A WIP [[Dungeons & Dragons|D&D]] or [[Old School Renaissance|OSR]] adventure similar to *The Stygian Library* loosely based on the [Desert of Dreams](https://geometriclullaby.bandcamp.com/album/desert-sand-feels-warm-at-night) album by desert sand feels warm at night, the Astral Planes of [[Mage the Awakening]], and similar procedural point-crawl adventures such as *The Gardens of Ynn* and *The Stygian Library*. Best played with that album as background music and other dreamy, *deserty* themes. # Settings An endless desert that can only be entered via a dream. The dreamer must be in complete darkness, safe, and healthy. Anything can appear in the desert of dreams, manifest from the grand mirage. The desert is sparsely populated, with pockets of dense habitation. Cities, ruins, oasis, make up just a few of the notable respites from the dunes. endless dunes. The *Ecstatic Winds* blow across the dunes, stripping away residents sense of self. > without adequate protection. Where do you go when you sleep? The mind wanders, freed from corporeal constraints. Sometimes, it finds its way to *the sands.* # Ideas - You can wake up in a different location, but only if no one is around when you do so - A curse, effect, artifact or something that when acquired causes the effected character to dream even when awake, seeing what they want to see or having the Dreamtime blend with their reality such that they are unable to distinguish between the two - ![[Pasted image 20251003132814.png]] - See *AD&D 2e's Book of Artifacts* - All-Knowing Eye of Yasmin Sira for the inspiration - Death in the *desert* results in **WIS** or **INT** damage instead of HP damage in the real world. Some special effects could impact real HP or *sense of self* (see *Gardens of Ynn*). HP in the dreamtime is the same as when entering and can be recovered normally, but has no bearing on the real world's HP. - The *Dreamtime* can be entered from a *Hypnotic* location (see *The Garden of Ynn* p62) and offers a means of escape. - The black pyramid includes pictographs of every dream ever - Sense of self, identity, is expressed as perceived - Physically changes in the *Dreamtime* to reflect this - The environment is impacted by collective interpretation as well - To enter the desert of dreams, you must know of it, intentionally to there, and have at least 5 WIS - Some exits make the dreamed reality true, but not all - Items obtained in the dream can sometimes be carried back to the real world, but you need a special exit to do so - Items obtained in the dream that do not follow into the real world will stay on your person when re-entering the dream - In order to enter *The Desert*, the character **must** know of *The Deserts* existence and intentionally enter it - You cannot accidentally enter the desert, you can, however, be compelled - # Locations - The Black Pyramid - Contains pictographs depicting everything - Thought Oasis - Protected from the Ecstatic Winds - Likely to contain wanderers - Food, water, and shelter are easily available