Dream Lord (3.5e Prestige Class)

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Author: Franken Kesey (talk) Date Created: 7/23/12 Status: Zechariah Editing: Clarity edits only please

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5 7 Poor Poor Poor Other Class Ability=Spontaneous Spellcasting |Class Ability=Alternate Magic |Class Ability=Other Other

Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral. Lawful Evil, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, Chaotic Evil

A dream sage pulling in its victims.

Dream Sage

“	What you intend to do to that hapless person over there is pure evil! Why don't you help her friends out, and turn on your master? It is the only way towards righteousness. Oh, and philanthropy gives you great respect - why don't you try with your new friends over there.	”
—Iris, Sentient Illusion Dream Sage

The masters of sleep and distillers of fear; dream sages are the Warriors of Morality, supplanting their own ideas on what is right and wrong. While suggestive by nature, most dream sages are in fact advents of good, punishing evildoers through nightmares or other forms of suffering.

Dream Sages are great for when you’re in town, and can usually give you a better relation with people. But they are also very powerful on the field of battle, controlling the body or mind of their enemies. In combat, most sages either force their enemies to sleep – fighting them in a more controlled atmosphere – or give key monsters lessons in Fear.

A sage is generally weaker in the company of another sage (sages have many abilities to negate each other). Yet, on occasion, some sages will form alliances to change morality in larger areas.

Becoming a Dream Sage

Charisma is the major ability of this class – if it is not ridiculous, you may want to rethink your character creation. Intelligence and Wisdom are useful for skills; Constitution enhances one’s concentration skill (a very important skill for this class); Strength and Dexterity are useful for the typical reasons, but neither modifies class abilities.

Bards are perhaps to quickest to think of ranking in this class; yet a Wizard, Sorcerer, or Cleric-based sage is always going to be more powerful. The Witch, Sylvan Occultist, Paladin, High Priest, Blackguard, Bishop, and Assassin are also solid classes to have levels in before taking this prestige class. Some dream sages have been known to advance in Tormentor, Stranger with the Burning Eyes, Soulbinder, Schismsoul, Overmind, Hierophant, Celestial Beacon, or Barrister of the Nine after taking this class.

While any race can become a dream sage, this path is mostly made up of Unbodied, Succedaneum, Sentient Illusions, Mousa, Microforged Conglomerate, Mahaari, Eldritch Horrors, Archon Hounds, and Aasimars.

Entry Requirements

Skills:	10 ranks in concentration, craft (alchemy), and either bluff, diplomacy, handle animal or perform; and 5 ranks in knowledge (Arcana).
Spellcasting:	Must be able to cast one 3rd-level compulsion and one 3rd-level illusion.
Feats:	Iron Will, Skill Focus (in a prerequisite skill).
Special:	A trainee can be immune to sleep-effects, but cannot be sleepless.
Special:	Training from a dream sage of at least 2nd level.

Table: The Dream Sage

Hit Die: d4

Level	BAB	Saving Throws			Special	Spells per Day
		Fort	Ref	Will		2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Craft (Sedative), Sending, Social Will	6	5	3	—	—
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Crystal of Dreams, +1 level of existing spellcasting class	6	6	4	—	—
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+5	Crown of Dreams, Waking Visions	6	6	5	3	—
4th	+2	+1	+1	+6	Throne of Dreams, +1 level of existing spellcasting class	6	6	6	4	—
5th	+2	+1	+1	+8	Augmented Subtype, Blessing of Greater Power, +1 level of existing spellcasting class	6	6	6	5	3
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level). Autohypnosis (Wis), Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Craft (Alchemy) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (History, Local, Nobility and royalty, Religion, The planes) (Int), Perform (Cha), Psicraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Speak Language (None), Spellcraft (Int), Use Magic Device (Cha), Use Psionic Device (Cha).

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Dream sages are proficient with tridents, throwing axes, light hammers, light crossbows, javelins, darts, daggers, and light armor, but not with shields.

Spells: A sage casts arcane spells, which are drawn from the sage spell list. They can cast any spell they know without preparing it ahead of time, the way a wizard or a cleric must (see below).

To learn or cast a spell, a sage must have a Charisma score equal to at least 10 + the spell level. The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a sage’s spell is 10 + the spell level + the sage’s Charisma modifier.

Like other spellcasters, a sage can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell level per day. Their base daily spell allotment is given on Table: The Dream Sage. In addition, a sage receives bonus spells per day if they have a high Charisma score.

A sage’s selection of spells is extremely limited. A sage begins play knowing four 2nd-level spells, three 3rd-level spells, and two 4th-level spells of your choice. At each new sage level, you gains one or more new spells, as indicated on Table: Dream Sage Spells Known. (Unlike spells per day, the number of spells a sage knows is not affected by a high Charisma score; the numbers on Table: Dream Sage Spells Known are fixed.) These new spells can be common spells chosen from the sage spell list, or they can be unusual spells that the sage has gained some understanding of by study. The sage can’t use this method of spell acquisition to learn spells at a faster rate, however.

At 3rd and 5th level, a sage can choose to learn a new spell in place of one they already know. In effect, the sage “loses” the old spell in exchange for the new one. The new spell’s level must be the same as that of the spell being exchanged, and it must be at least two levels lower than the highest-level sage spell the sage can cast. A sage may swap only a single spell at any given level, and must choose whether or not to swap the spell at the same time that they gain new spells known for the level.

Unlike a wizard or a cleric, a sage need not prepare their spells in advance. They can cast any spell they know at any time, assuming they have not yet used up their spells per day for that spell level. They do not have to decide ahead of time which spells to cast.

Dream Sage Spells Known

Level	Spells Known
	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
1st	4	3	2	—	—
2nd	5	4	3	—	—
3rd	6	5	4	2	—
4th	6	6	5	3	—
5th	6	6	6	4	2

Craft (Sedative) (Ex): A sage becomes learned in the many manners to medically induce sleep. The below effects force sleep with greater intensity than most are able to; this allows one to put creatures that are immune to sleep or are sleepless into a deep meditation (which is treated the same as sleep for the purposes of this page). However, creatures that are normally immune have a +5 bonus to their Will saves to resist a sedative. Sedatives require very detailed knowledge to use, thus non-sages are rarely able to use them properly. After failure, the subject(s) do(es) not get to reroll, but an ally can negate with a heal check (DC 10+(class level)x2+Charisma bonus).

Sleep Incense: With 100gp of alchemistical gear and 15 minutes of work, a sage may make a powerful incense. The incense causes 15HD of creatures to fall asleep (opposed Will save negates), in a 15’ radius, on inhalation. The sleep lasts for 5 minutes per class level. A sage is immune to the incense. It takes a move action to light the incense.

Sleep Tranquilizer: At 2nd level, with 200gp of alchemistical gear and 30 minutes of work, a sage may make a tranquilizer. The tranquilizer causes 20HD of creatures to fall asleep (opposed Will save negates), on injury. The sleep lasts for 10 minutes per class level. A sage is immune to the tranquilizer. It takes a move action to add the tranquilizer to a weapon.

Sleep Salve: At 3rd level, with 400gp of alchemistical gear and one hour of work, a sage may make a salve. The salve causes 30HD of creatures to fall asleep (opposed Will save negates), on contact (can fling it, making it a 10’ cone splash attack). The sleep lasts for 15 minutes per class level. A sage is immune to the salve. It takes a move action to apply or fling the salve.

Sleep Smoke: At 4th level, with 800gp of alchemistical gear and two hours of work, a sage may make a powerful smoke. The smoke causes 40HD of creatures to fall asleep (opposed Will save negates), in a 30’ radius, on inhalation. The sleep lasts for 15 minutes per class level. A sage is immune to the smoke. It takes a full-round action to disperse the smoke.

Sleep Pill: At 5th level, with 1600gp of alchemistical gear and four hours of work, a sage may make a pill that gives a permanent narcolepsy-like disorder (opposed Will save negates), on ingestion. This may be done only to one helpless creature. Thereafter, the victim has a 10% chance to forcefully fall asleep every hour (roll at the beginning of an encounter). The victim still treats the other 90% of its life as normal. The victim may be awoken with an aid action (from an ally), or when dealt lethal damage (from an enemy). It takes a move action to inject the pill, and 1d4+1 rounds to take effect.

Sending: A sage’s keystone abilities relate to manipulating dreams. A sage-controlled dream has some marked differences from an ordinary dream. First, physical and magical effects and items do not transfer into the real world; only mental effects and divine interventions can carry over. The dreams induced by this class are lucid, not faltering to memory lapses like an ordinary dream. A subject of a sending must, of course, be sleeping on the same plane as the sage, and the sage must know the dreamer’s full name and exact position (if more than one with the same name is at the same location, it will only affect the one desired). The spell break enchantment can dispel a sending, if the caster beats the sage’s opposed Will save after casting. A sending may be done only once per day.

A sending can affect most who are immune to sleep effects or are sleepless, but only when under the effects of a sedative; however, mindless creatures are still immune to sendings even when sedated.

For details on the logistics of sendings, see into the dream below.

Social Will: A sage is more tempered to using charm over strict cunning, and thus uses Charisma to modify their Will saves (instead of Wisdom).

+1 level of existing spellcasting class: At 2nd, 4th and 5th level, the sage gains new spells per day, spells known, and maximum spell level as if they had also gained a level in a spellcasting class they belonged to before adding this prestige class. Sages do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one spellcasting class before becoming a sage, they must decide to which class to add the new level for purposes of determining spells per day, spells known, and maximum spell level.

Crystal of Dreams (Ex): At 2nd level, a dream sage’s master gives them an unmodified crystal ball, to aid in finding subjects (at no cost). If lost, the dream sage must buy another, at the normal cost. The crystal ball signifies that the sage no longer has a need for a master, and may start to train other sages.

Training: For the purposes of flavor will mention training here. Only sages who have at least two levels in this class can train other sage. To retain a student: a sage must buy a crystal ball (worth 42,000 gold), which is used to teach the student; when the student reaches second level, the sage gives the crystal ball to the student, then the student walks away! (From a player’s standpoint, training other sage is almost worthless: the student leaves at second level, you have to give a substantial amount of gold to an NPC. There is also a concern for sharing the secret, and how troublesome other sage can be. Also, training a 15-level barbarian in dream sage, to gain an expensive cohort, is utter nonsense! And the sage is training their student in sage! Not wizard. Not rogue. They cannot keep their student for next level.)

(To reiterate: training is only mentioned for flavor. I would like to expect that such nonsense would not come up, but to quote Robert A. Heinlein: “never doubt the extent of human stupidity.”)

Crown of Dreams (Ex): After studying and experimenting with their master’s gift, a sage learns how to manufacture a crown of dreams. To make a crown a sage needs 20,000gp of clockwork and rare chemicals, and a day’s worth of work inside a lab or jewelry shop (has lots of tiny parts). Each crown is thoroughly unique and can only be used by the one who makes it. The crown imparts an ability on the wearer that acts like the teleport spell, with the following changes: 1) can only teleport to a sleeping creature that has been found with the Crystal of Dreams in the last year; 2) a sage cannot bring other creatures or more than a medium load; and 3) the sage is instantly transported back two hours later (one can teleport back prematurely).

The crown is rather fragile, with a hardness of 5 and 15 hit points. As noted above, a crown can be a bit pricy to replace. Also, one cannot wear a helmet nor have any other magical head gear while wearing the crown; this decreases the AC bonus of all armor by one (to a minimum of 1).

Waking Visions (Su): At 3rd level, a sage may haunt others with impossible imaginations – they may pull nightmares from the plane of dreams into the waking world! This take tremendous will; a sage must beat a Will DC (scores found on into the dream (see below) multiplied by three) to call creatures or objects. If a sage fails the save by more than 5, they themselves fall into a nightmare, receiving 2d10 points of damage and becoming fatigued; if they fail by more than 10, they also (in addition to fatigue and damage) take 1d4 points of Charisma damage and fall Unconscious for one minute. Some of the energy of real objects is absorbed by the atrocities, making the visions 30% real (much like shadow spells). Objects (or features) have a minimum duration of ten minutes; each minute after, a sage must beat a (DC 10+2/minute after) Concentration check to maintain the vision. Monsters (or creatures) are treated in a similar manner, but the minimum duration is five minutes (with (DC 15+3/minute after) to sustain), and they have a “friendly” disposition to the sage, but are not in fact under the sage’s control.

Throne of Dreams (Ex): After further study, and a few experiments with their crown, a sage learns how to manufacture a throne of dreams. To make a throne a sage needs 80,000gp of clockwork and rare chemicals, and a week’s worth of work inside a machine shop. Each throne is thoroughly unique and can only be used by the one who makes it. The throne has a hardness of 10, 1800 hit points and weighs 15 pounds. The sage chooses its shape at 5th level; this cannot be changed once chosen. The throne only appears when the sage wishes it (making it unnecessary for a barbarian or horse to always carry it around). It takes a full-round action to materialize or dematerialize the throne.

The throne imparts an ability to curse creatures that act against a sage’s morality – also known as the Immoral. A curse may only be place on sleeping creatures on the same plane, which the sage has given a sending to in the last six months. If the Immoral fails the opposed Will save, they become cursed. The curse deals 1d6 temporary ability damage to one of their mental scores (sage’s choice), then 1d2 permanent to any score (Immoral’s choice), then has one of the following features applied:

• Poetic Justice: the Immoral gains a social impediment. This can range from: cannot lie, cannot speak directly (only in metaphor or rhyme), must always speak mind one’s – or for the darker sorts: can only lie (etc., talk to GM about what would be appropriate for your campaign). A social impediment must be something befitting the Immoral’s action; an ironic lesson, if you will.
• Mark of Pain: boring but effective, the sage selects an arm, leg, toe, finger, eye, or ear, and the Immoral loses it. An Immoral can only lose the aforementioned parts (i.e. no tongues) and cannot be without at least one set of the aforementioned. In other words, if the Immoral is already missing an eye, it cannot lose another from this feature; or if missing an arm, can only lose three fingers off it’s other hand (this feature does not remove thumbs).

The third part of a curse can be removed with an opposing dispel (chaos, evil, good, law), but the second round of ability damage is permanent. A sage may only curse one Immoral per day.

The throne can be teleported when using the crown; when doing so, most restrictions of the crown apply, the exceptions being: 1) a sage may remain for up to eight hours; 2) the weight limit changes to a volume limit of: everything within a 5’ hemisphere; and 3) other creatures can be teleported with you, but they also teleport back after eight hours.

Augmented Subtype: At 5th level, sage with 15 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) gain dreamborn as an augmented subtype (only if they have the necessary ranks). A sage is not longer required to make a save against insanity or similar effects when in a dreamland that is not their own. (This is especially useful in the Lovecraft Campaign.)

Blessing of Greater Power (Su): A greater entity that has seen the services rendered by the sage to preserve the entity’s alignment, imparts a drink of inspiration to the sage, which, once drunk, gives a permanent +4 bonus to their Charisma score. The cup dissipates after its contents are drunk. Theoretically, a sharing sage, could drink only three fourths, one half, or one fourth of the cups contents (receiving a proportional bonus), then give the rest to somebody else.

Into the Dream

“	Infect the hearts and minds of others and you will turn your enemies into friends.	”
—Valentine, Eldritch Horror Dream Sage

A dream can be broken down into five parts: 1) creating the dream (this is when you set up the environment, features, and creatures of the dream); 2) Will save against the subject(s); 3) subjects’ tactical stage (a 1-10 minute period where the dreamer(s) act); 4) sage’s tactical stage (a 2-12 minute period where the sage activates the dream); 5) subjects’ tactical response (a 1-2 minute period where the dreamer(s) react).

While most sages use sendings to find allies, stow confusion, or turn enemies, some sages are inclined to cast sendings on their own party members. Should a sage wish to do so, they can never create a dream that only involves other players; they must always engage at least one NPC or plot-related character into the dream (so as to always include the GM)!

Stage 1

The sage first sets up the dream. Features augment the later Will save, but otherwise have no cost (or chance of failure).

Environment: The environment is decided in the first stage, as the first part of the first stage; a sage can only select one.

• No Environments: a sage can place the dream in a blank environment, covered in complete whiteness, for no penalty to Will (making the dream less believable).
• Basic Environments: The desert, forest, hilly plains, and mountain environments temporarily penalize Will saves by 1.
• Advanced Environments: The aquatic, dungeon, marsh, and ruin environments temporarily penalize Will saves by 2.

Features: the features are decided in the first stage, as the second part of the first stage; a sage can select up to four. (A drawn map will help a lot.)

• Least Features: A Campfire, any hand-held or worn equipment (but sage do not receive any benefits from equipment, only visual), skill kits (or at least their appearance, also do not give a mechanical boost), and a Trail temporarily penalize Will saves by ¼ (round down).
• Lesser Features: 2d3 of common Flora, Hut, Rope Bridge, and a Pool temporarily penalize Will saves by ½ (round up).
• Moderate Features: A Cottage, rare Flora, River, Statue, stone Bridge, Tower, Trap, Vehicles, and Wall temporarily penalize Will saves by 1.
• Greater Features: A Lava River, Mansion, Maze, Tower, and the ability to control weather (treat like the spell) temporarily penalize Will saves by 2.

Creatures: the creatures are decided in the first stage, as the final part of the first stage; a sage can select up to 50HD. Creatures temporarily penalize Will saves by ½ per 3HD plus ½ per 4 creatures (round total up). (It is easier to have a few strong creatures than many weak ones.)

For purposes here, mounts are considered creatures, not equipment.

Stage 2

To enter a dream, a sage first takes the penalty to their Will from the first stage (example: a sage who selects a desert, with campfire, pool, tower, and 5 6HD monsters, has a penalty of 10). Then must locate their victim, then beat the opponent’s Will save (with the penalized score). (And, of course, the subject must be sleeping.) When a sage succeeds at the initial Will save, they may decide to add more subjects to the dream. To add subjects, the sage must succeed against the subjects’ Will, with 2 points added to the DC for every subject after the first. When the sage fails (or quits), the sage brings in all previous successes and begins the dream’s third stage.

A sage must beat the Will save of creatures, that are normally immune to sleep effects or are sleepless, by 5 or more to put them into a sending.

Stage 3

The 3rd stage is composed of the subjects’ actions, simply with an alternative GM. The subjects get a pathfinder round to handle the dream as they wish (more likely than not, they will not know that they are dreaming). After the round completes, it transfers to the dream sage’s turn.

Stage 4

In the fourth stage, the sage may act in an avatar form (they could have interacted with the subject(s) via creatures, traps, and features in the previous round). A sage has +5 to disguise and bluff checks, if not taking on their natural form; equipment of any sort (that the sage has seen) can also be added to their person at no cost. The sage has a pathfinder round and an action round that may be used in this period.

Stage 5

The 5th stage is composed of the subjects’ action round, a response to the sage’s rounds. After the completion of stage five, the dreamers awaken to where they were before the dream, with full memory of what occurred therein.

A sage does retain the Will penalty while in the dream, regaining their natural score 1d3 rounds after the sending. The rest also heals the sage of any other temporary Will damage and removes Charisma penalties or 1d4 points of Charisma damage.

A dream should consist of a 4-24 minute period (depending on party) in game time (not real time). A sending should not take up the whole session.

Ex-Dream Sage

There is no such thing as an ex-sage; once one goes down this road, they are forever marked.

Dream Sage Lore

“	I know what you're thinking, I know how to twist you and turn you; but what I do not know is, why you fight back.	”
—Webster, Aasimar Dream Sage

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) can research sages to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Arcana)

DC	Result
8	Dream sages are very charming and diplomatic.
16	Dream sages can enter into others’ dreams.
24	Dream Sages are Moral Warriors, redefining the principles of their enemies.
32	Specific info on a dream sage.

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