The Dance of Dreams | Learn to Play Vaesen
"A shadow play of horror, murder, and revenge! Your presence is urgently requested at the Witch Cat Inn."
$15.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Tuesday - 11:30 PM UTC
Mar 24
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
0 / 5 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
The Dance of Dreams is an introductory gothic horror mystery for Vaesen, designed for players who enjoy atmosphere, folklore, and slow-burning dread. You are members of the Society in the Swedish city of Upsala. Through a traumatic event, you gained the Sight, the ability to perceive what others cannot, exposing you to myth, magic, monsters, and nightmares. Set in the Mythic North near the close of the nineteenth century, Vaesen blends fairy-tale wonder with creeping horror, evoking films like The VVITCH and the darker Grimm stories, where beauty and terror coexist. For centuries, Vaesen lived alongside humanity, unseen but deeply woven into daily life. They protected farms, guided animals home, and promised dreams in exchange for offerings and sacrifice. But the old ways are fading. Industrialization, new ideas, and the collapse of rural traditions have broken ancient agreements, and the creatures of forest, water, and field are turning hostile, erratic, and dangerous. This is a story-first, theater-of-the-mind mystery focused on investigation, mood, and moral uncertainty. Expect quiet moments, eerie discoveries, and a steady rise of dread as the familiar becomes unsafe.
Game style
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Theater of the Mind
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(24)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
23 games hosted
Highly rated for: Teacher, Sets the Mood, Inclusive
About me
I am a passionate storyteller. I decided I wanted to become a writer when I was fourteen years old and have never deviated from that goal. All roads lead there. I am a professional Technical Writer, creating documentation and knowledge bases for both hardware and software companies. I also write, direct, produce, and edit a long-form documentary series for YouTube; have written several screenplays (both my own and commissioned); have published a memoir; and have had several essays and short stories published in various outlets. I came to TTRPGs late in life, through a chance encounter with Dimension 20 on Dropout.tv. I had never been exposed. In my youth, no one in my circle played or even spoke about Dungeons & Dragons, so I was left with the cliches. But the format instantly clicked with me and made me want to use the various systems to exercise a different part of my storytelling brain. When I run a game, I think of it as a screenplay: I know the beginning, but don't control the characters. And while that is daunting, it's also wildly exciting. Breathing a new kind of life into storytelling.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
The Dance of Dreams uses five pre-generated characters. Before the session, I will contact the group, and we will decide how characters are assigned. This may be done by player choice, by a random d6 roll using a hidden assignment table, or by full random assignment. For this scenario, my preference is random assignment, as it keeps onboarding fast, avoids early stakeholding in a specific character, and prevents delays if multiple players want the same role. Although this is an official Vaesen mystery published by Free League, I introduce additional twists and variations, and no two runs are the same. Players are welcome to join future sessions if they would like to experience the story from a different character’s perspective.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Welcome to The Dance of Dreams! To keep onboarding smooth and get us up to speed quickly, please complete the following steps before the session. None of this is difficult, but doing it ahead of time helps avoid technical delays once we start. What we’ll be using • Roll20: The virtual tabletop where we play, roll dice, and manage characters • Discord: Voice chat and coordination https://discord.gg/pw262FFCFy Preparation steps 1. Create a free Roll20 account: https://roll20.net/ 2. I will send you a direct invitation link to the Roll20 game. Once you join, your character will already be assigned and ready to play. If Roll20 is new to you, the learning curve is gentle. This quick guide covers the basics: https://app.roll20.net/editor/?embedded=0&spectator=0 You do not need to create a character. Pre-generated character sheets will be provided in Roll20 and chosen in Discord after a brief discussion.
What Dan brings to the table
The Dance of Dreams is a highly immersive introduction to Vaesen, designed to teach the system while delivering a complete gothic horror mystery. This is not a rushed tutorial, but a carefully paced scenario that uses music, NPC voices, custom graphics, and subtle tweaks to the published adventure to build atmosphere and sustain tension. I run Vaesen close to the rules as written to preserve uncertainty and consequence, adjusting when it improves flow or deepens mood. Violence is rare and dangerous. The focus is on investigation, unease, and the sense that something is wrong long before it becomes clear what that something is. Fear comes from discovery, not shock. The scenario uses pre-generated characters, each designed to ease new players into roleplay and investigation. They provide structure and direction without forcing performance or conflict. The goal is to learn how Vaesen works by playing, not by studying rules. At the table, I maintain a calm, supportive environment. I check in regularly, help frame options if the group stalls, and make sure everyone has space to participate. Comfort and respect are non-negotiable. The goal is a memorable, immersive evening where players can settle into the story and experience the strange, beautiful, and unsettling world of Vaesen for the first time.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Dan creates a safe table
Player comfort always comes first, but so does clarity. The Dance of Dreams is a deliberately intense gothic horror mystery, and I do not soften its themes once play begins. My approach as a GM is to treat players as adults, allowing them to make an informed choice about the experience they are stepping into. Think of this as buying a ticket to a dark folk-horror film: the content warnings are real, the tone is sustained, and the material may go further than expected. Before the session, I clearly outline the tone and content of The Haunting of Castle Gyllencreutz. Vaesen is rooted in dread, folklore, isolation, and moral uncertainty rather than blood or gore. This scenario deals with supernatural horror, psychological distress, historical cruelty, social injustice, and the slow erosion of safety and trust. If those elements are not something you want in your game, this may not be the right table for you, and that is completely fine. The TTRPG space is large, and no single game or story is meant for everyone. During play, there are multiple ways to pause or redirect the game if something feels uncomfortable. Players may speak up at the table, DM me the letter X via Discord, use Roll20’s whisper-to-GM feature, or drop a digital Safety Card in Roll20. Any of these can be used at any time, with no explanation required. If a safety tool is used, the content will be adjusted or skipped, and play will continue. I also make space after each session to decompress and step out of character. My job is to keep the horror in the fiction, not at the table. The intensity is intentional, but the environment is always controlled, respectful, and collaborative.
Content warnings
Safety tools used