Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Fithero 04-19-07, 08:17 AM	The idea behind my game is that the players are in the dream of this ancient elven king who is on his death bed. The king has fallen into a deep sleep and is dreaming of his early days and how he came into power. The characters (or the players) dont know this however, they are just thrown into this strangely reactive realm. To begin with, each player will choose a single personality aspect to describe their character. These aspects will in turn be the defining personality aspects of the dying king. So to put it simply, the king is dreaming of his early days, though instead of him, its the characters. Sort of his inner battle as he made his way through his adventuring days. That way ill try and dm it, will be that the players all choose a class and one defining personality aspect (im thinking that ill make them all be elf to keep things simple). Ill just give out whatever equipment is appropriate to the class. Now, the characters wont have any backgrounds to begin with (since they dont actually exist). Instead, when ever a question as to the past comes up, ill choose something or just roll on a table, and say that they "vagely remember" whatever i come up with (ill leave it vague so they have some room to move). They will just start outside a cave or tower (or where ever i start the game) with a faint idea that they are friends and that they are here to do... whatever. At certain points (points in time that really stood out to the elven king) npc's will appear that interacted with the king. For example, if they slay a dragon, one of the kings friends who was mortally wounded will appear on the ground behind the party and replay what happened in real life. Talking to the party (he/she sees them as the king) and saying it was an honour.. yadda yadda yadda. Im got an idea that the landscape will reflect what is happening to the king (the party) in his dream. The landscape doesnt look *normal* to start with anyway, everything moves and wavers as though it were made of cloud, or the whole world was a painting. For example, in a combat scene, everything would be moving really fast and the sounds of combat would drown out everthing else. In a scene of subterfuge, eveything would droop and go grey-ish, and sound would all but disappear. At random points during the games, the kings servants who are at his bed side in the real world will actually appear as ghosts, and the party will be able to hear what they are saying at the kings side. This could prove effective (if not a little daunting) for example, if the kings crying wife appear as ghosts next to one of the party who has been wounded. As a final note that im tossing up wether to use or not, between sessions could be when the king wakes up from his sleep to talk briefly with his subjects (or whatever). Now we all know that when you wake up then start dreaming again, your never in the same place, i figure ill use that. The players end a session on one side of a locked door (without a key) then start the next game on the other side, holding the key (with nothing but a *faint* recollection of how they got there) Thats it guys, any thoughts (good or bad) would be appreciated, i think this could work. It looks tricky but it also looks like alot of fun Chiers in advance. Peace
tankschmidt 04-19-07, 12:15 PM	Do you have Heroes of Horror? There's some neat dreamscape-style material in there, including a dream-based caster class, if I'm not mistaken.
Fithero 04-24-07, 07:11 AM	Bump :bump:
RobbyPants 04-24-07, 12:59 PM	So, the idea is that the PCs don't know that they're in a dreamscape? What about the players? Will they know out-of-game? It would be cool if they didn't, and you can slowly let them realize it. As tankschmidt said, Heroes of Horror has some really good stuff on the topic. They have some good suggestions for how to describe the world, in such a way to slowly bring about the realization that it is a dream: Some "fact" disagrees with the truth. Perhaps a PC finds a person who is their wife (and they recognize her as such) even though he isn't married. He just seems to think that this is somehow normal... Some NPCs behave very oddly. Perhaps a wizard insists on laying into foes with an axe instead of casting spells. Wierd or impossible things happen in the landscape/layout of buildings. Maybe a PC goes through a door from a hallway to a room. Then, when leaving the room, the door opens to a forest instead of the same hallway. Provide wierd, unsettling transitions. A peaceful conversation suddenly turns into a combat! All of a sudden, the PCs are being attacked from behind, and when they look back, the people they were talking to are not there, and the PCs may even find themselves in a different location. Falling dreams are always creepy. Maybe, for no good reason, one or all of the PCs start falling. Have this segway into something else shortly before they land, so they are all unsettled, but still unharmed. Perhaps, as the PCs figure out what's happening, the dream becomes lucid (they have some amount of control over it). Maybe they can do anything from minor changes to fantastic alterations with Cha checks (perhaps modified by their level). This could be hard to come up with rulings. An easy way is to allow the effect of a spell of X level or lower, to keep a cap on the power of the effect. Perhaps a failed effect has a chaotic result. Cool idea! :D I've thought of doing this myself, and have had a hard way figuring out how to lead into it. A lot of this was me brainstorming for myself too :P
Fithero 04-24-07, 09:55 PM	The players dont actually exist outside of the dream of the elven king. They are each created to protray on of the major aspects of his personality and do a re-run of the beginning of his career. (Also, ill be keeping all this information from the players for as long as possible too. Though they will probably figure out something strange is going on eventually) Wierd or impossible things happen in the landscape/layout of buildings. Maybe a PC goes through a door from a hallway to a room. Then, when leaving the room, the door opens to a forest instead of the same hallway. Thats a good idea, i was only going to do this sort of thing in small doses, perhaps amping it up a bit later in the game. Falling dreams are always creepy. Maybe, for no good reason, one or all of the PCs start falling. Have this segway into something else shortly before they land, so they are all unsettled, but still unharmed. I totally forgot about falling dreams, thanks heaps :D Perhaps, as the PCs figure out what's happening, the dream becomes lucid (they have some amount of control over it). Maybe they can do anything from minor changes to fantastic alterations with Cha checks (perhaps modified by their level). This could be hard to come up with rulings. An easy way is to allow the effect of a spell of X level or lower, to keep a cap on the power of the effect. Perhaps a failed effect has a chaotic result. I was going to do *something* like this. When the characters figure out that their backgrounds are only made whenever a question comes up concerning their past, they can start to affect the other characters. For instance "hey Balin, remember how you told me you buried some treasure around here once?" Balin will (more than likely roll to) remember that he did actually bury some treasur around here. Im not sure about this part though :S Thanks for your help RobbyPants :) Anything else would be greatly appreciated. Peace
RobbyPants 04-25-07, 12:00 PM	Thanks for your help RobbyPants :) No problem :D I found the topic of this very interesting... I was going to do *something* like this. When the characters figure out that their backgrounds are only made whenever a question comes up concerning their past, they can start to affect the other characters. For instance "hey Balin, remember how you told me you buried some treasure around here once?" Balin will (more than likely roll to) remember that he did actually bury some treasur around here. Im not sure about this part though :S Well, the catch is that you need to come up with some ground rules for this. You don't want the players running around altering reality all willy-nilly. Player: I draw out my vorpal sword! DM: I don't remember you having one of those! Player: I do! BUWAHAHAHAAA!!! :evillaugh Perhaps give them access to certain spells as spell-like abilities (maybe on a 1/day basis). Perhaps certain PCs have certain powers that they've unlocked, or perhaps they all have the same abilities. Here are a few suggestions I could make: Disguise Self - people are always changing apperances in dreams Detect Magic, Poison, Undead, etc... - they might be able to detect things. Of course, if you want to be mean, perhaps a detect poison actually makes a previously unpoisoned food poisoned! The only reason I suggest this is that I have a notorious ability to affect my dreams negatively ("Wouldn't is suck if X happened?", then X happens! :eek:) Stone Shape and Warp Wood - keep these uses limited Dimension Door - for apperaing somewhere else. Maybe the location is random Dispel Magic - offers many ways to "alter" the world around them Enlarge/Reduce Person - Another typcial dream-like alteration Slow/Haste - ever have those dreams where time seems to do wierd things? As a general rule, I'd probably keep these powers at 3rd level or below, or maybe make higher level powers hard to control. You could even create a table that shows what can be taken at any given level. Perhaps there could be a new skill (Dreamcraft) that the PCs could take once they learned the truth. These skill checks might be needed to properly control the effect. Failure could result in wierd (and possibley funny) effects. Anyway, this is just a drop in the bucket. I'm sure with a bit of time, you could come up with a big list! :D Hope this helps.
Delfedd 04-25-07, 04:38 PM	It seems like you're not giving enough choice to the players. They HAVE to be elves... that's something I don't like. Why not let them pick characters they want? That way they can actually think that it's a real campaign and will be more meaningful. Ocassionally do things like the falling. Say that they don't actually remember hitting the ground ever, but that they're just hurting a lot.
Fithero 04-28-07, 09:22 PM	They HAVE to be elves... that's something I don't like. Why not let them pick characters they want? I was thinking about this, but would an elven king think of a certain aspect of himself as dwarflike or gnomish? That way they can actually think that it's a real campaign and will be more meaningful. It is a real campaign...:confused: Perhaps give them access to certain spells as spell-like abilities (maybe on a 1/day basis). Perhaps certain PCs have certain powers that they've unlocked, or perhaps they all have the same abilities. Here are a few suggestions I could make: Disguise Self - people are always changing apperances in dreams Detect Magic, Poison, Undead, etc... - they might be able to detect things. Of course, if you want to be mean, perhaps a detect poison actually makes a previously unpoisoned food poisoned! The only reason I suggest this is that I have a notorious ability to affect my dreams negatively ("Wouldn't is suck if X happened?", then X happens! ) Stone Shape and Warp Wood - keep these uses limited Dimension Door - for apperaing somewhere else. Maybe the location is random Dispel Magic - offers many ways to "alter" the world around them Enlarge/Reduce Person - Another typcial dream-like alteration Slow/Haste - ever have those dreams where time seems to do wierd things? As a general rule, I'd probably keep these powers at 3rd level or below, or maybe make higher level powers hard to control. You could even create a table that shows what can be taken at any given level. Perhaps there could be a new skill (Dreamcraft) that the PCs could take once they learned the truth. These skill checks might be needed to properly control the effect. Failure could result in wierd (and possibley funny) effects. Awsome ideas, ill find ways to incorporate them asap :P Chiers guys Peace
Delfedd 04-28-07, 09:43 PM	What I mean is that It doesn't seen like a real world... "I can suddenly haste... like in a dream. A DREAM! *COUGH COUGH*" It's like you're screaming that.
HK-47 II 04-28-07, 10:26 PM	how about this? when/if the players figure out what's happening, what they are, etc.they have to decide if they help their shared "real" body pass away, recover, or a third option, solidify the world by putting the king into a coma.