PDA

View Full Version : Demonic possession through dreams (idea/story help)



Javes
2013-09-19, 11:17 AM
So in my game, untrained use of magic leaves you open to demonic possession, which can often happen during dreams (when you are at your most vulnerable). The demons find it far easier to possess willing people - often by either tricking them or cutting deals, but there are also less subtle demons...

The short of it is that I am looking for some idea's of how some demons might try to get into someone's head...
(I am interested in story ideas, not mechanics)

This is in a 2 player game with my girlfriend and I. We have started playing recently and have had a lot of fun. She really enjoys the roleplaying and the stories I (we) have come up with so far...



For some story background:
Her character, S, is a pretty blond 16 year old girl who has recently started manifesting fire related powers, such as being able to light candles or hold a flame in her palm, and has also found that she cannot be burnt like other people. Under extreme stress she has also delivered flaming punches. As she hasn't been trained, her use of this power has left her vulnerable to possession.

She is currently under the protection and travelling with her wise mentor (a wizard), who is taking her to a magical school to be trained (The idea is to lead this game into a "hogwarts like" university). Unfortunately they are being chased by inquisitors, who wish to exterminate magic users.

I am thinking as a starting point for possession attempts she might dream of being in her childhood house with something sinister on the outside demanding she 'let it in'. (I need some help fleshing this out and making it more interesting and interactive then just "do you let the monster inside? (yes/no)", probably having her barricade the doors and windows is a good first step, but again I am at a bit of a loss what what more to do)
I don't know how quickly my gf will catch on to what is happening, but it doesn't matter at this point - if she does fail and invite the demon in then her mentor will wake her, prevent the possession and then explain the situation and give explicit warnings on what to look out for.

After this I am thinking of her having recurring nightmares (generally revolving around her village and house, but not necessary limited to that at all) in which the demons try to posses her. Some might try to trick her by (maybe by pretending to be a childhood friend), and others will be more overt in their attempts.

As time progresses I want the dreams to get more intense, and eventually she will find that injuries sustained in the dreams will still be there where she wakes.

The dreams are meant to help show that magic is dangerous and has a cost, explain why inquisitors might want to hunt magic users and give her an incentive to go to magic school and to finish this schooling. If I can keep things interesting for her we may spend a lot of time fighting these possessions, and if not it is easy enough to move on and just periodically mention that she is still having bad dreams/they are getting worse.

Think medieval Catholicism/Dante's Inferno for an idea of the religious atmosphere. I am using a heavily home-brewed version of Ars Magica for the system, which I have set in my own world (but really, the system and mechanics are not important here, so please don't feel left out if you are not familiar - again, I am interested in story ideas).


So I am turning to the playground (I am a long time lurker, first time poster) to ask for help coming up with some ideas to both flesh this out and make it interesting.

I would appreciate any help coming up ideas
e.g.:
-scenarios for various different possession attempts
-incidents that can happen within these dreams to help flesh them out and help make them interesting
-imagery and how I could describe the dreams and possession attempts
-goals that the demons could have within the dreams, where if they complete these goals she may be possessed (her mentor can save for if she fails, for now...)
(in her first dream the demon wants to get into her 'house', maybe later there can be combat)
-goals or conditions she might have during the dream for her to escape
-idea's or advice on how to make this whole thing interactive and interesting
(and perhaps even warnings on how not to do it)
-consequences when she is awake
(injuries from the dream, maybe someone possessed can find them in the real world and may attack, perhaps after being introduced in a dream?)


Feel free to include dark and/or adult material (or not) to your taste.
Thanks for your help!

Javes
2013-09-19, 11:18 AM
Reserved, just in case...

Fayd
2013-09-19, 04:02 PM
For imagery, take a hint from stories; Make a demon after the Big Bad Wolf and use any story you see fit in it... I see this demon, and I don't know why, as a black furred wolfman type thing, all smoke and flame, with fire-red eyes with other flame-accents (red glow, some red fur, etc.)
"Little girl, little girl, let me come in..." and when she likely refuses, he starts battering the house down with fire, smoke, and ash; she needs to put the fires out, to do what she can to shore up holes, and above all else... to WAKE UP.

Rhynn
2013-09-19, 09:53 PM
Basic symbolic actions of accepting something:

Taking someone's hand
Embracing someone
Taking an item they are offering
Saying "yes"
Opening a door for them
Stepping over a "line" toward them


Any of these could be used in a dream. Set up any of countless situations where one of the actions would be performed. Maybe the (possibly disguised) demon is offering something you want, like, or need (the ol' poison apple); maybe the demon looks like your dead mother or father, or maybe the obviously-a-demon is standing next to or behind your dead family member or other loved one, inviting you to embrace them.

Ideally, there should be an obvious bait or set-up. A demon grabbing your hand out of nowhere isn't symbolic of accepting something; a demon holding out its hand going "Deal?" is.

There should also be some clues or fairness. These can be explained by the demons not having complete control over the environment. Maybe these are your dreams, after all, and your soul or unconscious self is protecting you. Maybe the dream realm naturally rejects the demons. Maybe demons lack self-control. In any case, there should be some clues: something at least subtly wrong with a disguised demon, or some "motif" that shows up: maybe spiders start creeping out of the corners of whatever space you are when the demon is there, multiplying in number as the demon stays and becomes more impatient at your failure to be tricked; or maybe the demons' eyes betray them; or maybe their disguise starts "fraying" somehow (skin peeling or flaking off, black gunk leaking out of their face-holes, etc.).

Raine_Sage
2013-09-19, 10:11 PM
If you'd like to demonstrate vulnerability through lack of training you could make the demon's approaches specific to that.

Ask yourself "What do trained mages have that untrained do not"

And then tailor the demon's methods to what's missing. Are trained mages better mentally fortified? Then maybe her dreams are littered with dangerous weak spots. Holes, cracks, rips, things that naturally put her at a disadvantage. While a trained mage might hunker down in a comfy bomb shelter in their dreams (metaphorically speaking) she's stuckin in a rickety cabin out in the woods.

If a trained mage is just better instructed on /how/ to say no to demons (like maybe there's a trick to getting them to leave off) maybe the dreams take place in lecture or debate halls, and become a more terrifying version of "I forgot to study for this test".

I'd say the ways in which she is vulnerable should determine the methods the demons use when trying to get to her.

To provide an example of danger via being unprepared, maybe she finds herself in an old school building, something from her youth, strapped down in a chair or otherwise unable to move, and above or below there is a hazard of some sort.

At the front of the room is an old professor who tells her this will be an oral exam, and for every "wrong" answer the hazard in the room gets closer. The questions would have to do with negotiating a "contract" and it could be a test of wits to successfully negotiate so that the demon comes away with nothing. Partial success might have the real world consequences of waking up feeling drained and mentally "fuzzy". Maybe a penalty to certain rolls (I'm not familiar with the system).

Rhynn
2013-09-19, 10:18 PM
Ask yourself "What do trained mages have that untrained do not"

This is excellent advice. The examples make me think of lucid training being part of a mage's skillset: neophytes are unable to control their dream environment, putting them at the mercy of the demons (who may be able to control the environment) and their own unconscious mind (particularly fears, bad experiences, and negative emotions). Experienced mages can control things, concentrating to remove elements they don't want to be there and creating useful features to defend themselves.

Bryan1108
2013-09-19, 10:35 PM
Using basic psychology could be effective here.

You might consider that the character dreams about entering a maze however he is lured in and the demon is possessing him until he make his way out of the maze, including puzzles and whatnot.

By the same token, next time, if he flees the maze, he's lost in the "wilderness" and the demon tricked him again. The demon now possesses him until he makes his way out of the wilderness to someplace "safe".

What a trained wizard knows is how to ignore the maze, not entering it or fleeing but staying where he is and taking command of the dream from that spot. Sort of like in the older games when you had to declare that you were disbelieving an illusion.

EccentricCircle
2013-09-20, 04:23 PM
I've been playing with dreams a fair bit in my most recent campaign, as the party have crossed paths with the last survivors of an ancient race who's souls were trapped in dream when their civilisation was destroyed. The only way for them to touch the waking world is to enter another's dream and imprison the soul of the dreamer, so that they can use the body instead.

I'd say the first attempt to get into the house shouldn't be overtly hostile. at least at first it should be wiley and seductive, it should try to convince her to want to let it into the house, rather than try to force its way in, but once she becomes suspicious it could become more violent.

One thing you could do would be to have her lose the battle against the Demon's possession attempt without realising it. All she knows is that she had a really wierd and frightening dream and that ever since she's had a succession of nightmares about being trapped, imprisoned etc. and after each such nightmare she is as exhausted as if she's not been asleep at all.

Then she realises that she's been sleepwalking. The Demon isn't in control all the time, but every time she goes to sleep it wakes up. She'll then have to figure out what she's been doing each night. It can lead to a situation where she's desperately trying to stay awake, or trap herself before going to sleep. (maybe demons can't get past iron, or running water or a line of sand etc.)

Ultimately the only way to break the posession is to escape from the Nightmare cage in which she's trapped each night and venture deep into the demon's own subconsious in an attempt to learn its true name.

Foiling the demons plans in the waking world can lead to lots of interesting scenarios. And if you want adult themes then see how she reacts when she discovers that she's pregnant one morning, and that the child isn't exactly normal...

vinihigino
2013-09-21, 10:42 AM
this thread. Claps.