Out of Character (OOC):
Chronicle: Mage 2: The
Dethroned Queen
Venue: Mage: The Awakening
2nd Edition
Chronicle Storyteller:
Jerad Sayler
Assistant Storytellers:
Hannah Nyland & Alex Van Belkum
A Primer on Oneiromancy
Part I: Magic & Dreams
“Dreams surely are difficult, confusing and not everything in
them is brought to pass for mankind. For fleeting dreams have two gates: one is
fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those which pass through the one of sawn
ivory are deceptive, bringing tidings which come to nought, but those which
issue from one of polished horn bring true results when a mortal sees them.”
— Homer, The Odyssey
My
comments are in yellow and are regarding my reviews of the system and my own
personal and Storyteller's perspective recommendations for use in our
Chronicle.
Sources: The original source material is from Changeling: The Lost, 1st
Edition, adapted for use by Mind Mages in Mage:
The Awakening 2nd Edition.
Keep in mind that the following
are for dreams only, not the deeper travel into Astral space starting with the
Oneiros.
Oneiromancy Series:
DREAM-SHAPING
The world of dreams is
quite real to the Awakened. Mages always
dream lucidly and that provides them with the ability to manipulate the dreams,
the flotsam of the sub-conscious that floats on the far side of the Oneiros. There
is some strange connection between the stuff of the Astral Plane and the dreams
of mortals. Principles of manipulation carry over, teaching the Mage to
manipulate the other: learning to survive with magic, working one’s will on
physical reality teaches changelings to manipulate the stuff of dreams, and understanding
the labyrinthine logics of the dreamscape often aids a Mage in making it
through Astral Realms and the rigors of Neuromancy (Mind magic).
Mage would explore their
lucid dreams may discover that they wield tremendous influence over their own
dreams, capable of molding and shaping them with great aplomb. Trained
oneiromancers are capable of turning their own dreams into the fulfillment of
every whim and desire they may wish to experience. Though the word oneiromancy originally refers
to the act of divination through dreams, mages use it to refer to dream-shaping
and similar techniques.
Where Mind mages differ
from normal lucid dreamers is in their ability to enter the dreams of others. A
neuromancer may apply his knowledge of oneiromancy to foreign dreams as well. A
mage or other creature that enters the dreams of another is called an
oneiropomp.
The
World of Dreams
Oneiromancers
understand that the stuff that makes up the Astral Realms and that which forms
dreams are similar, sharing a connection through the soul. In both environments,
aspects of the soul and mind are strongly manifested, embodying past and
future, destiny and fate into one strange, interconnected whole. In many ways,
dreams act as the microcosm to the Astral’s macrocosm. The dreams of thinking
creatures can be manipulated because they share, in some way, in the nature of
the Astral itself. The only thing that sets the rules of a dreamscape is the
mind of the dreamer himself. Anything is possible within its boundaries, and
only another mind is capable of altering that dreamscape. Awakened &
Sleepwalker minds are always capable of oneiromancy, the art of manipulating
their own dreams (sometimes called lucid dreaming by modern enthusiasts). More
than that, they are capable of altering the dreamscapes of others, if they are
invited into those dreams through the use of a spell.
Mages & Spells involving Dreams:
As seen in Mage: The Awakening 2nd
Edition
Dreams: The
shallows of the Astral are experienced by almost every human being as their own
dreams. Mages can enter the dreams of subjects with Mind spells, or practice
lucid dreaming to explore their own. Some Goetia and other, strange
super-natural beings stalk through human dreams and nightmares, and a mage
meditating on a problem may find inspiration in a dreaming state.
Accessing
Dreams: All a mage needs to enter her
own dreams is a Resolve + Composure roll to meditate while going to sleep; Mind
spells bypass the need for meditation or are used to enter the dreams of
others. Spells within dreams are cast normally, except that Sleepers do not
treat spells affecting the dream or its narrative as obvious magic. The Astral
Realms proper are made of thoughts, emotions, and other ephemeral creations of
the soul, but the Arcana affect their creations using the same rules as they do
on the material realm. In a place of symbols, each Arcanum’s dominion has
equally symbolic importance. Matter affects visions of stone, for instance.
That said, a place of thoughts and emotions made manifest eases the use of the
Mind Arcanum. Mind spells benefit from a –2 penalty to Paradox rolls in the
Astral.
The Dream
Form: The mage manifests in dream
form while in the Astral or her own dreams. The dream form may look nothing
like the sorcerer, because this is her self-image as influenced by contact from
the Supernal, and divorced from the limitations of flesh. Characters with the
Shadow Name Merit often appear radically different in age, race, sex, or
fitness, as their dream forms conform to their magical selves. The traveler
uses this form to interact with anything in the Astral Realms while her body
remains in the material realm, alive but unconscious. The dream form has the
following Traits instead of the mage’s standard set:
• Power: Equal
to the higher of Intelligence or Presence for mages, or just Intelligence for
others. Used for Intelligence, Strength, and Presence tasks.
• Finesse: Equal
to the higher of Wits or Manipulation for mages, or just Wits for others. Used
for Wits, Dexterity, and Manipulation tasks.
• Resistance: Equal
to the higher of Resolve or Composure for mages, or just Resolve for others.
Used for Resolve, Stamina, and Composure tasks.
• Dream Health: This Trait replaces regular Health. Add Resistance to the character’s
Gnosis-based Attribute maximum (e.g. 5 at Gnosis 3, or 6 at Gnosis 6, according
to the table on p. 86). Losing Dream Health imposes wound penalties just as for
standard Health. When a mage is “killed” due to Dream Health loss, she acquires
the Soul Shocked Condition and
returns to her body.
• Amnion: Only
the Awakened possess this Trait. The Amnion is an intensified self-image that a
sorcerer can invoke to protect herself. Amnions take many shapes, from antique
diving suits to scaled hides and spiked bat’s wings. A sorcerer may invoke her
Amnion as an instant action. When she does so, she gains general armor equal to
the lower of her Gnosis or highest subtle Arcanum against attacks that appear
physical, and against the Ecstatic Wind. However, as a refined form of
egocentrism, it impairs the ability to interact with the outside world,
imposing a –2 die penalty to Finesse-based tasks and a –1 penalty to Defense.
The Amnion is treated as a form of equipment. It doesn’t stack with “physical”
armor, but does stack with spells and Attainments.
• Path Tools: All
mages can will Path tools into existence in dreams or the Astral as a reflexive
action, since they’re symbols of the bond between soul and Watchtower. These
can only be Tools she has used before, in the material realm.
Spell: Dream Reaching (Mind ••)
Practice: Ruling
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Composure
Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy,
Medicine, Persuasion
The mage may enter and share the dreams of a sleeping
subject. The mage witnesses the dream, and can influence its direction, though
she is not directly a part of the dream. Casting this spell on herself ensures
the mage remembers her dreams.
+1 Reach: the
mage becomes an active part of the dream, able to take action inside as
described above. Casting the spell on herself induces lucid dreaming if she
sleeps during the spell’s Duration, without need for meditation.
Spell: Sleep of the Just (Mind •••)
Practice: Perfecting
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Composure
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics,
Athletics, Occult
The mage controls the subject’s sleep cycle, allowing her to
remain awake without ill effects or asleep without being roused for the spell’s
Duration. The mage may also control what she dreams about, or create a lucid
dreaming state where the subject has control. Anything attempting to enter or
influence the dream state provokes a Clash of Wills.
Spell: Psychic Projection (Mind ••••)
Practice: Patterning
Primary Factor: Duration
Withstand: Resolve
Suggested Rote Skills: Academics,
Occult, Socialize
The mage can project the subject’s consciousness into a
state of Twilight or into another’s dreams. The mental projection uses the
rules for Dream Forms. It has no ephemeral body, but is instead an incorporeal,
intangible mental image. While in Twilight, the subject cannot interact
physically with her surroundings, and must use magic to affect anything. She is
immune to physical attacks, but she is still susceptible to mind-affecting
supernatural abilities. While mentally projected, her body lies in a comatose
state, and she has no way of knowing its health or state without returning or
the use of other magic. If her projection dies, she returns to her body with
the Soul Shocked Condition.
Add Spirit ••:
The mage may project the subject’s conscious-ness beyond the Gauntlet into
the Shadow Realm. The spell is also Withstood by the Gauntlet rating.
Spell: Goetic Summons (Mind •••)
Practice: Perfecting
Primary Spell Factor: Duration
Cost: Variable
Withstand: Rank
Suggested Rote Skills: Persuasion,
Socialize, Occult
The mage sends out a call to the nearest Goetia within her
sensory range. Conversely she can summon Goetia she knows personally. She may
send a general call and the nearest Goetia will answer, or she can specify the
type of entity by its Resonance. The spell does not work on Goetia above Rank
5.
Add Spirit •• or Death ••: The entity gains the Materialized Condition for the Duration
of the spell.
+1 Reach: The
spell also creates the Open Condition on the area, even if it does not match
the Goetia’s Resonance.
+1 Reach: The
mage may give the Goetia a single, one-word command to follow. The Goetia is
not compelled to complete a task if it cannot finish the command before the
Duration of the spell elapses.
+1 Reach: If
in a place from which she could meditate into the Astral, the mage can summon
Goetia from her own Oneiros, or the Oneiros of another subject. Summoning
aspects of one’s own soul is dangerous, but rewarding — the subject loses the
part of his personality the Goetia represents while it is in the material
world. The mage must pay as much Mana as she would need to enter the Astral
Realms from her current location.
+2 Reach: As
above, but the mage can summon Goetia from the Temenos.
+3 Reach: As
above, but the mage can summon Goetia from the Anima Mundi.
+2 Reach: The
mage may give the Goetia a complex command to follow. The command must be a
single task, but the mage can describe the task within a sentence or two.
The following spells from Mage: The Awakening 1st
Edition can be easily adapted to affect dreams instead of just Astral space
with some tweaks. It’s not the same
thing, Dreams are the shore of the ocean that is the Onerios but many of the
principles apply:
- Control Sleep (Mind 2 + Life 2) - combined Hurried
Rest (Mind 2 + Life 2) and for a Reach works as Induce Sleep (Mind 3 + Life 2)
- Astral Gateway
(Mind 3) – combines Astral Invitation (Mind 3) and
Astral Entrance (Mind 3). For a reach you can get the effects of Dream Bridge
(Mind 4 normally). For +2 Reach this spell can cast the effect of Dream Network
(normally Dream Network (Mind 4))
- Preserve Astral Subject (Mind 3) – combines Preserve
Astral Object (Mind 3) and Preserve Astral Space (Mind 3)
- Astral Pathway (Mind
4)
– combines Astral Interdiction (Mind 4),
Seal Oneiros (Dreamspace) (Mind 3), Purge Oneiros (Dreamspace) (Mind 4), and
for a Reach Astral Imprisonment (Mind 5)
- Silver Threads
(Mind 4 + Space 4)
- Geotic Manifestation (Mind 5 + Spririt 5) – The
next step to Geotic Summoning if you want to make a Geotic spirit manifestion.
Dreams
and Willpower
After a night of slumber, all characters in the Chronicles
of darkness regain a point of Willpower.
At
the Storyteller’s option, those characters who are denied a rest period of full
REM sleep (approximately 3.5 hours, usually a
person goes through two of these a night) — the pattern of sleep that
coincides with the dreaming state — or suffer
nightmares or dream intrusion, may not regain that point of Willpower
for a restful night sleep. Characters who are heavily drugged or magically
prevented from dreaming sleep may thus continue to carry the stress of their
daily lives with them, relying on other means of recovering their sense of
self.
The
following Merit is now approved for purchase and was adapted from Changeling:
The Lost 1st Edition. It will
make more sense if you know how Dream Combat works, which I will cover in a
future post. The basics are, there are
two types of attacks:
i. Any attack directly from the dream combatant
ii. Power Attribute + Skill – Defense
iii. Successes inflict Gnosis as base weapon damage plus successes minus any Armor
2. Environmental Attacks - taking control of the dream space around you to do harm
i. Changing the landscape quick to make it dangerous.
ii. Wits + Empathy – Defense
iii. Successes inflict Gnosis as base weapon damage plus successes minus any Armor
New Fighting Style:
2. Environmental Attacks - taking control of the dream space around you to do harm
i. Changing the landscape quick to make it dangerous.
ii. Wits + Empathy – Defense
iii. Successes inflict Gnosis as base weapon damage plus successes minus any Armor
New Fighting Style:
Dream Combat
Source: Rites of Spring p. 90 originally – Here.
Prerequisite: Gnosis •••,
Empathy •••
Effect: Your character
has honed her oneiromachy skills to a high degree, allowing her to push the
envelope of dream-battle and take the dream-bound combat beyond the reach of
less experienced or dedicated oneiromancers.
Please note, these only work when
using the Dream Combat rules presented in my future posts which occurs in
Dreams or in certain places in the Astral spaces!
Dots purchased in this Merit allow
access to special combat maneuvers that are only applicable for oneiromachy
(dream-battles). Each maneuver is a prerequisite for the next. So, your
character can’t have Double Team until he has Stunning Blow. The maneuvers and
their effects are described below.
Stunning Blow (•): Your
character’s dream-onslaught is overwhelming, literally stunning your opponent
to the point of inaction. If successes inflicted in a single Dream attack equal
or exceed a target’s Power Level (Gnosis Rank, etc), the victim loses his next
action. Attacks of this strength are often accompanied by appropriate special
effects in a dream, from shockwaves to tendrils of grasping fog that seem to
stall the stunned opponent for a moment.
Double Team (••): Not content
with a single avenue of attack, your character is adept enough with oneiromancy
that he can coordinate an environmental and a personal attack against his
target at the same time. The second attack suffers a –1 penalty. Drawback: Your
character cannot use his Defense against any attack in the same turn in which
he intends to use this maneuver. If he uses Defense against attacks that occur
earlier in the Initiative roster, before he can perform this maneuver, he
cannot perform the maneuver in the same turn, his attention is too focused on
protecting himself.
Blind Spot (•••): Your
character’s control of the dream environment is so great that it allows him to
attack from the vantage point most detrimental to his opponent. Reduce the
effective armor OR defense of a single opponent by the user’s Gnosis.
Gnostic Armor (••••): Your
character’s mastery of the dream-realm protects him in battle. He may add his Dream
Form’s Resistance trait to Defense.
Coup de Grace (•••••): Even as your
character’s opponent fades from the dream-arena, he is capable of delivering a
final blow. At any time that an opponent in a dream-combat is beginning to
waken (i.e., Dream Health has Full Lethal), he may deliver one final
dream-attack (environmental or personal) against her as she wakes. She may not
use her Defenses or armor against this attack.
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