I have a problem

I just can't stop starting new things. It wouldn't be so bad if I posted more often, but as it is I am all over the place. Ok well, I started a new project, or more accurately have decided to return to an older project. It is that dream thing I was talking about here, but back then I was trying to figure out how to integrate that idea into regular D&D game play. I had a major revelation recently when I realized that it would work much better making the dream quest thing a stand alone game- the concept is strong enough, at least I think so.

Ok well here are the bare bones-

Everything is based on two game mechanics, Will Power  and Invocations.

Will Power (WP) is a measure of a characters ability to influence and resist being influenced by things encountered in dreams. In game terms each WP equates to one d6. As Will Power is spent the d6 are discarded and the characters pool of Will is depleted. A twist is that Will Power also represents a characters hold on the dream and are comparative to health points and HP as used in other games. In most cases trying to affect the dream will result in a depletion of will points, but also will being attacked by dream monsters. I am getting ahead of myself but hopefully you can see what I am trying to say.

When attempting to use Will Power the DM (Dream Master) will tell the character a target number based on how difficult the task is to accomplish. That target number is the number of successes the character has to get with their Will (d6 roll), a success being a roll of a 5 or 6 on a d6 Will dice roll.

example: Tim the dreamer wants to leap a chasm, its pretty narrow and should be easy to leap so the DM tells Tim he will need 2 successes. Tim has 14 Will Points, he decides to play it safe so grabs 4 dice and reduces his Will to 10 Will Points. He rolls the dice. Tim needs at least 2 of the 4 dice to have a result of 5 or 6. Tim rolls two 6s, a 5 and a 1, getting 3 total successes, he only needed 2 so Tim has successfully leaped across the chasm. If Tim failed he would have fallen into the chasm and possibly lost more Will Points to represent damage from the fall.

The second main mechanic is Invocations.  Making a Invocation is a little more complicated to explain. As characters explore the dream lands they will gain access to various different Arcana- a catch all term for a multitude of archetypal characters, objects, events, and powers.

(From Wikipedia:'' Carl Jung was the first psychoanalyst to attach importance to tarot symbolism.^[22] He may have regarded the tarot cards as representing archetypes: fundamental types of persons or situations embedded in the collective unconscious of all human beings.'')

A character can freely Invoke any Arcana they possess as way of overcoming obstacles during adventures in the dream realms. Invoking Arcana can be risky though and may come with a price or be difficult for the dreamer to control. Check out my posts with the Dream Realm label to see some examples of Arcana, and an example of an Arcana being invoked below.

Example: Tim the Dreamer is now in a sleepy peaceful village at the edge of a vast desert, he decides to Invoke The Cyclone. To simply unleash the Cyclone and let it destroy the village all Tim would have to do would be to say "I Invoke the Cyclone!" and watch the destruction. But if Tim wanted to Invoke the Cyclone to carry him quickly across the desert- and to leave the village and himself unharmed- he would have to succeed at a very difficult Will Power test, and if he fails The Cyclone would spin dangerously out of control.

The various Arcana will be a pretty big deal in the game, with a near endless number of possible Archetypes to be discovered and used, I will try to post a whole bunch every once in a while as inspiration, and to make a core "canon" list, but my expectation is that DMs and players will be eventually able to make them up pretty much on the fly, and be able to creatively interpret them. In play most Arcana will start as NPCs or obstacles or found treasure- which after they have been met and befriended, overcome or plundered will be available for players to Invoke.

One important note to make is that players cannot swap or share or take duplicates of Arcana that the other players have, so each dreamer will build up a "hand" of unique Arcana which only they can use.

More on this later...

A Murder at the Royal Wedding

More Harrow cards and their possible uses in the Dreamlands


The Crows
The Crows are a dangerous trio of notorious robbers and bandits.
When invoking The Crows a wise dreamer will have either a very large sum of treasure to secure their services or else propose a very profitable venture indeed.  Invoking The Crows is always a risky proposition, as they are extremely greedy and completely without scruples.  Although each member of the band is of course a skilled Rogue, they should not be underestimated in a straight up fight either though; they fight dirty and have an uncanny ability to put a blade in an unwary opponents back.     





The Queen Mother

The Queen Mother can be a powerful ally in the Dreamlands. This card can represent a very wise motherly figure in many Dreamscapes. Often she wields significant power and has much sway with the rulers of the Dreaming Realms.  A Dreamer which manages to earn the love or respect of The Queen Mother will have a much easier time traveling in the Dreamlands. When invoked a large royal train and majestic palanquin bearing the Queen will come into view.
Note this card does not automatically guarantee a positive attitude from the Queen, it merely grants a opportunity to earn her favor.





The Marriage
This is a powerful card to invoke and not one to be done lightly. Invoking The Marriage creates a intense union; two seperate elements forming a new whole.  The nature of that union is left up to the Dreamer but common Marriages are between two people, two groups, or two things - and all combinations in between.
Such is the strength of this card that it can even bind bitterly opposing forces together such as fire and water, light and dark or Montague and Capulet.

Adventures in the Dream Lands

Alright, So its been a little while, hope to be back up to at least a few posts a week.

So here are two Pathfinder Harrow cards the Cyclone and the Forge, and here is how they can be invoked in the Dreamlands.

The Cyclone
When invoked a slight breeze will begin blowing, a breeze which quickly becomes a howling gale, heralding a terrible storm which will become visible on the horizon.  At the center of this storm spins the Cyclone. A terrible and very destructive force, the Cyclone can shatter the normally  peaceful landscape of the Dreamlands. Although the Cyclone is nigh impossible to control a skilled dreamer can enter into the Cyclone and by subtly guiding its movements use it as a means of fast transportation across vast distances. Needless to say this is an extremely dangerous way to travel.


The Forge
When invoked a small smithy will appear. The Blacksmith is a gruff sort of fellow who does not like being interupted from his work. A skilled dreamer may be able to convince the Blacksmith to create a single item for them. The item will obviously be crafted from metal and of a excellent quaility, quite often even having magical qualities.  A magical sword  would be suitable item to ask for, but a giant metal fortress would not.  Greedy dreamers who ask for too much will be chased away by the Blacksmith`s fire sprite assistants.

Adventures in the Dream Realm

I'm home for reading week so I'm trying to spend lots of time with my folks while I'm here.  We watched Inception last night. My third time seeing it now (I went twice to see it in theaters) and geeze is that ever a good movie. It blew my mind again even though I knew all the stuff that was coming. The action and visuals are fantastic, but they ultimately serve only as the back drop for the story and a very interesting counterpoint to the plot.  It really seemed to build like a song in the way it was filmed and how it cut back and forth and up and down and forward and backward throughout the film, and yet it managed to do it all in such a pleasing way (without being too disorienting- possibly confusing yes- but during the action climax where several action sequences are being presented simultaneously its not too hard to figure out what is going on ).
Also I have to say the love story in Inception is I feel one of the best I have ever seen, the love, loss and regret expressed between Dom and Mal is so intense, sad, and beautiful.

Anyway, late last night i was reading this post here http://sorcerersskull.blogspot.com/2011/02/ad-cosmology-defense.html and it really got me thinking about what it would be like to adventure in some kind of strange Dream Realm.  The Pathfinder setting has something called a Harrow Deck which is basically a D&D version of a Tarot deck, each of the 54 cards represent a specific combination of an alignment and a ability score. So for example The Rabbit Prince here represents Chaotic Neutral and Dexterity. Each card title is really interesting and the art is super cool and evocative.

What does this have to do with Inception? Well basically in a dream world type adventure I don't think the characters should be able to just create anything Inception style but they should have some influence on the dream and its landscape. So I decided in my setting part of the journey into the Dream Realm involves having your cards read, not quite sure on the specifics yet but the players keep the cards they draw and may evoke them at some point on the dream quest, thereby gaining an advantage and altering the dream.

So say I got The Rabbit Prince card, at some point in the quest I can summon The Rabbit Prince himself to come aid me on my adventure- creating a new npc ally who may join the party or preform some other service.

More on this later. .