D&D General Using dreams to plant adventure hooks or provide motivation

[Lanefan]

Once in a while (usually due to some in-game wild magic surge or other) I go a step further and have entire adventures be dreams. Probably done about five or six of these now.

I've also used dreams as clue-givers but not often - maybe five times in 35+ years of DMing.

 

[robus]

I like Critical Role but would agree in that I'm generally not a fan of Matt dictating the reactions of the PC's like he does in dreams or visions. I know they all trust him and prefer it that way but it's not my preferred style since it verges into affecting player agency over their characters' reactions without calling for a roll or asking for their direct input.

I also think Matt oversteps with regard to describing reactions to the dreams (and other times). I just think the mechanism for planting a plot hook is cool.

 

[toucanbuzz]

I use them rarely as they tend to be cliché. I don't mind pushing PCs to a quest (simply hanging a sign in the town square does that), but dreams become tricky if the PC dies and so on.

Now if the adventure is directly tied to it (e.g. the Dragonlance adventure where characters are caught in someone's nightmare), or it makes some narrative sense (a fey has heard the PC rescued a dryad but can only communicate to Second World beings through dreams), I'll pull out the ole index, er dream cards.

 

[Eltab]

A Paladin or Cleric could get dreams / visions that foreshadow something that will be important to the upcoming adventure - such as a crystal ball showing a town; they can recognize the town's skyline when they get there, and should show interest in any resident fortune-teller. A Druid might also dream / vision, under more restricted conditions (because the natural world as Gaia does not know the future). A dream that is an analogy rather than a foretelling - as the Spider, above - can serve as confirmation the group is on the right track.

 

[jgsugden]

Usually, when I tell a PC a dream, it is because an NPC is giving it to them. I've had the Gods (or Patrons) speak through dreams. Literally haunted people's dreams with undead spirits. The Dream and Nightmare spells have been used throughout the editions.

However. I do not recall directing a dream when it wasn't a specific force guiding it. I don't have players have a bad dream to give them hints. I don't give them a premonition warning unless some specific force is doing it. Although I can't recall it happening, I would want the players to make up the dreams of their PCs rather than have me direct it.

 

[SirMoogle]

I would give out dreams sparingly, and prophetic ones even less (unless they dabble in the arcane or divine). Even though D&D is supernatural, when most people dream, more often than not it's more their subconsciousness bubbling up to the forefront. In my opinion, dreams shouldn't really make up hooks to guide characters in the main campaign, but possibly for off-the-trail sidequests or character development. Perhaps the adventurer who has left their hometown for a while starts dreaming about their mother's cooking, or the brook where they and their childhood friends used to play in. If they decide to travel back, it could be a peaceful reunion or a horrifying discovery to see their home devastated by some malevolent force.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I follow Critical Role and Matt Mercer uses dreams very effectively to give adventure hooks to his players, or if not that then at least provide motivation to follow up on some part of their PCs backstory. It works very naturally (when he does it) and helps to keep the PCs goals and stories central to the adventure.

I regret that I have never used this trick once for my players (and really if you run published adventures you’d not have much call to). But whenever I kick off another campaign I plan to try and feature it for the same purpose.

How about the rest of you? Do you let dreams influence your players? If you do, how has it worked out for your table?

Dreams are fine. Of course D&D is a very magical universe. There are a LOT of ways to convey plot hooks. Prophecies, omens, and portents (of which dreams may be considered one flavor) are all good. Of course, a plot hook could also simply materialize out of thin air, literally! A god could simply drop it out of the sky, or hand it to a PC, as could any other sort of 'patron' or 'messenger'. This is only scratching the surface. So, my basic response is, "why would I lean heavily on ONE of these methods?" I like variety, give the players a surprise. I voted 'occasionally' on the basis of I am sure I have done it a couple times, but never more than once in the course of any one player's play of the game. I've rarely repeated ANY theme multiple times!

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I would generally only use dreams where they are sent or caused by an outside force or an unusual character development. If someone has just caught lycanthropy or vampirism I'd say some weird dreams are in order as they contend with new alien urges and instincts. Setting aside magical changes, I'd really only do it if there was a player who I felt wanted or needed to perform out some sort of internal conflict in front of the group, but they were playing a character who wouldn't be that transparent. I don't want to dictate to someone what their character is really thinking or what conflicts they have, but sometimes a player needs an alternative stage to act out such things.

But of course being sent dreams by a deity, enemy, ally, or anyone with the Dream spell is a different matter entirely. In fact I highly recommend having a major enemy target one or more of the characters with the Dream spell if you need to make sure they unload a bunch of exposition or otherwise want a way for them to banter in an environment where the player has limited agency to derail the scene.

 

[prabe]

The closest I've come was when the PCs' dreams were overridden by those of a telepath nearby, and the telepath himself was receiving prophetic visions in his dreams. They're still chasing down the repercussions of that.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Curse of Strahd, early in the book in a section on the Marks of Horror, suggests using dreams as a Foreshadowing device:

Whenever characters take a long rest, give one character a prophetic dream in which he or she glimpses something yet to be found or encountered.

Personally, I wouldn’t do it every long rest. But once in a while, if kept quite vague and perhaps a bit creepy, I think it could be a worthwhile method for planting minor hooks and promoting the gothic theme.