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I want to find out how the closing of domain borders function.
I can imagine the situation in island domains a little. For example Fran Markov can easily affect the weather at sea and raise strong waves to get fleeing characters back to his island.

Another situation arises in the Core. How the Lords close the borders of the inland domains? What PCs experience when come to the closed border? Is it some sort of mental barrier what keep them from crossing the domain border? Is that some lord´s powerful spell that build up invisible wall? Is that something else?
Really I don´t have the faintest idea how it works inland and what in fact the pursued heroes experience when approach the closed border.

Hello,

All darklord description, wether in SotDR or in the Gaz in 3e, or any in 2e, have a paragraph called "closing the border". You should read these for a description of each darklord's closing the border effect.

For exemple, in Hazlan, the darklord can close his borders with walls of flames surrounding his domain. Strahd raise poison mists at the frontiers, etc.

It prevents people from leaving and from entering the domain.

Joël

To expand on that, the borders are essentially innate abilities given to the Lords through their link to the land. As such, it is far superior to mortal magic and cannot be bypassed by normal means. However, as Joël said, each Lord has a different means of closing the borders, always reflecting their personality in some manner. As such, there are ways of evading some borders (creatures of elemental fire, for instance, can pass through Hazlan's ring of fire, while undead can pass through Barovia's poison mists). Other than that, you're stuck.

To add further to what has been said, not all darklords can close borders, there is the rare one who doesn't have the ability through any supernatural means. EG: Vlad Drakov of Falkovnia.

Some darklords close their borders with physical obstacles, but others use mental effects (like "walls" of fear or guilt), and still others use that old gag in which outgoing travelers keep finding themselves headed back to where they began, a la the kids lost in the woods from "Blair Witch". The style of barrier used should reflect the darklord's persona and history -- Yagno's is a personal favorite of mine: a wall of jagged bones decorated with jeering, animated animal skulls; guess he's the picture of mental health, eh? -- although the "default option" is to have the Mists descend and deposit any escapees back within the domain's boundaries, if you can't think of anything more suitable.

Note that there are a few darklords who can't close their borders, either because they're too non-/anti-magical to develop or acknowledge such an ability, or because it's a part of their individual curse to lack the power to obstruct escape-attempts. Such lords have to settle for sending their conventional forces to patrol the domains' borders, such as Drakov's soldiers or Alfred Timothy's werewolves.

Rotipher wrote:Note that there are a few darklords who can't close their borders, either because they're too non-/anti-magical to develop or acknowledge such an ability, or because it's a part of their individual curse to lack the power to obstruct escape-attempts. Such lords have to settle for sending their conventional forces to patrol the domains' borders, such as Drakov's soldiers or Alfred Timothy's werewolves.

True... and provided that you can outfight/outrun the soldiers or wolves/werewolves, you can escape Falkovnia or Verbrek.

Another example of a darklord who cannot close the domain's borders is Malken--the true darklord of Nova Vaasa (as opposed to Tristen Hiregaard, who shares his body). I think the explanation is that he's too conflicted with Hiregaard fighting him at every turn to allow him that kind of control over his domain.

IIRC, Ivan Dilisnya is one of Borca's darklords, but he can't close the borders--that power belongs solely to Ivana Boritsi.

Neither of these two have ANY means of closing the borders of their domains, from what I understand.

AdamGarou wrote:

Rotipher wrote:Note that there are a few darklords who can't close their borders, either because they're too non-/anti-magical to develop or acknowledge such an ability, or because it's a part of their individual curse to lack the power to obstruct escape-attempts. Such lords have to settle for sending their conventional forces to patrol the domains' borders, such as Drakov's soldiers or Alfred Timothy's werewolves.

True... and provided that you can outfight/outrun the soldiers or wolves/werewolves, you can escape Falkovnia or Verbrek.

Another example of a darklord who cannot close the domain's borders is Malken--the true darklord of Nova Vaasa (as opposed to Tristen Hiregaard, who shares his body). I think the explanation is that he's too conflicted with Hiregaard fighting him at every turn to allow him that kind of control over his domain.

IIRC, Ivan Dilisnya is one of Borca's darklords, but he can't close the borders--that power belongs solely to Ivana Boritsi.

Neither of these two have ANY means of closing the borders of their domains, from what I understand.

I think you mean that they cannot magically close their borders. Ivan could send some soldiers to patrol the borders and Malken could arrange for some thugs to patrol his borders also. But then you only need to escape the patrols.

Stygian Inquirer wrote:I think you mean that they cannot magically close their borders. Ivan could send some soldiers to patrol the borders and Malken could arrange for some thugs to patrol his borders also. But then you only need to escape the patrols.

Yes, MAGICALLY being the key word. Ivan could indeed send some of his henchmen to patrol the borders of Borca and keep people in (especially particular individuals Ivan wants to remain). Malken could also use such means--thieves, "leg-breakers", etc. to keep Nova Vaasa secure.

But, if you wanted to stretch it to that point, then what's to stop Azrael from sending some infected werebadgers to patrol the borders of Sithicus and eat anyone they find trying to get out? Or stop the Living Brain from sending a bunch of his own mentally-dominated thugs to search the borders of Dementlieu/Lamordia and keep people within? Even non-darklords can "close" the borders in these ways, and wouldn't strictly be limited to their own "domains" (assuming the true darklord is occupied with other matters).

When I think of border closures, I tend to think of magical means that cannot be combatted, such as Strahd's choking mist for breathing creatures or Harkon Lukas's sleep song (which works--if I'm not mistaken--on creatures who don't normally require sleep). IIRC, nothing can leave Kartakass if Lukas does not allow it, while undead creatures can escape Barovia and fire-resistant creatures can escape Hazlan.

So you have to decide in your own campaign if finding an individual fleet enough of foot to outrun Talons or a pack of wolves and werewolves is rarer than finding an individual who doesn't breathe (and can escape the fog of Barovia) or who doesn't take damage from fire (and can pass through the wall of fire encircling Hazlan.

Myself, since Alfred Timothy's werewolves and Vlad Drakov's soldiers are specifically mentioned in the supplements as ways of closing the borders to their lands, I tend to believe that the DP "assist" these minions and make them more efficient than Malken's "leg-breakers" or Ivan Dilisnya's thugs would be in preventing people from leaving the land.

But, that's just one guy's opinion...