Villains With Dream Spell

[Voltage89]

I had created a character, Kel'rot, who was meant to be the initial villian for the first few levels up my campaign. He was a level 8 caster, however he had a good bit more hp than someone at this level would. The goal was for the players to face him at level 4-5, however they got scared by him and thought he was much stronger than he truly was. So, now he has been left alone for a little bit of time, so I would like him to start leveling up. I thought it would be really cool if he took the Dream spell and haunted the pc's and other characters in the city he is attempting to take over.
I was wondering if anyone has ever used this spell as a villain and how it went. I feel like it could be really op if he just continually haunts a character and never allows them to get a full nights rest. I would most likely not use it exactly like this as it could get kind of stupid. I was also wondering any other spells you think would make a good villain spell. Here is his stat block and the book he carries. It is not the actual Book of Vile Darkness, it is just an excerpt from it.

https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-LAKkQxjOQM4AKYqA7rk

[Deathtongue]

Strong disagree with the thread title.

https://i.imgur.com/WGyEn8y.png
https://i.imgur.com/PcXiksC.png

[strangebloke]

Dream is fantastic villain material. Have them dream, vividly of a party member betraying them. If they fail the save and they're bad at Arcana-type nonsense, there may be some fun drama.

A key question, too, is why he's targetting them. One reason could be that he's trying to get them to attack him in his fortress of super-invincibility, and thereby trap them and kill them. So he lures them to a trap-fest, and then... steps out the back door.

Also, remember: It stops a long rest, but nothing prevents the PC from immediately attempting another long rest. So its only really punishing if there is time pressure.

[Lord Ruby34]

I used this when a member of my party earned the ire of a lich that was bound inside his tomb. I ruled that the nightmare ruined the whole night's sleep, and that if the PC wanted to rest again he had to start over when everyone else was already finished with their rest. The PC eventually had to resort to casting greater restoration on themselves to stay functional.

[Tanarii]

Also, remember: It stops a long rest, but nothing prevents the PC from immediately attempting another long rest. So its only really punishing if there is time pressure.
Yeah. Its not like PCs have a job to get to in the morning. ;)

[Angelalex242]

Side note, Dream is used in Rise of Tiamat by the Thayan Wizards. They quiz you while torturing you with the dream spell.

[Voltage89]

Side note, Dream is used in Rise of Tiamat by the Thayan Wizards. They quiz you while torturing you with the dream spell.

Could you give me an example of what you mean by that?

[MintyNinja]

I've used it for my Recurring Villain in my current campaign. I had to back off after a point because I have a small party of martial characters and I could easily kill them one by one if the villain truly wished to do so. 3d6 Psychic damage is brutal to Level 3 characters.

My advice is simply this: Have a reason for your Villain not to spam Dream until the target is dead. It's not fun, and it's even worse when they're completely unreachable.

[Voltage89]

I've used it for my Recurring Villain in my current campaign. I had to back off after a point because I have a small party of martial characters and I could easily kill them one by one if the villain truly wished to do so. 3d6 Psychic damage is brutal to Level 3 characters.

My advice is simply this: Have a reason for your Villain not to spam Dream until the target is dead. It's not fun, and it's even worse when they're completely unreachable.
He only has 1 level 5 spell because he is only level 9 right now so he could only use it once a day. His goal is to take over a city, so he will be haunting people within the cities council as well. The only plan I have for it right now is to have my one player dreaming of his home village which is rather close to the city he wishes to take over. The villain will then come and kill everyone. The players will most likely go back to his village to find something. Idk what yet

[krazedkoi]

If done right it can be amazing.

It's a good way to gently prod the story in certain directions, sow discord, build tension and generally adds a fun flavour so long as you're not just spamming it for psychic damage or long rest denial.

I had an NPC (not quite a villain) named Vashik who slipped an object onto one of the PCs and then used it to use Dream to start communicating with various party members, teasing them with information and visions. Some of the players chose to voluntarily fail the check and allow the contact which has started to lead to some interesting dynamics between those who trust and distrust Vashik.