NIGHTMARE CATCHER
Wondrous Item, artifact
The Nightmare Catcher is said to have been woven by an ancient, eldritch sorceress who sought to trap the very fabric of nightmares and wield them as a weapon. It is believed that the artifact was her revenge against the gods for a tragedy they inflicted upon her.
As time wore on, the Nightmare Catcher was lost to history, fading into legend. Yet, whispers among the sages and arcanists speak of its existence, and the allure of its devastating power has tempted many.
Functionality: The Nightmare Catcher resembles an intricate dreamcatcher adorned with eerie and otherworldly trinkets. To harness its power, one must hang it openly and freely. The user, upon using their own blood, loses 1d4 hit points to activate its haunting properties.
Upon activation, the Nightmare Catcher cloaks a 60-foot radius in its nightmarish spell. Every living entity within this area is ensnared in a hyper-realistic nightmare where pain, injury, and even death seem all too real.
Should adventurers or NPCs approach within 10 feet of the Nightmare Catcher, a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check is required. On a successful check, the individual is compelled, fixating solely on acquiring the Nightmare Catcher, even if it means inflicting harm upon allies. Touching the object breaks the dreamlike state, granting the individual a sinister insight into the item’s true nature and intent.
Dungeon Master’s Note: If the Nightmare Catcher is taken from its location or touched by an individual under its influence, all ensnared by the item instantly awaken. They’re left physically unscathed but mentally traumatized, recalling every spine-chilling detail of the dream. This includes those who might have “died” within the dream; they will jolt awake, haunted by the palpable memories of their own demise. Conversely, if the Nightmare Catcher is left undisturbed, all effects, injuries, and deaths within the dream solidify, having genuine and lasting consequences.
NEED AN IDEA FOR A NIGHTMARE? USE THIS TABLE AS INSPIRATION.
d20 Table of Nightmares Projected by the Nightmare Catcher
1.) Endless Fall: Those caught in this nightmare experience an unending, vertigo-inducing plummet down an endless abyss.
2.) Cannibal Feast: The area becomes a grotesque dining hall where humans are being cooked and eaten.
3.) Man-Eating Plants: Vines and roots animate to life, sprouting thorny mouths that try to eat people.
4.) Sinking Ship: The ground turns into the deck of a sinking ship surrounded by dark, monstrous waters.
5.) Alien Abduction: Bizarre, otherworldly creatures appear to perform ghastly experiments on captives.
6.) Flesh Maze: The area transforms into a winding maze made entirely of pulsating flesh.
7.) Giant Spiders: Enormous, venomous spiders scuttle out from the shadows, wrapping people in webbing.
8.) Haunted Forest: Spectral images and ghostly figures lurk behind the trees, hunting the living.
9.) Burning Desert: An arid, fiery desert where the sand burns like hot coals underfoot.
10.) Labyrinth of Mirrors: A labyrinth filled with mirrors that show horrifying, distorted reflections.
11.) Zombie Apocalypse: The dead rise to feast on the living.
12.) Flesh-Eating Swarm: A swarm of locusts that eat away at flesh upon contact.
13.) War Zone: A nightmarish battlefield filled with invisible snipers and unidentifiable enemies.
14.) Dark Void: The world disappears, leaving only an infinite, suffocating darkness.
15.) Insidious Dopplegangers: Copies of friends and loved ones appear, but with malicious intentions.
16.) Toxic Wasteland: The area is filled with poisonous gases and contaminated water.
17.) Eldritch Transformation: People begin to mutate into nightmarish forms of themselves.
18.) Medieval Torture Dungeon: An old dungeon appears, filled with horrifying torture devices that are still in use.
19.) Reliving Past Traumas: Everyone sees manifestations of their worst memories and fears.
20.) Total Anarchy: All laws of physics and society break down; nothing is predictable.
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