Ok, I'm back.
Now this is the one thing I had planned.
The recurrent villian is still Vincent Defabro. He still needs Emerald to be dead, in order to fulfill the prophecy. He still has Guinevere, Vork's girlfriend.
Ok, here's an obscure fact about Vincent: Back when he was a PC (belonged to the same player as now plays Bernard), he crafted all of Vork's magic items, including a special bow called Heartseeker.
Make that, Vork's
secretly cursed and scrying-enabled bow. Ok, now secretly this here part is a bit questionable, but I think it went off extremely well.
So theyre on the airship, and the queen is asleep, along with Vork, Ganex, Kismet. Bernard is piloting. Owyn is on watch. Since Vork's cabin was taken over, (by the queen, who if you recall barely survived being attacked by a whisper-demon possessed Vork just a few hours earlier) he sleeps in the sick-bay area. (Bernard also shares that one cabin).
I had Owyn and Bernard make a listen check, and Vork make a 'move silent' check. (Bernard's Listen was at a huge negative, because he was asleep).
him: "But I'm asleep."
me: "well.... make it anyhow"
So he makes his check, and I gave Owyn a chance to hear him from above. Owyn failed.
The deal is, I decide to have Vork sleepwalk*. The player doesn't realize this right away.
"You are standing on a vast metal plain. All around you is darkness. In the distance there is a throne, and before the throne, a small wooden bed. Suddenly, you are standing directly in front of the throne. The wraith queen sits imperiously there, just as she did the night you disturbed her chamber at the Starrior tombs. She glares at you. Standing just to her side is Vincent, looking as he did in life. Every step makes your legs feel heavy, as if you were wearing heavy magnetic boots."
"What is she doing here?"
"She's my sponsor", Vincent answers.
I also described how Vork was in full adventuring regalia, including carrying his weapons, except his sword. My main point is, he was carrying his bow.
Although he doesn't realize it yet, his sword is actually the metal plain upon which he stands. The sword is his transmogrified father. The reason his legs feel heavy is because the item is trying to wake him up or help him resist the dream-invasion. I gave him a will save at this point. He passed it.
"You realize you are dreaming. Do you want to wake up?"
"I'll talk to Vincent for a while."
Ok. So I think he's hooked. I had Vincent kinda taunt him a little, but then suddenly show remorse, and say "my body is deteriorating.. I will not last very much longer on this plane once my final plans get underway. I'd like to give you the opportunity to kill me."
"I'm not going to kill you." says Vork.
"No, really. Are you afraid to? This could solve everything. I've made a terrible mess of things. .."
Then Vincent gets into the bed at the foot of the throne. "You could slay me with your bow. It wouldn't take much. I'll just lay down here and die.. Kill me now and I'll die the real death. They may even make you consort to Guinevere. You could do so much for Karelon.. You were always the purest of us all..."
Me (as the GM): "you'd get an automatic coup de Grace on him if you shot him at this point."
Vork (to me as the GM): I'm not going to kill him. I try and leave the dream.
He gets a will save, and he beats it. So Vork wakes up.
I tell him he's woken up standing in front of his own bunk, in front of the sleeping queen. The cursed bow is in his hands. He even has an arrow in his other hand. Had he shot Dream-Vincent, he would have killed the sleeping queen.
Vork drops the bow (which wakes the queen), and then he runs out to tell the other party members. He demands (IC, roleplayingwise) to be locked up, to have his weaponry taken away, perhaps to be abandoned at the first opportunity. (heh heh).
And thats how you run a dream sequence.
Ok, next up:
Return to the fabled isle of Landimond. This AP has hardly begun.
* -- I explained this dream-invasion bit away later as the dark powers/presence of the cursed bow, the fact that Vincent hit him with a
dominate person several sessions earlier, and also the power of the Wraith Queen.