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Art: Oneiromancy
The return of the Art of dream-weaving has had a mixed response among the fae. While a small network of changelings kept it alive on Earth after the Shattering, those knowledgeable of such things can directly trace its newfound popular resurgence to the return of the Thallain, which causes them no end of worry over what possible connection there might be between the two. And while there are indeed many changelings who use this Art for benign purposes, none dispute its power or its potential to cause serious harm in the wrong hands. Known practitioners are watched closely for signs that they might be abusing their power. Fortunately, this Art is very subtle and requires a great deal of preparation, but clever users can be absolutely devastating when they get their Arts working to full effect.
Art Note: Except where noted, all uses of the Oneiromancy Art require that the caster first have an item of personal significance to the target, although a bit of hair or similar voodoo-type piece of sympathetic material works as well. This item must first be "primed" with a Glamour trait, followed by a number of simple tests equal to the caster's permanent Glamour rating; the number of tests won or tied equals the number of cantrips that can be cast using that item, with a minimum of one use per item. After that many cantrips have been cast through it, the item fades into the Dreaming for good, and another item must be found before Oneiromancy can be used on that target again. In addition, the caster must have observed the target at some point during the preceding day (supernatural scrying counts).
Type of Challenge: Mental
Basic
Oneirodynia: At the most basic level, the caster can send his target dreams; how the target's mind interprets the specifics of the dream is largely uncontrollable, though the caster may dictate the general type of dream, as well as a single "image" that he wishes the target to remember upon waking (a sight, smell, name, melody, etc.). The caster's control over the dream's direction is limited to anything generally definable in two to three words or less - "fear of falling," "sexual fantasy," "naked at school" and so on. These dreams last for one night per Bunk trait the caster earns minus the target's Willpower (minimum of one night). Use the chart for the End of Enchantment to determine how much of the dream the target remembers in addition to the image chosen by the caster. If the target is awake, this Art can be used as a kind of crude one-way telepathy by sending dream images containing the message the caster desires, though they must still be fairly simple concepts, and the caster cannot state their intended message outright, only describe the image sent and hope their target understands its meaning. These waking dreams are not distracting enough to incur a trait penalty to the target, nor can the target answer without appropriate Arts.
Type: Chimerical
Embrace of Morpheus: Those who learn this Art begin to loose the delicate bonds tethering minds to the waking world, placing their target into a deep, dream-filled sleep. This power thus serves a double function for most Oneiromancers: helping to ensure that a particular target has a night of dreams their Art can exploit, as well as providing a means of escape when trouble looms. Would-be assassins and other n'er-do-wells take note, however - the Dreaming takes care of those so forcefully thrust into its arms, and any attempt to directly harm or otherwise abuse those put to sleep by this Art breaks the cantrip immediately and allows the target full reaction time. Even those casters who simply try to transport the sleeper sometimes find that the Dreaming spirits their target away to a safer place, if their reasons for moving the target are less than honorable. This Art costs one Glamour trait to use and lasts for one full sleep cycle against mortals or one hour/scene (whichever is longer) against Kithain or Prodigal targets. Targets may also be awakened by other characters before the cantrip time expires, but it requires a number of turns equal to twice the Bunk traits gained in casting.
This Art does not require a link to the target.
Type: Wyrd
Intermediate
Oneirocritia: Having mastered the Art of "dream reading," the changeling can see the contents of a target's dream as they occur, providing a clever caster with no end to the amount of blackmail material and other juicy information. Cloaked as it is in the bizarre and highly symbolic language of dreams, however, the Storyteller is strongly encouraged to reveal the information in bits and fragments, perhaps even requiring an additional Enigmas or Gremayre test to decipher the secrets being presented. Each Bunk trait gained in casting allows the caster to read the target's dreams for one hour; generally, no more than one interpretation test may be made per hour, and no more than one secret or piece of information may be earned for each test. Of course, the Storyteller is also within her rights to state that a target may only have a certain number of secrets revealed that night, or even none at all. When used against other players, this Art allows the caster to have the Storyteller ask the target one question per successful interpretation test about a topic observed in the target's dream. The target must answer honestly.
Type: Chimerical
Oneirataxia: This terrifying Art allows the changeling to blur the line between dream and waking for the target, causing the target's innermost fantasies and nightmares to intrude on their daily lives. This Art costs two Glamour traits to use and essentially creates self-perpetuating chimera visible only to the target (although anyone who makes a successful Kenning test can catch a glimpse of these phantoms), which then hound the unfortunate soul relentlessly for the duration of the cantrip. Changelings and Kinain suffer the effects for one scene or hour, whichever comes first. Mortals and Prodigals are haunted until the next sunrise, however, though Prodigals can cut this to an hour with the expenditure of a Willpower trait. These chimera are entirely insubstantial, even to changelings, and cannot cause any actual harm, but they are exceedingly distracting, to say the least. Due to the constant irritation and distraction these chimera cause, targets are at a one trait penalty on all actions for the duration of the cantrip and should roleplay the interaction with the phantom chimera as best they can. The exact nature and appearance of these chimera is up to the Storyteller to determine, though players are encouraged to provide suggestions that are appropriate to their character - after all, only they will usually see them anyway.
Type: Chimerical
Advanced
Syncope: At this level, the changeling can enter the dreams of a target and interact with the dreamer, even creating temporary chimera or shaping the appearance of the dream as he desires (though not controlling the dreamer's reaction to it). Benevolent casters use this Art to walk in the dreams of friends and allies, offering advice and strength to those in need; darker legends, however, whisper of succubi, incubi and other night hags who would use this Art to steal the breath of dreaming victims. To begin either use, the caster must spend a Glamour trait and cast the cantrip; success means that the character may enter the target's dreams and converse with that target if he desires. The caster may also spend Mental traits to alter, remove or create different features of the dream (change the setting from the target's house or a local mall, make the target's worst enemy appear, take away the weapon in their hand, etc.); one such change may be made per Mental trait. Sleeping fae may make a Mental test with the Kenning ability to detect an intruding character in their own dreams or those of someone they are observing; if successful, they may then make a Willpower test against the caster, with success ending the cantrip immediately. Only one such detection challenge may be made per use of this cantrip.
The real power of this cantrip, however, is the ability to transfer Glamour or life energy between the caster and the target. By spending an additional Glamour trait, the caster may take a number of Glamour of Physical traits from his target, up to a maximum number equal to the Bunk traits gained in casting; targets cannot provide more traits than they actually have, nor can they be reduced below one Physical trait in this manner, but the caster may be boosted above his regular trait maximums with these stolen energies. Such stolen energies last until spent or until a number of days equal to the original Bunk traits have passed; during this time, the target cannot restore lost Physical traits, even with Willpower, though Glamour can be regained normally. The process for the caster giving energy to the target works exactly the same way in reverse, including all the same restrictions, and lasts for the same duration.
Type: Wyrd
Expiation: This Art is truly the stuff that dreams - and nightmares - are made of. With this demanding power, the caster can actually transform a target into a chimera. In the case of truly powerful castings, this process can even be made permanent, trapping the target in the world of dreams forever. While benevolent changelings use this power to preserve items that might otherwise be destroyed, it is whispered that dark fae use this Art as the ultimate punishment for those who offend them, banishing them into the nightmare lands of the Dreaming. Two Glamour traits and a Mental test are required to begin the process; for this challenge, the caster adds his Bunk traits to his total, while the target adds her Banality to her defense, and changelings are an additional two traits up to defend against this Art. If the cantrip is successful, the duration of the transformation depends on the number of Bunk traits gained in casting: one trait equals one hour, two traits gets one day, three traits is a full week, four traits is a month, fire traits is a year. Six or more traits - possible only by spending a Glamour trait for an additional Bunk during casting - enables the caster to make the cantrip permanent, though against a sentient target this use costs the caster a permanent Glamour trait as well. Chimera created in this fashion do not normally have any special abilities, though any fae or Prodigals transformed by this Art automatically develop powers that mimic their previous supernatural powers.
This Art cannot be reversed to bring a chimera into reality, however.
Type: Wyrd
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