This post straddles my prior dreamlands posts and the BX system I use frequently, hence the header. Click here if you'd like to see more of my dreamlands reskins.
THE DREAM MASTER
A while back I was running a home game for my family where I had two clerics PCs recovering relics and bodies in Dyson "mini-megadungeon". The reward for recovering these holy items was attracting more pilgrims to the Abbey who could serve all sorts of functions. One entry is for St. Nemo, who I had dubbed the "St. of Sleep" from the character of Little Nemo in Slumberland (the comic and 90's NES videogame).
I believe it was Marcia of Traverse Fantasy who postulated that a good way to "humanize" the BX elf was to make them human dreamers who learned both sword and sorcery skills through the time-elastic properties of dreamlands. And while were are on the topic of reskinning the elf, I, of course, love Miranda's take on the MU-Fighter with Nightwick's Changing class.
But here is how I described my inital concept of the dreamer class in the post from session 6 of the "Super Cleric Bros." campaign in 2021:
I might try to make Dreamers some sort of "thief" class. Improved move silently/hide in shadows. Maybe each adventure they can roll on a rumor-like table about their dreams which could be true or distorted (false). Or maybe they see an area like some sorta "treasure" map. Throw some sorta detect secret door as elf owing to a differential perception. Ooo maybe a dream journal, a spell book-like manual, that had random things the sleeper has recorded--- maybe occasionally Sleep, Darkness, and other illusion spells.
Re-reading, I remember my intent was to make a hireling or class that was focused on exploration and tools to get them out of scrapes. The dream journal was a way to feed hooks to the party via some underutilized methods like treasure maps that I think are little used.
THE DREAMER
Some children are born during special confluences of the night skies.
Or with their souls not quite attached due to distracted Fates.
Or of parents that have a supernatural mark clinging to them like a burr.
Or are an echo of a greater, god-fated child born in the same season.
The gods look at you like an iridescent, jeweled insect with your almost-importance. Your village looked at you like a languid cat who knows to many of their secrets. The court of dreams looks at you for the prism of possibilities you once were, are, and will (maybe) be. And so they whisper secrets to you under the cover of night about the endless fates you can bring-- patient governesses raising midnight royalty.
Restrictions
- HD: As Thief
- Weapons: As MU (dagger, club, staff, crossbow)
- Armor: As a Thief (leather, no shields)
- XP: As Thief (1200 xp to 2nd)
Special Abilities
Somnambulist: Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, & Detect Secret Doors 2-in-6; progress as a thief- Darkness
- Sleep
- Detect Magic
- Mirror Image
- Moonlight Ray (as Chromatic Orb-Pearl; range attack; 1d4 dmg & target glows 2d6 r)
- Moths of Mog (as Fog)
- Remove Fear
- Cause Nightmares (as Fear)
- Dreams of Wealth (gain a Treasure Map)
- Dreams of What Could Be (roll on rumor table)
- Dreams of Who They Want To Be (understand the want/fear/secret of an NPC)
- Dreams of Your Misfortune (roll 2d20 & save those results to substitute with any d20 roll you make this adventure)
- Dreamers may then cast as many spells as a cleric of the same level
- Each spell list will be composed of 6 spells thematically aligned to the idols in the shrine
- Loss of this shrine will result in loss of abilities
- Turn Illusions/Phantasms: enemy caster illusions now work for The Dreamer
- Dream Quest✤: those spending downtime can do a special carousing action (or roll on a Lost in Dungeon variant) to go on a dream quest for potential magic items they can bring into the real world as a sorta lucid dreaming
- The Gardens of Slumber will only be discovered under special circumstances as long as the gates of Wake, Nightmare, Sleep, and Dream are have an idol maintained
- The dreamer's garden will attract menagerie made up of dreamland creatures, lost legions, almost-dead sailors, occasional misplaced royal heirs, and one or two forgotten monsters (See OD&D "Stronghold" rules as a model for this list)
- Ghroth cannot be used an a gate idol as Ghroth is passing destruction
- Such gardens attract the attention of dreaming dragons, especially the monks of Graule, fay courts, followers of petty gods, and other dreamer's gardens
- Hish- Lord of Silence, Owls, & Bats
- Nodens- Lord of Depth & Spears
- St. Nemo- Saint of Sleep, Dreamers, & Sailors
- Yibb-Tstll- Lord of the Watching Dark & Spreading Black
- Ghroth- The Nemesis Moon, Lord of Fitful Dreaming & Passing Destruction
- Hypnos- Lord of Unconsciousness & Staves
- Hecate- Lord of Terrestrial Night & The Moon-lit Woods
- Nyx- Lord of the First Night, the Last Night, and the nights in between
- Yg- The Night Serpent & Saint of Traps
- Mog- Herald of The Final Sleep, Nightwalkers, & Moths
✤ Dream Quest as a carousing option feels like a great post on its own. Especially as a way to make black lotus and other fantasy herbs and spices have a purpose in play. Or for any PC group that's like "Yeah my character rolls that up in a torn page from the wizard's spellbook and smokes it-- what happens?"
✤✤ I love this phrase and believe that I picked it up from Through Ultan's Door THE dreamlands publication by which my posts are a pale imitation.