Dream-Quest Table of Contents

Today, I thought I'd take a brief break from presenting sample rules from my Dream-Quest draft and instead share the very rough outline I've got for the work as a whole. Bear in mind, this is all incredibly rough and subject to change. In some ways, it's more of a fond hope on my part than a coherent and well-realized plan. There's still no certainty that I'll even finish Dream-Quest, however much it feels like a runaway train at the moment.

However, I do think there's value in posting this, because it not only give me a frame for my flights of fancy, it's also something that you can pore over and ask questions about, perhaps even pointing out obvious areas that I somehow overlooked or otherwise didn't include. Ideally, Dream-Quest will one day be a finished and reasonably complete old school fantasy RPG. To achieve that completeness, I'm going to need assistance from interested gamers who will nudge me in the right direction when I go astray, as I almost certainly will from time to time.

So, please, use the comments (or the Advanced Grognardia Discord server) as a place to let me know what you think of this table of contents. I'm very interested in your opinions of it.

Dream-Quest: Adventures Beyond the Wall of Sleep

Front Matter (10 pages)

• Title Page — 1

• Credits — 1

• Table of Contents — 4

• Introduction — 4

  • What is Dream-Quest?

  • Inspirations & Sources

  • How to Use This Book

Part I: Rules of Play

Chapter 1: Characters (40 pages)

• Character Generation Overview

• Origins: Earthborn and Dreamborn

• Ability Scores

• Character Classes

  • Dream-Ship Captain

  • Dreamer

  • Knight of Dreams

  • Moon Prowler

  • Mystic

  • Oracle

  • Poet-Seer

  • Shadow

• Advancement & Leveling

• Equipment & Wealth

Chapter 2: Rules of Play (30 pages)

• Core Mechanics

• Combat

• Exploration (wilderness, underworld, dream-logic)

• Time & Travel (weeks at sea, shifting geography, ivory/ebony gates)

• Social Interaction (reaction rolls, charms, taboos)

Chapter 3: Magic (30 pages)

• Nature of Dream-Magic

• Spellcasting Rules

• Magic Items & Dream Relics

• Spell Lists

Part II: The Dreamlands

Chapter 4: The Nature of the Dreamlands (10 pages)

• Cosmology & Geography

• One-Way Entry from Earth

• Time, Death, and Awakening

• Dream Logic in Play

Chapter 5: Realms of Dream (80 pages)

Gazetteer (each location 4–8 pages, with hex/pointcrawl maps, random encounters, and hooks).

• Ulthar

• Dylath-Leen

• Celephaïs

• Enchanted Woods

• The Underworld

• Leng

• The Moon

• White Ship Voyages

• Kadath (the forbidden destination, sketched for high-level play)

Chapter 6: Denizens of Dream (30 pages)

• Bestiary of Dreamlands Monsters

Chapter 7: Factions & Powers (20 pages)

• Gods of Dream (Hypnos, Nodens, Nyarlathotep, Bast, etc.)

• Mortal Powers (Dylath-Leen merchants, Ulthar elders, Leng warlords, etc.)

• Alien Intrusions (moon-beasts, Others, etc.)

• Cults, secret societies, agendas

Part III: Referee’s Toolkit

Chapter 8: Running Dream-Quest (20 pages)

• Using Dream Logic (when to bend rules)

• Adventure Design (pilgrimages, delves, intrigues)

• Random Tables (dream events, treasures, encounters by region)

Chapter 9: Sample Adventure (10 pages)

• Designed for 1st-level characters

• Includes maps, keyed locations, NPCs

Chapter 10: Appendices (10 pages)

• Appendix A: OSE Compatibility Notes

• Appendix B: Inspirations (Lovecraft stories, Dunsany, other reading)

• Appendix C: Quick Reference Charts

• Character Sheet

Back Matter (10 pages)

• Index

• License

As I stated earlier, this is all a very rough estimate, based on what I've already sketched out in my head. In some cases, like the Bestiary, I'm far from certain what I'll include in the end, while in others, like character classes, I have a good idea of what I intend to create. No doubt, as the project grows, it will, like the Dreamlands themselves, shift and change, perhaps even in unexpected directions.

Regardless, I'm hopeful that, wherever it ends up, it'll be an enjoyable journey. As ever, thank you for your continued encouragement and support. That means a lot to me.