Dream Creature (CR +1)[3pp]

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Dream creatures are beings that dream in their waking moments and bring sleep to creatures that would otherwise be awake. They have the power to weave dreams into the world about them and to travel out of their bodies when sleeping.

Only a creature in a comatose slumber can become a dream creature. A grave injury, complete loss of reason, or an intellect damaged by a monster or poison might be the cause of the coma, but the comatose creature always moves in its sleep during the transformation to a dream creature. When it awakens, its consciousness lies somewhere between slumberous thought and reality.

Dream creatures often appear distracted, and daydreaming is common. When they use their power to merge the waking and dreaming worlds, however, their minds gain a crystal clarity and focus that is reflected on their countenance. Guided by the strange and mutable thought patterns of dreamers, dream creatures are chaotic by nature, but other than their powers and distracted demeanors, they have little in common with each other.

Creating a Dream Creature

Dream” is an acquired template that can be added to any creature that sleeps and whose Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom scores are each at least 3 (referred to hereafter as the base creature). A dream creature uses all the base creature’s statistics and special abilities except as noted here.

Challenge Rating: Same as base creature +1.

Type: The base creature gains the chaotic subtype.

Alignment: Any chaotic.

Senses: The base creature gains low-light vision.

Defensive Abilities: A dream creature gains DR 5/cold iron and is immune to figment, glamer, and pattern spells.

Weaknesses: A dream creature gains the following weakness:

Sleep Vulnerability (Ex)

A dream creature takes a -2 penalty on saves against sleep effects. Furthermore, it counts as a creature with 2 fewer Hit Dice than it actually possesses for the purpose of determining the number and HD of creatures a sleep spell can affect. If the base creature is immune to sleep effects, it loses that ability.

Special Attacks: The dream creature retains all the base creature’s special attacks and gains those described here.

Dream Spellcasting (Su)

A dream creature’s effective caster level for figment, glamer, and pattern spells increases by +2 over that of the base creature. This ability is cumulative, e. g., a dream creature casting a spell that is both a figment and glamer casts it at a +4 caster level.

Lulling Gaze (Su)

Any creature within 20 feet must succeed on a Will save or take a –5 penalty on Perception checks and a –2 penalty on Will saves against sleep effects for as long as it remains within range. A new save is required each round until the creature either fails or is no longer within range. A dream creature can suppress or resume this ability as a free action. This is a gaze effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

Sleep Song (Su)

As a full-round action, a dream creature can sing a lullaby that puts nearby creatures to sleep. Any creature within 100 feet of the dream creature that can hear its song must succeed on a Will save (DC equals the dream creature’s Perform [sing] check result), or fall asleep as though affected by a sleep spell for a number of rounds equal to the dream creature’s total Hit Dice. A creature that successfully saves cannot be affected by the same dream creature’s sleep song again for 24 hours. Dream creatures are immune to their own and other dream creatures’ sleep songs. Sleep song is a sonic, mind-affecting sleep effect.

Waking Dreams (Su)

At will as a standard action, a dream creature can cause the area within 100 feet of its position to become hazy and dreamlike at will. This effect penetrates solid objects and even crosses the boundary with the Ethereal Plane. Distances and speeds in the affected area become hard to judge. Bright areas seem dark, and dark areas appear to have some hazy illumination. Colors blend into one another in strange and unpredictable ways, and creatures seem to take on the features of objects or other creatures. Every creature in the affected area takes a –4 penalty on all attack rolls, checks, and saves as long as it remains in the area. A creature outside the area taking any action that would affect creatures within or on the other side of the area also takes a –4 penalty on any associated roll or check. Waking dreams is an illusion (figment) effect with no save, but creatures that are immune to illusion effects are immune to this effect. True seeing and similar effects allow a creature to act in the affected area without taking the penalty. Dream creatures are immune to the penalties caused by their own waking dreams and those of other dream creatures.

Abilities: Wis +2, Cha +4.

Skills Perform (sing) is a class skill for a dream creature.

Special Qualities: A dream creature retains all the special abilities of the base creature and gains those described here.

Dream Travel (Su)

Once per day, a dream creature can go to sleep and travel about in the realm of dreams. This ability works like the ethereal jaunt spell, except that the dream creature leaves its material body behind. It can remain in dream form so long as its body sleeps, and the dream creature travels through the realm of dreams instead of the Ethereal Plane.

At any point in time, the dream creature may go to sleep with the intent of traveling in dreams. When it does so, a dream version of it like the ethereal form resulting from an ethereal jaunt spell rises from its sleeping body. This version of the dream creature can then travel about the dream realm, roaming material areas like an ethereal creature, and act as it wills. If its sleeping body takes damage, is subjected to a harmful spell or effect, or is awakened by a loud noise or vigorous motion, the dream form vanishes, and the dream creature awakens with the knowledge of what its dream-self experienced. The same result occurs if the dream form leaves the dream realm (by its own will or by force), or “dies” (either from damage or from some magical effect). Beneficial spell effects cast on the body of the sleeping dream creature benefit its dream form as well, but negative effects that affect the dream form do not affect the sleeping body of the dream creature, nor do they affect the dream creature after it has awakened. If the dream form would become material through some action or effect, it vanishes, and the sleeping dream creature awakens.

Section 15: Copyright Notice

Advanced Bestiary, Copyright 2014, Green Ronin Publishing, LLC; Author Jeff Hersh, Developer Owen K.C. Stephens

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