Friday, June 26, 2015

Troubled in Their Dreams Again

When the weather turns foul, the citizens of Whitaker Cove, a quiet fishing village in the Pacific Northwest, suffer. The phenomena is well-documented in various metaphysical and paranormal journals.

     One form of torment that the residents endure are bad dreams that portend their deaths. On more than one occasion, the dreams have come true. Skeptics have dismissed such incidents as coincidence, but the wise know that it's better not to scoff.

     The next time the wind howls and the heavens open up to unleash a torrent of rain, roll appropriate dice to select one of the investigators in the campaign. Next, have that investigator roll 1d6 to determine the kind of prophetic dream he or she experiences. The nightmare depicts the character's demise, so the table below will determine the cause of death. Feel free to elaborate on the dream during play.

Bad Dream
roll 1d6
1. The character drowns in turbulent waters.
2. The poor soul is burned to a crisp in a fire.
3. A terrible car accident claims the investigator's life.
4. The PC dies from a gunshot wound.
5. A ferocious beast tears the character to pieces.
6. The investigator falls from a great height.

     The dream should factor into play at a later date. The next time the character is in a stressful situation where the key element from his or her nightmare is present, that element should be represented by an Aspect. The game master should then tag/compel that Aspect to heighten the drama.

     For example, if the investigator is having a violent encounter on a boat, the game master could add "Watery Grave" to the scene and inform the investigator that he or she is reminded of a bad dream that foretold death by drowning.

Video Notes: I found some cool footage online and recorded a guitar part over it. I think it came out okay. I'm playing a Fender Modern Player Short Scale Telecaster though a Catalinbread Belle Epoch delay pedal into a Vox AC4 tube amp.

11 comments:

  1. Ooooh, that's dark! And welcome back!

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    1. Hi, Chris! I was finally able to make some changes and no longer have to endure two hours a day commuting in LA traffic. I feel like I'm getting my life (and imagination) back. :)

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  2. Glad to see your return, and in full form too! This is nice and atmospheric.

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    1. Thanks, Mr. V! It's nice to be flexing the creative muscles again. :)

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  3. Lovely surprise to see this post pop up on my feed, and a pretty sweet video to boot.

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    1. Hi, David! It's good to be back in the land of the gamers. :)

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  4. The guitar was eerie and nice, although I wish it was longer. Maybe you should start making soundtracks to old silent movies.

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    1. That would be so cool! Christian, are you familiar with Neil Young's soundtrack for Dead Man?

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    2. @Jensan: You are too kind. The guitar has been a good friend while I contend with my departure from surfing. :)
      @David: I will be sure to check it out. :)

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    3. Departure from surfing? What?!?!

      I've cut back my surfing as well, but am running more and still trying to play guitar a bit when I can fit it in. Good to see you back, Christian!

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    4. @Alan It's so lame! Oh well. It's good to be back. I feel like my old self again. :)

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