I’ve come across a lot of statements that in such and such place the rules of dream/mythic/fairy tale logic apply instead of scientific logic, but that often just means “throw a lot of weird shit at the players” or awesome but isolated ideas rather than something more, well, logical. So, I’m going to take a crack at this.
Some basic principles of dream logic and how to apply them to RPGs to give them a more fairy tale or mythic feel:
People matter
The universe isn’t some vast uncaring void; it is very interested in humans and reacts to them on a fundamental level. This means that the strange things that inhabit the world are generally created by, tied to, or a twisted reflection of humanity.
No aliens
Sword & Planet fiction had a profound impact on the development of D&D, especially in the monsters. A lot of D&D monsters are basically aliens in the same way that Barsoom Martians are, sure they’re weird but when it comes right down to it they have the same mundane biology as people do.
Throw that out. To quote a comment from “Beedo” on an old Monsters and Manuals blog post:
Emotions matter
In a lot of folklore magic doesn’t come from wizards who know the right techniques, it comes from people wanting something so badly that reality contorts around their desires. D&D already does this with the undead a lot but it gets a bit samey (“this dude died really pissed off so now he wants to kill people!”). Have the passion of artist imbue their art with magic in ways the artist never foresaw, have critters be vulnerable to certain human emotions and have many magical features tie back to human drama somehow.
Magic isn’t an exception to the natural order, the natural order is magical
The general assumption in a lot of D&D worlds is that everything works the same as in our world with the exception of the stuff that magical critters and wizards do. Generally the way to turn up the dial on the magic level of a campaign is to put in more wizards and magical critters which can make a fantasy world pretty cluttered after a while.
For this sort of exercise it’s probably better to make stuff like goats more interesting. This sort of thing is often overlooked in setting design.
Words matter
It’s been done to death but I still love the idea of magic and faerie always obeying the letter of the law and people trying to rules lawyer around them. One setting element that I’ve loved using is lots of the weirdness in the world being a result of people trying to find loopholes in Welsh-style geases.
Same goes with fantastic creates, they react as much to the right words as they do to a sword to the belly.
The lands of faerie aren’t on the map
I’ve been coming around to the idea of having a relatively mundane world as a baseline and then lots of weirdness leaking in from the other side. That means that you can’t lock down truly wondrous places on a map but that the next time you get lost in the forest you can stumble across rituals in the temple that was eroded to dust centuries ago or see the city that rises up out of the lake every new moon.
Then you have to follow the rules about eating the local food, not stepping off the path or making sure that you always follow the white bird. If you go a second time the path will still be there but it'll lead through different lands.
Symbolic connections matter
Magical thinking is all about things that are symbolically connected being actually connected. For example plants that look like a certain body part are good at treating the conditions that afflict that body part. One example of this that I liked was in the Conan d20 RPG a lot of spells have a range of “magic link” that requires you to have a lock of hair etc. etc. of the target.
Give spells personality
Vancian magic is a great resource management mechanic but a lot of D&D magic could use a bit more personality. Have your memorized spell be a chained demon that takes the form of a snake that wraps around your neck until you cast the spell or a jeweled amulet. Or have magical power take the form of your character being possessed by a spirit that gives them strange knowledge and subtle power until they cast off the spirit by casting a single spell of great power.
Any things I’m getting wrong or missing? Any good reading material? Reading over this I’m realizing that a lot of these are still pretty vague. I really want to nail these down to content that’s more practically gameable rather than broad generalities. Have to work more on this.
Some basic principles of dream logic and how to apply them to RPGs to give them a more fairy tale or mythic feel:
People matter
The universe isn’t some vast uncaring void; it is very interested in humans and reacts to them on a fundamental level. This means that the strange things that inhabit the world are generally created by, tied to, or a twisted reflection of humanity.
No aliens
Sword & Planet fiction had a profound impact on the development of D&D, especially in the monsters. A lot of D&D monsters are basically aliens in the same way that Barsoom Martians are, sure they’re weird but when it comes right down to it they have the same mundane biology as people do.
Throw that out. To quote a comment from “Beedo” on an old Monsters and Manuals blog post:
Quote:
The moment you decide that goblins hatch from pumpkins blessed on Halloween night by the Goblin King, that Bugbears slip into the world from the Nightmare Realm in order to hide in closets and terrorize people, you put that sense of wonder and mystery back into the myriad monsters out there. |
Emotions matter
In a lot of folklore magic doesn’t come from wizards who know the right techniques, it comes from people wanting something so badly that reality contorts around their desires. D&D already does this with the undead a lot but it gets a bit samey (“this dude died really pissed off so now he wants to kill people!”). Have the passion of artist imbue their art with magic in ways the artist never foresaw, have critters be vulnerable to certain human emotions and have many magical features tie back to human drama somehow.
Magic isn’t an exception to the natural order, the natural order is magical
The general assumption in a lot of D&D worlds is that everything works the same as in our world with the exception of the stuff that magical critters and wizards do. Generally the way to turn up the dial on the magic level of a campaign is to put in more wizards and magical critters which can make a fantasy world pretty cluttered after a while.
For this sort of exercise it’s probably better to make stuff like goats more interesting. This sort of thing is often overlooked in setting design.
Words matter
It’s been done to death but I still love the idea of magic and faerie always obeying the letter of the law and people trying to rules lawyer around them. One setting element that I’ve loved using is lots of the weirdness in the world being a result of people trying to find loopholes in Welsh-style geases.
Same goes with fantastic creates, they react as much to the right words as they do to a sword to the belly.
The lands of faerie aren’t on the map
I’ve been coming around to the idea of having a relatively mundane world as a baseline and then lots of weirdness leaking in from the other side. That means that you can’t lock down truly wondrous places on a map but that the next time you get lost in the forest you can stumble across rituals in the temple that was eroded to dust centuries ago or see the city that rises up out of the lake every new moon.
Then you have to follow the rules about eating the local food, not stepping off the path or making sure that you always follow the white bird. If you go a second time the path will still be there but it'll lead through different lands.
Symbolic connections matter
Magical thinking is all about things that are symbolically connected being actually connected. For example plants that look like a certain body part are good at treating the conditions that afflict that body part. One example of this that I liked was in the Conan d20 RPG a lot of spells have a range of “magic link” that requires you to have a lock of hair etc. etc. of the target.
Give spells personality
Vancian magic is a great resource management mechanic but a lot of D&D magic could use a bit more personality. Have your memorized spell be a chained demon that takes the form of a snake that wraps around your neck until you cast the spell or a jeweled amulet. Or have magical power take the form of your character being possessed by a spirit that gives them strange knowledge and subtle power until they cast off the spirit by casting a single spell of great power.
Any things I’m getting wrong or missing? Any good reading material? Reading over this I’m realizing that a lot of these are still pretty vague. I really want to nail these down to content that’s more practically gameable rather than broad generalities. Have to work more on this.
Dream Logic in RPGs
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