Persona Gaining

The following methods are valid means for gaining a Persona on PersonaMUSH:

• The Persona Game: The character plays a game and has a mysterious dream where a question is posed to them. Should they answer well, they may gain a Persona when thrust into a grave situation.
• The Evoker: Character has the Potential, gained from a life-changing decision of theirs. With the help of a tool, they can bring forth their Persona.
• The Midnight Channel: Thrown into the Midnight Channel, the character is forced to face themself. Should they weather this trial, they gain a Persona.
• The Experiment: Subject to experiments, the character gains a Persona... at the cost to their health or even lifespan.
• The Fortune-Teller: The character chances by a mysterious fortune-teller, who asks them a question about what troubles them. Should they decide to face their future, they can gain a Persona from him.
• The Offer: A supernatural entity offers a pact - power (and a Persona), for a price.

The Persona Game

How does this work?

A character plays a game called the Persona Game with other people, then has a strange dream about a figure who seems both butterfly and human named Philemon. He asks them a question about who they are, and if they answer him correctly, they will be able to awaken to their Persona when they are in grave danger.

What's the Persona Game like?

There are variations, but the most common one involves two or more people walking along the borders of a bounded space (like a room) while they call out for 'Persona' to come to them.

Usually the game is played with the idea that it will show you what you're like in the future, sort of like a more benign version of games like Bloody Mary. Some variations of the game involve more occult trappings or ritual, but the core remains more or less the same.

What's the dream like? What question does Philemon ask?

The night after playing, individual who plays the game dreams of a strange realm where there are nothing but themself and Philemon. The exact question Philemon asks can vary, but the core of it is always to determine whether or not the dreamer has a strong sense of self. It is typically something along the line of 'who are you?', where a proper answer might be the character's name or other aspect of their identity.

Being unable to answer means that the dream ends and they will never see Philemon again.

Refusing to answer means that he will continue to reappear to them, as long as necessary.

How does someone awaken to their Persona?

Any kind of grave situation will do. Typically, it comes from a direct threat on their life, but this is not always the case.

The Evoker

How does this work?

A character who has the mysterious qualification called 'the Potential' may use a special tool called an 'Evoker' to draw out their Persona. Most often, these people are members of SEES or otherwise associated with the Kirijo Corporation.

How does my character gain the Potential?

When a character assumes a self-directed path in their life, they may gain the raw ability to summon a Persona. This is called by many 'the Potential'. Often they have also experienced loss, change, or death in their lives, in one form or another.

How does someone awaken to their Persona?

Typically, people who have the Potential experience the Dark Hour in their sleep, or stumble into it in some fashion, which is how they are usually found by SEES or Kirijo and recruited. Once they accept their Evoker and ally with the group, they can use their Evoker to draw out their Persona at will.

Notice that people who use an Evoker do not need to use it in the Midnight Channel, or other similar supernatural places within the Collective Unconsciousness (Mikage-cho, the SHU).

Evoker-users may later gain a Persona by other methods if they lose their Evoker.

Is there anything else I should know about an Evoker?

Just a few!

• Evokers can be used on other Persona-users with predictable results: their Persona will manifest. People without a Persona who haven't been primed by other methods (played the Persona Game, etc) will not.
• Most Evokers are in the hands of SEES or Kirijo, but some have been lost.
• Dismantling an Evoker exposes the rather dangerous core of the device, which will lead to immediate Apathy Syndrome for anyone who accomplishes this.

The Midnight Channel

How does this work?

The character is thrown (or goes willingly!) into the Midnight Channel where their psyche forms a prison. By confronting their rejected thoughts and self deep in the Midnight Channel with the assistance of their rescuers, the user is able, once they recover from the ordeal, to summon their Persona at will.

Needless to say, the encounter with the Shadow is never easy for a character, and typically evokes great feelings of stress and shame.

Note that unlike the games, people who gain a Persona by this method may use it anywhere.

How does my character get thrown in?

There are many ways. The typical one is to end up in the news somehow in Inaba, drawing local attention to oneself, but it can be as easy as 'someone with a grudge and a working knowledge of the Midnight Channel throws the character in.'

After that, all the character needs is someone to come and rescue them, because a Shadow cannot be overcome by oneself.

What's the Midnight Channel like?

We have a newsfile dedicated to this topic. Please see Midnight Channel.

What's the Shadow like?

Please see Personal Shadows for more information!

Is there anything else I should know?

This method of gaining a Persona should happen in play (unless it's already happened for a character, as in the cases of certain FCs!), as the character needs to be rescued by other players, and it would be a big burden on them otherwise!

The Experiment

How does this work?

A character receives an artificial Persona through medical/surgical means from a particular group or organization. They are afterwards able to summon a Persona, though they may suffer side-effects from their implanted Persona.

Are there different types of experiments?

Yes, there are at least two broad types. One involves brain implants that manage their artificial Persona, the others tend to be drug-induced, taking a cocktail of pills to maintain their Persona. People who are subjected to either may be willing or unwilling.

Please discuss any unusual experiment concepts with admin.

Who does Persona experiments?

Generally, the NWO does the bulk of them, though other organizations or individuals may be out there.

What kinds of side-effects exist? Are there always side-effects?

There are usually side-effects for a given character; they may be as severe as the player wishes. They can include things like headaches, memory difficulties, nerve damage, shortened lifespan, or anything else a player deems appropriate for their character. Willing implantees tend to have less severe side-effects but this isn't a given. Please mention any notable side effects (such as a shortened lifespan) in the app.

Is there anything else I should know?

There are two additional things:

• A character's Persona still must align with the character or it won't implant.
• A character can lose their Persona if they have their implant removed or lose access to their pills.

The Fortune-Teller

How does this work?

While seeking an answer to a personal and current crisis, the character finds their path crossing that of a strange long-nosed fortune-teller. If they speak to him, he asks them a question after speaking vaguely about their life, akin to the way a psychic reader might.

Regardless of the way that question is answered, he asks them one thing more: whether they will chose their future or accept whatever happens. Should they decide that they will choose, they receive a card from him and the power of Persona. After that, they can use the card to summon their Persona.

What kinds of questions does the fortune-teller ask?

Typically, the question involves something that plagues the character about themself, something that has been troubling that they can't resolve. The character's specific answer is not important to the fortune-teller, merely that they do answer. What he wants to know is what they think about it, and what they might do next.

The only thing he wants to know after that, his second and final question, is whether they have the will to face their future themselves.

What if a character opts to accept whatever happens to them instead?

If they do, then they find themself somewhere else, as if they had fallen asleep there. They do not gain a Persona and will not see the fortune-teller again.

Is there anything else I should know?

Just two:

• The card which is needed to summon the Persona cannot be lost or destroyed and will always find its way back into the person's possession safe and sound.
• Those who gain a Persona through this method will recognize the fortune-teller immediately when they visit the Velvet Room: he's Igor.

The Offer

How does this work?

The character, in this case invariably lacking a sense of self, the ability to decide things for themself, or the ability to make changes in their life gains the attention for whatever reason of a powerful entity. The entity appears before them and makes them an offer: they can gain great power, and all they need to do is say 'yes'. After that, they're free to do whatever they wish with their power.

What kinds of entities grant power? What do they look for?

The entities that grant via this method are almost always Nyarlathotep, the Shadow of all Humanity, or the Snow Queen, bringer of the eternal frozen night. They are both extremely powerful creatures, beyond the ken of humans, and they both have their own agendas. Please see the Entities for more.

Nyarlathotep prefers those with a weak will who will misuse the power he gives them, while the Snow Queen seeks out those who are afraid of the future.

It should be noted that the Ice Queen's chosen tend to slide into Shadow-Possession eventually, while Nyarlathotep's do so rarely.

What's the power and what's the price?

The character gains a Persona, and one on par with a Custom Persona or Shadow-Possessed (See Upgrades)

The price for accepting the power is that the character's Persona cannot grow. As long as they retain ties with the entity, they will never reach Ultimate rank.

What happens if my character rejects the entity later?

If they reject the entity, they lose the power benefits of this choice, but retain their Persona. They effectively are of the Persona Game method at that point.

Is there anything else I should know?

Just one thing: Igor tends to stress the concept of personal choice more readily around the character in the Velvet Room.