Persona Gaining

There are many roads to gaining a Persona, some of them simpler or more difficult than others, some of them faster or slower than others. Regardless of the method, though, the results are the same: the individual gains the ability to summon a Persona, and everything else that comes along with that. For more details on Personas themselves and their considerations, please see Persona.

The following methods are discussed in this file:

The Persona Game

One road to the power of Persona takes the form of a game played by children across Japan. Called Master Persona or the Persona Game, it takes the form of a simple ritual with occult trappings, comparable in a broad sense to a Ouija board. The basis of the game is simple: a group of people--at least two are needed--walk along the borders of a bounded space (usually a room) and call out for 'Persona' to come to them. According to most variants, the goal of the game is that 'Persona' will show you who you will be in the future. Other versions also exist, couched in more occult trappings or ritual, but the core is always the same.

Once the game is played, some people receive a vision either shortly thereafter, or when they go to sleep that night. There they, disoriented, descend into a strange realm and meet a being that seems to be at once both human and golden butterly who calls himself Philemon. They are asked a question, which is usually "Who are you?" but not always. The question in the end is not as important as the answer. The answer must in some way reflect that the person has a solid grip on their identity and possess a strong enough will. If this answer proves satisfactory, then the person is granted the ability to possibly awaken to a Persona later in life. It could be in a matter of weeks after playing the game... or as long as a decade or more.

What consitutes a satisfactory answer depends on the question posed and possesses a level of subjectivity. To "Who are you?" a character might answer with their name, but 'I am a dancer' would also suffice as an answer. Other questions are also possible, though they are always generalized and focus around the concept of self-identity in one way or another.

If the person fails to provide Philemon with a satisfactory answer, then that is the last they will ever see of him and the dream ends. They cannot and will not receive a second chance at a Persona by this method.

The manifestation of the Persona typically occurs during a life-threatening or stressful moment in the person's life. However they weather that crisis with their newfound power, they can thereafter summon forth their Persona with an exertion of will.

The Evoker

Some people who gain the power of a Persona develop the talent on their own. They are granted the raw ability, termed Potential, by their own willpower as they begin a new, self-directed path in life and face what lies ahead in their future. They also typically possess some kind of connection or experience with death. Some speak of genetics or upbringing also playing a role in the development of the Potential, but little to no correlation has been found in any variable studied. With the aid of a special tool, they are able to call forth their Persona.

Called an Evoker, the device takes the form of a handgun, complete with trigger. It is used by aiming it directly at one's head and pulling the trigger, and with the sound of a gunshot allows the Persona to come forth. The mechanism's details are kept a closely-guarded secret, but it sends a pulse of mind-numbing fear directly to the Persona-user's brain, momentarily blanking consciousness enough for the unconscious--the Persona--to be summoned. People without the Potential receive no effect when 'shot' by an Evoker; other Persona-users may experience the invocation of their Persona.

There are ways to gauge or otherwise determine the presence of Potential. One marker that is always present is the ability to remain unTransmogrified (that is, to not be entombed in a coffin) in the Dark Hour. This will demonstrate even while the character sleeps. There are other methods as well, involving rather complicated machinery and devices to examine brain waves. But the one surefire way is when the clock ticks twelve midnight and the character finds themselves trapped in a nightmare version of their world.

In some cases, those with Potential are pulled aside by others in the know and their gift explained to them. For others, they simply find themselves in the Dark Hour with no way out and no way to defend themselves. This is typically a disorienting and terrifying experience, but should they survive or be rescued by others, they may receive the chance to claim an Evoker and make full use of their talents.

Evokers are rare devices, however. Only a few organizations have the technology and distribute it to their members. These include at the moment only SEES and, somewhat oddly, Strega. A variant of the Evoker technology is also used by the NWO in their experimental Persona program, but has important considerations and is covered under The Experiment.

The Midnight Channel

Everyone carries with them parts of themselves they hate. To face those aspects and change takes an effort of great will, particularly when a character is placed in a life-threatening position, possibly even by another. This is the pathway to the power of Persona gained by the mysterious 'world beyond the TV' that is the Midnight Channel in Inaba. For more information on the specifics and considerations of the Midnight Channel, please see Midnight Channel.

Whatever reason brings them into the Midnight Channel, a character who is alone and thrust into an unfamiliar location with no means to navigate their way to an exit becomes lost. They then have a chance of manifesting their Shadow, regardless of whether they already possess a Persona or are Shadow-Possessed. The Shadow warps a section of the Midnight Channel around itself, crafting a 'dungeon' that reflects in many ways what the particular character is repressing or rejecting about themselves. Drawn to the dungeon, the character navigates the maze and eventually finds themselves face to face with the Shadow. A confrontation takes place at this time, as laid out in .

It should be stressed that what the Shadow has to say about the character is always a source of great stress and/or embarrassment, and can't be easily brushed aside. In fact, a failure to reject the Shadow leads to the character becoming Shadow-Possessed, for they have accepted too quickly a part of themselves they have previously cast aside, and without tempering that aspect of themselves, it gains control and overrides them.

A character can't hope to combat their Shadow themselves. Once rejected--if rejected!--it draws lesser Shadows to itself in a bid to eliminate their original. Thus, it becomes imperative that people come to rescue the character, or they will die as another victim to the Midnight Channel. At this time, a character has the choice to conditionally accept this part of themselves /as/ a part of themselves, and should they accomplish this, they will have demonstrated their strength of will and resolve, and receive the power of Persona.

Summoning a Persona gained by this method is straight-forward. A character calls out for their Persona, and a shimmering blue tarot card appears. By slamming their weapon (or fist, or foot, or whatever is at hand) into this card, their Persona manifests.

It should be noted that this method must take place in-play, and may not be a part of a character's background, excepting prior-played FCs who have gained their Persona through the Midnight Channel. It's necessary for them to have been rescued by other players, after all, and it places a great burden on the other players otherwise.

The Experiment

There are other ways to gain a Persona other than by internal will or the blessing of a powerful entity. Some, by their choice or not, are granted the power of a Persona by other humans, researchers with the NWO who have long been involved in the study of the phenomenon. Through years of dubiously ethical research into the nature of the Personas and the people who are able to use them, the NWO has designed a procedure that can grant an artificial Persona to anyone willing (or sometimes not) to go under the knife.

There are two subdivisions of experiments. For some, the surgery for the implantation process, which inserts a small device into the brain, is relatively minor. They may be bedridden for a few days and under observation, but the return to normal life is swift and there are few risks involved with the procedure. They can then with the help of modified Evoker-like technology summon their artificial Persona with the tool, which looks like a small cellphone. For others the surgery is more complicated, lengthy and invasive. It requires a far more extensive recovery time and carries more risks, but with the tradeoff of being able to summon their Persona without the modified Evoker technology. This groups is also more prone to side-effects which can range from persistant headaches to a shortened lifespan.

The people who receive an artificial Persona fall into two broad groups: the willing and the unwilling. The willing are typically those allied with the NWO to begin with. They are either those loyalists who sign up for the good of the faction so they can better forward the goals of the NWO, or those who lack power and want more. The unwilling consists of those unlucky few who have become test subjects at the hands of the NWO researchers. They are always drawn from the population of people who would never be missed, such as the homeless; the last thing the NWO wants to do is draw any attention to what they are doing. They also typically receive more invasive implants to ensure their compliance and frequently suffer debilitating side-effects.

Additionally, some experimental Persona-users manifest differently than described above; this is merely the newest and most stable version of the artificial Persona program. Earlier experiments conducted by the Kirijo group rather then the NWO also attempted to induce Personas, but the Personas ended up uncontrollable and attempted to kill their users, necessitating medication to dampen them... while also cutting the Persona-users' lifespans in half. NWO researchers are proud to say that their current technique has a very low chance of such complications.

An artificial Persona, whether the subject is willing or not, must still match the person's psyche, or it will be rejected. Rejection results in the loss of control of the Persona, as in the Kirijo experiments. Thus, a battery of psychological testing and evaluation is standard practice before the implantation surgery.

Any unusual experiment concepts should be discussed with admin.

The Fortune-Teller

Some people seek to know what will happen to them and what their future will be by turning to fortune-telling. Others use the same to make an important and life-changing choice. For some among them, it's this need to make a decision of this magnitude or find meaning in their lives that prompts the acquisition of a Persona. The fortune-teller is always the same, the stories go. He is a long-nosed man with beady eyes, and his table features three masks: a crying face, an angry face and a smiling face. What does change his location. Some put him as a mysterious booth at a school or summer festival that was suddenly /there/ when they turned around. Others report finding him alongside other sidestreet stalls, particularly among the jammed shopping district of Okina City. Wherever they find the fortune-teller, they find it very difficult to turn their back and walk away away from him. There is a powerful need to speak to him, though it is by no means a compulsion.

When they do, the fortune-teller speaks intimately of their dreams, and akin to Philemon, the figure seen in the dreams after playing the Persona Game (see The Persona Game), asks them a question. Unlike Philemon, however, the question isn't at all general and cuts right to the heart of their current crisis. For example, he might ask someone plagued by the worry that there's something wrong with them whether that really /is/ so, or if it's something they merely believe. The exact answer doesn't matter, only that there is an answer.

He then explains that they have the possibility of a great power resting within them, which they could claim if they so choose, but cautions that it will not make them happy or bring them fame, necessarily, as he dons the masks in turn. It may, he will warn, even make them very unhappy, but the decision alone rests with them.

Should they accept or deny the power offered to them, they regardless suddenly wake up elsewhere, such as on the train, in their bed, or even in class. The whole encounter feels more like a dream than something that actually happened. If they rejected the power, the experience fades from their memory over the next few days and they resume their lives. For those who accept, however...

They find themselves in possession of a tarot card with their own Arcana's numbering and an image of their Persona. They also carry with them the understanding they need to summon their Persona forth: all that is necessary is to hold the card and call out for their Persona. Furthermore, should they ever lose their card, it will find its way back into their possession, one way or another. The two are irrevocably linked.

And when they visit the Velvet Room, they will recognize at once the fortune-teller's identity: Igor, master of the Velvet Room himself.

The Offer

Sometimes, a character attracts the attention of a powerful entity for no better reason than they see a potentially useful pawn for their goals. Some whisper about the Crawling Chaos Nyarlathotep as a bestowing entity. Others speak of a Snow Queen wreathed in ice, and others still of a fog-strewn road and the name Izanami. Whoever their patron, the characters who accept the offer presented to them obtain great power with their Personas... at a price.

The process of gaining a Persona by this method is entirely on the granting entity. They will seek out someone who attracts their attention, someone invariably who lacks the strength of self, or the ability to decide for themselves, or the resolve to move forward in their life with purpose. These people are both, they feel, easier to control and more likely to fulfill their wishes. Once in contact with the character, they will present them with the choice to gain great power. This may come in a dream, it might come face-to-face (with the entity in question taking a much easier-to-comprehend form), or it may come as just a voice in their ear. Should the character reject the offer, that's the last they will ever hear from the entity, and in time the memory of the event will fade to little more than a half-recalled dream.

If they accept, though, they as promised gain great power, on par with a Custom Persona (see Upgrades) or Shadow-Possessed (see Shadow Possession). In exchange, though, they lose the ability to grow in power, and will never develop an Ultimate Persona so long as they retain their ties to the entity. The entity asks for little else from the character and vanishes, likely to never be seen or heard from again. Of particular note, the character will notice that while they are allowed use of the Velvet Room like any other Persona-user (see Velvet Room for information), that Igor tends to stress more than usual the concept of personal choice around them.

A character may turn their back on the entity that granted them power. In doing so, they will not lose their Persona, but they will loose their extra power boost, and revert to the power level of a new Persona-user. In time, they may be able to reach the level of Custom Persona again, and even grow beyond it.