Type: General
Source: Heroes of Horror
You gain a number of abilities and advantages related to dreams and magic.
Prerequisite: Dreamtelling, ability to cast spells of any sort.
Benefit: Oneiromancy grants you a number of interrelated bonuses. First, when casting spells in a nightmare realm, your spells always work as normal; you do not risk the same mishaps that other casters experience.
Second, while in the dreamscape, you are considered to have Spell Focus (enchantment) and Spell Focus (illusion), due to your ability to manipulate the thoughts of dreamers and the stuff of dreams. If you already have Spell Focus in one or both of these schools, the DC bonus to saves stacks so long as you remain within the dreamscape.
Third, you can target your offensive spells at a target's dream self, rather than his physical form. Because this deals mental damage only, it transforms all damage dealt by that spell into nonlethal damage. This effect functions only on creatures that both sleep and dream: Constructs, plants, undead, and elves are immune to this effect. Only spells that target a single creature or specific number of creatures benefit from this effect; you cannot apply it to spells that target an area.
Special: Because you are more tightly connected to the world of dreams, you are more susceptible to certain types of mental manipulation. You take a -1 penalty on saves against enchantment and illusion spells and effects when in the physical realm. If you are slain while mentally traveling the dreamscape, your physical body dies, whether or not this is the case for most travelers.
Normal: Casters in nightmare realms have a chance of mishap when casting spells. In some instances, those who die in the dreamscape experience effects other than death in the real world. See Adventuring in Nightmare Realms in Chapter 3 Heroes of Horror.