Aspect Codex
Nightmare
Nightmare is an imported aspect from the Jericha Aspect Data sheet. Its full lore and named powers can be expanded here as the canon text is added.
What This Aspect Does
Nightmare defines a character's supernatural focus, training profile, resource model, and power family. This page is structured so each separate power can become its own linked entry instead of being buried inside a character sheet.
Power Links
Drowsy Whisper
Whisper a sleep-heavy phrase at one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save or take 4 (1d8) psychic damage and subtract 1d4 from the next Perception, Insight, or initiative roll it makes before the end of its next turn.
Bad Dream Omen
Choose one sleeping, frightened, or unsettled creature within range. You sense the emotional shape of its dreams or fears, learning whether it is afraid, angry, grieving, guilty, hungry, or calm. You do not learn specific thoughts unless another power allows it.
Sleep
Choose creatures in a 10-ft. radius sphere centered on a point within range. Each target must make a WIS save or become drowsy and incapacitated until the end of its next turn. A target that fails this save while already drowsy falls unconscious for the duration. The effect ends on a target if it takes damage or a creature uses an action to wake it.
Cause Fear
Choose one creature you can see within range. The target must make a WIS save or become frightened of you for the duration. The target repeats the save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. Creatures that cannot dream have advantage on the save.
Nightmare Scratch
Rake one creature’s waking mind with dream-claws. Make a ranged power attack. On a hit, the target takes 7 (2d6) psychic damage. If the target is frightened, asleep, or has failed a save against one of your Nightmare powers this round, add your INT modifier to the damage.
Lullaby Veil
A hush of dream-static surrounds you. Creatures of your choice in the emanation have advantage on checks made to move quietly, fall asleep, or resist being frightened. Hostile creatures in the emanation have disadvantage on Perception checks relying on sound.
Catnap
Choose up to three willing creatures within range. Each target falls unconscious for the duration. The effect ends early on a target if it takes damage or a creature uses an action to wake it. A target that remains unconscious for the full duration gains the benefit of a short rest and cannot benefit from this power again until it finishes a long rest.
Night Terror
Choose one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save, taking 13 (3d8) psychic damage and becoming frightened until the start of your next turn on a failed save, or half damage with no fear on a success. If the target is asleep, it has disadvantage on the save and wakes after the effect resolves.
Dream Eater's Sip
When a creature within range fails a save against sleep, fear, charm, confusion, madness, or one of your Nightmare powers, feed on the escaping dream-fragments. You gain temporary hit points equal to 2d8 + your INT modifier.
Waking Startle
When a sleeping or frightened creature within range would be damaged, charmed, possessed, or targeted by a hostile power, jolt it awake or sharpen its panic into defense. The target may immediately repeat one save against sleep, charm, fear, or possession with a bonus equal to your INT modifier.
Phantasmal Killer
Create a nightmare visible only to one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save, taking 18 (4d8) psychic damage and becoming frightened for the duration on a failed save, or half damage with no fear on a success. A frightened target repeats the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success or taking the damage again on a failure.
Mist of Mourning
Summon a thin dream-mist in a 20-ft. radius sphere centered on a point within range. Hostile creatures that enter for the first time on a turn or start there must make a CHA save or be filled with hopeless dream-grief until the end of their next turn. An affected creature’s speed is halved, it has disadvantage on attack rolls, and it subtracts 1d8 from damage rolls.
Dreamwalk Message
Target one creature you know on the same plane. You or a willing creature you touch enters a trance as dream messenger. If the target sleeps during the duration, the messenger appears in its dream and can converse, shape scenery, or deliver a message. If made terrifying, the target must make a WIS save when it wakes or take 3d6 psychic damage and gain no benefit from that rest.
Fearful Paralysis
Choose one frightened, sleeping, or drowsy creature within range. The target must make a WIS save or become paralyzed by nightmare pressure until the start of your next turn. On a success, its speed is reduced by 10 ft. until the start of your next turn.
Murder of Crows
Unleash a dream-murder of black birds, teeth, and wings. Creatures of your choice in the cone must make a DEX save, taking 27 (6d8) psychic or force damage and becoming blinded until the end of their next turn on a failed save, or half damage with no blindness on a success.
Feed on Fear
For the duration, once per round when a hostile creature in the emanation becomes frightened, falls asleep, fails a save against madness, or takes psychic damage from one of your Nightmare powers, you gain temporary hit points equal to your INT modifier and may move 10 ft. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Nightmare Ward
When you or a creature you can see within range takes psychic damage, becomes frightened, falls asleep against its will, or suffers a madness effect, reduce the damage by 4d8 + your INT modifier or allow the target to repeat the triggering save with advantage.
Insomnia Curse
Choose one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save. On a failed save, it cannot benefit from magical sleep, has disadvantage on saves against fear and madness, and the first time it finishes a rest during the duration it must repeat the save or gain no benefit from that rest.
Dream
Target one creature you know on the same plane. You or a willing messenger enters a trance and appears in the target’s dreams if it sleeps. You may converse, observe symbolic dream imagery, or shape the dream. If you make the dream a nightmare, the target must make a WIS save when it wakes or take 22 (4d10) psychic damage and gain no benefit from the rest.
Dream Eater
Choose one sleeping, frightened, charmed, confused, or madness-afflicted creature within range. The target must make a CHA save, taking 31 (7d8) psychic damage on a failed save, or half on a success. If the target fails, you may end one sleep, fear, charm, confusion, or madness effect on it and gain temporary hit points equal to the damage dealt.
Nightmare Cage
Choose one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save or become trapped in a waking nightmare. While trapped, its speed is 0, it is frightened, and it treats all creatures more than 5 ft. away as heavily obscured. It repeats the save at the end of each turn, ending the effect on a success.
Madness Seed
Plant a splinter of nightmare logic in one creature within range. The target must make an INT save, taking 27 (6d8) psychic damage and becoming confused until the start of your next turn on a failed save, or half damage with no confusion on a success. A confused target cannot take reactions and must roll a d4 at the start of its turn; on a 1, it loses its action.
Nightmare Dominion
Your Nightmare powers ignore resistance to psychic damage from sleeping, frightened, charmed, confused, or madness-afflicted creatures. You can tell whether a creature you can see is asleep, dreaming, frightened, or affected by madness.
Mass Sleep
Choose creatures of your choice in a 30-ft. radius sphere within range. Each target must make a WIS save or fall unconscious for the duration. The effect ends on a target if it takes damage or a creature uses an action to wake it. A target that succeeds becomes drowsy and has disadvantage on Perception checks until the start of your next turn.
Nightmare Feast
Feed on the nightmares of hostile creatures in the emanation. Each sleeping, frightened, charmed, confused, or madness-afflicted creature of your choice in the area must make a CHA save, taking 44 (8d10) psychic damage on a failed save, or half on a success. You regain hit points equal to your INT modifier for each target that fails.
Dream Possession
Choose one sleeping or frightened creature within range. The target must make a WIS save or you partially steer its dream-body. On each of your turns for the duration, you may use your bonus action to make the target move up to half its speed or take the Help, Hide, Search, or Use an Object action. It repeats the save at the end of each turn.
Nightmare Shepherd
For the duration, frightened or sleeping creatures of your choice in the emanation are herded by dream pressure. When such a creature starts its turn, you may move it up to 15 ft. in a direction that is not directly harmful. Hostile creatures moved this way must make a WIS save or take 22 (4d10) psychic damage.
Devour Rest
Choose one creature you can see within range or one creature you have contacted through dreams in the last 24 hours. The target must make a CON save. On a failed save, it gains no benefit from its next long rest during the duration and takes 44 (8d10) psychic damage when that rest ends. On a success, it takes half damage and rests normally.
Mind-Breaking Dream
Choose one creature within range. The target must make an INT save, taking 44 (8d10) psychic damage and becoming confused for the duration on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. A confused target repeats the save at the end of each turn. On a failed repeat save, it takes 22 (4d10) psychic damage; on a success, the effect ends.
Nightmare Refuge
When you or a creature you can see within range would be damaged, frightened, charmed, possessed, put to sleep, or affected by madness, pull part of its mind into a safe dream. Reduce the damage by 7d8 + your INT modifier or end one fear, charm, sleep, possession, or madness effect of Tier 7 or lower on the target.
Dream Sovereign
For the duration, you have resistance to psychic damage, advantage on saves against fear, charm, sleep, and madness, and your Nightmare powers ignore psychic resistance. When a creature fails a save against one of your Nightmare powers, you may make it drowsy, frightened, or unable to take reactions until the start of your next turn.
Waking Nightmare Field
Create a 40-ft. radius field of waking nightmare centered on a point within range. Hostile creatures treat the area as difficult terrain. When a hostile creature enters for the first time on a turn or starts there, it must make a WIS save, taking 55 (10d10) psychic damage and becoming frightened on a failed save, or half damage only on a success.
Coma Curse
Choose one creature within range. The target must make a WIS save or fall into a magical nightmare-coma. While in the coma, the target is unconscious, does not age mentally, cannot be awakened by ordinary means, and is trapped in recurring nightmares. The target repeats the save at the end of each long rest, ending the effect on a success.
Dream Theft
Choose one sleeping, frightened, or madness-afflicted creature within range. The target must make a CHA save. On a failed save, steal one dream-symbol: a memory image, fear, ambition, face, or emotional truth. For the duration, you may use that symbol to gain advantage on Insight, Intimidation, Deception, or one Nightmare power save DC against the target.
Weird
Create illusory terrors in the minds of creatures of your choice in a 30-ft. radius sphere within range. Each target must make a WIS save, taking 66 (12d10) psychic damage and becoming frightened for the duration on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. A frightened target repeats the save at the end of each turn. On a failed repeat save, it takes 33 (6d10) psychic damage; on a success, the effect ends.
Dream-Eating Plague
Choose up to six creatures within range that can sleep or dream. Each target must make a CHA save. On a failed save, nightmares spread through its rest. The next time it sleeps during the duration, it takes 55 (10d10) psychic damage, gains no benefit from that rest, and spreads this power to one sleeping creature within 30 ft. that must make the same save.
Labyrinth of Madness
Choose one creature within range. The target must make an INT save or be trapped in recursive nightmare logic. While affected, it is incapacitated, its speed is 0, and it perceives the world as a maze of impossible symbols. It repeats the save at the end of each turn, taking 44 (8d10) psychic damage on a failure and ending the effect on a success.
Nightmare Sovereignty
Your Nightmare powers treat psychic immunity of sleeping, frightened, charmed, confused, or madness-afflicted creatures as resistance unless the target is Artifact-grade, divine, or story-protected. You can enter, leave, and remember your own dreams perfectly, and cannot be forced to sleep unless you choose to be.
Archmare
For the duration, you become a living nightmare. You are immune to being frightened, charmed, put to sleep, or affected by madness against your will. Your Nightmare powers ignore psychic resistance, and once per turn when a creature fails a save against one of your Nightmare powers, you may also make it unconscious, frightened, or confused until the start of your next turn.
Eternal Nightmare
Choose one creature within range that can dream, fear, or imagine. The target must make a WIS save or become trapped in an eternal nightmare. While affected, it is unconscious and cannot benefit from rest. It repeats the save every 24 hours, ending the effect on a success. If it fails three such saves, only Tier 10 restoration, divine intervention, or a story condition can end the nightmare.
World of Bad Dreams
Transform the emanation into a shared nightmare. Hostile creatures of your choice in the area must make a WIS save when they start their turns there, taking 77 (14d10) psychic damage and becoming frightened on a failed save, or half damage only on a success. Sleeping or frightened creatures have disadvantage on the save.
The Dream That Eats Back
Release a mythic nightmare into a sleeper, place, bloodline, or community you can reach within range. The nightmare feeds on fear, stolen rest, and recurring dreams, creating a GM-approved story effect such as a haunted town, a madness epidemic, a prophetic nightmare, or a dream-predator. It can be ended only by Tier 10 dream magic, divine intervention, or a story condition set when used.