Welcome to my nightmare

[Guest bblackmoor]

I have an idea, but I am not satisfied with the details. Maybe others can help.

 

There is an evil otherdimensional creature called Chthyra. It's a nightmare creature: it lives in them, it breeds them, it wants to spread them. It can't normally travel to this universe, although it would like to. It wants to extend its nightmare realm to fill this universe. It wants to spread its nightmare self to fill the minds of humanity. It doesn't really perceive a difference between the minds of humanity and the universe we live in, or between itself and the nightmare universe it lives in: it perceives reality differently than we do.

 

A few NPCs have been having horrific nightmares for the past week, and the nightmares are spreading. More people are having them: they spread by contact, kind of like a disease.

 

Here's my dilemma: what's the most fun way for the heroes to fight this? The idea I originally had, that they all go to sleep, travel into the communal nightmare, and kick Chthyra's butt, seems awfully hackneyed. I would much rather make it some kind of symbolic battle, or quest. Like the PCs have to travel to a specific place, person, or thing, in the nightmare realm, and do something which symbolically breaks the connection between the communal human nightmare and Chythyra's original, otherdimensional nightmare realm.

 

So, like maybe they can find the psyche of the original dreamer, the one whose dreams Chythyra originally invaded, and somehow symbolically break that link, which would shut down the rest of the mass nightmare.

 

Hmm. Something like that.

 

Any ideas?

[Theron]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I like the physically entering the nightmare realm idea. How much of a role does science play in your game? I'm wondering if your resident geniuses could discover that the brains of Chthyra's victims are synthesizing an extremely unusual enzyme, one that, in sufficient amounts, could allow them to physically enter its realm to fight it.

 

Just a stray thought on a slow Tuesday.

[Lightray]

Figure out what Chthyra is a nightmare of. What fears, anxieties, emotions, etc. caused it to come into being? If it came from the nightmares of one dreamer, then you need to know what's going on in the mind of that dreamer.

 

For example, if the original dreamer is a little boy afraid of monsters because his parents divorced and daddy isn't around any more to protect him, Chthyra may be the embodiment of that fear -- the ultimate monster. To defeat it, the heroes would have to find out what would solve the original boy's nightmare, and then figure out how to apply that solution in the dream realm to all the other sufferers.

 

Like, maybe you give Chthyra a Vulnerable: 2x STUN from mommy or daddy.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Those are both really good ideas, and ones which I hadn't thought of.

[Red Knight]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I ran a game in which there was an immensley powerful creature that was the subconscious of an abused little girl. It lashed out at any male that threatened her.

 

It all started when a teacher was brutally killed followed by several more teachers, a daycare worker and then a nurse.

 

The abused girl was actually in a hospital bed after being severely beaten by her father. The creature manifested when they drugged her and she slept. Everybody that died had frightened or angered her. Her unconscious mind was handling the situation.

 

They ended up using a machine like that in the movie THE CELL, that created a hyper-reality simulation tha the heroes had to enter and confront the monsters in her head. In the "dream world", the little girl resembled an amazonian goddess.

 

Needless to say the encounter was recorded and the recordings were used as evidnece in her father's trial. He was found guilty.

 

This is another twist on your idea. if you still want to go with the supernatural feel. The girls intial nightmares might have attracted the monster and then he used her fears as a food source. Beyond thatit could be done the same.

[Vanguard00]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Shades of "Nightmare On Elm Street" here, but some ideas I had:

 

You mentioned Chthyra runs rampant through people's dreams, and that the nightmares sorta spread by contact, like a disease. Well, there's your link. With the help of an NPC mentalist, they are all put under and access their collective REM states. They essentially join up in the 'nightmare' world and have to backtrack through the nightmares of 'x' number of people until they get to the first.

 

Now, they all have their powers and abilities while in the nightmare realm, but play up their disads to the max while they're in the world. Each encounter should be a serious trial for at least one PC. Hopefully the PCs will cover each other and work it out, but still, it's a great time to really work those psych lims and whatnot.

 

The idea of defining Chthyra is good, too. What if Chthyra is really the product of an incredibly powerful being? What if that being is an autistic little boy--who just happens to be a mutant with mental powers greater than Menton or anyone else. Chthyra is merely a representation of all the fear and dread the boy lives with.The PCs have the option of killing Chthyra and essentially rendering the boy brain-dead, or perhaps they can find another solution. His defenses are off the charts so no normal mentalist--even very powerful ones--are gonna get into his mind. It's up to the PCs to make that decision...and live with the consequences.

[Herolover]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I like this idea and my st...borrow it:)

 

Here is how i am thinking of running it.

 

The PCs begin to notice that many people are having horrible nightmares, some have even died from them. Through investigation or an NPC Mentalist the PCs learn that the nightmares are spreading much the same way as a disease does.

 

The PCs and the NPC Mentalist need to find "patient zero" (seen the movie outbreak?). The PC's rush around looking to find who was patient zero tracing back through all the infected. Eventually one or two of the PCs will come down with the disease themselves and learn that this isn't simple nightmares, but an invasion from another dimenstion.

 

Once the PCs find Patient Zero (haven't figured out who yet) the PCs and the NPC Mentalist will enter the mind of the Patient during a nightmare and get transported to the other dimension where they will battle for a "cure."

[Enforcer84]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I thought this was going to be an Alice Cooper Write-up...

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I thought this was going to be an Alice Cooper Write-up...

 

I'm not worthy.

[Fox1]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Reminds me of a book... Death Dream by Graham Masterton.

 

It was the second of two books. Would be perfect in concept for a certain style of Superhero Game.

 

In that book the creature found just the right child, one from whose nightmares it could take physical form and enter the real world. Seems there were a species of creatures that could move between the real and dream worlds, but they had been defeated over the long count of years. This one (and perhaps other nightmare creatures) however survived.

 

The heroes were a group of men who suffered from a number of different physical limits- most couldn't walk. One was the father of the child and victim of the creature.

 

Granted the ability by a almost-god/goddess to enter dreams as armored warriors. The battle between the heroes and the creature takes place in the child's nightmare making for a 'different' type of battleground.

 

Each hero basically gained a set of power armor with abilities specific to this true personality. One hero per team carried the END Batt for the others and opened the gates to the world of dreams. The others had their other talents- super speed, musical gun, etc.

 

Not that great of a book writing wise, but the core concepts were really cool.

 

Edit: Links to the books

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812521765/102-7935706-0719369?v=glance

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0812521854/qid=1117561192/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/102-7935706-0719369?v=glance&s=books

[Lord Liaden]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

One of the classic tropes for this kind of story is that of "the heroes confront their personal nightmares." Chthyra forces each PC to experience whatever it is that causes them the greatest fear/grief/guilt. If all the PCs are able to overcome and resolve their nightmares, Chthyra will no longer have any power over them and will be forced to retreat and/or beg for mercy. If handled right with players who enjoy exploring their characters, this can be a great opportunity for roleplaying and character growth, particularly if all the PCs can also perceive the individual nightmares and act to support each other. (Not to mention providing an excuse to buy off some Psych Lims.)

 

Another route is for the PCs to try to understand what motivates Chthyra to create and perpetuate these nightmares. Is it just acting out of instinctive drives or pure pleasure from making people suffer? Perhaps it doesn't even realize what pain it causes, and would stop if it did. Or does it have a deeper or more complex reason for doing this, arising out of its own fear or anger or hatred? If there was a specific cause which prompted it to act this way, it may be possible to help Chthyra recognize that and so "heal" it. Chthyra may even be manipulated or enslaved by someone or something else that the heroes can act to free it from. This can be an eye-opener for "shoot first and ask later" players, when they realize that the horrific monster they came to destroy is actually a victim itself, and capable of redemption.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

These are all great ideas. Here's what I have decided to go with:

 

To stop Chthyra, the PCs will have to track it back to the mind of sleeper who started all of this: Timothy Duggan, who currently is the apex "creepy loner who never talks to anyone" at Goatswood academy (my teenage supers game).

 

To get there, they'll have to enter the dreamworld. There are two or three ways they can achieve that. If they don't think of anything on their own, I'll find a way to introduce the neurotransmitter idea (the school physician is a creepy-brilliant scientist who views all of the students as lab rats, and would be more than happy to use this opportunity to experiment with them, if they ask her for help).

 

Once inside the dreamtime, they'll have to backtrack through the chain of victims. In each dreamer's nightmare, they'll be faced with the worst fears of the person whose dream they are in and the worst fears of one of the PCs who are trying to stop Chthyra. So they'll wind up moving through the same number of dreams as there are PCs. I have a picture book of phobias that I will use as source material for the dreamers, and I'll use the PCs' disads to fuel their own terrors.

 

Eventually, they'll reach "patient zero", Timothy Duggan. The reason Timothy is such a creepy loner, of course, is that his connection to the dreamworld is his paranormal ability. He much prefers his dreams to his reality, which only reinforces his alienation in the real world. It's a vicious circle.

 

The PCs should realize by this time that there's something guiding this whole thing, and when they find Timothy (whose dreams are relatively pleasant), they will also find his dream-girlfriend, Chthyra. In Timothy's dream, Chthyra is an attractive (if a bit spooky) teen-age girl. In reality (so to speak), Chthyra is an otherdimensional tentacular horror that spans space and time. The PCs will realize this, and attack, which means Timothy will defend her -- and, to borrow a phrase from Dreamscape, Timothy's a god in here, so that won't be easy.

 

The trick to it will be that Timothy is essentially unbeatable: it's his dream. Chthyra, ordinarily, would also be nearly unbeatable. However, Chthyra can't reveal what it really is to Timothy, or Timothy will break the connection which has allowed Chthyra entrance. So the monster is vulnerable. If the PCs distract Timothy enough so that one or two of them can attack Chthyra and force it to reveal itself in defense, Timothy will stop fighting. If the PCs are on their last legs, he'll close the connection to Chthyra's realm, but it they are in good shape, he'll just gibber and whimper and leave them to fight the monster and drive it back to its realm. Once it's gone, everyone wakes up.

 

At this point, Timothy either goes back to being creepy loner kid, or he's in a coma, or something. I'll have to wing that depending on what happens in play.

 

And of course none of this will survive contact with the players. Once they get involved, there are bound to be huge changes. But this is the general idea I will run with.

 

This also leads into my longer-term storyline, which involves DEMON, who has been kidnapping students from the school, about one every couple of weeks for the past month and a half, in order of their creepy-loner-ness (Timothy was the first one they grabbed). So when the players find Timothy in his dream, it will have been roughly two weeks since any of them saw him in person.

 

Thanks tons for all of these great ideas. This is much better than what I first had in mind.

[Herolover]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Please post what happens in actual play. To me, what is some of the fun of being a GM is making this intricate plots and seeing how they stand, crumble, or are added to by the actions of the PCs.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Please post what happens in actual play. To me' date=' what is some of the fun of being a GM is making this intricate plots and seeing how they stand, crumble, or are added to by the actions of the PCs.[/quote']

 

Heh. Same here.

[Enforcer84]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I'm not worthy.

Cause, now I want to write him up using the titles of his songs as the titles of his powers....

 

 

Escape for Teleportation

Might as well be on Mars for Teleporation usable as an attack

Under my wheels? A Physical attack involving the summoning of a vehicle to smash someone

heh

[Red Knight]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Cause, now I want to write him up using the titles of his songs as the titles of his powers....

 

 

Escape for Teleportation

Might as well be on Mars for Teleporation usable as an attack

Under my wheels? A Physical attack involving the summoning of a vehicle to smash someone

heh

 

 

Don't forget Feed my Frankenstein ... Summon a monster that does a drain attack..

[Herolover]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I said I was going to steal..i mean borrow this idea and I mean it. Here, is how I plan on running it for my campaign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nightmares of Chthyra

 A young youth at the local psychiatric hospital has developed mental powers unknown to him or the psychiatric hospital.

 He begins having “nice dreamsâ€. These dreams are actually caused by Chthyra (an evil extra-dimensional creature that can only travel to our dimension by the dreams of the young youth).

 Chthyra is using the youth as a link to our dimension. Chthyra wants to physically manifest in this dimension and to be able to do that it/he must have a certain amount of minds attuned correctly. Until that time Chthyra’s only link to our dimension is the young youth.

 Like a disease or infection those in contact with the young youth begin to have horrible nightmares. These nightmares are unlike any other and they occur night after night with the person not being able to sleep. (This is how Chthyra “attunes†the minds.) Once enough people are having nightmares (are attuned) she will be able to project her physical self into our dimension. (Then all hell breaks loose.)

 NPCs close to the PCs start having the nightmares on a nightly basis. They are all having the same nightmare night after night. People in the campaign city are not able to sleep at night and this is starting to cause car accidents and mistakes (Some of which are dangerous.)

 If the NPCs haven’t picked up on the clue at this point I will have an NPC mentalist tell the PCs that there is something behind these nightmares. A dark force that grows with power as each night passes and it seems to be building up to something. If the nightmares are not stopped soon not only will the city grind to a halt, but something horrible may happen.

 The PCs will be able to track back to the young youth by when people started having the nightmares and how much they are affected by lack of sleep and the nightmares.

 Once near the psychiatric hospital the PCs will begin to battle individuals crazed by the nightmare (Chthyra has some small control and is protecting her link to hour dimension.)

 Once at the youth the NPC Mentalist will project the PCs into the young youth’s dreams. There they will have to convince the young youth that his new friend is not a friend at all.

 

Suggestions...comments...questions..

 

I don't know when I will get to run this though because it needs to be a couple adventures down the road.

[Guest bblackmoor]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

Suggestions...comments...questions..

 

A comment, which pertains to my game, so it may be releveant to yours: the nightmare does spread like a contagion, and the PCs will probably assume that the vector is physical (and they might not ever discover differently). However, it is not actually physical: it's psychic. It spreads by familiarity. Each night, when a person already ensnared dreams, the nightmare spreads to people the dreamer is familiar with, people who are in the mind of the dreamer. This might be friends the dreamer sees every day, or just random strangers that the dreamer saw earlier that day. However, it could also be people who are much in the dreamer's thoughts, even if the dreamer hasn't actually seen that person lately. It could be a family member the dreamer hasn't seen in weeks, or a celebrity that the dreamer idolizes or has a crush on.

 

It doesn't spread to everyone immediately, of course: that would make it spread much too quickly. It spreads to the weak-willed first. In game terms, the communal nightmare attack has a relatively low ECV, but a large number of dice, and it only gets to roll the attack once per night.

[Red Knight]

Re: Welcome to my nightmare

 

I was thinking of running this scenario using some pieces I already have in the story arc. I have a very old Egyptian wizard that was recently brought back to our reality by unknown persons. The wizard obtained the Craft Stone which is a powerful relic that allows the users will to be imposed on our reality. The first thing that happened when the wizard obtained the stone was the city was effected by a mass nightmare. Everybody's dream suddenly became twisted and violent. This was the example dream I used...

You were dreaming of a nice beach, your dream suddenly changes and a giant wave forms. You try to run but the sand is pulling you down…You try to fight it but you are getting sucked in. The giant wave looms overhead. The wave crashes down and you feel your bones snapping. You are left on the beach broken and unable to move. You cannot move, but you can feel. That is when you see the army of crabs marching towards you. Just as they reach you, you wake up bathed in sweat…. The lingering sensation of crabs starting to eat you drifts into the back of your consciousness.

 

I was going to run the campaign using touch as the transmitter of the psi-contagion, but I like the idea of the contagion passing through dream state.

It should be interesting to see how things go... I'll keep you posted.