Chaos and Order
A dream has a careful balance between Order and Chaos. The more orderly the dream is the more normal it looks to the point where it is hard to determine if it is a dream at all. The more chaotic the dream gets, the wilder and more unpredictable it becomes.
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A dream never stays in the same for long and your actions inside the dream may lead it to become more orderly or increase the amount of chaos happening. Some Jacks thrive on chaos and others thrive on order, but it is always a balancing act to get through a dream without going too far one way. The GM is in control of the "Chaos Scale" which lets the players know how chaotic the dream is at any one point.
Chaos Scale
The chaos scale goes from 0 to 20 with 0 representing Pure Order, representing a dream indistinguishable from the real world and 20 representing Pure Chaos, a dream of pure energy where no forms can exist for longer than a second. Most Dreams start off somewhere around 7, but this depends on the Mark and how crazy or real their dreams are.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
I I I I I I Pure Lucid Order Chaos Wake Pure
Order Point Point Point Point Chaos
There are a few important points that matter along this scale. At 5 and below all order effects of abilities will happen when that ability is used, this is called the Order Point. At 15 and above all chaos effects of abilities will happen when they are used, this is called the Chaos Point.
At 3 and below, Jacks start making Lucidity Checks, this is called the Lucid Point, a point where they struggle to distinguish the dream from the real world. At 17 and above Jack start making Wake Checks, this is called the Wake Point, the point where the Jacks start to be pulled apart by the chaos. (See the Wake Checks page for info on both these checks).
Chaos
As the world gets more chaotic, strange things start to happen. The dream stops functioning with regular physics and more becomes possible. tasks that were impossible seem to be achievable, and the scope of your power gets much greater. You may reach a point where your Jacks are battling as giants amongst a city scape, crashing through buildings before throwing them into a portal to a mystical land filled with bubbles.
GMs and players work together to determine how a dream is transitioning as it gains more chaos.
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Order
Dreams are a hard thing to grasp and even harder when your Jack can't tell if they are in the dream at all. Order is a measure of how normal and orderly a dream is. A dream may start with the Jacks on their way to work but the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the bus and the stop signs are in the reverse order. this would be a very orderly dream and your Jack may struggle to distinguish it from reality.
Random Chaos Conditions
Every now and then a random condition may happen due to a chaotic influence on the dream. Roll a die and apply that condition to whoever or whatever is effected.
The die value from d4 to d12 determines the severity of potential outcomes. (more on conditions later)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Hot
Cold
Wet
Zapped
Grounded
Burning
Charged
Fugued
Shifted
Frozen
Paralysed
Petrified