Oneiromancer (Specialist Wizard)

- Sigmund Freud

Note: The oneiromancer uses material from the Heroes of Horror and Complete Arcane supplements. It is recommended that you have access to those books in order to use this specialist wizard.

As technology advances in a civilization, magic use begins to wane. Ironically, this causes many mages to begin specializing in extremely diverse roles that adapt to the changing times. One such spellcaster, the oneiromancer focuses in the use of dreams and travel to the dreamscape.

The oneiromancer (ON-air-O-man-sir) is an especially sought after mage because his focus in all things sleep-related allows him to do such mundane skills such as dream interpretation or sleep therapy or fantastic feats like protecting their charges from assaults through the dreamscape.

Many of the oneiromancer's spells are sleep and dream-focused. Even an unskilled oneiromancer can put his enemies into a deep slumber. They may also learn to travel through the dreamscape, to project horrifying visions and to impose their will on those around them.

For the most part, an oneiromancer is focused on making a living and if possible, usually sets up a shop or clinic in a large city. A few become travelers, moving from place to place, working for those who can afford their unique services.

An adventuring oneiromancer doesn't usually pack the same kind of punch as other wizards, but possesses far more subtle powers than a fireball and can be a great asset to any party of adventurers. After all, most creatures have to sleep some time.

Alignment: Any. Although oneiromancers are usually lawful, occasionally a chaotic oneiromancer will spread fear and doom around the land recklessly. They have no particular bent towards either good or evil, and most are neutral in that respect.

Hit Die: d4.

Game Rule Information

The oneiromancer is a variant wizard. Unless otherwise noted, an oneiromancer advances in the same manner as a wizard (same base attack bonus, saving throw bonuses, skill points and so on). When a character elects to take a level of wizard or oneiromancer, he may not later take levels in the other class. This prevents the character from gaining the benefits of a 1st-level wizard twice.

An oneiromancer can prepare as many spells per day as a regular specialist.

Spellbooks: Just like a wizard, an oneiromancer must study his spellbook each day to prepare his spells. He cannot prepare any spell not recorded in his spellbook, except for read magic, which all oneiromancers can prepare from memory.

School Specialization: An oneiromancer is a specialist wizard (see page 57 of the Player's Handbook) specializing in a distinctive school of magic unique to oneiromancers. Unlike typical wizard schools, the oneiromancer's school of magic regroups spells especially suited towards sleep and dreaming. As such, the oneiromancer school of magic allows him to cast spells not typically available to other wizards (not available on the wizard spell list). As a type of specialist wizard, an oneiromancer can prepare one additional spell of this specialty school per spell level each day, as normal. These spells go on the oneiromancer's spell list, allowing him to prepare them in any spell slot. He also gains a +2 bonus on Spellcraft checks to learn spells of this school. The oneiromancer's prohibited schools are always evocation and necromancy, and he may never learn or cast spells from them. An oneiromancer cannot become a specialist in any other school.

The oneiromancer's school includes the following spells. Spells marked with an asterisk can be found in the supplement Heroes of Horror.

Dreamtelling: At 1st level, the oneiromancer gains the Dreamtelling feat (see Heroes of Horror). This allows even the lowliest of oneiromancer apprentices to interpret dreams.

Summon Dream-Familiar: At 3rd level, the oneiromancer learns to summon a familiar. This works exactly like summoning a normal familiar (including the costs normally incurred), except the oneiromancer's familiar is drawn from the dreamscape and gains the pseudonatural creature template (see Complete Arcane). The oneiromancer's familiar gains abilities as if he were a standard wizard of two levels lower.

Oneiromancy: At 5th level the oneiromancer becomes better adapted to working within the world of dreams. As such, they gain the Oneiromancy feat (see Heroes of Horror).

Dream Knowledge: Oneiromancers study the forces of dreams to the exclusion of most other fields. At 10th level, they gain a +3 bonus to Knowledge (arcane) and Knowledge (the planes) checks.

Spell Focus: At 15th level, the oneiromancer gains the Spell Focus feat choosing either Enchantment or Illusion. At 20th level, they gain Spell Focus in the school that they did not choose at the previous opportunity.

Table 1-01 - Oneiromancy Spells Level Spells 0 daze, ghost sound, guidance 1st comprehend languages, hypnotism, restful slumber*, silent image, sleep 2nd detect thoughts, hypnotic pattern, touch of idiocy, undetectable alignment 3rd deep slumber, good hope, major image, nondetection, sculpt sound 4th crushing despair, dream walk*, manifest desire*, manifest nightmare* 5th dream, dreaming puppet*, nightmare, symbol of sleep 6th find the path, mislead, repulsion, true seeing 7th dream sight*, plane shift, sequester 8th antipathy, sympathy, temporal stasis 9th etherealness, foresight, gate Table 1-02 - The Oneiromancer Class

Level Special 1st Dreamtelling 2nd 3rd Summon Dream Familiar 4th 5th Oneiromancy 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Dream Knowledge 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th Spell Focus 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th Spell Focus

Using the Oneiromancer in Your Campaign

Oneiromancers are designed for the 1800s campaign, meant as a representation of the psychiatric sciences that began to come into prominence in the later part of the century. That doesn't mean that they should be restricted to that setting though. Oneiromancers might simply be esoteric wizards, or an interesting alternative to the traditional diviner as they use the power of dreams to predict future events. They may be foils or enemies of psions, both claiming the mind as their exclusive domain. Oneiromancers may even be villains who seek to unleash nightmares on the world, perhaps even taking levels in the Alienist (Complete Arcane) or Dread Witch (Heroes of Horror) prestige classes.

Oneiromancers do best in settings with multiplanar travel. The city of Sigil provides easy access to the planes, and a large customer base that an oneiromancer might take advantage of when setting up shop. Particularly evil oneiromancers might find themselves swept away into the Domains of Dread, turning to preying on the weak minded in a city like Il Aluk.

If you're using the Manual of the Planes supplement, consider adding the dream travel spell to the oneiromancy spell list, and the lucid dreaming skill to the oneiromancer's class skills. Both are purely optional, but provide more dream-related abilities that the oneiromancer can take advantage of.

In the Eberron campaign setting, most oneiromancers come from Sarlona. Understandably, quori can be edgy about the very idea of a spellcaster specializing in ways that can easily subvert and destroy them, so the average oneiromancer can expect to be put to death if their particular training is discovered by the wrong person. Humans, chosen and the occasional kalashtar make up the majority of oneiromancers.

If you have access to the Secrets of Sarlona supplement, add dream lock, mass dream lock and dream spirit to the list of oneiromancy spells. You may also want to consider taking the dreamtouched feats from this book, as they provide several dream-related abilities that can be very useful.

My Character Doesn't Dream!

Some races, like elves and kalashtar either don't sleep or don't dream. Why on earth would a member of that race want to become an oneiromancer?

Oneiromancy is not an introspective pursuit. While the concept of dreaming might be alien to races that are incapable of it, the Plane of Dreams is a tangible place that they may one day visit. These races may take a more analytical view of their school of magic, learning to harness it as a weapon or as a tool that can be used to help understand other people better.

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