The Rules of the Dreamlands

Taking "On Thud and Blunder" by Poul Anderson to heart, I have tried to give the Dreamlands as much verisimilitude as I can without destroying the dreamlike quality Lovecraft originally gave it. As such, I have developed specific rules that govern the Dream "verse", and I have extensively researched a number of social and technological aspects to get the details right.

The Rules

1. The Dreamworld operates by the same physiochemical laws that govern the Waking World;

EXCEPT

2. Strong-willed and disciplined Dreamers can alter portions of the Dreamlands' Schrodinger wave function to alter the features and characteristics of the Lands of the Dreams of Men (this also serves as the basis for Dream-magic);

3. Time operates in a different fashion, in that events cycle through day and night, the seasons of the year, and birth and growth and aging and death, but there is no discernible "arrow of time", and there are places where time itself does not seem to exist; and

4. Technology is limited to pre-sixteenth century devices; that is, nothing later than 1500 can exist.

[There are exceptions to Rule 4: ideas, such as interchangeable part; devices too simple in design to be restricted by era (they could have existed earlier than they were invented if someone had had the right inspiration), such as kerosine lamps; and devices that actually existed earlier than generally accepted, such as glasses. Nonetheless, some things just stubbornly refuse to exist, such as telescopes.]

However, the very nature of the Dreamworld, in which Dreamers from many eras, from the deep prehistoric past to the far future, mix together, encourages the existence of an Anachronistic Stew, Theme Park History, Politically Correct History, and Schizo Tech, though within the restrictions set by the Four Rules.

There are also a number of factors that are unique to the Dreamlands, which influence events. One is the fact that gold and silver are much rarer than in the Waking World, so coinage is limited to two types: silver tahlers roughly equivalent to dollars, and gold crowns worth 50 tahlers each. Platinum is the rarest of the rare; copper is plentiful, but is used for industrial purposes. By far the most common valuables are gems and precious stones.

Another factor is the existence of three rival Dreaming species -- cats, spiders, and cetaceans -- as well as several indigenous non-human cultures and many (literally) fabulous creatures. Not to mention the existence of the god-like Great Ones.