Info about Nightmare Lands / City of Nod

[Dark Whisper]

I'm looking for any information about the Nightmare Lands as a whole and The City of Nod. The only things I have so far is the AD&D Boxed Set, but it leaves open a lot of things.

So do you know, where more info can be found ? Or did you do something yourself and would care to share it ?

Thanks in advance.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

As far as printed sources go, the Nightmare Lands boxed set is about all you're going to get so far. But, lots of people have their own spins on it, I'm sure...

[The Lesser Evil]

The City of Nod, IIRC, was first detailed in the Book of Crypts. It later was put as a part of the Nightmare Lands (and has a writeup in) Domains of Dread.

Deep Shadow posted an interesting dread possibility back on the Malodorous Goat messageboards a while ago linking Hazlick to the Ghost Dancer, a member of the Nightmare Court. Here's what he said:

I've put together a couple of interesting tidbits in Hazlik's history and elsewhere in the demiplane, and I've built up a theory that I want to discuss.

First, let's lay out the points:

1. Despite his heinous crime against his rival and her lover, Hazlik was not made a DL right away. He entered RL in the Nightmare Lands, and after nearly going mad, he fled into the Mists and found Hazlan.

2. The Abber of the Nightmare Lands practice tattoo magic, which is only found in one other domain in RL--Hazlan.

3. Hazlik's curse is to relive his humiliating experiences every time he sleeps, in his dreams.

4. The Nightmare Court are the masters of torturous nightmares in RL.

5. The Nightmare Court have been known to extend their abilities outside of RL.

6. The Nightmare Man has been known to recruit powerful mages to assist him. One of these mages (Guiver Mythspeaker) is now a dreamwraith--a unique form of undead that exists only in dreams.

7. The members of the Nightmare Court share power, but their leader arrived in RL by himself, and membership has changed over the years (in Gothic Earth, Peter Pan is actually the Red-Headed child, a member of the NC).

8. The Ghost Dancer is the only member of the NC that invariably appears undead.

What if Hazlik's crime wasn't what took him to RL? What if he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, as his female rival inherited the fate she had earned through her pact with the Nightmare Man? What if her undead spirit was sucked into RL and became the Ghost Dancer, personification of guilt? She attempts to torture him in his dreams, he flees into the mists, forms Hazlan, and she continues the torment from afar.

Who better to humilate Hazlik than the person who started it all? Of course, being DL's they can't actually face each other, so she has to send dreamspawn to act on her behalf, but this may be part of her curse. The Abber may have learned the secrets of tattoo magic from her, perhaps through the dreamspawn that she sends after Hazlik. After all, the dreamspawn have been instructed in the tattoos that Hazlik wears.

The Ghost Dancer may simply be the latest member of the NC. While the domain had existed fo years beforehand, there is no guarantee that she was there from the beginning.

[Igor the Henchman]

The "Order of Twilight" article from the Book of Shadows offered a theory concerning the Nightmare Man's past.

[The Lesser Evil]

Whoops! I got the City of Nod confused with Davion, the mad domain named after its insane lord, Damvion the mad. The land is a pocket domain in the Nightmare Lands that shifts as the various split personalities of Davion takes control. The references I gave above were for Davion, not the City of Nod. Domanins of Dread has a map and a short writeup of the Nightmare Lands domain, though. Denizens of Dread has stats for dreamspawn also.

[Ryan Naylor]

Just to be pedantic, I believe SotDR and GazI specify that Hazlik is tormented by Hypnos.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Take note that the Nightmare Lands were supposed to lie on the east border of the core to the mist, according to the first boxed set.
IIRC, they were later replaced somewhere else.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Duly noted, Ryan. I'm flattered that someone copied my little pet theory and saved it all this time, but you are correct, and I've been forced to go back to the drawing board on that one.

I haven't totally scrapped the idea, but I'm having to take another hard look at things...perhaps Hazlik's male victim became Hypnos? Hypnos does specialize in humiliation....hmmmmm....

Of course, the evidence that wounds my theory also supports parts of it, because Hazlik is being tormented by the court, and what's more, this confirms that not only can they enter other domains, they can even enter the dreams of other DL's!

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

Just to be pedantic, I believe SotDR and GazI specify that Hazlik is tormented by Hypnos.

Just out of curiosity, where exactly?

[Igor the Henchman]

Well, he emerged in the Nightmare Lands, and was terrified by a white tower he saw looming in the distance, and next thing he knows, he is suffering from nightmares where he is being humiliated and ridiculed by his former rivals.

Coincidence...?

[Gemathustra]

It could be that Hypnos torments Hazlik the behest of the Ghost Dancer.

[sabbattack]

Hi, could someone please point out what was in the Nightmare Lands original Box Set? I've only located/bought the basic book so far.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

According to the review page here in the Drawing Room:

Summary of content:
Book One: the journal of Dr. Illhousen
Book Two: the rules of dreams and nighmares
Book Three: book of nightmares (adventures)
Book Four: new monsters (Arcane heads; Dream Spawn - Ennui, Morphs; Dreamweavers; Lost souls; Men, Abber shaman) and the Nightmare Court (Ghost Dancer, Hypnos, Morpheus, Mullonga, the Nightmare Man and the Rainbow Serpent)
Two maps: One of the domain and one of places (Grieving Cathedral - the Nightmare Man's Lair; Theater Macabre - Ghost Dancer's Lair).