What Dreams May Come?

[Jkeown]

So... working on a system for Ravenna based loosely on (read: stolen from) H.P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands cycle.  I think (and since I'm the GM, I'm right) that a person can use a Mental Power on themselves as easily as they could a targeted Power. This person could cast Mental Illusions and live out minutes, days or years in a dream based on the +30 EGO result that allows Illusionary Time to take effect. One could even use the +30 result on others to force or invite them into this dream.

 

This is very like the film Inception. Question is... is this within the rules?

 

Such a spell would make use of Transdimensional, limited targets (Sleepers Only) and certain Area of Effect and Line of Sight modifiers, but I think I'm on to something.

[massey]

Sounds more like a transdimensional movement power to me.

[Jkeown]

I have that. "Enter the Dream Realms" uses Extra-Dimensional Movement. But I couldn't find any other way to let someone live out huge tracts of time aside from Mental Illusions.

[Lucius]

I'm not sure what, if anything, you're asking.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Dreaming of palindromedaries

[Old Man]

He's asking what Inception level we're all on.  I'd say we're about 2-3 levels down.

 

He's also asking whether a PC can target itself with a mental illusion, which, I don't see why not.

[Lucius]

He's asking what Inception level we're all on.  I'd say we're about 2-3 levels down.

 

He's also asking whether a PC can target itself with a mental illusion, which, I don't see why not.

Down from what? If I understand what you're talking about, that can only be a relative measure. There is always a deeper dream that is the foundation for the one you experience at any moment, and always the potential to create a higher dream and awaken into it.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary tries to sink beneath the noise and confusion, just to get a glimpse beneath this illusion

[Old Man]

Exactly.

[drunkonduty]

Jkeown, I like it, it's cool idea.

 

What I would ask myself is "What does this power achieve?"

 

If the character uses it to find out information I'd call it Clairsentience. With a mobile viewing point. Possibly with the transdimensional and post-cog/pre-cog adders. Possibly a unified power with the Mental Illusions. Possibly with Extra Time. I'd also go for the character being unaware of the world around them while the power is in use. If the character can take damage from the visions then I'd definitely go with the unified Mental Illusions at +30. I'd also give the Mental Illusions power a limitation to only show what the dream quest encounters. Using the Mental Illusions to simulate speeding up time works for me too. Again, at +30 you have already suggested.

 

If the character sets uses it to move to different dimensions then it's Trans-dimensional movement. Pretty much just that.

 

Taking other people with you depends on what the power is doing in the first place.

For Transdimensional Movement some sort of Useable Against Other advantage would be required. Limited Targets and AoE as you mentioned in your first post.

If it's shared visions then I'd go the Mental Illusions with the +30, unified power, only to create visions of what the character is sensing with the Clairsentience. Again with other limitations as you mentioned in your first post.

 

Oh, just an additional thought. If you do use an Extra Time limitation it could be based on the length of time on the dream quest, minus X steps on the time chart. Say maybe a day on the quest equates to a minute of real time.

 

 

cheers.

[Markdoc]

I think the point of the OP is that this is a way to take an adventure that might last years and have it happen in the course of an hour, or even a minute. As far as I see, the suggested build should work. Of course you could still do this with transdimensional movement, so either way works. The mental illusions approach is actually more elegant IMO, becuause unlike physically transfering people, it is, in fact "all a dream". So 30 years could pass in the dream, but the characters involved would not have aged when they wake. They could die or be injured, and would be fine on awaking, etc, etc.

 

regards, Mark

[DShomshak]

Well, there's a fairly big difference between Inception and H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands cycle. Most importantly, the Dreamlands are a shared reality. (One of dreamer Randolph Carter's friends in the Dreamlands is another dreamer who's dead in the waking world. And Carter didn't just dream him up, because the guy is the protagonist of a different Dreamlands story.)

 

To put it in Ultimate Mystic terms, the Dreamlands would be an astral dimension accessed through dreams.

 

You might access it by using Mental Illusions on yourself, to force your conscious mind on the mental path to the Gates of Deeper Slumber.

 

The time distortion is simply an intrinsic feature of the Dreamlands. Not everything has to be represented on the character sheet; some properties can inhere in the world.

 

Inception-style dream realms would be quite different, even though they can be shared with others once created.

 

Dean Shomshak