Preface:
If a low-level character decides to visit Shadowlands early, by taking the portal to Oribos, they won’t be given the “Threads of Fate” option to do the campaign or skip it. Instead, they’ll be forced to do the entire campaign, each zone at a time. If they level up high enough, the option to skip via the Fatescribe is not available. The character is essentially “locked in” to the long, linear campaign. Finding the Fatescribe by the Inn in Oribos, yields no option from them either. Searching online is a huge mess, no one knows, are confused, or give answers to questions not asked.
Here is how to skip, if your character is in this situation:
Level up to *70.
Go talk to Tal-Inara in Oribos
Tal-Inara will now have an option to skip the campaign and unlock the world content.
Select it.
POOF! Done. Everything changes. Your character is freed!
- = During Dragonflight, you had to level to 60, then go to Oribos to receive the option from the Fatescribe. With the release of The War Within, it’s unclear if it’s still 60 or pushed out to 70 now. I never risked it at 60 since TWW, so someone would have to actually test this. However, if it’s not 60 anymore, then you can just talk to Tal-Inara when reaching 70 for the skip option, obviously. Main thing is the character isn’t “stuck”.
Observations:
The Fatescribe is outside the Inn in Oribos and why when reaching the necessary level doesn’t offer the option, or doesn’t show up when portaling in, or having any prompt at all, is mind-boggling. Why quietly have this option with Tal-Inara? To keep people spending their time in the game in Shadowlands? I hardly think they’d go there to skip the campaign and then just leave. I had 2 or 3 alts “stuck” and the information available online, incorrect information, and lack of information, resigned them to be “stuck” and the campaign is just brutal. I just started randomly check all the NPCs in Oribos until I stumbled upon Tal-Inara that had the option. No search engine, AI search, etc. yielded any result that provided the answer was to talk to Tal-Inara once reaching XX level, some thought it was a bug that needed to be fixed or feature that needs to be added…
Anyways, I hope this helps anyone and everyone that ran into this issue. 
Have a good one and fun adventuring!
3 Likes
if they already completed the main campaign on a toon they just need to have the toon to level 50 to see the fates option. And they changed it so that it will apear like it’s the start of the main campaign but if you go into the quest a bit more it will give you the option to change it. I did a complete Theory test on this in another thread 
Hi! I’m having issues now with SL content, my main at the time unlocked the Maw, but my main in this expansion was going to go back and solo the SL content, but i kept dying in the Maw, or I wasn’t able to ride my mounts there when I unlocked it previously when it was current content so im not sure what to do. Am I missing something?
Taking this one first, because I know it for sure. This is correct, and Working As Intended™. Alts do not unlock riding in The Maw automatically - they have to open Korthia and either do the first few quests to achieve the full Maw Walker or take the skip of Korthia, which is when they get the Maw Walker thing to be able to ride in the Maw.
Is this a level 80 new main? Or a 10-68 leveller still in Chromie Time? Or a 70 in underpowered gear, as 70 gear typically is now?
If a level 80 is dying in The Maw, there is something wrong with the scaling, though that wouldn’t shock me. A 70 in underpowered gear might be the weakest of all characters to take into The Maw.
Did your character get into The Maw through the quest in SW/Org A Chilling Summons, and take the questline into The Maw, or did you drop down from Oribos?
If your character is less than 60, working through The Maw will be your only option - or, of course, go back to Chromie to choose another Timeline and come back to Shadowlands when you are 70+.
Thank you for getting back to me! My new main is at max level 80, so I jumped into the Maw from Oribos. I skipped the entry quests because I’ve completed them on my main during SL. I just assumed that the Warband unlocks the Maw automatically.
That’s I think why I keep dying if I remember right, you would need to do quests in the Mawunlockingo unlock areas, and if you don’t you take.damage? Agaiis this Is my level 80 mage.
So when I try to speak with Ve’rayn in Oribos to start the Maw quests, I’m not able to speak with her. There is no quest icon above her, and this is with low level quests turned on.
What about Tal-Inara? Have you spoken to any of the others in the main room in Oribos? The Covenant Representatives?
And no, a level 80 shouldn’t be taking any significant damage in The Maw. You should be able to easily blow away anything there, short of the World Boss. You will have The Eye of the Jailer debuff, but that’s nothing to an 80 - assassins might come for you, but they will be weak.
Is you level 80 geared? What ilevel, about?
What if Tal-Inara isnt there? I leveled my hunter through shadowlands and selected a covenant but now I want access for my DK to get mog gear and I cannot get into the maw and Tal Inara is not anywhere to be found.
I have spoken with the covenant and the DK’s. So when I logged into the maw, I cant speak to Ven’ari, and her gaze towards me is “dubious” so I’m assuming I need to make her like me?
You spoke to the covenant and the DKs. Did any of them say antthing? I assume not, but …
And, again, what Tal-Inara?
Ven’ari sounds consistent. You haven’t done anything for her yet. She is not your point of entry.
Have you found and talked to Fatescribe Roh-Tahl?