Setting

map

The first thing you need to know about the Dream World is that the landscape and its functions are not conventional in any sense. Laws of nature don't always play fair and it can be noted that some places are more surreal than others. The entire world is one moderately sized valley, surrounded on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by an expansive sea. The curious thing about the valley is, no matter how hard one tries to escape it; they always reappear in another part of the valley - think Pac-Man. There is also a modern, sprawling city in the central area. Large forests flank the eastern and northern sides of the City, and range from new growth trees that border the edges of the metro area to old growth in the deepest parts. The forest is mostly temperate, and it receives plentiful rainfall. The western side is mostly hilly plains of grasses and dotted trees. Snow covers the tallest of the hills and the mountains for most of the year whilst the rest of the valley remains without snow. The southern portions of these plains, which run alongside the coastal area, are fairly hot year-round. Outside the city to the south is a floating island that hangs over the valley. Great waterfalls cascade from its sides. An extensive rainforest stands at its top, complete with a network of stone temples. Passage is available through a spiraling vine that anchors the island to the beach, but your character may be lucky enough to score a trip up into the island on a larger flying creature.

The Dream World's sky would be considered entirely alien to any certified astronomer. Firstly and most noticeably, the sky is purple. Its hue varies from a creamy lilac on sunny days to a deep, rich violet during the nighttime hours. Comets, asteroids and the like are a common occurrence, although they never seem to land anywhere. The stars and constellations are a patchwork of those from a great many worlds, and so they'd look completely foreign to someone newly dreamed in, no matter where they're from. During the daytime, rather than having a visible sun where the light originates from one point, light is dissipated throughout the atmosphere. Lastly, two moons exist, one very large and the other rather small. Their phases might be linked, but seem inconsistent.

01. Death. Your character can die, just like anyplace else. However, it works a little differently in the dreamscape. The default system is that the character will simply respawn as they would in a video game. The process is almost exactly the same as waking up; a random location in the valley will be chosen where your character's body will be copied and respawned. (The original corpse remains where it lays and will not disappear at any point in time.) Furthermore, the character will have lingering unpleasantness from their death. The rule of thumb is that the character's wounds will be repaired enough so that they're not fatal, but will not be removed entirely. If they drowned they may wake up with water still in their lungs, or if they fell and broke a limb the limb may be permanently twisted afterward. Also, respawning does not cure illness. If your character was very sickly when they died, they may have to go through the re-spawning process multiple times. This cycle of dying and awakening is not a fun experience. It takes a heavy toll on the character, both mentally and physically. They will remember their death and everything prior to it in crystal clarity.

02. Time. Time exists and functions normally in relation to the bodily function, such as needing eight hours of sleep, but characters will not physically age. In the dreamscape, however, the day / night cycle is wildly inconsistent. Sometimes the days last for four seconds, while sometimes they last for weeks. It's all very random and disorienting.

03. Other occurrences. Objects have been known to randomly appear in this world, such as sofas in the middle of forests and other random items. Landmarks have also been known to 'shift' location. That is to say, a stream that was in one place may not be there the next day. This constant shuffling makes it very easy to get lost within the dream world.

04. Scaling Powers. If your character had exceedingly potent powers prior to dreaming in, they will be toned down somewhat when he or she wakes up. This is mainly for the purposes of fairness. We can't allow characters to be as powerful as gods because that simply wouldn't be fair to everybody else. So if a character could create scale-9 earthquakes in his or her homeworld, they'll only possess minor earth-based powers upon entering the Dream World.

05. Dreamed in objects. Your character will be dreamed in with the clothing and accessories that they are wearing when they went to sleep. However, think logically. Why would your character be going to bed in a full set of chain-mail with a rapier at their side? Make sure there's reasoning behind what your character wakes up with.

06. Language. How do all of these different creatues even communicate? The God of the Dream World has a solution for that. As long as your character is in the dream world, they will understand whatever language is being spoken to them. HOWEVER, they will not realize that the other characters are speaking a language different to their own, or that this is even a new found ability that they have. Because of this, even if your character is bilingual, no matter what language is being spoken the other characters will be able to understand them. Kukulcan wants his new subjects to communicate and form relationships!