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I had an idea for a base class inspired by Amechra's Resider-in-Dreams. Unfortunately, I'm stuck on what to do to fill the gaps now I've gotten all the abilities I've managed to think of. Help, please? Here's what I've got:
Proficiencies: The Waking Dreamer is proficient in light armor and simple weapons, as well as one martial weapon of his choice.
Oneiric Self (Su):
As soon as you take the 1st level of this class, you are permanently treated as if you are asleep. You dream of the reality you are sleepwalking through in major respects, but details such as what everything looks like are likely to change frequently, and may not have any resemblance to reality. Of course, this is mostly internal; outwardly, you seem as spry as ever, perhaps even more so, as you seem to never need any sleep at all...
Effectively, you have Blindsight to a distance equal to the normal sight range for your species, are blind, and experience vivid visual hallucinations which match up with what your Blindsight tells you about your surroundings – that is, they are accurate in those things which Blindsight can tell you. You can wake up for up to five minutes at a time, up to an hour per day, but are otherwise asleep. Also, you are immune to any effect that would put you to sleep or affect your dreams, though you can lift the latter immunity at will, on a per-effect basis.
(NOTE: This difference should not meaningfully effect the Waking Dreamer's ability to interact with the world around him for anything crucial. It's fluff, and should not become crunch in important ways or at important times, unless of course the player wants it to.)
If you spend at least 8 hours without using any abilities with a per-day limit, you count as having spent that time resting for all purposes beyond those of keeping track of what actually happened – you can refresh per-day abilities and re-prepare spells, for example.
Dream-Spy (Su):
As you are lucid in your own dreams, so can you be in those of another. As a touch attack with a Will (Harmless) save (DC 10 + Class Level + Cha modifier), you can enter another’s dream. If they make the save, their dream seems to ripple for a split second, but this will not be remembered upon waking if the dream itself was not (so basically, it’s a tossup). While you are in another’s dream, you are unconscious in reality. You can make Lucid Dreaming checks in the other person’s dream as you could in your own.
Grant Dream:
The Waking Dreamer can grant others with unusual dreams as a touch attack, which have lasting effects both during and after sleep. This ability can be used three times per day, plus an additional time per day per four levels after 2nd. The Waking Dreamer learns to grant one Dream type at 2nd level, and another one each time the uses-per-day increase. Uses are shared between all dream types. The save against this Dream is a Will save, DC (10+Waking Dreamer level+ Cha modifier). If it is used on a target who is not asleep, it will put them to sleep on a failed save. There is only one saving throw for this ability, whether or not it must put them to sleep before giving them a dream. All uses of Grant Dream are mind-affecting. A sleeping character can only be under the effect of one granted Dream at a time (if one Dream is used on someone already under the effect of another, a class level check takes place between the two Waking Dreamers who granted those Dreams (whichever wins is the dream that the sleeper is under until woken). The Dreamer who granted the first Dream is not automatically aware of this check, but the one granting the 2nd Dream is aware of resistance, and whether they succeeded or failed. If the same Dreamer granted both, he can choose which to leave in place.
Spoiler
Encouraging Dream: To those who take sleep and dreams as they come, encouragement from one's own subconscious can give a tremendous emotional boost. Whoever dreams this Dream receives, on waking, the benefits of a Good Hope spell for one hour per Waking Dreamer level, until they next sleep, or until they next fail at something they would have thought easy, whichever comes first. A Crushing Despair spell or effect also negates this.
Easy Actions: As a baseline, any non-reactive action which, without the benefits of any effect of which the character is not consciously aware (or a few other non-perception-of-difficulty-modifiers, such as drunkenness), would have been successful on a 10 or less is considered easy for the purposes of ending the Encouraging Dream’s effect. Other actions can be defined as easy at DM discretion. Reactive actions also count, but only if the character at some point realizes the difficulty. For example, failing to reactively Spot someone who is hiding would not end the Encouraging Dream’s effect unless the hiding person revealed himself, and was not plainly a master of stealth.[/
Depressing Dream: If your own dreams are telling you that you are worthless, it will stick with you for quite a while. Whoever dreams this Dream receives, on waking, the benefits of a Crushing Despair spell for one hour per Waking Dreamer level, until they next sleep, or until they next succeed at something difficult, whichever comes first. A Good Hope spell or effect also negates this.
Difficult Actions: As a baseline, any non-reactive action which, without the benefits of any effect of which the character is not consciously aware (or other non-perception-of-difficulty-modifiers, such as drunkenness), would have failed on a 10 or less is considered easy for the purposes of ending the Depressing Dream’s effect. Other actions can be defined as easy at DM discretion. Reactive actions also count, but only if the character at some point realizes the difficulty. For example, reactively Spotting someone who is hiding would not end the Depressing Dream’s effect unless the character realized that the person was hiding well (such as if the rest of the party is taken by surprise).
Deep Dream: While a Waking Dreamer cannot give others his ability to act and sleep at the same time, he can still make it so that they need less sleep. Any time sleeping under the effects of this dream counts as 1.5 times as much sleep for the purposes of determining whether the sleeper is rested, gets daily abilities back, etc. However, it also makes them hard to wake - the sleeper receives double the normal penalty for being asleep to Listen checks (-20 instead of -10). This penalty-increase can be modified in either direction, at the Waking Dreamer’s discretion, by two per four Waking Dreamer levels after 2nd level (-18 or -22 at 6th, -16 or -24 at 10th, -14 or -26 at 14th, -12 or -28 at 18th).
Disturbing Dream: What a Waking Dreamer has in abundance, he can also take – namely, restful sleep. Any time sleeping under the effects of this dream counts as three-quarters as much for the purposes of determining whether the sleeper is rested, gets daily abilities back, etc. However, it also makes them easy to wake - the sleeper receives half the normal penalty for being asleep to Listen checks (-5 instead of -10). This penalty-decrease can be modified in either direction, at the Waking Dreamer’s discretion, by one per four Waking Dreamer levels after 2nd level (-4 or -6 at 6th, -3 or -7 at 10th, -2 or -8 at 14th, -1 or -9 at 18th).
I also had the idea of doing an ability similar to the Resider-in-Dreams' "Audience of Grinning Fancies", except that instead of controlling them directly you have to manipulate their dreams (With Lucid Dreaming checks) to get them to do what you want (basically like getting people to do things with a Major Image, but more versatile). Maybe with an ability to get full control at a later level because you've gotten good enough to do it reflexively. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how exactly to make it work or where it would be best to put each version.
Or anything to fill all the empty levels.
Or one additional Dream type.
In short, I had an idea, but I can't seem to flesh it out.
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Waking Dreamer (3.5 Base Class) (PEACH) (WIP)
