Adventuring In A Dead Goddess's Dreams...

Good Evening, All:

As one of my players will not be available for gaming for two weeks, the others have asked that I run an adventure set in Dreamland. In my version of the Madlands Campaign, the goddess of dreams is the one who died in battle, and the party has become involved with her spirit/soul/essence over the course of the last year of gaming. With a player out who is pretty prominent in the main adventure, they sought an adventure idea that would help develop the background of the game a little bit, and then one of them suggested this fantastic idea. I've taken it and started to run with it.

I'm using the Dreamland adventure as a means of demonstrating elements from three of my primary story arcs. In essence, it ties these arcs into one inter-related storyline, but aside from these elements that exist because of a common point in history, the arcs still stand alone. My players seem to really enjoy these opportunities where I can share some of the secrets behind the campaign setting, and I thought that doing so would also be a great way to provide clues on how to move forward toward a resolution of one or more of these major threads.

I'm also looking forward to providing interaction with various monsters that I haven't exposed to the group yet, but will feature in some of the upcoming adventures. Most of these will be "mook level" encounters, but they paint a picture of what lies ahead in pursuit of these storylines. With these experiences under their belt, I hope to give them clues that may make future adventures a little easier. If you know what to expect from these monsters, then you can prepare for them.

Finally, given that this is a Dreamland adventure, I get to provide the characters with a different yet flavorful environment, complete with elements based on their major fears and desires. This will let me explore a little bit of the horror aspects of the setting, as well as tailor an experience directly to the past and future of the characters in a more blatant manner than the usual fantasy fare might.

I'm currently pulling my thoughts together into a set of adventure notes. Tomorrow, I'll stat up the monsters and nail down some of the final encounter elements so that I make sure the rules emphasize the flavor of a dead goddess's dreams. Have you ever wondered what the restless spirit of a dead goddess dreams of? This week and next, my players get the chance to play through one answer to that question. If all goes well, it will be the kind of game people talk about years down the road. If not, at least it will be a fun adventure, right?

With that in mind, what would you suggest? How would you tackle this kind of adventure? I obviously have my thoughts, but they aren't yet set in stone (as it were.) I'm definitely not above borrowing the better ideas and suggestions that come my way, and incorporating them into the adventure I'm crafting for my players. Thanks in advance for any assistance you might be willing to offer.

With Regards,
Flynn