Is ‘Forbiddance’ null and void if the vampire in question is chasing you? In other words, can a vampire enter a home/building without permission if they are actively seeking you out?
I haven’t found anywhere online that states this as such, but my DM who is running ‘Curse of Strahd’ says that this is so. For example he had Strahd and his spawn enter a church and come after the party who were attending a funeral on one occasion and also had a vampire spawn chase another player through an npc residents home on another occasion. Both were done without the vampires getting permission to enter. Were these two seperate occasions possible?
I would have no problem if this isn’t true and if he just wanted to allow it as a homebrew rule but he says he does everything as ‘Rules as Written’ and that this is a legitimate rule. I’m fairly certain he has lied to us about things in the past and I want to find out if this is another lie without having to read CoS and possibly spoil things for myself. Granted, I don’t plan on pointing this out to him if he is lying because he flips out when anyone accuses him of lying/forgetting, but I must know. I hope I am wrong and that he is telling the truth.
Thank you.
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The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
Is ‘Forbiddance’ null and void if the vampire in question is chasing you? In other words, can a vampire enter a home/building without permission if they are actively seeking you out?
Not normally, but it's up to the DM. Also, the exact timing required for an invitation is not specified, they could have been invited six months ago.
As I said, I absolutely don’t mind if he wants to make this a rule but he has said these are the rules as written and regardless of when they may have been invited in, that the vampires can enter because they are specifically chasing us.
Thats all I wanted to confirm. But it seems you are saying it’s not RaW, thank you for the info.
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The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
I haven't run this adventure, and am behind in the lore, but isn't Strahd the lord of that realm? In that case anything in Barovia belongs to him and he is the owner. That means he would be the creature to grant permission.
Myself and the other players did consider that, I’m just saying that isn’t the reason we were given. Our DM wasn’t vague about why Strahd and his spawn could enter, he specifically said they could enter because the RaW say vampires can enter a building without permission if they are chasing someone.
Regardless, thank you for your input.
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The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
Yeah "oh they can ignore forbiddance because they are chasing you" isn't a part of RAW (though it might have been in a different edition, idk because I only know 5e).
So, even if he is the lord of Barovia, he can't enter a house without permission from someone who is inside that house.
He can charm one of the inhabitants to invite him, or he can have some less restrained servants (e.g. Zombies, wolves etc.) tear down the house, but he can't enter on his own. It wouldn't be much of a weakness if he could simply decide he wanted to chase someone and ignore this rule.
It's neither RAW nor RAI that Forbiddance is void if the vampire wants to find you. That's sort of the entire point of Forbiddance, honestly.
What the DM may be thinking about and getting confused on is that traditionally (i.e. the actual old folklore, not D&D), public spaces such as inns, shops, and such were exempt from the supernatural repulsion the Forbiddance game effect is simulating. Such places are either not dwellings, or are considered to have open, standing invitations to anyone that wishes to do business. In some tales/settings, even so much as a "Welcome" mat outside the door counts as an invitation to any such beings. Churches would fall under this 'Public Space' exemption, though they're usually supposed to be problematic to vampires for other reasons.
That said, it's Barovia. That place is Bad News on just about every conceivable level. If your DM wants to rule that Forbiddance means vampires can't enter a house without an invitation unless they really want to, then that's just kinda how shit goes in Barovia.
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Is ‘Forbiddance’ null and void if the vampire in question is chasing you? In other words, can a vampire enter a home/building without permission if they are actively seeking you out?
I haven’t found anywhere online that states this as such, but my DM who is running ‘Curse of Strahd’ says that this is so. For example he had Strahd and his spawn enter a church and come after the party who were attending a funeral on one occasion and also had a vampire spawn chase another player through an npc residents home on another occasion. Both were done without the vampires getting permission to enter. Were these two seperate occasions possible?
I would have no problem if this isn’t true and if he just wanted to allow it as a homebrew rule but he says he does everything as ‘Rules as Written’ and that this is a legitimate rule. I’m fairly certain he has lied to us about things in the past and I want to find out if this is another lie without having to read CoS and possibly spoil things for myself. Granted, I don’t plan on pointing this out to him if he is lying because he flips out when anyone accuses him of lying/forgetting, but I must know. I hope I am wrong and that he is telling the truth.
Thank you.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
Not normally, but it's up to the DM. Also, the exact timing required for an invitation is not specified, they could have been invited six months ago.
As I said, I absolutely don’t mind if he wants to make this a rule but he has said these are the rules as written and regardless of when they may have been invited in, that the vampires can enter because they are specifically chasing us.
Thats all I wanted to confirm. But it seems you are saying it’s not RaW, thank you for the info.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
I haven't run this adventure, and am behind in the lore, but isn't Strahd the lord of that realm? In that case anything in Barovia belongs to him and he is the owner. That means he would be the creature to grant permission.
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Myself and the other players did consider that, I’m just saying that isn’t the reason we were given. Our DM wasn’t vague about why Strahd and his spawn could enter, he specifically said they could enter because the RaW say vampires can enter a building without permission if they are chasing someone.
Regardless, thank you for your input.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
Yeah "oh they can ignore forbiddance because they are chasing you" isn't a part of RAW (though it might have been in a different edition, idk because I only know 5e).
RAW:
Forbiddance. He can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/monsters/strahd-von-zarovich
So, even if he is the lord of Barovia, he can't enter a house without permission from someone who is inside that house.
He can charm one of the inhabitants to invite him, or he can have some less restrained servants (e.g. Zombies, wolves etc.) tear down the house, but he can't enter on his own. It wouldn't be much of a weakness if he could simply decide he wanted to chase someone and ignore this rule.
Ok, thank you. I just wanted to be sure there wasn’t some acception to this stated in the campaign notes or something.
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head. He went galumphing back.
Not that I can find. There's a sunlight exception.
It's neither RAW nor RAI that Forbiddance is void if the vampire wants to find you. That's sort of the entire point of Forbiddance, honestly.
What the DM may be thinking about and getting confused on is that traditionally (i.e. the actual old folklore, not D&D), public spaces such as inns, shops, and such were exempt from the supernatural repulsion the Forbiddance game effect is simulating. Such places are either not dwellings, or are considered to have open, standing invitations to anyone that wishes to do business. In some tales/settings, even so much as a "Welcome" mat outside the door counts as an invitation to any such beings. Churches would fall under this 'Public Space' exemption, though they're usually supposed to be problematic to vampires for other reasons.
That said, it's Barovia. That place is Bad News on just about every conceivable level. If your DM wants to rule that Forbiddance means vampires can't enter a house without an invitation unless they really want to, then that's just kinda how shit goes in Barovia.
Please do not contact or message me.