Species and Races > Nightmares
Nightmares
In worlds walked only in our minds, and witnessed only behind closed eyelids, predators slip into our thoughts, our memories drift into a river of uncertainty that flows through amorphous badlands of possibility. Imagined monsters and half real creations of a sleeping mind roam the wildernesses here, and at the center looms a black Ziggurat surrounded by a marsh of thoughts and whipped by howling psychic winds that wear down the resolve of those within this strange reality. In the Realm of the Unconscious there exists the Nightmare Realm, wherein dwell creatures that hail from and feed on the darkest corners of mortal psyche. These strange aberrations are alien to our reality and exist with a myriad of shapes, of which we will observe but a few.
Apparition
History and General Info
Twisted creatures that are ethereal creatures of fear and shapeless matter, apparitions are wraithlike haunts that are like leeches, following specific beings in the Nightmare Realm and draining their conviction and courage away slowly.
Abilities
Psychic Lamprey- Once it has chosen a target, an apparition will hang within around 30 feet of its prey and begin to move so as to unnerve or frighten them as they go, appearing as monsters in the distance briefly, shapes in mist, or shadows in the corner of your eye.
Incorporeality- A apparition is an insubstantial entity, it can only be harmed by magic, and certain items or actions that hold a significance to it.
Locations and Allegiances
Apparitions are by far the most common beings in the Nightmare Realm, and it is from these that most other nightmare creatures rise. Their future forms depend on how much fear an apparition has consumed and how it caused that fear. They obey only strength, or the magic of the most powerful beings in the Nightmare Realm like Nightmare Shades or Great Nightmares.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Apparitions cannot make contact with any material not made of dream substance.
Apparitions cannot touch dreamers physically.
Apparitions fear bright light, elemental magic, and Nightmare Lanterns vividly, these things either frighten or destroy them when brought into proximity.
The longer a creature dreams, the more apparitions are drawn to them and the harder it becomes to resist them.
Creatures with psionic defenses, magical protection, or mighty will do not attract these entities and apparitions actively ignore them.
Notable Figures
None
Wakeless
History and General Info
To become lost in dreams, or cursed with eternal sleep can be a fate far worse than death, as no restful and hopeful dreams, nor the waking world gives them respite from the sanity and will draining of nightmare entities, leading them to become anguished husks of minds. This is not a fate all who are cast to magical sleep are doomed to, but is not one that they’re all safe from either.
Abilities
Morning Never Comes- A Wakeless’s body cannot be woken due to “death” in the Nightmare Realm, unless phantom powers are used to kill its living form.
Locations and Allegiances
Wakeless for the most part have no hope, and largely don’t hold any allegiance sacred. They are found most commonly in areas far away from those nightmares powerful enough to slay their corporeal forms.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The light of a Nightmare Lantern can wake or help wake a Wakeless soul if it is allowed enough exposure. This act can weaken or extinguish a Nightmare Lantern.
Notable Figures
None
Shades
Minor Nightmare Shades
History and General Info
Flickering shapes of blackness shifting in a corona of dark mists, Minor Shades are the first form of a Nightmare Shade. To become a Shade, an apparition must be able to drain a significant amount of energy from one specific individual to begin its metamorphosis. Shades are one of the hardest forms to take, but can also be the most powerful.
Abilities
Minor Prying- Minor Shades can sense how afraid a creature is at any given point in time.
Manipulate Emotions- A Minor Shade has the power to make certain emotions more pronounced in a creature it is trying to influence.
Draining Touch- The touch of a Minor Shade or its weapon causes their sanity to weaken slightly.
Shrouded- Minor Shades are difficult to see if they move rapidly enough, their aura of mist distorting themselves.
Locations and Allegiances
Minor Nightmare Shades are most commonly found near rivers or other distinct location in the Nightmare Realm so as to be more likely to find a dreamers or wakeless to take advantage of. They are loyal to the stronger Shades, the more powerful, the more loyal the are.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light frightens Minor Shades, and burns their essence.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern rips away the mist of a Minor Shade and leaves it vulnerable.
Minor Shades can manipulate their environment to a limited degree.
A Minor Shade can be summoned and easily bound in the mortal world.
Minor Shades have poor vision and hearing.
Notable Figures
None
Lesser Nightmare Shades
History and General Info
Gaunt figures wrapped in black cloth that floats in the air behind them, no two hooded faces of the Lesser Nightmare Shades are exactly the same, but all cause fear when revealed. By tormenting enough sleepers, a Minor Shade can build up enough nightmare substance to become Lesser Shade.
Abilities
Prying- Lesser Nightmare Shades can sense how afraid a creature is at any given point in time, and can determine what frightened them.
Eldritch Visage- When a Lesser Nightmare Shade reveals its hood, its appearance has the power to slow down the movements of weak willed dreamers as if moving through syrup.
Ghostwalk- Lesser Nightmare Shades stand on the surface of any liquid or solid ground they walk on, they cannot move vertically this way, but they can walk on water.
Restless Confrontation- When an individual is engaged in running from, interacting with, or fighting a Lesser Nightmare Shade, the Shade’s powers can slowly begin to assault their will, weakening their powers in the Nightmare Realm.
Manipulate Emotions- A Lesser Nightmare Shade has the power to make a specific emotion more pronounced in a creature it is attempting to influence.
Locations and Allegiances
Lesser Nightmare Shades lurk throughout the Nightmare Realm, normally sticking close to their more powerful kin, or wandering the outlands. They obey those that are stronger than them and are fanatically devoted to the Circle.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light frightens Lesser Nightmare Shades, and is painful to them.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern negates the effect of a Lesser Shade’s face.
Lesser Nightmare Shades can manipulate their one aspect of their environment at a time, such as one tree, or a certain wall.
A Lesser Nightmare Shade can be summoned and bound in the mortal world though not necessarily easily.
Lesser Nightmare Shades have poor vision.
Lesser Nightmare Shades can reform after defeat as Minor Shades, given time.
Notable Figures
None
Malignant Nightmare Shades
History and General Info
These pale, gaunt figures wear ragged robes, and though they have long pale clawed arms, and feet, they move with unnatural silence, mist rising slowly from their flesh. When a being dies in their sleep, a Lesser Nightmare Shade that consumes that essence can become a Malignant Nightmare Shade. The Shade’s features often reflect an exaggerated, incredibly unsettling version of the creature that died’s face.
Abilities
Improved Prying- Malignant Nightmare Shades can sense how afraid a creature is at any given point in time, and can determine what frightened them. They can also attain knowledge of specific fears a being has by touching them.
Phantom Pains- A Malignant Shade can cause a being harm in the Nightmare Realm, and weak phantasmal pains will haunt them when they awaken as if those injuries had been real. This diminishes the benefits a creature gains through sleeping.
Unseen Movement- If a Malignant Shade breaks line of sight with all dreamers for seven seconds, they can move to another location that the creature can’t see that isn’t being observed by another dreamer or a wakeless.
Aura of Anxiety- A Malignant Shade has the power to amplify negative emotions that occur in their presence.
Unnatural Reach- The arms of a Malignant Shade do not fully abide by the rules or logic of the waking world, and can stretch and contort in strange and potentially dangerous ways.
Phantasmal Flight- A Malignant Shade can briefly move as a whirling shadow, flying through the air as an indistinct silhouette. They cannot interact with others while in this form, and unlike Lesser Nightmare Shades, they can move vertically like this.
Locations and Allegiances
Malignant Nightmare Shades make their lairs in the marshes near the Ziggurat, as they find the darkness rolling off of it very appealing. They also wander within the defined area of the Nightmare Realm, usually preferring to be solitary or accompanied by a few weaker beings than to consort directly with other Malignant Shades.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light frightens Malignant Nightmare Shades, and causes damage dealt to them to be more severe while in that light.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern prevents a Malignant Shade from taking flight.
Malignant Shades can manipulate multiple aspects of their environment at a time within around twenty or thirty feet of themselves, although they cannot change the overall appearance that things take, only move those things.
A Malignant Nightmare Shade can be summoned and bound in the mortal world with precautions and a sufficient amount of skill.
Malignant Shades have poor vision, but abnormally good hearing.
Malignant Shades can reform after defeat as Lesser Nightmare Shades, given time.
Notable Figures
The Emissary is a Malignant Shade bearing distinctive garb, including fine jewelry twisted by the Realm. She serves as a messenger and an informant for the Circle, a group made up of the seven most powerful Shades.
Sentinels are Malignant Shades with a more human appearance robed in black with grayish armor that guard the Ziggurat, though why they do this isn’t well understood, even by the sentinels themselves.
Virulent Nightmare Shades
History and General Info
Ancient Nightmare Shades chosen by the Circle or by the Great Nightmares, Virulent Shades are unique and powerful forces within the Nightmare Realm. Although each is unique, they have a few traits in common. When these creatures kill a dreamer, they can choose to manifest something from that dreamer’s memories such as an item of clothing or a bodypart for themselves.
Abilities
Ascendant Prying- Virulent Nightmare Shades can sense how afraid a creature is at any given point in time, and can determine what frightened them. They can also attain knowledge of specific fears a being has by observing them, as well as sense their surface thoughts.
Phantom Agony- When a Virulent Shade causes a being harm in the Nightmare Realm, injuries about half as severe as what they suffered there will appear on their person them when they awaken. This greatly diminishes the benefits a creature gains through sleeping as well as physically harming them. Beings killed in the Nightmare Realm by a Virulent Shade has the potential to cause a heart attack in the real world.
Aura of Dread- A Virulent Shade’s presence draws forth negative emotions and leaves beings within susceptible to manipulation of their emotions. The Virulent Shade itself can focus the aura down onto one creature can cause a specific emotion to attack their mental defenses.
Beacon of Doom- Other creatures of the Nightmare Realm are drawn towards a Virulent Shade’s presence.
Twisting Movement- The Virulent Shade’s body can contort in non-euclidean ways when it dashes, allowing it to move in strange directions, with unnatural speed, or out of the reach of hostile creatures.
Waking Nightmare- A Virulent Nightmare Shade can warp itself into the waking world at Night with a significant amount of effort.
Locations and Allegiances
A Virulent Nightmare Shade typically claims either a specific are as its hunting ground, essentially creating a bond with that area. Virulent Shades command their lessers, and answer to either the Great Nightmares, or to the Circle, which several Virulent Shades are a part of.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light upsets Virulent Nightmare Shades, and causes damage dealt to them to be a bit more severe while in that light.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern weakens the Aura of Dread a Virulent Shade projects.
Virulent Shades can manipulate numerous aspects of their environment at a time within around fifty or sixty feet of themselves.
A Virulent Nightmare Shade can be summoned to the mortal world by powerful mortals with precautions and a sufficient amount of skill.
Virulent Shades have abnormally good hearing.
Virulent Shades can reform after defeat in a weakened state if they aren’t completely destroyed.
Virulent Shades are noticeably stronger and faster than humans.
Notable Figures
Ceros, the First Nightstalker, is a highly intelligent Nightmare Shade that taught Apparitions a new way to transform themselves, effectively creating Nightstalkers. As such his worn robes with golden symbols on them from some long forgotten kingdom hide a twisted decayed being with a face of oozing tendrils and writing worms. He ferries dreamers through the rivers, his presence calling other monsters to them, while he feeds off a good deal of the terror created along the journey like an opportunistic scavanger.
Lathar, the Cackling is a twisted and cruel Virulent Shade who shifts between bestial forms and is highly aggressive, chasing his targets through ruins and the Outlands, pushing them to their mental limits for his chase. He enjoys taking on skeletal or burnt features, as well as growing spines. His favorite form is that of a part beast, part humanoid robed in a tattered black jacket.
Aleria, the Warden is a woman dressed in a simple black dress with hair that seems to flow back into every shadow like a spider’s web, and no other facial features besides a pair of horns in her forehead. She is the chief protector of the Ziggurat’s inner sanctums, and controls shadowy chains that keep beings from waking up so long as they’re attached to them. These chains can only be broken by mythral tools, another Shade of similar power, potent spellcraft, or the light of a Nightmare Lantern. She is silent and dutiful, yet seems to have a sisterly affection towards Lathar. Aleria’s face can open into a maw of teeth and darkness that seems to eat away all hope.
Night-terror is the chief lackey of Lord Menace, and dwells in the Warped Wood, and along the edge of the Realm to prevent specific mortals from leaving, or the Realm being broken into via portal. Night-terror takes the shape of a partially mummified figure with a long vest and demonic arms with its face akin to an almost skeletal spider’s made from pure darkness.
Nightmare Shade Monarch
History and General Info
The three most powerful Nightmare Shades, also referred to as Nightmare Monarchs, these demigods of fear and sorrow command great power and brutal abilities, each with unique abilities, appearances, personalities, and purposes. They lead the Circle along with the four most notable Virulent Shades, and are the highest power short of a Great Nightmare in the Nightmare Realm.
Abilities
Incomparable Prying- A Nightmare Shade Monarch can sense how afraid a creature is at any given point in time, and can determine what frightened them. They can also attain knowledge of specific fears a being has by observing them, as well as sense their surface thoughts. If a Nightmare Monarch makes contact with a creature that lacks sufficient mental defenses they can read their minds and sift through memories.
Phantom Maim- When a Nightmare Monarch causes a being harm in the Nightmare Realm, those injuries appear on their sleeping body, and an injury itself will not cause a creature to wake for whatever reason. This negates the benefits a creature gains through sleeping as well as physically harming them. Beings killed in the Nightmare Realm by a Nightmare Monarch die in the real world as well.
Halo of Madness- The presence of a Nightmare Monarch assaults and drains sanity from those around it, eating away at mental barriers digging up past traumas and causing irrational negative emotions to surface.
Beacon of Doom- Other creatures of the Nightmare Realm are drawn towards a Nightmare Monarch’s presence, and can sense its exact location within a certain radius.
Waker of Nightmares- A Nightmare Monarch can tear a portal into the waking world with a significant amount of effort, allowing itself and other nightmare monsters to come through. This power also changes the apparent time of day in the immediate area to dusk.
Psionic Adept- Nightmare Monarchs can cast powerful dream magic and cause very potent psionic effects.
Possession- Nightmare Monarchs can possess the body of a creature they killed in the Nightmare Realm.
Eldritch Step- When a Nightmare Shade Monarch moves it can hover, phase, or even teleport due to their great power.
Locations and Allegiances
A Nightmare Monarch is loyal to one of the Great Nightmares with the notable exception of Horror. They dwell in specific regions in order to extend their control over it and all the lesser nightmare beings within them.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light startles Nightmare Shade Monarchs, and causes their form to be briefly unstable, making it slightly easier to hurt them.
Nightmare Monarchs are resilient to specific forms of harm, making them very difficult to defeat.
While the light from a Nightmare Lantern will fight off certain symptoms of a Monarch’s presence, a Nightmare Lantern cannot protect you from their direct ire.
Nightmare Shade Monarchs can fully control a large portion of the Nightmare Realm around themselves if they concentrate uninterrupted.
Nightmare Shade Monarchs cannot be forcefully summoned to the mortal world.
Nightmare Monarchs have abnormally good eyesight and hearing.
Nightmare Monarchs reform after defeat in a weakened state.
Nightmare Monarchs are much stronger and faster than humans, elves, or even most Fae.
Nightmare Monarchs are highly telepathic.
Notable Figures
Lord Misery is a hulking black, oozing horror of shadow and corrupted muscle that rules the catacombs and tunnels beneath the main Nightmare Realm’s surface. This Nightmare Monarch is immensely physically powerful, and cannot be harmed by most physical attacks. Misery is instinctual and serves Great Nightmare; Hatred.
Lady Torment is a twisted demonic woman with long needle-like claws. She rules the Outlands of the Nightmare Realm, where most sleepers end up, the strange amorphous space of mist that is shaped by the dreamer’s fears. She cannot plausibly control all of this territory, even with Lathar’s assistance, so she merely ensures it isn’t tampered with. Lady Torment is the best spellcaster among the Nightmare Monarchs, and is highly resistant to magical attack. She is clever and calculating and serves Great Nightmare; Null.
Lord Menace is the guardian of the Nightmare Realm, appearing as a well dressed noble in grey and black with a cracked corrupted face, monstrous hands that look like leather gloves, empty black eyes, horrific teeth, and other unnerving features. He is adept at causing terror and despair in his victims, and while he dwells in the Warped Wood, he is also responsible for dealing with trespassers who uses alternative means to reach the Nightmare Realm. The guardian that he is, he excels in neither physical or magical combat, instead balancing his skills in both. He is sadistic, cruel, and though he maintains a noble appearance, has the temper of a demon, serving under Great Nightmare; Dread.
Monsters
Nightmare Demons
History and General Info
Another form taken by Apparitions, Nightmare Demons are a weaker form of Nightmare Monsters. These are the most physical of the creatures in the Nightmare Realm. Brutal predators of dreams, they are the once that hunt for lost minds in this expanse, and are the most common form for an Apparition to take. For one to become a Nightmare Demon, they must relentlessly chase their prey and extract as much terror and fear as they can in order to gain enough nightmare substance to become nearly physical.
Abilities
Scent of Terror- A Nightmare Demon’s senses rely heavily on its prey being afraid of it, and thus, many such “demons” take forms with no eyes.
Wail of Memory- A Nightmare Demon’s howl can stir up horrible memories, slowing or disorienting their targets to allow them to catch up.
Latch On- The jaws of a Nightmare Demon bind to the consciousness of a weak or broken willed victim they bite, and they can haunt and plague their victim’s mind for hours, even after they awaken in the form of anxiety or panic in order to extract more fear from them.
Eminent Ambushers- A Nightmare Demon can choose a location to manifest directly in front of a creature at a point in can see, in order to make its ambush more shocking.
Locations and Allegiances
Nightmare Demons are solely focused on feeding their insatiable appetites, so they can be manipulated by any Nightmare that can supply a consistent supply of victims. As such, powerful Nightmare Shades or Bleak Dreamers can attract a following. In particular, Ceros’s boat attracts a great number because it frequently carries dreamers.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Nightmare Demons are largely inept at exploiting psychological fear or traumas, due to their more brute force methods.
Bright light terrifies Nightmare Demons, and burns their essence.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern weakens a Nightmare Demon’s bite, and drains their energy, eventually exhausting them.
Nightmare Demons can only smell emotion, not actual odors.
Biting psionically defended creatures can break the jaw of a Nightmare Demon but also may weaken said defenses.
Nightmare Demons aren’t particularly intelligent.
The howl of a Nightmare Demon can actually affect any creature with past trauma regardless of psychic defenses, making them useful tools for more powerful entities.
Notable Figures
None
Nightmare Beasts
History and General Info
A wide range of entities that are created when Nightmare Demons gather enough substance to evolve into more powerful monsters. These creatures possess warped and horrible shapes that make them menaces in the Nightmare Realm. Nightmare Beasts also have the power to continually grow in size and strength as they continue to consume fear and nightmare substance. These mutations make the oldest among them the most dangerous.
Abilities
Dream-needle Spines- Spines along the back and tail of many Nightmare Beasts act as powerful stingers that cause vivid illusions and terror if they stab into the victim.
Dreadful Gaze- Meeting the eyes of a Nightmare Beast can cause paralyzing fear.
Ominous Roar- Whatever cry that a Nightmare Beast releases, whether an ear piercing shriek, or a thunderous roar causes the bodies of targets to act on instincts to a degree corresponding with their power.
All-Consuming Terror- The Nightmare Beast can swallow its prey whole, plunging it into an endless shifting maze of horrific images and twisted memories of past traumas until they awaken.
Variable Shape- Nightmare Beasts can squeeze through openings that seem to be a bit too small for them, or fill openings that seem to large for them to do that, but they select a physical form that they prefer in order to evolve and improve that specific shape, often based off of a particular legendary beast or some conglomeration of various imagined ones.
Sense of Fear - A Nightmare Beast’s senses rely heavily on creatures being afraid, their eyes, sense of smell, and hearing often center around detecting these frightened victims.
Locations and Allegiances
Nightmare Beasts take up residence in areas of travel, either in packs or as a solitary entity in order to claim territory and hunt dreamers. They are most common in the central region of the Nightmare Realm, so their domain is consistent and easier to defend.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Nightmare Beasts are adept at causing terror despite their simple methods, they are evolved to be near perfect fear predators.
Bright light unnerves Nightmare Beasts, and singes their essence.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern nauseates, agitates, and weakens the gaze of a Nightmare Beast.
Nightmare Beast can only see, hear, and smell emotion or nightmare substances, not actual stimuli.
Swallowing psionically defended creatures can prove difficult for even powerful Nightmare Beasts but also can rapidly weaken said defenses while causing the beasts possibly significant discomfort.
Nightmare Beast’s are largely instinctual, but possess variable levels of cunning based around their overall power and age.
The roar of a Nightmare Beasts affect any creature with past trauma regardless of psychic defenses, making them very dangerous.
The malleability of a Nightmare Beast’s shape varies based on how big it chooses and is able to present itself as.
Notable Figures
None
Nightstalkers
History and General Info
The first variety of nightmare weavers, Nightstalkers are the result of Apparitions taught by Ceros, one of the Virulent Shades, to act as manipulators and opportunists of the Nightmare Realm, much as the aloof and enigmatic Great Nightmares did, though to a far lesser degree. These deceitful creatures took on new forms in order to scavenge, collect, mislead, and take advantage of dreamers in order to siphon off fear that they leave behind along the journey. They take a form similar to the cloaked and worm-faced Ceros to thank him for his insightfulness.
Abilities
Insightful Judgements- A Nightstalker is always good at reading its audience or victim, trying to say whatever it must to make them nervous, while keeping itself from coming under fire.
Mind-rot- Nightstalkers’s attacks cause a weakening of mental acuity, which erodes a creature’s ability to resist the feedings of it and other nightmares.
Masquerade of Innocence- Nightstalkers use their enigmatic nature to cause a slight confusion around their intensions, leading many to think that they’re actually benevolent.
Locations and Allegiances
Nightstalkers use their powers to lead creatures on journeys towards exits to the Nightmare Realm, though in this, they frequently choose to take unnecessarily dangerous or terrifying shortcuts or detours through areas containing other nightmares, or even particularly powerful entities in order to feed on the fear their victims and the other Nightmares leave behind while they pursue the poor dreamer. They are most common in the mainland of the realm, but some do spread out to the Outlands in order to have a higher chance of attracting targets.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light angers, and harms Nightstalkers akin to a frostbite.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern can lay bare the deceptions of a Nightstalker, and even force them to reveal information about the path ahead they may be withholding, such as what lurks there.
Nightstalkers can sense the movements of nearby Nightmare Monsters and Nightmare Shades.
Fire is painful to Nightstalkers, and they avoid all sources of natural (though not magical) fire.
Notable Figures
The Drifter in the Dark is a particularly clever Nightstalker who served as an assistant to Ceros for a time, and now uses a smaller flat-bottom to ferry dreamers in a way very reminiscent of its mentor.
Bleak Dreamers
History and General Info
Those who walk the path of a nightmare weaver gains the power not only to manipulate dreamers, but lesser nightmare beings, or even portions of the Nightmare Realm itself. They are powerful and dangerous entities of deceit that mimic the ways of the Great Nightmares and the most powerful Shades, in order to better their own chances of catching victims.
Abilities
Dream Marionettes- A Bleak Dreamer can psionically influence Apparitions, Minor Nightmare Shades, Lesser Nightmare Shades, Nightstalkers, Nightmare Demons, and in some cases Malignant Nightmare Shades or a weaker Nightmare Beast. This manipulation allows the Bleak Dreamer to assemble a series of encounters to create a perfect nightmare tailored to their victim, leeching most of the fear, while the others keep a limited amount.
Dream Sculptor- A Bleak Dreamer can change the appearance of certain areas of the Nightmare Realm to suit their purposes, and temporarily add actual substance to some parts by concentrating.
Unseen- A Bleak Dreamer can use the fumes of the Nightmare Realm to hide itself from the untrained mortal eye, watching as a puppet master watches its puppets.
Mind-putrescence- Attacks made by a Bleak Dreamer can cause a temporary though rapid deterioration of mental acuity, which erodes a creature’s ability to resist the feedings of it and other nightmares.
Locations and Allegiances
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Strengths and Weaknesses
Bright light upsets, and adversely effects Bleak Dreamers, akin to extreme cold.
The light from a Nightmare Lantern can weaken the control of a Bleak Dreamer over a particular nightmare creature, or dissipate the substantiality or some of the visual aspects of its illusions.
Bleak Dreamers can sense the movements of other nearby nightmare creatures.
The more complex an illusion the more difficult to maintain it is for the Bleak Dreamer.
Bleak Dreamers do have a limit to the number and power of creatures it can influence.
Notable Figures
The Aspect is a bleak dreamer and both an avid follower and obsessive preacher for the philosophies of the Great Nightmares. This half mad monster acts to spread the philosophy of the Nightmare Weaver to more Apparitions, and has a fair amount of distain for the Circle of Shades.