A Great Dreamer is a creature from the Spelljammer campaign setting.[1]
Overview[]
Great Dreamers are enormous spacefaring whale-like creatures who are apparently responsible for the existence of whales and other cetaceans, both in space and on worlds with plentiful water. They travel through space in a spherical envelope of airy water, so large that weather patterns occur on its surface. Within the envelope swim the Dreamer’s “entourage” of up to 3 leviathans, their attendants, and up to 12 delphinid “knights”.[1]
Description[]
A Great Dreamer resembles an immense elemental whale swimming through the cosmos. It is trilaterally symmetrical, similar to a delphinid, with its three eyes, shining with reflected starlight, placed equidistantly around its head. Communicating with a Great Dreamer is not difficult: their broad-band telepathy makes conversation easy within 1,000 miles. When conversing with others, a Great Dreamer's “speech” can be circular, seemingly wandering from topic to topic in a stream of consciousness, but they invariably return to the subject at hand.[1]
Personality[]
Great Dreamers are lawfully aligned, and strive to preserve the abundance of life, both in the seas as well as the endless rainbow ocean. They perceive existence as a continuous song; an endless paean to life itself, and all members of a Great Dreamer's entourage continuously sing this hypnotic song.[1]
Combat[]
Great Dreamers typically do not engage in combat; their great power speaks for itself. The aura given off by these beings is so powerful, that opponents may even be caught up in the sheer beauty of the Dreamers' existence.
Against those who still have hostile intentions, a Great Dreamer can summon up to 8 elementals from the elemental planes of Air and Water. Initially the elementals will strive to drive away aggressive opponents or spelljamming vessels; only if a Dreamer's entourage are severely injured does it order the elementals to destroy an offending vessel or kill an opponent.
If neither a Dreamer's aura nor the presence of powerful elementals dissuade an attacker, they will then face the onslaught of the Dreamer's entourage. Beyond their normal abilities, a Dreamer's entourage also have access to a sound lance that can stun opponents within 10-miles. Delphinids direct their sound lances against a single opponent at a time, whereas larger whales aim their lances at entire vessels. They can even change tones to resonate with a particular ship's hull, causing the ship to rattle itself to pieces.
If necessary, a Great Dreamer can magically project a giant waterspout from its water envelope, with a range of up to 20 miles. Any vessel struck by a waterspout may be destroyed by the rushing wall of water.
A Great Dreamer may choose to bite an opponent, inflicting enormous damage. A Dreamer can swallow a victim and may choose to either digest them, or send them on to a destination of its choice. A Dreamer's tail can deliver a massive crushing blow.[1]
Society[]
It is currently unknown whether a Great Dreamer generates its own spherical envelop of water and air, or whether it opens a portal to the elemental plane of Water. A Dreamer's envelope responds instantly to its commands.
Great Dreamers remain in the flow, traveling from sphere to sphere to attend to cetacean affairs on various worlds. Every 1,000 years, the leviathans of a particular world will receive an audience with the Great Dreamer's to report on the events of the previous millennium. The Great Dreamer's will remain for a year before returning to the flow.
Perhaps as a function of their guardianship over life, the Great Dreamers have the ability to grant immortality to one being, once per year. Usually the champion who receives this honor is a cetacean. Rarely, however, a humanoid who has greatly aided the Dreamers' may receive this gift.[1]
Appendix[]
External Links[]
- Leviathan article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Whale article at the Forgotten Realms Wiki, a wiki for the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
- Great Dreamer article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.
- Leviathan article at the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Wiki, a wiki for official Dungeons & Dragons content from 2nd edition AD&D.