Whether influenced by the blessed touch of the Black Sun, or corrupted by the hands of the old ones, dreams are a powerful force within Dark Dreams. Within a dream the line between reality and fantasy is blurred, and in that blurring amazing things can happen. Inspirations can come to you, prophecies can be gifted to those worthy, but in those same dreams darker things can come to nest. In that blurred, in-between state creatures from beyond the mortal world can speak. And their speech is as dark as their motives and minds. Some call them the primordials, some call them the old ones, most commonly here they are known as the Chained. They are creatures sealed far beyond this world, and creatures forever striving to break those chains and return to claim their domain.

Many people throughout the world can manipulate the power inherent in dreams. The black inquisitors of the empire scour the sleeping minds of their targets to find the truths they seek. Dark shamans on the edges of the world speak to their Chained deities through dreams and visions. Fringe rebels coordinate through daydreams, passing on information vital to their survival. And finally those rare serfs who learn the art of lucid dreaming simply revel in a place they can finally be free.

The Church of the Black Sun, the monolithic religion of the empire, considers dreaming to be a dangerous state. They have several practices to prevent ‘dangerous’ dreams within the empire. The most common of which (at least among the lower and middle classes) is the eating or smoking of the spice Arora’s Root (named after Saint Arora, an ancient monk who discovered the root’s dream prevention abilities). This spice, when ground up and mixed with food or wine, has a slightly bitter and earthy flavor. When ingested the herb prevents all dreaming from occurring for up to three days, though it’s effectiveness varies from person to person. Other effects of the spice are feelings of satisfaction and both mental and physical lethergy. Long term effects of the spice include depression, a lack of purpose, and a sapping of energy. These side effects increase in severity over long periods of time. The spice is mildly addictive, though few serfs ever have the opportunity to break the habit. The nobles fair better in their protection, as members of the church they are gifted a special amulet. A symbol of the faith, it blocks outside interference into the wear’s dreams while also granting the ability to control his dreams (commonly known as lucid dreaming).

Dreams in Gaming: Here are some great ideas on how to integrate dreams into your campaign setting!

1) Instead of having the party run into an the questgiving mage in a bar, how about have the mage speak to one of them in her dreams? A call for help from within a dream is a great (and rather underused in tabletop gaming) way to get your players involved.

2) More commonly a problem in a certain horror movie franchise, how would your players fight an enemy that attacks from within their dreams? Do they seek out an ancient psion to aid them against the enemy, hunt down the creature outside of the dreams, or try to beat it at it’s own game. This unique problem lets the players get creative, and encourage that! There are a lot of different solutions to their problem.

3) How would your campaign’s cultures evolve differently if the power to control dreams was known and common? I try to answer that question in one way with Dark Dreams, but there are thousands of other interpretations. Would duals in dreams become common, a less lethal trial then traditional dueling; or would the establishment police the dreams of it’s denizens (much like the Sunless Empire)? I’d love to hear how you integrated dreams into your campaign, please comment/collaborate with your ideas!