Oniromancy (revised)

           by Haroudo S. X. Filho (DL) and Robert Holmberg (dreamlord@cryogen.com)

The Oniromancers, a very peculiar kind of adept, have mastered the art of dreaming. They can dream about anything they want, in any possible way. That is of course entertaining but pointless in the real world, isn't it?

The old teachings of Onirourgy, from which Oniromancy later sprung, focuses on the realm of dreams. The apprentices learned the art of controlling dreams, to envision the future through their dreaming and the ability to stimulate people to see illusions when their dreams were being manipulated.

Oniromancers force reality to bend around their dreams, the greatest of their powers. They always seem have some cash, weapons and are naturals when it comes down to getting hold of resources - their dreams give them what they need. However, reality has a strong tendency of not allowing this kind of chaos to exist within its hold, so dreams too impossible or bizarre wont work (and if they do work, it will only be for a few moments). As an example: "I dream of a beautiful house with three top floors, and a Mercedes in my garage", will be a little over the top for most Oniromancers (but with a major charge, who knows...).

Oniromancers, through extensive training, are able to enter their dreams faster than normal people. It is almost as if they just have to desire it to fall into the deep dream state (that correspond to 1 combat turn, but most Oniromancy spells can't be used in combat). Besides, waking up a Oniromancer (or Dream Lords as they are referred to in the Occult Underground) is almost as easy as waking up any average person (they can, however, make a roll against Soul to resist). For them dreams are like great studios, built out of prime-matter, that they can shape and manipulate like they desire. Through dream matter they can make, for example, a weapon that wasn't there a second before, and when they wake up it's in their hands, transferred to reality.

Adepts from Oniromancy are mostly ignored by the occult underground. Subtlety is not just a word for them, it is almost a divine command they follow and live by. Even when taking disciples as Dream-Guides, they try to hold a low profile. Since they can't get into other people's dreams (even if their Dream Devils can), they aren't seen as a threat from most groups or creatures. Of course, sometimes one or another of them steps out the line and usually proves that they can be hard to deal with, but that would be a rare case.

As for the Oniromancy paradox, a Dream Lord needs to sleep and dream to keep theirs powers active. Since they usually have to dream to forge their power base in reality and have to sleep to keep it, they are a confused bunch. They have to master both worlds, and time seems to be running out for them every time - mostly since they charge themselves while dreaming. (NOTE: Make a Body roll for each 24 hours of uninterrupted sleep, if failed the Oniromancer loses a Body point).

Oniromancy blast style: They have no blast, but they are able to send Dream Devils to other peoples dreams, and inside their Dream Domain they can make just about anything happen with dream matter.

Generate a minor charge: As stated before Oniromancers gain charges by dreaming. When having a short dream that last for about an hour they gain a minor charge. Dreams for them are like hallucinations in their own dreams - so in their Dream Domain a sort of a parallel dream can occur with the hallucinations running wild: events appearing, images of people talking, and all sort of other things (usually when somebody enters their dreams they get even more confused because the Dream Lord is the only one who has any idea about what is the real dream and what is the dream within the dream).

Generate a significant charge: Having a dream that last for 24 hours.

Generate a major charge: A dream that lasts for two months will generate a major charge.

Taboo: Being awake. Reality destroys their charges easily; a major charge won't hold more than a minute after the Oniromancer wakes up, a significant charge only lasts for two hours, and minor charges will all disappear within six hours. Also, Oniromancers can set their powers when awake, but only take advantage of them while sleeping.

Random magick domain: Controlling their own dreams and making things there real; other than that, they have some control over spirits of people obsessed with dreams, as well as altered states of perception. Oniromancers also have a kind of subtle power over people that aren't sleeping - meaning that they can't get inside other people's dreams or influence them (except with the use of a Dream Devil), but rather can invite and abduct people to their own dreams.

Starting charges: Newly-created Oniromancers receive four minor charges.

Oniromancy minor formula spells

I see with closed eyes
cost: 1 minor charge
effect: this spell allows the Oniromancer to see everything around him at the same time as he is sleeping. The effect last for 24 hours. His vision takes the same form it would have taken if he had been awake, so if he sleeps in total darkness, he can't see anything. The vision usually don't go much farther than 4 meters of distance, seeing everything beyond that point very cloudy.

I own my dreams
cost: 1 minor charge
effect: Usually this is the first spell a Oniromancer cast after he falls asleep. The spell allows the Oniromancer to act at will in his dream, having some manipulative powers over the dream matter. He can't bend the "dream reality", and lots of events will occur without his knowledge, but he can make the dream last as long as he wants, and thus controlling the amount of charges he will get.

Nightmare Hounds
cost: 2 minor charges
effect: Casting this, the Oniromancer makes a nightmare permanently attached to his sleep state, and parallel to his current dreams. The nightmare will protect his dreams and can even be attached to his Dream Domain if he has one. The nightmares can have a physical form in the dream but can just as well take the form of a feeling or event. They will attack anyone that gets inside the dream. Nightmares Hounds have their attributes based on a stress check. The nightmares can't be created in the strict sense of the word, instead, when a Oniromancer is having a nightmare which could cause a stress check if it was a real thing, he can make it a "Nightmare Hound". The number of points to distribute among the nightmare's attributes will be ten times the stress level (I.E. Leo had a terrible dream, a nightmare. A giant spider was following him through the sewers, killing his friends that tried to keep the creature away from him. Putting together the stress check of Helplessness-8 (it kills your friends and is coming after you, and you KNOW the sewers have no end), Violence-5 (It's killing your friends, family, and is probably going to kill you), and The Unnatural-2 (Giant Spiders DON'T exist!), we have 150 points to distribute between the four attributes). Remember that most nightmares has no thought at all (they are as dumb as a door handle), and that they already have 10 free points at each attribute. "Feeling" nightmares, as dreams of great horror, can be translated as a terrible felling of horror, fear, etc; that follows the intruder through the dream (making him roll the adequate stress check). Nightmare Hounds, thanks to their lack of intelligence, will blindly obey the Oniromancer that creates them and hardly ever attack a Dream Guest (unless ordered so).

Dream Abduction
cost: 2 minor charge
effect: Using this spell, the Dream Lord can pull somebody into his dream. The Oniromancer has to touch the target, and the spell will only work if the target is sleeping. This is one of the few spells that a Oniromancer can use when awake. When in the dream, the person will have the same attributes as normal. The spells duration is equal to the Oniromancers Body attribute in hours, during which the target can be abducted to the dream (the target can resist with a mind roll, or by spending 3 minor charges if he is an adept).

Dead Dreamer
cost: 3 minor charges
effect: Sometimes what is between heaven and earth isn't enough... Casting this spell, the Oniromancer invites a spirit to his dream (a UA Demon). The invited spirit will look like he did in his last moments, and will have similar attribute ratings as he had when he was alive and well. The Dead Dreamer can be invited to become a Nightmare Hound, or even a Dream Guest if the dream where the Oniromancer invites the spirit is a Dream Domain. Dream Guests are employees/guests that the Dream Lord keep for entertainment, but could be used as guards too. The difference between the Guests and the Nightmare Hounds is that the Guests have free will. The Dream Lord can assign areas in a Dream Domain where the Guests have almost as much power over the dream matter as himself. Since they have some freedom and can feel their dream bodies as if they where their true bodies, they usually do anything to stay in this state for as long as they can. When the Dream Lord wake's up, all Dead Dreamers are expelled from the dream to wherever they were before being called (this wont happen if they become Dream Guests).

Dream Guest
cost: 3 minor charge
effect: This is a very simple spell. The Oniromancer touches the Dead Dreamer when it is in the Dream Domain and then it becomes a Dream Guest. The Dream Guest can stay at the Dream Domain as long the Dream Lord lets it. Look above (Dead Dreamer) for more information. The Dream Lord can dismiss a Dream Guest at will.

Passenger
cost: 3 minor charges
effect: Sometimes just being able to see what happens around your place of sleep isn't enough. The dreamer casting this spell must target somebody that was present in the same room (or at least 10 meters away in open space) when he fell asleep. The caster can now look through the persons eyes as if they were his own (the person becomes a "Dream-Guide"). The effect last for 24h or until the target sleeps. You can't use this spells on more than one person at a time.

Minor Reality Bending
cost: 4 minor charges
effect: As stated before, a Oniromancer dream to change reality. This is the first spell strong enough to change the world around the dream. The Oniromancer casts this spell to make real a piece of dream matter. It can be money, an object or even an animal he found in the dream (in this case, can't live for more than a day before it vanishes). Whatever he brings, it can't be bigger than a shoe box, or heavier than 3kg. If the thing he brought is not natural enough for him to have it, the spell will fizzle. The GM has the final word (Note: the dream matter will fade in a short period of time, from 24h to a full week. The Dream Lord can spend a significant charge to make it permanent).

Voice
cost: 5 minor charge
effect: Casting this spell allows the Oniromancer to make himself heard in the head of the Dream-Guide. The Guide can talk back in his own head, so nobody will think he has lost his senses (apart from himself). The target doesn't have to be willing to make this spell work, and if the target doesn't know about it, he has to make a stress check against The Unnatural-3, probably thinking he is getting possessed or going crazy. The Dream Lords voice will sound as loud as a whisper.

Oniromancy significant formula spells

Dream Domain
cost: 1 significant charge
effect: Casting this spell transforms a dream into a Dream Domain, a realm in itself that can be called at will by the dreamer. He now have a full universe to play with. Besides changing the color of the sky and moving mountains, the Dream Lord, can "attach" Dream Guests, Nightmare Hounds and Dream Devils. The Dream Domain is alive even when the Oniromancer is awake, and can be accessed by dream walkers (Sopiomancers, and even unaware dreamers that has some latent power). A Dream Lord isn't omniscient, but has a pretty good idea of what is happening in his domain. The only downside in Dream Domains is the lack of abilities of a Dream Lord to change his guise, he can't modify his "dream physical form", just a whole universe around him... (note: he can have as many Dream Domains as Soul/10 rounded down. Some really nasty Oniromancers create nightmare dream domains to imprison people and leave the dream until their prisoners die without ever waking up again)

Dream Devil
cost: 1 significant charge
effect: Lacking a blast doesn't render an Oniromancer impotent. Dream Devils can be even worse than most blasts, especially because they will be permanent and are very deadly. A Dream Devil is a Dream Guest that has accepted the change and has been given a little power of his own to hurt and kill people in their dreams... Ok, nothing so shocking, but the wounds and deaths in dreams are for real. Another very useful ability is their capacity to find and walk in dreams of other people. The Oniromancer just have to name the person and the Dream Devil will know exactly who the Dream Lord is talking about, regardless how many people there is that have the same name, and will try to find the target no matter the cost or time it takes (he will find the dream, or at least the person and wait for her to dream, in a number of hours equal to the result rolled in a Soul roll. If the roll fails, it will take at least a week). The last and maybe the most important of their abilities is a limited power over dream matter which they use to create weapons or defenses for themselves in other peoples dreams. I.E.: Grieger has been talking to one of his Dream Guests, Ellan, a dream research and part time serial killer in his living days. He has convinced Ellan to become a Dream Devil. A few weeks after the change, Ellan is being called by Grieger, who instructs Ellan to find the dream of one of his enemies and kill him. Ellan spend 32 hours to find the target, Lucian, an Epideromancer. Lucian is awake, so Ellan has to wait for him to fall asleep - then it attacks, using a dream matter dagger to stab Lucian several times. A Oniromancer has the power to summon and destroy his own Dream Devils, as well as being immune to their powers. But again, just if the specific Dream Devil was created by himself.

Dream Guide Channeling
cost: 2 significant charges
effect: Using this spell when connected to a Dream-Guide, will make the Dream Lord capable of channeling his power, in other words, he can make magicks using the Guides body. The Dream Lord can use the Dream-Guide to touch the target, instead of having to touch her himself, in spells like "Dream Abduction". The Dream-Guide will not necessarily know what he is doing, but he must at least touch the victim in a conscious act (if he is pushed and touches somebody the adept can't use the spell, but if he and the target are shacking hands - even if the Dream-Guide has no idea about been a Dream-Guide - the Oniromancer can use the spell). The spell has the same duration as the "Passenger" spell: 24 hours, or until the Dream-Guide falls sleep.

Another Guide
cost: 2 significant charges
effect: When a Dream-Guide has to sleep, or when the agenda demands, the Oniromancer cast "Another Guide". This spell makes the Dream-Guide status change to the next person the former Dream-Guide touches. The kind of touch works in the same way as before (i.e. it must be a conscious touch, and not just someone that bumps into the Dream-Guide when the spell is cast).

Unresisting Invitation
cost: 3 significant charges
effect: This is a stronger version of "Dream Abduction". The spell makes the target vulnerable to be summoned to the Oniromancers dream even when awake. The target can resist with a Mind roll. The Oniromancer or a channeled Dream-Guide must touch the target to make the spell work.

Dream Bounding
cost: 4 significant charges
effect: Casting this spell, the dreamer makes all his Dream Guests and Dream Devils attached not only to his Dream Domain, but to himself. They will blindly obey him, and even if his Dream Domain has been destroyed somehow (Sopiomancers can do that), they won't be destroyed. The other good point about using this spell is that they will intimately know the desires of the Dream Lord and do everything the can to please him.

Significant Reality Bending
cost: 4 significant charges
effect: Exactly like minor reality bending, but now the Dream Lord can bring things up to the size of a human being. Again, the GM has the final word about how possible it is for the thing he is bringing to exist. As before, there are necessary to use more charges to make the thing permanent (in this case 5 significant charges).

Dream Curse
cost: 5 significant charge
effect: This spell can't be used with the help of a Dream-Guide. The Dream Lord must touch the target himself. When the target dies, whatever the reason, he immediately becomes a Dream Devil bound to the Oniromancer regardless if he has a Dream Domain or not. The cursed Dream Devil will obey the Dream Lord, like it or not.

Oniromancy major effects