Velvet Room
The Velvet Room is a service provided to Persona-users of all types by the servants of Philemon. It doesn't matter whether a given Persona-user intends good or ill for the world, for Philemon believes in the capacity for all people to change and grow. Within the Velvet Room, a Persona-user can change which generic Personas they have slotted and perhaps gain some very vague advice from the inhabitants therein. Shadow-Possessed cannot access the Velvet Room normally. For their methods of equipping generic Personas, please see Shadow Possession.
Finding the Velvet Room
Knowledge of the Velvet Room is not instinctive, no matter how a Persona-user awakens. One needs either to discover the door to the Velvet Room on their own, or be informed of its existence by others. Neither is the awareness that a character is able to gain and equip further Personas. Fortunately, the inhabitants of the Velvet Room typically want to be found by Persona-users, so even without outside assistance it might not be long before a character finds their way there.
Entering the Velvet Room
The blue door to the Velvet Room is distinctive, not just by sight but also by psychic 'feel', and visible only to those the inhabitants allowed to see the door. This includes all Persona-users, but can occasionally include non-Persona-users, if the inhabitants have a reason to let them see the door. It's possible they may even be allowed to enter, but an event like this requires a +request to staff due to its implications.
The Velvet Room's door may appear wherever it is needed for those who use its services, although it's most commonly found in easily-accessed high-traffic public areas. If the denizens of the Velvet Room do not wish someone to enter, however, the door will not be present no matter how hard they search. For the world around the one who enters into the Velvet Room, their departure isn't even noticed. For all intents and purposes, it's as if they never stopped to open a door and vanish from the world at all. Time, after all, has no meaning within the Velvet Room.
Similarly, a Persona-user may invite a non-Persona-user into the Velvet Room; this also must be cleared with staff first for the same reasons. Finally, there are times when one might be summoned into the Velvet Room by Igor himself. Since this is not done lightly by Igor by any means and again has certain implications, this also requires a +request.
A Persona-user may invite a Shadow-Possessed; this does /not/ require a +request, and a Shadow-Possessed who strive to overcome their nature may even catch sight of the door itself on their own. Similarly, any number of Persona-users could go into one person's Velvet Room together without the need for staff oversight. As the appearance of the Velvet Room is individualized to whoever steps inside, when there are multiple people entering the room it locks into the form of whoever set foot inside first.
Inside the Velvet Room
There are many beings which dwell in the Velvet Room. Of them, only one is constant: Igor, the master of the Velvet Room. Appearing as a hunchbacked, balding man with bugging out eyes and a very long nose in a fine suit, Igor provides the Persona-user with access to generic Personas. An accomplished reader of tarot cards, he also is the primary source of cryptic advice. Other inhabitants exist and may come and go or simply fail to show up in a particular person's Velvet Room altogether. Among them include Nameless, a blindfolded man at the Piano; Belladonna, a singer who has plugged her ears so so she can hear only what she claims is the song of the souls of their visitors; Demon Artist, a strange man at work on portrait of an even stranger being; Elizabeth, a quirky attendant; Theodore, a charming attendant; and Margaret, a mature attendant.
The Velvet Room also provides its visitors with a list of generic Personas available to them, referred to as the 'compendium'. Generic Personas may take the form of a physical tarot card that looks normal to everyone else, or they may simply be accepted into the 'extra space' within one's being when they are slotted. Whichever way, there is a limit to how many generic Personas a character may slot. For most Persona-users this is 2, though those of the Fool Arcana can have 5. Most generic Personas unlock via social links (see Social Links), though there are some that are available for use regardless of linkpoints. The necessity of visiting the Velvet Room to equip new Personas is also why they cannot be equipped in the middle of combat.
Everyone has a distinct and unique Velvet Room, basing its form on the mind of the first one to step within. While the variations are numerous, there are certain themes that are present in every version. The color blue predominates, and it must be an enclosed space. Igor is always present, although which attendants may vary. Finally, there's always the sound of a piano, and a woman singing a wordless song.
