Midnight Channel
What is the Midnight Channel?
The Midnight Channel is a mysterious world accessible through the screen of any television set in the country town of Inaba.
There's a popular story in Inaba that if you look into the screen of a turned-off television set at midnight, when it's raining, alone, you will see your soulmate. The reality is far more sinister.
Wreathed in fog, it is home to countless Shadows. It is here that the unfortunate will end up generating a dungeon crafted out of their repressed desires and thoughts which houses their very own Shadow, which seeks a confrontation with them. If they are not rescued quickly, before the fog fades away, they will die at their Shadow's hands.
The deaths of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi in early 2009 emphasize this outcome.
What is it like inside the Midnight Channel?
The Midnight Channel is cloaked in fog most of the time, which makes it difficult to see. A character needs special glasses to see more than a few feet in front of themself. It is easy to become lost in here.
Wandering Shadows are constantly roaming the Midnight Channel, and will attack Persona-users on sight. They will go berserk and attempt to kill anything they see when the fog fades away. When it is foggy in the real world, the fog fades in the dungeon, so it is important to rescue someone before the fog vanishes or they will die.
Resonance is dampened in the Midnight Channel. Spotter-type characters will have more trouble, with Teddie as the sole exception.
A 'central' area of sorts exists in the Stage, a large and stable location well-suited for people to meet up prior to exploration or rescue missions. It vaguely resembles the backstage of a television set.
Entrances to dungeons can be found here and there. These remain even after the Shadow has been defeated and can be re-explored. Ask players before using their former dungeons.
How does a character enter the Midnight Channel?
Only characters with a Persona or Shadow can enter the Midnight Channel on their own. They can, however, push someone in who has no powers.
Any TV will do, but a character will quickly find themself in a mysterious location, lost. If they do this on their own or are pushed in, they are likely to generate a dungeon. Traveling with a group appears to protect against this.
The only way to reach the Stage is through a large flatscreen TV for sale in Junes. No other TV will deposit a character in this location.
How does a character leave the Midnight Channel?
There are a few ways, but note that a character who has generated a dungeon becomes lost and cannot escape the Midnight Channel until they have confronted their Shadow.
- A character can ask Teddie to let them out, if they can find them. This requires that the character can reach the Stage.
- A character can pay Trish, a fairy who has set up an exorbitantly-priced healing spring within the Midnight Channel (and elsewhere) to let them out if they find her spring, but it will cost them greatly (in terms of yen).
- A character can find an exit leading to Mikage-cho, hidden deep in the Midnight Channel. This is extremely difficult to locate, and is a one-way trip. Then the issue becomes 'escaping Mikage-cho'. See Mikage-cho.
How does someone get pushed in?
There are two avenues to getting pushed in. First, someone in Inaba can become a little too popular via the media. Prior to their disappearance, a series of vague images of a person show up on switched-off TVs at midnight; they become clearer over time. Then they really do disappear, abducted and thrown into the TV by an unknown person or persons.
The other is to simply make an enemy of someone with a Persona or Shadow who knows about the Midnight Channel and what it can do, who then decide to throw the character into the Midnight Channel for whatever reason.
Once thrown in, a twisted advertisement starts playing on turned-off TVs at midnight, the one sure-fire way to know that someone is lost in the Midnight Channel.
What's the dungeon like? What's the Shadow like?
Dungeons will be like anything that is appropriate for the character in question. They are determined by the player.
Please see Personal Shadows for more information on this Shadow!
Can two or more people have a dungeon together?
Yes. This happens when they're pushed in or made to enter in succession, or when someone follows after another character. What tends to happen is either a linked dungeon, with one leading right into the other, or a dungeon or just the Shadow itself embedded into the dungeon of the other character.
Are there any dungeon-running tips?
There are a few things that can make running a dungeon go more smoothly. First, where staff can support you:
- Submit a +request, telling staff that you're doing a dungeon, when you're doing a dungeon, and what you want your character's Shadow to do in combat. This helps us make sure the weather syncs up, that no one else is in there when you are, and that you've got a good build for your boss fight.
That's it for staff! Next, here are a few tips for running a dungeon:
- Having a fair amount of relationships, reputation, and/or storybuilding with other characters helps. Involving whoever is able to show up somehow in the dungeon engages the character and the player. Make it fun both ways!
- It's recommended (but not required!) to schedule out two days for your dungeon. Some players have done their dungeons in one night, but sometimes, it's good to have a day set just in case.
- If you have time and energy, write whatever you can in advance. It could be things like descriptions, attacks, anything you want to not feel pressured about that. You may not use any of it, as things are often up in the air, but it might be helpful.
- Try choosing dates and times that work out for people you want to attend. It can make all the difference!
