[DL] S. T. Coleridge based deadlands adventure, questions

["Jim Rickel" <jrickel@fusionone.com>]

Howdy

I just wanted to get some input from the list on this.  I was thinking of
including a plotline that is loosely based of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's
work.  Nope you Moondogs I'm not talking about Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
I'm going with Rush and doing Kubla Khan.

I need to go into some background here.  Coleridge was very sickly in his
life, I believe he had consumption.  As I understand it Tuberculosis is very
painful, which is why Coleridge took opium.  It was in fact thought to be
addicted at the end of his life.  In any event, one day he was using the
opium, and fell into a fitful sleep.  He began dreaming the story present in
the poem Kubla Khan.  They actually say he dreamed the poem in verse, but I
sort of think that is a little too romantic to be true.  he was awakened by
someone at the door, whom he quickly made leave.  He then scrambled to write
down the story but as time went by he forgot major sections of the end.

My Idea was to have an opium den that was forcing these visions on there
customers.  Some sort of fearmonger controls the den and is feeding off the
nightmares it is causing.  The peoples addiction keeps them there, they are
free to leave otherwise.

I was further thinking the opium could be used to send the players to other
dimensions.  That sort of sounds dorky though, I am not sure on that.  I was
just thinking I would do a "Dream Quest of the Unknown Kaddath" sort of
thing.  Or sending the players to Kubla Khan, and having them deal with
problems.  Maybe even cross over some Feng Shui/ Thorns of the Lotus type
stuff.

That last bit is shacky.  Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks
Travel'n Jones
jrickel@fusionone.com