Vistani usually grow up in tight-knit families, which are embedded into wider—often sprawling—clan structures. Vistani have, throughout their varied history, often been ostracized by other cultures, always the foreigners, even in the lands they grew up in. This is the main reason they have learned to rely on each other to such a great extent. It is not that they are isolationist or aloof by nature; it is a lifestyle pressed on them by circumstance. Vistani typically thrive in their families, and stick together through good and bad. As in any family, there can be conflict, but the Vistani take care of their own and resolve any conflict as amicably as possible.
Each Vistani family is part of a larger clan structure called a “vista”. These vistas form a sort of ex-
tended family and culture that each Vistana is a part of. One who is familiar with Vistani culture can often discern which vista a Vistana is from within a few minutes of meeting them.
Glamorous Wanderers
Many Vistani wander away from their families, be it alone or with groups of friends or found families, at least for some periods of their lives. Some Vistani stay away from their families forever, finding happiness among foreigners, while others return home eventually, happy to fall back into the loving arms of their blood relatives.
A proud Vistana is often instantly identified, standing out with their confident demeanor and bold appearance. However, some people and cultures still harbor prejudice against Vistani. As such, some Vistana will choose to blend in to the local culture rather than stand out while traveling.
Many people are enticed by the reputation of Vistani as entertainers and craftspeople, and by their knowledge of magic and lore, and treat them as honored guests. Anyone who spends time with a Vistana, and has an open mind, usually learns that the negative prejudices against Vistani are not true at all.
Magic and Mystery
There is an air of mystery surrounding the Vistani. Some of it is carefully cultivated by the Vistani to
keep themselves safe, and some of it is attributed by superstitious outsiders. It is true, however, that some Vistani have an uncanny knack for magic and even a gift for supernatural foresight.
Regardless of their actual abilities, Vistana often make a living as entertainers, amazing their audiences with their sheer skill, magic tricks, and true magic alike. It is thus difficult to tell when a Vistana is actually performing real magic and when they are using carefully crafted phantasmagoria.
Vistani Names
Vistani are given a name at birth, or within their first few months of life if their parents are more traditional and first wish to see if the child will live before they form any lasting attachment by giving it a name. It is not unheard of that a Vistana later changes their given birth name or adopt an epithet. Each Vistana is born into a close-knit family and usually a wider, often sprawling, clan structure. Most Vistani are tightly integrated into this social network and wear their familyname proudly.
Male Names: Advan, Alexi, Alin, Andari, Bartolome, Cyril, Giacomo, Inarin, Keldro, Mateusz, Mikhail, Nikolaus, Petja, Raul, Vinchenzo, Zsalev
Female Names: Aisha, Arabella, Daria, Ethel, Eva, Gitana, Ina, Ingrid, Isabella, Lara, Leyla, Lucia, Magdalena, Marcella, Marushka, Reluca, Tal
Family and Clan Names: See the different Vistani vistas below.
Vistani Epithets: Madam, Monsieur, Old, the Wanderer, the Seer, the Magnificent, the Gentleman
Vistani Vista
Each Vistana grows up with the traditions and customs of their vista. A vista is, loosely speaking, a kind of Vistani “nation”, although it is more accurate to think of them as collections of clans with a shared history and similar culture. Vistani gain additional features based on their vista ancestry.
Myth Vista
The Myth vista values artistry, storytelling, and companionship. They are renowned performers and
generally outgoing, always glad to meet new people
and show their skills. More than any other group of
Vistani, members of the Myth vista are driven by
an insatiable wanderlust. Because they interact with foreign cultures and people of vastly different temperaments on a regular basis, Myth Vistani are easygoing and skilled in defusing potentially dangerous situations.
Myth Family and Clan Names:
Dantari, Veranos, Kalidar, Lieranos, Mirevas
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 2.
Persuasive. You have proficiency in the Persuasion
skill.
Charming and Disarming. You know the friends cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the charm person spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the calm emotions spell once with this trait and regain the ability to do so when you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Art Vista
Many of the Vistani’s most lauded craftspeople and
artists come from the Art vista. The Art vistas value hard work and dedication to their chosen craft. They often travel to trade their goods, but they usually travel less light than other Vistani–they prefer wagons to horses, and lavishly decorate and outfit their mobile homesteads. Among the Vistani, they come closest to sedentary homemakers.
Art Family and Clan Names: Equaar, Kamii, Kulchevich, Moslavaric, Vatraska
Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 2.
Crafting Expertise. You gain proficiency with one type of artisan’s tools of your choice. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses your chosen tools.
Magic Touch. You are adept at improving manufactured items of all kinds on the fly but, while quickly applied, your magic touch sadly is not permanent.
During a long rest, you can spend 1 hour honing the properties of a mundane weapon, shield, or set of armor. The chosen item gains +1 to attack rolls and damage rolls if it is a weapon, or +1 to AC if it is a shield or a piece of armor. The improvement lasts
for 24 hours or until you apply your magic touch to another item.
Occult Vista
The Occult vista is the most enigmatic among the Vistani. They are generally more introspective, and value history and arcane lore greatly. The Occult vista has produced many great magic practitioners, combining an innate talent with their vista’s accumulated knowledge. Tales of great seers and even a non-linear relationship with time among some of the Occult clans have further added to their mystery.
Occult Family and Clan Names: Canjar, Hyskosa,
Tekash, Zarovan
Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 2.
Traditional Knowledge. You have proficiency in one of the following skills of your choice: Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion.
Precognition. You sometimes receive flashes of sudden insight into the immediate future. These only ever pertain to others, for no Vistana can see their own future. When one of your allies you can see within 30 feet of you fails a saving throw, you can use your
reaction to allow them to repeat the saving throw, as
you shout out just in time to alert them of the coming danger. Your ally must use the new roll. After you used this trait, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.
- Ability Score Increase: Reflecting the versatility of the Vistani, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 1.
- Age: Vistani generally live as long and age as quickly as other humans, although some seem to have unnaturally long life spans.
- Alignment: As freedom-loving people, Vistani tend towards moderate, across the whole spectrum.
- Size: As a human, your size is Medium.
- Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
- Mistwalker. As part of your movement action, you can pass through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. You take 1d10 force damage if you end your turn inside an object. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier. You regain all uses after finishing a long rest.
- Vistani Curse. As an action, you can curse another humanoid. You can target another humanoid within 30 feet of you that you can see. You can’t utter another such curse before finishing a long rest, and the previous one ends as soon as you utter a new curse.
The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw to avoid the curse. The saving throw DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier. The curse lasts until you utter another curse, end it as a bonus action, or until it is removed with a remove curse spell, a greater restoration spell, or similar magic.
When the curse is uttered, you suffer a harmful psychic backlash, representing the toll upon your soul for interfering with another creature’s mind or body in this way. You take this damage whether the curse takes effect on the target or not. For this reason, many Vistani use their ability to curse others sparingly and reserve this for people who dealt them a grave insult or injury. The amount of the psychic damage depends on the severity of the curse you invoked.
You can choose the curse’s effect from the options below, which increase in severity as you gain levels:- The target’s appearance changes in a sinister yet purely cosmetic way. For example, the curse can place a scar on the target’s face, turn the target’s teeth into yellow fangs, or give the target bad breath. When you utter this curse, you take 1d6 psychic damage.
- Starting from 5th level, you can curse a target to gain disadvantage on ability checks and saving throws tied to one ability score of your choice. When you utter this curse, you take 3d6 psychic damage.
- Starting from 9th level, you can blind or deafen a target, or both. When you utter this curse, you take 5d6 psychic damage.
- Evil Eye. As an action, you can target a creature within 10 feet of you that you can see. This magical ability, which the Vistani call the Evil Eye, duplicates the duration and effect of the animal friendship, charm person, or hold person spell (your choice), but requires neither somatic nor material components. The spell save DC is 8 + your proficiency bonus + your
Charisma modifier. If the target succeeds on the save, you are blinded until the end of your next turn.
After you use Evil Eye, you can’t use it again before finishing a long rest. Once a target succeeds on a saving throw against your Evil Eye, it is immune to the Evil Eye of all Vistani for 24 hours. - Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and First Language.
Source: Soulforge Adventure