How do you incorproate dreams?

[EarthsShadow]

I was wondering if any of you out there use dreams in your games and if you do, how do you incorporate them into the game?

this is a question I have been asking myself to add a little extra to the game but I am having Imagination Block and am unable to come up with ideas at the present time.

 

[boxstop7]

I view dreams more as "visions". I also view them as a way men (and women) of the cloth could receive information on whatever holy quest they may be on.

Dreams could mean a wizard is alone on watch one night and goes into an almost hypnotic daze while staring at the fire. He's awakened by the vision of an assailant besieging the party. Just after he snaps awake, he hears a sound coming from just beyond the fire light. What does he do?

Dreams could mean a cleric or paladin settles in for a night's sleep. The night passes more or less uneventfully, but when he/she awakes, she's been made aware of a clue/message/map/etc that must be found in order to complete his/her quest. Needless to say, the vision would also provide some sketchy information on where to find said clue/message/etc. I'm a fan of problem-solving.

That's just my take. I'm sure someone around here will come up with something that'll really blow your mind.

 

[megamania]

I, personally, enjoy dreams and their special meanings. It is natural to use them in games. I have used them to;

1 Show displeasure of a god to it's cleric
2 Show the way or given direction to a cleric by his god
3 Convey future plots involving a powerful psion trying to contact others (PCs somehow intercepted the dream)
4 For a PC of mine, simple role playing as he was a witness to the deaths of millions but somehow survived. He feels very guilty and is searching for the meaning of it.
5 Bad guy psions trying to convince PCs not to continue their current course of action

 

[Gunslinger]

http://www.roleplayingtips.com/current_issue.html

That's the link to the current issue, so it may start taking you to the newest one within a few days(they come out every week on monday) rather than what you want (#154 - 5 Tips on Using Dreams in an adventure).

 

[haiiro]

The few times that I can remember incorporating dreams into my campaigns, I would pick an appropriate time to pull aside the player (either before a session, during a break, etc.) and relate the dream to them one-on-one. My players always seemed to have trouble interpreting them (not unintentional), but gave me positive feedback about the experience.

 

[Torx]

Similar to haiiro's method, I've actually written up dreams for individual players in the past. Writing something fairly obscure and ethereal can give a player some clues and still provide the private atmosphere a dream would profer.

I had a character who would have prophetic dreams in a game I once ran. I'd give his player handouts every session or so that would start with this:

You are not lying down any longer. You are not standing, you are not sitting, you are not flying, you are not flitting. You simply are. Where you are is within an endless gray expanse. Except that it is not gray, it is not anything, as anything would imply something, and here you are in nothing.

Then I would impart whatever information I needed to, psychologically and cryptically ingrained into the events of the remainder of the dream. It worked really well - the player sometimes interpreted the meaning, sometimes not. He always said he really liked the feel and intimacy of the written dream.

 

[demiurge1138]

I've done a few dream sequences in my campaigns, and I have a bit of advice for those contemplating dream sequences: handle them carefully. My dreams are rarely direct visitations, and are always vague enough to confuse the player. Of course, a few cryptic dreams are always good to plant before some horrible catastrophe. And remember, no cryptic yet premonitory dream is complete without a mysterious old sage to interpret (or maybe to cause).
This also just occured to me. A DM could homebrew the speak with dead, augury, divination, contact other plane, etc. spells into dream contact with the designated entity.

Demiurge out.

 

[CCamfield]

For what it's worth, there's a chapter on dream magic and adventuring in dreams in Occult Lore (from Atlas). Haven't used it myself, but it's pretty neat.

 

[Legba]

I was wondering if any of you out there use dreams in your games

No. Freak.

Seriously, though, I used to play some Werewolf: The Chocholate (or whatever it's called) and as anyone who's played that game can tell you, dreams have a good-sized part. So yeah, I've played with dreams. They're good for 'divine messages', for instance, because they're so open to intepretation, and you can always tell the player that no... no gawd was involved, only his own sick, twisted mind. (Kinda like Milla Jovovich in Jean dArc.)

Remember, though, that dreams can be fun, but overusing them isn't.


Emanuel

 

[cptg1481]

Oneiermancy

Occult Lore a Penumbria book has a 30+ page chapter on dreams, dream magic , adventuring in the dream world and even a couple of classes to enhnce the dream sequences in your game.

IMO the book is worth the 30.00 for this sectiuon alone, the rest of the book is good but this part (Oneiermancy) was the most useful to me.