In some myths and cosmologies, the realm of dreams is an actual place, a strange world visited by the sleeping minds of billions of dreamers across millions of worlds. In other regions, no unified realm of dreams is believed to exist; instead each dream creates its own temporary reality, one that others can actually enter with the proper magic. In still others, dreams are considered nothing more than images created within a character’s mind—but even then, magic can allow others entry, permitting them to move through the subject’s thoughts as they are made manifest in the dream.
The environment of a dreamscape can shift from absolutely normal to utterly surreal and horrific in an instant. Just like the ebb and flow of a dream itself, a nightmare realm follows its own logic and patterns, but these often bear little or no resemblance to the logic of the real world.
Just as every dream is unique, so too is every nightmare realm. Objects and places alter when one looks away. If the dreamer enters one structure, he winds up in a different one. People abruptly change their behavior or warp to become other creatures.
Locations in the nightmare realm often seem frightening and eerie. An old house, perhaps the childhood home of the dreamer, contains more rooms than it should, and halls that do not lead to the same place twice. Geographical impossibilities are commonplace; mountains with convoluted shapes that could not possibly support themselves; tropical forests in the midst of frozen tundra; islands floating in an infinite, stormfilled sky; graveyards that stretch for miles with no nearby community to have established them; weather that shifts from one extreme to another with no warning. At the same time, vast stretches of land are entirely normal, making the intrusion of the impossible that much more jarring. Even normal regions are exaggerated, though. Deserts stretch as far as the eye can see, motionless save for the hot wind that ruffles the dunes. The fields around a homey cottage are brilliant green, bedecked with daffodils and frolicking animals until the daffodils seize upon the frolickers with sucker-mouths and darken the grass with their blood.
Where possible, the terrain and environment is tied to the perceived thoughts and emotions of the dreamer. Similarly, items, creatures, and people in the nightmare realm might also stem from the dreamers’ memories and feelings.
Dream magic
Due to the unpredictable nature of nightmare realms and dreams, any spells or spell-like abilities used therein might not work normally. The more complex the spell, the greater the chance it will go wrong.
A few rare spellcasters have focused their talents on the art known as oneiromancy.
Inhabitants of the dramscape
All manner of creatures can be encountered in a nightmare realm. Any monster a dreamer has ever seen, or even heard of, can appear in his dreams. Every creature that exists in the real world and many that exist only in fevered imagination or the subconscious mind can manifest here.
Lurking deep within the alien, impossible landscapes of the realm of dreams, however, are some creatures that are not the products of a dreamer’s mind. These horrors were not dreamed into existence but are natives of the dreamscape—otherworldly horrors spawned by the very stuff of which dreams themselves are made. They haunt nightmares across multiple worlds, often appearing first in the dreams of the mad but slowly finding their way through the dreamscape to other, more lucid dreamers. And just as physical beings can use plane-traveling magic to enter the dreamscape, so too can these creatures sometimes use their own magic to manifest in the material world.
Nightmare creatures can only manifest in the waking world so long as they remain near someone who is dreaming, because they use that individual as a doorway to the Material Plane. Should the sleeper be awakened, the creatures are driven back to the dreamscape.They deal real, physical damage to anyone they injure in dreams—even if the dream does not involve true dreamscape travel
The primary difference between nightmare creatures and material creatures, however, is one of behavior and motivation. Because they were spawned from the stuff of dreams, nightmare creatures are completely alien in thought and desire. Even most aberrations have some needs in common with humanoids: sustenance, comfort, and the like. Nightmare beasts might not. Their goals can be unfathomable to the human mind. In other cases, they want nothing more than to cause pain, suffering, and fear—precisely what one might expect from creatures that are literally bad dreams made manifest. Some see the waking world as a threat, something to be destroyed so that its inhabitants will cease to encroach mentally on the dreamlands. Others see the waking world as new territory to enslave and conquer, a world peopled with feeble entities that are easily manipulated or slain.
A gaunt figure clad in grayhued jester’s motley comes capering around the corner. Its feet move silently on the stones, and it grips a scepter with a doll’s head atop it in one hand.
The gray jester is an otherworldly fey drawn to the presence of humanoids. It feeds on laughter and joy, strengthening itself while permanently draining these emotions from its prey.Gray jesters look like jesters, clowns, or mimes clad in gray, white, or black. They tend to be thin, even emaciated. Their eyes are cold and empty, their smiles wide and filled with broken but perfectly white teeth. All gray jesters carry scepters of some sort, much like those wielded by real court jesters.
Gray jesters average 6 feet in height and weigh roughly 110 pounds. They speak Common, Quori, and Sylvan.
Combat
Gray jesters dislike direct combat, preferring instead to approach unsuspecting people—children are favorites—and drain the joy and laughter from them. If a gray jester is forced to fight, it orders its bleak ones into combat and attempts to debilitate as many foes as possible with his laughter ability. It then feeds, slaughters any helpless opponents, or flees, as the situation warrants.
A gray jester can drain joyous emotions from humanoid beings.
Gray jesters feed on emotions but are at their weakest just after feeding.
The results of a gray jester’s feeding vary depending on the target. The weaker become what the gray jesters call “bleak ones.” They lose all self-will as well as the capacity to feel positive emotions. Although not mindless, they undertake no actions unless the gray jester that drained them gives them orders. Bleak ones become followers and soldiers for the jester.
The horrors known as phantasmal slayers are literally fear incarnate. They exist only to terrify others—to death, if at all possible. They have no true form, but appear to all observers as their single greatest fear. Even those who disbelieve the phantasmal facade effect, or who view the slayer with true seeing, see a ghostly shadow of their greatest fear.
It is believed that the long-forgotten wizard who developed the phantasmal killer spell might have been inspired by these creatures.
Phantasmal slayers are roughly medium-sized, although they can appear much larger or smaller. Being incorporeal, they have no weight.
Phantasmal slayers speak Common, Abyssal, Draconic, Elven, Gnome, and Infernal. They also have the power of telepathy.
Combat
Phantasmal slayers exist to spread fear. They prefer to kill by means of their phantasmal facade and might be inclined to let a surviving enemy live if she seems likely to pass her tale of terror on to others. When a phantasmal slayer decides to kill, however, it is a focused, single-minded opponent. Slayers tend to concentrate on spellcasters and paladins above other foes. The incorporeal touch attack of a phantasmal slayer overcomes all forms of damage reduction, except those that require a specific material (adamantine, cold iron, alchemical silver). Anyone who so much as glances at a phantasmal slayer sees his greatest fear and is affected as if by the spell phantasmal killer.
A phantasmal slayer is harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons, spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. It can pass through solid objects, but not force effects, at will. Its attacks ignore armor, and shields, but force effects work normally against them. A phantasmal slayer can also communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has an Intelligence score.
Feats
DREAMTELLING
You can use your Knowledge (the planes) skill to interpret your dreams or the dreams of others, thus gleaning useful information and insights.
Benefit: You can interpret the basic symbolism of a dream to figure out what sorts of concerns or fears are likely to have inspired it.
Dream Being Interpreted . . .
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DC
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Features obvious symbolism
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10
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Involves cultural details or concepts
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15
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|
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Represents memories of past events with which you are
not familiar
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20
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Both the previous conditions are true
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25
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Attempting to garner insight into future events, or events occurring elsewhere, by reading the prophetic images of a dream adds +10 to +20 to the base DC, depending on how obscure the omens are.
The DM must decide if a dream contains prophetic imag¬ery; a sufficiently high roll might glean some information even if the dream was not overtly oracular. Making the DC required to interpret a dream grants information comparable to an augury spell (see page 202 of the Player's Handbook). Exceeding the required check by 10 or more offers infor¬mation comparable to a divination spell (see page 224 of the Player's Handbook). Exceeding the required check by 20 or more offers information comparable to a commune spell (see page 211 of the Player's Handbook).
Even if your result was not high enough to enable you to read prophetic images, the result might be sufficient tointerpret basic symbols and events. Thus, a check result of 18 is insufficient to foretell the future but still grants some information about cultural details or concepts.
You can use this feat to determine what effect injuries received in a dreamscape are likely to have on you once you return (DC 15), or whether an item or location was created by the dreamer or brought in from outside (DC 20); see Chapter 3 for information on adventuring within dreamscapes.
Finally, this feat allows Knowledge (the planes) to func¬tion in place of Survival when used within a dreamscape. This skill can be used to retrace your steps and return to a known person’s dream, or to attempt to track a creature across the dreamscape.
Action: Dreamtelling requires careful analysis of bizarre images and events. If you are trying to interpret your own dream, you must cogitate on it for a number of minutes equal to 30 minus your Intelligence modifier. If you wish to ana¬lyze someone else’s dream, that person must first describe it to you in great detail, adding an additional 10+1d10 minutes to the process.
Try Again: No. The check represents your ability to interpret that particular dream. You can attempt to inter¬pret other dreams the same individual has later, but you get only one attempt per dream. Similarly, you have only one attempt to determine whether an item is native to a particular dream.
IMPROVED ONEIROMANCY
With the Improved Oneiromancy feat, you gain additional dream-related spellcasting abilities.
Prerequisites: Dreamcasting, Oneiromancy, spellcaster.
Benefit: Your spell list expands to include a number of dream-related spells (all described later in this chapter), regardless of what sort of caster you might be. You must still learn or prepare these spells normally; they are added to your class list, not necessarily to the list of spells you personally know.
1st Level: restful slumber
4th Level: dream walk, manifest desire, manifest nightmare 5th Level: dreaming puppet 7th Level: dream sigh
MASTER OF KNOWLEDGE
You have spent most of your life in study, and it comes naturally to you now.
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus to all Knowledge skill checks.
ONEIROMANCY
You gain a number of abilities and advantages related to dreams and magic.
Prerequisites: Dreamtelling, ability to cast spells of any sort.
Benefit: Oneiromancy grants you a number of interrelated bonuses. First, when casting spells in a nightmare realm, your spells always work as normal; you do not risk the same mishaps that other casters experience.
Second, while in the dreamscape, you are considered to have Spell Focus (enchantment) and Spell Focus (illusion), due to your ability to manipulate the thoughts of dreamers and the stuff of dreams. If you already have Spell Focus in one or both of these schools, the DC bonus to saves stacks so long as you remain within the dreamscape.
Third, you can target your offensive spells at a target’s dream self, rather than his physical form. Because this deals mental damage only, it transforms all damage dealt by that spell into nonlethal damage. This effect functions only on creatures that both sleep and dream: Constructs, plants, undead, and elves are immune to this effect. Only spells that target a single creature or specific number of creatures benefit from this effect; you cannot apply it to spells that target an area.
Special: Because you are more tightly connected to the world of dreams, you are more susceptible to certain types of mental manipulation. You take a -1 penalty on saves against enchantment and illusion spells and effects when in the physical realm. If you are slain while mentally traveling the dreamscape, your physical body dies, whether or not this is the case for most travelers.
Normal: Casters in nightmare realms have a chance of mishap when casting spells. In some instances, those who die in the dreamscape experience effects other than death in the real world.
Spells
DREAM SIGHT
DivinationLevel: Dream 6, oneiromancy 7 Components: S, DF Casting Time: 1 full round Range: See text Target: You
Duration: 1 min/level (D)
You fall into a deep sleep while your spirit leaves your body in incorporeal form and travels to distant locations. Your spirit can move 100 feet per round and can see and hear anything you could if you were in the same location. The spirit can be blocked by any spell that wards incorporeal creatures, and it can be detected and attacked in the same way as incorpo-real creatures can. Your spirit can do nothing but move and observe—it cannot speak, attack, cast spells, or perform any other action.
At the end of the spell, your spirit instantaneously returns to your body and you wake up. If your body is dis-turbed while your spirit is wandering, the spell ends immediately.
DREAM WALK
Conjuration (Teleportation)
Level: Oneiromancy 4 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch
Target: Creature touched, or up to eight willing creatures joining hands
Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Will negates Spell Resistance: Yes
You move yourself or some other creature into a dreamscape. You must either be able to see the dreamer whose dreams you wish to enter or be within 30 feet of her. This spell otherwise functions exactly as plane shift.
DREAMING PUPPET
Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind- Affecting]
Level: Oneiromancy 5 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 minute Range: Unlimited Target: One sentient, living creature of caster’s HD +4 or lower Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates Spell Resistance: Yes
You take control of the physical body of a sleeping creature. At the beginning of the spell, you must name the subject or identify him by some title that leaves no doubt as to his identity. You then enter a trance and appear in the subject’s dream. So long as you remain in his dream, you see the world through the eyes of his physical form, and you control his body as per the spell dominate monster (see page 224 of the Player’s Handbook). The subject is aware of you in his dream, and can identify you if he knows you personally.
Once the spell ends, or if the
subject shakes
off the effect due to a new save granted by in¬structions contrary to his moral code (this new save gains a +2 bonus; see dominate person), he remembers what he has done while under the effects of dreaming puppet. These memories are dreamlike and not entirely clear, but the subject recalls the gist of all that happened.
If the recipient is awake when the spell begins, you can choose to wake up (ending the spell) or remain in the trance. You can remain in the trance until the recipient goes to sleep (assuming the spell’s duration lasts that long), then enter the recipient’s dream and dominate him as normal. If you are disturbed and awaken during the trance, the spell ends.
Creatures who don’t sleep (such as elves, but not half-elves), don’t dream, or are otherwise immune to mind-affecting spells and abilities are immune to this spell.
You are unaware of your own sur-roundings or of the activities around you while in the trance. You are defenseless both physically and men¬tally (you always fail any saving throw) while in the trance.
Dreaming puppet carries an element of risk for you as well as for the subject. If the target exceeds the required Will save by 10 or more, or rolls a natural 20, not only are you barred from control¬ling him but your soul becomes lost in the dreamscape, unable to easily return to your own body. In order to return to your body, you must either find your way through the realm of dreams (and possibly other planes as well), cast a planar traveling spell, or be rescued.
MANIFEST NIGHTMARE
Illusion [Fear, Mind-Affecting]
Level: Oneiromancy 4
Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Target: One living creature Duration: Concentration + 3 rounds Saving Throw: Will partial or disbe¬lief (if interacted with)
Spell Resistance: Yes
The target’s greatest fear appears before him in illusory form for all to see. So long as the nightmare remains manifest and in the subject’s proximity, he must make a Will save every round or become panicked. Success on this save indicates that the subject is only shaken that round. This save is repeated every round for the spell’s duration, until and unless the subject makes a successful save to disbelieve the illusion. In order to disbelieve the illusion, the subject must first force himself to interact with it, to determine that it might be false.
Many casters use this spell simply to learn the nature of the subject’s greatest fear, not caring whether the illusion actually causes the subject to panic.
RESTFUL SLUMBER
Enchantment [Mind-Affecting] Level: Oneiromancy 1 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 round Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Target: One living creature Duration: 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless) Spell Resistance: Yes
You allow another creature to gain a full night’s sleep, uninterrupted by nightmares. If you attempt to cancel the nightmares imposed by an outside source, such as a curse or another spellcaster, you must make a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) against a DC of 11 + the caster level of the nightmares’ source.
