To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)

Frequently Asked Questions

Blighted Island cards

• If the Blight card is <i>Aid from Lesser Spirits</i> and Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares is playing, is the Minor Power it gets subject to To Dream a Thousand Deaths?
  Yes. It says "as if played", so it obeys the Special Rules of the Spirit using it.

  Thematically, the minor spirits are working through Bringer of Dreams & Nightmares - it's why the Power targets through Bringer's Presence and why Bringer gains the Elements from it. (An alternate version which could target anywhere but provided no Elements might be interesting.)
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Playing Power Cards, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Aid from Lesser Spirits

Play Options

• When playing without Events, what type of Action is Commanding Beasts? Can you use your special rules to modify what the Beasts do?
  It is a separate Event Action for each land with Beasts (JE p. 20). A Spirit's special rules generally don't apply, since they usually only affect their Powers in particular or their Spirit Actions in general.

  For example, Sharp Fangs Behind the Leaves can move their Presence with the commanded Beasts, since their "Ally of the Beasts" special rule apply when Beasts move for any reason. On the other hand, Many Minds Move as One can't Push Beasts to lands 2 away, since their "Fly Fast as Thought" special rule only applies when they move the Beasts with Spirit Actions, not when Events move Beasts.
  Tags: Actions, Playing Without Events, Beasts, Sharp Fangs behind the Leaves, 13 more...

Scenarios

• In the Dahan Insurrection scenario, if Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares moves Dahan do they do real damage or shadow damage?
  They deal real damage.

  It is the scenario that is causing the damage, not Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, so its special rule does not apply.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, Dahan Insurrection, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Transforming Aspect (Heart of the Wildfire), 2 more...

Spirits and Innate Powers

• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares combine Damage-dealing Powers usefully with Damage from other Spirits?
  It depends on ordering. Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares can take advantage of partially Damaged Invaders: e.g.: if another Spirit does 2 Damage to a City, then Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares could afterwards use a 1-Damage Power to earn 5 Fear (because 1 Damage would have destroyed the City). It could even use several Damaging Powers in a row to earn 5 Fear for each! But if Bringer uses a 1-Damage Power on an unhurt City, it will do nothing, and have no lingering effects that would interact with anything done later.

  For each Power Bringer uses, briefly imagine a universe where you resolve the entire Power normally. Whenever it would destroy an Invader in that universe, in the real game you earn 0/2/5 Fear and Push it if it's an Explorer or Town. But whatever Bringer does, it doesn't change the actual amount of damage on the piece.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Damage, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares' Powers benefit from Badlands?
  Yes.

  This isn't necessarily obvious: To Dream a Thousand Deaths affects the instructions of Bringer's powers (see FAQ), and unlike most damage modifiers, Badlands applies when the results of an action deal Damage (otherwise "Badlands don't apply if Damage is reduced to 0" makes no sense). So on first blush, Badlands shouldn't apply.

  However, the effects of To Dream a Thousand Deaths key off "what Invaders would this Damage/Destroy instruction have destroyed if this Power were doing Damage/Destruction to those Invaders normally?" – and the answer to that depends on Badlands.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Badlands, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Flame's Fury (Heart of the Wildfire), 1 more...
• Against Tsardom of Russia Level 2+, if Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses a Power that would destroy Explorers, can it get the bonus Fear from Russia?
  Yes. Both Russia's Level 2 and To Dream a Thousand Deaths modify what happens when you destroy the Explorers; you get to choose which one to use.

  If not using the Violence Aspect, you could choose to use To Dream a Thousand Deaths if for some reason you didn't want the Fear.

  This interaction is a change from the normal modifier rules specifically for Russia + Bringer. In general, pieces can't be saved from destruction (as Russia Level 2 does) when Bringer would directly destroy or Damage them, since Bringer never directly destroys or Damages anything other than its own Presence.
  Tags: Action Modifiers, Saved From Destruction, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Tsardom of Russia, 1 more...
• What happens if Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses the threshold effect of Cast Down into the Briny Deep?
  Per its special rule, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares will not destroy the targeted board, nor anything on the targeted board other than its own Presence. Since all the Invaders there would be destroyed, they instead are pushed and/or generate Fear, per Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares' usual rules.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Cast Down into the Briny Deep, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares Repeats a Power, can the Repeat "destroy" Invaders that were "destroyed" by the original Power use?
  Yes. The Repeat is considered a separate action from the original.

  This also means Bringer's Repeat cannot usefully combine Damage with its original – for instance a Repeated "2 Damage" Power couldn't do anything to an undamaged City. The original action would resolve, and 2 Damage isn't enough to destroy the City, so nothing happens. Then the second use of the Power resolves, and 2 Damage isn't enough to destroy the City, so nothing happens.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Repeat, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares
• If a Fear or Event effect causes damage, can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares still use it?
  Fear and Event cards are not Powers, so the special rule To Dream a Thousand Deaths does not apply. Thus the player who is playing Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares can, for instance, do real damage with the Dahan Raid fear card.

  Thematically, the Dahan are actually doing a raid in the real world, it is not just a nightmare caused by Bringer. It also doesn't matter if it's a choice Event you pay Energy for: the damage is still real.

  Similarly, if Bringer uses a Defense power, the Dahan deal real damage during the Ravage phase as normal; it's the Dahan dealing damage, not Bringer.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Fear, Events, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, 0 more...
• For the "Relentless Optimism" Event (Destroying Towns/Cities generates no fear), can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares still gain Fear and Push?
  Yes, because Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares doesn't generate Fear for destroying Towns/Cities, it generates Fear via "To Dream a Thousand Deaths" instead of destroying Towns/Cities.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Relentless Optimism, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Transforming Aspect (Heart of the Wildfire), 0 more...
• What happens if Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses its special rule to push a Town into the Ocean on a board where Ocean's Hungry Grasp has presence?
  The Invader is Drowned, by Ocean's Hungry Grasp's special rule. It is Ocean's Hungry Grasp doing the destroying, so that works as normal.

  This generates 3 total Fear: two for the "destruction" by Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, plus another 1 Fear for the actual destruction by Ocean's Hungry Grasp.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Ocean's Hungry Grasp, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, Ocean In Play (Ocean's Hungry Grasp), To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), 0 more...
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares does shadow damage to a damaged Town, causing Fear and Pushing it, does the damage get healed?
  No, Towns and Cities remain at whatever Damage they had taken before Bringer of Dreams and Nightmare used its power.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Damage, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Terror Stalks the Land (Breath of Darkness Down Your Spine), 1 more...
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses a Power that Damages/Destroys Dahan, what happens?
  Nothing happens to the Dahan. Bringer's Powers cannot Destroy anything other than its own Presence, so you ignore that instruction.

  The rest of the Power takes effect normally. ("General Principle: Do as much as you can", p. 17)
  Tags: Dahan, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares use "To Dream a Thousand Deaths" to generate Fear/Push Invaders that are protected by the Heart-Tree Incarna?
  Yes. Since "To Dream a Thousand Deaths" ensures that Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares doesn't even attempt to deal Damage or destroy any Invaders/Dahan/Beasts with its Powers, there's no destruction for the Heart-Tree Incarna to prevent.

  (This could have been ruled either way – "To Dream a Thousand Deaths" is structured in a way that makes clean ruling difficult. The ruling is partly for thematic/story reasons and partly so that players who already played it this way won't feel like they cheated.)
  Tags: Damage, Destroy, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, 2 more...
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses "Mists of Oblivion," do they get the Power Card's bonus fear for destroying Towns/Cities? (Relatedly, can they trigger "Vengeance of the Dead"?)
  No. No Towns/Cities are actually destroyed, so "Mists of Oblivion" grants no bonus Fear. And similarly, "Vengeance of the Dead" doesn't deal any Damage.

  "To Dream a Thousand Deaths" only changes what happens when Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares would destroy/damage Invaders. It doesn't change what happens if an effect checks whether or not Invaders actually got destroyed.
  (Discussion elsewhere) (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Fear, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, Mists of Oblivion, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), 5 more...
• If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares uses Infestation of Venomous Spiders and meets the threshold, does it deal real Damage?
  No. The threshold is a triggered action from Bringer's Power, so obeys To Dream a Thousand Deaths.
  Tags: Triggered Actions, Infestation of Venomous Spiders, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares destroy already-damaged pieces by moving them into/out of lands that affect their Health? (Eg: moving a Dahan that has taken 2+ Damage out of a land where it's getting a Health bonus from Promises of Protection.)
  Yes. The Power itself isn't performing any damage or destroy effects, which is what To Dream a Thousand Deaths modifies; it's just changing where a piece is. From that, the game's core rules cause the piece to be destroyed.

  The destruction does still happen within the scope of the action (Power), so triggered actions like Vengeance of the Dead will trigger after the action (Power) is complete.
  Tags: Damage, Health, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares), Infinite Vitality, 3 more...
• When Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares adds Blight, does that destroy Presence?
  Yes.

  Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares can add real Blight, and it's the Blight that destroys the Presence.
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Blight, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares combine Damage from multiple Powers - eg, use a "2 Damage" Power and a "1 Damage" Power to earn 5 Fear for an unhurt City?
  No. First the "2 Damage" Power resolves and does nothing (because that Power would not have destroyed an unhurt City). Then the "1 Damage" Power resolves and does nothing (because it would not have destroyed an unhurt City). Neither has any lingering effect of any kind.

  If it were a single Power doing 2 Damage then 1 Damage, it would earn the Fear, because then that Power would have destroyed an unhurt City. For each Power Bringer uses, briefly imagine a universe where you resolve the entire Power normally. Whenever it would destroy an Invader in that universe, in the real game you earn 0/2/5 Fear and Push it if it's an Explorer or Town.
  Tags: Damage, Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares, To Dream a Thousand Deaths (Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares)
• Can Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares do real damage (destroying cities, etc) with Power X?
  The answer, in general, is 'no'. If the Power says "damage" or "destroy", it doesn't matter if it also says that Dahan, Beasts, Invaders, or anything else are doing that damage, the source is still ultimately Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares and is only nightmare damage.

  This applies even if the power has some other spirit doing something (eg, Blazing Renewal). If Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares played the power, it cannot do real damage.

  But: note that Bringer of Dreams and Nightmares can "remove" or "replace" Invaders without restriction, can trigger Invader Actions (ie, cause a Ravage, which will involve real damage), can modify how Invader actions work, and can usefully add Defense (without changing how the Dahan deal their retaliation damage in the Ravage).
  (Discussion elsewhere)  Tags: Veil the Night's Hunt, Manifestation of Power and Glory (Thunderspeaker), Instruments of their Own Ruin, Insatiable Hunger of the Swarm, 6 more...