| Class: | Non-Corporeal Psychic or Ethereal Entity |
| Hab: | Dreams / Adjoining Planes, some extremely alien |
| Fre: | Very Rare |
| Num: | 4-24 |
| Lair: | 90% |
| Size: | NA / elephantine poly-ped wisps on Ethereal Plane |
| Move: | Wind-fast; ignore physical obstacles |
| Def: | Immaterial |
| Att: | Psychic leech, delusion, psychic domination / mesmerization |
| Int: | Supra-genius, but somewhat to very alien |
| Spec: | Influence luck, foresee / spin future; they make incredible luck for themselves |
| Posns: | Knowledge, omens, grant luck; may stash treasures as part of plans |
Dream Spiders are non-corporeal ethereal entities that weave elaborate dream-webs. A family of Dream Spiders sets up a home locus in a secure site where several planes of existence draw close. Using their hyper-dimensional webs, they knit together at least three planes which they can themselves inhabit, including the ethereal plane, building an isolated "pocket universe" as their nest-locus. From this nest-locus the Spiders unfurl their hyper-dimensional dream-webs as much as a mile away, the webs extending through a wide variety of planes, some familiar, other bizarre; the webs can be spun through planes that the Spiders could not themselves inhabit. Thus, their effects can penetrate any place where there are beings, beast or Folk, who dream.
Dream Spiders read the dreams of all within reach of their dream-webs, both Folk and beast. From this, they gain much information and insight. The Spiders also read the subconscious of their hosts, those who sleep in the physical space parallel to their ethereal nest sites. Further, they cast snares for omens; their oracular powers are considerable. They use their regional knowledge, foresight, and knowledge of the most secret desires of those who sleep near them to guide their hosts.
Hosts who continue to sleep in a place haunted by Dream Spiders will soon discover that they develop hunches and second-sight, having bursts of inspiration or foresight. This can be quite beneficial; for some, the reward of the Dream Spiders' prophesies and foresight is worth the cost of supporting them.
For every flash of precognition or inspiration, the Dream Spiders leech energy. The more they influence their victims' "luck," the more they leech. Spiders vary in their ethics. In some cases the Dream Spiders work to develop a symbiotic relationship, cultivating dream-hosts whom they lavish with gifts of foreknowledge in return for succulent psychic energies. Such beneficent Dream Spiders may be the "powers behind the throne" of a legitimate temple oracle, or be the secret power behind a local shaman or seer, chieftain or tyrant.
Other Spiders are quite parasitic; these inimical psychic Spiders use their powers to set up their victims, purposefully creating dangerous situations such as generate a maximum amount of succulent psychic energies. Such evil genius may inspire lesser Folk or even mere beasts to set elaborate traps, designed to squeeze a maximum of psychic energy from those foolish enough to venture within range of their webs and influence.
Inimical Dream Spiders are only one of the three dreads referred to as "dream riders;" SEE also Daydreams and Dream Tick entries.
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