[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Oneiromancy IV: Dream Combat

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 IV: Dream Combat

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, 1^st Edition, adapted for use by Mind Mages in Mage: The Awakening 2^nd Edition.

Oneiromancy Series:

Part 1: Magic & Dreams

Part 2: Dream Riding

Part 3: Dreamweaving

Part 4: Dream Combat

Oneiromachy
According to some older mages, the arts of oneiromachy — or “dream battle” — are an ancient tradition among the Fae. Simply altering dreams and cleansing the psyche of a dreamer of the presence of outside supernatural forces is not enough when stronger entities reside within the dreams themselves.
The oneiromancer’s ability to transform the reality of the dream is the basis for the ability to engage in oneiromachy. Normally, violence that happens within the context of a dream exists solely to serve some other, often symbolic, purpose. Therefore, violence that does not serve the psyche of the dreamer is somewhat traumatic — the sleeper whose dreamscape serves as a battlefield automatically loses a point of Willpower to the psychic trauma of the event, whether it is simply a single blow or a vast and terrible battle waged between a mage and a threat.

Advantages of Oneiromancy  
Many of the effects a mage can achieve through oneiromancy could be more efficiently done another way, such as through spells or Social maneuvering face-to-face. Using oneiromancy grants certain advantages, though. First and foremost is never having to let your target know who’s messing with them, and being able to manipulate people from the comfort of your own home. Meeting an enemy on a dream battlefield helps even the odds for you, especially if you bring friends. You can even turn the eidolons (or the dreamer!) against your enemy through various means. Defeating another oneiropomp in battle and imposing the Lethargic or Soul Shocked Condition on them can be worth it, too.

Some cabal take to dream combat — or its more old-fashioned name, oneiromachy — to resolve internal disputes or determine pecking order without having to inflict actual violence upon each other.

Finally, using oneiromancy on yourself or your allies can achieve things it would be hard to do for each other otherwise, and can build trust as cabalmates expose their darkest nightmares to one another.

A Recap-Dream Form

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.

War may be waged in one of two ways within the context of a dream: personally and environmentally. 

Entering Dream Combat requires the mage to have used the Dream Riding spell to enter another person's dream.

Personal Attacks 
Personal attacks involve the creation of a dream-form (exactly the same as the Astral Dream Form outlined in Mage: The Awakening 2nd Edition) and attacking as though in reality. The weapon the dreamer envisions himself wielding doesn’t matter — his own connection with the Supernal and the power of his will is all that matters. Thus, dream attacks are made using the character’s Power + Gnosis + his combat skill of choice: Athletics for thrown attacks, Brawl for unarmed combat, Firearms for guns and bows and Weaponry for handheld weapons. Damage is considered +0B, Lethal if willpower is expended at the time of attack.  Weapons attuned to be brought into Astral Space may also be used in Dream Space.

In dreams, a skilled oneiromancer truly shines, reflected by the use of his highest Traits in both the attacks above, and in his defenses (see “Dream Defenses,” below). A physically skilled character is likely to rely on what some refer to as “body memory,” a reliance on subconscious memory of how the body reacts in a given situation. A mentally skilled character is capable of applying tremendous imagination and quick-thinking to situations in a dreamscape, while a socially skilled character exudes sheer force of will and personality, sufficient to turn aside lesser assaults and deliver grievous attacks of his own.


Environmental Attacks

Other oneiromancers prefer to use the environment of the dreamscape itself against their opponents. These attacks, similar to those of personal attacks, receive an equipment bonus equal to the Oneiropomp’s Gnosis, but they do not necessarily rely on typical combat skills. The fluid nature of the dreamscape waits to be summoned and put to use by the skilled oneiromancer, who may use any of the following skills as weapons:

Using normal dream riding techniques, the oneiromancer can effectively make Finesse + Empathy + Gnosis attacks. These changes are quick and flash, relying on a stunning imagination on the part of the oneiropomp. The sudden appearance of wild animals, storms, terrible and ancient sorceries and curses that descend on a foe — all of these forms of attack are the auspice of environmental attacks. Damage is considered +0B, Lethal if willpower is expended at the time of attack.

Though the environment is used as a weapon, and the oneiromancer may describe huge, epic devastation as part of his attack, such attacks do almost nothing to anyone save the target himself. Regardless of the “special effects” involved, these are still techniques of oneiromachy, attacking the dream-self of one foe at a time.

Dream Defenses

There are two other changes to the combat statistics in the dreamscape; those present have a Defense and Armor different from those in their normal world.

Defense: Defense is derived entirely from the character's Finesse + Resistance.

Armor: A mage uses their Amnion as Armor, other entities have their own capabilities, Sleepers do not normally possess armor of any kind.

Dream Damage
Damage inflicted in dream-combat is not real. Instead of taking points of Health as damage, oneiromachic damage is inflicted to the Dream Form. When an attack scores an exceptional success, however, the target does take a single point of bashing damage to their physical body, often waking bruised, or bleeding from mouth or ears afterwards.

The final blow to a foe in oneiromachic combat can do more than drain the psyche — the final blow can actively wound the psyche for a short time and causes the Soulshocked Condition.

Stunting 
Creativity and quick thinking are the key to winning oneiromachy. The combatant who takes advantage of his own arcane wisdom, who uses knowledge of the dreamscape he is in to his benefit and who applies wicked creativity that overwhelms his foes will emerge victorious. To reflect this, oneiromachy attacks can gain between one and three bonus dice for interesting and fascinating descriptions. These bonus dice can apply to offensive or defensive actions. Simply add the bonus directly to the Defense of the target in the case of defensive stunts. It should be noted, however, that a given stunt is really only worth dice once — swinging from a vine in a jungle nightmare is great the first time it happens, especially if it ends in a kick to the villain’s jaw, but after that becomes old hat.

Each stunt must be interesting and innovative:

Interesting Description (+1 die): An attack that uses an interesting description is worth a single extra die. An oneiromancer is capable of changing the “laws” of the dreamscape he is in by simply willing it so. The ability to run along a wall, leap tremendous heights and strike with such force that the resounding blow cracks the masonry and shatters glass within a 10-foot radius are all appropriate descriptors. None of these descriptions will grant a mechanical benefit other than this bonus die without performing an actual dream riding roll to truly manipulate the dreamscape. These stunts are the actions of epic heroes, feats impossible to normal people — but in the world of dreams, the most
lavish dreamers are the epic heroes.

Using Thematic Qualities (+2 dice): Going a step beyond an interesting description, using thematic qualities involves tapping into the symbolic themes already present in the fight. These could be the themes of the dream the battle is taking place in, the themes that surround either of the combatants or the themes that are meaningful to the dreamer himself. Thus, an Obrimos Thermomancer might describe the strikes of his fists leaving behind frost-bite where they strike, or embellish his charge across the courtyard at his foe as ending in a slide across a patch of frost, the light that emanates from within him gleaming off the ice to blind his foe. A battle going on in the mind of fan of musicals might incorporate a falling chandelier, Phantom-style, or one of its foes might arm himself with the impressive headsman’s blade from the Mikado. The combatant who takes advantage of his foes’ fiery elemental nature by plunging him into a lake of icy water might likewise benefit from two additional dice.

Maestro’s Performance (+3 dice): Finally, a three-dice stunt is the rarest of them all, because it isn’t sufficient that the stunt be described well. Instead, a three-dice stunt is any two-dice stunt that forces the gaming group to concede that the stunt is not only appropriate and impressive but actively adds to the fun of the group. Therefore, it is entirely subjective — what may constitute a three-dice stunt to one group might only warrant a pair of dice as a bonus in another. The Storyteller is, however, encouraged to be generous — dream combat is supposed to be interesting, fun and somewhat over the top.

Note: What about Combat in other places?
Combat in Dreams does not have to use the Dream Combat rules provided the dream can support it.  Mages retain access to their magic but may initiate in the Dream Combat system outlined above if they have been trained to do so or have enough experience with controlling dreams.  In Astral Space dream combat is not used and they utilize their Dream Forms and magic as normal.

Lore: Changelings & Oneiromancy
All changelings lived for a time in the world of Faerie, which is very like the world of dreams in some ways. Its reality is malleable in the hands of beings who shape it like clay. An event can have two meanings — one the human mind can comprehend, and one only the Fae understand. Learning to think like the Gentry, even in a small way, has changed the way the Lost interact with dreams.

The origin of the word “oneiromancy” lies in divination through dream interpretation, but changelings can shape a dreamscape in much the same way they shape the Hedge, pushing and pulling at the fabric of psychoactive surroundings through the power of their Wyrd to make changes to a person’s mind. They can’t directly impact someone’s psyche this way, but dreams are how people process emotions and deal with subconscious impulses and traumas. A changeling who changes a sleeper’s dream also changes the way his mind copes with his subliminal thoughts.

The Gate of Ivory  
The Gate of Ivory is the easiest path to find. A sleeping changeling crosses this gate in dream form, entering her own dreams and turning them lucid. If she leaves her own Bastion to wander the Hedge or other Bastions, she recovers no Willpower for that night’s rest. The Lost (and anyone else she brings along) manifests a dream form, rather than her physical body, after passing through the Gate of Ivory. The dream form has no Mask, appearing in her fae mien. She uses this form to interact with anything in dreams while her body remains in the waking world, alive but unconscious.  

The Gate of Horn  
The Gate of Horn is more elusive. It exists as a Hedgeway within the Hedge itself. A traveler must navigate the Hedge normally and find it to pass through. All the routes to the Dreaming Roads are the Gate of Horn, refracted across the fabric of the Hedge to appear in many places and lead to many Dreaming Roads.  The character who passes through the Gate of Horn is not asleep, but awake, and physically present in the Hedge.  

Lore: The Lords of Dream
The masters of Glamour and Arcadia are, by extension, masters of mortal dreams. The weaker weft of human dreams is like a toy to the Gentry, who take great delight in their play. While changelings can and do access dreams by use of their Pledges, the True Fae need not bind themselves so to enter the dreams of mortals. Instead, the Fae may gain access to the dreams of mortals in one of two ways: through the use of dream phials or by their physical presence. Their force of personality is sufficient
to hammer dreams to take the shapes they desire, and the dreams they weave are breathtaking constructs of terrible beauty or awesome horror.

To enter the dreams of mortals or other creatures, the Fae must poison their dreams, warping and twisting them until they are a welcome and inviting environment for the Other’s influence. In order to do so, the Fae must either leave a dream phial (Dreamweaving) for the mortal’s slumber or she must touch the sleeping mortal. The dream-poison — also referred to as a contagion-dream, is a dream crafted through the use of either dreamscaping performed while touching the mortal, or through the arts of dreamweaving.

Once Dream Poison has taken effect the mortal’s dream world is remade into an environment fitting for the Fae invader. The Other may, at any time and from any distance within the Hedge or the real world, enter the dreams of the mortal. The Fae instinctively knows when the mortal sleeps in such instances, and there is no limit to the number of mortals whose dreams the Fae may poison.

Though changelings can work wonders with dreams, only the True Fae can engage in the techniques referred to as dream warping. The True Fae may rework the dreamscape of the mortal’s psyche, turning it into a breeding ground for contagion-dreams. A contagion-carrier can infect others by simply sleeping beside them, generally with skin-to-skin contact. This condition, understandably, has a detrimental effect on the mortal’s psyche. The Fae can also ensorcell sleepers or induce hyper-intense dreams and harvest Glamour from them which are also mentally damaging, inducing Breaking Points.  They also can make contact with the Wyrd and induce prophetic dreams they might use for their own purposes.

The dreams of supernatural creatures are, in some way, protected by the occult nature of those creatures. Mental defenses grant benefits against any and all techniques of dream-shaping, and any contested resistance rolls always add the supernatural potency of that creature.  In addition, the True Fae cannot use dreampoisoning against supernatural creatures. The only way to enter the dreams of a supernatural creature is by crafting a pledge that grants entry — the darkened recesses of supernatural psyches are too clever and powerful for the trickery of the Gentry.

The True Fae and Changelings are not the only dangers to a dreamer. Tales are filled with strange creatures in the Hedge or Faerie that are capable of hunting in the dreams of mortals for their sustenance, feeding on the fear the creatures create and leaving mortals mad or mindless. Other creatures are said to be capable of luring a sleeper’s dreaming self into actually leaving his physical body, entering into the Hedge as a wispy, ghost-like thing, half-real and slowly withering away, lost and unable to return without the help of an oneiromancer. It is believed that some creatures trap and slowly eat these half-real dream-selves, while others simply leave those dream-bodies to wander while they enter into the hollow place where the dreaming self used to be, taking over the mortal’s body.  

[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Oneiromancy III: Dreamweaving

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 III: Dreamweaving

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, 1^st Edition, adapted for use by Mind Mages in Mage: The Awakening 2^nd Edition.

Oneiromancy Series:

Part 1: Magic & Dreams

Part 2: Dream Riding

Part 3: Dreamweaving

Part 4: Dream Combat

Painting over the canvas of a dream is a delicate undertaking. An oneiropomp — one who walks in the dreams of others — must swim against the current of the dreamer’s mind, engaging with his imagination to build currency with which to pay for the changes she wishes to make to his sleeping subconscious. People dream to wrestle with their demons, their fears and worries, their fondest wishes and their most fragile hopes. An invader here must take care not to stomp too loudly, lest she become the very demon the dream is meant to excise.

Dreamscaping

Dreamscaping is far more involved than simply riding a dream. A dream-rider simply experiences the dream as it already exists, making small changes here and there. A dreamscaping oneiromancer, however, is literally creating the dream in its entirety, using his magic and the power of his Gnosis to shape a dreamscape from the latent stuff of the dreamer’s dreamscape. There is a limitation to this ability, however — because it relies on the confluence of the dreamer’s own dreamscape and the creative endeavors of the oneiromancer, an oneiropomp cannot actually dreamscape his own sleeping hours.  Thus, many Geotic cabals assist one another with the creation of dreamscapes meant to bolster and nurture one another.

In order to do this, the dreamer must not be actively in the middle of a dream. Thus, an oneiromancer who enters a dreamer’s dreamscape before she enters REM sleep may take the opportunity to shape his will into the fallow, unattended dreamscape, setting the stage for his own psychodramas. However, the mind of a dreamer fights such unnatural intrusions. A dreamer’s psyche has its own unknowable agenda, and fights any changes to the symbolic, subconscious presentation the psyche has in store for a sleeper.

Dreamscaping (Mind •••)

Practice: Weaving

Primary Factor: Duration

Withstand: Composure

Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Medicine, Persuasion

Cost: 1 Mana

The mage accessing the subconscious of another gains access to the Dreamscaping actions outlined below:

Reach +1: The caster can create a dream from a destroyed dreamscape.

To dreamscape a fallow psyche, the oneiromancer first makes a Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll, opposed by the sleeper’s Wits + Resolve roll. This contest immediately triggers REM sleep — if the mage’s roll wins, he shapes the dreamscape into a scenario of his own choosing at an Intensity equal to his net successes. If the dreamer’s psyche wins, it begins a dream of an Intensity equal to the net successes on the Wits + Resolve roll.

A somewhat easier way of dreamscaping is to scour a dream already in progress, using Dream Reading and then Dream Riding. Once the Intensity of the dream has been reduced to 0, the oneiromancer may immediately craft his own dream, resulting in a swift and strange transition from one dream to the next for the sleeper. Though this is easier to accomplish, it is more demanding in terms of magic: the mage must use a Reach and a point Mana to weave a dreamscape in the wake of a scoured natural dream, instead of the normal one point.

There are several benefits to creating dreams of whole cloth. The dreaming mind serves a purpose, relieving stress to the psyche, triggering a variety of physiological functions that normally lie dormant, providing incredible access to the subconscious and generally providing something of a “power down” cycle for the machine that is the human body.

In addition, it is said that some Oneiromancers teach unique forms of dreamscaping that no one else knows. Any single dreamer can only benefit from a magic-crafted dreamscape once per night — thus, an oneiromancer could craft a healing sleep dreamscape and then a stress relief one, but the dreamer would only gain the mechanical benefits of the first dream.

Dreamscapes may be crafted to do any one of the following.

1. Healing Sleep:

By creating a dream that interacts with physiological processes, the oneiromancer may speed the dreamer’s healing. With a healing sleep of any Intensity, the time the dreamer spends asleep counts as a full day of rest. Thus, if the sleeper experiences a true day of rest and then a night of healing sleep, he is considered to have gained two days of rest toward the purpose of healing wounds. If the Intensity roll is an exceptional success, the healing sleep counts as two days of rest alone.

2. Stress Relief:

Tapping into the subconscious affirmations of self that some dreams embody, the oneiromancer who knows a dreamer’s Vice and Virtue can shape her dreams to assist her recovery from stress — in game terms, he can shape dreams that allow her to recover Willpower. A stress relief dream allows the dreamer to recover a point of Willpower as though she’d fulfilled a Vice, in addition to that normally gained from dreaming. If the Intensity roll is an exceptional success, the stress relief dream allows the dreamer to recover all her Willpower, as though she’d fulfilled a Virtue.

3. Sleep Teaching:

Much of teaching involves more than simply the flow of information — most students learn in different ways. These techniques are what allow the students to truly process the information on a subconscious level. An oneiromancer may take advantage of the easy access to the subconscious of a dreamer to augment the learning process, crafting a dream that serves to teach the dreamer. Jokingly referred to as “montage dreams” by some mages, a single sleep teaching dream acts as a full day of learning on a given topic and a Beat. If the Intensity roll is an exceptional success, the sleep teaching dream actually grants the dreamer an additional Beat that can only be spent to increase the given Skill, Merit or Contract being taught. A dreamer may not gain additional Beats using Sleep Teaching for that Skill or Merit again, until the first experience point has been spent increasing the trait in question.

4. Nightmares:

Though most oneiromancers rarely use dreamscaping to create nightmares, many mages enjoy tormenting their enemies with horrible visions of their inevitable deaths. Dreamscaped nightmares are treated as normal nightmares, in terms of the effects of their Intensity on a dreamer.

Dreamweaving

The last kind of oneiromancy is dreamweaving, the craft of creating dreams outside of a sleeper’s mind and storing them in an appropriate object for later use.

Dreamweaving (Mind ••••)

Practice: Patterning

Primary Factor: Duration

Withstand: Composure

Suggested Rote Skills: Empathy, Medicine, Persuasion

Cost: 1 Mana

The mage may imbue a crafted dream into an object, using the rules outlines below:

Reach +1: Allows the potency of the Dreamweaving spell to be the Intensity of the dream crafted into it automatically.  The dream must still be sculpted per the rules below if they want it to be exactly what they want.

Reach +1: Allows the amount of time between Dreamweaving rolls to be accomplished based on the Gnosis casting interval of the spell.

Reach +2:  Allows the time between Dreamweaving rolls to be accomplished using Instant actions.

An oneiromancer who wishes to use dreamweaving must find an appropriate object to serve as a vessel for the dream. The object’s nature must be appropriate to the kind of dream he desires to create, and will most likely feature in the dream itself somehow. A soft, cuddly teddy bear might be an excellent vessel for a healing sleep dream, while a clown doll with a sinister grin and missing one eye serves perfectly for a nightmare. Oneiromancers often use objects that can be in contact with the sleepers while they are asleep: stuffed toys, blankets, underclothes and jewelry are all popular objects, as are small things that might be tucked up under pillows.

Once the vessel is chosen, it is invested with a point of Mana (from the spell’s cost). Then, within an hour of investing the vessel with the Mana, the oneiromancer must begin creating the dream the vessel holds. This is similar to dreamscaping, except that the oneiromancer is not resisted by an active psyche — the oneiromancer is literally sculpting a dream into an empty void. The process for doing so is far more intense, however, requiring a great deal of time; after all, there is no innate dreamscape to draw upon for the form of the dream in the vessel, so it must be far more carefully created.

This is a process then can take days as long as the Dreamweaving spell’s duration allows for it.

This is an extended Intelligence + Empathy + Gnosis roll to create this dream, with each roll taking one day. The successes on this roll accumulate to form the Intensity of the dream contained in the vessel. In order to unleash the dream, the sleeper need only lie down to sleep with the object in contact with her. This causes the dream to unweave in her psyche naturally, as though the dream were naturally hers. Thus, the dreamer does not fight the onset of the dream. If the dreamer is unaware of the vessel as the source of strange dreams, however, the Intensity of the dream is opposed by a Resolve + Composure roll as the dreamer enters sleep.

One of the true benefits of dreamweaving is that any dreamer may experience the dream — not simply a specific dreamer or the creator of the dream. This allows oneiromancer-craftsmen of tremendous skill to weave dreams into vessels and sell the fruits of their labor. It is also worth noting that an oneiromancer can dreamweave for himself; being outside of his actual dreamscape allows him to create an idealized dream for himself to experience. A vessel may contain any of the kinds of dreams that may be created with dreamscaping.

In addition to the effects of Dreamscaping, the Dreamweaving spell can also be used to create the following:

1. Personalized Dreams:

If the oneiromancer knows a specific dreamer well — having used the “Learn about the Dreamer” dream riding action on multiple occasions, or has known the dreamer for years — the final Intensity of the dream is increased by the oneiromancer’s dots in Empathy. This bonus applies  only to the dreamer it is intended for, however; if the bonus is used on a dreamer other than the one it was intended for, reduce the final Intensity of the dream by a similar amount. Many skilled Oneiromancers may create such “emergency” vessels for those they protect, placing healing or protective effects into them, or providing vessels with soothing dreams.

2. Analyzing Vessels:

With an extended Wits + Composure roll, a mage can ascertain the contents of a dreamwoven vessel. The target number equals the Intensity of the dream within it, and each roll requires 10 minutes of study to get the full knowledge of its structure.

[Mage 2: The Dethroned Queen] Oneiromancy II: Dream Riding

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 II: Dream Riding

 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, 1^st Edition, adapted for use by Mind Mages in Mage: The Awakening 2^nd Edition.

Keep in mind that the following are for dreams only, not the deeper travel into Astral space starting with the Oneiros.

Oneiromancy Series:

Part 1: Magic & Dreams

Part 2: Dream Riding

Part 3: Dreamweaving

Part 4: Dream Combat

Being in a dream means actively participating in the ongoing narrative of the dream but while also meddling with it. Media like Inception and Falling Water are strong inspirations for what this is like — that uncanny valley of sensation and causality, an experience that’s almost but not quite convincing as real life. It is also filled with bouts of extraordinary fantasy that nevertheless have symbolic and stream-of-consciousness connections to the dreamer’s psyche, Alice in Wonderland style. The result is subtle shifts, which work with the dream in progress, and paradigm shifts, which hijack the dream’s narrative at the cost of putting strain on the dreamer’s mind and calling their subconscious attention to an intruder. 


Strong exertions and spellwork can drastically change the dream which constantly responses to stimuli, and not always in ways that make immediate logical sense. Changes can be racked up slowly with teamwork, building upon ideas or suddenly in response to a strong will. 

Dream Intensity

Not all dreams are the same. Some are powerful, intense experiences that snatch up the dreamer and hapless oneiropomps and take them for a ride, forcing them to experience the fullness of the dream’s intended course until it is completed. Other dreams are wisps of imagery and vague symbolism, poorly remembered when away, and often only half-noticed while asleep. Such dreams are easy manipulated by skilled oneiromancers.

The power level of a given dream is referred to as its Intensity. At the onset of dreaming, the Intensity is determined by rolling the dreaming character’s Wits + Resolve.  The number of successes gained in that roll determines the Intensity of the dream.

Dreaming and Characters

Walking into a dream is like walking into a new world, populated by nightmare monsters and everyday people just like any other world. But here, everything has two meanings. The doorman in your apartment building isn’t just a doorman, he’s also your frustration with your humdrum daily routine. He doesn’t know that, but if you press him, he’ll insist you come inside before it gets dark, and if you don’t he might become something else. When these two meanings conflict, one takes a backseat. That’s why, when you speak a dream aloud, its events may not make sense to the waking mind. A sun rises at midnight, or a dog speaks Chinese, or a door leads where it shouldn’t. These are the transitions between symbol and meaning, the translation between the subconscious and something consciousness can clearly remember.

Because dreaming will invariably become relevant in a game a Storyteller should take a few moments to consider the sorts of dreams his Storyteller characters have. Just as a person’s likes, dislikes, ambitions and fears are relevant when creating an interesting character for characters to interact with, a mage can tell a lot about someone by interacting with their dreams. Thus, the Storyteller is advised to jot down a few quick ideas about the nature of a character’s dreams.

Likewise, players should think about the kinds of dreams their characters experience, Cabalmates may become very familiar with the dreams and Oneiroi. The kinds of dreams a character has say something about that character, and the truths held in the dreaming world tend to become known within a Cabal. Fears, hopes and even sexual fantasies could become common knowledge within a Geotic Cabal, though most are careful to keep such information secret.

Types of Dreams

1. Recurring Dreams:  What kind of recurring dreams might a character have? The kinds of recurring dreams that a character has can say something about that character’s personality or psyche. For some reason, some concept — portrayed symbolically in dreams, of course — has its hooks in the sleeping mind, which dwells on that concept. Sometimes, this is simply a reflection of the character’s own interests, neuroses or stressful life situations, but sometimes, there are other factors at work. Though the Intensity of a recurring dream is determined as normal each time it is dreamed, the Wits + Resolve roll to determine that Intensity benefits from the 9 again rule.

2. Memory Dreams: Many people experience a variety of memory dreams, subconscious recollections of things that happened during their waking hours. Which memories the subconscious squirrels away to dredge up during REM sleep can likewise tell something about the dreamer. Often such dreams aren’t faithful recollections, but are colored by the associations the dreamer has with the dream, what emotions they experience in remembering the dream and other similar personality “tints.” Sometimes the dreamer himself isn’t aware of why he continually remembers a certain event from his childhood, or why a specific hallway from his high school years recurs even in dreams that aren’t about old alma mater. Many oneiromancers can discover the reasons behind the recurring dreams through careful exploration of the dream itself. Similar to recurring dreams, the Wits + Resolve roll to determine the Intensity of a memory dream benefits from the 9 again rule. Should the dream be a recurring memory dream, it benefits from the 8 again rule.

3. Wish Fulfillment: The human subconscious is, in many ways, the source of such human experiences as hopes and desires, whether sublimated or open. Therefore, it is no surprise that many dreams feature some kind of wish fulfillment, allowing the dreamer to experience her fondest wishes. Making love with someone she is infatuated with, the opportunity to get back at someone who has hurt her, the chance to reunite with a loved one who died while they were quarreling — most people experience some sort of wish fulfillment dream occasionally. The meanings behind those dreams are often obvious, but sometimes the wish fulfillment is expressed in symbolic terms: dreams of flight may represent freedom from a constricting or binding situation, while dreams of being pregnant may represent a creative urge unfulfilled.

4. Prophetic Dreams: The Supernal touches all things, running through the fabric of dreams from the Astral Plane as surely as it runs through the furthest mad reaches of the Tellurian. In the Supernal Realms, the past and the future merge, and fate looms. Therefore, it is no surprise that dreams sometimes contain glimpses of the future. Some oneiromancers believe that many dreams are prophetic, reflecting the future in the same way that many divination methods do: as something that absolutely will occur if events continue based on the exact moment in time when the divinatory process is used. Of course, free will is the biggest source of those changes in events, and so they are hints at best. Still, prophetic dreams are quite common among the Awakened (especially with the Dream Merit), and many mages experience them.

While in a dream, a changeling who suspects his environs to be prophetic may make a Wits + Occult + Gnosis roll with a bonus equal to the Intensity of the Dream. Success indicates whether or not the dream itself is indeed prophetic, but provides no other information about it. An exceptional success indicates not only whether the dream is prophetic but also gives an indication to the mage of how a prophetic dream might be both avoided and assured to occur. If a changeling makes any changes whatsoever to the dream through the use of oneiromancy, the dream ceases to actually function as a prophetic dream.

Many oneiromancers consider it terribly unlucky to alter genuinely prophetic dreams. A dreamer who experiences a prophetic dream and then later sees that prediction come true may regain a point of Willpower. Such moments infuse the dreamer’s sense of self and assurance in his dream experiences, even as they generally send a shiver down the spines of those who don’t believe in such things.

5. Nightmares: What wish fulfillment dreams are to hopes and desires, nightmares are to insecurities and fears. Most dreamers experience the occasional nightmare — a dream that contains imagery, experiences or memories that provoke a fear response. Such dreams are quite terrifying and, in the case of recurring nightmares, can actually contribute to poor health and psychological stress. Nightmares are intensely personal. What creates great fear in one person may simply be an odd dream for another. Therefore, the kinds of nightmares a character experiences tells much about what he fears, hates or generally has negative associations with. 

Similar to many dreams, however, nightmares can be tremendously symbolic: what appears to be simply a strange dream about clowns and playgrounds may actually be symbolic associations with being abused as a child to the dreamer. When determining the Intensity of a dream, a nightmare of Intensity equal to or greater than the dreamer’s Willpower results in a terrifying ordeal so severe the dreamer likely wakes sobbing or screaming. The dreamer does not regain any Willpower points from slumber after a night of rest that includes such night terrors. 

In addition, the deranged often have more horrific nightmares. Reduce the number of successes required to prevent Willpower recovery by one per derangement or Mental Condition the victim possesses. Thus, a dreamer with two derangements and a Willpower 5 need only experience an Intensity 3 nightmare to prevent the recovery of Willpower. Such dreams will always feature traits associated with the derangement in question, however: a phobic’s nightmares are often haunted by the thing he is afraid of, and the schizophrenic may come face-to-face with the supposed source of his hallucinations quite frequently in his dreams.

New Mental Condition: Nightmares

Some peoples’ psyches are naturally predisposed toward nightmares. For such dreamers, the more intense the dream is, the more likely she is to experience nightmares — the intensity of the dream unnerves the dreamer, and what began as a simple dream of some other kind takes a dramatic shift into the nightmarish. In game terms, any dream with an Intensity higher than the dreamer’s Resolve becomes a nightmare. These nightmares retain the beginning dream’s Intensity, however, meaning that such dreams are quite likely to leave the dreamer ill rested the next morning.

Merit: Dream (• to •••••) 

Prerequisites: Composure •••, Wits •••

Effect: Once per chapter, your character can dig within her dreams for prophetic answers to primordial truths. She may enter her own dreams without a meditation roll when she sleeps, and if she has a basic understanding of something she wishes to divine from her dreams, you may use this Merit. Your character must sleep or meditate for at least four hours. Then, ask the Storyteller a yes or no question about the topic at hand. He must answer accurately, but can use “maybe” if the answer is truly neither yes nor no. Depending on the answer, you may ask additional questions, until you have asked questions equal to your Dream Merit dots.

Oneiromancy

The arts of dream manipulation are practiced by many mages. Though all have the ability to shape dreams, not all bother to hone the skill. True oneiromancers seek to understand the nuances of the human condition, as expressed through dreams. The Skill associated with oneiromancy is Empathy — because mages are people, their manipulation of dreams is, of necessity, half psychology. If they understand what dreams mean and how they work, they can get the same result from a mortal dreamscape.

Eidolons and Props  

An eidolon is a dream actor, a character that is part of a dream and doesn’t exist outside that context. Most eidolons are just set dressing, extras in the play that unfolds as the dream progresses. Some of them are more important, representing thoughts the dreamer wrestles with or specific strong emotions. An eidolon may be a symbol for the sleeper’s fear that her mother will ridicule her in front of her friends at an upcoming party, but not for fear of her mother or of ridicule in general. Changelings can interact with eidolons as though they were ordinary people or creatures, and in fact must do so if they want to change anything inside the dream.

Objects and creatures in dreams are props that have identical traits to real-world versions of themselves. Like eidolons, they can be important or unimportant. The line between eidolons and props can be fuzzy; some prop-like things might be eidolons if they’re more like characters. A talking dog, a nightmare monster on a rampage, and a sapient computer could all be eidolons.  

The importance of an eidolon or prop isn’t based on its role in the current scene, but rather on whether or not it represents something from the dreamer’s mind. A locked door might seem crucial to a changeling trying to break into a house, but unless it represents the dreamer’s inability to let new friends get close to him, it’s an unimportant prop.

Playing a Role  

An oneiropomp must engage directly with the ongoing scene within the dream before she can make changes or glean secrets, and she must take up a role that matches what’s already happening there when she arrives. She needs to influence the situation inside the dream so that it will present her with the symbolic opportunity she needs to accomplish her goals.

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 in Mage: The Awakening 2^nd Edition. Casting the spell on herself induces lucid dreaming if she sleeps during the spell’s Duration, without need for meditation.

+1 Reach: The mage can access the Dream Riding access below:

If a Lucid dreamer or mage is disturbed by a loud noise occurs nearby or something disturbs his body, a reflexive Resolve + Composure roll is required to stay within his dream-state. If the roll fails, he immediately awakens, yanked from this reverie.

Likewise, an oneiromancer can choose to exit a dream at any time with a successful Resolve + Composure roll and an instant action. However, the one whose dreamscape serves as the setting for a dream-visitation is not so fortunate. Nonlucid dreamers have no control over whether or not they can end the dream. A lucid dreamer or oneiromancer can make a Resolve + Composure roll to awaken, as above, but this roll can be reflexively opposed by a present oneiromancer’s Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll; indeed, multiple oneiromancers may reflexively use Teamwork to assist one another in keeping the sleeper asleep until they are finished with their goals there.

Dream Riding

Dream riding is perhaps the simplest and least intensive form of oneiromancy. A dream-riding mage enters the dream of another and makes simple changes to events and the environment around him. He can introduce fairly dramatic changes, altering the appearance of the dream’s setting, how its dream-inhabitants act and all manner of other changes. The integral dream itself remains relatively the same.

Subtle Shifts
Without dreamweaving, the existing narrative of the dream limits the mage’s influence, as above. However, she can exert her will to subtly tweak facts about the dream and nudge events in a direction that better suits her purpose.  


Subtle dreamweaving effects can be as fantastical as the oneiropomp likes, as long as they’re still relatively small changes to the dream. Players should describe their changes in terms of what’s actually happening to the characters and props in the scene — for instance, granting armor might make a bulletproof vest appear on the mage’s person, or it might make a giant hand sprout from the ground to grab the bullet out of the air. Learning information about the dreamer via shifts involves actions that prompt the eidolons or the dream itself to give things away; for example, an oneiropomp may weave the sound of a text message alert into the dream and wait for the dreamer to instinctively enter a password into his smartphone, which the mage can observe.

Working changes to the dream is accomplished through the use of a Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll, with a penalty equal to the Intensity of the dream being altered. The mage views the dream happening around the dreamer from a disembodied vantage just above the dreamer’s head; it is a change to make himself appear within the context of the dream, and another change to make himself appear to be someone or something else within it. 

The oneiropomp must be careful to not use too heavy of a hand, however, lest he disrupt the dream. Should the oneiromancer ever roll a number of successes on a dream riding roll that is greater than the Intensity of the dream, his changes were too much for the dream to remain whole, and it unravels. The oneiromancer may spend a point of Willpower to prevent this happening. The oneiromancer also has the option of voluntarily giving himself penalties to this roll, but once he has determined his dice pool, all the successes from that roll count. It can be something of a delicate juggling act to keep a weak dream intact.

Most of the time, mages simply dream ride in order to observe what is going on, not doing much to change the content of the dreamscape. Naturally occurring dreams have value in and of themselves, and a wise oneiropomp understands this. From within the dream, a mage may use dream riding to perform a number of simple actions:

1. Analyze the Dream:

By making minute, weak changes to see how the dreamscape reacts to them, the oneiromancer can determine if the dream in question is a full nightmare, recurring dream, memory dream or wish fulfillment. This requires an instant Wits + Empathy roll, at a penalty equal to the Intensity of the dream. The oneiromancer makes tiny changes and looks for the signs that indicates the kind of dream — memory dreams immediately reinforce aspects of the dream that are remembered rather than imagined, nightmares slightly twist introduced aspects into darker manifestations, recurring dreams are harder to introduce random events into because their pattern is already set, while wish fulfillment or normal dreams are relatively simple to change.

In addition, with a Wits + Occult + Gnosis roll, with a bonus equal to the Intensity of the dream, the oneiropomp can determine if the dream is prophetic or not. If the oneiromancer performs any changes whatsoever to a prophetic dream, however, even the changes used to determine the type of dream, its prophetic ability is nullified — it ceases to be a true message from the Supernal, and simply becomes another dream once the oneiropomp has tampered with it. Thus, the first thing that wise oneiropomps do is analyze a dream to see if it is prophetic before making any changes to it. Even a change as simple as appearing within the context of the dream can ruin its prescient quality.

2. Convince the Dreamer:

With an Intelligence + Empathy + Gnosis roll that requires a whole night of work, the oneiromancer may alter dreams subtly, injecting subliminal suggestions into the dreamscape for later use. For each success on the dream riding roll, the mage may “store” an extra die in the psyche of the dreamer. When interacting socially with the dreamer at a later date, the mage may tap into these subliminal clues, pitching his voice to a certain tone, using a certain phrase or wearing a certain scent, using as many of these dice as he pleases on any Social Maneuvering rolls in dealing with the dreamer. These clues remain embedded in the dreamer’s psyche for one week, fading at the end of that period. Only a single “batch” of subliminal clues may rest in the psyche of any given dreamer at one time — establishing a new set of suggestions overwrites the previously stored ones.

3. Learn about the Dreamer:

By watching several nights’ worth of dreams, an oneiropomp may learn quite a bit about a dreamer. This requires an extended Wits + Empathy roll, with one roll permitted per night. During these nights, the oneiropomp may not alter the content of the dreamscape whatsoever. Every success on this roll reveals one of the following details about the dreamer: her Virtue, her Vice, one of her Conditions, her Willpower, one of her Merits.  It can also reveal the use of mind- or emotion-altering supernatural powers on the dreamer within the past month, as well.

4. Psychotherapy:

An oneiropomp with the knowledge to do so may actually use the dreams of a subject as a means of treating psychological or mental problems. This is a standard Wits + Empathy roll, with a penalty equal to the Intensity of the dream in which the work is performed. Each night of work by the oneiropomp is the equivalent of a week of normal psychotherapy.  This work can also be done by means of spells at Mind 2 or higher.

5. Scour Dream Intensity:

Though this is rarely used, the oneiromancer may actually scour the Intensity of the dream, reducing the power of its hold over the dreamer’s psyche. Most oneiromancers use this to lessen the power of nightmares, allowing the dreamer to experience the nightmare (and thus perhaps get the kind of catharsis that some people gain from their bad dreams) without finding themselves exhausted the next day. This requires a Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll, at a penalty equal to the Intensity of the dream; each success reduces the Intensity of the dream by 1. If the Intensity of a dream is scoured below 1, the dream ends abruptly, and the dreamer awakens. This may only be performed once per dream.

This can also be used to scour away the Intensity of dream-poison, reducing the hold of entities over mortals they control through contagion-dreams. This is a Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll, at no penalty. This roll is opposed by a roll of the dream-poison’s Intensity. If the oneiromancer wins this contested roll, each of his successes over that of the dream-poison reduces the Intensity of the dream-poison by 1. If the contagion-dream wins, however, the oneiromancer takes one point of lethal damage per net success to their dream form.

6. Search for Dream-Poison:

Searching for the subtle signs of dream-poison is a time-consuming and often difficult task. It is an extended Wits + Empathy + Gnosis roll, at a penalty equal to the Intensity of the dominant dream that evening. Each roll takes a single night of work, and requires a number of total successes equal to the Intensity of the contagion-dream. Most oneiropomps regularly search the dreams of those they watch for the taint out outside influence.

New Mental Merit: Lucid Dreaming (••)

Prerequisites: Non-Mage, Resolve •••

Effect: Your character has the ability to control his own dreams, subtly shaping them according to his wishes. For all intents and purposes, your character is considered to have the ability to dream ride (as above), but only in his own dreams. He is also capable of engaging in oneiromachy, or dream-combat, with oneiropomps who enter his dreams.

Lucid dreamers cannot use any of the special actions associated with dream riding (such as Scour the Integrity, Analyze the Dream and the like); their changes are limited to simple environmental changes. However, the changes a lucid dreamer makes to his dreams have no chance of disrupting the dream, either, granting lucid dreamers unprecedented control over their own dreams even if they can’t perform quite the same feats that true oneiromancers can.