for Use with Dragonbane RPG.

Description

No one ever remembers when they first started dreaming of him. He just appears, a lean crooked figure with too-long limbs and eyes that glow faintly red from within the dark. When the mind drifts into sleep, the Nightmare Whisperer steps through.

He is not alive in the ordinary sense. He is a parasite of consciousness, a shadow that feeds on fear itself. The more terrified his prey becomes, the stronger and sharper he grows. Those who flee from him make him stronger, while those who face him weaken him. He laughs in the silence between heartbeats.

Most people never see him outside their dreams. Those who do find that the waking world offers little safety. A whisper behind a curtain, a claw scrape on the inside of a door, a reflection that grins when it should not. These are the reminders that he is still near.

Encounter Hook

The settlement of Barrowfen has stopped sleeping. For two weeks now, villagers wake screaming in the night, clawing at their faces and insisting that something was inside their dreams. A weary apothecary begs for the heroes’ help, warning that a few of the afflicted have never woken again.

The trail leads to a forgotten shrine deep in the woods. Inside, a husk of flesh and shadow hangs upside down like an insect cocoon. This is the physical shell of the Nightmare Whisperer. Destroying it forces his spirit back into the Dream Realm where he must be fought on his own ground.

GM Notes

The Nightmare Whisperer is a patient hunter. He does not strike openly at first. He watches, stalks, and erodes. Each time a character succumbs to fear or flees, he becomes more powerful. Each time they sleep, he feeds.

Let his presence build slowly. Subtle noises, passing glimpses, a sense that someone is standing behind them when there is no one there. By the time the party realizes they are being hunted, they will already be half mad from Exhaustion.

If he is defeated in the Dream Realm, his physical form collapses into dust. In its place remains a shard of mirrored glass that is blackened and faintly warm to the touch. Anyone who gazes too long into it must roll WIL or see their reflection blink back.

NIGHTMARE WHISPERER

Demon (Dream Parasite)

Resistance: Immune to poison, disease, charm, and sleep effects.
Retains all of the vulnerabilities of a demon in terms of being affected by spells or items that affect demons.

Ferocity: 2   Size: Medium

Movement: 10   Armor: none   HP: 10 base (gains +1 HP (temporary per Shift) for every 1 WP drained while victims sleep. Max 10.)

MONSTER ATTACKS

1: Fear Wave: All creatures within 10 meters must make a Fear Test and lose 1 WP each.

2: Will Parasite: feeding on 1d6 WP and gain Exhausted or another condition if already Exhausted.

3: Horrid Visions: The Nightmare Whisperer conjures false memories or imagined monsters from a target’s mind within 12 meters. Each affected character must roll WIL or attack the illusion. (Illusions disappear when struck successfully.) The Illusion can be any Medium sized character or monster of the player’s choice.

4: Shadow Possession: The Nightmare Whisperer merges with a victim’s shadow a turn. During this time, he can speak through them or cause their body to twitch violently in place of their normal action. Roll WIL (free) to resist.

5: Terror Mirage – A wave of unreal images spreads from the Nightmare Whisperer. Everyone who can see him must roll a Fear Test. Those who fail the WIL roll also lose 1d4 WP in the process.

6: Claw Rake – Melee attack, 1d6 slashing damage. This is his only true physical strike, used only when cornered.

DREAM REALM RULES (SIDEBAR)

In the Dream Realm, Willpower Points replace Hit Points When WP is depleted, HP is used instead. However, the HP loss does not carry over to the waking world. When a character “dies” in the Dream Realm, they are rendered comatose in the waking world until they regain 1 WP (or more) from an undisturbed Shift Rest.

Otherwise, all WP losses carry over to the next Shift and can be recovered normally with an undisturbed Shift Rest. Items that generate or retain WP are unaffected unless the character has to charge the item with their own WP first. Remember, when an Archmage’s WP are exhausted, they can roll against their HP instead, but it’s not recommended in this case.

Characters retain only what they can remember. Game Masters may ask players to cover their character sheets, recording only WP, HP, and casting ability before entering the dream. Weapons, armor, and spells appear as the dreamer imagines them. The more vivid the memory, the stronger the item functions.

Casters expend WP as normal spell costs. The total WP used is subtracted at the end of each round before new initiative is rolled. The GM may wish to record this number for the players.

The Nightmare Whisperer’s lair reflects the victims’ minds. Rooms change shape, familiar voices echo, and landscapes shift into distorted memories.

GM Notes

The Nightmare Whisperer senses sentient Kin within 200 meters and follows them invisibly until they rest. Each night or Shift he drains 1 WP from those he invades, gaining one HP for every WP consumed.

As the fear and exhaustion spread, apply the conditions Exhausted, Disheartened, Angry, and Scared in that order to represent the slow unraveling of the victims’ sanity.

He can be permanently contained only by destroying his physical shell or trapping his dream essence in a blessed mirror or crystal. (Banish or Purge spells work normally as he is a Demon)

When he reaches zero HP in the Dream Realm, his laughter fades abruptly, leaving a silence that feels almost merciful.

GM Note: This encounter could become very grim and dark very quickly. To provide some levity, in rare occasions, the Nightmare Whisperer takes a liking to one of the characters (for whatever bizarre, almost perverse reason,) and spares them his torment. Instead, he provides them with sort of twisted amusement and animated mayhem. The Whisperer projects prat falls, cartoon hammers, bugged out googly eyes, and other mischief that does not drain WP from that particular victim. The character awakens from the Shift Rest alive and fully restored as if nothing bad happened. That character would also be ignored in physical combat later on unless the Whisperer’s bizarre trust is broken.