Ideas and inspiration for an adventure in the "Dream World"

Hi Guys,

My next adventure is going to take place inside a person’s mind, in his dreams actually.

In short, they have to release him (a NPC – the leader of a wild elf tribe) from the nightmares he’s been having and which make him unable to wake up.

You guessed right: the BBEG is a Night Hag mounted on a Nightmare and they are inhabiting the elf’s dreams.

The party level is around 18-19, but that is almost irrelevant, since I’m thinking more of role playing/problem solving situations in which their level won’t matter much.

Beside the obligatory confrontation with the BBEG, I was looking for ideas, encounters or ticks to make an interesting adventure in the “dream world”. I want my players to feel like they are in a different reality, a world where the impossible happen and reality is relative, something unique. I don't want it to be like: "Ok, you guys enter his mind, there's a evil creature there, roll for iniciative...".

Have you guys tried something similar before? Do you guys know any place I might look for inspiration on designing the run?

Thanks a lot for all the help!

Guilberwood

Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Definately.

Decide for yourself what you think the sleeping man's favorite fantasies, most beloved imagery would be; then think what his worst fears, most horrible and repulsive dreams could be. Merge the two. Build scenarios where things seem normal and nice and wonderful, but then they go rapidly sour.

For example, describe traveling through a marvelous forest, lush and healthy and full of fruits and nuts and such. Then describe a creeping sense of unease, the smell of rot, and then signs of decay and death among the plants and animals. Finally, describe finding the corpses of people from the man's village, family, etc... and then the mocking laughter of some evil thing.

Have everything dissolve into mist, and then reform into the next dream of perfection... and repeat. The PCs must somehow break this deadlock and force their way into the evil one's presence. How, I'm not sure...