The Stray

"He stepped on a stray sod".

Human mind is not build for passing from one realm to another, so it is no wonder that this act comes with its risks. There is a reason why our folklore is full of stories about people who have gotten horribly lost after encountering the supernatural. The Stray, sometimes known as Crossroads Madness, is a condition that affects those humans who travel between the realms.

Causes

The exact mechanism that causes The Stray is unknown, however, two different theories of the cause currently exist. One states that the cause is purely magical, while the other hypothetises that The Stray might actually have a more physical roots that have something to do with the same physiological mechanics that allow humans to use magic. 

Despite of the exact method, a human is in a risk of being hit by The Stray every time they go through a Crossroads. The more times a Crossroads is crossed within a time frame, the more likely it is to be affected by The Stray, though every human seems to be different on how susceptible they are to the condition.

Symptoms

Most cases of The Stray are very mild. The symptoms include disorientation, headaches, weakness and nausea, and can be compared to a case of hangover or sleep deprivation. Most of the time these mild symptoms do not require any special treatment, and after some rest the person is usually fine again.

More serious cases of The Stray can include nightmares, delusions and hallucinations. These symptoms don't always hit the person right away, and they can even take a few days to develop. With this more severe case of The Stray, a special medical attention is usually needed.

There have been documented cases where extended exposure to the Crossroads has caused The Stray to get chronic. This is usually the case if the previous mild symptoms have been constantly ignored. 

Treatment

For a longest time, there were a little anyone could do to treat The Stray, though that doesn't mean they didn't try. Many folklore solutions where used to prevent the condition from turning a piece of clothing upside down to carrying stones in your pockets. Sadly, those prevention methods had very little effect on The Stray.

Apart from rest, special potions have proven to be effective against The Stray. Every Court has their own recipes, but a potion called Liquid Emerald is popular among all of them. Before Liquid Emerald, Absinthe was used as it seemed to ease the symptoms.

For the more serious cases, a treatment in a specialised treatment by professionals or even in as an inpatient is needed.

Type

Magical

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Short-term

Rarity

Common

Affected Species

• Humans

Note to Game Masters

If you want to use The Stray in your game with game mechanics, you can make your players to make a Wisdom saving throw when they pass a Crossroads, with the DC increasing with the more times they pass per long rest. If you feel like it, you could also use the optional rules for Madness presented in The Dungeon Master's Guide (p. 258-260) when the player's are affected by The Stray. Or, you could skip all the game mechanical stuff and just roleplay everything.