•• Lucid Dreaming
With this power, an Alucinor learns to apply her will to others’ dreams. The vampire can determine their course or be a primary participant in them. Of course, this is all merely a matter of changing a subject’s imaginary world, but it can still have profound effects, whether by sending messages, creating nightmares or simply disorienting the subject is his waking hours.
Before manifesting in the dreams of another, an Alucinor must first sense the subject through use of Dreams of the Many. After a successful attunement, the Sandman can exert pressure to change those dreams. In almost every case, the vampire herself makes a fleeting appearance in the dreams at the time of the change. This appearance is usually subtle; dreamers may experience oddities in the landscape, the sudden appearance of a strange animal or person, or an unrecognized item — most often, this is something that has significance to the Alucinor in question. Many Sandmen take on certain “signature” themes and use them repeatedly when communicating through or haunting a subject’s visions. The strange dream-appearance of an albino cat or the recurring vision of an ancient ceremonial glaive need not be simple coincidence.
Some old vampires who have suffered the ravages of Torpor whisper that the Alucinor use this power to manipulate the nightmares of slumbering Kindred. By repeating false scenes over and over again, elders claim, bloodline members can cause other vampires to come to unrealistic conclusions about their past, accentuating the effects of torporous hallucinations. If the Alucinor have any motive in doing so, it remains a mystery.
Before manifesting in the dreams of another, an Alucinor must first sense the subject through use of Dreams of the Many. After a successful attunement, the Sandman can exert pressure to change those dreams. In almost every case, the vampire herself makes a fleeting appearance in the dreams at the time of the change. This appearance is usually subtle; dreamers may experience oddities in the landscape, the sudden appearance of a strange animal or person, or an unrecognized item — most often, this is something that has significance to the Alucinor in question. Many Sandmen take on certain “signature” themes and use them repeatedly when communicating through or haunting a subject’s visions. The strange dream-appearance of an albino cat or the recurring vision of an ancient ceremonial glaive need not be simple coincidence.
Some old vampires who have suffered the ravages of Torpor whisper that the Alucinor use this power to manipulate the nightmares of slumbering Kindred. By repeating false scenes over and over again, elders claim, bloodline members can cause other vampires to come to unrealistic conclusions about their past, accentuating the effects of torporous hallucinations. If the Alucinor have any motive in doing so, it remains a mystery.
Effect
Dramatic Failure: All accumulated successes are lost by the Alucinor. Nightmarish images flirt with the vampire’s waking senses and cause distraction, fear and Paranoia. The Alucinor suffers a –1 penalty to rolls involving Resolve or Composure for the remainder of the night. Multiple dramatic failures with this power in the same night cause a cumulative penalty, as your character becomes more and more absorbed in fantasy. A dramatic failure rolled for the subject automatically awards the Alucinor with successful application of the power, regardless of how many successes have been accumulate for him.
Failure: No successes are accumulated at this time. The Alucinor is not yet able to guide the dreams of the subject.
Success: Successes are gathered or the number required to overcome is accumulated. If the subject wins, the power has no effect. If the Alucinor wins, he makes a subtle change to the subject’s dream. The Sandman can pick one element and add or change it in subtle way. For example, the sky might suddenly become overcast or dozens of feline eyes might peer out from the dark corners of the dream. The Alucinor’s control is not great enough to cause radical alterations, such as turning an otherwise normal daytime sky into a green pastiche, or setting the entire dream in a raging bonfire. Alternatively, the Alucinor could intentionally interject herself or some item or creature of significance to her (any item connected to her or to one of her Derangements, Merits or Flaws would be appropriate). The Alucinor can choose to exert a direct message of three words while in the dream, whether by speaking or writing. Symbolic messages, such as appearing as a black cat to suggest bad luck, have no such limit on size, although they’re open to interpretation thereafter. Effects wrought in a dream persist until the dream ends or for a number of turns equal to the vampire’s Insomnium dots, whichever comes first.
Because dreams leave only fleeting memories, a Wits + Investigation roll may be required for the subject to fully remember what happened. The subject certainly remembers the Alucinor’s appearance on an exceptional success (even if the Alucinor did not intend to be recognizable). The Alucinor can also cause a sudden start that immediately awakens the subject (although it cannot awaken a vampire in torpor). Attempts to influence the subject can alter the subject’s mood and cause an uncanny sense of déjà vu that grants a +1 bonus or –1 penalty on the next degeneration roll made for the subject.
Exceptional Success: Major headway is made toward achieving or defying influence. Or, five or more successes are gathered than needed for the power to take effect (or to resist the vampire’s efforts). The Alucinor takes firm control of the dream and can reshape elements of it in prominent ways. This could mean changing the existence of gravity, removing a person from a sequence, or suddenly transposing the dreamer into a new scene. If the Alucinor chooses to insert herself in the dream imagery, she can deliver any message she desires in that time (a paragraph of useful information is possible, but a lengthy dissertation would not be). Whether the subject remembers it all correctly or acts upon it is another matter. By twisting a dream in unpleasant ways, an Alucinor can also temporarily cause the subject great discomfort. She inflicts the Phobia or Paranoia derangement, which persists until the subject sleeps again the next night (or day for another vampire).
An Alucinor who influences the dream of another is still aware of her own surroundings. If she performs an action aside from meddling in a dream, the connection to her subject is broken immediately.
Failure: No successes are accumulated at this time. The Alucinor is not yet able to guide the dreams of the subject.
Success: Successes are gathered or the number required to overcome is accumulated. If the subject wins, the power has no effect. If the Alucinor wins, he makes a subtle change to the subject’s dream. The Sandman can pick one element and add or change it in subtle way. For example, the sky might suddenly become overcast or dozens of feline eyes might peer out from the dark corners of the dream. The Alucinor’s control is not great enough to cause radical alterations, such as turning an otherwise normal daytime sky into a green pastiche, or setting the entire dream in a raging bonfire. Alternatively, the Alucinor could intentionally interject herself or some item or creature of significance to her (any item connected to her or to one of her Derangements, Merits or Flaws would be appropriate). The Alucinor can choose to exert a direct message of three words while in the dream, whether by speaking or writing. Symbolic messages, such as appearing as a black cat to suggest bad luck, have no such limit on size, although they’re open to interpretation thereafter. Effects wrought in a dream persist until the dream ends or for a number of turns equal to the vampire’s Insomnium dots, whichever comes first.
Because dreams leave only fleeting memories, a Wits + Investigation roll may be required for the subject to fully remember what happened. The subject certainly remembers the Alucinor’s appearance on an exceptional success (even if the Alucinor did not intend to be recognizable). The Alucinor can also cause a sudden start that immediately awakens the subject (although it cannot awaken a vampire in torpor). Attempts to influence the subject can alter the subject’s mood and cause an uncanny sense of déjà vu that grants a +1 bonus or –1 penalty on the next degeneration roll made for the subject.
Exceptional Success: Major headway is made toward achieving or defying influence. Or, five or more successes are gathered than needed for the power to take effect (or to resist the vampire’s efforts). The Alucinor takes firm control of the dream and can reshape elements of it in prominent ways. This could mean changing the existence of gravity, removing a person from a sequence, or suddenly transposing the dreamer into a new scene. If the Alucinor chooses to insert herself in the dream imagery, she can deliver any message she desires in that time (a paragraph of useful information is possible, but a lengthy dissertation would not be). Whether the subject remembers it all correctly or acts upon it is another matter. By twisting a dream in unpleasant ways, an Alucinor can also temporarily cause the subject great discomfort. She inflicts the Phobia or Paranoia derangement, which persists until the subject sleeps again the next night (or day for another vampire).
An Alucinor who influences the dream of another is still aware of her own surroundings. If she performs an action aside from meddling in a dream, the connection to her subject is broken immediately.
Material Components
Cost: 1 Vitae
Gestures & Ritual
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Subterfuge + Insomnium versus subject’s Resolve + Blood Potency
Related Discipline
Effect Casting Time
Extended and contested, resistance is reflexive (a number of successes is required for each party equal to the opponent’s Willpower dots; each rolls represents one turn)
Level
2
Applied Restriction
Modifier | Situation
+2 | Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie
+1 | An exceptional success was recently achieved in a previous use of Dreams of the Many
–1 | The Alucinor does not know, has never seen or has never met the subject
–1 | The Alucinor cannot see the subject when the power is used
+2 | Power is turned on a vampire with whom the user has a blood tie
+1 | An exceptional success was recently achieved in a previous use of Dreams of the Many
–1 | The Alucinor does not know, has never seen or has never met the subject
–1 | The Alucinor cannot see the subject when the power is used