Dreamscape
Dreamscape: Dur'An'Ki ritual, level 5. Origin: Kateb Zek. Zek, in his guise as an efrit, manipulated/bullied Morgan into accepting this ritual in return for an unspecified boon.
This is one of many rituals the mad sorcerer Kateb Zek uses to master his own dream realm. The sorcerer creates a miniature version of the dream-scape he intends to create, and imbues it with power over dreams. So long as it remains intact and in the physical (waking) world, the caster may access a true “place” within the land of dreams. Within this defined location, he has greater control of the dream, and may use certain powers of the Path of Morpheus more easily.
Casting: The caster must obtain a small wooden landscape, carved from the inner wood of a tree that he has slept near (growing outside his haven is fine) for a complete cycle of the phases of the moon. The "Dreamscape" must be painted to match the desired chimerical location with paint infused with alchemical and herbal substances that represent and promote sleep and dreams, including lunar silver (argent – alchemically purified silver) and Caliph.
Once the carving is complete, the caster must obtain an ecstatic state of heightened awareness. (Zek insists that because of its resonance with dreaming, Caliph is by far the best way to obtain this state for this ritual). The casting can then begin. The caster places the carving in a large bowl containing ten points of blood infused with caliph. He must sing a bizarre chant that extols the superiority of the dreaming world over the static realm, and perform a twisting, whirling dance around the bowl. (Minimum dex of 4, dex+athletics or dex+dance of 6 dice, and stamina of 3 are required to complete this ritual – the caster may spend blood into physical stats if necessary). While dancing, the caster must shed three points of his own blood into the bowl. If the casting is successful, the wood slowly absorbs the mixed blood, until at the end of the six-hour dance, the bowl is dry and the carving has turned a deep reddish brown reminiscent of dried blood. Over the course of the dance, the caster must expend his entire current willpower pool to bend a piece of the chimerical world to his will. (This can be dangerous for those who's nature does not offer the opportunity to benefit from the accomplishment of a difficult task).
System: When complete, the Dreamscape anchors a small piece of the dreaming world, giving it some of the solidity and reality of the physical world. It remains in existence even when the caster is not dreaming, and mortals who sleep in proximity begin to “accidentally” visit it. Items, whether "physical," or "chimerical," left within the dreamscape stay where there are placed, though the ritual grants no ability to move physical objects too and from the dream.
In order to access the power of the figurine, the caster must sleep within sight of the Dreamscape. If he goes for 24 hours without sleeping close to it, he looses access to its benefits until he again rests near it. In order to function, the Dreamscape may not be locked away while he sleeps, hidden in a drawer, or even sealed behind glass.
While in proximity to the Dreamscape, the caster's affinity for it grants several bonuses: While asleep, the caster can unerringly choose to dream or not dream, and when dreaming will by default find himself within the true place that is the dreamscape. While dreaming within the chimerical “place,” the caster may, as an act of will (mental action, but no successes required), decide whether the dream he inhabits is “real” (as with Gift of Morpheus level 5), or “merely” a dream. The dreamscape is tied to the will of the caster, who receives a -2 difficulty bonus to alter aspects of it, though altering the dream realm to become something other than the scene represented by the dreamscape risks tearing the dreamer loose from the realm in which he has power, and casting him adrift in a "normal" dream (Storyteller's discretion as to whether the change to the dream is great enough). As a guide, architectural changes will almost certainly remove the dreamer from the dreamscape, while small objects and chimerical inhabitants will not. He may return to the dreamscape by choosing to alter his dream to match it.
For each success, up to one person per night is is drawn into the dream. They are drawn in randomly – their own dreams must resemble the world created by the Dreamscape. They tend to be those who fall asleep in proximity to the Dreamscape, but will range as widely as necessarily to find someone who is dreaming of a similar scene. These people can provide the dreamer with entertainment, conversation, or even sustenance.
The dreamscape retains its power until it is exposed to sunlight, physically destroyed, or removed from the physical realm. No matter how it is destroyed, the blood it absorbed spouts messily from the carving.
If five successes are achieved when casting the ritual, the Dreamscape's powers are available even if the caster is in torpor.
A companion ritual (which is as yet known only to Kateb Zek), Alter Dreamscape allows the caster to make changes to an existing dreamscape.
