When a dreamer enters Dreamland, they do not simply materialize from thin air. Instead, they ‘awaken’ into a body that already exists, in a person who already lives there: their dream self. Even Randolph Carter did not simply appear in Dreamland, but realized that he was already there, and—like many dreamers—allowed his waking personality to supplant his dream one.
Your dream “avatar” is an inhabitant of a fairytale, fantasy society, of Bronze Age or early Iron Age towns and cities scattered in an endless wilderness. Within these isolated communities, your dream self is defined by your Role. In the rigid social structures of Dreamland, the way people relate to you (and you to others) is defined not so much by how you look or how strong you are, but by whether you are a Farmer or a Soldier, a Jeweller or a Thief, a Noble or a Guide.
Some Roles are adventurous and good at fighting, like classes in other fantasy roleplaying games. However, many more are simply artisans who do a specialized task for their community. In Dreamland, negotiation and haggling is often more useful than fighting, and in any case, dreamers have special powers which put them on a level above ordinary Dreamlanders, regardless of whether their Role is baking bread or swinging a sword. Each Role has an affinity to one or more of the Five Pillars of Dreamland, which dreamers can use to perform incredible feats. These may have synchronicity with the dreamers’ Memories as well.
Here’s an example of the skills & powers for one of the many Roles: the Winemaker.
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Winemaker* Drunken Valor: Passion gives you x2 on Fighting and Persuasion.
* 1D6+4 Winemaking & Distilling
* 1D6 Strength
* 1D6 Haggling
* You can spend 1 to create a bottle of wine or liquor. You can spend 4 to create a wagonload of wine or liquor. Wonder Words give you x2 on this.
* Incredible Palate: you can instantly detect poison or magic in anything by sniffing it or drinking a sip of it.
* Dreamers (not you) who drink your wine before a challenge can choose to become Impassioned. Whenever someone does this, you can replace 2 Words in the Word Pool with Passion Words from the Word Deck.
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The game contains over 50 Roles to start with. Each one plays differently. Some of the many Roles include…
* Sailor* Knight
* Chandler
* Jester
* Merchant
* Thief
* Pilgrim
* Beggar
* Hunter
* Maid/Servant
* Snake Charmer
* Painter
* Fisher
* Farmer
* Tailor
* Cobbler
* Rat-Catcher
* Falconer
* Cook
* Swineherd
* Troubadour
* Midwife
…and many more, each with their own unique powers.
Dreamers can also change their Role over the course of a campaign, achieving more potent Roles such as King/Queen, Idol-carver, and many types of Magicians. But such personal transformations are not common, and your choice of Role will affect the story and how you play the game. Who is your dream self, and what—human or inhuman—will they become?