Having your head in the clouds does have it’s advantages…
Attributes: Everyone has a fantasy, something that they fantasize about constantly. For some, it’s sex with an amazingly hot woman, for some, it’s wealth and power, for some, it’s the chance to leave the responsibilities of day-to-day life behind, and for others, it’s the chance to live in their own little fantasy world. But nobody seriously believes that these fantasies can become reality, right?
The Daydreamer does. Avatars of this path hold a fantasy so dear to their hearts, that they believe it is possible to obtain it, no matter how absurd it is. This dream may or may not be attainable, but the desire to obtain it is there, and it is strong. The avatar’s Dream is pretty much always related to their obsession, for obvious reasons. Note that the word “dream” is used instead of “goal”. A goal is too abstract for the Daydreamer, not detailed enough for their fantasies.
Taboo: Losing faith in their Dream. The instant that the avatar doubts the attainability of their Dream, their link to the archetype weakens. Achieving the Dream does not weaken the connection, except if the attainment will weaken the desire to pursue the Dream. As such, a lot of accidental avatars burn out when they reach their goal.
Symbols: The wide range of dreams makes individual symbols hard to determine, as each avatar tends to choose his or her own symbol for their own personal Dream, though if one were forced to come up with a few definite symbols, the Ace of Wands, the City in the Clouds or the City on a Hill come to mind.
Suspected Avatars In History: Almost every fantasy and sci-fi writer has been suspected at one point or another of channeling this archetype, but the detail given of Middle-Earth makes a strong case for J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as almost any writer who develops a true world instead of just a series of interconnected scenes. On a more negative note, many hopelessly insane people could be avatars due to the vivid quality and completeness of their delusions. And while he’s probably not an avatar, Jimmy Buffett has been creating avatars left and right for the longest time.
Channels:
1%-50%: The Daydreamer’s Dream gives them the strength to get through the day and overcome any obstacle in their path. Once a day, plus the multiple of ten on the Avatar skill, the avatar may add or subtract up to 10% on any roll they make, except for Avatar rolls. After all, a dream can’t reinforce itself.
51%-70%: The strength of the Dream lends mental fortitude to the holder, or weakens their grip to reality, depending on which way you look at it. Regardless, at this level, the Daydreamer can roll this skill instead of his Mind stat for madness checks.
71%-90%: At this level, the Dream begins to affect reality slightly. Any skill central to the Dream except for magick and avatar skills can be substituted for the Avatar skill. For example, a fantasy-world Dream would allow the use of Sword-fighting, while a Dream of sex with a famous supermodel would allow the use of Charm or Sexual Potency.
91%+: When a Daydreamer reaches this level, the raw power of the Dream warps reality in strange ways. Once per day, anything is possible that is a part of the Dream, within certain limits.
The Rules:
1. Nothing that directly interferes with the Stratosphere or the Invisible Clergy. It’s just not a very smart thing to do.
2. Nothing that causes the death of someone. Once again, it’s not a very bright idea to go messing around with things that are WAY beyond your control.
3. Nothing that directly interferes with those that are more powerful than you. Who exactly is more powerful than you is up to GM decsion, and they can feel free to contradict themselves if they want.
4. If time travel is involved, the maximum amount allowed in either direction is 5 minutes.
5. Any person who is created lasts for a half-hour.
6. No Major-level anything. The mystic propwash will cause your mind to implode, among other unpleasant things.
7. When in doubt, ask yourself these questions: Am I screwing around with the Clergy, the Cruel Ones, or something of incomprehensible mystic power? Do I really want to find out what happens when someone higher up the mystic food chain finds out about it?
Now, I know the rules for the top level channel sound limiting, but these rules only apply to the specific instances. The letter of the law applies here, not the spirit. If it doesn’t specifically say no, then you can do it.
I’m not A1 convinced by this one.
In particular I dislike the idea that Daydreamers are more likely to rack up hardened notches. Perhaps you could have it work like a reversed paradigm skill. If you pass a Stress Check then you can roll this skill to avoid taking the Hardened notch.
“Any skill related to the dream” seems a bit OTT as well. The Warrior gets a similar skill at this level but only for *one* skill.
What about bringing someone back; say, your dream is to get personal music lessons from Frank Zappa, even though he’s dead.
“What about bringing someone back; say, your dream is to get personal music lessons from Frank Zappa, even though he’s dead.”
That one almost seems obvious from the description above… dunno, but it seems to me that the gream would create Frank Zappa and then the “5. Any person who is created lasts for a half-hour.” rule would apply. You could get a half-hour lesson from Frank Zappa, then *poof* he’s gone