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[IndigoFenix]

Currently, there are very strange glitches that can occur when one travels across the oceans to the edge of the world.  There are places where the sea freezes and unfreezes spontaneously, where great walls of ice form and dissolve, and going to sleep can cause you to wake up as an animal.  While these glitches will likely be patched at some point, why not polish them off and retain them as spirit journeys instead?

An adventurer may be given a quest where they must venture into a dream-like realm (or an actual dream) where things simply don't make sense.  A "spirit world" can be generated spontaneously as the player enters it and does not need to be retained in the game's memory; the very landscape of these realms may be chaotic and malleable, operating according to their own internal logic.  The adventurer may encounter magic that does not normally occur in their world, speak with their dead ancestors or talking animal spirits, and may have to undergo a trial where they are turned into another creature, battle representations of their own inner demons or face off with a copy of themselves.  Death in a spirit world may mean death in the real world, or it may simply cause them to fail the test.

The reward for fulfilling a spirit quest could be a magical artifact, learning a spell, or simply knowledge of where they might find something they seek.

What do you think?  Seems like a dream journey would be the perfect place to experiment with wild area generation without having to worry too much about everything fitting together logically.  What ideas do you have for these kinds of journeys?

[mirrizin]

Currently, there are very strange glitches that can occur when one travels across the oceans to the edge of the world.  There are places where the sea freezes and unfreezes spontaneously, where great walls of ice form and dissolve, and going to sleep can cause you to wake up as an animal.  While these glitches will likely be patched at some point, why not polish them off and retain them as spirit journeys instead?

An adventurer may be given a quest where they must venture into a dream-like realm (or an actual dream) where things simply don't make sense.  A "spirit world" can be generated spontaneously as the player enters it and does not need to be retained in the game's memory; the very landscape of these realms may be chaotic and malleable, operating according to their own internal logic.  The adventurer may encounter magic that does not normally occur in their world, speak with their dead ancestors or talking animal spirits, and may have to undergo a trial where they are turned into another creature, battle representations of their own inner demons or face off with a copy of themselves.  Death in a spirit world may mean death in the real world, or it may simply cause them to fail the test.

The reward for fulfilling a spirit quest could be a magical artifact, learning a spell, or simply knowledge of where they might find something they seek.

What do you think?  Seems like a dream journey would be the perfect place to experiment with wild area generation without having to worry too much about everything fitting together logically.  What ideas do you have for these kinds of journeys?

Procedurally generated dreams. I like that idea.

[aDwarfNamedUrist]

The reward for fulfilling a spirit quest could be a magical artifact, learning a spell, or simply knowledge of where they might find something they seek.

I don't think a physical item should come from the dream world directly, but an enchantment on an existing item would be interesting.

[Detoxicated]

And information about hidden treasures. Also telepathic forbidden beasts that send you dreams of horror. Though I imagine it would be crazy to introduce to fortress...

[Shonai_Dweller]

Also telepathic forbidden beasts that send you dreams of horror. Though I imagine it would be crazy to introduce to fortress...

Oh, nice way to encourage the player to stop turtling, open up the caverns and go sort out the beast if the fortress is slowly going mad from the dreams it's casting upwards. Also more encouragement for Toady to actually get monster hunters working.

[Myth]

A very interesting idea.

This addition would increase the posibilities, especially with the future inclusion of alternate worlds . It is especially noteworthy the possibility of including beasts and monsters of dreams, like bloodborne o a dark fantasy world. In the camp of the horror or dark, this type of events would be greatly appreciated.

It would be great if many of these dreams were influenced by the place where the person sleeps. For example, sleeping in a temple or in a magic site could increase the chances of having them , or get powers or rewards upon awakening.

I do not know if it is possible , but it could be that some of these dreams occur in distorted versions of where the character sleeps . That would be great , like being chased by a monster inside your castle or house .

[pikachu17]

The reward for fulfilling a spirit quest could be a magical artifact, learning a spell, or simply knowledge of where they might find something they seek.

I don't think a physical item should come from the dream world directly, but an enchantment on an existing item would be interesting.

Well, You could find the item mysteriously on the ground next to you.

[Z49000]

So basically you're suggesting something like a trip to something like the Fade from Dragon Age or the Warp from 40K. I like it.

Also the idea of having a creature inflict fortresses with nightmares sounds like an interesting premise for a quest. There could be some sort of demon or monster inflicting nightmares to the local folks, and an adventurer could be sent to kill that creature.

[BorkBorkGoesTheCode]

Have you considered the Dreamlands of H P Lovecraft?

[SixOfSpades]

I don't think a physical item should come from the dream world directly . . .

Well, maybe. If actual magic and/or divine contact is involved in the dream (pretty much a given if we're talking about gaining new powers or spells from the dream), then physical objects gained (or lost) in the dream world aren't any more of a stretch.

There's also the possibility of a Spirit Guide (especially if you're trying to have such a dream by sleeping in a spot known for them): A person (usually a priest) who has had such dreams before and is willing to help you through one, possibly for a price. If they're experienced enough, they might even be able to come on your dream with you, but regardless they can still give advice beforehand, and interpretation afterwards.

[IndigoFenix]

My understanding is that in the next major arc, each world will have procedurally generated planes including things like afterlives and such.  Dream worlds could be related to these and may have different rules in each worldgen.

Another idea: dream demons that can hunt people down and kill them in their sleep.  Like Freddy.

[Kathe]

And information about hidden treasures. Also telepathic forbidden beasts that send you dreams of horror. Though I imagine it would be crazy to introduce to fortress...

This idea is deliciously Lovecraftian...I like it very much So many possibilities...less dangerous entities that make others crave something in particular (maybe adding a thought or preference to anything that sleeps in a given radius) to more dangerous ones that induce insanity or murderous, or cannibalistic behavior.

[§k]

When your adventurer has defeated bandits, killed dragon, became necromancer, talked to daemon, and was accidentally crushed by a falling log of a glumprong, only to find out that he just woke from a really long dream...

[Bumber]

When your adventurer has defeated bandits, killed dragon, became necromancer, talked to daemon, and was accidentally crushed by a falling log of a glumprong, only to find out that he just woke from a really long dream...

Suddenly Urist's constant dreams of being a butterfly made sense.