So, after last month's discussion about technology, it's time to go in the opposite direction and speak of something much less tangible: dreams, and their place in the world. Dreams can serve many purposes in a role playing game or in a story. They can set the mood, send a message, and sometimes entire adventures can take place within them. Dreams can be the focus of a game, or just a little extra flavor. I personally have a lot of experience with dreams in a gaming setting, as I've played characters in three different systems who had access to the dream realm in one way or another. Most recently, my Legend of the Five Rings character had a strong connection to Yume-Do, the Rokugani realm of dreams, which added an interesting (if sometimes annoying) dimension to the game. As a GM, it's up to you to decide what, if any, role dreams will have in your world. Some games already had a dream realm mechanism built into them, although using it is invariably optional. And if you're developing your own world, you have even more options to work with. The simplest route to take is to say that dreams mean nothing, they're merely the random products of our subconscious. They never really need to be mentioned or have any impact on the game, and most players won't even notice their absence. The next step up from that is to say that dreams occasionally have meaning. You can use them to remind the players of something they've forgotten (an important clue, for instance), or as a way for gods to impart their wishes on their followers. Alternately, you can use them to set the mood of the game. Especially one of horror, by good use of nightmares. To take it even further, dreams can be an important part of the game. You may have one or more player characters driven onwards by powerful dreams. Or perhaps the group is investigating why an entire town is plagued by the same nightmare every night. Beyond that, you can have a dream realm that some or even all of the game takes place in. I love the idea of dreams having their own geography, as in Lovecraft's The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath. Consider giving your own game a world of fantastic cities and fearsome creatures, and have the players go on the occasional quest therein. You can even make it the main focus of the game, just be certain that the players are aware of it. No one likes the game to end with "and it was all just a dream." If you do use dreams, it's important to make them interesting. Dreams shouldn't be just like real life, except that you're asleep. They should be full of bizarre imagery and powerful emotions. Draw inspiration from your own dreams, from the characters' experiences, and from your imagination. If you want to invest specific meaning into the dreams, you may want to pick up some books on dream interpretation. You can also do research on the internet, but isn't it more fun to buy a book? Just keep the intended tone of the dream in mind. If the idea is for a god to send a message to her chosen cleric, you don't want the message to get lost in imagery (well, maybe you do, if you want to make the player really work for it). If the idea is to scare the character with a nightmare, you don't want to make it so over the top that the player is giggling. Now, for the players. As a player, you may want to have a character who has some special connection to dreams, anything from having nightmares to being a full-fledged dreamwalker. You should always discuss this with your GM first, even if the game has mechanics in place for it already. Some just won't want to deal with it. If the GM does approve your idea, be fair to the other players. Don't expect a full description of your dreams every night, and if you want to go for a solo adventure in the dream realm, you should probably try to take care of it between regular gaming sessions. But feel free to try to find a way to drag the other players into it. That's always fun. Until next month, happy gaming and sweet dreams.

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Copyright © 2008 By AJ Reardon E-mail AJ at: ErtheFae@aol.com Visit AJ at: www.erthefae.com