Persona
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What is a Persona?
On PersonaMUSH, a Persona is an aspect of one's self that a person can summon forth to assist them, whether in or out of combat. They allow the user to perform great feats or endure situations they would not otherwise be able to, and give them a fighting chance against supernatural elements.
Personas derive from Jungian psychology, and as such, also borrow heavily from his concept of the Collective Unconsciousness -- a shared unconsciousness for all humans across all time. As a result, Personas all take the names and concepts of various figures and beings from throughout human history and belief.
What can be a Persona?
Most things! Personas typically draw from some shared figure from human history or belief, as above. With this in mind, Personas can be derived from myth, history, literature, folklore and more.
Are there restrictions on what can be a Persona?
Only a few! They are as follows:
- They must have existed in human history. Sorry, but you can't make up something to be your Persona.
- They cannot be an object or place.
- Personas of things or people created, imagined, or deceased after 1900 will be subjected to closer scruitiny during application. We ask that you don't apply for 20th century and beyond figures that meet any of the following characteristics: no controversial figures, no pop culture, and no one who is still alive.
How does my character get a Persona?
We have a newsfile on this topic, please see Persona Gaining.
Can my character have their Persona taken away?
Generally speaking, no. If a character has earned a Persona by becoming an experiment, they will lose their Persona if the implant is removed. Otherwise, nothing other than the character themselves deciding that they will give up having a Persona will result in its loss. Not even the most powerful supernatural entities can take one away.
Can anyone see a Persona?
All PCs with a Persona or Shadow can see another person's summoned Persona. Generally speaking, most civilian NPCs can't see a Persona, but some people are just sensitive to them and can see them. Naturally they can see them just fine if they're attacked by one. Player NPCs without a Persona or Shadow may see or not see a Persona at their player's discretion.
What's a heroic action and what someone do with one?
A heroic action is defined as an non-coded (no csys or stats involved!) use of a Persona to temporarily do things a character wouldn't normally be able to do, such as pry open heavy metal shutters, or to reach someone or something just out of grasp with their Persona. Think of it like adrenaline: by borrowing their Persona's power or their Persona's touch directly, a character can do normally impossible things for a short period.
These actions are externally focused: since your character's Persona is an extension of themself, they can't have their Persona throw themself, for example. They can certainly try to throw other people, though.
