The Dream Character Induced Lucid Dream (DCILD)

In essence, the DCILD is a variation of the DILD in which an interaction with a dream character will induce lucidity. For example, I once had a dream I was walking across a bridge, talking to a friend. She asked me "Have you ever wondered if life is just a dream?" I became instantly lucid, although I confirmed with some reality checks. This is a prime example of how a dream character can help you become lucid. This mostly happens at random, but there are ways to improve the odds of this occuring.

1. Introduce your friends to lucid dreaming. Being part of an oneironaut community is invaluable to DCILDing. The more you speak to friends about lucid dreaming in your waking life, the more it will transfer into your dreams. Make a habit of asking your friends if they are dreaming, and vice-versa.

2. Do reality checks whenever the topic of dreaming comes up in a conversation. I've had several instances where a dream character will ask me about lucid dreaming, and a massive discussion will follow, but I never do a reality check. If you commit to checking yourself whenever you hear anything having to do with dreaming, your chances of having a DCILD will skyrocket.

3. Identify frequent dream characters. Using autosuggestion, you can condition yourself to recognize dream figures that appear often in your dreams. Whenever you see this person, do a reality check. Oftentimes, a reality check isn't even necessary, as you may become instantly lucid upon seeing the dream character. Look through your dream journal, and see if a certain person appears more than others in your recorded dreams.

A pretty solid chunk of my lucid dreams have come through a DCILD, perhaps because I have oneironaut friends, and they often remind me to do reality checks. If you think your friends will laugh at the idea of lucid dreaming, try tempting them with the idea of having sex with anyone they want, flying to any planet, etc. Having regular conversation about dreaming greatly increases your chances of becoming lucid, and should not be overlooked. Here's one of my DCILD's:

I was walking with my friends though this strange aquarium type building, towards the exit. I was talking with one of my oneironaut friends, who happens to be a frequent dream figure. The topic of conversation briefly shifted to dreaming, and I suddenly became more aware, and more suspicious of my surroundings. I looked at my hands, and noticed that I had six and a half fingers. I told my friends that I was having a lucid dream, but none of them believed me. I levitated four feet into the air, and simply smiled, as they stood dumbfounded. "Peace out." I said, and burst out the front doors flying. I flew across an urban landscape, past buildings and streetlights. Suddenly, I was in an appartment building, and decided to walk through the wall to my left. As I walked through, I felt nothing, but saw nothing, also. Then, I found myself in my neighborhood, with a different group of friends. They were holding a map, and trying to find their way somewhere. I took off, flying again. I flew onto the roof of a house, where an old lady was sculpting a bronze statue. The rest of my dream was spent jumping from roof to roof, through the city.