

[Mistmaster]

The Vistani Homeland.
Why Vistani stays in Invidia at all? They are a nomadic people and they are able to navigate the mists, why should they stay in an hostile environement where they are persecuted? The reason is simple: Invidia is the Vistani's homeland; before the curse that dispersed them, Invidia was called Gantasque, and it was a powerfull and pacific kingdom ruled by king Vistan; the holy places of the Vistani people are in Invidia, and every Vistani feels compelled to travel there at least once every 7 years. It is rumored that the ancient ruin of Gantasque hold ancient secrets, and any Vistani gas the holy duty to find those secrets out and keep them out of Giorgios reach.

[Strahdsbuddy]

I always imagined Bakholis being a traitor to Gundar. The two domains formed one after the other, and i thought it could be a good chance to integrate an Underworld type war between Vampires and Lycans. Bakholis is also called a Cursed werewolf, so he wasn't infected. He probably failed his powers checks and became a lycanthrope on his way to darklordship. The two domains could very easily have been at war until Bakholis was killed by Gabby. In fact, the 15 years of peace before his assassination could have luled Gundar into a false security, thinking he'd defeated his only enemy. Invidia's soil should be stained with plenty of blood, and the people are always expectign a fight. It is the sort of place where one wrong word can have explosive consequeces. Like the internet.

[KingCorn]

Rumors of the Land

• Gabrielle's lovers, Matton and Ardonk, have each privately pressured her to let them spirit "their" daughter Lucita away to friends and allies in Kartakass/Barovia in order to keep her safe. Going with either could not only mean losing her daughter, but also outing her dalliances and thus losing half of her allies. Yet she everyday she fears more for her daughter...
• The Falkovnians in Karina have begun stationing more and more troops in the Warehouse district. While most believe it is to sniff out the Midnight Slasher, others whisper of horrible noises, something like wolf howls, coming from their.
• The Dukkar has a new favorite among his personal guard, a hulking Verbrekian who seemed to show up out of the blue. Many whisper the Dukkar has used fiendish magic to enhance his abilities, as well as keep him in his thrall
• The Dukkar has been in correspondence with Lyssa von Zarovich, who has offered him support in his war and in any potential conflicts with Barovia. She has even sent him mysterious allies. Those who claim to have seen them say they are monsters with Bulbous heads and tentacled mouths
• Several busts and statues held at the Art_ Colegiu have gone missing, only to reappear in the woods in or about town several nights later in different positions, as if they simply walked off in the night. The creator of these now wandering statues, a young Hazlani man, went missing just before the status did.
• Many have claimed to see a corpse-like old woman swimming up and down the Serpent's Tongue, catching fish by hand and eating them raw. Locals call her The Serpent's Daughter, and claim she was born from the river itself and will live forever so long as she never leaves its waters.
• Several Witches of Hala have been attacked and their hospices burned down. The survivors of one of these attacks claims it to be the work of a vicious Tepesti Inquisitor who she and her sisters fled from years ago.

[The Lesser Evil]

A particularly pernicious series of skirmishes in Verbrek between a group of unusually well armed Vistani and Malocchio's mercenaries has left the land scarred and werewolves dead in ways never seen before. The perpetrators fled the scene every time, leading the Verbreker werewolves to not know whom to go after. Therefore, the werewolves have began raiding Invidia across the border to let Malocchio's forces known this won't be stood for while trying to discover the identities of whom killed their fellow werewolves. However, in the middle of their raids, the Verbreker werewolves discover the existence of Matton Blanchard's assisting the Gundarakite rebels. The Verbreker werewolves and Blacnhard's wolfweres feel instant loathing and begin to conflict with each other. The Verbreker werewolves thus act as a wild card between the rebel forces and Malocchio's forces. How will the introduction of a third party in the Invidian civil war upset the balance of power?

Optional subplot: The Dilisnya family have been using their contacts in the Timothy family to encourage the Verbreker werewolves to attack Invidia.

[tomokaicho]

Nothing about the downright spooky Inquest?

[The Lesser Evil]

The Phagian Legacy

Phagius (see Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III p. 112) is known as the creator of the six magical Phagian virus strains. It is unknown as to how an individual from Invidia, a comparatively backward domain hostile to formal education and even writing to a certain extent, could develop such an advanced development and application of knowledge in pathology. He was purported to actually be a Lamordian in exile for combining forbidden biomancy with his studies in biology and virology. He may have even at one point been a student of Mordenheim or his kin. Other rumors purport that Phagius hailed originally from Nosos and may have even been an errant relative of Malus Sceleris.

Knowledge of his origins probably reflects Phagius' secretive nature, even as far as evil wizards go. His family, whom he forced to venerate him almost like a cult, were his primary contacts and servants. It is rumored he was responsible for the death of his wife, though she officially died in childbirth. Regardless of his mannerisms and trasgressions in life, it is whispered in a few places throughout the domain that Phagius had a secret estate not too far away. These estates are said to be haunted by the vengeful spirits of his children, whom as in life carry his infections in undeath.

Despite Phagius' reclusive nature, the creation of his magical viruses and their concealment from prying eyes must have nonetheless consumed untold financial resources. A few in the know whisper that he received funding from Malus or from Falkovnia. In the latter case, funding might have been provided by the Ministries of the Arcane, Science, or a rare cooperative effort from the two. Others connect Phagius to a secret faction with Invidia itself despite ultimately seeking to take control over the realm. Phagius may not have escaped judgement from the Inquest, but rather have been given the rare sentence of "service" rather than death.

Somewhere within Invidia (or even somewhere without), more living scientists and spellcasters might seek to carry on Phagius' legacy for their own dark purposes or for those of the Invidian state. Vjorn Horstmann might seek knowledge of Phagius' magical viruses for the development of his lycanthrope purposes or just as general weapons of war.

[ewancummins]

Did you ever hear of the Tragedy of Dark Phagius the Wise?

[Mischief]

Nothing about the downright spooky Inquest?

VIEW CONTENT:

Hmm, if the eyes are scooped out, and they are always moving, and when needed they can travel very quickly, so maybe Vistani? And their original voice-boxes and tongues have been removed so they can't lay curses?

And then you have the un-delightful side plot of someone hoarding a bunch of Vistani vocal chords, tongues, and eyeballs for god-knows-what purpose.

[The Lesser Evil]

The already obscure Malaturno family (see Spectre of the Black Rose) keep a well-hidden family secret: their lineage sires a rare individual with the gifts of oracular predictions and seemingly serendipitous luck though at the cost of incurable physical impairments or other afflictions. The general Invidian disdain and distrust of magic has made the Malaturno’s quick to capture or even kill members of their bloodline that make big shows of special abilities. An exception was made by Fayaard Malaturno, whom advocated death for his brother Gesmas after the latter had been arrested by Malocchio’s army. Fayaard’s actions failed to produce Gesmas’ execution and may have made Fayaard’s life considerably worse.

Primarily vintners by trade, the Malaturnos produce the well-loved wine Chateau Malaturno. Rarely, the oracular abilities of the Malaturno seers bleed over into the wine they produce. Such oracular abilities tend to be of a single one-time glimpse of the future to those whom imbibe the win, but more long-term or greater abilities may occasionally manifest. Suffice it to say, the Malaturno clan keeps a watchful eye on their wines for any magic. These wines are coveted by the family with a passion.

[Mistmaster]

The innocence of the Dukkar
When the Gentleman Caller sired Malocchio, he performed a ritual to create a pure evil son, without any freedom of choise; so Malocchio was damned from the very beginning; but the innicence foced out Malocchio did not go lost; a gem of pure blue hidden in the depth of Castle Loupet could restore Malocchio to the child he should have been. Malocchio knows about it, and fear the gem, but can't bear tits sight nor does he trust anyone with it. If Isabelle ever knew about it she would use it without doubt.

[brilliantlight]

The Vistani Homeland.
Why Vistani stays in Invidia at all? They are a nomadic people and they are able to navigate the mists, why should they stay in an hostile environement where they are persecuted? The reason is simple: Invidia is the Vistani's homeland; before the curse that dispersed them, Invidia was called Gantasque, and it was a powerfull and pacific kingdom ruled by king Vistan; the holy places of the Vistani people are in Invidia, and every Vistani feels compelled to travel there at least once every 7 years. It is rumored that the ancient ruin of Gantasque hold ancient secrets, and any Vistani gas the holy duty to find those secrets out and keep them out of Giorgios reach.

I admit I like this idea, it does give them a reason on why they simply don't avoid the domain like the plauge.