Something struck while I was dropping my head in here at the project, At first thought 'someone would certainly mention it" but I see no on has it seems.
Has anyone one considered that these nightmares are Vaernima's, that the mortal is visiting the dreams of the Prince?
It may border of blasphemy, but what if the Prince is calling the mortal into his/her... its dream?
I wouldn't dare claim the god is at the mercy of these nightmares, but what if the Vaernima is stealing away the conscious mortal mind into the its vision.
This seems to solidify many thoughts I have on the god.
A. It offers a vulnerability inherent in the god. It cannot 'invade' the free thought of the mortal with a 'let me impose this thought into your head by twisting your ideas' attack. Instead, Vaernima reads the the thoughts of His/her... its chosen 'victim' and crafts a vision, then calls the mortal mind to venture into the Realm of Nightmare. If SI is considered canon, (which I hope it is). Vaernima is more then simple a ruler over her realm, it is a part of her just as she is a part of it.
B. The god would thus experience the same vision the mortal experiences. As it is His realm, He would have to be there.
A refute the idea that Vaernima is some dark snake like personality waiting to stab some unsuspecting mind in the back. Vaern walks with her mortal, testing their limits of her dream. As the god's mind is the originator of the vision, thus the god had some way of escape. The mortal must find this escape to or 'lose'.
C. I thinks it rather poetic that as you rest in Vaern's realm/bed you travel with this god through the plane of it's domain. (I'd say almost sexual -sigh) If you make it through unharmed mentally (which I doubt is possible) you, in a sense win. other wise you creep ever closer to the Madhouse.
My final thought, and the purpose of most sacreligious post. Would not a dreaming god maintain some subtle fragment of it's personality with each Nightmare.
By that I mean, when I dream I often see familiar 'signs' Like a black dog, in many dreams the dog may be barking from behind a fence, in another the dog may be a small statue, in a third it may show up as wall art.
If these are Vaernima's dreams. could there be small 'signs' scattered throughout the many nightmares we devise to test the mettle of our average Joe Player?
We'll have many locations and sights, but how spooky and fun is that in almost every one the player sees the purple rose whether it be tucked in a vase of tulips, painted in a mural on a cavern wall, or be the name of the Inn where you are chased to by the ten foot tall murderer?
The could be one or two common themes like the rose and many less common ones that the modders could devise like some sort of signature.
Its just a thought to add a bit of depth to the work. maybe it is a bit much. I wouldn't know what Vaernima would consider a theme other then cannibalism. I guess hat is one.
Quagmire Interiors
Moderators: Haplo, Lead Developers
Hm. I like that idea. I'd actually like a large, dark snake, always a creature, that always appears in the nightmares. In some nightmares it is sitting on one place, watching the player as he passes by, in others it is actually travelling alongside the player, and maybe in others it keeps appearing whenever danger threatens, for example right before the PC walks into a trap.
If the player ever tries to attack it it could disappear, possible reappearing later in a similar position as before. (As in, if it was walking alongside the player it would reappear beside him. If it was watching the player it would reappear in another place, watching him again). The snake should never visibly incur damage, so while the player is getting killed trying to run across a stretch of lava the snake could slither along without getting hurt.
As to how it reacts to other creatures, I'm thinking that it would not attack anything without having been attacked first and most of the other creatures would ignore the snake. But some creatures might either be rebellious (or frightened by Vaernima, etc.) or just be so stupid that they attack Vaernima. They might either simply disappear or Vaernima would bite them.
Now for a crazy surreal Nightmare that I'm noting down just because I can:
Player appears in a very short, pitch-black hallway piece in the Imperial Dungeon set without any of his/her equipment. Behind him there is a dead end and in front of him there is a small 3x3 room. In the middle of the room there is a crack in the cieling through which light shines. The light illuminates the dead body of the emporer. (A lightbulb light might be needed to do this properly).
When the player approaches the body his controls are frozen. In one of the pitch-black corners of the room an Imperial guard appear. He runs to the emperor and says his "the blood is warm" line. He then starts "dancing" around the player. (by which I mean circling the player, preferably but not necessarily with alternating running, sneaking, jumping and walking). Chnating an laughing. The emperor is resurrected and also starts dancing around the player.
Soon Baurus and the other chargen Blades appear and dance around the player. After a few seconds a Mythic Dawn assassin also appears and leaps at the player, but the others rush to the player's help (the player's controls are still frozen) and kill him. they then all run out of the light and, as soon as they're in the pitch-black parts of the room/hall, disappear. In the meanwhile the body turns into the body of the emperor and the voice of the emperor is heard "from the distance", namely the lines in which he gives the player the Amulet of Kings just before he dies.
The player is transported to another cell the is set up like the cell in which the emporer dies, but only the room. The two hallways leading off of it exist but are dead ends. The player is standing in the secret one, dressed up as a mythic dawn agent. Again, everything is pitch-black, and the player shouldn't notice the transition, except for the fact that the emperor's body and the light have disappeared. The fake wall opens up and some critter leaps at the player from behind it.* The player has to kill it, and when it dies the screen fades out and he's standing beside the dead emperor.
The screen goes black and the controls are disabled again and the player hears a voice saying "you killed the emperor", or something like that. Without being able to see him, the player is being attacked by Baurus. After a short while he gets teleported to the next dungeon, naturally with restored gear.
*Is there a way for a creature to remain illuminated, even in a room without lighting?
If the player ever tries to attack it it could disappear, possible reappearing later in a similar position as before. (As in, if it was walking alongside the player it would reappear beside him. If it was watching the player it would reappear in another place, watching him again). The snake should never visibly incur damage, so while the player is getting killed trying to run across a stretch of lava the snake could slither along without getting hurt.
As to how it reacts to other creatures, I'm thinking that it would not attack anything without having been attacked first and most of the other creatures would ignore the snake. But some creatures might either be rebellious (or frightened by Vaernima, etc.) or just be so stupid that they attack Vaernima. They might either simply disappear or Vaernima would bite them.
Now for a crazy surreal Nightmare that I'm noting down just because I can:
Player appears in a very short, pitch-black hallway piece in the Imperial Dungeon set without any of his/her equipment. Behind him there is a dead end and in front of him there is a small 3x3 room. In the middle of the room there is a crack in the cieling through which light shines. The light illuminates the dead body of the emporer. (A lightbulb light might be needed to do this properly).
When the player approaches the body his controls are frozen. In one of the pitch-black corners of the room an Imperial guard appear. He runs to the emperor and says his "the blood is warm" line. He then starts "dancing" around the player. (by which I mean circling the player, preferably but not necessarily with alternating running, sneaking, jumping and walking). Chnating an laughing. The emperor is resurrected and also starts dancing around the player.
Soon Baurus and the other chargen Blades appear and dance around the player. After a few seconds a Mythic Dawn assassin also appears and leaps at the player, but the others rush to the player's help (the player's controls are still frozen) and kill him. they then all run out of the light and, as soon as they're in the pitch-black parts of the room/hall, disappear. In the meanwhile the body turns into the body of the emperor and the voice of the emperor is heard "from the distance", namely the lines in which he gives the player the Amulet of Kings just before he dies.
The player is transported to another cell the is set up like the cell in which the emporer dies, but only the room. The two hallways leading off of it exist but are dead ends. The player is standing in the secret one, dressed up as a mythic dawn agent. Again, everything is pitch-black, and the player shouldn't notice the transition, except for the fact that the emperor's body and the light have disappeared. The fake wall opens up and some critter leaps at the player from behind it.* The player has to kill it, and when it dies the screen fades out and he's standing beside the dead emperor.
The screen goes black and the controls are disabled again and the player hears a voice saying "you killed the emperor", or something like that. Without being able to see him, the player is being attacked by Baurus. After a short while he gets teleported to the next dungeon, naturally with restored gear.
*Is there a way for a creature to remain illuminated, even in a room without lighting?
Gnomey, you could put a 1pt light spell as an ability on a creature to always illuminate it.
"You can remove spells from your list in Morrowind. I think it was shift-click, don't quote me on that though." - Cathartis
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I might as well add that the creature should have low health and die in one hit, as it is supposed to be like the assassin killing the emperor. As soon as it is hit it disappears and is replaced with the body of the emperor.